Chapter Ten – Rat Trap or Trapped by a Rat

I was the first to break out of the silence. "Where?"

The commodore stared at me. "What do you mean 'where'?"

I rolled my eyes. Men can be so dense. "Where was he shot? Head, leg, heart, butt; WHERE?"

The commodore sighed and looked at the blue sky, as if I was some two- year-old trying on his last nerve. I bristled. It was a perfectly legitimate question, and the pain in the ass refused to answer. I glared at him and finally Jack interrupted the silence. "Where was he shot, Commodore?"

"He was only shot in his thigh..." He muttered. I glared. I reached over and punched him in the shoulder, hard enough to send his frame dangerously close to falling overboard.

"Don't ever do that again!" I growled. "I thought he was dead! You jackass!" He stared at me wide eyed...and appreciative. I shuddered. Oh Lord. Thankfully, he turned around and regarded Jack with a cool frown again. If he had tried to come on to me, I believe I would have hurled. Thankfully, Jack interrupted again, saving me from further nauseating experiences.

"And this would make me want to help you, why?" Jack asked. I eyed him in surprise and wondered just what the Captain had up his sleeve. From what I could tell in the stories he told of their escapades he and Will were pretty close. Not that close, you Jack and Will slash freaks. Jack is wholly heterosexual. How do I know? None of your damn business! Wife's privilege, that's all you get out of me, I swear to God!

"Because you're a pirate. I would figure you'd like to remove the..." He shuddered delicately. "Competition."

"Hmm...tempting offer...but...I don't think it would be wise for me to get mixed up in this thing..." He shot me another look and I knew he was only telling the Commodore those things because he was worried about me. To tell you the truth, the way he had been acting around me of late, had me wondering just what was going on in his head. I mean it was not like a pirate to put another's physical welfare above their own financial well being. It was just plumb out of character.

Another benefit for being a person-watcher, was you saw things most people missed. Telling the commodore to shove off, essentially, was tearing Jack apart inside. So, being the meddling woman that I am, I decided to intervene.

"We'll help." I interjected, Jack sending me a glare fit to kill. I remained standing however, ignoring the speculative glances the commodore sent my way and the grumbling going on around me as I sidled up to Jack's side. "Jack, Will's your friend. You need to go and help him. Don't worry about me."

"Will may be my friend but I..." He paused and I could have sworn his skin went deathly white. Or as whit as it could go, considering the dark tan Jack was sporting. "I love you."

My eyes widened and everyone around us within hearing distance gasped. I stuttered. "W-w-w-what did you say?"

"I love you, Chloe."

I shivered. "Jack...I..." For once I was at a loss for words. He loved me? The playboy of the Caribbean actually said he loved me, in front of the whole crew, the woman he might have had a fling with, and his mortal enemy (besides Barbossa who's dead...so technically he needed a new arch enemy and it looked like the Commodore was elected)? Would the madness never end!

"Please don't say anything, Chloe. I don't need to hear the words right away, I know you've been through a lot, but..."

"And I know you're probably having a nice moment, but I really think we should get going if we're going to do this." The Commodore interjected. We sighed and turned to him.

"Okay..." I tapped my finger on my lip and stared off into space, a kooky plan developing in my mind.

Jack eyed me suspiciously. "Just what is going on in your head, may I ask, Chloe, love?" I shrugged.

"I have a plan."

He watched me for a long minute, as if studying my ever feature. "Why do I get the feeling I won't like this plan very much?"

"Probably because you won't?"

"Great." He groaned. "Perfect."

The commodore waved Jack and me over to his ship and we followed him across the gangplank they had set up as a walkway. "Okay, let's hear this plan, Chloe." The commodore murmured, crossing his arms in front of his chest. With a small nod, I laid it all down.

Some time later when I finished with my plan both men were sitting silently, mouths agape and horror in their eyes. Apparently it went over a lot worse than I had thought it might.

"Absolutely not!" They cried in one voice. They looked at each other uneasily and I struggled with a giggle.

"Out of the question, Chloe." Jack murmured, approaching me. "I am not handing you into his clutches again." He shook his head when I opened my mouth to protest. The Commodore however, saw this, as an opportunity to step in and give me is unwanted opinion as well.

"I agree. It is much to dangerous for your kind."

"My kind?" I bristled. The last thing I needed was a man insulting my gender. Insult the plan all you want, commodore, but don't insult the plan! I crossed to him angrily and gave him a shove in the shoulder. He tottered a bit before planting his feet more firmly on the deck. That, if you couldn't guess is a big pet peeve of mine. As for the commodore, he was lucky there were no clean scalpels near by, although he did receive a quite vicious glare on my part. "I don't have a kind, thank you very much, and I'm betting I could be useful. I could get on the ship, make sure that Elizabeth is okay." The Commodore backed away from the threat in my eyes and plopped into a chair.

They exchanged glances. I could tell that Jack was torn, but the Commodore was just scowling, arms crossed over his chest, sitting ramrod straight in his chair. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, kids. I can handle this no problem."

"Kids?" The Commodore squawked, leaping up. My eyes were on Jack's and his on mine. We stared at each other, ignoring him completely.

"I don't want you to get hurt again." Jack murmured, reaching out to cup the back of my neck in his hand. I sighed and touched his cheek.

"Don't worry about me Sparrow. We'll get Will, because my plan will never work without him, and you can use that time to think the plan over. Does that seem fair enough to you?" Jack nodded after a long pause.

"Fine."

"I cannot believe you're even considering this, Sparrow." Norrington stuck his nose in the air and looked away. "I will not be party to this foolishness. Why, that pirate would slit that girl's throat as soon as look at her." He shook his head. "No. My English decency simply cannot allow it."

"Stuff it, Norrington." I grumbled. "You know nothing about what Renfield is capable of. I do. And if I say I can bring back Elizabeth alive, I damn well can and will bring Elizabeth back alive." I turned away, heading back towards the Pearl. "And as far as I can see we are wasting time, and Elizabeth needs our help. Or, would you rather sit here and let her die because of your retarded English decency?" I looked over my shoulder at his red face.

He stared at me for a long moment and I glared back. There was not much I could do after that, other than hope the Commodore would acquiesce because I couldn't bear the thought of another woman going through all that I had. And for some insane reason, I was willing to expose myself to that very torture again, in order to prevent it. Funny ol' world init?

"Gilette! Set a course for Port Royal."

"Aye sir."

The Commodore frowned at us. "Let us hope you are right, Chloe."

"I am." I replied confidently.

We reached Port Royal without incident. Once we had docked, Jack, the Commodore and I disembarked and headed for the Governor's hilltop mansion. Seeing it in person was more awe inspiring than I had first thought it would be and I grinned, lacing my fingers with Jack's as we trudged up the gravel drive.

The Commodore glared at us. "Not one word out of either of you. Upset the Governor and risk your necks." We both rolled our eyes and followed him into the drawing room after a servant had motioned us in.

"James!" The Governor rushed down the stairs. "Any news?"

I could see he hated crushing the governor's hopes, but there was no help for it. "No sir. Is Turner awake?"

Weatherby nodded. "Yes. He's bellowing to get out of bed." He shook his head, the ringlets of his wig swinging back and forth.

All four of us looked up at the sound of a scream. Jack and I made a move to dart up the stairs when a small maid came rushing out of a room and down the stairs, completely wet from the waist up, with her hands in her ruined hair, desperately trying to keep the hat in place. "I'm sorry Gov'nah, but I just can't do anything with that man. He's...he's absolutely incorrigible."

Jack and I looked at each other. "Will?" Jack murmured.

"Incorrigible?" I replied just as flabbergasted. The governor sighed. Without a word to the upset maid, he started up the stairs, Norrington, Jack and myself falling in step behind. The last thing either of us expected to see, was a half-naked, Will Turner, (From the waist up, you sickos!) tying bed-sheets together, a determined, yet pained frown on his face. I leapt forward and snatched the sheet from him. "And just WHERE do you think YOU are going?" I asked, in my best Captain Hook impression. He eyed me.

"Who in bloody hell are you?"

I blinked. "He curses? Hallelujah! He's a man after all!" He glared at me slightly before looking over my shoulder.

"Jack?"

He grinned. "Aye lad. Norrington here came and fetched me, to aid in the return of your bonny lass." Will growled low in his throat and made a grab for the bed sheets still clasped in my hands. I held them easily out of reach and he struggled to stand up, his bad leg giving out under his weight and sending him toppling back onto the bed. I felt a stirring of pity and I looked at Jack.

"Jack, let's take the poor thing with us."

"Poor thing?" Norrington parroted. "He's been shot in the leg."

"Have not." Will muttered. "I was shot in the ass."

"Somebody shot you in the ass!" I cried out randomly, thanking Jerry Bruckheimer for making a sequel to Bad Boys. "Bad boys bad boys whatcha gonna do..." I noticed everyone staring at me and I blushed. "Sorry."

Jack shook his head. "It's not a good idea, Chloe."

I frowned. "Without him, the plan to get Elizabeth back is never going to work."

Commodore Norrington shook his head. "I still don't see why we need a cripple to help us rescue Elizabeth." I rolled my eyes.

"One, because she's HIS wife, and it would be sick, sad and wrong not to include him in her rescue and two, that's for me to know and you to just deal with." Norrington sputtered and looked at Jack, wondering if he would reprimand me for my outlandish behavior. When he only folded his arms behind his back and rocked onto his heels, the Commodore growled.

"This is highly unorthodox." He muttered to the Governor, who nodded his head silently, eyes trained on me warily, as though he expected me to steal from him at any moment.

"Unorthodox is my middle name." I snapped. "Now, every minute we waste is a minute that Elizabeth has to be with that bug-eating freakazoid." Jack snickered. The others eyed me in confusion, but I ignored them and went over to help Will up and we both hobbled out of the room behind Jack, the Commodore and Governor following as an afterthought.

"Thank you." Will whispered in my ear as we walked towards the dock. I smiled at him, catching his thankful grin out of the corner of my eye. Will was about a foot taller than me, and I could tell he was already tiring. His weight sagged against me and a fine sheen of sweat was coating his face. It was about that time I realized he was walking about Port Royal in nothing but his unmentionables. I flushed.

"Jack, we need to get this boy some clothes." I shouted, he turned and looked Will over, s lewd grin plastering on his face. I shot him an unhappy look and he hastily nodded, quickening his pace. Will and I struggled to keep up, after all, the poor man HAD been shot in the ass.

"Boy?" Will asked curiously, a hint of affronted ego in his tone.

"Just a term, sonny-boy. One I use with every guy I know." I murmured, shifting his weight a bit. "Shot in the tush, were you?" He nodded.

"Bastard did it on purpose too." Will groused. I stopped in mid- stride and he looked at me curiously.

"What'd you say?"

"I said he purposefully aimed for my hind end."

My eyes widened. "It was all planned." Will looked over at me.

"What?" I wasn't listening, only hastened our momentum up the gangplank where I deposited Will with Gibbs and Anamaria and went in search of Jack.

"Jack. Jack! JACK!" I raced down the stairs to the cabins below decks running to the end and pounding on his door.

"Oy!" He shouted back from behind the closed door of his cabin. "I'm looking for some clothes for the lad. Come in if ye want." He invited. I hesitated on the threshold.

"Are you decent?" I asked.

"Hardly ever, darling. Come in." I pushed the door open and stared at his backside as he rummaged through the drawers. Not a bad sight, I must say so, and if I know you all, you're picturing my husband's wonderful backside at this moment. Well stop, or I'll stab you with a red-hot poker, savvy? "What is it Chloe?" I shook my head.

"Renfield did this on purpose."

"What?" Jack pulled his head out of the closet and looked at me owlishly.

"He took Elizabeth, and shot Will in the ass for a reason. He wanted us here. He wanted the Pearl here. It's a trap!" Just at that moment, there were muffled sounds of gunfire, and the shouts of the crew. Jack sprang up and rushed from the room.

"STAY HERE!" He ordered on his way out. I ignored this and followed him, more slowly, of course. With caution I poked my head around the corner, groaning when I saw Renfield's accursed boat. I caught Anamaria's eye and she toddled over with Will.

"Take him and get below." She ordered, drawing her sword and pistol. I growled.

"I will not be sent away like some child." I hissed. "I'm every bit as much a member of this crew as you!"

"And I have a reason to be up here, too!" Will stated emphatically, standing up straight. "That's my wife on that ship over there!"

"You're more of a danger than an asset." Annamaria growled at me, shoving us towards the stairs when Renfield hopped aboard. "And you, you think you can do much with a chuck of metal in your ass, and not a stitch on you? Get below. Captain's orders." I frowned and turned away, leading Will down the rest of the stairs.

"You're just going to take that?" He demanded hoarsely. I shook my head.

"Of course not." With little care I shoved him into the room reserved for rich prisoners. There was a lock on the outside of the door and I pushed it in once I had it fully shut between us. "Now if you'll excuse me." I hurried silently back to the deck, pulling my hat lower over my eyes, and tucking my braids inside of it. With as much caution as a snake handling a scorpion, I edged towards the railing, snagging a rope and swinging over onto his ship. With many of Renfield's pirates aboard the Pearl, I managed to slip by with very little opposition, unless you want to count the fat pirate sleeping outside of the prison cells. I dispatched him easily with the knife I kept in my boot and slipped inside. The sounds of the cannons were magnified in this tiny room, and I had to force myself not to cover my ears.

This room was eerily familiar. It was small enough that I could raise both arms and touch the cell doors that lined both walls of the room. I hurried towards the back of the room, shivering as I passed my own cell on the way.

As suspected, Elizabeth was hanging in the farthest cell to the right. I frowned and edged closer. She had yet to be stripped of her clothing, but it was obvious from the wear and tear of the simple dress that she'd been through a lot. My stomach turned at the sight of blood. It coated the sides of her neck and the collar of the dress, and was nearly black in the failing light of the cramped room.

"Who's there?" The voice was shaky, not at all like I'd expected it to be. Silently, I edged closer. A small shaft of light from a dying candle afforded me a glimpse of her my breath caught in my throat. Her eyes...good God, the bastard had ripped them out!