The Black Wave (2)
By the time the main force of the Jackson militia, having been lured away by Peters’s trap, came rushing back, the situation had already been resolved.
“This… what on earth is….”
Dozens of Black men stood guard around the burning Capitol building, their rifles held at the ready.
The militia commander, arriving late to the scene, was left speechless by a mixture of shock and fury. I approached him and pointed to the militia captain’s insignia pinned to my chest.
“The situation was critical, Commander. As a captain of the Natchez militia, I had to suppress the rebellion unfolding at the heart of the state.”
At my gesture, the personal guard snapped into formation with perfect precision.
“To maintain public order, I urgently conscripted and deployed the resources under my command. Everything was done in accordance with state law, so please handle the legal matters on your end.”
“Con-conscripted resources? Black men? You’ve lost your….”
“Sett!”
As if to bury the commander’s protest, a gentleman walked out from the smoke, his clothes singed and his expression urgent. I had been looking for him, and it seemed he had been nearby all along.
Jefferson Davis.
The man who possessed the power and influence to bury the commotion I had caused as a minor happening grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, a bright smile on his face.
“Sett! I am truly grateful. I never imagined those madmen from the North would dare to raid the Capitol. If not for you, we might have had legislators dead or severely wounded.”
“Senator.”
I gripped his hand back and spoke in a low voice.
“This was not the work of the Northerners.”
“…What did you say?”
“It was a self-staged drama by Speaker Peters. He intended to gather us all here, create a disturbance, and then pin the blame on the North.”
Jefferson Davis’s jaw dropped. I had never seen him look so surprised; the shock must have been truly immense. Well, it was no wonder he didn’t fall over backward—the Speaker of the Mississippi State Legislature himself was the mastermind behind the plot.
“Wh-what? Who? This… this madman….”
He staggered for a moment, then quickly nodded as he looked at the Black personal guard lined up behind me.
“In the end, you’ve stopped the rampage of the maddened Fire-Eaters. I don’t know how we shall ever honor this merit….”
“While it was a desperate situation, the fact that I mobilized Black men could become an issue, so I would appreciate it if you could handle that, Senator.”
“Do not worry. I will ensure no one makes an issue of it. Thanks to you putting rifles in the hands of these Black men, you saved Mississippi tonight.”
Just as Jefferson was about to continue in a tone of deep emotion, Leo, who had run until he was out of breath, stopped by my side.
“H-huff… Master… sir.”
“What is it? Why are you like this?”
“Mark has captured John Peters, who was attempting to flee.”
“Oh! Really?”
He had promised to fight as valiantly as I would be grateful for, and he was a man who certainly kept his word. But strangely, Leo’s expression was far too dark. If we had captured the mastermind of this entire incident alive, it was a monumental achievement—why did he look like that?
My heart sank into a cold void.
“Is… is someone hurt?”
“Mark… he was shot. His condition… it does not look good.”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest and offered a brief apology to Jefferson Davis. Before he could even respond, I turned and ran.
I sprinted through the flames and smoke to the courtyard. Peters’s guards were all lying dead, and Peters himself was lying on the ground, clutching his leg and cackling like a madman.
And in the center of it all.
Mark was lying there.
Blood was pouring from his chest. I could see Ben and Henry desperately shouting beside him.
“Mark! Stay with me! Please!”
“Move!”
I shoved them aside and knelt by Mark’s side. The blood kept flowing, enough to tell at a glance that it was a critical wound.
“Doctor! Get a doctor here, now! Damn it! Hurry!”
Since it was urgent, I pressed my hands over the wound. The blood flowed hot between my fingers, impossible to stop.
“Don’t worry, Mark. You won’t die from something like this.”
I had told him so many times to be careful and protect himself precisely because something like this might happen. Why did he have to fight so valiantly? You stupid fool.
“Where do you think you’re running off to, Heaven? Not a chance. I’m going to make sure you live and keep working, so keep your head clear! Do you hear me?”
Mark opened his eyes faintly. Even as he gasped for air, perhaps because the blood was backing up, he was smiling.
“Master… sir… I caught him… alive… now… everyone… will praise… you….”
“You idiot! When did I ever tell you to get shot while catching him! I told you to fight while keeping yourself safe! That’s insubordination! Your vacation is revoked, you bastard!”
“It was not… an order… but my own… free will….”
He gasped for breath. “Master… sir… a favor….”
His voice grew smaller. I could feel his breathing weakening through my hands.
“Shut up! You have a wedding next month! Even if you die, you have to do that first! Don’t lose consciousness! Mark!”
“To a higher place… for us… for the families… of other plantations….”
His eyes turned toward me, as if he were squeezing out his last bit of strength.
“I believe… it was… an honor… to serve… Master… sir….”
Mark’s hand fell limp to the ground. Even in his final moment, he was smiling.
I didn’t even care about the blood on my hands; I just shook his body, dazed.
“Mark…!”
Leo placed a hand on my shoulder. His voice was heavy with grief.
“Master… sir… he went happily.”
Happy? He’s dead—what kind of happiness is there in that? If I have to lose one of my own people, even if I kill a hundred pieces of trash like these, it’s a loss that can never be compensated.
Just then, a cackling sound came from across the way.
“Keuk… Keuk-keuk-keuk….”
I turned my head to see Peters clutching his leg, watching this scene and laughing like a lunatic.
“What’s with all the fuss over one dead slave? Am I wrong? He died catching none other than John Peters… isn’t that slave’s duty fulfilled with merit? Kuhahaha!”
“You piece of trash.”
No, that’s not right. Even calling him trash is a waste, as trash is at least something. As I approached him, Peters pulled himself up to a sitting position and looked up at me.
“I thought it was a near-perfect operation, but to think I’d be hit this hard. James Sett, yes, I acknowledge you. You are a man who is qualified.”
“I’m not particularly happy to be acknowledged by you.”
“You, who can train those sub-human n*ggers to be as capable as white men, are the only one qualified to be a true leader of the South. You know it, too, don’t you? The South cannot survive without slavery! I may have failed, but through this action, I have instilled a sense of urgency in everyone!”
I thought he would just go crazy and scream without admitting his defeat, but this is a new technique. I suppose you really have to be this mentally broken to pull off a disaster of this scale.
“You realize that if the South declares independence from the North, a war will break out immediately, right?”
“Of course. However, as long as we in the South produce cotton, Europe will never abandon us. And you, James Sett, you must be the key. I thought we shouldn’t raise those sub-human n*ggers as soldiers, but you! If you train these n*ggers into killing machines for the South, the South might even be able to win against the North!”
“Do you think the politicians of the South would listen to such insane drivel?”
“That is why you must become a hero. Shoot me! Execute me, the man who tried to lead the South to ruin, and become a true hero! I cannot let a court full of idiots dare to judge me. Inherit my will! You! You shall become the Emperor of this South!”
Ah.
I swear, in all my life, this is the first time I’ve been this dumbfounded by someone else’s bullshit. I shook my head and turned my back on him.
“It’s such a pathetic thing to say that it’s not even worth understanding. You want me to shoot you? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re just a pathetic criminal who got shot in the leg by a Black man and arrested. Don’t try to group yourself in the same class as me.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
“Emperor of a slave empire? Let me tell you clearly. The slavery of this South will end much faster. Because of none other than you.”
“…You, you bastard. What is that supposed to mean! You, by any chance….”
“Thank you for your hard work, Speaker Peters. For struggling so much to abolish slavery.”
Bam!
I couldn’t just leave without doing it, so I punched this dog-like bastard in the face and kicked him in the abdomen. The way he tumbled backward looked as pathetic as a pile of garbage.
“I’ll go up there and tell them exactly how it happened. That John Peters used his subordinates as human shields, fled like a coward, got shot by a Black man, and was crying like a baby.”
“Keu-heuk… Ja-James Sett…!”
“The name of the Black man who shot you in the leg is Mark. He was scheduled to be married soon, and he was a man who loved his friends more than anyone. Even if you’re going, take it as an honor that you were caught by such a man.”
If Peters had lived and escaped, he might have fled to Mexico or somewhere else. So, capturing him alive was a massive harvest.
Since it’s come to this, don’t even think about dying easily. I will make sure you pay the price for the precious blood you’ve spilled, so prepare to be squeezed dry until you’re nothing but a withered rag.
A self-staged terror plot by the incumbent Speaker!
It goes without saying that Mississippi, and indeed the entire United States, was turned upside down. But as the hero who stopped this self-staged drama, I held a grand funeral at the plantation before engaging in any external activities.
Nearly all of the thousand slaves under my command attended the funeral. I chose the hill on the plantation that received the most sunlight for the funeral site.
From now on, all those who have performed heroic deeds for the plantation and passed away will be buried here, in the place that sees the first rays of the sun on the plantation.
I silently picked up a shovel from the warehouse and walked out.
“Master… sir?”
“…….”
“What are you trying to do?”
Leo and Ben were startled and tried to block me.
“We will do it. How could we dare to let Master’s hands be soiled by dirt….”
“Stay back.”
I pushed them aside and drove the shovel into the designated spot.
Screech.
The sensation of the hard earth being dug up traveled through my palms. “I must provide the final resting place for the one who served under me myself.”
I drove the shovel in once more. Sweat began to bead on my forehead. Only the sound of earth being shoveled echoed across the hill. No one dared to speak, watching me in silence.
Then, someone stood beside me.
“…….”
It was Overseer Jonathan. He, who had been as close as a brother to all the foremen on the plantation, silently picked up an extra shovel and began to dig the earth opposite me.
Screech. Screech.
Two shovels scooped up the earth. Not a single word was exchanged, but it was enough.
How much time had passed? A space sufficient to lay one person to rest comfortably had been created. I set down the shovel and approached the coffin containing Mark’s body. Then, I pulled a small wooden board from my pocket. I had carved it myself with a knife.
[Free Black Man, Mark. May you rest in peace.]
It is impossible to erect a tombstone, but I only hope he can rest comfortably while at least keeping these words in his heart. I placed the wooden board in the cold hands of Mark, who was still smiling until the very last moment.
Among the Black people of the plantation who saw that sight, suppressed sobs erupted. Will couldn’t bring himself to lift his head, sitting down and shaking his shoulders, and Mark’s fiancée wailed until she was on the verge of fainting.
“Lift your heads.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward me.
“This is the path to send off a comrade who entrusted you all to me until the very end. Do not show tears, but respect. Mark sacrificed his life for all of you, of his own free will. Do not disgrace his final moments with tears in front of a man who went to his end smiling.”
Just before the coffin lid was closed, I looked down at Mark’s face one last time.
“I promise you, Mark.”
Now you can leave in peace and comfort.
“I will reward your merit by fulfilling your final request.”
So, stretch out your legs and watch over us. Watch the process of your comrades, and our plantation, swallowing the entire South whole.