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12
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That night the albino man in the brig heard a most dreadful noise as he sat slouched against the side of his confinement, and a chill of fear ran through his body. He didn't know what the sound could be, but whatever it was, it frightened him immensely.
Erik continued to laugh a cold, menacing laugh to himself, standing in the pits of the Black Pearl, rubbing his hands together in a sly fashion. He was not far from the brig, but decided he would stay away from there because he didn't want to encounter the captive. He had plans for the night. Big plans. And they would be executed without trouble. Especially without haste. And Jack would have no say in it. None whatsoever. He'd simply have to accept it.
He let out another long, tormenting laugh which seemed to make the thin walls vibrate. The albino man drew his feet to his chest, curled up securely and tight, and shivered. Erik observed the walls, examining the area and mentally planning. A malevolent gleam shined in the corner of his eye as he sneered once more and moved up the stairway which led back to the hall. Arriving at the top, he was met with the large heap in which his items were placed, blocking the hall. He smiled as he ran a hand along the smooth wood of his organ.
Jack shifted in his bed as he heard a sort of scraping coming from beneath his cabin. When it disappeared, he paid no further mind to it and fell back into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"What in the name of Davy Jones have you done to my ship?" Jack demanded in utter horror the next morning as he lay his eyes upon the lower level of the vessel. He walked around inspecting the work that could only have been done by one man: Erik.
He looked around for the man but he was nowhere to be found amongst the pieces of furniture and mirrors that were set up methodically. He saw the musical monkey box sitting on the floor, bent down to pick it up. As he looked at the thing, he heard a noise and looked up from the music box to see a dark figure emerging from the shrouded corner. Nervously, Jack backed away several steps, clutching onto the music box for dear life.
Erik stepped from the shadows and twirled his cape in front of Jack, a smile upon his face at seeing Jack's discomfort and fear. He looked at Jack, eyes glowing as they had been when he had first encountered the pirate, and replied calmly, "If I have to stay here with you, then I would like to feel at home. And this place is perfect."
Jack placed the music box back on the floor and grabbed onto the side of the swan bed for support, he felt as though he would fall down. He gulped and turned away from Erik's glowing eyes to look off to the side. His brow knitted together in confusion as he noticed something odd.
"The chests," Jack began, turning back to Erik. "Where have all of the chests that were stored here gone? There were three chests and they were filled with some very valuable things! All my looting... for waste?"
Erik shook his head slowly. "There is no need to worry. I've moved your chests to the room next to this one. They're fine."
"The cannon room! The gold... with the cannons? No! I was going to bring it back to an island to store... Isla de Muerta, it's kind of like a big cave where pirates keep all of their riches."
"So you were going to just throw it in some cave, anyway? I don't see the big deal, then."
"Hey! That cave is a very special place," Jack defended, frowning at Erik for not understanding how important it was for pirates to keep their gold on Isla de Muerta.
"Yes," Erik agreed. "And so was my lair, but you don't see me crying about it!"
Jack's mouth fell in astonishment. "I am 'crying' because you've turned my ship's innards into a Phantom's lair! I gave you your own personal cabin, Erik. Wasn't that enough?"
Erik shook his head and turned away. "Far too much light for my standards, I prefer to dwell in the darkness. Why don't you put your gold in the cabin, then?"
"Gold... in... cabin? Are you mad?"
"If I am, then I've learned from the best," he stated, turning back to face Jack.
They stared at one another, silent, for several minutes. Both were so angered by eachother that they were incapable of speech. The silence was finally broken by the sound of screams coming from the direction of the brig. Jack let go of the bed and began off to the brig, Erik following behind several paces.
Upon arrival, they saw the albino man grasping onto a pair of the jail's bars, howling up at the ceiling as though he were an injured dog. They stood in front of him, wondering what was the meaning of this outburst.
"Are you ready to talk?" Jack asked the screaming man, crossing his arms over his chest.
The man's howls faded and he tilted his head down to look at Jack. He offered him a cold stare before nodding vigorously, so vigorous that Erik thought the man's head would just roll right off from his shoulders and fall to the floor.
Jack nodded slowly at him. "Good."
The three men stood in silence, waiting for something to happen. When nothing happened, Jack threw his hands up in exasperation. "Well, go on then!" He ordered the captive.
The albino man's eyes burned with hatred as he opened his mouth and began to speak. Whatever he was saying, however, was total incoherence. The material covering his mouth made his speech impossible to decipher.
Jack raised his hand up to the man, signaling for him to stop. "You're either going to have to speak up or remove that cloth if we are to understand you."
The man paid no attention to Jack's instruction and continued talking his muffled dialog. Jack reached a hand between the bars and pulled the piece of cloth from his face, exposing a dreadful sight which made both Erik and Jack recoil with a gasp of terror. The man's skin was whiter than milk and his lips were two misshapen, bulging slabs of a bright pink color. His mouth was a deep, dark pit where several long, jagged, yellow teeth protruded at odd angles. The cloth fell from Jack's hand and landed on the floor.
"I don't know about what's under your mask, but that's a face you never forget," Jack whispered into Erik's ear, pointing at the horrible sight. Erik's expression became that of sadness, for this man's deformity-- even though it could hardly be called so-- only reminded him of his own disfigured face which lay underneath the mask he wore so dearly.
The man, angered at being revealed, let out an immense growl and grabbed more fiercely onto the jail bars. His pink eyes widened, looking from Jack to Erik, before he began to speak again. "I'll tell you who I am," He said in a high, raspy voice. "I'll tell you everything." When he pronounced some words they sounded strange and foreign. "As long as I don't have to hear that horrible monster ever again, with its strange laughter," he said, his anger softening into fear as he recalled the previous night when he had sat up awake the entire evening, too afraid to sleep because of that awful laughing and scraping he kept hearing. He did not have the slightest idea that it had been Erik, who was right in front of him, who had been the source of his fears.
Jack glanced at Erik, delivering him an odd look, before turning his gaze back on the albino man. "If you tell us what we want to know, we'll let you free and you won't have to hear the... uh... monster ever again. Do you understand?"
The man nodded. "I understand."
"Good. Then tell us who the bloody hell you are!" Jack yelled, grabbing onto the bars. Erik placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a stern look and he pulled away. He cleared his throat. "Uhh... sorry," he apologized in a small voice to the man.
"I... am..."
"Yes, yes, get on with it!"
"Akhmed."
"Akhmed?" Jack repeated. "Alright... Akhmed. Who do you work for?"
Akhmed looked at Jack scornfully, twiddling his fingers together patiently. "I am one of the Blackmail Bandits," He said quietly.
Jack stroked his braided beard pensively. "The Blackmail Bandits, eh?" He asked in the same tone he had used when he had first asked Erik about the 'Melodical Marauders'. As he had the other day, Erik now became nervous as to where Jack was going with this. "Ah, yes. I've heard of the thug group," he said, nodding. "A filthy little bunch, the lot. Ruthless in their actions, without any remorse whatsoever for anyone not involved in their nasty group," Jack explained to Erik.
Akhmed nodded at Jack's description. "Yes, yes. That is us exactly."
"And why did you steal the ring?"
"I was ordered to."
"By who?" Jack asked anxiously, happy to finally get some answers.
"Our leader."
"Who is...?"
Akhmed bared his few odd, jagged teeth at Jack angrily. "I cannot say."
Jack sighed, feeling that something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. He reached a hand immediately through the bars and grabbed Akhmed by his white neck. The man choked and sputtered, squirming in Jack's hold. "That is not the right answer," he said, tightening his grip. "Now listen, you scum. You've ruined my friend's wedding and I'm not going to sit by and watch you get away with it. Tell me your leader."
"No. I've already said too much," The man gasped.
Jack released his hold and the man fell to the floor on his knees. He reached up to the bars and slowly pulled himself to his feet.
"Tell me now..." Jack began, he glanced at Erik. "or endure another night with the monster."
Erik rolled his eyes. The man regained his breath and stared at Jack. "Alright, fine. My... leader... is--" Akhmed's speech abruptly ended as his face went blank and his body sagged forward against the cell, slipping down to the floor in a heap.
"Akhmed?" Jack asked. He eyed the unmoving body on the floor. "Akhmed?" He repeated nervously. He threw a glance over at Erik before slipping out his keyring and finding the key to the cell's lock. After unlocking the door, the albino man was still on the floor and had not moved. Jack entered the cell, Erik following behind.
Jack bent down to the man, eying his lifeless body. He saw a small rip in the collar of the man's black, silk robes that looked quite odd. Wishing to inspect it further, he slid the material away from the man's neck to reveal a small dart. It had, apparently, went right through the robes and stuck into him and now it protruded from his skin, standing straight up. Jack slowly pulled the dart free and examined it, turning it around in his fingers.
He lifted one of the man's arms and placed his finger on the wrist, checking for a pulse. There was none: the man had been killed instantly by the poison of the dart. Jack replaced the arm and hunched over the body, wondering who was behind the murder. He looked up at Erik for an answer but he was just as confused as Jack was and only shrugged.
Jack raised from the corpse to his feet and approached the small, barred opening of the window on the wall in which the dart had most definitely entered through. He looked out at the ocean waves as they moved in a rhythmic little pattern. As he focused his eyes on the outermore lengths of the sea, he could just about swear that he had seen a small boat speeding off in the distance.