The Admiral

James Morgan

It annoyed me a little that it was Giddeon who accompanied Arden to interrogate Wyatt’s men, but then I’ve seen him fight, I know she’s in capable hands with him watching over her.

“Charlotte, can you draw us, Cape Verde,” Arden says shoveling food into her mouth.

Charlotte takes a pencil and notebook from her breast pocket and draws a series of small islands on a fresh page. I learned a few days after boarding the ship that Charlotte has a memory for shapes and can draw maps off the top of her head. When she finishes, she slides the open notebook over to Arden.

“Which one is called Sal?” Arden asks and Charlotte points to the island on the top right, “That’s where Wyatt’s base of operations is. According to Mr. Green anyway.”

“Did you kill him?” Eve asks a little hesitantly.

Arden shakes her head, “No, but his depth perception will never be the same again.” Giddeon knowingly chuckles into his cup as he sips his rum. “There’s an imploded volcano on this island that produces salt. Wyatt has forcibly taken over its operations and is funding the building of new ships with the small fortune he’s making from said salt.”

Captain Debang chuckles, “Wyatt the Pirate King and salt farmer? Bet Phillip didn’t see that one coming.”

“Who’s Phillip?” I ask.

“Wyatt’s father, Phillip Morris, and Admiral before Arden,” Giddeon says, “Phillip insisted Wyatt take his mother’s name for his own safety, so you know his as Wyatt Grayson.”

I look at Arden who watches me, eyes narrowed, as if she’s trying to figure out if I’ve figured it out. “The Admiralty,” I say.

Arden smirks confirming my guess.

“Wyatt grew up being groomed for the Admiralty his entire life,” Thomas says pouring himself another round of rum, “and then we found Arden, and once the crew got to know her that’s who we chose.”

“Needless to say, he didn’t take it very well,” Giddeon adds.

“Sounds like he didn’t get disciplined enough as a child if you ask me,” I mutter.

“Admiral,” Azizi interjects as he walks over, “Doc has cleared Mr. Green.”

“Okay, thank you, Azizi,” Arden sighs and rubs her eyes. She seems to stare at the flame burning in the lantern for a moment, “Hang him.”

Azizi nods, “Yes, Admiral.”

Azizi leaves and everyone at the table goes quiet for a moment, “What did you promise him in return for this information?”

“An end to his suffering,” Arden takes a sip from her drink before looking my way. Her eyes are soft, and the way they drop to my lips gives her sinful thoughts away.

“Do you want me to steer us to this island?” Eve asks.

“Take us to the island that’s closest,” Arden says without looking away. She clears her throat as her cheeks begin to blush and looks at Debang, “The Morning Star isn’t exactly subtle, we’ll be spotted.”

“We will send a small reconnaissance team onto the island to gather information. Get a smaller ship from an island nearby.” Debang looks at Charlotte, “How far away is the closest island?”

As Charlotte runs the numbers in her head, I notice Giddeon watching her intently. A little smile plays on his lips. Maybe Charlotte was right, with Arden now spoken for his attention may turn elsewhere.

“Boa Vista,” Charlotte points to the island south of Sal, “it’s approximately 20 kilometers away.”

“Impressive,” I say.

Charlotte smiles, “You should see what I can do with a cherry.”

I get the impression Charlotte was flirting because Arden quickly flicked her in the head as punishment.

After discussing Debang’s plan for a reconnaissance team we all went up deck to watch Mr. Green hang. Arden promised him an end to his suffering and that’s exactly what she gave him. There was no way any of them were leaving this ship alive. Not only were they pirates but the attack on the Headquarters building cost us lives, and there was no way anyone here would have let them walk away, no matter what information they gave up. Mr. Green’s body was tossed overboard with the rest of them.

As soon as everyone cleared the deck it was already dark. Eve had us change direction and we started sailing east towards the islands of Cape Verde.

I passed Giddeon and Charlotte as I made my way to my cabin.

“So, what is it you can do with a cherry?” I heard Giddeon ask her.

I noticed Charlotte lean in and whisper something into his ear before walking off leaving poor Giddeon stupefied and rooted on the spot.

For about three days of straight sailing life was beyond incredible. I enjoyed diving into my role as Master of Arms, Arden would come to visit me in my cabin at night, and we got to spend quality time together. She started to open up and talked about her life before her parents’ death, and at one point I even asked about the idea of us having children. We were lying in bed and Arden looked at me curiously.

“Children?”

I pull her naked body closer to mine, “Yes, Arden, children. Do you want to have any?”

Her brows furrow as she looks up and thinks, “I never really considered having children. I don’t even know if I can after...” Arden turns to face me, “To be honest with you James, I never thought I’d have a future that went beyond Admiral.”

“Well, I need you to start thinking about it, because I don’t intend on getting old here. I want to make a home with you. Maybe Whitstable or Newcastle, somewhere by the sea.”

Arden nuzzles against me, “I don’t want to live in England, it’s too cold. I’d much prefer Spain or Greece. Crete is nice.”

Just her listing those places as options was a step in the right direction because whether she knew it or not she had already partaken in a conversation about a potential future beyond the Fleet.