Coincide

In Riskiness, a Gambling First Mate

The next day dawned gloomy and cold. Harry woke from an uneasy sleep with a start as someone poked him.

"Hey, Harry," someone whispered through the dark. Harry recognized Gil's voice. "You should probably get up now. I've just been to Uma's cabin, and she doesn't look so good."

Harry was out of bed in a flash, pulling on his jacket. Gil followed him out. "Maybe you should tell her your plans for today."

"I'll do that," Harry promised absently as he ran through the ship, stopping at the closed door of Uma's cabin. "You'd do best to go start my- I mean, your shift at the diner."

"Can I say goodbye to Uma first?" Gil asked plaintively. "You know, in case she doesn't-"

Harry shoved him against the wall.

"Don't ever, ever, ever say that again," he hissed, shoving his hook tip up against Gil's throat. "Now get going."

~\:/~

"I really don't see why we have to do this," Mal complained as Ben led her to the car that would take them to the Isle. Several guards followed them. "I don't want to go back like this."

She indicated her fine clothes. Ben put an arm around her shoulder.

"It'll all be over in a few hours," he soothed. "The Isle needs to know that we're behind this magical-artifacts policy one-hundred percent."

"Fine," Mal sighed. "Let's just do it."

The residents of the Isle jeered as the royals and the guards stepped onto the Isle and fanned out. Ben strode along with Mal and two guards, looking sternly at those he passed. Mal could see he was trying hard to conceal his laughter.

"It's kind of hard to hold up this 'strict' look," he whispered to her. "Doesn't quite come naturally."

She smiled at him. "You need practice."

He smiled back, but then frowned a little at the sound of a violent kerfuffle coming from a while away. Mal peered out.

"That sounds like it's coming from the docks," she said uncertainly. "Think we should go check it out?"

But the need to go check it out was curtailed by six guards marching up two minutes later with two captives. Ben looked puzzled, Mal looked shocked.

"Harry?" she gasped. "Uma?"

Harry looked more disheveled than usual, one of his hands clasped tightly around Uma's necklace, the other supporting her. The six guards looked as if there had been an awe-inspiring fight dragging the two.

"What's going on here?" Ben demanded.

One of the guards opened his mouth. Harry cut in.

"Mal, can I talk to you for a second?"