Chapter 135 - I’d Like to Hear the Details. (2/2)
“I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“I said that I’ll lead them,” declared Orff with confidence. “Why? You think I’m too old to get back on the battlefield?”
“I hope that you will be as wise as you were, and not act out of impulse and adrenaline, lest you might drag the s.h.i.+p into more dangerous situations,” Owen said. “What we need to do now is to accept defeat and leave this place, not continue to raise our stakes in a hopeless situation.”
“Interesting,” Orff suddenly commented. “This is the third time in five minutes that you’re saying we have lost.”
The boatswain’s brows furrowed. “Isn’t that typical? If you didn’t keep throwing caution to the wind, pestering me to go along with your crazy plan, I wouldn’t keep repeating that.”
Orff ignored the remark and continued, “From the moment you set foot inside the room, you’ve glanced at the clock at least four times. Why? Are you in a hurry?”
Owen answered feebly, “I can understand how you’re feeling after tonight’s failure. I saw the captain being shot with my own eyes. Right now, I am just as grief-stricken as you are, but suspicion is not going to help us get through the difficulties we’re facing. The sooner we leave this place, the smaller the loss we’ll suffer.”
“Perhaps you’ll allow me to guess why you’re in such a hurry,” Orff answered squarely. “Could it be that if we wait a little longer, we’ll find out that there are actually no troops chasing you? Or should I say that you’re worried that the captain might come back soon and expose your deceitfulness?”
The helpless smile on Owen’s lips faded away. This time, he said nothing.
“I’ve known you for so long, but this is the first time I’m noticing your excellent acting skills,” Orff jibed. “I have to admit–I nearly fell for it. Would you like to know how you gave yourself away?”
Owen raised an eyebrow. “Sure, let’s hear it.”
“I’ve seen that name list that you compiled for the advance team. You said you were with Teach when the battle started, but the eleven men you came back with were all from your own team. None of them were from Teach’s team. That’s just too much of a coincidence.”
Orff paused for a moment to let it sink in before continuing, “Your plan for tonight is almost perfect. When the advance team arrived on the sh.o.r.e, they were completely disconnected from the s.h.i.+p. After your team and Teach’s split up, you immediately faked evidence of a battle, killed the men who didn’t belong to your group, then come back covered in blood with the sad-sob story about how our mission has failed. Most people would believe you without question. You knew how the crew would react if they heard this–they would choose to leave this place. That way, you can easily get rid of the s.h.i.+p’s biggest threat, like blowing off a cloud of dust.”
“But with Teach gone, you are the most popular candidate for captain. Why would I go through all that effort so that you can replace Teach as Captain? That’s not very worth my while, isn’t it?” retorted Owen.
“Me? No, no. I’ve never been a threat to you. The failure of tonight’s mission will lead to a series of events. With so many casualties, someone must be held responsible. If you’re not stupid, you will use this to challenge me. When that happens, I won’t even become a helmsman, let alone become the captain.”