"Are you the liaison sent by the Admiralty?" "I am, my lord." "I intend to save Nassau before she's lost forever." "Hornigold provided security for the consortium's operations." "You'd like me to fill that role for you now?" "If your friends aren't capable of protecting themselves, they aren't worth protecting." " What's your name?" " Ned Low." "It would be a shame to make enemies of each other over such a small amount of money." "Get out of my place." "Hell of a prize, Mr. Meeks." "Hell of a prize." "Perhaps it is in everyone's best interest that you and I find a way past all of this." "There's simply no way of stealing their gold." "But there might be something else you can steal... their war ship." "You will both be transported back to Nassau at which point you will be removed from this ship permanently." "I think you intend to take control of this ship." "And then I think you intend to return to that beach and seize every last ounce of gold off of it." "And I think you're going to need my help to do it." "I learned of this technique from a Spanish bishop." "Six days, they claim, before the sun shrinks the leather so tight that the ribs collapse, piercing vital organs within." "And on the seventh day, you'll rest." "Who knew?" "They have a sense of humor." "When my men first pulled you out of the sea and brought you back to this garrison," "I knew right away you were going to be of great value to me." "You were ill-disposed to acknowledge as much then, but five days later," "I believe I have your attention." "You see, I believe I may have an opportunity to be liberated from this place." "And you are going to help me." "And God said, "Let there be light,"" "and then there was light." "And He saw that it was good, and He separated the land from the water, and He called the water the Seas." "And He said, "Let the sea bring forth life abundantly."" "And He blessed it, and He said that it was good." "And He formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed life into his nostrils and man became a living soul." "And He beheld all He had created, and He said it was very good." "But the Lord beheld the man made in his likeness and He beheld his solitude... and He said," ""It is not good that he is alone."" "And the moral of the story... everybody needs a partner." "You are the partner assigned to me in response to my father's request by the Admiralty, but it would appear that even you believe this endeavor is doomed to fail." "Beg pardon, my lord, but I didn't say that." "I merely said that it would be wise for us to manage our expectations as to what's achievable." "And what is it that you think is achievable?" "Well, sir, the pirate issue is a thorny one, but I believe that there are ways to..." " Aside from the pirates." " I'm sorry?" "I don't believe the pirates are the cause of Nassau's problem." "I believe they are a symptom." "The root causes are the ones that I would like to address first." "Root causes?" "The graft of its governor." "The incompetence of its managers." "The neglect of its lords." "The instability caused by these things is what draws the pirates to Nassau, not the other way around." "So let's begin there." "What is it that you believe would truly return Nassau to stable profitability?" "You mean aside from removing the pirates?" "Let's leave them out for now, yes." "What would it take?" "Farmers, men skilled in the cultivation of sugar and tobacco." "Magistrates to maintain order." "Carpenters to raise buildings." "Clergy to raise spirits." "Foodstuffs to sustain them all for six months, perhaps a year." "Three ships to transport it all, sailors to sail them." "And an honest governor, the first in recent memory, to oversee it all." "In short, you'd be assembling a colony, boarding it onto ships, transporting it across the Atlantic, and hoping that when it arrives, it takes to an environment that has resisted every attempt at stable commerce" "for the past 50 years." "Oh, and then there are the pirates that we've agreed not to discuss." "Are you sure three ships would be enough?" "My lord, I feel I have to be honest with you." "I have grave doubts about whether something like this is realistic." " Yes, I've gathered that." " If you wish to request a liaison more sympathetic to your views," "I'm sure Admiral Hennessey would be happy to oblige." "The New World is a gift, Lieutenant, a sacred opportunity to right our wrongs and begin anew." "And I do not want my family's plot in it to be the reason for its fall." "I'm not looking for someone to hold my hand." "I need someone who can help me ensure that Nassau survives." "The stakes are too great for anything else." "And you suspect that I'm that person despite the fact that it's clear that we both view the world very differently?" "Because of it." "Strange pairs, Lieutenant." "They can achieve the most unexpected things." "You can walk away from all this if you wanted." "The moment we arrive at Nassau, you're free to go anywhere you want." "And yet you've offered to help me regain control of this crew." "Why would you do that?" "You mean aside from the share of gold I'd get out of it?" "There are other ways of earning money, other crews." "I don't want to earn money." "I don't want to join another crew." "If we're being honest, I don't really want to be on this crew a day longer than is absolutely necessary." "Why not?" "Because I don't want to be a pirate." "I'm not interested in the life." "Not interested in the fighting, not interested in the ships." "I don't care much for the sea while we're on the subject." "But being a pirate on this crew for a little while longer, it offers me an opportunity" "I don't believe I can find anywhere else on Earth... one big prize." "And with it, freedom." "From water, from Randall, from hunger, from wages... from you." "Just one question." "In approximately two days' time, when we arrive back at Nassau, you and I will both be unceremoniously expelled from this ship." "That would seem to be an impediment to your plan." "In less than two days, I intend to be a captain again." "I suggest you find a way of earning your way back onto this crew as well." "Captain, a word, please." "Mr. Meeks, how can I help you?" "What happened at the tavern last night, Captain?" "I don't know." "Did something happen?" "I've heard word you confronted the Guthrie woman." " Threatened her?" " And?" "And I wish you hadn't done that." "I'm sorry you feel that way." "Are we through?" "No, we're not." "The crew's relationship with her is worth far more than the amount she withheld from the Good Fortune prize." "You're recklessly jeopardizing that relationship, their relationship." "Mr. Meeks, would you like to know what the men were laughing at just now when you arrived?" "I was recounting to them my conversation at the tavern last night and wondering aloud if I were to fuck the lady Guthrie to within an inch of her young life while they watched, would the crew consider her debt to them repaid in full?" "And will they feel the same when their next haul is rejected by her outright?" "When we return from Carolina, every man on this ship will have his hat filled with gold." "What happens after that?" "It's an uncertain world, Mr. Meeks." "Best to live in the now." "He took me in when I didn't have shit." "Made a place for me." "Taught me things." "Without him, I wouldn't have fucking made it." "When someone gives you a life, it ain't truly your own." "You owe some part of it back." "What happened last night..." "Jesus." "I understand." "Something so different from what you know." "I know how frightening it can be." "I will respect your wishes and we can make last night the last time." "Oh, fuck." "There must be a way." "A way to make me essential." "They can hate me, they just need to need me." "Randall, hurry the fuck up." "We're waiting." "And don't you dare fucking spit in my bowl, Randall." "We all know you do it when you're ornery, but I'm warning you, I'll know." "Curs." "You're gonna do it anyway, aren't you?" "Randall, that is truly disgusting." "Imbecile or no, you really ought to know better." "I don't like him." "Be that as it may, it hardly justifies..." "What did you say?" "I don't like him." "Yes." "Perhaps the better question is, who else doesn't like him?" "Yes?" "A moment, if I may?" "Of course." "Have you read any of these?" "Excuse me?" "A shelf of books, so many lives unled... so many possibilities." "I glanced, but nothing rang familiar." "Nor for me." "You know the irony of all this?" "When we first found you," "I was the one who saw the promise in acquiring you and Mr. Gates was the one who opposed it." "Is that so?" "He didn't trust lettered men." "Found them harder to keep in line, more resistant to persuasion." "I prevailed." "What was your argument?" "That I was tired of being the only one he had a hard time keeping in line." "Mr. Flint, I'm sorry, but I have a tremendous amount of preparations..." "It's killing me... what happened." "What I did to Mr. Gates." "I keep on replaying it in my mind every waking moment, trying to see another way." "I don't expect you to understand, but I need you to know that no one on this ship feels his loss more keenly than I do." "I know he developed a great affection for you." "Perhaps if I can support you in this moment, it will be some small penance for what I've done." "How exactly do you propose to support me?" "By giving you good counsel." "We're losing our favorable wind." "Been losing it for hours." "Now, sooner or later, someone will suggest tacking east around the coast, get ahead of the wind." "Maneuvered properly, that would be the fastest way home, but I suggest that you resist that plan at all costs." "Why?" "Because that route runs right through the common passage out of Kingston." "And the men will press to take the first prize they sight." "We're in possession of a war ship." "Why would we shy away from taking a prize?" "Because the men aren't ready." "Not with the numbers they've lost." "They're far too depleted to fully man this ship in battle." "You get them home safely, get them rested, reinforce their numbers, and then take this ship and do with it what you will." ""A sacred opportunity to right our wrongs."" "My God, do you know anyone in the world who talks that way?" "I do now, sir." "Is it possible he's fully mad?" "Half of Whitehall whispers it." "He isn't mad." "He's just... bright, determined, wealthy, all at the same time." "Jesus." "That's worse." "You might like him, sir." "Actually, I went to one of those salons of his, the ones that half the Royal Society attend but most deny." "Most of those men are pretenders, sir, attracted to his ideas because they make them feel like radicals." "But Thomas... when he talks about the need to rethink things, systemic things," "I think he truly believes what he's saying." "And what's more," "I'm afraid I might believe a good deal of it as well." "Thomas?" "I'm sorry, sir." "He refuses to stand on ceremony, insists on the familiar." "I know what you're thinking, but I assure you, sir, my judgment, as it relates to this assignment, is still intact." "Ship's business." "I shall return." "No, no." "Is there a problem?" "No problem." "None whatsoever." "Apologies." "Perhaps it's my jealousy showing." "Liaison to the Hamilton family, that's quite an appointment." "Congratulations, sir." "Thank you." "I must say, I thought myself quite qualified, but then I suppose perhaps for this particular assignment, you were the better man." "Of course, I can understand how it would be of such importance to you." "Someone of your station..." "son of a carpenter's mate given a chance to socialize with a lord." "Hold that position for long enough and you might convince everyone you're something more than you actually are." "A gentleman, most civilized." "I imagine there is no end to the benefits" "Thomas Hamilton's favor could bestow upon you." "Future employment, status... hell, I understand if he likes you well enough, he may even let you fuck his wife." "Enough!" "If you are an officer in my fleet," "I suggest you leave this place." "Now!" "You can't blame the men." "They'd suffered under an awful stretch of captains." "Weaklings, frauds, liars." "Ned Low, whatever he is, he's none of those things." "The men saw him as an answer." "But now I fear they cannot see that by supporting him, they may be sowing the seeds of their own destruction." "Mr. Meeks, your men can't possibly be that stupid." "Are they unaware of the profits he cost them with the Good Fortune prize?" "Or the future profits he's costing them with me?" "Ma'am, I'm uncertain of my footing on this subject." "Suffice it to say, the Good Fortune yielded up a unique item of great value." "The men know where their next distribution is coming from and it isn't you." "Item?" "What kind of item?" "I really cannot say." "Well, Mr. Meeks, I'm not exactly sure what it is you think I can do for you," " but I've got business..." " I hear you depose captains." " Excuse me?" " I'm told you have that power." "I'm told you've done it before." "That was a special case and something I nearly paid for at the cost of my livelihood." "Simply incompatible with the role I play here now." "He is a mad man." "And he's fixed on you as an object of his ire." "I need your help." "My men need your help." "But you have an interest in seeing this resolved as well." "Ma'am." "I'm on my way." "Wait for me in the bar." "We'll continue this conversation." "Apologies, gentlemen, for keeping you waiting." "I'm most eager to hear the results of Captain Lawrence's journey." " Thanks, love." " Treating yourself, I see." "I'd say you're entitled." "The work you've done for my inn is commendable." "And what good are the efforts if they yield no spoils?" " I don't know what you mean." " Don't ya?" "Mademoiselle, what exactly is happening between you and Anne?" "She wanted me out of the inn, out on the streets." "What would you have had me do?" "I couldn't say, but seducing her was certainly... an interesting approach." "Call it what you like, but yesterday she was enraged." "And today she is not." "That is not seduction, that is simply removing the cause of her frustration." "Please." "She was frustrated because you crossed Eleanor Guthrie." "Do you really believe that?" "Has she not been behaving strangely for far longer than any of that?" "Were Mr. Hamund here, perhaps he could testify on the subject." "I beg your pardon, but are you asking me to believe that Anne killed eight men, risked her life, utterly destroyed both our reputations, to say nothing of the damage done to her relationship with me," "to remove you from that tent, and that she did it all because she secretly wants to fuck you?" "I see." "I'll tell you what that sounds like to me." "It sounds like a crass attempt to drive a wedge between my partner and I to achieve for yourself a controlling influence over our little triumvirate." "Perhaps I'll share that feeling with Anne and let's just see how quickly she turns that anger in your direction." " It won't work." " No?" "Why?" "Because I believe that somewhere, somehow, you have known she has wanted this... needed this for a very long time." "I'm giving it to her." "And now that she has it, it would be exceedingly difficult for her to let it go." "This upsets you." "This threatens you." "I am sorry." "There is nothing you can do about it." "Hoist up the sails!" " No luck?" " Ugly stretch." "Goddamn wind just won't cooperate." "If I were to suggest rather than trying to tack southwest that we head east, hug the coast to navigate around the weather, what would you say?" "I would say either somebody gave you that idea, somebody who's a hell of a sailor, or you've been holding back on me." "Flint said to avoid it." "Said when it was raised that we should resist the temptation at all costs." "Avoid the common passage it would take us through and the temptation to hunt a prize." "You spoke to Flint?" "He approached me." "Why would he do that?" "Why attempt to scuttle the idea before any of us have even arrived at it?" "Is it possible he still believes he can take back his command?" "How?" "There isn't a man on the crew that will even speak to him, much less support him." "I don't know, but had he that notion," "I imagine the idea of this crew taking a prize under your command would be a terrifying prospect." "I suppose the only question is, are you prepared to lead them?" "Set the course." "It's better than nothing, isn't it?" "An account of goings-on." "Volume the first on this 13th day in June, 1715, in the year of our Lord." "The weather is fair." "Fresh topsail gale, north by northeast." "First item... a certain member of this crew, who shall remain nameless, was seen dozing during the night watch." "Another member of the same watch took the opportunity to take three pieces from his pocket..." "Shut the fuck up." "We're eating." "What was that?" "I am convincing the crew to allow me to remain with them." "As we discussed." "Is that what you're doing?" "I spent three years at the St. John's Home for Poor Orphan Boys." "During that time, I knew a boy named Solomon Little." "Cleft palate, spotted face, and the most unfortunate set of ears" "I have, to this day, ever seen." "He should have been beaten to within an inch of his life on a daily basis if the laws of nature applied." "Yet no one ever laid a finger on him because even at that tender age, he knew... it isn't about getting them to like you, it's about reminding them how much they dislike each other." "He got up every morning, made his address, and I'll be God damned if there was a boy in that home who could've lasted a day without it." "You do realize that those are grown men out there, not boys." "In my experience, when it comes to the thrill of ridiculing one's peers, there's little difference." "No one pays him any attention, so he sees everything." "And he knows his fate and mine are more closely linked than he'd care to admit." "So he reports it all back to me." "And there's plenty more gossip in the well." "Good luck with... whatever this is." "80 barrels of molasses, 65 units of rum." "I can't believe this is all we got for it." "If I may, ma'am, I consider it a triumph" "I made it back here at all." "I was met with great skepticism at every turn, from the merchant buyers to the customs house..." "Your papers were properly arranged." "Your payoffs were in the proper amounts." "It was all in good order." "All but your family's name, ma'am." "It is no longer in good order, and everyone in that harbor knew it." "I was questioned for nigh on three hours the minute the customs man realized I was your agent." "At a certain point, I had to frighten him into believing there would be reprisals against him personally if he were to arrest me." " By whom?" " I beg your pardon?" "By whom did you suggest there would be reprisals against him?" "Did you use Mr. Frasier's name?" "Captain Naft's, then?" "I can understand how that would strike fear in the heart of any man." " Charles, enough." " Or did you use mine?" "You're welcome." "How awkward this is." "Mr. Holmes here informed me that he observed you in this place nervously entering Eleanor Guthrie's office." "I told myself," ""What on Earth could Mr. Meeks have to say to her?"" "Now forced to wonder if it stems from your concerns about my fitness." "Seeking an ally, perhaps, to threaten my position as captain." "I swore an oath to those men." "To protect them from their captain." "From themselves when called for." "I see." "But perhaps you're right." "Perhaps you serve their interests best by betraying me in this moment." "Although, perhaps this is just the act of a spineless traitor, in which case... well, in which case..." "I have a duty to do something about it." " You need to walk away from this." " Walk away?" "This venture is on shaky footing." "How long before the street realizes this?" "How long before the mob is outside your door again?" "What happens if this time it won't go away?" "Since when have you been concerned with my operation?" "My concern is for you." "I believe this is going to work." "I believe you have motive to see it fail." "I believe you're angry with me." "I believe you resent me." "What I do not believe... not at all, not for an instant... is that you have any concern for me." "I can't protect you from this." "My men follow me because I serve their interests first." "To ask them to protect a tyrant too weak to enforce her own tyranny..." "I will have a very hard time convincing them that that is in their interests." "If you are not strong enough to protect yourself, Eleanor, then I am urging you to cease behaving as if you are." "I don't want to see you in my place again." "I don't want to see you on my island again." "Take your men, take your shit, and seek life elsewhere." "I'd appreciate it if you'd remove that from my face, friend." "Did you not hear the lady, friend?" "All right." "Don't." "I'm sorry we've had such a rough go of it, you and I... but I'm afraid I'm simply enjoying myself way too much to consider leaving this place." "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon." "If you're trying to impress me, it isn't working." "Goings-on, volume the fourth." "Light breeze, west-southwest." "Sunset in roughly three hours." "First item... a certain member of the rigging crew, who shall remain nameless, was moving his bowels over the side." "He was spotted considering the stick and its unacceptable state of being, and instead, chose to wipe with the bare palm of his hand." "Next item..." "Oh..." "A member of the third watch, who shall remain nameless, entered the pen late last night sometime after three bells." "Though no one actually saw him enter or exit, evidence of his presence was clear, as upon inspection, the dairy goat's anus was irritated from overuse." "You fucked the dairy goat?" "The dairy goat?" "They know who fucked the dairy goat." "Yeah, go on, Joshua!" " Sail!" " Starboard bow!" " Sail!" " Starboard bow!" "There!" "Steady." "Steer steady, keep your course." " What is she?" " English colors." "Inbound from Kingston." "Sugar merchants, most likely." "How do you presume an English merchantmen will react when being hailed by a Spanish warship?" "Only one way to find out." "Anyone up for a little hunting?" "I'm sorry, you were saying something about your judgment on this matter remaining intact." "I apologize, sir." "Good sense escaped me for a moment." "An insult to the man's wife that had to be answered." "It reflects not upon my fitness to continue handling Lord Hamilton." "I know how important this posting is." "I know you know." "My concern with you is over that which cannot be known." "That thing which arises in you when passions are aroused... good sense escapes you." "All men have it." "But yours..." "yours is different." "Darker." "Wilder." "I imagine it's what makes you so effective as an officer." "But when exposed to extremes," "I could not imagine what it is capable of." "And of greater concern," "I'm not sure you do either." "Lift!" "Raise the lateen." "Pull away!" "Heave!" "Pull away, God damn it!" "Pull away, you lubbers!" "Heave!" " Come down." " Aye, sir." "Harnin' the port sheets." "Harnin' the port sheets!" "Take your pistols." " Ready the grappling." " Keep it dry." "Stand to, lads!" "I don't need to explain to you the stakes of what happens if Mr. Dufresne is successful in taking this prize." "Keep the mainsail tight!" "Took me a while to get a feel for this part of it." "Raise the black too soon and the prize will run." "Raise it too late and you'll induce panic and a greater chance of resistance." "You ought to show your colors at just the right moment to get them to strike theirs." "Raise the black." "Raise the black!" "Raise the black!" "Gun crews at the ready." "Hold your breath, lads." "They struck their colors." "See?" "I told you." " Prepare to board." " Aye." "You're in command here, yes?" "I am." "You were wise not to fight." "Are there any men lying in wait below?" "Answer truthfully or the consequences will be severe." "It is as you see it." "Sweep the hold." "Start at the bow." "This is the most dangerous part." "Look at him." "His mind is drowning in questions." "Did I make the right decision?" "How am I going to explain to my proprietors that I gave up their goods without a fight?" "What kind of man am I?" "You hope he has answers to those questions." "You hope that he can reassure himself that he made the right decision." "You hope that he doesn't realize that the thing that he thought he was surrendering to... the thing that drove fear into his heart the moment he saw the black... that that thing is nowhere to be found." "Are you him?" "Beg your pardon?" "I said are you him?" "Are you Captain Flint?" "I assure you, sir, you do not want to test us." "Men in these waters are hard men." "They don't fear ships." "They don't fear guns." "They don't fear swords." "Then what do they fear?" " Retreat!" " Back to the ship!" "I want muskets in the rigging to suppress their front line." "Mr. Dufresne, we have lost the day." "Muskets!" "We must disengage." "What are we waiting for?" "Why aren't we moving?" "Give the order, Mr. Dufresne." "We do not have the manpower to retake that ship." " We must get underway." " Why the fuck are we waiting for him?" " Because he's in charge here." " No one is in fucking charge here!" "You have to sink her." "You cannot just escape, you have to sink that ship." "For if a single one of those men lives to tell the tale, no one will ever surrender before that flag again." "Cut us loose." "Get us underway." "Cut us loose!" "Get us underway!" " Set sail." " Cut the line!" "Cut the line!" "Gun crews at the ready." "Gun crews at the ready." " Two-six!" "Two-six!" " Heave!" "Heave!" " Two-six!" "Two-six!" " Heave!" "Heave!" " Two-six!" " Heave!" "Fire!" " Fire!" " Fire!" "I don't see a move I can make from here." "If I move against him directly, his men retaliate and I don't have the muscle to withstand it." "And even if I could muster up that kind of support," "I couldn't get away with it." "Not after such a public display of loss as today." "Not so brazenly." "The consortium is fragile." "It would be toppled." "And I'm simply not willing to allow that to happen." "And I suspect it's only a matter of time before he makes a move against me." "You want me to believe that you have some concern for me?" "Then show it." "If you need something to induce your men into action," "I know his crew hold an asset from their last prize that they deem of great value." " What asset?" " I don't know." "I don't know." "What I have found in my experience is the more elusive the puzzle, the more painfully obvious its ultimate solution." "One just has to be willing to see it." "Take our predicament, for example." "You have a wealth of leads, but no means of exploiting them for anything other than a fee and risking retaliation from Ms. Guthrie in the process." "I, on the other hand, have an unparalleled aptitude for the management of a crew, but am denied any and every opportunity to exploit the skill." "And there it is..." "the solution, so obvious." "You will provide all leads derived from this place directly to me." "I will judge which to prosecute and which too likely to rouse Ms. Guthrie's ire." "Anne and I will then take those chosen leads, we'll procure a ship, we'll recruit men, and we'll create, from nothing, a new crew from which we three will each hold a share." "You asked for better captains..." "I give you Captain Jack Rackham." "And one more thing... darling, I can understand why you wouldn't want to tell me about this, but please know that all I have ever wanted for you is to be happy." "Come to bed when you're through." "Was it close?" "The vote." "It was." "I suppose you warned me... didn't you?" "To avoid that course through the shipping lanes." "Perhaps it was my hubris that drove me to it." "To show you I had it in me to lead." "But as I sit here," "I'm forced to consider another possibility." "That course we charted... perhaps none of us would have thought of it at all" "had you not raised it in the first place." "That you orchestrated it all." "The deaths, the destruction," "the loss." "All to achieve this very moment." "Is it possible a man could do such a thing?" "Congratulations, Captain."