A town in front of the ship and hazy blue water below it, a bottle of rum in one hand and a telescope in the other. That was all that the Captain of The Scourge wanted, especially since the town in front is his next target. He closes his telescope by pressing it on the ship's railing and, slipping the telescope into his pocket, he slips some of the rum into his mouth.
"Captain, the men are ready," a short dark skinned man says to him from behind.
The Captain turns around, his mangy orange hair waving in the air. His sharp green eyes turn to the man who addressed him and a grin creeps onto his face.
"Perfect. Let's make port as the Commander," the Captain says.
To not endanger the Captain's mission, the Captain's crew docks as if for supplies. The flag they fly is teal with a serpentine design on it, the flag of the local country. They dock their ship under the pretense of The Commander, a dignified pseudonym that the ship uses to fool their prey in this country.
The Captain, dressed in gentlemanly attire, debarks the ship with his first mate and the quartermaster. He puts his silver handled walking cane under his arm as he straightens his white gloves and speaks to his companions, "Remember to get the supplies. I will return when I am done with the mission."
Both the short dark skinned first mate and the tall tanned quartermaster agree to their Captain's orders.
The redhaired man looks at his first mate and says, "And make sure the men don't do anything stupid until after I am done with the mission. I won't permit another Golfrex situation."
"Yes, Captain."
The Captain tips his hat to the two men and strides away, his cane clicking on the pavement as the feather in his cap waves to the men behind him. He calmly nods to the folk that he passes. A few of the men that he passes recognizes him as the Captain of the Commander, though others know his real identity. The second batch either avert their eyes or grin. The redhead knows that those that are grinning would not sell him out due to respect of the trade whereas those that avert their eyes would not sell him out due to fear of his trade. The first batch, those that recognize him as the Captain of the Commander, he has to continue to fool. As long as he keeps appearances, he can use the pseudonym in the future. If they learn who he really is, the redhead may no longer be able to be the Captain of the Commander. He smiles and calmly walks towards the town hall, making small chat every so often with those that may say something to him.
When he enters the town hall, the Captain brushes off his sleeves. He walks down the small hallway and approaches a large bronze door, guarded by a fat guard bulging out of his uniform and a thin guard who is too tall for his uniform. To the right of the hallway is an empty desk with the nameplate of Ms. Rose Evermire. If his information was correct, the young secretary was never at her desk but at the mayor's desk. According to his sources, Ms. Rose does her job best half naked and getting off, a thing that the mayor of Remton never failed to notice though he had a little wife and three children at home.
"None may enter without the mayor's approval," the fatter of the two guards says as the two block the entrance.
The Captain smiles saying, "The mayor needs to see me."
"Do you have an appointment?" asks the tall guard.
"No, but did you notice that your legs are showing above your boots? If you didn't, you have more to worry than me visiting the mayor."
The tall guard tries to talk but stutters and averts his eyes.
"And as for you," the Captain says, turning to the other guard, "If it weren't for your prey to come to you, you wouldn't get any action, would you?"
"What do you mean by that?!"
The redhead smiles, "Take it as you will but this is one prey that will not only out run you but will turn predator on you. Do I make myself clear?"
The fat guard twists his lips as he tries to figure out what to say to the insulting man in front of him.
"Now, open the door or I will have to open it myself," the Captain says as he pulls a decorative sword from inside his cane.
Two loud thuds outside of the mayor's office door catches the man's attention and, before he has time to withdraw from Ms. Rose, the door bursts open. The lusty lady groans for more from her boss but the man, looking at the red blobs of flesh freshly killed outside of his office, cannot give her what she wants right now. The man withdraws, to the secretary's dismay, zips himself away, and addresses the man who walks in without announcement.
"How dare you enter without permission!" he says, his voice wavering. His secretary slips off of the desk and dresses.
The redhead that has entered the room smiles, pulling a handkerchief out of his breast pocket. The handkerchief is white stained with red patches and has a red letter CR embroidered into it. The man uses it to clean off his sword, which had been dripping on the carpet with the guard's blood.
"I am here on business and will only take up a few moments of your time," he says after he cleans his sword off, "When you have been given warning previously to attend to the regulations of the Seddle Contract and you have ignored them, the Seddle Group has decided to have you receive a lecture. That is what I am here for."
The mayor pales at the mention of the Seddle Contract. A major force for this half of the continent, the Seddle Contract stated that all members, and their spouses, should pay certain fees to keep themselves from being taken out of power and to keep pirates at bay from the governing officials. Many officials would pay their dues when they were new to office but would get lazy as time progressed. Many of those would wind up sticking their secretary or their guard's wives and forget to send their dues to the Seddle Group. The group would give the members two tries to make amends but in the end, it was always decided that the offending party must be reprimanded.
The secretary, fully dressed and pouting about being unable to reach climax, tries to walk past the Captain. He smiles and winks at the mayor, lifting his sword up. With a swift flick of his arm, he slashes the woman's jugular and she collapses to the carpet. She covers her throat to try stopping the bleeding and glances up at him, shock in her eyes.
"Shame about the carpet, young miss, but you are not all together sinless. No one is," he says to her before walking towards the mayor, "Now for you, sir. Do you know who I am?"
The mayor shifts his gaze between the dying secretary and the red haired man. Even with the dignified hat on, the man's hair gives him a firey glow as it radiates around his head.
"No, and please leave. I'll pay."
"Because I'm here, you are too late for that. You didn't pay so you have to meet a pirate's blade, sir. Be pleased that your wife will no longer have to pay her dues after today because she will no longer be a government official's spouse," he replies grinning.
The mayor realizes what the red head man is saying and starts hobbling backwards towards the window. They are only on the first floor so he could get away if he didn't have a bad knee.
"I have come to bring you relief from this position and this world, sir ex mayor," the Captain says, closing in on him and raising his sword, "Don't you wish you paid the dues?"
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