Limiting Liabilities: Book Two - The Martinique Files

by Colette Alaine

  “Vhat is your name?”

  “Tawny. Tawny Martinique from Chicago, Illinois.”

  “Tawny. Vomen from Chicago, Illinois are much bolder dan from Nigeria. Look how dese two hide vehind you.” He points to Chinyere and Chioma.

  “They’re children! Of course, they’re going to cower. They haven’t had a chance to grow up yet,” Tawny vehemently protests.

  “I am sorry dat you do not understand. You vill someday return to Chicago, Illinois but dese two vill not return to their family farm.” The pirate captain has no intention of showing any mercy whatsoever.

  Tawny hopes a plea to human rights may affect his cold heart. “Treat them like human beings. Not like chattel that you can kill or save.”

  “Den the young girl vill become a slave to the men’s vishes. Is dat vhat you vant?” The pirate captain is not offering a viable alternative.

  “Of course not. Their lives are hard. There is no reason for you to make them worse,” Tawny refuses to relent.

  “I am tired of dis.”

  Tawny attempts once more to touch any sensitive area that may protect these young girls. “Do you have children? Any daughters?”

  “Eight children. Only two daughters,” he says with pride. Having six sons is much more important to him.

  “How would you feel if your daughters were in the same predicament that these two innocent girls find themselves? Wouldn’t you want mercy from a strong man who can make sure no harm comes to them?” It is her last shot.

  The pirate captain looks long and hard first at Tawny and then at the two little girls terrified and clutching her waist. He leans back in his chair before speaking. “I vill keep you safe tonight. I did not expect Tawny Martinique from Chicago, Illinois so I must tink about dis. You vill stay in my quarters tonight but I vill not touch you or dem. Tonight.”

  “You got that right. We’re very hungry. Can we eat and then sleep?” Tawny is doing her best to protect herself and the young ones. Starving and staying awake is not going to do any of them any good.

  “You may enjoy vhatever food you vant and sleep vhenever you vant. Dere is an old mattress in de corner de tree of you can share.” Tawny nods and leads the girls to the table where plenty of food is waiting for them. It seems they interrupted the captain’s meal. Encouraging the two girls to eat enough, they follow her instructions, then lie down beside her and rest until late morning.

  Tawny never takes her back pack off. She does not want anyone to know she has her phone. Hoping for enough battery to send Billy a text sometime today she must make certain the captain does not catch her. He is still in the room when they awaken. He allows them to use the bathroom. Tawny insists they all go in together so that she can protect them. The captain finds her actions quite amusing.

  “If I vanted to hurt dem I could just do it. Tawny Martinique can’t overpower me and my men. Vut have it your vay. Take dem vith you. Next time maybe I vill come too, huh?” He laughs but she ignores him. Somehow she feels like she has an edge on him and she is not going to lose it, whatever it is. “Leave your sack out here.”

  Nervous he is going to find her cell phone, there is nothing she can do but casually leave it outside the bathroom door. She will find out soon enough if he takes it.

  Tawny takes full advantage of the facilities and showers. Forcing the two others to do the same she realizes how pretty Chinyere is underneath all that mud and wonders if they should have stayed dirty. Nothing she can do about it now.

  Exiting the bathroom as a group of girls would at any American night club, the captain also notices how nice they cleaned up. He is sitting at the table eating a large meal and Tawny boldly guides the two girls to join him. It is reckless but she doesn’t care. She has nothing to lose.

  “Alright, let’s say grace.” Tawny folds her hands in prayer and the girls follow her. They have no idea what she is doing but so far they’ve been kept safe so they do as she says. The captain only watches and listens. Finishing the prayer of thanksgiving Tawny grabs three plates of different sizes and starts to dish out food for each of them all the while the captain stares.

  They eat without him saying a word. He is not sure about this American girl but he wants to see what she will do. Looking at the table she smirks. This could be any family dinner back home.

  “So what are your plans for the day, captain? Pillaging other ships, kidnapping a few more innocents, having dinner at six?” Tawny is in rare form.

  “If you are going to mock me I vill not let you eat at my table. You should be vaiting on me, taking care of me. American vomen do not vant to serve deir men vut to be served. Dat is not how it is in Nigeria.”

  “That is so seventeen hundreds thinking. Seriously, you need to visit America. Or Europe. See how it really is. Or read a good book written in this century. You’ll find out women are treated with respect in other parts of the world.” Tawny scoops more food on her plate. No way is she going to miss an opportunity to eat. She does the same for the two girls. They all must take advantage of the situation. No one knows how it might change at any given moment.

  The pirate captain decides to continue the conversation. Tawny is a fresh face and breaks up the monotony of his life. It is a distraction he is willing to allow. “Some vomen are respected here vut dey know deir place.”

  “Apparently, I don’t. Well, why don’t we play by my rules and you can learn a thing or two?” Tawny jabs.

  “Maybe I should just kill you. No man vould pay enough money to keep you.” He is calling Tawny’s bluff but she is ready for him.

  “Oh honey, you are wrong there. Are you afraid of me?” She knows it is a risky line but he is taken with her boldness so she is going to play it to the hilt.

  “I am afraid of no voman. I am afraid of no man.” He stops eating.

  “I believe that,” she says with honesty to placate him and he calms down.

  “I may pillage one ship. I have too many captives already so I vill not kidnap anymore. Dinner vill be at seven, not six.”

  He returns to his meal and she does the same. This captain finds her interesting enough to keep her alive and that means she can keep the other two girls safe until either they come up with an escape plan or Billy and Ken find a way to release them.

  The two girls are struck by Tawny’s actions. They have never met a female like her before. She is strong. So very strong. They eat up and watch her every move without saying a word. Even the little one has quieted down. She senses Tawny’s command over the situation and respects her wishes to be a good little girl.

  The captain leaves for a good part of the day but has another pirate stay in the room with them while he is gone: an old fisherman who lost his livelihood. Tawny feels no threat. If she had a plan she is sure Chinyere and she could overpower him but then what would they do? No, at this point they should stay still and bide their time.

  Teaching Chinyere how to read one of the captain’s books passes much of the time. Chioma takes a long nap and the other two soon follow. May as well load up on food and sleep in Tawny’s mind since they have no idea what the future holds.

  Tawny awakens before the other two and sees that the old pirate has also dozed off. Quietly taking off her back pack, thankfully she finds her phone and sends Billy a quick text. Her battery is low and even though the ringer is on silent, she does not want him to text. If she cannot return the text he will be sending her messages constantly and that will only run down her battery even more. Replacing it back inside, she closes the back pack and closes her eyes once again.

  Chinyere stirs and Tawny awakens. The old pirate is watching the young girl and she wants to punch him. Tawny grabs the book the two are reading and hands it to the oldest girl. The old pirate never stops his lecherous staring. Chinyere notices and she cannot concentrate on reading like she did before. Restless under the old man’s gaze they try to come up with something else to do while Chioma sleeps.

  Tawny tries to teach her some nursery rhymes and digs deep
in her memory bank for grade school games. She recalls ‘Old Mary Mac’ and ‘Old McDonald had a Farm’ among others. Chinyere learns quickly but Tawny notices the old pirate is becoming irritated with the sing song rhymes and all the clapping.

  Suddenly, the old pirate stands and Tawny is at the ready. She is ready to pounce, if necessary. She watches as he slowly walks over to a cabinet and opens one of the drawers. She wonders if he is retrieving a gun or other weapon.

  Taking something small out, he closes it again and comes to Tawny. He drops a deck of playing cards on her lap. In a moment she has her escape plan but first, she will teach Chinyere and Chioma how to play ‘Go Fish’.

  CHAPTER 26

  “D inner was delicious. Thank you for being such a gracious host.” Tawny picks up where she left off.

  “You are not my guests! Vhat is this hosting you speak about?” The captain did not have a very successful day and is in a foul mood. He must be wondering why these three females are dining with him. He must have momentarily lost his mind.

  Tawny is ready for him. She realizes that whether he is successful or fails each day is irrelevant. She needs to find another means to entertain him so that she can keep herself and the girls safe while Billy and Ken are hopefully figuring out how to rescue them. She is sure Billy got the text because he stopped calling and texting her. He has some general idea where she is. Well, at least he knows she is on a mothership in the gulf. How many can there be?

  “I taught Chinyere how to read today. Maybe she can show you what she’s learned after dinner.” Tawny changes the subject. She has to be careful how she handles this man. Too much sarcasm will not work and neither will too much sweetness.

  “You are kidnap person. You do not tell me vhat to do on my ship. You eat den go to locked room vith two sisters. Dat is it.” He stops talking and continues to eat. Chinyere is scared. She understands that Tawny has lost the edge.

  “Okay. Thank you for letting us share your dinner with you tonight. It is very considerate of you.” Tawny backs down and continues to eat her meal. When he finishes she takes away her plate and then Chioma’s. Chinyere picks up her own plate and wipes off the table.

  Before the captain gets up Tawny pours him a glass of what she thinks is scotch. He looks at her suspiciously. He knows she is up to something. He will let her play for a bit, just to see what she has in mind.

  “I was gonna teach her how to play a card game that we play in America. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Blackjack.”

  “We play poker on de ship.”

  “So you don’t want to learn how to play blackjack?” She gets out the deck of cards the old pirate gave her and splits the deck. Taking the two piles she shuffles like a pro and the captain cannot believe his eyes. Cards fall into place in nano seconds. She shuffles over and over so that he is almost hypnotized.

  “Vne game.” He is too intrigued to miss her in action.

  “Great. Chinyere sit on the other side of the captain. Leave Chioma where she is next to you. We’re gonna play some cards.” Chinyere does as she is told.

  “I’m the dealer and the object of the game is to beat me. We each have two cards to start with. One is face up the other face down.” Tawny lays out the cards. They watch her carefully.

  “Twenty-one is the key number. If I go over twenty-one, you both win. If one of you goes over twenty-one, I win and I keep playing with the other person until one of us goes over twenty-one. If any of us gets twenty-one with our cards we win blackjack automatically.” They listen intently but are not sure how to play yet.

  “We will start with a practice game. This doesn’t count. Captain, you have a queen. All face cards count as ten. So all kings, queens and jacks count as ten.” She has their attention now. “If you get cards that equal eleven then you have twenty-one and that’s blackjack. But if you equal seventeen, eighteen, nineteen or twenty, that’s good too unless I have more than you but not more than twenty-one.” They look at her confused.

  “Here let me show you. Captain, you have a queen so that’s ten. You don’t know what the card is that’s upside down. Pretty good chance with a ten that you’ll have something less in that card. If it’s another face card, then you have twenty or if it’s an ace you have twenty-one and that’s blackjack. If you have a small number and get more cards that total over twenty-one you’re out automatically.”

  “I lose.” The captain is beginning to understand.

  “Well, yes, but only this one game. You keep playing over and over.” He does not see the point but will roll with it for now. “Chinyere, you have a three on your turned up card so you’re for sure gonna want to add cards to your pile. I’ll explain that part in a minute. Okay, I have an eight, which is a little scarier because I’m not sure if I should add cards or not. Anyway, let’s play.”

  Both the captain and Chinyere are totally confused. They have no idea what to do next. Maybe this is not such a great idea after all.

  “Captain, I’d suggest you stay for right now. That means you don’t want any more cards.” She is talking him through this whole thing.

  “I vant more cards,” he demands.

  “Okay, you want me to hit you.”

  “You do not hit de captain.” He starts to stand up.

  “Oh no, no, no. It’s not hitting like this,” she swings her hand as if slapping, “it’s hitting with another card.” She quickly lays down a card next to him. Fortunately, it is a two of spades. “Now I’ve hit you,” she desperately explains. “So you have thirteen now and you don’t know what your other card is. If it’s more than eight, that’s more than twenty-one.”

  “And I lose.”

  “Well, yes. But then we play again and Chinyere may still beat me.” Teaching them to play is not as easy as was teaching new gamblers back home.

  “Do I turn over dis card?” The captain is eager to see what it is. He wants to know if he is over twenty-one.

  “Not until after Chinyere tells me what she wants to do,” Tawny stalls him.

  “Hit me,” she says sheepishly.

  Tawny lays out the four of hearts.

  “Hit me.” Chinyere is doing well.

  “Ah, it is a seven. So you have fourteen. This is a tricky decision.” Tawny hopes she makes the right choice.

  “I vill stay.” Chinyere is understanding quite well. What a comforting surprise.

  “Okay, so now I have this eight and I will turn over my card. I have to keep turning cards until I either hit twenty-one or go over.” She turns the card to find the five of diamonds. “I have thirteen.” Taking another card from the pile she overturns a jack.

  “You lose,” the captain declares.

  “Yes. Maybe. If you beat me, you win but if you go over twenty-one, you lose too. The same is true for Chinyere.” Tawny is on pins and needles so hoping the captain has an eight or less on his unturned card. “Turn it over.” It is an eight. Thank you, God.

  “Oh, you have blackjack! That’s wonderful. You’ve won automatically. So Chinyere, you have fourteen. Turn over your card.”

  Chinyere reveals a six of clubs.

  “You win too. You both learn so fast. Are you ready to play again?” Tawny wants to at least pass two hours doing this if she can. Anything to give the men more time to reach them.

  “Deal de cards.” The captain is not sure whether or not he likes this game yet but he certainly wants to play a few more hands. Tawny lays out cards five more times and loses three of them. Chinyere loses once. The captain is more aggressive and only wins twice.

  “I vant to be dealer now,” he suddenly announces as she shuffles the deck of cards in her expert hands.

  “But you don’t know how to do it,” Tawny protests. She learned to deal during college when she turned twenty-one and got a job at the casino. A natural at cards and with her looks she was hired on the spot. For two summers and some weekends until she clerked in law school the blackjack table was her home.

  “I am dealer now.” There’s no fighti
ng him so she hands him the deck.

  “Men. Always have to take control even when they don’t know what they’re doing.” Tawny’s comment receives a raised eyebrow from the captain. He is the dealer for the rest of the night now and she helps him to learn his role.

  After two hours of blackjack he knows enough to deal without constant instructions. Each time he goes through the deck he gives it to Tawny to shuffle. He loves to watch her fast hands mix the cards.

  “I don’t understand de fun. You vin or lose. So vhat?” The captain obviously does not understand the lure of betting.

  “When playing at a casino you buy chips. So for each time you bet your chip. If you win, you get more chips. If you lose, you lose more chips. If you lose you have to buy more chips. If you win you cash in your chips and have more money.” The crooked grin that starts to reveal itself grows into a big smile by the time she finishes the quick lesson.

  “Vetting makes it more fun,” he surmises correctly.

  “Yes, but we have no money so we can’t bet,” Tawny tells him the obvious.

  “I vill give you money to play.” He gets up from the table to fetch some cash. Chinyere glances at Chioma and then at Tawny. The toddler is so sleepy.

  “Can we put Chioma to bed? She is very tired.” Tawny inquires and the captain waves his hand in approval. Chinyere rocks the little girl and then lays her on the mattress. Looks like the girls will not be going to the locked room tonight.

  The captain calls some of his pirate friends and they join the small group. He teaches them how to play and after about an hour they have a party of ten playing blackjack. Chinyere is winning much more than anyone else and the boys are beginning to notice. So is Tawny.

  At three in the morning the captain halts the game and tells them to go to bed. They will play again tomorrow night. For now the girls can keep the money they won. Lying down on either side of Chioma they fall into a peaceful sleep.