A/N: Based upon the tracking stats, this story is absolutely hemorrhaging readers from one chapter to the next, but nothing daunted, I shall continue, at least for the time being.

Disclaimer: As ever, don't own.

Locked in the cabin as she was, it was impossible for Jade to see what was going out outside; but the deafening roar, and the sudden list of the ship that immediately followed it, told her that something horrible had happened. A moment later, a powerful fist began to beat on the cabin door. She searched about for a weapon, found a flare-gun, and leveled it at the door with shaking hands. "Stay back!" she cried. "I'm armed!"

"It's me!" yelled André. Jade gave a sigh of relief and let the gun fall as she hurried to the door and swung back the heavy bar.

"What is it? What's going on?"

"We're sinking. We need to get off this damn boat, as fast as we can."

She noticed the blood soaking through André's undershirt. "Jesus, what happened?"

"It's not important right now. First things first –we gotta keep from drowning."

Jade nodded. "What about the captain?"

André grimaced. "I don't know if there's anything we can do. If he's really so damn hammered that even a grenade didn't wake him up…"

"It did," said the captain behind him. They were startled to see how much he seemed changed; his eyes, long since yellowed by jaundice, were now hollow and haunted, but for the first time he stood straight, and his voice was quiet and even.

"Oh, thank God. Which way to the life-raft?" said Jade.

"Port bow. Better get it in the water before it's completely swamped and you can't launch it."

"What, aren't you going to help us?" she cried.

He said nothing; looked away. Realization struck her.

"You're not coming, are you?"

"Rations will last longer with two than they will with three. And the truth of it is, this ship's all I've got. Without her…well, there's no point, is there?" He smiled sadly. "I'm an old man, and not much of a man at that. But you two are young and strong. You'll survive." His voice sank to a whisper. "God be with you."

Jade wanted to weep, but the water rising around her ankles reminded her that there was no time even for pity. "And you, Captain." She and André rushed past him to the port bow.

Captain Farmer's warning was prophetic. Waves sloshing over the side had almost reached the raft. Jade hurled her pack into it, then climbed in herself; André undid the stays, waited until he was sure the raft would come loose, and at last jumped into it as it swiftly descended.

With a jolt, they struck open water. André took up the oars, willing himself to ignore the agony in his shoulder, while Jade hunted about for the distress beacon. For a heart-stopping moment, she feared that the salt water had ruined it, but at last it began to beep steadily. Now, finally having time to breathe, she slumped down in the stern of the raft, gasping.

André looked back without breaking the rhythm of his rowing. "How you doin' there, Jade?"

"Been…gasp…been better."

She turned to watch as the Mary Celeste 2 swung slowly, almost gracefully, to starboard and began to descend beneath the waters. The setting sun in the west nearly blinded her, but after shading her eyes, she could just make out the increasingly tiny figure of the captain. He did not move from the spot where he stood, only removed his cap and held it to his heart as the ship turned fully upside down and he was engulfed in the abyss. A single tear fell from the corner of Jade's eye.

"You know, I didn't even like him all that much, but God knows he didn't deserve this," she said.

Gritting his teeth with both effort and anger, André replied, "We'll avenge him. Someday. Those bastards are going to pay for what they did."

A small smile formed on Jade's lips.

"What are you thinkin' about?" André asked her.

"Oh, just something I once read about Julius Caesar. When he was still pretty young – about our age, actually – his ship was captured by pirates, and they held him for ransom. While they were waiting for the ransom to arrive, the pirates asked Caesar what he would do first once he was freed. He said, completely calmly, 'I'm going to come back and kill you all.' They all thought it was just a young fool's arrogance talking, and laughed themselves silly over it. Then they freed him, he went to Rhodes, put together a little fleet, defeated the pirates, and crucified them. Every last one."

"God damn. That is cold. But I ain't gonna pretend it doesn't sound appealing right about now."

"I wouldn't mind a little vengeance myself, but first I'd like to know who hired them."

He looked at her in puzzlement. "What do you mean, 'hired'? They're pirates. They saw a good target, and they went after it. It's what they do."

"But that's just the thing. Think about it, André – we weren't a 'good target'. Pirates go for yachts, cruise ships – the places where the rich people are. We were just a cruddy ex-fishing boat." She shook her head forcefully. "There's no way that was an accidental meeting. Someone's out to get us."

"But who?" André replied. "Nobody I know has a grudge against me, and I don't think anybody's got in for you, either." He paused. "Well, except for…"

"What?"

"Maybe…Mrs. Lee?"

Jade snorted derisively. "Look, I know that woman doesn't like me, but all Vega and I did was leave her daughter dangling over a stage for a few hours. She wasn't even in any danger. Don't you think that hiring pirates to kill us would fall under the category of 'disproportionate retribution'?"

With a doubtful nod, André replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right."

Nearly the entire right half of his shirt was soaked in blood now; he showed signs of being about to faint, and Jade could bear it no longer. "Look, 'Dré, you need to bandage that up. I've got plenty of first-aid stuff in my pack."

"No time for that now. I gotta get us to land-"

"Make time." She fixed her infamous death glare on him, and he immediately wilted.

"Okay, okay, you win. But make it quick."

She did indeed work swiftly, but her touch was no less careful and gentle for that. "You got mad nursin' skills, you know that?" said André with a smile.

"Guess I've got something to fall back on if the whole 'Tony-winning actor/playwright' thing doesn't work out." As she applied the last layer of bandages, the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

André looked up at the stars winking into sight one by one. "Um…you know anything about celestial navigation?"

"No." She grinned. "Fortunately, my magical computerized sextant does."

The little device flickered on and scanned the heavens for several minutes. A map materialized on the tiny plasma screen atop the black box, displaying their current position and heading.

"Alrighty. First Mate Harris, come about 180 degrees!"

"You mean 'turn around'?"

"…Yeah," she said sheepishly. "I just wanted to sound nautical and stuff."

"Hey, no problem…I mean, aye aye, Captain West! Coming about!"

Jade grinned broadly. "Take us north by northeast, Mister Harris. To land."

/

As it turned out, Jade had underestimated Caroline Lee twice that day. First, by failing to realize just how far she would go to avenge her daughter's humiliation; and second, by not guessing just how carefully Mrs. Lee had prepared for her goal.

As André and Jade took turns rowing toward what they thought was the coast of South America, the slap of their oars in the water and the gentle murmur of the waves masked the tiny clicking noise made by the electronic scrambler hidden in the bow. Steadily it beamed its ever-varying frequencies across the raft, confusing the readings given by Jade's computerized navigation system.

The two teenagers were not, in fact, heading north by northeast, but south by southeast.

Toward the ice.