The Pirate Raiders (15 page)

The old man smiled, and there was no mistaking the relief upon his tired and weathered face.  “I see…well, as it chances, I do know where you can find Morgan,” he said. 

“Good, well tell me where he is and I’ll be on my way.”

“What do you want with Morgan?”

My jaw clenched as I tried to think of an answer.  I wasn’t expecting him to question me on why I needed to see Morgan. 

“Well, actually I’m not the one that needs to see him.  The birdie in the bar has business with him,” I said.

The old man cocked his head sideways as he tried to understand.  “She’s a hussy?”

“No, you numbskull; not that sort of business!  Her business with Mr. Trimble is none of your concern.  Just tell me where we may find him and I’ll be on my way.”

“You’re mighty bossy, lad,” he replied.  “Seeing how you’re on the other end of my pistol and all I’d expect you to be a tad more respectful.”

I said nothing because if I’d said what I wanted to say, I believed the scoundrel would’ve gone on and put a ball between my eyes.  He eyed me for a long moment and when he was satisfied I was not going to say anything else, he said, “Return to the docks and look for a dirt trail that begins behind the blacksmith’s shop.  Follow that trail until you reach the top of the hill.  That’s where the homestead of Morgan Trimble will be.  Now get out of my sight before I have to waste a perfectly good ball on your rotten carcass.”

It was at that moment that Andrea appeared at the entrance to the alleyway.  The old man stood his ground and continued to point his weapon at me. 

“What’s going on here?” Andrea asked, surprised to see a gun pointed at me.

“I have the situation under control,” I said calmly.

“It doesn’t look like it,” she replied.  “Did he tell you where to find Morgan?”

“Aye, he did,” I answered.  I told her what the old man had said.

“Very good.”  She then looked toward the man in black.  “Thank you kind sir,” she said. 

With that, the man took off his hat and gave a slight nod.  He finally lowered the weapon and began to slink away further into the alley.  As he turned away I suddenly glimpsed something that I had not noticed the entire time I’d been speaking with him…something that had been covered by the very large hat upon his head.  He only had one eyebrow.

“Alright, I’m going to go speak to my uncle and I’m going to do it alone, Redd,” Andrea stated, fully expecting me to argue with her again.  Had I not just experienced a startling revelation, I probably would have argued fiercely to go with her, but fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for her I now had something far more important to do at the present time.

“Okay, you go ahead,” I said, still watching the man in black walking away.  “I’ll meet you at the docks when you’re done.”

Andrea had opened her mouth and no doubt had a retort ready for disposal.  When she finally processed what I’d said, she stared at me a moment and then back to the man in black.

“Redd, who is that man?” she asked.

“His name is Charles Higgins,” I replied.  “He’s the man that murdered my father.”

Chapter 12
:

As I chased after my father’s murderer, I felt my pulse quicken substantially.  I felt as if I’d never ran faster in all of my life and as I drew near my target, he turned his head and spotted me.  He then took off running but it was a pointless effort.  I easily tackled the man to the ground.  His hat flew from his head and I heard his skull collide with the cobblestone when he fell.  He lay on his back, undoubtedly woozy from the blow he’d just taken, but he was still conscious enough to reach for his pistol.  The gun was lying about a foot away from his hand, and I wasted no time kicking the weapon out of his reach.  I then straddled over him and put my blade to his throat.  We were still in the alleyway and there was no one within ear shot to help him.  His life was completely in my hands now.

“Mr. Higgins, I’ve waited all my life for this moment,” I whispered to him.

The fear in his eyes was very apparent and it surprised me to see such emotion from the leech that lay before me.

“Redd, my boy,” he said, almost gasping.  “I knew you’d recognize me…I just knew it.”

“I could never forget the eyes of such a vile creature like you,” I growled, pressing the blade ever so slightly tighter on his throat.

Higgins grabbed my wrists with both hands and tried to push the blade back, but to no avail.  “I always knew this day would eventually come as well,” the wretched old man said, and then he began to sob.  “I swear to you boy, if I could take back what I did to your father, I would.  I swear it upon my soul!”

“You have no soul!” I snapped through clenched teeth.  “You’re a monster!”

“Aye,” he sobbed.  “I am…I am…’tis true, it is!  Please take pity on me boy!”

As Charles Higgins began to blubber like a baby in front of me, I felt myself feeling an emotion I never would have believed I’d feel in that moment.  I felt pity and I hated myself for it.  How could I possibly feel pity for a man that had killed my father in such a nightmarish fashion?  How I could I feel pity for someone so brutal?  As these thoughts washed over me, I felt myself releasing the tension on Higgins’s throat.

“Where have you been all this time?” I asked.

“After Captain Bloodbane died, and you left us, the men voted me captain of Dawnbreaker,” he said, still whimpering.  “I had a good run and my men saw me a good captain, Redd.  I dare say you’d have seen it so yourself, had you stayed with us.”

With that suggestion, I hit him.  “How dare you?” I snapped at him.  I grabbed the collar of his coat and jerked him closer to my face.  “I’ve heard the story about what happened to
Dawn Breaker
.  Captain Trimble tracked the bloody ship down and turned it into splinters.  He filleted the crew before he did it.  If you were such a good captain, then why are you still alive?  You should’ve died with the rest of those poor souls I knew so well.”

Charles Higgins began to sob again and it was becoming hard to even understand what the man was saying.  “I’m a coward Redd,” he said.  “I jumped ship and left my men to die when I saw that there was no hope in victory.  I should’ve been dead myself…cannon balls turned the timber around me into kindling and before I knew it, I just jumped into the sea.  I wrapped my arms around a cider barrel and floated away from the bloody carnage.  I prayed Redd!  I prayed that god Himself would see to it that I lived—and if He did, I swore to change my ways.  I was picked up by a slave vessel that very afternoon, just before the sun disappeared.  I’ve been a different man ever since—I have Redd, please believe me!”

To my utter dismay, the pity that I felt for Charles Higgins did not waiver.  I found myself despising the emotion even more, and it seemed the madder I got, the stronger my pity grew.  No matter how I felt on the inside, I dared not let Higgins see it.

“You were just pointing a pistol at me and the bartender told me you have a bad reputation around here.  It doesn’t seem like you’ve changed all that much to me,” I said.

“I wasn’t going to shoot, boy!  When I recognized you, I assumed you’d come to kill me.  I was only trying to scare you off.  I mean you no harm.  People in this town know of my history with Captain Trimble.  Most men figure that if I was able to do experience his wrath and live to tell about it, then I must be a mean as he is.  Truth is, I haven't done a lot to change their minds either; I just enjoy being left alone.”

I stared at Higgins for a long moment, trying to decide what to do.  The desire to kill the man had long since passed, but there was still anger present.  I finally stood up and returned my cutlass to its scabbard.  Higgins began to rise, but I quickly put a boot to his throat and forced him back down on the ground. 

“Do not get up until I’m long gone.  If I ever see you again, I’m fairly certain I won’t be as forgiving as I have been today.  You deserve to die, but judging by the looks of you, I’m confident that your time is not far away.  God evidently did answer your prayers.”

“He did!  You see it with your own eyes,” he rasped.

“Aye, I do,” I replied.  “Since He answered your prayers, maybe I can get Him to answer mine as well.  I think I’ll pray for Him to give you the slow painful death that you deserve.  I want your dying breath to be as painful as my father’s was.  I want his face to be the last thing you think of when you die.”

Higgins’s eyes widened at the suggestion I’d made.  I could tell that the words hurt him far worse than the blow to the head he’d taken when he’d fallen.  His mouth literally turned into a frown and his eyes began to water up again.  His lip quivered and he said nothing.

“I’m going to turn and walk away from you, and you’re going to crawl away.  I never want to see you again.”

With that, I turned away and slowly walked back toward the street.  I knew he still had his pistol, but strangely, I had no fear that he would use it.  No sooner had I taken my third step, the bloody man began speaking.

“How well do you know that pretty blonde lass?” he asked softly.

I turned to look at him.  “What is it to you?” I replied.

“Do you know who she is?” Higgins said; he continued to lie on the ground.

I turned to walk away, but curiosity got the better of me.  I spun back around to face him.  “What do you mean do I know who she is?  Get to the point.”

“That lass be Winston Trimble’s girl,” he said.  “She’s not the sort of company I’d expect someone such as you to keep.”

“She’s nothing like her father,” I said.

Higgins laughed at my statement and continued to lie there, staring at the sky.  “I know that an old sea snake like me is the last person you want to listen to, boy,” he replied.  “But, that lass is just as dangerous as her father.  You should steer clear of her.  She may be pretty look at on the outside, but inside she’s as uglier than I’ve ever been.”

I took a breath, trying to keep my composure.  “I’ve been sailing with her.  She is nothing like her father and she is nothing like you.  As far as I’m concerned, you and her father are one and the same.”

“You’ve been warned, mate,” Higgins whispered.  “You’ve been warned.”

I turned to walk away again and this time I didn’t stop.

***

Before I even realized it, I found myself sprinting back toward the docks to find Andrea.  Perhaps it was because I felt that if I didn’t get away quickly, I would kill Charles Higgins.  Somehow I knew deep down I was going to regret letting the wretched man go, but at the same time I just could not see how I’d get a great deal of satisfaction from killing such an old and pathetic man as he.  I truly hoped I’d seen the man for the last time in my life. 

By the time I reached the docks, the people of New Providence were swarming around in all directions.  I took note that all of the smaller fishing vessels I’d noticed when we first arrived were long gone.  There was no doubt they would later be returning with their stores full of fresh fish that they would probably sell right there on the docks.  Then later the men would probably return to the same activities they’d enjoyed the night before again. 

I stopped for a moment and panned over the scene before me.  I scanned the crowd and tried to look beyond the produce stands and carriages in the street for any sign of Andrea.  When I didn’t see her I returned my gaze to the docks.  There was no sign of her there either, but I did catch a glimpse of another familiar face. 

Ricardo La Salle was strolling rather proudly down a pier immediately in front of me.  He and the Jane had apparently arrived shortly after Andrea and I had entered town.  He seemed to smile and chat with everyone he came into contact with.  As I watched him, I soon realized he was asking the citizens if they’d seen a man meeting my description.  I rushed to the pier and met Ricardo just as he reached the edge of town. 

“Hello señor,” he said loudly.  He reached out and shook my hand with a firm grip as I led him toward the street.  “That new ship of yours is quite fast!  I tried to keep pace with you but my old girl just didn’t have it in her.”

I had noticed that
Neptune’s Castle
was indeed a swift ship.  However, I was unaware that Ricardo had been trying so hard to keep pace with her.  This was good news to me, for it was most difficult to find a ship that was both large and swift.  Usually one trait was sacrificed for the other.  I decided it would be best to try and downplay the significance of the speed of my new ship altogether.