Summary: In which Jack raids a ship, Robert finds what he's been looking for, and Will has a conversation
Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean and all the characters therein do not belong to me. Believe me, if I owned Johnny Depp in eyeliner . . . . Gah. That man is hot.
A/N: Feedback is to me what rum is to Jack.
Many thanks to all of you who reviewed, makes me feel good the whole day!
By the way, anyone seen the August issue of GQ ? Has a very gorgeous picture of Johnny Depp on the front and nice long article inside.
It had been three weeks since Jack had decided to go to Port Royal, but he still hadn't made it yet. On his way, he had diverted his course slightly to raid a small ship that had, unfortunately, turned out to only be the mail packet. An unexpected bonus was found on board, though, in the form of a shipping timetable for three different merchant companies. Delighted, Jack had gone through the list, marking off which ships he wanted and crossing out those he couldn't be bothered with. The trip to visit Will would have to wait. The timetable presented an opportunity that couldn't be passed up. Jack estimated that after about four weeks the ships would stop following this schedule, when the captain of the mail packet finally made it back to England to inform the companies that a pirate was now in possession of their time-table.
Perched on the main boom, Jack grinned at that thought. It was amazing how useful the ability to read could be. Merchants would just leave things lying around in the open because they thought that none of the lower class would be able to read them. It was child's play for Jack to glance over timetables and shipping manifests when people's heads were turned the other way, helping him to choose the most profitable targets. Not that he did that all the time, though. Surprise and risk were all part of the game and much of the time he sailed randomly through the Caribbean, picking up whatever crossed his path. Like right now.
Jack straightened to his full height, balancing precariously as he strained to see the ship that had appeared on the horizon.
"Throw me my spyglass," he ordered Gibbs who was currently at the helm.
"Aye, sir."
Gibbs rummaged around in the satchel full of items that Jack kept near the helm. Finding the spyglass, he tossed it up the captain, who deftly caught it and then put it to his eye, training the 'glass on the ship.
"Hmm, what have we here?" Jack muttered softly to himself. "A nice fat merchant vessel, aye? Flyin' the Union jack and settlin' a little lower in the water than's normal. Must have a full cargo."
Lowering the spyglass, Jack bellowed his orders. "Hard to port! Hoist the sails, run out the sweeps! Shift fast, lads, we've got a merchant vessel to catch!"
Robert leaned on the railing on the starboard side of the ship, staring morosely off into the horizon, ignoring the light spray that drifted upward as the ship sliced cleanly through the water. Three weeks of searching and what did he have to show for it? Naught but tall tales and rumors of Captain Jack Sparrow and the infamous Black Pearl. Robert ground his teeth in frustration. Everyone had something to say about Sparrow, but no one could tell him where the clever captain actually was. He had tried several of the islands that Sparrow was reputed to have stopped by, but he seemed to always just miss the elusive buccaneer. He had even stayed in the Caribbean a little longer than three weeks to check up on a promising rumor, and in the process, missing his ship for England. After almost a month now, Robert had finally given up and booked passage back to England on another ship. He should just accept that it wasn't meant to be. Disappointment welled up in him, but he quashed it firmly. It had been a long shot anyway and he had been a fool for getting his hopes up.
The one bright spot in the journey was that the other passenger on the ship happened to be William Turner who was also going to England. When Robert had inquired as to the reason for his journey to England, Will had explained that his master, Brown, was sending him for a three week stay in order to learn the latest methods of weapons forgery. Apparently there was a new technique that had been recently developed, and it was being hailed as a wonderful new advancement.
When William asked about Robert's search for Jack, the older man had admitted his failure to locate his brother. William was sympathetic and promised that if he ever saw Jack he would tell the pirate about Robert.
"Although," William said in some annoyance, "I haven't seen the scurvy rascal in a year. He's only stopped by once since our adventure together and I haven't seen him since."
This mention of the adventure piqued Robert's interest. In his search he had constantly heard the story of the cursed Aztec gold and he was curious as to what really happened.
At Robert's request, Will told the whole tale, but at the end of it, Robert was left shaking his head. The whole thing was patently incredible. There was no way such a thing could happen, but Will stubbornly maintained the veracity of his story.
Now, as he stood staring off at the horizon, Robert wondered if the lad might not be a little sun-touched. Living in this sweltering heat could drive anyone a bit mad. Speaking of . . . Robert flapped the front of his shirt, trying to get some cool air on his heated skin. Sweat rolled down his face and he seriously considered jumping in the ocean just to get cooled off for a few minutes. But no, then the salt would dry on his skin and he would be even more wretched than before. Maybe a hurricane will come up, Robert thought miserably. We'll be in mortal danger but at least we'll be cool.
A sudden commotion at the helm interrupted Robert's musings and caused him to look up questioningly. Before he could ask what the problem was, the sailor manning the helm shouted down to the captain who was standing on the quarterdeck.
"Sir, there's a ship approaching to starboard!"
The captain looked up sharply.
"Nationality?"
"She flies no flag, sir!" A pause. "No, wait, she's run up the Jolly Roger!"
The captain cursed under his breath and jogged quickly up to the helm. Putting the spyglass to his eye, he surveyed the approaching ship. Letting out an impressive string of invective, he lowered the 'glass and quickly gave orders.
"Man the cannons! We can't outrun her with this load, but we'll see if we can damage her enough to make her back off."
"You there! Go to your cabin and stay there until I come get you," the captain called, catching sight of Robert.
Robert tried to protest but was ushered firmly off the deck and into the hold. Pacing up and down in his cabin with nervous energy, Robert peered occasionally out the windows, trying to get a glimpse of what he realized must be a pirate ship. He was no amateur with a sword, but he knew there was no way he and the crew of the merchant ship could hold off an entire pirate crew by themselves. Fingering the pistol at his belt, Robert prayed to Providence to rescue them or send help in the form of a British naval vessel. Otherwise, he had a feeling he was about to join his dead brother.
Jack watched in satisfaction as his crew expertly grappled the other ship. The merchant vessel had put up a bit of a fight and seemed to have some good artillery. But the Pearl had longer range guns and Jack had expertly kept his ship just out of reach of the merchant's guns, darting closer every so often to provoke the other vessel into firing. Finally, the merchant ship had run out of ammunition and tried to make a run for it, but the Black Pearl had quickly caught up. Jack patted the main mast of the ship fondly. Nothing could match his Pearl.
Grabbing a rope, the buccaneer captain swung over to the other ship along with his crew, landing in a half-crouch before straightening up and barely avoiding decapitation from a slashing sword.
"Now that wasn't very nice," Jack said reproachfully to the man who had taken the swing at him.
Unsheathing his own sword, Jack danced quickly forward. Left, right, thrust, parry, ah, there! Within a few moves he had gotten under the man's defenses and run the sailor through. Not pausing over his fallen foe, Jack moved on to the next opponent. The clang of swords, the firing of pistols, the screams and shouts of the mariners, all these sounds swirled around Jack as he moved nimbly across the quarterdeck, searching for the captain. Spotting him by the helm, Jack bared his teeth in a feral grin and leapt up onto the railing to confront the man.
"Sparrow!" the captain growled, catching sight of the pirate.
Jack gave sigh of long-suffering. "It's Captain, Captain Sparrow! How many times do I have to tell people that?"
The captain's reply was to try and run Jack through with a sword, which the pirate evaded by jumping quickly to the side.
Holding his own sword in front of him, Jack circled warily, not letting the captain back him into a corner. The pirate darted in and around the captain's defenses, trying to tease the man into doing something rash. Frustrated with his inability to land a hit on the buccaneer, the merchant captain made the mistake of trying to swing his sword at Jack's head. The move left the captain's chest exposed and Jack dropped to one knee and shoved upward with his own sword.
"Sorry, mate," Jack said to the dead captain as he withdrew his blade. "Nothin' personal y'know. If you'd just surrendered I wouldn't have had to kill you."
The sailors nearest Jack had witnessed their captain's fall, and the news of the man's death swept quickly around deck. Seeing that the fight was hopeless, most of the crew surrendered, throwing their weapons down in resignation.
"All right, all of you in the center," Jack ordered the defeated sailors as soon as their weapons had been collected.
"Quartetto, Johnson, search the ship for any other people. I'm goin' to have a look in the cap'n's cabin, the rest of you stay here and guard these fine fellows." Jack gestured to the prisoners.
Whistling a jaunty tune, Jack swaggered into the captain's cabin, picking up various items and examining them, while looking for the shipping manifest.
"How nice of ye, mate," Jack commented to the dead captain. "You pinned it up for me right on the wall."
Running a dirty finger down the list, Jack grinned in satisfaction. Hmm, rum, molasses, mahogany, spices, gold. Very nice bit of swag indeed.
"Ho, lads!" Jack called as he walked back onto the deck. "Very good catch we've gotten. We'll be takin' everythin'!"
His crew cheered and taking his hat off, Jack saluted them with a flourish. Just then, Quartetto came up the stairs from the hold, pushing a man out ahead of him. He looked to be in his forties with tawny brown eyes, dark hair just graying at the temples and a half fearful, half defiant expression on his face.
"Well, who do we have here?" Jack asked interestedly, pacing closer to the prisoner.
"I found 'im in 'is cabin, sir," Quartetto said, prodding the man's back with his pistol. "Almost took me head off with 'is sword."
"Hmm," Jack said, peering closely at the man. "And what's a dandy like you doin' on this merchant ship?"
"I bartered with the captain for passage back to England," the man said in a dignified tone, trying not to show how Jack's invasion of his personal space unnerved him. "And may I ask who you are?"
"Why, mate," Jack stepped back and flung his arms wide, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."
Robert blinked rapidly as he was pushed out into the bright sunlight by the pirate behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden increase in light, Robert saw another pirate pacing toward him with a peculiar swaying walk that made the man look as though he was slightly drunk. Roberts's gaze was immediately drawn to the pirate's eyes. Intense, dark brown eyes, accented with kohl, that held a spark of cunning and intelligence, belying the pirate's drunken walk. The man wore a red bandana around the front of his head, dark brown, almost black, hair spilling out behind it in a combination of braids, dreadlocks, and loose strands. Some of the hair falling around his face had been beaded and he wore a goatee with two braids dangling from it. The buccaneer was dressed in a loose white shirt, open to mid-chest, with a long, dark gray vest over that, dark breeches and boots that reached to mid-calf. His skin was deeply tanned from many years of sun exposure and his ringed fingers traced fluid patterns through the air as he spoke.
"Well, who do we have here?"
The pirate stepped right into Robert's personal space, coming almost nose to nose with him, and Robert fought the urge to move away.
"Hmm, and what's a dandy like you doin' on this merchant ship?"
"I bartered with the captain for passage back to England," Robert said in a dignified tone, trying not to let the pirate unnerve him. "And who may I ask are you?"
The buccaneer flashed an ivory and gold grin and stepped back, flinging his arms wide. "Why, mate, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."
Robert's mouth fell open. "You're Captain Jack Sparrow?!"
"Yes, I believe that's what I just said."
Not able to think of anything else to say in his astonishment, Robert blurted out. "You're my brother!"
Jack looked at him incredulously for a moment and then burst out laughing.
"Y'know, mate, I thought I'd heard 'em all, but that's the first time anyone's tried to convince me not to kill them by claimin' to be me brother!" he said, and then dissolved into fresh mirth.
"It's true," Robert said indignantly.
The pirate just waved him away and turned to go to up to the helm.
"You can't ignore me, Jack Lancaster!" Robert shouted at his retreating back.
The pirate's back stiffened and he whirled around. In five paces he was in front of Robert, grabbing him by the shirtfront.
"Where did you hear that name?" he growled.
Will glared at the pirate shoving him up the stairs, wishing he had one of his swords to hand. The young blacksmith had been sleeping in his cabin and was rudely awakened by the muffled sounds of battle. Quickly dressing, he had hurried towards the stairs, cursed when he realized he had left his sword in his cabin and turned around to go get it. Coming back out the door, he had run right into a pirate, sending him staggering backwards with a grunt of surprise.
No matter what he did he couldn't seem to escape all these pirates! He was constantly running into them, metaphorically and literally. Rubbing his sore neck, he briefly wondered if claiming association with Jack would help him. They might let him go. Either that or kill him. Deciding to keep silent for the moment, Will squinted his eyes as he came into the bright sunlight. Glancing around, the young man's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Robert . . . and Jack! The pirate was currently gripping Robert by his shirtfront, looking furious. It was the first time Will had seen the pirate captain look truly angry and it surprised him. Jack was always so flippant, even in the face of mortal danger, and the blacksmith wondered what had brought that look to his friend's face.
He saw Robert say something and Jack's hand strayed to the dagger in his belt.
"Jack, don't!" Will called out, halting the pirate.
At the sound of Will's voice, Jack's entire demeanor changed. Letting go of Robert, he whirled around, greeting Will in a jovial voice.
"Why if it isn't the young Master Turner! Come to give me a wedding invitation have you?"
"Hello, Jack." Will smiled, clasping hands with the pirate. "No, there's no wedding yet."
Jack grinned devilishly. "Ah, your bonny lass has discovered you're a eunuch, eh? Well tell her I'm available anytime she's feelin' the urge."
Will rolled his eyes. Some things never changed. Jack was still as irrepressible as ever, and still giving Will the urge to strike him.
"No, Jack. We're waiting to marry until I've set up my own blacksmith shop."
Jack shrugged. "Well the offer still stands."
Curious as to the cause of Jack's earlier anger, Will directed the conversation to a more serious note.
"Why were you so angry at him, Jack?" Will gestured to Robert.
Jack's kohl-rimmed eyes narrowed. "He knows my old last name and he's claimin' to be my brother, the bastard. I don't know what his scheme is, but my family died on the crossing to England and I don't take kindly to people tryin' to impersonate them."
"Jack, Robert's not trying to impersonate anyone," Will said in a placating tone. "He just saw the stories about you in the London Times and thought you were of the right age and appearance to be the brother he lost twenty-four years ago."
Jack had stilled at the mention of Robert's name and he turned back to Englishman, face blank of all expression.
"So, you've even found out my brother's name have you?"
The pirate's intense gaze bored into him and Robert had to force himself not to look away.
"Who are you?" Jack stalked closer, frowning slightly in concentration as if Robert was a perplexing puzzle to be solved. "A York, maybe? I imagine the feud between the red rose and the white is still runnin' strong, but what would you have to gain by claimin' to be my brother?"*
He stared at Robert a moment longer and then shook his head and turned away, dismissing the matter.
"Ah, well, it means nothin' to me anyway. I don't know what it is you're wantin', but I'm settin' you in the lifeboats with the rest of this merchant crew and I better not see your face again. Next time I might not be so lenient."
"Wait!" Robert called, desperate now. "Will you at least hear me out?"
Jack paused and looked at Robert consideringly. "Y'know, why not? I haven't heard anythin' amusing in while. It'll be entertainin' to see what kind of story you come up with."
Giving an exaggerated courtly bow, Jack motioned for Robert to precede him into the former captain's quarters while the crew snickered quietly.
Turning to his crew who were eyeing the proceedings with interest, Jack barked, "No disturbances! I don't care if old Barbossa himself decides to return from the dead and pay me a visit, I want no one entering this cabin."
"You can go wherever you want, Will," Jack added over his shoulder to the young blacksmith. "Most of the Pearl's crew knows you, although I've gotten myself a couple extra hands since your last voyage on me magnificent ship, so try not to do anythin' stupid."
Will opened his mouth to reply indignantly, but Jack had disappeared into the cabin, shutting the door firmly behind him, and the young blacksmith muttered under his breath about no-good pirates with inflated egos.
Looking around for someone he knew, Will spotted Gibbs standing near the captive merchant crew and made his way over to the heavyset man.
"Hello, lad!" Gibbs called, beaming when he caught sight of Will, "I was wonderin' when you'd be comin' back to join us."
"Why does it seem to be everyone's mission to turn me into a pirate?" Will said with some annoyance. "I'm a blacksmith, and I intend to stay one!"
Gibbs patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, lad, you'll come around eventually."
Will sighed in exasperation, but let the comment pass, knowing it was useless to argue. He noticed some of the crew going below and watched with detached interest as they returned carrying the cargo. A plank had been set up between the two ships and was being used to roll barrels over while the rest of the plunder was handed over to crew standing on the Pearl's deck.
"So I'm sure the Pearl's been taking in quite a lot of plunder," Will said conversationally.
"Oh aye," Gibbs said, nodding his head. "We take in more than any other ship in the Caribbean."
"And how many people have you killed?" the young blacksmith asked carefully.
The question had been bothering him ever since he'd seen the few dead bodies lying on deck. He didn't mind Jack stealing cargo. After all, the shipments were almost immediately replaced by the companies, and enough ships got by the pirates to make the ventures worthwhile. The plundering did no one any lasting damage, but Will could not overlook the killing.
"Fewer than any other pirate ship, lad, and that's the truth," Gibbs said stoutly. "We only kill those who draw weapons and attack us. We never kill those who surrender. And I think the word's been gettin' around that we don't kill everyone on board the ships we attack like most other pirates do. Soon most ships will be surrenderin' to us when we board them and we won't have to be killin' hardly t'all."
Not that that's going to help the people that are already dead, Will thought silently. But it's definitely much better than what one could expect from other pirates. And soon they won't be killing any more.
Will's moral compass was completely lost when it came to Jack. The man was a paradox. He engaged in piracy and killed, but at the same time he had shown himself to be a good man. After thinking on it a moment, Will gave up on trying to figure out how that worked and decided just to accept it.
Moving onto a new topic, Will asked, "Have you had any run-ins with the Royal Navy? I've heard Norrington's been having a few problems with Jack."
Gibbs grinned. "Aye, they've tried to catch us a coupla times, but there's no ship that can match the Pearl for speed. I 'magine the Commodore's nearly fit to be tied, him bein' the one that allowed Jack to get away and everythin'."
Will laughed. "Yes, I've heard him muttering about vile and dissolute pirates a few times when he's come over to the governor's mansion, and he's been shooting me some very dirty looks. I can just see him imagining Jack and me swinging side by side from the hangman's noose."
Gibbs snorted. "Jack's too good to be hung. If he ever dies you can be sure it'll be in some spectacular manner that everyone will remember for years."
"No doubt," Will said, chuckling. "Jack never does anything by halves."
"Never," Gibbs agreed. "That man is a breed apart."
* Just a little historical background for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about. The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars in England fought by the rival houses of Lancaster and York between 1455 and 1485. The wars were so named because the emblem of the house of Lancaster was a red rose and that of the house of York a white rose. The wars weakened both houses and the Lancastrians turned to Earl Henry Tudor for leadership. He later became King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty which produced the famous Queen Elizabeth I.
Both York and Lancaster produced Plantagenet kings, and the original Duke of Lancaster(1362) and Duke of York(1385) were brothers.