Disclamer: I do not own POTC or any of his characters. I do not own the name ''Nastro Azzuro'' (It's the name of an italian beer). I also do not own the song ''Azzuro'' (Lyrics by Adriano Celentano) I do not own "L'Ambarabà '' which is a bar in the city of Pisa (Italy). But I own my characters, the S.I.P.V.M. (In English, I.S.P.O.W.) and the O.M.P.P. (in English, O.W.P.P) (you'll know the names of this organizations soon)
Summary: Capt. Jack Sparrow and his crew are in a travel in the Mediterranean sea, in search for The Treasure of the Golden Crocodile (Author's note:This is also an idea which I own. :P), when they arrive at the mouth of the river Arno... Well, what are ye waiting for, mates??? Begin to read now!!!
Author's note: This chapter takes place at the same time of chap.2. We know what Jack, Veronica and the Godmother were doing, but what about of the crews of the Black Pearl, and the Nastro Azzuro?
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Treasure of the Golden Crocodile
Chapter 3: The able-bodied crews
When Jack and Veronica went out, Roberto asked the crews:
-So, what will it be? Limoncello, Grappa, Birra...
-Rum!!!!- all the men of the Black Pearl said at the same time
-Ok,ok- Roberto replied-Rum for Sparrow's crew. And what for Lark's crew?
-Un limoncello per me- Riccardo said
-Ok, a limoncello for Riccardo Vespucci...- Roberto repeated, at the same time he wrote it in a paper.
-A grappa for me- Tatjana requested
-A grappa for Miss Zelesnkajte...
-Una birrita para mí- Daniele , who was the surgeon of the Nastro Azzuro, replied
-Y otra para mí- Noelia, one of the boatswains,and helper of the chef, replied
-And another for me- Martin, other boatswain, replied
-Ok, three birras: one for ''Il Dottore Daniele'', one for la signorina L'Amour, and one for Mr Nightingale
- One Grappa for me- Gabriele, the chef of the Nastro Azzuro, said
-Another Grappa for il Signore Romano...
-One limoncello for me- Pavel, the coxswain of the Nastro Azzuro,said
- Another for me!- Kumar, the surgeon's mate, added
-Two more limoncellos: One for master Nedved, and other for Kumar ''The tiger of Malaysia''...
When the crew of the Black Pearl heard Kumar's nickname, there was a general laugh, untill he looked at all them with an assasin look.Of course, then they stopped.
But, after that, the crews got to know each other, and they became friends.
Gibbs sneaked around for a while and then stood near Riccardo Vespucci. He seemed quite a good guy and somebody whom which he could be able to exchange some impressions about what had happened. He decided to offer him another drink and soon realized that that was the good way to begin a new friendship.
- Another "limonetto" or something like that… for Mr. Vespucci. How do you call it?
-Limoncello. Do you want to try it? – Riccardo offered.
- No, thank you -. Gibbs showed his glass yet full of rum.
-Anyway. You're really kind.
They just sat near each other, but it was again Gibbs who started to talk.
-So, tell me, Mr. Vespucci, how did you become a pirate?
-Why does that interest you?
He seemed in fact surprised about the question, but there was no malice in his replay. Gibbs tried to explain:
- Well, if I had saw you somewhere else, maybe I won't have ever realized what you were. Don't be offended, but you don't seem the typical pirate…
- So, what can I say? You're quite right, Mr. Gibbs. I can assure you that I'm a pirate… may I say, by accident?
- By accident? What do you exactly mean? – Gibbs laughed.
- In fact I've dedicated almost all my life to science. I used to study the skies and stars, hoping to find up there the real reason of existence, an answer to every philosophical question that could have been asked before or could be asked afterwards. It's true I was never able to arrive to any useful conclusion, but, in the end, I knew very well the constellations and I was able to find perfectly my bearings in the seas.
- Really? And that has to do with your enrollment as a pirate…
- No, it was not so easy. You have to excuse me, Mr. Gibbs, but sometimes I get lost when I'm explaining a story. You just have to make me notice and I'll return to the original point. Ok, so, where were we? Oh, yeah, I remember. Once, I went away late in the evening. Not too far away from home, in fact, because my grandmother was always concerned about my excursions, you know how grandmothers are. Did I tell you before about my grandmother?
- I don't think that's the point of the story, Mr. Vespucci.
- Oh, yes. You're right, Mr. Gibbs. I usually did it, going away I mean, in order to watch the stars, relaxed, out of the noise and chaos of modern life. I started walking near the coast where the only light is the light of the moon and the stars, where you can only hear the rumor of the waves breaking down, where looking ahead you cannot see the difference between the sea and the sky, where the line of the horizon, as Dante said… do you know Dante? Have you ever read his…?
- Mr. Vespucci…
- Oh, I did it again, didn't I? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I was carried away by poetry… once more. Well, so I was still there, staring at the sky when something caught powerfully my attention. It was a soft golden glow, and it seemed to come out from the water. It moved in circles, as if it was swimming. It was a phenomena I've never had seen before. It was so hypnotic that, even without knowing exactly what I was doing, I started to look for a way to come down and arrive to the sea in order to know what was all this about. By chance, I found what seemed a stair. It was very old, carved on the rock and hidden, as if no one had stepped over it for years and years. I started to come down, slowly. Each of my steps taking me nearer to the golden glow, almost without breath, when I was only a few meters away…
Riccardo stopped suddenly his story, the glass in the hand, his sight lost, as if he were again on that beach he was describing, as if he could in fact almost touch that strange thing… that golden glow. But, could he be referring to…? Gibbs realized that he was also keeping his breath just before asking Riccardo to continue.
- You saw it!
-What?
- Don't try to pull my leg! You saw it! That glow was the Golden Crocodile! Oh, that bloody bastard… I didn't want to believe him when…
- No, it wasn't.
- Pardon?
- I mean… I don't know anything about crocodiles. As I was telling you, anyway, I wasn't able to see what the glow was. I just stumbled and felt down doing a tremendous noise. When I regain consciousness, there was no golden light anymore except for the candle that held one of the ten pirates that were surrounding me with not very gentle faces… Well, I must confess that, at first, I didn't realize that they were pirates: I took them for carabinieri. I tried to explain them about my work, my grandmother, the glow…
- Poor guys! – Gibbs whispered.
- Pardon?
- Niente, niente! Continue, please…
- I'm finishing, in fact… they hit me… but very politely, I must say. I mean, one has to do what he has to do. Then they carried me to their ship and there they took me to see their captain…
- Lark.
- That's right… and, I can't explain why, but she decided to offer me a work as an alternative to death…
- And you left away your life, scientific works, everything!
- Well, that was not the worst part… no, definitely, that was the best one.
- And what is the worst part, on your behalf?
- I used to suffer from seasickness.
- Ouch.
- Now I'm used.
- And you have become Lark's first mate… how…?
In that very moment, a man entered the Ambarabà, running. He seemed really worried; looked around; discovered Riccardo and went onto him. He told him something in an extremely low voice. It seemed something important. Riccardo was listening with the greatest attention. Vespucci tried to calm the man down and assured that he will go and talk to Lark in person. He stood up.
- And, that is how I became a pirate.
- Thanks to the Golden Crocodile… - Gibbs tried to cheat Vespucci.
- I can't remember saying anything about a crocodile…
- But, just tell me if the legend is true, in your opinion, does the Golden Crocodile exist?
Riccardo drunk the last drop remaining in his glass.
- Do you want to know how I became Lark's first mate?
- Of course but…
- I never talk about things that don't concern me and… I can keep a secret. See you later, Mr. Gibbs, and, thank you for this…
He left the glass on the table and disappeared in the darkness of the place with a strange smile on his lips, leaving Gibbs in total confusion.
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This chapter was co-written with my sister. (Hers is most of the conversation between Gibbs and Riccardo). What do ye think of it?