Mido whipped up some eggs, Canadian bacon, and toast. Smelled great, looked great, tasted great. With twelve people on board, two dead, Scully and Cancer hunkered down in the cabins, and Mido cooking away, that left four people wolfing down breakfast at the table. O’Toole never sat. He was too fidgety and easily distracted. He preferred nibbling at his food while hovering behind Mido. Wasn’t too annoying for my cook. O’Toole was pretty good at not sneezing or dropping crumbs on food on the counter queued to be cooked. That and he liked to throw pieces of food down the back of Mido’s tank.
Jessie huddled near the fridge with a ceramic plate held close to her chin. Sam had already offered her a spot at the table but she’d refused. He left her alone after that. So did everyone else. Sam and Rammus were the only men openly indifferent to her presence. Sauna snuck hungry glances at her, but I knew he wouldn’t do anything stupid. He was a good kid. Jacobi, the one who’d complained about my gun yesterday, frowned every time he looked at her.
My cargo pushers and sole surviving techie finished their meals as Mido sat down to his own breakfast. I got up, allowing the four men to scoot off the semicircular chair one by one. I put a hand on Sauna’s shoulder before he could get up. In addition to being a brilliant techie, he was the one who raked in all my delivery orders. He was a Dominican kid barely past twenty. Short, real suave with the ladies, and really smart. He’d been with me five years now. I almost hadn’t hired him because I didn’t think he’d been mature enough back then, but we went down to my engine room and he floored me with his mechanical skills. Now if the crew and I could stop finding him jerking off all the time… At least he knew how to talk smooth and use his charm when it came to making money. “Sauna, find us some work that sends us to Europe or northern Africa. I also need you to find us two techies. Make sure they can sword fight. Present them to me when you get back.”
“You got it, Captain.” He got up and thanked Mido for the food, then led the way to the main deck. Jacobi gave both me and Jessie glares before he left.
“Sam, Rammus, make sure the deck runs like clockwork.” I glanced at Jessie, who was halfway through her plate. “I’ve got only a few days. Keep that in mind. Tethys picked a real bad time to delay us. And Sam, keep on eye on Jacobi.” Sam nodded.
Mido caught up and finished breakfast with me and the others, then cleared the table as Sam and Rammus filed out, leaving just me seated. I looked at Jessie again, huddling near the fridge. “You. Sit. Now. I need to talk to you about something.” Fear played across her dark eyes. She struggled to bring herself closer to the table. Of course she was scared. I’d dropped the “we need to talk” line. Every last subordinate cowered at those words whether they had reason to or not. I’d given up sugarcoating them long ago. “Never mind. Just stand.” Anything to get her to calm down. The shock of her having stumbled onto my ship had worn off, giving way for sympathy. I had a feeling she was a sweet kid under that mountain of fear.
Mido started filling one side of the sink with hot, soapy water. O’Toole hovered near the sink, gibbering now and then. Jessie’s frightened gaze shot to him every time he made a noise.
I put my elbows on the table and steepled my hands. “Jessie, it has come to my attention that you’re a good fighter.” Her fear switched to confusion. The side of my head and my entire torso were quite tender from yesterday. My injuries felt worse upon waking from my three-hour nap. I’d popped three painkillers maybe an hour ago. Three hundred years later, pills still did nothing to alleviate pain but, like a sucker, I bought them anyway. “Until I get you home, I’d like to hire you as a bodyguard.” Her mouth dropped open. “For my techies.” I’d thought about this offer long and hard. “And for anyone else on this ship whenever I see fit.” Jessie sat up straighter. “I’ll give you until we disembark to make a decision. You can either go home with no money, or go home with some money. Either way, you’re working off the clothes and boots I’ve provided for you.” I stood and put my trench coat back on, then ran a hand through my greasy hair. Yeah, I needed to make a point to shower before lockdown.
“Why would you want me as a bodyguard?” She sounded genuinely curious. Mido glanced over a bare shoulder. O’Toole was fiddling with the strings to his hood and keeping quiet.
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “You’re a girl and you hit hard. Everywhere we go we’re surrounded by greedy opportunists. You’ll have the element of surprise on your side. They’ll all expect you to cower behind the man you’re guarding. Just think about the job. I don’t want you to decide right now.”
“Do you really think a bunch of guys will let me be their bodyguard?”
“No, but there’s nothing my crew can do about it if I made it an order. Sam ‘n’ Scully might go all chivalrous on you, but they’d suck it up if I tell them to. Cancer and Jacobi’ll whine but they’ll put up. They know better than to cross me.”
Mido said, “I think it’d be hot to watch you beat up a pirate.”
Jessie gave him a flat glare.
He raised his soapy hands in defense. “Just sayin’.” He turned back to the dishes. O’Toole stuck a finger in the water then stuck it in his mouth. “O’Toole, don’t do that.” O’Toole spat and a few flecks landed on Mido’s shoulder, who made a disgusted frown. He flicked some soapy water and the Irishman made a monkey-like whimper, then ran off in the direction of the cargo hold. Mido brushed off his shoulder and resumed dishwashing.
I said to Jessie, “Start thinking. I’ve got two crew members to cremate because they didn’t know how to fight.” Nope, guilting people into doing what I wanted wasn’t beneath me. “Now go tell Sam what you need added to the supplies list.”
I oversaw preparations from the wheelhouse while organizing my charts for a trip to Revivre, Morocco. I also organized my Mediterranean charts for the eventuality that we headed to the island Cyprus. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to convince her to stay. The bodyguard card was a desperate move, but at least it felt like a good one. Not only would my men accept her as one of the crew, it’d given her purpose and hopefully block her from fixating on how many men surrounded her. Heck, maybe she’d fall in love with the job and the trip home would turn into just a visit. But before I got all excited, I needed her to survive my first lockdown.
I looked up from my charts. The steel crane the dock workers were using to move crates onto the deck had made a teeth-clenching screech. The stupid thing looked like it belong in a junkyard. No paint was left on it and it looked like a bleeding giraffe with all that rust and corrosion. However, the dock workers and crane operator went about their business, unconcerned. The crane swiveled back to the dock and lowered to the next crate of food and supplies, girly stuff included. I chanced leaving my post for a direly-needed shower.
Halfway through the morning, someone knocked on my wheelhouse door, startling me awake. Sauna smiled and waved.
“I brought two good hombres, Captain. They good fighters and know their stuff.”
“Well if they impress you, then that’s a great sign.” I slid my feet off the control panel and rubbed the sleepiness from my clean and shaved face. Barring my bruises, I didn’t feel too bad after three hours of sleep in the past two days; however, my energy level felt stretched thin.
Sauna and two tall men awaited me at the bottom of the stairs. Both recruits were taller than me, had sculpted bodies, pale skin, and black hair. At first glance, I thought I was looking at twins, but then I noticed that the man on the left was bulkier than the other and had brown eyes. The leaner one had green eyes. Both looked like they could hold their own in a fight. They carried swords on their hips, in addition to duffle bags slung over their shoulders. The presence of their swords was already a step up from the two good men I’d lost. Still, no one could replace Jersey and Mike; only pick up where they left off.