@seafaired continued from [x]
Money had already exchanged hands, as surely as goods now shifted themselves all but silently between ships. To the casual observer there was nothing amiss in the transaction – that the three slaves now boarding had their heads covered, or the fact that no hint of their skin could be seen in the way they were shackled and shrouded was perhaps unusual, but not enough so to rouse any suspicion.
That would come later, when men of prominent stations were noted as missing – something that would take time indeed, considering they were all meant to be in different places, and it would be at least a week before word reached the city that not a one of them had arrived where he was due.
Jane was not in the business of letting strangers in on her business, nor was she particularly of the mind to be forthright with many of the captains she ended up dealing with. Considering Naut was a stranger, and not even a captain at that, the fact he had her attention enough to garner such a remark stemmed from the simple recognition that if anyone had the power, the gumption and the goddamn will to cause her enterprise any trouble, it would be him. She would much rather have the man on her side than against it, at any rate.
Slavery was a tricky thing to sell to some men, but she was prepared to lie if she had to. His response, such as it was, drew a slow smile to her lips. There was no telling what he suspected, but it felt oddly safe to assume he either knew more than he let on and was willing to let her manage the fallout, or, he had no fucking idea what was going on and was genuine in his assertion it didn’t matter which way the wind blew, her business was her own to manage and he’d leave her to it.
“You never cease to amaze me,” She settled on at last, even as her shadow situated himself and the last of the cargo was brought on board. After a moment of consideration, she took a chance and tested the waters. “When this business is done, I’d be very interested in discussing other ventures with you, should you be interested.” Technically a talk meant for his captain, but frankly given the choice between the two, she’d much rather work with a man unafraid to speak his honest truth than one who would say whatever was most likely to get him paid more.
Ocean Archive 