Little'a column A, little'a column B. [ Something around the crows' feet of his eyes softens, an instinctive sort of facial expression he has no idea he's making. ] Used to get history lectures for bedtime stories, y'know--you wanna know about pirates, I can probably tell you more'n just about anyone else alive. But after a while, you wanna make some money, you gotta start stealing something worth more than a pack of gum.
Uh, Avery vanished, Rafe was on track to find something big, pretentious Latin, blah blah blah. He said Avery got a bunch of his pirate buddies together to take all their treasure and make their own pirate clubhouse. Nation, whatever. That's what he was looking for, I guess?
[ And despite everything that happened before or since, seeing Libertalia still might be the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. ]
Problem is, Henry Avery? He invites pirate captains from all over the world, from the Barbary Coast to the Caribbean, but you can't just have a country with eight or ten people, right? There's other colonists, too, little guys--normal people, probably a lot of 'em rank-'n'-file pirates just looking for a fair shake.
[ As an aside-- ]
Pirate ships were the first real democracies, y'know. Everyone gets a vote, captains can be voted out, they paid out workman's comp, for God's sake.
Lotta sailing around the little islands near Madagascar. And once we found it...well, it was hard to tell exactly what happened--whole place was falling apart when we got there. But you got all these little guys, right? And then you got a dozen pirates who ain't exactly wild about sharing all that gold they got in the treasury. Everything from the Gunsway, whatever booty the rest of 'em brought...would've been worth hundreds of millions.
Avery and the rest of them, they took the money outta the treasury. When we get back, we gotta figure out where they went.
[ He doesn't nudge her back this time, just reaches for his long-forgotten glass. Taking a drink only delays the inevitable, but Sam's always been a fan of that, where he can manage it. ]
Lotta people in my line of work? They ain't exactly what you'd call good people.
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[Rafe had mentioned pirates, too, but she knows better than to bring him up now.]
So tell me about pirates.
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[ He doesn't, strictly, sound like he minds. ]
Whaddaya wanna know?
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[She says it overdramatically, finally pulling away completely to flop back on the arm of the couch with a theatrical sigh.]
Are you saying you're your own favorite pirate?
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[ He gives a laugh that sounds like it should come with a puff of cigarette smoke. ]
I come pretty close, though.
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So tell me.
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[She says, a teasing air to her voice.]
He's the guy who got a whole fleet of pirate ships to sack the Mughal fleet heading to Mecca with tribute, right? And then he vanished?
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Where the hell'd you learn that? It ain't exactly Blackbeard we're talking here.
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All right, all right, how far'd Rafe get you in the story?
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[ And despite everything that happened before or since, seeing Libertalia still might be the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. ]
Problem is, Henry Avery? He invites pirate captains from all over the world, from the Barbary Coast to the Caribbean, but you can't just have a country with eight or ten people, right? There's other colonists, too, little guys--normal people, probably a lot of 'em rank-'n'-file pirates just looking for a fair shake.
[ As an aside-- ]
Pirate ships were the first real democracies, y'know. Everyone gets a vote, captains can be voted out, they paid out workman's comp, for God's sake.
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[She thinks she might have heard that somewhere. It's one of those random pieces of trivia that tends to pop up.]
So how'd you find it? What happened?
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Avery and the rest of them, they took the money outta the treasury. When we get back, we gotta figure out where they went.
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[Come on, Sam, don't leave her hanging.]
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Eh, guns were involved.
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What's the deal with you guys?
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Lotta people in my line of work? They ain't exactly what you'd call good people.
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[Apparently she's not going to let this one go.]
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