The Angle to Victory

Julia was stunned. She could only watch as one of the men keeled over onto the dock. It didn't look like he was moving. His fellow shipwrights had no time to mourn, though. Like hyenas, the pirates were already baring their fangs down on the standing men. And it wasn't just their group. The shot had echoed all around the shipyard. Every defending party was now on edge that, at any moment, one of them could be shot down as well. The pirates knew this, too. The odds hadn't been in their favor before, but now it just seemed like a massacre.

Another shot rang out. Another shipwright fell.

Julia buried her face in her hands. In that big shipyard, surrounded by both allies and enemies alike, she felt small. For perhaps the hundredth time that day, she was filled with regret. Regret at having left her grandfather. Regret at having dragged her brother into this mess. Regret for having become a pirate. As she wallowed, her mind rewound back to when she was departing the island. At the time, the Marine captain had seemed like nothing but an ass. But if what Lynn had said was true, and the Marines really had changed for the better, then perhaps she could have-

Crack.

A bullet slammed into the ship. Splinters flew through the air. Julia nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been discovered. But as the terror bit into her, anger began welling up to meet it. Where were the Marines? If they really had changed, then why was that island in danger? Julia gritted her teeth. Once again, when they were needed, they were nowhere to be found. She could almost laugh. The Marines had never protected her or her loved ones.

For what seemed like most of her life, the one protecting others had been Bede. Every night, he would come home with new cuts and bruises from a run-in with Wechsler's men. And every night, she would help patch those wounds up. He was her hero. Despite his usual pacifist-self, he would go out and try and help as much as he could when no one would. It gave her pride that she could help someone like her brother.

And now, even though they were in a completely new location, Bede still kept that role. He was a wanted criminal, a pirate, but he was still trying to help. Julia came to a crouch, slowly pulling Lynn's gun from her pocket. The terror and anger inside her coalesced, turning into sheer determination. Just like how she had put her faith in Bede, he had put his faith in her to watch his back. That had been, and always was, her role. And right now, that meant defending that dock.

She bolted to a stance. Without aiming, she sent a shot flying towards where she assumed the sniper was. She threw herself to the deck the second she fired. Curses were already running through her mind. There had only been four shots left, and she completely wasted one. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that the bullet had even came close to the enemy. The bullet slamming into the planks across from her was evidence enough to that.

"You idiot," she muttered, gritting her teeth.

Julia had never fired a gun in her life. But from what she'd seen of the criminals who had wielded them, they would always do it so flamboyantly. Even then, they'd somehow hit their targets, or at least close enough to make them piss themselves. Julia couldn't do that, and she didn't feel like learning how. Right now, she needed to figure out the best way to get an accurate shot.

Her first clue came from the bullet hole that appeared inches away from her hand.

She had been so focused in on her thoughts that she didn't even hear the gunshot. It had popped up so suddenly that she didn't even jump. Her eyes just went wide, imagining what would have happened had her hand been spread out just a tiny bit more. Julia could almost hear her grandfather chastising her for letting her own murmurings drown out a sniper round. It was those same murmurings, though, that shushed her grandpa.

The bullet had pierced almost perfectly through the plank. The channel was wide enough to let even Julia's index finger slip in. But it wasn't just wide, it also was straight. Which meant that the angle it had come in at was perfectly recorded in the ship's deck.

Across the street from the shipyard, Hornet lazily watched Julia through his scope. When Barboso had assigned him to this task, it took all he had to not show how ecstatic he was. What with all the chaos he and Fisk were causing, it was sure to attract the attention of one particular pirate. Hornet shuddered at the thought of running into that Tacken brute again. One time was good enough for him. But most of all, he was happy he was able to practice his shooting on live targets again. He had grown a bit rusty in the months they had been stranded on that god-forsaken rock, and tin cans just didn't have that same oomph that a real flesh and blood human did.

Staring at their stolen ship, now, he had to give Tacken a little credit when it came to choosing his women. Hornet had first spotted the damsel when the small Tacken crew had washed ashore. He had completely ignored the men, in favor of taking in all that was Julia. While she lacked in the departments that most girls her age excelled, what really caught his eye was the way she carried herself. He loved her type. Headstrong, confident, but with a soft side that only showed itself to those closest. He absolutely loved being the one to break them. Make them doubt their entire will to push forward, shatter their confidence in themselves, tear that soft side out and bare it for the world to see. With the final touch being a shot to the heart.

But the little missy had been holding on for longer than he had expected. That last shot was supposed to be the final nail in her coffin, in a manner of speaking. Instead, she barely reacted. Hornet squinted his eyes. Maybe it was shock, and she was still processing how close she could have been to death. The Grizzly Pirate's sniper bit his lip. While shooting her now would be the simplest matter in the world, he couldn't just not try for that perfect shot. It would feel like a waste to him. There'd always be that lingering doubt in his mind about his actions that day.

Hornet let out a sigh. There was no room for doubt, though. Not on that crew. He'd seen what Barboso had done to those who couldn't follow through. If Tacken was a brute, then his captain was a real monster. He mounted the rifle to his shoulder once more. He aimed down the sight, focusing in on Julia's back. His finger was centimeters away from pulling the trigger when Julia's head bounced up. They were staring eye to eye.

The flood gates were open. Sweat poured down Hornet from top to bottom. "What the hell?" he cried out.

Julia could barely see the sniper's lips, but the way he had jumped in his perch was enough for her. "Got you, you bastard," she said, letting a smirk spread across her lips.

But while she could match Lynn's facial expressions, she certainly had to work on her aim. Even with her eyes trained directly on Hornet, she was only able to hit the commemorative cup he had with him. She squeezed the gun in her fist and scowled down at it. She was beginning to think Lynn was somehow cheating. That or Bede had greatly exaggerated their friend's achievements. At this point, both seemed plausible. But there was no time to think. Another shot whizzed past Julia, forcing her to dive behind the mast.

Julia shuddered as she let out a heavy sigh. Once again, she was backed into a corner. She threw another glance down at the pistol. She couldn't understand why her shot had missed. The angle had been correct, her eyes had been on the target, and yet it was completely off. Maybe it was something about the gun itself that Lynn didn't explain to her. He had probably assumed the enemy wouldn't have a sniper. Whatever the case, even though there were two shots left, they were basically useless to Julia. From her position, there was not a single weapon at her disposal that could reach...

Unless...

The world turned into a blur as she sprinted towards the cabin. Another shot split the air to her left, but she ignored it. They just had to have one. It was a boat after all. Julia dove through the door and slammed it shut behind her. Bullets slammed into the wood, rattling the hinges. As a temporary shield, it would do. Many of the boxes had been brought up from below deck. Most of their contents was stolen goods, but some of it was equipment for basic survival needs while out at sea. And as if lady luck had decided to finally smile down on her, there it was: a fishing rod. Because what better way was there to get food while drifting about on the ocean currents.

Or, in Julia's case, when your island is controlled by a violent tyrant.

With rod in hand, Julia burst through the door. She was in a full sprint. Wind whistled past her along with several bullets. She was only a few meters from the forward prow when she realized she was already winding up for the cast. The motion flowed like a wave, fluid from years of survival etched into her muscles. It was almost ironic. With the skills she had learned from Wechsler's tyranny, she would survive not only starvation, but a sniper's bullet storm as well. Paired with a grin and a flick of the wrist, the reel was sent flying.

The arc it made was almost beautiful. It was just slow enough to let light glimmer off the spinning hook. Hypnotizing would be another choice word. Somehow, the projectile had caught the gaze of almost every onlooker, despite its small size. Even Hornet was transfixed on the reel. He had even stopped firing. He was mostly confused. He knew the girl had some kind of plan, but he wasn't sure what it could be. Even when the hook snagged into his shoulder pad, Hornet just gave it a blank stare.

But Julia was grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't have asked for a better cast.

Since even before the days of Wechsler's reign, she had dreamed of catching a Sea King. Being around her grandfather had surrounded her with horror stories of these vicious beasts. It was a creature that made even a Vice Admiral like him quake with fear. It would be a perfect thing to mount on her wall. It would be a near daily challenge. While Bede would be off studying medicine with their father, she would be at their secret cove. She would spend hours at a time fishing away, slowly making her way up the food chain with bigger and bigger fish as bait. She'd sometimes get a real monster, too, and would be convinced she had completed her mission. Reality would always disappoint, though. But rather than be discouraged, she would press onward, ready for the next big catch. And while it may not be a Sea King right now, she would settle for the pirate who had pissed her off.

And with every big catch, they all started with a big tug!

Hornet was flung forward, slamming into the balcony's railing. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates. His free hand worked on the hook without hesitation, but he only ended up tangling it more. Tears of panic began to roll down his cheeks. He could feel Julia throwing her weight into the reel. The only thing that kept him suspended was that railing. At that point, both of his hands were wrapped up in unhooking himself. The rifle was long forgotten.

Julia gritted her teeth. She was heaving herself against the rod at that point. With every step, she would stomp back and away from the bastard. There was no way in hell she would be giving up. What she wasn't sure about, though, was the line's strength. It was getting to that point now where, if somebody made the wrong move, it would snap. But just as she was preparing to attempt one more step in the opposite direction, it happened. The line snapped loose. Julia was flung to the deck. She grimaced facedown into the wood, both from pain and knowing what was about to happen. But instead of gunfire, a new sound tore through the air.

A shrill shriek.

Julia shot to a sitting position. She was just in time to see Hornet tumble to the pavement below. Striking the street, his cry was immediately cut off. He didn't move a muscle. Julia could only stare. Even the shipyard had fallen silent. After what had felt like such an intense battle, it was almost anti-climactic. The longer she stared, though, the more about her body she noticed. She had started trembling at some point, and her breathing was much heavier than before. Falling back to the deck, she stared up at the sky. It felt unreal. That was her first battle away from home. A grin spread across her face. That was her first battle as a pirate. And she had won.

Bede could not say he was having the same luck.

He found himself crouched behind one of unburned buildings, shielding himself from the street. Blood dripped from a gash in his forehead. He didn't even remember when he got it. If he had to guess, though, it was probably when Fisk had shoved him through a building. Which was the last time he had seen the fishman. He rose from the ground, but clutched at his head the second he was on his feet. He wobbled a bit, but that was probably from the blood loss. Otherwise he was relatively okay. He let himself chuckle at that. Being forced through a brick wall was something he hadn't expected to consider being fine before that day.

He let out a sigh. "Today has been a strange one, hasn't it?" He popped his neck and turned towards the burning flames, just in time to see Fisk emerge from behind another home. He managed to crack a weak smile, saying, "Guess I'm going to die, now."