The Lost Ingots of Tagus
by Aldesina
Chapter 7: Tortuga Straight Ahead
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Disclaimer.....As you are probably all very well aware, I do not own anything, if I did I would be rolling in it, since I am not, and I do NOT own the story I am poor, and can only write fanfiction about it. Ah sigh, oh well, on with the story
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Dragoness, Captain's Quarters
"Uh Dad, how could a man be six years behind in news if the ship I was on only sank five years ago?" Will asked trying to break poignant mood of the room.
"Because any good informant will have news well in advance of anyone else."
"Oh"
Bootstrap smiled at Will weakly.
"I think I was about to kill that stupid person for telling me. Went to a bar got drunk for a week, or at least tried to anyway. At that time Jack had not lifted the curse yet so I couldn't exactly get drunk now could I?" Bootstrap peered at his son.
"Actually it was you two" He said pointing at Elizabeth and Will "that lifted the curse wasn't it?"
"Well Jack did help" Elizabeth put in.
"He helped keep Barbossa busy while I sealed the Aztec gold away."
"Ahhh good, good, serves damn Barbossa right for marooning Jack on that island."
"Speaking of which, why did you say to Jack that he and Barbossa shot you off in a cannon." Will asked. Bootstrap kinda scratched his head sheepishly.
"Er…. Drama?"
Will blinked at his father
"Drama?"
"Well it wasn't for you my dear boy." Bootstrap said "First of all I had no idea you were there. It was for that blasted commodore, nothing like driving a military man mad by making him think I'm on some sort of vengeance streak."
"But wouldn't that make him want to come after you even more?" Elizabeth asked "I've known the commodore my entire life, he's quite persistent."
"Yes I was hoping that he was that kind of man." Bootstrap poured himself another goblet of wine. "Hope he chases Diablo with that kind of devotion."
Will and Elizabeth both blanched.
"You do know that the commodore doesn't actually like Diablo right?" Will asked
"Actually I think he wants to hang her." Bootstrap said smiling. "Besides he also thinks that Diablo is a him, not a her but he'll learn soon enough that it's a girl and all that will be rectified."
Will blinked.
"What do you mean he'll soon know that Diablo is a girl?"
"Well I'm going to send her aboard the Interceptor as a sign of good will."
"You're going to do what?" Elizabeth's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.
"He'll behead her for sure!" Will added.
"No he won't." Elizabeth snorted in an extremely unladylike manner, "He'll wait till he gets to Port Royal and then he'll hang her because that's the proper way to do it. Until then he'll just lock her up in the brig with stale bread and water."
"Ah, good I was counting on that." Bootstrap said rubbing his hands together.
"You were counting on Diablo being locked up?" Will asked.
"No, no, I was counting on him being a stickler for the law, that way it ensures Diablo's life. And since we'll still have you two on board with us they'll be forced to follow us in pursuit, ah fabulous!"
Will blinked at his father.
"You're daft."
"Actually it's so mad that it's ingenious."
The three occupants of the room once again turned their heads to the door to find Diablo there.
"The only thing now is you have to figure out how in the world you're going to communicate with the commodore while he's topside and you are locked away in the brig." Will said rolling his eyes. This was surely madness.
Diablo and Bootstrap Bill looked at each other and smiled.
"We already have that part taken care of." Bootstrap said.
"And how exactly is that?" Will demanded.
"I will simply tell the good commodore that I am a lady in waiting to a lady and that I must speak with him and ask a favor of him upon my lady's request."
Elizabeth blinked at her
"You're mad! He'll never buy it."
"Oh but he will, he'll buy it hook, line, and sinker."
Diablo walked over to the table and began to clean up the remnants of their meal.
"The crew are a bit antsy, they aren't sure if we are going to stay true to their course, and they also seem genuinely concerned for you as well" Diablo glanced at her captain. "Perhaps it would be best….."
"If I actually showed my face and had a chat with them?" Bootstrap asked cutting in. Diablo smiled.
"You read my mind."
Bootstrap snorted at her.
"Blasted girl, you'll be the death of me you realize. When the hell does a pirate captain explain his actions?" Diablo shrugged her shoulders and didn't answer but still had a bit of a lingering smile on her lips. Bootstrap took a look at that smile and blanched.
"Ok, who did you tell already?" Diablo straightened and picked the tray up in her hands
"Oh just Marlow, Smith and Rubens."
"Then why do you even bother with telling me that I should make an appearance?" Bootstrap threw his hands up in exasperation. "They probably told the whole damn crew already." Diablo said nothing as she made her way to the door
"Calm yourself Captain," She looked back at them. "I threatened to cut their balls off and stuff them down their throats if they uttered a word to the crew without your say so." Bootstrap took a good look at his first mate
"No you didn't."
"Nope I didn't, but you know I don't need to when it really matters." With that Diablo left the room again. Bootstrap Bill shook his hands. He looked over at Will and Elizabeth with a sheepish look on his face.
"So son, how would you and your lovely wife to be like to meet the crew?"
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Interceptor
"Commodore!" Commodore Norrington looked up from his desk as he saw Lieutenants Gillette and Grooves approach his desk
"Yes?"
The two men walked toward him holding between the two of them a heavy container that did not belong to any part of the ship. In fact the design was so odd that Norrington was willing to bet that it was foreign.
"And just what might that be you've got there?"
"We haven't a clue sir" Grooves said. "We couldn't crack it open and the only thing that we found that might have been any sort of clue is this." He held up a small piece of paper with writing on it.
"Latin I believe sir, however neither of us read enough of it to know what it says." Gillette said.
Norrington took the scrape of paper in his hands and unfolded it. He could read Latin. What was on the note caused him to blink and reach into his left pocket. From there he produced a small golden key.
"Commodore?" Grooves asked.
"Apparently this is the key that will open Pandora's box." Norrington said. Gillette shook his head confusedly
"What do you mean sir."
"The letter reads
When you reach into your pocket a mystery you will find
A key A treasure, a curse and a bind
Here it's destination be, here it's dream lies
Here is where you will find, things of no other kind
Then it promptly stops its rhyme to say
Here is the key to Pandora's box, which if you haven't
found yet is located in place of a cannon on your lovely
ship. Which reminds me, didn't the Interceptor sink
just some time ago? And isn't it bad luck to name a
ship after one that sank?"
"How positively cheeky!" Gillette exclaimed, Grooves stood next to him as baffled as Gillette was. Norrington cringed, who the hell told this person the Interceptor sank. It was suppose to be a navel secret. In fact he had spent several months making sure that no pirate heard about this and even had another boat built to the exact specifications of the original Interceptor. It would not bode well for anyone if those pirates thought they could blow up a navy ship that easily.
" Indeed, it concludes by telling me that there will be more of an explanation once I've opened that box." Norrington looked at the key and then at the oddly shaped box. It looked more like a barrel then anything else. It was oval shaped and had strips of metal going around its sides to hold it together like any barrel would but its entire top was rounded and fashioned into on gigantic lock. At the very center of what looked to be a mind boggling eye sore of a puzzle was a very small hole for the golden key to go into.
Commodore Norrington approached the box carefully, usually when something is called Pandora's Box it does not indicate positive signs. He stuck the key carefully into the box and gave it a twist.
Immediately the top of the box began to twirl and change its shape. Within about a minute it formed the shape of a handprint.
"Commodore what is that thing?"
"Apparently it's a handprint" Norrington looked at it slightly puzzled. If it was a trap there was a chance that his hand would get chopped off. But then again why bother to set up such an elaborate scheme just to take off his hand? Norrington flexed both his hands unconsciously. He did not like the aspect that there was even a distinct possibility that he might lose them. Norrington frowned. Blast it all, here he was, a Commodore of the British Navy and he was afraid of a box. Bloody coward; his conscious called at him. However another part of his mind silently reminded him that he did not become a commodore because he was impulsive, and capricious in his ways, but because he thought things through and acted accordingly.
"Commodore?" Grooves asked.
"Oh what the hell." Norrington stuck his left hand, cause he would have hated to lose his right one, onto the handprint and pressed down.
The box's top immediately spilt into two and opened, folding its top down over the sides. What was inside the box astonished the commodore. It was a note encased within a red envelop that was lying on top of a mound of Chinese gold.
"Ingots?" Commodore Norrington asked. His two junior officers looked at him confusedly.
"Sir, what are ingots?"
"Chinese gold," Norrington said holding one up for his men to see. They blinked at him
"Why would someone send us a crate of Chinese gold?" Norrington asked as he reached for the red envelop that lay on top of the box. He opened it carefully, gingerly pulling out the sheets of paper within with infinite care. Inside he found two more pieces of parchment, both were written once again in Latin.
Dear Commodore Norrington,
Norrington started at that, it was addressed specifically to him,
I see that you have finally found the little care package that I have left for you.
Now you must be wondering why anyone would send a good upstanding
officer of the British Royal Navy Chinese gold. Is it a bribe? Is it a trick? No.
It is merely a request on behalf of my lady; whom seeks your help.
Why you? Because she believes you to be of a fine character and admires your
persistence and fortitude when it comes to completing your missions. She also
admires your attitude regarding the other aspect of your life, and mannerisms.
The Chinese gold, Ingots, as they are called are yours to keep whether you
wish to use it to line your own pockets or furnish the British Royal Treasury,
it is of no concern of ours.
However, whatever your decision might be I ask that you allow me to speak
to you face to face when we meet. All that I ask is that you listen to my lady's
request.
I thank you for your time and hope to see you soon
Diablo
PS. Included are directions to the island of Gongolan,
which is where Jack undoubtedly asked you to meet
him. He will be escorting me to you.
"Diablo?" Norrington echoed, that name sounded annoyingly familiar.
"Sir?" Grooves asked. "Isn't that the man whom the masked pirate captain told to kidnap Elizabeth?"
Norrington blinked. It was also the sneaky little bastard with the odd fighting style that knocked him out. Twice! If Diablo was a servant to a lady then he would propose to the bastard and marry him when all this was over. Norrington snorted. Not the bloody hell likely. If Diablo wanted to meet with him then meet Diablo he will. Norrington was vaguely intrigued as to what the pirate wanted to say to him, and why it was so important that he would risk his own life planning and then setting into place this elaborate scheme.
At that moment another sailor broke into the commodore's office breathing heavily and looking a bit panicked
"Commodore Sir.!" He saluted, "I'm sorry sir but I fear we've just lost sight of the Black Pearl sir."
"Yes," Norrington said, slowly. He looked up at the sailor as he unfolded the second piece of the paper from the red envelop. "No matter though," He studied the parchment in his hands. "Have them stay true to their course and when we reach The Black Mouth have the ship head 12 degrees north from our current path and keep to that path until we reach our destination.
"But Commodore, we don't know where Tortuga, much less Gongolan is!" Grooves exclaimed.
"We do with this map." Norrington said laying it upon the table so his lieutenants could inspect it.
"But Commodore?" Gillette asked. "Is this safe?"
"It seems," Norrington said resignedly "To be the only choice that we've got." He turned to look at the two lieutenants.
"Go plot the course and prepare yourselves. It seems to me that at this rate we'll be at Gongolan within the next two days."
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Author's Note;
Ahhhhh, it looks like Diablo is finally going to meet the lovely Commodore Norrington, who seems to be so much fun. Randomly has anyone seen a picture of Commodore Norrington without his wig? He's quite sexy, and he's not that much older then Orlando Bloom either! Woot! Wonder if Commodore Norrington will make it into the second movie, hmmm I do hope so, and I hope they make him take his wig off somehow. Hehehehe Kindly review if you please! Now to scheme up a sex……er meeting scene between the two ahem, er, lovebirds
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