Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own the story Pirates of the Caribbean. I only own the original characters and plotline of which this fanfiction consists.
The pirate sat on the cold, slimy, stone floor, head tilted down. This wasn't the first time he had landed himself a cell in Port James' Prison, home of the Caribbean's finest criminals. This was just the first time he felt as though he could do nothing about it.
Feeling abandoned and alone, Jack continued to examine his hands, running his index finger over the many scars and scrapes he had accumulated over the years. 'So this is what it comes down to,' he thought with a grimace. 'I ne'er 'pected it to end this way.'
He had been locked up for about two weeks now, with no company but the fat guard dressed in his white pants and red shirt, shoes glinting in the weak sunlight that made it's way through the thick, iron bars. Jack looked down at his own clothes, brown with dirt and mud, and sighed. He had been treated like a criminal from the start, although this was to be expected. Stripped of all weapons, really anything useful to escape, he had been left with anger. Why had the crew done this to him? What had he done to deserve such a cruel fate? Remembering back to the day it all began, he clenched his fingers back and forth into fists.
It had started back in May, where the planning really began to take place. Jack was still the captain of the infamous Pearl and he possessed almost everything he could ever dream of having. Friends and wealth, he thought he had it all. This time, however, he was wrong.
"Jack! Ye old seadog! I've got meself a plan!" Gibbs declared triumphantly, flashing his gray teeth in a wide smile. Jack looked up from the map he was studying with big brown eyes, encouraging his first mate to continue. "Ye remember Barbossa, don't ye?" Jack rolled his eyes.
"No, of course I don'," he replied with sarcasm. Gibbs seemed somewhat disappointed for a few moments, realized the captain was joking, and persisted.
"Turns out, he had a whole lot o'gold somewhere on Tortuga. Still there, matter o'fact."
"An' where did ye hear of such a thing? Surely the treasure would've been found by now, aye?" Jack questioned.
Gibbs shifted from foot to foot, eyes downcast. "Aye, that's what one would think. I just spoke to Michaels, an' he has a map."
Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?" Something wasn't right. It seemed a bit too…simple.
"Aye. What do ye think?"
Sparrow considered this. Obviously, there was something wrong with this plan. It was all too random and perfect to be true. However, the Pearl hadn't seen much adventure since the days when Will Turner was aboard.
"I'll talk to the crew tonigh'," Jack decided, nodding thoughtfully. Gibbs seemed pleased with this answer and backed out of the captain's cabin, swinging the wooden door shut behind him.
Talking to himself, Jack folded up maps and packed away compasses into the drawer in his mahogany desk. "Somethin's off with that one, I'll tell ye that much." It seemed as if Gibbs had changed drastically since the past year, when they had teamed up and saved Elizabeth Swann from Barbossa's ghost-like crew. Once a happy and cheerful drunk, the man seemed to be untrustworthy, not safe. Jack shrugged. He was Captain Jack Sparrow. He could handle anything.
That night, down in the galley, he brought up the conversation he had had with Gibbs. Passing glasses of rum and alcohol around the room, he casually asked what they all thought of the plan. At this point, he was game for anything. He missed sailing to a destination, with a cause in mind. The laid back lifestyle was starting to get to him.
"Gibbs came to me today," he began, taking a seat on a stool. "An' he-."
"We already know, sir," interrupted a cabin boy. 'Jones,' he remembered. "We've been told."
Taken aback, Jack shrugged, playing with his hat. "Well. What do ye all think?" A cheer rose up in the crowd, all grinning broadly and slapping Gibbs on the back, who was sitting in the corner. "Alrigh' then! It's settled! Michaels'! Where are ye?"
A tall, skinny man stepped forward, raking a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "Aye?"
"Gimme that ol' map o'yours!"
The young man took a rolled up piece of parchment from one of the many pockets in his brown pants and handed it to his captain.
"An' where, may I ask, did ye get such a thing as this?" Jack asked, unrolling the paper and studying the route with a studious face.
"From me da'," he replied. "It's been in the fam'ly for years."
"Ah, I see. Well, Michaels, thanks for ye help. Everyone, let's have another round! To our new 'venture!"
"To adventure!" everyone cried together in unison. Jack tipped his head back and gulped down some rum.
"We leave tomorrow!"
A/N: I know it's a short chapter, but I have a lot more to come. I haven't written in a while, so I hope you guys enjoyed that little piece. I'm not sure where I'll take the story yet, but I have a few ideas. So drop me a line or two and tell me what you think! Thanks!-Nychick8990