Pirates We Be (Part 5)

“I don’t have any cuffs on me,” said Grayes, “But if you make the slightest trouble I won’t hesitate to find a pair.”

Dru huffed.

“Why don’t you just put me in the brig then?”

“Captain said to keep an eye on you, and I mean to do just that. “

“Oww.” Gabe winced as cookie stitched his skin together.

“You’re lucky it’s not too deep, or too wide. Only take a couple...” said the bespectacled cook and doctor. Gabe opened his mouth to speak and was shushed by the older man. “Don’t you dare go whining to me about a little scar. You’re lucky to escape with that. You’re not invincible, Gabriel, and you need to keep that in mind. “

Gabe just sighed and allowed the man to finish up.

“We’ve got her on board then? The first lady to successfully follow Gabriel Maher onto the Phantom.” Cookie laughed.

“She’ll be the first to tell you, she’s no lady..” Gabe grumbled.

“One could say the same about the others who’ve tried to pursue you..” he joked.

Gabe glared a little bit at that playful insult but Cookie took no notice.

“What do you plan to do with her? Ransom?”

“No. It’s not money I hope to gain. Leaving her there as if she is no threat at all, unharmed and unnoticed, for her crew to pick her up is all I want. Her humiliation and loss of pride will be my victory this time. “ Gabe stood up and put his shirt back on, mindful of the wound. “I just wish the brig was cleared out..” He mumbled as he walked out the door.

Seeing as how the Phantom hadn’t taken any prisoners in quite a while, they had been using it as a storage cell for gunpowder and cannon balls. Not exactly a place fit for keeping dangerous enemies.

“Why is your ship headed to Nuevo Gernona?”asked Dru.

“That’s no business of a prisoner. “ Grayes responded.

“I’m no more a prisoner than you are a servant of the crown. If anything I am an accidental stowaway. Let me speak to your Captain,” she insisted.

“Do you already wish to reach a negotiation with him them?” laughed Grayes.

“Far from it. Nonetheless, if you are a crew of gentlemen as your Captain has so vehemently proclaims you to be, than you will not deny a lady and a Captain to hold conference with him. “

“Fair enough, “answered Grayes. “But I will say that Gabriel is by far kinder than I would be in his stay. So I advise you to treat him as cordially as he you, and if you do not heed me, there will be penalty. “

“I’m certain to keep that in mind,” Dru replied cynically.

Grayes denied her request to speak to Gabe for several hours, the two of them standing on the deck as he commanded other crew members to their duties. Finally, he called her to follow him.

Grayes walked Dru downstairs to an arched door and knocked upon it. It opened and Gabe stepped out.

“Problems with her already?” he asked disappointedly.

“No, she just wanted to have word with you. It seems she’s not entirely content with her accommodations.”

Gabe laughed.

“Well then, what would she ask of me?” he asked.

“Nothing more than a word in private, at the moment,” Dru answered .

Gabe pondered her request for a moment.

“Although I’m under no obligation whatsoever to appease you, I’d be glad to exchange words, providing you’ll be more willing to answer my questions than in earlier instances.”

“That is agreeable,” Dru replied quietly.

“Good. That’ll be all Grayes.”

Grayed nodded, “Very well then, you know where to find me..” he said before he jogged back up the stairs, leaving the two captains alone once again.

“What is it you wanted?” Gabe asked as he leaned against his cabin door.

“I want to know why you’re headed to Nuevo Gernona,” she insisted.

Gabriel shrugged.

“I can’t see reason to allow to you access to my personal affairs…”

Dru crossed her arms and glared at him.

“It’s no big secret that they’re using the port there to transport currency, they’ve done it in the past. That’s not what I want to know.”

“Alright, than please address your questions more directly,” Gabe continued, “Why is it that you wanted me dead? Especially seeing as you don’t remember my face.” His eyes were drawn to the cut on her cheek where the dried blood had only been partially wiped away. “Do you feel threatened? That I might as well snap your share of the Caribbean riches right out of your clutches?”

Dru stepped back and took the opportunity to glance around the room as she gathered an answer.

“You infuriate me.” She said simply. “You live under a veil of grandeur and supernatural fancy.. and all believe you to be some otherworldly thief, when you are nothing more than a sea bandit. You don’t deserve the name pirate, in truth. And had I known upon first glance that you were indeed that infamous ‘phantom’ than I would have gladly shot you in the chest ere you said ‘Good day’. You disgrace those of us who live up to our names and the stories about us with your falsehood, and it would be in the favor of all for you to be ended.” She said her speech calmly and icily, so much that the pure intensity of it had Gabriel taking a step away from her.

“And it is my question, now. How do you mean to steal from such a heavily guarded ship when you get to Gernona when none have done so in the past?”

Gabe laughed.

“Of course it has happened in the past. Those ships are begging to be plundered. Of course, when such a thievery does happen, they are not quick to alarm the presses. That would only make transport more dangerous,” he explained. “Where were you five years ago in December?”

Dru furrowed her brow in thought.

“France.. off the coast mostly. Why does..” her voice trailed off. “That’s where I’ve seen you…But I can’t quiet remember. …”

“Maybe it will come back to you. For now that’s all the words I will have with you.” Gabriel opened his cabin door and closed it. The sound of a lock echoed through the wood and Dru was left in the hallway alone.

She went to the end to try the other door, but found it had a lock on it as well and gave up after unsuccessfully trying to force it open. She resigned herself to returning to the deck, and was surprised to see the crow’s nest abandoned. She scaled the rigging and climbed inside, intent on making it a sort of rebellious safe haven for the duration of the trip.