Beckett's Quarry
Chapter 2
Jack stood at the wheel of the Pearl and peered down at the drunkenly comatose former Commodore sprawled on the deck. "Mr. Gibbs!" he called out. He jumped a little as the man answered, "Aye Captain" from the vicinity of very close behind him. He looked over his shoulder and gave the man a pout, then spun around to face him, "Are you following me Mr. Gibbs? Lurking about in my wake so to speak? And if that is indeed the case here then it begs the question of just why you might be doing such said lurking and following about as it were instead of what you are supposed to be doing, which is in fact not lurking and following me about is it…..least that'd not be my opinion of yer duties aboard me Pearl Mr. Gibbs nor the representation of any manner of what yer duties are or happen to be that I may have given you previously on any occasion in the past….and I'm pretty sure I'm right about that am I not?" He paused a moment to cast a suspicious look at Gibbs who was standing there with a nonplus look on his face then went on, "Well man, don't just stand there, answer me."
Gibbs wiped the nonplus look off his face and said, "You called me Captain."
"I did?" Jack replied with a shadow of confusion on his face as he vaguely looked around him, then a second later he gave a happy 'Ha!' and looked back at Gibbs, "I'll bet you thought I didn't know that?" Then without giving the man a chance to answer he began fluttered his hands about and asked, "Do you currently see anything of a peculiar nature with the state of my ship Mr. Gibbs? Something that is plainly there for the seein of but in fact has been overlooked until brought to my attention by me own self just now as it were, and as it were brought to your own self's attention by me own self just now Mr. Gibbs?"
Gibbs looked around with a perplexed expression as he tried to decipher what Jack was talking about, "I'm not sure Captain."
"Mr. Gibbs." Jack said as his flopping hands finally pointed to the deck, "Are we in the habit aboard me fine Pearl of letting rum pot deck hands drink themselves into a more than unconscious state and capsize themselves into a awkward, and by the way, very uncomfortable looking recline-atory posture on me deck?"
"Aye Captain, we are. Don't a day go by we don't have a handful o the men in such a state." Gibbs answered.
Jack smiled and wiggled his fingers a bit, "Ah, so we do Mr. Gibbs." Then turning his expression into a scowl he continued, "But as I ponder on it at the moment Mr. Gibbs I'm pretty sure….no I'm really sure twas not to include or encompass or be interpreted to include in any way, shape, or form former Commodores of the Royal Navy, as when that particular leniency was first extended, and continues ta be extended ta that particular practice there was no knowin we'd be in the presence 'r possession of any manner of naval persons let alone previously constituted Commodores, who have in fact become rum pot deckhands themselves, ta be loiterin about on me Pearl's decks in such an indecorous and quite frankly grevious manner now did we? Res ipsa loquitur Mr. Gibbs…. get him off my deck."
Gibbs shook his head as he walked off, taking several swigs from his rum pouch and mumbling under his breath about daft Captains."
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Cutler Beckett sat at the table he had ordered placed at one end of the quarter deck. He poured a cup of tea, took a sip, added two sugar cubes, stirred them around for a moment, then lightly tapped the spoon on the side of the cup and laid it down on the napkin next to the saucer. He took another sip, smiled, and sipped again. He set the cup down on the saucer and looked at the brilliant azure sky, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. They were making excellent progress toward their destination and that had put him in a fine mood.
"Ah, Mr. Mercer." Beckett said with a smile as Mercer approached, "I trust you have taken care of that issue with the informant."
"Yes Lord Beckett, that issue has been laid to rest." Mercer replied with his own smile.
"Good, now on to the other issue we have at hand. The Captain tells me we should be arriving at Charlotte Amalie within the next two days. I have instructed the Captain to anchor where we shall not easily be noticed and allow our quarry to become aware of our presence before the appropriate time." Cutler paused to sip his tea, "When we arrive I shall send you ashore to affect the apprehension of Sparrow and Norrington. Bring them to me in as much of a physically unscathed state as possible; I will trust your judgment as to just what manner of persuasion you will use to accomplish that end. I'm sure you will keep in mind they are of no use to me at present if they are dead or severely impaired, not that that won't be the final outcome once I am done with them." Beckett finished with a cruel smile.
"You may trust me to handle things to your satisfaction Sir." Mercer replied.
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As a semblance of consciousness returned to his still somewhat inebriated mind James realized his body was sloshing about. At first, more than likely due to the remnants of the rum still affecting his judgment, that thought was not alarming. Then his mind slowly began to process just who he had been with, and just where he had been when he had apparently imbibed enough to pass out. The thought that the bloody Pirate had thrown him overboard came rushing to the forefront of his brain and his eyes popped open and his arms shot out in an attempt to keep himself from sinking instead of sloshing. All he could see around him was darkness, no stars or moon above him where they should have been. A moment later as his outstretched hand brushed against something solid he grabbed for it. His mind was still refusing to be clear on matters as the first thing it did was ponder how a rum bottle could manage to stay in such proximity to him floating in the middle of the ocean. He mulled this over for a few seconds before the familiar sounds of a ship filtered in and around his rum addled head. As the smell surrounding him finally made a more than could be ignored appearance in his olfactory senses he realized, and gave a rather loud snort at his foolishness, that he had not been thrown over board, but in the bilge. He struggled to get to his feet, and managing that, took a few steps until he came into contact with one of the bulkheads and hand over hand began to make his way around in the thigh deep water trying to find the exit as he let out expletive after expletive concerning the no doubt perverted lineage of a certain Pirate Captain.
To Be Continued
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