XVIII.
Ache
Late December 1718
Lively Kingston.
Mary had spent the last month sailing but had come to Kingston shortly after hearing from another sailor that old Blackbeard had been killed. She wondered if Edward had been with him, if Edward was safe…But there was no way of knowing and she had already been back to the old cove. No one had seen Edward's ship since he left to talk to Thatch. Mary's heart ached in a strange way. She knew if she found what had become of Edward, her heart's aching might ease but at the same time, she would not go crawling, begging for information. She had too much pride in her heart for that.
She walked through the streets, heading towards the Assassin's Bureau. She planned to meet with the Master Assassin there and see if there was anything that needed done. Ah Tabai had nothing important for her at the moment. If nothing else, she could gather information for the city. She had only stopped here because…well she had nowhere else to go. They were casting pirates down left and right, capturing them and forcing them to pledge to the pardon or stringing them up and hanging them. So she had to keep her head down for now, there was nothing else to do. She didn't want to end up dead. She was much too young for that. She was much too wise for that. There was no way she was going to get herself caught and hung. No, so she had ceased any pirating activities and had not heard so much as a lick of complaint from her crew. If she hung, they hung. They weren't stupid.
Still…old Thatch dead. That was an ache in her heart. The two of them weren't close, but they had enough business between them. The fact that he was dead was…unreal. And Edward…She put a halt to those thoughts as she found her way to the Bureau. If she thought about Edward being dead…that nearly stole her breath away. She wasn't sure why. It didn't make any sense after all. He was an idiot and he was churlish and he didn't understand a damn thing. He didn't try, despite his claims. He was just…a fool. Mary didn't get why she cared so much for him.
"Anto" She called, seeing the large Assassin readying himself and some of his Assassins for what she had to guess was an attack. He was already wearing several daggers, as he didn't often use guns. He was a wild sort of man. The other men were armed to the teeth as well. So perhaps not an attack but a raid? It was the middle of the day though. If she remembered right, he went on most of his raids in the middle of the night.
"James Kidd" He turned to look back at her, greeting her in his deep voice. "You come at a bad time."
"What is happening Anto?"
"We are preparing to free some brothers and sisters about to be sold in the port." He said, slipping a dagger into his belt. He began to touch the handle of each dagger, as if counting them.
"You're going to an auction? In the middle of the day? Are you mad?" She hissed, getting closer. That was madness in itself. He would find nothing but death waiting for him. Auctions were heavily guarded by both private guards and the city guards. There would be too many for them and how would they even get close enough to free the slaves?
"We must. They intend to be rid of the ones who do not sell – unwanted, broken merchandise." He looked at her, appraising her. He didn't trust her much – he didn't trust any fair face much. "If you are so worried, then help us. I do not know how the pirate James Kidd will be of use though"
She got what he was saying. "Ah...But what of the lass, Mary Read?"
"Prepare yourself. I have a plan"
Mary Read walked to the auction, right past the guards. They didn't take notice of her pale face. Now if she had been a Maroon Assassin, then yes. She would have been stopped, possibly killed. As it was, they were too distracted by her tits to even really look at her face or the sword she carried or the fact that she wore trousers instead of a skirt. She got some queer looks from other women but she brushed them off, standing proudly in the crowd. She watched as they brought the men and women up for sale onto the platform. Twenty of them in all. Sixteen males and four females and…
Wait…was that…Was that Ade? Edward's quartermaster? She looked at the third man in shackles very hard. It was. It was Ade. If he was here…Where was Edward? Did Edward betray him? Was Edward dead and betrayed? Suddenly her stomach dropped and she wasn't sure if she could do her part anymore. No, she had to. She had to if she wanted to find out what happened.
So as the auctioneer came out and pulled the first man up front, unchaining him from the others, Mary reached for the gun she had hidden in her coat. She took a deep breath. She had to aim quick and true, shoot the man down and be on the platform in a matter of seconds. She had to unlock those she could and get them to run, run, run. Maroons would be waiting to guide them to safety and her own safety was her problem after all the slaves were free
Another deep breath. She knew that other Maroons were waiting nearby to distract the guards themselves. She just had to shoot first and they would take care of the rest. Escaping would be easy for her, she just had to act fast. She looked up at the man, still calling for bids.
"Sold!" He cried and cheer went up from the crowd.
There was a gun shot and a hole appeared in his forehead. He began to fall backwards, probably not even aware that he was already dead. Mary was moving as fast as she could. She was on the platform before his body hit the ground, before someone screamed. She heard the clash of steel against steel as the Maroons flooded the area. They were outnumbered but Mary only need a bit of time. She stole the keys off the dead man's body and unlocked the first man.
"Go that way!" She pointed. The man hesitated but when a stray bullet hit the stage he bolted. She unlocked the second man and then she got to Ade.
"Behind you!" He cried. She turned, drawing her sword and blocking what would have been a fatal slash. She killed the man and looked up at Ade.
"You have my thanks, Ade" She realized she messed up the moment she had spoken his name. She should not have, he didn't know her as Mary. He only knew her as James Kidd. She shouldn't have known his name. She cursed.
"How…? You're….Kidd?" His voice was surprised. She was surprised how he connected the dots so quickly. He was a smart man though. No doubt too good to be a simple Quartermaster. Then again the fact that she was wearing the jack she almost always did probably didn't help her keep herself hidden.
"Later." She unlocked him. "Go! Hurry!"
"Lend me your sword and I will defend you while you free the others" She needed not to be asked again. It would make the process quicker if someone was watching her back. She gave him her sword. She unlocked the others as quickly as she could but soon she could see the Maroons retreating. Ade sliced the chains of the last three men but by that time, their escape route had been compromised.
"This way!" She called and they followed her. She led them away from the square and to a back alley. There was a house with a basement. She drew a dagger and used it to break the lock, hiding the fragments in a bush next to the doors. "Get in there! Hide! I will draw them away." She gave them quick directions to get to the Bureau after it was safe. Then she closed the door over their faces, letting Ade keep her sword just in case and climbed a nearby building.
The soldiers came pouring in a moment later, just as she reached the top. Before they had a chance to search for the missing slaves, she whistled, drawing their eyes up to her figure. They all looked shocked to see a woman up there. She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward enough to give them a show.
"Catch me if you can, shankers!" She grinned down at them. "You rotten, English curs! Can't even best a single woman!" Then she turned right round and ran. They were running after her, all of them. Good, the men she freed would be safe – but she had a good number of guards on her tail now. She cursed; jumping from building to building in the hot Jamaican sun was really wearing on her.
She found herself at a dead end suddenly. She was four stories up, with nowhere to go. She skidded to a stop at the edge of the building. She turned and there were guards. She didn't have her sword; only a gun and they had ten guns trained on her in but a minute. The captain of the group stepped forward.
"Nowhere to go, lass" He was wearing the smile of a victor. "If you surrender, we won't kill you." At the moment at least. It wouldn't be hard to convict her and have her hung by the end of the day though.
"Nowhere to go but down, eh?" She smiled. Then she turned on her heel and jumped, her arms spread out. They shouted and peeked over the edge in time to see her jump from the pile of hay and run away. They never had a chance to get off the building to come after her because she was already half-way back to the Bureau by that point.
Anto was waiting for her with Ade. They were talking in soft voices but they stopped when they saw her coming. "You did well" Anto complimented. "Thank you for your assistance. Did you need something from us?"
"No Anto. I could use some privacy to talk to Ade here though" She motioned to the other male and Anto simply nodded.
"I'll be tending to our new Maroons should you need me" Then he walked away, leaving only Mary and Ade there. She walked over and sat on the table and he handed her sword which she sat it down next to her. He was silent for a moment appraising her. She could see he was making sure he connected the dots correctly.
"You are…Kidd right? I'm not mistaken…"
"No, Ade, you are not." She admitted. She had no idea that Ade would be there. She didn't want to reveal her secret to him but she supposed he wasn't the worst person to reveal it to. "Yes, I'm really a woman. Bit of a shock ain't it?"
"Not really. Much of what you've done make sense now" He said. How easily he took it. She smiled a little. He'd make a very good Assassin. "You don't have to worry about me telling anyone about this"
"Thank you, Ade."
"So Miss Kidd-"
"Mary…Please Ade. You can call me Mary" She interrupted.
"Mary." He let out a light chuckle. "What a day this has been. I thought I was going back to the sugar plantations for sure and instead I find out one of the most feared names in the West Indie isn't exactly who he appears to be" He rubbed his head. "Does the Captain know?"
"Edward? Yes. Speaking of which – where is he? Is he the reason…"
"Jaysus no." Ade shook his head and then filled her in about everything that had happened since she and Edward had last parted – Thatch's death, Edward and Vane's plotting and finally Rackham's betrayal. She could hear his disapproval all the way through but still – Rackham! She couldn't believe he'd do such a thing. He must have been sober for once.
"That bastard! I'll cut him prick to sternum!" She growled, clenching her fists. "Where is he?"
"I don't know. All I know is that he has The Jackdaw." He was angry about that, probably worried for the crew. "I have to find him though, get the ship back and hope I can find Captain Kenway."
"I'll help you" She told him, standing and sheathing her sword. "Let me get ready once more."
"I'll get a change of clothes from these Maroons that helped me and I'll meet you at the port."
"Aye"
January 1719
That was how she found herself on the open sea with Ade standing next to her. He had found weapons and supplies among the Maroons and promised to one day come back and perhaps help them. Mary told them that they did not owe her for helping them. They were Assassins and she helped fellow Assassins. They had been looking for almost a month now, but they didn't know where to look so they were shooting in the dark. They were just sailing, hoping they were getting lucky. There was little chance of that though. She knew that they might never find the Jackdaw. They might never find Edward. That thought hurt.
"Check the horizon again" She asked Ade. Her hands were on the wheel. She was steering her ship, trying to give herself something to do. If she didn't she paced and she worried and that was no way to be.
"Patience, Master Kidd" Ade cautioned. "We'll find them in time."
"I hope we find that bastard, Rackham first. I'll sweeten that maggot!" Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. She knew Ade was looking at her and she wished he wouldn't. Her heart ached to see Edward alive and well again. She had to hope, no matter what she had to keep hoping. If she didn't all that waited for her was a broken heart.
A/N: And I think this will be the last chapter for the day. That makes it what? Five? I think I've gone and spoiled you guys a little too much for the day. I know some of you may have issues with Ade finding out about Mary. I know in game it was never indicated if she told him or not but Ade is probably one of the most level-headed characters in the game and I think Mary would trust him - or as in this case, I gave her no choice but to trust him. Enough of my ramblings though, thank you for reading and I hope you leave me a couple of reviews. I love to read them and they always help me find the inspiration to write another chapter.