There happens to be a
fairly relevant situation on this very site!
I would not call the pirates antagonistic there. They simple see the heroics as a normal thing that happens in the world so much that they can pass it off as "apocalypse of the week". There are many campaigns going on at any given point, apparently, and they don't want to be stuck with the bill. From their point of view, it's perfectly rational - the heroes want a service to save the day, they pay for that service. And the heroes, I should note, seem to agree.