AN (3/8) - Well, I realized that I made that mistake in the last chapter after Megan pointed it out (for which, by the way, she gets two cookies for finding first), but my brothers and mother have been monopolizing the computer, so I have not had the chance to fix it, yet. Anyway, this chapter should be interesting, for I have no clue what it will actually be about. Still formulating some devious plans, I am.
(3/9) - I really should have started this chapter earlier...I have been having a rather hard time concentrating. Since I have my homework done, and because I've gotten into a horrible habit of staying up late, I shall try to finish the bulk of it tonight (it's 10:43, at the moment). So, I hope you enjoy this! By the by, Megan gets another four cookies for giving me an idea.
(3/11)- I solemnly swear that I was going to finish it last night. However, I fell asleep because my bed is far too comfortable. I probably will not have the time to answer reviews on thus one. I still need to pack. And sorry for the title…I could not think of anything better.
Chapter 15- Plan
Jack sighed as he and Daniel walked down the docks of Nassau. It was a very good thing that they were leaving today, for Jack felt almost as if he could strangle the ever-inquisitive Daniel. The redhead had done nothing but ask Jack questions, most of which were about Jack's past that he refused to answer. Jack was in a bad mood already. Bootstrap still had not shown up, even though he had been "married" to Lauren for almost seven months. Jack had no one else to turn to, having accidentally alienated the other crewmembers with the fact of how concerned the captain was over his well-being. In fact, Calico Jack seemed to have almost a paternal relationship with Jack. The truth to that situation had been almost painfully noticeable once Jack had read that letter. Jack shook his head, noticing that his odd gait was a bit out of control when he walked with his thoughts in a jumble.
"Why d' you walk like that?" Daniel's blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. His slightly green bandana an interesting clash with his shiny red hair, a distraction that kept drawing Jack's eye.
"I don' rightly know, mate. Although, after bein' poisoned, I find it a challenge to walk in a more normal way." Jack tried imitating Daniel's normal and slightly dignified walk but failed, due to his occasional battles with his equilibrium.
Daniel chuckled and incased his pace as Jack did. "Why'd we stop in Nassau again?"
Jack inwardly groaned but retained an interested look on his face. "We've been o'er this before. Ole Bootstrap's las' letter said he should be here around this time." Jack fell into abrupt silence as he looked at the Pearl. The setting sun made the perfect backlight for the majestic vision of the dark ship Jack was seeing. He turned to face Daniel. "Le's go home now."
Daniel nodded, still reeling from the scene of the feared pirate ship, the Black Pearl. "Sounds good, then." The pair was soon aboard the Pearl.
"Feels mighty good t' be back aboard the sea. Tis a pity tha' Bootstrap hasn't shown up yet." Jack sighed and headed towards the bridge of the ship to check in with Calico Jack. He stopped short of his destination, shocked to notice the smiling figure of Calico Jack was missing. Barbossa stood in his stead. Jack began speaking without really thinking, his mind racing. "Where be the cap'n? He should be 'ere! Calico Jack tole me he'd be 'ere las' night, after we finished drinking."
Barbossa frowned, interrupting Jack's deluge. "'E hasn' shown up, yet. I 'ave the suspicion tha' somethin' 'appened t' 'im."
Jack frowned in turn. "Ye haven' seen 'im, either? Tha's odd." Jack pondered this for a moment, trying to remember what he had seen last night. "Perhaps 'e was absconded by those redcoats tha' stormed the place af'er I left." His dark eyes grew worried. "I though' tha' he'd escaped."
Barbossa's face grew excited, which he quickly masked with a look of dismay. "Tha's bad. 'E might 'ave already danced the hempen jig."
Jack visibly winced, imagining the striking mental image of Calico Jack swaying in the wind, hanging from a cruel rope by the neck. "We mus' save 'im!"
Barbossa frowned. "I don' think tha's the best course o' action. Calico Jack is probably already dead. No point in riskin' yer neck for someone who's dead."
Murmurs of dissent were soon heard as the rest of the crew decided to voice their opinions. Anne Bonney stepped forward. "We can't jus' leave this t' fate. We should a' least check to be sure the Brits 'ave 'im."
Mary Reade nodded. "Aye. We aren' e'en sure tha' the cap'n isn' jus' running a bit late."
Snide Shaine shrilly chuckled. "I don' see why we 'ave to check an' all. Cap'n 'asn' ever been late. 'E must already be dead."
Barbossa nodded his agreement with Snide Shaine's remarks. Then he noticed the murderous looks most of the crew were giving him.
Jack decided to throw in a final remark. "Calico Jack would check before leavin' withou' any o' us. We owe it to 'im jus' to check."
Barbossa frowned, his eyes full of malice towards Jack. "Jus' 'ow are a crew o' pirates supposed t' get into the jail, anyway? They'll arrest us all."
Jack smirked, a plan forming in his eyes. "Simple. They take all o' the prisoners out to the gallows in roughly an hour. We jus' need t' distract the guards long enough to ge' Calico Jack free."
Most of the crew began nodding, expressing their acceptance of the hasty plan. Barbossa, on the other hand, snorted. "Tha' plan isn' goin' to work. It's pure lunacy. We don' e'en know if he's there or not."
Jack's dark brown eyes seemed to glow. "So ye wan' to condemn 'im to death, then? A bit eager t' take o'er the Pearl, aren't ye?"
Barbossa began fuming; carefully observing the hostile looks everyone was giving him, save for Snide Shaine. "I'm no' tryin' t' take o'er the Pearl." Barbossa tried to smile, his face contorting into a look of innocence. "Very well. We'll go an' 'elp 'im." He started walking towards the edge of the Pearl, followed by the rest of the crew.
Jack motioned towards Mary Reade. She smiled, looking particularly fetching in a revealing red dress. Her sun bleached hair glittered in the sunlight, pulled back in the fashion that cultured women wore. Jack smirked as her brown eyes danced in anticipation. It had come to a shock to many of the crewmembers to find out that Mary, in fact, was a woman. It was not something she displayed often. Jack could just tell the moment he had joined the crew, which is why he had asked her to do this. He motioned to the other groups.
Upon investigating the tavern Calico Jack had last been seen in, it had been obvious that the lobster backs had slated him for hanging today. Jack grinned in anticipation of the stunt they were about to pull as Mary stepped into position. A heavily guarded cart soon began its journey to the gallows. A crowd was starting to gather, this being one of the few forms of entertainment available to them. Jack smiled, grateful for the fact that the crowd would make it easier to escape.
The cart was soon being pulled to just about the correct position. Jack did a fast look around, satisfied that the situation was as good as it was going to get. He nodded towards Mary.
Mary grinned and began working herself into hysteria, moaning and wailing as she tried to reach towards the cart. A soldier slapped her and she fell to the solid ground, as if the blow had knocked her out. The commanding officer instantly stopped the procession and began berating the soldier who had slapped a woman of such a fine class. Jack chuckled and motioned for Snide Shaine and Daniel to start their segment as Jack began slinking over to the cart, along with Anne Bonney.
Daniel gave Snide Shaine a shove. "Officer! This man is trying to steal me money!" Daniel was dressed as a merchant, while Shaine was dressed as a tattered thief.
The commanding officer turned to face them, his hand on Mary's slumped shoulder. "What is this, then? Norrington, deal with the woman while I deal with the thief."
Jack listened to all of this in amusement as he quickly and expertly picked the lock on his captain's chains. Calico Jack, in turn, had an amazed look on his face. Jack made several more hand motions and the rest of the crew swarmed around the cart, helping Calico Jack to step out.
While this maneuver was being pulled, a sobbing Mary was helped to her feet by a young soldier with brown hair and eyes and a great desire to please his superior. Mary gradually calmed as the soldier called Norrington began talking earnestly with her. He appeared to be around sixteen.
Snide Shaine took off running after giving Daniel an unplanned and fairly violent shove. The commanding officer cussed and sent half of his men after the quickly tall retreating blonde.
Jack soon made another hand signal and Daniel melted into the crowd. The disguised crewmembers then swarmed around the newly emancipated Calico Jack and moved away. Jack watched them carefully edge their way to the edge of the square and safely escort Calico Jack to safety before any soldiers so much as noticed.
Mary soon fooled the young soldier into believing it was nothing and melted into the background. Jack stayed for a moment, a triumphant grin on his face as the commander turned around and realized the pirate slated for hanging was gone. Jack laughed and started to turn, anxious to disappear. A woman with ebony colored hair briefly caught his attention. Something about her seemed familiar, but Jack shook this aside as he realized Mary was tugging on his coarse shirt. He then melted into the crowd, elated at the successful execution of his plan.
"Jack, ole boy! Tha' was the best rescue I've e'er been privileged t' be a part of!" Calico Jack gave Jack a vigorous thump on the back. He then walked around a dark desk to his personal chair. "Sit." He motioned towards a less expensive and therefore less comfortable chair across from him.
Jack grinned and sat on the slightly creaky wooden chair. "Thank y' for the praise, cap'n. I'm no' really the one who came up wi' it."
Calico Jack chuckled. "I noticed tha' as well. Ye did a much be'er job than San', though. She only jus' managed t' get me back to safety. Almos' twenty years ago, t' the day."
Jack smiled, covering up the faintest hint of a grimace that he always got when his mother was mentioned. "Aye, cap'n. She tole me abou' tha' one as a bedtime story."
Calico Jack laughed. "Be' she din' mention tha' she almos' died 'erself. Shot in the arm by tha' blasted Commodore Brewton. Lost a lo' o' blood."
Jack's eyes developed a faintly hungry look. "She failed t' mention tha'. Any other stories I might find interestin'?" Jack unsuccessfully tried keeping curiosity out of his voice.
Calico Jack smiled, showing off his gold teeth. "There be plenty o' stories abou' San'. The bes' one tha' comes t' my mind is when she tricked tha' bloke in'o marryin' 'er." Calico Jack frowned for a moment, briefly reliving the experience. His eyes faintly glazed over and he decided to change the subject. "Well, Jack, I'd rather no' go in'o tha' one. 'Ave any other questions fer me t' answer?"
Jack sat deep in thought, stroking his re-grown beard for a moment. "D' ye really plan t' leave the Pearl t' Barbossa, cap'n?"
Calico Jack chortled. "No, me boy, I don' plan to. I know tha' 'e tried to dissuade everyone from tryin' to rescue me."
Jack nodded. "He jus' wanted us t' leave withou' botherin' to look fer ye."
Calico Jack sighed. "I haven' been able to find a firs' mate as good as San'. They all seem t' jus' want to replace me."
Jack nodded, an apologetic look in his eyes. He did not really know how to reply to this comment, for it was obvious Barbossa wished to replace him. Jack, instead, yawned. "Well, cap'n, tis a good thing I remembered tha' ole bedtime story."
Calico Jack nodded, observing the now tired appearance of the eccentric Jack. "Ye be dismissed t' get some sleep, boy."
Jack smiled and stood, weaving a bit as the Pearl climbed a rising swell. "Tis a pity tha' we din' find Bootstrap."
Calico Jack nodded and stood as well. "He's bound t' turn up, eventually." He and Jack walked to the room's door. Calico Jack paused and looked Jack earnestly in the eye. "Thanks, boy. I'd be dead if it weren' for you."
Jack shrugged and grinned. "Ye'd do the same thing fer me, cap'n." Jack opened the door and the two stepped into the moonlight that had silently crept upon them as the crew had celebrated earlier that day.
CaptainTish- Wow! You read all 15 chapters in one sitting? This calls for some cake, baklava, and two cookies! Thanks for the praise!
Chaos- No, I didn't. I was having a hard time with words when I typed that bit. Nice to know you pay attention, although I knew you did already. I'm sick of handing out cookies, so you get a glow stick.
meggumscat- Thank you very much, poppet. I think I'll give you another two cookies, for the two thumbs up.
pingpong- chuckles Thanks. I like tying in things. And I was disappointed as well during the Oscars. Oh well. Nothing we can do to change it. In addition, the customary cookie.
Bluekrystall- Yippee! A new reviewer! I'm glad you like it, and it was a bit obvious, wasn't it? Anyways, have a lovely cookie.
Courtney- You are most welcome, poppet. Cookie for you!
Vicki- Aye, thanks for leaving a review, mate. Now I'm off to RP some more… and a cookie for you!
Shoyrusky12- You are most welcome, mate. I had fun on that last chapter. Have a cookie.
Ms. Baldwin- Just you wait and see. I haven't decided yet. Anyways, thanks for leaving a review and have a cookie.
Whitney- You seriously cracked me up with that one. I promise not to have any muffins touch the entertaining and ageless Jack's mouth. Don't worry and have a cookie, sans the raisins.
WaNdA- Yes…I was chuckling most of the way through that chapter. It was really fun to write. Thanks for leaving a review, and have a cookie.