An: There has to be some sort of flirting at some time. :)
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"Why, hello there," Benjamin smiled as Jack and his lady friend walked towards them after anchoring her ship to the docks. Reaching his hand out, he shook hands with the gorgeous Spanish woman, his voice unconsciously lowering to something that almost mocked a purr. "My name is Benjamin Massey. It's wonderful to meet you-"
"Angelica," she finished, her hand falling from his when she believed he held on for a tad too long. "It's nice to meet you, Benjamin, but I don't want to waste times on pleasantries to which we have already shared. I'm here for business, not folly."
"Understandable," Benjamin nodded, turning and extending his hand towards the man standing beside him, whom held obvious physical similarities to the man introducing him. "This is my brother Richard. He's here to help outfit your ship with the finest and strongest weaponry that can be built by the hands of men."
"It's nice to meet you Angelica," Richard nodded, shaking hands with her before turning to face the captain standing by her side. "And it's always wonderful to see you again, Jack."
Jack chuckled softly, swaying on his feet as he waved his fore and middle finger through the air. "Likewise, Richard."
"Alright, so onto plans," Ben stated, smiling softly in remembrance of the troubles the three had gotten in to that last time the infamous captain had anchored in Tortuga. Pushing the thoughts aside, the smith stretched out a large piece of parchment that was covered in light sketches of a cargo ship much like hers drawn in many different angles. The two brothers tacked down the corners, and lit the candle on the corner of the table, before Ben picked up his pencil and pointed to the largest sketch in the middle. "I told Jack earlier, that I'm skeptical about small ships. A long boat isn't going to go against a naval ship from her majesties navy and some how emerge victorious, correct? So, I assumed that yer ship would be the traditional dimensions, as it is close, and then brainstormed on exactly how to make it bigger. I say, that we tear away the masts first, as well as the siding on yer ship until I am left with the original base skeleton. From there I will extend the planks of the skeleton, as well as adjust the angles of the planks to the base board so the wood will curve upwards and make yer ship much more wider and thick. Then she will be able to hold more weight, which means more cannons."
"Do you plan to raise the planks any in height?" Angelica asked, her fingers rising to push her hair behind her ear. "So that the ship will be taller?"
"Of course," Benjamin nodded, tapping the edge of his pencil on the calculations written in the top right hand corner. "I plan to do that, and refashion the ship's skeleton in a lighter wood than it already is. The thing is, that the longer a ship is in the water, the weaker it's fortifications are. Things like barnacles and sea scum stick to the bottom and eat away your hull, slowing down yer ship as well as sinking her further into the water. If I refashion her out of lighter wood, she'll be able to float better, and the metal won't bring her to sink."
"But, if the wood is lighter, will it be able to support the iron?" Jack popped in, his body gravitating close to Angelica's as he peered over her shoulder to look at the blueprints.
"Yes," Ben answered. "I will build her sturdy and strong. No need to worry about if she can handle it or not."
"How is she going to float though, if you plate her in metal?" Angelica asked.
"The metal is used to simply secure yer ship so that a cannon ball can't go flying through your starboard and sink yer vessel. The bottom of yer ship, the part under the water, will be solid wood."
"What about weapons?" Jack asked as Angelica opened her mouth to inquire the same thing. She glanced over her shoulder and shook her head, smirking softly and chuckling even as she felt his chest brush against her back.
"I have devised a whole arsenal to place on your ship," Richard said, using only his hands as imagery for his work. "Cannons that shoot chained cannon balls, pistols that fire multiple rounds within seconds, and long range rifles that you can use to initiate an attack from leagues away. As for hand to hand weapons, I have fashioned swords and daggers made of metal that will not break under brute force, and I have created an invention perfect for anyone needing to win a fight. It is a blade, large and thick, but with a tip that contains a small hole in it. In that hole, is a poison, that the second it comes into contact with human blood, goes rampant like a starving lion having just seen a wounded zebra. Even a small nick will inflict death within minutes."
As the two imagined such a weapon, Angelica heard Jack huff heavily against the idea. No doubt he was remembering their fight with the one-legged man in the sanctuary of the fountain of youth, where she stupidly cut herself on a blade that he had warned her was poisoned. Though healed, the metaphorical scar was enough to bring a sharp pain to her hand, and as if he could feel that pain, his knuckle gently rose to follow the curve of her palm.
"The cannons," Angelica stated, crossing her arms to keep herself from being distracted by Jack's touch. "Obviously they are heavy. How many do you plan to place on her?"
"Though they are heavy, with the way that Benjamin is modifying your ship, you could have up to twenty on deck. Exactly how many we end up placing on your ship is entirely up to you," Richard answered. "As well as what weapons you want to supply your crew with. I also decided to fashion bow-like weapons that can travel over a long distance in a short time just in case you stumbled upon men more adept at firing a crossbow instead of a gun."
"Well those men are few and far between in the pirating world," the Spaniard mused, her eyes turning to observe her small cargo ship in the massive bay around them. "How do you manage to work on her? You can't do everything we just spoke of in the water, can you?"
"Of course not," the two brothers laughed, both of their hands rising to point to the elaborate pulley system strung above them. "We've fashioned a pulley system that could lift a ship the weight of 50 elephants. All we have to do is tie the ropes around her and the two of us will hoist her up. She'll sit on the racks over there," Richard explained, pointing to a structure of architecture that seemed perfectly suitable for keeping a ship upright on land. "That is where we will work on her."
"Jack and I can help with the labor," Angelica offered, practically sensing Jack's rebuttal before he even said it.
"Come again, love?"
"We will help with some of the physical labor," she said again, turning slightly to look up at him. "It won't be difficult, and it'll help them get a nice start in fixing up my ship. I can't stay here for a month and let the one-legged man continue to sail if we don't know where he is going. The sooner I'm outfitted for war, and the sooner we depart, the sooner I can get my Revenge."
Chuckling softly behind her, Jack rocked back on his heels as he pondered the double meaning of her statement. "Clever," he murmured, his smile bringing an almost identical one to her own lips despite the eye roll she tried to achieve.
"Well, if ye are really up to helpin'," Benjamin said, picking up a modified gun of sorts that was used to shoot a small ball made of plastic connected to a thick, heavy rope under the boat. "There are hooks inside of the shop. They're long, three pronged, and connected to rope. We use those to tear down the tops of the ship. I believe ye both strong enough to help as such, while Richard and I begin to work from the bottom up."
"Perfect," Angelica smiled, making her way towards the shop while Jack stayed behind. He took the opportunity to make his way to Benjamin's side, his hand grasping his friend's forearm while he moved close enough to whisper into his ear.
"Don't tell her of your price," Jack insisted. "She doesn't need to know. Transfer of funds for the work on her ship will be strictly between us, understand? I will take care of it."
"That's fine Jack," Benjamin nodded, his eyes glancing up when the door to the shop slammed shut. "I won't tell that beautiful lady friend of yers that ye doing something nice for her," he laughed, his hands rising in surrender when Jack's eyes narrowed and the captain forced himself to keep his composure.
"Here," Angelica said, slinging one of the heavy ropes square into Jack's stomach. "It's the least you could do since you didn't actually follow and help me get these in the first place."
"By the looks of it you didn't need much help," Jack grumbled, his hand settling over his sore stomach as he drug the large rope and hook further away from Benjamin and Richard, who were hooking up different ropes and wires to their masterful contraption.
"No, not necessarily, but that doesn't mean you have to kill the chivalry," she teased, tossing her rope away from her before she moved to sit down in one of the chairs settled by the table they were once gathered around. They both watched as the two brothers finished securing the ship, and as they both moved into their positions, the two watched as the Most Holy Trinity was hoisted into the air, and lowered onto the architecture built upon the pier. A smile toyed with her lips, and a wonderful sense of accomplishment followed the fact that they indeed were making progress, all thanks to the captain leaning against the table with his hand still clutching his stomach. "Thank you, Jack," she whispered, the words almost bitter on her tongue, even though she meant them wholeheartedly. "I appreciate you doing this for me."
Almost caught off guard by her kind words, Jack couldn't help the cocky smile flowering on his lips. Even though she flaunted a tough act, he was one of the few who knew the true her. Always feisty, always proud, always strong, and sometimes...sometimes she delved into realms aptly named 'sweet'. Though, experiencing her as such was a chance of luck in its own, and he wasn't willing to waste his luck by being witty or sarcastic and pissing her off. So he settled on whispering: "Your welcome," and kept it as simple as that. They didn't need a full on conversation to express something like appreciation. Most of the time they didn't need a conversation at all.
"It's ready you two!" Richard called as they strapped the boat down and made sure it was secure. "Get to tearing."
Looking to each other in understanding, the two shared an almost flirty smile as they slung their coils of rope over their shoulders, and brought the hook into their hands. "I believe we should wager on a friendly competition, Jack," Angelica suggested, her eyes sparkling and mischievous under the cover of moonlight.
"Oh really?" the captain asked, a bright smile of his own sparkling to match her eyes. "And what kind of competition is that?"
"A competition to see who can tear down the most of the ship, the fastest, of course," she offered. "But, I don't know what we should wager."
"Hmm, how about, if I win, you agree to spend one evening with me. No arguing. No yelling. Just a nice, fun, friendly outing-"
"That we both know might not end ideally," she laughed, swinging her hook slowly. "But tell me Jack...what do I get if I win?"
"No need to worry about that love," he whispered, swinging his hook like hers, but releasing it so it could fly and hook the railing along the starboard bow. "Because it's not going to happen."
"We'll just have to see about that," she returned, following his lead, and allowing her hook to fly through the air and latch into the middle of the ship's railing. Amused laughter rose from her throat as they both pulled, and Angelica's hook obviously did most of the work in pulling away a small amount of siding on the ship. Jack's eyes narrowed, and in an attempt to try and win the bet, he moved to step in front of her; following her and tripping up her rope any chance he got. She laughed happily, and they both allowed for the comfortable bliss to settle over them, even as they rained destruction on the fortifications of her poor ship. Though moments before exhaustion was heavy in their muscles from the days prior, and their eyes burned after sleeping restlessly the night before, in that moment, they had never felt more alive...or happy.