Blackbeard's Justice (The Voyages of Queen Anne's Revenge Book 3)

by Jeremy McLean

  Edward glanced to his fellows. "By chance, we are," he replied.

  The gentleman did a double-take, then cocked his brow. "Truly?" Edward nodded. "That is interesting," he said before opening one of his cabinets and pulling out a sealed letter. "Here, this was left for you. I presume you know who it's from? They did not give any names, only the ship name Fortune."

  "Yes, I believe I know who wrote the letter. Thank you," Edward said. He tore off the seal and walked away from the desk as he read it.

  "What does it say, Edward?" Anne asked.

  "It's from Herbert… We're heading to Panama City."

  9. How to Measure a Man

  A few days ago

  "You lied to me," Herbert said.

  Christina and Herbert were in the quarterdeck cabin, a small war room with an ornate table and lavish chairs. Light from the stern windows poured in, and, coupled with the lanterns, illuminated the room. It also made the room hot and humid, despite some of the windows being open.

  Christina had a distraught look on her face, and her wolf, Tala, was looking at her with concern. "I know, and I'm sorry. I thought the only way you would leave was if you thought Edward was going to stay behind and delay things."

  Herbert cast his hot gaze on his sister, but he had a hard time being angry at her. After all, he had allowed himself to be deceived by not questioning her—or anyone else, for that matter—on Edward's supposed decision. He'd wanted to leave to pursue Rackham, and any excuse would have pushed him over the edge of reason.

  Herbert sighed. "I heard gunshots," he said.

  Christina raised her brow before glancing out the window and then back at him. "When?"

  "As we were leaving Bodden Town," he said, his eyes on the floorboards. He was looking at the pinewood, but his focus wasn't there. He was days ago, reliving a memory he'd pushed away. "I know I heard them from the quarterdeck when we were heading out. God, Edward might have perished and we would not know it." Herbert held his hand over one side of his face, pressing on his temple.

  Christina knelt down next to her brother and gripped the side of his wheelchair and his other hand. "Hey, hey, you don't know that." She said the words, but her eyes spoke to a fear even she didn't want to admit. "Edward's been through worse than that. If what happened to him with Cache-Hand didn't kill him, then it's going to take a lot more than a silly riot to do it."

  Herbert recalled the incident where one of Edward's former crewmates came back for revenge, and kidnapped him and John. Edward was the only one who came back, and it wasn't the story that Edward told that spoke to his resilience. Herbert remembered a day a few months back when the men were at a bathhouse, and Edward joined in. The memory of all the bullet wounds, knife wounds, and white scars ten inches long across his body still made him cringe.

  "Yes, perhaps you're right."

  There was a knock on the door to the war room, and Christina stood up before calling the person in. The crewmate poked his head around the corner. "We're dropping anchor in the harbour now, Herbert."

  "Thank you, we'll be out in a moment," Herbert replied.

  "If he is just a few days behind us, we must keep moving forward, so when he does join us we'll be able to show him something for our actions. If we're lucky we'll find Calico Jack somewhere here in Panama and we'll take him down together," Christina said with a smile.

  Herbert wore no smile, his bravado and joy of chasing after a prey lost to the ether. He knew that Edward would see it as his crew abandoning him, and could only pray that Edward would forgive him.

  Herbert and Christina left the stern cabin with Tala at Christina's side. Many who were not normally on duty were talking with each other while pointing towards the town beyond the docks, Porto Bello.

  Herbert scanned the ships in the harbour, seeing a few that might have been the ships that attacked Bodden Town. None matched the description of Calico Jack's ship, and none flew black flags either, so there was no telling if they were pirates or common merchants. Their one advantage would be the distinct style of Calico Jack's ship. He rode a French-style man-of-war with three gun decks, and it was nearly as big as a galleon, though not quite as long.

  As we've only been under the name Queen Anne's Revenge for a few months now, it's doubtful that Calico Jack has heard of the change. I suppose we have more than one advantage in that case.

  Herbert wheeled himself over to the edge of the railing, and looked at some of the crew talking. "You there, prepare a longboat so we may dock," he said.

  "Aye, Captain," one of the men replied.

  Herbert opened his mouth to object, and managed to say "I'm…" before the crewmates were gone. In that moment, he felt unworthy of the title, because not only was he not truly the captain, but he felt he was a lousy one. Even so, deep down, some part of him liked being called by that title.

  "I'll go and help them," Christina said, walking to the quarterdeck stairs. "Rester, Tala," she commanded the wolf, and it lay down to wait at Herbert's side.

  As Christina went down the stairs, Alexandre was coming up them. "Quartermaster," Alexandre called. "Or, is it captain now? It is so hard to recall names and titles aboard this ship, as they seem to change so often," he said with a grin.

  Herbert frowned. "Quartermaster is my title, and you may call me Herbert. What is it you need, Alexandre?"

  "Victor and I wish to go ashore. Victor knows some from the area, and they may be able to aider us, if the harbour watch cannot."

  Herbert nodded. "I wasn't aware Victor was from here. He doesn't seem to have the complexion."

  Alexandre grinned and shook his finger as if speaking to a child. "Non, I did not say he is from here, I said he knows some from the area."

  "True, I misheard you," Herbert said. "I apologise."

  "You would do well to listen carefully, mon ami. People always tell more than they wish to. You need but to listen." Alexandre pointed to his ear before he made his way down the quarterdeck to where Victor was waiting.

  Why did he say that? Herbert tried to make sense of what the French surgeon was trying to say as he scratched Tala's ears, but eventually he ceased and shook his head. No wonder the crew dislikes him so.

  Christina walked back up to the quarterdeck. "Shall we go?"

  Herbert nodded, hopped off of his wheelchair, and crawled to the longboat. Christina picked up the wooden chair and carried it down. With the help of a few other mates, they managed to get the chair aboard the longboat without issue. With the cargo secure, Christina, Alexandre, Victor, and a few others boarded, and then the crew lowered the longboat into the water.

  Tala jumped up, placing her front paws on the railing near the boat. "Rester, Tala," Christina said once again, producing a whine from the red wolf.

  The longboat fell into the water with a small splash, and bobbed up and down with the movement of the waves as it settled. After the bouncing subsided, the crew placed oars into the water and paddled towards shore.

  As they passed by the multitude of ships anchored in the harbour, Herbert felt as though he was being watched. He looked at the ships they were passing, and could see the sailors casually glancing their way or even outright staring at them. Having such a large ship was a threat, even if they weren't here to fight. The sailors were no doubt studying them to measure their mettle in the off chance there was a battle.

  Herbert decided to pay them no heed, and instead focussed on the task at hand. He scanned the dock and found a building which could be where the port authorities were stationed. He glanced over to see Christina staring at the various ships and men looking back at them.

  "Christina!" he called in a harsh whisper.

  Christina looked his way with one brow cocked. "What?"

  "Don't antagonize them. We can't get into a fight here, not with all these guns on us."

  Christina sighed and turned her attention to the water at the side of the boat. She dipped her hand into the water and made lazy circles on the surface.

  They moored
the boat to the pier before departing from the vessel. The boat was close enough to the pier that Herbert could climb over, and then the crew helped him with his wheelchair.

  Once he was sitting in his mobile seat, he told the men to come in close. They formed a wall of people around Herbert to contain the sound from their voices. "The air around here feels off. It's almost as if the ships in the harbour are expecting a fight," he said.

  "Do you think they're Calico Jack's people?" Christina asked.

  "It's hard to say, but I don't want to take any chances. We'll get the information we need and leave immediately. Christina and I will talk with the port authorities and see if they're aware of any ships matching Calico Jack's, and you two," Herbert said, pointing at Alexandre and Victor, "find out what you can from your friend and then head back to the ship. If you aren't back by the time we've raised anchor, head northeast to shore. I noticed some small islands off the coast which could hide our ship from those approaching from the sea. We'll stay there for the rest of our time here in Panama."

  The men nodded, agreeing to the plan, and Alexandre and Victor headed straight for town. The other crewmates stayed with the longboat so they were ready for departure. Christina and Herbert went into the port authorities building.

  Inside, there were a few sailors standing around who appeared to be swapping stories. They were all speaking Spanish though, so Herbert couldn't tell exactly what they were talking about.

  He realised there was a problem. "Do you know Spanish, Christina?"

  Christina gave him a look back that answered the question before she even opened her mouth. "Maybe a few phrases."

  "We're in the same boat then, it seems. Well, we'll see if we can manage, and if we need to we can come back."

  At the back of the building, there was an older gentleman sitting behind a desk while working on some papers. Herbert and Christina approached the man and he greeted them in Spanish.

  "Hola, la búsqueda de información," Herbert said in a broken accent.

  The man behind the counter chuckled and said, "I know English, but that was a good attempt. You almost had it."

  Herbert grinned sheepishly and glanced at Christina. "Thank you. We're looking for a ship that might have passed by here in the past few days, or possibly even today."

  "What does the ship look like?" Herbert described Calico Jack's tallship to the man, but he shook his head. "No, no ship like that recently. Often, we do have galleons arriving, but no French ships. We do have the occasional French ship, but none of that size."

  Herbert nodded. "Thank you for your time," he said before turning his wheelchair around and heading outside.

  The disappointment hit Herbert immediately. This was one of the only developed towns in Panama on this side of the coast, so there weren't many places Calico Jack could have gone if this wasn't where he'd headed.

  "So, if he wasn't here, where did he go?" Christina asked.

  Herbert rubbed his chin. "I'm unsure. This was where he was headed, but he could have changed direction once out of Bodden Town's sight."

  Christina sighed. "What do we do now?"

  "Well, we have to hope that Victor comes through with some information we can use," he said. "Let's head back to the ship and have the crew raise the anchor. I don't want us in this harbour for any longer than we have to be."

  Christina and Herbert both went back to the longboat, and they paddled back to the Queen Anne's Revenge. Back on the ship, Herbert let the crew know that they were still seeking information on Calico Jack's whereabouts. He had some crewmates return to shore with the longboat for Alexandre and Victor, and ordered the anchor raised so they could leave at a moment's notice.

  Herbert noticed Jack on the bow of the ship, playing a tune on his fiddle. Herbert had tried to apologise for his harshness over the days of travel to Porto Bello, but hadn't been able to find the words. Now that he knew of Christina's deception, he had somewhere to start.

  Herbert pulled on the rope to lift the platform so he could approach the bow. As soon as he reached the top, Jack was beginning to leave. "Hold, Jack, hold a moment!" he said.

  Jack kept walking. "I do not wish to speak with you, Mr Blackwood. You said your piece days ago."

  "Please, Jack, hear me out."

  Jack stopped and placed his instrument at his side. "Yes?" he said, his mouth a line and his eyes full of daggers.

  "I want to apologise. I'm sorry for what I said, and what I've done. I… was misinformed of the situation in Bodden Town, and if I had known the truth… well, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

  "And yet you still pursue your quarry?" Jack said, glancing at the longboat and then back at Herbert.

  "Yes, what's done is done and we are here now. What would you propose we do?"

  Jack looked away and chuckled. "I would propose we return to our home and retrieve our captain. Though, I suppose we would have to determine his wellbeing first. Considering we left him for dead," Jack said loudly, "we don't quite know how he'll be when next we see him. From the look of things it doesn't seem as if you care." Jack motioned towards Herbert before moving towards the stairs again.

  Herbert was struck by Jack's words, at first hurt, but soon angered. "I care deeply about our captain," Herbert said. "I've apologised for my actions… what more must I do to right this offence?"

  Jack glared at Herbert, his brows furrowed. "There's the rub, isn't it? You may offer your sincerest apologies time and time again, and while the other party may accept it, it does not mean they will offer forgiveness. You may have been deceived into acting, and our situations have been similar in the past, but no one held your hand while you acted cruelly. I've always believed you can tell the measure of a man moreso by how he treats his allies than his enemies. To answer your question: to right this offence, and to receive my forgiveness, you will have to show me how you treat your allies, especially when faced with situations like this." Jack walked down the stairs. "I'll be watching," he said over his shoulder.

  Herbert had no rebuttal. All Jack said was true. There had been no reason for him to be vicious when talking with Jack before, other than his anger. He would do better, but for now he needed to keep moving forward.

  Edward is alive, and he will join us soon. I'll show him that this was the right thing to do.

  …

  The crew worked hard to bring the anchor back onto the ship for when they left. Raising the heavy iron piece was a laborious process, and in truth they probably should not have dropped it in the first place, but Herbert hadn't been sure how long they would have been on land.

  Two hours into the middle of raising the anchor, Alexandre and Victor returned to the pier. They used the longboat to return to the ship.

  Once they were on the weather deck, Herbert went up to them. "So, did you find any information?" he asked Victor.

  Alexandre responded for him. "Victor's contact wants to meet with you, and discuss what we have to do for his aide."

  Herbert glanced back and forth between Alexandre and Victor. "I thought this person was your friend? What kind of a friend will only help you with a favour?"

  Alexandre wagged his finger. "I did not say he was Victor's friend, only that he knew them."

  Herbert let out an angry sigh. "What does it matter?" he said, to which Alexandre shrugged with a smirk. "Does he truly know where Calico Jack is? What does he want us to do?"

  "He will not say. He wants to speak with you first."

  Herbert scoffed, and wheeled over to the side of the ship. "Let's get on with it then," he said before lifting himself from his wheelchair onto the railing.

  As he entered the longboat, Alexandre, Victor, and Christina joined him. "Wait, Christina, I need you to stay behind to move the ship if we're not back by the time the anchor is secured."

  Christina's jaw dropped for but a moment. "No, I'm coming with you." Herbert opened his mouth to object, but she held up her hand. "Would it be possible to not go through this dance right now? Yo
u know you'll just give in eventually, so let's save some time and move straight to that. Yes?"

  Herbert's mouth slowly closed, and he motioned for her to join them. When he glanced at Alexandre and Victor, this time they both had grins on their faces.

  They brought Herbert's wheelchair aboard, and then went back to the Porto Bello shore and onto the pier. Alexandre and Victor guided Christina and him through the town towards Victor's contact.

  The town was lively enough, but seemed quite dull for having so many ships in the harbour. There were few food vendors out, despite it being early in the afternoon, and only one merchant selling general goods from what Herbert could see. Men and women with sun-tinged skin were talking with each other in the street, but the main bustle was coming from a small tavern near the harbour, and no doubt those were sailors, not locals.

  As if somehow reading his mind, Alexandre said, "Most of the townspeople work in silver mines. It is… how do you say… lively, at night after the mine closes."

  Herbert glanced around at the small town. Most of the buildings were one storey, drab, and made of poor quality wood and stone. There were also many beggars in the street, holding dirty caps out, listlessly asking for spare coin. "For having a silver mine, the town doesn't seem to have benefitted much."

  "Spain strips much of its wealth. They send ships to collect the silver and bring it back to the homeland, leaving little for the townspeople."

  Herbert shook his head. Spain and England were currently at war, so it made sense that they would want all the money they could have for the war effort, but to leave a town like this in shambles from it was a poor way to run a country. He supposed there were quite a few cities like this one, and no doubt on both sides.

  Victor took them to a larger, more affluent home located next to a brothel. A fat Spaniard with a patchy beard mainly consisting of a mustache and chin whiskers guarded the front door. He was smoking and didn't move as Victor and the others entered.

  Herbert looked down to see steps, which would be a problem for him. "Christina," he called.

  Christina turned around and gasped. "Sorry, Herbert," she said as she ran behind him to push him over the stairs.