VII Norfolk

The Admiral pushed the button turning of the playback of the recording of the last radio communication of the Sea Hawk, and let out a big sigh. “What happened after this conversation commodore?” he asked, while having read the paper report on his desk just fifteen minutes ago.

“Well according to the on board black box which recorded the sound of the bridge of the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Hawk, an unidentified crew member informed the Lieutenant that the ship, this Blue Swan, hoisted a red flag. After witch the CO, uhm Lieutenant Baltisar, ordered a warning shot. Then all recording stops. It is believed the Sea Hawk sunk seconds after that order.”

“What about this story of the survivor” the Admiral asked.

“Well the survivor, a mere sailor, was underway with a rib towards the Blue Swan. He claims the Blue Swan to be a three mast sailing ships, with near twenty guns in her side. He says she returned fire, after hoisting a red flag, and the Sea Hawk exploded after being hit. But I don’t think we have to take this story into account much sir. The sailor is clearly suffering from PTSD, has had a juvenile record for drug use, and is gay. I think he made it all up.”

“Made it up you say? And how do YOU think the Sea Hawk sunk Commodore? Suddenly sunk while falling apart into thousands of pieces, just by himself?”

“Maybe their gun malfunctioned.” The Commodore proposed, feeling terribly uncomfortable in this office. The Admiral took a deep chug from his coffee, god damn it was only 9 am, and this commodore wasn’t worthy of his stripes, he’d see to it that they’d be removed. He thought.

“You” the Admiral roared to the other person in the room, of which he already forgot his name, rank and function. “What is this red flag about?”

“The name is Fletcher, sir. And I think the red flag is a symbol. A piracy symbol.”

“Piracy uses black flags” the Commodore interrupted.

“Shut up. Continue mister Fletch”

Fletcher looked annoyed at the mispronunciation of his name to the commodore but continued. “Black flags indeed, they use to identify themselves. They have a meaning, under the black flag a victim can surrender and expect to come out of the ordeal alive. Lacking valuables, cargo or even the ship. But the red flag has the opposite meaning. No quarter.”

“So you Mister Flecker, think there are pirates operating in the Caribbean?”

“Yes Admiral, it appears so. I did some digging, as far as I could find in the official public records there is no three mast ship under the name Blue Swan.”

“It could be two or four of those poles even, just like the former commodore here said, the witness is gay, and therefore his eyes don’t function.” The Admiral didn’t hide the fact he thought the commodore was talking absolute bullshit.

“I’ll give a call to Langley see what they can dig up. Mister Fletcher can I appoint you as a liaison?”

“I’d be honoured mister Admiral Sir.”

The Admiral sat a moment behind his desk after the two had left, and then pulled open his drawer, it was early but he needed it, while pouring himself a full glass, he read the label on the bottle. True Caribbean Rum.

“Goddamned pirates.” he muttered.

And he started writing his orders, the report to the press would say the Sea Hawk sunk after a technical problem after a failure in the safety feature of the gun. Same story they would spin to the relatives of the lost crewmembers. The surviving sailor was in some psychiatric hospital, and he would see to it that his medical records would state that he completely lost his mind.

The couldn’t have the story out that the United States Coast Guard lost a ship to pirates, not on his watch not.

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