"I discovered a plan to reclaim a prize that is so large that it would upset our world here." "Go get us our prize." " Are you Underhill?" " I am." "We've no quarrel with you." "We will be taking the girl." "This is Eleanor Guthrie, the trade boss in Nassau." "Imagine, sir, how London would react to the arrival of the queen of thieves." "Flint stole from me and I'm making it right." "You hate Flint." "I hate Flint." "Right now, Flint's plan is the only plan." " You destroyed our lives!" " Miranda." "I want to see that noose around your neck and I want to pull the lever with my own two ha..." "Pirate vessel, what follows is a message from the lord governor." "I have placed Captain Flint under arrest." "His trial will be swift and final." "I suggest we get him the hell out of there." "Abigail." "Abigail, I've made arrangements for you to be shuttled to Savannah today." "What?" "You'll be taken to Mr. Ashford's house." "I'd like you to stay there for a few days." "Why would you want me to stay there?" "You know what's going to happen in the square." "Yes, you're going to kill Mr. McGraw." "When these trials take place, they arouse a great deal of passion." "It is natural." "But it's also something" "I'm not comfortable exposing you to." "Is it for my welfare that you want me to leave or your own?" "What?" "You raised me to respect the truth." "To know it is the root of all virtue." "I'm asking if you're sending me away because you're afraid someone might ask me what happened in this house last night and that I would tell them." "Abigail, I understand that you're upset." "Why aren't you?" "A man and a woman rescued me, cared for me, delivered me home." "Now one of them is dead." "The other is about to be." "And the only man, it seems to me, to have committed a crime in all this... still works for you." "Is that not the truth?" "What does it matter whether they hang him or not?" "We came here to retrieve this ship." "We've done so." "Ought that not to be the end of the conversation?" "We can say what we will about Flint, and I've said my share, but the world knows his name, they know him." "And his body swinging over the harbor of this place sends a powerful message." "No one surrenders to a dying thing." "And that's exactly what we'll be if we don't act." "Where are the men about it?" "Well, those who think saving Flint's a good idea, you're taking ashore with you." "Well, it wouldn't make much sense to take the ones who think it's a bad idea." "No, you're leaving them with me." "And what exactly do you expect me to say to them, do you think, when they ask me why we don't just turn around, leave you here rather than attempt to fight a fight we are far from certain to win?" "Tell them that this endeavor is in their best interests." "Whether they can see that or not." "And then when they're through having their laugh, then what do you expect me to say?" "Tell them that if this ship tries to run on a skeleton crew, they're going to get chased, they're going to get caught, and they're going to get killed." "See if that convinces them." "They're resolved to rescue our captain." "Yet, from the look of things, they seem as likely to slaughter us as the Charles Town militia." "If not more so." "Who said anything about rescuing anyone?" "Didn't Captain Vane?" "There's a significant difference between preventing Ashe from making a trophy of Flint and saving Flint's life." "Who's to say Vane doesn't help Flint escape from shore and then slit his throat the moment we're in open water?" "Along with all of ours?" "That was dark." "You and your men are going to remain under guard while I go ashore." "You know, we could help if you let us go." "You can also try and take back this ship if I let you go." "We share an interest in seeing Flint rescued, but make no mistake, this ship belongs to my men now." "It was bargained to us." "We claimed it and we intend to keep it." "What the fuck do you want from me?" "Why are you here?" "You could make this difficult if you wanted." "Riling up your crew, forcing me to divert more men to guard you." "But if you meant what you said, then we all face a war that we must somehow face together." "And causing trouble wouldn't make much sense, would it?" "You want me to help you keep my men under guard here?" "So that, what, you can kill us without having to hurry?" "In a few hours, when I leave that square with Flint, it will be to a different world than when I entered it." "And in that world, killing 50 strong men of Nassau able to stand up and defend her... what kind of sense does that make?" "What about your men?" "'Cause I'm not sure they share that assessment." "Some of them are, understandably, displeased, but there aren't enough of them to sail the ship." "If you can keep your men from provoking them," "I am confident things will stand until I return." "Wait." "It isn't gonna work." "Your plan to rescue Flint isn't gonna work." "But there may be something I can give you to make it work." "And of all the villains on the sea to which we have become accustomed to fearing, is there a name spoken more frequently or with more revulsion than Flint?" "Until today and then potentially never again." "Burn in hell!" "Now cast your gaze upon this once fearsome animal, brought down by his own hubris and folly." "The villain Flint who perverts the law, kidnaps our women, and slays our blessed sons." "I meant what I said earlier." "This outcome, it's not at all what I would have wanted." "Vice Admiral Lord Kensington." "I don't need to explain to you his interest in achieving the greatest possible exposure for this proceeding." "String him up!" "He's going to put on a show." "And once it begins," "I fear I will not be able to control where it goes." "Unless you give me what I need to stop it." "Sign a confession for crimes that you have already tacitly admitted to me anyway." "I'll see this process stopped." "The sentence will be carried out quietly, privately tomorrow." "Spare yourself the humiliation." "Spare her." "I'll see she's interred with proper respect, her name clear." "Let her go to her rest peacefully." "You cannot tell me that isn't what she would have wanted." "She was clear about what she wanted and I don't think it had anything to do with begging your forgiveness." "What she wanted was the truth to be known." "What was the truth of it, my lord?" "Why did you betray those closest to you all those years ago?" "Was it really so small and vile as a bribe?" "The promise of lording over other men in this place?" "Or were you simply too weak to say no?" "Too cowardly to do the harder thing and preserve your decency?" "Tell me it was the latter." "Tell me this is all happening because of your cowardice." "I could accept that." "I might forgive that." "We want justice." "Hang him now!" "And from this day..." "I suppose there's my answer." "Even in this moment, alone with a condemned man, you are unable to speak the truth." "...one we must put down to teach a lesson to all those who brazenly follow his villainous desires." "And lest you thought you knew just how evil and devious he was, you will hear of schemes almost impossible to believe." "Employing his minions to dastardly ends." "Including a woman he conspired with to murder our lord governor in his own home and in front of his own daughter's eyes." "Burn him!" "Behold his minion who tried and failed to help Captain Flint spread his evil deeds here in Charles Town." "Go on." "I say I have the situation completely under control." " I doubt that." " Enough, we must not act in haste." "And most importantly, we must not panic." "Nothing here is under control, sir." "That much is painfully clear." "How is it you are the only one of us that cannot see it?" "I'm sorry, sir." "Miss Guthrie did not tell me there was a meeting this morning." "I would have set up..." "Where is Miss Guthrie?" "She's gone?" "Started spreading on the street a few hours ago." "Word is Hornigold arrested her, handed her over to the Navy." "And what do they think of this news?" "Depends which "they" we're talking about." "The beach is drinking in celebration." "The queen is dead, so on and so forth." "And the merchants?" "You know how they get." "A little unrest among the crews and they sleep with one eye open for a week." "I think this is more than a little unrest, wouldn't you say?" "Yes, I'd say so." "Are you all right?" "I'm wondering if they will try her for piracy." "Do you think they would do that to a woman?" "Hang her in front of a mob the same as they do to a man?" "I know this must be difficult for you." "Less than you think." "How much coin do we have on reserve?" "Reserve?" "How much money can I have on hand if I needed it?" "The kitchen's funds, today's receipts, the girls' stashes that we know about?" "How would I know that?" "Find out for me, please." "And have it made ready for me immediately." "To buy what?" "This journey will be a strange one, gents." "Unlike any we've taken before." "Because of that, I have been coy with certain details." "Namely what it is exactly we'll be hunting." "That ends now." "Brace yourselves, gents, and let me tell you a story about a Spaniard named Vazquez." "Intelligent man..." "But..." "What?" "Last night you said you'd thought about not returning... but..." "Standing there on the jetty in Port Royal..." "I realized that was the first time you and I had been separated by that much water since we was fucking kids." "Huh." "Being that far away, you see things differently." "Helped me see what we are." "Maybe what we ain't." "You saved me from something awful, Jack." "And I owe you my life for it." "Maybe there's some part of that you just can't owe." "But you can owe it to Max?" "I don't feel that way with her." "I was at every tavern in that town trying to find us spies, build out this thing we started." "And every time I said my name, they knew my name." "The first thing they said every time was your name." "Like we was two halves of the same thing." "I can't be your wife, Jack." "But you and I are gonna be partners till they put us in the fucking ground." "As long as you feel the same." "If we run and they chase us, what are our prospects?" "Against two of them and shorthanded?" "I'd call our chances roughly even." "Against three trained hunters, if they have any idea what they're doing," "I'd say we're about a dozen skilled men short of having any fucking prayer of surviving that." "The captain says we wait, trust him." "Says this is all in our interests." "But the only thing he gives a shit about is his own ends." "And there's not a goddamn thing we can do about it." "Hey." "Hey." "I think I can help you get out of this place." "You've got about eight votes." "What?" "Eight votes for quartermaster." "What the hell are you talking about?" "If you hadn't have cut that forestay, there's an argument to be made that Vane would have set sail right away and probably killed us all." "They know it and it's having an effect." "I'm sorry, but I think you're wrong." "They all seem quite content with Mr. Scott." "Two kinds of quartermasters on a crew like this." "The one you feel you're supposed to vote for, and the one you want to vote for." "And the former always gives way to the latter." "And you're comfortable with this?" "Not remotely." "This one." "Get him up." "What the fuck is this about?" "What are you doing with him?" "Shut up." "Hey, that's our brother you got there." "Put him down." "Move, you fuckin' die!" "Affidavits given by sailors on ships you attacked." "Testimonials of widows and orphans rendered into that state by your actions." "And these are insurance petitions for the loss or destruction of property, again caused by your hand." "You stand before this court accused of wreaking untold havoc throughout the New World, of clawing at the very fabric of civilization that holds us together with malice and without regret." "Do you dispute this?" "Do you have any response to these allegations at all?" "This forum is your opportunity to be heard." "And the world is listening." "Deny." "Repent." "No one else is going to speak on your behalf." "Will you say nothing in your own defense?" "You see?" "These crimes are so vile that even their perpetrator is struck dumb when given a chance to speak." "I have one regret." "I regret ever coming to this place with the assumption that a reconciliation could be found." "That reason could be a bridge between us." "Everyone is a monster to someone." "Since you are so convinced that I am yours," "I will be it." "Sir!" "Sir!" "What's going on?" "Who is this man?" "He says his name is Charles Vane, my lord." "Charles Vane?" "What, and you captured him?" "He turned himself over, my lord." "I came to offer testimony in defense of Captain Flint." "It is his right, is it not?" "He was carrying this." "If you are who you say you are, why would anybody consider you a credible character witness?" "It isn't my testimony I came to offer." "It's your daughter's." ""I fear the stories I have heard may have clouded the truth more than clarified it." "As so many of the stories were relayed to me by my father," "I am forced to wonder if he is simply mistaken or if his motives are something more deliberate than that."" "There's no way of keeping that out of the record?" "Could you?" "Of course you could." "You could just throw it into the fire." "But should you?" "It was produced in front of your entire constituency." "You are the protector of the law in this place and you brazenly disregard that at your own peril." "All it takes is one juror to be taken in by this, one juror to be seduced by the scandal of it all... and Flint goes free." "Flint isn't going anywhere." "That book might engender a couple of unpleasant months for you here, raise a couple of uncomfortable questions, but what it will not do is affect the outcome of Flint's trial." "Not with the jury we have empaneled." "The situation is well in hand, I assure you." "And once Flint is swinging, we'll turn our attention to his associate and have him installed right beside him." "A moment's peace?" "Far from it." "I heard the Guthrie shipping concern was officially disbanded." "Captains Naft and Lawrence's crews scattered to the wind." "And Mr. Frasier left to preside over its remains, empty warehouses, and this tavern." "Were I in your situation, I might be willing to consider selling whatever interests I had left here and moving on to a more civilized place." "I've heard I ought to expect this visit." "Heard that the madame from the inn has been taking advantage of the panic in the street, offering the merchants pennies for their interests." "For a few whose faith in this place was truly waning, the chance to leave with anything to show for their interests was a blessing." "You'll find me less eager to sell than the others, for I know that your faith in this place is derived from the secret knowledge that it is soon to be awash with Spanish gold." "Even if the gold does return, it does not alter the reality of what this place is becoming." "If anything, it will aggravate it, especially for you." "Is that so?" "The pirates of New Providence Island are about to become more powerful than they have ever been before at a time when they would be less restrained than they have ever been before." "And this tavern will still be the crossroads where their world connects to ours." "Where their disputes are aired." "Where their business is conducted." "Where their passions are expressed." "Is that truly something you want the responsibility of managing?" "So that's it." "You believe you can leap into Miss Guthrie's shoes and lord over what remains of their family's enterprise." "I have no interest in making the same mistakes Eleanor did." "No interest in fencing their plunder." "No interest in lording over them in any way." "For people like us, power in this place is most effective when it is least perceived." "That is my offer to purchase your inherited interest in this tavern." "It is more generous than any of the others received by your colleagues." "I will expect your response by nightfall." "Why is this so important to you?" "Why offer more for this place than the others?" "Sit." "The conflict ahead promises much risk for us and very little reward to compensate for it." "And so we would like to leave this place." "Now, your friend over here says you're just the man to help us do it." "My problem is a shortage of manpower." "I need more men than I have to fully crew this ship." "And I can't simply release your crewmates indiscriminately." "I'd be inviting a counterattack to reclaim the ship." "So I want names." "Names?" "One list, 10 men." "Those most likely to consent to join my crew, help me sail this ship away from here." "And the men whose names aren't on that list?" "I told them we ain't got no real connection to this crew." "You help him, we both get safe passage back to Nassau." "No." "No?" "I won't do it." "No!" "Do not doubt my seriousness." "In a short while, escaping this place will be far harder than it is right now." "Right now, the only thing preventing a clean escape is the men to make it work." "And you're gonna give me those men." "Now, if you kill me, what good will that do you?" "None whatsoever." "No." "You'll let me know when I might have those names." "Wait, wait!" "Stop!" "Stop!" ""I am forced to wonder if he is simply mistaken or if his motives are something more deliberate than that." "I fear the stories I carry with me are my sole comfort." "From across an ocean, it is hard to know what the New World is." "All I knew were the stories I was told of monsters and valiant men..."" "What the fuck are you doing here?" "Came to take your ship." "Stayed to get you out of all this." "Figured if anyone was going to make a trophy of you, it really ought to be me." "So this is your plan?" "Walk in here and read a girl's diary?" "More or less." "I see." "So now you have everyone's eyes where you want them, on the two of us, what happens next?" ""So much lies ahead in Charles Town, a future..."" "When it happens, once I'm free, whenever it is, you won't want to get in my way." "When it happens, we will be moving to the jetty and out of this place." "Didn't come all this way to have them kill you steps from the gallows." "They're all trying so hard to convince themselves that they have nothing to be afraid of." "How is running gonna change that?" "What do you suggest?" "That we remind them that they were right to be afraid." ""I have to tell you what I know." "The ship was set upon by Captain Flint."" "What are you doing?" "I wish to speak on behalf of the defendant." "You have not been recognized." "Sit back and you'll..." "These men convinced you that they speak for you." " How dare you?" " That the power you've given them is used in your interests." "I will not have the order in my court usurped by your foul desires." "That the prisoner before you is your enemy and they your friends." "For those of you who live to see tomorrow... know that you had a choice to see the truth and you let yourselves be convinced otherwise." "That's enough!" "Bailiffs, remove him." "I said remove him from the dais." " Stay down!" " Fire!" "Wait!" "James!" "Her word will be the last word for this place." "Move!" "Give me the names!" "What?" "!" "They've engaged the blockade." "The patrol ships are scrambling." "Weigh the anchor." "I'll take my chances sailing over taking on those ships." "What?" "!" "I gave you an order." "What is your fucking problem?" "The question you should be asking is where are his keys... and has he seen them since he took me away from my men?" " Get down." " Stay where you are." "Get canvas out quickly." "Set the full sail." "Take him to Howell." "Help me." "If those ships flank us, they'll have us." "Then let's make sure they don't get that chance." "Gun crews at the ready." "Gun crews at the ready!" "Fire at will." "Incoming!" "Ah!" "There they are!" "They're over there!" "Ah!" " The buildings on the right!" " Every building!" "Look down there." "Quickly." "Let's go!" " We're both captured either way." " Look out!" " Move!" " Ah!" "Come on!" "Target that launch." "Go!" "Go!" "Hurry, lads." "Hurry." " Fire!" " Get them both!" "Men!" " Take aim." " Behind them." "Bring him." "Bring him, quickly." "Gently." "Gently." "Easy." "It'll be all right." "That's it." "Someone give him some rum." "Come on." "Oh, come on." "I'm sure we've all seen worse." "I'll do what I can." "What does that mean?" "What does that mean?" "God." "A bit of turmoil since you left." "But it's under control now." "Release those men." "What?" "Captain." "I know what happened and I don't care." "I'll not hold pirates prisoner on this ship, not after today." "Keep your men in line." "Take us back towards the sandbar." "Southwest corner of the bay." "We'll start from there." "Ready the guns!" "Full complement." "What's the target, Captain?" "Whatever's left." "Heave!" "Would you like me to clear the room?" "Why would I want you to clear the room?" "When the shock sets in, you may lose faculties." "Some men lose their bowels." "I can do it with as few as three or four men." "We're not going anywhere." "I don't want this." "If it doesn't come off quickly, you won't make it three days." "Did you not fucking hear me?" "!" "I said I do not want this!" "You'll die." "This way, there's a very good chance to prevent it." "The crew will look after you." "Don't worry about that." "Hold him down." "It'll be all right, mate." "Come on." "Cannonballs!" " Three, six!" " Heave!" " No!" "No!" " Steady." "No!" "Why don't you move it?" "!" " Ready?" " No!" "No!" "Where are we?" "Just south of Inagua." "Winds blew us east." "We stopped off in Tortuga to refit and garner news, of which there was plenty." "Eleanor Guthrie's been arrested." "Currently on her way back to London in the custody of His Majesty's Navy to stand trial." "For the first time since I've known it, there is no Guthrie in Nassau." "One gets used to a state of affairs for such a long time, it's easy to forget that they're all just transitions." "Specks of dust suspended in the air until a strong enough gust comes along and rearranges everything." "A strong gust has come to this place." "The men can feel it." "Know it will upset everything they thought they understood just a few days ago." "They'll need to lean on something solid." "On the men who can reassure them that in times like these, there are some things that can be counted on." "They'll look to me for that." "But they'll also look to their new quartermaster." "They voted?" "A few days ago." "I..." "I think the men wanted to tell you when you awoke, so try and act surprised." "It's a funny thing." "The more those men need you, the more you need them." "And it drives us to do the most unexpected things." "There's something you ought to know before we reach Nassau." "About what we'll likely face there." "Before my misfortune at the hands of Vane's lieutenant, our friend, the scout you sent to oversee the Urca beach, confessed something to me." "He told me that the news he brought us about the gold having been recovered... was a lie." "A falsehood he perpetuated himself so that he could sell the gold's location to another crew in exchange for a larger share of the prize." "He told you this?" "I'm sorry, I'm..." "I'm having a hard time..." "He lied to us all?" "And then he sold the information to another crew so that they could retrieve the gold?" "Yes." "Who the fuck did he sell it to?" "Where have you been?" "What took you so long?" "The information we were given was... incomplete at best." "There were still healthy Spanish soldiers on that beach and they fought... like hell." "Is that the Walrus?" "It is." "We found her there." "Needed to get her seaworthy before we could depart." "You needed to?" "Why would you need a second ship?" "We needed the hold space." "Would you like to see something shiny?"