The Disposition of the Night

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Chapter 5: The journey

Ivan and Jack were sitting in their cabin, bored out of their minds.

“Alright, let’s start going over the details.” Jack began. “When we reach Tortuga, we’ll have to find this Reynard person. In order to do that, we must question, but we can’t make it look like we’re with the navy.” He said, causing Ivan to look up.

“Will we… how will we do that?” Ivan asked. “Are you sure they won’t notice us if we act like pirates?”

Jack rolled his eyes and began to think Ivan wasn’t completely fit for a job such as this. “Here’s what we’ll do: We get off the ship, and enter Tortuga. After that, we’ll just ask everyone who knows anything about Reynard.” He said as if he’d already planned it out days in advance.

“But… what if we get discovered?” Ivan asked. “What if they figure out we’re with the navy?”

Jack smiled and reached into his coat, and pulled out a flintlock. “I’m sure you’ll know what to do.” He said, still smiling. “I believe we’re aloud to kill anyone who gets in our way.”

Ivan was taken aback by Jack’s vicarious talk. He didn’t feel right whenever he killed someone. For some reason, he didn’t care, but at the same time, he felt extremely uneasy whenever he had to give the last blow. But of course it was his duty, if he was needed to get rid of someone, he’d do it.

He looked around the compressed cabin, to his left was a desk sitting up against the wall, and to the right was the door, leading out into the lower deck. He’d already checked the desk, empty, as expected. However, there was another little chest sitting next to it, alone. Naturally, it was locked, but Ivan was especially curious to see what was inside.

He turned back towards Jack. “So, tell me how you got into this mess.” He said, causing Jack to look up at him with an emotion barren face.

“W… What do you mean?” He asked, his face not getting any different.

“I mean how did you join the navy in the first place?” Ivan asked as he saw Jack take a deep breath and stare at the ground.

“I… I don’t really like to talk about it.”

Ivan felt the uncomfortable impression emanating from Jack. ‘Great, now he’ll never talk again!’

Jack regained his composure and looked back up towards Ivan. “If, you really want to know,” He began. “I was basically made to enter the navy by my father, but…”

“But what?” Ivan asked, trying to dig deeper.

“Well…” In an instant, the door was flung open, interrupting their conversation. A tall, strong man clothed in what appeared to be EITC garments stood in the doorway. His large structure was almost as intimidating as his voice, which soon followed his entrance.

“Why hello,” The man said, trying to appear friendly. “I thought you’d be in here.” He told the surprised two. “Don’t be too shocked now, I’m Nathaniel Callard of the East India Trading Company.” He said, greeting the now relieved two.

“It’s a pleasure to meet another one on our side,” Jack said. “I’m Captain Jack Henson of the Royal Navy, and this here is Ivan Hood, a mercenary working with me.” He said, much to Ivan’s dismay.

It seemed that Jack was leading the whole operation. It was true that he’d more experience with these sorts of things, and Ivan didn’t fully understand navy protocol, but for some reason, it seemed weird with Jack doing almost all the talking.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Callard.” Ivan said, finally speaking up. “As Jack here already said, it’s great to see someone else on our side.”

Nathaniel closed the door behind him, and walked towards the desk to take a seat. “Please, call me Nathaniel.” He said, making Ivan truly realize he wasn’t one of those stuck up officers. “I’m on a mission to go see the situation in Tortuga; may I ask you two what you’re up to?”

Before Ivan could speak up, Jack gave a swift and thought out response. “It just so happens that we also are headed to Tortuga, but instead of a routine check-up, we’re headed over there to find a pirate by the likes of Marcus Reynard.” He said making Nathaniel’s eyes widen.

“Oh really?” Nathaniel asked, a devious grin making it’s way into his face. “I’ve heard about this Reynard fellow, and he’s apparently been causing untold amounts of trouble recently.”

“Really? What do you know about him?” Jack asked, thinking he’d already found a good lead.

“Well, let me see. He’s usually hanging out in Tortuga if anything, if not he’s probably out looking for a good ship to plunder.” He said, sending chills down Ivan’s spine. “Other than that, there’s not much information on him since most people who meet him are either his friends, or dead.”

Ivan took those words in like he’d heard them before. He knew he was dealing with a killer, someone who didn’t care about others as long as gold was involved. When the time came, if the time came, he knew what he needed to do.

“I’m glad to have a friendly force going in the same general direction. Tell me, how long are you planning on staying? If you really need a place to stay, I know of one.” Nathaniel said. “I go to Tortuga all the time, so I know these things.”

Jack, whom had already had his fill of boredom for the day, politely responded: “You know what? We may just do that. Where will you be when we get to Tortuga? Maybe we can set up a meeting.”

“Me? Oh I’ll be at the navy shipment house as usual, they’re not that difficult to find if you’re looking for it.” Nathaniel said as he walked back towards the door. “Alas, I must depart for now, but I’ll be sure to meet up with you once we’ve reached our destination.” He said with a smile.

“Very well, until then.” Jack said, waving him off. “So, what do you think about him?” He asked Ivan once he’d left the room.

“He’s… strange.” Ivan said, a bit unsure about him. “I don’t know why, but I’ve got a strange feeling about him.

“Fine, sorry I asked.” Jack replied as if Ivan had just gone absolutely mad. “But if you don’t mind asking… why? Why do you have such a strange feeling towards him?”

“I don’t know…” Ivan said. “He’s too nice…”

~~~~~~~~~~

“So, how’d it go?”

“Just fine, I believe he’s who I’m looking for.”

“Oh, and what about the other one? What do we do with him?”

“He seems to be aware, but we’ll see how far he can go.”

“Good, I trust you’ve found your man then?”

“Hopefully, it’s been a while since I had a plan such as this.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Really? You told him to go test the musket even after you made sure it didn’t work?” Ivan said, laughing in unison with Jack.

“Of course I did! I wanted to teach him how to report things properly!” Jack said, recalling an old story of his. “As long as he learned what to do, I was allowed to teach him in any way possible.”

“I don’t think purposely dirtying the equipment on purpose is the…”

“Best way to do it?” Jack interrupted. “You bet it is!” He said, misunderstanding what Ivan was about to say.

In truth, he was about to take note on how that wasn’t the best way to teach by the navy’s standards, although teaching methods differed from person to person, so it wouldn’t matter anyways. Although Ivan knew for the most part what life was like in the navy, he was always curious to learn more about it.

“So… can you tell me for real this time? How you got into the navy?” Ivan asked trying not to be intrusive.

“That’s fine,” Jack said, waving his hand in the air. “As soon as you tell me yours once I’m done.”

“Deal.”

“Alright then, let’s see where I left off.” Jack said, recalling the moment when they first met Nathaniel. “I believe I began with saying that my father practically made me enter the navy, and since he was one of their highest ranking officers in the Caribbean at the time, you can imagine it put a lot of pressure on someone like me. He was one of the navy’s greatest weapons against criminals, pirates and likes of them. I don’t really remember too much about him, he was…”

Ivan gave him a look which meant he knew what Jack was talking about.

“He… was killed by pirates. Right in front of me.”

Ivan felt uneasy after hearing what Jack just said. He himself had lost his father, but not in the same way as him. He remembered the day he discovered that he was murdered by those bandits. He remembered the first time ever seeing someone that had just recently died.

“I’m… sorry to hear that.” Ivan said as the room began to feel much darker than before.

“Now then, let’s hear your story.” Jack said directing Ivan to go ahead.

“Alright, I’ll… I’ll try.” Ivan said stuttering. “It all began when I heard news that an uprising recently began inside a small town back in England, not the largest of towns, but they grew a sufficient force large enough to take somewhere by surprise.”

“They?” Jack asked.

“They didn’t really have a name, they were your average criminal organization, wanting to get rid of the navy.” Ivan said making Jack laugh.

“Get rid of the navy? That’s not even remotely possible by any means!” Jack said, wondering if Ivan hadn’t made everything up on the spot.

“They were… they would strike quickly and quietly.” Ivan said, making a bit more sense. “They didn’t aim to completely destroy the navy, although that would be sufficient for them, It wasn’t near their spectrum. My father, whom was a mercenary, was sent to find this group, and eliminate them.” He said, finally beginning to show signs of sadness. “Let’s just say they found him first.”

A quiet feeling made it’s way into the dark cabin. None of them wanted to speak up, but they felt like they understood each other. Before long, they mutually agreed to walk out on the deck to see how things were outside.

“I agree, let’s go get some fresh air.” Jack said, not knowing what lay ahead

~~~~~~~~~~

Oo0O0ooO0Ooh! What really lies ahead??

Anyways, I hope you like the slightly longer chapter, and the short update.