Okay Guys, here's the next chapter. I know it's kinda taking a while, but there's a couple of things that have to happen first...;-) Anyway, I'd just like to send a thank-you to all my favorite reviewers! Thanks guys! I really appreciate it: Pirate Gyrl, Dawnie-7 and Miss Amy Lynne. You guys are all great! Okay, on to the next chapter, remember, no flames please!
P.S. I saw Batman Begins yesterday and it ROCKED! Christian Bale was awesome and very hot. :-) In my opinion, it was the best Batman movie, even better than Tim Burton's collaborations with Michael Keaton. Trust me, if you haven't seen it, GO SEE IT!
Chapter 18: Deceit and an Old Friend
"Your father was consorting with pirates just before his…untimely demise," Brigand began as he sliced the rope that held her hands behind her back.
"I know you murdered him," Gen said, "why can't you just admit it to my face?"
"He committed acts of mutiny and piracy and was justly punished," Brigand interjected, his face becoming red. He took a moment to compose himself and then continued.
"Your father knew of this treasure, more than I," he said. "It was through him that I learned the location of the island where it was hidden." He stopped, and laughed. "At least, I thought I knew where it was hidden. Thomas gave me false coordinates. Of course, I wasn't aware of that until after he was dead. It was as we were nearing the island that I had him executed. You see, I had no further need for him, at least that's what I thought," he said with a grim smile.
"You slimy bastard," Gen said, rising to punch him, but he caught her bunched fist in his hand and sent her sprawling.
"Stupid woman," he growled. "You have no power here."
"Obviously I do," said Genevieve. "If you had no use for me, you'd dispose of me as easily as you did my father."
"You have more spine than your father did," Brigand said with a hearty laugh.
"Do you have a point that you're coming to anytime soon?" Gen asked. "Because I can't stand the sound of your voice or you slimy stench."
"Quiet, you stupid girl. Now," he continued, "the man who Thomas learned of the treasure from was named Marsh, Tristan Marsh. He's the father of Alexander Marsh, the pirate who is on Sparrow's ship."
"How did Xander's father know about the treasure?"
"He inherited the map from his father, tracing back to the ancient Greeks."
"Then why do you think I have this map? Obviously, Xander is the one you want. He's the one who has the map."
"Xander inherited only half the map. There is another who inherited the final piece of the map."
"And you think that was me?" she asked with a laugh. "This is great," she laughed. "This is just great. I don't have a map. I've never had a map."
He crushed her arm with his hand, "you're lying."
"Why lie? I have nothing to lose," she tried to shrug out of his hand.
"I could kill you," Brigand growled, pulling his pistol out.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead," she said defiantly. "The only thing that has kept me going all these years is that some day I knew I'd be able to hurt you as badly as you hurt my mother and I. What better way to hurt you than where it matters most? Your greed."
"You foolish girl. I know you have the map. Your father had the map. He hid it from me. I know you have it." He pulled her up to him and glared, his black eyes boring into hers. There was silence except for the caw of a seagull and the whoosh of rustling palm trees.
Gen was concocting a plan quickly. Maybe she did have this map that Brigand was so crazy over. If so, she'd never known it. Jack had thought she had this map too. Just as she was coming to a revelation, Brigand shoved her to the ground, sending sand flying all around her. She watched as he signaled his crew from the nearby beach.
"What are you doing?" she asked, getting ready to sprint at any moment.
"We're returning to the ship," growled Brigand. "You, however, are not." She watched him signal to her ex-shipmate, Johnson. "You're going to remain here until you give me the location of that map, no matter how long it takes."
Gen turned to run, but before her legs would pound through the thick sand, one of the men bashed her over the head with their pistol. She felt herself tumbling to the ground, hitting the sand bonelessly.
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Jack and Xander emerged on the beach at the southern tip of the island. "Jack, we're going in circles," said Xander.
"Would you just pipe down," growled Jack. "I'm so tired of your questioning," he said as he consulted the map.
"We saw Brigand on the rowboat. Do you think that Gen is back on the island?"
"Gen is the least of our worries right now. If Brigand knows how to get to the first step of the map, then we're in big trouble."
"Aren't you worried about her?" Xander asked, anger filling his voice as he trudged through the foliage.
Jack flashed back on the realistic dream he had and smirked. "We all have more important things to worry about right now. We can't chance trying to rescue her until we're sure that Brigand's not planning on killing us all. We have to be smart about this. All he cares about is this treasure. Once he has that, who knows what he'll do?"
"And how exactly are you planning on finding the starting point for this map?"
"It's very simple really," he said, gesturing to Xander's portion of the map. "You see, there's an "X" next to the name "the Ruby." It's a simple number cipher. All you do is replace the letters with their order in the alphabet, then we have how many paces are between the different locations on the map."
"Okay," said Xander. "That made absolutely no sense to me."
"Your father explained it to me years ago. It's rather spooky, but I think he knew that we would all be here someday. At least we have a little help in this insanity. We have seven tests to get through and only a very short amount of time to do it in. I'm sure Genevieve will be fine. As long as Brigand believes that she knows something about this treasure, he'll keep her alive."
"I'd just feel better knowing she's okay," grumbled Xander.
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Genevieve shook her head as she opened her eyes. Her vision was slightly blurry and wavered as she looked around the surrounding palm trees. Her limbs were heavy as she tried to tug them free from the rope surrounding her wrists.
"Damn Brigand," she growled. Her arms were twisted behind her around a palm tree.
She tugged at the rope, but it stayed in place.
"Welcome back," said a voice above her head.
Genevieve glanced up above her as a man with ginger-colored hair stared down at her with a grin.
