Kidnapped by the Pirate

“Duly noted,” Nathaniel said.

“Listen, you fancy little fuck. We can all see you’s leadin’ the captain around by his prick. Wrappin’ ’im around your finger. It’s pathetic, it is. As if you’d give him the time of day otherwise. I know yer kind. Rich piece of shit. What you been whisperin’ in his ear, huh? If you mess with us gettin’ what’s owed—”

“You’ll what, exactly?” Hawk demanded through gritted teeth, storming into the tent. Tully was right in Nathaniel’s face, but Nathaniel stood his ground. Hawk still yanked Tully back by the scruff of his neck, digging in his fingers.

Tully struggled, flopping like a fish on a hook. “We just want to make sure yer not goin’ soft. Any fool can see the way you look at ’im. You’d better go through with this! Or we need a new captain who will.”

“A new captain. Is that so?”

“I think it is!” Tully lifted his chin, indignant. “And I ain’t the only one who don’t trust you!”

“Well, then let’s find out if the men agree.” Still with a punishing grip on Tully’s neck, Hawk propelled him out of the tent. Time to put a fucking end to the mutinous rumblings.

He turned back, and sure enough, Nathaniel was following. Hawk shook his head. “Back inside until this is over. I mean it.”

Jaw clenched, Nathaniel obeyed. Hawk drove Tully down near the water, the murmur of work ceasing, all eyes on them as he let go of the man with a last shove.

Hawk made sure his voice carried. “Mr. Tully has informed me that there is question about my ability as captain. About my loyalty to you. My brothers.”

It was one thing to whisper in the night about the captain after a few cups of rum. In the harsh light of day, after they’d fought together for their lives, it was quite another.

Hawk surveyed the crew, looking each man in the eye, sizing them up unblinkingly. They were silent, some scuffing their feet in the sand, heads low.

“If you wish to vote on a new captain, that is your right. I would never stand in your way except in battle, when my word is law. We are equals. I told you we would exchange our prisoner for a large ransom, and that time draws very near. Bainbridge has proven himself brave. He saved Mr. O’Connell in the rigging, and just last night he ran back here to sound the alarm. We are thankful, and he’s enjoyed certain liberties. That much is true.”

The men waited, some with furrowed brows.

Hawk let them wait another few moments. “Yet he is a means to an end.” He allowed a suggestive smirk to paint his face. “In more ways than one, I confess.” This garnered a chuckle from the crew, as he’d hoped. “But make no mistake. He has not bewitched me. The money is what matters. Revenge is what matters. Your futures.”

At his side, Snell cleared his throat, hands on his thick waist. “And in case any of you have memories shorter than my Great-Aunt Bertha, let me remind you that our captain swam out to the Javelin just last fucking night and blew it sky-high. Eliminated the threat of it sailing around the shore and blowing us all to kingdom come with its many, many guns. We lost some of our brothers in that battle, and I wish there was time to give them proper burials. The ceremony will have to wait. But the only reason we’re here to remember the fallen is because of Captain Hawk. Because of his brass balls and leadership, which has never steered us wrong. Has it?”

“No!” came a chorus of shouts.

Snell eyed the men. “Because he has never steered us wrong, has he?”

“No!” the crew agreed.

“And he won’t now, my brothers. We can depend on Captain Hawk, just as we always have.”

O’Connell called out, “Tully’s been trouble since he joined us.”

“That he surely fucking has,” Snell said, rounding on Tully, who vibrated with fury. “And you mean to stir the pot now? When we are so close to our prize? This is the time for unity. We are brothers.”

Tully’s face was beet red, and he balled his hands into fists, peering around at the crew. “Yer all idiots. You know he won’t give up that snivelin’ brat! He’s lyin’ to you! I bet he won’t let us get our revenge on that colony neither, or on Bainbridge’s cunt of a sister. I thought pirates were supposed to be fearless men who take what they want. Who don’t follow orders! All I’ve done on this ship is mop up shit and clean fuckin’ dishes!”

Snell stepped closer to Tully, his voice low but menacing. “I’m sorry we’re a disappointment. That, yes, we actually have work to do, just like on your merchant ship. The difference is, our crew is treated fairly. Equally. We kill when we must, but we are not animals. And right now, with the Royal Navy possibly appearing on the horizon any minute, we don’t have fucking time for a weak, whining would-be mutineer. Especially not one who’s been whispering to One-Eye’s crew while we’ve worked. Maybe you’re hatching a plot against us.”