A/N: I came to realize that her name is Ana Maria...my mistake. Unfortunately, I have at least a fifth of the story written already, so I'm not going back and changing them all. I'm suspecting that we all know who I mean by Ana Marie. Any confusion is greatly regretted. Please keep reviewing, because I love feeling wanted. thanx

Chapter Two

James Norrington was dressed in his best and stood outside the door of Lord Cutler Bennett's office. Inside he heard the guards and Lord Bennett conversing with one another and then the door creaked open.

"Good morning, Commodore." Bennett said from his desk, without bothering to look up. "Have a seat, please." He scribbled the finishing touches on his paper and put it in a drawer before addressing Norrington.

"I've come to know what my job will be." Norrington explained.

"Yes, I'm quite aware." Bennett replied as he took a few things out of his desk drawer. One of them being the heart of Davey Jones. Norrington stared at the beating mass in disgust as he remembered trying to get the blood out of that shirt.

"Your job…" Bennett began, and paused to clear his throat, "is rather simple. As we all know, the Royal Navy is in possession of Davey Jones' heart. Therefore, we need to bribe him to hand over all control of the sea to us. When he does so, his heart will be returned to him."

"And my job in this is?…"

"To find the Flying Dutchman, and inform him that we have something of his. I told you it wouldn't be that difficult." Bennett smirked and gave a curt nod. "Will you, or will you not take this job?"

"What do I get in return?" Norrington asked.

"Well, of course, you'll be moved up in rank. And be paid handsomely." Bennett said in a tone of voice that indicated his answer should be obvious. "Sign here." Lord Bennett pushed a piece of parchment and quill to Norrington. "If you are willing to take the job, that is."

Norrington raised an eyebrow at Bennett before signing the parchment.

"Thank you. A ship and a crew of good fighters—just in case there's trouble—will be awaiting you tomorrow morning. Be there in time to port, you don't want to make a bad impression as Captain." Bennett explained before waving Norrington away.

"How am I supposed to go about finding Davey Jones?" Norrington asked as he stood up.

"That's not my problem, now is it?" Bennett sighed. "Guards, please escort this fine man out of my office." Norrington snarled in annoyance, but left of his own accord.

.x.

Norrington sat in a local pub, drinking enough to get drunk, but not enough for there to be terrible consequences the next morning. Oddly enough, drunk is how he thought through the most dire predicaments, and he found himself in one again.

He wasn't sure what exactly the paper with his name now signed in ink at the bottom said, but it was enough to leave a good sized pit at the bottom of his stomach. He threw back the last of his ale and slammed the cup down on the table.

Where in gods name was he going to find out about the Flying Dutchman? A week ago, he would have argued that the Flying Dutchman as well as the heart of Davey Jones was all legend. Non existent.

But no. Then Jack Sparrow had to find the heart and prove all his morals wrong. It wasn't fair. He should have just taken that job as a blacksmith. No, he had to have special dreams of making it big.

He grabbed the new mug of beer before it even touched the bar and downed half of it. He had to stop complaining and figure out what to do.

Of course, there was one place that came to mind when dealing with pirates. And of course, it would be pirates that he would be dealing with, probably for the next wasted year of his life.

That made the answer of his first stop as Captain of the…whatever his boat was to be called…to be in the pirate town of Tortuga.

.x.

Norrington awoke with more of a headache than he had banked on, but managed to get himself awake and decent.

He made it to the dock about an hour after sunrise, and looked at all the beautiful ships, wondering which one was his.

"Commodore Norrington?" a man's voice asked.

"Yes. That would be me." Norrington said, shaking his head in attempt to clear it.

"Your ship is this way." Norrington followed the man who was dressed in the usual red uniform. The man led him to a ship that was almost a mirror image of the Dauntless, except for the name, 'The Cutler Bennett', inscribed on the back. Norrington couldn't help but to scoff at Bennett's conceitedness, and got aboard the ship to meet his crew.

They were Royal Navy, but less high-strung with a more piratey atmosphere…but Royal Navy nonetheless.

He introduced himself, and instead of the respect that he had expected, he got a few noncommittal grumblings.

"Right then. I suppose I should tell you where we're headed." he announced, as he walked up to the wheel.

"T'would be a good idea." one of the men mopping the deck called up to him.

"Our heading is Tortuga."