Chapter 5
It was a peaceful week. And Castiel was getting annoyed because of it. Where were the debt collectors? He had completely run out of money, not even able to buy groceries to eat anything. He didn't expect it to take so damn long to get killed.
"Phew." What should he do? "It's way too peaceful."
Suddenly, all eyes were upon him. He glared back at them. It was stuffy in this office with dozens of Warrant Officers, and they were all so damn annoying. Because he was new, they thought they could teach him things.
If he could, he would kill them all. How dare they try to trick him into taking their work? But he couldn't, so he told them that since he was new, he was going to take it easy and observe them. They quickly got the picture that they better not fuck with him.
He was already too frustrated about his situation. How much longer did he need to endure this shit? Why were those bastards so damn careful? Were they just trying to annoy him? Well, there was nothing he could do about it but wait.
"EVERYONE, GATHER UP!" Damn, it was loud. And what was the Commodore doing here? "One of the prisoners who was being transferred from the West Blue has escaped, and he was last seen coming here. I need one of your office rats to act as a guide for Vice Admiral Hototogisu, who is in charge of capturing him. Any volunteers?"
None of them even lifted their heads as the Commodore looked at them. Office rats were a well-suited name for them. There was no way they were going to risk their lives doing something stupid like trying to catch a criminal that a Vice Admiral was chasing.
"I'll do it." But Castiel was getting impatient, and this might be his opportunity.
He was already too tired of sitting around and doing nothing. Though, since he expected to die soon, there was no way he would do any work, especially for the Marines. But a desperate criminal trying to save his life would not hesitate to kill someone like Castiel if he got in their way.
…
Ugh, she was going to get scolded by Vice Admiral Tsuru. But it couldn't be helped; she couldn't just let one of her subordinates die like this. So, she had to let him go, as it was her fault for not securing that scum in the first place.
Though it was those lazy idiots' fault for not tightening his cuffs. But then again, it was her fault for not double-checking and trusting her fellow Marines to do a good job. Now, all she could do was capture him before he managed to harm anyone else.
"Ma'am, the guide is here."
"Phew, good. Let's meet him right away." Fixing her light hair and putting on her cap, she walked out of her ship. "Are the men prepared? Remember, the one we are chasing is Chesskippa, with a bounty of twenty million berries. He is desperate, and he is armed, so do not let your guard down."
She couldn't let any weakness show on her face in situations like this. Her subordinates trusted her to lead them, so she had to show that she could be trusted. Any sign of weakness on her face would lead others to doubt her. And if they doubted her even a bit, they wouldn't listen to her orders as well as they should.
"Are you the one who will guide us on this island?"
"This is Warrant Officer Castiel, ma'am. He is an excellent Marine," Commodore Daigin, the one in charge of the base in this area, greeted her. "While the rest of our Marines will secure the ports and stand by, he will be here for you if you have any questions about the place."
"Good, I am looking forward to working with you, Warrant Officer." She stretched out her hand to the man who would help her, but he just looked at her, finished his smoke, dropped the butt at her feet, and then stepped on it.
"Yeah, yeah." Warrant Officer Castiel, as he was introduced, left her hand hanging. "Let's just get this over with. Firstly, does this escapee know this island?"
"Um, what?" She was so surprised by his demeanor that she couldn't comprehend his question.
"Tch, now it makes sense why he could escape so easily." Hototogisu knew she was being looked down on by this mean man, but she couldn't say anything back. "Give me his profile. If he is native to this island or has been here before, it will be far easier to find him. Well, what are you waiting for?"
It hurt even more because he wasn't even addressing her anymore, but one of her subordinates. It felt like he completely dismissed her as useless. She wanted to reprimand the man, but before she could, the Commodore stepped in.
"Warrant Officer, that's no way to address your superiors."
"Tch, how annoying." The man lazily turned to the Commodore. "She isn't my superior, since I don't belong to the Headquarters branch. And what are you still doing here? Don't you need to organize the Marines to make checkpoints to block the criminal's way of escape?"
"Well, yes, but…"
"So go on. You aren't needed here. Damn, all of you are just useless pieces of shit. The world would be better if you all just jumped into the sea and drowned."
Even though he spoke his last words quietly, she and the others around them could clearly hear him. She wasn't a violent person, but her eye started to twitch in anger after hearing how this Marine was behaving, and she wanted to reprimand him with a few hits to his head.
"Umm, sir, here is the profile you asked for." But as she tried to calm herself, one of her subordinates returned with a folder.
She still hadn't calmed down from making her first mistake, such a huge blunder, and now she was being angered by the behavior of this Marine, too. So, it was hard to follow what was going on as Warrant Officer Castiel took the folder containing Chesskippa's profile.
"Shit, it doesn't seem like he is familiar with this island." The Warrant Officer read the profile far too fast. "Very well, we will start with gathering information. Have your Marines ask questions if anyone saw anything suspicious. We will try to shrink the area he might be in before it is too late."
"Too late?" she asked. "Too late for what?"
"A desperate man who is also armed, he will be stumbling all over the place, trying to find his salvation." Warrant Officer Castiel started to talk as he lit up another cigarette. "He will find all his escape routes blocked. Without anyone to rely on or seek help from, he will do what has already worked."
Oh. She knew what he meant. A hostage had gotten him away before, so he would try to do it again. She wasn't suited for a job like this. She was confident in capturing any pirate, but when it came to playing hide-and-seek, she was completely lost about what she should do.
"Warrant Officer Castiel, please compile a list of places where it is possible to hide as a fugitive." But she had had enough self-pity; she had a job to do. "We shall split into three groups and try to push that criminal into an isolated place where he will not be able to harm anyone."
As much as she wanted to teach this arrogant man a lesson on how a Marine should conduct himself, for now her priority was to catch Chesskippa. Later, she would give him a piece of her mind and educate him properly.
Organizing the Marines to comb through the places that the Warrant Officer pointed out, Hototogisu used his advice and started asking people if they had seen or heard anything. Slowly, she prepared to chase that man to a place where it would be easy to isolate and surround him.
In the end, Chesskippa was a coward, and all he knew was how to run and hide. But he was also a vicious man who wouldn't hesitate to use anything and anyone to save himself. She didn't want to let him even have a chance to think of a way out of this situation.
…
There wasn't a second to rest from then on. Even though that pirate was nothing but a pebble on the road for her, he was still dangerous to the innocent civilians who lived here. To uphold her justice, she couldn't allow him to harm anyone.
Report after report of his sightings reached her soon enough. Hototogisu would quickly act on the information she got and send out her men. With Commodore Daigin's help in blocking every exit from the island, she was finally able to corner that man.
"Ma'am, we have finally been able to confirm Chesskippa's location. We have him surrounded and are waiting for your further commands." It was time to end this.
Standing up, she put on her rifle. After this was over, she would report to her higher-ups that it was her mistake, and she alone should bear the consequences for it. Even if it meant being demoted. She cared not; she had to own up to her mistake.
"Very good, let's go." Stepping out, she kept her head cool; from now on, no mistakes could be permitted. "Remember, our priority is the safety of citizens."
Chesskippa was a small man; he would never face her with his own strength. She had to get to him before he had a chance to exploit her weakness again. Thankfully, that rude Warrant Officer Castiel had been able to quickly determine the hiding places within this town.
"Ma'am! We have a problem." Just as she reached the area where Chesskippa must be, one of her subordinates came running to her. "Warrant Officer Castiel went ahead to confront Chesskippa alone."
"What? That idiot!" Picking up the pace, Hototogisu rushed ahead.
But it was too late. When she arrived, she saw that the Warrant Officer who had guided their efforts in finding Chesskippa was facing the man in question. While the pirate was holed up in some abandoned building, Castiel was slowly walking up to him.
Gunshots rang out. Most of them missed Castiel, but one bullet managed to hit his leg, which was bleeding. Yet he didn't stop and continued to walk forward, as if he willed those bullets flying at him to miss.
"What are you all waiting for? Rush forward, we must stop him!"
"Ma'am! We can't. Warrant Officer Castiel warned us that places like these are never truly empty, no matter how abandoned they might look. There is a high probability that homeless people are hiding inside. Rushing forward would only endanger them."
"Damn it." Of course, there was a reason for such a reckless action. "Still, we have to do something."
"Ma'am, the Warrant Officer isn't going in blindly. He is using himself to distract Chesskippa while a squad of Marines has already gone behind the building and is slowly approaching to take him down without any complications."
As rude as he was, Hototogisu could now see that when it came to these kinds of situations, that man was braver than anyone else. And he wasn't reckless either, having thought things through and made plans. But still, he was putting himself in danger, which he shouldn't have been.
It was her responsibility, and she should be held to it. But now she had no choice but to leave it to him. For this one time, she would put her trust in him, who seemingly was willing to bet his life for his own justice. There was no way she could hate such a person.
"Wait, he is coming out."
As one of the Marines on lookout said, Chesskippa, seemingly frustrated that he couldn't kill one measly Marine, burst out of the building himself. And right now, he stood right before Warrant Officer Castiel. Hototogisu pulled out her rifle, already aiming and ready to fire.
"Die!" One word and then one shot. Smoke rose to the sky as blood spilled on the ground.
"You missed." Seeing Castiel staggering back, Hototogisu was about to fire, but she was too late.
Another shot. Smoke rose to the sky, and a body dropped to the ground. She could see Chesskippa's brain matter splattered on the cold ground. Warrant Officer Castiel put his pistol down and, without taking another glance, turned and slowly walked back to the rest of the Marines, even as blood dripped from his chest.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.