It's quiet.
You've barely stepped off the gangplank when your attention is caught by a flicker of movement in the corner of your eye. Eyes narrowing, you step forward and see a familiar pair of cutlasses strapped to his hip as he slips down the street like a wraith in the night. There's no real need for him to be this subtle, the docks are mostly vacant at this time, the crews either asleep or knocking back drinks at the taverns. But still, you do wonder; what is he doing?
You try to remain as silent as possible as you move behind him, matching the tempo of his footsteps; left, right, left. He doesn't look back, eyes fixed intently on one of the ships at the harbor, white gleaming cold even in the faint light of the half moon.
When you glance back at your quarry, all you see is a swish of dark fabric as he disappears into a nook between two squat shophouses, vanishing from sight. Frowning, you steal quietly after him, making sure not to make a noise, but the second you round the corner of the first shophouse, a hand latches around your wrist and drags you inside.
"Ah-mhnpf!" Your cry of surprise is muffled in a coarse sleeve, the fingers around your arm digging in painfully firm. A single green eye meets yours, poisonous with ruthless intent at first, before he blinks and it fills to the brim with shock. "Chin Hae?"
You want to affirm that, but realise his forearm is still pressing against your mouth. When you wave at it indignantly with your prosthetic, he draws it away slowly, as if still in shock that you're actually here. Then his brows knit, his mouth opens and you wince, you're really in for it.
"What are you doing creeping around out here in the middle of the night?" He hisses sharply, voice hushed and urgent. You blink owlishly for about five whole seconds before your mouth presses into a flat line of annoyance.
"Following you, what are you doing creeping around out here in the middle of the night?" You retort and Hongjoong actually flinches a little. Out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of the white ship, and when you look back at your captain realisation seems to dawn on him.
"You wanted to get Wooyoung's key back from that bastard too?" He asks, so incredulously you're almost offended. He takes one step closer and you gulp, his body almost pinning you against the grimy stone wall behind you. "All on your own? Without anyone else? Are you crazy?"
You suck in a breath, meet his piercing gaze firmly. "I'm not alone. I have you, don't I, captain?"
Flustered, Hongjoong takes a couple of steps back, before he lets out a sigh - and luckily for you, a small, self deprecating smile forms at the corner of his mouth. "I'm being rather hypocritical about this whole affair, aren't I?"
You try to wear a serious expression as you nod. "Extremely so, captain."
"I said, call me Hongjoong." He leans back against the wall and you realise he's not wearing his usual red jacket. He runs a hand through his hair, gazes at the white ship for a second. "If you're going to go get Wooyoung's key, you need to know that it's dangerous."
"I hope you have a completely fail safe game plan then, captain." You say with as much cheer as you can muster. Hongjoong lets out a soft chuckle.
"Well, one of our men at the taverns today reported back to me that he heard the crew of the Phantom discussing how the Phantom is only staying one night at Tortuga." You frown.
"That means we only have one shot at this."
Hongjoong nods, a sigh leaving his mouth. "I know it's just a key, and we could break Wooyoung's shackles with the right tools." You glance up at your captain. "I think it's more than that for him. I broke the chains that held him to the ship, but I don't think he's really moved on. As he said, all he's done is run, instead of confronting his fears, that's why he refused to let me break them. Getting the key won't help either, but..."
"But?" You prompt him.
"But if I could show Wooyoung that no part of his past is still with that bastard, at least he could know that they're no longer connected in any way physically." Hongjoong shakes his head. "Symbolism can be a powerful thing sometimes. Either way, the crew member also mentioned most of the Phantom crew's intentions were to get dead drunk tonight and head out tomorrow morning at first light, but they said that the quartermaster wanted to rest back on the ship."
"Can we really take on the rest of them, though?" You ask doubtfully. Having most of them in the inn already sounds too good to be true, but there are only two of you. Is your training with Jongho and Yunho going to be enough to get that key back?
"Most of the Phantom's crew are slaves, so they'll be chained to the oars." Hongjoong says softly, mouth pressed in a thin line. "They'll have about twenty fighting men, give or take. The Phantom is a small ship and isn't suited for ocean travelling, it preys on fishing boats and small villages along the coast. Most of the crew won't be on board."
You're still not totally convinced, a nagging voice of unease in your heart clamouring for attention. You force it down. "What if there are guards, though? Won't they have loot that they want to keep safe?"
The look on Hongjoong's face is a tad bit frightening. "Their main loot is slaves, kidnapped from raids. They'll have been sold off to the slave market already."
Your heart pinches for them, but you have to concentrate on the mission at hand. "So what do you intend to do?"
Hongjoong rolls the tip of his tongue between his teeth. "Well... this might sound awfully simple, but I was thinking of simply walking up the gangplank, sneaking into the captain's cabin, and stealing the key." When he catches your incredulous expression, he shrugs. "Sneaking around won't do us much good, since the Phantom has an open deck. There's nowhere to take cover and the rowers will all see us. I doubt they'll want to help their captors, though."
"Won't it be safer to climb up the anchor chain, though?" You ask quietly but Hongjoong shakes his head.
"The anchor's already been hauled up." He points behind him at the ship and you make a noise of agreement.
"That's true..." You mumble thoughtfully to yourself. The side of Hongjoong's mouth lifts in a tiny smile. "Having second thoughts about tagging along?"
"Of course not." Your reply is instantaneous and Hongjoong chuckles lightly, shaking his head. "Wooyoung is a lucky man, alright..." The words are soft under his breath.
You frown, not quite understanding. "Captain?"
But he only shakes his head, smiles small. "Let's go."
>>>
It's too easy.
You know you've trained for covert missions before together with Wooyoung, but this is even simpler than your job back in Nassau, searching for Bartholomew. The two of you slip up the gangplank silently, you in front and him behind, looking out for any guards on patrol at the harbor, before you slink silently onto the deck together.
Pressing against the hull, you glance around quickly to scan your surroundings for potential threats, see two pirates gaping at you in shock. Hongjoong nods and the two of you leap forward, you going for the one of the right while he goes for the other.
The pirate has barely had the chance to draw his blade before you're on him, the hilt of your sword striking his head hard. A swing of your arms and he crumples to the ground beneath you, limp, and you barely manage to catch his sword before it clatters on the deck. To your right, your captain is already gagging and binding his target, stuffing his mouth with a scrap of cloth.
After you've followed suit, you look up, see the rows of slaves on the benches, stretching on to the end of the ship. They're asleep, chained to the oars, heavy manacles and chains holding them captive, and while you want nothing more than to free all of them this very instant, you don't have the power to do so. Quietly, the two of you pull the guards into a small heap behind some barrels, before Hongjoong points at the captain's cabin at the very end of the ship.
"Let's go." He whispers through the cloth over the lower half of his face and you follow after him, tiptoeing between the slaves. Everything goes without a hitch and the two of you reach the captain's cabin, Hongjoong moving to touch the door cautiously.
"Not locked." He murmurs softly and you frown, things can't be this easy, can they? Your captain draws a long knife from his belt (long weapons would be difficult to swing around in such close quarters), and edges the door open cautiously.
It swings inwards without a sound, and your eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark interior. It's small, much smaller than the cabin onboard the Treasure, which makes sense considering this is a pirate's galley and not a ship. In the corner of the room you make out a bed, and a dark shape sleeping soundly there...
Hongjoong grips your wrist and you realise that your fingers are curled around the hilt of your sword, silent fury seething within you. You take a moment to release it, a sigh escaping you.
"I'll keep watch outside." You mutter softly under your breath, and turn around to leave before Hongjoong can say anything. Just the mere sight of that man makes you want to run him through with a blade, but you can't. Knocking out two men was bad enough, but if you were to be discovered for committing murder?
Shaking off those thoughts, you glance around the ship. The deck is bare except for ropes coiled here and there neatly, several large barrels littered around. The slaves are still fast asleep... but then all of a sudden one shifts. You tense up in horror, about to knock him out with your sword once again when he turns back to glance at you.
His eyes widen.
Before you can take a step towards him, he mouths something urgently, soundless, and you frown, trying to make out what he's saying. Is he trying to warn you about something?
You edge forward to make out the shape of his mouth more closely, when suddenly another thought strikes you.
Why was the anchor already lifted if the ship didn't intend to leave the harbor till morning?
You spin around to tell your captain, heart thundering in your mouth, it's a trap, you want to scream. But before anything can leave your mouth, the barrels suddenly burst open to reveal the pirates hiding within them, all armed to the teeth with weapons.
Your mouth opens in a scream, but then something hard strikes you in the side of the neck, and all you know is darkness.
>>>
"Wake up! Please, you need to wake up."
Your eyes blink open blearily and immediately shut again at the bright sunlight, wincing in pain. Your cheek is pressed hard against rough wooden planks, and for a second you wonder if you've fallen asleep on the deck of the Treasure again.
Suddenly, everything comes rushing back to you.
Meeting Wooyoung's slaver. Sneaking onto the Phantom. Getting ambushed.
You try to sit up to scan your surroundings, but then a heeled boot slams your head right back into the deck. You cry out, feeling the bones in your jaw grind painfully against the wooden boards.
"I'm afraid I can't have you waking up just like that, sleeping beauty." The chuckle makes your skin turn, and you look up to see your captain opposite you, bound and pinned to the ground too, just as you are. Then you see the slaves pulling hard at the oars, feel the galley crest waves that are far too big for those of a ship in port, and your heart sinks.
You're no longer in Tortuga.
The quartermaster sees you blanch, smiles charmingly.
"Now that we're all awake, I'd like to formally welcome the two of you aboard the Phantom."