48 Hours a Day

Panda Novel

Carina walked toward the horse carriage, with Malone opening the door for her. Suddenly, she stopped and did not enter the carriage. Looking at the coffee shop opposite her, she spotted Malcolm having his lunch. He invited her to join him by signaling her with his hand.

After a short moment of hesitation, Carina walked towards the coffee shop. Malone wanted to follow her but was stopped by two muscular men that seemed to be guarding the shop. Malone was worried about her, but she simply nodded at him, indicating that everything was fine.

“What do you want to eat?” asked Malcolm while cutting his fried egg with a knife.

“I recommend the coffee and tuna sandwich. They are quite good.”

“I will order whatever you ordered.”

“Those who know me well know that I dislike those who say no to my suggestions. I want to have another cup of coffee, a fried egg, and a tuna sandwich,” said Malcolm to the waiter.

Carina only responded with a smile.

“I have stayed in Nassau for quite some time now, but I’ve never really walked around town. I had no idea that there’s a coffee shop here.”

“I don’t blame you. On normal days, this coffee shop remains closed. It’s only open for business when I’m here. Sitting here makes me feel like I’m back in the modern world.”

“I would have fallen in love with you if you were ten years younger.”

“I have known your father Fegan for some time, but I didn’t know he’s got such an excellent daughter. When you first appeared in front of me, I thought that you were some kind of scammer. Now, I believe that you are your father’s daughter. Both of you share the same qualities. Once you have a goal in mind, you will never give up until you achieve it.”

Malcolm placed some fried egg into his mouth and sipped his coffee.

“Perhaps it’s because we don’t have the right to give up on life.”

Carina thanked the waiter that brought her coffee.

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“Are you still angry at me for what happened when you first came to this island?”

“Should I be angry at you?”

“Even a man like me isn’t allowed to do whatever I want to do.”

Malcolm put down the cutlery and cleaned his hand with a napkin.

“To be precise, this position that I’m in doesn’t allow me to do whatever I want. Outsiders might see that the black-market alliance is mighty, but nobody knows that it was no easy task forming this alliance. We had to face all kinds of threats from outside and within the alliance. We had to compromise so much.”

“I’m sorry, but what does this have to do with me? I have acquired what you people have refused to give me. Right now, I don’t need anyone’s pity. I don’t care about the effort that you put in to form the alliance. I don’t care how much it means to you. I would ask you to stop wasting your time if you plan to take advantage of my emotions! I’m not as free as you. I have other things to deal with. Goodbye.”

After that, Carina was about to leave the coffee shop.

“Do you not care about your father as well?”

Carina stopped walking and was instantly filled with anger. However, she managed to control her emotions when she thought about what Laeli was doing right now. She turned around and tried her best to sound as calm as possible.

“My father?”

“I’m so sorry for what happened to him. An uncle of mine is close to Count Slaughter. Maybe I can ask him to release your father as early as possible. I think you want him to be free, right?” asked Malcolm while looking straight into Carina’s eyes.

“What’s will it cost me?”

“Leave Nassau right now. I think you had earned quite enough from selling those spices. This amount of money is enough for you and your father to start afresh elsewhere. And the money that you will earn from your new business should be able to feed your family.”

Just when Carina was about to react, Malcolm put up his finger.

“This is not a trade. Because of your father, I’m willing to grant you a final chance to redeem yourself. I want to resolve this matter peacefully. You should know that better than anyone else. Whatever you’re doing right now, it won’t last long. And my patience has a limit.”

“What if I say no?” asked Carina after a short moment of silence.

“Maybe I have underestimated you. All the while, I thought you’ve come to Nassau to earn enough money to set your father free. You are now treating this whole thing as your business, right? Unfortunately, this is not the right time for you to do something like this. I have changed my mind, and I don’t want to keep dragging this matter. The time of games and chatting with you are over. Bad things are going to happen to you if you refuse to leave Nassau.”

……..

15 minutes later, Carina came out of the coffee shop.

“How’s everything? Did he do anything to you?” asked Malone.

“Same old same old. Malcolm thought that I’m still a little girl. He thought that he could threaten me to leave Nassau. Let’s ignore him. The Jackdaw should be back soon as well. We need to do what we need to do before they come back. There are still some items in the storage. I will need you to sell all it as soon as possible.”

“I have restocked the ship with new supplies. I think I can move all those things to our ship and leave Nassau before the sky turns dark.”

“Great. You can prepare to set sail right now. I have to make a trip to Smoked Fish Alley. Let’s part ways here,” said Carina as she sat in the carriage.

“Should we go together? I don’t need the whole afternoon to do what I need to do. Smoked Fish Alley is a lawless hellhole with thugs, and thieves are everywhere. I don’t think a young woman like you should travel there alone.”

“Don’t worry. I have a friend over there. Please be careful, Uncle Malone.”

After that, Carina closed the door and left the place.

“I should be the one telling you to be careful,” said Malone.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in an alley, and Carina stepped out. A couple of thugs immediately whistled at her. Although she looked calm when she talked to Malone earlier, she was actually worried about her safety. When she thought about the way she handled Malcolm’s threats, there was no way she would be scared off by a couple of low-life thugs.

So, Carina took in a deep breath and walked into the alley. After walking a short distance, she crossed paths with some kids. This time, they deliberately spilled some squid ink on her shirt. Left in frustration, Carina took out her handkerchief, attempting to wipe off the ink, but to no avail. It was at that time when she realized that the thugs she encountered earlier were following her.