Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 08

Janie felt her cheeks redden, and again she was thankful for her makeup and veil. "I didn't mean that kind of professional. I just meant in general."

"Do you want to take John on as a client?" Bella asked. "You don't have to decide now. You have until tomorrow night to think about it."

"Can you be there? Through the mirror? Just to... to help me?" Janie asked.

"I don't know if I want your client knowing about the mirror," Bella said.

"He won't. I'm going to keep him in the chair with his back to it. He won't even know you're there," Janie said, her voice edging towards desperation.

"So you want me to just watch you?" Bella asked. "Why?"

"Because you give me permission. You make me feel like everything I want is alright. That I'm still good for wanting them," Janie said. She didn't sound desperate anymore. Instead, she sounded a bit scared.

Bella's eyes misted. "You are a treasure, Janie Castilain. Of course I'll help you."

"You've got a line thirty deep, Captain," Mister North said as he came through the doorway. He saw the trio of women and read the room a bit. "Am I interrupting? They can wait."

Belita looked from North to Janie. Janie took a breath and nodded. Belita turned back to North. "We're ready."

North waved the first sailor in. The man who came through the doorway was the biggest Akula any of them had ever seen. He was an inch or two taller than Colin Strong and a full hand broader. He didn't have Colin's defined physique through. This Akula was softer looking, with a bit of paunch and the boxy physique of a circus strongman in the off season. He was shirtless, wearing loose calf-length pants, a thick belt with a shoulder strap, and sandals that strapped around his ankles. The wooden, leather wrapped handle of some kind of weapon poked up over his shoulder. His skin was dusky and dark, but he had some kind of skin condition that left large bleached blotches all over him. His face and most of his chest and stomach were pale, as was a mottled pattern down his right arm. His skin was further altered by the myriad of tattoos across his body. They seemed mostly to be layered series of triangles set in sweeping, wave like patterns that started on his bald head and ran down his shoulders, arms and torso. Against the pale blotches they were stark and bright.

"Reeve?" Captain Vex said, surprised. She stood up and shook the big man's hand. His meaty grip completely engulfed hers. His neck was wider than her head. It seemed to start just below his ears and slope out to join his shoulders. "What the hell are ye doing here?" she asked.

The big Akula grinned. His teeth had been notched in a way that made them look pointed. "Had to spend some time as a guest of the local law. I was on a deadline so I sent my ship ahead. Now I need to catch up to it. I hear you're headed that way."

Bella blinked as the realization hit her. The teeth were the last piece of the puzzle. The discolored face and chest. The scale-pattern tattoos. The man looked like a land-walking shark.

"Ye're headed to Drifter's Key?" Belita asked, sitting back down and gesturing for Reeve to take a seat. He carefully set his bulk down on the stool, looking a bit ridiculous.

"Aye. Can you get me there?" Reeve asked.

"I dinnae have any cabins an' I'm full up on passengers. Ye'd have to work as crew," Captain Vex said.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Reeve smiled again, this time thankfully without the teeth. "It'll be nice to let someone else give the orders for a change. What's with the lady in the mirror?"

"I hired a witch. She's helping with vetting new crew," Belita explained. "Bella, Janie, this is Captain Reeve."

"Just Reeve is fine. Until I get back aboard my ship, you're the Captain," Reeve said with a nod in Belita's direction. "Ladies. Pleasure's mine and all that."

Janie gave him a small nod, retreating back into her cool, unflappable guise as Sister Evangelina. Bella wasn't sure what to make of the giant Akula, but she cleared her throat and said. "Likewise." She found herself feeling nervous. She'd had enough bad experiences in her life that she'd developed a list of traits to watch out for. Most N'Madi shared that. Their various observations and warnings about how to spot people who might do them harm were a cultural cornerstone. She could practically hear her mother's words of warning in her head as the big man tried to get comfortable on his small seat.

"So what now?" Reeve asked Belita. "Do I tell North to add me and my boys do your roster?"

"Your boys?" she asked.

"Aye, there's four of my crew with me. I can vouch for all of them," Reeve said.

"What were you in for?" Belita asked.

"Smuggling," Reeve shrugged. "Someone who fit my description was seen loading a boat full of molasses that hadn't been stamped and taxed."

"Who the hell else fits your description?" Belita snorted.

"I saw a bear once who looked kinda like me?" Reeve grinned. It was not a pleasant sight.

"Did it have mange?" Belita asked.

Reeve chuckled. "Naw, it was just ugly."

Belita burst out laughing. "Alright, I think we're about done here,"

Bella spoke up. "Just a few quick questions Mister Reeve?'

The big Akula glaced at Captain Vex and then shrugged. "Shoot."

"Do you have any problems working aboard a ship with a Witch, or an Asura?" Bella asked.

Reeve raised an eyebrow. "You got an Asura too? Impressive. No, I don't have any problems with that."

"Do you have problems taking orders from women?" Bella asked.

"You should meet my lady. I'm used to it," Reeve grinned. For some reason the news that Reeve had a woman in his life who gave him orders was surprising to Bella. She mentally checked herself, reminding herself that it was wrong to judge a book by it's cover. Still, her discomfort lingered.

"What are your thoughts on crew fraternization?" Bella asked.

Reeve shrugged. "What folks get up to in their off time is their business. If it turns into a work problem, I'll say something. Until then, I don't care."

Captain Vex looked at Janie. Janie nodded. The Captain reached her hand out to Reeve. "You're hired, and your crew with you. For the duration of the trip to Drifter's Key you're my Bosun."

Reeve shook her hand. "I'll tell the Norths. It'll be good to sail with you again, Captain." He stood up and walked back inside. As he left, Bella's eyes went wide at the sight of the massive hook carved out of bone that hung on a baldric across his broad back. It had shark's teeth set into it's edge. She leaned forward for a better look, but he Reeve was out of sight before she could see more.

"That was the most terrifying man I've ever seen in my life," she said quietly. "Are you sure about this?"

"Reeve's scary looking, but he's one of the best sailors I've ever seen. He's a legend among the Akula. We'll be glad to have him aboard," Captain Vex said.

"Janie?" Belita asked, not convinced.

"He was straightforward and honest about everything he said. I didn't notice anything that might have been false about his words or his body language," Janie said. "He didn't even try to hide the fact that he's a smuggler."

"He knows I don't care. Most sea captain's have done some smuggling in their time. I know I have," Belita shook her head.

"You're the captain," Bella said.

"Aye, so trust me," Belita said a bit pointedly. "I've sailed with him before. He's a professional. If we're going into rough waters, he's exactly who we want with us."

"Unless he is the rough waters." Bella's face wrinkled up in distaste.

"You're being paranoid," Belita fired back. "Janie said he's fine, right?"

"I said he was honest." Janie clarified. "I'm usually a pretty good judge of character, but a lot of that is intuitive. It's harder through the mirror. I don't know if I can describe how. It's just... harder to read intentions this way. This isn't a Truthtelling. I can't force anyone to give answers they don't want to, and there's nothing actually stopping anyone from lying. I can only try to read between the lines of what the people we interview choose to say. Just because Mister Reeve was straightforward and seemed to be telling the truth doesn't mean he's a good person," Janie caught Bella's satisfied look and continued. "It doesn't mean he's bad either. It just means I don't think he lied to us or bears us ill-will right now." Bella's look faded.

"That's good enough for me," Belita said. "We're undermanned. We need competent sailors, and he comes with four more."

"I hope you're right," Bella sighed. "Maybe I'm just paranoid. I don't think someone would cultivate a presence like that unless it was to make it easier to scare people."

"Well yeah." Captain Vex wasn't following Bella's reasoning. "He's not the first sailor I've seen who tried tae cultivate a fearsome reputation. I guess I'm just not impressed by the theatrics anymore. Takes a thief tae catch one, and all that."

"Anyone who's trying to scare people on purpose isn't doing it out of the goodness of their heart." Bella said "They're doing it because fear makes whatever else they're trying to do easier. I can't think of anything good that comes out of that."

"I can," Belita said.

"I can too," Janie said.

Bella was surprised that Janie agreed. "Really?"

Janie gave Bella a small smile. "Caine."

Bella blinked. She'd known Caine for years. She lived with him and worked with him. He was one of the few people she trusted and was willing to rely on, but Janie was right. His reputation was fearsome, and well earned. She just didn't think about it much because none of the things that made Caine frightening were a threat to her. She slowly nodded, understanding.

She hadn't known Janie to be wrong in her assessment of anyone yet. If Reeve was a risk, Janie would have said so. Bella slowly nodded. "I guess I need to think about it more. Sorry I got worried."

Mister North stuck his head out onto the patio. The captain gave him a nod. He sent out the next sailor.

Bella barely heard the interview. The captain and the sailor talked, Janie watched. Bella stared off into space, trying to shake the nagging sensation that something important had just happened, and she'd missed it.