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[Open ocean — Central zone — Day 24]
Kira saw them from the crow's nest before dawn.
Not one. Three.
"Three ships to the northwest. Coordinated interception course." A pause. "They've been in that formation for twenty minutes."
Max came up on deck with his spyglass.
One second.
"The Red Bones."
His tone was different from the one he had used with the Sea Fangs.
"How different are they from the Sea Fangs?" asked Emily.
"The Sea Fangs charge a toll." Max lowered the spyglass. "The Red Bones don't charge anything. They take everything — the ship, the cargo, the crew if it's useful to them." A pause. "They don't negotiate."
"Never?"
"Never."
Viktor from the lower deck stairs, coffee in hand and the expression of someone who had come out to see what the noise was:
"They're using the triangular blockade formation. They'll surround us in twenty minutes if we don't change course."
"Can we avoid them?" asked Maya, map already in hand.
