Chapter 19

During the dinner James' cook had prepared, both he and Jack discussed what to do with Miriam. The logical thing was for her to stay in Port Royal; but, there was no way they were going to leave her alone. James had suggested leaving her with his two friends, but Jack had said that he was going to ask them to join their trip. In the end, they had decided that she would go on the ship, well hidden. Miriam wasn't very happy about that.

"But the sea is scary. And mum wouldn't have liked it." she complained.

"Yer mother isn't here, lass, and we have no choice in the matter." Jack pointed out "Ye'll be fine."

James put a hand on her shoulder "You'll be away from all possible danger and we'll protect you. You can trust us, okay?"

This one pouted at that, but nodded "... Alright…"

Thus, they had prepared for the trip after having the permission of the Commodore to choose about ten officers—most of them chosen by James, since he knew more with these positions from his past and present time—.

Fortunately, they were able to prepare the Nereid's Storm for the journey in almost a week and finally, they left Port Royal behind. They headed starboard towards Cuba, since the information the governor had received had said that the Spanish pirate had been seen for the last time around the south and that his route would take him to Puerto Rico.

Even though the governor was a kind man and obviously he wasn't telling them any lie, Jack couldn't help thinking that the trust in them was for something else in the future… He didn't know what, but he imagined that getting alarmed at that moment was useless and he could worry about it when that would happen.

At the moment, Jack was just a little concerned that they would have trouble finding the pirate. Fortunately, in the small stop they made in Tortuga, they learned that not long ago a Spanish pirate had come to sell part of some products that he had won and that, apparently, he intended to sell the rest to the Spanish in Puerto Rico.

"Must be our man." James commented.

"What was the name of the ship?" Jack asked to one of the men he had been talking to.

This one clicked his tongue "Mm… It was something in that language about 'frightening'... Oh, the 'Tembile Biztoria'! That was it!"

Jack blinked and frowned a bit, but suddenly he opened and closed his mouth, already knowing which ship was, and cursed.

"La Temible Victoria… The Frightening Victory… Bugger, I hate this job."

James raised an eyebrow "We would never have found out." he expressed. Jack stuck his tongue out at him "Stop acting like a child… What's wrong with this ship that is driving you crazy? Well, crazier than normal."

Jack rolled his eyes, but turned around "Jamey, The Frightening Victory, as you English like to call it, is Villanueva's ship, that Spanish pirate that is also a pirate lord… Ring any bells?"

James was surprised "Villanueva?" he said, hesitantly "I've heard of him, but I've never had the pleasure of meeting him."

"Well, it seems like you will…" Jack sighed and grimaced "Would it be very bad if I would simply… disappear?"

James pinched the bridge of his nose "... Captain Sparrow, we have a mission to recover the goods that have been stolen and, may I remind you that maybe he has some information on our dear captain Vane?"

"... It's a good point," Jack shrugged "but, on the other hand, so is running away."

"Because that has worked for you in the past." he drawled and shook his head "Let's go and try to find Villanueva soon."

Jack took a deep breath, but had to agree, which was horrible… They both knew that whatever that was, it was something that Calypso wanted them to do, but the difference was that James was choosing to do it because it was an honor to his work and a way to earn his life back, while Jack was only trying to avoid direct punishment.

He sighed, bringing his hands to one of his beads, a Spanish coin called 'maravedí' which was his new piece of eight. He was almost going to give his life again for the Black Pearl and he couldn't help but wonder if that was going to be the meaning of his life.

The next days, Jack only feared the possible encounter with the Spanish pirate lord when, suddenly, a shout from Gibbs pulled him out of all his thoughts.

"Sail ho!"

Jack stepped out of his cabin and pulled out his spyglass, spotting the ship at once. He had almost hoped it wasn't Villanueva's ship, but he wasn't so lucky… He frowned a little when the ship seemed to turn more towards them rather than fleeing from them and a chill ran down his spine, almost anticipating what was to come.

"What's wrong?" James asked at his side "Is it Villanueva's ship?"

Jack nodded "Aye… And it seems like he wants to smash my ship." he clicked his tongue "Not his best idea, since his is quite low in the water…"

"Can't we raise a white flag?" James frowned "We have someone I don't want to endanger in any near future."

Jack shook his head "... I don't think he's in the mood for some kind of peace." he grimaced and closed the spyglass "Alright, you cockroaches! We have unwanted company. Turn port side, prepare the cannons, weapons… Come on, you know the drill!"

"Are you serious?" James almost shouted.

"Aye, Jamey! I know Villanueva and he doesn't like the English very much." He shrugged and turned to look at him straight in the eye "Go to Miriam and tell her to hide in my cabin, come on."

James shook his head, obviously against it, but turned around to comply with what Jack had asked, almost stomping down the stairs.

As the men ran from one place to another, preparing the ship and drawing weapons for themselves, he took out his spyglass once more and narrowed his eyes, trying to look for Villanueva… He couldn't see him outside, but he could see his first mate, who was shouting orders.

"He must be in his cabin." he said to himself.

He looked around, trying to see what the first mate was trying to do and opened his eyes a bit, running to the helm when he saw that the plan of the other was to guide them towards a part that had some rocks and a few complicated currents.

"Mister Gibbs, a little towards starboard and keep it stable!" he shouted to what the other nodded, turning the helm to the right "Good, the nice little officers… I want you to be ready to board it and search for our supposed possessions, savvy? The rest of us have to keep this ship safe, so to speak… Where the hell is James?"

Just as he said that, he saw him coming out of his cabin, slamming the door and looking up.

"The nice little officers?" he heard Gillette saying, unbelievingly.

"How close is Villanueva?" James asked.

Jack signed with his head "See for yourself… We're about to have company. You better get that sword ready, mate." James huffed, but listened to him and turned again when he heard Jack calling him "You better go with our good officers and secure our cargo. We'll be fine here."

"If you say so, captain." he mentioned.

In less than a few minutes, the ships were aligned and everyone was screaming and shooting their guns. The order to fire was given and, in that moment, it was difficult to see something with the gunpowder that was coming out of the cannons.

Jack preferred to fight alongside his crew, even more so when he knew the enemy he was fighting… However, he was one of few who knew more those waters, so he headed to the helm and grabbed it, shooing Gibbs where the action was. He saw in that moment how the officers with James went to the other ship and he kept his eyes alert when some enemies appeared on deck.

It was difficult to keep the ship stable, trying not to get into the treacherous rocks and currents just on the left side of the ship… And, of course, things got more complicated when a figure appeared climbing towards him and he recognized who the person was.

"Sparrow!" And he rushed towards him.

Jack avoided the blade in the last second and smirked a little, securing the ship with a rope "Villanueva! How good to see ye around here, mate."

"Don't play that game with me, Sparrow!" He hissed, launching himself with his sword again "You better put this ship out of my sight, and yourself too while you're at it! And you still owe me money!"

"I owe that to a lot of people." he answered stopping the sword with his own, moving his wrist "Besides, ye should worry about yerself…"

"Ah, sí… Selling yourself to the English after fighting against them… That is truly cruel and traitorous to all of us pirates!" he said, trying to throw him off balance, defending himself.

"That offends me! he said, almost upset, dodging the sword "I only fought against Beckett… Who, as ye remember, is extremely very dead."

This one grumbled "Well, since you're no longer one of us, I think I'll do a favor to all and kill you myself."

"Ye can keep trying, mate." Jack smirked, grabbed the rope that was holding the helm and shouted "Better get ready, gents!"

And he let the helm to turn left; the currents caused the ship to sway, causing Villanueva to lose his balance. At the last minute, Jack grabbed the helm again, steadying the ship forcefully as he glanced at the other ship, trying to stay as close as possible to this one, but still away from the dangerous rocks underwater. Once stable, he grabbed the rope again, tying it tight to the helm just as Villanueva got up. Jack stopped his sword in one swift movement and almost had him when he heard a scream.

'Bugger, bugger!' he cursed in his head.

He hit Villanueva with his foot, almost knocking him out, and looked down observing how someone from the enemy crew, apparently, had managed to open his cabin and discovered Miriam, who had come out running from the place to the deck of the ship, looking for a way out.

"Miriam!" he called her and this one raised her eyes "Come here!"

Miriam seemed to hesitate, but she realized that staying there was a danger to her life and, if she was going to stay outside, it was better to have someone protecting her than to stay in the middle of a battle with nowhere to go. She headed for the stairs, when someone appeared behind her, making her scream again. Jack went to help her but, at the last minute, Villanueva stopped him again. Jack growled at him and this one seemed to laugh as they fought; the sound of metal almost echoing in the distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw that Miriam was right between the man and the ship's railing, at the left, and Jack made a quick decision when he saw that someone was going to cross over to his ship.

"Miriam, jump to the water!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"What?!" she screamed.

"Do it!" he demanded as he stopped Villanueva once again, changing his position in order to gain some ground.

She seemed to doubt, but she climbed on the railing and let herself fall, despite the fact that the other tried to grab her at the last second.

He was able to hear her scream and how she splashed in the water, but he knew that it wouldn't last long since he had seen James on the other ship about to cross and knew that he would pull her out.

With a determined move, he struck Villanueva one last time and knocked him unconscious. He looked towards the water and what he saw surprised him quite a bit… There were James and Miriam, but she no longer had legs and James was more than surprised… And that didn't help Jack at all.

He shook himself from shock "Hey, ye two!" he called them and they looked up "Move yer precious ass! James, get on the ship! And ye, Miriam, you better start singing a little!"

"No!" she said, almost distressed "If I do that…"

"If ye do that, ye'll win us some time!" he shouted her, interrupting her. She gazed him almost annoyed, but breathed deeply and started singing. Jack didn't waste any time and threw a rope to James "Grab it! Come on!"

When James climbed, he tied him to the mast using the same rope. This one seemed to wake from the shock "What are you…?!"

"You'll thank me later!" he just answered.

Then he went to the rest, grabbing another rope and tried to tie up his crew and some enemies as well, who were stunned thanks Miriam's efforts. Suddenly he saw someone on the quarterdeck out of the corner of his eye and saw that they were holding something in their hand.

'Villanueva's new piece of eight.' he thought, surprised.

Before he could do anything, the person grabbed a rope and jumped onto the other ship, which was moving away from the battle. And as he was unable to avoid it, since he was ensuring that everyone was tied to the main mast, the ship disappeared from his sight. He grumbled.