Hidden Island Chapter 14, part 4 of 4

Hidden Island
Chapter 14, part 4 of 4
 
The four stood on unsteady legs and watched the sunrise blooming over the trees.
 
"You're all hired," Belita rasped.
 
In the street below the lighthouse, two figures stood in the shadow of a building. Dawn was breaking. They were the only ones on the street if you didn't count the unconscious Kidd goon, who they'd come on unawares while he was spying on Will's home. Lucky for everyone inside, the pair on the street had dealt with the fellow left behind to keep an eye on the lighthouse before the lusty quartet had started fucking on the upper walkway.
 
"Are you alright, Mistress?" Quinn asked.
 
"No," Jack said. Her eyes were glued to the form of Bella, practically hanging off the edge of the railing, her beautiful face lit up in a lusty grin while Will fucked her from behind.
 
"You don't have to watch," Quinn suggested, "I can instead. They do not seem to be in any danger."
 
"Yes, I do," Jack said quietly, "I made my choice. This is what I asked for."
 
Quinn pursed his lips in frustration. It was not his place to tell his mistress what she should and shouldn't do. He watched her watch the two people she loved most and hate herself.
 
The last heavy footlocker thumped down in the back of Kaduska's cart. His porters tightened down the straps and tossed a blanket over it all to cover the load. The prominent merchant waited while Janie finished her work.
 
She took down the Roads Less Traveled sign, set it inside, posted a notice on the door, and secured every lock with a wave. Then she tossed her new red bag beside Kaduska and climbed onto the driver's bench with him.
 
"I thought we would be going for something more subtle," Bella said from Kaduska's other side.  
 
Her monkey was curled in her lap, eating a date.
 
"A merchant with a cart," Kaduska said, "Fairly inconspicuous."
 
"Much better than trying to sneak through the crowds on foot," Janie agreed.
 
"I do pickups and deliveries nearly every day," Kaduska said, looking over his shoulder at his teammates, who gave him a thumbs-up. "This is a little different." He snapped the reins, and the horses began to pull.
 
As they pulled away, Jack and Quinn watched from the shadows of a nearby building. Without a word, Jack walked toward the staircase leading from the upper district to the docks. Kaduska's wagon would have to go around the outer road. Jack would beat them by at least fifteen minutes, which is plenty of time to report in.
 
Bella loved cart rides. They reminded her of her youth, sitting on a caravan wagon bench next to an uncle or cousin while they drove. The bounce of the seat and the trotting of the horses held a powerful nostalgia for her. She hooked her arm into Kaduska's and leaned on his shoulder. The prominent merchant smiled down at her.
 
"I'm still unclear on this plan," Janie said.
 
"I have the ships Will wanted waiting for us at the docks," Kaduska said. "We will load them up and send them on their way."
 
"But not get on them?" Janie asked, confused.
 
"No," Kaduska said, "I had to speak with many people to find the small boats. Will wanted them on short notice, so I did not have the luxury of discretion. It is well known that they are bound for the Kestrel. The Kidd family is not stupid. They will have that information by now and will be looking for such things."
 
"So they're bait," Bella said.
 
"Indeed," Kaduska said. Many small boats are used as shuttlecraft in the bay. The Kidds do not know which ones are bound for the Kestrel and which are not, so they will stop many boats and look for people—your pretty Captain or yourself, for instance."
 
"So even though our things will be on the small boats, we will be on a different one," Janie nodded, seeing how it all fit together.
 
"Yes." Kaduska turned the horses down the long, curving road outside the town and sloped to the shore. Empty small boats coming from the docks would be a dead giveaway."
 
"I think you've done this before," Bella teased.
 
"I did warn you that I was quite disreputable," Kaduska grinned.
 
The beginning of the plan went off flawlessly. Six boats waited at the outer edges of the dock.  
 
Kaduska's porters loaded three dozen duffel bags and footlockers onto them from the cart. When they were done, they shoved off one by one, the porters rowing them into the bay, taking different routes to their destination. Nearly a hundred ships of varying sizes were in the bay or on the docks. No one noticed a few more as they slipped between the others, keeping an eye out for any flying the Kidd family's colors. They were all stopped at least once on their way to the Kestrel, but the scam worked.
 
"Their ships are away, m'lord," the whip-thin man with a shaved head said, closing his spyglass.
 
"Excellent, Mister Lynch. Very good," Lord Morant nodded.
 
Jack looked relieved. "So that's it then. It worked out. I only saw one of the Kidd gang at the lighthouse."
 
Lord Morant began walking down the bustling street parallel to the docks, his cane clicking on the stones. "The Magistrate has agreed not to take sides, at least for now. They have mobilized their forces in the town and sent reinforcements but have not declared their intent to assist. They are... stalling Augustus Kidd. Being known for cumbersome bureaucracy does have its merits occasionally."
 
"I doubt it will be long before the old pirate decides he is tired of waiting for an answer and takes direct action," Mister Lynch cautioned.
 
"If that event has not already happened, I will be quite surprised," Morant agreed.
 
Jack scowled. "Augustus himself is involved? That is not good,"
 
"I hired Captain Vex because of her reputation for being headstrong and dangerous. It seems her fame is well earned," Lord Morant said. "She managed to get the attention of the only person on this island who concerns me."
 
"I have wanted to stab Jakob Kidd in the face on more than one occasion. I feel like I ought to thank her." Jack deadpanned.
 
"I, too," Morant chuckled. "Despite the excitement this has caused, her poor luck and hot temper have put my endeavors back on their original timetable."
 
"We have a mob forming, m'lord," Lynch said, gesturing to the docks where a steady trickle of rough-looking men were standing and clearing people away.
 
"Hmm. So that is their play. Brutish but effective," Morant said without breaking stride. He was heading straight toward the mob.
 
"How did they find out? We neutralized their lookout," Jack asked.
 
"Mister Sterling's connections are well known, Miss Hunter. Also, I suspect the Kidd family has a few of these," Lynch said, holding up his spyglass before slipping it into the leather case on his belt. "I'm sure you or I could have discovered his intention if the roles were reversed. We must assume the Kidd family employs a few people of similar capabilities."
 
People in the crowd began to take notice of them and clear away in fear and shock. The cart moved steadily toward the mob, slowing as it approached. "Make way!" the fat merchant called in the driver's seat. Janie looked worried, but Jack wasn't watching her. She wasn't watching anything but Bella.
 
"She hates crowds," Jack said. Her heart was knotting in her chest.
 
"Ah. I assume one of the women there would be Mister Stirling's witch?" Morant said, following Jack's gaze. "The one with the monkey?" He tasked in disapproval. "A N'madi." Jack kept her face deliberately neutral.
 
"You ain't goin' nowhere, fat man!" one of the thugs called to the merchant on the cart. "We know you got who we're after; give her up!"
 
"I don't know what you're talking about, and you're going to make my delivery late," Kaduska yelled. The mob surged forward and surrounded the cart, hauling Jaine and Bella down. Janie was stone-faced and proud in her bearing, but Bella looked terrified. Her monkey screamed at the men, but she clutched it to her chest and begged, "No, please, no. I'll do what you want, don't..."
 
A man on a horse trotted out to stand behind the crowd. His long dark hair was pulled back behind him, and his face was covered in thick bandages.
 
"That would be the recipient of Captain Vex's affections? This Jakob Kidd?" Morant asked.
 
"Yes, m'lord," Jack answered, her voice tight, still looking at Bella. The crowd began to move toward the cart. Many people watched silently along the docks and the edges of the street.
 
"Are the Magistrate forces in place?" Morant asked. Lynch looked up the cliffside stairs and saw the telltale red uniforms forming in a line and looking down at the standoff below.
 
"They just arrived, m'lord," Lynch said.
 
"Then I think it is time, Mister Lynch," Lord Morant said.
 
Lynch moved forward. He hauled a bound man along with him by the arm. The prisoner staggered, unsure of his footing. A sack was over his head. He tripped and tried to moan something indecipherable, but Lynch gave him a short jab in the ribs and hauled him upright.
 
The mob hauled the blanket off the back of the cart and dragged two large duffel bags to the ground. They hit the stones with a thud and a pair of groans. In short order, the bags were cut open, and Will and Belita Vex were hauled to their feet.
 
Some of the crowd of thugs began to notice Mister Lynch and his captive tapping each other on the shoulders and pointing. More turned their heads. Lynch sped up the process by touching his lips and whistling loudly. Suddenly, he had everyone's attention. He pulled the bag off his captive's head, revealing Cal Kidd.
 
The crowd murmured and stirred. Jakob hauled on his reins and surged closer. Mister Lynch put a gun to Cal's head. Jakob reined to a hard stop. Cal's eyes bulged. He strained against the gag in his mouth and stared at his brother in abject terror.
 
"Jakob Kidd," Lord Morant roared. "Order your men to disperse and release their captives, or I will have your brother executed."
 
"Yu woodn dare," Jakob rasped.
 
"Test me at your peril." Morant was unflappable.
 
"He dies, you all die," Jakob managed to scrape out.
 
Jack aimed her bulky firearm at Jakob. "And you as well," she snapped.
 
Morant gave Jakob a tight-lipped smile. "Make your choice, mister Kidd."
 
"Don't know you won't kill him anyway if I let them go," Jakob said. He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Captain Vex.
 
"Ah, you wish a hostage of your own? I need Captain Vex, so I'd ask you to remove your aim from her only once. One of the others will do. The merchant is no one, but I know that Mister.  
 
Stirling holds affection towards Miss Castilian," Lord Morant suggested.
 
"No!" Will shouted, surging against the many arms that held him. Someone punched him. Jack thumbed back the hammer on her large gun. Janie calmly stepped before Captain Vex and stared daggers at Jakob Kidd. The bandaged man glared at her.
 
"Fine. Bring her to me," Jakob whispered. The mob dragged Janie over near Jakob's horse.  
 
Morant's tiny smile was missed in the chaos of the moment.
 
"Now, send the others to me," Morant directed. Jakob nodded. Will, Captain Vex, and Kaduska were all roughly shoved toward Morant and his group as Lord Morant began to walk, ignoring the mob and the standoff behind him. The only sound was the click of his cane on the docks' wood.  
 
Lynch started to drag Cal along after Morant. The gun at Cal's head never waivered.
 
"Not over," Jakob hissed.
 
"You may follow us, Mister Kidd. Alone," Morant said over his shoulder. "When we reach our ship and are safely aboard, you may have your brother."
 
Lynch cut Cal's bonds and shoved him off the fishing boat into the water. Cal dragged himself, sputtering, to the nearest dock pylon and clung to it. The fishermen hauled their gangplank onto the ship, and it drifted away from where it had been moored.
 
They were all aboard, save Janie.
 
"We gave you your brother; now let her go!" Will barked across the short expanse.
 
"Fuk yu," Jakob glared. Janie stood at the edge of the dock, Jakob holding her arm with one hand and a gun to her head with the other. Her face was a mask of proud defiance.
 
Quick as a snake, Will snatched one of Belita's pistols from her belt and leveled it at Jakob. Jakob stepped behind Janie and pressed his gun harder against her head. She winced.
 
"I would not do that, Mister Kidd," Lord Morant said, using his cane to gesture behind Jakob.  
 
Jakob didn't turn. Morant sighed. "Roughly fifty magistrate soldiers are watching you right now. I doubt they will take kindly to you killing one of their own. It is bad enough that you took Miss Castilian hostage."
 
Jakob's eyes slowly widened, and he turned around. "Fuk," he rasped. The total weight of what he'd done and how Morant had played him settled in. He turned and glared. "You still do get her.  
 
She stays 'ere." His voice sounded like talking was causing him pain. Redness was beginning to spread beneath the bandages.
 
"Why?! We gave you your brother!" Will snarled, still pointing the gun at him.
 
"You do get to win," Jakob rasped, blood running from the unbandaged corner of his mouth like venom. "Won' kill her. She stays so you don't have 'er."
 
"Fine," Morant said, waving to the fishing boat's captain.
 
"No!" Will snarled. "That wasn't the agreement!"
 
"You had nothing to do with the agreement, Mister Sterling," Morant said, sounding terse.
 
"Just go, Will. I'll be alright!" Janie said.
 
The boat drifted further from the docks. Bella and Captain Vex stood next to each other. Bella looked stricken. Captain Vex looked furious. Will considered his options, his mind racing. He wasn't in a position to make demands. His only chip to play was his importance to Morant. He could only do his job if Janie came with them. That wasn't part of the contract. Morant would leverage that. He had Will's map. He had a captain who thought she could take on the Drifts without him. Morant might toss him and Bella overboard if the contract was broken. He and Bella hadn't been part of the brawl at Mary's, but they'd been part of smuggling Captain Vex away.  
 
The Kidds would kill them just for that embarrassment. Going back to Bastard's Bay was a death sentence now. Not for Janie, though. If anything happened to her, the Magistrate would find out who did it and how. That's what they did. The Kidds were pirates, but they weren't stupid. They knew the only way to play things with the Magistrate was out in the open. They could make Janie's life miserable, but they wouldn't lay a finger on her, especially now that half the Magistrate force had watched Jakob put a gun to her head. If anything happened to her, the Magistrate would make an example out of everyone even remotely responsible. Kaduska would be fine. He was known for not asking questions. He could claim he didn't know what he was transporting and be back to business as usual tomorrow. Everyone he cared about on the island would be safe. There were no good options.
 
Will's heart sank. The best thing he could do was leave her. He looked at Janie, trying to come up with something, anything. She shook her head just a little. He nodded.
 
"I'll come back for you."
 
 
To be continued