Chapter 92: The Thieves' Den Is Here
The traffickers from the island were rounded up by the townspeople before they could scatter.
A few of the stronger young men were chosen to guard them, while others were sent to contact the nearest Marine branch. In the meantime, the townspeople treated Axel and his companions with sincere gratitude, even helping patch up their badly battered ship as best they could.
At dawn the next day, they set sail again.
By noon, Adelaide finally pointed ahead.
"It's here," he said.
Axel followed the direction of his finger, then froze.
"You mean here?"
He asked it twice, half because he could not believe it, half because he needed to hear the answer again.
When they had pressed the remaining traffickers for information, none of them had known the exact location of the central base. They only knew which island it was on. At that point, Adelaide had stepped forward of his own accord and claimed he knew the place.
Axel had promised him that once they found it, he would let him go.
Adelaide had agreed without hesitation.
And now, standing before the place in question, Axel finally understood why the old man had looked so eager to accept that bargain.
"That's right," Adelaide said, oddly smug despite everything. "This is it."
What stood before them was a Marine base.
Not a warehouse hidden in the back alleys of some lawless town. Not a pirate fortress flying a black flag. Not some underground den tucked beneath a casino.
A Marine base.
The seagull insignia was mounted high and clear, impossible to mistake.
For a moment, Axel simply stared.
"So their headquarters is inside a Marine base," he said slowly. "And all those kidnapped people were brought here?"
Even now, saying it out loud felt absurd.
Axel had long known the Marines were not spotless. He knew there were men who cooperated with pirates, men who looked away when it suited them, men who wore justice on their backs while staining their hands in the shadows.
But this was different.
This was no quiet collusion.
This was a thieves' den sitting inside the Navy itself.
Adelaide chuckled dryly beside him.
"Isn't that normal? Everyone has two faces."
Issho's grip tightened slightly around his cane sword.
"What corrupt justice," he said. "So this is the kind of thing these eyes refused to keep seeing."
His voice was calm, but there was something dark moving beneath it, something heavy enough to make Adelaide instinctively shrink back.
The old trafficker no longer had the slightest thought of revenge. After what he had seen on the journey here, his only remaining wish was to get away from these monsters alive.
"Do not forget our agreement," Adelaide said nervously. "Once you find the place, you leave me to my own fate."
"Relax," Axel said. "I always keep my word."
What the world chose to do with him afterward was another matter entirely.
Adelaide, of course, did not hear the rest of that thought.
To him, people with power like this had no need to play tricks on a crippled trafficker. He took Axel's promise at face value.
Ahead of them, the base gates were already in view.
Two armed Marines stood guard at the entrance. The moment they noticed the strangers approaching, their expressions changed.
"Halt," one of them barked. "This is a Marine base. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed inside."
Issho took a step forward.
"We would like to see the person in charge here."
The guard stared at the blind man in disbelief, then sneered openly.
"See the commander? Who do you think you are? You don't just walk in and demand to meet a Commander. Turn around and leave."
Issho remained polite.
"There is something we need to confirm with your Commander."
The Marine's face darkened.
"I said get lost. If you keep causing trouble, I'll arrest you for disturbing Marine order."
At that moment, Hawkins stepped forward and looked at him with that eerie, unreadable calm of his.
"You're having a bad day," he said.
The guard's face twisted.
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling, you creepy bastard?"
He did not get to finish.
The instant Hawkins moved, he blurred across the short distance between them and drove a savage kick into the man's side. The guard was sent flying so hard he crashed into the wall beside the gate with a sickening bang.
"I told you," Hawkins said quietly, "you're having a bad day."
Axel almost laughed.
As usual, Hawkins had managed to make violence sound like a weather report.
The other Marines jolted in alarm. Weapons came out at once. One sounded the alarm, and the entire base erupted.
Men poured out from inside at astonishing speed, rifles in hand, boots pounding across stone. Civilians nearby panicked and scattered, terrified of being caught in whatever was about to happen. No one knew why these strangers had attacked the base, but once Marines started sounding alarms, trouble was guaranteed.
Within moments, Axel and the others were surrounded.
More than one rifle was aimed at them now. Several Marines kept their fingers near the triggers, though not all of them looked eager to fire.
One man in particular frowned when he saw Axel standing among the others.
"Kid," he shouted, "move away from them!"
Another echoed him. "This is no place for a child. Get back!"
Axel looked at them and smiled faintly.
He stayed exactly where he was.
He silently memorized their faces. Men like that were worth remembering.
If things turned ugly later, he would avoid going too hard on them.
For now, the Marines merely formed a ring and held position. Nobody fired. They were waiting for their superior.
Inside the base, Commander Weasel had been enjoying one of the rare luxuries he truly loved.
A hot cup of tea.
He lounged deep in a soft leather chair, one leg crossed over the other, savoring the warmth and the quiet with the contentment of a man who believed he had climbed above the mud at last.
Cunning, compromise, bribery, calculated obedience, none of it mattered anymore. He had reached the rank of Commander and taken charge of this branch. The power that came with it was intoxicating.
Some people liked to say power ruined men.
To him, that was just sour jealousy from those too weak to seize it.
What if power led a man astray?
Being led astray in comfort was still better than crawling through life powerless.
He lifted the teacup toward his lips.
Then the alarm bell exploded through the base.
His hand jerked. Scalding tea splashed over his mouth.
"Damn it!"
The cup flew from his hand and shattered on the floor.
Commander Weasel clutched his burned lips, face contorting with rage.
"Who sounded that alarm?" he roared. "If this isn't serious, I'll skin the idiot alive!"
.....
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