“She’s not any woman.”
Jessie got into her street fighting stance, fists up and knees slightly bent, ready to cripple another crotch. “I can take you on. Try me.”
Mido smiled broadly as he got to his feet. “Alright, miss, if you wish.” He cracked his knuckles and his neck, then drew closer to Jessie. She went for the crotch first. Mido twisted his body and took the blow in his thigh. His eyes widened and he reached for his leg.
“You got lucky,” Jessie said, and swung for Mido’s face.
Mido shrugged off the blow and put his smile back on. He caught Jessie’s right hook with his left hand, then blocked her other swing with his right forearm, a combination of moves that felt strongly of deja vu. “If you say so.” Mido twisted his arm and seized Jessie’s left wrist, then slid his grip on Jessie’s right so he was holding her fingers. He twisted his body again when Jessie tried to knee him, it glancing off his glute. She tried to free her hands, but Mido’s chick-magnet arms were easily twice as thick as hers. He effortlessly brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “What’s your name, miss?”
Jessie stood still as the tension eased out her limbs, unable to take her eyes off of Mido’s, who was gazing at her over her knuckles. She and my cook looked like tango partners waiting for the music to start.
“My name is Amphi—”
“Jessie! Her name is Jessie.” I reached to cover her mouth but retracted my hand as soon as I neared her shoulder.
Mido let go of Jessie and gave me a puzzled look.
“Doesn’t sound like they were trying to say the same thing,” Scully said.
“I—” Jessie began.
“You will go by your nickname,” I said firmly.
Jessie wheeled on me and the fire returned to her dark eyes. “No! You’re not my captain.”
“You wanna stay in the cargo hold until I get you home? It’s pretty dark and musty in there.” Musty, yes, but not entirely dark. O’Toole didn’t mind it in there, but she might.
“No.”
“Then you will obey my orders while you’re on my ship.” I held her smoldering gaze as we glared at each other like two dogs ready to rip each other apart. Whoever looked away first lost the contest of wills. I was tempted to glance at my three men to see what they were making of this. They knew better than to challenge my orders. They had to be getting a real kick out of this, but at least they had the brains not to laugh right then.
Jessie’s glare lowered to where my gun was concealed. Her eyes dropped to the floor. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
My men guffawed again.
“Sailors don’t say ‘aye, aye’ anymore, Jessie,” Mido said. “It’s ‘yes, sir’ or ‘yes, Captain’. Been that way for centuries now.”
“It’s Amphi—”
“Hey!” I yelled. That was enough syllables to give them a heavy clue. However, my curse didn’t weigh on their thoughts as much as it did mine. Hopefully they wouldn’t put two and two together for three more days. I didn’t need them being afraid of my gun and her at the same time. “That’s it. Mido, take her to the cargo hold.”
Mido looked at Jessie and huffed a disappointed sigh. “This way,” he said, reaching an arm around Jessie’s waist. She shoved Mido and almost backed into me. My cook grabbed one of Jessie’s wrists and forcibly spun her around and pinned her arms to her chest with one of his. She lifted her legs and tried to drop out of Mido’s grip. When that failed and he began carrying her off, Jessie began hysterically shouting apologies and pleading to me to not lock her up. Mido stopped and looked to me for a change in orders.
Having visions of being just like Tethys if I stuffed her in the cargo hold, I said, “Put her down.” Mido gently set Jessie back on her feet and she pressed her back to the wall. “But you listen to me, lady,” I said as Mido sat down. Good god, Jessie’s face was all red with fresh tears already. What the heck did that bastard do to her?
“It’s Jessie. Please.” She sniffed.
I glared and pointed a finger at her. She cowed and mumbled another apology.
“Now you listen to me, Jessie. That’s two strikes. One more and no amount of apologizing will get you out of the cargo hold until it’s time to drop you off. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, you look like you’ve been underfed. Do you want some food?” She looked at me. then at my burger. She shuffled around Mido, even though he wasn’t in the way, and reached for it. “That’s mine.” I slid the plate out of her reach. “Mido, put some food in her.” I got a hint of a glare out of her. Good. She needed her fiery side to stay sane on my ship. I really didn’t feel like assigning bodyguard duty to her bunk.
Mido put on a broad grin and he heaved himself upright. “Alright, Jessie. My name is Mido and I’m the ship’s cook.”
“Okay.”
Mido grabbed Jessie’s rear as he crossed to the griddle.
Jessie punched Mido in the back of his head, then pushed him. He fell to his hands and knees, then scrambled to his feet and backed towards the oven, his arms up. Jessie chased him with her fists leading the way.
“Jessie, stop!” I lunged the few steps to the oven and yelled her name again. Jessie backed off, panting hard and her fists still in the air. She stared at us both with wild eyes. Mido gave me a look of utter bafflement. “Okay. Just… no one touch her. No boobs, no ass, no nothing. Got it?” My men said “yes, sir” in unison, the two words coming out fast and full of shock. “Jessie. Sit down. Get fed. No more beating up my crew.”
Sanity slowly crept over her expression. Her breathing slowed and the whites around her irises disappeared behind eyelids. She took a deep breath and returned to the table but didn’t sit. Scully scooted a little farther into the semicircle seat and readjusted his cold pack.
Scully’s fearful gesture gave me an idea. Jessie would make an excellent bodyguard. A woman protecting men seemed odd but she’d already done a number on me, Scully and Mido, along with caught all of us off guard in the process. Now, if I could just make her indispensable in my crew’s eyes before they figured out she wasn’t disembarking anytime soon, and the real reason behind it, it’d make things smoother in the long run.
“Mido, you feeling whole enough to cook?”
“Yes, sir,” he said, eyeing Jessie with one hand cupping his jaw. “Man, she hits hard.” He turned to the ice box.
The ice box looked like a typical refrigerator before the Purge, but now it ran without electricity, meaning it was caked in ice to keep food fresh, and had a big tray underneath to catch the melt off. The thing would stay frozen for about two months at a time. Humanity had re-figured out insulation rather quick. We’d needed it…
“What do you like to eat?” Mido asked.
“Chicken, if you have it.” Jessie tucked her dark hair behind her ears.
“That we do.”
I took a seat on the edge of the table, near Scully, who was looking a bit pale, and pulled my brunch over. Sauna finally returned to his plate at the other side of the table. The bun felt room temperature in my hands, the meat itself lukewarm in my mouth. Bah. The window of burger bliss had gone cold. I ate it anyway, half enjoying it, half wishing microwaves still existed.
“By the way,” I said to Jessie, “blondie over here, the one you oared in the head is Scully. He’s a cargo pusher and our best shot with the Harpy. He isn’t real smooth with the ladies, but since you’re not a lady, you’ll be safe.”
“Hey! I got me two women back in England. You saw ‘em.”
“That’s the only two in how long?” Mido teased as he placed two chicken breasts on the stovetop. They sizzled upon contact.
“I get a girl every time we dock. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”