Elizabeth and Gibbs returned to the ship from one of their shore excursions with several boxes and barrels of supplies. There was something about the recent trips that bothered Gibbs in having to buy provisions honestly... he would have loved to raid a ship and come by their goods by pirating, but with Jack still in a very weakened condition, they had no choice. Elizabeth had wondered as to Jack's request to obtain information on any ships in the area; she had assumed it was to determine what ships carried more valuable cargo and which ones might be bounty hunters, but she understood completely when she found out about a ship called "The Athena".
Will and Jack were up on the quarterdeck when Elizabeth and Gibbs came back in the longboat. The other crewmembers set themselves to unloading the supplies; they would have much more to load once the Pearl made her final stop prior to crossing the great Atlantic. Will waved to the pair, as Jack, sitting on a barrel, jokingly looked down at Elizabeth with his spyglass.
Elizabeth was shaking. She knew that the news that she bore would cause Jack's mood to darken a great deal, and she knew that she had to hide how she felt... all of a sudden she knew how Jack must have felt having to mentally push and shove his emotions deep down into his very core. She could not ever let on to Mr. Gibbs what she and Will knew about the captain's horrible past... she had to act as though nothing was wrong at all. She had no idea how Jack would react, but she knew that Jack had a knack of seeing through her and would know that she was keeping information from him if she did not tell him... yet, his health was so precarious right now that she did not want to tell him for fear of what it might do to him. She approached Will and Jack, hands clenched so hard behind her back that she was certain that her knuckles were paper white - her fingernails dug into her palms.
"Pull up a barrel, my love, and join my cousin and I." Will smiled, pulling up a barrel for his wife, leaning down to kiss her lightly. Jack wrinkled his nose and coughed at them, snapping his spyglass shut.
"We found everything that we had on our list, gentlemen," Elizabeth started, pulling out a small piece of paper that had been used on both sides. She began to name off supplies and quantities, when Jack evenly asked her, "Elizabeth... why are you trying so hard to keep your hands from shaking?"
Elizabeth started at his question, her hazel eyes wide and her mouth forming a small "o". She quickly looked at the captain; his eyes were sizing her up. She looked at Will. His eyes pleaded with her to say with care whatever she needed to truthfully tell Jack, and to give the best acting performance of her life. They could never, ever let on that they knew about Jack's carefully guarded past... he would never trust them again, and his heart would be broken beyond any healing. Their new family ties came first and foremest. Trust...trust... Will's eyes pleaded...
Elizabeth licked her lips, then looked back at Jack and answered him. "...oh, I thought that we saw sharks while we were rowing back, and ..."
"... don't lie t' me, Elizabeth..." Jack rasped, hoarsely, his voice patient and his unreadable eyes never leaving her face. All that she could see when she looked up at him were the deep purple bruised right side of his face and the bandages wrapped carefully around his head injury... and the intense stare... she was so afraid for him and how he would react. He called her Elizabeth... a rarity these days. She took a deep breath.
"...Jack, Will... may we speak in privacy?"
Jack knew what was coming and could feel the anger boiled directly to the surface... they slowly made their way down to Jack's cabin, carefully helping him along by his arms.
"I knew it!!! I bloody KNEW IT!!!" Jack flew into a rage, throwing his arms out wildly at his sides, then regretting it deeply with pain. "Owwww, oh bloody hell! Ooooh, bloody hell, that hurts!!! Oh, dammit, William, I knew it!!!" Will grabbed Jack and guided him back to a chair, making him sit down, and trying to calm him down.
"Jack! Please! This is not doing you any good! You're not recovered fully, by any means... you'll hurt yourself, or get sick again, and I won't allow it!" Will yelled. He grabbed Jack by his shoulders and forcibly held him still, glaring straight into the captain's enraged eyes. Jack was howling in rage and pain, not knowing which one to control first. Will nearly had to sit down on him to make Jack still himself.
"Listen, both of you. Here is the full story. Jack, calm down, please!" Elizabeth ordered. Jack took several deep, ragged breaths, and tried to settle back down, shaking in rage. His face had gone pale, and his eyes were wild..."Jack! The ship is named "The Athena" and we saw her taking on her supplies... she is well stocked, and well armed. I counted about 15 crewmen, including the captain, and their cargo consisted of..." her voice broke a little, "...over 100 slaves... they were shackled together at the ankles, and were being led into the hold... the crew were holding cat 'o' nines over them, but these people were not resisting. They were pitiful... they were..."
"Don't say it, Izzy!!!" Jack thundered, "We know how they were!!! They were confused, they were ... scared..." he said, hoarsely. "... Not only that, they will be beaten bloody... they will only be allowed hardtack to eat.. and will starve...they will be chained together in the hold and forced to sit in the heat, in their own waste... they will become diseased in the filth, and many of them will... die...and lay there in the hold, chained to the other ones that are still alive... left to bloat until their bodies can be tossed overboard like... trash...trash..." Jack's voice faded to nothing, and he suddenly buried his head in his hands. Will quietly kneeled down next to him, and silently put an arm across his shoulder.
Elizabeth kneeled in front of Jack, pulled his hands down from his despairing face, and said in an urgent voice, "We can take it, Jack. It was set to sail this evening, and we can take it! The Athena is armed, but the Pearl has much more firepower with her cannons... if we wait until dusk and let them only get a ways out, we can do what you told Will... set those poor people free and find someplace 'nice' to strand the crew", Elizabeth's voice became more animated and excited as she continued. "We're pirates... we WILL take them, Captain Sparrow! We can plunder their supplies and set the slaves free, then destroy the ship... Will and I won't have it any other way! WOT SAY YOU?"
Will squeezed Jack across the shoulders and Jack finally turned his face up to look at the young couple. His eyes were haunted, his face so pale that the purple bruising all over the right side looked almost surreal.
The captain's eyes then cleared, and he took control of himself. He closed his eyes for a long moment... and shook his head a few times. Quiet... quiet...a shake of the head... he clenched his jaw... control... Then he opened his eyes, slowly...slowly...slowly. He looked at the young couple... then his face bloomed with a wicked grin... and Captain Jack Sparrow smirked at Will and Elizabeth and whispered, in his damaged voice, "Wait 'til they meets they meet the likes o' us.. supposin' they've heard any of the stories from World's End?" He leaned forward... Will and Elizabeth also leaned their heads together, grinning as wickedly as the captain. They started planning...