Lindsey woke up with a startled gasp as pirates poured into the captain's quarters, shouting and roaring with excitement. She stared at them through wide green eyes, trying to ascertain what was going on.

"Cap'n!" shouted the one called Smee as he raced over to Killian's bed, "We're nearing the seaport! There are no Naval ships in port either!"

Killian grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his face, blinking up at Smee as he silently cursed himself for consuming so much rum a few hours ago.

"Aye," he murmured drowsily, "Prepare to dock then…tell the men to get themselves ready. We raid the moment we touch land."

The chorus of cheers erupted again as the small band of pirates clapped each other on the back and ran back out of the captain's quarters, up the stairs, and out onto the main deck.

Lindsey listened as they started barking orders and preparing the sails. She glanced over at Killian as he stood and fetched another flask of rum.

"Are you ready to make yourself useful?" he asked her as he drank.

Lindsey frowned and stood slowly, stretching her aching limbs, "Well it isn't like I have a choice either way, is it?"

Killian smirked to himself as he sauntered over to a small box shaped like a treasure chest. He took off a necklace with a key on the end and unlocked the tiny chest. Lindsey watched, swallowing nervously, as Killian pulled out the red, beating heart…her red, beating heart, and glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Aye, that you don't," he said as he gave it a slight squeeze.

Lindsey hissed through her teeth at the pressure that bloomed in her chest and clung to the bars of her hold, "Okay, message received," she said, teeth clenched in pain.

"Excellent!" said Killian, his voice sounding rather pleased as he returned the heart to the chest, "So I'm going to unlock your little cell there and let you out. If you don't do as I tell you to over the next few hours, I shall crush your heart. You can run as far as you'd like, but it won't matter. I alone have the key to your heart," he added, smiling at his own wit, "And I can destroy it whenever I wish."

Lindsey narrowed her eyes at the captain, "Unless of course I kill you," she said coldly, a small smile gracing her face, "Then steal that little key around your neck and take my heart back."

Killian's amused expression shifted quickly into murderous hate as he stalked toward her, "You may be an assassin, wench, but I'm a two-hundred-year-old pirate who's killed more people than you've ever even encountered. If you dare try to kill me, I'll make your death so painful you'll be begging me for hours to let you slip into the Underworld…and my men have direct orders to do whatever it takes to prevent you from making such a stupid mistake as well."

Lindsey felt her lips pull back in an animalistic snarl as she listened to the captain, the blood roaring in her ears as the familiar killer side of her began to emerge.

"Have I made myself clear?" growled Killian as he drew his sword and walked up to the bars of the cell.

Lindsey took several deep breaths, forcing back the fury that raged in her blood. Everything inside of her screamed to kill this man where he stood, but he'd made it quite clear the consequences those actions would have. She would just have to be doubly sure that when she did kill him, she did it quickly and without notice of the other pirates.

"Crystal," she whispered, eyes glittering with frustration.

"Excellent," smirked Killian as he called out for a couple of his men.

Two muscular and tattooed pirates entered his quarters and stood near their captain as he pulled out another key.

"Aye, men," said Killian as he reached for the lock on Lindsey's cell, "If she makes one false move against my orders…kill her on the spot," he said as he stared fully into Lindsey's eyes.

The men nodded their agreement as Killian turned the key and tossed the lock to the side. He pulled open the door and gave Lindsey a mock bow as he gestured for her to follow them.

"Come on, love," he said, smiling in an infuriatingly cocky way, "I'll even let you pick your own blades."

Lindsey's eyes glittered in excitement at that prospect. She took a hesitant step forward, eyeing Killian warily, "And what am I doing with these blades?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Killian laughed darkly, "Kill of course."

Lindsey rolled her eyes in annoyance, "I've gathered that much, thank you," she said as she stepped out of the hold, "I meant…on who will I be using the blades? What's the assignment?"

Killian studied her in amusement, "We'll be pillaging the town, stealing the gold, and then taking over the local tavern when we're through to celebrate. Your job is to make sure no one kills me or gets in my way. Anyone causing issues, you'll do what you do best, and you'll follow my lead, understood?"

Lindsey frowned slightly, "So there's no one in particular this time?"

"Aye," said Killian as he placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her out of the captain's quarters, "Everyone who isn't me or my crew is your target. You'll see soon enough."

Lindsey felt a rush of apprehension as she emerged onto the deck of the Jolly Roger and heard the joyous cries of the pirates as they prepared for the siege. What in the world had she gotten herself into?

Lindsey ran her thumb along the smooth, sharp edge of the curved dagger as the pirates tied the Jolly Roger to the docks. They hadn't been stingy about their blades. She currently had a dozen different types of knives and daggers hidden on her person underneath layers of leather and other garments, and a long sword attached to a low-slung belt.

"You almost look like an actual pirate," said Killian as he walked up behind her, looking at her from head to toe appraisingly.

Lindsey side-eyed the captain, "If only that were a compliment," she said, trying to feign her pleasure at the comment. She actually rather enjoyed the getup.

Killian smirked, "You're a killer for a living love, don't act like you're any better than a pirate. We both kill and destroy others for money…we're just from different worlds."

Lindsey looked away quickly and cleared her throat, "So when do we start?"

Killian walked up and leaned into Lindsey's ear and whispered, "Now."

Lindsey felt the familiar adrenaline rush course through her veins as she ran with the group of pirates into the town. She stuck close to Killian, per the captain's orders, and unsheathed her sword. The initial attack was fierce and quick. Most of the villagers fled, screaming in terror, as the pirates thundered into their homes, ransacking and burning them down as they went along.

Lindsey did as she was ordered. Every time a man stepped forward and challenged Killian or his crew, she struck them down swiftly, with practiced ease. The first few minutes were rather simplistic as they gathered the gold and moved from home to home.

"Aye men!" shouted Killian after a couple hours, "Now we take the tavern and celebrate our success!"

The pirates cheered while Lindsey frowned. This entire raid had seemed way too easy. Surely the villagers would have put up a bit more of a fight than this?"

"Captain," said Lindsey as she approached him, "Are you sure?"

Killian furrowed his brow and laughed, "Sure of what, love?"

"That…we're done," she said, suddenly feeling self-conscious as the pirates all gave her strange looks, "I mean…it just seemed a bit too easy, don't you think?"

Smee laughed, "Some towns are like that," he said as he and the others turned to head toward the local tavern, "Some of these people just don't have the fight in them…or they realize it's better for them to just let us do what we do and move on rather than stand and die at our swords."

Lindsey pondered that; the corners of her mouth turned down slightly as she glanced around the dark streets.

"What you need is a stiff drink, assassin," said Killian as he pushed her forward, "Do as you're told and follow the men to the tavern now, like the good little girl you are."

Lindsey's green eyes flashed with anger as she glared over her shoulder at the pirate captain. He was damn lucky he had her heart and had dozens of well-armed pirates surrounding him. She might have been able to take out several of them before they finally killed her…and perhaps when she reached a breaking point, it would be worth it. But for now, she trudged along with the uproarious group toward the bar, suddenly craving the comfort of a stiff drink.

Lindsey raised an eyebrow at the antics of the pirates as she took another shot of whiskey. She leaned back against the wooden bar and watched the scene unfold in front of her. Several of Killian's men had gone into the town and gathered women from the brothel to bring in for entertainment and were readily enjoying themselves in their company. The women played their roles well, knowing they'd receive a handful of gold for their efforts tonight.

"What's wrong, love?" crooned Killian as he joined her at the bar, a woman scantily clad in red hanging on his arm, "Not enjoying the show?"

Lindsey gave the captain a tight smile and rolled her eyes, "Not my type," she sneered as she watched him kiss the whore.

It was more than obvious that Killian was beyond drunk. It was so stereo-typical it made her stomach churn with disgust and boredom all rolled into one. A man who'd been hurt, drowning his sorrows in rum and random women. For some reason, seeing Killian all over this woman made her blood boil. Perhaps it was just the fact she was his prisoner and here he was, fully enjoying himself, while she tried to hide at the bar away from all the nonsense.

"Well I think I might take this one back with me for the night," he said as he gave Lindsey a lusty smile, "You won't mind, would you, love?"

Lindsey gave Killian a look of utter disgust and pushed herself off the bar, walking as far away from the disgusting sight as she could. He had a lot of nerve. She'd be damned if she had to sit in that cell all night and listen to that.

As Lindsey settled herself behind a table in the far corner of the room, the door to the tavern opened. Instantly the pirates stopped their dancing and drinking and stared, jaws gaping in astonishment as the room slowly began to fill with pirates from a different crew.

"I see you've finished off the town," grumbled a particularly bulky pirate with cascading dark curls, his lip curled up in a mocking sneer as he sauntered toward Killian, "We did the hard work the first time around for you. I figured you wouldn't be able to resist a seemingly unguarded port."

Lindsey had started moving the moment the door opened. Her instincts were screaming at her to prepare for the worst. She'd slid around the side of the room, sticking to the shadows as she watched the exchange between Killian and this strange pirate.

"Blackbeard," snarled Killian as he shoved the woman in the red dress to the side, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The man Killian called Blackbeard laughed heartily, "I mean that you're grown rather predictable, Hook. You see, my men and I raided this town earlier today. We left a few people and items behind for you to plunder," he said as he slowly circled Killian, "In other words, Captain, we laid the perfect trap for the drunken Hook to fall into…and fall he did."

Lindsey saw the look of unhinged fury and sudden fear flicker through Killian's eyes as he drew his sword, "Go to hell," he snarled, "Go to fucking hell!"

Blackbeard laughed as he raised his hand and flicked his wrist, a signal to his men.

Instantly, the new pirates drew their weapons and advanced toward Killian's crew.

Lindsey did the math and realized very quickly that they were greatly outnumbered. From the look on Killian's face she realized this must be the man he'd spoken to her about earlier. This is the man who he had been seeking vengeance on. And Killian hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that the man's crew outnumbered his own.

She watched as Killian drew his sword and realized that there was no hope for him or his crew. She quickly started working through her own options in her mind. If this captain and his crew killed Killian and took the Jolly Roger, what would it mean for her? Perhaps she could get the key off Killian's body and retrieve her heart…but doing so would mean inevitable contact with the new crew of the Jolly Roger, and from what she could tell, they might not be as "chivalrous" as Killian had been with her. She swallowed nervously as she thought about the other horrors a pirate could inflict on a woman in her situation and, in that moment, made her choice.

Drawing one of her smaller daggers from her sleeve, Lindsey slipped into her assassin mode and stalked forward like a cat hunting its prey.

"Attack!" roared Blackbeard as he lunged toward Killian.

Lindsey stood still for just long enough to watch Killian easily parry the blow and began to duel with the fierce captain. Behind him, however, another pirate leapt forward, eager to stab Killian in the back while he was distracted. The cowardice of the move sent a thrill of rage through Lindsey and she launched herself forward. With a screech of anger, she flung herself just passed Killian, and knocked the man over, sliding her small blade across his throat as he fell.

The moment they hit the ground, Lindsey was back on her feet again, feline-grace and speed in her every move. She felt the blood-lust take over as she twisted and leapt, slicing and cutting her way through the throng of men. The blood roared in her ears as time seemed to slow down. With every slash of her sword and daggers, another man fell to the ground, never to rise again. She lost all sense of time and direction as blood dripped into her eyes and down her face.

A cry of surrender was the only thing that pulled her out of her killing spree. She whirled around in time to see Blackbeard disappearing out into the night, followed by several members of his crew. She moved to follow them but froze when she looked around and realized that Killian's crew had suffered as well. No one was dead, but many of the men lay on the ground, bleeding and crying out in pain.

Lindsey turned and looked over to where she had last seen Killian. She sighed in relief when she saw him standing there, staring at her. She was surprised by her own reaction. Had he died, this would have been the perfect moment to retrieve her heart from the chest in his quarters and flee. Then why did she feel happy that he was standing here, alive, and staring at her?

Not only was he staring, but the look in his eyes made her shiver…from what she couldn't quite place a finger on. She swallowed nervously as she walked toward him.

"You're alright?" she asked quietly as she drew near.

"Aye," whispered Killian, eyeing her in awe, "And you? You're…you're covered in blood."

Lindsey glanced down and smirked at herself. She was literally coated in blood from the top of her head down to her boots. She smiled through a mask of blood as she looked back up at Killian, "Yes, but none if it's my own."

Killian swallowed as he continued to stare at her, "That was bloody fantastic," he muttered.

Lindsey felt herself flush under his praise, yet again startled by her own reaction to this cold, cruel man.

"I told you. I'm good at what I do."

"Aye…that you are, love," he replied, wincing as he reached down to pick up his sword.

"You're hurt," remarked Lindsey, narrowing her eyes in concern as she looked to see where his injure was located.

"Just a scratch," he said, grimacing against the pain as he sheathed the sword, "I've had worse. But let's get the men back to the ship and patch everyone up. We need to get out of here."

Lindsey nodded as she followed his orders and started gathering the men. She watched Killian closely as he moved from one pirate to the other, concern etched on his face and in every move he made as he checked on his crew. Lindsey was startled to see how caring he was. He seemed genuinely concerned about the state of his men.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She couldn't afford to see him as anything other than the cold, cruel, captor that he was. She reminded herself that he had her heart locked in a chest and was willing to crush it if she disobeyed him. He may love his crew, but those feelings didn't extend to her. She was a prisoner…nothing more.

Wiping the blood from her face, Lindsey followed the crew into the night and back toward the Jolly Roger, her mind full of conflicting thoughts.