Thanks for the reviews all! Here's a little more...

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Jack had felt worse. He'd once had a hangover so painful he'd probably have slit his own wrists were it not for the fact that he knew the condition was only temporary. That, and he really didn't want to be dead. The problem now was Jack was becoming increasingly aware that this wasn't something he could just sleep off. His injuries were significant, and he knew that sleeping would probably be ill advised given his condition if he ever wanted to wake again. That of course was a real inconvenience because all Jack wanted to do was curl up and give into the dizzy drowsiness that pulled at him. Sure, he'd felt worse, but not by that much, and in the past he'd either have escaped a bad situation or had a plan to do so. Whether it was the blood loss (which was significant if the ever growing dark stain on the floor beneath him was any indicator) or that his luck had finally run out, Jack didn't know. What he did know was that he still had no real plan to get out, and even if he did, he was quite possibly past the point where he would be able to execute said plan. Unless of course the plan had something to do with playing dead, in which case Jack thought he might just be able to handle it.

Jack curled himself tighter into a ball despite the way it pulled on his many wounds. He was getting cold, and had long since given into shivering and was now totally unable to stop. Not that he needed to; after all, nobody was watching since he was alone in his cell.

He was thankful for small blessings.

The heavy door banged open again.

Jack barely resisted the urge to laugh at the timing.

Askew walked up to where Jack laid on the floor. Jack meant to sit up but couldn't quite talk his sluggish limbs into cooperating. Askew sat down across from him, a grin on his face that didn't make it all the way to his eyes.

"I spoke with your Captain," he said.

"My Captain?" Jack began in confusion before his tired mind remembered the story. "Ah yes, come to rescue me has he?"

"Whatever would give you that idea?"

"Thought maybe he came to his senses, realized I was valuable."

"That you are, Mr. Sparrow, in a way. But I'm afraid young Turner has rather specific plans for you and while they may include your departure from my hospitality, they don't harbour much hope when it comes to your life."

"Eh?"

"Well I'd hate to spoil the surprise but I think he plans to kill you. Quite angry and willing to go through a great deal of trouble and expense to get you back so he can kill you himself," Askew said, sounding amused. "Although," he paused, "I COULD just do away with you myself." Askew fingered the hilt of his sword subtly.

"I doubt Will would take kindly to that," Jack said honestly.

"Likely. Whatever did you do to the boy to make him so set on your death?" Askew asked casually, as though he hadn't just threatened to kill Jack. "Why is he willing to trade your life, or your death I should say, for fourteen chests of treasure?"

"You know I'm not entirely sure what I did to make him so fixated on me. I only regret that I did it." In his head Jack corrected, 'I'm so glad I did ... whatever it was that made Will so devoted to me.' He continued aloud, "Might've had something to do with his lady love though, with me sayin' what I shouldn't 'ave... Hey, wait! Fourteen chests! That's it?! I'm worth twice that," Jack said automatically, without thinking.

"My thoughts exactly," Askew said with a chilling grin.

Jack decided that this would be a good time to practice keeping his mouth shut, especially since it seemed there wasn't enough blood left in him to power his mind properly.

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Tbc...

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Special thank yous:

Captain Blackbird: Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you. I hate this fic myself and I'd have scrapped it long ago but it was promised to someone so I had to finish it (er, the original version at any rate). It's extra nice to hear something like that when I feel like all I've written is boring and sub par lately.

Bittersweet46: Thanks for all the reviews – especially for the detail. I really enjoy hearing specifics like you give since it helps me determine what's working. As for the sword trick – heh, now that you've given me the visual I wish I HAD done that – I'd love to see the bastard pinned to the wall by his ... um, bits. But no, sadly that isn't going to happen.