Sector 2814

Kyle looked up as feet pounded on the deck overhead, followed by muffled shouts. “Something going on?” he asked Isamot.

Isamot dropped the rope he was mending and stood up. “Maybe there is ship?” He turned and went up the steps to the deck above. Kyle set his rope aside and followed after him, blinking as he went up the stairs and into the light. 

Everyone on deck was either pulling lines or standing at the ready with firearms. Except Hal. He was at the wheel, a predatory look in his eye as he steered the ship towards the small vessel ahead of them. Kyle remembered all too well the sight of the sleek ship coming towards them and the fear that hung over the crew of his ship as they tried their best to get away. He remembered his own fear as the ship hoisted its colors and revealed itself as a pirate’s vessel—the black flag with the strange green symbol that he now realized represented the lantern. He’d wondered what was in store for him, whether he’d survive the encounter with pirates. And now here he was, a pirate on that same ship.

He went up to the quarterdeck to stand next to Hal. The captain didn’t even look at him, he was so intent on driving his ship towards his prey. It seemed as if he could anticipate every move the other vessel could make, because no matter what they did, the Emerald Dawn closed in on them. Finally the cargo ship dropped her colors, the sign of surrender, and let the Dawn draw close.

“Doesn’t look like they’re going to put up much of a fight,” Guy said. “I don’t see any weapons.”

“Is it always this easy?” Kyle asked. The sailors just stood in a group on the deck, seemingly waiting for the pirates to board.

“Our reputation usually precedes us,” Hal said. “They know they won’t get hurt if they don’t fight back. And they’re not going to be willing to die over someone else’s cargo.” He smiled. “They gave a good chase, I will admit.” He smoothed his hands over the polished wood of the ship’s wheel as if he were caressing a lover. “I always enjoy it when they put the Dawn through her paces. Very exhilarating.” He looked at Kyle. He still had the predatory gleam in his eyes, but it was of a different type, one that Kyle was already familiar with. He stepped close to Kyle so he could whisper in his ear while his hand slipped discreetly under Kyle’s coat to rest on his arse, “It puts me in the mood to put you through your paces as well.”

Kyle looked over Hal’s shoulder at Guy and John. But if they had heard, neither gave any indication. Their attention was fully on the other ship. 

“So, are you ready to be a pirate?” Hal asked him. 

Kyle heart skipped, and a thrill of anticipation and fear clenched his stomach. He looked over at the ship, then back at Hal. He had a fleeting thought of this is wrong, it’s stealing, but it wasn’t like it was the sailors themselves who were losing anything. It was the wealthy merchants and Lords back in England who would lose. Men who were the same as his father. “Yes. I’m ready.”

Hal smiled. “The ship is yours, Mister Stewart,” he called out over his shoulder. “Mister Gardner, get the launch ready while I go find Mister Rayner a sword.”

Kyle followed Hal down to the his cabin. As soon as Kyle went through the door, strong arms grabbed him from behind. Hal kicked the door shut and pulled Kyle to him. He pushed his hard cock against Kyle’s arse. “I want you,” he growled in Kyle’s ear. 

Kyle grinned and turned his Hal’s arms to face him. “Are you always this aroused after giving chase?”

“Usually,” Hal growled. “Though I always have to make do with this.” He lifted his hand and wagged his fingers. 

Kyle smiled. “Perhaps I can help this time?” He slid his hand down Hal’s belly, down to the hard bulge in his breeches. Hal sighed and bent to kiss Kyle’s neck, while Kyle tugged open the buttons on the breeches and slipped his hand inside to grasp Hal’s erection.

Hal moaned against Kyle’s neck and pushed into Kyle’s hand. Then his own hand moved down to pull open Kyle’s breeches and Kyle sighed as Hal’s fingers caressed him. “This will have to be quick,” Hal murmured into his ear as he started stroking Kyle’s cock. 

Kyle nodded and ran his thumb over the tip of Hal’s cock before squeezing and stroking him. The only sound in the room was their ragged breathing and then Kyle was coming, pressing his face into Hal’s shoulder to muffle his cries. His strokes faltered and Hal’s hand replaced his until the captain was coming, too, spurting against Kyle’s belly. Hal pulled them back a few steps so he could lean against the table, Kyle still in his arms. “Lovely,” he murmured and kissed Kyle deeply.

The door suddenly opened. “Boat’s ready, Cap—” 

Guy choked on his words and Kyle jerked his sticky hand out of Hal’s breeches. Hal just calmly looked at his first officer, his hand still around Kyle’s softening cock. “Thank you, Mister Gardner.” 

Guy coughed, the color of his face nearly matching his hair. “We can leave as soon as you’re done finding each other’s swords.” He rolled his eyes and left. 

Hal grabbed a cloth from the dresser and tossed it to Kyle, then grabbed one for himself. “Now let’s see about finding you a weapon.” While Kyle cleaned up and straightened up his clothes, Hal poked around in a massive trunk next to the dresser. “Here we are.” He stood up, holding a sword in a scabbard. It must have been new, because it gleamed in the light coming through the windows. “I got this from some fat lord heading to Barbados to be governor.” Hal smirked. “I doubt the man even knew how to use it.” He handed the sword to Kyle. “You do know how to use a sword, don’t you?”

Kyle grinned. “Which kind of sword?”

Hal laughed and wrapped his arms around Kyle, pressing his hand to the front of Kyle’s breeches. “I already know you can use this one.” 

Kyle stepped back and gave the sword an experimental swing. “I’ve done some fencing.” Of course, the fencing foil was only a fraction of the weight of this sword. But he was sure he could manage. He hoped.

Hal nodded. “Well, it’s rare that a ship like this fights back. Just keep your eyes open and head for the boat if they decide to surprise us.”

“I can take care of myself, Hal,” Kyle said, though he wasn’t entirely sure about that.

Hal looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “Just be careful.”

On the way to the boat, Isamot fell in step beside Kyle. “You really part of crew now, yes?” Isamot said through a toothy grin. He patted Kyle’s shoulder. “Good luck.”

Kyle smiled at his friend, then followed the rest of the group over the rail and into the boat.

They had only a short distance to travel in the boat, and in no time Kyle was scrambling up the side of the other vessel on his first adventure as a pirate. On the deck, the men eyed them with fear. Kyle noticed that a few were finely dressed. And one was very familiar.

“Kyle Rayner?” a man asked, stepping forward out of the group.

“Get back!” Guy shouted, raising his sword, and the man paled and took a step back.

Hal turned to Kyle. “Do you know him?”

Kyle nodded. “Wally West. His uncle is our neighbor and Wally stayed with him often. We grew up together.”

“Ah, yes…” Hal went over to the man and took his arm, pulling him away from the group and over to Kyle. “You’re Barry Allen’s nephew. Your uncle was a good friend of mine.”  

“Until you betrayed your King and Country, Jordan,” Wally growled. 

“They betrayed me first,” Hal said coldly. He let go of Wally’s arm and gestured towards his crew. “Let’s see what this ship is carrying.” He squeezed Kyle’s shoulder. “You can stay on deck. Catch up with your friend.” Hal winked at him, then took a group of the crew below decks.

“What are you doing out here, Kyle?” Wally asked. “What are you doing with them?” He glanced at Guy and Vath, who were keeping an eye on the crew.

“I’ve been disowned,” Kyle said, not quite able to meet Wally’s eyes. “Lord Scott arranged for me to go to the colonies but … Captain Jordan gave me a better offer.”

“To become a pirate?” Wally exclaimed. “How can you serve under a man like Jordan?” 

Guy snorted. “Mister Rayner enjoys serving under Captain Jordan,” he muttered. Vath choked back a laugh. Kyle glared at them.

Wally frowned at Guy, obviously confused, then his eyes widened. He turned to Kyle. “The rumors about you are true, then? Your father disowned you because you and Lord Scott’s son were…?” His face turned bright red, his eyes wide. “And … you and Jordan?”

“Yes, it’s true, Wally,” Kyle said. “And I do enjoy ‘serving under’ Captain Jordan.” He looked defiantly at Guy.

“I’m glad to hear that, Mister Rayner,” Hal said behind him. He clapped his hand onto Kyle’s shoulder. “And I must say a finer man has never served under me.”

Guy and Vath both burst out laughing. Wally just looked mortified.

“Get some of these men to help bring up the cargo,” Hal said to Vath, gesturing towards the captive crew. He turned away from Kyle, to discuss moving the cargo with Guy.

Kyle moved to follow him, but Wally grabbed his arm. “What’s going to happen to us?” he whispered.

“Nothing’s going to happen to you. You’ll be let go with a ship that’s a little lighter.” Kyle shook his head. “He’s nothing like you’ve heard in the stories, Wally. He’s just—” 

“A criminal. A criminal who will get you hanged.” Wally gripped Kyle’s shoulder. “Come with me, Kyle. I’m going to Virginia, as an aide to Governor Garrick. I can put in a word for you, maybe—”

“No.” Kyle stepped back. “I appreciate your concern, but I wouldn’t be any safer in Virginia or Carolina or … anywhere. No matter where I go, I risk prison or the gallows. So I’ll take my chances as a pirate.”

They stepped out of the way, letting the men go by carrying crates and barrels from the hold to the launch. 

“Why take chances at all?” Wally asked. “Is it really worth the risk to whore yourself to a pirate to satisfy base pleasures?”

“I’m not whoring myself,” Kyle said angrily. “It’s more than that, Wally. And I don’t want to leave him.”

Wally narrowed his eyes at him. “Dear Lord, Kyle, are you saying you’re in love with him?” he whispered.

Before Kyle could answer, Guy joined them again. “Captain wants you to head back with the first load,” he said. “Vath’s waiting in the boat.”

Kyle nodded then turned to grip  Wally’s hand. “Good luck to you, Wally.” He smiled. “Maybe we’ll meet again the next time you’re out this way.”

“Good luck to you, too, Kyle,” Wally said soberly. He threw a disparaging glance at Guy. “You’ll need it.”

“Wally…”

But his friend had already turned away from him, going back to join the others. Kyle felt a pang of regret that another link to his old life had been cut, but there was nothing else he could do. Like Hal said, they were the ones who had abandoned him.

They reached the Turks & Caicos in good time and while the crew spent the afternoon catching fish and crabs and conch for a feast, Hal and Kyle took the opportunity to be alone. After Kyle was able to stand on land again (he was certain the island was moving beneath his feet!) they hiked to the the opposite side of the point from the rest of the crew. Hal was lounging on the beach under a palm tree, shirt open and boots off, and Kyle finally had his chance to paint him. 

“Can I see it?”

Kyle looked over the canvas at Hal. He smiled and shook his head. “No. Not yet.”

He considered the painting in front of him. Just as he had imagined, Hal was many shades of brown: coppery skin and auburn hair and eyes of deep umber. The colors of earth, of solid strength, of life. 

It felt good to have a brush in his hand again. His father had ended the sessions with the art tutors after his mother had died, and he never painted in the house after that. He kept paints, brushes and canvas at the Scott’s home. He’d even started giving Jenny lessons. He felt the usual pang of regret over Jenny. The girl had become smitten with him, maybe even fallen in love with him. And for a while he’d encouraged it, wondering if maybe his attraction to men was a mistake, that he just hadn’t met the right woman. But though he loved Jenny dearly, it was as a sister. As Todd’s sister. When she’d found out about them, she’d been far braver about it than Kyle had expected, mostly for the sake of her brother he supposed. She had even provided excuses for him a few times, when he’d been off with Todd and his father wanted to know where he’d been. Jenny had claimed to be the one monopolizing his time. He only hoped she found a man good enough for her.

“Am I that handsome that you can’t even take your eyes off my image?”

Kyle shook himself from his reverie, realizing he was staring at the painting. Hal had gotten up and was now leaning over his shoulder. “What do you think?” Kyle asked.

Hal grinned. “It’s amazing. You’ve got quite a talent, Kyle.”

Kyle shrugged and started packing the paints back into the box. “I don’t know about that. The tutors were always frustrated with me, because I never made exact copies of paintings. I always wanted to change things.”

“Nothing wrong with creativity,” Hal said. He sat down on the sand next to Kyle and lay his hand on Kyle’s knee. “I happen to like your creativity.”

Kyle smiled and leaned over to kiss him. Hal met him halfway and it wasn’t long before they were wrapped around each other, pulling open buttons on shirts and breeches while groping and thrusting. 

“Captain?”

Kyle groaned into Hal’s shoulder when Soranik voice called to them from the trees lining the beach. Hal kissed Kyle, swiping his tongue across Kyle’s lips, then sat up. “Over here.”

Soranik stepped out of the trees, eyes averted but she had a smile on her face. “Sorry to interrupt, but the food is ready and there won’t be any left if you wait too long.” 

“We’re on our way,” Hal called out. He stood up, then reached down to pull Kyle to his feet. “We’ll continue this later,” he said softly.

They gathered up Kyle’s paints and trudged back over the point to rejoin the crew. The men—and Soranik—were seated around a blazing bonfire, passing around bowls. 

Kyle set his canvas, wrapped carefully in linen, next to a tree, then took a seat with his shipmates around the fire. 

“Here. Is conch. Very good,” Isamot said, thrusting a bowl filled with whitish meat into Kyle’s hands. 

It was very good, similar to scallops he’d had back home. After the conch he had clams, then cactus, and then more conch until he was stuffed full, the first time in months. 

A bottle of rum made the rounds. Kyle took as swig of rum and passed it on to Hannu. Isamot started singing, a song they often sang while they worked, and they all joined in.

Hal sat next to him and stuck a cup of wine in his hand, some of the Madeira they’d taken from Wally’s ship. “Enjoying yourself?”

Kyle raised his cup and smiled at his lover. “A pirate’s life for me.”