Wirl's End Chapter 9.

Chapter Nine

Sending them home.

          William Custos walked down the gangplank and onto dry land. It felt rather strange to be on solid ground after spending over two years at sea.

          The last two weeks had been hectic. He had spent two years as a prisoner on board his ship. They had been taken by pirates and kept hostage until the ship owners paid a ransom for the ships release.

          Then, just two weeks ago, the pirates disappeared, leaving the ship and its crew free to leave.

          The pirates had destroyed the ship's radio, so they could not send any messages to either the ship's owners or the families of the crew to say that they were free.

          The captain, once he realised that the pirates were no longer on the ship, had ordered his crew to start up the engines, pull up the anchor and move while they could.

          A man in a grey suit and carrying a clipboard watched as the ship began to move away. He wrote something on his clipboard and nodded.

          Two weeks later, the ship sailed into its home port and docked. After medical checks and police interviews, the crew were allowed to land.

          The oddest thing of all was being spoken to, by a stranger, as William left the ship.  The man was not the sort of person that was usually to be seen on the quay. For a start, he was wearing a smart suit, not the usual working clothes of the Dockers or anyone else who worked in the harbour area.                   

            "Mr. Custos?" the man had asked. Puzzled, William agreed that that was indeed his name.

          "Of Number Two Wirl's End"?

          William nodded. He had never met anyone before who had ever heard of Wirl's End'.

          "Good," said the man. "The ship's owners have promised to pay the crew the wages they had not received whilst in captivity, so you have a large sum of money coming your way."

          He wrote something on his clipboard. "Don't hang around, you are expected."

          William stood on the quay and looked back at the ship that had been his home for the last two years. He saluted, turned on his heel, picked up his bags and walked away.

          He hailed a taxi. The driver had no idea where to drive. He had never heard of Wirl's End, so William had to give him directions.

          "Well, I never knew there was a street here," said the taxi driver as he took his fare.

          "No-one ever does," said William. "But it is home to me."

          Peter Keeper stood outside the prison gates. He had spent the last two years locked up in there for something that he had not done. In some ways, it was all his own fault. He had fallen in with a bad set of people.

          When they carried out a robbery, Peter was arrested while the rest of the gang fled. He had done nothing wrong, so he saw no reason to run away from the police. He was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison.

          Then, two weeks ago, he was visited by a grey-suited man with a clipboard.

          "Peter Keeper?" the man had asked.

          "That's my name," Peter said.

          "From Number One, Wirl's End?" the man had asked.

          Peter nodded. "You know, Wirl's End?" he asked. "I have never met anyone before who has heard of it."

          The man had nodded. "Most definitely." Then he wrote something on his clipboard. "We have been looking into your case and it seems you were wrongly convicted. Once the court has agreed with our findings, you will be released. Normally, when this happens, there is a payment of sorts as compensation. You stand to get a goodly amount of money."

          Peter had been called into court a few days after that and heard the judge give the order for him to be released as soon as possible.

          Now he was standing outside the prison with his few belongings in a suitcase.

          The grey suited man met him outside the prison gates. "Don't hang around. Get yourself off the Wirl's End. They are expecting you." He wrote something on his clipboard. Then, he walked away.

          Peter was not sure that he would be welcome in Wirl's End. After all, he had walked out and left his wife and son.

          "But there is nowhere else to go." he said to no-one in particular.

          He walked to the nearest 'bus stop and headed for home.