Blackbeard's Justice (The Voyages of Queen Anne's Revenge Book 3)

by Jeremy McLean

  "I, like you, once worked on Calico Jack's ship."

  Herbert needed a moment to process the words. He shook his head in disbelief. "I— In secret? Did he know you were a woman?"

  "I don't know how long you were on his crew, but women were not allowed unless they were captives to later be thrown overboard when the crew lost interest in them."

  Herbert shuffled in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable and unable to sit still. "So why did you leave his ship?" He clenched his hands into a fist. "Are you still working for him?" His voice rose. "Did he send you here to spy on us?" His lips curled into a snarl. "Captain, you cannot trust this woman. She should be left here, or killed."

  Herbert felt his face grow hot, and this time not due to the wound near his eye. His anger nearly overpowered him, but in front of Edward and his sister he contained it.

  "We are cut from the same cloth," Victoria said. It was clear from the look of her that the threat angered her, but her voice held a subtle, calm menace. She was slow to show anger, and seemed confident in her abilities should a fight erupt.

  Edward nodded. "So, we kill her, and what do I do about the other former Calico Jack crewmate? You both joined my ship at the same time, served for all its years, and even came back when I was imprisoned to save me. The only difference is, one of you hid your identity as protection, and the other stole my ship. Judging by one's actions, I'd say the more likely spy would be you, Herbert." He cast a pointed glance in Herbert's direction.

  Before Herbert could respond, Christina placed her hand on her brother's to stop him. "I want to hear what she has to say," she said. "Please, tell us your relationship with Calico Jack."

  Herbert folded his arms and arched his back against the coach.

  Victoria bowed her head a touch in Christina's direction. "I shall be brief, but it is best to start at the beginning." After a cursory glance to the other passengers, she started her story. "I joined Calico Jack's ship a few years ago in disguise as a man, as I had done in the past many times. Working with pirates was never an issue for me, and oftentimes a blessing as the money was better, and I was never found out. As you have seen, I do well in disguising myself, and pirates are idiots," she said with a smirk. Edward cleared his throat. Victoria grinned. "Most pirates are idiots," she revised. "After a few times sailing with Jack Rackham, I learned just how cruel a man he was. I decided to leave the crew at the next port, but it was long before port came, and Mad Jack found out about my identity. He kept the secret, but forced me to stay aboard. I will not tell you the horrid things he did to me, but please know that when I say I am no friend of his that I am not lying. Having said that, I was able to use my captivity well, as I learned about his operations and his contacts. I never wanted revenge, I just wanted to run, but being aboard this ship gave me hope that it could be done."

  "So why reveal yourself now? Why not months or even years ago?" Herbert asked.

  "Before now, it wasn't necessary to tell you my identity. And I didn't know how you or the crew would treat me after you knew the truth," she said, her lips pursed. "Now I don't have the luxury of standing by. If you want to kill Calico Jack, I can help."

  Herbert nodded. "A believable story, I will give you that. However, you'll forgive me if I am still skeptical. If you aren't a spy, then why did you join this ship? Out of all the ships you had a chance of boarding, you approached this one out of what? Coincidence?" Herbert spat. "Pirates are idiots, are they? Spin some lies and they'll believe every—"

  "Do you wish me to address your claim, or is this conversation pointless?" Victoria asked. Herbert sighed and waved his hand at her. Victoria looked at Edward. "I joined this ship because of your Anne," she said.

  "Anne?" he replied, his brow raised. The others in the coach were also confused. "What does Anne have to do with any of this?"

  "Anne was how I escaped Calico Jack," she said. "Before you ask, no, she doesn't know who I am. Anne is smart, and she would have recognised my face had she seen me before." Edward nodded at the comment. "She joined Calico Jack's crew some time after me, and, like me, she didn't know what she was getting into. She was quickly found out by the crew, and killed some of them and cut Calico Jack across the face before jumping overboard. Her distraction allowed me to escape as well, and luckily we were close to shore. I knew she would continue boarding ships for work, and resolved to protect her so she didn't fall into the same situation I did." Victoria looked at Christina. "Lord knows we must stick together," she said, echoing Christina.

  "And that's how you ended up on my ship," Edward said at last. "I can't believe she's never mentioned that before."

  "I can imagine it was not a pleasant experience, especially as she seemed so unused to killing at the time. I will also say that as you were catching onto Anne's identity, I came close to cutting you down. You should be grateful you are nothing like Calico Jack."

  Edward chuckled, but it was a nervous chuckle rather than a humorous one. Victoria wasn't laughing; she looked all too serious.

  "Any more questions?" she asked, staring at Herbert.

  Herbert, his arms still folded, returned the stare for a moment as he thought, then glanced at the other passengers. "No, no more questions," he said.

  Throughout the remainder of the coach-ride, Herbert remained silent. Victoria also didn't seem too talkative, despite revealing her true self to everyone. She hadn't been talkative as Victor, and Herbert guessed that it hadn't been just to hide her voice.

  Christina continued asking Victoria questions like how she'd learned to disguise herself so well, where she came from, why she chose to try to work on ships instead of being a lady, and other menial queries. Herbert didn't listen to anything, and instead tried his best to sleep. All she said was probably full of lies, so why listen to her?

  By nightfall, they arrived back in Porto Bello. Victoria donned her cap once more, and buttoned her baggy clothing to hide her identity once again.

  "Why are you hiding yourself again?" Christina asked.

  "We haven't told the crew yet, and it would be best to address them all together before they start asking questions and spreading falsehoods," Edward said.

  "So we're going to spread the falsehood that she's an ally?" Herbert muttered under his breath.

  "Something to say, Herbert?" Edward asked, the anger clear in his voice.

  He arched his eyebrow and looked at his captain. "Hmm? No, no, nothing to add, sir."

  Edward eyed him in the way he usually did to have men cower from him, but Herbert was unaffected. He stared back at Edward, and tried to mimic the same glare back at him. After a short time, they both looked away.

  The cold air swept in from the sea and hit them as soon as they opened the door to the coach. It was unusually chilly for a place that had such harsh heat during the day, and the crew had to button their jackets and coats to stave off the sharpness of the wind.

  After Edward, Alexandre, and Christina left, Herbert grabbed Victoria's arm and pulled her in close. "Just know that I don't trust you, and I'll be watching you from now on. If you are a spy, I'll know."

  Victoria's face was rigid and unreadable. "Then you and I don't have anything to worry about," she said.

  "Tch, yea, we'll see about that."

  Edward retrieved Herbert's wheelchair from the roof of the coach and brought it down for him. Through some deft maneuvering, Herbert gripped the sides of the open doorway and swung from it to the door, and then into his wheelchair. His legs became twisted in the process, and he had to lift them up to get them aligned just right before he was comfortable.

  "Ready?" Edward asked.

  Herbert nodded. "Let's go see what I paid for with this eye," he said.

  The coaches emptied, and soon Anne and Roberts joined Herbert's group. Herbert wheeled in the direction of Luis Delgado's place of business, leading the others there.

  Once they arrived at the whorehouse, they were let inside. Thankfully, Luis was on the first floor this time.

  When
the group entered, they were met with bitter looks, and more than a few put hands on their weapons. Luis, for his part, grinned from ear to ear, and when he saw Herbert he spread his arms wide.

  "My friend! You are back. With good news, I hope?"

  "Yes," Herbert replied. "We managed to kill your brother for you."

  Victoria stepped forward and handed Delgado the letter she and Alexandre had received from the Panama City authorities. He broke the seal and read through it. After a moment, he nodded his head, seemingly satisfied with its contents.

  Delgado picked up a glass which seemed to be filled with rum. "To my brother, may he rot in hell," he said morbidly, and then seemed to repeat it in Spanish for those around him. With a cheer, he downed the drink in one gulp.

  "There is something else," Herbert said. "There appears to be a spy in your midst. Your brother knew I was coming. I have that to thank for these injuries."

  "Oh, is that so?" Delgado said.

  Delgado started to walk around the room, staring into the eyes of each man while saying something to them in Spanish. As he paced the room, he pushed some of the men, and they answered his questioning. Given that none of them were killed on the spot, they all seemed to deny the accusation.

  As time passed, and Delgado's questions became more incensed, the tension rose. Many of his men were sweating despite the cold of the night, and glanced warily at their neighbours.

  One of the men darted towards an open window. He was ten feet away, and could jump out without fear of injury, as it was the first floor.

  The crack of thunder from a pistol rang in the room, and the spy dropped to the floor. Edward held the weapon, the barrel of the pistol still smoking and releasing a hot metallic scent into the air.

  The spy was still alive, bleeding from his back and desperately trying to pull himself closer to the window.

  Delgado stalked over, and the wounded man noticed the footsteps. He turned over and pleaded with Delgado to spare his life. He put one of his hands in front of him, and the other held his wound. He continued glancing from Delgado to the window as he shouted and begged. Delgado ignored the pleas and didn't hesitate to execute the man with a swift stab through the neck.

  Delgado watched the spy bleed out for a few seconds, and then spun around towards Herbert and the others with a wide grin on his face. "Sorry about that nasty business. Thank you for letting me know, and thank you," he said, pointing to Edward, "for the help. By the way, who are you? I see many new faces today."

  "I am Edward Thatch, Herbert's captain."

  Delgado furrowed his brows. "I thought you were the captain," he said, looking at Herbert. Herbert shook his head. "Well, no matter. So, let's conclude our business. You wanted information on Calico Jack's subordinate, correct?" Delgado walked over to the back of the room and rummaged through some of his drawers.

  "Yes, that was what Herbert struck a deal for. Do you know this man's whereabouts?"

  Delgado was still searching for something in stacks and stacks of papers lining the drawers of the shelves. "I do indeed. He needed help for his next assignment. He told me that he's doing an initiation of sorts, so he's not one of Calico Jack's subordinates just yet, but should he perform well he will be." Delgado pulled out a piece of paper and said, "Aha, here it is!"

  Delgado brought the piece of paper over for Edward to examine. Edward took the paper and glanced over it. Herbert and the others leaned over to see that it was a map of the Caribbean Sea. Several ship routes, showing as dotted lines, crossed this way and that, and at the bottom of the map there was a list of dates, each spanning a week of time.

  "What am I looking at?" Edward asked.

  "That is the routes of various Spanish galleons, what some of you pirates are calling the Spanish Treasure Fleet. They make various trades to Spanish colonies in the new world, and bring back silver and gold mined from all over back to glorious Spain so that the colonies can rot with nothing but trinkets from the Old World."

  Edward still had a confused look on his face, perhaps even disbelief. "So, if I'm to understand you correctly, the trial this man is taking to join Calico Jack's fleet is to steal from one of these galleons?"

  Delgado nodded. "More or less. He has to make it a show, so the galleon has to be sunk and the treasure stolen, from what I was told." Delgado shrugged his shoulders. He went over to Edward and pointed on the map to an island northwest of where they were near one of the routes. "Providencia. That is where your man will be right now. He is getting ready to attack the galleon with some other ships."

  "How much time do we have?" Edward asked.

  "Not much," Delgado replied. "The galleon is due to be here in two days, and then it will stock up and take our silver before heading north. The restocking usually takes a day at most. Five days after that it will arrive there. I'm assuming your ships are smaller, so you can make the trip in three days, maybe four, which is just enough time to figure out a way to stop them."

  Edward glanced at Herbert with a smile on his face. Herbert could tell that they were thinking the same thing. If Herbert hadn't left when he did, who knows whether this opportunity would have still been here for them?

  "You said it's a fleet. Wouldn't that mean more than just the galleon is arriving?"

  Delgado grinned and tapped his finger on his temple. "One would think that, and that's what our beloved motherland wants you to think." Delgado's grin widened. "This one does not have an escort, not for little Porto Bello. The Spanish try to keep it a secret, and most pirates are too busy trying to raid our shores to find that out. This is the one galleon with the least amount of treasure, but also the easiest to take," he said, balling his fist with the last few words.

  Edward grinned, and Herbert thought that more than revenge was on his mind. "So, who is it we should be looking for in Providencia?" Edward asked.

  "Strange fellow he is, you'll be able to find him with no issues, I imagine. For some reason he has this… treasure chest attached to his right arm," Delgado said, gesturing wildly as he did. "Calls himself some foolish name. What was it? Chest-Hand? No, that couldn't be it. Cask-Hand? No, that wasn't it either."

  Edward's eyes were wide. "Cache-Hand."

  12. Debt of Justice

  "Yea, that's the one. Cache-Hand. It's so… what's the word? Obvious. It'd be the same if you up and called yerself Blackbeard, or if Blackwood here called himself Weak Legs," Delgado said with a hearty laugh as he motioned towards Herbert.

  "Excuse me for a moment," Edward said, and then he turned around to leave.

  Delgado had a smirk on his face. "Don't tell me you're actually called Blackbeard? Sorry mate, I didn't know you were that plain."

  "It's nothing you said, sir," Edward replied, then he looked at Roberts. "Roberts, take over for me, would you? Find out what we need to know." Roberts nodded, a look of concern in his eyes.

  Edward left the whorehouse, walked a few houses down, and then stepped into an alley. He fell to his side against the wall of the home and was breathing heavily. He could feel the beads of sweat pouring from his forehead despite the cold of the night. His hands were shaking, and he felt nauseated.

  Why does it have to be him? The picture of Cache-Hand, of William Locke's face, invaded Edward's mind like a sickness. The name repeated over and over in his head until Edward slammed his heavy fist against the wall. Why that name? Why?

  The old, healed wounds across Edward's body began to ache again. The fresh pain was like a memory, his body's memory. His body was telling him of the danger, warning him to stay away from the one who did this to him.

  Footsteps approached behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Anne standing there. Edward pushed himself off the wall and turned around. He wiped the sweat off his brow.

  "It was hot," Edward said. "I needed some fresh air."

  Anne did not say a word, and instead stepped over to him and embraced him. "My sweet Edward," she said, her gentle voice penetrating the pain.

  For a moment
he stood there, stock still, his heart beating in his ears, but then he reached his arms around and accepted his wife's love. Her warmth washed over him, as if she were sharing her calm to quell his storm.

  "You are here, you are now, you are not then," she chanted.

  With each breath they shared, Edward could feel his heartbeat returning to normal. He ignored the thoughts that plagued his mind, and focussed on the moment rather than the past. After a few minutes, he felt relaxed and fresh again.

  Edward laughed. "You have a strange power over me," he said.

  Anne grinned. "I should hope so, husband. After all, I am your better half."

  "This is true," Edward said with a mirrored grin.

  "Tell me what you want, and I would see it done," Anne said, a serious look in her eyes.

  "You do not need to do anything. We, however, need to kill Cache-Hand. Only then will I be rid of this curse."

  Anne looked at him, concern in her eyes. She placed her hand on his cheek. "There is no shame in fear."

  Edward shook his head, pushing her hand away. "I'm not afraid," he said.

  Before Anne could talk with him further, Edward turned around and left the alley. He head back to Delgado's whorehouse. Anne followed behind him at a distance.

  Outside, the crewmates who had joined him, and Roberts, were waiting for Edward to return. They were talking with each other in hushed tones, and had concerned looks in their eyes. When he approached, they ceased talking.

  Roberts waved to Edward. "Ho, Edward. Are you well?"

  "I am well, friend. I felt close to hitting the floor with the heat in the room, so I had to step out."

  Roberts scratched his face. "Yes, of course. It was rather stifling."

  "So, was there any other information of use to us?"

  Roberts shrugged his shoulders. "I'm afraid not," Roberts said, but then he grinned. "But we did learn that one of the other pirates helping Cache-Hand is Walter Kennedy."

  Edward's mouth went agape. "Walter Kennedy? That's…"

  Roberts nodded. "That's the man who stole my ship years ago. He's still with Kenneth Locke, it seems. It looks as if we both will have our justice soon enough, isn't that right old friend?"