Chapter 19: Last Father-Daughter Talk
Kat followed Jack closely back toward where the Black Pearl was docked. Men in uniform were on every corner, pistols punched violently in the air and more women and pirates alike were being thrown into custody. Tortuga was in shambles, even more than it usually would be. Kat touched Captain Belstrude's sword to her right hip, making sure that it was still securely in her possession. Jack held on to one of her hands as he checked around the corner for how good the authorities' eyes were.
He tugged on her arm to get to the next building. With every step getting closer and closer to their goal, "This ain't good, luv. If there be this many authority figures in Tortuga-"
"It only means one thing," Kat interrupted looking past Jack's shoulder and toward the street, where a half drunk man was being loaded into the arms of awaiting custody, "My father is here, and is just waiting for us to come out of hiding."
The half drunk man escaped the men's grip for a few seconds, grabbed his pistol and began shooting. Jack grabbed Kat back toward the wall to shield her from the shots and keep her out of sight. Shots were fired back at the man wounding him in the leg and he was carried to the nearest safe room.
"It's amazing how Mr. Benikins wants us to take nearly everyone from a single port," one of the close soldiers said, "It's near impossible."
"You dolt," another voice said, "He doesn't want to take everyone captive, he just wants us to take all these people off the street so we can find his daughter, kill the pirate she's with and go home. There would be no way for us to take this many prisoners back to Port Royal and have them all hung."
"Oh… I got it," the other one said feeling a little less confused and they both walked off to the next pirate laying drunk on the ground.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Kat, "Well, tha' was a close call."
"Jack," Kat said worriedly looking down at the ground, "My father does mean to kill all these people."
"Wha'? But they jus' said-"
"They just said what they were told, not what my father knows," she looked up at Jack, "He has a horrible hatred of pirates and prostitutes. He would rid the world of them if he could. And this would be a perfect place to start."
"Wha' do we do then, luv?" Jack asked looking out on the street and pulling her along to the next hiding place.
"We do the only thing we can do," Kat said looking up at Jack, "We find my father, try to convince him of this insanity and make him go back to Port Royal."
"And if we can't do tha'?" Jack asked skeptically.
"Let's not think about it," Kat said looking at the next building and the small dock where the Pearl was docked. Jack and Kat made their jump to the last safe building before the dock and took a deep breath before making the run. The night sky did make a run for a ship a little safer, especially with the overhanging clouds, but Jack wanted to be sure before he ran out.
"What if some of the crew is still stuck in Tortuga?" Kat asked Jack.
"They wouldn't be," Jack said reassuringly, "They were told to be on the ship an hour before I took ye to the cavern."
"So you're the late comer?" Kat asked, trying to stifle a giggle remembering the stories she was told about the people that trudged their way back on the Pearl later than expected.
"Tha' would be me," Jack said proudly, placing his hands on Kat's shoulders, "They're used to it. Now, get ready to run on my say so."
"What are we going to do about the rest of the people here?"
"Well, let's get on the ship and some more weapons before we start thinking about a whole rescue operation," Jack looked at his ship and at the empty space between it and them, "Ready? Let's go."
They both quickly, yet silently, made their way to the Black Pearl and began to board. Jack let Kat go up the rope ladder at the side of the ship first, still trying to be a gentleman. Kat gave a small nod, but hurried up the rope, knowing the danger wasn't too far away. Jack looked back at the harbor, thinking and hoping that he could find a way to get it back to normal. He began to climb the rope and reached the deck, still thinking about the port behind him. He lifted his head from the wood beneath him and saw a slight glimpse of his crew in custody, Kat begin held and gagged and a rifle coming toward his head before he blacked out.
***
"Jack? Please wake up," Jack could hear Kat's voice like she was on the other side of a ball room. Although after a few seconds it started to become clearer and clearer with every word, "Come on Jack, and open your eyes. Do not tell me that that small hit knocked you completely out."
"I would believe it," Jack could hear Anamaria's voice a little further away from Kat's.
Jack moaned a bit and squinted his eyes before he opened them, "I 'eard tha', Anamaria," he tried to sit up, holding his head with one hand.
"Jack!" Kat cried excitedly and gave him a huge hug around the shoulders, "Thank God! I thought you would never wake up. You scared me to death."
"Well, tha' rifle did give me a good hit. And I hope ye know tha' even though I woke up I still need to breath," Jack asked with the limited air Kat allowed him to have.
"Sorry," Kat loosened her grip and looked at him, "Where does it hurt?"
"Me head is all," Jack shrugged. Kat smiled, took off his hat and kissed him on the forehead. He smiled back as she placed his hat back securely on his head.
"Oh, please," Anamaria sighed from the other cell, "I'm 'appy tha' ye two got back together an' all, but do not choke us with yer luv stuff."
The other pirates could be seen with their fingers down their throats, trying to gag themselves. Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Cotton seemed to be the only ones that were giving them the piece of respect that they needed.
"So, now wha', Cap'n?" Gibbs asked coming up next to Anamaria.
"Wha's the situation?" Jack asked getting up with some help from Kat.
"Guards took the ship, captured all 'o us and put us down in our own brig. Accordin' with the guards tha' dragged us down 'ere after ye got 'ere, Kat's father is in charge," Gibbs explained a little out of breath.
"That sounds eerily familiar," a deep voice came from the bottom of the stairs, "Could it be that you're talking about my take over of this pitiful port and this puny, pirate ship?"
"Father," Kat breathed out, still holding on to Jack's arm. She felt him tense up and looked up to see him and noticed his clenched teeth.
"How dare he talk 'bout the Pearl like tha'," Jack started trying to step forward.
"Jack," Kat warned, "We have to get him to leave. Try the civilized approach first, savvy?"
"Ha, you should be the last one to be talking about a civilized approach, daughter," Arthur Benikins stepped out from the darkness and Kat saw a mark on his face that was reminiscent of her last encounter, when she was running down the isle. Benikin's touched the side of his face to notify all of who did not see.
Jack chuckled a little and looked down at Kat, "I 'ave to say, tha' was a very good hit, luv."
"You be quiet!" Arthur roared from the other side of the bars, "You have been the cause of all this! If it were not for you, she wouldn't have gone missing! If it were not for you, she wouldn't have disobeyed me! If -"
"It wasn't for you, father!" Kat said stepped in front of Jack, leaving only inches and bars between her and her father, "It you had not reminded me that it was my fault and what a lousy child I was to you, then I wouldn't have run off! If it were not for you yelling at me for no reason, I wouldn't have disobeyed you! But one thing is for certain, it is not your fault I fell in love with Jack. That could not be helped."
"How dare you! If there were no bars between us, I would slap you for that mouth of yours, or worse," Benikins yelled down at her.
"If there were no bars 'ere, I would be close to killin' ye for threatenin' me girl," Jack said from behind her, since she wouldn't let him come forward.
"Tell me the truth, pirate," Benikins stepped up to the bars throwing out the word pirate like it was filth, "Do you really love my daughter?"
Jack did push Kat back a bit to answer this question. He stood eye to eye with Kat's father and gave him the most serious look he had in him, "Aye, sir I do."
"How much so?" he crossed his arms in front of his chest, unable to comprehend the pirate before him. Many pirates would drop the girl without a second thought if it meant their life, "Let me remind you, pirate, that if you keep to your previous statement, I will have you hung."
"Jack!" Kat whispered fearful fir Jack, grabbing his jacket sleeve.
Jack stopped her and burned a look into Benikins' eyes. His body didn't move an inch as he stood before certain death, "I would do anythin' fer her. I luv her with everythin' in me being, savvy?"
"I understand," Benikins said taking a few steps back from him and over to a guard in the corner.
"Jack what are you doing?" Kat whispered, taking his face in both of her hands and placing her forehead to his, "You'll be killed-"
"Either way, luv," Jack smiled down at her, slightly amused by her worry for him, "At least this way I'm tellin' the truth."
Kat was at the verge of tears, let her arms fall from his face to his waist and hugged Jack tightly, resting her head on his chest. He took her in his arms and placed his head on top of hers. He could hear her sniffle and try to hold back her tears and just squeezed her tighter. Kat didn't want to lose him now, not now. Not when they were together. Not when they were finally inseparable… guess there is no such thing, as long as there is death and hatred.
Without warning, Kat was grabbed out of Jack's arms by a guard and out of the cell. Before Jack could catch on to what was happening and get to the door, it was slammed back in place and locked before he could get through. The solider handed Kat over to her father and stood back over at his post by the door.
"Now it's time for a little father-daughter, talk," Arthur Benikins hissed into his daughter's ear.
"Jack! No!" Kat tried to leap from her father's grasp, but he kept a hold of her right arm, keeping her out of reach. Jack reached through the bars, unable to fit his whole arm through, he stretched his forearm as far as it could go. Their fingertips brushed each others as Kat was tugged the other way. She started to stumble at bit as a rifle barrel pushed at the small of her back, pushing her to go up the stairs.
Kat's father stayed in the brig for a few more seconds, "Well let's just see how my daughter reacts when it is her own life on the line."
"Ye touch her and yer a dead man!" Jack hissed holding on to the bars on each side of him.
"We'll jus' see, Mr. Sparrow," Benikin's smiled and headed up the stairs toward the captain's quarters.
"Tha' be Captain Jack Sparrow!" he called after him.
"Now wha', Cap'n?" one of the crew members asked.
"We wait," Jack eyed the guard, "Kat will find a way. I 'ave faith in her."
"Dead men tell no tales," Cotton's parrot screeched.
"True, Mr. Cotton," Jack said looking up at him, "But we're not dead yet."
***
Kat was pushed into the Captain's Quarters and fell to the floor, scratching her elbow on the rough wood beneath her. She hissed a little from the pain and picked up her arm to check the damage on her torn skin. It was only an abrasion, but it would get infected if not kept after. She looked up at the guard with hatred, only to see regret and sympathy in the man's eyes. Her face shown confusion as he closed the door on her, keeping her locked in before her father got up from the brig.
She got up from the floor and scurried over to the captain's personal cabinet and found some 'medical use only' alcohol and poured it over the wound to disinfect it. She tore off a piece of the drapery for a bandage thinking that Jack wouldn't mind. After she got the wound under control she looked around herself and saw what a mess the room was in. It was even worse than the time that she had to come in and clean it herself. It must have been from her father in his search or in his rage.
She looked at all the carefully shelved items now down on the ground. Everything that she tried so hard to clean was everywhere, even though it probably wasn't far from it when she left the Pearl. She looked outside the window and saw one of the naval ships floating not far off shore. She gave a heavy sigh and looked at the ground. Before she could think any further, her father came through the door.
"Why are you doing this?" she stood from the bed to look him in the eye the best she could.
"Why am I doing this?" he asked agitated. He leaned over her and grabbed the blue bandana off of her head and shook it in his hand, "This is why I'm doing this! You don't belong here!"
"Why do people keep saying that?" Kat asked exasperated, "I belong here just as much as any person belongs!"
"No, you don't," he took the bandana in both of his hands, ripped it in two and let it fall to the ground, "That will be your same fate if you continue with this nonsense."
"This is not nonsense!" Kat said hurt, looking at the bandana on the ground, "You are being irrational and holding nothing in your mind, but insane thoughts!"
"Irrational? Insane?" he yelled, slapping her in the face and sending her down onto Jack's bed, "I will show you insanity!"
He walked over to a table where a small mirror was laying face up and brought it up to Kat's face, "This! Do you see? You are trying to become someone you are not! A pirate! Now, that is insanity!"
"No!" Kat knocked the mirror out of his hands and let it fall onto the bed, "Don't you see? Can you not open your eyes, father? Look around, this is lunacy! Capturing all the people and I know you do not think of just letting them go. You mean to kill them."
"And why not?" he got up in a casual fashion and stood over by the table where Jack had food spread out and popped a grape in his mouth, "No one will miss them when they are gone."
"That may be, but they have the right to live their life the way they want to, just as any other," Kat said getting up, "Just like you and I."
"Do not dare contrast me with their kind, Katerina!" he stepped forward.
"Let them go! Let the crew go! Let Jack go," Kat pleaded, "They have nothing to do with this! This is between you and I."
"Where is Captain Belstrude?" he asked, "I don't think he ever came back."
Kat's face fell, "He's dead."
"What?" her father turned to her with surprise, "What do you mean?"
"He is dead. I killed him," Kat lied.
"You killed your own fiancé?" he asked pacing the room, "The captain?"
"He wasn't my fiancé, father-"
"This is brilliant!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Kat watched from nearby, confusion and inconceivability crossing her face. He caught her expression and turned to her, grabbing her arms on both sides, "He left his entire fleet to you! That means, it will be mine. We will convince the authorities it was your pirate that killed him. Oh, this is brilliant!"
"You… you're a monster," Kat whispered as she watched her father celebrate, "My father did die long ago, as I thought so many times when I was a child."
"Let me figure," he started again, finally noticing she was still in the room, "You are not coming back with me. You want to stay with that ruffian because you love him. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Kat said sternly.
"Even if it means death?" he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at her head.
Kat was unmoved by his threat and didn't even blink from the blunt move from her father, "I love him to no end, sir. I would die for him."
He put down the pistol and unlocked it from its firing position, "Damn! Why do you have to make this so difficult?"
"Because I am telling the truth," Kat said standing up against her father, "Please, do the same."
"I have been doing the same," he said, "I have been telling the truth ever since your mother died."
"Ever since… you hadn't before?"
"I never did before," he said keeping an eye on her, "I wasn't prospecting new land for us that night. I was out with some of my associates, drinking some rum."
"You-" her voice was caught in her throat, she didn't know what to say, "You are as much in fault as I am."
"No!" he pulled the pistol back up to her face, "You are the one that lit that match, sending your mother and brothers to their deaths."
"I will not believe that," Kat put her head up, with tears in the back of her throat, "As much as I will not believe that a father could stop loving his daughter."
"Believe it," he looked down the barrel of the pistol, "Now, are you going to renounce your love and come back home?"
Kat looked around the room and then back into her father's eyes, "I am home."
Kat heard a shot, but knew that she wasn't dead. She was still standing tall in front of her father, whom still had the pistol raised. She looked at the pistol barrel, it was slightly askew to the right and a little smoldering from the pistol's last shot. He shot past her and into a full bottle of rum sitting on the side of the table.
'Oh, Jack's going to be fuming about that one,' Kat thought to herself.
Benikins unloaded the bullet from the pistol and loaded in another. Kat watched him the whole while, wondering if the next one would be for her. After he loaded the pistol once again he took her by the arm and led her outside the captain's doors. The guards looked at him with curiosity.
"Get me the Captain," he said with anger dripping his voice, "The pirate captain. Make sure his hands are tied behind his back tightly."
The guard left and went down to the brig to get the pirate. Kat looked at her father with worry on where his next move would lead. Where ever it was, it would more than likely leave Jack dead on the deck of his own ship.
"How did you find me?" Kat asked watching her father play with his pistol.
"The captain had the brilliant idea of following the ships that left the harbor the day you ran. We found a left behind crew member of the Silver Maiden who said a woman was on board for a while. Sound familiar?" Kat's eyes widened as he continued, "The man was very helpful. He gave up your name, description, even where he thought you would be heading. He said it was the least he could do to get you back."
"Pidus," Kat growled at his name, "that scumbag."
"Yes I do believe that was his name. I can't exactly remember. After he gave us the information he was shot. Eventually, the chase ended here."
Two guards carried Jack up the stairs and made him drop to his knees. Jack looked toward Kat and saw the already apparent hand imprint on her cheek that her father gave her in the cabin. He looked at her with a worried face and turned toward her father, but instead saw a pistol aimed straight at him.
"You say you would die for him?" Benikins said out loud questioning Kat, "Let's give it a test."
"No," Kat stepped forward making an official step forward and hold her back by the midsection.
"This bullet is going to be fired," he gave her an evil smile, "But into whose head is the question."
Kat thought for a minute and looked down at her side where she could see the official's pistol loaded and ready to shoot at his side. Without a second thought, Kat grabbed the pistol from his side and aimed it, cocked back at her father's head. She gave the official such a start that he fell back over the railing and into the water below. She may have been five feet from her father at the moment, but it wasn't too far away for her to make a clean shot. The officers on the ship raised their rifles up at her, ready to fire on command.
"He dies, and you die!" she clearly stated placing her finger on the trigger.
"You really think this wise, girl?" her father questioned, pushing Jack down when he tried to get up to protect Kat, "There are at least twelve rifle barrels pointed at you. You kill me and you die as well."
"Yes, it doesn't look that good for me, but neither does it for you," Kat said keeping her eyes on her father, but also making sure that the authorities around her did not try to take the pistol from her, "If you shoot him, I shoot you, they shoot me, we have a very bloody deck. If you turn around and shoot me, I fire at you regardless and we both die, leaving these wonderful military men no target. But if you think to put down the pistol, get back on your ship, release the people of Tortuga, return to Port Royal, and leave me alone here with Jack, no one will have to die."
"See, the problem with that is… I don't win. And I always win," he said making sure the pistol aimed at Jack's head was ready to shoot, "I do believe it is his time to die."
"You're signing another death warrant. Just when you decided to go out drinking with your associates and led me to kill our family," Kat shouted gaining his attention along with the attention of the other men around them, "It wasn't my fault that mother, Jeremy and Jacob died. It was yours."
"That's preposterous!" he blurted, "You lit that match!"
"I did light that fire, but I did so because I wanted to be like you," Kat felt a tear roll off her cheek, but still kept the pistol steady.
"What?" her father dropped the pistol at his side and looked at her.
"You know what you were supposed to be doing that night? Do you remember?" Kat said tears chocking her voice, "You were supposed to be teaching me how to ride my new horse while mother was teaching the boys how to read better. Remember now?!"
His face dropped to the wood and then back up at her, "You are telling the truth, but what does that have to do with the fire?"
"While mother taught the boys I wanted to be close to you while you were away. I went into your bedroom and found your dresser. I picked out the shirt that you would wear on special occasions, like on my birthday," Kat let a little smile play on her lips and continued, "I put it on over my head and walked down the hall. I knew mother was too busy, so I went into the bathroom to try to do the buttons myself in the mirror. Someone forgot to light the lamp, so I had to. I have always remembered the moment I lit that match. It didn't fall then… no, I was able to light the lamp. I remember doing each button up to the top. I stared at myself in the mirror and smiled. I looked just like Daddy."
"No…" it was his turn to let out a light whisper, "It's not true."
Jack looked on with surprise and intrigue on his face. He never heard the whole story and was a little curious to know it at last. Although, he would have liked it better if it was in better circumstances. He looked at Kat's face which was focused on her father's reactions to the story. She was hopeful this may break through to him, and Jack knew it.
"As I looked at my reflection, I tried to talk like a business man. I put up my hands like I was talking to a crowd of people and as I over exaggerated a move, I tipped the lamp over. It exploded on the carpet, quickly setting the bathroom and outside hallway on fire. I tripped, falling into the bathtub. The bolts were never tight on that, so when I fell in, it completely tipped over and on top of me. As the flames lit up around me I was safe. After a few minutes I could hear mother call for me. As she was dying she was worried for me. Then I blacked out. The next time I woke up, I found a man that wasn't my father. I found a man that pushed me away. I thought that my father too had died in that fire along with mother," Kat finished with tears down each side of her face.
"As did my daughter!" he screamed pointing the pistol at Jack's head once again, "Maybe I can take the one thing the murderer holds dear!"
There was a crack of a pistol shot that ran through the air. A single pistol hit the ground with a loud thud, clicking, but the bullet was a dud and never went off. Jack looked up with surprise as a pair of feet stumbled to find support from the blast.
Benikins looked around him to find that none of the soldiers that he took along with him were shooting. They were standing at attention, with their pistols down by their sides. His anger grew and he uplifted his head to the next in command, demanding an explanation. And then he saw it. His hand was covered in blood, as was his jacket. He looked down to find that the blast was indeed was from his daughter's pistol and that she made a perfect shot into his chest.
Kat lowered the steaming pistol to her side and let the silent tears fall down her face. Arthur Benikins stumbled again over to the railing and kept a tight grip to keep steady.
"Im…possible… you never learned how to… to shoot," he chocked.
"It's amazing what you can learn on a pirate ship," Kat said barely able to talk.
He took one last look at his daughter, rolled his eyes back and fell back over the railing and onto the dock beneath the ship. Kat dropped the pistol from her grip and fell to her knees. She leaned forward on her arms support, which she knew wouldn't last very much longer.
Soon enough she felt arms on her shoulders and tried to shrug them off thinking it was one of the soldiers. She turned around and saw a blurred version of Jack looking down at her. She looked into his eyes and jumped into his arms, and started to cry into his shoulder. He gladly held her tightly in his grasp and rocked her a little while sitting on the deck.
"Shh," he cooed, trying to calm her, "It's all over now, Kat. I'm 'ere. The soldiers took off the ties. It's all over."
The next in command came over to them and squatted to be eye to eye with Kat, "Miss… I'm sorry for your loss."
Kat opened her eyes and looked up at the same soldier that threw her into the captain's quarters, but still gave her a look of such compassion. She knew as soon as he said it, that the loss he was talking about wasn't for her father. It was for her family. She smiled a bit and pulled her head up.
"Thank you," she said, "No one has ever said that to me before."
He nodded and stood up, "You know, it's a nasty thing when pirates attack a ship."
"Sir?" Kat asked whipping her tears.
"The attack that happened on our ship on our way back from finding you. We found you, alone, and scared. While we were bringing you back a pirate ship overtook us and we ended up losing three."
Both Kat and Jack looked at each other a bit confused and then realized what he was saying. Kat asked, "Which three would that be, sir?"
"Both of the Benikins and our captain," he said with a smirk, "I'll be rounding up my men and we'll be out of port by sun down."
Jack helped Kat up and supported her from behind. "Which pirate ship attacked you?" she asked making sure he had his story straight.
"I didn't catch the name. But it was somewhere along the lines of the Harbinger. It's been a ship that we have been tracking for some time now."
Kat smiled, "Wait!"
The officer stopped and watched as Kat went inside Jack's cabin. He turned to look at Jack for an explaination. Jack looked at him and shrugged his shoulders in a 'I don't know' fashion. Kat soon came out with a folded piece of paper with the name Harriet scribbled on the outside.
"Can you make sure she gets that?" Kat asked.
He nodded his head as he knew exactly which Harriet it was going to. He stuffed it in his breast pocket and turned around. Kat watched as the officer led his men off the Black Pearl and down into the port to release the people and get back on their ship. Jack looked down at Kat and gave her a small hug from behind.
"Ye think he was tellin' the truth?"
"I know he was, Jack," Kat leaned back into him and watched the rest of the night stars begin to finally shine out from the dark clouds that once hindered them.
***
Meanwhile down in the brig…
"I wonder if they even remember we're down 'ere," Gibbs said leaning on the cell's wall.
"Well, either way, it'll be a time before they come an' get us," Anamaria said sitting on the floor, ready to fall asleep.
"Ready to sail!" Cotton's parrot spoke up.
"Shut up, Cotton! Ye always take her side," Gibbs yelled at the man.
The man shrugged and patted his parrot on the beak. It was going to be a long night.
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***
A/N: So…? Did I do good? Next chapter is… the last one for this story, I'm sorry. But don't worry, I am trying to develop a plot for a sequel now. As soon as I am finished with my recess fic, I will start on it. I promise! I give me pirate's word! I hope you liked this chapter better than the last. I know I do. Remember to look for the next chapter and to REVIEW!!!!
Oh and if you want to see a picture of Katerina go to my website listed on my profile. Once there go to the link that says my fan fiction. It should be the last link, and there you will se a picture I drew of Jack and Kat. See ya when I update the Twentieth chapter!
^-~ Ana