'Now, do tell me,' began Charles, as they sat round a table eating lunch. 'how you figured you were running over the right zeppelin, and not the one we were in?' he asked Doupree cheerfully. His lip had unswollen enough by this time for him to be able to speak normally. 1
'Well, it was fairly easy, after your message of being hit, you were the helpless ones in the water, with a big bad zeppelin waiting to blow you to pieces,' explained Doupree between mouthfuls.2
'Oh, we were the helpless ones eh? I'll have you know we had everything under control!' declared Charles.3
'Hah! You were fighting with each other! I was watching you through binoculars the whole time.'4
'Oh, so you could see us, that's how you knew! Not 'cause we was helpless,' Charles grinned triumphantly at picking that small slip up.5
Doupree shrugged.6
'What I want to know,' said Pete, 'Is how you get Le Charlotte to travel so quietly, I never heard it either time you approached us.'7
'Ah, now, we each have our own little secrets, you with Bootle, and me with Le Charlotte's quiet engines. And I hardly think we'll tell either of us how they work. Am I right?'8
Pete nodded slowly, 'Aye, good point.' He lapsed into silence, whilst finishing his lunch, and listening to the other conversation around the table.9
Ericsson, who was sitting next to Doupree's helmsman Yarkson, who had joined them for the meal, we discussing the finer points of navigation. 10
'So you use the stars for night time navigation, and the sun, via the use of a sextant, for day?' asked Ericsson.11
'Yar, that be so. I'm surprised you don't know more about it, being a helmsman yerself,' said Yarkson.12
'Heh, well, a pilot would be a more accurate description. And we zeppelin flyers have to use rather a different system. As we can't see much of the night sky from the bridge, or cockpit, we have to use... Alternate means.'13
'Hmm, true that. So what do you use then?' asked Yarkson, his curiosity piqued. 14
'Well, from the air we can see the ground, so we can work out where we are over land fairly easily. Over water it's somewhat harder to find ones location. For that, my father designed a very special device for working that out. I'm not sure how it worked, it was very crude, it showed your rough location on a map. It had like this arm thing which hung over the map, and depending on were you where, it'd move to show your location.' Ericsson took a mouthful of food before continuing. 'I'm not sure exactly how it worked, my father never went into detail like that, but it was nevertheless enough to navigate by. Made life so much easier.'15
'Hmm, I should have loved to see that, but I guess as your fathers zeppelin crashed, I shall not be able to,' Yarkson said with some disappointment. 'However, I shall just have to hope that someone with the genius of your father will eventually come up with something similar.'16
Pete's attention wandered elsewhere, to a picture on the wall of Doupree's private dinning room. He stared in it's direction a long moment before actually taking in what it was. There were two people in the photo, one was Doupree, when he was much younger, the other man looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place who. 17
'Hey Pete.' Pete attention was snapped away from the picture by John's excited voice, 'Captain Doupree says Le Charlotte has a swimming pool, and he says we can go in it, you want to go for a swim with us this afternoon?'18
Pete smiled at him. 'Nah, I think I'm gonna hit the sack, I've not slept in awhile.'19
Pete's eyes flicked open, and he stared around the darkened room. What had woken him? How long had he been asleep? questions flooded his mind as he stared around the room, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.20
As his eyes travelled across the furniture, Bootle, the window, the door, but nothing seemed out of place. He shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep again.21
But for long. A knife on ones throat generally makes it rather uncomfortable to sleep.22
He opened his eyes again and stared up at the dark shadow of a face above him. 'So, you going to kill me? Or just stand there all night with the knife at my throat?' 23
There was a pause as the person with the knife tried to think of a smart come back, but failed, to he said 'Get up,' somewhat gruffly.24
'Umm... You haven't done this much before have you?' asked Pete.25
There was another pause, this one had a puzzled air. 'What do you mean?'26
'I mean, you want me to get up, right?'27
'Yes...' said the voice slowly.28
'And you seem to want me to get up with a knife pressed against my throat...'29
'Oh, oh right! I see!'30
Pete felt the knife being removed and he sat up, a thought tumbled through his mind about possibly grabbing the knife, but he couldn't see it, and he liked his fingers, so he did nothing. 'So now what?'31
'Erm... You follow me.'32
'But I can't see you,' Pete explained patiently.33
'You can't? I can see you,' said the voice puzzled.34
'Well you're younger, I'm getting rather old, my eyesight isn't quite what it used to be.'35
'Oh, I see.' There was silence a moment, then a creak as the door opened, light from a dimmed lamp shone through. 'This way.'36
Pete walked across the room, and stepped out through the door.37
There was a creak and the door shut behind him, he felt the knife being prodded into his back, and the person holding it said, 'Move.'38
Pete took a step forward then asked, 'Mind telling me where you want me to move too?'39
'That way,' said the man with the knife.40
'...I'm sorry, but I didn't see where you pointed,' Pete's patience was running short.41
'Right, down the hall, to Captains private quarters.'42
'Thank you.' Pete said as he spun, his left arm folded in, as he smacked the sailor across the jaw with his elbow. His right fist followed as he continued turning and hit the sailor in the jaw again, this time knocking him out. He fell with a crash to the floor.43
Pete quickly opened the door to his cabin, and dragged the unconscious sailor inside, after removing the knife from him and pocketing it, he shut the door and strode off down the hall. He was getting rather sick of people sending out useless people to collect him, as if an old man wouldn't be any trouble. He snorted to himself. They'd learn one day he supposed.44
He arrived at Doupree's quarters and barged in without knocking.45
'You wanted me?' he asked briskly as he strode into the room.46
Doupree turned to face him, well stepping aside, reveiling the person he'd been standing in front of, a smile twisted his lips, 'I believe you two have met.'47
A frown furrowed Pete's brow as he saw who it was. 'Dangit, can't you just stay dead?'48
Sir Eric grinned at him. 'I have this strange aversion to death, no idea why though.'49
'I'll bet. So what do you want now?' asked Pete darkly.50
'Isn't it obvious? I want Bootle. And my good friend Doupree would very much like to know how you make it larger on the inside.'51
Pete grunted. 'I'm sure you would. But first, before I'd rather like to know how you survived that crash Eric.'52
'It's Sir Eric to yo–'53
'It's whatever I call you mate. Now answer my question,' snapped Pete.54
Sir Eric's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to make a cutting reply, but Doupree restrained him by saying, 'Please, let us be civil gentlemen, Pete has good right to be annoyed, being woken up in the middle of the night with a knife at his throat.'55
'Exactly,' Pete cut in, 'And do wish people would stop sending brain dead incompetents to fetch me, it's most insulting.'56
'Well, you're here, so they must have done the job...' muttered Sir Eric.57
'Aye, but I'm here only because I wanted to be. I could have out smarted them without even trying if so decided.'58
'But you didn't,' said Sir Eric.59
'Shut up!' Doupree snapped, his eyes flashing. 'I did not bring you here to fight.'60
'Aye, I didn't come here to fight neither. So you best just let me be on my way with Bootle, and we'll all be happy,' said Pete.61
'Ah-hah, I doubt that. No, you can go, but Bootle stays, and before you go, you will tell me how you make her bigger on the inside,' Doupree told him, in a matter of fact tone.62
Pete glared at them both. 'I see no reason to either A: Let you keep Bootle, or B: Tell you how she works.'63
'You have all the reason in the world,' Doupree said with a wicked smile. As if by a signal, a row of people were lead into the room via another entrance. Charles, Baldwin, Ericsson, John, Mary and Douglas.64
'Like he said, you have plenty of reasons to do what we want,' said Sir Eric smugly.65
'Oh for crying out loud! This again? What is with you people? You all think that hold a few people hostage will get someone talking? I hardly even know any of these people. One I even hate!' Pete thundered, glaring angrily at Sir Eric and Doupree. 'You are both cowards, bringing in the weak to use as a weapon against the strong. You should be ashamed of yourselves!'66
Sir Eric's face fell slightly at the thought, but Doupree just rolled his eyes, 'Cut the nonsense Pete, we all know you're bluffing.'67
Pete's eyes flashed, 'I'm bluffing am I? What makes you think I'm bluffing?' his voice was cold and hard, as he advanced on Doupree, and came to a halt in front of him.68
Doupree's eyes hardened as he placed his face right in front of Pete's. 'I know you're bluffing because I have never known you to harm anyone, shall we put it to test?'69
'You have never known me to harm someone, bah! You think I rose to the rank of captain of the most feared pirate ship in the Atlantic by not harming anyone! You fool,' he said, as with one smooth blur he whipped out the knife from his back pocket, and inserted it in a new sheath, one known as Doupree.70
Doupree blinked a couple of times, and tilted backwards, what had just happened slowly dawned on him, and a puzzled frown masked his face as he slowly started to fall over.71
'Wha–?' began Sir Eric.72
Faster then anyone could imagine Pete had removed the knife from the falling Doupree and now held it against Sir Eric's throat. 'Give me one good reason why I shouldn't run you through now,' he growled.73
It was John who answered, ' 'Cause that would be murder.'74
'And you think him killing you all wouldn't be?' asked Pete sarcastically.75
'Of course it would be, but that's what makes you different from him, he would just run you through if he had the chance. If you killed him, you'd be no worse then him.'76
'Wrong, he kills needlessly, I don't,' growled Pete, the knife still steady under Sir Eric's throat.77
'Oh you're just saying that to make yourself feel better,' snapped John, glaring at Pete. 'I thought you were better then that.'78
'Well, I guess you was wrong kid. Just because I help a stranded kid don't mean I'm a good bloke.'79
'Please.' John's tone had changed to one of pleading. 'Please don't kill him. Let the authorities deal with him.'80
Pete's hand wavered slightly. 'What authorities will deal with him, did you miss the "sir" in his name, and the fact that he's German, who'd touch him?'81
'I don't know, but please, I don't want to see anymore people killed today,' begged John.82
Pete sighed, and lowered the knife. 'You're right laddy, course you're right.'83
A smug look came over Sir Eric's face. 'I always knew you were sof–'84
Pete's fist flew, and Sir Eric slumped to the ground with out a sound.85
'I won't kill you, but I never said I wouldn't hit you,' hissed Pete more to himself then anyone else. He turned to face the others, and the sailors who had lead the captives in.86
'Well, what are you standing around for? You want to join your captain? Or are you going to let them go?'87
The sailors looked at Doupree, then at Pete, then at each other, and as one jumped to untie John, his parents, and Pete's unofficial crew.88
Pete sat down on one of the sofas and leant his head back and shut his eyes.89
He opened them again when he felt the cushion move as someone else sat down beside him, it was John.90
'I... I just wanted to say thanks for not killing him,' said John, giving his shoes a close inspection.91
Pete stared at him in silence for a moment, then said, 'You were right you know, I shouldn't kill people, old habits die hard I guess.' He smiled wirily. 'But I still reckon he's going to get away from whatever prison holds him. He's that sort of person. And he'll know people who will have a lot of influence.' Pete shook his head, but that's not my problem, unless he tries to get Bootle again, then I got no promises as to what I'll do.'92
'I hope that doesn't happen again, for his sake,' agreed John.93
'Aye.'94
They lapsed into silence.95
A moment later, Pete stood up. 'Well, I got work to do, this ship doesn't have a captain, so me being the only one here capable of such a duty, I better fill the place.' He grinned broadly at John.96
'What about Charles, he can sail can't he?' asked John.97
'Oh yes, Charles can sail, but–' He coughed– 'Can you imagine him in control of a whole crew? He'd be out raiding again in no time.'98
John laughed. 'I think I could imagine that happening,' he paused a moment then asked, 'How did Sir Eric survive the crash?'99
Pete frowned. 'I don't rightly know, I figure he jumped out before they got hit. I did ask, but they never gave me an answer. But, we can ask him later, now, it is time for bed again, and hopefully we can make it through the night without being disturbed.'100
John nodded. 'Mum and Dad are waiting for me, so I better go, so saying, he dashed out of the room, after his parents. Leaving Pete by himself.101
Pete gazed blankly at the wall. It was a shame about Doupree, he had been a good friend, one Pete had felt he could always rely on. How time changed people. Sighing he shook his head, and wandered to the bridge.
Author notes
Chapter 18.
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