"What? Do you think you're better than us or something?" A a tall blonde girl screamed, followed by jeers from her cohorts.
Vetica, age twelve, was standing, stoic, in the hallway as the older girls yelled at her. One of the girls knocked the large stack of books from her grasp, causing them to tumble noisily onto the academy's tile floor. The young girl quietly bent down and began picking them up.
"You're father was a disgrace, just remember that," the girl continued. Vetica's hands started shaking. "Your name is worth nothing-!"
"Oh just lay off!" came a boys voice from down the hall.
Vetica looked up to see a tall brown haired boy about the other girls' age approaching them swiftly. He had a baby face and small brown eyes. The blonde girl sneered at him and walked off, kicking one of the books as she left. The boy knelt down next to Vetica and began helping her pick up the books.
"Don't worry. Not everyone becomes a total terror when they get older," he said, handing her a small stack of books. "Some people just don't know how to deal with competition well."
She cautiously accepted the books from him.
"Who are you?" She asked with a scowl.
The boy grinned and ruffled her hair. "People call me Rider."
Vetica leaned against a crate of gum in the dark store room and stared at the brown haired man across from her.
Rider had refused to talk to her ever since she had told him about her plan. Perhaps he didn't want to feel complicit in the situation, which was understandable. He had never really been a fan of her dealing with pirates, so the fact that she was outright helping them probably made him dislike her even more.
Most of the crew members who came by to visit on the other hand were very sympathetic. Some of them came to her outright crying and apologizing. Apparently, no matter how many people these guys had tortured and killed, rape was one of those things that was even too evil for them to condone. It actually made Vetica worry that their lie would cost Bartolomeo some of his crew.
Then she could hear the sound of feet running across the deck above them, along with yells. They must have been close to land. Then a few minutes later there was the sound of gunshots and yelling. Then, after the action had died down, a crew member opened the door and tossed their bags in.
"Barto-aniki says he wants you to set up a broadcast," the man said.
Rider looked at Vetica, eyes void and emotionless. Vetica looked at the surly faced crew member, who she recognized as one of the meaner ones, and nodded. Then she went over to the snail palace bag and pulled out Bishi, the business transponder, and Boro, the broadcast snail. She glanced back up at the intimidating man, who had positioned himself directly over her.
"We can't broadcast without clearance," she said, calmly.
The man seized Bishi and removed the receiver. Then he thrust Bishi's tail end at her.
"Call them," he ordered.
She obeyed and the snail began to ring.
Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru... Kachiku
"Go ahead," said a woman's voice.
"Opera!" Vetica yelled. "This is team Vetica!-"
The surly thug held the receiver up to his dirty mouth and shoved the young woman away.
"This is Patch from the Barto-Club pirates," he said in a low raspy voice. "We have your crew."
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Vetica prayed that her superior would not hang up.
"Are they safe?" Opera asked. Vetica couldn't get a read on the tone of her voice.
Patch laughed.
"Yeah they're fine," he answered, looking down at Rider. "Barto-aniki's had his way with the girl, but they're in one piece. Can't say that they'll be that way for long though-cha."
"What do you want?" The woman replied.
"The captain wants to make a broadcast. Put us live on at least ten stations and we'll let your people go.
Vetica was not sure to be worried or extremely impressed by the way the man was negotiating. She had not anticipated having such a convincing captor. His voice was perfectly intimidating but calm. However, it did raise a few questions about how she would be treated if her handler did not give into their commands.
Vetica, Rider, and the pirate sat in frigid anticipation as mumbles crackled over from the other side, whoever Opera was talking to was too far away for the snail to pick up clearly. Then there was a loud rustle.
"Very well," Opera said. "I can have the stations ready in an hour."
It took all of Vetica's strength to keep from letting out a victory whoop when the snail hung up. She was biting her lips so hard it was starting to bleed, but she couldn't let the thug know that she was the mastermind of the operation. She looked over at Rider who simply gawked at her and shook his head.
Patch held the door open and nodded to them.
"Well, get it ready," he growled.
When they went above deck the could see a group of six pirates bound and gagged. Vetica knew them to be the Feathered Cap Pirates, a small group of cruel nobodies who were known to harass the natives of the island they were currently moored at. Things were working out just as she planned.
On the shore there was a gigantic bonfire with a whole pig roasting. By the fire stood Bartolomeo overseeing the preparations with clear glee. She looked back to the pirates, some of whom were crying. One bearded red-head in particular was making quite the show. She almost felt bad for them.
Vetica continued her march towards the shore, snail in hand. Rider followed closely behind with a stand for the snail. When they reached the plank they were stopped by Gambia, who was holding two lengths of rope. The woman handed Rider the snail and turned her back to the skinny man, allowing him to bind her wrists together. Then she walked down the plank into Bartolomeo's waiting arms.
"I'm sorry-dabe," the man said as he guided her over to the fire.
"Is everything ready?" She whispered, as she felt him slip a sharp object into her hands He nodded and sat her down on a small rock formation. She nodded back. "I'll create the distraction while you make the switch."
She then watched as Rider set up the snail and the pirates were brought down. Then Rider and each of the Feathered Caps we bound separately. Rider was placed near her, while the pirates met a crueler fate.
Each of them were tied hand and foot to large sticks which were stuck in the ground, and kindling was placed at their feet. Their sobs were loud and painful during the thirty minutes that they waited for the broadcast to start. All the while Bartolomeo took a serious role in finalizing the preparations. Vetica's stomach rolled in anticipation of the violence which was about to take place. The pork and pyres had been set; it was too late to call things off now.
"Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru..." Bishi rang.
Bartolomeo walked over to where they were and picked up the receiver.
"Are things ready-dabe?" He asked, in a vicious tone which Vetica had never heard before.
She felt herself begin to tremble. The hulking man had always been so nice to her over the past few months that she had begun to forget that he was a killer. This man she saw now was cold blooded, and for the first time she realized what she had just potentially gotten herself into.
"I want to see them," she heard Opera say.
Bartolomeo walked over to wear the broadcast snail perched and flipped him around so that it's eyes were facing the reporters. Vetica didn't have to fake her fear as he leaned in close. The look in his eyes was cruel. With a long wet stroke, he licked the side of her face, sending chills down her spine.
"You mean them-dabe?" The fanged man said, shoving the snail in Rider's face before turning the broadcaster back on himself. "As long as you're broadcasting they're safe-dabe."
"You're live," Opera's voice said.
"Perfect!" He then turned the snail to face the six tied up pirates. "These pirates were dumb enough to cross my path-dabe. So we have to make an example-dabe."
The man then carefully place the snail on its perch and grabbed a torch from the bonfire. The sound of her heartbeat was now echoing in Vetica's ears, as she watched him approach the first victim. The red-headed pirate thrashed in an attempt to get away. This was it. If things went wrong now, she would almost certainly lose her life either to the military or Bartolomeo.
With a small pop, the first pyre was lit, and the screaming began.
Vetica saw everything: his bulging tear filled eyes, the way his muscles spasmed with each crackle of flame, his adam's apple bobbing up and down as he struggled to breath, and the sickening black blistering which began to engulf his body. The young woman could not stop herself from crying, but she had the firm resolve not to look away. The marines did not flinch at an execution, so she would not either.
One after one the rest of the bound pirates were subjected to the same fate. Each of them screaming louder than the one before. Vetica felt sick, and, as she watched them, the memory of her plan began to trickle away.
Then, suddenly, a sharp movement nearby caught her eye. She looked towards it, to see Bartolomeo looking at her. His face was glistening. Was he also crying or was he sweating? He hadn't seemed bothered by the idea of execution before. So why did he look so troubled? He then glanced to something a few yards away from her. She followed his gaze. Propped up against a tree was the pig that had been roasting earlier. Vetica then remembered what she needed to do.
The young woman shifted the sharp object in her hands and began furiously cutting at the rope which bound her wrists. Once it came loose she leapt towards the broadcast snail's perch with all her strength, knocking it to the ground. She had come too far to let her feelings stand in the way of her ambitions. She then crawled in front of the snail, so that her entire body was blocking its eyes. Behind her she could here Bartolomeo's heavy footsteps scampering off towards the pig. Another one of the Barto-Club Pirates approached her.
"What are you doing?" He snarled, seizing her clothes.
"People shouldn't be forced to watch this," she screamed, grabbing the snail. She had to buy as much time as possible and this guy was ruining it.
After a minute of struggle the man switched tactics, grabbing her wrists. She clutched the snail till her knuckles turned white. "You're getting in the way of the captain's big moment!"
"You! Chop off that one's leg-dabe!" She heard Bartolomeo order, followed by affirmation and a sickening crunch.
The hands clasped around her wrists let go, and there was the sound of loud boots by her ear. A large clawed hand raked through her hair, lifting her off the ground. She glanced up to see Bartolomeo grinning with some hacked up meat wrapped in charred fabric clutched in one hand. She dropped the snail, and the other pirate rushed to pick it up.
Bartolomeo looked into the snail's eyes and took a large bite out of the meat in one hand. He then switched his grip from Vetica's hair to the nape of her neck. He took another bite of the meat and chewed some more. After he swallowed, he licked his teeth grinning at the snail.
"Remember this-dabe," he growled. "This is what will happen to any pirate, marine, or woman that crosses my path-dabe."
Vetica stared at the man; he was enjoying this moment way to much.
"You can end the broadcast now-dabe," he said, letting Vetica go, and taking another bite of the meat. He made a small wave towards the pirate holding the snail. "Black it out."
The man obeyed, throwing a black piece of cloth over the snail and tossing it over towards Rider.
"Prepare a boat for the reporters-dabe!" Bartolomeo called, as he walked away.
Vetica sat up and watched as the pirates began to go about the business of cleaning up. She glanced towards the rock where Rider was sitting. His face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. Even throughout all the battles and wars they had been through, she knew he had never seen anything as bad as this. She slowly stood and walked over to him.
She reached out to hug him, but he shrank away.
Somewhere amid the chaos, she could hear Bishi ringing. She searched the ground around the rock formation and eventually found him and picked him up. She did not answer the phone though. Instead she went about making sure that all their things were packed up and ready to go.
Once she had completed her third check, one of the Barto-Club's crew approached her and nodded. By the shore was a small boat loaded with a crate, a barrel, and a folded blanket. Behind her two men were carrying Rider. They placed him in the boat, and Vetica climbed in after him. She looked back to the scene of their crime. The bodies were now barely recognizable as such, still smoldering, and Bartolomeo was walking towards them.
He smiled, revealing his pointy teeth, bits of meat still wedged in the crevices. Though she knew it was just pork, it still made Vetica gag. Something about the look in his eye was just too earnest for a man who had just murdered six people. She looked away as he reached the boat's edge. His hand grabbed hers and placed a heavy object in it. It was a rifle.
"In case the Marines don't find you first-dabe," he whispered.
Vetica glanced back up at the man. His expression was too kind for her to stand. She quickly took the rifle and sat down in the boat.
"Just do it already," she said.
And they pushed off towards the vast blue.