--Cody--

They'd arrived in Port Royal shortly after dawn and immediately Cody had seen to getting the ship repaired and provisioned. Once he was sure everything was going according to plan he set off for the large house that stood sentry over the port. He was greeted by an ancient butler and escorted to a lavishly decorated parlor and was told that the governor would be with him shortly. Cody walked around the room and admired some of the more interesting pieces of decor.

Cody spent the next few hours in the company of the governor entertaining him with stories of warfare and the latest news from England. It was tiresome since the governor contributed little to the conversation aside from the occasional nod or 'yes yes' in his overly eager voice.

The only bright spot of the morning was when the governor finally announced that he had affairs to attend to and that, as sorry as he was, he had to cut their meeting short. They both rose to their feet and Cody was escorted out and found the sun to be nearly almost directly overhead. He frowned as he realized he'd lost nearly four hours to the formalities of his post. Cody went down the curving steps to the road quickly, intent on getting back on his schedule.

There were a thousand things that needed to be done before they could put to sea again. The ship was in obvious disrepair, they were painfully low on gunpowder and shot, the sails needed mending...the list went on and on. "And I've been playing schoolmarm to a bored old man," Cody said with disgust. He took off for the docks with a purposeful step.

--Zack--

The trees of Port Royal loomed ever closer as Zack Sparrow and the Queen Carey's Revenge rode the waves. The crew were getting antsy for they all knew that this might be their last stop in anything like a major port for a while and they wanted to make the most of it. Port Royal was known for many things, not many of them good things, so naturally it was a haven for pirates.

"Looks like her main docks are full, Cap'n Sparrow," a deckhand said to him as he looked at the nearly full port city. "We'll have to settle for one of the smaller berths further to the west."

Zack grumbled. Having to dock over there would delay his plans for sure. He'd been hoping to ride in, resupply, and make nice with the Governor before he left. Hopefully in a few hours. But this, this huge inconvenience, would probably make his stay last for at least a day. "Aye, make for them."

Half an hour later they were tied up to the dock and Zack sent Hopkins to see about resupplying the boat as quickly as possible. Zack set about heading into town to see if he couldn't resupply himself with the latest news with a little visit to the local tavern since pirates were notorious for talking a blue streak once a bit of alcohol had greased their tongues.

Zack took a seat at a table in the tavern after he'd obtained a mug of ale from the bar wench and watched the comings and goings. It was still kind of early in the day, barely past noon, so the place wasn't as full or as rowdy as it would be when the sun finally came down and the pirates all came to start drinking.

"Well curse my bones if it isn't Captain Zack Sparrow," a voice said from close by. Zack swung around to see another pirate standing at the head of his table with a mug in his one visible hand.

"That would be me," Zack said. "I don't think we have had the pleasure of being introduced." Zack sat forward in his chair a bit, tensing his muscles for anything that might happen to come.

"I'm no one special, mate. I'm just here to collect."

"And just what might we be collecting, brother pirate?" Zack's intuition told him that the likelihood of this situation coming to a good end was very low.

"You, mate." Spite dripped from the pirate's words. "There's a bounty on your head and I'm here to collect it." He grinned. "I'm going to bring you in and then spend the rest of 'me days drinking the sun down."

"How much am I worth, then?" Zack asked as he tried to quickly size up the situation. Few of the other drinkers were paying much attention since they were both talking in low voices and that was a plus. The door was about twenty paces from him with only one chair in the way. Good.

The pirate grinned at him. "You, my fine friend, are worth five thousand doubloons to the Spanish." He brought his other hand from behind his back and leveled a pistol at Zack. "Now, if you please, keep your hands where I can see them."

This was a bad turn of events for Zack. He took another swallow from his mug and tensed even further. "Well, let's go collect that bounty then, mate," he said as he stood up shakily.

"That's right, come on around the table, Captain Sparrow." Zack took an unsteady step and nearly fell against the table as he put his acting abilities to the test. "Been drinkin' already, Captain?" The pirate smirked.

"A little." Zack took another step toward the pirate and nearly fell again, his fingers tightening around the mug's handle. Here we go...

The pirate reached out to grab his jacket but Zack grabbed him instead, swinging the metal mug as hard as he could in a wide arc. He had time to notice the man's eyes widen in shock before he heard a resounding thok as he connected with the pirate's head. The shocked eyes rolled back in his head as he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Well, that makes for an interesting day," he said to himself and anyone else who might have been listening. Zack dusted himself off and made his way to the door. He spared a glance back into the tavern to make sure there wasn't anyone else coming after him and, satisfied that there wasn't, tipped his hat to the barkeep and left.

"Time to get back to the ship," he said to himself. If one pirate on this little island knew about the bounty, chances were pretty good that others did too. They'd have to resupply somewhere else. Zack set off toward the docks at a measured pace, his frown deepening with each step.

He had just rounded one of the last corners before he'd be on the dock road when he heard a very familiar voice call out to him.

--Cody--

Cody had been making a list of things that needed to be finished before they left when he saw a figure turn onto his street. He looked away for a moment before he did a double take. Zack? No, it wasn't possible. How could he be here? Now? His mind thought back to the parchment sitting on the desk in his cabin. He frowned and pulled his pistol. Orders superseded blood.

"Zachary Martin," he shouted, "stop!"

--Zack--

Zack froze when he heard his name called. Cody? Absolutely impossible. He turned slowly and saw his brother approaching him, gun drawn, from about ten yards away. This was apparently the day for impossibilities, he decided. Neither boy spoke as Cody drew nearer.

"Of all the people I expected to run into here today, Captain Cody, you are the last."

"It's Commodore now, Zack," Cody corrected him with a bit of pride in his voice.

"Oh, good show, Commodore," Zack said with a grin.

"Put your hands up, Zack."

Zack complied, his grin never leaving his face. "I hate to burst your bubble but that isn't the first gun I've had pointed at me today, brother."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story, really, better to be told with a mug of brandy and a warm fire." Zack looked into his brother's face, looking for a clue. "So what are you going to do with me now that you have me? Turn me over to the Spanish?"

"Not hardly. I was sent back here to arrest you and return you to England to stand trial for piracy."

"I guess you'll just have to shoot me then."

"What?"

"I'm not going back to England, mate. I have work to do down here. Treasure to find, you see."

"I'm sorry, Zack," Cody told him again.

"Pull the trigger, Cody."

Cody's hand wavered momentarily and that little instant was all Zack needed. He took the step to close the distance and tackled his brother. They wrestled around on the ground for control of the gun, gouging, punching, kicking, and biting, until it finally ended up in Zack's hand.

They both got to their feet and Zack pointed the gun at his brother. Cody raised his hands this time and swallowed hard. Zack was struck by a sudden bout of indecision. If he were to spare Cody the whole of the Royal Navy would likely be on his tail in hours but he just couldn't shoot his brother. Someone else, sure. He wouldn't even have to think about it. But not Cody.

Zack dropped the gun slightly and then resteadied it, pulling the hammer back. "I'm sorry Cody." Cody nodded his head slowly and closed his eyes. "I'm ever so sorry." Zack spun the gun around in his hand so that he was holding it by the barrel and smacked his brother in the head. "Not the first time I'm knocked a guy out like that today, either," he said as Cody was falling.

He looked at his brother's form for a moment before he came to a conclusion. He couldn't leave Cody here because he'd eventually come to and tell everyone what happened. And he couldn't shoot him, well, not that he didn't want to a little, so that only left one choice. He bent low over Cody's prone body and picked him up and slung him over his shoulder with an oof. He knocked the goofy hat off Cody's head and decided that he looked enough like a passed out pirate to get back to the Queen Carey's Revenge without being questioned.

Zack walked through the people on the docks without sparing anyone a glance. He was intent on getting his brother back to the boat before he woke up and caused any trouble. "Hopkins," he called out as he neared his ship's berth, "get everyone back on board in the next ten minutes or else they will be staying here a lot longer than they intended."

"Captain Sparrow?"

"We need to leave, Hopkins."

"What about the supplies?"

"There are other ports in the sea, Hopkins. We'll resupply from one of them." He shifted Cody's weight a bit.

"Who's that?" Hopkins asked, pointing to the body Zack had thrown over his shoulder.

"This isn't the time for playing twenty questions. Get the men back on board, Hopkins!"

"Yes sir, Captain Sparrow."