A Kettle of Hawks
Disclaimer: Recognizable characters belong to the Mouse. Strictly for pleasure, no profit is being made or dreamt of. Mistakes are mine.
Rating: PG 13
Note: Time frame is essentially early 18th Century. Aside from the obvious, place names are fictitious. The naval details are mostly based from historic records or descriptions and are interpreted to suit the story. All going well, the story should remain true to its time and place, at least as much as the author's imagination is able to oblige.
Chapter Ten. A Distant Rumble
In the mists of the early dawn, the Black Pearl rode quietly at her temporary anchorage, a sight her captain greeted with soul-deep love and his two companions with heart-felt relief. It was long past time to leave this cove and return to safer waters, away from Port Royal and the patrolling vessels of the British Navy. They rowed the little dory over to the tall black side of the Pearl and swarmed up the lines let down for them by the men on watch. Once aboard, Gibbs rousted out the crew to haul up and secure the dory, make sail and raise the anchor; the tide was on the ebb and he would use it to advantage. The wind was light but would freshen as the sun burned the mists away and the Pearl returned to open water.
Jack left his subordinates to their duties and headed for the great cabin. He wanted to go over his charts with the latest news in mind. He had no worries about the passage back to Tortuga as it was a simple enough matter, given the winds as they currently stood. These new raiders, pirates or whatever, surely they had some purpose for their attacks in British waters. Norrington's ruthless attitude towards the Brethren was well known and had reduced piracy in his territory to virtually nothing; it would be a feckless pirate who took on that relentless hunter… or perhaps one who had backing from other sources and a hidden agenda.
With that notion in mind, Sparrow opened his chart locker and rooted around until he had several with which to begin his own search. Spreading them out over the large mahogany table, he weighted the corners down with an eclectic mix of convenient items and began to pore over them, beginning with the one showing Jamaica and its coastline. Like many navigators, Jack habitually made notes of safe anchorages, hidey holes, reefs and the like, along with bearings, times and speeds. Humming softly to himself, Jack checked the bearings for Tortuga and then roamed over the islands and coastlines, considering what he would look for should he be willing to accept Norrington's offer.
For the time being, Jack could only speculate; he did not have enough information to make any kind of real assessment of the marauders he had begun to hear whispers of. Once the Pearl made landfall at Tortuga, he and the others would seek out the men and women who had the likeliest ears for news from around the islands, whether they acquired it by lawful or less than lawful means. This was, after all, Tortuga, not one of the more self-righteous colonial islands.
For a couple of hours, he amused himself by imagining himself in the place of the raiders, what he would do in their shoes if he was hell-bent on tweaking the tail of the British lion. The Caribbean was a good size but it became very small very fast when a navy made a concerted effort to seize and eliminate a particular target. Norrington would plan accordingly as he amassed information from his sources, rumours or anything else he could manage to acquire. Whatever else the Commodore might be, he was in fact an efficient strategist and tactician in the classic sense, quite possibly with a few unexpected tricks up those fancy sleeves.
His growling stomach brought him back to the present so Jack stood back from his chart-littered table and stretched out the kinks in his neck and shoulders. Taking up his hat, he left to trot down to the galley in search of sustenance. In one of their recent successes, he had managed to acquire a decent cook; compared to the previous two, this one was a paragon in that he managed to feed the crew without either poisoning them or inciting mutiny. So far no suspicious bits had been uncovered in his stews or concoctions and the man even came up with things that Cotton could eat with relative ease, given his lack of a tongue, aside from having to share the bounty with an inquisitive parrot.
Coming to the door of the cook's domain, Jack stuck his head in the door and called out to Salvatore, asking permission to enter. Cooks were often unchancy creatures to cross and Jack acknowledged that here his powers to command were somewhat limited. Upon hearing the bellow from within, he entered and politely began the negotiations for something to eat, seeing as how the man was performing some arcane ritual with peppers, onions, goat and a very sharp cleaver to the accompaniment of a boisterous song in Catalán
"Buenos días, el Señor Salvatore. ¿Cómo usted es este día brillante y hermoso? "
"Ah, muy bien, como usted puede ver para usted mismo, el Capitán. ¿Qué es usted desea hoy?"
Opening courtesies observed, Jack got down to the serious business of acquiring his breakfast. Salvatore appeared to be in a very good mood this morning so he calculated he had an opportunity for something tasty. Continuing in the flattering vein, he smiled most winsomely and requested that anything that the cook cared to prepare would be most welcome and greatly appreciated.
"I like a man who knows when to trust his cook to make something muy delicioso. It was not like that on some of my ships, their capitáns would insist on this and that and nothing I did would please them. Fools! As if they knew what was needed to make fine meals on a ship. Idiotas!"
"Aye, I quite agree. It takes a skilled man to work his miracles in such a small space, always bouncing around and away from land and the markets and all. But then, I'm a pirate, you understand, and know a fine treasure when I happen to come across it."
"A treasure, you say, no?"
"A fine treasure, I say, si. The Black Pearl deserves no less than the best and I do my best to see that she gets the best."
After this exchange, Salvatore beamed most approvingly at his current captain. The Black Pearl and Jack Sparrow were famed throughout the Caribbean and beyond and he considered them worthy of his attentions, much more so than the previous vessel he had been aboard. It was a fine morning and he was in an equally good mood so he decided to prepare a dish of eggs with the aromatic vegetables and chilis he had just finished chopping. The hens were laying well at the moment and he had plenty with which to work. There was rice cooking for the day's meal and fruit besides. It would be a very good breakfast indeed.
Sparrow was a captain who understood the benefits of fresh foods and made the effort to keep his crew supplied with produce. He had seen the effects of poor diet on sailors and knew that feeding them well would also keep them happier, less inclined to mutiny, as well as more fit to handle the Pearl. After the Isla de Muerta, he was certainly neither unable nor unwilling to make the expenditures to give his girl the best as she deserved. The acquisition of Salvatore was simply sensible management on his part and if he himself was able to enjoy finer meals, then so much the better.
"Capitán Sparrow, I will make you a most excellent breakfast and will bring it up to you in your cabin. There is no need to wait here."
"Thank you, Senor Salvatore. I am quite certain it will be everything you say and shall await it with great anticipation."
With that, Jack nodded politely to the cook and made his exit from the galley, leaving Salvatore in his kingdom. He headed back to the main deck and strolled along, inspecting his ship. Her sails were set well and she was making good speed in a fair breeze; at this rate, it would be a quick passage to Tortuga. He had a feeling that this interlude should be enjoyed as the gift it was for he had no doubts at all that soon there would be far less pleasant things to deal with.
He came to the port side near the bow and peered over the side at the great flukes of the anchor lashed to the cathead and then turned to look back along the side, checking to see all was secure. Satisfied, Jack looked at the rigging and up into the sails; there was little he could take exception to, Gibbs was an excellent sailing master and knew his trade. The Pearl was a beautiful vessel now that the damage wrought by Barbossa and the Aztec curse had been made good. He had wondered how she fared in the years they had been separated; the stories he had heard in the taverns and cess pits of the Caribbean had not been favourable, just one more strike against the traitors who had stolen her.
Jack leaned on the rail and simply basked in the feel of the sun for a moment and then made his way back to the entrance to the great cabin. It would not take Salvatore long to prepare his breakfast and Jack was not about to upset his cook by not being there waiting to do the food the justice it deserved. He waved up to Gibbs on the quarterdeck and then entered.
Quickly Jack cleared the massive table and set out some silver cutlery (Spanish) and a heavy silver tankard (Dutch) to go with the ornate salt cellar (French) that he had acquired somewhere or other. He added a fine linen napkin (Irish) trimmed with lace (Flemish) and a superb stemmed glass, ornate and gilded (Venetian) to complete the masterpiece. The fact that he had purchased none of it merely added to his satisfaction. Stepping back, he admired his handiwork, proclaiming aloud that it was fit for the Governor himself. Amazingly enough, Jack had even encountered a Governor or two in his travels.
Upon the tail of his self-admiration, Salvatore knocked on the heavy door and entered at Jack's call. Nodding in approval at the attempt to set the table appropriately for his culinary masterpiece, the cook and his helper set out the covered serving trays and the Catalán gestured grandly for the captain to sit down. His fine meal was hot and he was not about to have his efforts fail to get the respect they deserved.
Jack seated himself and allowed his cook to present each item in turn, serving from each as he went. Salvatore then stood back and waited until his captain had obediently sampled from all the delights he had prepared for his delectation. The cook was not disappointed as Jack effusively praised and lauded every dish, for once not having to obfuscate in the slightest. Satisfied with the reception his talents had received, Salvatore then bade his captain enjoy his meal and departed for his galley, lackey in tow.
Left in peace to enjoy his breakfast, Jack truly did enjoy the quality of the food. He had often gone without or made do with things a dog would turn its nose up at so having his own cook was an experience to be savoured, at least when it was one the calibre of Salvatore. It had been a good haul from that vessel, just to have acquired such a cook for his Pearl. The rest of the loot had been a nice addition to the crew's personal wealth, regardless how satisfied their bellies would be for a time.
By the time Jack had completed his leisurely repast, Gibbs was knocking at the door in his turn. He entered and cast a knowing eye over Jack's well-cleaned dishes and laughed at his captain.
"You keep eating like that, Jack, and you'll get fat. Won't be able to fit into them fancy clothes you like to pick up."
"Won't get fat. I've never been fat." This statement was accompanied by an offended glare at the speaker, no sylph himself.
"Keep that up and you'll find out soon enough. You might even have to borrow some of my clothes, if you don't watch out."
"Won't."
"Will so."
"Will not!"
"It's summat what happens as you get older, Jack, and you're not a youngster any more, now are you?"
"I'm as young as I feel and I'm still younger than you are!"
"Mark my words, Jack."
"Consider 'em marked, you nagging old woman."
"Now you're starting to sound like a lofty young Lieutenant I used to know."
"An' who would that be, that you 'used to know'?"
"A fella name o' Norrington. You might be remembering that one, eh?"
"Sounds like something he would say," Jack grumbled under his breath.
Upon this exchange of insults, Jack decided it was past time to change the subject. He was not winning this round, anyway. He really did not want to get fat but he did so enjoy the luxury of being able to have such fine food for once in his life. There was absolutely no way he was going to put himself into a situation of having to borrow some of Gibbs' clothes; the man was a good enough sort but had this fascination with pigs. God only knew where those clothes had been.
"With the wind freshening like it is, won't take all that long to make landfall at Tortuga, Jack. What are your plans when we get there?"
"The crew can have some leave but only as long as they stay in the town. We might have to be leavin' in something of a hurry so I don't want them straying all over or getting themselves lost the Devil knows where."
"You plannin' summat, Jack? You've got that look about you again."
'Right now, it's not what I'm planning so much as what others are doing."
"Eh?"
"Heard about some new raiders before we left Port Royal. They're becoming very busy stirring up things hereabouts. Getting the Navy all a twitter and upset."
"It must be pretty recent, Jack. I've not heard a thing so far."
"Neither had I."
"Where did you hear it, anyhow? How good a source is it?"
"A little bird told me the night I went to the forge to visit Will and Elizabeth. Was just there to see how they're both doing and to drop off their presents. The source was one I can trust but I wasn't able to get any details then. After I caught you up at the Goat before we left town, I put the word out to an old acquaintance there that I'd be interested in reliable information about whatever is going on."
"Aye, I remember; he was certainly there holdin' court like he always does, the conniving old bastard. Surprised someone hasn't stuck a knife 'twixt his ribs before now. Still an' all, if there's aught goin' on, he hears most of it before the rest of us. Did he have anything for you?"
"Not so much as a whisper. Makes one wonder, don't it?"
"I'll be taking it that we'll be putting the word out for news when we get in to Tortuga?"
"Aye, that we will. I don't like what I'm feeling on the wind right now, Josh; there's something out there that's going to bring down a lot of grief, including to honest pirates like our own good selves."
On that note, they looked at each other and nodded solemnly. Tortuga it was then.
Three days later, the Black Pearl made the harbour at Tortuga. The winds had been favourable and the passage had been achieved with little problem. Jack looked out over the town sweltering under the noon sun, the stench from the dock side reaching out to where the Pearl was anchored whenever the limpid breeze managed to make it out that far. For once, Jack had something on his mind other than the taverns, the rum and the doxies, at least in the immediate future.
He set the watches for the crew and sent Gibbs in with the first lot going ashore to see about getting their supplies. They would load the Pearl once the food, munitions and other items were rounded up and hauled down to dockside. The crew that had drawn the short straws stayed to prepare the ship for lading and then they would have their shot at shore leave, in whatever fashion they cared to spend it. Anamaria remained on board to supervise and Jack knew she would see to it that things were done without slacking, Marty staying to second her. The pair might not be the biggest sailors on board but their attitudes more than compensated for stature and together they could easily cow the rest of the crew.
In the great cabin, Jack went to a heavy chest strapped with wide bands of iron that was draped with an oriental rug beside his bed. Information cost money and this was one occasion where he knew he would have to cross a few palms with gold to get the answers he wanted in as short a time as possible. Fortunately he knew which palms would give the best value for his money so it would not be wasted. Besides, only a few knew for certain how much booty the cavern on the Isla de Muerta had held and Jack had no intention that any others would ever acquire that knowledge. He had bled and sweated and plotted for it and it was his by right.
Carefully he sorted a number of gold and silver coins, rings and small items into his pockets, ready to be drawn out by feel in the appropriate amounts for each greasy palm. He walked over to the stern lights and opened a couple to let the breeze in, relieving the heat beginning to build now they were at anchor. He leaned against the frame and stared out at Tortuga, baking under the sun, relatively quiet until the evening's entertainments began later on. Idly he let his mind roam for a little while, taking a sip of rum now and again to refresh his thought processes. It was quite true Jack Sparrow loved his rum, or anyone else's rum, for that matter, but he did not drink anywhere near what he allowed the world to assume. Snorting at that thought, he sneered at the idea that he could command a ship such as the Black Pearl and be the rum-soaked excuse for a sailor people made him out to be.
"Enough of this. It's past time to get a move on, Jack."
With that observation to himself, Jack did get a move on and headed out to the deck to clamber down into the long boat about to head to the docks. He had schemes to set in motion and then, perhaps, he would indulge himself with a visit to one of the ladies he knew in town. He was in better odour than usual with certain of them, judging by the recent successes he had had. At any rate, it had been a couple of months since any of them had tried to slap the teeth out of his head.
Once docked, Jack sauntered up into the town, looking for several of his contacts in their habitual haunts. It did not take long to locate the first in the upper rooms of the Faithful Bride. Pausing long enough to listen at the door to confirm his information that One-Thumb Angus was within, he kicked the door open, nearly startling the man into falling onto the dirty floor. Angus was saved only due to the quick reflexes of the woman in bed with him, the rumpled bedclothes allowing at least one of them to retain some modicum of modesty.
"Wha' the de'il do ye mean, bargin' in on a man at a time like this, you cursed idjit?"
Angus wasted no time in letting his displeasure be known. He took a deep breath preparatory to continuing the spate of ire when he was interrupted by a stream of gold coins clinking smoothly from one dark hand to another. His attention was caught by the lovely sight and sound and his expression changed remarkably fast to one of obsequious interest, the long twitching whiskery nose giving Angus more than a passing resemblance to Rattus rattus.
"I have a small matter of business to discuss with you, Angus. As you can clearly see, I happen to have something here that might be of interest to a business man, such as yourself."
Jack rested a booted foot up on the edge of the bed while he continued to play with the coins, making sure that Angus' eyes followed them greedily. He caught the doxie's gaze and nodded slightly toward the door, indicating that her presence was no longer required. He was not above inspecting the goods revealed as she gathered up her clothes and made a hasty exit, tossing her a coin for her alacrity as well as a wink of appreciation. She caught the item neatly and grinned saucily at him on her way out the door, displaying a prominent gap between her lower teeth.
"Wha' would ye be wantin' frae me, Sparrow? Otherwise, how else would I be knowin' the price to set for it?"
"Well, now, Angus, me darlin', I might be wanting to know what you've been hearing lately."
"I hear lots o' things, as ye ken full weil, Sparrow. What do ye hae in mind?"
"A little bird told me in Port Royal that there are raiders attacking English settlements of late. I want to know everything there is to know about them, Angus."
"Raiders, ye say?"
"Aye, raiders I do say." Jack began to play with the gold coins and casually made them start to disappear in mid-air, causing Angus to watch in increasing anguish as his chance for bounty seemed to be vanishing before his eyes. Jack watched the scrawny man surreptitiously as he juggled the coins, gauging the effectiveness of his play by the sweat beginning to run down Angus's face. He did not believe it would take too long until Angus would take the bait and tell him everything he had heard; the only question was if the fellow had any news at all that Jack wanted to hear.
Twitching in increasing distress, Angus moaned slightly and looked up at Sparrow. His narrow shoulders sagged in sorrow at the thought of the gold he would be losing but he knew the pirate captain would not be pleased if he were lied to. Sighing gustily, Angus made to reply to Jack's question.
"I've nae heard e'en a whisper, Jack. If there be raiders out there, they be verra new in these waters."
"That's not what I wanted to hear, Angus me lad, but I can see you are an honest man and would not tell me wrong, now would you?"
"Ne'er, Jack."
"You'll be sure to get word to me as soon as you hear anything."
Jack frowned down at the little man while his thoughts raced along various paths. Angus tried to make himself look as innocuous as possible, fearing possible retribution for failure. A small squeak of distress escaped him and Jack came back from his musings to realize that he had frightened the man. Smiling in a friendly fashion, Jack tossed Angus a gold coin for his trouble, promising more if worthwhile information was forthcoming. In a rapid motion, Jack whirled about and left the rancid-smelling chamber, clattering down the stairs and back out to the street, leaving a much relieved snitch behind.
Jack spent the next few hours searching out an assortment of newsmongers in the town. He applied a careful mix of coercion and bribery, flattery and force, to get his point across. If there was any kind of whisper about the attacks on the English settlements, it should make its way to his ear sooner rather than later. Satisfied for the moment, Captain Jack Sparrow made his leisurely way through the town and back to the Black Pearl, knowing he had set things in motion for now. Any action he chose to take in the future would have to be well thought out in advance; the Pearl was a fine ship but she was not invincible nor were he and the crew Navy.
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