Page 155 of Storm over the Caribbean
“Err…Captain?”
“…mwahahaha!”
“Captain!”
“Haha! Sorry, that was just so funny!” Chuckling one last time, the captain wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry. Let the ship approach.”
The first mate stared at him as if he had grown a second head. One without a brain in it. “S-sorry, Captain?” He took a cautious step away from his captain. “I think I misheard.”
“No, no, you heard right. Let them approach.” The captain waved his other man’s concerns away. “They probably just want to chat or something.”
“Chat?Pirates?”
If, before, his second-in-command had been staring at him as if he were crazy, now the younger man was slowly backing away, as if the captain were a bomb about to go off.
“Ha! Yes, I suppose that would seem odd to you, seeing as you and the fellow up in the crow’s nest are new to the crew. Well…” The captain tapped his nose, signalling his superior intellect and knowledge. “You’ll see soon enough. You’ll see.”
“Err…Captain? Are you quite well?”
“Oh, I most definitely am. On our way here, we passed a ship from that trading company belonging to that rich bastard, Ambrose, didn’t we?”
“I believe we did, Captain.”
“Then I suspect those ‘pirates’ will be heading straight towards us. And when they do, we will have a nice little talk with them, share some ale, and tell them all about that ship we spotted, are we clear?”
The first mate hesitated.
“I asked,are we clear?”
“A-aye aye, Sir!”
The crew broke into a hectic cacophony of activity, and by the time the pirate ship approached, the captain was waiting by therailing with a broad smile on his face and an expensive bottle of whiskey clutched in his hand.
Sails rustling, wood creaking, the pirate ship came up alongside the merchant vessel. At the front of the rough crowd gathered on the deck of the vessel, the captain spotted a tall, dark-haired man with cold eyes, a hard face, and a sabre hanging at his waist. Probably his counterpart, the captain concluded. He should be on his best behaviour.
“Greetings, Captain!” Beaming, the big, bald man extended the whiskey bottle. “On behalf of my employer, I welcome you to our ship.”
“Why, thank you.” Graciously, the other man inclined his head. What a polite fellow! Yes, the two of them would get along excellently. “We shall graciously accept your hospitality.”
“Would you like to join me in my cabin? You could tell me about your plan for your next raid.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Cocking his head, the man with the stony face stepped forward. Only then did the captain notice the cold glitter in the man’s eyes, and the man’s hand moving towards the hilt of his sabre. Behind him, his crew mimicked the gesture. “Let me tell you all about our latest target…”
The Mastermind Comes Knocking
Over the next few weeks I learned one thing: the best plans are those that can be endlessly repeated and work every single time.
Every. Single. Darn. Time.
“You know,” I stated, scrutinizing the pile of bottles, chests, and other presents that various captains of merchant ships had presented us with during the last few days, “if I didn’t know better, I would say you’re a very lucky birthday boy instead of a pirate.”
“Enough talking.” Placing a hand on his weapon’s hilt, Mr Ambrose stepped towards the railing. “The latest ship is approaching. Prepare yourself.”
I glanced up and saw another merchant ship in the distance, the captain waiting on the deck with something colourful and fancy in his hands.
“For another gift bag, you mean?”
“Indeed.”
