"Previously on Crossbones..." "Is this what it seems to be?" "If it seems like gunpowder, then yes." "What could the Commodore want with it?" "He intends to desolate and lay waste to the English." "I saw such maladies treated with a trephine." "And what does one do with such an instrument?" "One drills a hole in one's skull." "Heathens believe the procedure releases evil spirits." " And do you have one?" " No." "There's a fellow in Jamaica." "Then I will take you." "You trust me to do this?" "No, but I trust your desire for Kate Balfour." "Who are you, tom?" "I don't know what you want me to say." "What business do you have in Jamaica?" "What do you think my business might be?" "Betrayal." "If I chose to betray this place, you'd be lost to me." "Thieving from thieves." "I know there's more." "I found a property that might interest you." "This is perfect." "Acquire it for me." "Will you speak to me now?" "Where is Edward?" "Tell me where he is!" "I must sail soon to enact a great endeavor, a Spanish fleet." "Where have you been?" "With Edward Teach." " Where is it, this island?" " He's here." "The people of this island..." "Are what?" "Innocent?" "As good as you or me." "What I am and what I pray you still are is the King's man." "Unseamed him from nave to chops while giving suck..." "Plucked the nipple from his boneless gums..." "Dashed his brains out, making flowers on the wall." "I have something for you..." "A gift." "Antoinette." "He's alive." "Your husband." "This is him as he is now." "I can take you to him if only you could help me." "It's good to see you so far from the safety of home, given the measures you generally take to prevent it." "So what am I doing here?" "If he should ever ask you about us, you can never tell him the truth." "You have to deny it, no matter what." "I can't lie to him." "He can't be lied to." "You have to." "It will kill him." "Or he'll kill us." "Mr. Lowe, you're back." "I knew it." "Knew what?" "That you'd come back." "Mr. Fletch." "I never doubted you, sir, not once." "Do you want to talk about the assignment, the wild man in the cave?" " Shh!" " Sorry." "You're back." "So I am." "You're somewhat less amazed than I'd expected." "Why would I be amazed?" "Why indeed?" "We're overdue a conversation, I think." "I'd like nothing more." "But it'll have to wait, I'm afraid." "Urgent business to attend." "The cave?" "Uh, Blackbeard's there at least once or twice a day, early mornings and afternoon." "What does he do?" "Mostly, he inspects these." "An explosive of some sort." "The method's foreign to me, but the intent's familiar." "It's a trigger mechanism." "When the glass comes into contact with something, it shatters, triggering a detonation." "I need you to steal me a boat." "Again?" "If you would." "I don't know why we keep doing it." "We never go anywhere." "This time, we shall." "And this time, you'll come with me." "And this time, we shan't be coming back." "When do we leave?" "Shortly after I've introduced the Commodore to this." "You wasted no time, I see." "Well, I missed you." "I'm sure you did." "Well, it's true." "I don't see how it can be." "You're bleeding me sapless." "Who says true had to be simple?" "So what do you have for me?" "A gift for your sweetheart?" "A token?" "Oh." "Oh, it's lovely." "Oh, I love it." "It's gorgeous." "But it's not enough." "I've great need of the money." "Oh, Nenna." "Delectable as you are, sweet as you are, mine as you are..." "I'm not a giver of alms." "What more do you want?" "There's no more." "This is it." "Shh." "There is always more, hmm?" "It's all gone." "You'll give me everything, and I'll give you happiness." "I'll make you happy." "Let me make you happy." "I saw the green flash this morning." "Did you see it?" "No." "Have you ever?" "No, but I've heard of it." "Have you seen it before?" "Once or twice." "I've been round awhile and seen most things." "What gives rise to it, do you think?" "Some science, I expect." "An old legend claims it gives a man's power to read another man's soul." "Well, I heard it had something to do with the souls of the drowned or with luck or money;" "I forget which." "One of the usual." "You don't believe in the signs and portents?" "Never did." "Never shall." "A judicious resolution, I'd imagine." "I wonder." "Did Selima acquaint you with my condition?" "What condition?" "What do you mean?" "Apparently, she hasn't." "Why would she?" "What condition?" "I find myself somewhat indisposed physically." "How so?" "If I named it, would that make a difference?" "The point is, only Lowe can put right what's wrong." "Even then, the outcome is not assured." "She enjoins me not to trust him." "What do you think?" "Listen to her." "Kill him and have done." "And it's that straightforward?" "To my mind, it is." "So I kill what I can't trust, even if killing it might kill me?" "The thing about a sword is, a man has to know which end to grab it." "Take it by the hilt, it's a friend you can trust." "Take it by the edge... bites your fingers." "Every tool is a weapon, Charlie, depending on how skillfully it's handled." "But never give a sword to a man who can't dance." "He made house with you, yes?" "In Charleston, Carolina Province." "One year, was it?" "Two years?" "26 months." "It's a miracle you kept him so long." "No one else came close." "His new wife." "Commodore, I've obtained a trephine for the surgery." "You seem perplexed to see me." "A little, perhaps." "I'd understood the Commodore's condition to be a private affair." "There are no secrets between the Commodore and me." "So it would appear that while in Jamaica, you were arrested and imprisoned?" "I was." "And you fought your way free?" "I did." "An impressive feat." "Not really." "I seized the moment and ran." "But what got you arrested?" "It seems curious." "You are normally so prudent." "I was detained while pursuing matters that required my attention." "Those matters being?" " A visit." " To?" "William Jagger." "To what purpose?" "Murdering him." "And why would a sane man attempt that?" "Because of what he did to Kate Balfour and because of what you told me he'd do to this island," "Commodore, if given the opportunity." "And did you succeed?" "I did not." "Though I came closer than he would have liked." "If this should prove to be untrue..." "It won't, because it's not." "No doubt you have eyes and ears all over Jamaica, my lady." "And while Jagger will never admit to being set upon within his own walls, you should have your canaries look for secondary indications... redoubled guards at key points of ingress and egress." "You know I shall." "I'd be let down if you didn't." "If I'm gonna drill into your head, sir, the least we should expect is to be honest with one another." "So..." "What was the plan?" "Move it?" "Ship it off the island?" "Rose." "Don't, please." "Now I have everything." "Rose..." "It's empty." " I forbid it." " Forbid?" "It's madness." "It would be madness to tolerate this longer than I have to." "Edward, you cannot trust him." "But trust you?" "Yes." "So tell me, in all sincerity, is it that you mistrust the surgeon, or is it that you simply don't want him to make me well?" "Because it may seem curious to a disinterested eye that one day I offer you command of this island in the event of my death, and the next day, you're advising me not to undergo the surgery that might prevent that death." "May I?" "Have you used it before?" " No." " Seen it applied?" "A number of times in exorcisms." "Can you tell me, using simple words, what is wrong with the Commodore?" "I don't know, not for certain." "You seemed certain when you sailed for Jamaica." "I went where the Commodore sent me because the Commodore sent me." "Being such an obedient and loyal fellow." "I took it to be that he has the falling sickness." "And so it may be." "And drilling into his skull will be your customary treatment?" "Oh, by no means." "Then what would it be?" "Take chamomile flowers, one handful." "Boil in water to three ounces." "Strain and add spirit of hartshorn, eight drops." "Oil of aniseed, five drops." "Honey of roses, three drams." "Some say yolk of egg to mix it." "Have you tried it before?" "I believe the Commodore is past the efficacy of aniseed and egg yolk." "Cinnabar pills?" "Take native cinnabar, reduced into an alcohol of human cranium, each two drams." "Castor, salt of Amber... each one dram." "Make all into an exquisite fine powder, to which add oil of marjoram, 12 drops." "Balsam of peru, one dram." "Dose according to severity, one dram to 1/2 ounce, morning and night, especially about new and full moon." "An emulsion of peony?" "It's been many years since I had to sit an examination, madam, and such unsubtle contrivances are beneath you." "Then describe the effect of the treatment." "Well, there's a chance the improved blood flow will eliminate both symptoms and disease." " A chance?" " A chance." "How big a chance?" "What would you have me say?" "I can make no promises." "I'd be a liar if I did." "You are dismissed." "So..." "We're overdue a conversation." "I'm afraid it's not the conversation you anticipated." "I must be quick." "Why?" "What's happening?" "There's always such a fire lit under your ass." "You were right." "I habitually am." "You'll have to be more particular." "That night I was abroad..." "The fellow meursault... all the things I denied about myself, you were right about them, and I lied." "I was something different when I came here." "You were what?" "What were you?" "A King's man." "A spy?" "With orders to exterminate Blackbeard." "But I chose not to do it." "Do you know why?" "Oh, because you lack the gallantry of Judas." "Perhaps." "I know I span a lie to myself about keeping him alive while I stayed here to find the truth." "But the fact that I stayed here had nothing to do with the truth and nothing to do with Blackbeard, nor his plots and conspiracies." " Then why?" " You must ask?" "If it was for me, then feel no obligation to tarry." "Piss off back to England before the stink of you makes me wretch." "I'm throwing myself on your mercy here." "I'm not a man much given to the truth, and yet here I am." "A single word from you, and I'm a dead man." "I'll knot the rope myself." "To think I let you come near me, you crossbred bastard." "Not long ago, I dug you from the earth with my own hands." "You could at least do me the courtesy of attending what I say." "Any debt I owe you, you may consider repaid, since you also made me a traitor's whore." "I have to leave." "And this time, I can never come back." "The Commodore is planning an attack on Jamaica." "He's building bombs, hundreds of bombs, and submersible ships to carry them." "It's not piracy." "It's insanity." "Liar." "Look." "When an object knocks it or when it's dropped from a height, it breaks, and it sets off an explosion, and the city will burn." "People will burn in the thousands, perhaps." "However much I want it to be untrue, however much I want to stay," "I can't allow that to happen." "And why would he do it?" "To what possible end?" "I know you hold the Commodore dear." "He gave me a home." "All of us, everyone here." "But he's insane, driven by revenge and hatred." " On whom?" " The world." "Come with me." "I beg you." "Fletch will help you." "Meet me in Jamaica." "Or Carolina." "James..." "He's my husband, and this is my home." "Then leave them both." "Loyalty really is a mystifying idea to you, isn't it?" "Thoroughly." "But not loyalty to you." "Get your hands off me." "James." "The surgeon, he's an assassin, an English spy." "He's going to kill the Commodore." "So what will you do now?" "Kill me to protect the betrayal?" "Because you can't let me go, can you?" "That depends." "Would you sound the alarm?" "At the top of my lungs." "And permit me to hang, all from allegiance to your deranged captain?" "I'd be proud." "Then no." "I grieve the day you ever washed up here." "As do I." "So..." "What will you do?" "Try me and see." "Ah!" "Strange to think that all this time, he's been wandering in daylight... the noonday demon in this paradise of his own devising." "Of course, he tried the same thing before in Nassau." "Do you recall?" "His republic of pirates." "You can still see the watchtower he built at Fort Montagu..." "Or what's left of it." "That failure was a great disappointment to him," "I know, because he'd been dreaming of such a thing all his life, ever since he saw his first cabin boy hanged, his first slave whipped to death, his first virgin raped by a hundred men." "Are you longing to see him again?" "I can do that for you." "I took from him." "I took the gift I gave." "I took." "You know his dreams." "You know the secrets he spilled as he shared your bed." "If I know those dreams," "I can find him." "I can bring him here." "You can see his face, hear his voice." "You can beg his forgiveness." "The surgeon and his boy!" "Bring them." "Wine and opium." "He's medicated her." " Charlie..." " What?" "Kill him." "Oh, you can be sure of that." "Come with me, please." "Where?" "Away." "Are we not leaving, then?" " Come along." " Yep, all right." "Please note my incredulity." "No sign." "The Commodore?" "We've searched everywhere." "Not everywhere." "Mr. Lowe, are you kidnapping me?" "I am." "And how have we come to this pretty pass?" "William Jagger knows about the island, Commodore." "And he intends to annihilate it, which is my fault, because I went back to him and made my report like an obedient Englishman." "I condemned every soul on this island to death." "And I can't have that on my conscience." "So I've decided to save Santa Campana from the English and to save the English from you." "And how do you achieve this?" "I hand you over alive to the governor of Carolina." "Not to William Jagger in Jamaica?" "No." "Am I permitted to ask why not?" "Jagger's deranged." "In exchange for your hide, the governor of Carolina will see to it that William Jagger is sent far away to some minor governorship off the Barbary Coast." "Of course, they'll hang me." "I expect so, and that's unfortunate, though not unjust." "However, the island will be safe." "William Jagger will tear this island down and burn it, no matter if I am hanged and no matter if he's governor." "Then I'll kill him." "I would be most obliged if you would." "Then you may consider it my final courtesy to you." "So you didn't lie, then, about the regard in which you hold this island?" "Not one word of a lie." "But however fine the ideal," "I can't let you attack Jamaica in the name of it." "I can't let you kill innocents in the name of protecting innocents." "You're a very rare fellow, Mr. Lowe." "Don't be afraid." "For what it's worth," "I have no intention of attacking Jamaica." "What profit would there be in that?" "I saw the plans myself." " You saw a map, I suspect." " I did." "I have a number of maps." "A map is not the same thing as a plan." "So what's it all in aid of?" "The bombs, the triggers?" "If you had chosen to abide awhile, you might have learned." "Charlie?" "Selima?" "What do I do with him?" "Do him." "Why?" "He deceived you." "Yes, he did, to safeguard the island." "That's why he was still here." "He was trying to keep safe an idea he's come to believe in." "Both of you have deceived me for much less." "And yet, you're still the two people I love and trust." "So tell me again:" "What should I do with him?" "It appears we share a worldview." "Fractionally, at best." "For God's sake." "Just concede you're my accomplice." "Let's go drill a hole in my head and let the demons out." "Relax, lad." "A nick won't kill me." "Thank you, sir." "I'll measure twice..." "Cut once." "Are you ready, Commodore?" "I am." "The seal, Mr. Fletch, if you would." "My letter to the Commodore, to be delivered to him in the event that I come to..." "Well, an unforeseen end, I suppose." "It mentions you." "Rose?" "Rose?" "Rose, is that you?" "Ah..." "The seal took." "The Commodore's asleep." "Mr. Lowe, you did well." "The Commodore's alive." "So he is." "You saved his life." "He was dying." "No, he wasn't." "No, he was." " You said that..." " I lied." "Oh, my sweet life and dear mother's garters." "Why would you lie about that, of all things?" "I needed him to send me to Jamaica, so I concocted a fatal illness and a cure." "But I never thought I'd actually have to do it." "It might relieve his headaches." "Sorry." "The gift I gave is the gift I take." "Antoinette." "The gift I gave." "I take." "I took." "Antoinette." "He'd sing but not to me." "Sweet songs." "Cradlesongs." "About where to lay it to rest." "Lay what to rest?" "His estate." "Do you remember?" "Do you remember these cradlesongs?" "Three times spun our gallant ship." "Three times round spun she." "Three times spun our gallant ship, sunk too deep for the devil to see." "Come young, come old." "See wealth untold." "See diamonds and gold sink down, sink down." "Come young, come old." "Come line up to see the wealth of a nation called unto me." "I ain't got the key to the chest you seek, and I ain't got no map ye can find." "For there ain't no map to the deep, deep, deep." " There ain't no map to the deep." " There ain't no map to the deep." "Locke!" "Sir?" "Has the Spanish fleet sailed?" " The..." " Spanish fleet!" "Cuba." "Portocarrero." "The gold." "I..." "I don't know." "Then find out." "Blackbeard sold them the chronometer." "To what benefit?" "To free the treasure fleet from the shipping lanes." "Except they're not free, Locke." "They're alone." "Blackbeard's luring them into the open ocean." "He's going to sink it, the entire fleet." "It would take a hundred ships." "He's found a way, whatever it is." "He's been planning it for years." "It's like my deranged whore said." "He's bringing the treasure to him." "He wants his own sunken treasure out there in the open sea, where no one could ever find it." "We sail now." "We track down that armada." "We find Blackbeard." "Edward?" "Edward?" "The gift I gave is the gift I took."