Disclaimer: If I owned anything I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, would I?
Jack stayed in hiding for a few more minutes, but there was no more movement from the silent Pearl. The pirate meandered around the streets for a while, looking into shop windows and seeing what he could pilfer and what he could not. He dawdled at the jewelers but the door was locked fast. Finally he went back to his room and spent the night thinking up a new scheme he could perform with the help of his younger version.
During the early hours of the morning Jack did the pilfering he had planned the night before. He also noticed that there were a great deal of officers and soldiers swarming around the dock. The second thing he realized was that the Black Pearl was gone from the bay. That was unfortunate. He badly wanted to discuss some things with himself. He went up to an old housewife sweeping her front step.
"Excuse me. What's all the to-do at the dock about?" he asked her, gesturing towards the harbor.
"Didn't you hear? A ship that came yesterday just kidnapped a poor lad and skedaddled off," she answered, leaning on her broom.
"Which lad would that happen to be?" continued Jack apprehensively.
"None other than the admiral's son himself, young master Norrington, poor child," she said sympathetically. "The admiral is completely worked up over it. We'll be getting a ransom demand any day now, I'm sure."
Jack thanked the woman for her help and tramped back down the road. Now that he considered it, he had been in Port Royal around this time. And he had captured a lad, come to think of it. The Navy had brought two ships down on him and given the Pearl a bad raking. He had released the boy to avoid being destroyed. It had been his worst defeat in history, and now he could stop it from happening. All he had to do was rescue the kid and return him to the port before the ships caught up with the Pearl. Perhaps going back in time wasn't so bad after all.
Captain Sparrow went up to his lodgings and mulled over his new plan. The first thing he would need was a boat small enough for him to sail alone. There were quite a few merchant ships that fit the bill perfectly. All he would have to do was prance over to them under cover of darkness, avoid the guards, and steer one of the boats into open water. The second thing he would need was a few items he could swipe from the shops, such as rope, supplies, and a few trinkets in case bartering was required. He knew himself well, and if a trade was arranged, he knew exactly what he would want. Know thine enemy, and Jack certainly knew his.
He picked out a boat that was most fitted for his purposes. She was a sturdy little craft with a shallow draft and a single durable sail. She was called the Lively, a name written across the side in elegant dark letters. Jack liked her from almost the moment he set eyes on her. Just what he wanted; fast, maneuverable, and easy to handle. Now all he had to do was snatch her from under the nose of the Navy.
Jack sat behind a stone wall, watching the Lively with hawk-like intensity. The last civilians were leaving for their homes and the night watch had just begun their first circuit. Jack had filched a coil of rope and reloaded his pistol with ammunition stolen from the local gunsmith. The first pair of soldiers walked by, the moonlight glinting off their muskets. Jack held his breath and waited for them to pass. The moon slowly slid behind a veil of clouds. None of the soldiers noticed the stealthy pirate creep behind them, untie the Lively, and sail noiselessly out of the bay.
Jack stood at the helm, guiding his new craft after the Pearl. Life didn't get much better then this.
