Finches

Chapter 11 - Further In Debt

Colt's first thought when the girl faced him was that she was incredible. Even with a small fish laying in her hair and fish slime all over her face, she looked beautiful. Colt didn't see many girls, especially as a pirate on the seas, and the ones he did see weren't too... lady-like, for lack of a better term. And while this girl was obviously not one to be messed with, hence the fierce look in her eyes, she also hadn't been beaten by the life around her. Colt wanted to get to know her, but he was a little preoccupied with trying not to get killed by her at the moment.

"Look, I'm sorry," Colt repeated. "I admit it, that was my fault. But the thing is, I don't have any money. So I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you."

Colt turned to scatter, but in an instant the girl was off the ground and had a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. He tried to pull away, but then she squeezed down near his neck and he felt his knees buckle beneath him. She'd found a pressure point.

"Okay okay, relax!" Colt said, trying to get away from her.

She held her finger down for a second longer and then eased up, shoving him back against the wall of a nearby shop.

"Chill out, girl, I'm not going anywhere," he said, taking a deep breath as he recovered. She continued to stare at him readily, as if he were about to bolt off again at any second. Colt couldn't blame her, really. He might've, if he didn't think she would catch him. "What do you want from me? It's like I said, I don't have any money."

The girl hesitated before speaking, like she was making sure that he really wasn't going to run.

"The necklace you broke was expensive, and these fish must be worth something." She picked the small one out of her hair and flung it aside. Then she noticed his pendant. "Or I could take this. This would cover it nicely."

The girl reached for the pendant but before she could touch it Colt ducked under her arm and slipped out from where he was trapped by the wall. The girl spun around, looking like she was going to pounce.

Colt put his hands up. "Not going anywhere, remember? But you're not getting my pendant. And the fish are scattered everywhere. I wish I could just give you the money from the fish, but I can't do that either. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you."

The girl processed this. Colt considered running again, but doubted he'd get much further than he had last time. His best bet was to convince this girl that there was nothing he had that she could want, then get out of her sight as soon as possible.

"Why can't you just sell the fish and pay me back?"

Colt sighed as he gestured around to the fish, which were now scattered all over the street.

"I'm taking them all the way to the Authority base," he explained.

Not to mention that the money he got for selling the fish wasn't actually his, it was the fisherman's.

"The base?" asked the girl. "Not the outpost?"

Colt nodded.

"But nobody goes up there, only..." the girl paused as her eye caught on something. Colt thought she was admiring his pants, but then she said, "You're in the Authority, aren't you?"

Colt looked down and saw that she had fixated on his cutlass, which was still hanging from his the loop of his pants. He kicked himself mentally for not hiding it. What was he doing strolling through town with his sword fully visible?

"Well, actually..." Colt stuttered as he tried to explain things properly.

"You're an Authority officer," the girl insisted. "That would explain why you're going to the base."