The horizon began to lighten with Em continuously crossing the deck of Chan’s ship up and down. The clipper, although at anchor, was ready for action with all its sailors positioned to move it without delay. Captain Liew, an arrogant man whom Em despised, raised a spyglass at the huge warship guarding the entrance of the bay.

“What are they semaphoring now?” asked Ced with disdain.

“Same, same,” Liew answered. “They command us to raise anchor at sunrise and leave the straight.”

“We are out of time,” Em said. “Even if they reach the beach now, they are going to be visible. We should prepare for engagement and-”

“I run a tight ship, Mister,” the captain said. “My crew knows the ropes and they only take orders from me.”

Em snorted heavily and gazed at the island that covered the bay. By now, the other two ships Chan had armed to the teeth would be approaching from northeastern waters to reach the other side of the straight. It was an insane plan; he thought. As soon as they entered, they'd be at range of fire. “We have to get rid of that ship or-”

“The frigate won’t be a problem,” Ualla hastened to say. The only Gecko left on board was a small elderly man who Em hated even more than Liew. As the old dog he was, he managed to hide almost perfectly the unease of Em's gloomy stare with a well-placed smirk.

A dry and distant sound bursted over their heads and the Gecko widened his smile ear to ear, raising a thumb towards the big karst mountain. “Fortress won’t be a problem, either.”

Ced, who was sharpening one of his blades at one corner, stood promptly as more fireworks cracked over the smaller island. “Damn! Everyone ready!" Scattered around the deck, the Blue Kingdom rangers, left card games and coffee mugs aside to rush for weapons and boarding tools alike.

“Cap’n, straight to the docks!” Ualla said. Liew bolted toward his navigator, shouting orders to his crew. The sails dropped rapidly, and the ship moved before the anchor reached the hull, a dangerous maneuver to Em’s opinion, but a move that would gain them precious time.

When they reached the bay, the Tampra man’o’war did nothing. As the Sung-Wen sailed by, Ualla jumped over the deck’s railing and howled, waving his arms with such passion that he almost fell over the edge. From the Tampra ship, a sailor returned the salute, waving a red scarf with similar excitement. Ualla returned down and paraded towards Em like a peacock in courtship. The Gecko raised his chin to point at the approaching land. “The garrison won’t be a problem… ei-ther.”

In the middle of the Port, raised by a small hill, there was a big stone building. Smoke and men were coming out of the few small openings it had. “There will be more soldiers around the docks, brace your men,” Ualla said, swaggering away to lean on the bow rail.

Ced sheathed one blade to unsheathe the other. Continuously checking the blades of his swords was his way to ready for battle. He was proud of his collection of five, all earned by combat, but for battle, he only used two. Mercy, a cutlass with a solid cupped guard and short straight blade and a Kiazan saber named Wolf fang: A guardless backsword slightly curbed and with the back of the tip sharpened.

The swordsman whispered lightly as he carefully oversaw the blade of Wolf fang. “I am quite impressed by these lizards.” Em checked his revolver and adjusted the holster in silence. The knot in his stomach was getting bigger by the minute. The display of effectiveness on the buccaneer’s attack was not impressive to him, but worrying. As if reading his mind, Ced repeated out loud the same concerns that crossed through his mind. “It seems that these lizards were ready to mischief no matter what. The leash of our lady may not be that tight after all.”

Em growled before speaking. “We’ll see about that,” he whispered. “Main time, you’d tell your boys to be careful with that scum.”

Ced patted his shoulder firmly. “My crew knows the ropes and takes orders only from me,” he mocked, perfectly imitating the voice of captain Liew.

From their reach, Em could see the tiny soldiers hiding among boxes and sacks to repel the assault. Excellent covers that did not last long. The roar of cannons caught the two friends by surprise, and they instinctively ducked for cover. On the docks, bodies flew with rubble and dust.

It was not the cannons of the Chan-chu or the Wan-Xiang that could barely be seen in the distance, but the fire of the Tampra ship itself that was sweeping away its own soldiers. Still, as the Sung-Wen raised sails and reduced speed to moor, there were still soldiers who bravely didn’t give up and shot from their hideouts.

Ced, who was pretty sloppy when it came to gun fighting, hid badly, causing Em to pull him with a strong yank. “How long until reinforcements from other villages arrive?” Em asked, as two rounds hit the barrels.

“South an hour. West and North more. The Ujan guys have their orders, same as my men. You just follow me without whining, as usual.”

Faced with an intense crossfire, Em glanced between the sacks to lock his targets. “I hit one!” shouted Suan, one of the youngest rangers.

Em raised an eyebrow at Ced, who was looking at him sheepishly. “What? He’s a new guy. How many have you hit, huh?” Decades ago, he would have looked for the ideal moment to come out of cover and shoot. But now, old but weathered, he just had to follow the instincts of his heart. With his heartbeats marking the tempo, Em shot from three different fire positions until the cylinder was empty. “I got two for sure. Three maybe. How many did you get?”

Ced rushed out of his cover and jumped overboard, landing over a pile of boxes. “Hilarious, old man!” The rangers of the Sung-Wen followed him using boards, ropes and ladders. Letting out battle cries, the Kingdom warriors lunged at the few remaining Tampra soldiers who had turned their attention and firepower towards the Wan-Xiang, that was already throwing mooring ropes at the adjacent peer.

Em scrambled to remove the last bullet he’d loaded, an arduous task for fingers without nails. He snapped his teeth and patted the cylinder lightly, causing the round to fall, along with all the others. “Dam it!” he said as bullets rolled across the wooden floor. “Damn, damn!” As he stood up, his knees cracked painfully, telling him the idea of jumping like Ced was unacceptable. He opted to cross a plank, which, although wide enough, became a challenge for someone trying to reload a weapon at the same time.

“I’m definitely getting old for this s-” his words faded with a gasp as he crouched to the sound of a lead whistle. his arm motioned mechanically to aim towards the musketeer who dared to shoot him. The poor soul felt silent on the black waters while Em reached the rangers. While the Blue Kingdom men growled and stroked like wild beasts, Ced moved dashingly, dancing between falling men to the graceful swings of his dual blades. A large Parni raised a machete to the Ranger’s head and stepped forward, forcing Em to stop him with lead. “I’d had him under control,” said the head ranger.

Em snorted and strode toward the warehouses. “We have to find Ivy!”

“It’s this way. Follow me!” Ced said. The Rangers split up into groups that turned in different directions as Ced led the remaining fifteen down a dimly lit alley. Em shuffled after them, cursing one of his knees, which had continued hurting after the crack.

Clenching his teeth to ignore the stabs of pain, Em soon fell behind. Crossing the corner of the last warehouse, he found two paths. One leading to more wooden structures and a small rotten bridge towards the jungle. He had only taken one cautious step over the dangerously creaking planks when a solid thud of metal startled him. Behind, there was a soldier struggling to stay on his feet who, gasping in pain, collapsed with a dagger in the middle of his back.

“It’s around here, tortoise,” Ced said. Em hurried after him, leaving the soldier dragging himself to a corner and gasping muted cries of despair.

“You injured?” asked Mario, the ranger’s med, as soon as they joined the rest. Em shook his hand without stopping walking. With Ced, he led the way up through some bushes. The ascent was difficult, but the descent was a terrible ordeal that left him behind again.

After a clearing that led to another hill, Ced stepped forward with a few of his men. At the top, there were groups of people, especially women and children, who gathered around who seemed to be Oleg. Shocked to see the ranger without Macha, he quickened his pace, noticing that the pain diminished although the numbness and the feeling of heartbeats all over the knee were a warning the punishment would worsen later. Still, unaccustomed to this type of rush, the old captain was hunted by a squeezing in his lungs and a head that felt to explode. Luckily, a sudden rain soaked them all and what in other circumstances would have been an annoyance was now a refreshing blessing.

“Where is Macha? Where is Ivy?” asked him upon reaching. Oleg limped to the side and sat on the floor while Mario cut his blooded pants at calf height.

Oleg shook his head and opened his mouth, but only mumbled. Ced yanked Em’s shirt off down the hill. “Ivy went to the Master’s house after Pablo, the man who helps us free slaves. Oleg says that J.J. has taken Pablo’s wife hostage.”

“J.J.?” Em asked.

“A bastard I’m going to send to the hells today.” snapped Ced. “Oleg left Macha with the rest of his men. I’ve sent reinforcements.”

In the distance and hurrying away, half of Ced’s party enter the jungle. Em wished he could split in two and join that group just like following Ced.

Arriving at a small village bathed in blood and bodies, Mario, who spend enough time with Oleg to just tourniquet his leg, hesitated to help a young man dying on the ground, but Ced urged him to continue. Past a small well, the chief ranger stopped short and sighed. “Mario,” he said, calming his tone. “Take as many as you need and help the wounded. Send them and everyone else who wishes freedom to the ships.”

The flowery hill to the big house was a slope much more challenging than the others. The drizzle that muddied the road didn’t help, and at the height of a large corral, even Ced slowed down. Mikel and Edu, the only two rangers that followed, were panting right behind, but Em, who fueled his strength to ignore pain and exhaustion with a rush of rage and fear, was now the one leading the race. In the distance, he could see a large mansion with white walls and a tiny figure next to a large tree. Even from afar, Em knew it was his girl. He’d knew it with a blind eye. He smiled. A few more steps and then there was a shot.

Ivy fell in slow motion while Em stopped dead. His legs trembled, making him stagger. His breathing froze. “No, no, no!” Ced said from his side. The same cry that he only gasped. Both of them, rooted to the ground in shock, saw another figure, larger and stockier, approach where Ivy had fallen. “That’s J.J.! You bastard! I swear I’ll kill you!” Ced vomited, shooting up the hill. Em didn’t follow, he closed his eyes instead and took a deep breath. As he released the moist air with a soft long blow, he opened his eyes narrowly. There was no house, there was no tree. Just a big, stocky silhouette. A big stocky target. His revolver was already aimed, and the hammer locked. His arm steady, his entire stance perfect. The tip of his finger found the trigger with a caressing touch and pressed.

J.J. fell a second after the blast. Few feet further Ced shook his swords in the air. “What a shot! Die, you filth, die!”

With a lump in his throat, Em reached the tree right after Ced. His shouts were a godsend. “She’s alive! She’s alive! Mikel, Edu look for a stretcher plate. We have to take her to Mario right away!”

As Em knelt beside her, Ivy’s eyes narrowed and she greeted him with a faint smile.

“Where is that son of a jackal? I thought we had him.” Ced stammered, dragging his feet around the corners of the front yard.

When the rangers arrived with a plank, Em helped them to put Ivy on. Edu covered the wound with a clean rag and asked Ivy to press harder. Before doing so, she made three signs with a trembling hand. “He… Help… House.”

“You’ll be fine. They will take you to the ships and we will go home.” Em said, faking a broad smile. As they walked away, Em scrambled to his feet and faced the house. Ced was crossing to an inside that could be a trap without caring for an ambush. Wondering how his careless friend had survived for so long, he followed.

The living room was a seaport after a giant wave. Nothing was left whole and dust filled the air with the smell of blood and sweat. With the lights of the morning rising, Em could see all the bodies in every corner, but one rose his attention. The men laying on the stairs Ced stumbled to embrace in a hug of grievance. Em had never seen Ced cry until then.

“Do not shoot,” said a voice from the first floor. An old man with a fancy outfit was standing with his arms up. Ced left the corpse with slow care and stood fiercely, raising his saber. The old man stepped backward, pulling his arms higher. “Please, please! The…the… J.J. men. They betray me. They shot through the door and killed my wife and my eldest. Tamu Petit, my steward, is injured, and little Welly. and..and they hit Ria...they… the baby is fine but, she, she-” the man sobbed, lost in a gaze towards the dead body on Ced’s feet.

“You will leave this island to no return,” roared Ced. “Never return to any other plantation, or I will hunt you like a dog, understand?” The old man kneeled and nodded repeatedly.

Em followed Ced to one room, where a woman with the paleness of death over her face was laying in a bloody bed. “Oh, mister Ced.” she said, almost inaudibly. “you’ll take care of my baby girl. Won’t you? Take care of my Lanna, I beg you.”

“I promise,” said Ced.

Ria smirked faintly. “Good. my… my Pablo..”

“He is, he will…” Ced turned towards Em for an instant, clenching his teeth and closing his eyes as if that would stop tears from falling. “He is coming, I think-”

“No, no.” she said. “Lies are of no need. I’ll see him soon. But not here. I know it. I can feel it. i can-” Then, Ria released a long sigh and died.

Ced took a fond look at the bulk a young girl was holding before addressing those present. “Take the baby to the port. Let all who want freedom go.” Then she turned to a man of heavy build with a submissive look. “You, before you go, I want you to burn this house to the ground, yes?” The servant, with eyes fixed on the ground, nodded forcefully. Whatever he did, or he used, the submissive man did a great job. Before Ced and Em reached their fresh path, the house was engulfed in a ball of flames.

Leaving behind the flaming grave of their two friends, Ced brought Em through another jungle, much denser than any other they’d crossed. “I’m sure J.J. has escaped this way.” the ranger said, checking what seemed to be blood over dead leaves. “J.J. betrayed his boss. This trek leads to the south Village, close to the fortress. He is joining the Geckos somewhere around there.”

Ced said no more. Em had questions and concerns to share, but he left his mate with his grief. The quiet walk felt long and tedious. Although they were in a hurry to find J.J., meet Macha and get off that damn island, it was impossible to keep up the pace they put their bodies in since arrival.

To Em’s surprise, Ced’s silence didn’t last as long as expected. “Mate. It feels strange to walk without you complaining about something. Come on, what are you thinking?”

For some strange reason, Ced brought a cherished memory back. The day on the liner to Tampra, when Macha learned all he could teach about shooting. Each special moment of that day crossed in front of him as if he could see them with his own eyes. When they made peace. When the kid practiced, getting better at each try. Then, all fade to bullets rolling around the wooden floor.

“I should have shot once and rolled back the cylinder.” Em mumbled.

“What’s that?”

Em sighted. “Just the stupid mistake of someone who’s getting too old. A Clumsy old grouch.”

“You’ve always been a grouch, my friend.” Ced said, holding laughter in a hiss. “And maybe a bit rusty, but not clumsy. They called you The Tiger for a reason.”

“That was long ago, Ced.”

“A tiger, even when it’s old, is still a tiger.”

Ced was right. He may be old and tired, but a soldier nonetheless, and no matter how hard, he’d be up to the task. The burst of determination and the infusion of spirit arrived in time to let the old soldier notice an ephemeral shine of metal in the distance. Without thinking, his legs jumped towards a mound that his eyes found before knowing. “Cover!” He shouted to Ced, who turned wrongly to nothing but bushes.

Em huddled to make room for his friend. “Here, here!” But Ced had disappeared.

He answered the next burst of gunfire with blind shots, unable to get a good aiming spot. Ced’s voice roared in the distance. Then the others. A clash of metal, a lost shot, and then cries of fear and pain. “Come!” screamed the ranger from a distance.

He got up with a huff of surprise, wondering how an idiot like Ced could still be alive. “Come, help!”

“I knew it!” Em murmured. The buccaneers had planned the ambush in a small clearing, a place now filled with bodies and a standing giant that was shaking Ced through the air. Wolf fang was nailed to the ground many feet away and Mercy was nowhere to be seen. The monstrous buccaneer threw the ranger against a boulder and roared like a beast. Em gripped his revolver and cocked it.

“I, the Bull-face, challenge you to fight like a man!” Em rolled his eyes and raised the barrel. The bullet hit the Bull on the chest, under the collarbone. The giant took a long glance at his fresh injury. “Coward! fight me like a man!” repeated him, wincing with bloodied teeth.

Em aimed at the head this time, feeling shame for not having done it at first. “Shut up and die already!” he said, pressing the trigger.

‘Click,’ the gun said. Em's eyes widened at the charging bull. ‘Click.’ The Bull’s head hit him straight, and he smashed his back on a tree. Flashes of light filled the forest.

The gecko loaded a gigantic fist and unleashed its power towards the captain’s face. Em blocked with the arm but was unable to stop the force of impact. The prosthesis smashed his nose and the back of his head did the same with the tree. His mustache filled with blood as the Bull motioned for another punch. Again, Em blocked, and again, his head received a punishment from both sides. The world spined and his legs failed to hold his weight.

The Bull, holding him from the left arm as if he was a string puppet, pulled up and squeezed the metal. The forearm’s pieces cracked, and the fingers contorted into no order. The bucko bursted in a laugh that broke shortly into a bloody cough that painted his chin red. “No one can beat the Bull,” he said with a gasping rattle that was as terrifying as the deep voice he had before the shot. “No one, and much less an old geez like ye!”

Em’s feet found ground and stepped firmly. ‘An old tiger…’ His body found its lost balance and tensed. ‘… is still a tiger!’ The right arm, seconds ago wobbling in the air, flew up to strike the lizard’s jaw. The Bull crumbled backwards, releasing his broken arm. Em prepared another punch, but the gecko reacted faster. The beast grappled him by the neck and pushed, crushing tree bark with the skull. As the enormous fingers squeezed, Em felt blood filling his head, willing to pop out. He grabbed the arm denying him a breath, and returned the squeeze. His fingers deepened into the flesh of iron muscles and tore the skin out. Both hands tightened. Both jaws clenched. Both men rumbled.

Blurred and surrounded by sparkles, another fist raised, threatening. Pinned to the log, Em lifted his legs and kicked at the Bull’s torso. The giant smashed the ground behind him and the old tiger jumped over, starting a furious, tireless punishment of blows that diminished only when the lizard’s nose was no longer a nose. With rage and will extinguished, he dropped his arm and raised his face, searching for a needed fresh breath.

“I swear… I stabbed this animal with my two blades,” Ced said, dragging feet and swords through the floor.

“Next time, bring the other three.” Em said.

Putting one of his blades under the shoulder, the ranger raised a helping hand to his friend. “Next time we bring a long-nine.”

They reprise the walk, scumbling pitifully like two bitten straight dogs. The landing on the rocks had left the ranger with a cut somewhere under his black hair that filled his face with blood. Em tried to move his left fingers, but only the thumb worked properly. His shoulder had the squeeze of something loose and his knee was up to more stabbing.

The captain loaded only two rounds when he spotted, at shooting distance and hidden by undergrowth, colors that did not fit in the jungle. The old soldier noticed, yes, but bitten to the inch didn’t react in time, and like Ced, froze, waiting to be killed.

“Come to sight! Hands clean!”

He holstered the gun and raised arms slightly. Far away enough they wouldn’t realize one was still close to the grip.

Three were the geckos waiting for them. Abect, in the middle and supporting a kneeling Macha, held a long dagger next to the Boy's head. Beside him, two more lizardmen were armed with swords. None had firearms.

“Well, it seems I have a bit of advantage here,“ said Em, pointing at his holster.

“Aye? Touch that gun and I'll give the kid a new mouth!” Abject said with a desperate yet threatening voice.

Macha was beaten up to almost being recognizable. But that was his boy. He’d knew it with a blind eye.

“You like to beat young fellas that cannot defend themselves, uh?” Ced said. “My hands are not tied. Come here and fight me like a man.”

Abect bursted in a laugh and pulled Macha’s muddy hair, lowering the dagger to his neck.

Ced shrugged at Em’s scornful blow. “What? It worked for the bull.”

“Leave the kid and we let you go. Comply, or my mate will put a bullet through your eye.” Ced said, calmly.

“Ha! We have a gunslinger here, boys! And a bigmouth! I’ll tell ya what we're gonna do.” roared Abect, spitting chewed tobacco on the side. “You turn around and I don’t kill him. He’ll come with me to my ship and I’ll release him there. My word is as good as any.”

“Not gonna happen. The kid stays. And we let you go.” Em said. The punishment they put the kid through raised a rage that made him chew his next words as if the flesh of the buccaneer was between his teeth. “Do that, and I won’t kill you all.”

“Not gonna happen, either.” shouted Abect before turning his head to spit blackness over the dirt.

“So, that’s how it is?” asked Em.

“That’s how it is.” answered Abect, pausing mockingly at each word. The gecko’s boss pulled Macha’s closer and showed blackened teeth.

Em waited. Ced waited. They were both patient. Time was at their side and not favoring the buccaneers. Abect moved impatiently. “So?”

Silence. Abect chewed and frowned. He pulled the hair and waved the blade. Em’s waist lowered. His finger twitched.

“I give you ten seconds to put your feet up or I swear…” the gecko’s face turned, his mouth filled. But he didn’t spit. Gargling black sputum and with a bullet through his cheek, he fell. The other two threw weapons to the threat of a smoking barrel and ran away, as soon as Em’s head told them to do so.

When he kneeled in front of his boy, Ced had cut the ropes. Macha’s eyes, swollen and blackened, filled with tears. “I’m, I’m… sorry,” he mumbled.

Em embraced him gently. “No need to apologize, son. It was all my fault. Let’s get you up and go home.”