Chapter 07 – The exit plan

That day, I started planning my revenge against the Alcalde of La Havana. He was the only governor who fought with some success against pirates, and he was quite feared, especially after the news of his capture and execution of Captain Blackeyes. Killing him would cause a week of feasts in the whole pirates’ underworld.

However, it would take time, so I began studying the entire set of documents we obtained when we captured the promised wife of the Alcalde, Isabella Cardozo Gutierrez, who was certainly the right match for him, sharing his cruelty. For that, I would also need to speak extensively with Caterina to know everything possible about Isabella’s family.

We didn’t stop our raids on any Spanish ship we could find, and even started attacking the slavers and freeing the slaves. I can say, the Spanish were quite pissed off, since killing Blackeyes instead of reducing the threats only exacerbated the damages and losses, making the seas more dangerous. That it was Ash who was getting revenge for Blackeyes was soon common knowledge.

We once managed to capture by chance a super-secret gold transport. The area had been swept of pirates, with fleets patrolling in every direction, to keep the sea clean of pirates or any other enemies, too afraid of meeting a big fleet. Apparently, we discovered later, the Spanish didn’t send the usual galleon-filled fleet for gold transport because the load was destined from La Havana to the city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, a relatively short trip, where they would meet the French Representative in the colonies, Duke Armand Le Ferrier du Septimania, who would then organize the transport to France. It would be a payment to officially break the peace with the British Empire and reduce their ever-growing power in the world, at a moment when they were in need. They couldn’t advertise that for two reasons. First, the British would send a fleet to get the load and likely take the chance to destroy or greatly reduce the Spanish power in the Caribbean. Second, even if the British didn’t make it in time, the meeting port and all ships leaving would be besieged by pirates by land and sea until destruction. Third, such a transport of gold, if known, would have caused attempts at treason, mutiny, and even those pirates paid by Spain would have tried to get it. It has already happened with attacks from whole pirate fleets. Last, the British would have been warned and ready for any treason and likely made such a devastating pre-emptive attack on France and Spain that they would think twice before ever facing them.

Well, luck often plays an important role, especially if paired with ability and bravery, so we were completely unaware of that, crossing the Antilles while moving from our little haven toward Port Royal to get some information about possible targets, plus I had Isabella’s papers and would meet with Caterina. The third day at dawn, we were between Cuba and Haiti, with favourable winds, when we saw a ship not farther than five miles, sailing toward us. It was the Frigate Santa Lucia, but we could see its sea line was very low, meaning it was loaded, thus not easily manoeuvrable. I consulted with Robert and a few of the old crew, and we decided together to take the risk. The important thing was to manage the boarding before they could shoot their cannons. Our musketeers would swipe their decks in advance to reduce our casualties. It was strange, but our advanced muskets still didn’t spread in the colonies, meaning that the crown didn’t want them there. Probably what we got was just a wedding gift from Isabella’s family, or a prize to the most successful pirate hunter, or something the Alcalde managed to get so as to consolidate his own power, and that would have greatly helped him in fighting pirates. Well, we certainly didn’t complain.

So, before they could even think about turning and attempting to flee, we were on them. We kept sailing, pointing directly head-to-head at them, and when near enough, we slid along their flank while literally harvesting their crew with muskets, and stopped to start the boarding. The ship had a small contingent of elite soldiers, but after I trained our men, they could be considered elite as well. The Spanish stood no chance and died to the last. When we discovered the load, it was a great moment. I called the crew and told them the news:

“Men, we hit a jackpot. We can all retire and live as nobles for the rest of our lives. But you know I’m not doing this for riches, I do it for hate and revenge toward Spain. So, I’ll go on, at least until I have avenged Captain Blackeyes. Those who wish to retire will be allowed so, with their part, as soon as we are back in Port Royal. We’ll share a part with our brothers in the Haven, so they’ll be able to choose if they want to change their lives or not as well. Now, since the load is heavy, we will split it in half and keep the ship. That way, we’ll be able to get to a safe place quickly, since I bet there are fleets that are patrolling around.” Everyone cheered, and in an hour the load was split evenly, and we were about to decide who would go on which ship when a man, again a recent addition, said that he was experienced enough to command the other ship with minimal crew, and would choose his men.

“You are the last to arrive here, you don’t get to choose anything, stay in your place and obey orders!” Intervened Robert. That earned him a punch in his face that broke his nose. At that moment, two men took my arms and immobilized me. The man continued. “You got command because you were the bed mate of Blackeyes, and earned fame as Ash just for that, because you were always together. Well, I’ll be the new Captain, and I’ll keep bedding you until you are submissive enough. I don’t mind your scarred face, and I can just turn you away if it’s too much.”

Damn, how predictable they are. It gets boring, always the same script. If it wasn’t for the few smart men like Robert, I’d be bored to death. My men were ready to intervene, but one of his men was pointing the edge of his sword at my throat. I would be dead before they could move a step. When he was confident that nobody would intervene, he approached me. Meanwhile, I turned to the two men holding me and told them, with a tone that left no doubt I’d do it: “Release me or I’ll kill you.”

They laughed, the one who had the sword at my throat moved away, the man commanding them approached and with his face a few centimetres from mine said: “Obey, or I won’t be the only one enjoying your charms!” His foul breath and rotten teeth would make any woman puke. I resisted and asked him, appearing a little more compliant: “So, you want to try how good I can make you feel between your legs, right?”

He didn’t realize that between venom and sarcasm, my question was rhetorical and threatening. When he said: “You are starting to understand, maybe you aren’t as stupid as I thought!” Speak about stupid people, he wouldn’t survive a day as captain if he killed me on the spot.

At that, I answered: “Well, why didn’t you ask clearly? I can do it immediately!” The kick I landed between his legs was such that he was raised from the deck by several centimetres, and I could see some of the men turning their heads just at seeing it.

He was curled up on the floor vomiting, and I asked, “How do you like it?” Without waiting for an answer or a reaction from his henchmen, I used my left foot to hit the leg of the man holding my left arm. A strong hit, diagonally, on the side of the knee, breaking it. He flopped on the floor, screaming. I turned to the other man, who was still shocked, freeing myself, while the man who was earlier pointing the sword at my neck attacked, trying to hit me in the stomach with a knife. I moved a step back and took his elbow, using his own rush to turn him, and made his knife plant in the belly of the man who still held my right arm until a moment before. Then I hit the knife wielder with all my considerable might on the nose, from low to high, literally planting his nasal bones in his brain and killing him on the spot. I took the knife and went to the man with the broken leg. He was begging not to kill him, swearing he would be my most loyal servant. Yes, and stab me in my back at the first chance. I answered. “Even amongst pirates I’m widely known, as was Blackeye, for a few features, one of which is that I have only one word and keep all my promises!” And I planted the knife in his chest with all my might.

Then I turned to the wannabe Captain, who was just recovering a little. “You bitch! I’ll kill you as soon as I’m in command. My men will whip you to the bones!”

“Really? In command of what? And you mean those three men?” And I pointed at the two corpses and the death-rattling one. He was surprised. “Well, we welcomed you amongst us, gave you trust, money, and friendship. And you betrayed us, for greed. You would have been able to live like a king for the rest of your life. And that alone, with just the right share that everyone will get. Instead, you wanted everything. I hate people who are so greedy that they betray friends and mates. Thank your luck that we are in a hurry, so you won’t suffer too much.”

At that, I cut his throat, then finished the last man and had the men throw them in the sea, where sharks were already feasting. Then went to check how Robert was. “Are you ok? Did he damage you badly?”

He answered. “Don’t worry, Ash, it’s just that my nose won’t be as handsome as the rest of me anymore!” We all laughed because he was far from handsome, and he knew it well. So, we quickly split the crew; Robert would command the second ship and run back to the Haven, since it was the nearest place where we could find refuge.

Believe me, the gold we stole that day would allow us to buy a little nation. And in truth, some of us wanted to do just that. Then we realized that with the huge powers that we would face, our little nation would be our grave. Buying some land in one of the British colonies as soon as they were back at peace would be better. So, we started to make plans about that.

One month later, we were in Port Royal. I converted part of the gold into letters of credit, valid in the whole British Empire, then went to speak with Caterina. I was glad to see that she was happy and about to deliver her first child. “I partly envy you, Caterina. I don’t know if I will ever be able to settle down and live a normal life. My hate is too deep, and I lost my mate!”

“I know, Ash. It happened to me, too, remember? But you must set priorities. You won’t be able to hit those who caused your father’s death. I mean, the brains behind it. You would need to go to Spain, join the court, and then start a string of assassinations. Who do you think they’ll suspect first? And reaching the King and the Queen… well, that’s impossible. You wouldn’t even be considered for an audience if you were a known noble; imagine the daughter of a disgraced minor noble considered a traitor. Decide who you want to hit, as their representative here. Make a list, plan it, and once you are finished, stop and build a life.”

“You are so wise for your age, Caterina…”

“No, I’m not. But when you killed Isabella, I realized that was the maximum I could aspire to for my revenge. So, I focused on my life to build a future.”

“You are right. In fact, my list is quite short. I came for that. I need everything you know about Isabella, her family, and the whole court. Plus, I need you to describe every single place in detail, so I can speak about it as if I’ve been there myself.”

“Wow… that’s going to take long, but I have nothing to do until my baby is born.”

It took three months to get everything, and another two to repeat and test the knowledge. Then we parted. I went to a neutral port city, where I took the identity of a Spanish noblewoman, hired a staff, but kept Robert and a young man of the crew with me as a councillor and bodyguards, since they spoke fluent Spanish. Then, I started looking for a ship toward la Havana, pretending to be Maria Cardozo Gutierrez y Barroso y Azevedo, younger sister of Isabella. My story was that since my father wasn’t even answering me about her, and I had no news for years, I took a passage on a ship toward the New World to visit her. I found a ship that arrived from Cadiz the same day I arrived and would return back to England the next day, and that had problems with a hurricane that deviated it to that port, so it would be impossible to check if I had really been on it. Now that I had a cover story, it was only a matter of getting a ship toward my final destination. Hopefully, along that route, there wouldn’t be pirates, or I would find myself in a difficult situation.

I found the ship, Bahia del Sol, and met another noblewoman, English, who was visiting La Havana. The British Empire was back more or less at peace with Spain, even if Spain was creating problems by indirectly backing the nearly finished American Revolution. We made our acquaintance, spoke some, and while we were alone in a room, suddenly she pointed a knife at my throat. I didn’t flinch, getting my own hidden knife ready.

“Who are you? Your story is convincing, but it’s obvious from several particulars that you’ve never been to Spain. So, if that part of the story is false, the rest is too. Maybe the only thing that’s true is that you are a noblewoman, that’s something that you can’t fake.”

“What would it change for you, who I am? Are you trying to protect the Alcalde of La Havana?”

She put her knife back.

“No, and I guess neither are you. If you tell me who you are, I’ll tell you who I am.”

“Maybe this is not the proper place, let’s take a walk on the seafront.”

“Ok.”

So, we walked, with our protectors in sight, and spoke in English. She started first.

“That bastard of de la Sierra killed my older brother.”

“He killed so many, there would be a line to get revenge. I can’t see why you took it so badly. Around here, death is common, especially at the hands of the Spanish. And if your brother was so known, he would recognize your name immediately.”

“You don’t understand. My brother always looked after me. He protected me, managed to avoid me to be given in marriage to someone I didn’t like, and at last allowed me to marry a man whom I loved. De La Sierra killed my brother with a painful wound, watching him die and enjoying it, then hanged his body in the square. Since his friends apparently don’t care about getting revenge, I’ll do it myself.”

A doubt crept into my mind. She had black hair and deep black eyes.

“What’s the name of your brother? If we must trust each other, no secrets. I promise that I’ll tell the truth about me, then.”

“Ok. His name was John Hood. He was known as…” I finished for her “Captain Blackeyes.”

“Now you’ll report me to the authorities? Even if I have a legitimate reason for revenge, you Spanish hate pirates, and my brother wasn’t exactly soft with the Spanish.”

“No, Susan.” I hugged her, cried some, and meanwhile whispered in her ear, “I’m going there to avenge him as well… I am known as Captain Ash.”

She looked at me, astonished. “He wrote me that he met someone special. I would never have guessed. I still tried to contact Ash, but nobody knew how.”

“Yes, we keep out of the usual places where pirates go, save for Port Royal, we were too wanted to risk. I loved him with all myself. That night, half of La Havana burned, for the fire we started as initial retaliation. It took time, but his whole crew is in this, then we’ll retire. We got enough to stop such a dangerous life.”

“I am happy to know that he found someone who loved him so much, to avenge him even a long time after his death.”

“He gave me everything: trust, strength, love, a new place to call home, the hope for a new life, and taught me how to fight Spain efficiently.”

“But, why? You are Spanish as well…”

“I am, and can’t change it. But can try to remedy it. By damaging as much as possible the Spanish rule, the corrupt dominant class that enslaves everyone under their rule. They betrayed my father so many times, and only in the end, he realized what a breed of traitor, corrupt filth they are. My name was Cyndria Monteyo y Spinoza y Aquino de Alameda, before I gave it up for Ash.”

“Will you help me? My brother always helped me and my family. He sent a lot of his loot to our family when we were in need. I told you that he looked after me. Then I married the Count of Cwm-yr-Eglwys, five years ago. He died six months ago, after a bad fall from a horse. So now I have the means and will to pursue my revenge. And the name on all my documents is Countess Susan verch Morgan, as I adopted a Welsh-style surname before marrying.”