Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? It's obvious I don't own Jack or anything Pirates right?
AN: I'm back in the world of Captain Jack Sparrow! I thought I'd mention that I have no real knowledge of the way the Royal Navy and England did things back then, so please forgive any mistakes I may make now and in the future. Also, this will most definitely be rated R for violence (not graphic but there's some death) and sexual situations. For some reason death doesn't bother people but sex does, so if you're not into sex, please skip the marked parts. Thanks, and enjoy!
Chapter 1: Even a Good Man Can Grow Colder:
Jack's POV:
"Cap'n?" called a hesitant male voice from the doorway of the cabin.
Jack suppressed the urge to growl and instead gave a quick glance up at his first mate. "What is it, Gibbs?" he snapped, irritated that his work had been interrupted.
"The crew was wondering where we were heading for this time," the older man softly replied, obviously nervous about intruding on his captain at a bad time.
"Well, I was thinking of heading off towards the coast of Costa Rica," Jack said, not looking up from the map in front of him. "I've heard the King is sending another shipment of gold and supplies towards the colonies on a merchant ship, so it should make for good plundering."
He could hear Mr. Gibbs mutter an agreement before hurriedly backing out of the room and closing the door. Sure he was sure he was alone, Jack once again focused his attention on his map.
Mr. Gibbs' POV:
Walking nervously up on deck towards the mast, Mr. Gibbs took a good-sized swig from his small canteen, grateful for the relief such a small amount of alcohol could bring. Granted, this was no ordinary alcohol he carried around; this was some of the purist alcohol that could be found in the Caribbean, and was fairly expensive, especially for a pirate. On the other hand, with all of the plundering the Black Pearl had done of the last five years, the crew never lacked for gold, and freely spent it as soon as they hit land.
Sighing, Mr. Gibbs looked up at the crow's nest, pondering on whether to take over the lookout shift or not. Well, he had nothing better to do until the captain came out, so he might as well. Lunch was long over, dinner was even further away, and it was too bloody hot to do anything else, so no one else was on deck doing chores. In fact, the best post right now was the crow's nest, where there was a constant breeze and the shade of a canvas that had been put up there for that purpose. Shrugging again, Gibbs headed up the mast.
Once he'd relieved young Thomas of his post, Gibbs proceeded to think about his captain and friend. It had been five years since they'd gotten the Pearl back from Barbossa, and yet Captain Sparrow still didn't seem happy! At first, Gibbs had thought that it was because Jack was too surprised about being captain of the Black Pearl again. But as time wore on, that seemed less likely. Suddenly, after three years together, Jack had begun to insist that no one call him 'Jack', and ordered that they were to only address him as Captain or Captain Sparrow. That had puzzled Gibbs to no end, but when he'd tried to talk to Jack about it, he'd only gotten yelled at and told to…well, to put it politely, he'd been told to bugger off before he was made into a eunuch. Needless to say, he never mentioned the topic again. Still, in his own mind, he always referred to the man as Jack.
A heavy breeze carried the smell of the sea up to his nose, and a snap of the canvas above broke him out of his thoughts long enough to take a look down towards the deck. Jack had just emerged from the captain's cabin and was headed towards the helm, and Gibbs was glad that no one was above deck at that moment; Jack looked ready to hurt something at that moment, and Gibbs sincerely hoped that no one came up anytime soon. Deciding not to attract attention to himself, the first mate of the Black Pearl sat down and pulled out his flask for another sip.
The captain hadn't been the same since their visit in Port Joseph two years ago, which had been an extremely short two-day visit cut even shorter. They had docked late in the afternoon and the next morning, a furious Jack Sparrow had come storming up the gangplank, roaring for everyone to make ready to depart and that anyone not on the ship in two hours would be left behind. They'd been lucky that no one had gone far the previous night, or someone really would have been left behind. Exactly two hours later, the ship was racing out of the port, two crewmembers literally hanging off the side from doing a flying-leap from the docks to the ship.
A third sip from the flask, and Gibbs' mind was off again on another train of thought. He didn't know what had changed his captain that night, but it had been a turn for the worst for the entire crew. Overnight, Jack Sparrow had gone from a caring and compassionate man to one of the coldest captains in the Caribbean. His carefree manner, which had previously been kind and forgiving to the crew, had changed to one of intense focus and determination. The only pleasure Jack now got was when he was plundering vessels and towns.
'His temper's never been the same, either,' Gibbs thought, looking out over the shimmering sea.
Over the past couple of years, Jack had taken to yelling at everyone over the smallest mistake. Parties, which had once been a nightly occurrence, were now a twice a month event (if they were lucky). The men were now given fewer days onshore, and if one of them brought a wench onto the Pearl and Jack found out, the poor girl was almost literally tossed off the ship and the offending crewman was forbidden to go on land until the Captain said he could. Eventually, some people had finally had enough and left. In fact, three weeks after Port Joseph, Annamaria had gotten fed up with getting yelled at. She had decided to give up not only her position as first mate on the Pearl, but to also give up on the Pearl itself. When the opportunity had presented itself, Anna had packed up her belongings and earnings and left in the middle of the night. Gibbs still got letters from her three times a year, claiming that she now had her own ship and was doing quite well, though not as well as the Pearl.
'I don't think Jack's ever forgiven Annamaria for that,' he thought, tucking his flask back into his jacket. 'He's never even gotten over the fact that people have abandoned the Pearl and him because they didn't like the way he ran things.'
There were sad results in response to Jack's new temper problems, one of which was that the crew was now too terrified to even leave the ship without their Captain's approval. They obeyed him without question for even though they feared him, they all knew that Jack would always come through with their pay and protect them from the Royal Navy. Even though Captain Sparrow was now much colder and more hostile than before, he was still better than most other pirate captains in the Caribbean.
Enjoying the occasional breeze from the sea, Gibbs drifted off into a light doze.
That Same Moment: Author's POV:
Some say that men are born with cold hearts; others claim that a heart can grow cold without love and warmth. Captain Jack Sparrow felt that both sides were right, but only the latter applied to him. He believed himself to generally be a good man at heart, but he was also a pirate, and pirates weren't supposed to care for more than themselves, their crew (if they were a captain), and their treasures. The two sides of his mind and heart had always seemed at constant war with one another, and neither side seemed to be winning out. Now, however, after nearly forty years of life without feeling the prick of Cupid's arrow within his chest, and a lesser trust in humanity (thanks to Barbossa and the mutiny), there was a clear winner: his pirate side was winning out, and warmth and kindness found less and less welcome there.
Three years after regaining the Pearl, he was here on precious his ship. It's astounding, really, how long he'd waited for this moment…to be sailing the seas on the Pearl, his very own ship once more, with a crew that would sooner cut their own throats than betray him. The treasures of the Isla de Muerta were fully his now, and lay hidden so that no one else could find it but him. What bits and baubles he had spent had been traded for rum and as much pleasurable company as he could stand during their days on land. And yet, his heart had begun to lose its warmth, his mind screaming that there was something precious was missing. It obviously wasn't rum, riches or women…these he had in plenty of supply, no question about it. In fact, many pirate towns often prayed for the Pearl to dock in their ports, hoping that its captain and crew would drop their coins into the nearest tavern and shops. Women (sometimes literally) threw themselves at him, hoping to attract attention and company for the night, or however long he stayed…
Presently, however, Jack was angrily gripping the wheel of his ship, silently cursing each and every whore he'd ever been with the past five years. He was still fuming over the last stop the ship had made in Port Joseph, angry with the woman he'd spent his money on while he was there. The woman had been good, no doubt about that…it was what she'd said to her friends afterwards that had made him lose his temper and had crushed his heart, all at the same time.
The morning after was usually nothing more than a chaste kiss goodbye and the handing over of coins. However, Jack had slept in, and since he had paid the night before, his 'company' hadn't seen fit to wake him. Instead, she'd left him and joined her harlot friends outside the tavern they'd stayed in that night. He'd just walked towards the door when he heard them talking about their nightly business.
One woman giggled. "I can't believe you were lucky enough to snare Jack Sparrow!" she squealed.
He heard a familiar giggle, one from the woman he'd spent the night with. Bonnie, if he remembered correctly. "And he's every bit as good as we've heard, girls!" she crowed, causing the others to laugh. "He pays well, too!" Jack heard coins jingle. "The money itself is reason enough to bed the man, even if his reputation as a pirate and a bedmate aren't!"
The women laughed as they waltzed off down the street, eager to spend the previous night's earnings on something they felt they deserved as both women and whores.
Silently fuming, Jack had stalked back to his ship and had ordered everyone back onboard. Two hours later, he'd angrily steered the ship out of the harbor, a confused crew following his orders even though they didn't understand why he was being so hard on them. Jack himself did not know why he was acting his anger out on them, but he needed to vent…he had every right to vent…he was the captain, and he didn't have to explain himself to anyone if he didn't want to.
At first, Jack didn't understand why he was so angry. After all, he was used to using people, and having himself used by others (by his consent, of course). But it was different overhearing someone brag about using them; it had never happened before, and it had hurt. He'd always put the idea of being used out of his mind so that it wouldn't affect him. But now he knew…he knew that no woman had ever cared for him, that no woman probably ever would care about him and his feelings. They only wanted his money, his reputation, and his…well, other things. In all the years before this, it'd never bothered him; it was part of a pirate's life, to use and be used. Hearing it shouldn't have hurt at all, if he knew all along in the back of his mind that he was being used in the first place.
So why was it suddenly so painful now?
Three Nights Later: Jack's POV:
Pulling the spyglass from his pocket, Captain Jack Sparrow watched the unsuspecting merchant ship float several miles from where the Pearl was located. It was running heavy, meaning that its storage rooms were filled to the brim with gold, supplies, and, most likely, weapons. In short, it had everything the Black Pearl needed at that moment, and Jack was not going to let this opportunity pass him by!
Collapsing the glass, he turned towards the eager crewmembers who were presently shuffling around deck. He knew they had been nervous about his recent restlessness, but that was because he was that eager for the pillage. Giving them a happy smile, Jack began ordering everyone around, sincerely glad about the plunder they might receive on this fine night. The moon was new, so there was no light, but the sparkling lanterns onboard the merchant vessel was more than enough to follow with the normal eye and spyglass. Grinning, Jack took the helm and steered towards the unfortunate ship.
An hour later, Author's POV:
As the crew of the Black Pearl silently slipped aboard their target and proceeded to knock out any nighttime guards, Jack stayed behind to be sure everything was ready for an emergency getaway. Once he was sure that Patrick was prepared to get them out of there in a hurry, Jack slipped aboard the vessel and prepared to steal as much swagger as he possibly could before their two hour time limit was up. The crewmen were presently stealing food from the galley, as well as large bags of bullets and firearms up from the main weapons room. Once most of those were safely aboard the Pearl, the real sacking began.
Jack watched greedily as bags and chests full of precious gold, supplies, and alcohol were snuck off the merchant ship. This was one of their best raids so far this month, if the plunder was any indication of what was being hauled onto his ship! The weapons, food, and alcohol they'd been in bad need of, but the gold was an added bonus! The crew would have a fine time in the next port, that was for sure!
The sudden sound of a shot going off alerted everyone that their time was up. A shrill whistle from Jack, and the crewmembers not loaded down with anything swung onboard the Pearl; anyone holding anything dropped it and raced across the planks connecting the two ships. Jack remained behind to cover anyone straggling behind, and was displeased to see the merchant ship's captain appear from his cabin. Growling under his breath, Jack drew his sword. The merchant captain was prepared for the possible confrontation and moved forward.
The fight was short, but bloody. Jack's opponent was skilled, he gave him that, but Jack was better; in a few minutes, both men had managed to wound the other, but it was the captain of the Black Pearl that scored the killing mark. As the other man slumped towards the deck, Jack grabbed a loose rope and swung aboard his ship, the crew of the merchant finally making their way out of the blocked doors that Jack's crew had managed to secure before leaving. Once he was safely at the helm, Jack gave another shrill whistle and the crew set off a round of pistol shots at their enemies. The last they saw of their quarry was a deck full of wounded and possibly dead men. Not feeling any sort of remorse, the Black Pearl's captain sailed off into the darkness of the night.
A Week Later: Jack's POV:
Groaning, Jack leaned back against the headboard of his bed. He couldn't remember ever being this bored in his life. The plundering life had always be a spot of sun and amusement, and now he thought of it as common as…well, as common as the seagulls that landed on his ship while in port!
'You know it's a bad sign when your livelihood is boring you to death,' he thought, staring at the wall opposite his bed.
It wasn't so much that plundering was boring; the problem was that that everyone expected pirates to do it. Waiting until nightfall (or some opportune moment) to plunder random ships was what pirates did, and Jack was becoming bored with what was expected of him. He needed something more, something that wasn't so…predictable to the Royal Navy and everyone else. Jack needed to think of something else, something more original than simply plundering whatever ship was floating by at that moment in time. And he was tired of killing stupid merchant captains that woke up at times they weren't supposed to.
'I need something more planned,' Jack mused, chewing on his lower lip. 'I need something that will bring in more plunder than ever before.'
The idea suddenly hit him like an anchor. Leaping out of bed, Jack raced towards his desk, frantically searching the locked drawer where he had stored all of the maps and important documents that he had collected over the years. Reaching inside, he took out a box the size of three bricks laid side-by-side and three thick. Gibbs had raided it from a locked cabin aboard the merchant ship they had attacked a week ago, and upon discovering what was inside, he had given it over to his captain. Jack already knew what it contained: a stack of confidential Royal Navy maps that were marked with routes to be made over the next several months by British ships.
Each map displayed a ship that the general public did not know about: important ships carrying important people (such as visiting nobles, ambassadors, and governors), as well as precious cargo to and from the Caribbean Islands. The types of ships varied from merchant to Naval to passenger ships, and each type of ship had a different color assigned to it. When he'd first been given the contents, Jack had held every indication of either selling it to anyone he felt like or to any map shop he came across. Now he was glad that he hadn't, because the contents of this box would change the way the Black Pearl received its income over the next several months. Grinning, Jack began going over every single map in the pile, taking careful notes on a nearby piece of parchment.
Three Days Later: Author's POV:
Watching Jack sit at the head of the table, Gibbs took careful notes of the expressions of those sitting round the large rectangle table in the galley. Jack had just revealed his latest idea on raiding unsuspecting ships, and now the crew was reacting to the idea. A few had expressions of greed and impatience, but most had one of surprise and shock; Gibbs' face had the expression of the latter part of the group.
"So, let me get this straight, sir," Gibbs slowly replied. "You're saying that you know the exact secret routes of ships traveling the Caribbean over the next several months. You know what ships will be traveling where, and with what cargo or people, and when they'll be traveling."
"Exactly, Gibbs!" Jack exclaimed, leaning back in his chair, a cocky grin on his face. "We simply have to hide out behind some islands and wait for the prey to fall into our laps!"
"But won't the Navy know by now that the maps are missing, Cap'n?" asked young Thomas, his pale green eyes worried as he ran his hand through his limp blonde hair. "I sure don't want to end up hangin' because of the Navy figuring out our plan ahead of time!"
Jack simply gave the lad a look. After all, he was not about to waste his breath chiding a fourteen-year-old boy. Instead he shook his head and proceeded to correct the boy's train of thoughts so that no one else would chicken out of this new form of plundering.
"The Navy won't have time to change all of their sailing routes," he said, rolling his eyes at the boy's foolishness. "Therefore, it's perfectly safe to assume that most, if not all, of the ships will still be using their original routes to and around the Caribbean." He grinned, gold teeth flashing in the lights of the lanterns. "Besides, this guarantees us getting some damn good swag to spend and nobles to terrify! What say you?"
Most of the other crewmembers cheered at the creativity and logic of their captain. The plan made sense. Besides, their captain was brilliant and decent (as far as pirates went), and he wasn't one to put the lives of his crewmembers in dangers for the sake of plunder. No, they trusted their captain, as he hadn't let them down so far. Besides, it sounded rather fun to them.
Jamaica: Night, Two Days Later:
Watching the unsuspecting trade ship float by, Jack smirked to himself. Tonight would be their first raid of the scheduled secret routes, and everyone was especially eager for this one. This ship was particularly good, for it was full of precious herbs and spices from India and China and was not heavily guarded (as far as British ships went). This ship's cargo would be worth a pretty penny (especially to the doctors and spice dealers in pirate cities like Tortuga), and Jack was not going to pass this up! Twenty minutes later, Jack and the Pearl were inches behind the properly named ship: the Peaceful Dove.
'Pansy name,' Jack snorted to himself. 'What kind of idiots dreams up names like this? Oh yes, Redcoats.' Snorting again in amusement, Jack steered the ship up alongside its target.
No noise was made, and the crew of the Pearl had overpowered the pathetic guards and crewmen on deck in less than three minutes. Sincerely proud of his crew, Jack waltzed over a thin gangplank and headed downstairs towards the main hold, only stopping to kick an unconscious man out of his way. The main hold's door was locked, but that means nothing to a pirate; lock-picking was part of the job, after all. Once the lock was picked and the door opened, Jack's jaw dropped. Now, it takes a lot to shock Captain Jack Sparrow, but the piles of shimmering silk, the smell of spices, and the luster of finely polished, expensive wooden boxes (likely filed with precious bottles of perfume) did just that.
"I believe that I'm going to like this new form of plundering," he said to himself, smirking.
AN: Okay, that was my first chapter. I hope it wasn't boring. Please review and let me know what you think of it! The next one will have my main female character. Also, please read the top half of my bio for news on the future ofthis story!