Celia narrowed her eyes, looking intently at the young man. Now that he mentioned this stupid nickname, he did seem vaguely familiar, with those innocent blue eyes and unruly blonde hair. She never spared him a thought in all years since that chance meeting. He was part of different times in her life. Happier times. But he was someone important, and she could use that.

She needed any leverage now.

Celia smirked. „I see they still leave you behind to guard the ship. I wouldn't say you got far despite all those years."

The man snorted and opened his mouth to respond, but the admiral harrumphed loudly.

"What is the meaning of this, my lord? This woman is a pirate and terrorist. I advise, for your own safety, to get back to the Tide Runner before things get bloody here."

"She's not a terrorist!" the young man protested.

"She literary holding her finger on a detonator trying to blast us all to bits," noticed the admiral in a dry tone.

"Well, he's got the point," Celia agreed. "But I wouldn't have to do that if you soldiers weren't aiming their rifles at us."

"Calm down, everyone!" the young man exclaimed. "Admiral, order your men to stand down. And you, little fish, take that bomb off you, please. None of this is necessary."

"You have no authority over me, my lord," the admiral said through clenched teeth. "You're a civilian on a military vessel, so it is you who should heed my orders."

"Yeah, I'm good too, thanks." Celia nodded, shifting more of her weight on her uninjured leg.

"That may be so, but I'm the one leading the entire expedition, and I say we need that woman and her crew to advance."

"Oh yes, you need me," Celia agreed. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but since we are so important, tell the stiff admiral to sod off."

"For the last time, sir." The admiral's face was red from anger, and a small vein pulsated on his forehead. "This woman is Celia de Visher, wanted for many crimes from arson and stealing to murder. There is a prize on her head for whoever brings her to justice."

"Oh? How much is it? Maybe I should consider turning myself in!" Celia quipped in.

Admiral continued ignoring her. "Is this a person you want to work with, my lord?"

The young man walked a few paces to stand between Celia and the soldiers. He looked at the admiral, his face determined and his back straight. "Look, admiral Wolferstan, I know it's not an ideal solution. In a perfect world, I would turn that woman in myself."

"Ouch! You wound me, lordling!" Celia rolled her eyes.

"But our world is not ideal, and quite frankly, it's dying. We've been here for months and barely made a dent in the mountains. We will never make it out of here if we keep this pace. Meanwhile, this woman and her crew flew boldly on this beautiful, heavily armed ship as if they were on a light cruising ship sailing from one platform to another."

"Yes, straight into Sky Guardians' domain." The admiral scoffed. "Served them right. That beautiful ship is a wreck now."

"They still survived, and that's more than anyone had done before," insisted the young man. "The ship has not sunk. It can be fixed and equipped with weapons more suited to deal with Sky Guardians. Hell, we can replicate their design and send out the whole flotilla of ships to finally make it over the mountains. Imagine it, admiral! Wouldn't you like to lead the first flying armada?"

Wolferstan's mouth formed a thin line as he considered the idea. It was clear from his expression that the vision did tempt him. Celia sighed. People were so easily manipulated. You couldn't go wrong with offering them money or power to do your bidding, and it seemed that innocent-looking lordling was quite proficient in it. The admiral gave Celia a begrudging look.

"Or we could arrest the pirates and take the ship. The result would be the same."

"Try it. I dare you," Celia growled, tightening her grip on the detonator.

"We a clearly at an impasse here." The young man raised his hands placatingly.

"Indeed, we are. You seem to have a solution already, my lord. Out with it."

"We could use a flying ship and the crew's expertise to advance our mission." He turned to Celia. "Though there is an issue of them being pirates and outlaws. Still, I do believe we can work out an agreement."

Celia narrowed her eyes. "What sort of agreement?"

"Believe it or not, our goals are aligned, miss de Visher."

"Captain de Visher."

"Captain de Visher." The young man bowed his head apologetically. "You wanted to cross the mountains. We've been working on that for months now. If we work together, we might succeed where we failed alone."

"Why would I want to work with you? How about a simpler agreement? You won't shoot me, I won't blow you up, and we all go our separate ways. Perfect, no?"

"The only problem is, you can't go your separate way. Your ship is busted, and you need our help whether you like it or not."

"He has a point," whispered Theo, who was standing right behind Celia.

"Plus, I don't think you'd like us to leave you alone, considering those pirate ships following your trail." At Celia's raised brow, he only shrugged. "Yes, we noticed them. So, do you still think we have nothing to offer you?" he asked with a smug smile.

"Fine," Celia huffed. "What are your terms, lordling?"

"I still think it's a terrible idea, my lord," Wolferstan grunted.

The young man raised his hand to silence his protest. "I, Gabriel Emmett Letchford, will take Captain de Visher and her crew under my wing as protegees, taking full responsibility for their behaviour and keeping them safe from prosecution. In exchange, I expect your full cooperation in making our way over the Thundering Massive, Captain de Visher."

"Your father will not like it, my lord," the admiral said with a heavy sigh and signalled his soldiers to lower their weapons.

Celia didn't let go of the detonator just yet, her mind working at double speed. "Letchford. As governor Alexandar Letchford's son?"

Gabriel made a mocking bow. "Indeed."

Celia's brows knitted. "I saw the governor's son. He's a very public figure in Iron Shore─tall, dark and handsome, just like his father. He looks nothing like you."

The young man laughed, but it sounded forced and bitter. "You are right, of course. My brother Royden always gets all the attention. You'll see, I'm an illegitimate son. But even though I would not inherit my father's fortune or title, he likes to keep me near and use my talents. That means I still have enough power to overrule the admiral if it's a matter regarding the project I'm working on." He bowed his head towards annoyed Wolferstan. "It also gives me a leeway to use my authority to protect some outlaws if I see them fit for cooperation."

"Huh, not bad. You are not as hopeless as I thought," Celia mused.

"I'll take that as a complement. Now, regarding our agreement. My father might not be thrilled I'm harbouring wanted criminals so I will need certain affirmations from you."

"Stop playing with words and state your demands, lordling."

Gabriel looked around the ship and scratched his chin. "Your ship is wrecked. It will take months to repair and get her back up and flying." He turned back to Celia, his blue eyes bright. "In the meantime, we'll need something to show the governor that your talents are useful enough to keep you out of jail."

"I don't think I like where this is going."

Gabriel spread his arms and smiled a friendly, contagious smile. "You said you are no longer with Plunderers, which is easy to believe since their battleships are chasing you. The cartels are getting out of control lately, and Law Enforcers can hardly keep them at bay. We could use someone who knows exactly how the criminals work and where we need to strike to bring their operations down."

Celia's breath caught in her throat. "You want me to hunt down the pirates? The people I used to work with?"

Gabriel crossed his arms. "Is it that outrageous? I don't presume to know the details, but you burned all the bridges by trying to run away over the mountains. I do not doubt that your former boss will seek revenge. We can offer you official government protection and a blessing when you get back to deal with them before they can harm you and your crew."

"So now we want the pirates to join Law Enforces? How wonderful," the admiral snarked.

"Not pirates. Privateers," Gabriel corrected. "There were such precedences in history, and it worked very well for the city-states."

"I don't like it, boss," Zed mumbled on her right.

"Sounds like we are a useful tool for them," mused Abner curling his moustache, which refused to cooperate with him. "They will probably use and arrest after we're done."

Celia bit her lip, considering. Her crew was right in saying that it wasn't a great deal. The government wanted to get rid of the outlaws turning one against another. She didn't relish the thought of working directly against Plunderers now. The truth was, she would gladly get rid of Chief and Hector. But bringing down the whole cartel meant screwing over all the people working for them. And most of them were decent folks, doing what they could to survive in this harsh world.

But did she have another choice?

Percy was busted, and there was no way they would survive without help. Going back to Plunderers was out of the question because Celia had already burned that bridge, and she would be shot on sight. She looked at Gabriel, his handsome, innocent face looking expectantly at her. He might look like a dandy, but he was cunning enough to overrule an admiral. And he wasn't even a legitimate son of the governor. For some reason she didn't understand yet, he was willing to bet on her and offer her a helping hand.

There must be a catch somewhere, obviously.

Lordling seemed the safest choice with so few options, and he could probably be reasoned with. Celia wouldn't put her trust in him unless she knew more about him and his plans, but for now, he would have to do.

Celia straightened her back and looked Gabriel in the eyes. "Fine, I'll take your offer."

"Fabulous!"

"But," she raised her free hand, silencing his enthusiasm. "I need guarantees in writing. And I also have some demands you need to approve for that partnership to work."

"For the love of gods..." the admiral heaved a sigh.

"But of course. My assistant will draw the contract right now." He snapped his fingers. "Letticia!"

A pretty young woman made her way onto Percy's deck. Her auburn hair was pinned at the back of her head in a stylish bun, and her green dress with tightly fastened corset matched perfectly to Gabriel's attire. Her emerald eyes swept over the crew, and her full rosy lips turned into a disgusted pout. She did not say a word but opened a big bag slung over her shoulder and took out a wooden pad, paper and a fountain pen. She looked expectantly at Gabriel.

"Lettie, we need to draw a contract between Captain Celia de Visher and me, the governor representative. As of today Captain de Visher and all her crew work under the government jurisdiction as privateers."

The young woman did not ask any questions. Her pen was scribbling fast everything Gabriel was saying.

He looked at Celia. "You said you have specific requests? Now is a good time to state them." 

"If we are to work for the government, my crew and I need full medical attention. We will not be prosecuted for any past crimes. Our ship needs repairs and supplies. I will also need another ship while Percy is in drydock."

Gabriel nodded. "Consider it done."

"Percy is to be repaired by my crew. No one else. You can provide help, tools and drydock, but I have all the experts I need right here."

The noble frowned. "Surely, if we put more people to work, the ship will be ready to return to the sky faster. I thought you would be eager to fly again."

"Yes, I am. But, frankly, I do not trust you and your people. No one except my crew is allowed to set foot on Percy without my explicit permission. That is nonnegociable."

"You do realise I expect you to share the secrets of taking that ship to the sky, right? This is our best way to cross the mountains." Gabriel still smiled at her, but his blue eyes flashed with steel─unyielding and unforgiving.

"Yes. I also know that this secret is the only thing keeping my crew and me safe." She scoffed. "You don't need privateers. That's just an excuse to justify keeping us out of jail. The flying ships are what you are after. If I give it to you now, nothing stops you from getting rid of us."

"I give you my word that you and your crew will be safe and sound."

"Words are easily scattered when the wind changes. I will give you what you're after, but not before Percy is fully functional and ready to fly over the mountains."

The silence fell, and everyone looked expectantly at Gabriel. He scratched his chin, considering. Celia's heart was hammering in her chest. She might have gone too far, as he could order the soldiers to shoot them and try to figure out the flying secrets himself. She fixed her grip on the detonator. She didn't want to press the button, but if they won't give her a choice...

The young noble smiled his cheerful contagious smile again, and everyone seemed to release the held breaths. "You running a tough bargain, Captain de Visher. But I think I can work with that. Write that down, Lettie. Anything else you want to add?"

"I will hunt down the big fishes for you. I won't be bothered by petty thieves and others. I'll only be dealing with bosses and lieutenants."

"Fine with me. Cut off the head, and the rest of the organisation will soon fall apart."

"And I want a new hat."

"A what now?" Gabriel asked flabbergasted.

"A captain hat. I lost mine, so I need a new one," Celia repeated with a straight face, rousing nervous laughs and snickers from gathered people.

"And you want that... included in the contract?"

"Yes, please. Hats are important."

"If you say so. Add the hat, Lettie." The assistant raised a brow but noted it down.

After adding several other trivial points to the contract from both sides, Gabriel took a big signet from his pocket and pressed it to the fresh red wax that his assistant had already put at the bottom of the contract.

The young noble turned to Celia with a marvellous smile. "All done. Can you please take off that bomb vest now?"

"Not so fast. Octavius, look at that contract and check if the sigil is authentic."

The forger strolled to Lettie and gently took the paper from her. He put on goggles with several magnifying glasses and took a long look at the stamp.

"Do you really think I would forge the governmental stamp?" Gabriel asked, amused.

"Please." Celia scoffed. "If you only knew how many people I conned pretending to be a government official."

"Fair enough." The young noble laughed and bowed his head slightly.

"It's all good, boss," Octavus confirmed, lifting his goggles. "It's a real thing."

Celia finally let go of the detonator and allowed Zed to take the vest off her. It was bloody heavy.

"If we have that cleared up..." Gabriel took the contract and pen and handed it to her with eyes sparkling. "All it needs is your signature."

Celia cracked her fingers, took the pen from him and signed her name. "All done."

"Delightful. I can't wait to work with you, Captain de Visher."