You'll never make it if you don't learn how to bend

His mind was trying to keep up with whatever she was revealing. The pieces of the puzzle came together slowly. Yet, there was information missing, he was quite sure of that. She wouldn’t offer to finance his goals without asking something in return. He was not stupid. Of course she would ask him for a favour first. Besides, she didn’t really look like she owned a lot of money. So he wondered who else was involved in this. It kind of smelled like a criminal organisation. But he would keep those thoughts to himself for a bit longer. First, he had to figure out how much she meant what she was promising him right now. “Are you saying you would’ve believed any word I said if I offered you a lot of money in the middle of a fucking bar?” She said, while rolling her eyes. Romeo pulled up the corner of his mouth in a mocking smirk. ”No, but locking me up and threatening me with a syringe isn’t really doing the trick either now is it?” He scoffed. She was yet to come with a good reason for him to accept the offer. And he was running out of patience.

Her tactics were questionable. Though he wouldn’t say his were much better. If he wanted something, he just took it, with or without permission. But she wasn’t in a position to command him around. He was physically in an advantage and he wouldn’t let her force him into doing things he didn’t want to. But first, he had to hear what her offer was, before he could either accept it or turn it down. Too bad she still had that little attitude going on. ”Not verbally, no”, He replied with a little amused chuckle. Did she really think he was that stupid? ”I’m listening. Though I might suggest you change your way of planning things like this in the future”, He replied to her words. Not that he really expected her to actually take his advice. In the short amount of time they had been in the same room, he kind of concluded she thought very highly of herself and her ways, and would stubbornly cling onto that no matter what happened.

“Because you got lucky this time I didn’t stab you before listening to your offer. One day, you might run out of luck”, He replied to her question. A fair warning. Today, he felt calm and in control over his emotions. Which was much rarer than she probably knew. His conversation with Annalise (and the alcohol he had consumed in the meantime) had made him more reasonable than he would normally be. If she had caught him in a time where he was triggered, a syringe with unknown contents wouldn’t keep him from trying to kill her. Even if it would cost his own life. Because in the end, he didn’t fear death. Not like a normal human being would do anyways.

Eventually, the offer was made. Intel and a ship to deliver supplies in exchange for a pay check. Now they were talking business, so Romeo put away the dagger. Out of respect for his trade. He didn’t expect her to do the same, but if she decided to stab him regardless, their deal would be off right away. He hoped she realised that. ”What kind of cargo we talking about?” He asked. He was a pirate, yes, but not a slave-trader. If she meant shipping human beings, she would have to find another captain.

She smiled. She wouldn’t be doing that once he was done with her. Smiles tended to fade quickly when the pain settled in. He had never seen someone smile through getting murdered. It would honestly surprise him if she would be the first one. She didn’t seem tough at all. But then again, nothing about her seemed to be true. So maybe, just maybe.. Even though there was only one way to find out, and they both would be waiting for that day to come. For now, he would behave. Business was business after all. If he could profit from it, from her and their relationship, then of course he wouldn’t kill her. Besides, she indicated that there were more people involved in this, as he had suspected earlier.

”Fair. Just know that I won’t be shipping live cargo, if you know what I mean”, He replied. Hey, even Romeo had certain values. The man cocked his head slightly to the right, his eyes not letting go of her gaze just yet. ”Also, with what criminal organisation am I getting myself and my crew involved with?” He asked. That could be important information after all, and he thought he deserved to know who his employer was exactly.

No slaves. He was glad they had come to that agreement. Honestly, there was a price for everything, so if she paid enough he might change his mind anyways. But for now he’d liked to believe he had some values left. There would be certain crew members that would probably protest as well, if they found out what they were shipping exactly. And if there was one thing Romeo didn’t want to deal with in the near future, it was a mutiny on his ship. After he had taken control over the Shark, he had struggled for a while to hold down his dominance on board. The easiest way to get rid of that, was to maroon some trouble makers on deserted islands. The crew he was left with, was very capable though. He wouldn’t want to lose more members, as he would need to replace them. And that was a whole hassle as well. Because nowadays, finding trustworthy employees was a pain in the ass, honestly.

Something she would know as well, since she had come to him with her job. Romeo could be loyal. To a good cause. Or as long as he was paid a fair amount of money. But he wanted to know to who he was pledging that loyalty now. Or to who he was selling his already damned soul. ”Fair enough, Allison of the Syndicate, that is not a criminal organisation”, He echoed, a slightly mocking tone in his voice. ”Let’s talk money”, He continued, his eyes almost gleaming with excitement. If there was one fun part about doing business, it was finding out how much gold it would stash in his treasury.

Now they had grown used to each other’s company, Romeo finally moved to one of the couches and sat down on it. Without her permission, but he didn’t need that, to be honest. He was quite sure she wouldn’t use that needle on him anymore, not after their conversation. If she only would let him out again after their talk, that would be great. Because he had some reason to believe she was keeping the key on her body, and in no way would he get remotely close enough to her to even try to retrieve it by himself. But she would have no reason anymore to keep him here. If they agreed on a price, he was pretty sure he would walk out of here unharmed any time soon. ”350 gold coins per shipment, no matter the destination. On top of that, a monthly pay of another 100, to reward my loyalty. Which means I’m giving you all the information you want and need”, He suggested. If her non-criminal organisation was as wealthy as she had made it seem, it was a fair price. Right?

Apparently what he asked wasn’t what she expected. She laughed at it, and agreed right away. Too low, probably. But it was good enough for him. Eventually, if he would become too rich, he would only attract unwelcome visitors on his ship. When he traveled, he liked to keep his haul as empty as possible, to avoid getting attacked on their voyage. So she could laugh all she wanted. It was precautions like this one that would keep him and his crew alive. She instructed him a bit further, and he only nodded in agreement. ”Great. Now, we drink, as it is tradition. And don’t try to spill anything on me this time”, He suggested. He wasn’t sure if she kept any alcohol around here. But water would do too, even though he would take it far less serious. After that, it would be time to go. He had other stuff to do as well. It wasn’t because she hired him, that she owned him, now was it?

A pirate took every excuse to drink. She pulled her brow, but the man only smirked and waited for her to get him some booze. It was only fair, he thought. If she believed him or not, she eventually got up and walked back to the kitchen again. Romeo eased a bit more into the pillows as he waited for her to get back. The familiar golden colour of whiskey looked way better than the glass of water she had fetched earlier. “You’ll make a valuable ally, Romeo,” She said with a small grin around her lips. ”Ally? I thought I was your employee”, He replied. Because honestly, she paid him, she was of no other value to him or his crew. Couldn’t exactly call that an ally. But he took a sip of the whiskey nonetheless, to seal their deal. ”Anyways, I’ll ask you nicely once more. Open that door for me yeah”, He said, with almost a genuine friendly smile on his face.