Vampirates 5: Empire of Night (12 page)

Connor nodded soberly. "I remember, Captain. I won't let you down."

129

13 AN AUDIENCE WITH THE FEDERATION

Cheng Li knocked briskly on the paneled door of the headmaster's study.

"
Entrez!
" called a familiar voice. The door opened and Captain René Grammont ushered them inside.

"Cheng Li and Mister Tempest.
Bienvenue!
Welcome back to your old stomping ground." Captain Grammont kissed Cheng Li on each cheek. "And one more for luck,
n'est-ce pas?
"

Then he extended his hand and gave Connor an eye-wateringly firm handshake. There was something reassuringly old-fashioned about René Grammont, from his ruddy, immaculately shaven cheeks to the soft smell of pipe tobacco that mingled with his lime cologne.

"Congratulations on succeeding John as headmaster,"

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Cheng Li said, stepping deeper into the study. "I know it's what he would have wanted."

"
Merci
," Captain Grammont said, smiling with pride. "It is a great honor for me to build on all the
incroyable
work John put in here."

"You were with him every step of the way," Cheng Li said. "I'm sure it will be the most seamless of transitions."

"You're too kind!" René Grammont's blue eyes twinkled. "How well you look. And of course, you are doing such great things with your young crew. Everyone at the academy, and in the Federation too, is very much in awe of your recent exploits."

Cheng Li bowed her head modestly. Connor couldn't help but wonder if the powers that be would be quite so awed when Cheng Li revealed that Operation Black Heart had not, after all, been one of the most successful campaigns in Federation history. Hopefully, they would take the news in their stride, as Cheng Li had done. But although René Grammont might very well be sympathetic and supportive, it was anyone's guess how the enigmatic Commodore Ahab Black, his senior officer in the Pirate Federation, would react.

Captain Grammont glanced at his highly polished fob watch. "
Alors,
much as I'd like to sit and have a chin-wag with you both, I suppose we really should get a move on."

"Indeed," Cheng Li said. "Where are we meeting Commodore Black?"

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Grammont raised an eyebrow. "In the vaults," he said.

"The vaults?" Cheng Li didn't mask her surprise.

"He's stepped up security to level six," Captain Grammont explained. "Come on; I'll lead the way."

Connor and Cheng Li had previously accessed the academy vaults through a secret door in the floor of the Rotunda. They had made the journey down there to visit the Federation's secret study filled with research materials and artifacts relating to the Vampirates. This time, a more direct route was revealed as Captain Grammont leaned forward to a silver globe and spun it three times on its axis. As he did so, behind the globe, one of the leather wall panels swung open, revealing a dimly lit spiral staircase.

Captain Grammont held open the wall panel, allowing the others to enter first. "I do hope neither of you has dust allergies," he said, brushing a cobweb out of his perfectly groomed hair.

The spiral staircase led down to a familiar subterranean corridor with a number of identical doors on either side. Connor glanced at the door numbered 8. Behind it lay the cache where they had slaved long and hard in their mission to research the Vampirates' vulnerabilities. They had emerged with what they had hoped was a foolproof plan. Events had unfortunately proved otherwise.

Now, though, Captain Grammont led them past this door and on to room 13. He knocked to signal their presence, waited a moment, and then pushed open the door.

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He crossed the threshold first, signaling Cheng Li and Connor to follow. As they entered the dark room, Captain Grammont formally announced them: "Captain Li and Mister Tempest of
The Tiger
." The door swung closed behind them with a snap.

Room 13 was, like the other rooms in the vaults, poorly lit. The air felt thicker down here, colder, too, as if you were underwater. Dust mites floated in front of Connor's eyes. He looked beyond them to the long table that extended along the length of the room. It was covered with papers, as well as carafes of water and bowls of fruit. Commodore Black was at the far end. He stood up to welcome the new arrivals, the most minimal of smiles forming under his trim mustache. Connor gazed at Black's one visible eye, which shone more violet than ever in the gloom. His other eye was, as usual, shielded by a patch.

Connor had been under the impression that Cheng Li was expecting a one-on-one meeting with Commodore Black. Evidently, this was not the case. Ranged along both sides of the table were all the other members of staff at Pirate Academy, each serving a dual role as high-ranking officers within the Federation. Connor followed Cheng Li toward the table, casting his eyes over the familiar faces. On the left side of the table sat Pavel Platonov, Shivaji Singh, Francisco Moscardo, and Apostolos Solomos. On the opposite side sat Floris van Amstel, Kirsten Larsen, Wilfred Avery, and Lisabeth Quivers, who had evidently made a swift descent from the academy

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terrace. The captains all greeted Cheng Li and Connor. Clearly, Connor's presence at the meeting had not been expected, but no one seemed perturbed that he was there. Indeed, Captain Platonov himself sprang to his feet and drew forward an extra chair. Thinking back to his first encounter with arch-disciplinarian Captain Platonov, Connor realized just how far his stock within the Federation, and the pirate world as a whole, had risen.

Connor sat down next to Cheng Li at the near end of the long table. Captain Grammont went to join Commodore Black at the other end. As Grammont moved, Connor noticed four more high-ranking pirates sitting close to Ahab Black. He could tell from Cheng Li's sudden change of posture that she too had clocked the additional personnel. Before they could comment, Ahab Black called the meeting to order.

"Welcome, Captain Li and Mister Tempest. As you can see, we gather here today with the full staff of Pirate Academy. We are also joined by four celebrated pirates who will be well known to you--Barbarro Wrathe and his wife, Trofie, captain and deputy of
The Typhon
. And Molucco Wrathe and Cate Morgan, captain and deputy of
The Diablo
."

At his words, Cate smiled and raised her hand at her former comrades. The three Wrathes also turned toward Cheng Li and Connor. Surprisingly, they too were smiling.

"Perhaps I should explain," Commodore Black said.

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"That would be useful," Cheng Li said, her voice measured.

Black went on. "I need hardly tell you that the world of piracy is changing fast, Captain Li. As such, we need to strengthen the alliances within the Federation. That means reaching out to talented pirates who have, for one reason or another, parted company with us in recent years." Black glanced at Molucco. "Earlier today, we finalized a deal welcoming Molucco Wrathe back into the fold." Molucco nodded and grinned, running his fingers through his rainbow-colored dreadlocks. As he did so, Scrimshaw, the captain's pet snake, emerged and coiled himself about the captain's arm. Across the table, there was a corresponding ripple in Barbarro Wrathe's dark locks and his own pet snake, Scrimshaw's brother, Skirmish, emerged, slinking down the captain's velvet sleeve.

Ahab Black paused only momentarily at the distraction. "The loss of our colleague John Kuo left a significant gap in the hierarchy of the Federation--a gap that I feel cannot be filled by one person alone. That is why I am delighted to tell you that, as of today, Commodore Barbarro Wrathe and Commodore Molucco Wrathe will be jointly sharing John's former Federation duties. Meet your new commanders, Captain Li."

Cheng Li was speechless. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off Molucco. He was stroking Scrimshaw contempla

135

tively but now looked up and smiled at her. "Good to have you working for me, again, Cheng Li."

The still, stale room was filled with an uneasy silence. Finally, Cate spoke. "I think you mean that it's great to have Captain Li working
with
you again," she said.

"Do I?" responded Molucco, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Barbarro Wrathe took up the baton. "Captain Li, I know my brother and I have had our differences with you in the past. But we're ready to bury the hatchet and come together for the common good. You impressed us all enormously with your work on Operation Black Heart. Not that it was anything less than we expected of you." He shuddered and placed his hand on Trofie's shoulder. "My wife and I had a particularly nasty encounter with that Vampirate monster, Lola Lockwood."

Trofie Wrathe brought her golden hand up to her cheek, the ruby fingernails glinting.

"Your encounter was not quite so tragic as John Kuo's," observed Cheng Li.

"Granted," acknowledged Barbarro. "We were lucky to escape with our lives, but we are deeply appreciative of your work"-- his eyes turned to Connor--"and that of your crew, in ridding our oceans of this vile plague. Now the mission continues. As you know, Molucco and I had a brother, Porfirio. Our dear baby brother. A pirate captain with the brightest, most glorious of futures ahead of him.

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Porfirio was slaughtered by the Vampirates, by this Sidorio, with whom you have previously tangled. Now that you have dispatched the she-devil, we must turn our attention to Sidorio himself. This will be your next mission."

Connor was struck dumb. Things were moving so fast. He thought of his conversation with Cheng Li on the voyage that morning. She had seemed bullish, then. Now, he wondered how on earth she was going to respond.

All eyes were on Cheng Li as she began speaking. "I had anticipated that today's meeting would be a private audience with you, Commodore Black," she said, "but it is always good to see my old teachers, comrades, and friends. Indeed, it is opportune to have you all here today as I have important news, both bad and good, to bring you up to speed on."

Cheng Li's confident tone had captured everyone's attention. Not least of all Connor's. He was still unsure how she was going to play the difficult hand she had been dealt.

"I shall begin with news that I know will be a bitter blow to you all," Cheng Li said. "Lola Lockwood has not been eliminated." There was an immediate chorus of gasps from around the table.

Cheng Li nodded. "I'm afraid it's true. Operation Black Heart was not, as we initially thought, one hundred percent successful."

Molucco didn't miss a beat. "If Black Heart herself has

137

not been eliminated then,
de facto
, Operation Black Heart was zero percent successful."

He smirked at Cheng Li's obvious discomfort, but suddenly an unlikely voice came to Cheng Li's rescue. Barbarro Wrathe boomed from across the table. "Let Captain Li have her say, brother!"

Cheng Li nodded toward Barbarro. "The fact is, the Vampirates have certain capabilities that we are only just beginning to understand. I might add that in the past weeks and months, my crew and I have gotten further than any Federation inquiry has previously managed. Our knowledge and experience now outstrips the secret collection in room eight, compiled by countless Federation officers over many years. And I should like to acknowledge here Cate Morgan, who was nothing less than brilliant in devising a revolutionary attack strategy with which to fight this new enemy."

"Hear, hear!" came the voices of several of the captains.

Cheng Li paused before continuing, her eyes taking in all of her comrades. "We have to face facts. The Vampirates are no regular adversary. It was unwise of us to think we could simply swing in and defeat them in one fell swoop. In short, we need to stop thinking about one decisive battle and prepare instead for a period of prolonged war."

"I don't like the sound of that," said Wilfred Avery.

"Nor I," said Shivaji Singh. "Wars are expensive."

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"Hear, hear!" added Floris van Amstel.

"None of us likes this," piped up Captain Larsen. "But we turned a blind eye to the threat from the Vampirates over a number of years, which led to this state of affairs."

"That's not
quite
right," Lisabeth Quivers intervened. "The Vampirates posed no obvious threat until recently."

"Yes," agreed Francisco Moscardo. "Unless you are suggesting we eliminated the threat before it happened, I don't see what we were supposed to have done."

"That doesn't make sense!" objected Apostolos Solomos.

"My point precisely!" countered Moscardo.

"Cheng Li is right," said Pavel Platonov. "We need to step up to the new order of things."

"Agreed." Ahab Black spoke with calm authority, drawing the captains back to order. "Captain Li, you spoke before of bad news and good. Presumably, your revelation that Lockwood is alive is the bad news?"

Cheng Li nodded.

"That being the case, shall we move on to the good?"

Connor watched Cheng Li take center stage once more. "I said before that the Vampirates are a different kind of enemy. They have certain capabilities that we have underestimated. For instance, in Lockwood's case, her ability to repair herself after decapitation.
However
, we also know now that this enemy exhibits key weaknesses. Chief among them being, if I may be so blunt, stupidity."

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There was an uproar of voices following Cheng Li's remarks. Black raised his palm to silence the room once more. "Stupidity?" he said. "Please explain."

"The Vampirates are quite gullible," Cheng Li said. "Susceptible to stories a mortal enemy would see through in an instant. For instance, you mentioned Sidorio before, self-styled King of the renegade Vampirates. Well, we have managed to convince him that Connor is his son."

Connor was shocked to his core.
She couldn't be saying this.
He must have dozed off and was dreaming.

"I'm not joking," Cheng Li continued. "We have convinced Sidorio that he has two children--Connor and his sister, Grace. I can fill you in further on the details later." Her eyes swept across the captains' faces. "We'll also need to discuss some key staffing issues. For instance, I'm going to need Cate Morgan and Bart Pearce back on my crew on a more permanent basis." As Molucco opened his mouth to object, Cheng Li powered on. "The important thing for you all to understand is that Sidorio completely believes our cover story and has invited Connor and Grace to stay with him and Lola Lockwood. This, I'm sure you'll agree, gives us an incredible opportunity to send a spy into the very heart of the enemy camp."

"Wouldn't that be sending Connor into terrible danger?" asked Lisabeth Quivers.

"Connor has proven his courage on more than one occasion," Cheng Li plowed on. "And as long as Sidorio is convinced that Connor is indeed his son, he will be in no

140

danger at all." She reached into her satchel and withdrew an envelope.

Connor couldn't believe it. He didn't remember giving the invitation to her, though it was possible. His mind and emotions had been all over the place earlier in the day.

"Exhibit A," announced Cheng Li, opening the letter and tossing it triumphantly on the table. "Read it. I think you'll agree it changes everything."

Molucco shook his head. "It doesn't change the fact that Operation Black Heart failed. You're not having Cate and Bart back again. They belong to me."

"Oh, hush!" Trofie snapped at her brother-in-law, darting out her golden hand and snatching up Sidorio's letter. "This is indeed a remarkable opportunity to spy on the Vampirates and gather more intelligence from which to plan their final destruction." She turned to Cheng Li. "This is yet more excellent, innovative work, Captain Li."

"I agree," Black said. "You have snatched a greater victory from the jaws of an understandable defeat. The Federation will give you the team you request and whatever else you need to proceed. The way forward is clear. Connor accepts Sidorio's invitation and finds out every last thing he can about how their operation works."

Connor could feel the eyes of the captains upon him. He couldn't believe the position Cheng Li had placed him in. He was eager to see how she justified this move. But,

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as he turned to her questioningly, he heard her earlier words once more.

"Make no mistake, if you are on my side in this mission, then I expect you to do everything I ask of you."

He shook his head. He really should have seen this one coming.

142

14 NEWS OF THE CAPTAIN

Grace lay on her bed, turning the envelope containing Sidorio and Lola's invitation over and over in her hands. Her head was a jumble of thoughts and feelings in reaction to the invitation and all it represented, which, combined with the surprise visits from Johnny and Lola Lockwood, had meant a sleepless night and day. As if she didn't already have enough on her mind after what had happened on the night of the Feast!

Grace still hadn't had the chance to talk properly to Lorcan about her spontaneous decision to join him in Oskar's cabin, nor her equally abrupt exit. She realized that she also needed to talk to Mosh Zu about her growing hunger. So much had happened in such a short space of time, it was hard to know where to start.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Grace cried,

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slipping the envelope between the pages of her notebook and reaching for a pen, as Darcy pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Hello, Grace," Darcy said, buzzing with nervous energy. "Oh, I'm sorry! I hope I'm not interrupting your writing."