AN: As promised, here is the other part. See, you didn't have to wait long to find out what happened, did you? This chap rated PG (violence).
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They fought, and he had to admit that the man knew his stuff. Back and forth they danced, and Jack was enjoying it. It had been a while since he had had a fight worth remembering, and it wasn't until he was being pushed back, and back, and back, that he had the uncomfortable feeling that he should be concentrating a little harder on winning said fight. He made a daring thrust - too daring - the sword was knocked from his hands. They circled each other in the close lane, Jack unarmed.
"There's no one in this part of town that can help you now, pirate," Murdock sneered. "I own all these houses, and they're empty."
"You don't do a lot of maintenance work on them," Jack retorted, looking around the street pointedly.
Annamaria, shaky and on her knees, realised that if they were to win this fight it was up to her. The duelling men had forgotten her existence during the fight, and as they circled in front of her she reached out with a final effort and pulled strongly on the ankle of her tormentor, before the world turned black. With a surprised yelp, he stumbled backwards, throwing his sword into the air in shock. He crashed heavily down to the ground, striking the back of his head on the stones. As the man shook his head blearily, Jack deftly caught the end of his sword and reversed it, standing over him to point it at his throat. With a slightly less affable air as he looked over at Annamaria lying face first on the cobblestones, he said:
"Murdock, you've beaten this girl into unconsciousness, and she's beaten you anyway. Now I ask meself, what's the most fitting thing to do at this point in time?"
Murdock's mouth opened and shut like a goldfish, but he made no reply.
"Seems to me," Jack said, rolling Annamaria over so that she lay on her back, "that the fairest thing would be a reciprocating agreement."
He carefully kept the tip of his sword pressed into the man's throat but with his other hand, Jack undid the outermost layer of Annamaria's garments. Then he whistled.
"These aren't all from today, you know. I feel that you and this girl have a long history, judging by these scars. And these barely healed cuts..." he pointed them out on her chest and back, "those too look like they came from you."
"So what if they did?" Murdock was beginning to regain some of his cockiness.
"Well, mate," Jack said bringing his face close to the other man's face, "that was...the wrong answer." Calmly he reached down and ripped open the other man's shirt.
Annamaria woke to pain all over her body. As she opened her eyes, she heard Murdock grunting in pain, and then she sat up fully in surprise.
"Jack! What are you doing?"
Jack looked over to Annamaria, leaning on his sword, and she was horrified to notice that the tip of the sword was leaning on Murdock's stomach. Jack had been at his work now for roughly ten minutes, and Murdock's chest and back was criss-crossed with bleeding cuts roughly resembling the scars on Annamaria. "What does it look like I'm doing, luv? An eye for an eye!"
Suddenly he kicked Murdock in the head, for the larger man had begun to roll away, and arrested his escape.
"Jack," Annamaria said slowly, "I can't move my arm." She walked over to where he stood looking down at the unconscious bully. Jack's hands ran over her shoulder, examining it, and she flinched.
"It's dislocated," Jack said sympathetically. "I'm going to have to snap it back in. This could hurt a bit."
Annamaria braced herself against the wall as Jack clicked her shoulder back in. It did hurt, a lot, but she bit her lip and remained stoic. With an unreadable expression Jack and said "Good girl," then looked back down at Murdock. Then he abruptly jumped as hard as he could on Murdock's shoulder, and Annamaria heard a sickening crunch as the bone pulled out of the socket. The man gasped and shuddered his way back to awareness.
"You're supposed to be a priest!" Murdock spat out through clenched jaw.
"Yes, well," Jack said while booting him in the stomach, "vengeance is mine."
"Jack," Annamaria interjected meekly, "That's 'vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.'"
Jack whistled. "If it isn't the little orphanage girl, come out to play!" He clasped his hands together in an exaggerated benedictory gesture and bowed to Annamaria.
"How about," he said softly, pointing at the purplish bruises on Annamaria's upper arm, "vengeance is mine, says bloody pirate Captain Jack Sparrow!" With that, he whirled and kicked Murdock twice, hard, in his upper arms.
"Enough!" the beaten man begged. "I won't hurt her again, see if I won't!"
"Oh, you won't," Jack said pleasantly. "If I hear of you menacing a single person again, and I do have ears in every town, I'll come back here and repeat this lesson, and it won't end with you sitting in a corner facing the wall. You'll be in a box facing six feet of dirt. Do we have an accord?"
He swaggered over and picked his pistol up off the ground, pointing it at the shaken and bloody Murdock. On the man's affirmative reply Jack quickly reversed the pistol and clunked Murdock on the head with the butt. He was out like a light. Then Jack turned to Annamaria, who said slowly:
"Thankyou for saving my life, Jack."
"Thankyou for saving MY life, Annamaria luv," Jack said, handing her the dress he had pulled off to see her wounds. "You pulled him down, ended the fight. I would have lost if it wasn't for you." He strolled over and grabbed Murdock by the ankles, to drag him into an empty house.
"You wouldn't have got into it if it wasn't for me," Annamaria said bitterly, lacing up the bodice. She breathed in to do up the buttons, and immediately winced as her bruised ribs sent a shock of pain through her body. Jack saw her bend and shudder, as he returned from disposing of Murdock.
"God, that man's a heavy oaf," he said brightly. "I had hoped that all the blood I drained out of him would make him a little lighter to carry, but no."
Swaggering over to where he had placed his effects, Jack drew the cassock over his head once more. Looking at the wig, and then at Annamaria, he decided he would have to put it on by himself - she couldn't raise her arms, and it would be days before the physical symptoms of this fight healed. The best thing to do would be to distract her from the pain, Jack decided. Tucking the mysterious book into his robes, he rattled the collection box at Annamaria, winking, and then tucked it in too.
"Jack," she said, and then hesitated, unsure of what to say next. "You haven't...you haven't been robbing churches while I've been waiting for you, have you?"
"What?" Jack asked, loftily. "I've been christening babies, luv. I do it all, weddings, funerals...from birth to death, not a ceremony I won't have a bash at."
Quick as a wink Annamaria's hand flashed out and slapped him in the face. Jack was shocked. "Don't think I deserved that, luv, an assault on a minister."
They walked down the alley a few moments in silence, the very picture of a respectable clergyman and his wife.
Presently Annamaria said, "I don't believe you."
"I did! I baptised a baby!" Jack said aggrieved.
"Liar."
"Blasphemer."
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They fought, and he had to admit that the man knew his stuff. Back and forth they danced, and Jack was enjoying it. It had been a while since he had had a fight worth remembering, and it wasn't until he was being pushed back, and back, and back, that he had the uncomfortable feeling that he should be concentrating a little harder on winning said fight. He made a daring thrust - too daring - the sword was knocked from his hands. They circled each other in the close lane, Jack unarmed.
"There's no one in this part of town that can help you now, pirate," Murdock sneered. "I own all these houses, and they're empty."
"You don't do a lot of maintenance work on them," Jack retorted, looking around the street pointedly.
Annamaria, shaky and on her knees, realised that if they were to win this fight it was up to her. The duelling men had forgotten her existence during the fight, and as they circled in front of her she reached out with a final effort and pulled strongly on the ankle of her tormentor, before the world turned black. With a surprised yelp, he stumbled backwards, throwing his sword into the air in shock. He crashed heavily down to the ground, striking the back of his head on the stones. As the man shook his head blearily, Jack deftly caught the end of his sword and reversed it, standing over him to point it at his throat. With a slightly less affable air as he looked over at Annamaria lying face first on the cobblestones, he said:
"Murdock, you've beaten this girl into unconsciousness, and she's beaten you anyway. Now I ask meself, what's the most fitting thing to do at this point in time?"
Murdock's mouth opened and shut like a goldfish, but he made no reply.
"Seems to me," Jack said, rolling Annamaria over so that she lay on her back, "that the fairest thing would be a reciprocating agreement."
He carefully kept the tip of his sword pressed into the man's throat but with his other hand, Jack undid the outermost layer of Annamaria's garments. Then he whistled.
"These aren't all from today, you know. I feel that you and this girl have a long history, judging by these scars. And these barely healed cuts..." he pointed them out on her chest and back, "those too look like they came from you."
"So what if they did?" Murdock was beginning to regain some of his cockiness.
"Well, mate," Jack said bringing his face close to the other man's face, "that was...the wrong answer." Calmly he reached down and ripped open the other man's shirt.
Annamaria woke to pain all over her body. As she opened her eyes, she heard Murdock grunting in pain, and then she sat up fully in surprise.
"Jack! What are you doing?"
Jack looked over to Annamaria, leaning on his sword, and she was horrified to notice that the tip of the sword was leaning on Murdock's stomach. Jack had been at his work now for roughly ten minutes, and Murdock's chest and back was criss-crossed with bleeding cuts roughly resembling the scars on Annamaria. "What does it look like I'm doing, luv? An eye for an eye!"
Suddenly he kicked Murdock in the head, for the larger man had begun to roll away, and arrested his escape.
"Jack," Annamaria said slowly, "I can't move my arm." She walked over to where he stood looking down at the unconscious bully. Jack's hands ran over her shoulder, examining it, and she flinched.
"It's dislocated," Jack said sympathetically. "I'm going to have to snap it back in. This could hurt a bit."
Annamaria braced herself against the wall as Jack clicked her shoulder back in. It did hurt, a lot, but she bit her lip and remained stoic. With an unreadable expression Jack and said "Good girl," then looked back down at Murdock. Then he abruptly jumped as hard as he could on Murdock's shoulder, and Annamaria heard a sickening crunch as the bone pulled out of the socket. The man gasped and shuddered his way back to awareness.
"You're supposed to be a priest!" Murdock spat out through clenched jaw.
"Yes, well," Jack said while booting him in the stomach, "vengeance is mine."
"Jack," Annamaria interjected meekly, "That's 'vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.'"
Jack whistled. "If it isn't the little orphanage girl, come out to play!" He clasped his hands together in an exaggerated benedictory gesture and bowed to Annamaria.
"How about," he said softly, pointing at the purplish bruises on Annamaria's upper arm, "vengeance is mine, says bloody pirate Captain Jack Sparrow!" With that, he whirled and kicked Murdock twice, hard, in his upper arms.
"Enough!" the beaten man begged. "I won't hurt her again, see if I won't!"
"Oh, you won't," Jack said pleasantly. "If I hear of you menacing a single person again, and I do have ears in every town, I'll come back here and repeat this lesson, and it won't end with you sitting in a corner facing the wall. You'll be in a box facing six feet of dirt. Do we have an accord?"
He swaggered over and picked his pistol up off the ground, pointing it at the shaken and bloody Murdock. On the man's affirmative reply Jack quickly reversed the pistol and clunked Murdock on the head with the butt. He was out like a light. Then Jack turned to Annamaria, who said slowly:
"Thankyou for saving my life, Jack."
"Thankyou for saving MY life, Annamaria luv," Jack said, handing her the dress he had pulled off to see her wounds. "You pulled him down, ended the fight. I would have lost if it wasn't for you." He strolled over and grabbed Murdock by the ankles, to drag him into an empty house.
"You wouldn't have got into it if it wasn't for me," Annamaria said bitterly, lacing up the bodice. She breathed in to do up the buttons, and immediately winced as her bruised ribs sent a shock of pain through her body. Jack saw her bend and shudder, as he returned from disposing of Murdock.
"God, that man's a heavy oaf," he said brightly. "I had hoped that all the blood I drained out of him would make him a little lighter to carry, but no."
Swaggering over to where he had placed his effects, Jack drew the cassock over his head once more. Looking at the wig, and then at Annamaria, he decided he would have to put it on by himself - she couldn't raise her arms, and it would be days before the physical symptoms of this fight healed. The best thing to do would be to distract her from the pain, Jack decided. Tucking the mysterious book into his robes, he rattled the collection box at Annamaria, winking, and then tucked it in too.
"Jack," she said, and then hesitated, unsure of what to say next. "You haven't...you haven't been robbing churches while I've been waiting for you, have you?"
"What?" Jack asked, loftily. "I've been christening babies, luv. I do it all, weddings, funerals...from birth to death, not a ceremony I won't have a bash at."
Quick as a wink Annamaria's hand flashed out and slapped him in the face. Jack was shocked. "Don't think I deserved that, luv, an assault on a minister."
They walked down the alley a few moments in silence, the very picture of a respectable clergyman and his wife.
Presently Annamaria said, "I don't believe you."
"I did! I baptised a baby!" Jack said aggrieved.
"Liar."
"Blasphemer."