Mighty Pirate Hunter
Disclaimer: I am still responsible for John and Josephine, the rest are not mine.
Need of Supplies
Josephine watched from the quarterdeck as the crew swarmed over the ship. Everyone had work to do and everyone was busy. As soon as the lower topsails were raised, the wind started luffing at them and The Sea Lion began to move. As the sails were sheeted into place, the upper topsails were likewise released and set. Now each of the three masts had enough canvas spread before the wind, it could carry the ship forward.
Josephine watched the blossoming of the ship. It reminded her of a flower with its petals opening. With each unfurled sail, the ship breathed a little more vigorously and moved a little more briskly across the clear Caribbean waters. She could see why the ship was called the Sea Lion.
John stood by the helm and Josephine soon joined him and stood by his side.
"Fine weather, winds are light from the south and we are using our sails to the best advantage." He smiled at his wife and pulled her closer to him, "Good to be off, isn't it?" It was more a statement than a question.
Josephine snuggled up against him, her husband was in his element now and she was very pleased for him. "Yes, very good. And the crew seems to know what they are doing. Do they know that we are hunting Captain Jack Sparrow and The Black Pearl?"
John winced slightly and then looked up at the sky. "I wouldn't mind a little more wind, but a light breeze is good for getting the men settled. They will have time to get use to my ship and me, before we run into any gales."
"John," Josephine looked at him with alarm. "Are you telling me you have not informed the crew of our intentions?"
"Darling please, the crew knows we are hunting pirates. I may have accidentally not mentioned the full details of whom we are seeking, but when we approach The Black Pearl they will show me what they are made of. I have no doubts."
Josephine looked out over the ocean. "I am sure you will get your wind and we will find my parents." She looked back into her husbands face. "Are you prepared to face Captain Jack Sparrow, bring him back to Port Royal and hang him?"
"It will be my pleasure to do so. I will make my father proud and I will make my wife happy. Just think, I will do what my father could not, I will hunt down that pirate and I will bring him back so he can have a short drop and a sudden stop. He will lament the day he was born and he will be sorry he took your parents."
Josephine gave him a soft kiss on his cheek and looked out upon the horizon. "I have no reason to believe my parents would have gone with him, I am sure Sparrow abducted them or they would have told me they were leaving." Hesitantly, she glanced up at her husband.
"You see John, I guess I'm a little confused because there did not appear to be a struggle and my mother did, kind of, leave me a note."
"What do you mean, kind of?" John looked at her with concern.
She pulled out a small parchment of paper. "I found this near the window in my parent's room. Apparently a vase had tipped and the letter got wet and I can't read it all." She placed the letter in John's hand.
"As you can see if you look at it, she was writing with some haste and all I can make out are the words pirate, Sparrow, trouble, worry and never return."
John looked at the letter and then at her. "Darling, I really wish you had bought this to my attention earlier." He crinkled it up and threw it in the ocean.
"This isn't really a difficult task is it? I mean, I know you have hunted down other pirates and you have been very successful. Captain Sparrow shouldn't be any different, right?"
"Is there anything else you, accidentally of course, did not tell me or show me?" John looked at her questioningly and spoke with a semi-harsh, sarcastic tone.
Josephine pulled away from John's side and looked at him with a hurt expression. "No, like I said, I don't think they went willing. I mean, why would they? I know my father does speak well of Captain Sparrow and the captain did save my mother's life from Captain Barbossa, but no, my father would never follow Captain Sparrow."
John threw his hands up in the air. "I knew I should have listened to my father. Why would they? You're asking me? Now I have to ask you. Why wouldn't they? You say your father talks well of Jack Sparrow and the adventures they had. Listen Joe, if your father went with Captain Sparrow willingly, I will have to bring him in too and treat him as the pirate my father claims him to be. You best not be sending me on a wild goose chase, because I will be the winner and Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and your beautiful mother Elizabeth will not!"
"John, my mother is not a pirate!"
He placed his hands on his hips and looked at her scornfully. "Yes, but your father is. Are you sure you have nothing else that you want to tell me?"
"No, I am not hiding anything from you. I am sorry, I was only thinking out loud. I will not make that mistake again."
Josephine turned away and walked down the long side of the ship. She leaned on the rail, trying to enjoy the warm, sunny air, the nearly invisible mist and the taste of salt on her lips. She looked back up at the helm and she could see John's eyes glaring at her.
She really had no reason to think her parents would have sailed off on The Black Pearl but John was correct in his assessment. Her father, Will Turner, was a pirate and he did talk of joining Sparrow's crew someday and giving up the life of the daily doldrums in favor of looking for adventure and treasure. With a heavy sigh she hoped she had not jumped the gun and sent her husband off to kill her father.
XXXXXXXX
The late afternoon sun started sliding down the sky, the sunset shinning off the ocean's glittering surface. Josephine continued to stare at the low pink billowing clouds, thinking she saw a ship on the horizon.
Just as the red sun touched the water, John came up beside Josephine and placed his hand over hers as it rested on the rail.
"Pretty, isn't it?"
"Absolutely beautiful," she said. "I hope this excellent weather lasts."
"I hope it doesn't. Sailing along this slow is fine for someone in no particular hurry. I myself want to find the pirates and rid the waters of them." He gave her a slight nudge. "I am sorry for my outburst earlier today. I suppose you are right; there would be no reason for William and Elizabeth to go willingly with Captain Sparrow. Surly they would tell you if they were going on a holiday. Wouldn't they?" John raised an eyebrow and hoped Josephine would not take this on as another argument.
She made no reply.
He leaned out over the rail and looked down into the swirls of water closing to meet around the stern. "Did you hear something?"
"No," Josephine answered quietly. "All I hear is you picking on me."
"Really darling, I am sorry. Come, I think we should retire for the night. I'll have some food and wine bought to our cabin."
Josephine smiled and then let out a gut wrenching squeal. "John did you see that? Over there, look! It is a ship!"
"Where! Where!" John felt a chill go down his back and he turned pale. He pulled out his spyglass and looked out at the vast ocean. "Joe, I see nothing. You are as bad as the crew. We have only been out here for a few hours and they too grow restless and seem unmotivated. I tried to motivate them by showing them sword play but it would help if I knew what I was doing." He gave a slight laugh and then placed his arm around his wife. "Maybe tomorrow you can show them some moves, but tonight you can show me."
"I guess as your first mate I can manage to keep the crew happy, but mark my words, I will not be entertaining them because I am a female and I must admit very attractive. It is only because my father is an excellent swordsman and he has showed me many tricks, that I will share it with them."
"Your words are well marked my darling." John released his grip on Josephine and headed for the galley.
She looked at the ocean once again, thinking she had seen something. The short choppy waves were mottling the seascape but other than that there was nothing. All she could see was the horizon in every direction. It was all the same, but then there was that slight variation. There appeared to be something dark and drifting on the surface but it kept disappearing. It seemed to slip back into the sea, and then she saw it again. In the middle of her viewpoint she saw the unfurled sails of another ship and she could have sworn they were black.
XXXXXXXX
When day broke the next morning, the sea behind and in front of The Sea Lion was empty. John had risen early and his movements woke Josephine. She dressed in the pale light of morning and joined her captain, her husband, on deck for a look at the dawning day.
"Do you see anything, Mr. Cogan?" John yelled up to a young man in the crow's nest.
"No, sir Captain. No sail in sight." As the young man yelled he almost fell out of the nest as a result he dropped his glasses.
John looked at his young wife. "You see darling, you were fretting over nothing, now why don't you go get us a cup of strong coffee and join me at the helm?"
Josephine scanned the waters. "Do you suppose The Black Pearl passed us during the night?"
John scoffed. "If The Black Pearl were out here she has fallen behind or has diverged in her course. I am sure they know by now The Mighty Pirate Hunter is looking for them and they would not dare pass us."
She looked forward along the deck. Just off the port bow and barely above the horizon she could see the orange morning sun framed by the masts and lower edge of the sails. The sea was free of all other vessels. "Well, maybe we passed them and you are going the wrong way."
John laughed. "How can we be going the wrong way when we have no set course? Now please Joe, go get me that cup of coffee." He patted her on the butt and she gave him a look of disgust.
"I will go get us a hot drink, but don't you ever dismiss me like that again." She headed for the galley in a slight huff. She herself needed a strong cup of caffeine.
As she approached the galley she noted the beauty of the day. The water of the ocean's surface was a deep indigo under an azure sky and there was a cool breeze blowing across the deck. The gentle wind blew across Josephine's cheeks and ran its finger through her hair, catching the inside brim of her hat and bending it up.
The wind seemed to be a living thing and not only was she feeling the wind, it was feeling her, caressing her. She looked down over the side railing and forward toward the bow where she could see the black hull slicing through the sea and a thin line of foam marking where the ship had cut the water. As she stood up to turn around she collided with a man standing very close to her and reeking of rum.
She jumped back. "Excuse me. I did not see you standing there. I thought I was alone."
"'Ave you…'ave you… ever seen such a…a… 'eavenly sight?" This stranger slurred his words and spoke with a gruff voice. He was looking at her rather than the sea or the sky.
"Pardon me sir, I am the captain's wife and I fear you are drunk. If you don't move out of the way and remove yourself from duty I will have to inform the captain."
"Oh please do, do inform the captain," the tanned scruffy man agreed. "Oh, I guess you'd be talking about Captain Norrington?"
Josephine gave him an odd look. "Yes, who else would I mean?"
The man looked down his nose at her and waved his hands in the air. "I presumed you were talking about…well, it doesn't matter."
He now stood very close to her and she could not help noticing his long hair that was adorned with beads and some areas of his head that looked as if it had never seen a comb. "Please inform the captain of my compliments towards his wife." He gave her a slight bow and placed his hands together.
Josephine couldn't help but smile at this strange man. "No sir, I really don't wish to get you into trouble. Perhaps you should just retire and sober yourself."
"No trouble my lady, and please accept my apologies if I startled you." The man then pulled a bottle of rum out from his coat pocket and took a long drink. He drank it as if it was his last. He savored the brew before he handed the bottle to her. "Shall we drink to that?"
She pushed it away in disgust. "Sir, I'm sorry I will have to report this to the captain if you don't stop the drinking and relieve yourself."
"I'm sorry Luv, but I don't really 'ave to visit the head at the moment." He gave her a sinister sneer. She turned towards the helm and she felt the man grab her arm. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Realizing his mistake he let go as fast as he had grasped her."
"You just told me to go ahead." Josephine felt a slight chill run up her back and was beginning to sense there was something going on that she was not aware of.
"Sorry Luv, I sometimes get carried away. Let me see now, I can only assume you are going to go fetch Captain John Norrington. The youngest of James Norrington's three sons, and sadly to say the only one still alive."
"Yes I am. I am talking about your captain, the captain of this ship. And no, John does have a living brother, Samuel. He is two years his elder."
"Aye yes Samuel, the poor lad. I know his father James Norrington. He took a vow to hunt down all pirates and that he did, true to The Royal Navy that man is."
The tan, rather dirty man took another swig and pushed his hat back away from his face. Josephine gave a slight gasp as the light shown on the man's face and she could see his features more clearly. His eyes were extremely dark and they were lined with black. She did not want to stare but the man was oddly attractive, in a different, exotic, sort of way.
He gazed at her and gave her a smile showing her that he had a mouth full of golden teeth. "As I was saying missy, James Norrington would sail off on fine mornings, very similar to this. He would be searching for pirates and come back empty handed. His wife, Mary Westin I believe, was so distraught she almost committed suicide. A bit of a loon if you ask me, but nobody has. However, their oldest son died of TB and the middle boy, Sam sailed with…well, me until a week ago when a storm came and took him overboard."
"Please sir, my husband is waiting and I don't need his family history. Wait, you mean to tell me Samuel is dead? Have you informed John of this? Does he know his brother is dead? Does James know? What ship was he on? He had left home several years ago in search of himself. Well, that is what I was told."
"Aye, well he found himself and he also found Davy Jones. As you can see luck does not run in the Norrington family. The only luck I can see is that John married you, Will and Elizabeth Turner's daughter, if I am correct?"
Josephine blushed and then pulled herself together. "Sir, you should not be talking like this. What is your name?"
"I am sorry Lass, for not introducing myself. My name is Jack and you may call me…Jack." He picked up her hand and kissed it. "You are the spitting image of your mother."
She pulled her hand away and wiped it on her skirt. Then she took a long look at the dirty scoundrel standing in front of her. "You know my mother?"
"Aye I know your mother. Her Luv, or should I say her husband, is a strange one. You see, William is indeed a pirate, but he was raised as a black smith and he crafts excellent swords. A worthy profession I am sure, but not very lucrative. He claims pirate is in his blood but he is still a good man. I happen to believe this, since pirate blood also runs in my veins and I too am a good man, so I am told. Anyway, in my way of thinking, Will's blood must run through his daughter, making her a pirate too." He took her chin in his hand and glanced into her beautiful brown eyes. "Savvy?"
"Please sir," Josephine pulled her head back. "You are getting too personal. I will have to report this insubordination." She pushed passed him and headed for the galley.
"Luv, the captain is in the other direction if you wish to have me drawn and quartered." He took another drink and then placed the bottle into his pocket. "But before you do, don't you find it strange missy that you are on a boat in which the captain claims he is a Mighty Pirate Hunter and you yourself are, in part, a pirate?"
Josephine turned around and sneered at Jack. "Tell me sir, why is it you are on this ship if you are not hunting pirates?"
"Aye Lass, I didn't say I wasn't did I?"
"No, but you did not say you were either and I get the impression you are not like the others on this ship. I am finding it hard to believe that John actually hand picked you to be on his crew."
"Oh Lass, you cut me deep. I am a dear, dear friend of Norrington's."
"Sure you are Jack. Now please, dismiss yourself and I will not make mention of your attitude."
Jack rolled his eyes and once again stood in front of Josephine, blocking her way to the galley. "Elizabeth Swann was once betrothed to your husband's father many years ago. She was a high class upstanding woman."
"She still is," Josephine snapped back.
"I did not say she wasn't. Other's, however, have. She was of very high-class until she decided to follow the path of William Turner. Her heart truly does belong to Mister Turner and I dare say James Norrington did give William a chance to prove himself. We all know Will is an excellent swordsman and it was so kind of James to recruit Will into the Royal Navy. It worked for awhile but then, when that...that... Jack Sparrow. I mean Captain, Captain Sparrow, he came to town."
"Well, we think he did. You see nobody saw him. I have never seen him, but I have heard stories."
"Aye, good ones I presume," Jack pulled on his goatee and thought of what Will and Elizabeth might have told her.
"Well yes, no…oh I don't know. I do know the notorious ship, The Black Pearl was seen and it was anchored off the coast of Port Royal. It never fired on us; it just sat there for three days. Never coming closer but not leaving either." Josephine gave a sigh of relief. "So, obviously, John has told you we are looking for Jack Sparrow and The Black Pearl?"
"No he did not, but now you have. Thank you." A smile spread across Jack's face. "You see Luv; your husband is a fool and a lousy commander. He can't hunt pirates. He can't even hunt tuna. The crew hate him."
"What are you talking about? All he dreams about is capturing pirates and his crew is very loyal to him, except possibly you."
"Luv, he hasn't seen a ship, let alone a pirate ship, in four months. Four months. Will and Elizabeth were right, you should have stayed away from John Norrington. Tell me Luv, did you marry him out of pity?"
"Sir you are totally out of conduct and stop calling me "Luv". My husband has faith in himself and so do I. For the life of me I cannot see why he let you set foot on his boat."
"Ship," Jack interjected.
Josephine glared at him, "Whatever, he has been in battle with men and pirates, many pirates. He has knowledge of the seas and he has a dream, and that, my friend, is more than I can say about you. It's his fate to kill all pirates, especially Captain Jack Sparrow."
"What if that isn't his destiny or his fate? What if his fate is to be killed by pirates? What if he gets killed by Captain Jack Sparrow or say, his first mate, William Turner?"
"William Turner is not his first mate. You can "what if" your whole life and die peacefully in a warm bed or you can make your life worth while and help prevent pirates from inflicting evil and suffering upon innocent people."
"Whoa, cruelty?" Jack's eyes grew wide as Josephine went on with her little tirade.
"Joe, please, where is my coffee?" John yelled and motioned to Josephine to hurry.
Josephine looked at her husband. She waved her hand and headed for the galley.
"Well, let's see what our fate has in store for us Luv," Jack backed away. "We should arrive late tomorrow morning or if we pick up a wind we will be there before the sun rises."
"Where should we be, Jack?"
"At the Devil's Russ."
"You mean The Black Pearl?"
"No Luv, I mean The Devil's Russ." As Jack spoke Josephine heard a slight noise behind her. Jack once again graced her with his golden smile. "Ahoy me hearties, what took ya so long?"
Josephine could tell that comment was not meant for her but the next one was.
"I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience us pirates may cause. Sadly, this is our way."
Josephine then knew to whom he was talking when several pirates came up behind her. She looked about the ship for help but there was none to be had. The ship was crawling with pirates. The Sea Lion had been seized.
"Permit me to properly introduce myself. I am Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain of the infamous Black Pearl. The Black Pearl's food supply was getting low and I fear we would have had to return to port soon. It is our good fortune, but not yours, that you are well supplied. We could barter with you but we are pirates and would rather fight with swords or hand – to – hand if necessary."
Jack's crew took all of the supplies and lowered them to waiting boats. As the men disappeared over the sides, Jack noticed that John and his crew had either been securely tied to the main mast or locked below.
"You see Luv, we are brave men born to the cold sea. Pirate hunters will fear me, I don't fear them. Captain John Norrington, Captain of the Sea Lion, makes me laugh. He should be captain of the Pussy Cat. I will now leave and I suggest you report immediately to the crows nest. If you wish to find the Black Pearl and Captain Jack Sparrow you should put someone with good eyesight there, savvy?"
Josephine looked about and she realized she was the only one on board not being held captive. "Are you going to let us go unscathed?"
"All the ships protocols are adhered to the ships captain; it is my responsibility to see that my orders are followed precisely. I can only assume Norrington follows the same rules. You are far too valuable to be shark meat and so is your husband. So, my dear, remember this. This is the day Captain Jack Sparrow did not sink your boat, I mean ship. Happy pirate hunting Luv. Sorry I couldn't resist, I know how you love the name."
Jack was the last man to go over the side. As he disappeared Josephine ran to free John.
A/N There you have it chapter 2. John really doesn't appear to be a very good pirate hunter. One may also wonder why Jack knows so much of the Norrington's family history. Poor Josephine was so flustered she never asked Jack whether or not he had her parents. Note that Jack did not touch a hair on Joe's head. William and Elizabeth would string him up for sure. Well, I guess all this will unfurl in the coming chapters but first you must review. I want you all to know, I am having a lot of fun with story because my characters are really acting stupid. This story is being written for pure fun and I have to admit Josephine is a little slow, ok a lot and John is not all that bright. I'd love to know what you all think.
TA FOR NOW
Lovely Raven Sparrow