Pirate Read online

  TITLES BY CLIVE CUSSLER

  DIRK PITT® ADVENTURES

  Havana Storm (with Dirk Cussler)

  Poseidon’s Arrow (with Dirk Cussler)

  Crescent Dawn (with Dirk Cussler)

  Arctic Drift (with Dirk Cussler)

  Treasure of Khan (with Dirk Cussler)

  Black Wind (with Dirk Cussler)

  Trojan Odyssey

  Valhalla Rising

  Atlantis Found

  Flood Tide

  Shock Wave

  Inca Gold

  Sahara

  Dragon

  Treasure

  Cyclops

  Deep Six

  Pacific Vortex!

  Night Probe!

  Vixen 03

  Raise the Titanic!

  Iceberg

  The Mediterranean Caper

  SAM AND REMI FARGO ADVENTURES

  Pirate (with Robin Burcell)

  The Solomon Curse (with Russell Blake)

  The Eye of Heaven (with Russell Blake)

  The Mayan Secrets (with Thomas Perry)

  The Tombs (with Thomas Perry)

  The Kingdom (with Grant Blackwood)

  Lost Empire (with Grant Blackwood)

  Spartan Gold (with Grant Blackwood)

  ISAAC BELL ADVENTURES

  The Gangster (with Justin Scott)

  The Assassin (with Justin Scott)

  The Bootlegger (with Justin Scott)

  The Striker (with Justin Scott)

  The Thief (with Justin Scott)

  The Race (with Justin Scott)

  The Spy (with Justin Scott)

  The Wrecker (with Justin Scott)

  The Chase

  KURT AUSTIN ADVENTURES NOVELS FROM THE NUMA® FILES

  The Pharaoh’s Secret (with Graham Brown)

  Ghost Ship (with Graham Brown)

  Zero Hour (with Graham Brown)

  The Storm (with Graham Brown)

  Devil’s Gate (with Graham Brown)

  Medusa (with Paul Kemprecos)

  The Navigator (with Paul Kemprecos)

  Polar Shift (with Paul Kemprecos)

  Lost City (with Paul Kemprecos)

  White Death (with Paul Kemprecos)

  Fire Ice (with Paul Kemprecos)

  Blue Gold (with Paul Kemprecos)

  Serpent (with Paul Kemprecos)

  OREGON® FILES

  The Emperor’s Revenge (with Boyd Morrison)

  Piranha (with Boyd Morrison)

  Mirage (with Jack Du Brul)

  The Jungle (with Jack Du Brul)

  The Silent Sea (with Jack Du Brul)

  Corsair (with Jack Du Brul)

  Plague Ship (with Jack Du Brul)

  Skeleton Coast (with Jack Du Brul)

  Dark Watch (with Jack Du Brul)

  Sacred Stone (with Craig Dirgo)

  Golden Buddha (with Craig Dirgo)

  NONFICTION

  Built to Thrill: More Classic Automobiles from Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt

  Built for Adventure: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt

  The Sea Hunters (with Craig Dirgo)

  The Sea Hunters II (with Craig Dirgo)

  Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed (with Craig Dirgo)

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  Publishers Since 1838

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street

  New York, New York 10014

  Copyright © 2016 by Sandecker, RLLLP

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  eBook ISBN: 9780399183997

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Cussler, Clive, author. | Burcell, Robin, author.

  Title: Pirate : a Sam and Remi Fargo adventure / Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell.

  Description: New York : G. P. Putnam’s Sons, [2016] | Series: A Sam and Remi Fargo adventure

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016027546 | ISBN 9780399183973 (hardback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Treasure troves—Fiction. | Man-woman relationships—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Action & Adventure. | FICTION / Suspense. | FICTION / Thrillers. | GSAFD: Murder fiction | Adventure fiction. | Suspense fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3553.U75 P543 2016 | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016027546

  International ISBN: 9780735211988

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  Contents

  Titles by Clive Cussler

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Characters

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Chapter Fifty-six

  Chapter Fifty-seven

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  About the Author

  Characters

  1216

  Norfolk, England

  William the Marshal—Earl of Pembroke, served King John.

  Robert de Br
aose—King John’s knight-turned-traitor.

  Hugh Fitz Hubert—William the Marshal’s trusted knight.

  John de Lacy—King John’s guard.

  King John—King of England.

  PRESENT DAY

  Descendants of William the Marshal and Their Adversaries

  Grace Herbert—distant relative to Sir Edward Herbert.

  Sir Edmund Herbert—(fictional) illegitimate son of Edmund Mortimer, Second Lord Mortimer.

  Hugh le Despenser—rumored lover of Kind Edward II, adversary of Roger Mortimer.

  Captain Bridgeman—an alias for the pirate Henry Every, connected through family lineage to Hugh le Despenser.

  Henry McGregor—Grace Herbert’s cousin, inherited Nottingham estate.

  Pickering’s Used & Rare Books

  Gerald Pickering—San Francisco bookseller, uncle to Bree Marshall.

  Mr. Wickham—Mr. Pickering’s cat.

  Bree Marshall—Remi Fargo’s employee in charge of fund-raising.

  Larayne Pickering-Smith—Bree’s cousin, daughter of Gerald Pickering.

  Robber—later identified as Jakob “Jak” Stanislav.

  Fargo Team

  Sam Fargo

  Remi (Longstreet) Fargo

  Zoltán—Remi’s Hungarian-born German shepherd.

  Selma Wondrash—the Fargos’ research assistant and go-to person.

  Sandra—flight attendant on the Fargo jet.

  Professor Lazlo Kemp—assists Selma with research, from Great Britain.

  Pete Jeffcoat—Selma’s research assistant, Corden’s boyfriend.

  Wendy Corden—Selma’s research assistant, Jeffcoat’s girlfriend.

  Former DARPA Members

  Ruben “Rube” Hayward—case officer, CIA’s Directorate of Operations.

  Nicholas Archer—owner of Archer Worldwide Security.

  Avery Company

  Charles Avery—corporate raider and maritime salvager.

  Colin Fisk—head of Avery’s security team.

  Martin Edwards—Avery’s CFO.

  Alexandra Avery—Avery’s wife.

  Kipp Rogers—Alexandra Avery’s private investigator.

  Winton Page—Charles Avery’s attorney.

  Jak Stanislav—one of Fisk’s henchmen.

  Marlowe—Fisk henchman.

  Ivan—Fisk henchman.

  Victor—Fisk’s new henchman.

  Rogen—Fisk’s new henchman.

  Scholars and Academics

  Professor Ian Hopkins—Arizona, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English literature.

  Meryl Walsh, “Miss Walsh”—curator, British Museum.

  Madge Crowley—librarian, King’s Lynn.

  Nigel Ridgewell—King’s Lynn tour guide, former professor/expert in Old English.

  Professor Cedric Aldridge—Nottingham University History Department.

  Percival “Percy” Wendorf—retired professor, Nottingham University.

  Agatha Wendorf—Wendorf’s wife.

  Restaurateurs, Hoteliers, and Travel Guides

  SAN FRANCISCO

  Mr. Bryant—on-duty manager for Ritz-Carlton Hotel, San Francisco.

  ARIZONA

  Chef Marcellino Verzino—owner of Marcellino Ristorante, Scottsdale.

  Sima—Verzino’s wife.

  JAMAICA

  Melia—waitress at restaurant, Jamaica.

  Jay-Jay—owner of biker bar, Jamaica.

  Kemar—car rental employee, Jamaica.

  Antwan—biker at Jay-Jay’s bar.

  Billy—biker at Jay-Jay’s bar.

  BRAZIL

  António Alves—hired driver, university student, São Paolo, Brazil.

  Henrique Salazar—António Alves’s uncle.

  Captain Delgado—captain of the Golfinho.

  Nuno—youngest crew member of the Golfinho.

  Police Officers

  Sergeant Fauth—detective, Robbery Detail, San Francisco PD.

  Sergeant Trevino—Fauth’s partner, SFPD.

  Deputy Wagner—Carteret County sheriff’s deputy.

  Prologue

  Bishop’s Lynn, Norfolk, England

  October 9, 1216

  The first flurries of snow fell from the gray sky, the temperature plummeting as twilight deepened. William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, reined his spirited stallion to a stop, the three knights behind him following suit. Around them, the forest turned into a menacing maze of rustling shadows, the path no longer clear.

  When William failed to see the horsemen they’d broken away from earlier that evening, he wondered for a moment if they had taken a wrong turn. But no. There was the twisted oak on the left, as he remembered. He and the three knights with him had ridden ahead to scout the path for the others who would be following the next day, guarding the king’s treasure. And though William had argued against the move, hoping to wait for more reinforcements, the king’s advisers insisted that it was important to secure the treasure’s safety—especially now that Prince Louis of France had taken London and was proclaiming himself King of England. With half of King John’s barons siding with Louis against him, he wanted the royal treasure out of the usurper’s reach.

  Robert de Braose rode up beside him and William looked over. “My men should have been here by now.”

  “Perhaps the colder weather has delayed them.”

  William held up his hand, demanding silence. The faintest of sounds caught his attention, and he strained to hear. “Listen . . .”

  “I hear nothing.”

  There it was again. A rustling that differed from the wind in the trees.

  Beside him, a whisper of metal as Robert drew his sword from its leather scabbard. Then a cry as several horsemen emerged from the forest, their swords drawn. William’s horse reared at the unexpected charge. He fought to stay seated. He heard the air swoosh as Robert’s sword arced toward him.

  Instinctively, he lifted his shield. Too late. The sharp edge of Robert’s blade struck his rib cage. The tight chain mail of his body tunic absorbed most of the blow, though pain shot through him.

  Had Robert mistaken him for the enemy?

  Impossible, he thought as he drew his sword. He whirled about, then took out the horseman closest to him. The man’s body landed near that of William’s youngest knight, Arthur de Clare.

  Anger surged through him as he turned to Robert. “Have you gone mad?” he asked, almost too stunned to believe he’d been ambushed by one of the king’s handpicked men.

  “On the contrary,” Robert said. He urged his mount forward, swung again, but he no longer held the element of surprise. Their blades collided, metal ringing. “I have finally come to my senses.”

  “By attacking me, you commit treason against the king. To what end?”

  “Not my king, yours. I swear fealty to Louis of France.”

  The betrayal struck deep. “You were my friend.”

  Robert kicked at his horse’s flanks, sword lunging as he leaned forward, then pulled back at the last second.

  William anticipated the feint, waited, then swung his shield, knocking Robert from his horse. The stallion ran off. Behind them, Hugh Fitz Hubert, also unhorsed, took down one rebel knight, then turned to find another riding off, leading the remaining horses away. Two-upon-two, and William the only remaining horseman. He liked these odds much better and he circled around, facing Robert. “I trained you. I know your weaknesses.”

  “And I, yours.” The clouds parted, and a shaft of moonlight glinted off Robert’s weapon of choice. A one-edged blade combined the power and weight of an axe with the versatility of a sword. The end curved slightly into a deadly point—one which William had seen penetrate tightly woven chain mail.

  The heavier weight of the weapon gave
Robert an advantage over the lighter two-edged longsword that William used. But Robert would tire easier, especially now that he’d been knocked from his mount. And no sooner had that thought crossed William’s mind than Robert charged him, swinging his blade like a battle-axe, aiming for the horse’s legs.

  William retreated, realizing the greater threat. Take out their horses and, even if they did survive, they could never get back in time to warn the king.

  A hard thing to do—giving up the advantage—but William knew it was his only chance. He dismounted, slapping his horse on its flank, sending it off. Fitz Hubert and the rebel knight squared off, swords clashing.

  He faced Robert. The two men sidestepped, round and round. William examined Robert’s metal tunic, hoping there might be some flaw in the mail. “Why?” he asked between blows. He needed answers. He intended to survive.

  Robert eyed him, shifting the weight of his sword in his hand. “There is enough gold in the king’s camp to fund an entire army—take back what was lost by your inept king’s actions.”

  “His actions are his to make”—metal sparked against metal—“whether or not you find them to your liking.”

  “My family has lost everything,” Robert said, circling William, searching for an opening, waiting for the right moment. “The king has lined his coffers with our gold—with our blood. Imprisoned my half brothers.” He struck again and again. “That treasure belongs to us, and where it goes, we go.”

  William’s muscles burned, he was tiring fast. Robert was a formidable enemy. Younger and stronger. The two men faced each other, their breath coming hard and fast. He lost track of Fitz Hubert and the other rebel knight but heard them somewhere in the dark. “You will fail,” William said.

  “Nay. The king is already dying.”

  Fear coursed through William. And, with it, the strength to lift his sword one last time. His blade arced. Robert parried—as William knew he would. William’s sword glanced upward, and he used the force to bring it farther, thrusting into the chain mail beneath Robert’s arm. With both hands, he drove Robert to the ground.

  William stood over Robert, noting the mixture of fear and loathing on his face as he stomped on Robert’s sword arm. He pressed the point of his blade against Robert’s throat. “What say you now?”

  “We have still won.”

  “With your imminent demise?” It was a moment of glory. A heartbeat away from striking the deathblow to the traitor. Especially when he saw Fitz Hubert emerge from the trees unscathed.