Summary: Jack's little known past catches up with him in the form of a brother. Ch. 10- In which Jack escapes (of course) and leads the soldiers on a merry chase
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: Thanks very much to everyone who reviewed, it keeps me writing. Oh yeah, and as a plug for my other story, please go READ it! It's short and the idea came into my head so I had to write it even though I was in the middle of this.
Sorry I haven't done an update in like three weeks, but school's been insane and my term paper was due last week. In addition to all my homework I also had a symphony concert last weekend and soccer games every weekend, so I've basically had about 10 minutes of free time in the past three weeks. Hopefully school will calm down a bit now and I'll be able to finish up this story. Also I will try and post another chapter this weekend to make up for the shortness of this one. If you have the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack I suggest listening to tracks 3 and 4 while reading this'cause they go well with the chase scene.
Captain Red Black- ::staggers forward and drops barrels of rum:: How's this? I brought a whole shipful to make up for the lack of recent updates. Your crew hasn't mutinied yet have they? I hope I'm not in imminent danger of losing my life J
Ripley- yeah, that would be fun. Maybe in a sequel, eh?
Karen- Wow, that has got to be one of the best reviews I've ever gotten! Thank you so much for taking the time to write that, I'm flattered. I was going for dramatic and funny and I'm happy you think I pulled that off. I'm glad you felt the characters were well rounded because sometimes I felt I wasn't getting in depth enough on them, especially Robert. But the whole thing with writing is the more you write the better you get, so I'll keep writing and hopefully improve J
Early the next morning, Jack was awake and alert, waiting for Will to bring him the promised item. As the sun rose higher above the horizon, Jack began to become impatient, wondering what had detained the lad. As he examined the cell next to him for probably the fifth time that morning, he heard a metallic thunk behind him and turned around to see a short, solid, though slightly bent, bar of metal.
"Will that do?" the blacksmith's anxious voice came through the window. "I couldn't get into the smithy until this morning because it's locked and guarded, and I found this in the scrap heap."
"It'll do just fine, lad," Jack reassured him, eagerly snatching it up. "What'd Robin say 'bout the gift York had for him?"
Will laughed. "A string of unmentionable words followed by several choice comments on York's ancestry and ending with a few dire threats."
Jack grinned in delight. "Ha, I thought so. Now get on with ye. I'll be out in a few seconds."
"If you say so," Will said dubiously. "Just so you know though, if it doesn't work, Robert and I will be out here to rescue you."
Jack smirked. "Goin' to try your fancy sword throwin' trick again? Last time I almost strangled while you were busy dancin' around with the executioner."
"I rescued you, didn't I?" Will said indignantly. "It's not like you suffered any lasting injury."
"Ah, but I did," Jack said mournfully, as he unwrapped his sash from around his waist. "My lovely singin' voice was permanently damaged."
Will snorted. "That's no great loss."
"Away with ye," Jack growled, making shooing motions. "Go make yourself useful."
"Yes sir, captain, sir," Will said mockingly and disappeared from the window.
"Impudent whelp," Jack muttered, grabbing the dishes of water and thin gruel that had been shoved into his cell last night.
Careful not to waste a drop, he poured the liquids onto his sash, making sure it was thoroughly damp. Throwing the dishes onto the floor, he threaded his sash around two of the bars so both ends were hanging in his cell. After retrieving the metal rod from the floor, Jack tied both ends of the cloth tightly to the middle of it and began twisting the bar as if it were the wheel of his ship. Grunting with effort, he twisted, using all the strength in his wiry body, until, with a screeching groan, the two metal bars of the cell bent towards each other, leaving a space on either side. Letting go of the rod, Jack eased himself through the space in the bars, grateful that his frame was slender enough to slide through without much problem. Once he was in the other cell, the pirate made straight for the irregular hole in the wall, heaving himself up with his arms and then wriggling through to the outside.
It was just his luck, of course, to emerge right as a small guard of soldiers was walking by.
Catching sight of him, the officer in the lead pointed his sword at the pirate and bellowed, "Catch him! A prisoner is escaping!"
Taking off down the street to the left, Jack made for the gallows he could see at the end and the large crowd that was gathered in front of it. Hopefully the crowd would both hide him and slow down the pursuit of the redcoats. Reaching the crush of people, the soldiers a few feet behind him, Jack plunged in, ignoring the indignant exclamations of the people as he shoved his way through them.
"Move out of the way!" the soldiers behind him growled, shoving bodies out of the way with their guns.
Weaving his way to the front of the crowd, Jack jumped onto the scaffold, glancing wildly around for Will.
"Jack, over here!" he heard Will call to his left.
Turning to the blacksmith, Jack was just in time to catch the belt holding his sword and pistol that had been thrown at him. Securing it quickly around his waist, he took a running jump and grabbed onto the top bar from which the noose dangled, swinging himself up so that he straddled it. Getting to his feet, he ran to the end of the wooden spar and jumped onto the roof of the building behind the scaffold, ignoring the whine of bullets around him as the soldiers fired.
"Jack, make for the docks!" he heard Will yell before he dropped down from the building and landed in the bed of a wagon that was hauling hay.
"Oi, guv! Whaddye think yer doin'?" the man driving the wagon sputtered indignantly.
Not bothering to reply, Jack scrambled out of the wagon bed and took off down the street toward the docks. The soldiers were just rounding the corner of the building and caught sight of him darting down the street.
"After him!" the officer bawled.
Jack knew he was no longer in any danger from their guns since the soldiers wouldn't fire on the large number of civilians that were also on the street. That didn't mean they couldn't catch up to him, though, and some of the younger, swifter redcoats were beginning to gain on him. Running by the stalls of fruits and vegetables that were set up along the street, Jack paused momentarily to kick out one of the poles supporting a fruit stand and the whole thing collapsed, sending the goods rolling into the street. Doing the same to a fish stand and a poultry stand, he created abundant confusion as the soldiers tripped on the food, the stall owners tried to retrieve their goods, and people crowded around to see what the commotion was about. Satisfied that the soldiers would be sufficiently slowed, Jack continued running in the direction of the docks, not slowing his pace.
Once he had reached the docks, the pirate paused for a moment, not sure why Will had wanted him to come here. Walking past each ship docked, he looked for signs of Robert or Will, but couldn't see them anywhere. Continuing on, a few minutes later he heard again the sounds of pursuit. Looking quickly over his shoulder, he caught sight of the soldiers.
"Bloody hell, they don't give up," he muttered.
Some sixth sense told him to duck, and he did so, turning and lashing out with his fist at the same time, hitting a redcoat squarely in the groin. The man dropped his gun and doubled over with a groan. Three other soldiers were not far behind him, and Jack realized that some of his pursuers must have come around from another direction to try and cut him off. A load of cargo that was hanging far above the dock caught his eye, and he saw that the rope holding it went over a spar and then was attached to a metal ring on the dock. Taking hold of the rope, Jack slashed it cleanly and grinned as he was yanked swiftly upwards and the cargo came crashing down on top of two of the soldiers. As his side of the line was about to go over the spar, Jack quickly let go and grabbed onto the beam.
Hauling himself atop it, he balanced precariously on the edge, gauging the distance between himself and the rigging of the ship anchored next to the dock with a practiced eye. Steeling himself, he leapt outward through the air and plummeted toward the aft deck of a docked ship, wildly grasping at the rigging. He snagged one and the rope burned his hands as his fall was abruptly arrested, his body swinging back and forth. The surprised shouts of several people on the ground who had seen his daring leap caused him to glance below him. The soldiers were standing on the plank connecting the ship to the dock, gesturing wildly to a man who appeared to be refusing to allow them on.
One redcoat pointed upwards to where Jack dangled from the rigging, and the man's mouth dropped open as he looked upward. The soldiers took advantage of the man's surprise to shove him to the side and jump onto the deck, raising their guns in preparation to fire.
Shimmying quickly down the taut line he was clinging to, Jack caught hold of a loose rope and swung forward, sliding down it as he did so. When he was close enough, he let go of the rope and hit the deck at a run making straight for the soldiers who were between him and the forward part of the ship. Surprised by this maneuver, the soldiers didn't have time to fire before Jack was upon them, sword in hand.
Barreling down two of them, he slashed quickly at another who stabbed at him with a bayonet and then continued sprinting toward the stern. Reaching his destination, he leapt on top of the railing and did a swan dive into the water, surfacing and swimming strongly toward the ship anchored a few yards away. The sharp report of guns firing convinced him it would be best to be as difficult a target as possible, so he took a deep breath and plunged beneath the water. He partially opened his eyes to get a glimpse of the ship ahead of him, ignoring the sting of the salt. He glimpsed the dim outline of the ship's hull in front of him and the anchor line coming out from it. Surfacing, he swam the last few feet and took hold of the anchor line. Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself up hand over hand, sodden clothing weighing him down. Reaching the top, he tipped over the railing onto the deck, startling the few sailors standing nearby.
"Don't mind me, mates," he said, waving a hand at them.
Getting to his feet, he staggered forward, nearly tripping over a barrel that was lying on its side. Making for the jetty, he went down the plank that connected the ship to the dock, glancing over to see that the soldiers were also exiting the other ship to his left. Where is that blasted boy? he thought testily, turning to the right and continuing to run down past the line of docked ships, looking for signs of Will.
"Jack! Over here!"
Jack's head snapped in the direction of the voice and he saw Will and Robert waving at him from the deck of a small schooner.
"Finally," he muttered, hurrying in their direction.
As he reached the schooner's dock, though, he was abruptly halted by the prick of a blade at his neck.
"You're not going anywhere," a cold voice said.
Turning his body slowly so he was facing his attacker, Jack's eyes narrowed.
"How'd you get here?"
Pierre smirked. "I followed your young friend, believing, correctly, that you would come to him."
He dug the point of the blade into Jack's neck to emphasize his point, drawing a trickle of blood. "And now I'm going to kill you."
"Not likely," Jack growled as he took a quick step back and dropped flat onto his back, kicking his feet into Pierre's stomach.
The gray-eyed man staggered backward with an oomph of surprise and Jack scrambled back to his feet, unsheathing his own blade. By this time, though, the pursuing soldiers had caught up with him and surrounded him in a half circle, their guns leveled at him. Their attention was diverted from Jack, though, when a crowd of roaring sailors suddenly descended on them from the schooner, waving knives and pistols. With the redcoats thus occupied, Jack lunged for Pierre, their blades meeting in a ring of steel.
"I've been looking forward to killing you, pirate," Pierre hissed.
"Well you're goin' to be lookin' for a lot longer, then." Jack grunted, parrying the man's thrust. "Because I'm not plannin' on lettin' the likes of you do me in."
Rolling under a swing that had been aimed at his chest, he tumbled to the side and into a crouch, raising his sword to block the blade descending toward his head. Rising slowly to his feet, he forced Pierre's sword back with his own. Breaking away, the two combatants warily circled each other, looking for an opening. Twisting his body to the side, Jack barely avoided a thrust that would have pierced his stomach, retaliating with a quick strike that drew blood on Pierre's arm.
Jack gave a feral grin. "First blood goes to me, mate."
Pierre glared and attacked again in earnest. Their blades moved almost faster than the eye could see as they skillfully thrust and parried, Jack slowly gaining the advantage over his less nimble opponent. Finally, Jack feinted quickly to the left, Pierre moving with him, and the gray-eyed man was too slow to prevent the blow as Jack reversed the direction of his movement. The pirate thrust his blade cleanly through Pierre's heart and the man fell to his knees with a gasp, sword falling from his nerveless fingers.