One either perished in silence or erupted in silence.
The Base Chief chose to erupt.
"An explanation? Explain my fucking ass!"
The Base Chief roared and lunged without warning.
All the emotions he had suppressed since meeting Randall gathered in his right fist at that moment.
Randall did not dodge. He took the punch head-on.
The air churned violently, the table flipped, and dishes and utensils clattered across the floor.
Randall himself was sent flying.
"Brat! When I was killing pirates, you were still sucking at your mother's tit!
And you want an explanation from me!
I've fucking had enough!
You haven't shown me an ounce of respect since you got here. Who the hell do you think you are?!
Let me tell you this: you're dead today!
You sure enjoyed that meal, didn't you?!
It was laced with enough poison to kill Sea Kings!
Just wait until you fucking die!"
Randall slowly emerged from the cloud of dust and said unhurriedly,
"Yes, explain that one too.
Why would you try to poison me out of nowhere?"
The Base Chief grinned viciously.
"Explain, my ass!
You're about to die, so give that damned curiosity of yours a rest!"
"Then let me die knowing the truth. What exactly are you and that pirate up to?"
The Base Chief thought it over. If Randall wanted to talk, all the better. It would buy him some time.
"Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll be merciful and tell you!
It's nothing much, really. Just earning a little money for my trouble.
They give me money, and I give them weapons. That's all.
Looks like we kept it pretty well hidden.
You only uncovered the corruption and the abuse of civilians. You knew nothing about this."
By the end, the Base Chief sounded quite pleased