by S. M. Welles
Hopefully the doctor named Cancer wouldn’t do that before she could try.
That thought slowed her trek to a silent crawl. She mentally scolded herself and slipped back into a confident gait, then stopped altogether. How should she carry herself? Meek and humble? Confident and tough? What would be better received? She decided on the meek route, not wanting to chance confidence being mistaken for pride in having beat up Scully.
A genial voice mixed with the stink. “And then my line got snagged on the rudder as the bass jumped out of the water. It would’ve jumped clear over the side, but the line stopped it mid-jump. It flopped into the boat right next to my foot!” Two men guffawed.
The laughter brought a small smile to Jesie’s lips but she shooed it away. Smiling wouldn’t be smart.
She wasn’t sure who she was hearing. She didn’t remember Scully’s voice, but the rich tenor didn’t match the frightening baritone of Cancer’s. Maybe he wasn’t with Scully anymore and that was someone else. Her hopes rose… and then crashed the moment she stood in the cabin rooms’s doorway.
Cancer sat in a fold-up chair next to Scully, who was half sitting up in a bunk in the middle tier. The cramped closet of a cabin had three bunks lying opposite the doorway. Blue curtains covered each bunk held up by a white rope. Scully had his curtain bunched by his waist. Cubby drawers took up all the wall space on the sides. Taking up the rest of the room was Cancer, who glowered at her with his brown eyes. Jessie’s stomach dropped.
“And what are you doing here, little lady?” Cancer said, his voice suddenly an octave lower than a moment ago.
She felt like she could piss herself. At the same time she wanted to punch him for being so unnecessarily rude. She could deal with the stupid moniker, but not the attitude. She puffed herself up just a little. “I-I came here to apologize. To Scully.” She clarified her statement to make sure the doc wouldn’t mistakenly think she believed she owed him an apology as well. No way. Not a chance.
“You can do that later. I am busy monitoring the concussion you gave him. Now leave.”
Jessie felt tears well in her eyes. She took a deep breath and raised her chin. Before she could catch her breath and calm herself enough, Scully spoke.
“Let the poor girl talk. I betcha it took a lot of courage for her to come down here.”
“Scully, she’d bad luck. I wouldn’t fraternize with her if I were you. Look at the state of your head already.”
“You don’t really mean all that,” Scully said with a smile.
“Oh, I do.” He turned back to Jessie. “Leave.”
“Stay. Don’t listen to him. I’m the one you came to see. I’d be happy to talk with you.”
Part of Jessie wanted to leave so she wouldn’t have to deal with Cancer. But, if she could make Scully happier by staying, then…
Cancer got up with a huff. “Fine.” His towering frame stomped past her. She shied out of his way with a whimper and he stomped off without talking or glancing at her. She’d half-expected him to punch her. That’s what other men had done.
“Make yourself comfortable, miss,” Scully said in his soft-spoken gruff voice. He gestured to the fold-up chair.
Jessie glanced down the cramped hallway. Cancer had disappeared to wherever. She took one step inside the cabin and protectively folded her arms as her heart rate slowed back down. “Please call me Jessie, instead of ‘miss.’”
“Jessie. That’s right. I don’t much remember the conversation in the galley. Just lots o’ vomiting. Where’d you say you were from again?”
“Cyprus.”
“Mediterranean. Sounds like a nice place,” he said with a thoughtful nod.
“It is.”
“The captain will probably veer his route towards Cyprus so you’re not an out-of-the-way stop.”
“You really think so?” Jessie’s hopes rose a little. She still didn’t know if Dyne would keep his word, especially after Cancer’s poisonous words.
“You might be surprised what a gentleman would do for a nice lady. I know you said something about your recent years being full of bad things, but give us a chance. Even Cancer.”
Jessie shuddered at the thought of befriending the doctor. “I’m not a lady and Dyne’s not a gentleman.”
Scully laughed. “You’re quite right.” He’s no gentleman but he is a good man. He’s just the type who’d save your life then go on complaining about having to save you. He cares about others. He just don’t like to show it.”
“I hope so. I really want to get home.”
“I bet you do.”
A moment of silence followed. Waves gently swayed the boat side to side. Jessie looked at the folding chair, feeling it would be more polite to sit. However, she couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing, even in the company of an injured man. Scully said nothing, nor did his gaze look anything but serene and a bit out of it. Hopefully he had enough wits about him to remember this conversation later. “I… wanted to apologize for hurting you earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it, Jessie. I’m made of tough stuff.”
“I still feel bad. I thought I’d killed you. After everything settled down on the deck and you still hadn’t moved, and the blood… I thought I’d killed an innocent person. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted. Just please don’t do that again, hehe.”
“I won’t.” Jessie looked at her hands, still feeling ashamed. “So you’re not mad at me?”
“How could I be? It was nothing personal. You were just trying to get away from Tethys. Who’d blame you but the bastard himself?”
“Thanks.”
“Now how’d you get smuggled onto that ship in the first place?”
Jessie remembered it painfully well. Big hopes dashed by an unthinkable nightmare. “He was offering passage to America. I wanted to visit family and help rebuild the coast. Remember hearing about the nasty storm that tore up the east coast two years ago?”
“Hurricane Brutus. Never forget that one.”
“It affected my sister’s town.”
“Is she alright?”
“I never made it to America,” she said emotionlessly. “Never even saw the coast. Tethys dabbles in sex trade. He’s trafficked so many women. He’ll just replace me one day.”
Scully sat up a little straighter, his face serious. “On behalf of all the stupid men that give my gender a bad name, I’d like to apologize. Please never give up on us. There are good ones out there.”
Jessie felt taken aback. What a kind thing to say. She made a mental note that Scully came off genuine as Sam. Dyne could go either way, and same for Mido, the guy who’d cooked for her. Cancer was a danger zone, and the rest of the crew had yet to be judged, except O’Toole. How many guys were on this ship? “I haven’t given up. I’m just not going back to dating any year soon.” If ever.
“Fair enough,” Scully said with a smile. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to shut my eyes for a bit.” He scooted so he was laying down, then reached for his curtain. “Mind finding Cancer for me so he can wake me up once an hour?”
Jessie’s stomach dropped.
Chapter 7
Port Chesapeake
I was feeling quite grumpy by the time we made it to Port Chesapeake, bright and early. I’d manned the wheel through the night with just a three-hour sleep, thanks to Rammus’s hen-like nagging at me to go rest a bit. Rammus being my second in command, I reluctantly relinquished control, then passed out five seconds after my head hit my pillow. Three hours later, the seas had grown rougher and the sun had started rising.
Red sun in morning, sailor take warning.
Such an old saying that had survived the centuries because it was true. Bad weather followed red sunrises. Said sunrise bled through the steely clouds and receding stars. The roiling sea still looked black as I took the wheel back from a sleepy Rammus. He slipped his leather coat on, gave me a nod, then wandered off without a word. Good ole Rammus. A man of few words and many talents. He was o
ver forty. Don’t remember his exact age, but there were only so many years left in his life at sea.
I pulled my thoughts away from that tangent. Too depressing, and the bay and jetty needed all my focus to navigate with a three hundred-foot ship.
I guided the Pertinacious around the jetty and got my first view of the docks. Port Chesapeake was far more cleaned up than Newport. The streets were all cobblestone, instead of mud and chunks of pavement, and they’d stood the test of one hundred years so far. Minimal warping in the oldest spots and maximum bumpiness in the newest spots that hadn’t been worn smooth yet.
The still-sleeping town was sight for sore eyes. It looked almost like it had from the 2100’s, minus the roads and energy distribution system. Sure, there was plenty of beauty all over the world again but it’d taken a long time to get this far. It would take longer still without the use of fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and anything else the quasi-children deemed bannable. But maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Put some real appreciation in everything humanity built, instead of banging out one structure after another, then demolishing them once they stopped suiting our needs.
Port Chesapeake was dominated by solar panel rooftops, a shoreline full of wind turbines, and the bay was dotted with a mix of functioning and shut down water mills. The functioning ones generated electricity and pushed drinkable water to purifying facilities. Many a home had light shining from within. Yep, this was one of the ritziest places on the planet now. This much technology concentrated in one spot was very rare.
It wasn’t quite 6:00AM. No dock workers manned their posts yet. My crew was full of big boys that could tie up a steam frigate themselves. I putted along the no-wake zone and slid open a window. Cool, salty air filled the wheelhouse. It calmed me, even with the red sunrise on my back. We’d have to make this stop quick. The clock was ticking away with a maniacal grin. I didn’t want to go into lockdown with a hurricane blowing over my head.
I flipped a couple pinky-sized levers and leaned towards the com horn, a piece of brass that looked like the end of a trumpet, which was connected to a sound system that carried my lovely voice all over the ship. The two levers I’d flipped would guide it to the cabins. “Everyone up. We needed to cremate Jersey and Mike before the storm can force us to stay put.” I swiped at the row of levers, cutting my voice from carrying anywhere. Radios existed again, but that’s how old my ship was. I really didn’t want strangers tearing up my ship to install a contemporary one when this one worked just fine.
* * *
Mido whipped up some eggs, Canadian bacon, and toast. Smelled great, looked great, tasted great. With twelve people on board, two dead, Scully and Cancer hunkered down in the cabins, and Mido cooking away, that left four people wolfing down breakfast at the table. O’Toole never sat. He was too fidgety and easily distracted. He preferred nibbling at his food while hovering behind Mido. Wasn’t too annoying for my cook. O’Toole was pretty good at not sneezing or dropping crumbs on food on the counter queued to be cooked. That and he liked to throw pieces of food down the back of Mido’s tank.
Jessie huddled near the fridge with a ceramic plate held close to her chin. Sam had already offered her a spot at the table but she’d refused. He left her alone after that. So did everyone else. Sam and Rammus were the only men openly indifferent to her presence. Sauna snuck hungry glances at her, but I knew he wouldn’t do anything stupid. He was a good kid. Jacobi, the one who’d complained about my gun yesterday, frowned every time he looked at her.
My cargo pushers and sole surviving techie finished their meals as Mido sat down to his own breakfast. I got up, allowing the four men to scoot off the semicircular chair one by one. I put a hand on Sauna’s shoulder before he could get up. In addition to being a brilliant techie, he was the one who raked in all my delivery orders. He was a Dominican kid barely past twenty. Short, real suave with the ladies, and really smart. He’d been with me five years now. I almost hadn’t hired him because I didn’t think he’d been mature enough back then, but we went down to my engine room and he floored me with his mechanical skills. Now if the crew and I could stop finding him jerking off all the time… At least he knew how to talk smooth and use his charm when it came to making money. “Sauna, find us some work that sends us to Europe or northern Africa. I also need you to find us two techies. Make sure they can sword fight. Present them to me when you get back.”
“You got it, Captain.” He got up and thanked Mido for the food, then led the way to the main deck. Jacobi gave both me and Jessie glares before he left.
“Sam, Rammus, make sure the deck runs like clockwork.” I glanced at Jessie, who was halfway through her plate. “I’ve got only a few days. Keep that in mind. Tethys picked a real bad time to delay us. And Sam, keep on eye on Jacobi.” Sam nodded.
Mido caught up and finished breakfast with me and the others, then cleared the table as Sam and Rammus filed out, leaving just me seated. I looked at Jessie again, huddling near the fridge. “You. Sit. Now. I need to talk to you about something.” Fear played across her dark eyes. She struggled to bring herself closer to the table. Of course she was scared. I’d dropped the “we need to talk” line. Every last subordinate cowered at those words whether they had reason to or not. I’d given up sugarcoating them long ago. “Never mind. Just stand.” Anything to get her to calm down. The shock of her having stumbled onto my ship had worn off, giving way for sympathy. I had a feeling she was a sweet kid under that mountain of fear.
Mido started filling one side of the sink with hot, soapy water. O’Toole hovered near the sink, gibbering now and then. Jessie’s frightened gaze shot to him every time he made a noise.
I put my elbows on the table and steepled my hands. “Jessie, it has come to my attention that you’re a good fighter.” Her fear switched to confusion. The side of my head and my entire torso were quite tender from yesterday. My injuries felt worse upon waking from my three-hour nap. I’d popped three painkillers maybe an hour ago. Three hundred years later, pills still did nothing to alleviate pain but, like a sucker, I bought them anyway. “Until I get you home, I’d like to hire you as a bodyguard.” Her mouth dropped open. “For my techies.” I’d thought about this offer long and hard. “And for anyone else on this ship whenever I see fit.” Jessie sat up straighter. “I’ll give you until we disembark to make a decision. You can either go home with no money, or go home with some money. Either way, you’re working off the clothes and boots I’ve provided for you.” I stood and put my trench coat back on, then ran a hand through my greasy hair. Yeah, I needed to make a point to shower before lockdown.
“Why would you want me as a bodyguard?” She sounded genuinely curious. Mido glanced over a bare shoulder. O’Toole was fiddling with the strings to his hood and keeping quiet.
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “You’re a girl and you hit hard. Everywhere we go we’re surrounded by greedy opportunists. You’ll have the element of surprise on your side. They’ll all expect you to cower behind the man you’re guarding. Just think about the job. I don’t want you to decide right now.”
“Do you really think a bunch of guys will let me be their bodyguard?”
“No, but there’s nothing my crew can do about it if I made it an order. Sam ‘n’ Scully might go all chivalrous on you, but they’d suck it up if I tell them to. Cancer and Jacobi’ll whine but they’ll put up. They know better than to cross me.”
Mido said, “I think it’d be hot to watch you beat up a pirate.”
Jessie gave him a flat glare.
He raised his soapy hands in defense. “Just sayin’.” He turned back to the dishes. O’Toole stuck a finger in the water then stuck it in his mouth. “O’Toole, don’t do that.” O’Toole spat and a few flecks landed on Mido’s shoulder, who made a disgusted frown. He flicked some soapy water and the Irishman made a monkey-like whimper, then ran off in the direction of the cargo hold. Mido brushed off his shoulder and resumed dishwashing.
I said to Jessie, “Start thinking.
I’ve got two crew members to cremate because they didn’t know how to fight.” Nope, guilting people into doing what I wanted wasn’t beneath me. “Now go tell Sam what you need added to the supplies list.”
* * *
I oversaw preparations from the wheelhouse while organizing my charts for a trip to Revivre, Morocco. I also organized my Mediterranean charts for the eventuality that we headed to the island Cyprus. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to convince her to stay. The bodyguard card was a desperate move, but at least it felt like a good one. Not only would my men accept her as one of the crew, it’d given her purpose and hopefully block her from fixating on how many men surrounded her. Heck, maybe she’d fall in love with the job and the trip home would turn into just a visit. But before I got all excited, I needed her to survive my first lockdown.
I looked up from my charts. The steel crane the dock workers were using to move crates onto the deck had made a teeth-clenching screech. The stupid thing looked like it belong in a junkyard. No paint was left on it and it looked like a bleeding giraffe with all that rust and corrosion. However, the dock workers and crane operator went about their business, unconcerned. The crane swiveled back to the dock and lowered to the next crate of food and supplies, girly stuff included. I chanced leaving my post for a direly-needed shower.
* * *
Halfway through the morning, someone knocked on my wheelhouse door, startling me awake. Sauna smiled and waved.
“I brought two good hombres, Captain. They good fighters and know their stuff.”
“Well if they impress you, then that’s a great sign.” I slid my feet off the control panel and rubbed the sleepiness from my clean and shaved face. Barring my bruises, I didn’t feel too bad after three hours of sleep in the past two days; however, my energy level felt stretched thin.
