Chapter 418: He Brought a Boarding Party to a Bad Decision

Gullet disappeared beneath the dock, so I moved away from the edge instead of leaning over to offer my face to the water like a curious fucking tourist.

Lukas swung the lamp toward the pilings and called that he’d lost sight of the captain. I hated hearing it, but liked it better than finding out through a sudden loss of body parts.

[System: New job, mate: break the boarding force and secure this dock before their captain gets his shopping back. Forty thousand EXP and seventy IP, with their combat included so you don’t invoice me twice.]

Call it boat shopping. Pest removal sounds like a job where I have to buy gloves and pretend I enjoy working.

The lead boat scraped alongside. A rope bolt struck our rail before three gunmen raised their weapons. I let the tethered bolt pass and waited, glaring at the guns as if that might encourage their owners to make the mistake I needed.

I activated Return to Sender and selected the exposed shield mount between them, a single clear point less than fifteen meters away. Their detached bullets curved through the skill’s reach and hammered the mount before the men understood why their protection had started exploding toward them.

For two seconds, their expensive guns belonged to my argument. When the window shut, I was already moving to finish it before they could reload.

Lukas started the kitchen timer while I launched from the platform and hit the lead boat’s rail with my length compacted around the impact. The rail broke, one gunman went down under it, and the others stumbled into their own seats. I had been humming before I moved, and I kept the tune going while my tail knocked the nearest weapon into the bilge.

[System: That’s the spirit, mate. Break the gun, steal the boat, and try not to bleed on the seats before we know what they’re worth.]

A hooked tool swung at my face. I ducked, caught the man’s wrist, and dragged him across the bench, enjoying his surprise far more than anyone calling me heroic should have.

"You can keep holding that hook, but I’m going to keep moving your arm until we disagree about where it belongs."

He let go so quickly that I thanked him for listening, then shoved him down beside the others before he could mistake courtesy for mercy.

The second boat reached the dock while I was busy, giving Lukas his own problem. He didn’t wait for me to solve it. He released the loaded net we had hung from the small cargo arm, dropping its weight across the gangplank as two raiders stepped onto it. They fell into a pile of rope and shouted instructions that became less useful with every additional foot.

The third man tried to cut through, so Lukas hit his knife hand with the long dock pole and shoved him backward into the boat. The result lacked elegance and worked beautifully.

I opened Backdoor Bludger between the clear deck and the dock, both visible air spaces inside twenty meters. Eight seconds was plenty to cross, and I emerged while the next boarder was still congratulating himself on getting past Lukas.

"Congratulations on boarding," I told him. "Now let’s discuss why you’re lying down."

I caught his ankles with my tail and drove him into the piled net, then used a tendril to drag his dropped gun beyond reach. Lukas took the weapon, unloaded it, and watched the remaining men while I faced the last boat.

Its helmsman looked at the broken rail, the pinned boarders, and the narrow dock lane. Then he accelerated toward the channel beside us.

I nearly waved him off, pleased to find one man who knew when his evening was ruined.

Then his bow turned toward us, and I realized the stupid bastard wanted to bring the whole boat ashore.

[System: Move, mate. He’s trying to use his vehicle as an argument, and I don’t reckon he’s read the parking signs.]

I braced around the inner piling and pulled the loose gangplank clear while Lukas climbed behind the service wall. The boat hit the outer supports at a bad angle, tearing off its own steering guard and lodging sideways instead of crushing us. Water surged over the planks, but the main platform held.

The helmsman struggled with the controls until I reached through his broken side screen and closed a tendril around the throttle lever.

"Take your hand off that throttle before I make you explain the dents to the next buyer."

He raised both hands. The crew followed him, suddenly eager to be passengers in whatever happened next.

We secured weapons first, then tied the prisoners to separate rail sections away from the damaged edge. Lukas radioed the shore watch to collect them through the protected gangway. The first two boats remained under our control, while the rammer sat uselessly against the supports.

The timer rang while I was checking the last knot. Return to Sender was ready again, but there was nobody left on the surface willing to test it.

[System: Boarding force beaten and dock secured, mate. Forty thousand EXP and seventy IP paid, putting you at two hundred thirteen thousand five hundred out of three hundred thousand, with twelve hundred seventy-five IP. That’s a very profitable argument about parking.]

The shore watch led the last prisoner through the protected gangway, and Lukas checked the gate behind them. I admired the two usable launches and tried to calculate whether the rammer had any parts worth the effort of dragging it off our dock.

[System: Stop looking at the wreck like it’s discounted furniture.] I smiled at the wreck. Take out the seats and it is discounted furniture. You need to respect the possibilities.

Then every loose rope near the outer edge pulled tight toward the water at once.

A low swell gathered between the pilings, far too focused to be an ordinary wave, and the captain’s pale teeth appeared beneath its surface.

He had waited until his own boarding crews were off the platform, and the water under our spare engine began to rise.