Sally, Part 10

1.  My last teacher is cool with my opinions being different than hers.
2.  My mom has been watching our daughter while I've been at school.
3.  I got a free redbox rental today.

You'll need to read Part 9 for this to make sense.

Stacy's first reaction was to hide, though hiding on a boat was hardly useful, as someone will eventually find you.  He didn't have time to hide though, as he was lifted off the ground by some enormous force while his ears rang with, "He's right here, Mattias!"  Now, when we're children we're picked up often, so being lifted raises no real concern, but once we get a little bigger, we quickly start to like our feet planted firmly on the ground.  Stacey had been too big to lift since he was about five, so suddenly being airborne made him feel even more uncomfortable than he already was.  Mattias approached two wildly kicking feet with a full bellied laugh that didn't suit his slight frame.

"Golnar, put him down."

Stacey wasn't thrown, or dropped, but placed back on the deck.  He was even held just low enough for his feet to touch until they stopped kicking and took purchase of the wood.  If Stacey had met Mattias in an ally way he would have thought nothing of him.  He had shoulder length auburn hair that was lifted by each passing breeze, and a smile that felt like a warm blanket.  By no means a big man, he stood just shorter than Stacey and Stacey probably outweighed him by double.  But, they weren't meeting in an ally way.  They were meeting aboard a commandeered vessel where Mattias apparently called the shots (and even aimed, pulled the trigger, and took them occasionally).

"What's your name?"  Mattias's smile never faultered.
Stacey felt particularly out of place.  Why would Mattias need to know his name?  Did he gain some sick pleasure by knowing the details of his victims?  So, Stacy reverted back to what he said to every other loathsome creature he came in contact with, "I'm The Cook."
"No," Mattias burst out, "no, not what you're called!  What's your name?  The one your mother gave you."
Stacey braced himself for ridicule.  "My name's Stacey."
"Well met, Stacey."  And his hand shot forth to grab hold of Stacey's.
Fear was melting into confusion as Stacey felt his arm being moved up and down by the pirate.  "What... what are you doing?  Aren't you going to kill me?"
Mattias stopped using his hand as a lever and stared straight into Stacey's eyes.  "That all depends on you companion."
"Depends on me how?"
"Were you a lover of that captain we just sent to the sharks?"

Oh, no.  Stacey surmised that there was a right answer to this question, but what that answer was was not easily guessed.  If Mattias was of the belief that an enemy of an enemy is a friend, then it was fine that he had no good feelings toward The Captain.  If he was under the impression that a man either loved or loathed authority, and that he was an authority that demanded love, then admitting to loathing of the old captain was suicide. 

Finally, he decided that he might as well be truthful.  In all reality, he was dead either way.  "I didn't particularly care for him, sir."

Mattias's smile broadened a bit, Stacey guessed he'd answered right.  "Well, what didn't you like about him?"

Goodness, why couldn't he just ask easy questions.  Stacey thought about bringing up Sally, but then thought better than to give the name of his son to a murderous pirate.  Instead, he laid out his loathing as underlying reasons without example.  "He was a man of no character.  He had no love for humanity or human decency, and had no love for anyone but himself.  His crew was nothing more than a tool to him, and he disposed of that crew as soon as he thought he saw something better."

Mattias's eyebrows came together as if he were pondering something very important.  He then began to nod, and his smile reappeared.  "Those seem like good reasons to hate a man.  You may already know that it's custom to kill the cook of a ship, but I feel like giving you a sporting chance.  Can you shoot a gun?"