AN: Wow! I wasn't expecting that much of a response! I'm glad you guys seemed to like this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too .
Chapter 2 – A Brawl and Becketts' Breeches.
The evening after her meeting with Beckett saw Captain Jadelyn West pinned to a table by a very large, beefy man, in the midst of one of the biggest tavern brawls she had managed to get herself into since at least last week.
Drunken sailors formed a tight ring around her and her opponent, some clamouring to place bets, others egging on one or the other competitor, and one or two starting minor spats of their own.
Jadelyn could feel the man's hands around her neck, thumbs going for her windpipe. Arching her back and bucking her hips off the table, she slammed her feet into her opponents gut, flinging him backwards away from her.
She got up off the table, brushing herself off and cramming her hat more securely on her head.
Her opponent slowly pushed himself off the ground, panting and red in the face, trying to regain the breath Jadelyn had kicked out of him.
He got to his feet, wiping a hand across his sweaty forehead, before suddenly charging Jadelyn, head down, roaring like a raging bull.
She easily leapt out of the way, turning quickly and lashing out with her boot, catching him across his beefy backside and sending him hurtling into the very table he had had her pinned against not moments ago.
Groaning, he tried to raise himself up, but his arms gave way underneath him, and he collapsed yet again on the table.
Jadelyn quickly strode over to him, taking a tankard of ale from a nearby sailor on her way. She quaffed a good amount of the liquid, before bringing down the tankard on the back of her opponents head.
The table, badly built by a terrible carpenter, was unable to take the weight anymore and collapsed, sending the man sprawling spread-eagled on the floor, surrounded by splinters and broken table legs.
Jadelyn gulped down the rest of her ale, before handing back the empty tankard to the surprised sailor she had taken it from, and turning to face her audience.
"Anyone else want to have a go?"
Everyone shook their heads and avoided her gaze, the group beginning to disperse now that the fun was over.
Jadelyn glanced back at her semi-conscious opponent, who was being tended to by a couple of the more kind-hearted patrons, before heading wearily over to the bar to order another drink.
Plonking herself down on one of the stools, she took off her hat and looked up to find herself staring into the very angry eyes of the pretty Latina barmaid.
"Captain Jadelyn West. That's the second time you've gotten into a brawl in my tavern just this week! And you broke another one of my tables! And over what, exactly? That guy spill beer on you or something? I tell you, it's the last time, you hear me?"
Jadelyn sighed in annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah, just like the last time, and the time before that, and most likely that time that I used your favourite dish-washing rag to gag that ghastly fisherman." She shook her head as the barmaid folded her arms. "Face it, Vega, I'm prime entertainment whenever I'm here, and I keep the ruffians under control. That's got to be worth one measly, rotten old table, right?"
The barmaids' frown deepened. Jadelyn imagined she could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. Finally she sighed. "Alright, okay. I won't kick you out." Jadelyn smirked. "Yet. I won't kick you out yet. But one more broken table, one more slimy, fish-breath covered dishcloth, and you're out that door before you can say…"
"Captain West! Come quickly! Ryder Daniels has escaped!"
Jadelyns eyes widened as her expression turned from slightly derisive to angry, and maybe even a little scared. "Shit" she spat out as she quickly stood up and strode over to the scrawny young man in militia uniform who had suddenly burst through to door, yelling. She grabbed the front of his red coat and picked him up so his feet were dangling half a foot off the floor.
"What the hell happened? Tell me!"
Terrified, the man gulped, vainly grasping at Jadelyns hands before gasping out "I don't know! I was in the mess with a few other men, when suddenly the Admiral came hurtling in, blood all over his face, yelling something about Daniels somehow getting out. He ran up to me and told me to find the cheapest, dirtiest, most wench-filled tavern I could and bring him Captain West!" His voice rose to an impossibly high octave as Jadelyn practically threw him up against the door and pressed her hands closer to his throat.
"Did you see Daniels?"
"No, I swear, I came straight here to find you!"
Jadelyn dropped him in a heap on the floor.
"Get up! Take me to the Admiral now!"
The man scrambled to pick himself up, flailing to open the door, before Jadelyn hurled him away and kicked it open, breaking the latch. Grabbing the back of his coat, she frogmarched the unfortunate young man through the door and out into the dark street, yelling fearsome curses at any inebriated sailor stupid enough to stagger into her path.
The door to The Captains Sea Boot swung slowly shut, the broken latch dropping to the floor with a loud clang. The noise broke the stunned silence, and an old weather-beaten sailor sat in the corner whistled appreciatively.
As chatter filled the tavern once again, the young barmaid stepped round the bar and walked to the door to pick up the broken latch. Shaking her head, she headed back to the bar and put it down next to the glasses, making a mental note to take it to the blacksmiths the next day to see if he could fix it.
Meanwhile…
Storming angrily into the town's militia barracks, Jadelyn dropped the young soldier on the floor for the second time that night. The man was seriously regretting signing up now.
"BECKETT!" she roared. "Beckett, where the hell are you!?"
The Admiral stumbled out of what Jadelyn assumed to be the mess, further up the corridor, clutching what appeared to be a pair blood-stained breeches to a gash on his forehead.
"Jadelyn, thank god you're here! He got out! I don't even know how! I just saw him sauntering down the corridor like he owned the place. When he saw me he threw me against the wall like I was a feather, and just walked out!"
The captain growled angrily. "And you let him!? Where were your men? Did you even try to fight him?"
She was obviously very distressed, pacing angrily back and forth in front of Beckett, clutching fitfully at her long black locks, as if tearing them out would somehow fix this.
"Of course I tried to stop him! He caught me by surprise, and my men? Well, turns out it was card night in the mess, but I still had five guards on the door of his prison cell! Unconscious, the lot of them! "Beckett sighed irritably, glaring at the irate Captain. "Jadelyn, can you please stop moving? You're making me dizzy just watching you."
The Captain paused, bunching her hands up into fists and letting out a sharp breath. Closing her eyes, she brought a clenched fist up to her lips, snarling out from behind it "Well, Admiral? What do you suggest we do?"
Beckett leaned against the wall, tired from the exhaustion of the last hour and weak from blood loss. "What I suggest, Captain, is calming down, and thinking about this logically. Where would he go, why would he go there? What is it he wants?"
Jadelyns' eyes shot open.
"The Sirens Gold," She murmured.
"I'm sorry?"
"The Sirens Gold. It's why he wanted my crew. I threw him overboard two years ago, because he became obsessed with finding the Gold. He tried instigating a mutiny, had my crew fired up over the riches he promised them if they got rid of me. They almost keelhauled me because that dirty bastard was chasing a legend." Her jaw clenched. "If he's out, he's most certainly searching again."
Beckett slid slowly down the wall into a sitting position. "Then why let himself be captured? Wouldn't he want to stay out of prison if he wanted this Sirens Gold so much?"
Jadelyn shook her head, frustrated. "I don't know, I just don't… oh."
Beckett looked up at her. "Oh? Oh does not sound good."
"That's because it's not." She resumed pacing. "Admiral, is old Governor Vaughn still lording it over the town?"
"Yes, I missed one of his tea-parties so I could speak to you yesterday."
"Never mind his tea-parties! Beckett, this is important! I think Daniels is headed to the palace. Vaughn used to own a huge collection of old maps he took from pirates he defeated years ago."
Beckett nodded absentmindedly. "Yes, he still does. I've seen it, it is rather impressive."
Jadelyn grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. "Come on, he's looking for a map, and who knows what he'll do to get it!"
The breeches Beckett had been holding to his wounded head dropped from his nerveless grasp.
"Alyssa…"
Jadelyn looked confused. "Who?"
But the Admiral was already sprinting out the door and towards the Governors palace.
Jadelyn shrugged and picked up the breeches before jogging out of the barracks and following him up the street.