A Silent Death (Black Pearl: Freelancers Book 1) by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2024-04-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Madison didn’t think they would find a warm response from the crew. They had stepped in and helped drag the pair on board when they needed it, but Dag told her it was mostly from a sense of comradery. Nobody wanted to be the one caught in a tight spot, with other crew members deciding not to help.

Then again, she supposed they’d been looking at duties for the whole trip minus two crew members. They must have been happy not to have to split the remaining work between themselves.

Dag had taken on the crew freelancer position, as she thought he would. He could handle a pistol or a cutlass well enough, but several issues came up that required the use of both hands. Or it would at least require him to know how to run through them with one hand.

A crew position would do for now.

Madison was surprised she’d been granted the mercenary position in his stead. She ran her gaze over her contract one more time before checking the charts, updated to include the two newcomers. The second mate had been tasked with organizing the crew into their various positions and assigning them duties, and he or she worked quickly.

They hadn’t been added to the roster for longer than five minutes before their names appeared on the list of duties.

Of course, as a mercenary freelancer, she hadn’t been assigned anything. Mercenaries had nothing to do on the ship except sit and wait for the worst to happen. Or the best, depending on what sort of captain the Sirocco had.

“Doesn’t matter what happens now.” Dag growled and rubbed his stump. “You’re in the deep end of it. Mercenary work found you.”

“It wasn’t like we had much of a choice,” she answered and spotted a few crew members approaching them.

“You didn’t have a choice?” one asked, a slim woman with graying hair and a sinewy build. She spotted Madison’s patch and studied it for a few seconds. “Story about how the pair of you jumped on is spreading fast. Seems like you were on the run from something before we took you in.”

“We had contracts,” Dag answered and rubbed his stump again. “But yes. We had trouble on the ground we were trying to avoid. Narrowly did so, too.”

“What trouble?”

Madison narrowed her eyes. “What’s it to you?”

“Figure we should know as much as we can about the circumstances. Otherwise, the gossip will eat the crew alive, with all sorts of stories coming up about it.”

Madison twisted her mouth. The woman was right, but she still didn’t want to tell more than was necessary. She had a feeling that her inability to keep her mouth shut was what led Jove and his people to find her so quickly. Annie would have known what was happening and spread the word to those who would pay her for it almost as soon as she realized Madison was no longer a paying customer.

While she could understand the innkeeper’s need to make any money she could scrounge, Madison wouldn’t let it slide.

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