The calls keep coming even after Yondu's lie, albeit less frequently.
News of Peter's 'death' must be starting to spread, and Yondu takes advantage of the lift in pressure to assign all forthcoming calls to Kraglin. His young first-mate has an earnestness about him that sells any lie he spins, which is why Yondu trusts him to deliver the lines "Yep, the kid's dead," and "Cap'n ain't on the ship right now – he's out on a job" somewhat convincingly. The latter statement is especially laughable considering the crew haven't had a job in months and are starting to get jittery as a result, but they can hopefully resume something of a routine once they've thrown a torrent of assholes off their scent.
In the meantime, Yondu continues his impressive streak of spending as little time with Peter as possible. It's not that difficult seeing as the boy rarely seeks him out; it seems the ever-present fear of being eaten has forced him to comply with his chores and spend what little freedom he has hiding in his room. If Yondu were feeling kind, he would tell Peter he has no intention of harming him, but the threat seems to stop him from returning to the scrappy brat they brought onboard. The memories of those ear-splitting screams are fresh enough that Yondu's willing to put them off for a while, and besides, fear is a motivator than can save one's life. It's probably for the best that Peter learns that sooner rather than later.
It's Kraglin who eventually brings the news that promises to break that streak of avoidance. Yondu expects nothing good when his first-mate stumbles into the flight-deck, not bothering to hide his fluster even when he acknowledges his captain with a nod. Sure enough, what he ends up hearing has his eyes rolling straight to the back of his head.
"Yer gonna have to take Murlainn's calls," Kraglin says, collapsing onto the co-pilot's seat before staring at the cosmos beyond the window. The stardust lit red by a distant sun would be calming, if Yondu took much interest in that sort of thing. "The man won't stop buggin' me. Says we should all meet up like the good ole days. I'm pretty sure he's already invited himself onto our ship at some point, just as a heads up."
Yondu shakes his head, not as worried by the other captain's insistence as he should be. Any hope that Murlainn would lose interest following the news of their bargaining chip no longer existing had faded by the third call Kraglin was forced to lie his way through, and the man's desire to become reacquainted with their crew smacks of deception. It's true that the two captains shared the odd ale on the rare occasions where the Ravagers would all gather at Stakar's request, but they've both left those days behind them, willingly or not. They were never friends and, if Yondu has any say in the matter, never will be, yet Murlainn has constantly been trying to set up meetings ever since that first call a mere month ago.
It reeks of a trap, and hardly a subtle one. Every minute Murlainn is on the Eclector will be spent searching for Peter in the hopes of disproving Yondu's lie, and if he finds the kid then he'll do everything in his power to earn those units. It is likely he knows Yondu's deduced this much, and yet his calls keep coming; the suggestion of a drunken meet-up accompanied by more and more attractive trade offers each time.
Kraglin's exhaustion is justified, and just this once Yondu regrets placing such a chore in his hands.
"Murlainn's a jackass but he ain't a threat," Yondu responds, though he's not so sure about that. The man had a sizable crew when he flew with the Ravagers, though it is likely some deserted him once he cut himself off from Stakar. "Jus' ignore his calls from now on."
"Would if I could," Kraglin says with a defeated sigh, seeming to sink into his chair as if the fabric's swallowing him whole. "He's up to around five calls a day. I mean, he acts all friendly and everything, but I reckon he's dead serious. He wants the kid, Cap'n. Ain't nothing we can tell 'im that'll make him stop tryin' to find 'im."
It's always annoying when the younger man hits the nail on the head. It's a good thing Kraglin seems to have warmed to Peter – or at least tolerates him as much as one can – and therefore has little desire to see the kid dead, even if the reward would be plentiful. Had anyone else been handling Murlainn's calls then Yondu might have had a mutiny on his hands. The rowdier among his crew would certainly have accused him of going soft over the child, yet Kraglin, despite his youth, has always been loyal to him.
There'll be no end to Murlainn's persistence unless they take the bait (or blow his ship out of the sky, but that may be excessive). Even then, the man will likely keep badgering Yondu with requests to help gather more of Ego's children. He's a livewire that desperately needs to be cut loose, and somehow no matter how far they travel, Murlainn's always able to track them down and beg an audience.
The solution to the whole mess might just be playing into his hands.
"Why don' we call him on his bluff?" Yondu wonders aloud, not caring all that much whether Kraglin takes his words seriously or not. "You offer an invitation to have him over with, say, five or six trustworthy members from each crew. I'll be planetside of course, as you've told Murlainn many times, and the kid for all intents and purposes will be nowhere to be found. We can even have Doc tell of the fever that killed him; people tend to believe healers over thieves."
"Then, when the night is done, ya can send Murlainn and his crew on their merry way empty-handed. Or ya could always alert the crew and have them slaughtered if they try anythin' funny. Guest-right don't apply if they attack ya first, remember that."
"And Peter?" Kraglin asks, his expression unreadable. The fact that he doesn't protest to the half-formed idea is probably a good sign though. "Where will he be in all this?"
"With me," Yondu says without thinking. "I need to sort out some jobs anyway so I'll head to a trading outpost. The kid can come with me. It's 'bout time he saw more of the galaxy than this damned ship."
Kraglin cackles at the idea, and much as Yondu should be throwing disdain towards his first-mate, he finds a bitter laugh of his own escaping.
"The kid ain't gonna like that much."
"No, he ain't," Yondu admits. Not that he can blame Peter; spending a couple of days with a Terran runt at his heels is hardly going to be a fun time for him either. "But he ain't got a choice. If he stays on the ship, Murlainn'll find him and we'll have a bloodbath on our hands. It's safer for Peter if he stays with me."
Kraglin doesn't say anything for a while, but there's something buried in his stare that makes Yondu's skin crawl. He's always been slightly more open with his first-mate than anyone else which, where the child is concerned, may become a problem. He doesn't think for one minute that Kraglin would go behind his back and sacrifice Peter to Ego, but his knowledge that Yondu is trying to keep him safe at all costs could be used against him in the wrong circumstances. He can't help but hope that he hasn't misjudged the other man so badly that he ends up endangering himself.
It's a foolish thing to worry about, but for the last few months Yondu's been growing more and more wary of mutiny. Considering he's earned them Ego's wrath and Stakar's exile, he's surprised his crew haven't grown tired of him already.
In the end, Kraglin finishes mulling over the bones of the plan with a small shrug topped with a smirk. "So, we invite Murlainn over for a feast and a couple o' ales and make sure he leaves thinkin' little Pete's dead. Is that it?"
"Pretty much," Yondu responds plainly, because that's truly all he has. He almost feels guilty over having to leave Kraglin in charge of this half-baked plan, but then, someone needs to keep an eye on the boy and there's no-one Yondu trusts more than himself in that regard. "Unless ya have a problem with that?"
"Nah," Kraglin responds, before returning his attention to the trails of stardust passing by the window. "I mean, I don' know why yer set on keepin' Peter around, but I'm sure ya have yer reasons and I wanna help if I can. Besides, Murlainn's a jackass so keepin' 'im away from the kid's somethin' I can get behind."
Yondu allows himself a private grin at his first-mate's words, and leans back in his chair as the last dregs of his doubt leave him. Kraglin would never betray him; he realises that now.
Their plan isn't much of one at all, and Yondu wishes it wasn't so necessary. In an ideal universe, Murlainn would have grown bored of them weeks ago and moved onto other conquests, but the man's persistence is a problem they need to address and, short of attacking his ship and wiping his crew out of the skies, there's little they can do but humour him with a feast.
In the morning, Kraglin extends an invitation to the captain and five of his men so they can spend an evening drinking ale and trying to find a pint-sized Terran on the Eclector (the latter goes unsaid, but Yondu knows full well it's what Murlainn will be doing every second he's onboard). This seems satisfactory enough and a date is set for three days' time; just enough to grant Yondu an opportunity to select five men of his own to assist Kraglin in entertaining their guests, as well as gather most of his crew in the mess hall to warn them of the forthcoming visitors. Peter is a notable absentee of this gathering, which works in Yondu's favour. He wastes no time making perfectly clear that if any of Murlainn's men ask after the boy, the only response they should get is that he died of his fever weeks ago.
It's probably for the best that most of his crew don't care enough about this order to question it, nor are they likely to seek out Murlainn's crew in the hopes of having a conversation. Even the few who are openly confused by Yondu's instructions seem smart enough not to voice this, and after giving a final warning that any dissenters can expect an arrow through the heart, Yondu is satisfied that neither he nor Peter will be betrayed in the coming days.
Once his crew are up to scratch, there's little left to do but wait.
Much as he loathes to admit it, Yondu's looking forward to spending a day away from the ship, regardless of his choice of company. The kid promises to be a mere distraction at worst, and the idea of breathing unrecycled air and feeling a breeze against his face is a refreshing one. He's spent far too long cooped up on the ship trying to outrun Ego's influence, and his crew have become all the more irritable for it. It will certainly be an improvement to be rid of them for just a short while.
The only issue left to concern him is how well Kraglin can handle Murlainn and his cronies, as well as an entire ship full of crooks, but the boy's going to have to experience leadership eventually. Throwing him in the deep end may force him to learn faster.
Once the arrangements have been made and Yondu has chosen a lowkey trading outpost to hide away, he finally ventures to Peter's room for the first time since the kid was brought aboard. This whole quadrant of the ship is one he's been in the habit of avoiding, ever since he learned what happened to its previous occupants and the ghosts of childish laughter became too overwhelming to bear. The cargo hold is nearby, but with them having had no cargo for the last few months, there's been little need to wander down these corridors, and the oppressive quiet threatens to crush Yondu as he makes his way to the small room buried among the empty halls.
He doesn't bother knocking before he pushes the door open, cringing as a screech of metal assaults his ears. A flurry of movement tells him that the kid's awake, and he finds himself staring into amusingly wide eyes as Peter scrambles back against the bedpost. The strange device he loves so much is clutched in his hands, and if the boy's protectiveness of it weren't evident, Yondu would half-expect the device to be crushed in his white-knuckled grip.
He takes the silence as an opportunity to look around. The room's no longer the bare cupboard it once was. It turns out that Peter's something of a hoarder; the floor is a mess of trinkets from cheap jewels to children's dolls to a musical box Yondu himself had recovered from the ruins of Morag. Some of the dolls are his own, given up for lost long ago, and most of the items (not to mention a rather sizable collection of units) can likely be traced back to other crew members. Even the backpack taken from Peter on the first day can be seen peeking out beneath his bed. Yondu's not sure whether to be enraged at the kid's gall or impressed that he seems to have developed a skill for thievery, and it takes effort to force his expression into blankness with his lips held in a tight line.
It surprises him when Peter's the first to speak. Yondu's barked his fair share of orders at the boy over the last few months, but he'll rarely get a response beyond a shrug or a startled nod, and it hits him just how young the boy sounds when he gathers the courage to talk.
"What're you doing here?"
Yondu can't help but laugh at the question, the sound far more bitter than he intends. The boy's flinch isn't lost on him but he makes no mention of it. He's well aware that beneath contemptuous stares and wild green eyes, Peter's constantly afraid. "It's my ship, boy. I can go where I damn well please and I don' have to answer to brats like you for doin' so. Ya hear me?"
Peter's nod is so eager that Yondu has to resist the urge to laugh again, instead settling for a smirk. The boy's a funny little thing, small for his age but more mature than the other children had been. Not that that was always the case – Yondu remembers all too well the screaming match that ensued when they picked him up – but he's learned well from his time with the Ravagers. Enough to justify his survival anyway.
"Pack a bag, kid," Yondu continues, gesturing vaguely to the items strewn across the floor. It occurs to him that Peter doesn't seem to own anything of use besides a few grubby clothes. Yondu will need to have a discussion with the tailor soon. "I'm takin' ya planetside for a few days. Don' even think about arguing-" he adds as the boy opens his mouth to protest, before obediently closing it and shrinking into the bed. "I ain't givin' ya a choice. Unless you'd rather stay with a load of folk who'd happily eat ya as soon as I'm not around?"
The answer to that is a predictable shake of the head and a barely audible 'no' which satisfies Yondu well enough, and he turns to leave with a final instruction for Peter to be ready by morning. If the soft patter of feet hitting the steel floor is any indication, Peter's unwilling to test his patience on that point. That will serve him well in the coming days; Yondu's less likely to want to strangle him by the end of their trip if he keeps his mouth shut and does as he's told. There's probably not much hope in that seeing as they've found themselves harbouring a scrappy thief, but he'll take what he can get.
After that, there's nothing to do besides give his crew a final reminder that tomorrow they'll swear on their mothers' lives that Peter is 'dead' and has been for weeks, assuming they'd rather avoid an arrow to the heart. Tullk agrees to thoroughly clear out Peter's room in their absence to get rid of his scent, though Yondu doubts Murlainn is familiar enough with Terrans to know them through smell alone, and Kraglin has rehearsed practically every word he'll say to the other captain. Everything should go smoothly, and as an added bonus Yondu will be able to step foot on a real, solid planet for the first time in months.
Reminding himself of that isn't quite enough to erase the apprehension from his mind, but it does help him ignore it right up until the moment he and Peter set off.
A/N - It took longer than I intended to actually involve Peter in this story, but I finally got around to it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, any feedback is appreciated!