A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews!
Disclaimer: Disney owns PotC.
Chapter 26
"Captain Turner?" repeated Jack in a strained voice, almost choking on the words.
Everybody looked at Will, as if he suddenly grew another head.
Captain Turner? Elizabeth stopped abruptly on her way up the stairs, noticing the suspicious crowd gathered on the main deck. She leaned against the wall, and cautiously peered outside the staircase, listening.
Will glanced around the deck uncomfortably, everybody's eyes fixed on him in astonishment. Bill Turner stood unsteadily, trying to understand what was going on, trying to sort out his thoughts.
"The ship is yours," said Sao Feng, giving Will a small, sardonic smile. "Or rather... was," he corrected glancing behind Will, who quickly, but not quickly enough turned around. Two pairs of strong hands grabbed him by the arms, and held him in place. "Now it's mine," added Sao Feng tilting his head to the side.
"Was," resounded a voice from behind.
Sao Feng turned around, and frowned. "What?"
"It was yours," repeated Mercer, walking out from the crowd. "Now it belongs to the East India Trading Company."
Elizabeth gasped, and carefully climbing two more steps up, very cautiously looked around.
On the right hand side from the Black Pearl she saw white sails billowing in the wind.
"I prefer new friends to old," muttered Jack with a small pout to the guards who wordlessly escorted him on board the Endeavor. "Or young to old, for that matter," he added with a grimace when the door opened, and he was rather unceremoniously pushed inside.
"Ah, what a pleasant surprise." Beckett slowly rose from his desk. "It's been a while."
Governor Swann looked up from above a documents covered desk that stood in the other side of the large cabin. Two guards standing on either side of him kept their gazes fixed on the wall.
"Way too short for me liking," muttered Jack, glancing at the Governor.
Bugger.
Beckett smiled faintly. "And here I was hoping for you to come and express your gratitude, but I must have overestimated your memory of savoir-vivre."
"Gratitude?" Jack raised his eyebrows, swaggering towards Beckett's desk when he had left it. "I'm afraid my memory does not cover reasons for my gratitude. To you." Jack picked up a piece of paper from the desk, and looked at it narrowing his eyes in absent interest.
The Governor looked down at the documents, listening intently to the conversation.
"You can't?" Beckett glanced at the Governor, and smiled. "I am astonished," he said, clasping his hands behind his back, and waiting for Jack to turn around. "Not for the first time," he continued, and Jack deliberately did not turn around, rather annoyed by the inexplicable hint of amusement in the man's voice. "I still remember my astonishment when I was informed that having learned about the East India Trading Company actions, instead of sailing as far away as possible," Beckett paused, clearly enjoying every word, "you stayed in the Caribbean."
Out of the corner of his eye the Governor saw Jack turning around from the Beckett's desk with a complacent smile on his face.
"I like the climate," he said nonchalantly, putting away the document with a wave of his hand.
Beckett's lips twisted into an ominously self-assured smile. "Of course," he said slowly, turning towards the door when it opened.
Mercer walked inside, giving Beckett a small shake of his head. Beckett's face remained expressionless, except for a small twitch of his mouth indicating a suppressed half-annoyance, half-disappointment.
Jack narrowed his eyes. "Bad news?" he asked walking around the desk, and perusing through the papers on the desk.
Beckett turned toward him. "I did hope to be able to provide the Governor with the whereabouts of his daughter," he said in a haughty, half-careless tone, glancing at Mercer who closed the door, and slowly crossed the room.
Governor Swann subconsciously let go of the quill he had in his hand, and looked up.
Jack sat back in the chair, and looked at Beckett curiously. "You didn't think she was aboard the Pearl?" he asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice, smiling slightly. "Bad luck," said Jack reaching for one of the seals sitting on the desk. "Women aboard," he added, glancing at Beckett, and catching a glimpse of the Governor's worried facial expression, although he could not quite tell whether it was Elizabeth's supposed absence, or presence aboard the Black Pearl that actually worried him.
Beckett snorted dryly under his breath, and walked to the small table in the corner. "It's funny you should say that, because only several weeks ago she was seen in Tortuga getting aboard your very ship," he said in a calm tone, pouring two drinks into small crystal glasses.
Jack looked up, putting on an exaggeratedly surprised look. "Really? Always knew Tortuga to be a risky port. You never know how many stowaways-"
"All I need is a piece of information," cut in Beckett in a firm voice, turning around. He walked to the desk, and offered Jack one of the drinks.
Jack looked up, trying to look amused, but there was something naggingly discomfiting about the man's tone. He took the offered drink, as well as the Beckett's one, and drank them both.
"Where do the Brethren meet," continued Beckett with an unmoving face, slowly walking towards the window. Jack pressed the seal that he had picked up earlier into the ink, lifted it, and looked at it, squinting. "And what is the significance of nine Pieces of Eight."
Jack took a random document, and placed the seal in the middle, smirking slightly. Beckett waited patiently; his back turned to the window, his eyes fixed on Jack. "That's two pieces," said Jack, looking at the seal with disgust, and dropping it on the desk. "Of information."
"So they are," said Beckett. "Two questions, two answers."
Jack pushed himself up from behind the desk, and smiled. "Best of luck with finding the answers," he said, heading towards the door, almost counting the seconds until Beckett spoke again, but instead of the voice he only heard a pistol being cocked, and a surprised gasp.
Elizabeth stood on the stairs, leaning against the wall, and trying to think what she should do. Everything was happening so fast, she could hardly understand the chain of events that had led to their current predicament. Jack had been taken to the Endeavor, and everybody, including Sao Feng and his crew who had attacked them was now held captive by East India Company.
What worried her most, however, was Will's role in the scheme. He had it planned all along, he had made a secret deal with Sao Feng. How? Where? When? In Singapore, but when? And why...
To rescue his father, she knew that. It was his only motivation for overtaking the Black Pearl. Elizabeth frowned, suddenly struck by an idea. Had he seen the kiss? He behaved oddly from that day on. That would have explained his actions quite thoroughly: the wish to rescue his father, and... revenge.
She stared absently at the scene on the deck. Barbossa was talking to Sao Feng, but his voice was not loud enough for her to hear anything apart from separate words. She bit her lip. She was not the only pirate here. Two Pirate Lords should be able to come up with a plan. Besides, she did not stand a chance against a ship full of soldiers, did she?
Or perhaps she was only looking fot a pretext...
Quickly, and soundlessly, she ran down the stairs, and across the corridor to the other way out from below the deck, wondering whether she would be able to swing onto the Endeavor unnoticed.
She reached the small staircase hidden around the corner, and was about to step on it, when she noticed a figure standing in the middle of the stairs. Her eyes widened, and she swirled around with a gasp, ready to run, but when she made a step away from the stairs, the same figure suddenly appeared before her. She wanted to scream, but somehow her voice left her.
She stood frozen to the spot, staring into the colorless, frighteningly calm eyes.
I didn't even say good-bye... I didn't even tell him that I love him... I didn't-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the cold touch of the herald's hand. She wanted to retract her hand, but he caught it, and held her hand in his. "At dawn," he said tonelessly, his eyes fixed on hers. Then he let go of her hand, and dispersed in the air like a shadow made out of grey mist.
Elizabeth stared at the empty space, unable to move, and only after a moment she remembered to breathe. Raising her hand to brush her hair behind her ear, she noticed a silver band around her fourth finger. It looked like a ring, but when she touched it she could only feel her skin.
"At dawn." At dawn. It was barely after dawn right now, so she had an entire day, and a night.
She smiled to herself brokenly. At least she had a chance to make things right before she would have to go.
A noise from above shook her out of her reverie, and she brushed the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes with the back of her hand, and ran up the stairs as fast as she could.
Jack wrinkled his forehead in confusion, and so did Governor Swann, when the guards held him in his chair, while Mercer pressed the pistol to his temple, and cocked it.
Beckett smiled. "You underestimate my insight, Jack," he said, his eyes sparkling with cool satisfaction.
Jack smiled back at him, which was only one other option available, apart from shooting the man, and getting shot by one of the guards in turn. "Once again, I don't think I follow your reasoning," he said lightly, glancing at the Governor who looked truly puzzled, both by being threatened in such a way, and by the incredulous idea of using him as a leverage in the negotiations with a pirate who could have only less than none reasons to care for his well-being.
To his surprise, however, Beckett seemed very certain of his method. "Oh, I think you do," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "The answers to my questions, please," he said in a suddenly louder, coldly demanding tone.
Jack's smile widened in direct opposition to his mood. "Whatever gave you the idea, mate," he said looking at Beckett unblinkingly. "With all due respect," he added quickly with a brief, apologetic smile at the Governor, who was about to snort, and avert his eyes, but a flash of an intense emotion in the pirate's eyes stopped him. Subconsciously, he glanced down at where Jack's eyes lingered for just a moment, and to his further stupefaction he noticed a paper knife sitting on the desk right next to his left hand. He blinked.
"Apart from you staying in the Caribbean, the letters of marque being retrieved from among your belongings while I was specifically told they were not going to be given to you, and Mr. Turner's as curious as blazing sudden dislike of your person?" Beckett turned around. "Nothing," he concluded with a small, ironic smile.
"Blazing dislike?" Jack widened his eyes ostentatiously. "People are so ungrateful these days," he remarked with a grimace, examining his fingernails.
"Oh, I agree," said Beckett with a smile. "As I mentioned at the beginning, I did expect to be at least thanked for my choice of the date for my arrival in Port Royal," he said watching Jack intently.
Jack looked up at him, and sighed. "I'm afraid I don't follow your schedule closely enough to know where you happen to be at a given moment of time. And seeing that this conversation doesn't seem to take us anywhere, and that I'm rather tired-"
"Not enough sleep?" offered Beckett with sarcastic concern.
Jack squinted. "I can never sleep at sea. Too much salt in the air," he waved his hand, and forced a smile.
"I'm sure knowing how terrible it is, you wouldn't wish for anybody to suffer from sleeplessness," said Beckett in a low, monotonous voice, glancing at Mercer who still held the pistol pressed to Governor Swann's head. "Upon learning heart-wrenching news people tend to lose the ability to sleep peacefully, if at all," he added, looking back at Jack.
"Speaking of hearts..." said Jack happily, ignoring Beckett's implications, and looking around the cabin with great interest.
"It's not here," interrupted him Beckett in a cool, but slightly impatient voice. "I do not have all day. Where do pirates meet?"
"In taverns, most of the times," answered Jack putting his hands into his belt, his fingers closing around the handle of his pistol. "But also-"
"Do not," broke in Beckett in an annoyed tone of voice. "test my patience," he added in a low voice.
"Tell you what," said Jack, taking a few quick, staggering steps toward Beckett. "You'll send me back on my ship, and then your ship will follow mine to the meeting. What do you say to that?" Beckett stared at Jack, clearly irritated. "You can take a few hostages," added Jack after a moment of consideration. "The one-eyed one, I don't really like him," he grimaced. "Although he cooks well," he amended, squinting. "And Barbossa," continued Jack turning around, and walking once again toward Beckett's desk. "He's a Pirate Lord which makes him valuable despite his looks. You can take Turner as well. He sings well. Used to practice three hours a day. I think. Or was he drawing three hours a day? Can't remember," Jack scratched his forehead.
"No, you see, you don't understand," cut in Beckett, suddenly turning menacingly serious. "I'm not going to make any deals. I want information, and if you fail to provide me with it, Mr. Mercer is going to pull the trigger. It's very simple, Jack. And this is not a subject for negotiation."
"Everything is subject to negotiation," replied Jack with smile, and opened his mouth to continue, but a knock on the door interrupted him.
Beckett looked at the door questioningly.
"Tea, milord," sounded an oddly deep voice from the other side of the door.
"Ah!" Jack, who stood closest to the door reached for the knob, before Beckett managed to say anything. "How lov-" he started, smiling at whom he had expected to be a servant with a tea tray, but his smile froze on his lips at the sight, and without thinking, and with decidedly too much haste, he shut the door in half-dismay, and half-annoyance.
I told her to stay in her cabin!!
The slamming of the door, however, clearly attracted everybody's attention.
"Don't really feel like drinking tea now," said Jack with a twitch of his nose turning towards Beckett, who was already on his way to the door. He shot Jack an impatient look, and reached for the doorknob.
Go away, Lizzie. Go away. Goawaygoawaygoawaygoawaygo-
The pistol was fired immediately when the door opened, and if Beckett would not have flinched, the bullet would have landed directly in his wig, and consequently his head.
Despite his silent pleas, Jack had expected no less than something as stupid as that, and was already next to Mercer when the pistol was fired, knocking him down before he could react to what was happening.
At the same moment Governor Swann – despite the fact that the very idea seemed outrageous – stabbed one of the guards with the small paper knife that he had surreptitiously grabbed from the table as soon as he had noticed it, quickly staggering to his feet, and using the guards' confusion to his advantage. But as soon as he got out of his chair he was rather unceremoniously grabbed by his sleeve and pushed toward the door, and accidentally right into the person who had just entered.
"Father," whispered Elizabeth, her eyes widening in joyful astonishment, but before the Governor acknowledged that the person in a EITC soldier's coat, with her hair hidden under a hat, and with the voice strangely resembling his daughter's was, indeed, his daughter, they were both pushed through the door which slammed shut behind them receiving a series of bullets apparently meant for them.
"This way," breathed Jack grabbing Elizabeth's hand, and pulling her with him.
"This way," echoed Elizabeth to her still bewildered, and clearly overwhelmed by the entire situation father, swiftly taking his hand in hers.
"I told ye to bloody stay in yer cabin!" said Jack, glaring at Elizabeth over his shoulder, and gripping her hand tighter.
I couldn't leave you. I love you too much to leave you. "You didn't really think I would stay there, did you?" she asked breathlessly, squeezing his hand, and he was not sure whether it was just a nervous gesture, or something more.
He snorted under his breath, pushing a wooden door at the right side of the corridor, and dragging Elizabeth, and her father inside.
"Actually I did hope you might have listened for once," said Jack, almost reluctantly letting go of her hand, and taking a quick, assessing look around the cabin.
Elizabeth gave him a small smile that he could not see, and turned to her father. "I'm so happy you're alright," she whispered, throwing her arms around the Governor's neck. "I was so worried."
"Not half as much as I was worried about you, Elizabeth. Are you alright?" The Governor smiled faintly, looking her up and down, and trying to read the state and mood she was in in her face rather, than depend on her words.
"Yes, I'm fine," answered Elizabeth nodding vigorously. "More than fine," she added much to her own surprise, the memory of Captain Jack Sparrow kissing her feet suddenly springing to her mind. But she quickly pushed it away with a broken smile. I will have twenty years to think about that... Now it's not the time...
"Hate to interrupt," broke in Jack, attracting their attention, "but we have a predicament to get out of," he said breaking one of the windows, and indicating it with a elaborated wave of his hand. "'Cause some people can't just follow orders," he added under his breath.
Elizabeth blinked, suddenly annoyed. "I just rescued you!" she said defensively, walking up to him.
Jack widened his eyes at her. "Re- re-," he choked, and she was not quite sure if his stammering was fake, or if he really could not make himself say it. "I had everythin' under control, and ye just turned the entire plan to ashes," said Jack with a slightly angry pout.
"What?!" Elizabeth exclaimed so loudly, that Governor Swann looked toward the door with apprehension, quickly approaching the window. "What do you mean I turned-" she trailed off, and pursed her lips. "And what plan are you talking about?! You never have any plan!"
Jack stared at her, looking more aghast that she had ever seen him. "I don't think ye possess the extensive knowledge in the area, darlin'," he said, gritting his teeth, his eyes fixed on her face.
The Governor opened his mouth to intervene, rather taken aback by the argument, but most of all by the fact of somebody, of some pirate actually shouting at his daughter, and in his presence too. But before he had a chance to say anything, Elizabeth continued, taking a few more steps toward Jack.
"I possess enough knowledge in the area of you!" she said angrily, causing Jack's mood to change dramatically.
He looked at her, clearly amused. "As disappointing as it must be for ye, luv, I dare say ye do not," he said with a glint of mischief in his eyes, and in his smile, putting one of his legs over the window's frame.
Elizabeth blinked, not catching the meaning of his words immediately. "You are... insufferable!" she screamed, blushing, and feeling utterly ridiculous when she met her father's gaze, suddenly remembering his presence. "He's annoying," she added in a soft, explanatory tone, averting her eyes from Governor Swann's perplexed facial expression. As far as she remembered she had never screamed in her father's presence, and he had perhaps lived his whole life having no idea that she was capable of such behaviour.
"I'm still here," observed Jack narrowing his eyes in a smirk, and jumping into a long boat that was hanging on the side of the ship. He extended his hand toward Elizabeth with exaggerated courtesy.
Because of her pure irritation she considered just walking away, but despite the chaos in her mind she was luckily able to think clearly enough to know that it would have been a foolish thing to do.
Huffing with furious exasperation, she gave him her hand, and let him help her get into the longboat. Once inside, she snatched her hand away from his, shooting him an annoyed look. To her utter confusion he smiled, giving her the most sensual look she could have ever imagined, completely distorting the remains of her coherent thoughts.
Then he turned back towards the window, and helped the Governor into the longboat.
Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest, and looked away. She had only one day. He should not annoy her! Or rather she should not get annoyed...
"Where are we going?" asked Elizabeth, trying to shake off her grim thoughts, and catching the worried look in her father's eyes. Jack stood in the longboat, cutting the rope with a knife. "The Black Pearl is taken-," continued Elizabeth, but her words were swallowed into the explosion, that suddenly shook the hanging longboat so violently, that the ropes went loose, and the boat fell into the ocean with unexpected force, before any of them had a chance to utter a sound.
One cannon ball hit the Endeavor, and the other the water next to the boat when it collapsed into the ocean, and capsized.
Elizabeth took a deep breath before submerging, but paid no attention to the rope that tangled around her legs, making it impossible for her to resurface. With her eyes wide open she furiously waved her arms and legs in the water, feeling that she could not hold her breath for much longer.
It crossed her mind that perhaps it was better that way. It was better to die than spend twenty years in some dreary place only to come back after that time to the world that would no longer remember her. Maybe her father would still remember her... Yes, he certainly would. But would Jack remember her after twenty years? Would he care?
Maybe it was her destiny after all. To drown. She would have drowned a long time ago already, if-
Suddenly she felt the rope in which her legs were tangled letting go of her. Strong arms wrapped around her, and pulled her toward light, toward the blue sky, and a gold ring of the sun.
She gasped when she reached the surface, coughing, blinking, and trying to catch her breath. Somebody brushed her wet hair away from her face, and when she opened her eyes she found herself in Jack's arms, his dark, murky eyes looking at her with angry concern.
He did not say a word, only looked at her, brushing her hair off her face with his hand which – and she realized that only after a moment – was trembling.
"Don't ye dare do that again," he whispered hotly into her ear, pulling her very close to him.
Elizabeth looked up at him, and blinked, puzzled. "Do what?" she whispered, still trying to calm her breathing.
Make me fear that I could lose you again. "Wear heavy clothes" he answered under his breath, pushing the EITC coat off her shoulders, and giving her a long, intense look before averting his eyes from her, and swimming towards the Pearl with his arm around her, the sounds of the battle swashing above them. Elizabeth looked around in apprehension, but was calmed by the sight of her father right beside them.
They reached the side of the ship, and began climbing with the help of the ropes. Already half-way up it occurred to Elizabeth that somehow the Pearl's crew must have regained control over the ship, and that it was the Black Pearl's cannons that had damaged Endeavor.
"It's the Captain!"
Elizabeth looked up, catching a glimpse of Marty peering over the rail. So the Pearl really was in their hands again. She smiled to herself faintly. Their? It was not her ship... She had no right to even think... In a way, once, she had killed this ship as well.
"Mother's love, miss Elizabeth, Jack!" Gibbs held out his hand and helped them up onto the deck. "The... Governor!" Gibbs blinked in astonishment, as shocked by the Governor's very presence as by the lack of the wig (which had fallen into the water when the boat had collapsed) on his head.
"Mr. Gibbs, what's going on?" asked Jack straightening up, and handing the stunned Governor his lost wig that he had managed to pick up while in the water.
Gibbs took a quick step forward, and leaned toward Jack. "Barbossa made a deal with Sao Feng," he said with a grimace.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Can't remember granting the chartman rights to bargaining on board me ship," said Jack dryly with a small twitch of his nose. "What kind of deal?" he asked suspiciously, alarmed by Gibbs' wincing facial expression.
"Well," Gibbs cleared his throat, looking uncomfortably between Jack, Elizabeth, and the Governor. "One that ye won't like."
"Guessed as much," muttered Jack, squinting.