Episode 15 - The Trial
As the sun began to set over the southern Caribbean, the Grim Reaper approached the small island of Bonaire, just east of Curacao.
Coggy watched as Moose and Henry Morgan departed and headed back over to the Baron Boat.
"Furl tha sails n' cast anchor. I's informed Moose we be staying 'ere tonight" called Cog to the others.
"What fer?" asked NavyRum.
"'Appen I wants ta sail inta Curacao durin' daylight. That thar town has a habit 'o changin' nationalities quicker than a French whore can drop her pants, and I want's ta know just who's in charge 'afore we docks there" replied Cog, before adding, "we'll set sail on tha morrow 'n be in port by noon"
The next day...
In Tortuga, Governor Jon, Admiral Tew, Mako, and Iguana Jack stood in the prison courtyard and watched as several marines escorted four sorry looking souls into the building.
Jon handed Tew two large caskets of coins, "Well Admiral, ye has tha gratitude 'o Tortuga. Fifty thousand pieces 'o eight fer Greenbeard 'n Excaliber, and a further ten thousand fer their crony, Cap'n Red. All in all, not a bad day's pay!" laughed Jon as he patted Tew on the back.
"Aye mate. We's gonna have us some serious drinkin' 'n whorin' tonight with this lil' lot." replied Tew as he placed the coins onto a wagon.
"Hey, what bout tha bounty on Green Eye's head?" asked Mako.
Jon gave a broad grin and answered, "It jus' so 'appens that I wus tha one ta capture 'is treacherous hide - so I'm claimin' that bounty fer me goodself!"
Turning back to Tew he said, "I hopes you enjoy your stay in town, Admiral. We've had a few repairs made to tha taverns since Excaliber's lil' assault, so yer more 'n welcome ta join me 'n a few grateful locals in a rum session."
By now, the Grim Reaper and Baron Boat had reached Curacao. The town was bustling with activity as folks went about their daily business and a Dutch flag flew proudly over the town - making the pirates feel at ease as they began to disembark the ships and head off for some welcome shore leave.
Coggy and Moose walked along the dockside but had yet to come across the Insurrection or Iguana Jacks Brig. The pirates were unaware of Admiral Tew's change of plan, and still expected to rendezvous with him some time soon.
"Looks like Tew 'n his mates aint 'ere yet." remarked Moose as the two men stopped and examined the numerous ships berthed throughout the bay.
"So whaddya reckon?" asked Coggy, as he rubbed his chin.
Moose thought for a while.
"Well, we can wait ney more than a couple 'o weeks fer 'em. If'n they don't show, we'll head fer the Sisterhood Island and attack tha hags' ships on our own. It shouldn't be too difficult - thar'll be no match fer tha Reaper 'n Baron Boat" replied Moose, confidently.
"Aye, but if'n tha Admiral don't show, we aint got much 'o chance when it comes to takin' on tha Treasure Fleet in Puerto Bello," replied Coggy.
"Once we's dealt with tha Sisterhood, we'll have ta come up wit some new ideas on how we's gonna approach our lil' dilemma - maybe we should recruit a few more marines?" he said.
Moose nodded and the two men headed off into town.
Inside Tortuga Prison...
Greenbeard's motley bunch were unceremoniously thrown into a large dark and dank cell, inside which, several other sorry looking souls lurked.
"Well lookee 'ere - fresh meat lads!" laughed a large fat man who sat in the far corner biting on a toothpick.
The new arrivals sheepishly made their way to the far end of the cell and sat in silence.
"Hey, pretty boy! Come sit next ta ol' Cap'n Moby" shouted the fat man to Excaliber.
The Lieutenant tried to avoid eye contact and remained silent.
Just then, a scruffy looking man emerged from the darkness, "Don't ye worry bout that fat slime ball - he aint no man since 'is lil' accident!" he said.
"Shut yer trap, Blackhawk!" screamed the irate fat man.
Blackhawk made his way over to the new arrivals and slumped down in-between Excaliber and Captain Red Chaos. "So who ye be?" he asked.
After a few moments the pirates finally broke their silence, "I'm Cap'n Greenbeard - The Most Retched Freebooter alive!"
"And I be his cousin, Green Eye, and this is Lieutenant Excaliber and Cap'n Red Chaos" added Green Eye.
Captain Moby tried to listen in on the conversation, but to no avail. He grew frustrated.
"Arrgggh! So yer tha silly buggers that attacked this 'ere town a few days back!" replied Blackhawk.
Cap'n Moby struggled to his feet and made his way over to the men. "What ye say'n about me, Blackbird?" he asked.
"None 'o yer business. Sit yer fat carcass down ya friggin' eunuch!" snapped Blackhawk.
Just then, a prison guard appeared at the bars, "Keep it down in thar - else yee'll be swingin' from executioners rock quicker dan ya tink... Friggin' pirate vermin scumbags!" he moaned.
Moby waddled back to his patch and slumped back down again.
Greenbeard turned to face Blackhawk, "So what yew in fer?" he asked.
"Pilligin' tha treasury," he replied, "That friggin' Gov'nor, Foo Kin Ly'r, locked me up in 'ere nigh on three months ago… but I'm due fer release soon and I've been countin' tha days when I can go up that thar hill 'n stick me cutlass through tha Gits neck. I swear ta Neptune 'imself dat that Gov'nor is gonna eat me blade" he said, as the anger grew within him.
"Bad news mate. Foo Kin Ly is dead. Tortuga has a new bastid in charge now." explained Green Eye.
Blackhawk looked a little disappointed at hearing the news.
Captain Red stood up and wandered over to the small cell window where another sorry looking soul sat biting into some stale mouldy bread.
Quickly bending down, he whipped a slice of the bread from the man's plate.
"Oi! That be me grub - give it back ya theiv'n frigger!" called the irate man.
"If ye dinnae nail it down, ye obviously dinnae wan' it!" snapped Red, as he bit into the food and gave the poor slob a menacing glance.
Greenbeard looked over at the commotion, "Hey, isn't that Undead Jack?" he asked.
Excaliber looked over to the man and nodded, "Aye matey, it is! I thought that blaggard wus dead! I heard he was lynched up in Nassau not so long back" he said, with some surprise.
Undead Jack stood up and swiped the bread back out of Red's hand before making his way over to the pirates. "Oi Blackhawk, why don't yew hook up with this bunch 'o sorry buggers - ye can call yerself tha Rainbow Warriors or somthin'.... Harrrrr" laughed Jack.
"Haaarrrr, Haaarr, nice one Jack" laughed Captain Moby.
The others just gave Undead Jack a menacing scowl before sitting in silence and contemplating their impending fate.
Two weeks later - mid September, 1643...
In the Dutch port of Curacao, Coggy sat in a local tavern with Captain Creed.
"Creed, thar's a change 'o plan. Since Admiral Tew has failed ta show up - we've decided ta leave without him." explained Cog.
"So what do you require from me, Captain?" asked the Frenchman.
"Well mate, ye has one of two choices ta make. Ye can either sail wit us ta Santa Catalina 'n 'elp us pay back them hags ye ran into a while ago, or ye can remain 'ere and wait fer Tew." replied Cog.
Creed thought for a moment.
"I think I'll remain in Curacao. The Admiral is probably unaware of my desire to see him hang for his treacherous crimes against my country. So maybe I can give him a lil' surprise when he gets here!" said Creed, as a sly grin spread across his face.
"Well, tis upta yew what ye does wit him now. If'n tha blaggard don't show by the end of the week, he's gonna be too late ta be any use to us, so as far as I'm concerned - he's yers." replied Coggy.
Again Creed thought for a while before asking Coggy another question, "Captain, you still haven't fully explained to me your plans. Why do you need to be in Puerto Bello by November?"
Coggy smiled, "Arrr, never ye mind, Cap'n, never ye mind" he said, elusively.
In Tortuga...
It had been a fortnight since the capture and imprisonment of Greenbeard's motley bunch.
In the mean time, Admiral Tew and Captain Mako had enjoyed the hospitality of the citizens of Tortuga, but had since departed the town and had set sail for the Spanish Main.
November was fast approaching and Tew had changed his plans slightly. Instead of setting a trap for Cognito and Moose, the Insurrection was headed straight for the Gulf of Darien. The idea now was to cruise those waters until the Treasure Fleet left Puerto Bello on its journey back to Spain.
Meanwhile, Iguana Jack had decided to remain in Tortuga to oversee the re-fitting of a new ship he'd recently purchased with his share of Greenbeard's bounty. The pirate had hoped to meet up with Tew near the small Spanish town of Nombre de Dios, fifty miles east of Puerto Bello. But first he had plans to see justice served.
Iggy watched as the prisoners of Tortuga all stood in the courtyard, locked in irons.
Governor Jon and a bunch of townsfolk stood and listened to the charges being read out by a local magistrate.
"Hear ye, hear ye All gathered here today shall bare witness to the following statements" announced the judge.
A hushed silence descended throughout the courtyard as the judge continued;
"For heinous and treacherous crimes against this fair town of ours, I hereby sentence Captain Greenbeard, Captain Green Eye, and Lieutenant Excaliber to death by hanging. These men shall first have the pleasure of experiencing the fine hospitality of Tortuga prison and shall have plenty of time to reflect on their treacherous acts before ending their wretched lives on the gallows. Therefore, let said execution take place three months from this day...."
The gathered crowed all mumbled their agreement as the judge continued
"For association with the fore mentioned criminals, I hereby sentence Captain Red Chaos to taste the cat 'o nine tails and be incarcerated within this here prison for no less than five years...." he said.
Just then, at the window of one of the prison cells, Captain Moby appeared and began to mercilessly taunt the miserable pirates; "Haaarrr, yew bunch 'o friggin' scumbags! - gonna do tha hem pen jig are ye? Haaarrrr - hanging's too good fer ye. Dat's what I say!" he barked, before spitting through the bars in the direction on the prisoners.
The muffled voice of Blackhawk could be heard from within the cell, "Sit yer fat carcass down, Moby Dickless! Else those fine pirates 'ill come back ta haunt yer greasy hide fer tha rest 'o yer wretched life!" he said.
Iguana Jack shook the magistrates hand before turning to the four prisoners and saying "Hey Greenbeard, tis a shame I aint gonna be 'ere ta see yew swing. Never mind, 'appen I's got more important plans anyhow… So I'll see yew in pirate hell, no doubt."
Greenbeard gave his foe a menacing glance before calling back, "Iguana Jack - just tell me one thing... How did yer mate, Admiral Tew, know who we wus? It seems ta me that he opened fire on me ship wit ney provocation...."
Iggy smiled and answered, "Ye better ask that swab standing next to ye about that'n!"
Greenbeard, Green Eye, and Excaliber thought for a moment before slowly turning to Captain Red Chaos and giving him a menacing look.
And with that, the prisoners were escorted away from the courtyard and back into the prison.