Black Sails: The War That Could've Been

Flint I

The sun was only rising, yet the entirety of the maroon camp was busy with preparations and securing the walls of the settlement. Among all the hustle, Rackham and Bonny could be seen talking, presumably about their private matters. The Queen and Madi were both ordering their men, commanding them to fulfill specific tasks. Meanwhile Flint was day-dreaming, lost within his own thoughts. He found himself thinking about the war ahead. He remembered all of the sacrifices that were made to get him this far. The amount of blood, sweat and tears that were poured for the sake of reaching this moment. Yes, he had doubts. Those never went away. Am I doing the right thing? -he would ask himself. Have I made the right choice? Those doubts clouded his mind once again. Yet, it was too late to turn back. I must, and I will see us all through this. -he concluded. His thoughts were disturbed by a loud horn, coming from within the trees. The noise scared off a group of birds, which flew away into the distance. Flint turned towards the woods and produced a confused look. Who could it be? -he thought. Immediately then, a large, broad-shouldered man stepped out from the guts of the forest. It was Billy, along with Ben Gunn and his other men. They began to approach the camp and Flint went out to greet them.
"What news do you bring?" asked Flint.
"Both good and bad" answered Billy, looking Flint in the eyes.
The captain made a distinct gesture for Billy to come inside. The two stepped into a wooden hut to resume the conversation, while the other men remained outside. Having noticed this from afar, Jack left Anne and hurried towards the hut too. The look on his face was that of both fear, and hope. He entered just in time to hear them speak.
"I have news of Vane" began Billy.
"Is he alive?" demanded Jack, worryingly.
"Yes.. barely, but yes."
Billy, having noticed both Flint and Jack's impatient body language continued.
"The day Vane was supposed to be hanged, me and a handful of men came to the square with a final effort to save him. The noose was being put around his neck and we were about to interfere, but then- a few dozen masked men slipped into the crowd from within the streets and began to open fire at the Redcoats. Panic burst out, people began to scatter. In the frenzy, me and Ben made a run for Vane, untied him and set him free, but not before he was wounded with a gunshot to the chest. We managed to carry him away from the square and escort him to the interior base, and had a doctor tend to him."
"Is he going to make it out alive?" asked Flint, his voice full of concern.
"Tough to say. He's in bad condition right now." replied Billy.
Jack allowed himself to breath a sign of relief. He closed his eyes shut, and leaned on one hand against a table, running the other hand through his hair. Just then, a noise could be heard. It was creeping closer. Metal banging on wood in a rhythmic pattern. It was Silver himself, who was now standing in the doorway.
"And who were the masked men?" he asked, as he seemed to have been eavesdropping the conversation. Billy, startled by Silver's entrance, began to speak.
"That night, those men came to the interior, still masked. There was one ahead of them, presumably their leader. He took off his mask, revealing his long, greasy hair. He had just one eye too. He only said three things: Firstly, he rescued Vane because he had a debt to pay him. Secondly, he came to Nassau to join our fight against the British, and that when the time comes we'll know where to find him."
A moment of silence filled every corner of the room. Jack stared at Billy in confusion, awaiting the last piece of information. Flint and Silver exchanged wary looks. The former asked:
"And thirdly?"
"And thirdly" replied Billy "he said his name, was.. Ned Low."