Hello, Hello. I am so sorry this took longer than expected, my mom was in a car crash a few days after I published the last chapter. Everyone's ok, but it shook her up a bit. I had to do all the errands and stuff until she was ready to drive again. Then school started, and it's just a mess, but recent comments asking me to update soon got me back.
I woke up early the morning after posting and looked at my phone. OH MY GOD! I was not expecting that many comments/votes/kudos. Thank you guys so much.
Don't forget to suggest songs for the chapters. Songs for specific events in history/TURN or songs that you feel really embody a character are welcome. I've been listening to a lot of Hamilton mashups and they seem to have a deeper meaning and now I want to use them. So please, give me suggestions!
I know this chapter is unfinished, I plan on finishing it soon. But I wanted to give you guys something. I feel bad making you wait so long, I still need to finish the other half of the episode (I have the skeleton down I just need to put it into sentences) and then go back and edit the first part (in my opinion it's very dry)
Uncomplete version published October 9, 2020
Will threw a rope onto the shore and jumped off of the boat with another man. They pulled the rope as the rest of the men climbed out. Once it was secure, Will approached Tallmadge and Brewster.
Caleb noticed Will's presence, "Four out of seven ain't bad."
"Do you think they got lost?" asked Will, looking out to the Sound.
"No, Selah knows his way. Could be they caught a swell up near Mastic and wound up there."
"Then we wait for them," Ben decided.
"Bullshit," protested Caleb. "You wait. I'm gonna get my uncle before they hang him."
"Nobody's getting hanged at midnight. We wait for the rest of the unit and then we take them by surprise, all of us," Ben reasoned. "My father's in that cellar, too, you know." Ben walked away, leaving an annoyed Caleb behind.
Sitting against a tree, Will whittled a stick to pass the time. That is what he would claim at least, in reality, he was trying to distract himself from the turbulent thoughts. They were here to save Ben's father and Caleb's uncle. He had no objections in doing so, but the thought of family resurrected a feeling thought to be buried months ago. No word could come close to describing the feeling. The want to drop the identity of William Pickler and embrace them was stronger than ever and yet the young Captain couldn't even think of them as parents. Fearing it would only make it worse.
Shaving off another strip of bark, he leaned back, looking at the night sky and sighed. He wished to do something, anything, that could be a better distraction.
"You're not the patient type are yah?" Caleb laughed.
"You could say that," he responded. Trying to make it seem as if he was suffering from boredom, "How much longer until sunrise?"
"Couple more hours."
Will let out another sigh and resumed the time passing activity. After a few strikes, the stick snapped and the blonde groaned, tossing the pieces onto the ground.
"What did that stick ever do to you," Brewster joked.
"It broke," was all Will said.
"I mean what did it do for you to break it."
"I thought it was the perfect carving stick," Will lightheartedly defended.
"Well, I don't know about you. But I think throwing that knife at a tree would be much more entertaining than what you were doing."
"Slight problem with that. I don't know how to throw a knife."
"Oh, I can fix that real quick. Not that different from throwing an axe. When we get back to camp, I'll show ya."
"Let's just hope I'll have the time from Sackett."
"That man works you two too hard," Caleb grumbled. He rarely hid his distaste for the spymaster and his protocols.
"He's not that bad." Trust me, spend a little time with him and you'll find at times he's pretty enjoyable."
"I'll take ya word for it, Pickler."
Will squinted as the sun began rising over the trees. He moved from his position at the base of the tree and stretched his stiff limbs following Brewster to Major Tallmadge.
"Sun's up."
"Not yet," Ben dismissed.
"Ben, the sun's up and we still outnumber Hewlett," Caleb argued. "Even with this lot."
Ben knew Caleb was right. He couldn't wait for Selah any longer, the hangings Walter Haven warned them about, could happen soon. "All right."
Just as he was about to give the order to march, one of the soldiers signaled that someone was approaching their position. Pulling out his spyglass, he observed the two figures near the coast. "That's William Blaine and his son Tom."
William noticed something in the corner of his eye and turned to look out over the Sound. He quickly tapped Ben's shoulder, "Uh, Major."
Diverting his attention in the direction Will pointed, Ben saw the rest of the boats they had been waiting for.
"Now they come," Caleb sighed in frustration, pulling out his axe.
Ben's eyes widened. "Caleb, he's only a boy. And those are fishing rods, not muskets."
"Getting soft, are we?" he asked, before moving forward.
"What? Caleb!" He considered tackling his friend to the ground, but he realized that doing so would only draw attention.
The next few seconds were a blur to Will. Shouting and gunshots filled his ears, as the boy, Tom, started riding away. Ben's shouting to hold their fire brought Will out of his trance.
"Parsons. Wait until they beach, then fall in," the Major ordered. "You take the north hill, we'll take the flank. We march!"
They were at the outskirts of the town. While the Major started giving out orders, the blonde took the time to admire the small fishing village. It was far more quiet compared to New York or Alexandria. And yet calmness was the best feature of the town. It echoed the atmosphere of Mount Vernon, right along the water's edge of the Potomac.
The thought of home brought back the sunken feeling, a reminder of what was left behind when forging this new identity. This path, this... life, it was a choice. At yet every so often the run-away still reflected on whether it was the right decision.
"Captain Picker," Ben said, driving him from his thoughts. "I want you to take half of the division into the town and secure any redcoats stationed there. We don't need them on our flank."
His order caught Will off guard. He could plan a raid, but leading troops, even if it was small, was something different. Alex handled all commands when they were both in his artillery company, Will solely followed orders. Yet at the same time, he was slightly grateful that there would be something that could get him to ignore... well whatever one would call said feeling.
The Major noticed the confusion on his face and explained, "Mr. Sackett claims you need field experience, might as well fulfill his wishes."
"I suppose so," he responded in a somewhat distant voice.
Tallmadge didn't fail to notice the change in the teenager's behavior. Ever since boarding the boats, he had been quiet, an uncharacteristic trait from what he observed in camp. The Major knew that he wasn't in the right headspace and decided to have him away from the more direct action early on.
But now, he was reluctant to send William by himself. "I'm going to have Caleb go with you, he knows the area and can swiftly get control of the town."
This time the Captain only nodded but seemed to be more in tune with his surroundings. Whatever was on his mind, he would be able to push it away... for now.
The British soldiers, as well as most of the townspeople, were rounded up.
"Not bad Pickler," Caleb patted his shoulder.
Seeing Major Tallmadge, Caleb gestured for William to follow.
"The town's ours," the whaler reported.
Ben pulled them both aside, "They've taken the captives to the church."
"Shite."
Ben glanced at the surrounded civilians. "Search every door and get everyone inside the tavern. And remind the men that no private property is to be destroyed."
Before he could finish his sentence, a gunshot fired. Turning towards the sound, they saw Selah Strong, smoking musket in hand under a now shot tavern sign.
Will found the situation ironic. "So much for no destruction."
He watched Selah nearly run forward and embrace a startled woman.
'That must be our signal, Anna Strong,' he thought.
He observed the crowd, trying to deduce which one was Culper. One man stood out, he was glaring at Ben and Caleb. But instead of ignoring him, they both shifted uncomfortably, with Brewster shrugging his shoulders.
'Making him Culper'
Once everyone was inside the tavern, Ben pulled Will aside to scout out the enemy garrison. "What do you make of it?"
"Now that they know we're here, they most likely have the cannons prepared. Making another frontal assault impossible. Is there any way we can move behind him?"
"Maybe,'' he answered, pulling out his spyglass. "Selah knows the land better than I do. He may know a way to approach their position without giving away his movements."
Ben continued observing the fortifications before angrily bringing back down the instrument. Will opened his mouth to ask what he saw when Caleb found the pair.
"Oi," he called. "You're gonna love this. You know them bloody-backs used the church as stables? Well, they're using your old schoolhouse as a magazine. Two dozen barrels of powder."
"He wasn't lying," Ben said, handing him the spyglass. "They ripped out the gravestones."
The captain's jaw slightly dropped. First at the acts of the quartered soldiers but then to the passivity of the townsfolk. They didn't seem bothered at all at the act of desecration. He couldn't even fathom how someone could be complacent in such an issue.
Caleb took his own look at the British fortifications. "Unholy bastards. Ah, here comes their leader."
Ben snatched the instrument back to see for himself. Looking back to his childhood friend he said, "smuggle out the powder and any other military stores you can find."
"All right," Caleb grinned, running towards the storehouse.
"Wait, how much powder did Caleb say there was?" asked Will.
"Two dozen barrels, why?"
"If they have that much here, and they weren't expecting our attack..."
"... then they have a limited supply at the church," Ben realized.
"And considering they focussed on securing the prisoners and not the powder, I'm guessing it wouldn't be a lot. They'll want to conserve whatever they have left. Instead of one huge frontal assault, we can split up the force into smaller groups and trick them into firing."
Ben nodded in agreement, "now I understand why Hamilton recommended you."
"Anyone could have figured that out," Will brushed off. "You came to the same conclusion."
"Only after you pointed out the connection between the amount of powder and their reaction," he countered.
Will smirked, "I'm sure you would have figured it out eventually. And as much as I would like to continue this debate, we should get back to the matter at hand."
"Right. I'll inform Selah-" Ben stopped at the sound of cannon fire. "Get down!" he shouted, pushing Will down as he ducked.
No sooner had he said those words, an explosion knocked the two officers off their feet. Ben managed to get back up first, prepared to offer a hand to the Captain. Instead, he turned to see him quickly popping up behind him.
"Did they just fire on the storehouse?" he remarked in slight disbelief as they ran in the direction of the site.
Rounding the building that provided some cover, they saw what little remained of the structure in flames.
Ben glanced around, praying that nobody was in the vicinity of the explosion. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah," said Caleb, his face covered in soot. "We all got out of range."
Ben visibly relaxed, while Will's confusion as to why the residents tolerated the British grew even more.
"I thought that the kingsmen were supposed to protect the town, not level it," he remarked.
"One would think Pickler. One would think," came Caleb's voice. "But these are the people who use a church as a stables, who rip out gravestones, who take arms to suppress any possible retaliation and hang anyone suspected of being a rebel"
I hope you all enjoyed this little bit. Again I apologize for how long this is taking. I honestly don't know when I'll get the next chapter up. October is college application season, I have the ACT this coming Saturday, and have Dual Enrollment classes. Not to mention I'm in the height of marching season, prepping for the Veteran's Day concert, and looking at Solo and Ensemble stuff. I will TRY to get it done by the end of the month, but for now, I want to thank you all for you're kind words and encouragement to continue. I know I've said it multiple times, but it really does mean a lot.