Justice Strauss arms were aching badly. She had been rowing the Carmelita for a seeming eternity long until her hand gave out. She, Violet and Klaus had agreed to rotate, but it was just too much for her after a while. Yet her ears hurt more, because Count Olaf had been boasting half the trip.
"I have triumphed over my enemies," Olaf crowed triumphantly to nobody in particular, "I've burned down Hotel Denouement, destroyed V.F.D., and the Baudelaires and Justice Strauss are in my clutches for good."
"Nobody kidnapped us, Olaf, we came voluntarily," Justice Strauss pointed out.
"Either way, you work for me now," Olaf replied dismissively, "soon enough, the fortune will be mine. I think the first thing I'll buy myself is a shiny new car!"
"You don't have a licence now that you faked your death," Justice Strauss noticed.
Olaf laughed. "Why would I care about that? I can forge one if I really need it. In any case, it needs a powerful engine, so I can drive faster than the legal limit, and an extra-thick bumper, so I can ram into people without getting scratched up! I'll name the car Count Olaf, after myself, and whenever people hear the squeal of the breaks they'll say, 'Here comes Count Olaf! Orphans, head for the nearest luxury car dealership."
Justice Strauss blinked, thinking she must have misheard the terrible man.
"We can't head for a car dealership, Count Olaf, " Violet said. "We can't head anywhere. The wind has died out, Klaus and I are exhausted from rowing, and I think Justice Strauss hand is still too red to do anything."
"Laziness is no excuse," Olaf growled.
"Laziness?" Justice Strauss repeated in outrage. "you haven't rowed the boat once. You haven't done anything since we landed in the water!"
Olaf pondered for a moment. "I've just decided that I'm renaming the boat! Your four contemplate a way to get us out of here while I contemplate a new name for our vessel. I don't want it called the Carmelita anymore"
Justice Strauss was not especially swayed by this, but it would be a nice change not having to ride a boat called Carmelita anymore.
"What do we do?" Justice Strauss Violet whisper to Klaus. "Do you think you can catch some fish for us to eat, Sunny?"
"No bait," Sunny replied, " and no net. Deap-sea dive?"
"Don't even think about it," Justice Strauss said fiercely.
"Justice Strauss, what do you think we should do?" Klaus asked.
Justice Strauss thought for a moment. "I have no idea, "she grudgingly admitted, "until we know where we are, we can't do much anything."
"I can make a compass," Violet offered. "All in need is a small piece of magnetized metal and a simple pivot."
"Is there anything like that on this boat?" Justice Strauss asked eagerly.
Violet glanced and sighed. "No. It's all back at the hotel."
"Well, that's all right," Justice Strauss said. "I'm sure we'll bump into some volunteers eventually."
The three siblings suddenly frowned at this remark.
"What is it?"
"Well," Klaus said, "do you really think it's...wise to trust them?"
Justice Strauss felt her jaw drop. "Well, who else is going to stop these villain's?"
"Hopeless," Sunny muttered.
"You mean your going to just accept it all?" Justice Strauss said, "your going to let Olaf win?"
"It's as futile as Wilfred Owen's poetry," Klaus said, "we simply have no evidence that we're innocent."
"Besides, is V.F.D. really that noble?" Violet asked.
Justice Strauss was astonished. "I would think an organization to stop villainy would be noble, yes!"
"But maybe they're just a different type of villain," Violet countered, "maybe they've become what they hate most."
Justice Strauss couldn't believe her ears. They think there's no difference between the sides.
And maybe they're right.
"I'm a genius," Olaf called out, "I've solved all our problems! Look!"
Olaf pointed to the end of the boat. Justice Strauss gently tilted over and saw that Olaf had dumped the Carmelita nameplate into the water and replaced it with one that stated Count Olaf, although it seemed that another plate was beneath that one.
"I'll admit it's a slight improvement," Justice Strauss said, "but you shouldn't have violated environmental code by dumping that plate in the water. What if a sea creature tries to eat it and is poisoned?"
"Then they deserve it for being such woefully dumb animals," Olaf replied in indifference, "I see you've been listening to Charles nonsense back at the hotel."
"Renaming the boat doesn't help us, in any case," Justice Strauss continued, "we don't know where we are!"
Olaf chuckled. "Oh, Justice Strauss, so much legal knowledge yet so little awareness. I don't know where we'll be taken, but I know exactly how we'll get there."
"And how will we get there?" Justice Strauss challenged.
"Look," Olaf giggled. Briefly confused, Justice Strauss eyebrows rose in horror as she looked in the distance. Thick black clouds, with massive rain showers and a thundering noise, was coming closer and closer.
This is what I get for abandoning my principles, Justice Strauss thought to herself.
