48 Hours a Day

Seven days had passed since Malcolm threatened Carina to leave Nassau. Even though she seemed calm and composed in front of others, she was actually terribly distraught. That said, nothing wrong happened to her for the past few days.

 There was still a line in front of the storage that Carina rented, with throngs of people forming long lines to sell their secondhand goods to her. The captains that secretly traded with her received no warning from the black-market alliance as well. This had woken them up from their dormant state, and they started to believe everything Carina told them. It seemed that Malcolm had no intention to deal with this matter. Carina was now officially the enemy of the black-market alliance. As a result, the captains from different pirate ships started to visit Carina secretly again.

 Just when everything seemed to be looking up, something awful was about to happen to Carina.

 One night, Carina woke up from a dream. She did not even have the time to wear something proper, hurriedly donning on her pajamas, and running to the port barefooted. It was late at night, but a large number of people had gathered around the beach. Honegg, the person tasked with defending the island, and his people, were confronting a group of new pirates that had just entered Nassau.

 However, the crowd wasn’t paying any attention to them. They were looking at the two ships that were docked at the harbor, never having seen these two barques in Nassau before. The pirates that disembarked were new around this area as well. The vessels’ sturdy hulls, massive cannons, and black flags were proof that they were indeed pirates. And they were powerful.

 Previously, some new pirates landed in Nassau. As it became increasingly famous, more and more pirates visited Nassau to purchase supplies for their ships. Technically, the constant arrival of new pirates shouldn’t have been too surprising to residents of Nassau. However, this group acted differently than all the other new pirates that they encountered before. This bunch was so arrogant that they fired their cannons twice on the empty beach before docking their ships at the harbor! Luckily, no one was on the beach when the shots landed. Still, many were shocked by the audacity of the new bunch.

 “Who’s the captain?” asked Honegg.

 A man sporting a mermaid tattoo on his arms was instructing two of his men to plant two wooden logs on the beach. Once he heard Honegg was looking for the captain, he walked up toward him.

 “How should I address you?”

 “Captain Wilton. You can call me Wilton. However, merchants that I’ve robbed before prefer to call me the Executioner.”

 At that, Wilton drew his dagger from his waist. Immediately, Honegg’s men pulled out their guns as well. Wilton simply smiled, took out an apple, and used the blade to peel off the skin of the fruit.

 “The Executioner? I have never heard of this title before,” answered Honegg.

 “Well, I don’t blame you. That’s because I kill everyone on the ships I plunder. All those who know my name happens to be dead.”

 He bragged about carrying out his ruthless and brutal endeavors in an extremely casual way. By the look on his face, it seemed that he enjoyed what he did. Even experienced pirates felt sick to the stomach after hearing what he said. Honegg was once the elder of Nassau and gained fame when Blackbeard and Black Prince Sam made a name for themselves. It surely wasn’t easy to put fear in a man the likes of him.

 “I don’t care who you are and where you came from. If you dare fire your cannons on my island again, I will make sure your story ends here!”

 To everyone’s surprise, Wilton put down his dagger and began acting more politely.

 “This is our first time here. Forgive us if we failed to acknowledge the rules of the place. I’m willing to apologize if I have offended you in any way. I have always heard people talking about Nassau. The truth is, we are just here to check out this place known as the hometown of pirates.”

 Seeing that Wilton was willing to play nice, Honegg asked his men to stand down immediately.

 “Nassau is a land of freedom. As long as you don’t cause any trouble here, you are welcome to stay.”

 Just when Honegg was about to leave the port, someone called out to his name.

 “Captain Honegg, I remember there’s a rule here stating that pirates are now allowed to plunder the ships of the black-market merchants, right?” asked Carina.

 Now, she was worried about the Gentle Breeze. Supposedly, the vessel should be in North Carolina right now, but instead, it was in between the two new pirate ships that just landed in Nassau. Previously, she had been informed that the Gentle Breeze returned to Nassau with two unfamiliar pirate ships. There could be only one possibility if the Gentle Breeze returned to Nassau before the expected time. They must have been plundered by other pirates. That explained why she was so anxious. The ship’s goods were not as important. She cared more about the safety of Malone and his sailors.

 Honegg then stopped in his tracks. He, too, noticed that the Gentle Breeze was between the two new pirate ships.

 “Did you guys rob her ship?”

 “Well, we are pirates. It’s only right that we plunder other ships, right?”

 “You better return the ship to her,” scowled Honegg while looking at Carina.

 “What if we refuse to return it to her?”

 “Then, you guys won’t be able to sell your loot to her.”

 “Thank you for your gentle reminder. I think we can figure out a way to solve this problem.”

 After that, Honegg did not say a single word. Carina ran up to him immediately and stopped him from leaving.

 “Just like that?” whispered a shocked Carina.

 “The black-market merchants are part of the black-market alliance, right? This isn’t under my jurisdiction. You should go ask for the help of your alliance. Technically, they didn’t break any rules. They weren’t considered pirates of Nassau when they plundered your ship.”

 Honegg lifted Carina’s hand that was tightly grabbing his sleeve.

 “I’m sorry. My only responsibility is to make sure that the island is safe. Your problem is not part of that responsibility.”

 Seeing Honegg walking away, Carina felt helpless. She then took a look at everyone around her. Most who were present here had sold items to her before. They quickly looked away when they saw that she was trying to look for help, knowing that it was probably a bad idea to mess with men, the likes of Wilton, and his cohorts. Although ignoring her pleas would impede any opportunity for future business, it was better than dying right now.

 Carina did not expect Wilton to be the first to talk after she looking at the crowd.

 “Is that your ship?”

 “I never thought that the second-in-command of the black-market alliance would play such dirty tricks to force me off Nassau. Let me warn you. If anything happens to my men, I will…”

 She was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

 “I don’t know what the hell the black-market alliance is. I don’t care about your quarrels with that alliance as well. I’m simply glad I found the owner of the ship. Let’s talk business.”

 “Hold on. You plundered my ship, and you dare talk business with me?” replied Carina with a burst of laughter.

 “Why not? We have to sell the loot that we acquired anyway. I have a batch of special items with me. I think you might be interested in purchasing them.”

 Wilton clapped his hands, and the pirates behind him quickly rowed to the Gentle Breeze. This time, they returned with another four men. Carina instantly recognized that the captives were indeed the crew of the Gentle Breeze. Their hands and feet were bound tightly. Seeing that they were alive and well, Carina was slightly relieved. However, what Wilton told her next almost caused her to flip in anger.

“Ah… my loot is here. What would you offer me for these?”