Not dead yet. The words haunted him as he lay on his back in the darkness, staring at the ceiling above him. Wasn't he? Sleep and food were meaningless to him, and he never really felt anymore. He was nothing like the man he had once been. What he'd give to be that man again.
Thoughts tumbled over and over in his head, mostly the events that James had described to him earlier. The multiple attacks on the commodore himself, Michael's suspicious death, the mysterious witness that had accused him of piracy and sent him to his death, the disappearance of any papers related to his crime and punishment, and Jack's death. He hated to admit it, but something reeked of more than dissension among the ranks there. Something more to it. But what was it? The thought plagued him, as he slowly slipped into an unconscious dream state.
"Jack? JACK!" Will's heartbeat sped up as he heard the voices coming from down the street. What the hell was the British Navy doing in Tortuga? It was a sanctuary city, not under the rule of the British Empire and not subjected to its rule. They couldn't be here, but they were. And looking for Jack. Sprinting down the alleyway, he turned the corner sharply, coming out into the street. He had to shove his way through the chaos that was Tortuga, shoving wenches and their clients from his path.
Jack appeared in his sight, and he pushed towards him. As soon as they got close, Jack grabbed the arm of Will's coat, yanking him up onto the sidewalk.
"Listen, we have to get out of here, now." Will said, eyes pleading with Jack.
"They can't do anythin' to me here, mate. Besides, I get captured, I escape again, savvy?" He told him, a cocky grin crossing his face. Will didn't share his sentiment as he followed along behind Jack as they wove their way back to the tavern.
"Besides, how are they goin' to find one pirate amon…" Jack stopped suddenly, his body rigid.
"Jack?" Will looked over at him. "What's wrong?" Jack toppled forward into his arms and Will crashed to the ground. "What the…" His eyes fell on the wound right between Jack's shoulders, and then he looked up. The redcoat smirked at him, reholstering the pistol at his side and disappearing among the wenches and drunkards again.
"Jack, no!" Will turned him on his side, ripping the hem fabric of Jack's shirt into shreds and holding it against the gunshot wound. But it was coming too fast for him to stop. Most likely an artery had been hit. Jack shivered.
"Cold." He muttered. Will pulled off his coat, draping it over Jack.
"Stay with me, Jack. You've had worse than this." He told him, but Jack just grinned.
"The Grim Reaper has always been the one I couldn't escape, Will." He said, his voice dying out. "The Pearl is yours. Take good care of her for me, savvy?"
"You can take care of her, Jack, not me. I'm not a captain."
"Consider this a crash course in learning." He tried to laugh, but it only put him in more pain.
"This is ridiculous. Everything's going to be….Jack….JACK!"
Will sat upright in bed, dagger ready to slash at anything that moved. It was a habit, learning to watch his own back. He lowered the weapon to his side, wiping away the cold sweat from his forehead. When he least expected it, the memories weaved themselves into his dreams. They were as vivid as ever, the sights, the sounds, the smells. The warm blood rushing over his hands as he tried to staunch the wound.
James hadn't been wrong when he'd said that Will didn't even resemble the Will Turner of seven years ago. He was a fallen man, a pirate by no choice of his. He got off the bed, wandering over to the open courtyard doors that led out onto the balcony. The moon had risen high in the sky, shedding light over most of the gardens behind the house. He leaned against the balcony, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat from the nightmare.
Below him, the shadows moved. He crouched down, peering between the rails and watching as five men appeared from the shadows in the garden. Undistinguishable from each other, all wearing black and hats pulled low over their faces. He was pretty sure that they weren't here to have tea with the governor.
Turning, he crept back into his room, dressing quickly and strapping on his sword and pistol. He opened the door quietly, peering out into the darkness. Nothing moved. He closed the door quietly behind him, treading along the hallway, taking the twists and turns from when James had showed him the way, which brought him close to the staircase. One look over assured him that they were not in the foyer, and he descended the stairs. The gardens, if he remembered correctly, led into the kitchen, so he headed there. There was a light on in there, which made him hesitate. What if Elizabeth was in there as well? Or Emma? Steeling himself, he pushed open the door, pistol out and cocked.
And nearly giving James a heart attack. The commodore raised both hands quickly, slopping water from the glass he was holding onto his shirt. "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" He hissed.
"There are people in the house. Five of them, and I really don't think they're friends of yours." Will whispered back. Outside, a creek of a door broke the late night silence. "And I think I just found them."
"I'm going with you. In fact, let me go first. The last thing we need is you scaring the hell out of the governor or one of the servants." Will crossed his arms.
"You're unarmed." James solved the problem in a moment, grabbing the second pistol from Will's belt and cocking it.
"Let's go." As he made his way out the door, he missed Will rolling his eyes, following behind him. "We can start with the study. That door creeks the loudest of them all." The two men crept across the foyer, hesitating anytime they thought they saw a shadow move or heard a sound. Placing a hand on the door, James looked back at Will. "Stay behind me…."
The scene that greeted them was the most horrific yet. The five men, all rough looking, barely indistinguishable from one another, glanced up from where they surrounded the governor. It was too late to save him, already poised to look like the murder had been a suicide.
"You bastards!" Will shouted, launching himself at the closest of the men, pistol all but forgotten in his hand. The man he was lunging for knocked it away, sending it skittering under the chair as Will rammed into him, sending him into the wall. James took aim at the one farthest away, but as he pulled the trigger, one of the attackers slammed into him, throwing his aim off and shooting the Ming vase instead.
Upstairs, Elizabeth woke as the sound of a pistol shot echoed through the house. She rolled over, finding James missing. "No…" She whispered, getting out of bed quickly and grabbing her overcoat as she ran for the door. Outside the room, she padded down the hallways, praying that he was alright. She couldn't lose another person in her life.
The courtyard doors burst open, throwing Will and his attacker onto the ground outside. The man's hands slipped around the pirate's throat, cutting off his air. Not feeling guilty about playing dirty, Will rammed his knee into the man's gonads, getting a temporary respite from the battle. His knee moved farther up, digging into his stomach enough to give him the leverage to throw him over his head as he rolled. He twisted around, getting to his feet. But there was no one there. All five had disappeared. Whoever they were, they were professionals. He cursed, heading back to the house and entering in to find James on his knees, attempting to try and revive the governor.
"James, he's gone." Will said quietly, standing by the doorway. "He never had a…." The doors that they had entered only moments ago swung open, and Elizabeth cried out. Will knew immediately what her reaction to the tableau would be. The position James was in made him look to be the murderer, not the man who had just tried to save his life. Her eyes widened, and she backed up into the wall.
"How could you?" She whispered.
"Elizabeth, I would never…."
"I trusted you!" She shouted back at him. "I loved you, and then you turn around and do this. What, did you get sick of waiting for the inheritance that was coming to us, so you felt you had to hurry him along?" James's eyes went to Will for a second, and Elizabeth's followed. She didn't recognize him, the brim of the hat pulled low over his features.
"You're in league…with pirates?" She whispered. James held up his hands.
"Elizabeth, I never…I didn't…there were men in here, five of them." He started towards her. She stooped on the ground, pulling Will's pistol from out under the chair.
"Don't take another step." She said, menace in her voice.
"Elizabeth…"
"Don't. I don't want to hear it." She pointed towards the door where Will stood. "Leave now. I never want to see your face again."
"James…" Will cautioned him when the commodore looked like he was going to try and convince her. Elizabeth looked towards him, and for a moment, he thought that she recognized him. But it must have been all in his mind, because the look she gave him was one of pure hatred. James looked at Elizabeth, and then reluctantly followed Will from the house.
"I'm a wanted man." He said, as they wound their way through the underbrush along the roadside, staying out of sight.
"So how does it feel to be on the other side of the law for once?" Will asked, his voice emotionless.
"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell her who you were? She might have believed us, if you…" Will turned on him.
"You're asking why I didn't tell her that her first husband is back from the dead in addition to her father being dead?" He said, staring him down. "It wasn't the opportune moment. Right now, we have bigger problems on our hands." He continued walking. "Those men who are responsible, they're professionals, most likely mercenaries. They can be bought for the right price. So if your theory has some credence to it, then our mastermind has connections and money. That's a lethal combination."
"That could be a number of people in Port Royal. And that's never going to clear me either."
"We'll get to the bottom of this, which will clear you. One step at a time or we'll find ourselves in a bigger mess then what we began with." He pushed the thoughts of seeing Elizabeth to the back of his mind, to nag his subconscious while he concentrated on their problem.