(("Just because I call you vulture doesn’t mean you have to screech like one." I DIED LAUGHING.))

Mabel listened to Douglas's justifications, and while she begrudgingly admitted to herself that he had a point, she was not consoled. "Fucks, whatever," she groaned, disentangling one hand from her crossed arms to swat the matter away. Her lips smeared together in a pouty, disgruntled way for a moment. MacNichol's vulture jokes were not the first time her countenance-- or appearance, rather-- were attacked, but it did get tiresome at times. She adjusted the brim of her hat, which had gone askew during her escape from Bogart's tavern, and reviewed the fragments of information she garnered. In the game of espionage, it is always best to know to trust one's ears. Still, Mabel couldn't help but worry that she had heard things wrong, that the information she was about to relay to her partner in this sensitive endeavor was not accurate.

"What I heard... What it sounded like was three men plotting the takeover. Jackham, Pillsy, and Marco. You saw 'em." Her hand wound around the handle of her weapon. "They're debating whether to grab hold when we're out at sea or ashore somewheres, and they're smart enough to know the advantages and disadvantages of both. Jafferty's in on this scheme, too, that craven sonuvabitch." Jafferty was, perhaps, the only person aboard the [i]Trident[/i] that Mabel never gave a second glance. Of all the pirates she had ever known, Jafferty was the least threatening. He was the ship's cook. He had been accused of hiding in the kitchens during a raid more than once, and he gossiped worse than the faux-ladies Mabel had known, for a short time, after marrying into the Blakes. "One of 'em was saying-- Pillsy, probably, since I didn't hear Marco's accent-- was saying that Jafferty wanted to hire the Crookeds to take care of things for 'em. They shut the idea up pretty swift."

Now came the part with Douglas. She rested her hands on her hips and regarded the Scotsman with her eyes this time; previously she had been shifting her gaze left and right around them to be sure no one was eavesdropping. "They're suspicious of you, Scotsman. I don't think they know why yet, but they got a feeling. Probably from walking into Bogart's and seeing you contenting all the other sailors?" she suggested. She shrugged. Mabel wasn't quite sure why anyone would be suspicious of MacNichols. It was her understanding that he was a generally well-loved sailor with an aversion to squabbling. [i]Perhaps I'm missing something,[/i] Mabel wondered, beginning to gnaw the inside of her lip. Still, she had to make sure her only partner in this wasn't going to be dropped. "So what're you going to do about it?" There wasn't exactly a compassionate concern in her voice. It was more like the edge to a gambler's groan when they've got too much money resting on inauspicious cards.