(Have never attempted to write a char quite like Jack Sparrow before. Hoping I don't muck him up. Yes, Corwin is slightly... immature in this chapter. The poor man is terribly stressed.)

Somewhere between the wailing and the berating, Jack began to remember why he'd left Port Royal in the first place. True, he'd been saving his own hide - keeping his neck at its proper length, thank ye very much - but he could only stand so much of the well-meaning but quite-disturbing Governor Swann before he started thinking not-nice thoughts, such as throwing himself over the side of the ship and swimming off to safety and letting the good Governor sit there and think about what he did.

Although when he thought about it, he probably shouldn't have invited the good Governor Swann and his pet Commodore aboard Black Pearl in the first place. Relentless may have been too messy to hold any kind of war council, but inviting men who upheld the law onto a pirate ship was simply asking for trouble. Jack made a mental note to never do such a thing again.

"...and my beloved Elizabeth and that poor boy are in the hands of that horrible man, and it's your fault!"

The Governor stopped for air and fell silent. Was he done? Jack waited, drumming his fingers together in anticipation of a slap. None came, and he nodded. "I suppose I deserved that. My apologies, Sir Governor, we didn't know it was you. No one expected the new ship to be done for--"

"Obviously, she was finished ahead of schedule."

"Hang him," the Commodore growled.

Jack gaped at him, affronted. "You can't hang me. I'm on my own ship! I should hang you for suggesting such a thing."

"You can't hang me. I'm the Commodore."

"And I'm the Captain, you're on my ship, and I can hang who I want, savvy?" Sometimes people needed to be reminded of their place.

"Stop the yelling," the Governor said weakly. "Mr. Sparrow--"

"Captain Sparrow," he corrected, reaching for a banana. He had ordered Gibbs to place a bowl of them conveniently by the mainmast, where he now stood. He began peeling it as the Governor sighed.

"Captain Sparrow... what do you know of Gerrarrd?"

Jack took a bite out of the banana and chewed. "He's not very nice," he said with his mouth full. He tilted his head back to admire the running lines flapping in the wind. "He's extremely not very nice. There's been talk of alliances between some of the smaller ships to put a stop to him, but no one can cease arguing long enough to come up with a plan. Dreadfully unfortunate, don't you think?"

The Commodore did not like this. "Then why the devil didn't you fight him from the start?!"

Jack spread his hands. "Because I'm Captain Jack Sparrow! I... sail to my own wind."

"Hang him," the Commodore said. "Now! I want to see him dangling."

"I thought we were past this," Jack said. "Regardless, you were in such close quarters with Wickedry for much of the time - if I had fired upon her, I might have taken you down as well."

"Death may be preferable to what they'll certainly do to Elizabeth - hang him!" the Commodore said once again.

"I protest that whole-heartedly. You should look into anger management, Commodore, it might do you some good... may I also recommend expanding your vocabulary?" Jack thought about clapping a hand on the Governor's shoulder, saw the livid look on the man's face, and withdrew his fingers. "I am sorry for the loss of your--"

"What will they do to her?"

"To Elizabeth?"

"To Miss Swann!"

"Ah, yes, must be proper with you lawmaking types... oh, dear, did I say that out loud?" Jack flailed his hands about. "I daresay she may be ransomed. Or they might decide to keep her."

"Keep her... for what?"

Jack stared at him. "You can't be a eunuch, you produced a daughter, and therefore must have some idea of what goes on in beds. Hammocks. Sleeping areas."

Governor Swann closed his eyes. "No, they wouldn't dare--"

"You know, Governor: a bit of wine, a bit of laughter, some dancing, a featherbed... without the wine, dancing, and featherbed, and I imagine Elizabeth won't be laughing, really - it's quite an unpleasant place your daughter has gotten herself into, not somewhere I'd want to go myself, thanks." He devoured the last of the banana as Governor Swann lifted seething eyes toward him. "Oh, I've been rude. Would you like a banana?"

The Governor slapped the bowl from his hand, causing Jack to leap backwards. "Commodore, we must go after the--"

The Commodore sighed. "We have one functioning mast, Governor. We'll be lucky to make it to Port Royal in a week, much less chase after Wickedry." Poor fellow looked so distraught; if he hadn't tried to cut his pirating days short so many times, Jack might have been inclined to pat him on the head.

"Aye. Well, I'll leave you two to best decide how to re-rig your ship and will be sailing off into the sunset, do come by again, have a nice--" Jack ground to a halt when the Governor grabbed his jacket collar. "--if you would release me it would be much appreciated--"

"Find her."

"Find who?"

"My daughter."

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes."

"The one captured by the Wickedry."

"The same."

Jack extracted himself from the grip and turned to face the Governor, and now his face did reflect something approaching remorse. "Governor, I regret to inform you that chasing the Wickedry is simply not on today's agenda. Nor tomorrow. The day after does not look good, either--"

"Damn you, Sparrow, I thought you befriended her!"

"We were acquaintances," he said. "By chance." And if I tell you what she's like when she's had rum, you're going to kill me in a wonderfully exotic manner! "Lovely girl, but not enough for me to stretch my neck for, I'm afraid."

"What is it you want? Money? Crew? A new ship?"

Jack placed a hand upon his heart. "You'll hurt Pearl's feelings!"

"Come, Governor, we have no need of him."

Jack nodded to the Commodore. "Smart boy there. Very smart. Maybe too smart for his own good. He'll be a lovely Admiral one day. The wig leeches you of color, though."

"Captain Sparrow, I beseech you--"

"Black Pearl is a fine ship, Governor, but she cannot match the Wickedry in arms."

"Captain..."

Anamaria Soledad strode down from the forecastle, a pistol in one hand. "I believe you two have overstayed y'welcome on the Pearl."

"You saved her once, Captain Sparrow. Save her again. I beg you. She is... she is all I have." Jack sucked in a deep breath and prepared to tell off the Governor once and for all, but the man's racing brain finally came up with something of worth. "I will grant you clemency. Immunity. A... a pardon."

"A pardon?" The Commodore cried in dismay.

Now his head did turn towards the Governor, and slowly. "...a pardon, you say?" Fingers reached up to stroke the braids in his beard. "For... everything?" The hell with a clean record - but the look on the Commodore's face was entirely too priceless to let this one go.

"Your record will be wiped clean."

"And my crew, what of my crew?" He couldn't resist dancing a gleeful little jig, drumming his fingertips together as he watched the Commodore go quite pale.

"Theirs as well."

Jack began to smile. He smiled his slow, curving smile - one that revealed his gleaming gold teeth, one by one. He practiced it twice a week to make sure he timed it just right; he had it down to a fine blend of mirth and malice, menace and friendliness. He called it his Pirate's Grin. "Perhaps Wickedry may best us with her guns... but there are other ways of achieving things. Very well!" He bowed, sweeping his hat off. "Consider your Elizabeth rescued, Governor. I shall require proof of my clearing."

"Yes."

"What about the boy?" The Commodore asked. Jack's brows knit together. Will Turner. Good lad. "You'll bring back the... boy?"

"Well, see here, Governor and Commodore, they may already have sacrificed him to their--"

"Hardly funny, Captain," the Governor said warningly.

He shrugged. "Our deal never included Turner. 'Bring me Elizabeth, Sparrow! Save Elizabeth, Sparrow!' None of that 'Save my Willy-Nilly!' at all."

"I rather assumed they came together," the Governor mumbled.

Jack leaned away from him, mouth puckering. "I don't do package deals. Two-for-one, someone always gets shortchanged."

"Then what will it take to bring the boy back? Elizabeth will be heartbroken... heartbroken..."

Nothing like rum to mend a broken heart... rum, and something... no Jack. Not while you're talking to the faaaaaaaaaaather!

"You're grinning rather idiotically, Captain Sparrow. What could possibly be funny?"

"Nothing, Commodore. I will require a sum of money to be paid upon the return of the lad and lady."

"What kind of sum?"

He shrugged. "Depends on how many shirts I have to go through to get them back. I'll be sure to let you know." He extended one hand, admiring the rings as he did so. "Do we have an accord, gentlemen?"

The Governor reached for his hand first.

He made them write it up. Two copies: one for him, one for the Governor. After reading the signatures for the third time, he folded up his copy and selected a pocket to tuck it into. "You'd best be getting to your ship, gentlemen. Black Pearl has a mean and nasty pirate to catch."

The Governor went back to Relentless quickly enough, but the Commodore lowered his voice before addressing Jack directly. "If you fail, Captain, your life will be forfeit. I will hunt you down and you will wish you had been granted the quick and clean death of a hanging. Do I make myself clear?"

Jack smiled. "Disturbingly so."

"And Captain..." the Commodore leaned close. "...if the Turner boy doesn't return... well... I don't see them suited for each other anyway, do you?"

Then he was gone, back to his poor sick little ship. Jack buffed his nails, picked a cuticle, looked into his pockets. "A pardon," he said as Joshamee Gibbs stepped over for orders. "Funny thing, that. What will the Commodore do without me to chase?"

"Ye took a pardon, Jack. Why in hell's balls would you bother? Ye'll just shred it up anyway, should we rescue the girl..."

"Because, my dear Gibbs, the emotional turmoil it will put Commodore Norrington through will be worth every cent of it." He clapped the man on the back. "So we'll be clean for a bit. It won't be the end of the world, and we'll sully ourselves shortly after!"

"The Commodore... he's still besotted with the girl, aye? Jack... why's he want her? He knows what they'll do t'her. They'll ruin 'er."

Jack shrugged. "Gerrarrd is brutal, but he's not stupid. He may hold onto her and hope to get a bigger price for an unharmed wench than a pirate's whore. My guess is they'll set up in a port, send a ransom note, and if it's not met they'll dally her out as they please."

"And Bootstrap's boy?"

"Dead already. They've no use for him, unless he can convince them he wants to turn pirate... and I don't know if he's that devious. Someone clean up those bananas!" Jack walked slowly to the wheel, stroking the spokes with his knowing hands. "A good man, that lad. And she a good woman. They saved my life." He checked the compass before barking out some orders. As the crew rushed to fulfill them, Gibbs sent him an odd look.

"You was plannin' to go after them anyway, weren't ya?"

"They saved my life," he repeated, "and let no one say Cap'n Jack Sparrow doesn't repay his debts." He looked toward the horizon, toward the island he knew Gerrarrd would put into.

"Does this make us legal pirates now, Cap'n?"

"Is there such a thing?"

"Drink up, me hearties!" Mr. Cotton's parrot squawked above him. Jack raised an imaginary mug to the bird.

"Yo-ho!"

"Cap'n..." Gibbs only called him captain when he didn't like something.

"Rest easy, Mr. Gibbs, we'll set after them and all will be well." The distressed look did not vanish from the second mate's eyes, and Jack studied the horizon. "An' if it's too late to rescue the lad... at least one of 'em'll live to see another sunset."

"'less they torture her."

"Maybe not." His smile turned pensive. "'Lizabeth Swann isn't exactly the type o'woman to take such things... lying down, if ye get my meaning."

No, Gibbs did not get his meaning; he merely nodded and went about his business, leaving Jack at the wheel. I'll have to watch my tongue. There are sharper individuals than Gibbs in these waters.

He had promised her his silence, after all.