“Move!” Widow climbs up beside him. “Long Tom is the cannon.” She swings off the rope netting and lands on the upper deck beside me. “Biggest one ever made. No other ship has the size to handle Long Tom. Only the Jolly Roger.”
She holds her hand out, palm toward Starkey in a ‘stop’ motion. “Keep the jokes to yourself. Captain wants you in the crow’s nest.”
He sighs. “Fine. But I have some really good ones about—”
“Crow’s nest!” Widow snaps.
He climbs faster, then swings away to the biggest mast and climbs even higher.
“You two having issues?” I ask.
She smirks. “Issues? My sweet darling, that was foreplay.”
Smee groans and reattaches the leather to the wheel before jumping down to the lower deck and yelling at someone about gunpowder.
“I meant to come check on you earlier, but you were asleep.” She puts her arm around my shoulders. “You all right?”
“As all right as I can be, I guess.”
A boom sounds behind us, and I turn to look.
“She’s not shooting at us.” Widow smiles tightly.
“Then who’s she shooting at?”
“No one.” Widow glances behind us at Hook’s cabin. “You should get inside.”
“Forward!” Hook yells, and I see him on the deck with several other pirates as they push Long Tom toward the side. “Bill, ready with the blocks!”
“Aye, Captain!”
“Now!”
Bill swings two triangular hunks of wood beneath the cannon, and the pirates stop pushing. It rolls back only a little, then rests against the blocks. The entire ship rocks to the side, and sea spray flies over the railing where Long Tom rests.
“Load it!” Hook runs up the deck and climbs the mast with amazing fluidity. Leaning out, he stares behind us.
Anne’s cannons boom again, the sound skipping across the water.
“If you aren’t going inside—” Widow grips the ends of the rope Smee tied to my waist and tightens them. “Then you need to stay put.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Captain will have to broadside her and fire Long Tom. But she has to be far enough away that she can’t hit us. That’s the beauty of Long Tom. Problem is, we’re slowing down. The ship isn’t weighted properly now that it’s set in its firing position, even though it’s at the beam, the ship’s widest point. He’ll have to turn the Jolly Roger hard port and fire.” She finishes with the rope. “You’re strapped in tight. I have to go.” She points to a small piece of the sail above us that flaps in the wind. “Need to make fast or it’ll rip in the wind when Captain turns to face her.”
She jumps onto the rope netting and climbs to the sail.
From high above, I hear a whistle. It must be Starkey. He yells something, but I can’t make out the words.
Widow seems to already have the sail repaired, but then she climbs higher and works on another part of it. I know she knows what she’s doing, but seeing her so far above the deck with nothing but a piece of rope around her forearm to keep her aloft is nerve-wracking.
Hook runs across the lower deck and takes the stairs two at a time. The crew scatters, several of them diving into the opening leading down into the ship. I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“All hands clear the deck!” Hook yells.
The pirates scurry away, and some lash themselves to the masts. I look up, and Widow is still trying to secure the sail.
“Wait!” I yell right as Hook yanks the wheel with a fierce motion.
