Another One - A Better One.
Welcome back to all my awesomely beloved readers of last time... and hello to any newcomers! You'll need to read the other story (The Courage and Fortitude to Follow Orders and Stay True in the Face of Danger and Almost Certain Death) first or this one will make no sense. This takes place nine years after the last story ends.
Prologue: The Wine Game.
Post-Accord, year two.
"That's all, that's it, I swear it, by God, on my daughter's life, I swear that's all I remember, please!" The prisoner had screamed himself so raw that his words were barely intelligible.
Barbossa sighed and wiped his hands. "If that's really all you remember then I've no use for ye." His eyes flashed to Gibbs. "Kill him."
"No! Nope, no, sorry, stop it, sorry." Jack rushed forward, waving his arms madly to get everyone's attention. "I say don't kill him." He skidded to a stop in front of Barbossa and lowered his voice. "Come on, mate, you see he's telling the truth and he's got a child for God's sake. Let him go."
It had been a long day and Barbossa was not inclined to be merciful. "Jack," he sighed, "the man disappointed me and got blood all over my coat and I'm annoyed. He's to be killed. That be my final word on the matter."
Pirates closed in on the prisoner, but Jack clapped his hands loudly and they stopped. "Gentlemen, you're going to have to hold on a minute, please! It looks like we have ourselves a dispute."
Gibbs froze. "A dispute? Over this? We've not had a dispute all summer."
Jack shrugged. "Well, we have one now."
"Sweet Mary this is all I need," Barbossa muttered, disgusted.
Jack refused to feel guilty. "Sorry for the holdup, we'll make it quick," he promised. "Whose turn, mine or yours?"
"You always ask me that. I could just say 'mine' every time and you wouldn't be any the wiser. It's your turn," Barbossa added after a moment.
"Ah, yes, you're right - last time was a knife fight, that was your idea." Jack pursed his lips. "No space here for a footrace. How about... the wine game!"
"Jack, I hate the wine game."
"That's just because I always win."
"No, you always win Liar's Poker too, and I never complain about that, do I? Really – why can't we play Liar's Poker instead?"
"Because I choose the wine game," Jack explained patiently. He withdrew a vial from his belt and jiggled it around, smiling when its dark contents foamed up into a poisonous green color. "It's my turn to choose the contest and that's my choice. So."
"Bring us wine!" Barbossa spat the order, and the pirates rushed to fetch two bottles and hand them to Jack.
Jack turned his back, and a moment later tossed the empty vial to the floor. He faced Barbossa and held out both wine bottles with a big smile. "Your choice, mate. I'd advise the one on the left."
"Your left or mine?" Barbossa asked without much interest. Trying to win this game by outthinking Jack had a success rate of exactly zero, so he decided to just pick at random this time. He snatched both of the bottles and turned away to make his choice.
He handed one to Jack and they clinked them together. "Health," Barbossa said roughly.
"Health." They both drank a big gulp and then watched each other to see who had won. "So which did you choose?" Jack asked.
"You'll see in a minute. If I have to be in suspense, so do you." They locked eyes, Jack smiling and Barbossa just miserably waiting for the inevitable to happen to him.
After a moment Jack groaned, "Oh, no," and clutched at his stomach.
Barbossa crossed his arms, knowing he was not yet out of the woods - Jack frequently pretended to have lost the game when he had actually won, just to make the unpleasant surprise even worse when it finally came. Barbossa would not be fooled this time - he waited calmly to see if Jack was faking or not.
It was not a fake. Jack doubled up and began to vomit uncontrollably, signaling his first-ever loss at the Wine Game. Barbossa thought it would be undignified to shout Hah I win!, but couldn't stop himself from grinning like an idiot.
When Jack was finished, he wiped his mouth and looked up and said, "I think I see why you prefer Liar's Poker."
Barbossa offered him the unpoisoned wine to rinse his mouth out with, but made no effort to stop laughing at him.
Gibbs was still holding a knife to the prisoner's throat, prepared to carry out the orders of the winner. "So we should kill him now, Captain?"
Barbossa discovered that his mood no longer needed improving. "Bah, don't bother." He didn't like that the prisoner was looking at him as if he were Father Christmas, though, so he snatched Jack's bottle and tossed it over. "But do make him drink the bad wine."
TBC.