June: Honour among thieves

[TexaS]

Johan af Puke sat in a tavern in the less reputable parts of København clad in ragged civilian clothes. He looked into the old man's eyes. They were pale with age but still active and sharp. Having decided that the man had told the truth, it matching the rumors he had heard, he put the small bag filled with coins he had been dangling in his hand on the table, and stood up. The old man smiled showing his three remaining teeth. As Johan was leaving a rough looking brute of a man stepped into his way and with his hand on a big knife in his belt he said. "Her vil plikten blive betalt for svenskere." Two large men joined Johan at his sides at the same time as a woman put a pistol in the small of the Dane's back and cocked it. She leaned to his ear and wispered "Har du int' hört? Tullarna har lyfts." in her Finnish dialect of Swedish. The troublemaker held out his empty hands, backed to the side and sat down at a nearby table. The pistol disappeared. They all left the tavern followed by yet another member of the crew that had been lurking in a far corner.



Once outside of the tavern the 20 inch long pistol appeared in Brita's hands and she carefully returned the cock to half-cocked before making it disappear into her skirts again. They walked down the street lead by Johan who was soon joined by another civilian looking very much like his premiärlöjtnant. "Han sade samma sak. Det är bekräftat. Men han fyllde i några viktiga detaljer... Vi har platsen!" Johan told him, declaring that they now knew where to go.



HMS Venus, a frigate of 40 guns, was laying for anchor quite far away from the other ships in the harbour of København. Back on board his ship Johan commanded "Förbered avfärd." Many onboard were very releived to set sail, Sweden and Denmark-Norway was formally at war, Denmark having had a treaty with Russia to support them in case of war. But at the threat of Britain and Prussia invading Holstein, Denmark-Norway had been forced to declare itself neutral. Still, having been warring neighbours for centuries no one trusted much in the old enemy's neutrality. Even the fortifications defending the harbour was named after a Swedish flagship that the Danes had captured, brought back and then scuttled to build an earlier defence on top of, Trekroner. It had been rebuilt into a large heavily armed fortification that they now sailed passed.



Johan continued on to his cabin to change clothes. He was soon back on the quarterdeck and had a discussion with the ansvarsstyrman about the quickest way to get to the meeting place of the pirates that was now located. It was a strangely shaped island inhabited bu nothing else but gulls used as a meeting place by both pirates and Danish privateers in Russian service. Any time a larger frigate, like HMS Venus, was sighted they all were neutral Danes, but now Johan would put an end to that. Not only had the Danish authorities declared the ship Rød Hævn to be a pirate, but even agreed that any nation, including Sweden, could attempt to capture her if she could be found, albeight unwillingly.