The Grey Lady

Jake could tell his men were itching for a fight as tension filled the air. They were coming up fast on The Ramrod as his men scurried to battle stations. The Ramrod turned: it could obviously see the Gray Lady coming and moved to get positioned for a fight. Jake knew that that ship would be at its most vulnerable position as she presented her broadside during her turn. The Ramrod's gun ports, open and exposing her big guns, could pose a problem however to the crew of the Grey Lady.

The Ramrod's Captain Harry DuFey was definitely someone who would turn and fight, not run. The man may be an idiot, but from what Jake knew about DuFey, the man loved a good brawl. Jake had met him several times and found the Captain to possess a high opinion of his sexual prowess to the serving wenches in the tavern, though he usually saw them as merely cunts and tits. He did remember that the pirate had a hair trigger temper and maybe Jake could use that against the man. If he could just hit her broadside while she was turning, it would inflict more damage. IF! Sometimes that was a big word.

"Fire!" The chase gun belched its shot, the cannon ball flying towards the Ramrod to drop short and wide of its mark. He called out to his men and sails flapped as the Lady dipped in the water, the wind and waves lining her up.

Still heavy in her turn, the Ramrod's gun ports were open and her heavy guns ready to fire. The Ramrod's answering volley sounded, three of her heavy guns sending out smoke and shot. Jake watched in anticipation, keeping an eye as to just where they would land. It would be close but Jake knew that their shot would fall short too. He had no intention of giving them a second chance. He wanted, nay, needed the first hit. Jake watched the opposing ship continue her turn. He knew that DuFey, like him, would not fall short a second time.

The Lady dipped and Jake waited for the next wave to approach. He heard the splash as the Ramrod's cannonballs missed their mark. One was close enough that the wind sent a faint mist their way.

The next wave loomed and the Lady started her climb up it. As they approached the crest, he called it. "Fire!" Again the chase gun fired and he felt the ship quiver beneath his feet. He watched the cannon ball sail out over the water and held his breath. On the Ramrod, he could see through his eyeglass as her men scattered, trying to clear out of the way of the incoming shot.

It hit the foremast, causing it to fold over, the fore topsail hanging useless as it pointed towards the deck. The flying jib, jib and fore staysail buckled and drooped, skimming the water and tangling fore and starboard of the ship.

The Ramrod wallowed into position, her bow pointing towards the Lady. The injured ship shook as her chase gun fired, but the shot didn't make it far, tearing through its own useless sails to head down into the waves. But that action did manage to clear the path for the next shot that the Ramrod would fire. It hit the Lady and damaged her jibboom and bowsprit. Yet, the Lady continued to plow up the space between the two ships.

"Fire!" One more shot from the Lady's chase gun, this time they hit the Ramrod hard, taking the foremast out at the base. The mast hung over the starboard side. He would have to board her from port side. Otherwise that mast could damage the Lady.

"Cathcart!"

"Sir!"

"Let Mr. Bilge know to prepare port side. Be quick about it!"

"Aye, Sir!" Cathcart ran below to give Bilge the news so he could move the men to the port side.

"Shrouds First Wave!" Some of the men on deck started climbing up the shrouds, grabbing boarding lines and waiting anxiously for the command to board. Jake recalculated and came alongside the Ramrod. Bilge was ready and through the gun ports the six pounders began to fire. The direct hit took out the Ramrod's port side gun deck to render their heavy guns useless and leaving a gaping hole in the side of the ship. However, it also made the Ramrod susceptible to sinking. He knew that he needed to hurry and get on board to get the plans.

"Swivel guns, Fire!" Several swivel guns let loose with grapeshot, hitting various shrouds, stays, the main sail yardarms and men over on the Ramrod. They answered with their own grapeshot, taking out some woodwork and hitting one of the Lady's gun men. In the lull, Jake shouted what the men had been waiting for. The air between the two ships was alive with the exchange of men as the rocking ships dipped towards each other. The sea could either harm or help, and this time there was just enough sway that the two ships almost kissed masts. If an occasional sabre happened to slice through an opposing pirate's line causing him to plummet into the waters between the two ships, well, these things happen.

Jake was ready with his cutlass as the first man landed on his ship. Steel clanged against steel as Jake fought the man. But being eager didn't necessarily mean good as the man was too easily overcompensated. Jake brought the cutlass up the inside, slicing through the man's tendon, forcing him to drop his blade. A quick step in as he sliced into the man's gut ended the fight.

He grabbed a line and used it to get a running start, sailing over the space between the two ships. One of his crew men -- Carter -- was fighting. He broadsided the Ramrod crewman, sending the man sprawling. Carter gave a salute to Jake before turning to face the man again, ready to continue. Jake knew that Donovan was busy working his way into the bowels of the Ramrod. He hoped that the man was successful.

Looking for DuFey, Jake turned in time to meet the next man head on. This man was more proficient. Jake let the man advance, holding back as he looked for weaknesses. The longer a man fought, the more fatigued and careless a man could get. He heard Mr. Bilge bellow, and knew that the man had just dispatched another one.

He blocked another thrust from the young Ramrod crewman and grinned at him. They moved back and forth, each giving and taking ground. Another thrust blocked, Jake's cheerfulness was apparently bothersome to the young man.

"I'll cut that grin off 'n yer face, old man!" The pirate scowled and stepped up his efforts but Jake was beginning to see mistakes.

Jake laughed. "Old? Your eyesight must be going. Don't they feed you good on this ship?"

Angry, the young man attacked with renewed vigor.

"You know, we can stop now and you won't get hurt," he told the young pirate dryly.

"Ah... scared... are... ye?" The Ramrod pirate was punctuating each word with a swipe of his cutlass.

"No. Are you?"

"I... plan... on... ... running... ye... through..." The young man launched at Jake, bringing his cutlass up to slice through Jake's upper sleeve. He felt the sting. A little deeper and it could have done real damage. As it was, it was just an irritation.

Jake returned the favor, slicing his cutlass down through the layers of clothes to cut a long gash down he pirate's chest and stomach. Not enough to kill him, just enough to hurt and leave a scar.

"Giving up, old man?" The man grimaced.

"Letting you catch your breath." The young pirate definitely had a fighter's soul. He gave a loud cry and launched towards Jake again, cutlass raised and murder in his eyes. Jake dispatched him quickly, leaving him sprawled on the deck. He glanced around, still not finding DuFey anywhere.

He looked back at his ship. There was some fighting going on. He needed to find Bilge, get the documents and get gone -- the Ramrod would not stay afloat forever. And they could not stay forever. Time was running out quickly. Standing beside him was one of his crew. The man smiled at him before jumping in the fray, sword clanging in challenge.

He could see Bilge fighting his way over to Jake. The large man with his bald head and gold earring certainly looked the part of a pirate. He could see that the man trying to get over to him but the pirate that Bilge was fighting wouldn't give way. Suddenly the first mate in frustration, feinted and pivoted, reaching out to his opponent's arm and waistband. He swung the man up over his hand, turned towards the railing, pitching the man into the ocean, then giving out a loud barking yell.

Damn!

Cathcart fell and another crew man filled the space left. Bilge moved to his other side and the two of them fought their way below, looking for Captain DuFey's cabin below. The Ramrod shuddered, wounded in the water. Jake could tell that she was just hanging on before plunging to the bottom of the ocean. All around them, men fought with sabre or cutlass. Any Lady crew member not fighting was down below, having memorized the list of loot that the Grey Lady was interested in. His men all knew that time was not a friend here, making a conscious effort to find and return back to their ship with the loot. Everyone needed to get busy before the whole purpose for this adventure was lost.

The Captain and First Mate reached the cabin and tore into it, starting a search for the documents. Jake was somewhat surprised at the filth they found. The first time he had met the man, he had not been too impressed with the personal hygiene of the pirate. In fact, he thought for sure that even if he had not seen the dirty man topside, he surely would smell the pirate, assuming he was down wind of the fellow. Perhaps the man was hiding.

DuFey's poor housekeeping might actually be a problem for Jake and Bilge, making it harder to find the plans for attack. The one saving grace was that The Admiral had told them the basic information that it would contain. Jake was exasperated. Didn't the man ever clean up? He found a ship's log book and noted that its last entry was three weeks ago. The floor was littered with scraps of paper and dirty clothes. Empty wine bottles rolled around, clunking together before rolling back across the floor. Bilge rifled through a stack of papers over by the bunk. Jake discovered a book and glanced through it to find it filled with pornography. He felt like searching through this room was like looking in the disorganized mind of DuFey. Dammit! Where were those documents?

Finally, Jake found them, among the bits of maps and old shipping list and under a particularly ripe wedge of cheese. Jake felt certain that the Ramrod's captain had never expected the real reason for the attack of The Grey Lady. Of course, DuFey thought that The Grey Lady was just a pirate ship. Hell, most of them thought he was a pirate, just like Sam did. Only a few knew the truth. Bilge knew. Toby knew. So did a few others. And maybe eventually Sam would know too. Meantime, the less that knew, the better. After all, all the crew really cared about was how much their portion of the booty was this trip. The Quartermaster would inform everyone the tally after today.

"Found them. Now let's get out of here."

Jake rolled the papers up and stuffed them inside his shirt that was tucked in his pants.

"Well, look what I found," a grinning Bilge latched onto a small chest filled with coin stashed under a table in a corner of the cabin and gave it a kiss. It would act as a good cover for the real reason for their attack. Besides, one never turned down coin!

As they headed for the door, Jake noticed a large trunk in the corner with a bit of frilly fabric sticking out. On a hunch, he crossed and lifted the lid. Inside he felt as if he had struck more gold. It appeared to be some unlucky lady's trousseau. He grabbed a few things, slinging them over his arm before heading back topside.

They stepped out to find the Grey Lady's men heading back to the ship, loaded down with loot. Jake pitched the clothes over to a crewman headed to the Lady. The Ramrod's deck was littered with the dead and dying from both sides. Jake found a Lady's crew member still alive -- Jimmy -- a grabbed the young man's arm. The young man gave a groan as Jake lifted him up and tried to speak.

"Hang in there, Jimmy. You'll live. We'll get you back home." He turned to shout at his crewmen lagging on the Ramrod. "Make it quick, men!"

Bilge handed off his chest to one of their men and bellowed to the crew to wrap it up before finding the Ramrod's gang plank to bridge it across the two ships. He grabbed another fallen crew member, carrying him across to the Lady.

Jake crossed back over using the plank for a bridge and laid Jimmy on the deck, leaning the young man's back against the railing. A quick look told him that the man should survive the skirmish.

Back aboard his ship put him in contact with the odd Ramrod crew member that had made it across. There appeared to be only about half a dozen of them left. A couple made a wild leap back over to their ship. Another couple attempted to fight their way through but they were quickly dispatched. One decided to jump in the ocean.

Bilge called cast off and the few stragglers came running, either jumping to make it back to the ship or scrambling across the makeshift bridge. The First Mate picked up the plank and shoved it into the water between the two ships before pulling away from the wounded Ramrod. As it wallowed in the water surrounded by debris and the odd crewman, a wave splashed over the side to tip saltwater in her open gun deck, causing the Ramrod to start listing ever so slightly.

From nowhere, Donovan appeared from the bowels of the Ramrod. His appearance caught the Ramrod crew off guard. The young pirate was running at full speed, weaving in and out of the men and leaving a wake of cries and curses. Donovan was quite literally running for his life as being left on the Ramrod could result in a very painful death.

With a final burst of speed, the young man headed straight for the railing of the Ramrod, leaping off and throwing himself at the Grey Lady's railing. On the Lady, her crew was cheering him on with shouts of encouragement. The space between the two ships felt unsurmountable.

A shot rang out from the Ramrod and Donovan jerked, the bullet obviously finding its mark in his back. It appeared that he wouldn't reach his ship after all. The young man was falling and despite the pain, he threw out his hands, trying to at least touch the railing. An answering shot came from the Lady as Mr. Bilge fired, killing the Ramrod pirate that had shot Donovan.

Over the railing of the Lady came a hand, large and black. Pain jolted through him, and he screamed through it as Pegs looked down at the young man being held above the water by the large man's hand. Peg's grinned, his small, white peg-like teeth gleaming at the injured Donovan. With very little effort, the African pulled Donovan up and over the railing, dumping him on the deck of the ship. Donovan let out a cry of pain and relief.

Bilge took the wheel from Jake as the Lady picked up speed, attempting to put distance between the two ships. Jake crossed over to the young man crumpled on the deck.

"Welcome aboard, Mr. Donovan." Jake grinned. "A bit flashy of an entrance, but it achieved the desired results. Did you succeed?"

Donovan looked up at him, panting and grimacing in obvious pain. "Aye, Sir!"

"Good man! We'll get you fixed up so you can enjoy your bonus."

The Grey Lady's crewmen sent up a cheer, slapping backs and already spinning outrageous yarns of this latest adventure. They were anxious to have the loot tallied, eagerly anticipating how much their cut would be. Now that the battle was over, they would be ready to get back to Wexling to spend it on drink and pussy. Some of the things grabbed probably didn't have a large monetary value, like a sewing kit or pewter dishes or a cask of salted pork. Still, he supposed that the odd chest of gold would placate the men.

The wind caught The Grey Lady's sails as she turned towards home, her speed somewhat hampered by the damage from the battle. Jake stood watching as they distanced themselves from the Ramrod. Bilge was at the wheel trying to pull further away, calling to the men to raise the sails. Jake crossed, looking back towards the wounded ship surrounded by a fair amount of flotsam and jetsam. He heard Donovan speak from where he lay on the deck propped against the side.

"I set it, Sir. But not in the magazine. I wanted to give us time."

"Where then?"

"In the..."

The sound was loud. First one and then a second explosion went off as the bomb exploded, setting off the magazine nearby. The men on the Grey Lady stopped their celebration and watched the Ramrod rain down bits of the ship on them and the surrounding area.

"...ship's pump." Donovan looked up at the Captain, grinning.

"Well played, Donovan." Jake turned to grab two men nearby. "Pim, you and Stan, get Donovan here below to the infirmary."

Jake figured that with favorable winds, they should be home in several weeks. He called out for a tally to be made as to what repairs were needed, and which ones would have to wait until they reached Wexling.

Jake headed to the cabin to check on Samantha and Toby. But as he neared the cabin, he could hear a roaring sound. Outside the door he could see Toby against the wall, unconscious. A quick check told him the lad should be fine once he came to. But what about Samantha? Turning toward the cabin, the splintered door jamb held the door ajar. His heart stopped. The sight inside that greeted him looked more hellish that what he had just witnessed topside.

In the middle of the room was Captain DuFey, covered in blood. Clutched between his two hands was Samantha. Limp as a child's rag doll, she hung a good foot off the floor, being held aloft by her neck only, covered in blood.

In fact, everywhere there was blood. The room and everyone in it appeared awash in red.

Jake took out his pistol and aimed. There was a loud report as the bullet found its mark. The large man froze, dropping Samantha in the growing pool of blood. A hole appeared in the side of the man's head before he crumpled beside her.

With the sound of gunfire, some of the crew came running. As they started arriving, Jake knelt beside Sam, feeling for a pulse. It was an anxious moment before he felt it there, slow and faint but steady. He picked her up gently and the men parted to allow him to pass as he carried her to his first mate's cabin. Meanwhile, Bilge ordered two men to started cleaning the room. Another man helped Toby to the infirmary where the lad was found to have a lump on the back of his head and a king sized headache.

The First Mate glanced at the dead DuFey. No wonder they had not seem him on board his ship. The man had managed to make it over to the Lady without either Jake or Bilge seeing him. He yelled to Pegs to grab the dead pirate and throw him overboard. With the amount of blood that he was covered in, it would be a quick meal for the sharks. Fish food. The man was a pig and sometimes made stupid mistakes and Bilge had wondered how the man had managed to hang on to his ship. It was probably just a matter of time before one of his own crewmen had dispatched him to a watery grave. It was ironic that a mere slip of a woman had gotten the best of the pirate.

Jake got fresh water and started cleaning the blood off of Samantha. The quicker he could find where she was bleeding from, the quicker he could stop the flow. He removed each article of clothing, washing the exposed skin and looking for cuts and scratches. She lay there, still and unconscious, as he cleaned her body. A cut on her right palm was all he found and he quickly stitched and wrapped it up.

Around her neck was the start of an almost solid band of black. That and the cut on her hand appeared to be the only actual injuries that she had sustained, which meant that all that blood in the cabin must have been DuFey's. He was thankful for that through he wished she would wake up

Slowly the Captain's cabin emptied as the men finished their work. Though they were definitely efficient, there was still a coppery smell of blood that filled the air. Bilge could almost taste it. He suspected that it would take some time to clear the stench of it out and opened the porthole in an attempt to air out the room. Meanwhile, Jake had wrapped Samantha in a clean sheet and carried her back into his cabin, laying her under the covers before talking to Bilge to get the full report.