Chapter 22
As Nami and I trade greetings, the four pirates in two small boats close in on her rickety vessel. One hotheaded goon leaps toward her boat, aiming to board.
Nami’s quick. Before he can find his footing, she snatches a short club from her deck and smacks him square on the head, sending him splashing into the sea.
But as soon as she deals with him, the other three pirates, blades in hand, jump onto her boat. No way she’s taking on three armed thugs in a straight fight—she’s a thief, not a fighter. Desperate, her eyes flick up to me.
“What’s up, Miss Thief? Need a hand?” I ask with a grin.
With the three pirates closing in, Nami shoots me a pleading look. “Come on, Morgan, please!”
I cough, completely unbothered by her situation. “Let’s be clear—this line of work has rules. I don’t do free rescues.”
Before she can answer, one pirate glares up at me, snarling, “Hey, punk! This thief stole from the Black Panther Pirates. Stay out of it, or after we gut her, we’ll sink your sorry ship too!”
I ignore his threat, tilting my head. “Black Panther Pirates? What, you from Wakanda or something?”
“Wakanda?” The pirate blinks, baffled, then scowls. “Enough chatter! You two, take care of this idiot and grab his ship. I’ll handle the thief.”
“You got it!” the other two pirates reply, brimming with confidence, like they think I’m some soft pushover. They leap over Nami, aiming for my ship’s deck.
*Bang! Bang!* Two low gunshots ring out. The pirates, mid-air, don’t even touch my railing before their eyes widen and they plummet into the sea.
I stand there, gripping *Whisper*, the sleek, high-tech short gun from the Shop, a faint wisp of smoke curling from its barrel.
“You—!” The last pirate on Nami’s boat gapes, stunned that I dropped his buddies without blinking. They’re probably used to bullying civilians, not crossing someone like me. Panicking, he yanks a pistol from his belt and aims my way.
*Bang!* Another shot. A bullet hole blooms in his forehead, and he collapses backward into the sea.
“Pirates these days are such small fry,” I mutter, shaking my head at the three pathetic excuses for fighters. I extend a hand to Nami, still frozen in shock below. “Alright, come on up, Miss Nami.”
She grabs a heavy sack of treasure with one hand, tiptoes, and takes my hand with the other. Good thing that Shop potion boosted my strength, or her loot-stuffed bag might’ve pulled me overboard.
“Nice haul, Miss Thief,” I tease as I pull her onto my ship.
Nami, now on deck, still looks on edge. “No time for jokes, Morgan. Those pirates are still coming!”
Sure enough, I glance over, and the pirate ship—quiet while their goons got wrecked—is now less than a hundred meters away. With their men down, they’re loading the cannons again, no longer holding back.
Nami starts to urge me to flee, but I step in front of her. “I’ve got this.”
Her eyes narrow, suspicion flashing. She knows I’m not the type to help out of kindness. Our history’s full of her clever tricks backfiring against my schemes. Her grip tightens on her treasure sack.
I move to the bow, eyeing the pirate ship. “About seventy-eight meters… right in range,” I mutter. I raise *Whisper*, aiming at the base of their hull. “Time for the fourth shot.”
On their ship, two pirates finish loading a cannonball.
“Captain! Cannon’s ready!” one shouts.
“Good! Sink that ship and take back our treasure!” the Black Panther Pirates’ captain roars, waving his cutlass with a dramatic flourish.
*Bang!* A deafening shot cuts through—not their cannon, but mine. I fire *Whisper*’s fourth bullet, packing five times the power, straight at their ship’s bow.
A basketball-sized hole blasts through the hull’s base. Their ship’s shoddy build doesn’t stand a chance, and the precise shot lets seawater gush in. The vessel tilts hard to one side, tossing the two cannon operators into the sea.
“What the hell?!” one pirate yells.
“Did a giant fish ram the hull?!” another panics.
“Captain! There’s a massive hole in the hull! Water’s flooding in—we’re gonna sink!” The crew spirals into chaos. For pirates, a sinking ship is a death sentence.
I glance at *Whisper* in my hand, impressed. “Five times the power of the first three shots? That’s nuts.”
The pirate ship’s a mess, crew scrambling in panic. I shrug, not bothering to finish them off. A no-name crew like the Black Panther Pirates? Their bounty’s pocket change, not worth my time.
“Alright, let’s move,” I say, turning to Nami.