Episode 21 - Pirate Raid: Part One
Aboard the Armistad, Coggy and a bunch of his sailors had swiftly got the Brig underway and were heading around the southern part of the island. He stood on the deck with the ships' former Captain, Annabelle, and remarked, "I should throw ye overboard this very moment fer yer treachery!"
Annabelle laughed.
"Treachery? Ha! - T'would be treachery if'n I'd told ye the true strength 'o what awaits ye!" she answered, with defiance ringing in her voice.
"Yer sad devotion to them former shipmates of yers is gonna be yer undoing, fer sure!" replied Cog, "And as fer that sorry crew of yers goes - we'll be using them fer target shootin' when dis is all over!" he added, with growing menace in his voice.
Coggy motioned for a couple of guards to watch over his prisoner before turning his attention to his shipmates on deck, "Git that flag hoisted aloft! Tis un-seamanlike ta sail inta port without identification!" he barked.
Annabelle's flag shot up to the top of the mast and unfurled in the strong breeze.
Turning back to the woman, Cog gave her a sly grin and said, "I wonder what yer mates in port will say when they see yer very own ship initiate thar demise!"
Back on the beach, where the pirates had come ashore, Annabelle's crew remained silent as the four pirate guards walked the line and took it in turns to menace and taunt their prisoners.
The women where still tied up and a long rope had been fastened to two palm trees. Each prisoner was tied to this rope and was sat close together in a line between the trees.
"Haaarrrr, Coggy's got something special planned fer yew sorry hags!" announced a pirate, as his shipmates looked on and laughed. "Aye, special indeed, it be!" he added.
One of his mates added his own taunts, "Haaarrr… Me thinks the good Cap'n will let his returning men have a lil' 'party' wit yew after thar victory today!"
Again the others laughed as they continued walking the line.
Unknown to the four swabs, a couple of the women had been quietly rubbing their bindings against a few sharp rocks on the beach.
The pirates continued with their taunts. One of them gave a sneaky wink to his mates and said, "Hey lads, mebbe Coggy will give we four a wench each fer having ta stay 'ere 'n miss all da fun in town!"
"We'll drink ta that!" remarked his gleeful companions as they wandered over to a case of rum and ale left on the beach.
Within a few moments, the last strand of binding was finally cut and a female prisoner wasted no time in untying the person next to her who then proceeded to do the same - all along the line.
A few yards down the shore, the four pirates eagerly opened the case of rum and the men continued to gleefully laugh at their recent conversation with their prisoners. After a few moments, the swabs wandered back up to the line of woman and proceeded to uncork their bottles of grog and gulp down their contents.
"Hey, missy want a lil' drink?" laughed a slobbering guard as he approached one of the women and held out the bottle.
"Don't mind if'n I do!" she answered, as she instantly leapt to her feet and made for the startled pirate!
The other three swabs stumbled back in surprise - dropping their bottles in the process.
Within a second, the remaining prisoners had jumped up and over-powered their tormentors.
Aboard the Grim Reaper, 200 yards offshore, a couple of sailors watched the distant commotion unfold.
"'Ere… what tha 'ells goin' on there?" one asked as he pointed toward the beach.
The two men, part of the skeleton crews left to man the anchored ships, watched in silence as their comrades on shore were set upon by Annabelle's liberated crew.
Back on shore, the escapees made short work of the four poor souls, who where now residing in Davey Jones' Locker.
"Break open that casket, girls. Me thinks it contains muskets" ordered Trisha, the Armistad's first mate as she quickly took command of the situation.
Sure enough, the wenches had prized the lid off the box and quickly shared its contents amongst themselves.
"Right, we don't stand much chance against a hundred bloodthirsty bastids, but we're more than a match for the group that headed south." called the officer as she rallied her crew.
"I think it was the one they called Morgan who went this way" explained a sailor, as the musket laden wenches hurried along the beach - following the foot prints of the Cutthroats who had left no less thirty minutes earlier.
Aboard Coggy's Sloop, the handful of sailors watched as the hags made good their escape.
"The Cap'ns gonna be pissed as 'ell… we'll be on quarter rations fer a month, I bets ye!" sighed a crewman as the men looked on helplessly.
Meanwhile...
Armistad had swung northwest and hugged the shoreline as it continued towards the distant harbour entrance. Cog stood on the Bridge, barking out orders to the eight souls aboard. "When the magazines alight make sure yew buggers get off her before she blows! No dallying about on deck… no last minute lootin', I tells ye!"
"Aye Aye Sir" called the men in unison.
The Captain made his way back onto the deck and approached Annabelle once more. "Yer gonna have the pleasure 'o going down with yer ship, M'lady" he said, taunting the woman.
"Yer a gentleman to the last" replied Annabelle sarcastically.
Coggy motioned for the two watching guards to stand down. Turning back to his prisoner, he said "Ye certainly is tha fairest lookin' Cap'n I's had the pleasure 'o sailing with. Pity it be such a short journey to where we's headed otherwise I'd personally introduce ye to me longsword!"
Annabelle gave Cog a most menacing glance but continued with her defiant stance.
Coggy was intrigued at how well the woman had kept her calm throughout her ordeal.
"Yer a woman 'o few words, aint ye? I tink yer impeding trip to the locker may have unnerved ye somewhat. Fear not lass, fer yer gonna die a Cap'ns death, ye is. Out in a blaze 'o glory when that there magazine below yer very feet explodes!" he said, with a smile.
Annabelle continued her defiant stance - on the outside at least.
Coggy retrieved a coconut from a nearby barrel and proceeded to slice it in half with an elegant swipe of his cutlass.
Passing a piece to his companion, he outlined one last offer, "I'll tell ye what, Annabelle. If'n thee gives me one last piece of information I seek, I'll refrain from tying ye to that thar mast when me men light the powder. Yee'll have a fair chance, like the rest 'o us, ta get off yer tub 'n swim ashore."
Annabelle took the coconut handed to her. It had been a day and a half since she last had something to eat. And the offering from Coggy was well received.
"Ye don't give up, do ye?" she remarked, as she bit into the coconut flesh, "And what makes yew think I won't tell you another bunch 'o lies?"
Cog smiled and put forth his question; "I won't waste time - since time be short. As ye see lass, we're almost upon tha place we's headed and me men below 'r eager ta carry out me order. So here it be, Annabelle, me proposal if'n ye will. I wants ta know what plans yer Sisterhood friends had regarding the Treasure Fleet?"
Now it was Annabelle's turn to smile. "Ah! the mythical Treasure Fleet ye say?"
"Now, now missy, I know what ye think… that ol' Coggy's chasing shadows and such a thing don't exist" replied Cog before Annabelle interrupted him.
"Of course it exists!" she said, before continuing, "Dear Captain, what you want to know is how many Sisterhood ships have sailed south from this very place in search of yer 'mythical' fleet, and more importantly, what information they've gathered"
"Aye! Aye dats what I wants ta know!" replied Cog instantly, showing a little too much excitement at finally getting some information from the stubborn woman.
Annabelle continued smiling at the Captain, and again bit into the coconut.
"Well Sir, I'm afraid its too late… for our journey be at an end and yer men - eager like you said - are ready to light that fuse" she said as she drew Cogs attention to the harbour entrance laying no less than 300 yards off the starboard.
Coggy glanced across to the distant port and called his men into readiness, "Lads, swing us hard ta starboard 'n drop dem sails. I wants this ship slap-bang in da middle 'o that entrance. No surviving ships in that there ports getting ta sea if'n I can 'elp it!"
The Captain proceeded to make his way up to the Bridge to get a better look at the town and the ships berthed at its dock. Without taking his eye off the port, he called back down to his prisoner, "Missy, I think I'll keep yew around a while longer. Tis me generous spirit ye see… it sometimes gets the better of me."
The pirate was agitated - caught with half a mind on his duty and half on the conversation with the wench below. Lifting his spyglass to his good eye, he scanned the distant ships. "Aye, I have a civil side… but not often lass, so count yer blessings that ol' Coggy has delayed yer trip to the locker" he added.
Annabelle gave a quiet laugh to herself before calling back to the Captain, "In other words - ye aint got time to get that information ye so desperately wants so I's to be spared so ye can interrogate me at yer leisure?"
Coggy replaced his spyglass and leaned over the Bridge. Staring down at the wench, he gave a hearty laugh. "Arrrr, yew dangblasted hag! Yer a clever one fer sure… got ol' Coggy all figured out, ye has!"
Meanwhile, atop the hill overlooking the harbour, Lieutenant NavyRum and several hidden pirates watched as a troop of marines, led by Davey Jones, made their way through the dense undergrowth up towards where the scouts where sitting. The sun had almost risen above the horizon, and the early morning sea mists began to disperse giving the pirates a clear view of the town below.
And to the southeast of the still sleeping town, Henry Morgan and his eleven cutthroats where making slow progress in hacking their way through the jungle.
The local wildlife began to stir as the sun rose higher, and the light grew stronger. Flocks of birds broke the morning silence as they took flight when the pirates stumbled through to a large open clearing. The men stopped briefly to allow the stragglers to catch up as Morgan opened his flask and took a swig of water...