"You want to trade the cache, my cache?" "It was the only way we could avoid a fight we were more than likely to lose." " Mr. Scott?" " He told me that he feared for the safety of his wife and his daughter." " Are they still alive?" " Yes, they are." "They revolted." "A man named Julius started it." "Now he's forming an army out there with designs on taking Nassau." "The damage done to this alliance was caused by Billy." "It may be that the only way to repair this damage is to remove that which caused it." "Stop!" "What the hell have you done?" "If the British empire will not aid us in fighting our present enemy, perhaps a different empire will." "Once you land, I envision no confusion." "I'd simply ask that you burn it all to the ground." "When your people took this place, it was they who suffered the consequences." "Reprisals visited upon their mothers, brothers, children." "Tortured on the other farms as a result of your actions." "I understand." "Which is why I've come here to make that right." "If you had suffered such loss, is there anything you can imagine making it right?" "No." "I can't." "But I imagine getting my hands on the man responsible for it... would be a start." "He completed the raid when my friends tried to stop it." "He chained those he felt most likely to revolt over the offense." "Though, I imagine they know this." "With what conditions?" "Two of them." "They respect you, so they'll listen to you." "I'd ask your help in mending this alliance, both with the men and women here and those elsewhere on the island." "I understand there's now a band of armed slaves out there." "I need to know you can broker a peace with them, too." "And the other condition?" "That he's alive at the end of whatever happens." "You trust him?" "Flint." "You've cast your lot with him." "What does it matter to you?" "Before this war began, before everyone's roles changed, your father mistrusted Flint as much as anyone in Nassau did." "I assume you were in some contact with him all that time." "I'm surprised that his feelings didn't influence you." "You were my sister." "There is very little that I remember from when I was young, but I remember this." "You were older." "You were beautiful." "I revered you." "When you were told that my mother and I were dead," "I have to believe that it affected you." "You had just lost your mother." "But if things were as I remember, my mother and I were your family, too." "And yet, through all the years thereafter that my father cared for you... counseled you, labored for you... he never told you that we were alive." "It would have been so easy to lessen your suffering by divulging the secret." "And yet, he never did." "Have you yet asked yourself why that is?" "My father didn't mistrust Flint." "My father mistrusted all of you." "Lieutenant." "The cache isn't here, so I am leaving." "And as my collateral to ensure that this deal is consummated, he'll be coming with me to the fort." ""This deal"?" "As in the one in which you walk away with all my money?" "It seems the only means I have of registering any meaningful disapproval of this deal at this point is to kill one or the both of you." " How many?" " 12 total." "Eight ships of force." "They'll be in range in an hour, maybe less." "Grab the ledgers and whatever coin is on hand." "Where are we going?" "You're going to inform Mr. Silver what's happening." "We're getting onto the Walrus and we're getting it and us out of here." "If we're still here when they make their landing, none of us will survive the day." "You would surrender our position to the Spanish Navy?" "You were prepared to surrender this position to Long John Silver just a few hours ago." "And in this case, our lives may very well depend upon it." "Spanish forces, sir, will offer no quarter." "We have no choice but to defend ourselves!" "Quiet, please." "What is it, Lieutenant?" "The lead ship that approaches, she's just posted a signal to us." "It was Governor Rogers' signal ordering us to stand down." "His signal?" "Could it have been stolen?" "It's from our most recent signal book." "Then I think our response is obvious." "We will follow his orders." "Obviously, he has enlisted Spanish assistance in forcing the pirates out of Nassau." "If we stand down, the invasion proceeds around us and we will remain safe here." "And what about Eleanor?" "What about her?" "She is out there." "Someone must retrieve her before those troops arrive." "Before we could retrieve her and return, that invasion would be fully unleashed." "It would be suicide for anyone to attempt it." "Where are you going?" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "He's in the field with the sign." "I did not want this." "Flint is my friend, but I know what he is." "I have no illusions about it." "But for all the dangers he presents, for all his offenses... the one thing he's never done is force me to choose between him and you." "That, you did." "But it isn't too late to find a way to remedy it." "You made a terrible mistake and you paid a terrible price." "But we're at war... and you're an asset." "Despite what's gone on, you are my friend." "And the men out there have had their pound of flesh." "And our men..." "Billy, I could walk out there and tell them the sky is red... and they'd believe me." "That's the power you've given me." "But I have to know this is over... your vendetta against Flint, your need to see him dead or departed from our story." "I have to know you'll never put me to a choice between you again." "Swear it... and this all ends." "You chose." "Live with it." "They're here." "He speaks for them?" "They call him Julius." " Help me out." " Won't do it by itself." "Over there." "Pretty sight for you." "I came to find Eleanor." ""I betrayed you, Jack." ""Tried to trade your life for my own personal gain." ""Lied to Anne to her face about it." ""Please, Jack." "Beg of you." ""Is there any way you can forgive me?"" "That was the general sense I had of what I might hear come from your mouth were I ever this close to you again." "Spain is here." "A fleet of a dozen ships has already opened fire on Nassau town." "By now, well over a thousand soldiers will have likely made their landing and begun their invasion." "In a matter of hours, there will be no safe place to stand on this island, made all the more dangerous by the fact that the harbor has been rendered defenseless." "There will be no resistance to their landing since..." "Since Woodes Rogers was the one who invited them in." "How did you know that?" "Captain!" "Sails!" "The Walrus." "They escaped the harbor ahead of their landing." "Change of plan!" "Back to the ship." "Spanish invasion." "You're welcome to stay if you like." "You coming?" "I won't ask again." "Keeping an eye on us?" "Making sure you don't slit my throat out of spite, perhaps." "I suppose I chose the right hostage if they're that concerned about keeping you alive." "I suppose so." "You know, there was a time... not so long ago, when you shared their concern." "When you saw what I saw." "The benefits of being free of British rule." "To make the new world something more than just an extension of the old." "Is it so unthinkable that that might be again?" "You were a pirate once." "Stranger things have happened." "We need to get to cover." "Quickly." "Where?" "The governor's forces have been driven out of Nassau." "In a few hours, the last remaining members of his regime will be surrendering the fort, leaving the island completely under our control." "It is a new day." "But one that demands we all unite behind a common cause." "What cause is that?" "To free the new world." "And we will be your partners... in the fight to free it?" "Yes." "For how long?" "How long?" "I'm told you removed the one who governed the pirates before you." "Sacrificed him in the hopes that it would remake this alliance..." "Know that man was a friend of mine... before you question the sacrifice." "Amongst pirates, loyalty changes quickly, it seems." "If a man can be replaced so easily, how can I know that his promises won't be, too?" "Spain?" "Here?" "12 ships, likely in excess of a thousand men." "There won't be much time before we're overrun." "Mr. Featherstone awaits on the Walrus off the south coast if we wish to retreat." "If?" "A thousand Spanish fighters are more than three times our number could withstand." "What can we do but retreat?" "We're not leaving." "If it's Madi that concerns you, we could send someone out to find her." "We wouldn't be leaving her behind." "Madi and Flint will either find their way back here or they'll find a place to hide." "But even if they were here, we cannot retreat." "Not with our numbers." "The Spanish would run us down." "We'd end up facing them disorganized out there rather than entrenched here." "So, what do we do?" "If we fight them together, there's a good chance we live, hold our ground, maybe even fight them off." "Separate, and we all die." "Retrieve your men, bring them here, and make this the last battle to win the island." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "No, no, no, no, no." "Where is she?" "She left with an escort hours ago to make the exchange." "You let her leave?" "Your men need to know my wife is not to be harmed." "_" "English, God damn it!" "Even if that order could be given, no one would heed it." "They've been let loose." "I opened the gates for you." "Handed you this victory." "Yes, you did." "But what has begun here, there is no altering it now." "Jesus Christ." "I sent a rider to the Underhill estate to warn them." "Told them we'd be here to get them off the island." "But there's a credible argument to be made that we ought to leave right away, while we still can." "Hello, boys." "No." "We wait here." "We wait here for whomever, if anyone, survives the day." "If you have men you can spare, I can use them on the Walrus." "That's high enough!" "If there is nothing left to be done, I would like to see her." "I loved you." "And I betrayed you." "But I cannot apologize for it." "I did what anyone would have done when confronted with the same impossible choices." "If I apologize, you will know it is a lie." "And I do not wish to lie to you ever again." "Leave." "No." "I am going to stay with you." "I want to take care of you." "Get the fuck out." "Doesn't make sense." "Spain has been quiet for months." "Why is this happening now?" "The governor sailed from here days ago, frustrated in his attempts to retake the island." "Apparently, he found someone willing to aid him." "That's not what happened." "The harbor is still obstructed." "How else would they manage to enter it so cleanly unless he was in league with them?" "That is not what happened." "Well, whatever the cause, they're here." "We need to prepare a defensive position here." "We need to send out scouts to determine the size of their force." "And we need all the hands we can muster." "Already?" "They must've tracked us here." "Get inside the house, the both of you." "You saw them?" "I think so." "Beyond the trees." "Wait." "Now." "Move!" "Move!" "If they report our position, we'll face 50 more of them." "Stay." "Watch the house." "It did affect me." "When Mr. Scott... when your father told me that you and your mother had died... it affected me a great deal." "It must have been hard... to live hidden away for so long." "It was hard to be away from him." "The rest of it... my mother did the best she could with the rest of it." "She must have done well." "I've found myself thinking about it." "Of walking away from Nassau, from England, from civilization." "One can be happy that way, can't they?" "A life of isolation and uncertainty as long as it is lived with someone you love..." "And who loves you back." "It is possible, isn't it?" "It is." " You've seen them?" " They're right around the bend." "80, maybe 100 headed this way." "If we're lucky and it's on the lighter end, we might actually be able to hold them off." ""If we're lucky" is not a notion that's worked well for us recently." "You have men positioned by the south and west gates?" "As many as we could afford, which isn't many." "What's happening out there?" "I don't know what chance you'll have." "Their soldiers are likely everywhere." "If you're going to be found by them, it shouldn't be tied up like an animal." "You cannot stay here." "Good luck." "Need more men, Castro." "Let's go!" "Reload!" "What is it?" "Reload!" "Can you hear that?" " Come on, let's help them out." " I'm out!" "How many men are watching the south end of the cane fields?" "I think four." "They're coming!" " Get off the wall!" " Get off the wall!" "Horses behind us!" "Take positions and go!" "The back!" "Get the back!" "Yah!" "Run for the..." "Watch your flank!" "Retreat!" "Retreat!" "Run!" "Run!" "Madi!" "Madi!" "Madi." "Don't waste the shot!" "Watch out!" "Watch out!" "Keep it down." "Move ahead." "Aim at the horses!" "Torches!" "Aim for the torches!" " Aim for the torches." " Take him down!" "Open the doors!" "Hey." "Was he..." "Is he with them, my husband?" "No." "No, he isn't." "I tried to save her." "Madi." "I tried to save her." "Let's move him before he starts stinking." "How many?" "A hundred, give or take." "Roughly half withdrew, but I imagine it was not without intent to return, and with greater numbers." "Where's Madi?" "We've got about 30 able-bodied men left, plus Julius's men." "We should be able to defend the main gate and have men to spare to prevent another move through the cane." " We can't." " Can't?" "We just drove them off once." "And it cost you half your number." "Spanish regulars will not allow themselves to be defeated by us." "And when they return... with three times as many reinforcements, what do you imagine will follow there?" "We know they're coming now." "We'll be ready." "It's over." "It's over." "Gather whatever supplies you can." "Anyone who can't make it to the beach, I want them carried." "I'll not leave anyone behind." "We've done most of what we can and still be able to depart quickly, which we may have to do sooner or later with or without survivors." "We have to assume the Spanish have men all across the island by now." "Every hour we sit here is an hour closer to being sighted by them... if we haven't been sighted already." "She saw Anne?" "We'll give them another hour, then we'll set sail." "Seems a fair amount of resentment towards you these days." "I just want you to know... that I remember what you did for me." "Standing up to Captain Berringer." "Jack can be angry." "Anne can be angry." "But... but I remember the good you've done, too." "It wasn't supposed to end like this." "How can we all have sacrificed so much and none of us has anything to show for it?" "Captain!" "Movement on the shoreline!" "I can't see anything." " Get those launches away." " Aye." " Is Flint among them?" " I think so." "By the dunes." "Jesus, it looks like they've been through hell." "It will take some time before we fully know all we have lost today." "So, we are leaving?" "We, uh, follow Flint south... to the camp." "We'll regroup, we'll refit, we'll..." "A war against civilization?" "What?" "Civilization has been winning that war for 10,000 years against men richer, braver, stronger, and smarter than you." "How can you be so blind not to see that?" "What the fuck are you talking about?" "You mustered a force stronger than you had any right to hope for." "You hit the governor when he was at his weakest." "And at what result?" "Eleanor is dead, Anne is nearly dead, and the governor is sitting in Nassau in my fucking chair victorious!" "You cannot fight civilization from the outside in." "And your plan now is to follow that man into more of the same?" "!" ""What result?"" "That result was because of your goddamn betrayal!" "Just now, that man and several others wondered aloud whether the smartest thing to do wouldn't be killing you and throwing you in the sea rather than giving you another opportunity to fuck us!" "For reasons I can't begin to fathom, I argued against it." "Bark at me again about braver, stronger, and smarter men, and I might decide to revisit the issue!" "If killing me seems like the smartest thing to do, then it is obvious to me none of you have any idea how to defeat Woodes Rogers." " And you do?" "!" " You're goddamn right, I do!" "Eleanor is dead," "Anne is nearly dead, and I want him to pay for all of it dearly." "Do you want to help me or not?" "When Flint heads south, we head north." "What's north?" "Eleanor Guthrie's grandfather." "We'll be arriving soon." "Still no sign of Rackham?" "No." "Do you really think they just..." "Abandoned us?" "Yes." "I'm sorry." "I need you to know... that I did everything I could to keep her safe." "I..." "I don't expect that to mean anything." "It wasn't... your fault." "It wasn't your fault." "They had already begun to arrive when Kofi came with your request for the cache." "You can understand why I didn't let him go." "They came from other islands, the colonies, maroons from camps like this one, pirates from as far away as Massachusetts." "They heard that Nassau had fallen... and they came to join us." "The revolution you promised... has begun!"