Spoiler: Oi.

Disclaimer: "Knock, knock" / "Who's there?" / "This" / "This – who?" / "Thisclaimer"

(Alright, alright, that was lamentable, I agree )

Anyway, POTC belong to Disney:)

Chapter 18

"I am not going to do this", said Will flatly, trying to remain calm, trying to remain indifferent, trying not to consider this...

"Why?", asked captain Harness simply, not seeming to worry about the refusal.

"Because I'm not a murderer. And Jones was a different story. Let's say... a private matter", he explained dryly.

The captain looked at Will steadily for a moment, narrowing his eyes, and then all of a sudden burst out laughing. His laughter was strangely hollow and unpleasant, almost unendurable.

"A private matter", repeated Harness, when he finally stopped laughing. "So unlike now, indeed."

"Yes. And I'd rather we finished this conversation now. And...", Will hesitated, whether he should ask for it again, but he decided to try. "Let Elizabeth out. She has nothing to do with all of this."

Harness sighed rather mockingly, and stared at the floor for a moment.

"You're right, but...", he started looking up at Will again, "you see... I kidnap people from ships... And who do you think they mostly are?", he gave Will a pseudo-questioning look. "Sailors, soldiers, pirates, merchants...", he seemed to consider his own words for a moment. "Men", he added with a wicked smile. "So I think, I'm going to keep her", he concluded, looking at Will searchingly.

Will looked at him, steadily returning his gaze, while thoughts were chaotically rushing through his mind. He did not know what to do.

"Unless...", the captain continued. "You consider my request."

Because he was thinking of Elizabeth at the moment, and he was anxious, he did not take his time to come up with a better reply, so, almost mechanically, he said quickly and apparently without necessary consideration:

"Leave me alone. Leave her alone. If you want to kill him, then do it yourself. I'm sure he'll be here shortly", as soon as he said it, he regretted it. That was telling too much, and he understood it even more clearly, when he saw Harness' puzzled facial expression.

"Really?", asked the captain quite intrigued. "He's on his way already? Well, I guess he is certainly too attached to my ship", he stated with slight annoyance.

Now Will was puzzled, but he quickly realized that Harness was presumably not aware of the fact that Elizabeth and Jack... Elizabeth and Jack. How strange... How strange it sounded... As a matter of fact it did not sound at all. So (Will made an effort to concentrate, and continued thinking about the situation only), Harness simply thought that Jack was after the Black Pearl, which was probably true as well, but... Will decided to use this opportunity to try once again, taking advantage of the circumstances.

"I don't think you need me or her anymore, then", he said hesitantly.

The captain looked at him, raising his eyebrows, but nevertheless visibly considering his words for a while.

"If he'd be elsewhere, I couldn't do it myself. But since he... ", the man suddenly fell silent, transfixed by an idea. "And how do you know he's coming?"

Will blinked, trying to find a satisfactorily safe answer.

"Wait a minute", said Harness, slowly coming closer to Will, and regaining his evil mood, which seemed to fade a little in the last few minutes. "Wait a minute", he repeated as if trying to remember something. "Right before I took the ship that you were on, I tried to take other ship, but I couldn't...", he gave Will a searching look and smiled knowingly. "Ah... nice try, boy. Really good. But I think I pieced your story back together. It makes a lot of sense now. So it was them on that ship, right?"

Will was not capable of giving an answer. Neither wanted he nod, nor counter. Anything he might say seemed wrong, and could probably cause even more troubles. He felt like he lost Elizabeth again, in a way. He knew he failed her, because now this man would never let her go. Now that he had a perfect leverage. The word echoed in Will's head. It triggered memories. After all it was not so long ago. He remembered... It was a real adventure. Nothing really treacherous. Nothing personal. No real betrayal. No real pain. Of course there was deception and dishonesty, but somehow it did not affect him, it did not hurt him. It was different then. Just a journey to rescue a girl, his girl; hopefully... And before that the morning he brought the sword, and she came down the stairs, saying that she had a dream about him last night... Was it how it started?... Or how it ended...? And later on that same day she met...

"I haven't hoped for such a fortunate coincidence", the voice of captain Harness came as if from another world. Will could barely hear him. He was listening to his own, distorted mind. "Go", said the captain waving his hand dismissively. "Go, I don't need you. You're free to go. Go!", he exclaimed, noticing the absent-mindedness in Will's gaze.

Almost unconsciously, Will turned around, and slowly walked away, walked out of the room, and stopped. What shall he do? Should he go? Should he look for Elizabeth? Should he leave her? Should he rescue her? He hardly knew himself anymore. He hardly knew what he wanted.

She tried in vain. The rock was too hard, and Elizabeth could not do anything about that. She hurt her foot by kicking the wall so hard. She was exhausted and frustrated, and on the verge of tears, when she heard somebody on the other side of the door. She approached it noiselessly, and picked up the lantern, ready to strike the person at the door with it, should the person come in. And then possibly she could escape. However, somebody was manipulating with the door rather, than opening it, and after couple of minutes, she needed to put the lantern down, because her hands began to hurt from holding it up in the air for so long.

When the door at last slowly began to open, Elizabeth skulked behind the door, and waited with bated breath for the person to come in, so she could see who it was, before she herself could be seen.

Somebody hesitantly walked in, and looked around...

"Jack...!", exclaimed Elizabeth softly, hardly believing her eyes.

"Ah!", said Jack with a grin that Elizabeth missed more than she would ever wish to admit. "My missing plaything."

She ignored the comment that used to annoy her so much, and just ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and crashing her lips against his in the most fervent fashion. Jack, although he did expect a warm welcoming, was not entirely prepared for such a passionate outburst of emotions, but nonetheless he responded to it immediately, eagerly deepening the kiss, and pulling Elizabeth to him so close, that she could not even move, shivering from the sensation caused by the sudden closeness of his body, until they had to brake the kiss, desperately gasping for breath.

"You're definitely worth rescuing, luv", whispered Jack with a smirk, running his hand gently across her face, not able to imagine how he could last out these last few hours without her.

"I missed you Jack", she said in a barely audible whisper, looking him deeply in the eyes.

"I've noticed", he grinned, entangling his fingers in her hair, and kissed her again, even more ardently (if it was possible), than before.

In the sweet intoxication of the moment, they lost their balance, and fell hard against the door, accidentally slamming it shut.

The crack ruined the atmosphere, interrupting the kiss. Elizabeth and Jack opened their eyes simultaneously, and looked at each other with apprehension.

Jack, in the grim presentiment, reluctantly reached for the doorknob, pressing it several times...

Oi.