Veronica Stone

Pt. 5

Veronica's mind shifted to standard english as the rising shark pushed her further towards the water’s surface.

"Persaud! How are things looking?" 

"Ahh…", Trevor stammered, still taken aback by the sound of his surname, "First wave ready and waiting, lizard feet secured, just give miss Madness the word!" 

A pang of guilt burrowed into Veronica from hearing Trevor's clumsy attempt at mimicking her sanitized non-accent, but right after that was a spark of indignation. She could hear him grinning as Madness’ name left his mouth. 

Lil flipping an jumping bout got wunna head tie up and bewitch. 

"Commander Winston to you.", Veronica stabbed coldly.

She switched to Madness before she could hear Trevor's exhausted "Yes Maam!"

"Miss Winston!" 

"Ah me mudda dat?"

"On your signal.", Veronica completely ignored her insubordination. 

"Ouwll clear Commander Stouuneee!" Madness sung, mocking Veronica's non-accent. It was intentionally way worse than Trevor, and what would have been playful banter dug painfully deep into her instead. 

Madness, seemingly with no clue what was stirring inside Veronica, turned Daba around, swimming away and downward to make space for her running start. 

Soon she was a small grey speck below Veronica and the rest.

"MI GAHN!!", Madness burst through the intercom.

"Ready men!", Veronica called as she watched the speck that was Madness and Daba grow rapidly. A warm sensation came over her. This was almost like the school days all over again. It was never formal, but on team missions it always worked out that Veronica took lead while Madness followed (after a few minutes of childish back and forth on Madness’ part). If one only looked at the mission outcomes one could have said they made a good team.

Except is practically me carrying that lazy gi-

The memories of the final exam slammed into her. Jet ski engines snarled at her in the distance. Veronica was sucked into a world that was cold, hazy, wet and peppered with muffled cries of automatic weapons. There was no space for confidence in this world and Veronica felt herself shrinking smaller and smaller, the blurry effigy of a woman growing larger and larger looking down at her in disapproval. 

"Pree dis Ronnie!", Madness' cackle jumpstarted Veronica’s body and she was yanked back into the present just in time to catch the duo burst out of the water’s surface towards the ship. 

Veronica poked her head out the water to follow her. It really was a thing of beauty, how Daba cut through the pink sky with Madness crouched low on his back surfing through the air. Even back at Victoria, or rather, especially back at Victoria, Madness followed orders but she'd never let you know exactly how she'd execute. Her fear, she said whenever confronted about it, was that if the audience knew the whole show it would "salt up de vibe", a very very indirect quote from one of the commentators on her gymnastics tv program.

Dis not nuh damn show is a battlefield!, Veronica exclaimed vexed in her mind, but she was entranced by the show nonetheless. 

Just as Daba neared the peak of his arc, Madness shot herself off his back into the air, flying towards the ship.

Veronica's face twisted in confusion. Madness wasn't even near landing on the ship AND the spectacle had worn off, the pirates remembered they had guns and how to use them.

Man wuh c@#$ she doing n-

SPLOOSH! 

A dolphin cloaked in a black form-fitting bodysuit flung itself out the water. Madness timed it perfectly, landing a little before its arc peaked and in a flash, leapt off its back towards the ship again but at an angle. Six shots from her monstrous pistols rocked the water just before she landed on the next airborne dolphin. Madness continued leaping from dolphin to dolphin getting higher each time until the fourth dolphin where she vaulted herself off its back so hard it didn’t just fall back into the water it was flung down from the force. 

"An fih mi last numbah…", Madness grinned while drawing her launcher off her back faster than gravity could pull her down.

BADOOM!

Veronica watched the rich orange flower bloom where the explosive rocket connected with the ship's deck. Even from so far away her ears rung.

Dis why dat girl so damn hardears nuh! She joked to herself. Veronica had requested a diversion and Madness did not disappoint. 

Now it was her turn. 

Veronica raised her hand to tap the intercom channel but stopped short. A desert had formed in her mouth, and someone had locked her joints in cement. Logically she knew the sea temperature but ice tumbled from her pores. She couldn't see them well enough from this distance but she could feel Madness' eyes eating her up with glee from the ship, Trevors' crushing her with disappointment from below.

"F@#$HOLE!"

Veronica erupted smashing her fist into the rippling blue. The lady in her head cooled her nerves with fire and she was able to switch the intercom channel. 

"Division one! Roll out!"

The sea sloshed about indifferently. 

Veronica boiled.

"WHAT WUNNA NEVA SEE RASS@#%$ FLIPS BEFORE DAT WUNNA-" 

"Ronnie babygirl…", the voice was soft and cradling. 

She didn't even give herself a chance to process it or respond, she just switched to the correct channel.

"Division one. Pass by instead."

It was too late to continue with the original plan, the element of surprise was gone.

Tears came down but she splashed water on her eyes as if to convince the woman she wasn't embarrassed nor utterly frustrated. That's what she wanted right? The mission wasn't over, there was still time.

Remember part you come from.

The whaleshark rose to the surface on her call and Veronica began to piece together her dignity. She reached into the box to retrieve her stool, coffee flask and Mansa Musa. Then she blinked the last of cry out her eyes and looked out into the distance.