Storm over the Caribbean

31. Ignorance Is Bliss Until You Get Stabbed

"Indeed. So..." Mr Ambrose let his voice trail off. There was never any such thing as a smile on Mr Rikkard Ambrose's face, but if I didn't know better, I would have said there was just the hint of one sparkling in his icy eyes.

"So?" I prompted.

He met my eyes with his own deep, dark, sea-coloured orbs. "So why don't we pay them a visit?"

Grabbing hold of the back of my neck, he bent down to me in the blink of an eye and pressed a fast, ferocious kiss onto my lips. He kissed me and kissed me and kissed me until my toes curled and my limbs went limp. This kiss...it was unlike any I had felt before. He didn't take my mouth. He didn't claim my mouth. He plundered my mouth, without hesitation or inhibition.

Oh my...I should have made him become a pirate much earlier!

When Captain Rockface finally decided to break the kiss and step away, he left me breathless and almost unable to move. But then...I wouldn't need to move for the foreseeable future, wouldn't I? We would be travelling by ship.

Unable to resist, I brushed my lips against his. "Shall we?"

His eyes bored deep into mine once more, promising death to his enemies and delirious pleasure to his ship's cook.

"We shall."

***

"Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy to starboard!"

The crew on the merchant ship froze in mid-motion. From inside the superstructure came a grumbling sound and, moments later, the door to the captain's cabin flew open, revealing a pudgy man with a bald head as shiny as a cue ball.

"What the hell is all the noise about?" the captain growled. "I was just catching a good nap! Can't a man get five minutes of rest around here?"

"But, Captain, look! There!" One of the sailors rushed to the railing, pointing to the west. There, a ship was visible at the horizon, slowly growing larger. "It's coming straight towards us!"

"Huh? How can that be?" Frowning, he strode over to the sailor. "There's no trade route that way. Just a maze of tiny islands. What..."

Shielding his eyes against the sunlight, he tried to make out the distant ship more clearly—and failed.

"Oy!" Glancing up, he shouted to the man in the crow's nest. "Do your bloody job! Tell me what kind of flag that thing is flying!"

"Aye aye, Sir! Right away, Sir!"

A moment or two passed, and then...

"S-sir! Sir, we....!"

"What?"

"We've gotta turn around! Right now! Turn the ship around and return to port!"

The captain scowled. "Who the hell do you think you are to give me orders?"

"B-but Sir—"

"Shut your trap!"

"Sir, they're pirates!"

The captain froze. All colour drained from the faces of the sailors around him. One of them, who was scrubbing the deck, slipped on a wet patch and slammed butt-first onto the planks.

"P-pirates?" The first mate stammered. He whirled to his captain. "We've got to go! We—"

"Ha! Ha! Hahahaha...!"

"Err...Captain?"

"...mwahahaha!"

"Captain!"

"Haha! Sorry, that was just so funny!" Chuckling one last time, the captain wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Don't worry. Let the ship approach."

The first mate stared at him as if he had grown a second head. One without a brain in it. "S-sorry, Captain?" He took a cautious step away from his captain. "I think I misheard."

"No, no, you heard right. Let them approach." The captain waved his other man's concerns away. "They probably just want to chat or something."

"Chat? Pirates?"

If, before, his second-in-command had been staring at him as if he were crazy, now the younger man was slowly backing away, as if the captain were a bomb about to go off.

"Ha! Yes, I suppose that would seem odd to you, seeing as you and the fellow up in the crow's nest are new to the crew. Well..." The captain tapped his nose, signalling his superior intellect and knowledge. "You'll see soon enough. You'll see."

"Err...Captain? Are you quite well?"

"Oh, I most definitely am. On our way here, we passed a ship from that trading company belonging to that rich bastard, Ambrose, didn't we?"

"I believe we did, Captain."

"Then I suspect those 'pirates' will be heading straight towards us. And when they do, we will have a nice little talk with them, share some ale, and tell them all about that ship we spotted, are we clear?"

The first mate hesitated.

"I asked, are we clear?"

"A-aye aye, Sir!"

The crew broke into a hectic cacophony of activity, and by the time the pirate ship approached, the captain was waiting by the railing with a broad smile on his face and an expensive bottle of whiskey clutched in his hand.

Sails rustling, wood creaking, the pirate ship came up alongside the merchant vessel. At the front of the rough crowd gathered on the deck of the vessel, the captain spotted a tall, dark-haired man with cold eyes, a hard face, and a sabre hanging at his waist. Probably his counterpart, the captain concluded. He should be on his best behaviour.

"Greetings, Captain!" Beaming, the big, bald man extended the whiskey bottle. "On behalf of my employer, I welcome you to our ship."

"Why, thank you." Graciously, the other man inclined his head. What a polite fellow! Yes, the two of them would get along excellently. "We shall graciously accept your hospitality."

"Would you like to join me in my cabin? You could tell me about your plan for your next raid."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Cocking his head, the man with the stony face stepped forward. Only then did the captain notice the cold glitter in the man's eyes, and the man's hand moving towards the hilt of his sabre. Behind him, his crew mimicked the gesture. "Let me tell you all about our latest target..."

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My dear Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,

What do you think of Mr Ambrose's strategy? Appropriately ruthless and money-grabbing? ;)

Yours Truly

Sir Rob