Disclaimer: The characters and concepts in this story pertaining to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl are the property of the Walt Disney Corporation.

Chapter Fourteen: A Pirate by any Other Name

Jack just watched his sister's reaction, his eyes gleaming with happiness. It was exactly what he'd expected she'd do at the prospect of losing her father's map, a map she was never given a piece of in the first place. Morgan pushed past him in a feeble attempt to get closer to the floundering scrap of parchment. Alas, it had already drifted far off in the night and more than likely sunk to Davy Jones' locker without any hopes of finding it again.

"What did you do that for!" she shouted, pushing Jack backwards. He held his ground, a strange sort of smirk moving over his face as she lashed out at him.

"If it's worthless, it's worthless," Jack said, "And there's no reason to be keeping something that's worthless because it's more trouble than it's worth. But why make such a fuss over something worthless?"

Morgan went still. She'd been caught in the act.

Jack smiled toothily and held up his index finger, matter-of factly. "Unless of course it's not worthless, in which case, there's plenty of reason to have a tantrum when it's not around anymore."

He cocked a brow, smirk still plastered on his face.

The rest of the crew finally emerged from the lower decks, and Morgan took the chance to look away from Jack and gather her thoughts.

"This makes it extremely advantageous to still have that worthwhile object in your possession."

Morgan turned back to him as Jack pulled another slip of paper from one of the many pockets and compartments inside of his clothes. He even unfolded it so she could get the briefest of glances at it, before he pulled it from her reach.

"You…" she whispered accusingly.

"An eye for an eye, love," he replied sassily. "You lied to me, I lied to you. The only difference is that I'm better at it."

"You can be such a…such a…"

"Pirate?"

Morgan started to pout. He'd insulted her pride three times in the past conversation, making her already dismal impression of him even worse. She turned away from him, and he thought at first she was retreating to her cabin, but suddenly she whipped around and marched back.

"Give me the map, Jack…"

"I thought it was useless," he blew on his fingers, pretending to be more interested in the grit under his fingernails than the glowering face of his younger sister.

"Stop playing games with me," she warned, an empty threat, but a threat nonetheless. "As Captain of this vessel…"

"As Captain of this vessel you're completely powerless. My ship is within firing distance of yours, and I have twice the cannons you have."

She cocked her pistol and raised it to his head. "How about now?"

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"It'd be suicide."

"It'd be the smartest thing I've done since I dragged your ass from Port Royal."

"You're not a murderer, Morgan. You're a pirate, but not a murderer."

"No," she shook her head. "I play the part but I never once became one of them."

"Then why are you so eager to kill a man for a treasure map?"

He'd hit another nerve, but the logic was infallible. Morgan's would-be homicidal rampage subsided a moment later, and she lowered the weapon to her side.

Jack smiled coyly. "So then…it really is just a pirate by any other name, isn't it?"

He was quoting their mother, and she knew it, as indicated by the look of pure hatred she shot at him. Whenever their father left on another voyage around the Caribbean, their mother would always insist that he was nothing more than a pirate.

"You married a scallywag, darling," he'd say with a shrug.

"A scallywag's nothing but a pirate by any other name," she'd reply.

Not waiting for her killer urges to recur, Jack continued. "So, the way I see it is this: either you have the map and you're not telling me about it or you don't have the map and you're trying to take mine. Either way, you've no other choice but to reveal your intentions now, because pirate or not, Morgan, you're one of the worst liars I've ever seen. And you're not going to make it very far with fratricide when my ship is less than half a league off your starboard side."

Morgan's hand shook. She wanted to raise the pistol and blow his brains out and he knew it. The bullet within was screaming to become a permanent fixture in Jack's scattered brains. But the Black Pearl was an ominous force amidst the nighttime waters, and the silence made her all the more imposing. Her long nines were still evident along her portside, and her crew shuffled nervously on deck, pistols and rifles at the ready. She wouldn't even get to fire a single shot before one of them planted a bullet into her.

But it wasn't the idea of dying that held back Morgan's hand. She had lost a lot of dignity already with her lying, and didn't feel like losing anymore.

"I've become accustomed to a certain lifestyle, Jack," she confessed, sighing deeply, "One that is not commonly accommodated aboard a pirate ship, certainly not with the sort of security measures being taken by the royal navy. And while I remain debt free, there is a level of financial stability required to maintain my lifestyle, one that I cannot manage such as circumstance allows me."

Jack floundered in her sea of polysyllabic jargon, attempting to make sense of it all. All his years of living on the sea, surrounded by scallywags and cut throats had made his grasp of good English loosen to a point that all semblance of dignified speech had left his years ago. Morgan's, however, had been well taught. Whatever she may have been lying about up until their showdown on deck, she certainly wasn't lying about her education. Someone forced such horrendously long terms down her throat, and while it may not have been professors of medicine, it definitely wasn't pirates who showcased such a wide vocabulary.

Nonetheless, he managed to summarize her lengthily statement into two small words: I'm broke.

Jack smiled. The situation was becoming even more advantageous than he could have ever hoped for.

"So…have you got the map? Or haven't you?"

Morgan's face remained expressionless, impossible to read this time. She holstered her weapon and pulled open her jacket, drawing closer to him as she did so. Undoing several buttons of her shirt, she slid her hands underneath the thin cotton garment and dug into her bodice beneath it. The custom-made corset evened out her entire chest, unlike the more popular models which only propped up whatever flesh it found there.

Shifting uncomfortably beneath the tight costume, she finally pulled a small silver box from beneath it, one that was half a shilling's wide and two inches in length. Popping it open, she revealed at last what Jack was looking for: the second piece of his father's treasure map.

Author's Notes:

Short chapter this time, just enough to get everything I needed to. The treasure hunt's about to begin and I cannot wait to keep going.

Morgan's motives are going to be explained in later chapters. Her deception (or lack thereof) is also divulged, but not yet. Sorry if this chapter was confusing. I promise, explanation is on its way.

Reviews:

CloudSky: Thanks very much for your honesty! The plot was kind of a product from watching the trailer to the sequel and reading whatever I could about it. I had to place Jack in a situation where he was desperate enough to use a map he only had part of, and I figured a bounty would work nicely. While I do agree with what you'er saying, I think Jack would try and save himself in anyway possible. But seeing as how he's not a murderer, the best way to get Bateman off his tail would be pay him back with interest, something his father's treasure could offer.

I think it's possible that Jack has any number of family members we've never heard about. Most of the movie dealt with his mutiny and need for revenge, not so much the personal history of his character. Still, he does come off as an only child sometimes, or at least one raised without other children.

And William will most definitely be waking up soon. Their interaction is what makes the fandom so endearing.

Thank you so much!

I Can't Believe I'm Not Anime: Lol. Jack's inability to count is a plot point that will come back to haunt him, that I can assure you.

Alexwacrap: You just started your school year? Whoa, makes sense though. Your winter is coming up soon though, isn't it? I've never been to Australia, but my dad goes there on business. He can't stop talking about it. So while I'm sitting up here in the Northern reaches of Canada he's discussing how wonderful the weather is there. Feel free to complain about school all you want. I empathize entirely.

Yes, Jack Sparrow is all about getting a rise out of people? Sighs Like when he threatens to leave Will hanging off the Interceptor? He's wonderful, such an awesome character.

Thanks so much for the great feedback! I always love to hear from people, so good or bad, just leave a little note!