Devil of the Sea
An X-Men Evolution Fanfic by Quill N. Inque
I do not own X-Men.
Chapter 3: Just Another Day on the Job…
It was a fine, sunny afternoon that saw the Sally Anne cutting through the sparkling Caribbean like a knife through satin. The pirate ship cruised the sea lanes, a bird of prey waiting for a plump pigeon to come along, but since ransacking the Neptune over a week before, prey had been scarce of late.
After all, wolves had to hunt, birds had to fly, and pirates needed to pillage.
With the lack of action, Kurt's crew had grown somewhat restless. Their captain had promised them that they would tear up all creation in their bid for plunder, but so far no ramparts had been stormed, no villages razed and no ships scuttled. Pirates operated on a democracy, after all: a pirate captain only remained captain as long as he was fair to his men, brave in battle, and successful in his trade. If he failed, he could very easily be voted out of office. And it was with this in mind that Kurt Wagner grew ever more anxious.
Kurt ran a warped hand across the Sally Anne's tiller as he tacked skillfully into a fresh breeze. His new "guest" was doing rather well, he admitted to himself. At least she was eating. The young Miss Pryde was at least eating regularly, but her repeated requests for a walk about the deck had thus far been denied. It simply wasn't safe for a woman like that to be among men such as Kurt, and so Catherine had languished, quite bored, in her cabin ever since.
For the fifth time in as many minutes, Kurt peered in all directions through his expensive spyglass, desperate for even a hint of a merchant vessel. From port to starboard he swept his gaze, but disappointment greeted Kurt's efforts. Still not a trace of-
Hello, what's this?
Kurt raised his voice. "Mr. Labeau!"
The gangly Frenchman from before tugged his tricorne hat in salute. "Oui, mon Capitan?"
"Tell me what you see," Kurt said, handing him the telescope.
"It is land," Labeau replied after a moment. "But eet iz very far away, monsieur, a mere speck on ze 'orizon. Will we be resupplying zere? If so, I sink it eez best to alter our course."
Kurt gave a sigh of pure joy. "Oh, we will be making landfall, Mr. Labeau, but our mission will be to acquire sustenance of a very…different nature."
"Sir?" Labeau seemed perplexed.
"That dot in the distance is indeed land, but it also happens to be a quite successful pearl fishing operation," Kurt said. "The waters around that island are filled with clams and oysters, and I know for a fact that this season has landed them quite a haul of fresh pearls."
"I mean no disrespect, Capitane, but 'ow do you know zis?"
"You'd be amazed at what you can overhear in a tavern," Kurt grinned. "Providing, of course, that the source of such information is plied liberally with rum."
"Eez it 'eavily defended?"
"Of course not," Kurt snorted. "Those moneygrubbers in Europe don't waste money on small settlements like that. Aside from the storehouses, it's probably nothing more than a tavern and a few driftwood shacks." Then the captain raised his voice once more. "Left full rudder and pile on sail, men! Run out the guns! Heading two points west! Oi, you!" Kurt directed his exclamation at a pirate standing close by. "Don't just stand there! Break out the powder and shot! Mr. Summers, Mr. Drake! Pick ten men apiece to go ashore! We'll be on those lubbers before they even know what's happening!"
" Two points west, aye, aye sir!"
"You heard the captain! Left full rudder, move lively there!"
"Weapons at the ready!"
"Powder and ball to the gun decks, as ye say sir!"
Mr. Summers felt his heart beat faster, as it always did when the scent of plunder was in the air. Within seconds, the Sally Anne was alive with activity: men crawled like monkeys into the shrouds, and the pirate ship's canvas made an audible whoosh as the wind caught them. One by one, the Sally Anne's gunwales opened to reveal the twelve-pound cannon that made up her armament. The mouths of the guns bristled menacingly on port and starboard, and Kurt waited for a split second before giving his favorite command…
"Hoist the colors, lads!" he bellowed in true pirate fashion. "Let our banner fly!"
With zeal borne of lust for plunder, a team of six men brought out the Sally Anne's dreaded flag. Their eyes glinted with greed, and they yelled out with zeal as the Jolly Roger took to the air.
"Heave!"
The menacing standard lifted from the deck, and a rousing cheer was heard as it waved in the salty breeze.
"Ho!"
Higher and higher the Jolly Roger went, its wordless message sending fear to all who beheld it.
"Heave!"
Kurt grinned ferociously, and he spun the tiller hard as the peaceful fishing village of Nombre de Dios hove into view.
"Ho!"
Ready for action and flying its flag proudly, the Sally Anne closed in on its unsuspecting victims.
Meanwhile…
Catherine Pryde glanced up at the sudden increase in activity. Something was going on, she was sure of it. With utter disregard to her captors' instructions, she flung open the cabin door and strode out on deck. From his position at the wheel, Kurt glared down at her with annoyance.
"What are you doing? Get back inside, miss. Trust me, there's nothing happening out here that would interest you."
"I trust you about as far as I can throw this ship," Catherine replied flatly. "What is happening?"
"You really wanna know? Fine," Kurt shrugged. "There's a rather wealthy pearl fishery just a skip and a jump away, and we intend to go ashore, plunder the place, and maybe burn it if the mood takes us."
"But what of its inhabitants? Are you just going to slaughter them? They've done nothing to you!" Catherine couldn't help raising her voice.
"I find your low estimate of my chosen profession very offensive," Kurt said crossly. "We are pirates, not savages! If they choose not to fight, then no harm will befall them."
"And if they do?"
"Then I cannot say I didn't give them the option of being spared," Kurt replied flatly. "Now, I would advise you to take refuge in your quarters, miss. If a fight does break out, I don't want you caught in the crossfire."
"Because you care for my wellbeing?" Catherine was skeptical.
"Of course," Kurt said. "I've told you time and again, you're no good to me dead. Mister Williams!"
A young man, barely out of his teens, saluted. "Cap'n?"
"Escort our guest back to her quarters, and see that she remains there until this is over," Kurt ordered. "When you're done, I want you to oversee the starboard guns. I intend to fire off a broadside before we row ashore, so please do make sure that your gunners' aim is true."
"Aye, sir! Right this way, miss," Williams grabbed Kitty gently but firmly by her forearm. "You'll be safer in here."
Satisfied, Kurt turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Steady as she goes, Mr. Labeau!" he cried. "Steer us into the bay and bring her starboard battery to bear! Mr. Summers, what is our speed?"
"Twelve knots," the first mate called back.
"Make it thirteen," Kurt said shortly. "Is the shore party assembled yet?"
"Aye."
"Then sweep out the longboats! We'll be making landfall shortly!"
"Aye, sir!"
Kurt whistled a merry tune to himself. "I love my job…"
The village of Nombre de Dios
The grizzled old fisherman cursed at the sight of yet another torn net. "That's the third in as many weeks," he said mournfully. "Must be losin' me touch."
"Ahoy, Jimmy!" Another man strode up from farther down the beach. "Catch anything good?"
"Naw, my net got ripped agin," Jimmy said sourly. "I hate it when it does that. Rope's hard to come by in these parts."
"Aye, but I hear that- Look there!" the other fisherman pointed out to sea. "What's that?"
"A ship, crab-for-brains," Jimmy teased. "What else could it be?"
"But we 'aven't had a ship drop anchor here in months," Jimmy's friend said with confusion. "Mebbe she 'as rudder trouble."
"Could be," Jimmy nodded. "It's comin' into the bay now. Mayhap we kin-" The color drained from Jimmy's face at the sight of the death's head flying from the ship's mast. "Oh, God…"
With all the grace of a maritime ballerina, the Sally Anne heeled gently over to bring her six starboard cannon to bear. From his position on the quarterdeck, Kurt waited for the perfect shot…
"Steady," he called. "Hold…"
"Hold…"
Then Captain Wagner gave his second favorite order. "FIRE!"
KRAKOOOOM!
The Sally Anne's gun deck belched fire, smoke and iron, and she listed heavily to port under the recoil of the blasts. The cannon shot whistled eerily as six remorseless pieces of metal sailed through the air. Kurt did not have to wait long to see its effect: a shack near the beach was practically disintegrated, and two more collapsed amidst a geyser of sand. Pieces of rubble were blown skyward in the carnage, and the citizens of Nombre de Dios ran panicking for cover.
The pirate captain climbed into a yawl beside his faithful first mate, and Kurt fingered the edge of his cutlass lovingly. "Let's go and say hello, shall we?"
Six rowboats splashed loudly as they were lowered into the water, and thirty pirates began rowing to shore…
In the town, pandemonium reigned. The inhabitants of Nombre de Dios were only simple fishermen, after all; even if they'd had weapons, they were no match for Kurt's crew of seasoned veteran fighters. The most one could do was hide and pray the pirates didn't find him.
It was all very frightening, but the sight of a devil standing in the prow of the leading longboat turned panic into hysteria. The Devil himself had come to rain terror down upon these poor souls! More than one man vowed that day never to miss a Sunday service again, but salvation seemed far away as the band of renegades leaped into the shallows and overran the town's perimeter. Kurt had a look of absolute enjoyment on his face, and he held a horn to his mouth so he could be heard by all present.
"Round them up," Kurt nodded to Mr. Labeau. "Take them alive if you can. And Labeau, please try not to blow anything up. I would recommend that you seek therapy for those pyromaniac tendencies."
Labeau looked severely disappointed as he pocketed two grenadoes. "Oui, sir."
"Now, when you round up our gracious hosts, bring them to me. We'll see if any of them will enlighten us on where they keep items of a valuable nature."
It was but the work of a moment for Kurt's men to herd the terrified civilians into the town square. Most of them had taken refuge in their homes, but such ramshackle dwellings could be knocked down with one swift kick. No dwelling was left standing by the time Labeau returned, and Kurt nodded his thanks before addressing his captives.
"Greetings, one and all," he said amiably, pacing down the rows of huddled prisoners. "My colleagues and I are…gentlemen of fortune, you could say, and I do apologize for calling upon you so suddenly. But you see, it has recently come to my attention that you keep a rather generous supply of pearls locked up somewhere on this island. Give it up peacefully, all of it, and no harm will befall you."
Silence greeted this proclamation, and Kurt pointed at a particularly scarred and grizzled seaman. "Haul him to his feet."
The man was jostled roughly, and Kurt sidled up to him with a predator's gleam in his eye. His elongated fangs were inches from the man's ear, and the unfortunate captive trembled as Kurt whispered softly.
"Where is it?"
The man looked stubbornly away, and Kurt continued his sibilant mutterings. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to tell me? It would go better for you if you did. Think of your fellow fishermen."
The man looked Kurt right in the eye. "We do not bow to thieves."
Summers drew a dagger and went to stab him-
"STAY YOUR BLADE, SUMMERS!" Kurt barked without turning around. "You are a brave man, sir, and it would pain me to kill you. It really would. There are too many cowards in this world already. I ask thee once more: Where is it?"
The old man spat at Kurt's feet, and the captain gestured at Summers.
"You want me to kill him, Cap'n?"
Kurt made a show of stepping out of the way. "Be my guest."
"NO!"
Another, younger fisherman looked away, startled by his own outburst. Kurt deftly snatched the dagger from Summers' hand, and a he toyed with its hilt as he strode up to the lad. "This one has a bit more sense in him," Kurt declared, kneeling so the two were eye-to-eye. "Would you be so kind as to tell us the pearls' location?"
The boy pointed with a shaky hand. "That house, there, sir. 'Tis a decoy. There be a hidden staircase buried under the sand, and that chamber is where the valuables are stored."
"Well done, lad," Kurt clapped him cheerily on the shoulder. "You've just saved about…." The pirate took a moment to count his captives. "Fifty or sixty lives, I'd say. Mr. Labeau, keep an eye on these lubbers whilst Mr. Summers and I retrieve what we came for."
The shack in question was a particularly disreputable dwelling that had somehow survived the Sally Anne's bombardment. Kurt tore the door clean off its hinges in his haste for riches, and his bare feet soon discovered that there was, indeed, a hidden trapdoor concealed there. Kurt blew its lock apart with his pistol, and he was momentarily lost to sight as he descended into the subterranean darkness.
Summers leaned over the pit. "Find anything?"
Kurt's voice was filled with unrestrained glee. "Oh, I've found something all right…"
Minutes later…
It was highly probably that there was never a king or queen who looked more proud than Kurt Wagner as he and Summers carried a huge chest between them. Its tarnished hinges groaned ponderously as Kurt pried it open, and every pirate gathered there was lost for words at the sight of such riches.
The chest was practically overflowing with pearls of every size and color, from iridescent white to shiny black. There were some as big as marbles, others as tiny as pebbles, and each reflected the sun's light in its own shade or hue. It was a haul fit for legend, more riches than any man aboard the Sally Anne had ever set eyes upon, and jubilation seized the sea rovers as the magnitude of their newfound wealth made them giddy. More than one pirate fired his pistol into the air. Kurt, meanwhile reverently dipped his hand inside the chest and let the smooth pearls run through his fingers.
"A fine haul, I'd say," the captain said casually.
Summers grinned. "Indeed, sir."
Kurt smiled back. "Well, best not to tarry, eh? Put that cash cow in the longboat, and let's be off. I imagine we've more than worn out our welcome."
From her cabin window aboard the Sally Anne, Catherine Pryde also felt somewhat…anxious for Kurt's return.
But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why…
A/N: WOW! That was a long chapter! ^^ I hope you all have enjoyed this latest installment, 'cause there's much more to come! As always, PLEASE REVIEW! If you have ANY ideas or constructive criticism, I would LOVE to hear it! Keep a sharp eye on the horizon, 'cause very soon I will reveal the role that Wolverine will play in this story…
Your humble servant,
-Quill N. Inque
