ACT III

With a smirk and a chuckle, the captain asked, "Did ya miss me? Come now, you didn't really think you'd seen the last of the likes o' me, now did you?"

Willie, stunned with anger, surprise, confusion, and fear, was unable to react other than just staring. Despite his best attempts, he failed to utter any words.

"If it's any easier on ya, lad, you can still call me Captain. I prefer it, even. Such a noble-kinda feeling. One that I've worked hard for since I last saw you twenty years ago."

Willie's leg was restless and his hands shook. His eyes shot a sharp stare into Jason's. "What are you doin' here? You weren't supposed to come back here ever! I helped you escape when Barnabas thought he'd killed ya and that I buried your body out in the woods. You don't know the chance I took to help you escape. Barnabas, he...he had these powers, see? He could get into my mind and see what I was thinkin' and doin'. I was lucky that he was so preoccupied with Miss Winters that evenin' that he forgot to check up on me. You shouldn'ta come here, Jason! When I took ya down to that ship yard and got you on board, you were supposed to get away from here and leave us alone! "

The captain chided. "A man who would waste his time readin' your little speck of a brain needs a pretty girl to occupy his time. Ah, but what am I sayin'? It's good to see ya, boy. I can think of no one else that I'd want to strike the sails of my sunset voyage with."

Willie looked puzzled. "Sunset voyage?"

Jason nodded his head. "Aye. The last voyage I shall ever take in this life, and what a way to go. It's the biggest score I've ever found in my life, and I want you to come with me and share it, Willie."

Scoffing as he shook his head, Willie looked down at the floor. "Hehheh...yeah, the biggest score ya ever saw, and you wanna share it with me. I've heard that one before."

"Listen, Willie. This is no time for me playing around." Jason's tone grew serious. "I told you, I'm a marked man. There's people comin' lookin' for me, and they could be here at any moment, day or night. I ain't got time to waste on either of us, so you're gonna shut up and listen. Ya know the treasure I told you about? I bought the map from a traveling group o' gypsyies. The treasure is more valuable than any I've ever laid eyes on. I had to pay a steep price for it, too."

"Oh yeah? How much?" Willie asked, his tone full of sarcasm.

Jason held up the hook where his hand had once been. "There was a choice. I could pay a blood price, or I could sell my soul." The captain smiled wickedly, "Both of us knows I ain't got enough soul left in me to buy a bread crumb from an ant. So, I had to give them my right hand. But...that's where you come in, Willie. You're going to be my right hand. One last time."

"I ain't helpin' you again, Jason. I gave you more than enough when I helped ya escape that last time. This time you're gonna have to figure it out on ya own. I'm done." Willie replied defiantly as his chair scooted back from the table.

"Willie...did you ignore everything I just told you? They will kill you, and your little woman. You don't know these mugs like I do. They will do just what I said, and probably much worse to the two o' ya. I'm the only one that can save ya, lad. You've got to stick with me."

Willie nodded in nervous movements and both of his legs trembled. "Who are these people comin' after you? What did you do?"

Jason's voice lowered. "I'll tell you the quick version. There's other people wantin' this treasure, see? It is a priceless treasure for any man. A gateway for anything he could ever want. I fell in with a few odd fellows who have kept the code of the smugglin' business for hundreds o' years. Now, there are only three of them left. 'Keepers of the Code', I call them."

Willie couldn't help but ask. "By smugglin' business, you mean like pirates, right?"

Jason nodded. "Aye. They're a dyin' lot, and only a few of them remain, including myself. There was another, but he's dead by my own hand. Ya see, when I got the treasure map from the gypsies, I had every intention of keepin' it myself. We were permitted to keep whatever loot we captured. However, the Keepers thought that since they are almost at an end, the treasure ought to be surrendered to them. Given that I was a member, they felt as if they owned what I paid for. I wouldn't have that. Nobody owns me, boy. I spent days studyin' the map, and I burned it. Now the only way for them to get to the treasure was on my terms since I was the only one who knew where it was. Sort of an...insurance policy to protect me from bein' killed and them takin' the map from me. They had no choice but to keep me alive."

Puzzled, Willie had to know. "So then why are they after ya if they can't kill ya?"
Jason replied. "Because I killed one of them. That's the first code, and I broke it. The penalty is death for a death. He thought that just because I am an old man that he could threaten and scare me into tellin' him where it was. I showed him that I still had all of my resolve within me, and that nobody would wear me down. Now, the Keepers are after me. To make a deal, no less. They'll probably offer me a pardon in exchange for what I know, but I know the moment I tell them, they would kill me and claim the spoils. I can't let them do that, and I—no, we won't. They would easily recognize my ship, so that's why I need yours, Willie. They would't suspect yours. It would buy us enough time to get there, and then...then all will be made right and settled."

"But why not just hijack my boat and steal it? Why go through the trouble of tryin' to get me to help you?" Willie scoffed.

"Well, lad, timing is everything, but if my life proves anything, it's that you are good luck for me. Anytime I've been at my lowest and have had nothing, Willie Loomis always came around. Even when a vampire attacked me, ya made sure I made it out safely. You're going to be my good luck piece once more for the last time. Truth is, too, that I feel badly for ya, lad. I've always promised you payoffs with little success. Liz has got ya workin' your guts out for peanuts, Willie. This is my chance to go out in style, and your chance to never want for anything and protect yourself and the one who holds your heart. It's the only chance you have, Willie." Jason explained.

"But...wh..what about them guys out there? They're your crew. Won't they protect ya?" Wille objected.

"They have no loyalty to me. They know I have the location of the treasure up here...", Jason whispered as he pointed his finger to his forehead. "They're loyal to the secrets I have."

"So...you're after that gypsy treasure, your crew probably wants to kill you for it, and them Keepers are after you to kill you, but they can't kill you until you tell them where the money is 'cause they want it and need it, too?" Willie asked, trying to recall everything Jason had told him.

With a quirky smile, Jason replied, "Beautiful. I couldn't have put it better myself, lad. Now...do we have a deal? We will share and share alike, Willie. There's treasure out there for you, and you and your lady can have whatever your hearts' desires are, or you can stay here and die with me for no reason at all. Come with me, and I'll have ya back in time for Christmas. Whaddy'a say, my boy? Be my first mate on our last adventure?"

Willie's hands were fidgety and his nails dug into the splintered wood on the table. Scowling and gritting through his teeth, he pointed his finger at Jason and exclaimed. "Only because you're blackmailin' me and these people would kill Roxy! I ain't glad to see you, and I wish I never had! I just wanna be left alone!"

Jason took another drink. "That's not a grateful attitude for a man that's about to make your ship come in. You'll come to appreciate what I'm doin' for ya soon enough, lad. For now, ya better be runnin' along home. You'll find the details of what you need to do before we go carefully placed on your doorstep in the morning."

Scooting his chair back, Willie's nervous legs ached from shaking as he rose from the table. He ran his hand through his hair and looked down in shame. "What am I gonna tell Roxy?"

"I'll leave that entirely up to you, lad. Talkin' to women has never been my strongest suit. You just keep thinkin' about what a hero's welcome she'll give ya when you come back with your share. That'll make it all worthwhile." Jason replied. "Now, get outta here, Willie. We can't be seen in the streets together, and I won't see ya until we execute the plan. You go your own way, and I'll go mine. You'll find your instructions at your doorstep by sunrise, lad. You'll know exactly what to do. Now go home and be gettin' a good night sleep. You'll need all of it tomorrow. It'll probably be the best sleep you'll have for awhile."

Willie walked away quietly, filled with deep emotions and pensive thoughts. It was all too much for him to make any sense of. Walking all the way home through the cold and gathering snow, he couldn't stop trying to think of what to say to Roxanne, Not that he was afraid of her, but because what he tell her might put her in danger and take her away from him forever. Feeling catatonic, he was numb to the harsh winds and noise of the bustling crowds throughout Collinsport that roared and buzzed the whole time he walked toward his home.

Throwing open the gate of his small house in the village, he went to reach for his keys as he walked up the tiny walk. When he reached the doorstep, Willie noticed the lights were off and the door unlocked and slightly opened. Microseconds brought images of Roxanne in danger and being overtaken by everyone that Jason was talking about. Fearing the worst, Willie burst through the door to look for her.

**I do not own the rights to DARK SHADOWS. My story based on characters and the tv show created by Dan Curtis are meant for the enjoyment of the reader**