CHAPTER THREE
Edward's POV I moved along the line of rope stretching from one side of the Castillo to the other, my target below me. The second he stopped, I leapt down on top of him, my blade piercing his jugular. Quickly, I flipped him over to close his eyes: but it wasn't Torres.
"Assassino!" I managed to jump away from the body below me just in time to avoid a bullet shot at me. I looked up only to see El Tiburón in the entrance to the top of the castle, reloading his gun.
"You templars never stay in one place." I threw down a smoke bomb as I charged my way back up the staircase, positioning myself above him.
'There's no way I can use a sword when he has that gun in his hand,' I strategized. 'I'll have to shoot him from a distance. At least there is ammo nearby.'
I whipped out my pistols and shot the man three times before reloading. He stood there for a moment, as though in a trance before making his way up the staircase. I jumped off of the rope and ran over to the closest closet space, hiding until he no longer searched for me. Quietly, I leapt down to the bottom and shot him once more before stocking up on ammo once more. Once he made it back down, I used the lever to pull me back up to the top and repeated the process until he was officially dead.
I briefly sighed in relief as the man was finally dead before bolting up the stairs to escape the guards giving chase after me. I inhaled deeply as I leapt over the edge of the Castillo and into the deep ocean water below. I floated there until I was no longer being searched for.
'Now to get Anne and go after Torres before it's too late.'
With that final thought, I swam towards the waiting Jackdaw and climbed my way up to the wheel.
"Forward men! Let's go get Anne!" My men cheered, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, before setting about their work and leading the ship out to sea once more.
The ship docked near the land and I swung over the ledge, heading along the dock and towards the doctor's. I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, though I'm not entirely sure why. Probably because I'm so close to finishing Torres off.
"Anne," I called out after stepping into the doctor's house. "Let's get going, we're nearly done!"
The floor creaked, and I turned to see Anne.
Mary stood in the doorway to her room in Anne's place, wearing her James Kidd attire with a look on her face showing that she's ready for an argument to pop up. I gave her just that.
"Mary, get back into bed."
"You're not keepin' me outta this one, Edward." Clearly still in some pain, as she clutched her stomach, she moved towards me.
"Yes, I am, mate. You're still recovering, and the last thing I need is for you to nearly die on me again."
"Well you can't take Anne." She stopped in front of me, looking up at me sternly. "Anne's in labour. You're stuck with me until she can join you, which could be a long while. Now are you going to let Torres escape or are you going to take me with you?"
I quietly grit my teeth as I stared down at her. She had a point, I can't let this opportunity escape. Who knows how long it'd be before I'd get this chance again?
"Please Edward." I blinked down at her a couple of times, surprised by how desperate her tone was.
"Okay, okay. But you are staying on the ship with the other crew mates where they can watch and protect you." She grinned up at me.
"Thank you, mate." I didn't have time to gripe about her before a kiss was placed on my cheek. She walked past me, heading towards the dock. I stepped out the door and watched her go, absent-mindedly touching the spot on my cheek. She kissed me? Why would she kiss me, her friend? I was curious though, and found myself following her with a slight blush dusted across my cheeks.
Mary sauntered up the plank and onto the ship, making her way up the steps towards the wheel only to sit on one of the large barrels beside the wheel. I followed behind her, just in case she were to fall before going to the wheel.
"To the Observatory lads!" I could tell that the men were exhausted by their low bellows, but they worked away vigorously.
I moved towards the plank after we stealthily avoided the Man o' Wars and docked, ready to kill Laureano Torres before Mary called out.
"Oy, Kenway." I looked at her over my shoulder.
"Don't die, okay? No longer than two hours, ya hear me? Promise me, Edward." She stared intently at him, as if holding on to every word he says. Caroline had asked me something similar to that before I became a privateer. She demanded that I be gone for no more than two years, and tried to make me promise. At the time, I couldn't give much of an answer. Two years is not nearly enough time to make a fortune.
"I promise," I said, almost instantly. Talking with Mary was a lot easier than the communication I ever had with Caroline. She and I were either barking at each other or having sex, but never did we have the same connection Mary and I share. She nodded at me before looking away from me. I turned back to the task at hand and pulled my hood on, taking off into the jungle in search of the Observatory.
I made my way up the trees, swinging through vines and leaping from branch to branch as I shot darts and rope darts at the guards attacking the Guardians of the Jungle. I knew the Guardians didn't like me much, but they could be good allies in the future. A couple of them thanked me before heading further into the jungle to kill some of the guards ahead.
Within a matter of minutes, I arrived at the Observatory entrance. After slaying a few of the guards, I rushed inside where I heard a few cries of pain.
"Ah, my leg!" One of the guards was shouting and crying in Spanish, holding his leg while sitting on the ground as I made my way around the corner and towards the large platform in the center. I killed two of the guards that came at me in that instant before arriving to the center. I dared not to take a step forward as a large beam of light shot up from the ground, scorching one of the guards that charged at me. There was nothing left of him, just a black spot where he once stood.
'Damn you, Torres; you must've known about this…' I scowled, looking up at Torres on a far away platform farther up than my current position.
Without bothering with the guards, I raced past them and leapt onto a ledge sticking out of one of the alien pillars, as it was decorated and glowing in a weird way. I continued my way across, taking care to ensure that both hands and feet are in comfortable locations. I had to make sure to keep everything close together, as beams were still going off either below or above me.
I inhaled deeply as one of the metal poles I grabbed onto broke away from the wall and swung out and towards the side I needed to be at.
'Ironic,' I grinned as I moved from the pole along more moving platforms. I was practically above Torres now, hanging above him from a ledge in a wall. I had to time this, as there was a large beam that would shoot out every five seconds or so. With a deep breath, I leapt off the wall just as the beam disappeared and dropped, landing with my blade in Torres' throat. In his last moments, Torres rambled on about how I had potential to be apart of the Templars and such nonsense.
'The fool could've lived a better life,' I shook my head at his corpse and made my way back to the Jackdaw.
Mary was standing on the deck, watching for me. I made my way up the plank towards her before she had a chance to run over to me.
"You're late, Edward! It's practically nighttime now!"
"The mission is finished now."
"That's not the point!" She balled her hand into a fist and hit me square in the chest, nearly knocking the wind out of me.
"Jaysus, mate! Calm down, I'm alive!" Before I could get into her face, her arms wrapped tightly around me, her face in my shoulder.
"I don't care about the fucking mission, Edward. You're more important than that is. Who else would I bother and tease?" Her words were muffled for the most part, but her voice inflection told me all that I needed to know. Unable to think of a good comeback, I instead comforted her by wrapping my arms around her.
'Huh,' I stared down at the woman in my arms.
'This doesn't feel awkward….I was sure that it would've, considering I had known James Kidd longer than Mary Read.'
We stayed that for what seemed like seconds, though it was more like a minute. She pulled away and avoided looking at me.
"We don't talk about this, got it? That never happened." She made her way back towards her seat.
"Let's hurry back. I want to check on Anne." She wore a sad look on her face.
I decided not to dwell on the reasons for her sadness and instead went back to steering the ship away from the dock and back towards Anne.
"Shh…" Anne sat up in her bed, holding her healthy baby boy in her arms as the child whimpered softly, probably wanting to be fed. Mary say beside Anne, smiling at the child in her friend's arms. I stood on the other side, staring down at the baby. I was honestly surprised to see the child, healthy and small considering the lives his mother and Mary lead.
"What's his name, Anne?" Mary looked up at her exhausted friend. Anne smiled tiredly, but happily at her.
"I named him James. After your alias." Mary looked about ready to cry at her friend's heartwarming regards. I smiled softly at the two of them. Come to think of it, who was the father of Anne's child?
"I hope you don't mind my asking, Anne, but who…?"
"Jack Rackham."
I nearly choked on my air as I tried to inhale, staring widely at Anne. Mary burst out laughing, slapping her knee.
"You're joking, right Anne?" She couldn't seem to stop laughing, but the longer she stared at her friend, the longer she waited for an answer.
"You're not bloody serious, are you? Rackham's a fool that betrayed us at one point. 'Cuz of him, Thatch went crazy and tried to kill Edward."
"I'm aware of that, Mary." Anne sighed softly, holding her baby close to her.
"I know what he did. He's not like that anymore though." That's when I chimed in.
"Is he aware of the child?" She looked up at me, a small smile on her face.
"Not really. The man is sweet, and I do care for him, but he's not the responsible type. Telling him would only make his drinkin' worse."
I nodded slightly, completely understanding her point of view. However…
"You can't raise this child all on your own, Anne. You'll overexert yourself." Mary stared at her friend, picking at her thought process.
"I won't be alone though. I have you guys still. I can go back to Ireland, back to my parents. They'd love to meet James." She smiled up at us.
The doctor came in then.
"Sorry everyone, but the mother needs her rest."
Mary nodded before grabbing my arm to take me out with her.
"We'll come see ya tomorrow, Anne. Sleep well."
I followed Mary out of the building and wherever else she guided me, though I couldn't help but want to change our positioning.
Taking the initiative, I move my hand down to hers and took it in my own. Her hands were a bit rough like a man's, but held the feminine figure. Mary seemed a bit flustered, walking side by side with a light pink on her face as her hand slightly trembled in mine.
"Um, Edward?"
"Hm?" I looked over at her, our eyes meeting. Blue zircon melted into dark champagne as we stopped walking, time seeming to stand still for the both of us. I couldn't hear anything but our breathing, seemingly synchronized. There we stood in the middle of the dirt road, holding hands as we gazed at each other with such an intensity, it was hard to breathe. My body moved of its own accord, miraculously, drawing closer to this captivating woman. She had this look in her eye, daring me to move. My heart lurched forward, as though God himself had tied a string around both of our hearts only to pull us closer together. What was this feeling? This nerving, uneasy, but pleasant and exhilarating feeling, coursing through my veins like the blood in my body. So close to her, my lips so close to understanding this feeling…
The dream snapped instantly the second she pulled her hand away and shoved me back.
"Stop messing around, Edward. I need to go see Ah Tabai to inform him that the mission is over." Mary pulled her back up into the hairstyle she wore so often as James Kidd, avoiding me completely now. I cleared my throat, as if remembering that I was still a person: still breathing and living for myself.
"Understood, I'll get the Jackdaw prepped for you." Without another word, we parted ways so she could say goodbye to Anne and I prepared the Jackdaw.