- Chapter 1: Laura Allister -

"Beware what stalks you in the night

Beware the she-wolf and her bite

her mystic lips tell only lies

her hidden will to kill in disguise"

- Megadeth, She-wolf -

-//-

The woman made her living by doing things for money, but not by postulated means.

Jack sought her for those very reasons.

This is why he had placed a red rose on the moss-covered gravestone of John Candor, a man of no consequence to Jack who had been buried for longer than he'd been alive. Jack had no reason to believe that she herself knew of John Candor and assumed that she only used his gravesite because of its obscure location in the rear corner of the cemetery.

Jack was in Covent Garden district of London with a purpose to recruit Laura Allister.

Perhaps recruit was not the correct word as request was more accurate.

Here he sat waiting for her at the open-air cafe across the street from the potter's cemetery. That was part of her game. If you wanted her services, you would place a rose on the grave and wait, it was the first test. If she felt you had earned her audience, she'd listen to your proposed payment and mission. Tests two and three. Laura would consider the terms and assess the worth of the venture. If accepted, she'd take payment up front and carry out her end of the bargain with a surgeon's precision. If she didn't accept, it was in best interests of the person asking for her services to give her some amount for payment to apologize for wasting her time.

Laura's origins into her baneful field were all laced in the realm of rumor. The most heard of these rumors was that she loved and wed a poor lowly deckhand, spent only a month as his wife before he joined the pirate crew of the Sea Horse seeking fortune, and that her beloved's vessel met a bad fate when attacked by a privateer and was never heard of again. Without a husband's wages, Laura found herself in dire standing and had to fend for herself or starve. Normally, women of such fates were left with three choices: beg in the streets, return to their parents' house, or shame themselves into prostitution. Laura was too proud to beg. She had no family to return to and her husband's family was too poor to support another mouth. Laura, fully believing that her love would one day return to her, refused to ever be intimate with another man.

The second half of Laura's story was always different depending on its teller. The version that Jack favored to believe was that the woman took on small jobs for her wealthier neighbors and she discovered that jobs of a 'certain distinction' proved not only to be more profitable, but that she excelled at them as well. As her reputation grew, Laura was birthed as the Virginal Widow because her passions belonged solely to her husband.

What Jack did know; Laura was dangerous, skilled, inconspicuous, and completely apathetic.

The temperature was dropping with the sun, but the street was still alive with the sounds of goods and services being bartered and amounts haggled. There was a hive of merchants who had traveled up the Thames River to trade and sell their goods from all ports of the world. Jack observed that some of these merchants demonstrated unconscious twitches that exposed them as pirates: the constant scanning eyes, the tense shoulders, the ever-ready shooting hand. To the typical law abiding citizen, these actions would appear so trivial that they would never notice or expect any illegitimacy, but it takes one to know one.

Equally busy were the evening ladies of the Covent Garden. Deft entrepreneurs of their craft, these women drew their own flock of clientele and were more than willing to part their merchant counterparts from their days earnings.

Normally, this atmosphere of black market trade and harlotry reminiscent of Tortuga, would feel second nature to Jack. Although his probable meeting with Laura was amidst the growing night crowd, he knew that a public assassination was not above the range of her talents and it was always possible she had been hired to take on a hit against the very person who wished to hire her. In his case, that could be himself. He was alert but did his best to remain anonymous and not draw any unwanted attention.

The server returned with his order of tea that as soon as her back was turned, because he was polite after all, had a sizable measure of rum added to spice up the flavor. He wrapped his hands around the warm cup and savored the rummed tea's sweet aroma. Jack realized that there was a subtle curving at the corners of his mouth. With the commotion, the seamen, the women, and the cup in his hands, he couldn't help but remember the first time he met the Virginal Widow.

-//-

"Mister Gillette!"

"Yes, Captain."

"Would you be so kind as to fetch us another round!" Jack requested merrily, tossing his purse to his new first mate.

"On the double, sir." Gillette swept up the purse and began to weave his way through the crowd towards the bar of the English pub.

Jack's spirits were high and he was in the mood to celebrate. He had just been commissioned with the East India Trading Company and ready to make sail with the golden hulled, white sailed beauty the Wicked Wench. Actually, Jack was more surprised than anything else that the Company would put such a ship in command with one as inexperienced as he was. True, Jack had been at sea for years, literally since birth, but as a captain he was still an amateur.

Gillette, also considered young for his position, was eager to set sail and didn't seem to mind his new captain's lack of experience. The man must have blind faith. Jack liked him already.

Jack downed the last swallow from his mug and plunked it down onto the table. A stubby fingered man roused an old sea ditty from an old violin. It was debatable if it was the player or the instrument that was out of tune, but a boisterous group of sailors began to slur the words of the song nonetheless. He had the urge to join them, but his throat had grown dry waiting for Gillette to return with the evening's next round.

"Where the hell is that man? Insubordinate already... haven't even left port yet..." He grumbled while scanning the patrons clustered around his table, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the table in chorus with the song's irregular beat.

"Good evening, sir." A soft feminine voice whispered into his ear from behind him, her lips brushing his lobe as a slender finger ran down his cheek to his neck.

"Evenin'," he replied, shifting in his chair to face a freckle-skinned woman whose appearance he'd describe as 'plain decorated with comely eyes and pouty lips.' Disregarding the sordidness of her profession, he felt there was an air of dignity about the woman that suggested that she should be treated with respect simply because respect was due to her.

She smiled expectantly.

"And how are we this night, darlin'?" he asked, already assuming what she wanted and looking her over shamelessly.

She shrugged, playing coy and obviously trying to reel him in, her smile not fading.

"Since you seem to be doing quite well," he continued, enticed, "I'll ask what you're offerin' this night?"

There was a twinkle in her eyes in response to his flirting yet, for some unknown reason, he couldn't help but sense that something was different about this enchanting lady of the evening. Closing the distance between them, the woman set herself into his lap and continued to trace her finger along his exposed collarbone.

"How about... you tell me who you are... then I'll tell you what I am... and what I have to offer..." she breathed seductively.

"Well, my dainty lass," he said slipping his arm around her waist, "you are currently in the presence of the captain whose ship is the fastest in all the Atlantic Ocean."

"Really?" she said a little bitingly, knowing a sailor's habit to exaggerate.

"It's true darlin', I assure you. The Wicked Wench can out sail any other ship of the King's Navy."

Her smile widened and excited Jack's wanton side.

"You are the captain of the Wicked Wench?" She asked, fiddling with one of the braids on his chin.

"Captain Jack Sparrow in the flesh."

"Captain Jack Sparrow, ah, I thought it was you. Heard a lot about you, I have."

"Have you?" Jack ran his hand up her thigh and he swore he saw a brief flash of intense wrath discolor her irises when his hand came to rest on her rump.

"Oh yes," her voice lowered as her smile turned malicious.

It was at that point that Jack started to grow suspicious of the woman on his lap. As his expression changed, the woman leaned her body against his chest pinning him in his chair.

"I offer a message from a party, with whom we are both acquainted, that hired me to deliver it to you, Captain Jack Sparrow." She whispered quickly, stopping him from pulling a weapon.

"Is that what you are, a messenger?" he hissed, sliding his hand up her back to hold her by the nape of her neck.

"Sometimes," she answered unafraid, and then added lightly with one finger raised, "This time."

The woman had Jack's complete attention as she delivered her message.

Gillette returned as the woman climbed off Jack's lap and quietly took her leave.

"A charming looker she is, Captain, if I may be bold enough to say so." Gillette said jovially, sliding a full mug across the table to Jack.

Gillette's smile disappeared when Jack turned to him, pale and visibly distraught.

"Who was that?" Gillette asked his young captain.

"Laura Allister."

-//-

Laura had vicariously taught Jack a valuable lesson about not trusting first impressions. If she had been hired to assassinate him that night, the world would not been graced with his intermittently lustrous career. He and the world had been lucky.

In some ways, he was flattered. Laura only took on jobs that piqued her interest. As young as he was at the time, he was glad to see that he was already turning heads and ruffling feathers enough that Captain Diego of the Cuervo Azul, felt it necessary to hire someone with the prominence of the Widow to deliver his message "pay your debt or else" to Jack and that Laura herself deemed it worthy enough to accept. Unfortunately for Captain Diego, Laura had been contracted to dispatch him by another party previous to their meeting. After she delivered his message to Jack, she returned and carried out her initial mission to dispose of Diego, after she received payment from him of course.

A two for one deal. Clever girl.

Another issue that potentially hindered Jack's plan was that Laura abstained to travel beyond the shores of England for she wanted to be home on the day her husband returned to her. Jack believed he had reason enough, if she was willing to listen to it.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," his name trilled off a feminine tongue as a red rose brushed across his cheek.

"Evenin' Laura," he said even before turning towards her and offering his best smile.

"Both hands on the table, thank you."

He did as instructed and pushed a chair out for her with his foot under the her arms, she eyed his companion at his right suspiciously.

"Oh!" Jack said casually, acting if he'd just remembered he'd not come alone. "No worries darlin', he's not armed. Right, Hector?"

The old Port Royal mongrel thumped his tail on the cobblestone pavement confirming his owner's claim. Laura gave Hector one final frigid glance before disregarding the dog completely and sat down across from Jack. Hector didn't appear put off and curled himself around Jack's boots, dragging the key tied around his neck along the cobblestones.

Jack's devious side wished he'd not been chivalrous in pushing out a chair for her and had instead offered her his lap where she sat during their last encounter. Luckily, for his own sake, his logical side spoke louder than his devious side.

The setting sun lit a halo around her silhouette as she sniffed the rose in a way that added to her mystique before setting it down gently in the center of the table. She said nothing, only stared blankly at the cobblestones and waited for him to initiate dialogue.

Jack tried to order a tea for Laura, he was polite after all, but the server made it clear that she would not come near the table now that Laura was seated there. The server had been witness to enough of Laura's other meetings to sense the woman's precarious nature.

"Thank you kindly, darlin', for agreein' to meet me."

She smiled with false pleasantness and Jack decided to get to the point.

"There is a man I'd like distracted," He paused and leaned in further, and flexing his hand in a motion to emphasize his point, he said again sternly, "distracted." Jack then settled back in his seat and continued, "In Plymouth, the capital city of Montserrat, Caribbean."Her nose wrinkled as she nodded, still looking at the spot on the floor. He knew that small facial gesture was not a good sign.

"Precisely six months from this very day," Jack added.

Laura nodded again. Her face expressionless.

"A ship leaves a month from tomorrow on which I've taken the liberty to arrange passage for you."

Laura's dainty hand rose to her chin as her head tipped back and she absently stared at a distant point over her shoulder as if disinterested in the company she currently found herself.

"I also paid for the passage." He said, his voice higher and less confident than before, as he saw that she was preparing to stand and leave.

If Jack wanted her services, he quickly needed to produce a good reason or a good sum for her to invest her time on his inquiry. He had both.

He cleared his throat and straightened in his chair. "This man is a key figure in a matter of personal interest. Though, I fear you may feel this below your standard market to simply detain a mark, I want someone professional to tend to this matter and am willing to pay handsomely for such professionalism."

He lifted his hand to reveal two brilliant rubies. If Laura was impressed by his offered payment, she did an excellent job of hiding it.

He covered the rubies and continued. "See, darlin', I am going fishin'. And there are essentials, which every angler knows are quite necessary before a line can be cast, and prey seined. This man...whom you are to distract," he said, splaying his fingers for emphasis again, "is me lure. Though not very attractive himself and unlikely to snare anything alone on his onesie... has something in his possession that is quite alluring and that, darlin', is a large leather bound book. That book is me worm. There are fish, hungry with assumedly dark ambitions, who want to sink their wretched teeth into this worm for curious reasons... and that is why I'd like for you to only distract this man. He will draw out said fish which I aim to catch."

"What you're dangling has no appeal to me," she said cynically.

"Fine, fine. Perhaps a different bait then." Jack's voice dipped to a conspiratorial tone as a matching smile crept across his lips, "Did I fail to mention that the ship on which I've arranged both passage and payment... is the Sterling."

Laura only had one failure on record and it was one of intimate note. That was the only reason that Josue Leocadio, the captain of the Sterling, still breathed. Jack knew that using the Sterling was a gamble and as her jaw set and deep red burnt upon her cheeks, he regretted playing it so soon. Josue Leocadio was the privateer who claimed to have sunk the Sea Horse. He had also earned a reputation for leaving no survivors.

Laura leaned forward out of the light of the setting sun and darkened the very shadow that surrounded her. With both elbows set on the table, her chin resting on slender intertwined fingers, she captured Jack in an unblinking, malevolent stare and he struggled not to visibly shudder with the tension she was creating in his stomach. There was something almost primal in her eyes that he had not seen during their first encounter causing him to fear he'd kindled a fire that now smoldered with feral animosity. They engaged in this strained silence for a long moment as, Jack assumed, Laura considered on his offer or killing him for the non-incidental mention of Leocadio.

He needed the first.

Her hand glided across the table and swept the rubies out from under his palm.

"As you were saying, six months from this day, in Montserrat, there is a man carrying a book whom you'd like... distracted."

She was interested.

Thanks again to Calathiel of Mirkwood for her wonderful Beta skills!