Sharpshooter;

“I think I’d rather dance. Plus, no sense in dying my hair if I wear a hat on my head most of the time, right?”

@marasimms

Now that they were leaving, Alonso didn’t have any problem with walking around with his signature rifle strapped to his back. Truth be told, when he walked around town without it, he felt a touch nervous, not that the expression on his face would give the slightest indication that he was feeling that way. Occasionally, a townsperson would noticeably flinch away or gasp at the sight of the rifle strapped to his back, to which Alonso would respond with a charming smile and tip of his hat. He didn’t say anything beyond a simple and warm “Hello” but it seemed to be enough to ease whoever he came across. 

Thank the gods, because he had noticed the slight up tick in authorities since the wine tasting and those other pirates came in drunk and bragging about their latest score before the police came in to break up a fight they had started. Despite that, he was completely ready for the lot of them to make a smooth exit with little to no trouble. Unfortunately, Alonso seemed to greatly underestimate just how paranoid the law was in regards to pirates in this area. That was probably his first mistake.

Alonso had just spotted Mara and was about to say ‘hello’ to her when off in the distance, on the edge of the docks, Alonso saw the Captain conversing with the group of Naval men. For a good long while, things seemed to going okay. Alonso had fully expected the Captain to have some sort of contingency plan and to be in completely in control, but soon Yiran and Dax’s entrance, followed a group of men in uniform broke the tension. The men by the ship drew their weapons and a full blown battle had errupted

“Shit..!” Alonsp swore under his breath as he reached for the rifle on his back and watched as the docks swarmed with Navy. 

“You know, we might be playing cards, but I might just take exception to how much you’ve called me a liar today,” Wren snickered, toying with her cards as if moving them around and staring at them would somehow make them better. “Now I know that I can bluff you, because apparently you think I’m lying even when I’m telling you the truth.” Her cockiness was under threat as she watched Alonso spread out his cards face up on the table, the collective gasp of the crowd sending a shiver down her spine. For all her talk about Alonso pulling cards from up his sleeve, Wren kind of wished she had one of her own right now.

Her expression never failed though. She kept her eyes on him as she debated over what seemed like minutes but was probably only a couple of seconds whether to admit defeat. But it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. “You’re lucky I like you.” She spread her cards across the table with his, losing, but only barely. “Good game.” She extended her hand.

“My apologies, my darling. But can you blame me when cards on the table and money’s on the line?” And deception and poker faces were the name of the game. As easy going as Alonso was and despite how much he wore his heart on his sleeve, when the time came to lie and deceive others, that charming and easy going smile of his was his ultimate poker face. Years of living and serving a court full of noble backstabbers and being subjected to the whims of short tempered people that could easily order his execution made it essential for him learn how to lie.

Besides, saying that one was in a relationship with Anna just seemed as fantastical of a lie as saying you were sleeping with the Captain. “A good thing indeed. Good game Ms. Scarborough,” Alonso said as he got up, shook her hand and tipped his hat in his usual polite manner. “Maybe we can play some more once we find our selves with more free time once again.”

Many of the stereotypes concerning pirates are blatantly untrue– in all her years aboard the Spectre, she had never seen a “plank walking” or a parrot perched on a shoulder. But if there was one perceived notion of pirates that was painfully accurate, it was how they fought in tavern brawls. No decency, no strategy, and certainly no skill was needed or used. Just fists and spit and unbridled fury. Anna was momentarily distracted by someone tripping over a fallen barstool and landing face first into a table of provolone, but the sight of authorities and Alonso’s hidden warning swiftly returned her attention to the task at hand. 

“Right,” she replied, quickly turning and allowing his guidance, all while keeping her features as steady as the glasses she carried. Blending with a crowd was second nature to her, as it was for most criminals, and she had a particular expertise at invisibility should the conditions be right. Luckily, these conditions were perfect. So she linked her arm with Alonso’s to play the part of the scared wife right, and discreetly searched for an opening. 

“Watch out for the pothole to your right, dear. Pass that and our troubles should be behind us,” She gave a quick nod to the “pothole” in question, a straggling authority which must have fallen behind, before returning her gaze ahead and hoping Alonso understood what she meant: pass that guard, and they should be out of the authority’s gaze.

Anna’s arm looped around Alonso’s and he pulled her in closer. It wasn’t as though he thought that he couldn’t defend herself, but he was just acting purely on instinct. However, perhaps that was a good thing. the fleeing crowds were growing considerably more and more panicked with every passing second. In Alonso’s honest opinion, the reaction was a bit much, but he was also a seasoned pirate and grew up in the slums where fights like this happened almost every week, but by all accounts these folks were normal people. Middle class to upper class, mostly upper class at the wine tasting, that probably never had to deal with a single ruffian in their life.

Alonso caught sight of the member of the police squad. He paid them no mind and continued to press forward. Once they were past and out of sight, Alonso kept going for another block just for good measure before turning off into an abandoned alley way leaving him and Anna alone, “Well that was certainl interesting,” Alonso commented, momentarily adjusting his hat.