Title: It's A Small World After All…
Author: Drey'auc475
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
Rating: T
Spoilers: COTBP and DMC
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Setting: After Dead Man's Chest
Summary: Jack is in the service of Davy Jones, and once again surrounded by the Undead. He has to get Jones' Heart back, or loose everything he has… and has found once again.
A/N: I LOVE JOHNNY DEPP and I love Pirates, but I shall never own them (BOO HOO!)

-----Chapter 9 – Just a Pawn-----
Lord Cutler Beckett stood gazing into the dying embers of the fireplace in his office. He cradled a fine crystal glass with a good deal of cognac left in the bottom. He took a small sip from the glass and glanced over his shoulder at his desk where his small chest of important papers sat. Inside that chest was the mutated, barnacle-encrusted, still beating heart of Davy Jones. In the silence of the room, Beckett could hear it beating…

He took a shuddering breath and a bigger sip of the brandy. He turned his back to the chest and continued to stare into the dying fire. He felt a tingling sensation in his toes and the hairs on the back of his neck, under his white wig, stuck up. He drained the rest of the cognac, and put the glass on a table by the door. His hands were shaking and he knocked the cup over after he set it down. It rolled along the table and smashed on the floor. He didn't notice, and walked over to his desk.

With trembling hands he slowly lifted the lid of the chest. There, in the candle-light, was the Heart, beating while it pumped air, not blood. Thump-thump… thump-thump, it went.

Beckett lifted his hand and wiped the cold sweat out of his eyes. His breathing was getting shallow. He slowly reached his hand into the chest and lifted the Heart out. He held it his palm for a moment, to afraid to do much else. It beat horribly in his palm. It was slimy, hard and covered in barnacles that were opening and closing on his fingers. As he held it, Beckett's face grew more and more disgusted.

Finally, he threw it back into the chest. He slammed the lid shut and put it in the deepest draw of his desk. When he thought he couldn't hear it anymore, he took a shaky breath. He glanced at his reflection in the full length mirror near the wall. His skin was pale and clammy, his collar too tight. He pushed his fingers into his scarf and tried to loosen it a little. He stood and went to the French doors that led to the balcony and pushed them open. He stood out under the stars, letting the cool, fresh air calm his nerves.

Cutler Beckett was a man who was not so easily frightened. If he was, then he would have never made it to lord. Nor leader of the East India Trading Company. There were few things in the known world that did scare him. One was his unnamed employer, the other being Davy Jones. He had faced him once in battle, many years ago and he was a great man to be feared.

Now he had Jones' fate in his hands. But it was not for him to decide. He would now have to take the Heart to his employer. This thought, once again sent chills down his spine.

Beckett was a man who knew what the right thing to do was. He was also a man who was powered by greed. An interesting combination. A little over a year ago, a man with no name had contacted him by letter in London, promising glory and riches to him, if he were to come under his employment. This man appealed to Beckett's desire to rid the ocean of the plague of piracy. He promised to help him rid the world of all those who call themselves pirates, make him noble and a powerful man. He was at first cautious and pretended that he wanted no part in it, when it was the thing that he desired the most. He was then visited by a woman. A woman that he had loved a long time ago. She told him that it was a very generous offer and that if he weren't to accept, then he would most likely not live out the year. With no other choice, Beckett agreed. He began receiving secret orders and instructions from his 'employer' and soon became a highly respected man and eventually made Lord. He was appointed commander of the East India Trading Company and dispatched around the world to establish a sense of control on the oceans. Then he was given his toughest and most challenging task yet. To find the Heart…

His employer, a powerful and cunning man, wanted the Heart of Davy Jones for himself. He knew that Jack Sparrow carried a compass that could lead him to it, so he had ordered Beckett to find it. This man had grand and sinister plans for the known world, Beckett knew. When this man got a hold of the Heart, then the Oceans would never be safe for folk again. Something was a-plot and Beckett truly did not like it one bit. He had an obligation to his fellow sailors to make sure that the oceans remained safe and free. But he also knew what would happen if he strayed from the path that his employer had set out for him. In gripping reality, Beckett was simply a pawn in the scheme of things.

Beckett sighed and returned to his office, locking the doors behind him. He took out a key and locked the draw of his desk. Wearily, he trudged up stairs to his bedroom, above his office. He unbuttoned his coat, set his wig on the stand next to the dresser and prepared himself for bed. He lay under the covers and stared at the high canopy of his elaborate bed. He tried to sleep, but was too afraid to close his eyes, lest the terror he felt took a hold of his imagination.

And so, he lay there, eyes wide open and let the cold sweat that beaded on his brow drip into his pillow.

-----XXX-----
Chapter up! Please review. You all keep me sailing with your reviews. And if you could add some ideas, please do that too. Also if someone who's good with dialog could please help me out here, it would be very, very much appreciated.