Hired Blades

Reunion-3

“Turtle race?” all three of us ask in disbelief.

“Yep,” he says with a boyish smile that’s an endearing mixture of pride and embarrassment. “You can bet which beast eats the strawberry first.”

“Okay, I have to see this!” I exclaim.

The others nod seriously and Blade’s shy smile widens into a grin. This was exactly the reaction he wanted.

I have seen many bizarre things in my twenty-five years, but this is the strangest race I’ve ever bet on. For one, the clientele is incredibly mixed. The thugs, lowlifes, and drunks you normally see at dogfights mingle with bright-eyed kids and their well-dressed parents who saw the turtles and wandered off the main street. The smell of stale beer and sweat alternates with that of expensive perfume and aftershave.

The turtles await their “fight” in wire cages on a long table and they eye the strawberries hungrily. Tiny bars separate them from the fruits. The table is surrounded by the excited proprietors and the bookies. I bet on Delilah Devilface, Blade bets on Hungry Prince, and Bear on Gluttonous Joe. Dancer doesn’t bet. He never does. Still, he likes to watch. He might not be as deeply involved as we are, though, because I hear a soft pop accompanied by a scream as he breaks the fingers of a thief and hands me back my money pouch. I take it with a grateful smile and try to pay more attention to my belongings, but it’s hard because the race begins and it is not at all what I expected. I mean little turtles nibble on fruit, cute, right? Wrong. The scene resembles a slaughter. As the dull, toothless yaws of the animals tear at the flesh of the fruit and the thick red juice squirts, sprays, and drips from their mouths it’s all too easy to imagine how it would feel if they were horse-sized beasts tearing my flesh slowly but relentlessly. Maybe that’s what makes it interesting. Maybe that’s the allure of all boxing matches and dog-fights, watching something awful not happening to you.

Swamp Swimmer devours his strawberry first so we all lose, but it was worth it. I feel like I now saw everything. Most of the thugs go into the Mad Dog, while the children run around demanding turtles from their parents and the bookies set up another race with new competitors. We had enough excitement for the night and head towards the Blue Boat and its excellent beer.

This pub looks the same as every such establishment, unadorned door, windows made of cattle bladder, cheap furnishings, easy to replace after a brawl. The only empty table is the most vulnerable, right in the middle of the room, but the clientele looks less deadly than in the Square Barrel and the number of weapons is significantly lower. Most of the occupants are sailors and longshoremen, maybe because of the name or the nearness of the port. I’m not the only female here. Women in low-cut dresses and heavy makeup wander around the tables, waiting for someone to invite them for a drink. Blade leers over them openly, Bear and Dancer are more discreet. I roll my eyes and sit down. The guys follow suit. We order drinks and dinner and finally, we can talk. We have a lot to catch up on.

“How long has it been?” I ask.

“Five years.” Blade answers.

“It can’t be that long!”

“Don’t worry, Wildcat, you don’t look a day older,” he flirts out of habit.

I ignore the compliment, it’s neither real nor true.

“It is hard to believe,” Bear says, “but we finished training in the year of the hen, and that was ten years ago, then it took about five years to work off our tuition, so yeah, five years it is.”

“Two for us,” Dancer adds with a knowing little smile.

“I remember,” I smile back.

Dancer and I have worked together a few times after we became free mercenaries because we have a similar skill set and we move in similar circles. We even hooked up a few times.

“Oh, that hurt,” Blade plays the wounded, needy guy I know he isn’t. “Him, you remember, but not us. Are we so insignificant?”

“Nah, it was just longer ago and my memory is not what it used to be,” I reply and we all laugh.

Gods, it’s good to see them.

When Control sent me the assignment, he also mentioned who lives nearby. Not to enhance my social life, but as background information, so I’d know where to run if things went south. I did not have the opportunity to meet the guys during my week in Easy Port. Arm-candies don’t go into shady parts of town to meet mercenaries, but I knew the deal endangering my client would go down today, so I set up the meeting and here we are.

We tell about our glorious or shameful adventures and try to top each other's stories, then reminisce about the past. We ask about other friends. Everyone heard about Snake. We marvel at his life and death and drink to his spirit, pouring a dash of wine to the ground as sacrifice to Inevitable Moretil, may he guide Snake’s soul to happiness.

We’re through dinner when Blade asks whether we currently have any assignments. We all shrug, signaling we’re free.

“It’s a simple job and doesn’t pay well,” he starts.

“Wow, you do know how to sell a job!” I comment, laughing.

He smiles at that, but continues.

“We’d have to accompany a merchant barge to White Anchor. A few pirates or outlaws are to be expected. The barge leaves the day after tomorrow, goes upriver for four days, spends the night in White Anchor where they exchange goods, then it comes back. The return trip only takes two days downriver.”

“It sounds boring,” Dander observes, and I have to agree, we long surpassed such jobs.

“How could it be boring if the four of us are together?” Bear asks and I have to agree with him too.

“Won’t the captain have a problem with me?” I ask.

Being rejected at first glance used to frustrate me endlessly, but thanks to Control’s organizational skills being underestimated is now a valuable asset or rather a simple fact.

“This one won’t,” Blade answers, grinning. “The Lazy Serpent has a female captain, and what a woman she is!” he adds with a dreamy, faraway gaze.

Oh yeah, he always loved tough women. Now I understand why he’d take on a job like this and Bear is right, it will be fun.

“I’m in,” I say and the others nod.

I spare a thought to my oh-so wisely pre-paid room in the Teacup Inn. It’s a nuisance. Maybe next time… eh, who cares, next time is far-far away, now I’m about to embark on a trip with my friends.