A/N I've been thinking about this story for a while, so long in fact that to think it through properly I'm just going to upload it and take it as it comes. It may be a little confusing as well (its a little AU) but give it a chance, I think you'll enjoy it :D anything written in bold is Russian- so yes, JJ has learnt to speak Russian, you'll learn why later... Enjoy

Chapter 1

"Hey, Crow, you alright?" Jay asked, looking at Crow who had slowly been turning a sickly shade of green since they left the docks. "You don't look so good, not turning Cheap on me are you?" The floor of the cabin swayed beneath them and Crow's snort of disgust quickly turned into a nauseated grimace. He clamped his hand over his mouth and fought to maintain some level of control over his body.

"Who are you calling Cheap?" he replied tersely, removing a body from the pile on the tarpaulin and hoisting it over his shoulder in a fireman's hold. Jay laughed as his face visibly paled; seasickness and the cloying odour of decomposing flesh was not a good combination.

"The great Crow survives Legionnaires to be struck down by seasickness." She smirked. She didn't much like body-runs but that was because she felt uncomfortable in close company with the Watchers rather than an aversion to corpses or the ocean.

The pair jumped as a loud bang sounded from the deck, followed by a shout. "What's taking so long down there? Get a move on!"

Any joviality vanished as Crow hurried to the steps, bowed slightly under the weight of the body, and climbed up onto the deck. Jay quickly followed suit, not even registering the smell or the congealed blood that strove to weaken her grip on the corpse as she lifted it. The body was heavy, just her luck to have picked Bantam. She rolled her eyes.

Crow was making his way to the stern, keeping his eyes on the floor so as not to anger the Watcher. Jay did the same, being careful to watch where she stepped- she didn't fancy having Bantam's body crush her if she slipped. The chill wind tore through her thin clothing as though it were paper, freezing her petite body to the core. Her bare feet felt like blocks of ice. Whilst the ghosts' uniform was practical at home, it was inadequate protection against the elements of the Atlantic.

No, you shouldn't think that Jay scolded herself, the Lieutenant provides for the strong, only the weak require more than they are given. And she had been given a lot, just 3 weeks ago the Lieutenant gave her the grey zip up hoodie she was wearing now in return for helping out on body-runs. Even now she wore her hoodie with pride; it had pockets. That she had been allowed an item with pockets was a demonstration of trust from the Lieutenant.

She let Bantam fall from her shoulders onto the deck and wiped her brow. "You alright to grab the last one?" she asked Crow quietly, wary of the Watcher behind her, "I'll get the weight."

"Sure," Crow replied, before making his way back below deck to haul up the remaining body. Jay grabbed a coil of rope that was lying on the deck a few feet away, before kneeling next to Bantam. Whilst pretending to tie the rope around his wrists, she turned her body slightly so that she could remove something from her pocket. It was a piece of string, tied into a crude necklace, holding on it a gold ring. She wrapped it around his wrist, so that the ring lay in his palm, then closed his hand around it.

Half of her mind hissed in irritation at her weakness, giving in to sentiment in such a fashion, but the other half knew that Bantam deserved better than to be buried along with the Cheaps. He had been better than the rest of them, had kept a desperate hold on his humanity despite the life he had found himself living. Humanity is hard to find in the world of ghosts. In another world he might have been kind.

Be at peace she thought to him, not really knowing why she was thinking to a body. Bantam was gone. Shaking away the weakness, she quickly tied his wrists as Crow returned with the final body. She gestured quickly to the rope and walked back down into the cabin to fetch the weight, a rough chunk of reinforced concrete.

As she crouched to pick up the weight she heard the cabin door bolt shut behind her. She whirled around to see the Watcher stood in front of the now locked door, leering at her. She swallowed, her eyes darting around the room, searching for some way to escape. There was none. The Watcher walked slowly toward her, a greedy look in his eye, enjoying the fear that was beginning to show on her face.

She backed into the corner as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. "Remove your weapons, Ghost" he commanded. She did as ordered, and with trembling hands removed the belt that held two of her knives, the one that was resting at her hip, and the other that was lying flat against the small of her back. The third knife was strapped to her thigh, which she also removed.

The Watcher was now less than a foot away; he smelt of stale cigarettes and alcohol. He tucked the gun back into his belt. Jay couldn't help but shiver as his lustful eyes looked her up and down, hungrily taking in every detail. He made a show of smelling her, taking a long, deep breath, before suddenly shoving her against the wall of the cabin.

She was trapped between the wall and him, helpless as he pawed his hand up her thigh whilst using his other hand to pin her shoulder against the wood panelling. She bit her lip, willing herself not to react as he moved his hand up and over her hip.

"Sir!" Crow shouted through the door. "Sir! We've got to go, Coastguard 1 mile north-west, approaching fast! We've got two minutes tops."

"Shit" the Watcher swore, his lust forgotten as he pushed away and leapt up onto deck. Relief flooded Jay as she slid down the wall to floor, breathing heavily. Her head was spinning and she felt sick. She flinched as the Watcher shouted down from on deck. "Mutt! Get your lazy arse up here!"

She carefully got to her feet and made her way up on deck. "Get these bodies in the water" the Watcher snarled, slamming the butt of his gun into her shoulder as she scrambled past him to where Crow was hauling the chain of bodies to the small gate at the back of the boat. If they were caught with the bodies they were all as good as dead.

"Ready?" Crow asked. Jay nodded. "One, two, three" On three they pushed with all their strength, send the bodies tumbling into the water. Within seconds they were swallowed by the darkness, and not a moment too soon; the Coastguard was now about 50 meters from the front of the little fishing boat, their view of the stern mercifully blocked by the cabin.

"Crow, hide your weapons you dumb bastard!" the Watcher yelled. Crow removed the crowbar from his belt and left it leaning against the side of the boat just in case and adjusted his knives so that they were hidden by his hoodie. The Watcher walked over to them just as the Coastguard speedboat drew alongside them. Jay winced and raised her arm to block out the blinding light of the Coastguard's searchlight as it was turned onto their tiny vessel. Crow did the same, squinting into the light. "Do not say a single word. Am I understood?" the Watcher hissed.

"Yes, Sir" the two Ghosts replied in unison. The Coastguard was now right alongside them and they could hear one of the officers shouting at them.

"US Coastguard. Please remain where you are whilst we board your vessel and keep your engines off!" After a minute or so, the Coastguard vessel was lashed to the Hearse and one officer had climbed over. The other remained at the helm of the speedboat.

"Is there a problem, Officer?" the Watcher said in a heavy Russian accent.

"You are illegally trespassing in a protected marine breeding area. I'd like to see some form of ID and take a look around your vessel." The officer replied.

"You know what, Officer? I have left my ID back at the docks…" the Watcher made a show of patting down his pockets and smiling apologetically.

"Your name, Sir?"

"Oleg Svinsky."

"And yours?" The officer turned to Crow and Jay.

"Ah, sorry, Officer. These two speak no English. 'Thick as they come' I think is how you say it." The Watcher laughed and smacked Crow over the back of the head. "They are my cousins, Mikhail and Katya. I am showing them the sights as you say." He chuckled again. He turned to Crow. "Smile" he hissed. Crow smiled and Jay followed suit.

The officer did not look convinced as he looked the Ghosts up and down. They were shivering slightly, and quite rightly; they were not dressed for any amount of time out on the water. The man wore a thin pair of shorts and a t-shirt, both of which had probably been white once but now were a disconcerting mixture of faded grey material and brown stains. His zip up sweater was also thin. The woman was dressed the same, but in the place of shorts and t-shirt she wore ¾ length leggings and a tank top.

The closer he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt about the entire situation; the woman's hair was close cropped, no longer than her companion's, and she had a nasty scar that curved around her eye and across her cheek. Both of them had bare feet.

"Your occupation, Sir?" the officer said, at the same time as signalling his partner to join him on the fishing boat. This did not go unnoticed by the Watcher.

"I am fisherman" he replied, just as the partner joined them. The first officer regarded him dubiously.

"A fisherman with no nets or gear?" he said suspiciously. He turned to his partner. "Johnny take a look round the cabin while I finish chatting with Mr Svinsky." The second officer nodded and disappeared into the cabin. No sooner had the door closed behind him than the Watcher had the first officer in a choke hold and a gun to his temple.

"Make a sound and I blow your brains out." He snarled, pressing the gun harder against the man's skull for effect. "Now, very slowly, remove your weapon and hand it to me." The officer did as requested, turning his weapon over to the Watcher, who tossed it into the sea. The man looked round to the Ghosts but they gazes were steely; he would find no help from them.

"Take over." The Watcher hissed to Crow, transferring the man to his grasp. Crow continued the choke hold on him, keep his eyes fixed on the Watcher, who was making his way to the door of the cabin, waiting for the order he knew was coming. The man caught in his grip was slowly turning red and he started to struggle against him. The Watcher saw this and nodded. In one swift jerk, Crow broke his neck. Without a word, Jay helped him to throw the body over the side.

Not a moment later, the second officer appeared on deck again, holding Jay's knives that he had found in the cabin. He didn't even have time to note the absence of his partner before the Watcher shot him in the head. The gunshot was sharp in the night, quickly followed by a dull thud as the man's body hit the deck. The Watcher dragged him to the side of the boat, leaving a stark trail of blood in his wake. It was as though someone had taken a very large paint brush and a pot of dark red paint and smeared it all across the deck. Except that blood is warm, and bodies are heavier than paint brushes.

Again, Jay helped Crow to hoist the body over the side.

"Mutt, gear up" the Watcher said, gesturing to the knives which now lay abandoned on the floor, "Crow, get us free from that damn boat." Crow leapt into action. "And then both of you get cleaning, I want to be able to eat my dinner off of this deck by the time we get back to the docks. Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes, Sir" the Ghosts replied, hurriedly setting to work. Before long, they were speeding away, leaving the lonely white light of the deserted Coastguard vessel in the night.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think, reviews always make my day. Fair warning, updates will be somewhat sporadic so I shan't be giving you any sort of timetable yet. If you have any questions, review or pm me :)