Jeff the Accountant Escapes the Wretched Burning Depths of Hades

Lucius Spriggs, Therapist

"So much for 'zero more chances'" Lucius said
under his breath.

"What?" Blackbeard's anger was still amped up.

But Lucius wasn't scared. He'd grown to understand the man's way of dealing with pressure. Blustery words that would cause others to quail didn't phase Lucius. Not any more. He knew it was silence. Blackbeard's silence is what they should fear.

"Oh, come on. You big bad pirate, you."

"Boy, you overstep."

"Hmm. No. I don't think so." "Izzy oversteps." "Continually." Lucius said.

"Why are you here, Lucius?" sighed Blackbeard.

"I'm here because I heard the commotion. You two at it again. Ed, you have to stand by what you said. The warning you gave Izzy has to have teeth. Or why warn him at all?"

Edward was amused. He knew the boy was right, but when, exactly, had the simple scribe grown the balls to feel comfortable enough to talk to him, that way?

It probably puzzled the crew when they heard the boy talk to him like that.  It didn't matter. Blackbeard knew his soft spot for Lucius wasn't an indication of him growing soft. He knew that the crew was in no danger of losing sight of his decidedly un-soft side. Izzy was another matter. Izzy, as Lucius said, would need to be dealt with.

But not now. Edward wanted to talk with Lucius. About what he was feeling. About the questions he had.

So. What was he feeling? Tired. Tired of fighting with Izzy. Tired of being without Stede. Tired of not being understood.

"Not being understood?" Lucius asked Ed after he listed the things he was tired of.

"Yeah. It really takes a toll, man. You say my warning to Izzy has to have teeth. And I know you're right. But that's hard, too. For the longest time, I felt like he was the only one who understood me. We've been through a lot, you know?"

"No. I don't know what you and Izzy Hands have been through" thought Lucius. "And I don't want to know."

"And when you think of what you've been through, you feel...?" Lucius prompted.

Blackbeard furrowed his brow, searched the room, seemingly looking for the right word.

"Indebted."

"What do we do with that?" thought Lucius.

He tried "and the debt is for...?"

Blackbeard again searched the room. He brushed his hair from his face, tugged at his gloves.

The fidgeting appeared to Lucius to be a sign that Blackbeard was about to say something that he himself wasn't sure of.

"Loyalty. Until this thing with Bonnett, I knew I could count on him. That's why I made him First Mate."

"But, Ed. When that loyalty was really tested, the break in it could have led to your death. It very nearly led to Stede's death."

"I know that!" Blackbeard yelled. "The man has it so wrong! He makes a deal with the king - with the head of the Royal Navy himself - to "save" me."

"But when I make a deal, to save Stede, he thinks I'm willingly offering myself up as a licker of the king's boots." "Doesn't he see that, for me, there was no other choice??? That I couldn't let Stede be killed???"

"And where the hell are you, Stede?" Blackbeard yelled into the air, beginning to pace.

Lucius continued to stay calm, aware that Ed was on the verge of something important.

"Ed, did Stede...did he show you loyalty?"

The pacing stopped. The silence set in.

"Shit" thought Lucius. "It's, it's okay. We can talk about something else."

"No." Blackbeard held his hand up. He took a deep breath. "Just give me a moment. This is something I should deal with."

"How, on God's blue ocean, is this man holding it together?" thought Lucius as he watched a number of tears spill from Blackbeard's eyes. Then those pained eyes blinked several times. There was another deep breath. And Blackbeard managed a smile.

"That's the thing, Lucius." "I don't believe Stede left me willingly. I think, I think he's lost."

"I've been thinking about what his life must've been like before he became The Gentleman Pirate. You saw the pictures of his kids in his room, didn't you? His son and daughter. How was he able to leave them? And his wife, Mary."

"Maybe, maybe he was wrestling with loyalty. Loyalty to them. Maybe he wanted to tell them about his plans for the future. With me."

Lucius was in awe. Everyday he discovered more layers to Blackbeard's wisdom.

"Any way, that's what I'm holding onto. Right now."

"But, in the meantime you're right. I've got to put an end to the Izzy drama."