Black Sam - Prince of Pirates

Twenty Five - ACQUISITIONS

 TwentyFive-ACQUISITIONS

 October 1716

 The white sand and turquoise water of the coast of La Florida was a beauty lost to Sam and his men as they ran north along the shore. They had spotted a dock on their arrival at the shipwreck site, and thought it would be a perfect spot to re-supply for the journey home. He had no way of knowing then, that he would be getting to the dock by foot.

 “Meet me at the dock,” Sam said, peeling away from the other men. “I’ve got a wardrobe to acquire.” The men kept going along the beach as Sam ran inland. Finding a perfect house among the trees, he fought off a crazy plate-throwing woman, dodged a musket shot, and came out fully dressed. It appeared to be a military uniform with a red coat, black boots, and an old but sturdy sword.

 It was relatively quiet at the dock as one ship made its way out to sea, and several others sat almost motionless in the calm morning water. Sam scanned the vessels, stopping on the biggest one. His initial thought was the bigger the vessel, the more firepower he had to blow Nigel to kingdom come. On second thought, every second of delay meant Nigel increased the distance Sam would have to make up. Speed was the key.

 Sam made his way along a boardwalk toward the portmaster. A man with his head cloaked walked quickly up the same boardwalk toward him. With a wary eye, Sam watched him approach. His hand gripped his new sword readying for a fight. The stranger raised his head, and pulled the cloak back.

 “Conrad,” Sam said, happy to see a friendly face.

 “I see you were successful,” Conrad said looking at Sam’s new clothes.

 “Here” Sam threw an extra blouse to his friend.

 Conrad took the cloak off, and put on the new blouse. “I’m glad to be rid of that flea infested thing.”

 “Any luck here?” Sam pointed to the ships.

 “Come,” Conrad motioned for Sam to follow. “We must hurry.” He guided Sam back down the boardwalk, and onto the dock. They came upon a small ship with two large sails. Conrad hurried Sam aboard, and immediately cut the mooring lines holding the vessel to the dock. The ship moved slowly away as thirteen men came running down the boardwalk toward them, firing pistols and yelling at Sam and his men.

 Ducking slightly as a hailstorm of bullets screamed overhead, Sam straightened and turned to Conrad. “Let’s go get Paul.” For a moment, while watching the men on the dock, Sam felt bad for stealing their ship. If it were at all possible, he would return it to them with a sack full of Spanish gold.

 ***

 Two rowboats approached the ship with Paulgrave leading the way. Sam smiled as he noticed Edward Teach sitting at the front of the other boat, looking up at him.

 “I’ll be damned.” A rush of excitement shot through Sam’s body.

 “Consorting with the likes of us, I would have to agree,” Edward said.

 Paulgrave, Edward and twelve other men climbed the rope ladder.

 “Interesting turn of events,” Sam said helping the men aboard.

 Edward grinned. “A man cannot have too many friends.”

 Sam thought about that for a moment. The betrayal of his other crewmen hurt him more than he would ever let on. He was truly grateful to have men call him friend again. “True enough. We’re lucky to have you.”

 Edward’s steel blue eyes seemed to look right through Sam. “The devil’s children have the devil’s luck.”

 Sam was already uneasy about having these men aboard his ship, and comments like Edwards didn’t help ease that tension. However, he desperately needed help, and having experienced men aboard would give him the edge he needed for what he was about to do.

 Paulgrave and another man came and stood by. “Sam, this is Olivier Levasseur.”

 “Please,” Olivier said taking off his hat and giving a slight bow. “Call me La Buse,”

 Edward walked around La Buse. “The ‘Buzzard’ as his friends refer to him.”

 La Buse put his hat back on his head. “Why then, monsieur Teach, do you call me that?”

 A laugh seemed to come from the depths of Teach’s belly as he slapped the Frenchman on the back.

 Sam gave La Buse a nod. “Thank you for coming.”

 “Always willing to help a fellow sailor.”

 Edward put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Yes, and besides, it was a good trade,” he said and walked away.

 “Trade?” Sam looked at Paulgrave.

 “They agreed to help us, if we in turn help them.”

 Sam’s heart sank. Paulgrave had unkowingly made a deal with pirates. To society this was as good as becoming a pirate. “God help us.”

 “I do not think that will be necessary,” La Buse said turning to Sam. “Nigel Reesegrath is as predictable as he is stupid. I know exactly where he is going.”