Murder and Espionage
Stephen Maturin curled up in a dark corner of the small cell. Or what could be more adequately called a hole in the ground with only a small light streaming in from the tiny hole in the well above his head. There was no light from the sky this night - the violent storm that had been raging this last two weeks had seemed to fade but was apparently still enough to block the moon and stars that he had not seen in two days.
Hardly the place for the naturalist but for the physician sure - even the smell of the air was enough to make an able bodied man ill. But what did heath matter to any that were here?
But for the humble ship's surgeon with no great amount of money was thrown here, even if he had been a traitor with money wouldn't have to share his remaining hours with fours others. Traitors? Maybe. But most likely thieves or criminals of crimes more common.
Their fate, however, as told by the 'x' on the other side of the door would be the same. That wouldn't be for another day yet though, and until then it was the slow wait in this cell.
After all his efforts to help with the confusion of Bonaparte - he was still an Irishman, and not to be completely trusted by the very English Admiralty. The same that he had sewn together or at times apart, was tortured, put everything he had on the line, just to help. And now he was a traitor to be thrown away quickly.
He stared long fully at the wall opposite him over the four bodies lying motionless on the floor. He wondered with how much force would he have to meet the wall to crush his skull, but as a physician he dismissed this thought. If only he had with him that night the pills he carried while in Spain.
The massive oak door creaked and slowly. The horrible noise not disturbing Stephen from his thoughts for a moment; seventeen days Stephen would have found this impossible. The door opened further causing Stephen to blink violently.
