"Urca de Lima, the largest Spanish treasure galleon in the Americas." "A page was torn from the log with the Urca's course and schedule." "Take them into custody." "The schedule is here on the island." "The thief who stole it has offered to sell it to me." "5,000 pesos in pearls." " After I get payment, we leave tonight." " Leave with me." " I've spent my life trying to build something here." "If you ever challenge me again in front of my crew," "I might just forget that I loved you once." "The page is gone." "Don't lie to me!" " Where's the page?" " You're looking at it." "I took drastic measures." "Your schedule is up here." "Ah!" "You're dripping blood across my floor." "Whoever tied this bandage was either blind or drunk." "I think both." "Oh, my God." "You couldn't have told me about this last night?" "It's really not as bad as it looks." "Is that really necessary?" "One of my neighbors must have witnessed your arrival last night." "They've planted a spy out by the scrub pine." "The crone with the crooked nose?" "She passed." "Pastor Lambrick has a new chief of intelligencers." "Mrs. Archer." "Eyes like saucers." "What is it?" "I found it, Miranda." "Parrish's ship?" "You found the schedule?" "Ma'am." "She's gone." "She's gone?" "Are you sure?" "One of the whores helped her past the guards." "She said Max had a boat waiting." "I went to check." "It's no longer there." "I told her I would protect her." "Did she not believe me?" "She chose this, not me." " Something wrong?" " You better be worth it." "When do you imagine you'll sail?" "We'll know for certain once that thief has transcribed the page that he stole, but it'll be soon." "Which reminds me." "Found it in Parrish's cabin." "Middleton." "Thought you might like it." "I must admit, given how long it's taken to track him," "I had wondered if it was a lost cause." "You seem disappointed." "Not at all." "I just... well, I was hoping to have you all to myself." "About that." "Ma'am." "I need a favor." "You promised us a score." "That I did." "And now there's no score." "There would not appear to be, no." "This ain't no joke, Jack." "5,000 pesos of our money is gone and someone's got to answer for it." "I assure you all what happened last night was as disappointing to me as it was to you." "But if you're quite certain my value to this crew is exhausted, then by all means elect yourselves a new quartermaster." "Make it right, Jack." "Quickly." " Where's the rest?" " Beg pardon?" "The Urca has a planned stop to take on water somewhere on the coast of Florida." "That's the point where they're most vulnerable to attack." "This describes a course that ends miles short of the coast." "Where's the rest of the course?" "Well, I can't exactly write that down, can I?" "Why not?" "Well, you all seem rather angry with me." "Especially you." "And if I were to write it all down, then what's to stop you from killing me right here?" "I say we bring Joji in here." "He'll have it out of him in 10 minutes." " Torture won't help you." " You haven't seen Joji work." "No, I mean I have an exceptionally low tolerance for pain." "I'd say anything to make it stop." "But there may be a more mutually beneficial solution to all this." "What if I were to remain with your crew?" "It makes sense." "I forgo payment for the schedule in exchange for my share of the prize." "You proceed with your plan." "When the time comes for me to reveal the last piece," "I will be right by your side." "If what I tell you is in any way incorrect, well, you can do with me what you will." "And when the Urca's ours, what's to stop me from killing you anyway?" "Well, that's a few weeks from now, isn't it?" "We might be friends by then." "Good enough for you?" "I guess it will have to be." "Wait, we're moving ahead?" "Mr. Gates and I will begin our search for a consort." "This is not a task we'll be able to complete without the assistance of another ship." " Captain, can we just discuss this?" " Join me outside, Billy." "We'll need some additional items that will exceed our normal demands." " You'll have it." " 100 casks of powder." "1,000 rounds of shot." "New guns, 12-pounders." "At least a dozen of them." "When we fire on the Urca, we'll need to do more than make a scratch or we'll have no chance of success." "As I said... you'll have it." "All right, fire away." "Silver knows Singleton wasn't a thief." "Am I the only one that remembers this?" "No, you're not." "Our crew is less than a day removed from a mutiny." "I don't care how much gold you dangle in front of them, that hatred doesn't just disappear." "And Flint wants to put him back on board?" "What if he tells the wrong person the truth?" " I think we need to canvass." " Oh, Billy." "No, 'cause then we'll at least know who to watch out for and who to keep Silver separated from on the watch." "And there's a good chance by doing that, you're gonna cause the very same suspicion you're looking to ferret out." "You know that, don't you?" "Everything all right?" "Aye." "Onward." "You, come with me." "You heard him." "You sure he's all right?" "Billy?" "He'll be fine." "Randall." "Mr. Silver here has lost a wager to me." "Owes me the rest of the day helping you peel." "Not supposed to wager on the ship." "I know, but it was made over an ale at Guthrie's." "It's all in good order." "Would you do me a favor and keep an eye on him?" "Give me a yell if he tries to wander off." "Peel." "That's what I'll do if he should wander." "I haven't seen a pair of 12-pound guns on this island in months." "He wants a dozen and you tell him not to worry." "Bryson's due back in two days." "And?" "He's armed himself with 12-pounders since he joined my father's fleet." "What?" "But they are his guns." "You can't expect him to give them to us." "I understand that." "And while we're on the subject of Bryson, once he arrives, if he arrives, that is the last of your father's supply ships we can expect." "We have to assume that the others will hear of your father's arrest at port." "In which case they won't dare return here." "Look." "I can reach out to our contacts in Port Harbour." "And there's also the sloop trade in Havana and Santo Domingo." "But even so, we will only cover roughly one-third of our costs per ship per week, which means in less than four weeks" "The warehouse is empty." "Then he'll have to help us." "Who?" "My father." "I can't help but notice that you don't seem to like me very much." "Do you mind if I ask why?" "I can cook." "I see." "You're upset because they gave me your job." "In my own defense," "I'm still trying to figure out how this whole place works myself." "I mean, I came aboard the ship two days ago and I hear Mr. Singleton making what sounds to me to be a lot of sense." "Then less than a day later, he's dead, Flint remains, and everyone seems to have forgotten that any of it ever happened." "What?" "Do you know of people who still harbor some anger towards the captain?" "Not supposed to talk about that." "Well, that's a shame." "If you knew someone like that," "I'd be very curious as to what they had to say." "Hello, Father." "You lost a lot of blood." "May I have a towel?" "I'm sorry this happened to you." "Flint wants you guarded." "To make certain you don't interfere with his plan to hunt the Spanish galleon." "Father, I need your help." "If we're to stay in business here, we need a new partner." "Someone with ships and legitimacy." "Someone we can trust not to cross you." "I know this is difficult, but I need you to trust me." "I can do this." "Who the fuck are you kidding?" "It's help me or flee to Boston." "Beg your father and brothers for sanctuary." "Oh, they might save you from the gallows, but they won't spare you their scorn." "You'll be right back in the parlor room listening through a crack in the door to where the real business is being done." "Back to where you started before you brought Mother and myself here and we made you into the man that you always insisted to them that you were." "Think on that while you sit here and pretend that helping me isn't the only choice you have." "Billy, I don't know what you want me to say." "No griping?" "No grumbling over duties?" "Everyone on the crew is content, that's what you're saying?" "Except for maybe this bastard." "There you go." "Hmm." "Oh, for fuck's sakes." "I just find it hard to believe." "You know what I find hard to believe?" "What?" "We've been on land two days and you still haven't gotten yourself laid." "Now that's a fucking mystery worth investigating." "I was right, wasn't I?" "Billy's been asking 'round about us." "What do you think?" "Does he know anything?" "No." "And if we're smart, it'll stay that way." "What's this?" "You backing out?" "You know Flint lied about Singleton." "You know what he is." "Fuck you, then." "I've been talking with our friend Randall about my suspicions about our captain." "He seems to think we might have that in common." "You make me climb those fucking stairs just to see you again and my first order of business will be tossing you and that poxy chair into the fucking ocean." "Philip, do you know the provenance of the chair in which I currently sit?" " The what?" " This chair once sat in the Plymouth office of one Sir Francis Drake." "I took this chair from a prize off the coast of Boston." "I lost six men in that fight." "Ever since then, this chair has resided here atop my fort from which I survey the harbor that I protect for the good of an ungrateful island." "Philip, if Mr. Gates should ever lay a hand on my chair, you have my permission to shoot him where he stands." "Yes, sir, Captain Hornigold." "How are you, Ben?" ""How are you, Ben?"" "Don't be pleasant with me." "I know why you're here." "L'Urca de Lima." "Every captain on the island is buzzing about who will be joining you on consort." "News travels fast." "Time was the thought of taking on a treasure galleon would have gotten you laughed off a crew." "The world's changed, Ben." "Some risks nowadays, it's more dangerous not to take 'em." "Jesus, now you're talking like him." "So I am to be Flint's new consort, huh?" "Is that what it is?" "He couldn't come down here and ask me himself?" "He thinks you don't like him." "Then he's right." "The man's arrogant and presumptuous." "Be that as it may, he doesn't want you as the consort." "Then what does he want?" "Your ship and your crew." "The offer is one share per man, two for you personally in exchange for your support in persuading the men to vote in favor." "And who exactly is going to captain my ship under these arrangements?" "Oh." "You?" "!" "Oh, don't say it like that." " It's not such a crazy idea." " Isn't it?" "Well, look, he doesn't want somebody new." "He and I share a kind of a shorthand." "Your ship is sound." "Your crew know and trust me." "It makes the most sense." "You assume too much." "I'm not even certain my men trust me at this stage." "Any news from your friends in Edinburgh?" "The last I heard, James fled to France." "Call him the Pretender now." "I promised my men that if they stayed with me, they'd be soldiers again, that they'd be part of a rebel navy fighting a war to restore a rightful king." "Now..." "They'd never desert you." "Who knows what they'll do?" "They're coming to terms with a very uncomfortable truth." "And what is that?" "That no matter how many lies we tell ourselves or no matter how many stories we convince ourselves we're part of, we're all just thieves awaiting a noose." "And what do I tell Flint?" "That after 50 years at sea... you're the only man I've ever met that's gotten dumber with age." "Hello." "Salted meat, cornbread, broth." "If you require anything else, just ask." "Who are you?" "My name is Mrs. Barlow." "Who are you to him?" ""Marcus Aurelius."" "Have you read it?" "It's a personal favorite." "And at the risk of sounding presumptuous," "I think you might find it helpful." "Perhaps when you've finished, we could discuss it together." "Hey!" "What the hell are you doing here?" "Where's Randall?" "Follow me." "There." "The short-haired gentleman who goes by Mr. Turk," "Randall, and the man in black." "They are what's left of your mutiny." "How do you know?" "Because I had a long conversation with Mr. Turk about it this afternoon." "His resentment of the captain runs very, very deep." "And he's convinced Flint lied about Singleton." "When I told him I was of a like mind, he happily opened up." "And now you're telling me why?" "I want to live." "Earning your trust seemed like a good start toward that end." "Now, would you like to know what Mr. Turk shared with me about our beloved captain?" "Turk thinks Flint is undead, walks the earth without a soul." "He believes there's a witch who lives deep inside the island who controls his every move." "More or less, yes." "Fucking numbskull's been spreading those tales for years." "Randall is Randall." "But Morley..." "Morley I had no idea about." "He's got no one left but the misfits." "How dangerous can he be?" "Mind if I sit down?" "I understand congratulations are in order." "Captaining the Royal Lion as consort to the Walrus." "It's your first command, is it not?" "Get up and walk away." "With all due respect, Mr. Gates, this tone is beneath us." "As quartermasters, we serve our men best when we rise above the fray and see the truth from an unobstructed vantage." "When we indulge in their" "I don't know what you're after, Jack, but you sound like one desperate motherfucker to me." "Has this got anything to do with that massive stash of pearls you lost out by the wrecks, eh?" "How long did they give you to make it right?" "They weren't specific about time frames." "Oh, usually in my experience, that means about three days." "Perhaps instead of pestering me, you should be out there looking for a boat." "It won't take much for you to lose that new crew of yours." "You may have them fooled now, but at sea..." "Perhaps you'll oversleep the bells and need to be roused." "Perhaps you'll be handed the glass and need help with where to point it." "Perhaps you'll slip and fall and that knee of yours will finally give out." "Perhaps-- perhaps." "Perhaps no one will say anything." "Of course, they respect you too much for that." "But the moment the Urca looms close and the first shot is fired in anger, you know exactly what every last man in that crew will be thinking." "Christ Almighty, I wish we had a captain 30 years younger." "What did we spend on stores?" "Too much, sir." "We're bleeding money." "Just tell me how much it was." " 105" " Mr. Dufresne." "Would you give us a moment, please?" "We're almost done." "Just another minute." "Dufresne, get the fuck out." "I think I have a better idea for the consort than the one we discussed." "Another crew for you to captain?" "No, different captain." "Comes with his own crew." "Really?" "Who?" "Charles Vane." "Yeah." "Yes, let's do that." "That wasn't a joke, was it?" " Are you ill?" " Not that I'm aware of." "Then why would you even think" "Because the Ranger is twice the ship the Lion is." "More men, more guns." "More importantly, the captain is strong in a fight, second only to you." "Where's this coming from?" "You said it yourself." "Without the Urca, we have nothing." "From where I'm sitting, without Vane, we don't have the Urca." "Even if I was willing to consider this, and I am absolutely not willing to consider this, what makes you even think he would do it?" " Fuck you, Jack." "I understand your feelings, but humbly, I'm not certain this is entirely your choice." "You already told the crew." "They have a right to know." "And if Mr. Gates succeeds in bringing Flint to the table, they may wish to move forward with or without your endorsement." "They were ready to bury you this morning." "You're looking to dig the hole even deeper." "They need to yell every now and then." "It's good for their self-esteem." "And besides, you haven't even asked me what's in it for you." "You said five million pieces of eight." "That's what's in it for the crew." "Do you really think I'd bring you something like this with just money to offer in return?" "See the bigger picture." "What are you talking about?" "If we swallow our pride and help Flint land the Urca, who else on this island stands to benefit?" "Who else might see you in a different light?" "What did you have to threaten him with to get him to agree to this?" "This was his idea." "Here we go." "Shall we begin?" "First off, let me express my appreciation to everyone seated at this table." "Given recent events, it's encouraging to know that we can still rise above our differences in the spirit of mutual" "I want to talk about Mosiah." "gain." "What about him?" "He's dead." "And before we rise above anything," "I want to hear your cowardly fuck of a captain apologize for it." "I'd like a moment to confer with my colleague." "Outside." "That was my fault." "Entirely my fault." "I should have been clearer when I prepared you for this meeting." "When I said we would need to keep our tempers in check if we were going to make this meeting happen," "I should have specified we'd need to do so for the duration of the meeting as well." "Not to worry." "A simple setback." "Now we have clarity and a unity of vision." "I feel good." "You?" "All righty, then." "What Captain Flint meant to say is that we have a crew to answer to." "And whether we can reach an agreement around this table is meaningless if we can't sell it to our men." "Having lost a valued and respected brother, they will want to know what's been done about it." "Without accepting responsibility for your loss," "I can see a small allowance being made for goodwill." "How much did you have in mind?" "£10,000." "That's for Mosiah." "Now let's talk about his man that you killed." "No, that's all right." "We can wait." "Well, at this rate, the Urca will get to Cadiz and back again before we resolve anything." "I'm gonna take a piss." "Be honest." "Are you as surprised as I am... that I'm the only one here behaving myself?" "A share per man, two for the captain, two additional for use of the ship, and five set aside in a fund to offset injury payments." "Share and a half for the captain, one for the ship." "Injuries come out of your end." "But your men get priority on... unique items." "Ooh." "Done." "Oh, just one more thing." "Don't push your luck, Jack." "No, no, the terms are agreeable." "My concern is who will enforce them?" "What the fuck are you talking about?" "Your role in propping up Captain Flint was made clear when you assaulted my captain the other night." "What's to stop you from altering the terms of the deal after the fact to see it suit a more favored party?" "I'd feel much better if our deal had a more impartial guarantor." "And who did you have in mind?" "The only person around here that isn't beholden to Miss Guthrie for their livelihood." " Her father." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "What have we been doing here all day if you're planning on pulling this shit?" "Certainly he can be persuaded to come down off the mountain, as it were, and bless our little arrangement." "Unless I'm missing something." "My father doesn't know about this." "I see." "But you have my word these terms shall be honored." "Perhaps it would be wise to revisit our terms to account for this added risk." " No one's revisiting shit." " We had a fucking deal." "I've heard enough." "The terms are fine." "Her word's good enough for me." "And it's good enough for you, too." "Well... can we consider this a deal?" "I was getting somewhere." "You're too clever for your own good, Jack." "Regardless, our fortunes appear to be on the rise." "perhaps it's time you finished cleaning up last night's mess before someone finds out and everything we've achieved here goes up in smoke." "She's all yours, Captain." "You do understand" "I had no choice." "What you did, it required an answer." "I've been meaning to ask you." "Our mutual friend, she put guards at your door, tried to protect you." "Yet you left anyway." "Why?" "You really have to ask?" "How did you feel when she threw you aside?" "When she's ready, get her on a boat." "Captain, this isn't what I meant by cleaning up." "What if she comes back?" "She won't." "Do it after dark." "And do it quietly." "Mrs. Barlow." "I'm sorry." "You're expecting company." "I can return another time." "Pastor Lambrick, you have happened by here every Wednesday for months now." "I've grown tired of acting surprised, so I have instead decided this Wednesday to receive you properly." "I beg your pardon." "I'm afraid I've become a burden." "Far from it." "I look forward to our conversations." "Please, sit?" "This week's sermon?" "Your thoughts are always enlightening." "Ahem." "Easter." "Is it Easter already?" ""It is Christ's love of sinners that gave him the strength to endure his agony." "This, the truest form of love, love through suffering--"" "Do you believe this?" "It's not to be believed or disbelieved." "It's God's gospel truth, is it not?" ""Thy navel is like a round goblet which wanteth not liquor." "Thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies." "Thy breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle." "Thy stature is like that of a palm tree and thy breasts like clusters of grapes." "I will go up the palm tree and take hold of its fruits."" "God wrote that, too." "True love shouldn't require suffering." "And you don't have to take my word for it." "More tea?" "I must confess there is an ulterior motive for my visit today beyond the content of my sermon." "Is that so?" "There are whispers among my flock that a ship of the Royal Navy docked in Harbour Island recently." "The Scarborough." "They say the king means to reassert colonial rule here." "Perhaps soon." "Judgment in this world, not the next." "For those who are a part of my flock when that judgment arrives, their righteousness will almost certainly go beyond doubt." "It's not quite that simple for me." "Is he keeping you here?" "Good day, Pastor." "Ah!" "Hello, Jack." "Gentlemen." "The captain might have brought her here... but it's up to us when we're done with her." "Captain, the men." "I need you now." "Oh, shit." "Eleanor, wait." " Fuck." " Shit." "Fuck you!" "You did this." "Listen to me very carefully." "You are, all of you, this whole crew, as of right now finished!" "You will not sell anything." "You will not buy anything." "You will not eat anything." "Eleanor." "Unless-- unless you decide right now to elect yourselves a new captain." "Unless you decide to join the crew of Captain Flint." "You will join his crew and you will grant him disposal of your ship." "So what will it be?" "Beggars under an old captain?" "Or rich men under a new one?" "Where are you going?" "You move, you die." "Get the fuck away from her!" "I'm so sorry." "I'm so sorry he did this to you." "Let me take care of you." "We could have left." "We could have been free." "He didn't do this to me." "You did." "My actions cost you your pearls." "Until the debt is paid," "I am yours." "What the hell just happened?" "It looks like she just gave us a ship." "A ship with no captain." "Billy." "Is my watch up?" "So, what now?" "You here to threaten me?" "What the captain wants to accomplish here, our survival hangs in the balance." "And I need to know we're all pulling in the same direction." "I've got a right to think what I think." "Well, then say it." "Singleton was no thief." "He had his warts, but thieving wasn't one of them." "Singleton stole the page." "Saw it with my own eyes." "You calling me a liar?" "Oh, fuck!" "I may be wrong about Singleton, but I'm not wrong about Flint." "What's that supposed to mean?" "To him, we're all disposable." "Chits to be used for his own purposes." "I don't believe that." "That's because you don't know about Mrs. Barlow." "You were right." "This is a remarkable book." "May I?" "The emperor writes," ""How should you be?" "You should be like a rocky promontory against which the restless surf continually pounds." "It stands fast while the churning sea is lulled to sleep at its feet." "I hear you say, 'How unlucky that this should happen to me.'" "But not at all." "Perhaps say instead," "'How lucky I am that I am not broken by what has happened and I'm not afraid of what is about to happen.'" "For the same blow might have struck anyone, but not many who would have absorbed it without capitulation or complaint.""