"I wondered when I was going to have to kill you," he said, stepping
closer. "It's such a waste, though."
"Then don't." My fingers brushed the crowbar as a backed up a step. It was safe to say that I wasn't very good at fights, which was why I didn't fight fair if I could avoid it. Even if I used the crowbar, I wasn't going to get more than one swing with it, probably.
"You're going to tell Sparrow and I'm not ready for him to know yet."
"He knows already."
"Then why are you down here searching through the coffee," he countered. And then his eyes lit up. "Sparrow hasn't figured out that he's got real treasure on board, has he?"
I took another step back and changed the subject. "Who are you?"
The kid grinned at me. "I'm the bounty hunter that you claim to be. Rob Grujters, agent of the Dutch East India Company."
I guess I was supposed to have been impressed. I figured I could be impressed later. In the meantime, I needed to stall until I figured out how to get out of this alive. "That doesn't explain why you've killed all those people."
"The Dutch want their opium back and they don't care how many filthy British pirates I have to go through to get it for them."
Okay, so this was a political thing. Not to mention a drug thing. Opium! I gave myself a mental head slap for not thinking of it earlier. "But the ship Sparrow said he took the coffee from was British."
"False papers. This is Javanese coffee." He looked at me as if that explained everything but when he realized I still had no clue, he went on. "We harvest our opium in Java. The Brits have forbidden importation of opium into London, but they have to have their coffee. It works out all around."
"That still doesn't explain why you'd risk exposing yourself by starting a killing spree."
"Callinan had a fondness for the poppy, it turned out," Grujters said, smugly. "He was the first one to break into these crates. The fool was probably looking to skim some coffee beans when he came across the opium. He and his friends turned the armory into an opium den. It was only a matter of time before Sparrow found out."
"So you took care of it."
"I did. And now I'm going to take care of you."
It would have been the perfect time for Morelli or Sparrow to show up. Neither of them did. So I grabbed the crowbar and swung it with all my might at the wrist of Grujters' knife hand.
He howled in pain as the knife clattered across the hold.
I lunged for him now, figuring I could probably take him. We were about the same size and I had two functional wrists. I didn't expect him to recover so quickly. And I didn't expect him to have a gun.
Grujters didn't was a second with threats or warnings. He just cocked the thing and fired. There was a loud explosion and then everything went black.
And then everything smelled like coffee.
I was covered in the stuff, but I was alive, and if I stayed that way, maybe my ears would stop ringing. Grujters may have been good with a knife, but he had lousy aim with a gun. He'd managed to take out a crate of coffee and Sparrow's favorite shirt.
Grujters was saying something to me, but my ears were ringing so loudly I couldn't make it out. Instead, I pointed to Sparrow, who stood in the doorway with half a dozen of his pirates, each of them with their guns drawn.
In less than a minute, Grujters was tied up and marched out of the hold, leaving me alone with Sparrow.
His lips were moving and I was pretty sure he said something about ruining his favorite shirt and maybe even doing something stupid. And then I didn't bother to have to read his lips.
"Then don't." My fingers brushed the crowbar as a backed up a step. It was safe to say that I wasn't very good at fights, which was why I didn't fight fair if I could avoid it. Even if I used the crowbar, I wasn't going to get more than one swing with it, probably.
"You're going to tell Sparrow and I'm not ready for him to know yet."
"He knows already."
"Then why are you down here searching through the coffee," he countered. And then his eyes lit up. "Sparrow hasn't figured out that he's got real treasure on board, has he?"
I took another step back and changed the subject. "Who are you?"
The kid grinned at me. "I'm the bounty hunter that you claim to be. Rob Grujters, agent of the Dutch East India Company."
I guess I was supposed to have been impressed. I figured I could be impressed later. In the meantime, I needed to stall until I figured out how to get out of this alive. "That doesn't explain why you've killed all those people."
"The Dutch want their opium back and they don't care how many filthy British pirates I have to go through to get it for them."
Okay, so this was a political thing. Not to mention a drug thing. Opium! I gave myself a mental head slap for not thinking of it earlier. "But the ship Sparrow said he took the coffee from was British."
"False papers. This is Javanese coffee." He looked at me as if that explained everything but when he realized I still had no clue, he went on. "We harvest our opium in Java. The Brits have forbidden importation of opium into London, but they have to have their coffee. It works out all around."
"That still doesn't explain why you'd risk exposing yourself by starting a killing spree."
"Callinan had a fondness for the poppy, it turned out," Grujters said, smugly. "He was the first one to break into these crates. The fool was probably looking to skim some coffee beans when he came across the opium. He and his friends turned the armory into an opium den. It was only a matter of time before Sparrow found out."
"So you took care of it."
"I did. And now I'm going to take care of you."
It would have been the perfect time for Morelli or Sparrow to show up. Neither of them did. So I grabbed the crowbar and swung it with all my might at the wrist of Grujters' knife hand.
He howled in pain as the knife clattered across the hold.
I lunged for him now, figuring I could probably take him. We were about the same size and I had two functional wrists. I didn't expect him to recover so quickly. And I didn't expect him to have a gun.
Grujters didn't was a second with threats or warnings. He just cocked the thing and fired. There was a loud explosion and then everything went black.
And then everything smelled like coffee.
I was covered in the stuff, but I was alive, and if I stayed that way, maybe my ears would stop ringing. Grujters may have been good with a knife, but he had lousy aim with a gun. He'd managed to take out a crate of coffee and Sparrow's favorite shirt.
Grujters was saying something to me, but my ears were ringing so loudly I couldn't make it out. Instead, I pointed to Sparrow, who stood in the doorway with half a dozen of his pirates, each of them with their guns drawn.
In less than a minute, Grujters was tied up and marched out of the hold, leaving me alone with Sparrow.
His lips were moving and I was pretty sure he said something about ruining his favorite shirt and maybe even doing something stupid. And then I didn't bother to have to read his lips.