Hey guys! I'm so sorry I've made you wait so long for this! I've been busy with school and such and I'm having trouble finding inspiration with no Kate Beckett of my own (I'll happily accept one as a late birthday present, btw). But I'm back and though I'm a tad tired, I'm going to try to give you an update worth the wait. Enjoy!
Chapter Ten
Previously…
Eustace glanced at Kate who sighed, but nodded her head. "Very well, G. Salvador; we will just be taking our gun powder back then…"
"No," Salvador said, firmly. "I keep; no pay for mistake."
At that, Kate fully looked up, her eyes alight with anger. "You can'tkeep it!" she exclaimed, without thinking. All four men looked to her, eyes wide—in fear on Eustace's part; shock and anger from the Filipinos.
"Excuse?" Salvador asked. "What did the tramp say?" His tone was condescending, the words spat in her direction, though he was not speaking to her directly. All of which made the anger flare up in Kate further.
"Isaid," she growled, stepping towards him, ignoring the swords that were immediately unsheathed and pointed towards her, "that you are not takingmygun powder without paying what was promised to us; understood?"
Mr. Salvador, while still shocked, grinned humorously at the woman in front of him, who was at least a head taller than he, before nodding.
"Understood," he said, before turning to the man on his left and saying, as simply as one might say hello, "Kill her."
Before anybody could so much as blink, Kate reached for the sword on Eustace's belt, pulling it out and fighting her unease with the unfamiliar weight of the metal, blocking a blow as one of the men brought his own sword down on her. Behind her, she could hear her other men unsheathing their swords and nearly jumped when she heard a clash of metal right near her shoulder and turned to see Esposito standing there in a lock with the other burly bodyguard, his arms trembling with the effort.
She could easily see that he was in a losing battle, though she didn't have time to dwell on that while fighting a battle of her own. The man currently swinging at her with a sword twice the width and weight of hers was and it was getting harder for her to block and return the blows, her arms vibrating with the effort to keep a good grip on the too-heavy sword in her hand.
Oh, how she wished that she'd brought her own sword out with her, despite the fact that she had nowhere to hide it in the dress she'd chosen for the whole façade…
As if her prayers were being answered, the captain's sword appeared right before her eyes, blocking a blow aimed at her face, a large hand grasping the hilt of the sword. Kate's eyes followed the arm attached to said hand and nearly dropped her own sword at the sight of Mr. Castle, his eyes narrowed in concentration, arm muscles rippling as he fought off the henchman.
His body blocked hers, his back to her as he continued to fight with her sword, moving forward gradually as he matched the man—who was roughly about his own size—blow for blow. Kate watched in awe for only a moment before joining in, coming around the man's side and delivering a quick jab to his side that would not kill him, but predictably disabled him, causing him to cry out in pain as Castle delivered a single punch to his face, knocking the man off his feet.
He stood there, breathing heavily for a moment, allowing himself to calm down as she watched, in stunned silence. After a full minute, he looked down at his left hand and shook it.
"Bloody hell, that hurt!" he exclaimed and Kate couldn't hold back the snort at that statement. He turned to her and it was only then that she saw the slice across his left breast, blood leaking from the wound.
"And that didn't?" he asked, furrowing her brow. Castle looked down, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the bloody cut and he winced.
"Well, now that you mention it, actually…" he said. Kate rolled her eyes and reached for the pocket sewn into her skirt, pulling out an old handkerchief.
"Here," she said, handing it to the man, "press it against the wound to stop the blood." Castle took the offering and pressed it to his chest, wincing in pain.
"Thank you, Captain," he replied.
"Captain?" Kate heard a voice whisper from behind her. She turned to see her shipmates surrounding Salvador, their swords pointed in his direction and his men groaning on the floor, blood oozing from superficial wounds. He glared at the woman in front of him and Kate made herself stand taller, trying to look as professional as possible in her old raggy dress. She curtsied to him in jest.
"Captain Beckett," she said, coolly. "At your service, G. Salvador." Her voice dripped sarcasm that only proved to incense the elderly man further.
"NONSENSE!" he roared. "A woman cannot captain of own ship! Bad luck!" He cursed further in his own language and Kate rolled her eyes, turning back to Rick.
"Can I borrow that?" she asked, motioning to the blood-stained handkerchief. Castle's eyes widened, but he immediately handed it over, pressing his waistcoat to the wound instead. Kate turned back to Salvador, brandishing the handkerchief. "Hold him still," she ordered and both Tory and Eustace grabbed the man's arms, holding them behind his back as he continued to curse, even louder now. Kate rolled her eyes once more and in a quick and decisive move, shoved the dirty handkerchief into the man's mouth, sighing in relief when his excessive chattering finally halted.
"That's better," she said, grinning as he attempted to talk around the piece of fabric. "Now, Mister Salvador, let's go over negotiations once again, shall we? As agreed, we've brought you one hundred pounds of gun powder, for which I am quite certain you are very grateful for. So grateful, in fact, that you've just offered to pay us double the original amount. Isn't that right, Tory?"
The woman smirked and reached for the purse on the man's belt, untying it and pouring its contents into her palm as Eustace held him down.
"Triple," she replied. "I believe that's what he said, Captain." Kate nodded.
"Why, how generous of you, G. Salvador!" Kate exclaimed. "My crew and I much appreciate this, don't we?" She looked around at her people and the all grunted in agreement, Esposito kicking the knocked out henchman as he began to stir. "And because you were so generous today, G. Salvador, we'd like to return the kindness." She stepped towards the elderly man, bringing her face to within an inch of his. "By allowing you and your men to live. Let this be a lesson to you and to everybody everywhere that nobody messes with Captain Katherine Beckett."
At the sound of her full name, Kate could swear she saw something like recognition and surprise flash through the man's eyes, quickly replaced by anger as he lunged towards her. Before he could move more than a couple of centimeters, however, Tory delivered a powerful hit to the side of his head with the hilt of her sword, knocking him unconscious.
Allowing Salvador to crumple to the ground, Kate ordered Esposito, Eustace, and Ryan to hide the three unconscious men in a nearby alley before leading Castle back aboard the ship to be tended to by Lanie, Tory on their heels.
"Captain," she said, "do you still need us to lift food and goods for tonight?"
Kate nodded. "But be quick about it," she said. "There's no telling when Salvador and his men will return to themselves." Tory nodded and handed Kate the stolen purse, before starting off. Before she could get far, however, Kate called out for her. "Tory, wait!" she said, reaching into the sack and pulling out a few coins. "Please find clothes for Mr. Castle and his daughter; as nice as you can afford."
"Captain, I could just lift—"
"No," Kate insisted. "You must buy these, so as not to raise suspicion." Tory nodded.
"Yes, Captain," she said, before giving Castle a wry grin. "You'll look simply dashing, Mr. Castle," she said, making her voice a few octaves higher. Castle snorted.
"Can't wait," he replied. Tory rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, heading off to fetch Ryan and Esposito to start their 'shop'. Meanwhile, Lanie returned with a bowl of steaming water and some bandages. Alexis stamped along next to her, arms filled with rags. They sat Castle down on an empty crate while she looked over his injuries, their swords leaning against the side of the ship.
"What happened?" Lanie asked, perusing his injuries.
"Oh, nothing too serious," Castle insisted, eyeing his concerned daughter as she reached out for the wound on his chest. "Just a tiny disagreement," he insisted, giving Lanie a look that screamed, 'Don't.' The woman understood and simply nodded.
"You must be more careful," she tutted, looking down at her small helper. "Papa is very clumsy," she said. Alexis giggled at that, turning to smile at her father, who just melted, shrugging, only to wince at the withering glare Lanie gave him. "Be more careful," she mouthed as she cleaned his wound. He nodded.
"At least we got what we came here for, didn't we?" he said, looking at Kate. She rolled her eyes, but relented.
"Yes," she said. "Even if it did take a bit more…persuasion, than is usual. Where on earth did you learn to use a sword like that?" she asked him.
"My mother was an actress," he replied. "Most of that was a performance," he revealed in an exaggerated whisper, earning a headshake from the captain, "but I did learn a bit of fencing, as well, in my youth. I got quite good at it, I suppose."
"Very good," Kate agreed, very uncharacteristically of her. "You probably saved my life."
"It was nothing, Captain," the man insisted, through a wince as Lanie rubbed some kind of burning oil into his cut. "What is that?" he practically growled.
"Alcohol solution," the woman replied. "Old family secret; will make the wound heal much quicker, though you still might have a scar."
"Ooh, the ladies will really adore that, won't they?" Castle replied cheekily. Kate huffed at that and stood, grabbing her sword and moving away from them. The man's eyes widened in surprise. "What did I say?" he asked Lanie. The darker woman snorted.
"Captain doesn't much like fraternizing," she informed him. "None of us are allowed to have romantic relations." She eyed the little redhead before leaning in to whisper in Castle's ear: "You are only allowed lovers so long as they do not reside on this ship." She pulled back. "And no marriage."
"I'm not in need of a wife," Castle replied. "I've plenty of female examples for my daughter now; there's no need for Captain to concern herself." Lanie leveled him with a look. "What?" he asked, confused. She just shook her head, pressing a cloth bandage over his wound and taping it to his chest to keep put. "What?" he asked again.
"Nothing," she replied. "You just keep these clean; come to me twice a day to change them and make sure you don't stretch the wound. We don't have many bandages to spare." Castle nodded, standing and slipping his vest over the now-covered wound.
"Thank you, Miss—Lanie," he said, bowing to her. Lanie blushed slightly and let out a cackle.
"It is no problem, Mr. Castle," she said. "Now go return Eustace's sword to him; I'm sure he'll be missing it by now and, please, stay out of trouble."
Castle raised his hands in surrender. "No promises."
REVIEWS please!
(also, I know a lot of the language is probably really inaccurate for the time period but I'm really trying. Sorry!)