The Nektons weren't an enemy, but they were certainly inconvenient. Another run-in meant that this treasure hunt would invariably lead to naught, as the Nektons confiscate any hard-earned loot as "artefacts." So, it was with trepidation that Mad Madeline called out to her father, letting him know the Nektons were in the vicinity and putting the 'hunt' in treasure hunt.
"Arr, those scurvy Nektons 're after us again eh? Well they'll not b'getting' ther hands on me treasure this time. FINN! LADS! Move the treasure to the storage locker an' put the boxes of pickled eggs on top of 'em. We'll hide 'em in plain sight." Hammerhead rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Aye aye cap'n," one of the men replied and all three of the started moving the heavy wooden crates full of gold coins and ornaments to the tiny storage room so often used as a hiding place.
"Danny boy, try ter outmanoeuvre the Nektons. We don' want ter take any chances."
"But cap'n, the Dark Orca can't-"Danny boy attempted to protest.
"JUST DO IT!" Hammerhead yelled before stomping off to move the treasure.
"Looks like Hammerhead's at it again," Will sighed, looking at the remains of a pillaged historical trading vessel. It was clear it had been recently scavenged- wood chips and debris were visible, and the tell-tale faint oil streak incriminated the Dark Orca as the culprits of this vandalism. It was obvious by the gold glinting in the seabed below what they'd been here for.
"Well they didn't get all the treasure Mr. Nekton. Look at this," said a tanned boy with bleached blond curls in the front, indicating a few coins on the sea bed. "Even these would fetch a pretty price."
"Yes, and that's what Hammerhead's aiming for. Come on Carter, bring those coins to the Aronnax."
Carter was a 19-year-old university student, who had decided to do his year of field study in his second year rather than his third. For a university student, though, he didn't seem to know that much about endangerment of marine life, and seemed more interested in finding treasure and the ruins of old civilisations. Which was understandable, as these wrecks were much more interesting than watching a cave waiting for a sign of a stuck puffer fish.
However, his investment in sea life was not as great as his investment in a sunken ship, something that the Nektons found a little bit concerning. Not to mention the number of times he has tried to get them to open their safe, or tried to open it himself. So, the Nektons were on their guard. They had asked the World's Ocean Authority about him, but he wasn't in their database. After all, he wasn't a criminal.
When the Nektons finally entered their sub, Madeline knew this time would be different. This time they wouldn't get the treasure. This time they wouldn't need to be saved by the Nektons. This time they had a good-looking sandy-haired boy with them.
Madeline was not pleased by the fact that Finn had a crush on Fontaine. Neither was the rest of the crew. It was a source of weakness that had caused problems many times before. But just because she didn't approve of it, it didn't mean that she wanted Finn to be hurt by her. And she knew that Fontaine had the power to hurt him. It was clear in the way his eyes lit up when he saw her in the sub, or in the way the inflection in his voice changed to become more teasing and playful when she was around. So she knew how much he cared about her, and how much it hurt him when the sandy-haired boy slid his arm around her shoulders in a way that was more-than-friendly.
Maddie knew that Fontaine liked her brother, but she didn't know how much or if it even mattered (that she liked him because she liked him so little). But now she could observe Fontaine with her 'boyfriend' and judge how strongly she felt towards Finn.
And as she watched Fontaine with anger bordering on hatred for hurting her brother, she saw that Fontaine's olive-green eyes constantly evaded Finn's cerulean blue ones, despite him trying his best to make eye contact.
"Hammerhead, we know you have the treasure of The Fortune on your ship. Hand it over and we'll be on our way," Will Nekton said.
"Arr, and what makes ye think we have it?"
"Uhm, maybe 'cuz you were right at the coordinates of The Fortune for, like, a good hour, and there was a trail of leaked oil leading straight to your ship?" Ant suggested.
"Blast it! I knew we should've used the stealth technology," Hammerhead muttered to Dannyboy, still loud enough for the Nektons to hear. "Very well," he continued to the nektons, "Ya got us. We were at that wreck, but we didn't fin nothin'. Some other pirate must have got to it before we could."
"Hammerhead, this was a new find. No one knew about it until two days ago, and the treasure was on it then. You were only ones ho have been close to it since it was discovered."
"Well, yer welcome to search my sip if e wish, but be warned, ye won't find nothin' on it. FINN! MADELINE! Take 'em 'round the ship. I don't trust 'em on 'er own. Shifty sneakin' do-gooders."
Ant rolled his eyes at the description.
"I'll stay with the mechs. Make sure nothing happens to them," Will told Ant , Fontaine and the sandy-haired boy, eyeing the pirates still left in the Moon Pool area. "You guys find the treasure."
"That's OK dad, I can stay with them!" Fontaine piped up for the first time. "I don't mind missing out on one treasure hunt."
"Come on Fontaine, you haven't been on a treasure hunt with ME," the sandy-haired boy – he had hazel eyes, Maddie noted - coaxed.
"Carter's right Fontaine, he'll need you to show him the ropes. He's never been on a treasure hunt before." Will gave her a look that seemed to say do it young lady, holding her eyes for a second more than needed.
"Fine," she conceded, "but this isn't even a proper treasure hunt."
The boy- Carter- had removed his arm from her shoulders and was now slightly bouncing on the balls of his feel. "Still exciting. I mean, treasure, pirates-" here he gestured to the remaining crew in their black and read. Fontaine followed the movement of his hand and met Finn's eyes for a split second, before dropping her gaze to the ground. His face turned neutral bordering on stony, and he looked away from her. Carter continued talking, not noticing this slight interaction "-it's like Indiana Jones under the sea!"
"Yeah, it's loads of fun!" Ant replied. "Just wait 'till we get to actually exploring for treasure on our own! This is more like a mini- treasure hunt. An introduction, if you will." He turned from them and Maddy saw him catch Finn's eyes. A smug expression appeared on his face as Finn stonily looked away.
Maddie felt anger bubbling up inside her, as Ant's smirk grew as he turned towards her. (Although, she supposed, if the situation were reversed, she'd probably do the same thing). She marched up to them and scowled. "Do you want to see the ship or not?"
"Do you want to see the ship or not?" Maddy's pseudo-gravelly voice demanded.
I didn't I really, really didn't. I wanted to stay here with the knights, while Finn walked out of the moon pool room and I didn't have to worry about what Carter might do or say which could imply something more to Finn. But Dad wanted me to go with Carter and I couldn't make a scene, no matter how awful I felt for putting Finn through this. I avoided eye contact with Finn (why, why Fontaine?) as he came around the side of the moon pool and fell into step beside Maddie.
"Oh yeah, a real pirate ship!" Carter exclaimed excitedly.
"Calm down dude, there's not much to see. The whole thing's just gray and black and smells like fish and old socks," Ant shrugged. He really liked Carter; he was older, adventurous, cool. I couldn't help wishing that he didn't hate Finn as much, watching how he interacts with Carter.
"Hey! Don't talk about our home like that!" Maddie interrupted my musings indignantly.
"Well it's truuuuue," Ant replied. Maddie's face soured even more as she glared at him, half turned. Finn didn't even glance back.
"Not all of us can have a geeky high-tech ship like you."
"Yeah, well, if you actually did something with the treasure you stole, this piece of junk might work without breaking own every other day."
"How DARE you call the Dark Orca a piece of junk! No one gets to call it that but my dad! And Dannyboy. And me and Finn, sometimes."
"Pfft, I bet everyone on your crew calls it a hunk of junk."
"Wow, he really has a talent for pissing her off," Carter muttered to me, grinning. He seemed unconcerned by the fact that Ant was irritating a pirate, but then again, these pirates weren't particularly known for being traditional pirates. Also, the familiar way which we address them made him lower his guard, I guess.
I started to reply, "Ant has that talent with a lot of people, not just-"
"Is there a place you actually want to go or are we just going to walk around the ship aimlessly?" Finn interrupted, effectively cutting of Maddie and Ant's bickering. He could've been talking to himself, really, he didn't acknowledge any of us.
"Well we could start in the storage room?" I suggested.