Chapter 16

Cheng Lo was waiting for them all inside his office. For the most part, the room was devoid of any distinguishing figures; its walls were completely bare and the floors equally dull. The only protrusion in the encircling wall was a window on the far side, which filtered sunshine inside. At the center of the room was a rectangular desk, completely cleared off, and Cheng Lo was standing directly behind it. He had a smile etched onto his face that appeared to be a combination of smug and overjoyed. Flanking him from behind were three armed guards just as muscular and mean-looking as the two who had accompanied Jack's crew inside.

"Welcome to Hell," he said as he spread his arms to indicate their surroundings. He then eyed what was clutched in Elizabeth's hand. "I believe we all wish to get this over with as quickly as possible, so what say we conduct our business and walk away pretending this never happened?"

"It's a little late for that," Elizabeth muttered coldly as she stepped forward and roughly planted the wrapped-up object on the table. Then, surreptitiously, she snaked her fingers around the handle of the pistol she had tucked away and out of sight.

Cheng Lo cocked an eyebrow. "What a curious thing to hear from you, Mrs. Turner…given the circumstances."

"The circumstances concerning your end of the deal have changed, Captain. This is me simply fulfilling my vow out of courtesy."

Cheng Lo smiled. "Well, I certainly appreciate that courtesy." He then began unfolding the cloth covering what lay beneath it. But his delighted expression soon turned to astonishment as he discovered what it was he had: a rusty old compass.

Without missing a beat, Cheng Lo promptly whipped out his gun and thumbed back the hammer to bring it to rest directly between Elizabeth's eyes. By the time he had done that, though, Elizabeth had mirrored his actions.

"Surprised?" she asked evenly.

"What trickery is this?" Cheng Lo demanded viciously. "Where is the Hurricane's Eye?"

"In the possession of Calypso herself. I told you that the circumstances had changed…you just assumed that they had changed in your favor."

By now, the rest of the crew had their own weapons out, and they were aimed at either Cheng Lo or his henchmen.

"You stupid wench!" Cheng Lo spat. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You've singlehandedly condemned the lives of every soul on the seven seas in addition to ruining an elaborate plot set in motion by the Brethren Court!"

These words caught Elizabeth completely off guard, so it took her a bit longer than usual to respond. "What are you talking about?"

"My intentions of retrieving the Hurricane's Eye were never for personal gain. I was acting under the behest of the Court! They wanted to procure the Eye once they received word of Calypso's return to human form. And since I was in closest proximity to it, they entrusted me with the duty."

Elizabeth's mind was racing to keep up with this tidal wave of new information. "Wait…I don't understand. How is I the Brethren Court knew of Calypso's return in the first place?"

From behind, Jack cleared his throat loudly. "I'm afraid that's my doing, Liz." When Elizabeth chanced turning her head toward him in confusion, Jack pressed on. "You see, for quite some time the Court has been aware of my frequent involvement with you and William. It was after our encounter with Henry Morgan and the Amulet of Atlantis that they contacted me and ordered me to regularly give them updates about the two of you. For some unknown reason, they have an interest in you." Jack paused momentarily. "And through those updates, I let it slip about Calypso's awakening."

"The Court ardently wishes for Calypso to be killed once and for all," Cheng Lo interjected, "but they were particularly concerned that I wait and allow to someone else to take on the quest for the Eye."

"And so you placed that responsibility on my shoulders," finished Elizabeth. A thought crossed her mind suddenly. "But were they aware that it would be me who you would choose?"

"Possibly. It is whispered that the Brethren Court retains the services of people with the ability to see the future. They call them Watchers."

"I have a question," piped up Jack after a short silence. "Did the Brethren also know that there was someone destined to kill Calypso?"

"I haven't the faintest clue," replied Cheng Lo.

"But we're all in dire need of an answer to that question," came a silky feminine voice from the shadows.

Both Elizabeth and Cheng Lo immediately pointed their guns in the area the voice had come from; clearly, each of them recognized it. Sure enough, from the shadows emerged Calypso and a few of her own men as if they had been waves crashing down upon a shoreline. Calypso radiated both sensuality and danger as she took three very deliberate steps forward.

"However…how can I be killed when the man who was meant to do so is now dead himself?"

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At the very same time, Will was hidden from view inside the wall of bushes that surrounded the perimeter of the prison. Considering the timeframe he had in which to complete his mission, Will quickly assessed the situation and settled on a course of action.

He waited until both guards stationed at the front gate had turned their backs toward him before darting out from the bushes and pulling out a knife. Will made sure that he made absolutely no sound as he swiftly approached the first guard and grabbed him by the chin, angling his neck upward and slicing the bare skin with the sharp blade. The pirate slumped to the ground dead without any screams or words of warning.

However, the sound of the body hitting the grassy and sandy ground caused the second guard to whip around. But before he could do anything by way of an attack, Will jammed the knife straight into this guard's throat as well. The instant Will retracted his weapon, the goon fell to the ground while making incoherent gurgles.

The first wave taken care of, Will entered the prison, briefly having to adjust his eyes to the dimmer glow the torches gave off compared to the bright sunshine outside. Instantly, Will was met with the sight of three more guards patrolling the corridors. Will allowed himself only a quick moment of rest before jumping back into action. He literally did that by way of propelling himself forward and lodging the knife he still held sideways into the first pirate's neck. Will then used the lifeless body to knock the second one on his back. This gave Will more time to fight with the third. He unsheathed his full-sized sword and performed a fast series of "one-two" type moves before using his booted foot to knock his opponent away. This had Will fully prepared for the second pirate, who by now had pushed his dead compatriot off of him and was back in the game.

But this person's attempts did not last long. All Will had to do was bring his sword down horizontally upon the pirate's unprotected chest, and it created a bloody slash that the guard would be unable to recover from. Finishing off the job, Will then landed a decisive punch to the pirate's jaw, which sent him reeling backwards, unconscious once his head connected very hardly with the stone floor.

This left only one more of Cheng Lo's henchmen for Will to deal with. Indeed, said pirate was ready for Will by the time he had swirled back around. But the pirate's physical appearance clearly told Will that this was a man relatively unfit for physical combat for long periods of time. After roughly one minute of clanging swords, Will kneed the pirate in the gut and then firmly grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. Will proceeded to drive the goon back against the wall and the moment he had him in the desired position, Will placed the tip of the knife, now in his left hand, against the skin of the pirate's neck. Will applied enough pressure to draw small amounts of blood.

"Where would Cheng Lo be?" Will asked sharply.

"In…his private quarters. Upstairs," the pirate muttered weakly.

"Where upstairs?"

"Second level. Last door on the right."

To show his gratitude, Will knocked out the pirate by swiftly connecting his elbow with the goon's head. Once that was done, Will pulled out his watch and studied the face. 2:31; plenty more time.

Will raced up the stairs leading to the second level.

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"What are you doing here?" Cheng Lo inquired as Calypso began to make her way around the table.

"Oh, I think you already know the answer to that question." Calypso reached down into the space in between her breasts and slowly pulled out the Hurricane's Eye. "I just wanted to see the look of pure horror on your face as your life slowly slips away." She looked at Elizabeth. "And it's time I rid myself of you as well. And guess what? We have company." Calypso motioned with her fingers, and out of the shadows came Bootstrap, Jacquelyn and Michael. She then walked around behind Michael and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You know, you really should exercise more caution when it comes to the safety of your son."

Michael jerked his head away from Calypso's, which made her smile. But when Calypso wasn't looking, Michael secretly glanced toward his mother and caught her attention. With his eyes, he told Elizabeth that he and Jacquelyn already had something in mind.

Elizabeth widened her eyes slightly, a subtle sign to tell Michael to do nothing. But Michael returned the expression with one of his own that clearly said "No way!"

"Now," continued Calypso, who was still bent over Michael, "why don't we kill your mother first?"

Calypso glanced up at Elizabeth wickedly, but before she could do anything else, Michael yelled "Now!" and he and Jacquelyn immediately sprung into action.

Jacquelyn grabbed a handful of Calypso's blonde hair and tugged hard. While she did this, and while Calypso gasped in anger, Michael stepped down hard on top of Calypso's left foot and elbowed her in the stomach. This allowed Michael ample opportunity to dart around behind Calypso after he had stolen her sword and smile mischievously as he gladly poked the sea goddess in her butt with the pointy end.

Calypso yelped in pain as Jacquelyn pulled her down to the floor and both she and Michael jumped on top of her.

As this happened, Jack and Patrick, who were closest to Elizabeth, approached her, they all fired their guns at Calypso's men, all three of them killshots. Once those henchmen were down, Bootstrap grabbed the sword of the one closest to him. By this time, everyone was eyeing the progress of the two children.

"Those children are crafty little devils," Patrick commented to Elizabeth.

"It's what they do best," she replied with a slight smile on her face.

Now, Michael and Jacquelyn were absolutely tormenting Calypso. They were employing the most juvenile tactics; Jacquelyn was continually slapping her in the face while Michael was now using the blunt end of the sword to spank her without remorse. Elizabeth couldn't say she disapproved of her son's prankish nature in this instance.

But suddenly, a huge burst of water that emanated from the sea goddess sent both kids flying backwards. As Calypso rose awkwardly, she pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the child closest to her: Jacquelyn. She thumbed the hammer, but just as she fired, Cheng Lo intervened and took the bullet. He fell roughly to the floor as Jack swept in and scooped his daughter up into his arms. Elizabeth did the same with Michael.

On the floor, Cheng Lo rolled over onto his back, fresh blood trailing from the bullet wound. Andrew and Patrick went over and knelt down beside him in order to assess the seriousness of said wound. Andrew looked back up to Jack.

"He'll live. It's not too serious."

"You shouldn't be concerned about his well-being," Calypso seethed through clenched teeth. "You all should be worried about your own quality of life."

Just then, there was another violent burst of water that sprayed everybody in the room and sent them flying backwards. Elizabeth landed hard against the portion of the wall that was directly next to the doorway. When she groaned and rolled over onto her left side to haul herself up, her vision became filled with the sight of a pair of black boots. Elizabeth glanced upward to see who they belonged to, and immediately her face became both joyous and confused.

Standing over her and looking down with extremely warm tenderness was Will. A flood of questions invaded Elizabeth's mind, but she shifted aside all of them as she gratefully took Will's offered hand and he pulled her to her feet. Husband and wife embraced tightly and lovingly before kissing with the same amount of affection.

Will rested his forehead against Elizabeth's. "Get everyone out of here," he told her softly. "Free the prisoners and get out. This is now between me and Calypso."

"But…how…?"

"Later. Right now, I have to defeat her."

Elizabeth turned to face everyone else, who were all staring at Will in utter disbelief.