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“Think about it,” Jared said quietly, his eye intense. “You are on a ship with men and women who have been ripped from everything they know. They are about to be pushed hard mentally and physically during this excursion. Tempers will be short, and you are in the middle of the ocean, on a vessel, equipped with all sorts of weapons – including the water around us. Nobody is willing to take a chance of you being thrown overboard while we aren’t looking… and there are only four of us here, on a twenty-four-hour clock. Get my drift yet, Orange?”
The talking in the background got a little noisier – and a lot closer. She could make out their words… and felt a shiver of alarm for the first time. She already knew they were slightly ‘off’ and she’d mentally called them ‘losers’, but maybe they were really weird?
Unbalanced.
“She tried to kill me because she was jealous that Bo is interested in me…”
“… But why?”
“She mocks you all the time…”
“… And she acts self-righteous, like she’s better than us…”
“Maybe she’s a better swimmer?”
“That’s not funny, Lori…”
“She tried to poison me… and that’s not funny either!”
“You can’t die from MSG – you might be miserable for a while, but…”
“Oh, go do a tummy tuck or something – and shut your mouth, Red.”
Jared looked at her sternly, locking the door from the outside and pulling off a key, handing it to her.
“The captain and I are the only ones with keys – I’m giving you this one in case of a fire, a storm, or if there is an emergency and we start to take on water… am I clear? You stay here for your safety, miss, just for the time being.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, stunned, and backed away from the cell door to put the key under the pillow of the tiny bunk in the far corner. He nodded and walked away.
Horrified, she listened as he began to talk to the rest of the crew.
“Alright, alright. That’s enough. You are welcome to go search the kitchens for any signs of MSG, and you can go through each other’s bunks, if you want… but you are not going to find anything.”
“But you arrested Orange, so you think she is guilty, too!”
“No, I think the captain is going to deal with her because this is his ship, his rules, his company, and his to handle. The captain’s word is law on this vessel – and we aren’t about to let some short-tempered brigands create mayhem or mutiny.”
“The captain will handle this?”
“Yes – and if he deems her innocent of your accusations? You are going to have to deal with it. Is that clear? Now, it’s rope day – and we are going to be climbing to the Crow’s Nest, learning to tie knots, and learning what the ‘tow-rag’ is. Now, back at it, crew!”
Calista sat down on the bunk, staring at the wrought iron caged door that was partitioned off by a wooden door. There was an opening about the size of a piece of paper that was left wide open, giving her some privacy and allowing air to pass through so it wasn’tso stuffy. She moved to open the porthole to allow a breeze, realizing she could be here for a little while.
Alone.
It wasseveral hours before she heard someone walking in her direction, and she immediately shot to her feet in awareness. The heavy wooden door was opened, and she saw Captain Kidd standing there – with a plate of food.
“Mind if I come in?”
“I’m in your brig, under your orders…” she said quietly, sitting back down.
He shut the cell door behind him, turning the key in the lock. Handing her the plate of food and a fork, he took a seat on the small chest, using it for a chair. It was empty of contents, and she’d looked out of sheer boredom.
“Did Jared explain why you are here?” he said quietly, looking at her.
“Yes,” she hesitated and looked at him curiously. “Do you think it’s that big of a threat?”
“Eat and I’ll tell you a story,” he urged quietly and hesitated, before yanking off his hat. “Sorry, it gets awfully hot.”
