Our Future is in Our Past
Chapter Four
Standing near the bow, Shego let the salt breeze whip back her hair. The room had been okay. But Drakken snored like a sawmill. She had wanted to put a pillow over his face but they didn't have any pillows in the room. The bed was a large feather mattress over a rope net. By early morning, she had taken one of the pallets under the main bed and pulled it into a side storage room. At least she could get some sleep. The cook had supplied a decent breakfast. Now, they were on Teach's ship after he had invited them to go out to one of his main hideouts on a place called Ocracoke Island. She jumped at the chance to get a good look at his ship.
She had left Teach and Drakken talking in the main cabin while she took a look around. Making her way deep into the bowels of the ship, she found the main hold empty. Deeper into the ship she found the bilge. The air was foul, but she dipped her hand into the water and touched something cold. Grabbing it, she picked it up out of the water. Her eyes gleamed. It was a gold bar. That's what was acting as ballast for his ship. Shego smiled, back in real time a single bar would be worth a fortune. She sat back. One bar could weigh as much as 70 lbs with 16 oz per lbs. That would make each bar weighing 1,120 oz. Gold was about $790 per oz. Multiply that out and each bar could be worth over $800,000. Just one bar!
She had made her way back to the deck and the bow of the ship. It was a decent day with a stiff wind. Turning she watched as the men on deck went about their duties. Teach had proudly proclaimed he was an honest merchant now. Shego smiled. An honest merchant who was armed to the teeth. There were a number of cannon on board well cared for and already loaded. There were also quite a few rifles and cutlasses within easy reach of the deck crew. A shout from the crow's nest caught her attention.
"Sails Ho!!!"
Teach quickly appeared on deck.
"Where away?"
The crewman pointed out over the water.
"Ten points off the port bow. Looks like a brig and two sloops."
Grabbing a spyglass, Teach looked out over the water at the three ships. He watched for a moment then a smile spread over his face. He turned and yelled to the aft of ship.
"Mr. Hands to the bow please."
Running from another part of the ship Teach's first mate came up beside him.
"What's the matter Cap'n?"
Handing him the spyglass Teach pointed to the ships that were approaching.
"Take a look out there and tell me who you see."
Hands took the glass and stared out over the water. A grin grew on his face as he turned back to Teach.
"Shall I raise the flag Cap'n?"
Teach nodded.
"Aye, Mr. Hands, let's get the crew to quarters. We'll need to fire a salute."
Shego walked up to the side of Teach. He turned to her with a smile.
"Looks like you came aboard on a good day. We are going to meet at friend of all brothers of the sea. Charles Vane."
Shego made a smile on her face. This was working up great. The possibility of another pirate treasure to rob.
A thundering boom reverberated across the water. Shego turned to see a wall of smoke coming from the two masted ship. Teach turned and signaled to Hands. With a signal from him, all the guns on that side fired a broadside. The crew ran to the side and started to cheer and wave. As the ships came closer Teach stopped and looked closely at one of the sloops accompanying the two masted ship.
"Mr. Hands, take a look at the sloop to the port of Mr. Vane's brig and tell me what you see."
Hands stopped and looked then turned to Teach.
"Cap'n. That looks like the sloop that belonged to those two lads."
Teach nodded.
"I hope the lads are alright. I really hope the cargo is alright. His Honor the Governor might not be too happy to lose his part of the salvage. Get me a dory over the side. I need to see Vane as quick as I can."
Shego stepped up to his side.
"Cap'n do you mind if I tag along?"
Teach shook his head.
"No, lass, let me meet him first and bring him over here. What's your name anyway?"
Shego smiled.
"Just call me Shego."
The stench coming from the bilge water made it hard for Kim to breath. The two of them were locked in a small room in the lower parts of the pirate's main ship. The only light they had was a small lantern in the room and what little light shone through the barred opening in the door. Dipping a cloth into the pitcher on the floor, Kim got it wet and placed it on the knot on the back of Ron's head.
"Owwww KP! That hurts!"
Kim growled.
"Quit being such a baby. We have bigger problems."
Ron turned to look at her and raised one of his legs. The leg iron and chain clinked as he moved it.
"Really KP? I had no idea we were in trouble. We beat up a dozen or so pirates, put most of them into the water and sunk one of their boats. They knocked me out and nearly cut your throat. Instead of killing us or throwing us to the sharks they put shackles on us and threw us in this lovely little stateroom in the bottom of their boat. Why should I think we are in trouble?"
Kim swatted him on the top of his head. Ron yelped when the chain attached to the manacles on her wrist hit him in the ear.
"Hey take it easy KP!"
Ron sat up and turned to look at her. Her hair was ruffled and there was a small bruise on one cheek.
"What do you think they'll do to us? Make us walk the plank or something?"
Kim shook her head.
"No Ron, real pirates never did that. They just throw you overboard with a cannon ball chained to you."
Ron rolled his eyes.
"Wonderful. Let's see if I can get us out of here."
Ron sat back and concentrated. The blue glow came but soon faded out. He shook his head.
"I don't know what's going on. Maybe that bump on my head did something, but I can't call the Monkey Power."
Kim shifted in her seat and reached up into her hair. Pulling lightly she produced a hairpin.
"Maybe we won't need you to. I bet these old manacles don't have real complicated locks."
Fiddling with the lock with the hairpin, Kim concentrated on what she was doing. Soon there was a slight click and the manacle fell off her wrist. A small smile crossed her face. Soon all the chains lay on the floor. Looking out the small window in the door she didn't see anyone. Looking down she was that they had simply barred the door thinking the chains would hold them in place. Kim motioned for Ron and he reached out the window and pulled the bar up. Slowly they pushed on the door to open it.
The dory had barely touched the side of the pirate ship when Teach stood, grabbed the rope ladder and quickly scaled up to the deck. Israel Hands quickly followed. The Captain approached Teach.
"Teach, you devil. I thought I would find you in these water somehow. What are you up too you?"
Teach laughed then turned serious.
"Mr. Vane, I would like to ask you where you acquired that fine sloop to your port?"
Vane pointed off to the east.
"We chased her down a few leagues to the east. She gave us a merry chase but that was not the worst. There were two young lads on board, when we boarded her they turned into us so the boom swung and blew over a bunch of my men. Then they dropped the sail on the rest. The first hung on to the halyard and swung over the deck knocking a few more men overboard. The second lad took on a number of my best lads barehanded and beat the lot of them. Then the first lad, used the halyard to swing over and land on one of my boats. He took a grenade, lit it and tossed it into the hold. The blasted thing fell right next to some powder bags. The blast sunk one of the best sloops I had. It took the rest of the lads to put both of those two lads down. Normally I would have throw both of them overboard for the sharks but the lads wanted to do something special to them."
Teach rubbed his face.
"They would not happen to be two young lads. One is about so high."
Teach held out his hand at just about Ron's height.
"This lad has blond hair and a freckled face. I think his name is Ron. The other is about so high."
Teach held his hand a little lower.
"He is the younger one by the sound of his voice. He has long red hair and I believe his name is Kim. When the two of them are together they fight like fiends."
Vane scratched his head.
"Don't know about the names but you just described the two of them pretty good. You know them?"
Teach growled.
"They were working for me taking a cargo to the Governor. I hope that neither they or the cargo have been damaged. I would hate to think you would end up stealing from me."
Vane's face twitched and he looked around. Teach's ship had slipped over and was broadside to his ship. Looking back at Teach, Vane noticed that he had his hand on one of his pistols. A smile came across Vane's face.
"We are all brothers of the sea. If I had known they were working for you I would have left them be."
Vane turned to one of his crewmen.
"Take a couple of men and go get those two."
Vane turned back to Teach.
"Now Captain, since we are all brothers of the sea, I do believe I am due some payment for my crew."
Teach was about to reply when there was yelling from below and the whole ship shuddered from a small explosion. Vane cursed.
"Not again!"
Several crewman started down one of the hatches. Within seconds two came flying back out of the hold. Kim leaped out of the hold with a cutlass in each hand. Several crewmen surrounded her as she backed across the deck. She didn't see Teach because her back was to him. Slowly but surely Kim backed across the deck right into him. She stopped and looked up to see Teach looking down at her. He pulled his cutlass and held it in front of her.
"Any one of you swabs wants a piece of the lad will have to come through me first."
Kim watched as Vane's men lowered their weapons. Teach reached down and took the two cutlasses from Kim.
"Now lad, where is your brother?"
There was more yelling as several crewman came running up out of another of the holds. Ron came right behind them carrying a small swivel gun.
"Stay back, I don't know what this is but I am not afraid to use it."
Teach started to laugh. Ron stopped when he saw Teach and Kim.
"Kim?"
Kim motioned with her hands.
"Ron, let's be real careful and put that down before you hurt someone mainly yourself."
One of Vane's crewman stepped over to Ron and carefully took it from him. Ron walked over to Kim.
"You okay?"
Kim nodded.
"Yeah."
Teach looked over to Vane.
"It the cargo still aboard?"
Vane nodded.
"Yes, we hadn't had a chance to put it aboard."
Teach nodded as he turned to Kim and Ron.
"Now you two best be on your way. I ask you to go straight to Bath and then home. Now you aren't going to say anything about all of this or will I need to leave ye here?"
Kim took pulled on Ron's arm.
"We will not say a thing Captain Teach."
Kim and Ron stepped over to the side of the ship to wait for their sloop to be brought over. Kim leaned over to see what was going on when Ron turned around to face Teach. He felt and bump and heard a screech cut off by a large splash. Turning around he noticed Kim was no longer behind him. The crew started to laugh uproariously. From the water below came a very angry yell.
"Ron Stoppable! Just wait till I get my hands on you!"
Ron looked overboard to see Kim treading in the water below mad enough to make the water around her steam. He turned to Vane and Teach.
"Ahhh guys? Do either one of you have a spot on your crew?"
Vane and Teach looked at each other and busted out laughing. One of the crew threw a rope to Kim and pulled her back aboard. As her feet hit the deck Ron jumped in front of her and handed her his vest.
"Ahhhh Kim, I think you need to put this on."
Kim snarled at Ron.
"Ron I am okay. It's warm and I don't need your vest."
Ron pressed it in front of her.
"KP look down."
Kim glanced down and turned several shades of red. Grabbing Ron's vest she hurriedly put it on as she stood behind Ron. Earlier that morning she had taken her own vest off. Her white cotton shirt was now very wet. Luckily she did have another shirt on under it but her secret was now out.
Teach strode over and stared down at both of them.
"I thought Kim was an odd name for a boy. Your voice was also mighty high for your age. Either of you care to explain before you both go for a swim permanently."
Kim stepped out beside Ron.
"We thought it was best to keep it a secret. We wanted to work together and this was the only way."
Teach studied the two of them and a low growl came deep within him.
"It's against my better judgment, and I don't take kindly being lied to but together you two do quite well. I see no reason to let the secret go further. You have some work to finish. After that, I expect the two of you stay at your cottage until I send for you, understand?"
Both of them nodded.
"Yes sir."
Teach pointed to their boat.
"Good be gone then."
Kim grabbed Ron by the arm and pulled him toward their boat. Ron stopped at the edge and looked down.
"Uhhh, KP, shouldn't we wait for a boat or something?"
Kim raised boot planted it on Ron's backside and shoved. Screaming all the way, Ron landed in the water with a loud splash. She leaned over as he surfaced.
"Now we are even, swim for our boat."
Kim waved to Teach then turned and dove into the water. Surfacing next to Ron they started to swim for their boat. One of the crewmen on board pulled them up out of the water then hopped into a small rowboat tied next to it. As he rowed back to Vane's ship Ron raised their sail and Kim took the tiller as they moved off toward Bath.
Vane shook his head as he watched them sail off.
"A bleeding girl! What do you think of that? Those two took on some of my best men and still beat them. They wouldn't be bad pirates."
Teach shook his head.
"No, they appear to be a nice couple of kids. They have a good life ahead of them, twill not be me to mess them up."
Teach turned back to Vane.
"Now that all of that is behind us let's talk a celebration! Do you know if any other of the lads are in the area?"
Vane scratched his chin.
"I am not sure. I haven't seen anyone but we can put out the word. What's this about a celebration?"
Teach clapped Vane on the back and pointed out to Ocracoke.
"Out there at my base, we will eat and drink and eat some more. All the brethren of the sea will be welcome. Come join me aboard my ship, there is food and drink."
Vane joined Teach as he returned to his ship. As they were rowed over to the other ship one of Vane's crewman watched as Kim and Ron's boat sailed out of sight. He smiled as he thought. "A girl? A girl who can handle a cutlass better than most men and can fight too. I must find a way to spend some close time with this girl. I'll have to find a way to get her away from her friend." The crewman turned away and returned to his duties.
Shego limped slowly down the deck complaining to a couple of crewman of a loose step down in the hold. Most just laughed at her. She grinned inside. The loose step was non existent because her limp was because of the small bar of gold tie to the calf of her leg. The thirty pounds of weight made it a little difficult to walk. There was another bar of gold tied to her back under her shirt and cloak. All told she was hauling around about one hundred pounds of weight. All they had to do was get back to shore. Drakken approached her. He pointed out to the sloop that was pulling away from the larger ship. Shego's eye went wide. There was no mistaking the two people on the small sloop.
"They ARE here. We really need to be careful and try to find a way to get rid of them."
Drakken glanced around twiddling his hands.
"Were you successful?"
Shego sneered back.
"You better hope this works. This stuff is heavy."
Vane and Teach climbed to the deck. Teach waved them over.
"Shego, Blackeye!"
The two villains made their way over toward Teach as he and the other pirate approached. Teach pointed to Vane.
"This here is Captain Vane, a good friend and a brother of the sea. Mr. Vane, this here is Blackeye Brown and Shego. Their crew voted them off and left them on shore. They walked into Bath looking for me."
Vane eyed Shego up and down.
"A woman pirate?"
Shego bristled but Teach waved his hand.
"I'll tell you Mr. Vane, she is a fine pirate indeed. Just think of the crew you could have if you could get Kim and Ron with this lady. You would have a fine addition to your crew."
Shego had to fight to keep her jaw from hitting the deck, a quick glance at Drakken showed he was hiding his surprise well, but not well enough. Teach stared back at them.
"Do you know Kim and Ron?"
Shego swallowed. She had the gold, she had some of his hair so they had a DNA sample, now was not the time to cause any problems yet here was an opportunity to get rid of those two. If she could get him to do the dirty work for her then so much the better.
"Are you talking about two kids about 18 years old. The first one is named Ron and is so high."
Shego stuck out her hand at Ron's approximate height.
"He has a great act being a bumbler but he is a skilled fighter. I have learned not to underestimate him. The second one is a girl named Kim who is about so high."
Shego stuck her hand out at Kim's height.
"She can fight with weapons or without. We have learned not to take them lightly. They are a pair of spies. People take them as a young couple but don't let them fool you. They will gain your trust then turn you over to the Navy the first chance they get. If you don't watch it, they will lead you into a trap. They got us in trouble before. They work for the Governor of Virginia. He sends them down here to look around. What are they doing for you?"
Teach's face darkened.
"It's a special cargo for the governor."
Shego smiled.
"I hope that it's not what I am thinking, cause they would love to be able to report to the Governor of Virgina that the Governor here is receiving goods from you."
Teach's face darkened as he turned a looked up to the lookout.
"Caesar! Do you see the sloop that just left?"
The black man leaned out high above the deck and pointed.
"They are about 4 miles out and moving fast. They have already passed one of the bars."
Teach scowled.
"Anyway we can chase them down?"
Caesar looked out across the water then looked down at Teach.
"Not with the Adventure Captain. We would have to go around the bar. But that sloop of Captain Vane's could chase them down."
Vane turned to Teach.
"She's yours Captain. You want a special crew on board?"
Teach turned around.
"Thomas, Israel, Caesar, Philip. Take the sloop with a few of Captain Vane's men and go after those two. Don't do anything, yet! Just follow them. Tell them to stay in their house, and that I have another cargo for them and I want them well rested. If they try to communicate with anyone or try and leave their house. Well, make sure they don't."
The four men jumped aboard a rowboat and soon were chasing after Kim and Ron's boat. Shego stepped over to Teach.
"Ya got an idea for those two?"
Teach's face split into an evil smile.
"Oh yes. They will have a special cargo. We will have our little party out on Ocracoke. They will bring the food and the rum and will be our special guests. Too bad they will never leave the island."
Shego nodded.
"Good with them out of the way you will be safe. Now can the Captain and I borrow one of your boats. We would like to...."
Teach roared.
"And leave NOW? No lass, you and the Captain will be our very special guests, after all because of you we know about those two. Now COME to my cabin! We have a celebration to plan!"
Teach motioned for Shego to precede him. She swore under her breath. There was no way that they would be able to get away now. They would have to play along. She motioned for Drakken to go first. Just before she went below deck she looked out over the water in the direction Kim and Ron's boat had went.
"See you later Princess."
Ron helped Kim up on the dock as a well dressed man approached them.
"Are you the lads in the employ of Master Teach?"
Kim nodded.
"Yes sir! Are you the gentleman from the Governor?"
The man nodded.
"That I am. My men will unload your boat. Here is your payment."
Ron took the small leather pouch that the man gave him. He let Kim feel the weight. Her eyes grew when she realized what they had just gotten paid. Before she could say anything the man gestured to a carriage behind him.
"The Governor would like to thank you for your work. Please follow me."
The man lead Kim and Ron over the carriage. A regally dressed man appeared at the window.
"I wanted to personally to thank you for your services. I would like to extend an invitation to dinner, would you be so kind as to accept?"
Before Ron could answer Thomas Miller appeared from the docks.
"They will need to accept the invitation at another time Governor. Cap'n Teach has a special job for them and needs them to rest."
Thomas turned to Kim and Ron as he whispered.
"The Captain does have a special cargo for you to carry. He was sorry for what happened and wanted you to get a good rest."
Kim nodded and bowed to the Governor.
"Sir, if we may accept your kind offer at a later date we would be honored to dine with you."
The Governor nodded.
"Quite right, perhaps after you finish with Captain Teach all three of you can dine with me. Thank you again for your fine service. Home, James."
The Governor nodded to his driver and with a whistle the driver started off down the road. Israel came up to Kim and Ron.
"The Captain sent us after you as soon as he could. Thomas will arrange for the cargo to be placed on board. He is planning a gathering out on Ocracoke Island and needs you to bring the supplies."
Kim nodded.
"Okay, as soon as we get something to eat we will head for our house."
Thomas stepped up.
"What would you like? I can send for a meal from the Captain's house."
Ron scratched his chin.
"I am sure anything from the Captain's cook would be fine. We'll head for our house, just bring the food there."
Thomas nodded and mounted a horse one of the crewman had ridden up.
"I'll be right back."
Kim and Ron turned and made their way toward their house. Behind them they didn't see the other pirates watching them closely. One of them drew a knife from his boot.
"I hope they do try something. I owe the redhead a little something. She sure is a pretty little thing."
Caesar pushed the man's hand down.
"We don't do anything as long as they stay in the house. If they leave, then take care of them quickly and quietly. Then, put the bodies back in the house and make it look like a robbery."
The pirate nodded and stepped into the shadows of a tree to watch as the window in Kim and Ron's cottage glowed with the flickering candlelight from inside. Minutes later, Thomas arrived on horseback with a large basket. Leaving his horse in front of the house, he knocked on the door. It swung open and Kim took the basket from. Thomas returned to his horse as Kim closed the door. Thomas cantered his horse slowly out of town right by the other pirates. He nodded to them as he passed. The other pirate played with his knife as he watched the flickering light in the window of the cottage. A small plume of smoke rose from the chimney.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter of "Future".
Please leave a review. I would appreciate it.
This is the Captain
Roger and out,
Right hand salute.