One quiet morning on the deck of the White Ship, Linus was eating breakfast in silence, watching the sea change color with light. Romulus sat beside him, holding a naval newspaper that had arrived from a nearby port.
"New news has arrived from Crete," Romulus said, opening the newspaper. "It seems De Mauret has begun sending men to neutral ports."
"He's not satisfied with Athens anymore?" Linus replied, staring out to sea. "No. He wants to keep an eye on everyone who approaches it… especially us."
Darius entered quickly, his face strained. "Sir, we have a problem. One of our men, Nikos, has disappeared in the port of Callistra. He was gathering information on De Mauret's movements… and hasn't returned."
Linus stood up immediately. "When did he disappear?"
"Two days ago. His last message was coded. It said, 'I'm being watched… not by pirates, but by men in fine uniforms who speak French.'"
Romelius slammed the table. "De Maurier is starting to cast his eyes to the sea. He's no longer waiting for us in Athens… he's ahead of us."
Linus retorted sharply, "That means our every move is being recorded. We're not a free crew… we're being watched."
Callias entered, holding a nautical chart. "We found something strange. A small ship has been following us for two days. It doesn't approach, but it doesn't move away."
Darius said, "Is it carrying a flag?"
"No. But our men in the harbor say it appeared after a French delegation visited the island."
Linus stared at the map. "So de Maurier isn't just sending spies… but surveillance ships."
Romelius replied, "Shall we confront them?"
– "No. We observe them first. We know who's piloting them, then we decide."
That night, Linus met with his crew in the command room.
Linus said,
– "Nikos has disappeared. A ship is watching us. De Mauret has started moving out of Athens. This is no coincidence."
Darius said,
– "Do you think he knows who we are?"
– "Maybe he doesn't know everything... but he knows we're not ordinary traders."
Callias said,
– "And if he did?"
– "He'd try to stop us... before we arrived."
Romulus, reviewing the port reports, said,
– "There's a clear pattern. Every port we pass, a French delegation or an unknown ship appears. De Mauret circles us."
Linus said,
– "But we'll break it. We need a counter-plan."
Darius said,
– "What do you suggest?"
Linus replied:
"We send a coded message to Perdus, telling him that De Mauret has begun to watch us at sea. If Perdus confronts him in Athens, we confront him here."
Callias said:
"But how do we send it without being detected?"
"We have a man on the island of Arcadia, working in the sea mail. We will use him."
The next day, Linus wrote the message in his own handwriting:
> "De Mauret has begun to extend his influence to the sea. One of our men has disappeared. Ships are watching us. We are getting closer, but we are not alone. If you fight him in the palace, we fight him in the waves." – Linus
Romelius said, folding the message:
"Do you think Perdus will believe it?"
Linus replied:
"Perdus doesn't need to believe… It's enough to doubt."
That night, the White Ship stopped near the island of Arcadia, and a sailor disembarked to deliver the message.
"De Moret is starting to play with us," Linus said as he watched the boat move away. "But we'll play better."