Pirate's Life For Me....

Hear Me

  "He won't turn her over. Not for 60 men. Not for 600 men." Jack stated.

  "No. I don't expect he will. Nor do we have the stores to maintain this blockade for long. So we need to move quickly. You'll gather your men. You will stand ready to depart upon nightfall. And whilst the enemy remains focused on us, you will make your landing to the west and move undetected into town." Teach ordered. "You will find Eleanor Guthrie, and you will bring her out of Nassau, back here."

  "There ain't no good way in from the west." Anne spoke up with a low voice.

  "I agree. Perhaps an approach from the lagoon-"

  "Do it."

  "The west is too dangerous for a large group of men." I crossed my arms while looking right at Teach. "If all we need is to retrieve Eleanor, I propose a different method." Glancing at Anne, I jerked up my chin. "We do it. We can get in and out without raising alarm." The redhead quirked up her brow at me but didn't reject the idea.

  "And if you're caught? Seen?" Charles questioned. "You'll be alone, no backup, no way out unless we send in more men."

  "Then we take a handful, have them stay back, and wait. If something goes wrong, they either bring back word of it or go in for a rescue. But I'm telling you, Anne and I could do this quickly and quietly, and that's exactly what we need right now." I explained, and Teach narrowed his eyes at me.

  "Don't fuck up." He said before walking away.

  "So who the Hell do you plan on taking with us?" Anne questioned.

  "People who can stay quiet, for starters."

~

  "Slip the cables! Set course to pursue!" I heard someone shout and went on deck to see what was happening. It was dark out and the fort cannons were firing in the distance.

  "What's going on?" I questioned, grabbing Jack's arm as he was walking past.

  "A certain someone is trying to escape with the cover of cannon fire. Captain Teach has chosen to chase him down." Jack looked a mix of irritated and done with the plan already as men were quickly moving about the ship to carry out Teach's orders.

~

  Our cannons tore holes through the smaller ship's sails once we caught up to it. Longboats parted, making way for the enemy vessel with Teach at the lead, and once the longboats were close enough, smoke bombs were tossed aboard along with grapples and ropes to climb. There was dead silence as the air was full of tension. Anne and Charles had gone with Teach, along with various other men from each crew, and I was left standing and watching from the Man of War beside Jack.

  Everything was still as the pirates walked the ship, making sure the dead were actually dead. As they were spread out, shouting filled the air as redcoats flooded the deck, and gunfire echoed across the water. All we could do from where we were was watch and hope the enemy would fall and our men would come out victorious.

  My nails bit into the wood of the rail as my eyes followed Anne and Charles, watching as they cut down the redcoats that came at them. There was more gunfire as pistols went off, and I could hear the distinct clanging of sword against sword. Anne went down, getting tackled by a soldier before she shot him, and men with rifles trained their weapons on Teach a few yards away.

  Charles was still fighting, barreling through men like a beast until he saw Teach's predicament. There were seven armed rifles only inches from the older man's head- the likelihood of all of them misfiring was low.

  "Raise the flag."

~

  Hands bound, I was shoved towards the mast along with the other pirates. I had been stripped of my knives and sword, but that didn't mean I was unarmed. Standing among the men I sailed with, they all wore serious and grim faces.

  The governor walked right up to Teach as he was on his knees, and the captain only smiled.

  "Do it." A soldier then put a sack over Teach's head and tightened the rope around it to make sure it wouldn't come off. The rope tied to Teach's legs was pulled, dragging him across the deck until he was lifted into the air by his feet. He was slowly hoisted over the water as the governor strutted over to the half of the crew by the mast, then passed by us to Teach.

  A redcoat clasped another rope to the old captain's bound wrists and still, no pirate spoke.

  "Let's get the slack." The men at the pulley shifted and waited for the command to let go. Their superior waved his hand and Teach plummeted into the ocean. There was a splash, and the governor turned, waiting a few seconds before speaking.

  "Now."

  "Pull!" There was a low sound from below deck- it was unmistakably Teach scraping across the bottom of the boat. There was a thud, more scraping, and he finally resurfaced on the other side of the ship. His clothes were torn while he was bloody from the barnacles stuck fast to the outer boards. "Pull it away! Hold him."

  Teach was brought back aboard, and he collapsed to his knees and elbows as soon as the hook was taken from the ropes on his wrists. He started to cough and wheeze, forcing himself to sit up.

  "Again."

  "Again! Heave! Heave! Heave!" And yet again, Teach was drug over the bottom of the ship. He came out even bloodier and more cut up than before. When he was on deck once more, blood and water pooled on the boards, and the governor nudged Teach with his foot to see if the older man was still alive. There was no reaction, so the man turned and looked right at....Charles.

  "Him next." Two redcoats grabbed him while another had a rifle aimed at his chest. As he was pulled forward, I barreled through the crowd, baring my teeth as I crashed my shoulder right into the one holding the gun. He went down, dropping the rifle as I stumbled a few steps before turning on the soldiers now having their weapons aimed at me. "Wait!" The governor rose his voice while eyeing me before raising his eyebrows and pointing. "Don't shoot her yet, she can go after him."

  Hands grabbed my shoulders just as Teach was coughing and trying to push himself up once more.

  "Again!"

  "Heave! Heave! Heave!"

  "Let fall!" This man....this man believed he held all the power over us, but just by looking at the men, I could see it plain in their eyes. A fire was building, being stoked and fed as Teach was tortured and fighting to stay alive. Teach was laughing when he caught his breath this time around, it was sickly and wheezy, but a laugh nonetheless.

  The governor pulled a pistol from a soldier's waist, then fired it right at the older captain's head. Smoke rose from the barrel as Teach was finally dead.

  "Secure the rest of them. Set a course for Nassau."

  "Hear me, Rogers! I curse your name!" I yelled, my voice making the man stop as he was walking away. "I am the Black Angel, and for what you have done here today....you are damned." I spit, my eyes locking with his and burning with the rage I felt. "The devils of Hell already call your name, Woodes Rogers. Hear them, feel them creeping closer to drag your soul to the depths." I gave a wicked grin while being forced back by the soldiers holding me. "For you, there is no escape!"