The Red Captain's offer
Jack lay in the white sand, his face relaxed and free from thought. The sun beat down on him and made his skin shine. He could hear the conversations of his crew that were not too far away, and the waves breaking on the beach just inches from his feet. Only now and then did the water reach him, and when it did it was cool and sucked the heat of the sun away from him. Anamaria's voice rang out over everyone's as she walked along the beach. Turning his head to the side, Jack could hear the conversation.
"We shouldn't be stayin' 'ere," she said fiercely. "He won't listen to me; he just lays on the sand and sleeps!"
"Just be thankful for the break lass, it's one less day of 'im orderin' us about," Gibbs said sitting down heavily in the shade. "Poor man got hit the worst out of all of us! 'E'll be after 'is treasures soon enough just ye wait."
Ana sighed and sat down next to Gibbs. She took a handful of the golden grains and let them fall out of her hand slowly, but instead of looking at them, she looked down the beach at her captain. Jack appeared to be sleeping, his head resting to the side, eyes closed and breathing steadily. But was he listening to them? Ana couldn't tell.
"It's all that damn Norrington's fault, if it wasn't for 'im, we wouldn't be here!" Ana said watching Jack's posture for any telling movement that would betray him for listening, but he stayed immobile.
"Oh aye, we wouldn't be 'ere, we'd probably be on some other beach somewhere. What's wrong with this place? We're 'appy enough," Gibbs said laying down and closing his eyes. Anamaria had been complaining ever since they had stepped foot on the island, yet he didn't understand why, and truth be known, couldn't really be bothered to find out either. The island was fine for sleeping, and since that was what their captain wanted to do, then it was fine by him. If they had been here to find gold, then this island would have indeed been inadequate since they had found none.
"The Navy know we're 'ere," Ana said still watching Jack. "I wish Jack would let us leave."
"The Navy won't be coming back 'ere unless they need ter," Gibbs said his voice sounding far away and tired. "Besides, Jack'll throw yer in the brig if ye don't stop talkin' about 'im."
Ana folded her arms and stared at the sea.
"When are we goin' ter get that treasure he promised us?"
Gibbs was about to answer when he heard something behind them that made him sit up abruptly. A hand clasped it's self over Ana's mouth, and a gun was pointed at Gibbs. Out of the darkness of the trees stepped a man, his redcoat dirtied from days at sea, and his hat carrying a large soiled feather. Ana looked up at him, her eyes wide and frightened.
"I have business with your captain, would you point me in the right direction?" he spoke politely. Ana swallowed hard and felt dizzy from being held so tightly. Gibbs stared at the gun pointed to his head and tried not to look at Jack.
"Jack?" he questioned, the word falling out of his mouth as he tried to move backwards by shuffling.
"Yes, Jack Sparrow. I assume that that is your captain? I put a few holes in his ship, but I'm not here to say sorry. But I would apologise however if I had to kill two of his crew before I found him," he said dangerously quiet.
Ana shrugged the hand away from her mouth.
"What are you going to do to him?" she asked not caring what he would do to her for not answering the question.
"Just tell me where he his, or your friend here will die," he warned.
Gibbs looked down the beach.
"He's over there," he said ignoring Ana's annoyed glance.
Christopher Nash looked over in the direction of where Gibbs was pointing. He had noticed the man lying on the beach, but he had just assumed it was just one of the crew, drunk and asleep on the sand. He had supposed that Sparrow would be on his ship. Walking down on his own and telling the men that had come with him to take Gibbs and Ana out of sight, Nash carefully approached Jack.
Jack's eyes opened when he felt something block out the sun and cast a shadow over his face; looking upwards he saw a dark silhouette standing over him.
"Jack Sparrow?" the silhouette asked.
"Captain Jack Sparrow, aye that's me," Jack said not moving from where he lay. "I know who you are."
"Surprise me then, for I was under the impression we had never met," Nash said looking down on him.
"Oh aye, we've met, though we never introduced ourselves with names, you blew some 'oles in me ship, and not ter mention me leg as well. I'd be right to suppose you're the captain of the Aurora Rise?" Jack said squinting as the man moved and let the sun fall on his face once more.
"You'd be right. My name is Christopher Nash, and I think you and I have things to discuss," he said bending down and smiling. Jack shrank away. "I've heard things about you, and I've positive you know things about me."
"I know ye blew up the port I was going ter stay in," Jack said struggling to sit up.
"Did he tell you that Mr Sparrow, or did you find out for yourself?"
Jack frowned. He didn't like being sat down while this man was leaning over him, smiling and looking all too dangerous. Pulling his legs up so that they were bent, he winced at the sharp pain he received in his upper leg. Jack tried again to struggle up.
"Who?" he asked as he pushed himself off the floor only to collapse again.
Nash grabbed hold of Jack's arm fiercely. He pulled him half the way up and held him tightly in his grasp. Jack wondered if the man was about to shake him, or if he was going to drop him back down onto his bad leg.
"Commodore Norrington," he hissed sharply.
Jack realised suddenly how helpless he was against this man, his crew were no where in sight, and even if he could reach his pistol, he wouldn't be able to aim it. Deciding the only way out of this was to play his usual game of pretended innocence, Jack grinned up at the man holding him by his arm.
"What do ye be wantin' ter know mate?" Jack asked trying to regain some control over the conversation.
This man had surprised him; he hadn't expected to be woken up in such a way, especially not so soon after falling asleep. Ana and Gibbs were supposed to be looking out for enemy ships, but he could see them nowhere. This worried him greatly. It wouldn't have been those two that he would have expected to leave him unprotected.
Nash pulled Jack to his feet and let him stand in front of him. He watched the smaller man look around the beach searching for his crew, Nash smiled; he'd taken care of that. The sight of being alone didn't seem to faze the captain of the Black Pearl, and Nash felt annoyed that he hadn't been able to unsteady the man. He felt like hitting him down to the ground and making him cry out before explaining what he wanted with him, but he had to control his temper for now, Jack Sparrow appeared to have a powerful friend within the Navy, and it would not do him any good to annoy them without Jack on his side first.
"First things first Captain Sparrow," he said quickly taking Jack's pistol before he had the chance to stop him. "You won't be needing that. No one will harm you upon my orders..."
"No one will 'arm me because it isn't in your interest ter 'arm me, let's end with the charity act," Jack said suddenly cutting Nash off mid-sentence.
"Mr Sparrow you will not find me any more generous than I need to be, and assuming you will be safe aboard my ship would be a very foolish thing for you to take for granted. My men do not take kindly to those who befriend the Navy, even when they have been abandoned by them," Nash said, his lips curling into a wicked smile when he saw Jack start at the word abandoned. "Harper!" he cried.
A man with dirty blonde hair pushed his way through the undergrowth of the palms, and headed towards them. Jack wanted to reach for his pistol, this man had a walk that said he would kill whatever was in his way, but Jack no longer owned his pistol.
"Harper, Sparrow cannot walk, he's barely standing as it is. You will carry him back to the ship and make sure he eats, and if he complains, you have my permission to beat him until he complains no longer," Nash said straightening the cuffs of his coat and waiting for the man to answer him.
Jack remained silent. He knew the man's threats towards him were empty on his own part, but he had no doubt in his mind that the man who was to carry him, would carry out his wish without a second thought.
"Aye captain," Harper said seizing Jack and shoving him over his shoulder with an easy movement. "He won't be any trouble."
Jack wondered how more embarrassing things could get before the week was over. He didn't let people pick him up without his permission, and being carried away like a disobedient child was hardly dignifying. The journey was painful on the sand, as Harper's feet kept sinking in the grains which made his tread bumpy and irregular. But Jack didn't cry out, instead he kept his mouth shut and tried to think of something other than the pain. Not only was his leg hurting, the man's shoulder was poking sharply into his middle and making it hard for him to breath.
"Stop moving about," Harper ordered as they headed into the shade of the trees.
Jack scowled as he was shunted up and down like a sack, he hadn't been moving. Jack wondered what his chances of escape were when he had no idea where his crew were. He could hear no other voices on the island, and the sound of silence, broken only by the man's crushing boots made him nervous.
"Where's me crew?" Jack asked not able to keep silent anymore. The man carrying him growled.
"Not far," he answered cryptically. "It's no longer your concern, they belong to Nash now."
Jack decided he better not retort and answer to that. The man holding him too tightly wasn't someone he could push his luck with. He wasn't kind hearted like James, or educated like the red captain; there was no rum to bribe him with, and he was in a very venerable position for fighting.
Anamaria and Gibbs sat on the deck of the Aurora Rise, their hands were tied behind them and their weapons kept teasingly out of reach by Nash's crew. Blowing a strand of hair from her face, Ana sighed as they waited in the heat of the sun. It was too hot to be tied up and unable to seek shade, not that there ever was a good time to be tied. Whishing the sky would give her a drop of rain; Ana crossed her outstretched legs and leant back on the wooden mast.
"Ad ter open yer stupid mouth didn't you," she said annoyed. Gibbs squinted at her.
"The code says it's not mutiny," Gibbs said equally as ill-tempered in the sun.
"That bloody code," Ana cursed. "Do you know what's would like ter do with that code?"
Their conversation was interrupted as a man appeared over the side of the ship, carrying someone over his shoulder. Ana, squinting into the sun, nudged Gibbs to make him look. Jack was annoyed, not only had he been carried through the humid small jungle, and been scratched by branches and bitten by flies, but now he'd was being dragged up the side of a ship. When they reached the top, the man carrying him threw him down onto the floor and stepped over the railing.
From where he lay on his back, Jack watched Harper stretch his arms up over his head and heard his back clicking as he moved. Jack wondered if he'd really been that heavy. Sitting up, he caught some eyes whose faces he recognised. Ana and Gibbs were tied to the middle mast; they were sitting down, and looking straight at him.
Keeping their gaze as he was grabbed again, only this time by different hands, Jack was pushed into the Captain's quarters and told to sit. The door was locked behind him and Jack was left alone. Looking down at his breeches, he saw the material was spattered with blood that had seeped through the bandages, and he pulled his coat around him tighter, fastening it with the belt. His feet were bare; he'd left his boots on the beach. Walking with a limp to the desk, Jack opened a drawer and looked inside. If he was going to be locked in a room and this room especially, he was going to have a good look around.
Inside the draw he found some papers and old maps. Pulling out a sheet of handwriting, Jack began reading what appeared to be a very detailed description for a new figurehead. Jack put the papers back in the draw, as he did so, the door to the cabin opened and Harper walked in with a tray.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked as Jack stood behind the desk, as if about to sit in the captain's chair.
"Just seein' what the world looks like from this side of the table."
Harper didn't like the answer and slammed the tray down on the desk. He'd done what his captain had ordered him to, he had no other business with this man, and if he didn't eat the food it wasn't his fault.
As soon as the man left, Jack grabbed the tray and began eating the fruit from the plate. He'd been interrogated enough in his lifetime to know that the first meal was always the best, and it was stupid to refuse it. Sitting down on a larger chair that looked like it could hold two people, Jack crossed his legs underneath himself and continued eating. His leg was hurting again, but there was nothing he could do about it, and he'd begun to get accustomed to its stinging pain.
The banana was especially sweet, and when Captain Nash appeared, Jack was still eating it. Nash had in his hands Jack's boots, and he threw them down in front of him so that they clattered together under the large chair.
"Thanks mate," Jack said his mouth filled with fruit and his words hard to hear. Nash took his seat at his desk, then finding he couldn't see Jack very well at that angle, was forced to move to another position.
"There are a few things I want to get straight with you Captain Sparrow, before I decide what to do with you," Nash said taking a bottle of wine from a cupboard by his side and two glasses. "You have my sincere apologies for the rude awakening, and I hope you will not hold it against me."
Jack shrugged and took a bite from an apple. He didn't answer. Nash let the silence hang over them, comfortable in the knowledge that physically he was the better of Sparrow. Jack looked around the room in an offhanded way as he waited. He didn't know why he was here, but he had a suspicion that he hadn't been taken here to be propositioned. If Nash had wanted revenge, he would have made it known before now; most likely, with a bullet.
"So, I think it's best to begin at the beginning don't you think Jack? I can call you Jack?"
Jack nodded. He was still eating and not really in the mood for pleasantries. He wished the man would just get to his point.
"Good. Well, this port you mentioned...didn't happen to be part of Antigua did it?" Nash asked pouring a glass full of wine for himself and then waiting for Jack to answer. Jack watched the wine.
"Aye, Antigua, almost killed us that little incursion," Jack replied taking the bottle that was handed to him along with a glass. "Cheers."
"Us? You and the Navy?"
"Nay not the Navy, they hadn't bothered us yet. Me and me crew 'ave been out of the Caribbean for sometime, when we returned we were low on supplies, the wind 'ad given up on us and we barely made it to Antigua. Of course you'd been and gone before us mate, so we were forced further. By the time we arrived in Port Royal we were fit for nothin' but dieing," Jack explained drinking out of the bottle and abandoning he glass and his empty plate onto the desk beside him.
"Again I apologise, it was not my intention to harm my fellows," Nash said with a voice that Jack didn't believe was true. This man didn't care about who he harmed, just as long as it was in his interests. "Perhaps I should be thankin' ye though mate, forcin' us ter Port Royal 'ad intrestin' outcomes," Jack said swilling the wine around the bottle and watching it splash up the sides.
"Oh yes, the Navy... I've heard about your interesting choice of company," Nash said letting Jack wonder for a while. "Monet."
Jack's face went pale.
"Not that you need to worry about him anymore Jack, he'll be rotting by now," Nash told him, a sinister smile on his face. For once, Jack didn't know what to say.
"You killed him?" he heard himself ask, but he'd temporality lost the control of his words.
"Aye I did, he failed to give me something I wanted," Nash said taking out his pocket knife and studying the blade. "Shame, he might have been a good ally, what do you think?"
"I'd have to disagree, that man is better off dead," Jack commented not mentioning the map. He knew this was why he was here, he'd guessed as soon as Monet's name was mentioned.
"He told me all about your little Navy toy Norrington, and how you made off with his map. Impressed as I am that you managed to befriend the enemy, let me give you another chance to do the same again."
Jack wondered what would happen if he ever referred to James as his 'little Navy toy' in his presence. But it had obviously been mentioned to provoke him into telling him more, and for some reason Jack couldn't resist. He wanted to tell everyone that he and James were not enemies.
"What sort of chance?" Jack asked carefully.
"Don't be prudent in your questionings Jack, you mean what do I want from you. Let me tell you. I want the map. The reasons for wanting it are no longer the same, but I want it all the same. You are a captain of your own ship and have the Navy in your pocket, which will be useful to me if you agree to come in with me. Anything else Sparrow does not interest me, I cannot be played like your friend Monet."
Jack nodded. He understood. He understood that his best card had just been ripped in half, and he would have to behave more like the captain and less like the temptress when around this man.
"You married mate?" Jack asked uncrossing his legs and reaching for his boots.
"I was once..." Nash answered. "Mr Sparrow, where is the map?"
Jack finished pulling on his boots and looked up, trinkets from his hair falling into his face and obscuring his vision.
"Where is my crew?"
"In the brig, waiting," Nash replied without any delay. Jack bit his tongue, he didn't want to seem too eager in his crew's freedom, and he also didn't want to appear not to care either.
"I don't 'ave the map mate, you know that. I wasn't the one chasing you," Jack admitted.
"Who has it, as if I need to ask?"
"Who do you think? Commodore Norrington has it. He'll know you're here of course. If you think you can win a fight against him, I'd like to see you try."
"You have a lot of faith in this Commodore. Tell me Jack, do you think he had faith in you?" Nash asked looking Jack over.
"In me?" Jack replied confused.
"He let you sail around that island on your own. He let you alone with that freak Monet. He's taken your map from you. Oh, and look what he's done now, abandoned you to me!"
"Now, mate..."
"Worst of all you're defending him! He's got you just where he wants you. Just like a favourite whore, you'll do for him what he askes, does he ever give anything back to you Jack? Did he thank you for risking yourself for the map? Monet was stronger than you..." Nash said hoping he was hitting something of the truth. He guessed that Jack's soft spot for the Commodore hadn't exactly been returned, and this was what he was careful to play upon.
"He's cares," Jack replied uncertain.
"Cares so much he left you behind? When you couldn't give him what he wanted he abandoned you. Who wants to be with an injured man? You can't even walk, let alone anything else! He tricked you Jack. Took everything you had and left you alone."
"No...He's out looking for you."
"He saw me in Tortuga," Nash lied. "And did nothing about it. In fact, they docked and went ashore."
"No," Jack repeated. He didn't believe him, yet there was no reason why he shouldn't. He had no proof to the contrary.
"Yes. Sparrow he cares nothing for you."
"Why didn't he kill me then?"
"The wound might kill you. Why cut short your suffering when it might last weeks?"
Jack felt his eyes burning with tears, and his face burning with anger. He was angry at Nash for telling him these things, angry with James for leaving him behind, and angry with himself for believing them.
"You want to kill 'im?"
"It's nothing personal you understand. He just happens to be the Commodore. You on the other hand are useful."
"And why's that?"
"Your crew respect you. When you stand at the helm you believe you should be there. Not many captain's can claim that sort of respect," Nash said with a touch of jealously to his voice.
"Why should I join you? You 'aven't given me much of a reason mate."
Nash reached into his pocket.
"Because I can give you what you really want," he said holding out his hand.
A collection of golden coins glistened in his palm, and Jack stared at them with wide eyes.
"A share?"
"We'd fly under our own flags, helping one another defeat our enemies and split all the plunder fifty fifty. Sparrow and Nash, pirates."
Jack stared at the coins.
Nash was right. James had abandoned him. H ecared nothing for him. As soon as he'd been hurt James had left. He'd cared nothing for Monet almost taking him, only that stupid sense of duty that he felt was his obligation to carry always. He'd probably only spared his life out of pity and contempt. He'd never even said thank you for the compass. Jack cursed his stupidity for giving it to him. James must have laughed at that. The only thing keeping him from saying yes was his feelings for James. But if they weren't returned, then they were worthless.
"I agree"
Nash was slightly shocked.
"And the change of heart?"
"Aye my heart changed. It's back where it belongs. With my crew, and with the cannons of my ship."
"The Navy will return. For me, not for you, you understand that don't you Jack?"
"Yes."
"We must be ready for them."
James looked stared at the Pearl as she floated calmly in the clear water near the beach. There was no sign of the other ship, the Aurora Rise anywhere. At this his heart lifted.
Jack was stood on the deck, there were men working around him, but he looked nervous. When they stopped near the Pearl and lowered the boat over the side to climb into, James wondered what was wrong.
Jack's eyes were large and pleading as he stared at James, he looked as if he wanted to do something, but something or someone was preventing him.
"Jack?" James asked as he drew nearer. He had taken only a handful of his men with him, the rest remained on the Dauntless. "Has the Aurora Rise been here?"
"Yes," Jack whispered.
"Well, where is it? Where are they now?"
Jack remained rigid in the centre of the deck. James knew there was something wrong, yet he didn't understand why Jack didn't tell him what it was. Wasn't he happy to see him? He'd lost his breath when he'd seen Jack standing on the deck through his spyglass, he had hoped the pirate might have felt the same.
"Where did they go?"
"I'm sorry James, but you left me 'ere," Jack whispered before a voice broke them apart.
"Ah, the wonderful Commodore Norrington. In the flesh at last, I've heard so much about you," Nash said draping his arm around Jack's shoulder. Jack knew he meant nothing by it; it was simply to incense James.
"You are?" James asked irritated by his behaviour towards Jack.
"Why I would have thought it was obvious, I'm Captain Christopher Nash of the Aurora Rise, but I think you already know that."
James looked at Jack. Jack stared back. In Jack's eyes James saw fear, but fear of what, James couldn't tell.
"What do you want with Jack?"
"I don't want anything with Jack, I was just using him as bait. It's you I'm after, and now that I have your ship and your men surrounded, I will tell you what I want from you.
"And what is that?"
"Look behind you Commodore. No, you are not a Commodore anymore. I am! Three ships!"
"Jack?" James tried, he wanted Jack to do something. Say something.
Nash placed his hand over Jack's mouth and held him tightly. Pulling backwards as he did so with his strong weight, and grinning at James.
"He loved you Jack. He would have... but you betrayed him. Betrayed him!" he whispered into his ear. "But remember he betrayed you first. He deserves this."
"Aye, I know," Jack replied. He knew he was being tested again. Nash let go of him roughly and sent Jack stumbling forward a step.
James reached a hand to steady Jack, but the guns pointed at his face made him stop.
"Take them to the brig," Nash said before moving towards Jack's cabin. "There is nothing left for you to stay outside for Jack."
With one last look at James, Jack took a step away from him. He was caught now. Nash thought he was on his side, and James thought he'd betrayed him. No, he had betrayed him. But what could he do but play along when he was surrounded by Nash's men?
James was grabbed by two men and lead down into the hull of the ship, his eyes never leaving Jack's face. He didn't look angry, he didn't look like anything Jack had ever seen, and that look made him want to forgive him everything. But instead he followed Nash into his cabin as instructed.
As he opened the door, he could hear the wood of the Black Pearl creaking with sorrow. He realised now that the only way of escape was though James, but how could he make him trust him again, if he ever had, when he'd brought him into the trap as well as himself? The red captain's words still echoed in his head, and when he thought of them his pity for James ebbed away. He had been abandoned first. Betrayed first. James deserved what he got.
James was thrown into one of the Black Pearl's cells; the air was musty and damp, and smelt of decay. He wasn't surprised that Jack didn't take very good care of this part of the ship; probably the more disgusting it was the better. The men with him were just as confused as he was, if not more. When their captors left without a word, they all began talking at once.
"Sir, I knew that pirate was no good," one said, cursing under his breath.
"He broke our trust!"
"More fool you for trusting him in the first place."
"Quiet all of you," spoke someone with more control over himself to get carried away with the hysteria. "There might be more to this than we can see. Things are not as they always appear, haven't we learned that in the past? I believed Jack Sparrow when he said he would help us, and I still do. I don't believe he would change sides without a pressing reason to do so."
"A pressing reason? More money you mean. Jack Sparrow is a pirate, and will always be a pirate."
"You're just jealous that you never got to speak to him, weren't you saying yesterday that you respected him?"
"Well yes, but that was before I found out he was a betraying disloyal dog."
"That is enough gentlemen," James told them after listening to them argue for long enough. They'd been all pushed into one cell, whereas James had been placed in a separate one. They were directly opposite each other, and James could see each of them as they turned to face him. It was silent now.
"I don't know what just happened, but I believe we've found our enemy. If we get the chance to escape from here do not confuse him with Sparrow. If Sparrow has betrayed us," there was a pause and a sharp intake of breath as James fought to continue speaking. "We will deal with him later, this other man is our priority," James finished seating himself down on the damp floor. There was no point in standing; he didn't know how long he was going to be there.
"But Sir, Sparrow is a traitor!"
"You heard that man; he was just using him as bait to catch us. He must have threatened Sparrow so much that he agreed."
"You seem to have a very high opinion of him!"
"All I'm saying is, why did he go to all the trouble of helping us, when he could have escaped at any time. He even got shot in the leg for God sake. He might have died. Why would someone do that?"
"This isn't someone, this is Jack Sparrow."
James listened to this constant stream of accusations and defences against Jack, considering each of them, but finding himself even more confused than before. The look in Jack's eyes had showed him deep regret, but why had he acted in such a way?
"Sir?"
James looked up, he was being addressed directly, and it was impossible to ignore it. It was the voice that had been defending Jack.
"Sir, did you notice that none of those men on the deck were actually part of Sparrow's crew?" he asked leaning on the bars.
"What?" James asked more interested now. "Well where are they?
"On the other ship perhaps? I don't know Sir. But it's my suspicion that Sparrow is here on his own."
James looked down at his hands. He remembered Jack's words to him seemingly so long ago, that he would do anything for his crew. Could this possibly be one of those 'anythings' he had been talking about?