“Heads up. We’ve been made,” she called out in a low voice to her sister.
“Ugh. He looks just like Dad when he catches us and James plotting,” Amber groaned.
Ashure Waves stormed towards them with an exasperated expression on his face.
“What in the Seven Kingdoms are you doing on the Sea Wasp? Tonya’s going to kill me if she finds out,” he groaned.
“No, she won’t. She’s the one that helped us,” Amber grinned as she tightened the straps on her gauntlet. “We’re helping you batten down the hatches.”
Jade popped up beside her with a firm nod. “And conducting controlled chaos trials. For science.”
“This isn’t the place for you,” he started to growl before he paused and frowned. “What do you mean Tonya helped you? Please tell me she isn’t here, too!”
Jade grimaced and gave him an apologetic look. “She might be.”
“Bloody—” Ashure groaned, his worried gaze sweeping the deck, searching for his wife.
“This is why you need us,” Amber added. “Tonya felt the same. She’s really cool, by the way. She reminds us of our mom.”
Jade snorted, her eyes twinkling with delight. “And you remind us of our dad,” she mumbled, trying not to laugh.
Ashure’s eye twitched. “You’re not backup—you’re in trouble! And so is my wayward wife!” He stopped, inhaled deeply, then pointed a stiff finger at them. “Stay below deck. Do not get in the way. And for the love of all that is still afloat, find Tonya and drag her with you!”
“Aye-aye, Cap’n,” the girls chorused in unison.
Ashure narrowed his eyes, staring at them suspiciously before he whirled away, shouting for the men to prepare for battle as he strode for the upper deck.
Jade grinned at her sister as Amber uncrossed her fingers from behind her back. The second he disappeared, they grew serious.
“Alright, deployment time,” Jade said, unzipping the oversized duffel bag they’d smuggled aboard.
“Now those look interesting. Might you be helpin’ the Cap’n win this battle?” Dapier asked from the shadows. The short, round first mate scurried forward, eyeing them with curiosity. “Do you need some help?”
“Sure. Would you like to test out the Sneeze Burst Mk 2?” Jade quipped, tossing him a flash grenade filled with black sneeze powder.
He turned it over. “What’s it do?”
“It’s a nonlethal way to combat your opponents,” she explained.
“Yeah, we prefer not to maim and kill if we can avoid it,” Amber said.
“But we are all for winning. The SBMk2 makes everyone within twenty feet sneeze uncontrollably for at least ten minutes straight,” she explained.
“It also causes disorientation due to watery eyes, burning in their nose and throat, and a general desire to curl up into a ball and wish they were dead,” Amber added.
“That sounds delightful,” Dapier beamed, pocketing it and waving to other members of his crew. “Do you have more?”
“Pfft. Do we have more?” She snorted, lifting her hand and snapping her fingers. “Amber?”
Amber grinned and started pulling items out one at a time, handing them out with a description, instruction, and an occasional cautionary warning about the potential hazards for each item.
“What’s this one?” a low, gruff voice asked.
Jade grinned at the pirate with the veiled face. “Hi, Tonya. This is a Glitter Bomber. It temporarily causes blindness due to the psychedelic flashes of color, disorientation due to the reflective sparkles, and long-term shame because this stuff just doesn’t wash out and gets everywhere!”
“Sweet!” Tonya pulled down the scarf she was wearing over the lower half of her face and grinned.
“Be careful. Ashure knows you are somewhere on board,” Jade warned.
