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)
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
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Copyright © 2016 by Sandecker, RLLLP
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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.