Virgil Walsh eyed the beautiful brunette boy suspiciously as 'Bloody' Mary loomed ominously over the boy's kneeled form. Her gun's muzzle rudely pressed into the back of the boy's head. Not once did the two remove their eyes. Despite appearances, their captive, Dietrich von Lohengrin, was a cold blooded killer who would and could take advantage of any opportunity given to them.
Their captain sat across from them on a wooden crate. Her arms were crossed and she had one leg on top of her knee. Anyone could tell that her whole being radiated a self-confidence that wouldn't allow her to settle for anything less than the best. Virgil recalled the time when she had controlled the Albion Navy, the times of the 'lady-saint-Esther'. Through his serious stare he couldn't help but break a smile.
"Dietrich, you have medical training –correct?" It really wasn't a question, more of an introduction leading into what she was about to explain. Dietrich was smart and caught on quickly.
"Oh, are you in need of my medical expertise ~Esther~?" His feral lips curled into an angelic smile painted with the makings of the devil. She froze momentarily, but maintained composure. The prisoner licked his lips in glee. He always made sure to accentuate her name when he said it; she fascinated him at times and he couldn't help but feel the possessiveness over his playthings. He also knew Esther hated how he said that, how it made her remember his betrayal.
Biting down to control her raging emotions mixed with hate, sadness, and hope, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her eyes resettled themselves in a hard way against her enemy.
"A man washed up on my ship this morning. From what I can tell he is in critical condition. I simply want you to look at him and see if there is any chance for his survival. If not, I do not need to waste anymore time." Esther finished and closed her lips waiting for a response.
"pshh," Dietrich spat, "You're no better at lying than you once were. You cannot hide your emotions from me…~Esther." Never breaking eye contact he watched her face carefully in hopes that she would shudder or show some form of weakness. When he saw none he continued, "You want me to heal this man."
Esther stood up from her position on the crate. She figured that if she said yes, he would refuse in some sly manner to break her heart. On the contrary, if she said no, it would be evident that she was lying, and psychological torture would follow her whenever she had to face him. Gracefully she walked over to the lifeboat and pulled back the blanket. Mary maneuvered Dietrich's head to look in her captain's position, gun still pressed tightly to the boy's head.
When Dietrich saw the silvery strands of hair and the crumpled figure he almost let his jaw drop. There was silence. There was no mistaking it: the man in the boat who's features mimicked those of his leader was definitely the one his organization had been after. His eyes flashed to Esther, trying desperately to be able to read her face. He could tell she didn't know anything about the situation and thanked lady luck for it. Realizing the silence had extended for an unnaturally long time, he attempted to make conversation to throw off suspicion…after all, the RCO wanted this man alive preferably. "How sad…"
Dietrich began to slowly move closer to the barely-breathing creature. He froze when he heard the safety on Mary's gun click.
"Mary." That was all Esther had to say, and her subordinate pushed Dietrich's head forward with the nub of her gun. She never lowered it for a second, but allowed for the boy to approach the quiet being.
The brunette approached the boat's side grabbing a near-by towel and began to pad at the figure's face. It was extraordinarily pale. Slowly the boy began to strip of layers of black clothing off of the figure. It was a uniform of sorts, but it was wet and needed to be rid of.
Carefully under the watchful eye of his captives, he rolled the older man on his side, wrapped his arms around the other's diaphragm, and pushed, pumping a stream of water out of the man's airways. When he called to Virgil to help hoist the man out of the boat and into one of the beds below-deck, Mary's gun seemed to rise a little higher. Below deck in the dimmed light he turned behind him.
"Are you sure you had medical training? He doesn't look any better than when we found him. Maybe a little…I don't know… dryer?"
Dietrich suppressed a laugh. "He seems to have lost a lot of blood. I think it would be best if you got one of your crew to give him a blood transfusion. I do not know how, but it is evident that he has lost quite a bit of it." He smiled craftily, "He might also be hungry."
"This isn't some trick to weaken my crew's defenses so that you can escape is it?" She eyed him like a wild dog before breaking a smile, "Because punishment for that would be far worse than imprisonment. Perhaps, I would be head of executing you myself."
"No Mam'," the boy answered in a sly tongue.
"Virgil," Esther snapped to her subordinate, "Fetch Ion and see if he is willing to donate some blood. That boy is the most energetic of us and will be fine in the morning."
Turning on his toe to face the door, the loyal Walsh exited, leaving Mary and Esther alone with a bed-ridden patient and a murderer.
Author's Note: Chapter Stats: Words:1012, Time Spent: 2 hours, Rating: 5/10
Please read...enjoy...and maybe, maybe, maybe review. =)
