A.N.: Two new chapter filled with a few new characters. Enjoy!
Ch. 2 A Dear Friend
"Merciless Adam Silver," Captain Shepard read off of a sheet of paper, "Pirate, musketeer class, son of Captain Horace Avery-Silver, Pirate lord of Skull Island-" The pirate raised his chained hands, stopping the captain from continuing.
"Uh, that's co-lord," Adam corrected. Shepard scowled.
"Co-lord of Skull Island. Wanted for eight counts of grand larceny, five counts of murder, two counts of assassination, and one," Shepard squinted as she reread the final charge 3 times, "One count of public indecency?" Adam buried his face into his hands.
"Jeez, okay," Adam turned to the window where Lenora was listening in on his interrogation, "This was when I was still a kid. Hannah and Mary had gotten some rare Marleybonian yum and we spent the night drinking away. Needless to say, I ended up streaking through the streets of the Isle of Dogs." Adam watched as his wife collapsed. He could easily hear her laughing from the other side of the glass. "Anyway, the charges were dropped because I was a kid. As were the others as thanks for, oh, I don't know, saving the Spiral? You may have heard of this." The dog slammed the papers down on the table.
"I know what you did! And since you came back from the dead, I've been trying to clean up the mess you left behind with Gareth and the Dark Archer!" Shepard walked around the table. "For a whole year, you and your crew have-"
"Been making our jobs easier?" The captain turned around to see Admiral Nelson standing in the doorway of the interrogation room. "Hello, Captain Silver."
"Hey, Nelson," Adam waved, "How've things been since the Revolution?"
"Well, despite the Royal Navy's failure to quell them, New Marleybone seems to be thriving in their newfound freedom." Nelson walked up to the table and took a key from his belt, unlocking the chains that were around Adam's wrists. "Thought you should know that I'm in charge of the Spiral Task Force now. I've enlisted men and women from all corners of the Spiral, including New Marleybone."
"Is Jordan okay? She was pretty banged up when we finished off Gareth's crew." Nelson held up his hand.
"Jordan is fine. We've got the finest medical staff working on getting her better. She won't be on two legs for a while though. And don't worry about Gareth, we've got him locked up in a special maximum security prison. Only prisoner there."
"Thank you so much, Nelson."
"You did the Spiral a great service, Adam. This doesn't even cover what we owe you. Though, I wish I was only bringing good news." Nelson looked at Shepard and motioned for her to leave them. When she passed Adam, she stopped.
"Don't expect your friends to save your ass all the time, Captain Silver."
"That's enough, Jayne!" Nelson used his one arm to push the dog out of the room. Composing himself, Nelson took a deep breath. "Sorry about that. She's a stubborn one, but she's got a good heart. It's tough being the brother of a well-known pirate and proving that you're nothing like them. She's had to go through more than most in a short amount of time, not unlike yourself." Nelson pulled out a piece of paper and an envelope. He handed the paper to Adam. "This article will be in the Tradewinds Tribune tomorrow morning. I thought you should read it first." Adam unfolded the paper and read the first few lines of the article.
"This isn't an article, Nelson. This is Ratbeard's obituary." Adam let the paper fall to the ground. "He's dead? How long ago?"
"He was found dead in his home on Scrimshaw yesterday. It seems that his heart just gave out in his sleep. He went peacefully, if that's any consolation." Adam leaned on the table.
"After all the fighting he did, his time against me included, he definitely deserved to go out peacefully." Adam thought about it and chuckled, "Probably not how he wanted to go out though. He always loved a good fight." Adam looked out the window and saw Ryan, Peyton, and Bonnie laughing in a circle while Riley balanced her rifle on her nose. "Did you tell them, yet?"
"You're the last one to know before this goes public. Even Shepard doesn't know. Though, someone must have let word slip because this letter came for you. And to Captain Shepard." Adam took the letter out of the envelope and began reading it.
"'Dear Captain Silver, as you've no doubt heard, your former companion Ratbeard was recently proclaimed dead. I understand he was a dear friend of yours, and a formidable fighter. Perhaps one of the greatest in all of the Spiral. In honor of him, I shall be hosting the first ever Spiral Cup. It's a tournament to find the best group of fighters in the Spiral. Matches will be fought in teams of six with one sub members allowed to fill in for any regulars that become injured or unable to fight for any reason. Fighters will be given equipment to prevent bodily harm. Each fight is unique and the rules and arenas will change at random each round. I understand your hesitancy to accept this formal invitation, however, when it comes to family, I'm hoping you know what to do. Looking forward to hearing from you, Clever Alex Ryder.'"
"I was thinking the same thing you were. Alex Ryder has returned after fifteen long years." Adam watched as Riley nudged the rifle into the air, kicked it on the way down and grabbed it in midair and shot an apple Bonnie had tossed into the air. "Funny that you should get this letter and not Riley."
"Which makes me all the more suspicious of this letter. Why would he contact me and not his own niece?"
"I don't know, Adam," Nelson admitted, "But she's seventeen now. She deserves to know where her family is."
"I've helped raise her this past year. Hell, I was raising her before Brave died. I made her the pirate she is today."
"Because you were keeping a promise to another dear friend." Adam stood up straight. "I know it's not my place, but I think you should tell her. And maybe try to win a bit more fame while you're at it." Nelson and Adam left the room. "You and your crew are free to leave whenever Jordan feels up to it." With that being said, Nelson saluted and walked away to another part of the Task Force base.
"So that's it? We're good to go?" Riley put her rifle on her back holster. She looked up at Adam, who still had the letter in his hand. The young musketeer saw the letter and asked, "What's that?" Adam raised the letter back to his field of vision, studied it, then looked back at Riley, her lightning blue eyes staring back at him.
"Well, pipsqueak," Adam sighed, "I think you need to read this."
A.N. I had to decide which of the original crew would die and Ratbeard, sadly, is just too old. I'm going to miss writing some of his witty dialogue but I'm sure someone will fill the role of the grumpy old person in the ever-growing cast of characters in the Spiral.
