Going through the Junk

[Mystic]

There were a number of factors that Victor had to take in when leading his new crew among the seas, he should've been a bit more patient and recruited the more logical members for his adventure but the idea of it had rushed his ambition to travel as soon as possible, and he did. Victor does have a crew but he needed... more ompf to his crew, is one way to put it, members who can actually deal some damage instead of just being grunts. That's why he decided to come across a particular island that has it's fair share of criminals, marines and citizens, though the name itself might throw off some people to even come to the island at all, which is known as "Junk Island"

From what Victor could learn about Junk Island, it used to be a dumping site for the Navy but mountains of waste got dumped on the island which ruined any natural form or shape it had, now when you walk on the island there are very visible mountains of scrap along with people using said scrap to construct houses, eventually forming a community around on the island. Not everything on the island is scrap however, and those with strong stomachs sometimes find valuable objects or items buried deep within the numerous scrap piles among the island. The communities use these items to trade with the occasional trading/merchant ships that dock at the port in exchange for supplies, mainly food and water since the island has no form of agriculture.

The population is there on the island, but not as big compared to other islands, with at least 40% of it being citizens or others, while the rest are criminals, pirates and questionable individuals. Whether it's for a quick stop or they try their luck to find valuable objects among the island, criminal activity is at a high point here. Marines come and go to this island, especially because of the criminal activity but because of the "junk" aspect to the island, they don't stay for long. Victor believes that since this is a island mostly controlled by pirates and criminals, he might be able to find the specific types of individuals he's after, and make a quick buck or two with the supposed hidden treasure of the island, if he's lucky enough.

Victor's frigate had started to drop anchor near the port of the island, not even ten seconds near the island and Victor could already smell something questionable across the port, and he hasn't even walked on the docks yet. A board had been dropped from the frigate down to the dock, and when Victor walked over to see it, he saw the dock was created of different types of materials... one part of it was steel, other parts copper, iron, a mix of different materials but each one strong enough to keep it together. Victor ordered his crew mates to stay on board, since he wanted to go for a quick scouting mission to see if this island is worth the trouble at all, since the first impression so far wasn't exactly striking well with him.

[Deviant]

Junk Island . . .

Well the name of the place was definitely spot on. This place really was full of junk. Every piece of the island was a pretty horrendous piece of junk or at least had the putrid effects of it such as the smell or appearance. In all honesty this junker of an island really wouldn't have been Maka's first choice as a place to stop off, as if her depression wasn't bad enough to deal with.

Sighing Maka slipped her fingers between one another and bent them backwards cracking her fingers. She couldn't be expected to just sit around and wait here for her client to turn up on this junker. All she knew was he was going to turn up at the Trash Panda bar sometime today. That was all the information she'd been given and that wasn't good enough.

Heading out of the front door of the bar into the stench ridden streets Maka took it upon herself to indulge in a favourite past time of hers.

Five Finger Flex.

She would give herself an hour to pick as many pockets as she could. The aim was to beat her record on how many she could pick in an hour and beat the amount she could take in that hour. Her current record was thirty pockets and one hundred and twenty beli.

Looking towards the clock outside which hung from the bar she'd just left Maka waited for the bell to ring signifying the current hour ending and the next beginning.

Seconds later her game had begun and her victims laid before her in the street. It was go time.

[Mystic]

Victor started walk across the junk-riddled streets from the docks, with the streets themselves being carried over to higher ground, similar in design to the docks he had walked upon earlier but more heavily densed, a bit more refined in design but it still looked like a five-year old constructor had put the place together. The population wasn't a joke either, as Victor only saw more shady individuals then any decent-looking folk. He'd get the feeling that if he were to ask for any form of directions or information on the island, it'd only lead to him having to pay for information or to something else entirely.

An opportunity had opened up however, as he noticed a certain spot among the side of the street that's unusually cut off, with three men beating away at a particular gentleman who didn't look too bad, if you took away the bruises and the hell of a beating he was currently receiving. Victor decided to intervene, believing if he saved the man from any further damage he'll owe Victor, and Victor will use that to get the information he needs. For now, he'll play the role of a hero. "You three, back off." Victor spoke, a deep voice with a commanding tone to it which instantly caught the attention of the three individuals.

"What's ta matter mate? ya friends with dis fella?" a thick accent of some kind that Victor nearly couldn't pick up upon, the three looked upon Victor very cautiously, waiting to see if he was going to make any moves. "Not really, I have business with him." one of them started to look a bit worried however after close inspection upon Victor. "I don't know boss... I'm getting a bad vibe about this guy, maybe we should go." Victor instantly turned over to look at what the man said, "A voice of reason? here of all places? that's funny." the man then gave a crossed eyebrow at Victor, clearly not liking the comment too much.

"He's not worth our time anyway." a third one spoke up, "Let's just go, we got what we need anyway." the other two then started to follow along, with a slight hesitation but they still followed regardless, it seemed the third one was the leader of the short pair. The gentleman that was being beat up upon had stood up, going towards Victor and showing his gratitude. "They were extorting money out of me earlier, I still gave them it but they decided to beat me up anyway, could've been a lot worse if you hadn-"

Victor stopped him there, "You can show me your gratitude by telling me everything you know about this island." the gentleman nodded. "I was expecting a heavier favor, but if information is what you're after I can provide. I've been living here a few years." Victor lightly nodded, showing it's what he wanted and the gentleman started to explain everything he knew about the island, the sorts of populations there were, different types of gangs and especially the top dog pirate crew that practically ran the island, known as the "Black Hound Pirates" and meeting places gangs conduct sometimes, that in a bit some form of meeting will happen at the Trash Panda Bar but he doesn't know the time.

OOC: Decided to continue this in the next post, since I believe it's gone on long enough for the one haha.

[Deviant]

Slipping her hand in and out of the pockets of numerous people Maka very quickly found herself a good few beli up and she'd barely hit the five minute mark. She was making record time and still no one had managed to identify her as a thief. Or questioned why she was lingering in one area.

Making her way past two burly looking men Maka slipped her hands back into her pockets deciding it was best to avoid someone such as these brutes who could either do damage or seek something she wasn't willing to offer to them. As she passed them both she felt a meaty hand touch her ass which was not what she'd been looking for. Frustrated and a little infuriated she reached for the knife which sat on her belt and turned around with an expression of sheer ferocity.

"Don't touch what you can't afford babe!"

The voice caught their attention and both turned to gaze at her body once more with a gleam in their eyes and grins down below. Directing the tip of the blade towards their boxer boys she continued.

"Touch me again and I'll be takin' some crown jewels for myself."

Cracking their knuckles it seemed she might not beat her record after all.

A meaty hand come for her which she stabbed the blade through in self defence. Piercing his hand it was withdraw quickly with blood spilling out as she reached for the flintlock and pointed it at the other who came towards her with his arm held in front as some sort of barrier.

Squeezing the trigger she fired a single shot at the brute's ear tearing it from his head. Gripping the wound in agony both brutes seemed to get the message, if you ain't got the brains to be a half decent person don't try a damn thing.

Stepping back as the crowd of people seemed to stop and all gaze in shock Maka looked around feeling a little too exposed. Looks like her little game was now made unavailable. Everyone would recognise her from this little stunt.

[Mystic]

The gentleman explained in one sentence as to how the Black Hound Pirates ran the island, they were pragmatic and diplomatic when they needed to be but when push comes to shove, they're ruthless and cold. They have the numbers and the crew members according to the gentleman, something that Victor was lacking. He has a crew, sure but it was only just enough to handle the frigate he arrived to the island with, his crew has just barely 50 members. Victor believed that if he wanted to start building up his reputation, he'd have to take down high profile targets with the power at his disposal, but from what he's heard about the Black Hound Pirates it wouldn't be a wise choice to tackle against them now.

For now, he would just lay low and continue to seek possible crew members, or other forms of opportunity to boost his crew's power and influence, Victor took such an opportunity that when the gentleman was about to run off after telling Victor everything, if anybody asked who saved the gentleman or what happened with those three men, that Blackjaw is the one who saved him. He gave nothing else to say and both men had parted towards their own way.

Another thing noteworthy that the gentleman had mentioned is that this island is especially popular to some inventors and shipwrights, since they see all the junk on the island as a way of infinite possibilities for them. If that were the case, perhaps Victor could pick up a shipwright or two, so they can fix up Victor's ship when the time calls for it, should it sustain damage, but he's focused on recruiting any noteworthy crew member really.

When Victor was walking across the street, he found himself to be apart of the circle that looked at two bulky-like figures running off from a woman with short pale blonde hair, with bits of pink to it. The only thing Victor heard was a gunshot but that's it, he didn't see what the girl actually did to make the two men run away... Maybe he saw his first candidate already. He would have to play this smart however, and decided that wherever she would go, he would tail along and hopefully see what the girl is fully capable of, and if she showed herself to be as capable as she seems then he would ask her to join his pirate crew.

[Deviant]

Slipping the flintlock back into place Maka slid her hands into her pockets and dipped her head allowing her hair to dip a little down over her face before she started making her way down the path the same direction the two men had run off in. Although there was a gap around her from people who were terrified of what she might now do, she figured she'd make an exit and linger around the area within sight of the bar so she could keep an eye on it till her man showed up.

Her game was now over anyway so she'd have to find something else to do to kill time. Arseholes! she thought to herself about the two brutes who'd gone running off. Noticing up ahead a peculiar looking man with a black jaw Maka smirked a little. She made her way down the path thinking about how much money she'd already taken and what she'd spend it on.

Maybe some new clothes or another piercing. She wasn't huge on piercings but there was a few she'd thought of getting to maybe distract herself from the crushing loneliness she'd been overcome with. Either way she was getting bored of waiting for this guy and even though she had more than enough money to buy a drink and sit in the bar waiting that wasn't her style.

She'd already made an arrangement with the bartender anyway. He'd signal when he was there. In exchange she'd give him back his pet rat. She'd taken his rat and slung the poor thing into a barrel out front of the bar. But he'd never know.

Passing the man with the black jaw Maka looked to her left where she spotted a ladder. Headed towards it she quickly vaulted up it making her way to the rooftop of a fabric store opposite the bar known as the Trash Panda. She figured she'd be able to wait up here and watch for the bar tender's signal.

"Hmm it doesn't small as bad up here." she muttered to herself as she sat on the edge of the store's roof looking out over the street below. It was getting late and she just wanted her money already.

[Mystic]

Victor did as he planned, and had followed the woman for a bit until she started to climb up the roof, stopping in his tracks and trying to make himself seem more casual before she would've spotted his attempt to tail her. He could play this bold and go up the ladder with her, somehow getting into a conversation with her but he's getting the feeling it wouldn't be that easy and it would just complicate matters further, ruining the chance for him to get her into his crew. It didn't matter too much anyway, if a random woman on the street has that level of fighting, he's sure others would carry similar levels of fighting ability, if not more.

He saw where the woman was looking at though, and that's the Trash Panda Bar. The place that according to the gentleman a few gangs will be meeting soon, with a hot shot of the Black Hound Pirates will be coming up as well. Victor wasn't planning anything crazy, and rather decided to be the innocent bystander in the background, eavesdropping on the meeting. He started to walk to the Trash Panda Bar, opening the weird, metallic door and when he walked in, closing the door behind him suddenly all eyes were on Victor for a split second, before they returned to their business, though a few stayed their glare towards Victor.

Victor went to a nearby metallic table but the chairs were wooden, a particular person who looked criminal-like to Victor sat down next to Victor, asking him "What are you here for? you look like somebody dangerous... are you apart of the Black Hound Pirates?" the man started to look cautiously at Victor, but for improvisations sake Victor lightly nodded to the man's question. "Oh... so you're Black-Armored Evans? first mate of the Black Hound Pirates? I was expecting black armor but damn, that shits stuck on, huh?" he said, he tried to get a touch for Victor's black cyber jaw, before he slapped it out of the way with his left hand.

"Okay, okay... I get the message. You're here awfully early though, why are you here?" Victor answered the man's question with a made-up story on the spot. "Enforcer, boss thinks a fight will happen before the meeting even starts. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen." The man nodded, and said "Okay, I got you. I'll tell everyone that you're here so they don't cause no trouble. I'll do good today, yeah?" Victor tried to reach for the man but he already got off the chair and walked off, telling everybody that "Black-Armored Evans" is here, Victor didn't even know who that is. He had hoped that no one at the bar actually knew what the real guy looked like, or he's screwed.

[Deviant]

Sitting atop the rooftop Maka watched the Trash Panda as the man she'd passed with the metal jaw enter. She reached into her pocket and grinned as she removed a small sack of coins. She'd passed by him close enough that she was able to snatch into his pockets and removed his money. Grinning Maka opened the sack and flicked through it quickly adding up the coins. It wasn't much, but it was enough for a meal and two drinks. Slipping the rest of the money into this little sack she slipped it into her pocket. Stretching she kept her eyes trained on the bar when her eyes fell on to what she'd been looking out for.

The bar tender was seen waving their hand out back towards Maka. Nodding Maka realised that her had arrived. Sighing she made for the ladder and headed towards the bar. The stench hit her hard once more before long she wandered towards the bar door. Reaching for her weapons to make sure they were still in place, Maka pushed open the doors.

She wasn't certain what the man looked like so she would have to make eyes with the bartender. He gestured towards his own hand meaning he wanted his pet back and Maka nodded understandingly. Leaning out of the door she quickly snatched the creature from beneath a barrel and placed it on the bar.

"Which one is he?" she asked.

"The name was Black Armour right?"

"Evans?"

"Yea, yea. Black Armour Evans."

"Yea which one is he?"

Looking out towards the sea of seats the bar tender's eyes fell on to the man with the black metal jaw. The bar tender leaned in as he handed over a glass of water to Maka.

"He's the one with the black metal jaw & eye patch."

Accepting the drink Maka raised the glass to take a sip. Slamming the glass back down, Maka looked at the bar tender. She didn't seem impressed.

"Really? Water? C'mon, can I not have a real drink? I know I look young, but I can drink."

"Course you can get a real drink. If you pay."

Rolling her eyes Maka removed a coin from the sack in her pocket and flipped it from her fingers over to the bar tender.

"Better"

The bar tender snatched up the bottle and emptied it into the sink. Next up he reached for a bottle from behind the bar and started pouring it into the now empty glass. The brown liquid filled it much like smoke filled corners of the bar.

"Thanks sweet cheeks"

Snatching up the drink and turning she quickly made her way towards the table of which Evans was sitting at. Shaking her hips to the music that played through the speakers she had thoughts rushing through her head about the services she would offer. This guy Evans was looking to get his hands on something and she had the skills.

Allowing her fingers to slid down and around the back of a seat with a crimson leather back she pulled it from the table and sat down opposite Evans. Resting her back against the chair back she smirked with her drink in hand.

"Black Armour Evans, not quite what I was picturing. I thought you'd be some roguishly handsome dark knight with scars from many wars and steely cold eyes full of such a long lived life. Buuuuuuut I suppose you'll make do. I'm hardly a picky girl. Plus the eyepatch thing is kinda working for me."

It was always a good idea to sweet talk a client.

[Mystic]

The bartender had walked by Victor earlier to see if he wanted anything, but he passed, it seems everyone knew that "Black-Armored Evans" is here... except for one apparently, as he started to make his way towards Victor's table, having an arrogant look in his eyes as he sat down next to Victor. "Hey Evans! remember me?" Victor's mind instantly turned to a "Oh shit" moment after the man's sentence, but he remained calm as best as he could. "So... you're a lot taller then I remember, not carrying the heavy black plates either? and you dyed your hair white? I don't think you're really him... but if you're Evans, you're Evans."

"Get to the point." Victor said, the man didn't rat out Victor yet and if he didn't, he clearly wanted something from him. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but if you're successful... I want a cut, plus a bit of front forward payment to keep my mouth shut." blackmail, wonderful. Victor should've really planned this beforehand, but it seems his improvisation has got him in a tough spot. Victor thought about just offing this man, but that might complicate the situation even further, and he's sure the guy might try to snitch before Victor kills him. He had to play ball for now, Victor went through his pocket of money and oddly felt something gone... there were still a few coins regardless and grabbed what he could, then grabbing a small bag and placing everything in there. He then placed it toward the man's side of the table. "Is this enough?"

The man quickly opened up the bag to see how much was there, lightly nodding he closed it up and stood up from the chair. "It'll do, good luck with whatever you're planning, "Evans". " Victor wasn't happy about it at all, but he couldn't really do anything about it at that point. The man then walked off, Victor suddenly felt like having a drink but any spending money he had left just went off to pay that guy. The rest is back on his frigate. "Fuckin' perfect..." he can already smell that this situation is just going to grow worse.

The same woman that Victor possibly wanted to hire earlier took a seat from the opposite side of where he's sitting, with a drink in her hand. Another person who believed that Victor is Evans, after her sentence it's hard to tell if she's some sort of kinky girl or if she wanted something else from him. He decided to bite. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked. He has time to waste until the "meeting" happened between the gangs of the island and the Black Hound Pirates, so he had time to kill with this woman.

Suddenly, heavy clinking of metals could be heard from outside the tavern, loud enough that it started to catch everyone's attention. As soon as the door opened, it seemed that everyone was expecting a mighty figure to walk through the door but when they looked down, saw a relatively short man in full, black plated armor. "Hohoho~ I made it! I was afraid I might get lost again, that would be rather unfortunate!" the man had a surprisingly cheery voice that was echoed through his helmet, his accent sounded rich and yet simple in a way, not what you would expect from such a dark armored fellow.

"I am Black-Armored Evans! I am glad to make all your acquaintances!" he then effortlessly did a bow, looking like the heavy plating wasn't affecting him at all. He then stood back up as everyone started to stare at the armored man, and back at Victor. "What's the matter, friends?" the real Evans had asked, having no clue that there's another man in the tavern claiming to be Black Armored Evans.

Black-Armored Evans(Real one):

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