Chapter 7

Even from the ship's rail, Grace could hear the shouting, laughing, and shooting, and smell the horrible smell of the city. She and Will exchanged uneasy looks.

"You two coming?" Jack called impatiently, already halfway down the gangplank.

"Are you sure you want to go ashore?" Will asked Grace.

She loosened her sword in its scabbard and nodded. "I'm sure."

They followed Jack. The streets were overflowing with drunken pirates chasing women and fighting with each other. Grace had never been anywhere that repulsed her so much. She was so disgusted she only barely noticed Jack start talking and it took another moment for her to focus on anything he was saying.

"…More importantly, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep the sweet proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy? What do you think?"

At that moment, Grace was lucky enough to notice a woman dumping a chamber pot from an upstairs window. She quickly jumped out of the way and accidentally right into Will.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly.

"It's all right," Will replied.

Both of them then made a face at the horrible stench that met their noses.

"What do you think?" Jack asked again when he didn't receive an answer from them.

"It'll linger," Will told him.

"I'll tell you, mate," Jack continued in a very chipper mood. "If every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."

"If every town in the world were like this one, I'd hide in the jungle," Grace said in disgust.

Jack became too interested in the immodestly dressed, red-haired woman coming towards them to notice Grace's remark.

"Scarlett!"

He rushed forward to meet her with a grin and was bitterly disappointed when the woman slapped him hard across the face spinning him around. Frowning at Grace and Will he said, "Not sure I deserved that."

Shaking his head, Jack turned and met up with yet another woman, this time a blonde.

"Giselle," he said a bit more cautiously.

"Who was she?"

Jack frowned. "What?"

With a sound slap, Jack was again facing Grace and Will.

"I may have deserved that," he admitted.

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt it," Grace muttered. "Right about now I feel like slapping you too. How in heaven's name will we find a crew here?"

"Don't lose faith yet, love," Jack said with a grin. "Right this way."

Grace glared at him as he walked off.

"If he calls me that one more time, I will slap him."

"Make sure I'm there to see it," Will replied, making Grace smile.

They followed Jack further into the city until they reached the back of a tavern where a bunch of pigs were sleeping. Lying in the mud with them was a man. Jack grabbed a bucket of water from a nearby well. Glancing at each other, Grace and Will each grabbed one too. Jack walked back over to the man and dumped the water on him. The man sat up sputtering as he pulled out a knife.

"Curse you for breathing you slack-jawed idiot!" He paused, a smile coming to his face when he saw that it was Jack. "Mother's love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleepin'! It's bad luck."

"Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."

The man tried to follow along, but even Grace and Will were still figuring it out. Finally, the man only smiled. "Aye, that'll about do it."

Jack reached out to help the man up. At the same time, Grace watched Will raise his bucket and toss the water on the man.

"Blast it! I'm already awake!"

"That was for the smell," Will told him.

"Well then, this is to make up for having to be here." Grace threw her bucket too.

Grace grinned at Will and then at Jack who smiled at the man.

"Gibbs, I'd like you to meet my friends."