Chapter 16 – That Was One Heck Of A Rescue, Sir

"Never leave a man behind."

'11th January 1779,

It appears to me that everyone wants something from Nicaragua. General Dalling wants San Juan, the Assassin's want their key and despite my orders I want to rescue Captain Locker and his men. I know that he is there. I see his face behind iron bars as I try to sleep. Elizabeta says that this is not what Locker would want me to do, quite frankly I don't care what he wants, I will not let my fellow sailors perish under the hands of the Spanish. Captain Locker is a priority, however I believe that if all goes well I might even have a chance at taking the key. I know the risk and yet I am willing to raise the stakes, I hope Dalling never hears of this…'

Sir Parker was right, Nelson thought, the Badger was a mighty fine ship. She was the fastest and smoothest sailing ship that Nelson had ever been upon, and she still maintained a high level of firepower. Nelson stood against the rail on the bow as he glanced through his telescope. Through it he observed a small Spanish vessel. It was only a trader returning to deliver its cargo and sail off again to some other Spanish or French outpost. To his left the sun was beginning to touch the ocean horizon and gracefully slip into darkness.

To his right was the coastline of Nicaragua, however it was only a feint line of trees in the distance. Nelson had selected a small portion of his crew to partake in the mission that he had planned with Collingwood and Elizabeta the night before. Now the selected men stood in a line across the deck and Nelson went to each one and had them repeat to him their instructions. There was no room for error on this mission, and Nelson needed to know that his men knew exactly what they were doing.

Nelson glanced again through his telescope at the enemy trader as it sailed with ease towards San Juan. 'Andrew, bring us up behind that trader.' He called to his new coxswain.

Andrew gripped the large wheel and turned it until the Badger sailed directly towards her pray.

Nelson stood on the quarterdeck so that he was visible to his entire crew. 'Listen up! No cannons are to be fired when we take the ship. We can't afford to damage that vessel.'

The crew responded with an enthusiastic cry. 'Aye sir!'

The Badger gained on the enemy ship very quickly and Nelson was close enough to see the gold lettering written across the side, El Comerciante De Miel. From his lessons, Nelson believed that the name was Spanish for 'The Honey Trader.' The Badger glided over the ocean with haste until she was able to edge herself alongside the trader. On the deck of the Commerciante hysteria arose as the merchants panicked and ran to their cabins and the guards tried to find a way to defend themselves. Nelson immediately noticed the Spanish guards rushing for the swivel cannons.

He called to James, 'I need you and your men to take out those gunners. Then proceed to pick off the rest of the guards if you can but cease fire when our men board the ship.'

James nodded once, 'Aye sir.' He then took up his musket, gathered the other marksmen and moved into position.

The Badger was almost directly alongside the Commerciante and Nelson waited with Dannie as they readied the boarding planks. The rest of Nelson's selected team gathered behind him and they took up their weapons. Some men wielded sabres, others preferred to use a cutlass, and some of the men even carried wooden clubs.

The first crack of gunpowder came from one of the swivel cannons. The shooter was immediately clouded in a white puff of gun smoke and the sound silenced everyone on both ships. The little cannon ball crashed into the inner deck of the Badger, leaving only a little splintering hole. As soon as the gunner's smoke screen cleared James was able to return fire. He raised his musket and fired, the muzzle of his weapon exploded and the little lead ball was launched from the gun. A split second later the swivel gunner's head exploded as the bullet struck him right between the eyes.

After a brief moment of silence the guards on the swivels erupted in a rally of war cries. They fired their guns and tried desperately to escape the clutches of the Badger. James and his marksmen were able to take down several more of the swivel gunners and the cover fire allowed Nelson the opportunity to secure the planks and board the enemy ship. Nelson led the charge and his men followed close behind before spreading out and surrounding the rest of the guards.

Nelson embraced an oncoming attacker. At first he was too close to swing his sword so he used the hilt and hit the man in the jaw. Nelson's attacker staggered, and then slashed his cutlass angrily but with precise and practised hands. Nelson parried the blow and cut down his opponent with two single strokes.

As Nelson's crew over powered the other, he glanced around the deck to make sure that none of the guards survived. So far all was going to plan.

Nelson ran up to the quarterdeck steps and then spoke to his men, 'Gather their uniforms and then toss the bodies to sea. Get rid of all traces of blood from the deck and make sure there is none on your uniforms.' Nelson scanned the crowd before him. 'Where are the merchants?' He demanded.

Andrew replied by leading three men at knifepoint to the centre of the deck. The merchants were all wealthy men. They wore gold chains and necklaces and were covered in all other sorts of jewellery. Beneath their thick purple cloaks they wore fine cotton and silk shirts.

Andrew pulled the hood from the head of one of the merchants. His dark hair was matted and tied back out of his face and he stared at Nelson with scared brown eyes. 'Take the cargo.' He begged, 'Take what ever you want. Just let me live!'

Nelson waited it out as the poor man begged and cried. After he had heard the merchant's terms he spoke.

'Very well.' He started. 'Take their clothes and then lock them up on the Badger. We can deal with them after we have Locker.'

Still holding the terrified merchants at knifepoint, Andrew escorted the merchants back to the Badger. He then forced them to remove their clothes down to their underwear. The merchants, mostly naked and completely shamed, were finally locked away in one of the cabins below the deck. As this happened, the rest of Nelson's selected team set about to removing the uniforms of the dead guards and fitting it onto themselves. It was a gruesome task, one that Nelson would not have asked if it was not entirely important. Andrew gathered the three sets of clothes from the merchants and gave one set each to Nelson, Collingwood and Elizabeta. The long robes and silk shirts fitted Collingwood and Nelson well and close.

The merchant's clothes were extremely comfortable although Nelson could already sense the difficulty in executing swordplay with such a heavy cloak burdening his shoulders. For Elizabeta the clothes were too large and they clutched loosely to her slim body. Nelson thought that she looked rather silly, however the fact that she was a woman was now hidden to any prying eyes as the cloak now covered her usual curves and her long hair was tucked into her hood.

What remained of the daylight was now only a feint orange glow on the horizon. The disguise was believable, the deck had been cleaned of bodies and blood and it was time for the Commerciante to part from the Badger. The only visibility that the Badger could rely on was the light that shined from the stars and the moon and reflected off the ocean. Nelson couldn't risk them being spotted from the shore, otherwise the actual mission would be over before it even began.

In the distance the land glowed with window lanterns and campfires that were scattered around San Juan. The Badger was now hidden from sight and it waited patiently in the darkness for Nelson's return. There was a silence aboard the ship and the tension grew as Nelson drew nearer to the fort. He had full confidence that his plan would work, however it would only take one mistake and everything would fall apart.

The Commerciante drifted slowly into port and below them a man on the dock hailed Andrew, who posed as the ships captain. Andrew gave his orders to the fake guards and had them secure the ship against the dock. The men below then took a long wooden ramp and set it in place so that people would be able to come and go from the ship.

A large man approached Nelson, he was one of the superiors and his icy gaze scanned Nelson's ship suspiciously. He propped a pipe in his mouth and held a flame to the end until the tobacco began to burn. Then he spoke to Andrew through his teeth and without removing the pipe. 'You're late.' He said sternly in Spanish.

Anderson responded to the accusation in fluent Spanish however he spoke too quickly and Nelson feared that he was acting too suspicious.

'We were set off course when a small band of pirates attacked us. Though, it was nothing my men couldn't handle.'

The superior nodded once. 'They are a nuisance. Are they not?' The superior turned to Nelson. 'You. Merchant. Remember not to play games with me or else you'll end up like your friends from last time. All of the supplies better be accounted for.'

'As long as we remain to the agreed price.' Nelson said, as calmly as he could.

The man shot Nelson a look, as if he knew something but wasn't going to say it. Nelson forced himself to remain calm and assumed that he was just being paranoid.

'You can collect your money from General Cortez.' The man stepped aside and allowed Nelson to move into the fort. Nelson looked at Collingwood and signalled for him to accompany. As Collingwood stepped onto the dock Andrew continued to speak. 'Excellent, I will have my men unload the cargo.'

The superior cut him off. 'My men will come on board and collect the supplies. No one else is to set foot in the fort.'

Nelson could hear no more as he moved hurriedly through the maze of military buildings and towards the centre of the fort. Soon he was able to recognise the layout of the fort from his dream. Once he reached the centre well he glanced up at the main hall and the stage that was beside it. There were guards patrolling everywhere, and they slowly paced back and forth along the main wall like clockwork. There was other off duty soldiers that sat in circles and shared drinks around campfires. The soldiers talked and laughed and sang, and Nelson decided that they were too drunk to cause any problems for him later.

Nelson sighted the prison block and then spoke quietly to Collingwood. 'Go collect the money from General Cortez. He's probably expecting you but try and take your time. I'll go and get Locker. Meet me outside the prison block when you can and make sure you leave the coin by the well. Remember, I'll need it for cover on the way out.'

Collingwood nodded once and then walked off towards the main hall. Nelson crouched low and stealthily creped his way towards the prison block, always sticking to the shadows. He stopped when he saw one of the soldiers move from one building to another. Somehow above the sounds of the drunken soldiers he could hear his own breath, he realized that it was heavy and that he was scared. The moving soldier passed and Nelson continued until he finally reached the front door of the prison block. The door was poorly secured and slightly rusted.

Nelson thought that he would be able to break the lock with something however he passed the idea because any use of force would be too loud. He then resulted to plan B and pulled a lock pick from his back pocket. Lock picking was one of the tricks that he learned from Frankie all those years ago on the Raisonable. After fiddling around for a few seconds Nelson was able to undo the lock and enter the room within. The prison block was a low building that extended twenty metres with iron barred prison cells on both sides. Upon entering the building, Nelson spotted a round table with a book and a key on it. He assumed that the key opened the cells. A single lantern gave visibility as Nelson moved along and checked each cell for Locker and his men. He called out in a hush tone, 'Locker?'

Suddenly an arm extended out through the bars of the cell at the end of the building. A voice called out. 'Who's there? Who are you?'

As Nelson continued forward he saw Lockers head leaning against the iron bars. Five more of his men were cramped into the single cell. 'Nelson, is that you?' Locker asked.

Nelson moved forward and faced Locker. 'I'm here to get you out.' He said softly as he used the key to unlock the cell. The metal hinges creaked, and the cage was swung open.

Locker was the first to step out of the cell. 'Who are you with?' He asked.

'It's just me and a few others.' Nelson explained. 'There really isn't much time. We have to get out of here before the guards find us.'

'Nelson, they have one of the keys. I was caught trying to get it.'

Nelson quietly opened the prison block door and peeked outside to make sure there was no one in the way. 'I'm afraid there won't be enough time for that, sir.' When he spotted Collingwood in his cloak waiting outside Nelson opened the door and led Locker and his men out. In a hurried voice, Nelson gave his next instructions to Collingwood. 'Take them and move behind the buildings until you make it around to the dock, wait there for my signal, and then make a run for the Commerciante.'

Without wasting any time Nelson was off again into the shadows. He used the plants as cover as he moved towards his target, the gunpowder storage. When the small the storage building was in sight, Nelson spotted only a single man stationed against a lantern pole to guard it. When the coast was clear of patrolling soldiers, Nelson moved out of the cover of the bushes and circled around so that he approached the powder storage from behind. He drew a knife from beneath his cloak and then, like a tiger stalking its prey, he moved in behind the single guard. Then, with smooth hands, Nelson cupped his left hand over the solders mouth and slit the man's throat with his right.

At first the man tried to fight, and then he choked and fell to the ground as the blood gushed from the wound. Nelson found the key to the powder storage tied to a piece of string around the dead man's neck. He snapped it off and quickly unlocked the door and dragged the dead guard inside. The patrols would be passing by any second now. The ground had been dug out to form a relatively large bunker and piles of gunpowder were stored in barrels inside the small building. Nelson cracked one of the barrels open and poured half its contents onto the floor to act as a fuse. He then set the half empty barrel back in it's place, took the lantern from its stand, tossed it down on the fuse so that it burst into a small fireball and then shut the door.

Just as the next patrol came by Nelson had slipped back into the shadows. Although he was not successful yet, Nelson was moving as quickly and as quietly as he possibly could to reach the dock. He returned to where Collingwood had left the chest full of money and acted as if nothing had happened. As he paced back to the dock with the coin chest in his hands and the Commerciante came in sight, Nelson feared that the flame had not caught to the gunpowder. The thought slipped from his mind as the powder storage exploded in a fierce ball of flames and a sound like thunder erupted behind him. As he had hoped, the superior and most of his men ignored the simple merchants and rushed over to see what had happened.

The rest of the men set about trying to put out the fiery blaze. As soon as this happened, Nelson dropped his chest full of coins and ran as fast as he could to the Commerciante. At the same time Collingwood, Locker and the others dashed out from behind the dock and made their way up the ramp. Elizabeta had dealt with any of the guards that remained on the ship and Nelson watched with amazement as she drove her hidden blades through the skulls of two unsuspecting soldiers. She then pushed both of the bodies over the rail and they splashed into the water below.

The false guards under Nelson's command had already untied the ropes to the dock and had set the ship to half sail. Nelson dashed up and took the wheel, steering the ship with great care towards the open ocean. Fortunately for them the wind was on their side and they moved with great speed once the full sails were released. As they looked back on San Juan, the fire and the smoke lifted high into the night sky. There was little chance that they would be pursued when there was a fire threatening the fort.

The signal light from the HMS Badger flashed and grew brighter as they drew nearer, and soon Nelson was once again aboard his own ship. He removed his cloak and was greeted by his crew with congratulations and cheers on a successful mission. Then Locker approached Nelson and they began to talk. 'I'd like to thank you for what you did just then.' Locker said.

'Never leave a man behind.' Nelson replied. 'And we don't need to worry about the key for now. General Dalling is organising a force as we speak. Soon we will have the key and all of San Juan with it. This is, if Cortez doesn't try to move it.'

'General Cortez knows that the key is far too vulnerable on the road. He may have even suspected that tonight was an attempt to drive him away from the safety of his fort. No, he won't be going anywhere. He's safe behind his walls for now.'

Nelson considered this. 'Good, then he'll still be waiting for us when we take San Juan later on.'

Captain Locker looked over to the Commerciante. 'I think it is time for me to report back to Port Royale. My men and I will take the trader and go at once.'

Nelson assisted in checking that the Commerciante was properly stocked and then said his goodbye before Locker set off. 'I'll see you again soon.' He added before they sailed away.

As their ships drifted apart and Nelson watched the little trader go until the night had consumed it, Collingwood came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'That was one heck of a rescue, sir.' Then they started to laugh.