Kyle lifted his sword and pointed it at the throat of the man cowering in the dingy alley. “All right then, hand over the coin.”
Guy snorted and shook his head. “Nah! You don’t do it like that!”
Kyle frowned at Guy. “Like what?”
“Like your askin’ him to pass the fucking tea cakes is what!” Guy waved his sword towards the man, who now had one hand stuck in his coat pocket. “You’re a bloody pirate! You gotta learn to talk like a pirate! Let him know you mean business!”
“But he’s giving me the coin.” Kyle looked at the man, brows furrowed. “Aren’t you?”
The man pulled his hand out of his pocket and held up a leather pouch, fat and rattling with coin. “Yessir. All ‘ere. Week’s pay for the whole platoon.”
Kyle looked back at Guy. “See?”
Guy rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes. Very nice job striking fear into the hearts of our enemies and buildin’ our terrifying reputation.” Guy looked at the man and nodded towards Kyle. “Does he scare you at all.”
“You scare me, sir,” the man said hopefully, a shake in his voice.
“Not askin’ ‘bout me. Askin’ about him.”
The man looked Kyle up and down, then shrugged. “I suppose he’s not real scary.” He coughed. “‘Cept when he’s got a sword pointed at me jugular. But other’n that … nah. I seen lots scarier blokes.”
Guy snorted. “Told ya!”
Kyle frowned. “Look. I just don’t see the point in blustering around and making a commotion when you can simply ask for cooperation and get the job done.”
“Because we’ve got our reputations to think about. Jordan will be pissed if we’re suddenly known for being the ‘polite and happy’ pirates.”
“J-Jordan?” The man’s eyes went wide with fear. “C-Captain Hal Jordan? You’re from the Emerald Dawn?”
Guy tilted his head towards Kyle and smirked. “See?”
The man suddenly barked out a laugh. “Yer pullin’ me leg? He ain’t one o’ Jordan’s crew! They says that crew’s all driven by th’ fires o’ Hell, hand picked by th’ Devil hisself.” He raised an eyebrow and gave Kyle a dubious look. “He looks like a proper gentleman to me.”
Guy guffawed, throwing back his head. “That he is.”
Kyle seethed. His face was hot and his fist tightened on the hilt of his sword. He turned on their victim again, his sword point drawing a bead of blood from the end of the man’s crooked nose. “Hand over the bloody coin before I cut your fucking balls off and stuff ‘em down your throat!”
“Yes-Yessir. Sorry, sir.” The man shakily dropped the pouch of coin into Kyle’s outstretched hand and pulled back, nearly curling into a ball.
Kyle glared at the man and waved his sword towards the street. “Away with ye, before I decide to slit your throat from ear to ear!”
The terrified man scrambled up, his boots sliding on the cobblestones, and took off like all the demons of Hell were on his tail. Kyle couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself.
“Knew you could do it, kid. You just needed the proper motivation.” Guy clapped him on the back. “And doesn’t that work better, talkin’ like a true pirate? You get what you want and strike terror into their hearts all at the same time.”
Kyle nodded, weighing the coin in his hand. It was … interesting, having all that power through the way he spoke. Powerful. Virile. He suddenly had an overwhelming need to get back to the ship so he could knock Hal over and fuck him into the mattress. Maybe he’d even order the captain around some with a little ‘pirate talk’ first. Kyle smiled. “A helluva lot more fun, too.”