Rebellious Duo (#Wattys2016)

13: No Loose Ends

That night was full of drinking and laughter. Even Kaine had joined in the fun, swapping stories with Reiko and Nao, arguing with Masa about parapsychology as a grounded reality, even cracking jokes with Akira and Kei. She hadn't felt this comfortable in years. Even if each of her new friends was a dangerous criminal. But the sun came up sooner than Kaine had expected. She had stayed up the entire night. When the sun rose over the waves, she hiccupped and gave a start. "We must be there," she said, drunkenly wobbling to her feet.

"Staaaaaay," Akira moaned, grabbing her foot. "You don't need to go yet, do you?"

"You know I do." She kicked him away. "Yes, I can see London in the distance. The fog is unmistakable."

"What? We're there already?" Nori stood up too. She had the highest tolerance for drink out of most of the crew, so she was steady and sober. Nori hopped to the port railing. She ordered the Motley to furl the sails and slowly travel into the harbor. The Motley, most of whom had splitting headaches, grudgingly did her bidding.

"Help me with Mr. Raiden, please," Kaine told Nori. She tried to keep her composure as she spoke.

"Sure thing. I put him away in the broom cupboard." Both Nori and Kaine dragged Raiden's body out from the cupboard. A cloth was wrapped tightly around his mouth to keep him from talking, along with ropes on his arms and legs. When the Oxblood docked, they threw his body onto the docks. They heard a grunt of pain from him but ignored it.

"Can you come with me? I'll need you to stay in London in case Hayate tries anything," Kaine told everyone.

"In your house?" Akira exclaimed eagerly.

"Ooh. I bet she's rich," Reiko said.

Kaine sighed, pressing her forefingers to her temple, but said nothing. They rifled one by one out of the boat in a straight line. Reiko and Masa carried Hayate's body with Reiko in front. Raiden swung side to side limply, not bothering to struggle in his bonds. A few people screamed and ran at the sight of pirates traipsing down the street carrying what appeared to be a bloody corpse. Kaine noticed them first and took action. "You should go to my house. Hide there. I don't want the police to find you," Kaine told them. "Nori and I can take it from here."

"Go on!" Nori shooed them all away. "Akira, do you know where it is?"

"Hmm." He looked at Kaine for a few seconds, then finally said, "of course. Follow me, Motley! Let's have a break from the sea and relax at Kaine's house!"

They all whooped gleefully. Kaine was a little hesitant at letting them go, but she didn't mention it. Nori slung Raiden over her shoulder with ease and carried him behind Kaine. "So what're you gonna do with this?" She asked Kaine, gesturing to Raiden.

"Turn him in. He deserves to pay for his crimes. And with my influence, I'm sure I can get him into prison before the trial for the time being. Just up ahead here," she said. She pointed to the Scotland Yard headquarters. "Officer Dennis!" She shouted, opening the door for Nori.

The man behind the desk stood up in fright. "Bloody hell! Kaine Kiln, what are you--"

"Hiya," Nori said.

"And who are you? Do I know you?" James asked her, eyeing the body on her back wearily. Kaine tried to shush Nori, but Nori didn't get the message.

"Nori Akagi, sir."

"The pirate? Good lord." James stepped backwards. "Kaine, what's going on here?"

"An arrest, officer. This man is Hayate Raiden. He was the one who kidnapped all those sailors, and the one who experimented on him using dangerous drugs he was selling. Raiden used to belong to the Divine Skulls, you see, so he had experience."