The events leading up to the capture of a one Graison Starling as told by the capturers themselves, Vesper and Marlon of the Blue ship, under the orders of Captain Bastian Trevolde.

     WHEN A PIRATE leaves his ship, it's usually under Captain's orders.

     Tonight, Marlon and Vesper have de-boarded the Blue to retrieve a one Graison Starling, who they do retrieve and in a pretty timely fashion, too, they think. So when they drag him aboard, and plunk him down at Baz's feet, they don't understand why Captain looks like he's ready to sling them to the mast.

     "I did say I wanted him back here alive, didn't I?"

     To be fair, Vesper and Marlon have never stolen a person before. In fact, both of their skill-sets happen to be in acts of murder and burglary, respectively. So they aren't entirely sure why Cap had them on this mission, anyway.

     But just to set the record straight, Graison Starling is, in fact, still alive.

     See, when Marlon and Vesper got to shore earlier that night, it'd been with the express orders to bring Graison Starling, first born son of Barron-James Starling and heir to Starling Arms, back to the Blue very much alive.

     Cap had called them to his quarters but an hour earlier, pulling them both from a game of cards where they were losing all their week's earnings to give them the task. Cap gave no explanation, but when he gave an order, it was wise not to ask questions.

     Even Marlon and Vesper, who were closer to him than the others, knew that. They probably could've gone to Rit but they didn't have time to coax information out of him. Captain wanted them back before sun-up.

     There they were now, idling on a dimly lit street deciding which direction they should head. "Don't you know the way?" Marlon asks, voice smooth like a honey whiskey. He's squinting at Vesper, which has been his permanent expression since his eye was swelled shut two nights ago by Alyana, a girl Vesper expressly told Marlon not to mess with.

     "No," Vesper grunts. "Thought you did. You were born here, weren't ya?"

     Here is the capital city of Luxtra, where the money lives. Money that dried up on Marlon years ago, apparently. Vesper never had any money, was born in Occasum, south of here and on the coast. Occasum is the West seaport, home mostly to fisherman and those that work in the industrial plants. 

     Marlon makes a noise like he'd prefer not to be reminded of such things. He doesn't live in any moment but the present, which gets him into trouble more often than not. "That was two lives ago," he says with a shrug.

     Vesper rolls his eyes. Marlon always talks like he's so old, even though Vesper's got three years on him. Marlon cuts ahead of Vesper, deciding that so long as they're moving in the general direction of where he thinks the Starlings are holed up they'll find the kid eventually.

    Graison has only been asleep for a moment when a noise across his bedroom stirs him. He lies very still, eyes pressed closed, trying to imitate the sleep he was just in so his father won't bother him. He sort of saw this coming. His father had been drinking all night, but he'd hoped he'd pass out before the rage hit.

     "That him?"

     This voice is distinctly not his father's. Its pitch is soft, clearly coming from someone who has never screamed before and has no intention of starting.

     A second voice, sharper than the first, cuts the darkness. "The fuck would I know?"

     "Whoever you're looking for, I'm not him," Graison says before he's decided if it's better to play dead or run. Clearly he's choosing option three: get himself killed. There are two people in his house, his room, and they want something – money, no doubt. It's always money, he realizes.

     "We got a fifty-fifty chance that this is him," the first voice speaks. So it isn't money they want. They're here for him. This makes less sense but he isn't about to stick around and work that equation.

     He takes a breath for courage before throwing himself out of bed, stumbling towards his bedroom door. He knows his room, has maneuvered around his desk and dresser in the dark with no problem, but his nerves trip him up and he crashes loudly. That's all it takes before he's being grabbed by the back of his neck, his feet kicked out from under him as he's shoved to the floor.

     It's Vesper who's leapt out and gotten ahold of Graison. Marlon holds back, searching for a light switch on the wall. A moment later, the room is illuminated. Marlon wants to roll his eyes but that's a little painful at the moment. Fucking rich people. The kid's room is the size of a decent ship.

     "Little help, yeah?" Vesper says while Marlon pockets something off the desk. He's not exactly sure what it is, but its gold and heavy and will probably get him a good sum on the market. Vesper's got his knee in the kid's back, pinning him down so that his face is pressed against some glossy wood floors.

     Marlon looks down at them both, at the kid whose flopping and bucking like a fish that just hit the deck. He's not really a kid though, not the way the two of them expected him to be. He's somewhere within the range of their age, smaller than them but still, y'know, an adult. Marlon's learned not to hold a man's size against him in a fight. He could surprise them, but he doubted it. The rich never learn how to get their hands dirty.

     "Just knock him out," he says sort of tired with the whole thing. It'd been something of a trek to get there, and he's missing out on the drinking and the cards the rest of the crew are participating in and that kind of pisses him off.

     "If we knock him out we have to carry him and he ain't exactly small," Vesper responds shifting more of his weight onto the boy's back.

     "Alright, alright, alright," Marlon says waving both his hands. "Get him up." Vesper hesitates before releasing the boy long enough to pull him to his feet. He's tall, matching Vesper maybe even with a golden curl giving him the slightest lead, but he's sort of dainty looking. Marlon can see the way he fills out his clothes, though, like maybe he's done some sort of manual labor in his young and privileged life.

     But Marlon got a good look at his hands, can tell just by glancing around the room that he's never had to work for anything. And that annoys him, brings a sour taste to the back of his throat, cause all he's ever done is work until he realized he was still never going to get anywhere, anyhow. Not in this life.

     "Make a noise, and I'll cut your tongue out, got me?" Marlon says calmly, quirking his head towards the Starling boy like he needs some sort of confirmation from him. Graison gives a stiff nod. "Who else is here? Other than the drunk loaf passed out on the stairs. Real mess that one is. He your old man?"

     Graison doesn't say anything, not entirely sure if he's supposed to answer since he's been told he'll have his tongue cut out if he makes any noise.

     Vesper gives him a shake, and says, "Answer 'em."

     "Yeah," he says slowly. "That's my father."

     Marlon clucks his tongue. Men never make for good fathers. So he's not really sympathetic to the kid cause that's just the luck of draw. "Anyone else here?" he repeats. "Sides the two guards at the front gate. We got them already."

     "And that older gal in the kitchen," Vesper adds. Graison flinches. They must be talking about Victoria, the twins' wet nurse. And he has a pretty good idea of what 'got them' means. Which makes him think he's most likely going to die tonight.

     "Well?" Marlon repeats wondering to himself why the Captain wants this kid, anyway. He's not very bright. They should just kill the family and take the money. Marlon knows there's money here, probably a whole safe full with the way they're laid up. He's sure he could make a pretty penny off anything he took.

     Graison hesitates. If he says something will they kill them too? Or would they spare them?

     "Listen," Marlon says stalking over to the door. "You got one more chance to tell me who else is here, or consider every person I come across before the end of the night dead. Got me?"

     Graison breaks his silence, says pleadingly, "They're just babies."

     Marlon hesitates. Is it possible one of the babes is Graison? Did the Cap send them on a mission to steal a baby? It makes more sense than trying to steal a grown man.

     "It's possible," Vesper says, knowing exactly what Marlon is thinking, and thinking the same thing.

     "What're their names?" Marlon asks. The more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense. The Cap wouldn't have them kill a baby, and expressly said Graison Starling was to be handed over alive. And a baby makes for a good ransom.

     "Katherine and Rosemarie," Graison answers uneasily.

     Vesper frowns, giving the boy a shake. "What's your name, kid?"

     The kid hesitates, and Marlon doesn't have time for it. Gives him a look that tells him he's trying his patience. "Graison," he says finally, a soft mumble.

     Vesper quirks a brow. So much for that.

     Marlon shrugs his shoulders. So the Cap does want a grown ass man. That's not really his business. "Alright, well you're coming with us. Put up a fight, and we'll kill the babes."

     Graison holds Marlon's gaze. Maybe he's trying to gauge how honest he's being. He doesn't think he looks like the type of man who'd kill a baby.

     "Ah, don't try to call our bluff, got me? I'd rather not kill some babes to make a point," Marlon says before he yanks the bedroom door open and steps out. The hallway is finer than the bedroom, with ornate wallpaper and gold light fixtures. Vesper shoves Graison forward, holding his wrists behind his back, with a hand planted firmly on his shoulder.

     Graison thinks he should try to run. Probably not while he's still in the house because that puts his little sisters in danger. But when they get outside. Once they're a few blocks away, he'll try to make a break for it. It doesn't look like they're going to kill him. They probably need him alive for whatever it is they want with him.

     When they're a few blocks off his estate, he does try to run, kicking his heel back into Vesper's knee. He takes off in the direction of the closest guards station, which is farther than he likes to admit to himself. When he trips on the uneven path, it slows him down long enough for Vesper to grab at his back, and slam him into the side of a building.

     "Really, mate?" Marlon says coming up beside him. He presses himself against the wall the same way Vesper's got Graison so they're looking eye to eye. "I asked pretty nicely, I think."

     Graison is struggling against Vesper's hold, manages to break free only momentarily before Marlon grips his neck and slams him back into it, this time head first so that Graison sees stars before he sees nothing at all.

     They cross paths with three other people before they get back to the boat. The last one's a woman, and she's not even all that pretty but Marlon strokes his chin, and Vesper gives him the look because really, you'd think he'd have learned after Alyana. So Vesper does the honor, because they don't have time for Marlon to sweet talk her, first. Vesper feels bad about it, he does, but kidnapping a Starling is not something you want to do with witnesses left behind.

     Marlon has a real bad thing when it comes to women. He plays around with them too much, Vesper thinks. Everything's a game until he's crossed a line. Like with Alyana, who Vesper warned him about. Captain damn near tossed him because of it. Cap's got a thing when it comes to women, too, just not necessarily a bad thing.

     Once they're back on the boat, they tie the kid up. The last thing they want is him waking up and jumping over before they get him back to the ship. They decide to gag him, too, because really, Marlon did ask nicely. And Vesper's knee is bruising.

     "Six is not so bad," Marlon says between sips from his flask. "Six is hardly a trail. Cap will be happy."

     "Yeah, maybe he'll forgive you for the Alyana thing now," Vesper responds with a laugh.

     Marlon grimaces. After all these years on the Blue, he still doesn't understand the Cap's thing about women.

     Vesper glances down at the kid; he's still out, but they both checked to make sure he was breathing cause the last thing they want is to bring someone to Cap dead when he expressly asked for them alive. Baz is pretty reasonable, but that's one thing he won't pardon.

     "Why you think he wants him?" Vesper asks.

     "Ransom, I suppose," Marlon answers. "His old man's pretty important."

     Vesper nods his head slowly. "He's lucky then. That's the only thing keeping him alive, now."

     Marlon laughs loudly at first but it fades into a hollow sound. "If the only thing keeping him alive is the worth of his father then he's a dead man walking."

     Vesper cracks a smile at that, because really, aren't they all dead men walking?