Second Chance

Second Chance

S.R. Thornton

Second Chance

Copyright 2013 S.R. Thornton

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To Dawn, for being my second fan and my best friend all these years.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to the following people for their help and support:

To my children - for always wanting to help with ideas

To mom - for her hard work with editing and being my first fan

Also By S.R. Thornton

Which Witch

Frontier Dreams

Passion & Pyramids

Coming Soon

Work Ethics: Rules

When Samantha took the job at Atronic Industries she never guessed she’d get involved in the world of dominance and submissive with a man centuries old.

Rite of Passage

Struck with amnesia and found nearly dead by a Navajo tribe, Tala can’t remember who she is let alone what she is, a creature feared by the ones caring for her.

Family Secret

Isabelle has a one night stand with Devin on her way home to the family ranch. She arrives and realizes Devin is her father’s right hand man who hates her for abandoning her father eight years earlier.

When the full moon rises

Kylie’s just been told she’s a werewolf, her real name is Sasha, she’s to be Queen of her clan, and the man she’s been fighting with is her betrothed through an arranged marriage.

Chapter One

The wind was blowing, the sky was clear, and the smell of salt was all around. It was a perfect spring day and to top it off we had just sold our merchandise for a hefty profit.

I hated to leave Tortuga for I loved the little island, but it was time to set sail. I had promised my men we would make one more voyage before we headed back to London and now that voyage was done. One stop at Port Royal and we’d be going home. I always enjoyed my time in London, but it wasn’t the same as the exhilarating rush of being in the open sea. There was a time when land was my home, but that was years ago. Now I belonged to the sea as a leaf belongs to the mighty oak. We were one. It hadn’t always been that way, but situations change and sometimes you’re required to adapt.

What ye be thinkin cap’n, my quartermaster Brady asked.

I was thinking about home, I replied staring out over the miles of blue.

Missin it? he asked.

Not really. I was just thinking about all the social calls and parties I would have to catch up on, I said knowing I could speak my mind since he was one of the few that knew the real me.

Ye ne’er know, maybe whilst we be thar ye’ll find yerself someone an’ settle down, he said. I don’t know who laughed first or who laughed the loudest. My crew was always teasing me about my future plans. As for my plans, I didn’t have any. I couldn’t see myself ever leaving the sea, especially to be married. The thought of being tied down to someone for the rest of my life let alone having children had long since left my mind. Perhaps at one point in my life such things as a nice home, a wedding, and children were things I wanted in my future, but they hadn’t been dreams or ambitions of mine in years. Frankly now the thought was more than disturbing to me.

Always the jokester, I replied once we had stopped our laughing.

Ye ne’er know. One day when ye least expect it the right one ill come along.

Is that what happened to you? I asked knowing he had been married for at least the past three years that I had known him.

I be at a local tavern one day havin a few pints and she walked in. I don’t be knowin if it were her face or her body, but I knew she’d be mine.

I’m happy for you, but don’t think that is ever going to happen to me.

Cap’n, Garrick, one of my crew, yelled from the main deck. Me and the fellas are goin to do some wagerin. Interested?

Garrick you know I’m always in the mood to take money from my crew, I yelled from the upper deck of the schooner. Dice or cards this morning?

Cards.

I’ll be right down, I assured. I knew we had work to do, but with the money we just landed from selling our booty, it was a day to relax and celebrate. Besides, once we returned to England it would be at least four or so months before we returned to sea and I for one wanted to enjoy myself until that time.

Don’t be beatin ‘em too bad Cap’n, Brady said as I skipped down the stairs.

I ain’t ne’er seen no one as good at cards as ye be, Flynn whined after several hours when I did in deed beat them badly.

What can I say gentleman, I replied with a grin as I scooped up the stack of pieces of eight and stashed them in my small pocket purse. Shortly after lunch, the celebrating began. Rum, grog, and whisky flowed like water as the men and I sang chanteys, played music, and danced around the deck praising ourselves for a successful voyage. By the time the sun set, the entire crew and myself were loaded to the gunwales, or drunk as the London gentry would say. However we still drank some more, and when that was finished we drank even more.

Ye off to bed alone? one of the crew yelled as I stumbled across the deck towards my cabin.

Of course, I called out. You know there isn’t a decent freebooter amongst you that I’d share my cabin with, and I don’t want to hear about any of you abusing the cabin boys either.

If ye be lettin us have wenches on board we wouldn’t be lookin at the lads, another crew member teasingly yelled out.

I mean it, I reiterated before I staggered down below to find sanctuary in the comfort of my bed.

We had been out to sea a little over a week when there was a pounding on my cabin door.

What? I snapped wondering why they would be disturbing me at this hour of the morning.

The sailin master says ye should be gettin up on deck, one of the cabin boys said from the other side of the door.

I’ll be up in a minute, I assured lazily swinging my legs over the bed that I had been enjoying the warmth of. I stretched for a moment before I put on my black breeches, leather postilion boots, loose fitted white swashbuckler shirt, and a crimson waistcoat. What is it Marcus? I asked when I reached the helm of the ship with the cup of coffee one of the cabin boys had brought to me.

To the south, he said handing me a telescope.

How long has she been following us? I asked looking at the sloop off in the horizon.

A few hours now, he said.

Perry, I yelled down below.

Yes Cap’n, the cabin boy yelled.

Wake the crew and tell them to ready themselves.

Do ye think tis another pirate ship? Marcus asked.

It’s a sloop, I confirmed as I studied the ship and tried to make out the flag it was boasting. It’s likely. I continued to watch the ship. It wasn’t one of the larger sloops, no this one couldn’t have been more than 100 tons making it slightly faster than the 11 knots we could maneuver during a good wind. When I could finally make out the naval sail, I was not happy. Stroughton, I mumbled.

Captain Stroughton of the English navy? Garrick asked and I knew by the tone of his voice he was not happy to hear that.

Aye.

What be ye orders?

This is Captain Stroughton, you know my orders, I said knowing full well he was going to follow us until he caught up. Tell the men to prepare for battle. This was not what I needed on our quite voyage home. I knew the man’s reputation for tracking down pirates and I knew he was good at it, but I had been at this game for too long to let some English captain dictate the end of my career. Yes I was only 22 years old but I had been at sea for almost seven years now and three of them had been at the helm and command of a very profitable pirate ship that I was not about to surrender to some dignitary.

Cooper, one of the men yelled from below,

Aye, I answered.

Should we be loadin the six pounders?

Yes, I want all 14 of the cannons loaded and ready to fire, I assured knowing we’d need them.

When Royce spotted the schooner in the distance, he knew the likely hood of it being a pirate ship was great especially this close to the Caribbean islands. It wasn’t until he saw the red flag with the skull wearing a bandanna with two cutlasses for crossbones behind it that his smile grew. What luck? His last voyage for the royal navy and he had landed himself the prize of all prizes. Cutthroat Cooper, he said beaming with joy.

Are you sure? his shipmate asked.

Oh yeah, he replied. The stories of Cooper were legendary. Cooper had been a pirate longer than any known buccaneer in the open sea. His reign of terror had lasted for almost two decades and if Royce had anything to do with it, that rein would end by sunup.

Royce was in his first year as a naval officer when the stories of Captain Cooper and his gentlemen o' fortune first surfaced. Like most pirates, Cooper started off small going after the pink merchant ships that came out of Spain carrying silks and such. No one seemed bothered by these acts because England had been at odds with Spain for so long that they commended the man for aiding in their fight against the Spaniards. It wasn’t until Cooper’s brutal attack of several maritime ships that England took notice of his piracy and he earned the name of Cutthroat Cooper. From that day forward, the stories of Cooper began to grow. He raided ships out of Africa carrying gold. He attacked military vessels in search of weapons and food. He even ransacked passenger ships sailing from the America’s to England slaughtering entire families in his pursuit for riches and fame.

The English Crown had long since sent Privateers in search of Cooper to stop his escapades yet none had ever succeeded thus earning Cooper his other nickname Cunning Cooper. He was crafty. Not only in his evasion of the privateers but in his planned attacks on the ones that were able to track him. He was unstoppable. At least that is what everyone had concluded. Royce would prove them wrong.

At 28 years old, he had earned his ranking in the English Navy, yet none of his deeds could hold a candle to this moment. If he brought the famed Cooper back to London, he would retire with more respect and admiration than any officer before him. Not that he needed the praise or another medallion to add to his collection, but he wanted the satisfaction of putting a stop to the terror that Cooper had bestowed upon the seas over the decades. He wanted to see what this man, that no officer could describe, looked like. He wanted to stare him in the eyes and smile at his victory over him. He wanted to be in court to hear the sentencing of death that would surely be cast upon him, and he wanted to watch his neck snap from the tight noose as his lifeless body dangled in a gibbet cage in town for all to see.

Get all hands on deck and ready every weapon and cannon we have. When we catch up, I want to hit them with everything we have and then hit them again. I want that man begging for mercy by tomorrow night, Royce told his master gunner as he looked at Cooper’s ship adorned with a beautiful figurehead of an angelic looking woman. The Sea Nymph, it was called.

Do you really think we can win against Captain Cooper?

I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out how cleaver this Sea Nymph really is.

My scouts in the crow’s-nest kept a watchful eye all night so I would know exactly how close Captain Stroughton’s ship was. I had no desire to get involved in another battle, but I knew I didn’t have any choice in the matter. In a few hours, it would be daylight, his ship would be within firing range, and I wasn’t naive enough to think he would just sail on by. Not Stroughton. In my line of business, I kept my ear out for information on the arm of the law and I had long since heard of Stroughton and his passion for bringing down pirates. Something that I also heard he was good at. In the six years he had been a naval captain he had captured nineteen of my comrades. His count was actually in the high thirties, but I would only classify nineteen of them as being true buccaneers. The others were fly by night amateurs whose careers ended before they even really got started. However, of the nineteen he had captured they were the cream of the crop. Rory Griswald who was a five-year veteran. Jack Avery who was becoming more famous than Captain Morgan, even Sir Robert Wesley had been captured by this enemy of my brethren and now he was after me and my crew. As good as my own mentor was he even knew to stay clear of the waters that Stroughton had been spotted in and he had been a pirate for almost two decades.

What ye think our odds be against Stroughton? Garrick asked as we looked at the outline of the ship as the sun began to rise.

This ship hasn’t lost a battle in almost 20 years and I’m not about to break that streak, I told him.

But we ain’t ne’er been up against anyone the likes of him before.

He was right, but I wasn’t about to discourage him or the other men by admitting that fact. We’ll be fine, I assured praying it was true.

I want the first two shots to take out their masts, Royce told his gunmen. After that I want every cannon shot at her lower hull.

If we do that she’ll sink, one of his officers said.

This is one ship I don’t intend to capture. I intend to destroy her and the entire crew, he said. Yes, he originally thought bringing Cooper back to London was a good idea, but the closer he got the more he remembered the brutality of the man and thought why wait for his inevitable fate of death.

If they just left Tortuga their bound to have a good fortune on board.

Then Dave Jones will be that much richer when it hits the ocean floor, he said.

I want all the cannons brought to the starboard side and I want everyman at the cannons loading them as fast as they can. The minute they’re in range I want the ship turned about so they can see every cannon aimed at them. I want seven canons fired at her port side and while they’re reloading, fire the other seven and don’t stop until he and his crew are at the bottom of the ocean. I want to hit them as fast as possible so they can’t catch their breath before we hit them again, I told the men, as the ship with the elaborate naval shield as its figurehead grew nearer.

The men got stationed while I went down below. I shed the slightly restricting captain’s jacket and added four flintlock pistols and two cutlasses to my waist before I tied a bandana around my head tucking in my hair as I did.

We’re almost in range, should we send a warning shot, his officer asked.

I have no intention of giving them any warning. As I said the first two shots I want their masts taken out.

Very well, his officer said as he instructed the men. Royce went below long enough to put two multi-barrel guns at his hips and grab his cavalry sword. When he reappeared on deck, the sun was high in the sky and his target was within reach. Fire, he yelled and two loud booms echoed through the air.

We had just come about when the two canon balls came whizzing through the air. One hit just off center of my front mast and the other took out one of my crewmembers. Discharge the cannons, I shouted and watched as the large heavy balls hit several of his crew, others damaged his port side and one nearly hit the small figure off in the distance visible only by his brightly colored naval jacket.

We had done some damage but not enough. Reload and fire the other cannons, I yelled and the battle was on. The next seven cannons fired, but not before twelve boulders plowed threw my ship. The front mast was taken out, the lower hull had holes punched through it, and several men lay on the ground. Canon balls were flying in all directions and I realized that seven at a time wasn’t sufficient to the fourteen he was shooting off. Load them all and fire at once, I ordered helping the men with their tasks. Thunder roared through the calm sky and smoke filled the air making it all the more difficult to see who we were actually hitting. Canons exploded, men yelled as they fell to the ground, and even though my ship was strong his canon balls seemed to be stronger. No matter how many heavy balls smashed into the wood of his ship, the ship simply treated them as if they were an annoying pebble that it swatted away without a care.

He wished they had done more damage, but Coopers ship was certainly in worse shape than his and as the waves rocked the boats, they drew the two vessels that much closer together. Fire again, he yelled as loud deafening roars sounded and more white smoke emanated throughout the sky.

Almost an hour had past and he wasn’t sure how, but the other boat was still afloat. He had shot dozens of holes through The Sea Nymph crippling her severely and had taken out almost every cannon on board yet Cooper still had not surrendered. That was fine because he wasn’t looking for a surrender. When only two of Cooper’s cannons remained, he rammed the side of the boat. Tie her off, he demanded and the minute his crew did they rushed onto the wrecked ship. While his men engaged Cooper’s crew, he stood on the railing for a moment in search of their captain, yet never having seen the man and with so many eyewitness versions of his description, he was at a loss. He looked for a captain’s jacket or some clothing that would stand out, yet there wasn’t any. They were the usual motley crew all dressed in breeches and swashbuckler shirts and half had bandanas on. It didn’t