She was slightly disorientated when she opened her eyes, but could still feel her hand holding on to somebody else's and if her eyes didn't not deceive her they were standing inside of a grotto. Josephine blinked repeatedly and once her sight had gained focus she could make out the person standing in front of her properly. It was a man, probably in his mid thirties, he was deeply tanned, which told her that he spent a considerable amount of time outdoors, his hair was long and looked like it had never seen a comb. The goatee into which coloured beats were braided, gave away the same impression. Josephine turned her hand a little and saw her suspicions concerning his identity verified when she lay eyes on the tattoo on the inside of his arm. It depicted a soaring sparrow. "Jack Sparrow," she said, stating the obvious.

"The very same and who might you be?" he was trying to retreat his hand, but she held onto it in a vicelike grip. He looked at her with round, astonished eyes.

She searchingly reached with her left arm behind her back. Her fingers connected with the cool metal of the pistol, she had tugged under her belt. It was still the same exact one James had given her, so that she had something to defend herself with on her travels. With on fluid motion she produced it and held it to Jack's head. Behind her she could hear the surprised calls of William and Elizabeth. She had half-expected them to be there.

Jack eyed the barrel of the gun with wide eyes and gulped heavily. His free hand unconsciously tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"I'm Josephine Beckett," she told him casually.

"That wouldn't be Beckett as in Lord Cutler Beckett?" he put his finger on the tip of the barrel and tried to push it done, but to no avail. It didn't even waver.

"Precisely," her eyes narrowed disapprovingly. He quickly retreated his finger and made a grimace as if it had been burned.

A few meters behind him she could see something akin to a portal. Its silvery flicker projected thousands of gleaming dots on the cave walls. Had she had the time for it, she would have stopped to admire its beauty, but currently other things were on her mind. Josephine supposed that was how they had come here and consequently this had to be the only exit. She motioned with her head at it. "Let's get going," she finally let go of his hand and gave him a gentle nudge in the general direction of the portal. He obeyed begrudgingly. A pistol pointed to your head doesn't leave you with much to argue about.

She could hear William's call of protest from behind, followed by the sound of approaching steps. The echo of the cave amplified every noise and made it thereby virtually impossible to move without making a sound. Josephine threw a brief glance over her shoulder. It was enough to see the shocked and hurt expression in his eyes and the disapproving frown on his face. It stung her more than she was willing to admit, but with some effort she managed to suppress those feeling, "One step closer and I'll shoot him! Don't think I wouldn't do it."

Her threat did the desired effect. William froze on the spot and so did Elizabeth. She didn't even dare to look at her face, since she knew she would feel worse if she did. She had to ignore the weight of her conscience and the strong feeling of guilt for now. Too much was at stake.

"I know that this will sound insincere, but I'm truly sorry. I really don't want to do this, but I have to…," she paused briefly struggling with the more apologetic words that lay on the tip of her tongue and refused to come out. Angry with herself, her next words were a little harsher and callous than she had intended, "Oh, and by the way, you'd better not chase after us immediately," Josephine called out to them ere she ushered Jack through the portal. She didn't want to wait to find out their response to her apology, since she didn't expect them to accept it after all. It was just important to her, she had said it.

Seconds later they arrived at the Enterprise. An astonished murmur went through the crew when they saw her and Jack materialize out of thin air. When they noticed the pistol in her hand, their eyes grew even wider in incredulous shock. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Tia and Barbossa. The voodoo priestess just stood there and watch the happenings unfold calmly. She only acknowledged their presence with a stern nod. Barbossa on the other hand, seemed to be able to still find something humorous about the whole situation. He threw them a sardonic grin, "Jack, I see you still have your way with the ladies. You're barely back from the dead and you've already managed to have a pistol pointed to your head. That's quite the accomplishment," he whistled through his teeth, then directed his attention towards Josephine, "Do I assume justly that you threaten to shoot him should we try to approach?" he asked casually.

"Indeed, Hector. I hope that doesn't put a damper on our friendship," it seemed bizarre she was worrying about hurt feelings at this point.

"Oh, quite the opposite, dear," Barbossa made a dismissive gesture with his hand as if he had just declined a cup of tea, "Threatening Jack with a pistol, well," he let out an impressed whistle, "that's something perfectly innocent in my eyes, Miss Beckett, but it's the rest of the crew you should be worrying about…"

He was right. It was high time they disappeared. Her heart was beating anxiously inside her chest, but she forced herself on. This had to be done. She finally overcame her hesitation, took a deep breath and let out a loud call, "Davy Jones! Davy Jones!" The other ship was now very closely by and she had no doubt that she had been heard. Her suspicion was shortly after verified when seconds later Davy Jones materialized out of thin air beside her.

The young woman shrank back in fear, when she saw him face to face for the first time. The ever-moving tentacles that were his beard, the cold eyes that seemed to penetrate her very soul – she could barely stand his sight. Josephine flinched back timidly when he stormed up to her and thundered, "What do you want?" She thought his wrath had already reached its peak, but when his eyes settled on Jack they seemed to blaze with a cold fire. Davy Jones let out an angry, frustrated roar.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Set sails," the commanding voice of Davy Jones reverberated over deck.

Josephine was feeling slightly dizzy like she spun around in circles too long. Davy Jones had just grabbed them unceremoniously. At that the familiar surroundings of the Enterprise had started to blur before her eyes and when the world came into focus again she found herself on board of Davy Jones's ship. She briefly threw a preoccupied glance in the direction of Jack. He was still there. His presence suddenly had a reassuring aspect to it, now that they were surrounded by a crew of creatures half men, half monster that eyed them curiously.

The young woman slowly raised herself to an upright position, the vertigo of the teleportation had almost forced her on her knees. She let out a pitiful moan, when the world suddenly spun around, only to come to a brutal and very sudden halt moments later. Davy Jones didn't give her any more time to adjust. Very much in the same temper as he had arrived at the Enterprise – infuriated and annoyed with having to obey somebody else's commands – he thundered at her, "What is it you want?"

Though her instincts told her to run and hide she managed to put on a brave face and actually speak after a few seconds. The pair of cold eyes that bore into her face presented an additional enticement. "Well, I have brought you Jack Sparrow… I expected that it would at least be a solid foundation to start negotiations on."

Quite obviously her words managed to amuse him. Loud laughter rang from his lips. Its sound had something frightening to it and managed to set her teeth on edge. "It appears you miscalculated. I've already got everything I wanted, what do you think you can offer."

"I'd second him on that. I've got to say that's been the worst abduction I've ever witnessed," Jack interjected off-beat, but was shortly after silenced by a glare from Davy Jones.

She managed a sour smile, "As it were, I thought this through quite thoroughly."

"Then you should start elaborating ere I or my men decide you're wasting our time," Davy Jones threatened and snapped his claw in front of her face in order to emphasize his point.

Josephine gulped heavily, "I've heard that lately you lost something of utmost value to you. It must be very frustrating to one's own master anymore," his growl told her she was on the right track, "I have ways and means to locate the heart and get it for you. Sparrow here will provide us with a reasonable excuse to return to Port Royal, where I understand your….master resides. He will want to assist his execution."

"It seems everyone is very helpful nowadays…Just a couple of days ago this young man, over there, offered to kill the man who has come into the possession of the heart," he stepped aside and thereby enabled her to see the whole of the deck. Immediately her eyes landed on Norrington. He seemed thinner, there were traces of a stubble on his unshaven chin and the dark circles under his eyes indicated he had spent many sleepless nights, but alas he was unharmed. There was a flare of recognition in his eyes and the hint of a twitch as he suppressed the urge to run to her and take her in his arms.

She could feel Davy Jones's curious eyes on her. Maybe he was already harbouring a suspicion and even if he didn't, Josephine assumed that he, the man who had forever sworn of love in the most extreme way possible, would kill them on the spot if he ever found out they were involved with each other. So she tried to ban all emotion from her face, though she wanted nothing more than to run over to James, feel his arms around her, his lips…like she had imagined it so often in the last couple days…It took all her effort to convincingly act as if he was merely some superficial acquaintance of her, who she didn't expect meeting in this place.

"Oh!" she hid her emotions behind this fake exclamation of surprise, "He's a friend of my brother's just saw him a couple of times. Norrington…yes, I believe that was his name," she looked at Davy Jones challengingly.

"Let's assume this sudden onrush of helpfulness is just coincidental," Davy Jones looked at her with squinted eyes, "what is it you hope to achieve by your proposal?"

"A lot of things….I want what is mine and I want my revenge," she was not the vengeful type, but something in her voice made her statement sound so convincing that it was hard to suspect artifice behind her words.

"What if anticipation overpowers me and I'll kill Sparrow before we arrive at Port Royal?" Jack winched at those words.

"That would be very unwise. Don't underestimate the power of a bruised ego. Sparrow will afford us considerable leverage, which will come handy once we've reached Port Royal. You wouldn't want to give that up."

"You're right…………, but the first sign that makes me suspect you try manipulating me, I'll kill the three of you," Davy Jones admonished her before he strode off to focus his attention on more important matters than dealing with puny humans.

Josephine just stood there for a while motionlessly. The aftermath of her conversation with Davy Jones and the events of last couple of hours forced her to briefly stop to collect herself. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jack moving. She forcefully turned her head, even that small gesture seemed to take some effort, and saw him walking towards Norrington. She hesitated briefly, then followed him.

The presence of the crew was a persistent reminder of the fact that they were constantly under surveillance and should do nothing to set the captain off, so she tried to remain casual, even though her heart beat a little louder with each step she got closer to James.

"Commodore," Jack greeted the other man monosyllabically.

"Sparrow," Norrington's eyes narrowed unconsciously as the name passed his lips. He could only just resist the urge to tell him that he had been promoted to the rank of an admiral.

"How very odd to meet you here," Jack motioned at their surroundings, "I imagined you'd be having tea with that stuck-up little dwarf Beckett, all the while scheming and congratulating each other for getting your clutches on Davy Jones's heart. Seems you haven't played your cards right, old fellow," he grinned at him derisively, as he patted him on the shoulder comradely.

Norrington brushed of his hand with an expression of disdain, "Well, apparently not everybody gets what he deserves, as your presence proofs quite impressively. I thought you dead."

Josephine rolled her eyes at the two men's behaviour. Obviously the fact had managed to escape them, that they were quite literally surrounded by the enemy. Just as Jack Sparrow had opened his mouth to deliver another sarcastic repartee, she stepped between them. She watched Norrington intently whose eyes fixed his antagonist with animosity.

"James, please," Josephine said imploringly. She laid her hand on his arm in a calming gesture, then retracted it quickly as if it had been burned. She inwardly scolded herself for not being able to resist the urge to touch him, because she feared that once she started it, she could never stop.

Jack, in the meantime, watched the interchange between them interestedly. The way her voice softened, when she talk to the other man didn't escape him, but what was even more suspicious was the way Norrington reacted to her plea – he immediately complied and even muttered a rueful sorry.

When Josephine turned around to address Jack, there was a victorious grin on his face which seemed to be completely out of place given the situation. She quickly dismissed it, "Might I have a word with you, Jack?" the young woman asked politely. She didn't know how to behave around him, after all she had kidnapped him and manoeuvred him into a trap. It was very likely he held a grudge against her and she couldn't even blame him for it.

"How could I decline talking to a lovely girl like you?" he replied flirtatiously, partly because it was his second nature and partly because he knew he would upset Norrington with this comment. He had briefly considered being cross with Josephine for manoeuvring him into this situation, but his curiosity lured him into listening to what she had to say.

"Yeah, well….," Josephine said embarrassedly and motioned somewhat abruptly at the railing which was a few meters away from were they stood. Currently the crew was occupied with making way, so the interchange between the three captives was of relatively little interest to them.

Jack casually saunter past her and she followed hesitantly. He was leaning against the railing with an air of nonchalance and occupied himself with carefully inspecting his nails, as he waited for her to start talking.

"I have to apologize to you for dragging you into this," she lowered her head, "but you have to understand that there was no other way. And even if I hadn't done it you would have had to face Davy Jones and my brother sooner or later."

"You know I once had a girl in Tortuga," he flashed her a grin, "she was a charming creature. I was only a whelp back then…loved her to bits. Then after a night of love-making," Josephine blushed at his frankness, "she asks me innocently, 'Jack do you love me?' and I reply unsuspectingly, 'Aye, darling I do' so the little vixen convinces me to get her name tattooed on me arm, of course, a considerable amount of rum also played a part in the convincing…Turns out it was a very unwise decision. Even after she threw me out one day, I was stuck with her initials on my skin….Your brother fixed that, " he rolled up his sleeve to show her the burn mark on his skin.

"As much as your tale of your amorous conquest did regale me and I feel sorry for what Cutler did to you….The point of your story seems to be somewhat elusive," she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Alright, but there's a general theme, which hopefully didn't escape your notice."

"And what might that be?"

"The crazy things one does for love," he grinned at her smugly. "I suppose you'd be able to contribute a story of your own."

Her mouth set in a sour expression. She had wanted to tell him the truth, but on her own terms, "So you know that James and I are an item….," Josephine lowered her voice, so that no one around would hear. Unconsciously she looked over at Norrington, when she mentioned his name. The object of her affection was currently bussing himself with throwing her and Jack Sparrow dark glances. She could help but smile to herself as she continued talking, "He's a good man, despite of what his behaviour towards you may suggest. He made a foolish mistake, because he wanted his old life back…maybe his ambition blinded him to the consequences momentarily."

"I see, he's such a good man he managed to get us all into this mess," Jack deadpanned.

Josephine narrowed her eyes disapprovingly, "Let me see…," she pensively frowned and tipped her index finger against her temple, "Blast! I can't seem to remember…would you kindly help me out? Who was it that had made the deal with Davy Jones in the first place?"

"I get your point," Jack mumbled darkly.

"Apart from that, I think you both deserve your equal share in blame…."

"Oh, how very, very kind you should say so," he remarked sarcastically.

"Look," she sighed an massaged her temples tiredly, " This is all getting out wrong. I'm sorry for being mean…The last couple of days have been very stressful for me….I didn't want to insult you. You might actually be the one person in this world that understands why my brother has to be stopped," Josephine vaguely indicated the 'p' shaped burn on Jack's arm, "You're the only one who managed to best him and I'm hoping and praying that you'll manage a second time…"

"Just why do I suspect you've already elaborated a plan?"

"It's already unfolding, though not as smoothly as I hoped."

"It never does, love. It never does…," he wistfully looked out on sea, but his melancholic mood was as quickly gone as it appeared. "So?" he looked at her curiously.

"Cutler hates you, you know. Not a single day passes without your name being mentioned at least once."

"I never imagined I'd left such a deep impression. A man can't help but feel flattered," Jack smirked proudly.

"Anyways," she was smiling unbeknownst to her, when she continued, "I was counting on the fact that his desire for taking his revenge upon you would leave him blind on one eye, which would afford us the possibility to get the heart. And once we have it, we could turn Davy Jones against Cutler…," Josephine paused to see if he agreed with her plan so far.

"Keep going," he motioned her to continue with a wave of her hand.

"You're part would be basically to keep him stalling, irritate him, taunt him…do whatever you want as long it will provide us with the necessary distraction."

"How will you know where to look for the heart?"

"Tia taught me how to find it."

He paused briefly upon hearing the voodoo priestess's name mentioned. The fact that she had helped the young woman, ultimately tipped the scale in the Josephine's favour. "Tia…that's interesting…very interesting," Jack said enigmatically.

"So are you in?"

"Aye," he spit in the palm of his hand and held it out to her. She shook it without hesitation.