Pirates of the Caribbean – The Secret of Hell Water

*revision 7-22-03:  I read through this shortly after posting it and found it riddled with typos!  How embarrassing! I apologize to you all! Anyways, here is a corrected draft. I hope I've managed to catch them all this time. Damn typos!

*Damn! I'm writing these fast! I hope it keeps up. I'm having a lot of fun with this. =) Will shows up in this Chapter, and Elizabeth too! (well- almost!)  Hooray for Tortuga!!

Chapter 3- Tortuga

"Tortuga!  I love this place! It's filled with all the filthy, slimy, dirty, despicable and dishonorable sea-faring scumbags you've ever laid eyes on!" Jack jumped nimbly from the shore-boat to the dock as the rest of his crew tied up.  He spread his hands out, swayed back and forth in his characteristic drunken manner and inhaled deeply.  Then suddenly doubled over coughing.

"…Lovely…" Emma stepped off after him, wrinkling her nose

The cough quickly subsided, Jack glanced back at her for a moment with one eyebrow raised, then turned and continued to swagger up the dock as if nothing had upset him.  "Not the most fragrant of local's…" He admitted dryly.

The dull noise of the town grew steadily louder as they approached.  A cacophony of all types of music and merrymaking emanated from the different taverns they passed along the way.  Jacks crew dispersed among them, lured by the smells of food or the promise of good drink, or more likely than not, by the inviting calls of the prostitutes that colored the second floors of most buildings. Emma did her best to ignore the catcalls directed at her, and stayed close behind Jack and Mr. Gibbs, who headed for a well-lit tavern off the main square.  It had a hinged sign above it that said "The Faithful Bride," but its name certainly did not bespeak its character.  The moment they entered, Emma was surprised from a sudden assault by an air born wooden stool.  It flew past her head, smacked heavily against the far wall and fell with a clatter on the stone floor.  It had been directed at a seedy looking pirate who ducked out of the door soon after she had entered, and on his heels was a robust woman wearing little to leave to the imagination, screeching at the top of her lungs.  She picked up the stool, and righted it.  But the stool was only the prelude to a chain of unfortunate events.  The second she stood again and turned to follow Jack and Gibbs, (who'd already gone a fair distance into the crowd) she was assaulted a second time.  This time, by a huge, meaty arm from an angry, intoxicated pirate in the middle of a bar brawl.  He ran into her unintentionally, but in so doing, managed to shove her forward into a throng of unshaven scallywags that smelled like they hadn't bathed in weeks.  Pleased by this sudden female appearance, they wasted no time in assaulting her with pinches on the behind and various catty remarks that made her face go scarlet.

With great difficulty, she managed an escape and searched around for Jack and his first mate.  They were standing by a vertical wooden beam on the other side of the room, watching her with identical looks of amusement that made her want to slap the two of them silly.

She gave the bar brawl a wide birth and went to stand before the two bemused seadogs.  Her ears burned and she was sure she was bright red with embarrassment.

" Gotta be on your guard here." Jack said with a twinkle in his eye and leaned towards her for emphasis, swaying in his usual manner.  " The Faithful Bride is one of the toughest old hellholes in Tortuga.  But just the place to talk if we don't want to be disturbed."

He turned to head for an open table just as a skinny, tall, and extremely well bosomed young lady wearing what seemed to Emma like a ton of blush stalked up to Jack, took aim, and slapped him hard with a resounding SMACK across the cheek.  The pirate turned with the punch, uttering a grunt of surprise and focused a painful look on Emma, who blinked back startled.

" Gone for 6 MONTHS without a word! And THIS is how you repay me?" She yelled hoarsely, pointing accusingly at Emma, and then whirled away with a flourish and was gone as quickly as she had come.

" Ahh- Tortuga…" Jack said musically, and fixed a faraway stare. "My home away from home…"

They sat down and Mr. Gibbs ordered the drinks.

" So…Cotton, Moises, Kursar, Duncan, Crimp, Ladbroc, Matelot, Quartetto, Anamaria, Me, you, and Ms. Emma… are all in for the count on recovering the treasure of Hell Water."  Mr. Gibbs named off the willing crew who'd already signed on with Jack for the adventure ahead to recover the treasur.. " Tearlach and Jacoby are out, leaving two positions that need to be filled."

Emma had been present at the meeting Jack held prior to setting sail for Tortuga, that morning.  She had no idea how he would be able to weasel his crew into sailing to Hell Water, which had earned its name for very good reason. It was sheer madness to attempt sailing those particular water's and any seafaring man with a shred of good sense steered far clear of that place.  But the fabled wit and grace of Captain Jack Sparrow was not an exaggeration.  Emma remembered well that genius display of his from two days ago, when he'd first told them of his 'unexpected surprise.' 

Jack had  tossed a single coin he'd taken from the purse she'd given him to Mr. Gibbs.  Mr. Gibbs, after admiring it, biting down on it, and shining it against his breast pocket, passed it about the crew who did the same. The words every pirate loved to hear, 'treasure hunt' was passed about in excited whispers. Then, interest was piqued and Jack spoke about what he knew of the treasure of Hell Water.

" Enough gold, me hearties, that would make any King or Queen green with envy!" Jack was great at acting with melodramatics. The wind blew his unruly black hair about his face wildly.  His eyes sparkled with excitement and the promise of adventure; he swayed about the deck in his usual quirky manner, punctuating each sentence with his crooked smile. A hand moved to stroke one mustache, and then down to scratch his chin, which set his narrow braided beard, decorated with beads, rattling back and forth. 

The crew hung onto his every word.  " The treasure of Hell Water would make each of us rich enough to buy our own island, fill it with rum, and retire comfortably for the good of the rest of our days." He paused and glanced at Anamaria, who watched him with pursed lips and an unreadable expression.  " You could buy a fleet of ships!" At this, her eyes sparkled and she let a smile crack her lips. 

Jack gave each crewmember in turn an idea of what they would be capable of getting if they had a share in the treasure.  Eyes lit with excitement and gape-toothed smiles were revealed on the faces of the men.  By the time he was threw with his pep-talk, Emma was sure that they would follow him into the pit of Hell itself if it meant the treasure would be theirs.  Then, Jack spoke to them about the dangers they would face. 

"A perilous reef to navigate, infested with sharks and all manner of sea scum, sharp rocks, unpredictable weather conditions, sand bars, and Hell Water itself which, if my memory serves me, was a giant treacherous whirlpool that has sent many a hard hearted sailor and many a fine sea vessel to Davey Jones' Locker!"

"Shiver me timbers!" Mr. Gibbs interrupted with a visible shiver.  " Jack- err… Captain… how can it be that ye know so much? Ye speak as if ye've seen it with yer own eyes!"

"Aye! I have…" Jack said, nodding slowly, letting the knowledge sink in.  "I've been there, and come back many a time, when I was a young boy."

  The crew threw alarmed glances at each other, exclamations of "How?" and "Impossible!" could be heard.

"How, you ask? Why, haven't you figured it out by now?"

They watched him uneasily.  No one spoke.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" He said with his usual swagger. "And I happen to have… in my possession, a MAP that charts safe passage through Hell Water, savvy?" He brought the weathered piece of parchment into the open, and a raucous cheer went up by the crew. 

They whistled and clapped and stomped their feet and cries of "Rich! We're going to be RICH!" carried across the ship and rang like music in Emma's ears.  His trump card had been played.  The crew recognized the map as belonging to the only pirate who had learned safe passage in and out of Hell Water.  He had used it to navigate the dangerous cove for many years long ago.  The cove was used as a cache for his treasure trove.  The pirate had been none other than Jack's own father, his namesake… Captain 'Black Jack' Sparrow. He had been well known as the most fearsome pirate to have plundered the seven seas in half-a-century.  But he'd disappeared mysteriously about 30 years ago with his ship, The Donalda and his entire crew with him.  It was a well-known tale by all seafaring and land based folk, both pirate and non-pirate.  Some believed he'd retired to paradise, other's fancied he and his crew had finally been defeated by the vengeful currents of Hell Water and lay in their watery graves at the bottom of the ocean.  None of his crew questioned Jack about his father or his previous experience with Hell Water. They knew well enough that Jack never talked of him, and had no desire too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, Emma found herself in the most despicable, scum-worthy cutthroat infested tavern in all of Tortuga, drinking ale that burned all the way down to her gullet.  They had docked for supplies.  Two crew members had decided to sit this adventure out, not out of cold feet (as they vehemently protested), but because Tearlach had contracted a bad case of scurvy and was in no shape to sail, and Jacoby had a land-based business deal to make that involved several monkeys, two parrots, a pot bellied pig, and a shady character by the name of "Pinkeye," that would most likely take him several weeks.  No one pressed for further details.

" The trick is, we have to fine someone we can trust." Mr. Gibbs said, musing over his drink.  Emma returned her attention to the men she shared the table with.  "Someone who won't go about blabbing to the entire town that we're after Hell Water." Gibbs growled under his breath, looking from side to side suspiciously.  " Then there certainly would be Hell to pay!"

" I trust you'll find the right people, mate." Said Jack with a sly grin. " Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and search for some nightly company." He lurched to his feet, and stepped over the bench clumsily.  He tottered on one foot for a moment like he was on a tightrope then regained his balance and began to swagger towards the bar. However, he didn't go more than a few strides before a familiar face intercepted his view.

"Jack?"

Jack swayed backwards in surprise, squinting at the sudden obstruction and willing it to come into focus.  It did, and his jaw dropped.

" Good God…" was all he managed to say before one strong, calloused hand clamped down on his own in a hearty shake and a thin but muscular arm was thrown over his shoulder and brought him into an embrace.

" Jack! It's great to finally see you again!  Elizabeth will be so relieved! We've been here for almost a fortnight hoping to run into you!"  The man released Jack and stepped back a pace to get a look at him, and Jack did the same. 

"Will?"  Jack said in amazement. "What are you doing here?"

Will gave him a dashing smile.  " Well, it's a long story, but one that will be better said over a drink, with Elizabeth's company. She's the reason I'm here, after all."

Jack grinned, showing off his mouthful of glittering teeth.  " How's the little misses?"

" Up to her ears in trouble, as usual." Will grinned back.  Then he swiped his hand across his nose and grimaced. "Bloody Hell Jack! You could do with a bath!"

Jack Sparrow ignored Will's comment gracefully. He swept his hand back and gestured at Emma, who had been watching the pair in rapt fascination.

"This is Emma, I picked her up in North Harbor a few nights ago.  She is my guest aboard The Pearl."

Will gave Jack an obvious look of surprise.  Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Long story mate, But I'm sure you'll hear it soon enough."

"I'm looking forward to it." Will said as he shifted a curious gaze toward Emma, and inclined his head.  "How do you do, miss?"

" Very well, thank you." Emma replied, blushing slightly. She couldn't help but think to herself that he was quite handsome.

"I'm sure you remember Gibbs?" Jack interjected.

"Yes! Of course!" Will greeted Gibbs with a handshake.

" William! My boy it's good to see ye!" Mr. Gibbs laughed heartily.  "Come! Sit! Have a drink!"

Will acquiesced, and Jack ordered another round of ale.  Emma studied the newcomer discreetly over the top of her glass.  It occurred to her, that he was the complete and total opposite of Jack Sparrow.   He had a gentlemanly air about him that Jack completely lacked.  Clean-shaven with the exception of a well-trimmed goatee, his dark curly hair was pulled back from his face in a ponytail and he wore a wide brimmed hat decorated with multiple colored plumes.  He carried himself like any sure-footed buccaneer would. He stood solidly, in contrast to Jack, who swayed and lurched about even when sober.  His feet were encased in knee high black boots with enormous boot cuffs. His hand rested idly on the hilt of a sword buckled at his waist and a thick blue-gray cape swirled about his legs that sported a few tattered edges.  His clothing and gentile manner made him stick out like a sore thumb in the tavern, but no man so much as looked his way.  She noticed a fading bruise under his cheekbone and wondered if he'd already gained himself a place of superiority among them with that sword at his belt at some point in the past.

"He must be a real Swashbuckler!" thought Emma.  "I wonder if he will join our ship?"

            " So! Will… tell us what brings you to Tortuga?" Jack's voice brought Emma back to the present.  "This certainly is the last place I would have expected to find you…and Elizabeth? You implied that she is here as well?"

            "Yes!  She's supposed to meet me here, actually.  She should be here any minute."  He took a drink and grimaced.  "This stuff is terrible!"

            "Aye!! Ain't it the best?" Mr. Gibbs intoned drunkenly, and then he raised his cup in salute and downed it in one gulp.

            "Elizabeth?" Emma asked, glancing at Jack.

            " Yes, Elizabeth… uhh- Turner…now, right?"

            Will nodded.  "Oh! There she is, she'll be able to introduce herself to you now."

            " Where?" Jack said, craning his neck to scan the tavern.

            " Right there! By the door."  Will put up his hand to get her attention.  " There! She sees us now…"

            Jack met Will's line of site. But what he saw made him do a double take. The coal dark eyes widened visibly and Emma could have sworn at that instant that his sun-darkened skin went a whole shade paler.

            Jack Sparrow opened his mouth, uttered a brief oath, and exclaimed, "THAT, is Elizabeth?"