Four . Where There's a Will, There's an Elizabeth
The young man recognized him with a pang. "Jack?" he asked in horror.
"Will," Jack grinned, though he was just as shocked to see his old friend. "Allow me to explain. We needed your ship." he said, then thought better of it, "No, maybe India would be the person to explain this," he muttered, more to himself than to Will. He gestured for Will to point the weapon elsewhere.
"Sorry," Will said, remembering to lower his sword.
Jack laughed. "There are still some things you need to learn," he said. "When I steal your ship, you don't say you're sorry," he paused, then admitted, "I do . when I find out it's yours." He continued. "So I say, sorry for stealing your lovely boat."
Will cleared his throat. "I really ought to say sorry for injuring your men as well. I hope no one's badly hurt."
"Ah," Jack said in response. "Aye."
"What are you doing here?" Will asked after a moment, then added, "Why did you need my ship? I would have let you use it - if you had only asked! I thought you had given up the life of piracy."
"I'm sorry, son," Jack shrugged. "There was treasure and a woman in the wager. I couldn't resist. You know me." He smiled, his moustache framing the diabolic grin. "And when did you decide to take up the life of piracy?"
Will shrugged innocently, apparently having forgiven his friend for stealing his ship. "What else was I supposed to use my share of the treasure for, but to find more?" he asked with a small smile.
Jack grinned. "I knew you were obsessed."
Will didn't try to deny it. Instead, he asked, ". So does this mean I can have my ship back?"
Jack opened his mouth. "Ah . well, normally, I would say 'yes,' that's what this means . but see - remember this girl I mentioned as being in on the wager? Well, she might have some other ideas for the ship ." he said as an excuse for an explanation. "Hang on, let me take you to her. You'll see what I mean." I hope, he added under his breath.
Jack started up the stairs to the deck. Will lingered behind for a moment, looking at his crew.
"Can my men go free, at least?" he called.
Jack paused, turned, and swaggered back downstairs. He looked at Will, then at the men secured in the makeshift prison.
Of course there was no point in keeping them tied up. Jack looked down his nose at Will in mock contemplation.
"I suppose so," he acquiesced. He turned once more to leave. "Now, are you coming, or not?"
Will, seeing that some men from India's crew were working to set the prisoners free, shrugged and followed Jack.
Jack emerged in the bright sunlight. He wandered across the deck and looked at the ship that had been following them. She was quite a beauty, sleek and well-cared for. He wondered who captained her, and how Will had managed to persuade them to follow this ship.
He swung around to face Will, who stood a distance behind him. Then he walked past Will, his eyes scanning the deck for any sign of the girl. After a moment, he caught sight of her explaining something to a group of two or three pirates. Jack grumbled to himself. He thought he had told her that he was the one handing out commands around here.
India looked over, saw Jack, and trailed off in mid-sentence. Momentarily she abandoned giving orders to come see what he wanted.
"This is India," Jack introduced her when she arrived, then leaned closer to Will and confided, "Barbossa's daughter."
"Barbossa?" Will breathed, raising his eyebrows.
Jack nodded and laid a finger to the side of his nose. Will nodded a little and looked back towards India.
"Pleased to meet you - nice hat," he said.
India nodded.
"This is William Turner's son . Will Turner." Jack paused, then asked of Will, "Is there another name you go by now?" When Will shook his head, Jack continued. "You might have read about his father in - your father's journal."
India nodded somewhat. In all likelihood, whatever Barbossa had written about old Bootstrap Bill would not be flattering. Bootstrap had caused him considerable grief in connection with the curse of the Aztec gold.
India extended her hand. "Pleasure's mine. My father knew your father, I guess, though by all accounts their relationship was a bit strained. Anyhow, no hard feelings," she said with a smile.
If she only knew what I did to her father. Jack thought. He surmised that if she found out it was he who had shot Barbossa, she would be more than furious with him.
Will shook her hand, then hesitated. "So can I have my ship back?" he inquired.
"Uh . no," she said.
"Maybe if you ask her nicely," Jack suggested.
Will sighed. "Can I have my ship back, please," he tried.
"No," she repeated.
"Why not?" he asked.
She glanced at Jack, who nodded slightly. "We're on a search for treasure," she explained. "We need a ship."
"What about the Pearl?" Will asked.
Jack looked a little forlorn. "I gave her up."
"You what?"
Jack nodded. "I couldn't keep her once the crew had gone and I had settled in on Tortuga."
Will was astounded. "But the Pearl was everything to you!" he insisted.
A fond smile crossed Jack's unhappy face. "Yes," he said quietly. What the Pearl is, is freedom. His own words spun round his head. How could he have given her up, given up the pirate's life in exchange for the land and rum? Well, it had been a bloody lot of rum - but . He had had the whole world, and he had thrown it away. The nostalgia was replaced by suppressed anger.
"I know," he said roughly. But perhaps with some treasure, he could find her again, or get a new ship. "Anyway, let's get moving, shall we?" he said to dispel his melancholy. As much as he darted around words, he was a man of action, and the thought of actually doing something cheered him.
Will and India nodded.
"Now that you're back on board, we won't really be needing an escort, will we?" Jack asked, gesturing to the other ship with a nod of his head.
"Uh - no, I suppose not," Will answered, his gaze trailing over to the nearby pirate ship.
"Can you get them to shove off?" Jack asked.
"Well ." Will said, implying the negative.
"How did you convince them to follow us?"
"Pirates will do most anything for money," Will responded.
"And ..?" Jack urged, not making the connection. Will cleared his throat with a small cough. "You see, Jack, when I enlisted their services to chase after my ship, there was a - shall we say - a fee. I made a sort of downpayment, and then ."
"You promised them more money once you had reclaimed your ship," India piped in. "Good thinking."
Will looked over at her and smiled. "That's what I thought, too - but the problem is ." he paused and put a hand to the back of his neck, "I haven't got any more money."
He turned to Jack.
"Don't look at me!" Jack said. "Where did you get the money from to pay them in the first place?" he asked.
"There was a lot of treasure from Isla de la Muerta," Will commented.
"And ..?" Jack asked.
"Well, what happened to yours?"
Jack stared at him. He had managed to spend all the money on women, rum and luxuries in these two short years. Besides, even if he had the money, he wouldn't give it over. He tried to change the subject.
"We'll have to think of some other way to make them leave," he said.
"Open fire on them," India suggested.
Will shook his head.
"Why not?" she asked. "Let me guess," Jack said, "No cannons."
"No cannon balls," Will conceded. "We were going to restock in Tortuga but never got the chance."
Jack and India were mildly unimpressed. No useful guns, no brig to keep prisoners . "I suppose you're not up for trying cutlery again?" Jack asked, alluding to an incident where the Interceptor, under Will, Elizabeth and Annamaria's command, had disposed of all the cannon balls, only to fire knives, forks, and even an empty whiskey flask at the Pearl.
Will smiled a little but shook his head.
Jack thought for a minute, then said, "Ask their captain to come aboard."
"So we can kill him?" India asked.
Jack shook his head. "Negotiations." . . .
"Slow up," Jack called to the man at the navigator's post. "Bring us alongside yonder boat."
The man glanced at India for affirmation before responding. Acting in synchronization with the other crew members, the man slowed their progress, and soon they were beside the other ship. Several men stood on deck, looking across the gap at them.
"Oy!" Jack yelled, jumping up onto some crates, though he already had their complete attention.
"What do ye want?" came the response.
"Send your captain over," Jack said. This was met by laughter.
"Why?"
"We wish to negotiate terms of payment," Jack called, undaunted.
There was some muttering among the other men. Finally they came to a consensus. "There'll be no negotiatin' - we're stickin' to the terms as laid out by the kid."
"I presume they're referring to me," Will commented more quietly.
"Well, what were your terms?" Jack asked.
"Payment upon regaining control of my ship."
"Well you're not in control here," India pointed out.
"I know," Will said begrudgingly. "But they wouldn't believe it."
"Try them," she said.
"What difference will it make?" he asked.
Jack had already started yelling. "The - kid - says that the agreement was upon his reinstatement as captain of this ship. However, he is not in control here."
There was more chat on board the other ship. "What are you trying to negotiate, then?"
Jack paused. He couldn't admit that he didn't know. "Send over your captain and we'll talk."
"Jack," Will interceded.
"What?" he asked.
A member of the other crew called back, "'Ow's about you come over here, and then we'll talk."
"Just a minute," Jack called, and gave his attention to Will. "What is it?" he repeated.
"I admit I didn't expect to find you here," Will said.
Jack stared blankly at him.
"So my point is I didn't expect to get my ship back at all," he confessed.
"What were you planning on doing then?" Jack asked.
"Actually my plan was to ." He paused, then said, "I didn't think it through, Jack. I acted rashly, I admit."
"Ohh," Jack nodded in something close to annoyance. "Did you just expect to waltz on board, point your knife at the thief, and hold him and his crew until they paid for the rest of your venture?"
Will's thoughts were elsewhere. "Maybe close to it. It was all a bit rushed. There wasn't time to think if I wanted to keep any hope of catching up with you. Wait. I've got an idea."
Jack groaned. "Will, look. There are some times when a pirate has to-- "
Will, ignoring Jack, called to the other ship. "Tell your captain we know where there's treasure and we'll pay him back as soon as we get it."
India smacked a hand to her forehead. Jack rolled his eyes in disbelief. Did Will know nothing about being a pirate? The first, the very first rule was never to tell men on an opposing pirate ship that you were on a treasure hunt. Well, perhaps it wasn't the very first rule, but close to it. The other pirate crew was fully attentive now, the gears in their crooked minds working to make the most of a chance at finding treasure.
One man stepped forward. "In that case we'll be coming with you to ensure that when it's found, we're paid."
"Marvellous," Jack muttered. "Excellent idea," he called.
"Lead on," they motioned.
Jack smiled condescendingly but said nothing.
Having concluded agreements, the other ship dropped behind to a comfortable distance to follow them.
Will, Jack and India faced each other.
"Can this ship outrun that one?" Jack asked.
Will shook his head. "I don't think so."
"And we can't blow them up ." Jack continued. His mind had begun to turn. What they needed was a plan. A really good one. "We had better think of something before we find the treasure," he mused aloud.
"Maybe we don't have to find it," India said cryptically.
The two men waited for an explanation.
"Maybe we can make them think we're going to find it when really ." She meant to continue, but shook her head. There were several major details that would have to be worked out. For example, what to do when the other ship realized that they weren't actually getting anywhere, and became very, very annoyed. She was betting that the other ship had armed cannons, even if this one did not.
"Who's the captain of their ship?" Jack asked.
Will thought for a moment. "I think - a man named Thomas Hawke."
Jack grimaced.
"Why, do you know him?" Will asked.
"More than I'd like to," Jack answered.
Before he had a chance to explain, one of the crew members came rushing towards him.
"Captain," he said, "There's a problem below deck."
Jack glanced over at Will, whose expression betrayed nothing, then at India, who shrugged and urged him to go investigate.
"All right. I'll be there presently," he sighed, and followed the man. With an uncertain confidence in his swagger, Jack made his way across the ship, and down the steps below deck to see what the fuss was about. When they were deep within the belly of the ship, the man who had been leading the way paused to indicate that they had arrived.
"Now what seems to be the problem?" Jack asked, his eyes adjusting to the dark surroundings.
"There's a girl down here," the pirate said in a lowered voice. Several other men had gathered around to witness the excitement.
Jack's mind went to one thing. "Well, bring her out then," he instructed them. There was only one way to be sure .
"Come out, come out love," one of the pirates called. There was no movement for a prolonged instant, then some of the onlookers went into the darkness to drag her out.
"Gently!" Jack warned. There were some things he would not tolerate, and the mistreatment of a woman was one of them. Well, all right, the mistreatment of a woman by other men. When there was no risk to him for intervening. Most of the time.
She emerged, with assistance from several of the men. Jack squinted his eyes in question. It certainly looked like her.
"Elizabeth?" he asked.
The young man recognized him with a pang. "Jack?" he asked in horror.
"Will," Jack grinned, though he was just as shocked to see his old friend. "Allow me to explain. We needed your ship." he said, then thought better of it, "No, maybe India would be the person to explain this," he muttered, more to himself than to Will. He gestured for Will to point the weapon elsewhere.
"Sorry," Will said, remembering to lower his sword.
Jack laughed. "There are still some things you need to learn," he said. "When I steal your ship, you don't say you're sorry," he paused, then admitted, "I do . when I find out it's yours." He continued. "So I say, sorry for stealing your lovely boat."
Will cleared his throat. "I really ought to say sorry for injuring your men as well. I hope no one's badly hurt."
"Ah," Jack said in response. "Aye."
"What are you doing here?" Will asked after a moment, then added, "Why did you need my ship? I would have let you use it - if you had only asked! I thought you had given up the life of piracy."
"I'm sorry, son," Jack shrugged. "There was treasure and a woman in the wager. I couldn't resist. You know me." He smiled, his moustache framing the diabolic grin. "And when did you decide to take up the life of piracy?"
Will shrugged innocently, apparently having forgiven his friend for stealing his ship. "What else was I supposed to use my share of the treasure for, but to find more?" he asked with a small smile.
Jack grinned. "I knew you were obsessed."
Will didn't try to deny it. Instead, he asked, ". So does this mean I can have my ship back?"
Jack opened his mouth. "Ah . well, normally, I would say 'yes,' that's what this means . but see - remember this girl I mentioned as being in on the wager? Well, she might have some other ideas for the ship ." he said as an excuse for an explanation. "Hang on, let me take you to her. You'll see what I mean." I hope, he added under his breath.
Jack started up the stairs to the deck. Will lingered behind for a moment, looking at his crew.
"Can my men go free, at least?" he called.
Jack paused, turned, and swaggered back downstairs. He looked at Will, then at the men secured in the makeshift prison.
Of course there was no point in keeping them tied up. Jack looked down his nose at Will in mock contemplation.
"I suppose so," he acquiesced. He turned once more to leave. "Now, are you coming, or not?"
Will, seeing that some men from India's crew were working to set the prisoners free, shrugged and followed Jack.
Jack emerged in the bright sunlight. He wandered across the deck and looked at the ship that had been following them. She was quite a beauty, sleek and well-cared for. He wondered who captained her, and how Will had managed to persuade them to follow this ship.
He swung around to face Will, who stood a distance behind him. Then he walked past Will, his eyes scanning the deck for any sign of the girl. After a moment, he caught sight of her explaining something to a group of two or three pirates. Jack grumbled to himself. He thought he had told her that he was the one handing out commands around here.
India looked over, saw Jack, and trailed off in mid-sentence. Momentarily she abandoned giving orders to come see what he wanted.
"This is India," Jack introduced her when she arrived, then leaned closer to Will and confided, "Barbossa's daughter."
"Barbossa?" Will breathed, raising his eyebrows.
Jack nodded and laid a finger to the side of his nose. Will nodded a little and looked back towards India.
"Pleased to meet you - nice hat," he said.
India nodded.
"This is William Turner's son . Will Turner." Jack paused, then asked of Will, "Is there another name you go by now?" When Will shook his head, Jack continued. "You might have read about his father in - your father's journal."
India nodded somewhat. In all likelihood, whatever Barbossa had written about old Bootstrap Bill would not be flattering. Bootstrap had caused him considerable grief in connection with the curse of the Aztec gold.
India extended her hand. "Pleasure's mine. My father knew your father, I guess, though by all accounts their relationship was a bit strained. Anyhow, no hard feelings," she said with a smile.
If she only knew what I did to her father. Jack thought. He surmised that if she found out it was he who had shot Barbossa, she would be more than furious with him.
Will shook her hand, then hesitated. "So can I have my ship back?" he inquired.
"Uh . no," she said.
"Maybe if you ask her nicely," Jack suggested.
Will sighed. "Can I have my ship back, please," he tried.
"No," she repeated.
"Why not?" he asked.
She glanced at Jack, who nodded slightly. "We're on a search for treasure," she explained. "We need a ship."
"What about the Pearl?" Will asked.
Jack looked a little forlorn. "I gave her up."
"You what?"
Jack nodded. "I couldn't keep her once the crew had gone and I had settled in on Tortuga."
Will was astounded. "But the Pearl was everything to you!" he insisted.
A fond smile crossed Jack's unhappy face. "Yes," he said quietly. What the Pearl is, is freedom. His own words spun round his head. How could he have given her up, given up the pirate's life in exchange for the land and rum? Well, it had been a bloody lot of rum - but . He had had the whole world, and he had thrown it away. The nostalgia was replaced by suppressed anger.
"I know," he said roughly. But perhaps with some treasure, he could find her again, or get a new ship. "Anyway, let's get moving, shall we?" he said to dispel his melancholy. As much as he darted around words, he was a man of action, and the thought of actually doing something cheered him.
Will and India nodded.
"Now that you're back on board, we won't really be needing an escort, will we?" Jack asked, gesturing to the other ship with a nod of his head.
"Uh - no, I suppose not," Will answered, his gaze trailing over to the nearby pirate ship.
"Can you get them to shove off?" Jack asked.
"Well ." Will said, implying the negative.
"How did you convince them to follow us?"
"Pirates will do most anything for money," Will responded.
"And ..?" Jack urged, not making the connection. Will cleared his throat with a small cough. "You see, Jack, when I enlisted their services to chase after my ship, there was a - shall we say - a fee. I made a sort of downpayment, and then ."
"You promised them more money once you had reclaimed your ship," India piped in. "Good thinking."
Will looked over at her and smiled. "That's what I thought, too - but the problem is ." he paused and put a hand to the back of his neck, "I haven't got any more money."
He turned to Jack.
"Don't look at me!" Jack said. "Where did you get the money from to pay them in the first place?" he asked.
"There was a lot of treasure from Isla de la Muerta," Will commented.
"And ..?" Jack asked.
"Well, what happened to yours?"
Jack stared at him. He had managed to spend all the money on women, rum and luxuries in these two short years. Besides, even if he had the money, he wouldn't give it over. He tried to change the subject.
"We'll have to think of some other way to make them leave," he said.
"Open fire on them," India suggested.
Will shook his head.
"Why not?" she asked. "Let me guess," Jack said, "No cannons."
"No cannon balls," Will conceded. "We were going to restock in Tortuga but never got the chance."
Jack and India were mildly unimpressed. No useful guns, no brig to keep prisoners . "I suppose you're not up for trying cutlery again?" Jack asked, alluding to an incident where the Interceptor, under Will, Elizabeth and Annamaria's command, had disposed of all the cannon balls, only to fire knives, forks, and even an empty whiskey flask at the Pearl.
Will smiled a little but shook his head.
Jack thought for a minute, then said, "Ask their captain to come aboard."
"So we can kill him?" India asked.
Jack shook his head. "Negotiations." . . .
"Slow up," Jack called to the man at the navigator's post. "Bring us alongside yonder boat."
The man glanced at India for affirmation before responding. Acting in synchronization with the other crew members, the man slowed their progress, and soon they were beside the other ship. Several men stood on deck, looking across the gap at them.
"Oy!" Jack yelled, jumping up onto some crates, though he already had their complete attention.
"What do ye want?" came the response.
"Send your captain over," Jack said. This was met by laughter.
"Why?"
"We wish to negotiate terms of payment," Jack called, undaunted.
There was some muttering among the other men. Finally they came to a consensus. "There'll be no negotiatin' - we're stickin' to the terms as laid out by the kid."
"I presume they're referring to me," Will commented more quietly.
"Well, what were your terms?" Jack asked.
"Payment upon regaining control of my ship."
"Well you're not in control here," India pointed out.
"I know," Will said begrudgingly. "But they wouldn't believe it."
"Try them," she said.
"What difference will it make?" he asked.
Jack had already started yelling. "The - kid - says that the agreement was upon his reinstatement as captain of this ship. However, he is not in control here."
There was more chat on board the other ship. "What are you trying to negotiate, then?"
Jack paused. He couldn't admit that he didn't know. "Send over your captain and we'll talk."
"Jack," Will interceded.
"What?" he asked.
A member of the other crew called back, "'Ow's about you come over here, and then we'll talk."
"Just a minute," Jack called, and gave his attention to Will. "What is it?" he repeated.
"I admit I didn't expect to find you here," Will said.
Jack stared blankly at him.
"So my point is I didn't expect to get my ship back at all," he confessed.
"What were you planning on doing then?" Jack asked.
"Actually my plan was to ." He paused, then said, "I didn't think it through, Jack. I acted rashly, I admit."
"Ohh," Jack nodded in something close to annoyance. "Did you just expect to waltz on board, point your knife at the thief, and hold him and his crew until they paid for the rest of your venture?"
Will's thoughts were elsewhere. "Maybe close to it. It was all a bit rushed. There wasn't time to think if I wanted to keep any hope of catching up with you. Wait. I've got an idea."
Jack groaned. "Will, look. There are some times when a pirate has to-- "
Will, ignoring Jack, called to the other ship. "Tell your captain we know where there's treasure and we'll pay him back as soon as we get it."
India smacked a hand to her forehead. Jack rolled his eyes in disbelief. Did Will know nothing about being a pirate? The first, the very first rule was never to tell men on an opposing pirate ship that you were on a treasure hunt. Well, perhaps it wasn't the very first rule, but close to it. The other pirate crew was fully attentive now, the gears in their crooked minds working to make the most of a chance at finding treasure.
One man stepped forward. "In that case we'll be coming with you to ensure that when it's found, we're paid."
"Marvellous," Jack muttered. "Excellent idea," he called.
"Lead on," they motioned.
Jack smiled condescendingly but said nothing.
Having concluded agreements, the other ship dropped behind to a comfortable distance to follow them.
Will, Jack and India faced each other.
"Can this ship outrun that one?" Jack asked.
Will shook his head. "I don't think so."
"And we can't blow them up ." Jack continued. His mind had begun to turn. What they needed was a plan. A really good one. "We had better think of something before we find the treasure," he mused aloud.
"Maybe we don't have to find it," India said cryptically.
The two men waited for an explanation.
"Maybe we can make them think we're going to find it when really ." She meant to continue, but shook her head. There were several major details that would have to be worked out. For example, what to do when the other ship realized that they weren't actually getting anywhere, and became very, very annoyed. She was betting that the other ship had armed cannons, even if this one did not.
"Who's the captain of their ship?" Jack asked.
Will thought for a moment. "I think - a man named Thomas Hawke."
Jack grimaced.
"Why, do you know him?" Will asked.
"More than I'd like to," Jack answered.
Before he had a chance to explain, one of the crew members came rushing towards him.
"Captain," he said, "There's a problem below deck."
Jack glanced over at Will, whose expression betrayed nothing, then at India, who shrugged and urged him to go investigate.
"All right. I'll be there presently," he sighed, and followed the man. With an uncertain confidence in his swagger, Jack made his way across the ship, and down the steps below deck to see what the fuss was about. When they were deep within the belly of the ship, the man who had been leading the way paused to indicate that they had arrived.
"Now what seems to be the problem?" Jack asked, his eyes adjusting to the dark surroundings.
"There's a girl down here," the pirate said in a lowered voice. Several other men had gathered around to witness the excitement.
Jack's mind went to one thing. "Well, bring her out then," he instructed them. There was only one way to be sure .
"Come out, come out love," one of the pirates called. There was no movement for a prolonged instant, then some of the onlookers went into the darkness to drag her out.
"Gently!" Jack warned. There were some things he would not tolerate, and the mistreatment of a woman was one of them. Well, all right, the mistreatment of a woman by other men. When there was no risk to him for intervening. Most of the time.
She emerged, with assistance from several of the men. Jack squinted his eyes in question. It certainly looked like her.
"Elizabeth?" he asked.