On the bus ride, they got a few stares, probably because of Yager’s overly warm outfit for the slightly chilly weather, but no one seemed too suspicious. They probably thought that he was just someone who was touched in the head, not an entirely incorrect guess. Sarah avoided eye contact or talking to him. He seemed more focused on bothering Ash and Heather anyways.

Part of her felt bad for shooting his foot and part of her sais that he deserved it for threatening the others with harm. After all, he had been the one to kidnap them and tried to hold her for ransom. He could’ve raided the ship and then left with the goods instead of taking them. He had gone out of his way to be mean. But she hadn’t meant to shoot his foot. What if her aim had been even more off and she’d hit his leg or higher? He could’ve died and it hadn’t been her intention to kill him. That was probably what bothered her the most.

They pulled up to the correct bus stop and departed from the bus. Now that no one else was around, the pirates dropped the friendly act. Sarah and Heather were held at gunpoint (with the guns hidden by the jackets the pirates wore) while Ash was forced to walk up front with Yager to lead the way.

“Now Ashwood, where would they como se va?”

“Well, we don’t come here often, but there’s a pub that we’ve been too before on this street. They might’ve gone there to see if he followed them. It’s called the Pit Stop.”

Yager nodded. “Jas, I have heard of that placa before. But I thought twas in the sea…”

“There’s more than one and none of them are connected.” Ash continued as he led the group along. “Even if they aren’t there anymore, I know the person who runs the place. He’ll be able to tell us where they went. Just put the guns away. He has a no weapons unholstered policy, no exceptions. And the big guys you see sitting in the back aren’t just for show and have itchy trigger fingers.”

The Pit Stop was a smaller building sandwiched between two large ones with boarded up and broken windows. It didn’t look much better itself, with its chipping paint and chunk of brick missing here and there, but at least its windows were intact and the building itself seemed stable enough. This was probably a place her mother would describe as a dive and tell her not to go into. Of course, her mother probably never expected her to be held at gunpoint or stuck in another country either.

The inside was fairly clean but had poor lighting thanks to most of the bulbs hanging on the ceiling being out. Not that anyone there seemed to care. There were a few people, but they were all sitting at different tables. There was a small stage, but currently, no acts were going on.

“Yeah, be with you in a minute.” Some called from the back room located behind the bar, which was covered by a curtain instead of a door.

Ash made his way to the bar and slammed his hand on it. The curtain moved a bit and Sarah heard something scrape against the floor. A stool appeared where it hadn’t been and boots clomped against the wood. Finally, someone appeared. It was a man, but an extremely short one. If he wasn’t standing on the stool, he couldn’t be seen behind the bar without leaning over it. He had an eyepatch.

“Ash? I never expected to see you back here." The man commented as his only eye swept over them. He nodded at Heather. "Missus Heather, a pleasure as always. And this young lady must be your new crew member that rumor says you've got, the Liban. Dave always did have a habit of picking up strays" Then he stared at the pirates and started to reach under the counter. "Though I have a feeling that this isn't a social visit."

"It's all right, Mac. I just wanted to know if Dave and the rest of the crew came by." Ash tried to assure him. “There’s no trouble here.”

The man looked at the pirates and sighed as he pulled his hand out from under the counter. Sarah figured he had reached for a weapon.

“If you say so, Ash. Yeah, those others came in for a bit, order a couple of drinks, and then left. It was odd. Usually, Dave likes to stick around and shoot the breeze with me. I guess he was in a hurry this time around.”

Sarah looked over to Heather who had a concerned expression on her face. Yes, it was concerning that the chatty pilot didn’t seem to be his chatty self with anyone. He must’ve felt like he couldn’t risk sticking around.

Ash nodded. “Did you notice anything else unusual about them? Or maybe not about them, but someone around them?”

Mac thought about it for a few moments before coming up with an answer. “Now that you mentioned it, there was someone who came in not long before they did and then left shortly after them. They turned left out the door. He ordered a bottle and took it with him.”

“What did he order?” Ash questioned.

“Well Alemanian ale, but I don’t see how that matters. Ever since the new Alemanian government took over and a bunch of unhappy Alemanians moved here to Aboloan, there’s been more people drinking it.”

Ash sighed and looked back at the others. It was still just a suspicion, but it was starting to look like Yager’s guess about their strange tail being an Alemanian agent of some sort was true. Something he would probably tell them all about once they got somewhere a bit more private.

“Why do you ask, Ash? Are you in some sort of trouble? If you are, I can lend a hand…”

Ash shook his head and waved the man off. “No, we have it covered, Mac. But thanks for the offer.” He slowly put his hand in his jacket, took out his wallet, and put a bill on the table. “Here, for your trouble and since we won’t be buying anything. Needless to say, if anyone asks…”

“You were just coming by to settle some business your father left behind.” Mac pulled the bill off the counter. “Though you don’t need to bribe me, Ash. You know that.”

“But that’s the policy, isn’t it? Nothing here comes for free, no matter who you are.” Heather stated.

“Right. I see you have this completely in hand.” He picked up a glass and started wiping it with the towel he had. “Besides, you’ve tangled with Yager and his crew several times now. I think you know how they operate well enough.” One of the pirates reached into his jacket. “Please, I won’t say anything to the authorities. It’s bad for business.” The pirate relaxed but still eyed Mac with suspicion. “Oh, by the way, Ash, Geoff’s been asking about you again. I’ve managed to stave him off by saying you don’t come by anymore since you don’t drink, but it’s only a matter of time before he shows up on your front doorstep.”

Ash nodded and stared to head out of the Pit Stop. Sarah couldn’t help but wonder about his history with the place and why Mac thought he wouldn’t return. The bartender had been familiar with the rest of the crew, which meant that they had to come enough for him to know them. Did that mean Ash didn’t come with them? She couldn’t see him not going anywhere with them, especially if Heather was in the group. But it probably wasn’t the best time to ask personal questions.

As soon as they left the Pit Stop, the dam that was Yager’s mouth broke. It had probably taken all his strength and patience to keep quiet during the whole conversation.

“Ha, told du! Alimanian agent!”

“We still don’t know that for sure, but it looks like you may be right, for once.” Heather didn’t seem too pleased about that fact. “So they went to the left. Is there anywhere down this street they might go? You know this neighborhood better than anyone, Ash.”

“I do and I wish that I had my pistol on me. It was quiet last I heard, but that can easily change with street gangs.” Ash turned slightly to Yager. “Yager, I’ll guide you if you let Heather and Sarah go back to the house. One of your crew can go with them.”

Yager shook his head. “Wit so many of us, we’ll be oak the dokie. Besides, we’re bear arms. That will deterrent any near do wellers. Now, where did they go-a?”

Ash looked around the street. “Well, I do know some streets that people can take if they’re trying to shake someone. But they require fence hoping, which Dave can’t do very easily… and Mel can’t do at all. I don’t think Dave realizes that.”

They searched a couple of the streets but found no sign of the rest of the crew. A feeling of dread crept onto Sarah. Surely if everything was all right, they would’ve found them by now. Unless they spotted them with Yager’s crew so they were hiding, but that didn’t seem like something Dave would do. He wasn’t scared of confronting Yager.

Then the third shortcut street came. Trash was spread all over the alleyway by a fence. Ash kicked something as they walked through the trash. He moved it aside and picked up what looked like Dave’s cane. But it was missing the handle and it was empty.

“This is not a good sign.”

Sarah took a step and something crunched under her foot. She lifted it and saw a pair of glasses, very familiar glasses. She picked up the mangled frames.

“That’s even worse,” Heather remarked. “Mel never leaves his glasses behind if he can help it.”

The pirates and Yager were digging through the trash. Yager huffed and moved the scarf down from in front of his mouth.

“Not here! I was hoppening they would drop the paquino.”

“What’s worse is that we have no idea where they were taken.” Ash kept the outside of Save’s cane with him. “And there’s lots of empty buildings around here. There’s no way we can narrow it down without some sort of clue.”

“I think I have an ideological of where they may have gone.” Yager pulled his scarf back up and started walking. The rest were obliged to follow thanks to the guns coming out again. Sarah hoped Yager knew where he was going and wasn’t just guessing. The other three could be in grave peril. They didn’t have time to waste.