OMFG Batman! Reviews! and followers! And alerts! And stuffs! Good lord I would like to thank all of you for the awesome reviews. And I promise after chapter 3 the story really kicks off. I mean, once we get all these peoples worked out it's do whatever the hell I feel like with this. So many fun, drug indused ideas...no I'm not drug induced they'll be drug induced :/ ….Anyways...

Here comes chapter 2. I am soooooo sorry I lied. There is no escape or tequila in this chapter -.- Sad I know but it wound up being 7 freakin pages long, and the second half was just as long so I'm breaking it down. Lo ciento :( But there are snarky comebacks and lots of Vaas, so that's a good thing yes? I promise you that the escape and the theft and the tequila and the misplaced traps are going to come in in the next chapter. Promise! In here though we have banter. Yay!

Also, just to put this out there, Benny isn't exactly the average kind of woman who washed up on the island and starts bawling her eyes out when she sees pirates. No she's actually quite honest with herself and is not afraid to answer any question. Even if it does land her in trouble. And when it comes to her past, well, snippets are fun, but she's very seclusive about it...is that the right word? Eh, I don't care. Anyways: Introductions, snappy comebacks, fun games, fun Vaas, and Mango's first words! Huzzah my friend will be so happy! Ahem, anyways...

XXX

Strange Waters

Chapter 2

Introductions

XXX

"No," he answered casually.

Thank God, she thought, an audible sigh of relief escaping her lips. "But it was worth a try wasn't it, hermana?" The pirate's voice sang out a Hispanic heritage and the accent just dripped off his tongue. The green in his eyes was almost hypnotizing; mesmerizing, and left Benny speechless, and she bit her lip, never wavering from his gaze. The pain in her arms and shoulders seemed to dissipate and she felt her heart rate suddenly speed up to a rapid pace. Rarely did she find herself in this sort of predicament...well the whole tied up and left defenseless was nothing new, but normally the men never intrigued her as much as this one. She noticed the muscles of his arms flex when he took a casual step forward and crossed them over his chest. The black band wrapped around his right bicep looked ready to snap right off. Lord Jesus but this man is dangerous and incredibly rugged. But don't we girls always sway more towards the bad boys in our lives. She chuckled to herself mentally, trying her best to not let a smile slip. "Don't worry though," he continued with a grin. "You'll be outta here soon enough. Just as soon as a buyer makes his pick." He took another step towards her and her eyes shot down to the sounds that his boots were making on the wooden path. I'm gonna say size 11...could be 11 and a half though. Why she was trying to determine this intimidating pirates shoe size, even she didn't know. It gave her something to think about she guessed as the man took his jolly ol' time approaching her, smiling every step of the way and waving his hands animatedly with every word uttered. Benny felt entertained now. At least something was coming out of this being knocked unconscious and strung up like a dead pig thing. "You look like you're worth alotta money, chica. Pretty little thing like you." He reached a dirt covered hand up, and Benny watched as his bandaged fingers found her hair.

Not good anymore. Benny instantly reacted. She pulled her head back as far as she could stretch and let it go. Like hitting the NOS button, her forehead collided with the man's own and knocked him back a few steps and into the miniscule pirate behind him, who, himself, almost fell face first into the dirt by the much heavier Hispanic male. Said Hispanic male's hands flew up to his aching cranium, grabbing at his abused skull and he grunted a rather agitated grunt. Benny's head wasn't any better. The blow reactivated her headache and left her vision foggy and doubled again.

When the man's hands came down all Benny could see was a fury from Hell and a gun, or rather, she could feel the fury of Hell and the cold metal of a gun. Her heart raced, but now not by rugged masculinity. More by surprise, then fear, then an oh-fuck-shit-what-the-hell-have-I-unleashed worry. His left hand grabbed at her throat, squeezing around her jugular as his right dug the front end of a pistol into her temple.

At first, all the pirate did was stare, or rather, glare, glare huge sharp jagged daggers at her, eyebrows knit together in rage, teeth bared like a rabid animal's, and then a growl emitted from his throat. A very animalistic growl and Benny was actually worried. "If you're pretty face wasn't worth so much fucking money, I would GUT YOU LIKE A FUCKING PIG! Do you get me! Do NOT fuck with me."

Now as much as Benny would have liked to answer, the tight hold the man had on her jugular only allowed a short gasp on her part. She could only look upon him, into those mesmerizing eyes of green and brown. And he stared right back. His hold loosened a bit, but the force of the gun being smashed into her head told her that he still meant much harm and wasn't above threatening a woman...nothing new, she mused to herself, though she also thought would it be a good idea to muse in this situation. She mentally shrugged and gasped in a supple amount of air the second he let go of her. Benny coughed and sputtered, desperately trying to take in as much air as possible, just in case this temperamental brute decided to reintroduce his clutches to her throat again. Benny noticed the chuckle he gave out as he pulled the gun away. Oh Jesus Christ, pick a mood! He was laughing now, in a hysterical way that Benny couldn't quite understand. It was, to say the least, amusing really. She watched his face with each chortle, the lines around his mouth and eyes; I'll admit it, he's still a little bit cute. Benny couldn't quite understand herself at the moment, or more to the point, him...at least not yet that was. To be honest, Benny wouldn't mind sitting down and having a nice little chit chat with this hysterical, unpredictable human being. No doubt he's pillaged and plunged and wreaked havoc every place he's gone, leaving blood and fear in his wake. Much as she hated to encourage him, she chanced a smile his way.

The Mohawk'd man's laughs ceased in an instant, his body language taking on a more serious tone this time. He scoffed. "The fuck?" A slight chuckle, then serious again. "You know," he waved his gun at her, the weapon being a mere few inches from her face. "You got a lotta fucking nerve."

Benny eyed the man's body again, the straps on his belt, the holsters for gun and knife, the bandage wrapped around his left hand, the band straining to stay intact on his bicep, the straps that he wore around his torso—these she had no idea what the purpose was-the red strap that lay around his neck with a tightly beaded necklace and the strip of leather holding the green stone, and the black earrings. There was no better time to make a snappy comeback than now. "Yeah well, you got a lot of bodily accessories," she said in a blunt tone. Yup, there was the hand to her throat again, squeezing tighter this time, as if it hadn't done so previously.

"You fuckin' with me?!" He hollered, his nose just a centimeter from her own and she could smell the cigarettes and alcohol on his breath. God what I wouldn't do for a drink and a smoke right about now. "The fuck did I just say? Do NOT fuck with me, okay? I will fucking kill you, I don't give a fuck, I will fucking slit your throat and fuck the fucking wound, do you hear me?"

Quite honestly all Benny could hear was the voice in her head saying, Can this man do anything besides strangling? "I'm sorry, what was that hermana? I didn't quite catch that what did you say?" He held his hand to his ear, loosening his grip on her, eager for her to repeat herself.

"I said," she croaked, "The choking is getting...ahem..." she coughed again and shook her head. "A little redundant...don't you think?" She dared. She double dog dared, no she triple dog dared to enrage this short fused stick of dynamite before her. Was she worried? Of course she was! But the consequences seemed irrelevant to the show she was provided.

Another shouting fit, another gun in her face and she couldn't help but glance down at that smaller pirate she had seen earlier, the one she had sent this irate fucker into with a good hard knock to the head...with her own head...God that hurt. The younger male just stood there, clutching at something tightly in his hands, breathing a tad heavy as he looked on worriedly towards his superior. His hands shook and he licked his lips nervously as he swept a hand over his face, wiping away a string of sweat. Was that...what was that in his hands...oh you little fucker. "Is that my camera!?" Benny's voice sounded, surprisingly, over the ranting, fuming pirate's, and, caught off guard, he followed her gaze behind him and eyed the small device his cohort was grasping.

"Hah! Oh fuck, this? This thing?" the older man asked with another sudden change of emotion. "Why yes, as a matter of fact it is." He turned away from her and yanked the small piece of technology from the smaller man's hands, bringing it up excitedly to Benny, waving it in front of her. Benny was no longer amused. No, she was fucking pissed. The blow to the head, okay, she could deal with that. The bound and left to hang thing, sure, that wasn't so bad. The mood swings of a dangerous half crazed pirate with a Mohawk, even that wasn't a big deal. But now, now they had gone too far.

The man scratched at the side of his nose and sniffed, beaming down at the camera in his hands like a child to presents on Christmas Day. "It's a pretty good camera, no? No doubt on the expensive side, hah?"

Benny frowned, chewing at the inside of her cheek to ensure she didn't blow a gasket screaming at this mongrel of a man...no matter how interesting he was. "'Bout a thousand bucks," she muttered. If she had said anything else, she would probably have had to look forward to another asphyxiation session.

"No shit? Hah, that's fucking nice, man." He opened it up and started to fiddle with the buttons and lens. Benny still said nothing...as long as he didn't break it, she wasn't going to go Incredible Hulk on his ass. She watched him cautiously, muttering under her breath that this pickle she was in was about to turn into a great big prize winning cucumber if that man so much as got a speck of dirt on her camera. "I'm sorry," he said, taking his eyes off the camera and gazing intently towards the brunette woman. "I'm sorry, I mean, I shouldn't've gone off the hinge like that, I got a bad temper, ya know? Get's kinda crazy," he said, tapping at his temple with. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vaas Montenegro." At this he did an off-gentlemanly bow, then waved his arm over the little shanty outpost. "And this is my little camp. And the island it sits on, is also mine." Selfish little prick isn't he? "You see, when it comes to us pirates, I," he pointed at himself with much enthusiasm, "am the King, this is my crew," he once again waved his arms around the camp, this time for the men occupying it. "And this," he held up the gun again, "is my scepter. Impressive, no?"

Well Benny was mildly impressed. If this asshole was a pirate king of a whole island, no doubt there were several other "little camps" scattered across the land, and no doubt he made sure they were up to par, at least to his standards. Benny was no fool. People such as these pirates partook in the favorite pastime profession of smuggling, whether it be people, drugs, or weapons—or other illegal things that were not accepted by society. Well that meant organization. That meant that if this handsome—yet slightly off kilter—young gentleman before her was their king, then he more than likely had a knack for fighting, murder, artillery, strategy—all those fun things. That or he was just a coked up lunatic with no organization skills at all and her escaping would be no problem whatsoever.

"So what's your name?" Benny was snapped out of her stew of figuring these pirates out and her gaze shot up once again to his own. "I noticed that, uh, you didn't have an I.D. on you at all. I mean, that makes it hard to get a little extra money off you but still..." he trailed off, rocking back on his heels and laying a hand down on his hip, the other lazily hanging onto her camera. A little smirk played at the corner of his lips.

Benny contemplated another snappy remark. Oh snap! You know what? God, I think I left it in the hotel, God dammit. My bad. Of course she did not say this. She decided to play nice, to keep this Vaas character from throwing another meaningless tantrum. "Benny."

Vaas scoffed at the answer. "Benny hah? Benny what?"

Benny shrugged, at least as well as she could all things including ropes and beams considered. "I don't know, Hanna?" It was a good joke, at least she thought so, and apparently so did Vaas.

He chuckled at her answer, running his fingers through his well gelled Mohawk. "Benny Hanna, ha?"

"Sure," she was rather nonchalant with her answer, as if completely forgetting that the pirate lord before her could go ape shit at any given moment. "Whatever works."

Well, Vaas was now the one to be entertained as he clapped one hand over the one with her camera and let out a well voiced "Whoo!". Huzzahs for me! "Haha, that's a fucking good one. Oh man, well I guess I'm gonna have to take your word for it. I mean...nothing else to go by. But, ya know, whatever. I guess names don't really make a difference do they? At least not the clients hah?" He shook his head, looking down at the camera, playing with the screen again. Oh look, he made it black and white. "So I understand you like to make videos ya? I'm a bit of camera savvy man myself." He gave her a wry grin and Benny was tempted to mimic.

The crying came back. Benny had almost forgotten about that god awful bitch tied up near her. Ugh, make it go away! Isn't my brain going through enough trauma as it is? Stop making it worse! She tore her eyes away from the pirate lord and glared abhorrently to the struggling girl about six feet from her own location on the wooden deck. She was young, younger than Benny anyways, with long black waves that fell over her shoulders and down her back, though the once glossy locks were now caked in mud and sweat. Shit I bet I'm just as worse. Bitch I wish I had a mirror. The girl's skin was artificially tanned, probably from many a trip to the tanning beds, and her makeup was an eyesore, at least now; mascara and eyeliner ran down her face and mixed in with the tears streaming from her dark chocolate eyes. She wasn't really dressed for a weekend in the jungle either. A bright pink too-small t-shirt advertising Gangnam Style stretched over her large breasts, barely covering anything above her belly button,denim short shorts that hardly hid the cheeks of her ass, and adorning her feet, a brand new pair of orange and black Osiris sneakers.

"Oh, honey, what's the matter?" came a false apologetic tone from Vaas. He eyed the scantily clad girl and beamed at her as he did his own little Gangnam Style dance towards her, accessories clinking against his body as he did so. Benny, being Benny, couldn't stifle the snickers. Oh but he was a fun one. "What happened, chica?"

The girl sniffled and looked away, stuttering. "Now come on you can tell me," Vaas said assuredly. "What's goin on over here?" The brunette had to hand it to the guy, he sure could put on an act.

Another ray of sniffles and the girl met Vaas' eyes. "I...I-I saw a rat," she choked. "It, it r-r-an over my shoe and..." Vaas stopped her.

"Shshshshsh, it's okay, what was your name again?" He was caressing her cheek and Benny had half a mind to wonder if he was indeed being sincere.

"B-Brittany."

"Brittany, that's a pretty name, I like that name. Now I need you to listen to me, Brittany okay?" The girl nodded. "I wanna play a game."

"Hah?" The girl looked upon him, lost and confused, but Vaas' face was plain, he didn't smile, but he didn't frown either.

"We're gonna play a game alright?"

"What kind of game?" There was worry in her voice.

"It's called 'Shut the Fuck Up'. It's really easy okay? Real easy. There's only one rule and that's you shut the fuck up. Because I am trying to have a conversation with the lovely Benny Hanna over there," he gestured towards the brunette woman who was watching on curiously. "And you're bitching, and your complaining, is interrupting us. Okay, so I need you to just, shut the fuck up."

The girl was on the verge of more tears and started another sob fest, which Vaas did not take too kindly to. "What the fuck did I just say! I said shut up! Shut the fuck up!" He hadn't yelled as loudly or as harshly as he had to Benny, which she took as a good sign. He must like me more she thought pleasantly. It took a bit more persuasion, mainly Vaas threatening to throw the poor girl to his men for their own sick pleasure, but she eventually stifled her sobs and decided it best to act like a good little prisoner. Benny didn't like the girl. She didn't know why, but she just didn't like her. "Fake ass tits," she found herself muttering, and she instantly wondered why the fuck she decided that was an appropriate or even relevant thing to say.

"What?" Vaas asked quickly.

"Um..." Benny bit her lip—yes she does that alot—"fake ass tits? Uh, I mean...ya know, she's got fake tits."

"Really?" Vaas asked, more in wonder that the brunette would come up with such a bizarre topic. To test this little theory he grabbed one of the younger girl's breasts and squeezed it firmly. This elicted more sobs from Brittany, but Vaas seemed not to notice, or just not to care.

"Dude if you can't tell, then you are one sorry excuse for a man," Benny dared once again. Probably not a good idea. The pirate lord scoffed and walked away from the sobbing blackette back over to Benny. Benny, herself, watched him as he approached. He sauntered more than walked really, still animatedly as when he was standing still and making hand gestures for every sentence. Benny decided it best to not mention her observations and decided to keep them for herself to enjoy mentally. Ah yes, she was always safe inside her mind. Nobody could touch her there. And she could enjoy all the crazy shit she thought was, well, enjoyable.

Vaas chuckled as he shook his head, coming up to stand before her once again, still slightly uncomfortably close. "I've said it before, hermana, you got a lot of nerve." Benny wasn't sure if Vaas leaning his face in towards her at such a close distance was meant to be taken as a good thing, but upon seeing his ever playful smirk Benny just couldn't help it. If she got strangled again so be it, it was worth the repeat.

"Yeah, well, you got a lot of bodily accessories," she responded with a smirk.

"Heh, you ain't like alotta the other girls, ya know that?" Well this was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. This strange man, whom Benny admitted was a looker but he wasn't that good of a looker that him being a stranger was irrelevant to him now resting his forehead against hers. Didn't he know that she could easily...oh no wait, he grabbed the hairs at the back of her head and held on tightly, pulling them and causing just a small rack of pain to infiltrate Benny's nerves.

"Daddy always said, 'no use crying over spilt milk,'" she told him, letting his eyes wander over her face, though they seemed to keep coming back up to her own eyes; and jungle green met light and she was really, really starting to feel uncomfortable. Though she had to admit, he had very pretty eyes.

"Smart man," and he let go of her hair and stepped away, finally putting some distance between them. Benny was grateful. That was getting awkward. Vaas kicked at the wooden deck with the toe of his boot, not in an agitated way by any means, more of a I'm-bored-so-I'm-just-gonna-kick-at-the-ground-cuz-I-can way, and he looked once more at the camera. "I saw you videos. Don't let out a lot about yourself hm?"

Benny shook her head, testing the bonds above her while the pirate lord was preoccupied. Eh, they were still tight, but maybe they'd loosen up if she just kept at it. The pirate glanced back up and she immediately halted her efforts, smiling back pleasantly. Smiles are contagious, she remembered. "No not really, but, what does it matter?"

"Secret life? Maybe you'd like to let me in on a little something?"

"Look, Vaas, was it? What my business was, well, that's just it. It was. No...like I said, don't matter. It's all about the road ahead and some such shit like that now."

"Well, maybe you'd like to make a new video hah? To celebrate you're new life." He pointed the camera up so it was facing her and hit the record button. "Say hello Benny! Come on Benny, wave to the people on the internets," Benny nearly let a loud laugh escape her lips. Though his English was fluent, the fact that he had actually added an 's' on the end of internet was just too freakin' cute. She wondered how often he did this. She secretly hoped very. "Come on Benny, wave, say hello. Don't be rude."

"Vaas!" It was the small pirate from earlier. Both Benny and Vaas had been unaware of his disappearance, but his return prompted Vaas to end their little video session and address him as a leader should.. "What, Mango? The fuck is it now? Can you not see that Benny and me are trying to shoot a video here? Could you be any more inconsiderate."

Mango? Good lord I hope that's not his real name. Mango was still the little frightened mouse he had been when Benny first laid eyes on him. Only now he had a really big gun in his hands. Good lord that assault rifle's as big as he is! She didn't say it, but the expression on her face sure did. Good thing Vaas had turned away, because he probably couldn't read minds and therefore would be startled by the strange lip curling and raised eyebrows thing she was doing. "Um...uh, it's the rebels, Vaas. They flanked a bunch of guys on the road. Uh, Timmy say's it's real bad, men down and the Rakyat are headed this way!" Benny still couldn't get over the fact that this tiny pirate was holding a huge ass AK-47, oh and the fact that he was a pirate! Seriously! How the hell!

"Fuck Christ! Stupid fuckers! I mean what the fuck am I even paying you guys for if you can't even keep a few fucking Rakyat motherfuckers out of the way. I mean, seriously, what the fuck?" Vaas quickly closed the camera, glaring down at the device with a rather annoyed grimace. "Fuck," he whispered, then smiled at Benny. Again he got a wee bit too close for comfort and, grabbing her hair once again—he wasn't stupid enough to let her headbutt him a second time—brought his lips to her ear. "Looks like we're gonna have to finish our little video later," Benny shivered as the man's beard scraped across her cheek. Ah yes, ruggedness at it's best. "See me in your dreams, sweetie," Benny nodded, rather glad to be rid of the pirate, well for the most part. He would have hindered her escape attempt had he stayed any longer, and she noticed a slight give in the ropes as a few pirates in the camp followed their leader...into battle against the Rakyat! Whoever the fuck they are! Um...go team!

Was Benny at odds with herself? No. No she was not. She had a plan. Being captured wasn't part of it, but, hey, at least it got her to the boss right? The rather rugged—yes we say rugged again because it is an awesome word to use—handsome, and entertaining boss.

She turned to the black haired girl with a smirk. The girl's sobs had died down and she had given up the crying. Finally. "He's actually kinda cute...in a psychotic-rawr-I'm-gonna-slit-your-throat-in-your-sleep kind of way but...hey. We can't all be completely boring can we?" This just caused a greatly startled expression from the young girl, wide eyes and mouth hung open, but Benny didn't care. With Vaas gone and half the pirates distracted, she might be able to make it out of this thing tonight! Then she'd get her camera, and hopefully some smokes, and be on her merry way.

XXX

End Chapter 2. I feel like I rushed a bit too much, but...god my choice of words is horrible in this chapter. But I just went with it cuz in the end...meh.

Once again, sorry it didn't have all the things I said it would, but I do PROMISE those things will be in chapter 3. Then after that, it's all smooth sailing. Also, once again, thanks so much for the reviews. I hope to post more either tomorrow or next week. In the middle of moving so, not alotta time to sit and chill and write, specially with other people living with you. And the fact that you only get a hold of your computer on the weekend. Lame. Le sigh. I need two computers -.-