"Shh!" Danitz lunged forward and clamped a hand over Lorne's mouth, looking around nervously. Only after confirming that no other sailors were on deck did he let go and whisper, "Let me explain..."
"Uh." Lorne made no move, merely giving him a speechless look.
After checking again that no one was looking their way, Danitz began:
"If I didn't put it that way, how would the captain and the others believe I teamed up with a complete stranger to kill Claw, then got hunted down alongside him, and then got... by pincers... ahem. Anyway, this whole string of ridiculous incidents started with nothing more than a card game..."
"Do you think anyone would believe that?"
What Danitz actually thought was... I can't exactly say some rookie screwed me over. That would be humiliating. If word got out, how would I ever live down the damage to my reputation as Flame?
"Where am I staying, then?" Lorne couldn't be bothered to expose him.
"Come with me." Danitz pulled Lorne into the cabin and led him to a cramped compartment in the living quarters. "You'll stay here. All the other sailors in here are my men."
"You really are treating me like one of your men." Lorne frowned slightly at his words.
In truth, he wasn't particularly fussy about accommodations, but he disliked Danitz's attitude.
A moment later, something occurred to him. He turned toward Danitz. "As boatswain, you should have your own room, right? I suppose I can make do with yours."
At that, Danitz shook his head without hesitation:
"Shit, don't even think about it."
"All right, then..." Lorne shrugged helplessly. "But I do have a habit of talking in my sleep. If I accidentally blurt out what's happened lately..."
"You! You're actually threatening me..." Danitz's fingers trembled with anger.