Chapter 2

He looked out across the deck full of busy sailors, a slight smile settled on his lips. Everything was going great. The Ghastly Ghoul was flying over the ocean, due south to the rendezvous with old Bootstrap. In no time One-eyed Murdock would have the map to Blackbeard's infamous treasure. He could almost feel the coarse papery texture beneath his fingertips; see the mass of ships flying his colors, paying him a tribute, and there at the lead was his ship, with One-eyed Murdock the king of the seas. None of those landlubbers would be able to stop him, after all the more powerful he got, the more pirates and sailors that would join him. His fleet would be unstoppable. All he had to do to keep his men happy was keep the gold, women, and fights coming; and with the power he would have, it wouldn't be too hard.
One-eyed Murdock shook himself out of his dreams and back into reality. Just a few days journey and those dreams would be possible; it was hard to imagine that it was all because of the whelp locked away in the brig below. He couldn't help but wonder why Bootstrap was willing to allow the risk to the young man's life, but that wasn't his concern, only the map.
Will, however, had an entirely different perspective on the whole matter. While he didn't relish the thought of being someone's bargaining too, he was very thankful it wasn't Elizabeth who had been taken this time around. He forced back the surge of worried thoughts over her safety and resumed pacing his small cell and struggled to form an escape plan. It was going to be a long trip.

Elizabeth sighed into the wind only vaguely aware of her surroundings on the Dauntless, thinking only of Will. She had won the argument on going with them after her husband, but both Norrington and Jack had agreed she should stay on the Dauntless instead of going to the Black Pearl with Jack. They were both good men, and she knew they'd do their best to get Will back from these ruffians, but Elizabeth just couldn't stand the thought of doing nothing. To just sit back and wait, hoping everything would turn out all right-she'd go crazy with worry.
That's how she ended up on deck of the Dauntless, sailing after pirates alongside the Black Pearl. Elizabeth smiled remembering Jack's response to Norrington's question, "Why would you, a pirate, want to help the royal navy stop -eyed Murdock from creating this fleet?"
Captain Jack Sparrow had smiled at the commodore and answered, "First, Will's me friend, and second-a fleet of pirates sailing around would make it a lot more difficult on the rest of us independents, seeing as how they'd get all the goods. And what's to stop them from coming after the rest of us who won't join. I might just find me self out of a job, and then what would I being doing with me self?"
"Get a respectable job," Commodore Norrington had retorted back, but hadn't question Jack's motives after that.
Elizabeth was extremely grateful that both of these men would be working together to get Will free. She had all the confidence in them possible, but there was still a small seed of doubt growing in her mind. Brushing her hair back out of her face, Elizabeth sighed quietly and turned from the darkening skies to go below deck to the sleeping quarters Norrington had set aside for her. She fervently hoped they were fast enough to reach Will in time; that they wouldn't be to late to save him.

The last few days of the journey crept by for Will, who had nothing to occupy his time with. If he hadn't have been so worried with the outcome this little trip would hold for him, he might've actually been relieved to have a change of scenery when the Ghastly Ghoul spotted the island that was their destination, and he was dragged out on deck. However, the expected results were still a little foggy to Will, and so he worried as the dock grew closer and closer.
It was a small island, largely appearing to be one single estate, with a private dock and everything, although, much of it was hidden from view by the thick forest covering it. There was a grand house built into the rocky cliff side not far from into the forest, the top floor just barely above the treetops. A smaller ship was docked just off shore before them, and looking just a little more closely, Will could make out the carefully placed cannons and other fortifications. This island was built like a fortress in the guise of a summer home. From the lookout post on the top of the cliff in the middle, one could see what was happening at every side of the island.
As they grew closer, Will could see a group of pirates rowing out to greet them. Three buccaneers climbed aboard the Ghastly Ghoul from the rowboat. The first two merely stepped aside and waited as the third made his way over to One-eyed Murdock.
Murdock nodded his greeting, "Here he is, Bootstrap. The map?"
Will stared the man in surprise, momentarily forgetting to fight the two pirates that were holding him between them. "F-father?" he managed to choke out.
Bootstrap Bill turned an icy glare at his son, nodding towards his island home. As soon as Will was escorted off the ship by the two pirates, Bootstrap handed the packet to One-eyed Murdock. "Blackbeard's waiting to meet ya," he told Murdock and then turned and left the ship himself. He had Will locked in his room while he made sure the other pirates left his island and quickly.
"I thought you were dead," were the first words out of Will's mouth when Bootstrap Bill finally entered the room. Will was still keeping a safe distance between them, not quite sure what was going on.
Raising a brow, Bootstrap looked at his son, "Thought I was or just hoped?"
"What?" Will was flabbergasted. "I haven't seen you since before Mother died. Why would I wish death on a man I barely even know?"
"You tell me," Bootstrap snarled taking a threatening step towards Will. "You already tried to kill me once!"
Will blinked at him confused, "What?"
"When you broke the curse! If I had still been in Davy Jones Locker I'd of drowned, thanks to you!" Bootstrap Bill growled. His hand clenched Will's shirt dragging him nearly nose to nose with his angry father. "I nearly did die because of you!"
"What? You think I went out in search of Barbossa? Oh, yes, 'Please, Mr. Barbossa, try to kill me so you can be free of the bloody curse you got put on yourself!' " Will exclaimed trying to pull away. "You're the one that sent me the stupid medallion!" He cringed as Bootstrap slammed him against the wall, his other hand pulled back into a fist ready to strike.