Hector Barbossa stood his ground. "And what laws o' th' code have I broken? I have done nothing o' th' kind, Captain Teague! An' wot are ye doin' here with the Code, as it is? Without a request from a Pirate Lord to th' Keeper o' th' Code..."
Jack quietly stepped behind William, as Teague slammed the Codex down upon the table, on top of the numerous charts that were spread out upon it. He leaned straight into Barbossa's face and was nearly nose to nose with him... this was enough to even make Hector bite his tongue. "I have made exception by being called by a power higher than a Pirate Lord... I have been called by the Captain of the Flying Dutchman, who is married to the Pirate King, or have ye forgotten tha' ye married them, yourself, ye fool?" he thundered. It was enough to make every being standing on the deck quake in their very shoes, as the air was burning with tension.
"I also know that ye be claimin' tha' th' Code is not a set of rules... that they are merely...guidelines..." Teague fairly spat the word out, "... do you know tha' you have been a burr under me bandana for quite some time? As a member of th' Brethren of the Coast, ye are t' uphold the Code, as it was written, not as ye see bloody FIT for yer own benefit...not only are ye callin' th' code mere guidelines... " once again the word was as if it were shot from a cannon, "...ye commandeered a ship tha' does not belong t' ye, against the Code. It belongs, lock, stock and barrel to my son!"
He pointed straight at Jack, whose eyes were like dark moons. He stepped out from behind William, and stared straight at Captain Teague, as a murmer of surprise rippled through the crew... Captain Teague, the Keeper of the Code and one of the most powerful men in piracy, was the father of Captain Jack Sparrow?
Teague thundered, "This ship was paid for by Captain Jack Sparrow, paid for with his blood and sweat... with his very life, damn near twice!"
Everyone stared for a moment... this man had the same hair, albeit Jack had three times more, and they had the same swaying walk, and they both had the faintest of Irish brogues in their voices, but the resemblance abruptly ended there. Teague was stocky and well built, Jack was slender and almost delicate looking. Teague's face was craggy and weather worn, Jack's was smooth with fine, high cheekbones. Teague's eyes were coal black and burned like embers, Jack's were golden brown and sparkling like water. Teague was of sallow and jaundiced complexion, while Jack was naturally dark and richly tanned. Teague's voice was a growling snarl, while Jack's was a husky slur. Many that bore witness to this scene concluded that Jack must have favored his mother.
"Jack Sparrow is your son?" Barbossa was truly shocked, and he thought, at his age, that he was well past being shocked by anything.
"Jack is my son... I have not been a father t' him, but he is my son, an' this is his ship... she belongs t' no other... ye have no entitlement t' it by th' law set down by the Code!" Captain Teague's staccato words were like gunshots.
"He loses th' ship quite regularly, your worship, " Barbossa began to regain his composure, "... it is good clean piracy t' commandeer a ship if a man too trustin' of others t' keep it under his captaincy!"
"Trust ain't got a damn thing t' do with it," Teague hissed, "... what has everything t' do with it is that ye violated th' code in order t' commandeer this ship - a code tha' was written t' keep some honor amongst thieves and scalawags. Wot honor have ye, Barbossa?"
"What th' hell do ye mean?" Barbossa finally had enough. "Show me wot th' hell I did tha' was breakin' the bloody code by takin' MY ship from your baby boy!" Jack's eyes clouded over, momentarily, at that sarcastic reference.
Teague opened the book with a fierce slam, dust flying up and all around it's ancient pages. He turned his glowing, coal black eyes to Barbossa's cold blue ones, and pointed to the very first article written upon the very first page of the volume, and then he looked around at all present. " The first draft of the Pirate Code was laid out by Captain Bartholomew Roberts, to be added to by Captain Henry Morgan and ratified by the first Court of the Brethren of the Coast... the very first article ever written in this book is, to wit, 'Every man has a vote in affairs of moment'."
Teague, once again, turned around to the members of the crew, and asked, "What one among ye that was with Captain Jack Sparrow's crew was allowed t' vote as t' givin' Hector Barbossa th' authority t' commandeer th' Black Pearl in Tortuga?" His dark gaze fell upon every crewmember, and he glanced only momentarily at a hard eyed William, then at his own son. Jack gazed back at him, steadily, his eyes still filled with wonder.
It was Angus Murtogg that spoke up. He took a deep breath and said, "Beggin' your pardon, Captain, but none of us was consulted about the decision, sir. We were taken against our will... sir..." He tried desperately to keep Captain Teague from seeing his knees knocking together. "We never was offered a chance t' vote..."
"... an' we woulda voted against it, sir!" Marty exclaimed. "Barbossa violated de code!" Jack grinned at William, whose subtly nudged him back in amusement.
Barbossa's crewmembers started looking at each other nervously, not knowing what was going to befall them... it seemed that things were quickly turning out of their favor, and they stared in complete awe at William, Jack and Teague.
"Ye mutinous dogs!" Barbossa snarled, "I ought t'..."
"Hector!" William finally spoke up. "They are not about to mutiny, even though they should have if it weren't for the fact that they are men of honor. It has been determined that you violated the Pirate Code by commandeering the Black Pearl without taking a vote from the existing crew. You should have let them off on the dock and taken her legally, " Jack turned to stare at him indignantly, "... but you chose to be greedy and do as you pleased. You are lucky that we wish to bargain with you to get th' Black Pearl back... will you listen?" It was plain that William was beginning to lose his patience with Hector.
Jack stepped forward and leaned toward Barbossa, his hands hovering between them. "I should really consider it, mate... ye're really makin' it harder on yerself, here, wif yer stubbornness... ye haven't yet seen wot we brought wif us t' offer ye!" he grinned, waving his arms out, grandly.
Hector finally looked at all of them, rolled his eyes, and said, "Alright! Wot th' hell do ye have t' offer t' me tha' could possibly compare t' th' Black Pearl?"
After the slightest of hesitation, William stepped up onto the railing, and then turned back to them. His own eyes glowed grimly, the long tails of his bandana draped over his shoulder, as the wind rippled his dark shirt open, exposing the large, jagged scar over his chest... a scar where his very living heart had been cut out by his own father... and many of the crewmembers shuddered, as Jack and Bill looked on at the young captain with pride. "What do we have to offer to you, Barbossa? Everyone brace yourselves, and I shall bring it forth..."
With that, William turned to the sea, and spread his arms wide... Jack knew what was coming, and he braced himself hard...