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“I’m sure!” Zo huffed, getting defensive. He wasn’t the mastermind of things. That was Mal. He usually went where he was told and snatched up what shinies he found. This wasn’t going to work, not if she kept asking questions. There was only one thing he could do at this point. Well, two things, really. He could tell her the truth. She was just as trapped as he was. When Mal came looking for him, he’d be free but she wouldn’t. So he could be honest and wait it out. Or he could bluff, bluff, bluff. If he was lucky, and careful, he could bluff his way through the lies until she believed him.

She knew! He could feel his heart racing and his breath starting to come a bit quicker. Silently, he tried to will his brother there. They were twins, right? And weren’t twins supposed to feel each other’s pain and panic and all that junk? Shouldn’t Mal know that his brother was in a pickle? Where the heck was he?! Desperately, Zo tried to cling to the bluff. “N… no, I mean, I’ve been here a few times,” he said, deciding that maybe sticking as close to the truth would be best. You couldn’t get caught in a lie if you weren’t lying, right? Dang, he used to be so good at this kind of thing. But then, he realized ruefully, he usually had his brother at his side. Mal was the smooth talker. Zo was the pickpocket. He was the one that lurked and snuck unnoticed. He didn’t like being in the spotlight like this.

“Pirates? No, no pirates,” Zo said, before he could stop himself. He and Mal didn’t tolerate pirates in their waters. Pirates were ruthless creatures, murderous and without scruples. Oh, sure, he and his brother weren’t exactly on the straight and narrow, but they had their own code of morals. Pirates didn’t. They didn’t go looking to hurt people, they just… aimed to misbehave occasionally. And they never liberated shinies from anyone who couldn’t afford to part with them. Heck, most of the time those who couldn’t afford to part with shinies didn’t HAVE shinies to begin with. So, no, they weren’t pirates.

“Okay, first, there’s a difference between pirates and crooks,” Zo said, before he could stop himself. This was why he left the talking mostly up to Mal. But he was already committed, so he plowed forward relentlessly. “A crook can be a criminal, sure. And yeah, a crook might set up traps like this, so, okay, yeah, that’s probably what happened. But a crook has a line that he won’t cross. A code of honor, if you will. Maybe most people wouldn’t consider it very honorable, being all stiff and stuff, but there’s still rules a crook follows that he won’t break. Each crook has his own set of rules. A pirate don’t have no rules. Pirates are fellows who don’t like society’s rules. Why would they come up with their own? No, they’re all out for themselves. If these were pirate traps, we’d be dead just cuz we don’t have anything to steal.”

Zo snorted. “Nah, if we had something pirates thought worth stealing, they’d take it. They MIGHT keep us alive long enough to torture us into telling them if we have anything else worth taking. Heck, they might keep us alive for a little while for the same reason. Maybe toss in a little torture just for kicks. But no, they’d eventually kill us. Unless you’re a pirate, also. If you’ve got someone backing you up, someone stronger, they MIGHT not mess with you… yet. The best way to deal with them is to either join them, which I don’t recommend, or trick them into thinking you’re more fearsome than they are.”

“Dealt with?” Zo repeated, thoughtfully. “Dealt with sounds like I’ve worked with them. I haven’t. I’ve crossed path with them a few times, sure.” The lair he shared with Mal certainly was an ideal place to hide one’s loot. It was why they had chosen it and fortified it. But that also meant that they had made it all the more appealing to any pirates that might slink by and think to take everything they had worked so hard to collect. Until Cece had joined their motley little band, it had just been the brothers against the world. They had found ways to camouflage their hideout, and Zo’s innate love of traps has also helped protect their home. Even if, at times like this, that very love of traps had led to some rather embarrassing situations.

“Just because I don’t go looking for fights, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to finish them,” Zo huffed a bit, feeling as though he was just insulted. Never mind that he WASN’T a brawler, or that he did try to avoid actual confrontations. “It pays to have a way out of any situation.” That was something Mal had always said to him, and as a matter of fact, it was something that he took into consideration when it came to his traps. This wasn’t the first time he had gotten caught up in his own traps. And as he remembered that, he felt like kicking himself. Because of course he didn’t actually have to wait for Mal.