The Grey Lady Ch. 09

"Just be that way. Once you're gone, I'm sure that I will be informed by Bilge. I believe Captain, that now is the time. Enough of this idle chatter. Ready to meet your Maker?"

Jake could feel the anger welling up inside him. His hands clenched and unclenched by his side, longing to grab the young man and strangle him.

"Oh, you are frustrated, aren't you?" Carter taunted him. "I can see it in your countenance. I think you should turn around."

"Can't kill me to my face?" Jake slowly turned around, looking over his shoulder. If he didn't do it now...

Continuing on around, Jake quickly turned back in to Carter from the other direction as the man attacked. The young man was momentarily caught off guard but made a fast recovery, throwing the hand with the knife out towards Jake. The blade caught the Captain on the side of his palm and he growled in pain as his other hand came up to grab Carter's wrist. Carter may have been younger and in good shape, but Jake was no slouch and he wasn't that much older than the turncoat fighting him. The thing that really hurt him was that stab in the back.

The two men fought in the cabin, the sounds of grunting and scuffling loud in the enclosed space. The knife was already slick with his own blood as Jake kept a firm grip on Carter's wrist. He was fighting for his life and at the moment Carter had the upper hand. Jake needed to get him off-balance so he hooked a leg behind Carter's and the man went down with Jake on top, though not for long. The roll of the ship kept them rolling over till Carter was on top. Jake had both hands firm on Carter's wrist, trying to keep the knife from plunging into him. Pain flared through his injured hand and the pain in his back screamed at him. He gritted his teeth against it, trying to concentrate on the knife aimed at his face and the man behind the blade.

Suddenly, Carter froze, a strangled sound leaving his lips. Jake felt the power behind Carter's arm wane. The man's eyes were wide with surprise as time seemed to momentarily stand still. Then the traitor fell forward, collapsing on top of Jake and plunging the knife that he held into the cabin floor beside Jake's head. It was then that Jake could see the knife sticking out of Carter's back. Puzzled, his eyes focused beyond the knife to the figure in the doorway.

Samantha stood there, fierce and determined until she noticed the blood on Jake. Worried, she rushed over as Jake pushed the man off him and attempted to stand. But the blood on his palm made his hand slip and he landed hard face down on the floor, cursing at the pain. Samantha ran back to the door, yelling out. "Bilge! Bilge!"

Meanwhile Jake managed to roll over on his back, gritting his teeth as his ribs complained at the movement. Carefully he sat up, covered in blood - both his own and Carter's.

She knew where the first aid kit was and rushed over to the chest where it was kept, tearing the wooden trunk open to grab the box. A shadow darkened the doorway as First Mate Bilge seemed to fill the space.

"What the bloody hell?" The tall pirate growled at the scene before him. Both Jake and Carter were covered in blood, the differences being the knife sticking out of Carter's back. Buried deep, the lucky throw seemed to have slipped between his ribs to pierce the traitor's heart. Samantha meanwhile busily flung open the box of first aid supplies and proceeded to pull out its contents. Bilge found and quickly handed her a bottle of alcohol which she uncorked and poured half of its contents over his cut hand. Jake bellowed as the pain shot through him. "Here now, that was meant for me to drink, not pour on the floor."

"Hush!" Samantha told him but nevertheless gave him the bottle so he could take a swig of its contents. She barely paused as she cleaned the wound on his hand. While Bilge surveyed the scene before him, Jake watched a very focused Samantha as she worked diligently over his hand, quickly stitching the cut. She wasn't the least bit squeamish of the blood. He glanced up to see Bilge watching Sam too, a grin breaking across the pirate's face as he looked at the scene before him. Carter's dead body rolled back and forth with the swells of the waves. The First Mate raised an eyebrow to Jake in question.

"Carter?"

"Yeah. He was working for McCandle."

Bilge snorted and crossed to the body, his foot nudging the knife deep in the dead man's back. Jake was satisfied to sit there and let Samantha play doctor, gritting his teeth as the needle pierced his skin. He tilted his head towards Samantha. "She threw the knife."

"Impressive first time."

With a shake of his head, Bilge bent over to remove the knife from the dead man's back. He deliberately cleaned the blood from its blade, wiping it on the back of Carter's shirt before leaving it on the Captain's desk. The bald pirate crossed to the doorway, his voice bellowing out for Pegs.

Toby suddenly appeared and after taking just one glance into the room, immediately knew what was expected of him. The young boy ran off and soon returned, bucket and mop in hand, and began to clean up the blood that continued to seep from Carter's body. As he mopped, Pegs appeared in the doorway, his white pegged teeth gleaming against the man's black skin.

"Pegs, Carter tried to set you up as a traitor. You understand? Mutiny? It was Carter." Pegs' features clouded in anger. "But Miss Samantha killed him. Miss Samantha killed Carter." Pegs turned to where the woman sat on the floor bandaging Jake's hand. Pegs nodded his understanding to Bilge and looked at Sam, his face all smiles. "Thank you, Miss Samantha." Peg's voice was deep and the words were spoken in halting English, but everyone in the room understood the feeling behind what he said. The dark pirate was none too gentle as he picked up Carter's dead body, throwing it over his shoulder and heading topside. In less than a minute, there was a splash as the body went into the sea.

There was a grin on the face of the first mate. "Miss Sam, you have a friend for life. Pegs is definitely someone you want in your corner."

Toby had stopped mopping at Bilge's words that Sam had thrown the knife and Sam seemed to sense it, looking over at the young lad. Toby couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face, and he gave a tug of his forelock to her before continuing his work.

Jake shifted his weight and gave a groan, his face a grimace of pain. Samantha noticed it and stopped, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him.

"Take your shirt off!" She ordered him and he hesitated before she suddenly started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Sam..."

"Hush!"

When she got his shirt off and saw his back, he heard her muttering under her breath. Snatching the bottle of rum from his hand, she poured a large portion of the remaining contents down his back. The pain was suddenly intense and he bellowed when it washed over the wound.

Toby finished the clean up and headed out carrying the mop and the bucket of bloody water. Bilge, stood there watching Samantha as she worked on Jake's wounds. After a moment he smiled and announced, "I think that Miss Samantha can handle this." Turning he left them alone, closing the cabin door behind him. In a few minutes Jake could hear the First Mate calling out muffled orders topside.

By the time that she was through, not only were his ribs wrapped but his hand was too. He tried to get up off the floor, with another grunt of pain. Samantha was immediately by his side.

"Lean on me," she fussed over him and he gave a snort.

"Samantha, I'm not an invalid. It's just a few cuts." He tried to stand but she was right there, helping him up

"Jake!" Frustration was obvious in her voice. This was a side of Samantha that he had never seen before. A take-charge woman. Someone that knew what she was doing. At least she knew how to keep a cool head in an emergency. He was impressed.

It was just the two of them left in the cabin as the Grey Lady continued on her course. He had to admit that it was easier to get his legs under him with her help, though he was reluctant to admit it to her.

He chuckled. "Don't get me wrong. I appreciate what you did. But it's not the first time that I've been cut. I'm sure that I could have handled him."

She rolled her eyes. "I could see how you had him at a complete disadvantage with him on top of you."

"I'm sure it looked that way." He stopped and actually looked embarrassed at having been caught in such a blatant lie. Then he was serious for a moment. "I am very proud of what you did."

There was a hint of a smile on her lips as she looked him in the eyes. "Really? I was afraid that the knife would just bounce off his back, or hit the floor." She paused, her tone serious. "I was afraid that he would kill you."

He reached out his good hand and took hold of her chin, tilting her face up so he could kiss her. Her lips were sweet, giving back all that he gave to her. "Samantha, thank you. I really mean that.

She looked up at him, her grey eyes clear and yet full of mystery. When she spoke, it was to the point. "Well, I couldn't very well let that man kill the father of my child, could I?"