The rain seemed relentless as Sammy fled through the streets, pushing past pedestrians and taking care not to slip in the mud. She turned a corner and ducked into an alley, trying to hide. Gasping for air, she crouched behind some barrels, hoping not to be seen. Only the distant bustle of the street and the steady patter of rain could be heard.
Then she heard cautious footsteps. Instinctively, Sammy reached for the knife she had stolen from Madame Betty's mansion. She braced for an attack. The footsteps paused, retreated toward the corner, then returned with more determination. Sammy clenched her teeth, ready to strike, when she heard her name whispered:
"Sammy? Are you there?"
Recognizing the voice, Sammy peeked cautiously over the barrel and was shocked to see Cody. It was like seeing a ghost.
"Cody? Is that you?" she whispered.
"Who else?"
Sammy stepped out and threw her arms around him, then pulled him behind the barrels.
"What are you doing hiding back here?" Cody asked, confused.
"I think I'm in trouble," Sammy replied, peering through the gaps in the barrels.
"What kind of trouble?"
"I'm looking for my grandfather. I went to see a so-called seer he used to correspond with, but... I was warned of danger and ran away."
"Wait... the seer warned you?"
"No, Cody. Her slave warned me."
"Her slave was a seer?"
Sammy sighed in frustration. "Let's just say he made it clear I needed to leave. He hinted I was at risk of being kidnapped or worse. So I escaped."
"Were you followed?"
"I don't know. I just ran... and here you found me. Shh!" she hissed. "Quiet, I think someone's coming..."
They both held their breath. Footsteps, then the squelch of a wheel rolling through mud. Voices followed, arguing in French. Suddenly, someone yelled:
"I don't pay you to gossip in alleys!"
They heard barrels being moved and loaded onto a cart. The men argued as they left. Once again, the alley fell silent, broken only by the distant murmur of the street and the dripping of rain from the rooftops.
"Maybe the danger's passed," Cody said.
"I doubt it..."
"You planning to stay here till morning?"
Sammy nodded. They stepped out and glanced in both directions. Seeing no danger, they walked into the crowd heading toward the port. Sammy pulled her tricorn down low, trying not to draw attention. There were so many ragged, dirty people that she hoped she'd go unnoticed.
"And you? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"My aunt gave me money to take a ship to Boston."
"Boston?... What the hell are you going to do in Boston?"
"She suggested I learn a trade with some relatives. Even mentioned farming."
"I can't picture you as a farmer, Cody... But how did you find me?"
"I was in a coach and thought I saw you on the road. Later, while at a tavern, I saw you running past."
Sammy remembered the coach that nearly splashed her with mud.
"Small world," she said.
"Did you find anything about your grandfather?"
"No. The woman was interested in the journal... said she had helped him interpret several pages. Then things got weird. According to her, maybe what he wrote in his last novel—based on the journal—led the Spanish to hunt him down and kidnap him."
Sammy tapped her backpack.
"But who? The King of Spain? The Viceroy?"
She sighed in frustration.
"Do you have the navigation charts?"
"Haven't left my side since we escaped Isla Negra," Cody said, patting the leather strap across his chest that held the tube.
They neared the port, where taverns and brothels teemed with sailors and pirates, all loud and merry in the tropical rain. The smell of fried fish from The Peg Leg Tavern made them both hungry.
"Let's get dinner," Cody suggested.
"I'm broke..."
"No worries. My aunt gave me some pounds for the trip to Boston. But I have a plan: I'll offer my services as a sailor, travel for free, and keep the money."
"Sounds like a great idea."
They entered the tavern and sat in a corner near a rowdy group of drunken sailors. A burly woman frowned at them. Cody ordered and placed a shilling on the table. She took it and soon returned with their food, slamming it down before moving on.
Dinner was fried snapper and johnny cake. Sammy, glancing around, felt a pang of nostalgia for Tiburón Bay, but hunger forced her to focus on the meal.
Cody bit into a sizzling piece of fish as Sammy dipped her bread in the thick goat stew.
"I swear by the Kraken, this fish tastes better than in Tortuga," Cody said, mouth full.
"Of course, because here they don't season it with seawater and despair," Sammy replied, clinking her mug of rum.
She chewed and looked at Cody.
"Are you sure you want to go to Boston?"
He nodded as he swallowed.
"It's not the life I want, but... what choice do I have?"
"We could go to Tortuga."
"What the hell would we do in Tortuga?"
"Join a pirate ship. See the world, make money... and I can keep searching for my grandfather."
"You're insane."
"Isn't that what we used to dream about?"
"Those were fantasies. This is the real world... you want to end up like those losers?"
"I want to find my grandfather. That's all."
Cody shook his head.
"I'd rather go to Boston... Sorry. I don't like adventures. Never been good with a sword, you know that."
They ate in silence until Sammy suddenly pulled the journal from her backpack and laid it on the table.
"Cody... from what I found out, this is the key to something important."
"A treasure?"
"Could be... If not, why all the interest? Even those navigation charts you have—put them on the table."
Cody took the documents from the tube and unrolled them.
"This is all cryptic," he said, examining them. "I haven't looked at them since that night."
"Maybe we can search for my grandfather and, along the way, try to understand this."
Cody squinted.
"Haven't you had enough? Sammy, we're just a couple of miserable kids. No one would believe us, even if we had proof... or they'd cut our throats first."
Sammy sighed and packed the journal and maps away.
"You're right... but if it wasn't important, like I said, why would they want to kidnap me?"
"Maybe you imagined it."
"Damn it, Cody! Could you stop being skeptical for one minute?"
They kept eating. Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching. The elf Wilbur was dining in the same tavern. When his gaze fell on the two teens, he nearly choked on his stew. He wanted to run and alert the Carioca but feared losing them, so he decided to stay and keep watch.
After dinner, the teens headed toward the dock.
"What will you do, Sammy?"
"Go to Tortuga. I'll do what you suggested: offer myself on a ship."
"You can't go..."
"I rowed alone from Tiburón Bay and survived," Sammy said. "I'll survive whatever comes. I'll find my grandfather, even if I have to sail to Saint-Malo or Madagascar, and I'll find out what this is all about."
Cody pressed his lips, stopped, and stood before her. He took her shoulders firmly.
"I don't want to lose you, but... being a pirate isn't what I want for my life," he said, pulling a small leather pouch from his pocket and placing it in her hand. "Here."
"Cody? What is this?"
"It's the money my aunt gave me. My entire fortune. It's yours... for Tortuga."
"And what will you do?"
"I'll enlist on a merchant ship. They always need young hands... I'll be fine. And take the charts, to complete your adventure."
"But, Cody... you got seasick just climbing your aunt's curtains..."
"I'll survive. Go on, find a ship to Tortuga."
Sammy stared at him and hugged him tightly, more like a sibling than ever before. Then she opened the pouch, pulled out a doubloon, and gave him the rest.
"I don't need that much... And keep the charts."
"But... I insist."
"Cody, I'm not a damsel in distress like my grandfather's novel heroines. This will be more than enough."
After a moment, Cody put the pouch away. He knew Sammy was as stubborn as a mule. They walked toward the dock, but as they turned into an alley, they were ambushed by the tedeschi, who pounced like predators.
The teens fought back. Sammy kicked and clawed, but a dart whistled through the air and struck her neck. She gasped and collapsed. At the same time, Cody was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head.
From the shadows, Wilbur watched, horrified. When he saw Sammy fall, he covered his mouth in shock. Then, without thinking, he turned and ran full speed toward the Infame.