37 The Parasite and the deal

I sighed softly as I looked at the barrel that stood in front of me. A clear liquid swirled in the brown wood vat, deep and viscous. A foul stench made me frown as I added in my personal addition to the blend- a drop of sea water.

"Boss, do we have to feed the fatty this?" Sorren asked as he hovered curiously at my back clenching his fist over his nose so he could block out the foul smell.

"Not really li'l fatty, at least not the entire vat. Most of it is for later, I don't want to bother making it every time we have an annoying prisoner." I said answering him very patiently as I vigorously stirred the noxious vat of toxins.

A few minutes of waiting later, Sorren could no longer maintain his original level of interest, instead he simply trotted to the side before sitting down and chomping on a turkey leg which he had most definitely smuggled from the inn keepers coffers.

A snort of mirth echoed from the other end of the room where Fawkes sat leaning against the wall.

For context we were currently back at the inn in one of the rooms we had 'booked' with the fat man tied to the bed post of the rickety bed, a gag cloth over his mouth that resembled a century old sock and ropes as thick as two thumbs tied him in place. Of course he was asleep, but you can never be too careful with folk like this.

"Boss, when will this thing be done?" Sorren asked as he gazed at me, boredom barely concealed in his gaze. "I want to explore!! I want to fight! I want to eat!!" he whined as he began to pout, his lips forming an ugly knot over his pudgy fat.

"Yes, Yes! It'll just take a few more minutes to truly bond, before it can be administered to the victim. Now if you don't shut up I'll tell you how it works!" I threatened to which both Fawkes and Sorren had a drastic change in expression, both holding explicit expressions of pure horror, Fawkes even looked as if he was about to bolt.

Immediately the duo quieted down both going back to activities that did not have any vocal influence, all the while I could be seen hunched over a smelly vat of unknown toxins, smiling evilly. (No I was not and neither am I high!)

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Terrick sighed tiredly as he tried, for the umpteenth time to wrench his hands out of the makeshift ropes that tied him to a sturdy wooden pole in the brig.

'damn Pirates! The whole lot of them are scum! I swear to god I will stick a dagger up that asshole's ass crack!' he roared as he imagined the smug face of a certain pirate, looking condescendingly at him. 'I swear I will ruin that pretty face!!' he thought, unable to stop himself from feeling a hint of envy toward the pretty boy that had played a role in his capture.

Finally he heard a soft crack sound from somewhere, hoping against hope that it was the shabby bindings on his hands he redoubled his effort, swinging his shoulders in wide arcs hoping against hope to tear through them.

The caw of a gull sounded from near the windows of the ship, seemingly mocking him for all the freedom he had traded for the chance that he had been offered.

(Flashback )

(A/N I swear I won't do this often anymore)

Terrick kneeled before a wizened old man, his beard streaked with tongues of white, haggardly twitching on his chin. The man had a white pony sticking out comically from the top of his head, pointing awkwardly to the chandelier in the roof, his black eyes regarded Terrick seriously as his paper thin skin fluttered thinly in the wind.

The man stood at a dismal 4 feet barely reaching the middle of Terrick's chest, yet it was him who was kneeling to the shrimp and not the other way around.

"Terrick, your daily report!" the shrimp ordered harshly as he flourished his hands trying to look imperious, yet he only managed to look like an annoying senior citizen fanning away some form of unpleasant smell.

"Alferdo, the snitch from the rabbits has finally derailed their operation, now they need to look for a new source for the Union Auction, unless of course, they decide to back out of the thing entirely. Also the snitch went to the Colombo's as expected, so now we can expect the Gambino s to take a more aggressive stance on the conflict.

The avenue has been presented to allow the family to swoop in and make the Gambino s owe us. Also the storage has been double checked, the goods are safe and in good condition." Terrick said as he looked at the family head in front of him, ridiculing him mentally.

"Good! Stick with the family and you'll get what you deserve!" the shrimp said grandiosely, forgetting for a moment that the family vaults had been emptied by his son, who had squandered all the cash on a wild goose chase of a devil fruit that had never been found.

"Boss! Merchant ships are finally turning up for the auction!" a soldier shouted as he ran into the room, immediately looking away from his diminutive 'boss' hoping that the man would not suddenly get offended by his height.

"Terrick! I want you to check through all the ships! You find any treasures, seize it!" he said, once again proving his shortsightedness.

Terrick sighed before nodding and disappearing into the darkness, he wanted to have conversation with someone with sense, and he knew that, here he would not find it.