Avast Me Hearties

[Caira Ayryn]

“You pick it, miss.”

“Uh, pick what?” Caira said, confounded.

“You have three tries, you lose and I’ll make you swim there.” Gary put on a grin, but the prime couldn’t tell if he was kidding.’

“You mean... Your boat? You’re going to make me guess?” This should be fun.

“That’s right, see, I knew you were quick on the uptake,” Gary gave Zack the death-glare, as though saying ‘back off’ or ‘you’re not as quick’ which? No one would ever know. “You got three chances girlie.”

“Four,” she scowled, “There has to be a hundred ships in this harbor alone.”

“One hundred and fifteen to be exact,” the shipman smiled, pulling out a pack of smokes, “And it’s dark out.”

A quick huff came from Caira, “What, so I have less than a three percent chance of getting it correct?”

“Take what you get girlie or you’ll lose a guess.” Hard bargain. She stared him down. He slowly brought his lighter up to the death stick.

“Fine, at least I don’t have to do it alone,” she stated and the man gave a sadistic smile.

“On the contrary... You do. And you have one hour, starting now.” the secondary set his watch.

“UGH. Okay! I get it!” He was difficult. She could deal with difficult. But this had to be nearly impossible. Passing Zack after a lasting glance, she continued down the docks as her violet eyes swept the intricacies of each ship and sail.

Gary broke the silence between he and Zack, “You may think I’m doing this without purpose, lad, but I have my reasons, and I wouldn’t give her the challenge if I didn’t think she would have a chance.”

“A two percent chance?” Zack challenged, “It could take her days! And obviously you two look like you’re in more of a time-crunch than you’re leading on.”

“Percentages that large are often muddled down by facts. Of course, one of these ships is mine, that fact is confirmed, next fact, it’s not a ferry, nor is it a small dingy. How else could I travel far out into the ocean? It could surely be a fishing boat, but I obviously don’t have a crew. Inferred facts often narrow the field slightly, the girl was just trying to barter.”

“But why ask her what ship you have?”

“You might think it’s pointless, sure, I don’t blame you,” he sympathized, “But dark waters lay ahead, and it is best you face hard challenges early, enough to make you turn back, rather than wait until it is too late to turn back.”

“And if she gets all the guesses wrong?” Zack asked persuasively.

“That’s just it, boy, I think there’s a two percent chance of that.” he offered a smirk, revealing a gold tooth and some unaddressed scurvy.

“What makes you so sure?” Zack was partly curious, though he couldn’t stand to be a part of any conversation with Gary. There was a mutual dislike, but at least maybe he could help Caira narrow down the answer, and perhaps slip it to her, or hint at it if he found out which boat.

“There are only a hundred and fourteen ships visible in this harbor.” Gary lit a cigarette, polluting the ocean air.

“What?!” Zack shouted, “That’s cheating!”

“If she can’t handle this, she sure as Hell won’t be able to handle what’s ahead. This verse ain’t no joke boy, sail in the wrong part o’ the sea and guess what? Yer dead. Or worse. There are krakens and whirlpools out there, sinkin’ to the bottom of the ocean doesn’t just mean death out here.” Gary spoke his truth, “Finding a ship doesn’t have to do with survival, but tests surely do. She knows she’s being timed. If she can’t beat this, she sure as Hell won’t beat one where a matter of seconds means life or death.”

Zack felt his knuckles tighten but kept his lips sealed. Guys like this thought they were the heroes of the world, but really, they were just bullies who had been put in a position of power. Time ticked on. And on. And on.

“A minute left,” Gary announced as he lifted the cuff around his wrist, “And she’s not back yet.”

“She will be.” Zack said, pretty certain.

The sound of squeaking shoes came from the far side of the dock. The tall woman was striding quickly forward, her forehead glistening in the night with what he assumed saltwater, since she was drenched. If the situation wasn’t so serious, Zack would’ve burst out laughing, Gary raised his eyebrows, “What happened lass? Did you fall in?”

Her head tilted while her eyes fell on Zack first, then, more determined, on Gary, “Something like that,” she said as the squeaking stopped.

“So, have any idea which is my ship?” Gary asked, as though it were his custom.

“Honestly, I have only guesses, sir.”

Zack gulped, his entire face tensed while his jaw clenched. That was bad news, or maybe, she was letting on less than she knew.

“There’s a boat on port three, called Gary’s ship, but it doesn’t really look like it could be yours.”

“And yet you bothered to spend a guess on it?” he seemed displeased, “I’d never name a female ship ‘Gary,’ next?”

“The Honolulu, on port seven. Small, stern little boat, livable, but you could cross the ocean in it. Hasn’t been used in a while, barnacles on the bottom, doubt you’d let that happen to your ship.” she said, eyeing him.

“You should listen to your gut missy, you’re down to one now.” It was a warning.

Zack’s eyes bulged out of his skull, he knew how could he get her attention? She wasn’t even looking at him, nor would she until the trial was complete, pass or fail. Darn. If only he could...

“Boyo, don’t get any ideas,” Gary read his mind. What couldn’t shadow-man do? Hadn’t he tortured them enough?

“The last, is a submarine, in plot one hundred and three. I nearly missed it, since it was under water, and there were two large boats, as well as a small dingy, all sitting above it. So I took a dip, and though I couldn’t get inside, I thought the name sounded familiar.”

She stepped forward, and Gary let her, as she fished the box of cigs out of his jacket pocket. Caira looked down at the cheesy blue and white packaging, as well as the cursive of the name and concluded in a Sherlock-esque way, “Bermuda Blue.”

Gary didn’t smile, but he seemed pleased. He’d given her the answer all along, and she hadn’t missed a beat. Caira and Gary began to lead the way to the submarine and Zack staggered for a moment. Just who were these people? There were so many secrets, so many missing links, how did she know to take such initiative? He watched the woman walk for a moment before following, his eyes glued to her back. Maybe he really had gotten into something deeper than he could’ve imagined.

As they neared the place in the port, there lay a single dingy, taking the space of slot one hundred and three. Easily bypassed, if someone was looking with their eyes. Caira didn’t have to depend on them alone, giving her an advantage. Perhaps Gary had known it all along, her eyes flicked to him as he pressed the center of his watch and the sub rose, spilling water around its sides as it breached the surface.

“I still can’t believe you have a submarine!” she admitted, “Before today, I’d never seen the ocean, let alone been in a boat.”

Gary looked over, aghast, “Well looks like you’re in for quite a treat missy, my ship is special, she’s no mere boat. You can go to all sorts of places undetected. Zero pirates. Sometimes... Mr. Clowney will borrow it for research.”

“Clowney?” Zack inquired.

“That’s who we’re off to, are you two ready?” Gary asked as he opened the hatch, very simply, offering them a hand in and down the cylindrical boat, nothing but sturdy metal, but it felt like being peas inside a tin can.