Page 143 of Storm over the Caribbean
“Whatdid you say?”
“I said, not quite yet, Mr Linton. And I do not like to repeat myself.”
“What do you mean,not quite yet? We’ve got ships. Heck, we’ve got a bloodyfleet! We can go home any time.”
“We could,” he allowed. “But should we?”
I stared some more. “What the heck do you mean,should we? Why wouldn’t we? We’re stuck on an island, with none of our belongings, cut off from anyone we know, in the middle of abloody camp full of pirates!”
“Indeed. A camp full of pirates.” He gave a curt nod, his eyes sparkling in a way that promised wicked things. I might have appreciated it more if we were at home, in London, naked in our bedroom, and if he’d been staring at me instead of a bunch of carousing thugs. “A camp full of pirates who now happen to beunder my command.”
I opened my mouth to shoot down his argument—then closed it again. Eyes narrowing, I peered at him, trying to decipher his unmoving face. “What do you mean?”
“Is it not obvious, Mr Linton?” Cocking his head, he held my gaze for a moment, then looked out over the camp and the ocean beyond, surveying all as if it already belonged to him. “For months, I had to watch report after report of pirate raids on my ships arrive at my office. I didn’t know who was behind it, I didn’t know why they decided to attack me, but I knewsomeonewas challenging me. There was and is only one major competitorin this area. A dummy corporation of a dummy corporation of a dummy corporation, I soon discovered. But no matter how much pressure I applied, I could not discover its true owner. So I came here, hoping to find out who the mastermind is. And what happens? He dares to send his goons tokill. My. Wife.”
Those last three words were spoken with such icy vitriol, such cold, calculated fury that, even in the tropical climate, I felt a shiver go down my spine.
“And?” I prompted when he had not continued after a moment or two. Although I had a feeling where this was going.
“And I do not let attacks on my family go unanswered.” Arctic light shining in his eyes, Mr Rikkard Ambrose’s gaze once more zeroed in on the camp. The cold look on his face was utterly terrifying. “My competitor likes watching pirates raid merchant ships? Well, let’s see how he likes it when this happens to him.”
***
Three days later, on a certain merchant ship, under a certain tarpaulin…
“Um…Mr Karim, Sir?”
“Yes?”
“Err…how long have we been waiting by now, Sir?”
“Be quiet and watch! A pirate ship might be coming for Mr Ambrose’s goods any moment!”
“Um, Sir…we have already nearly reached our destination. No pirate worth his salt would be crazy enough to attack a harbour.”
“Then restock the supplies and turn the ship around! We’ll spread some more rumours in the harbour, then turn back around using the same route.”
“Are you sure, Sir? We—”
“Yes, I am sure! That bastard of a pirate captain is probably just drunk and sleeping the day away. The moment he hears about AmbroseSahib’s ship full of valuables travelling this route, he won’t be able to resist attacking us!”
***
“Are you crazy?” I hissed as I peered through the telescope at the distant, moonlit island. “You want toattack a harbour?”
“Not a harbour, Mr Linton. Just some ships inside it.”
“Oh. Well, that makes thingssomuch better.”
“Indeed.”
I resisted the urge to strangle him, mostly because I liked my fingers too much to test them against granite. There was also the little fact that the crew of the pirate ship I was currently on would probably object to my trying to strangle their new captain. Pity, though. It was so easy to dispose of murder victims on the ocean.
We were currently anchored hidden behind a tiny, uninhabited rock of an island only a mile or two away from a much larger one, the harbour of which we were observing. I peered through the telescope again, closely scrutinizing the nocturnal coast. Then, suddenly, I froze—and, after a moment, grabbed Mr Ambrose by the arm.
“Down!” I hissed. “Hit the deck! Cover the lanterns!”
I had to give credit where credit was due. Mr Rikkard Ambrose followed my command immediately. Something which, I was sure, would give me a warm and fuzzy feminist feeling some time later—but not while I was pressed to the deck, clutching a storm lantern in both arms to cover its light. Behind us, the pirates followed our example.
