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This chapter is a bit longer than the usual ones, so here's a bit of a treat for being so incredibly awesome and reviewing! This chapter was so long that I actually had to split it in half... mwahahaha! Cough, cough, I mean, I am incredibly sorry for that.
Chapter Seventeen: A Game of Waiting
"I thought you said we were going to wait seven days."
Clarke looked up from where he was seated in the dark and smoky tavern, the same one that Jack had occupied earlier with Garner. He watched silently as Jack pulled out a chair and sat at the table without invitation.
Clarke pushed a full bottle of rum towards him and leaned forward. "There seems to be some issues of trust that are always associated with you, Sparrow."
Jack frowned. "Captain. Captain Sparrow."
Clarke grunted, dismissing his comment.
"Trust issues." Jack repeated. "What kind of trust issues?"
Clarke chuckled, taking a swig of his rum. "Running between me and Garner; can't trust you but can't be disposed of you either. Apparently you are a man in great demand."
Jack tipped his bottle towards him, in a salute. "I like to think so."
"I figured the sooner we catch Garner with the 'pirate' Kate, the better. I didn't think you would care. You ditched the girl and Garner was taking you to your death not a year ago."
"Aye," Jack sighed in appreciation of the sweet rum. "I'm a pirate. I have no time for relationships or for the government."
Clarke simply nodded.
"However, if you would've entrusted me to help, the plan may have succeeded. The girl isn't as simple as most people think. She causes entirely too much trouble."
Clarke simply shrugged. "We will have other opportunities."
Jack laughed outright. "Ya think they will stay in Garner's house, just waitin' for you to come and trap them? You may not like Garner, but that doesn't mean he is stupid either."
"You seem keen on reminding me that I am, then. You assume I would use the same plan twice? I'm alive for more than one reason." Clarke's voice was growing irritated.
Jack smirked, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Just sayin', mate."
There were a few moments of silence as the two men nursed their drinks. "So, what do ye plan on doin' then? Ya don't know where they will be stayin'." Jack asked.
Clarke grinned. "I don't know, but you will."
Jack nodded his head. "Aye."
"I suggest you tag along now. Don't want to lose your friends."
The corner of Jack's lip twitched. He was becoming increasingly annoyed with the unnecessary insults. He immediately stood. "Was already leaving." He muttered.
Clarke chuckled again. "I expect a report by midnight, Jack. And don't think we're not watching you."
Jack mumbled something under his breath in return but Clarke was not able to catch what it was. He didn't know who Clarke meant by 'we' but it definitely made him uneasy. He would have to take a different, longer route around to the docks. It wouldn't have been normally safe to go the main route, but even more so now that Clarke implied he had people watching him.
Clarke smirked, thinking that he had the pirate captain exactly where he wanted him. A pawn in his game, the pieces seemed to be falling together perfectly.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"It's lovely at night." Kate said softly into the night.
"I thought you might like it; though, I couldn't be sure. Seems like you would have had plenty of nights like this aboard the Black Pearl." Garner replied.
Kate nodded. "Yes, but that doesn't make it any less lovely."
The two had left the shady tavern not long after Jack had left and Garner had wanted to take Kate by the docks. It was not safe to venture back to his house, nor did Kate want to be confined any longer. They both sat on the sand at the shoreline, Garner anxiously awaiting Bolton's return and Kate simply enjoying the evening and the view.
"Jack should be finishing with Clarke soon. He's supposed to find out what Clarke's next move is."
Kate listened in silence. She had abandoned her boots and stuck a bare foot into the cool water. She twirled it around, making small ripples that spread out in the water.
"Though, it shouldn't necessarily be necessary. Jack sent a message to Adger and Webber to meet him at the tavern. Clarke will stay there, and we should be able to catch him." He sounded optimistic, hope in his voice that he would finally be able to rid the ports and seas of Clarke. "Everything should go according to plan."
"That is, if Jack does his part." Kate muttered.
Garner sighed, leaning back on his palms. "I don't see what you have against him, Katherine."
"Then there is no use explaining it, is there?" The words came out much harsher than Kate had intended them to. She kicked the water, sending a few seagulls flying away as water splashed around them. "I'm sorry."
Garner did not reply but pulled out his pocket watch. "Jack is late."
Kate wanted to make a remark, but she held her tongue. She busied herself instead with drying her feet off and putting her boots back on. "Is that Bolton's ship?" She asked, pointing out to sea.
Garner stood, squinting his eyes out at the ship approaching the port. He gave a nod of confirmation. "It is. They're also considerably late too. I wonder what had kept them…" He stuck out his hand to help Kate to her feet.
"Maybe they were too preoccupied arguing about what to do with me." Kate grinned.
Garner seemed to miss the joke, turning his face to look at her, obvious perplexion written all over his face. "They don't know you are here, Katherine."
"They will soon enough." Kate smirked.
Garner managed a chuckle, but his nervousness was beginning to show. His usual calm and steady demeanor was fading; his hand was tapping anxiously at his side and he constantly kept trying to loosen his collar around his neck. "Come on," he said finally, walking towards the Navy ship.
Kate raised an eyebrow and remained where she was. "I don't think Bolton would be very happy to see me." She said slowly.
Garner stared at her and then gave a nervous laugh. "Oh yeah; I forgot you're an escaped pirate who has a warrant hanging over her head and should be headed to the gallows." He said this all very quickly. He looked around and gave a frustrated sigh. "Jack was supposed to be here by now. He was to take you to a safe spot; you both aren't to be seen."
Kate snorted. "I can manage myself without his help. Trust me on that."
"Well I'm going to have to. We don't have time to wait for Jack any longer. They're already unboarding." Garner's eyes were fixed on the Navy ship.
"Go," Kate urged. "I'll be fine here. I've taken care of myself before, I can do it now. I'll stay around this area and I'll stay out of sight. You'll miss Bolton if you wait much longer for me."
Garner glanced around once more, in case Jack was going to make a timely appearance, but after seeing no one else around, he took Kate's hand and squeezed it. "See you soon."
Kate watched as Garner strode off towards where the Navy ship had docked. She began to trek the other way, the opposite direction that Garner was headed. She found a bit of bushes that she could comfortably squeeze between, where she could see fairly well, but not be seen in return, and she waited.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Garner had arrived at the ship just as Bolton was crossing the gangplank. Bolton looked up and smiled when his eyes set on the captain. "Ah, Garner. Good to see you so quickly. I'm hoping for a boring report; no news is better than good news, yes?"
Garner gave a small smile. "On the contrary, I do have news…" He glanced around at the surrounding officers, unsure whether this was the proper place to be discussing this. He lowered his voice as Bolton neared and they headed towards town. "News concerning Willows's murder." He finished finally.
Bolton gave a start and frowned. "Go on."
"We had always suspected Clarke had done it, or pirates had done it. But I just received a tip from…a notable source… it's been both, sir."
Bolton's brows knitted. "Explain."
"I don't have all the time to, but I'll explain as much as I can in the short amount of time. Clarke is having a meeting with Captain Webber and Captain Adger tonight, at the Drunken Corpse, the tavern by my house. It seems he's been working with them all along. They broke into my house earlier, nearly killing a guest, I'm assuming to plant evidence against me."
"What source," Bolton inquired immediately, his face grave.
But Garner did not answer him. "No time for that at the moment. We'll need more soldiers to arrive with us at the tavern. We won't be able to take them by ourselves."
"You are sure about this?" Bolton stopped walking, turning to face the captain.
"Yes, sir."
Pounding footsteps stopped them both, and they turned to see a guard running as fast as he could towards them. "Pirates!" He shouted, "Pirates have been spotted at the tavern! Northern side of town! By the Drunken Corpse!"
Bolton needed no more convincing. He shouted at a few soldiers passing by, ordering them to follow their lead to the Drunken Corpse tavern. The group, with Bolton and Garner at the head, moved quickly and rather noiselessly. Garner was less anxious and now treated this as just another order by his commodore, letting his instincts and naval training take over.
They were moving along the street behind the tavern. Bolton held his hand up for the troops to stop and signaled for Garner to follow him. "You three, guard the back door; you three, the side entrance. You two, with us." He whispered hastily to the remaining troops.
"Guns away, enter about a minute after we do." Bolton whispered to the two that had joined him and Garner. The two soldiers nodded, waiting by the side of the building as Garner and Bolton headed around to the front.
"Do you know what they look like? Webber and Adger?" Bolton asked.
Garner gave a slight nod. "I've not seen them, but Jac—" He cleared his throat to try and cover his blunder of almost giving away Sparrow. "But I've heard Webber has a long scar, a missing eye. Adger's got dark hair. That's all I know. It shouldn't be too hard if they're in their pirate attire."
Bolton nodded. "Alright." With that, he pushed open the door of the tavern and Garner entered after him. The tavern was much louder than it was earlier in the day, but it still remained dark and smoky.
Garner had forgotten about that small flaw as they scanned the tavern and was glad that there were guards surrounding the building. "I suggest we find a table and scope it from there. Less conspicuous." Garner suggested.
Bolton nodded and they sat down at table in a corner, almost completely shrouded by darkness. "You're sure that they are here?" He was beginning to doubt Garner again.
"Clarke is here." Garner said firmly, his eyes set on a fixed point. Garner looked down quickly, realizing that he might be drawing attention to himself by staring at Clarke. "The pirates will come."
A couple minutes later, two more navy guards entered the tavern practically unnoticed. They took a seat on the opposite side from where Garner and Bolton sat, nearly hidden in darkness as well. Garner nodded to himself. Everything was going according to plan so far.
Minutes ticked by and there were still no signs of the two pirates. "George said there were pirates spotted around here," Garner reminded Bolton. "They will take extra precautions and take more time to come than they would have normally."
Bolton nodded at his reasoning. So they waited.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"Pirates!"
Jack whipped around, seeing a guard running down the street, away from him and towards the docks. His eyes widened, and he took cover behind a bakery.
He was already on his way back towards the shore, where he was planning to meet Garner and Kate. They had decided that it would be best for the both of them, Kate and himself, to stay hidden while Garner performed the capture of Clarke and the two pirate captains. Neither of them knew how Kate would take it, but they decided they would deal with that issue when it arose. Jack had successfully sent the message, forged to look like Clarke's writing, to Adger and Webber. He knew they would be arriving at the tavern within the hour.
He was a little apprehensive about meeting with Kate alone at the beach. Yet at the same time, he wanted to explain himself. The girl was intent on believing the worst of Jack, and her cold actions towards him were affecting him more than he wanted to admit. He missed Kate.
He continued to wait behind the bakery, and then realized that if he was spotted, the soldiers would come to that spot. He decided to continue towards the beach, but took the route behind all the stores and taverns.
He knew he was late; it had taken longer than he had thought to find a little kid who looked more worse than better who would send the message for him in exchange for some coins. He thought with a grin that Port Veridian would be a nice port to plunder.
Jack shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to tread carefully; he was trying to hurry to the beach so the plan would continue in action, but he did not want the soldiers to find him.
He careened to a stop and immediately hid behind a tree. Amidst his thoughts, he hadn't noticed the soldiers that had surrounded the building in front of him. Behind his tree, he noticed that the building was in fact the Drunken Corpse. "So Garner went ahead…" He thought to himself.
He wasn't sure the best way to get around the tavern. He would not be able to walk down the main street; he would be spotted. He could not just walk through the guards; that would be a certain sentence to the gallows. So he waited.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"Adger, take a look at this."
Adger turned from where he was standing by the large palm tree to the note that was lying in Webber's hand.
"It's from Clarke. He said he wants a meeting within the hour at the Drunken Corpse." Webber read the note aloud.
"Let me see that." Adger snatched the paper from Webber and his eyes scanned the note quickly. It looked enough like Clarke's handwriting. "Let's make this quick then."
The two had been hiding behind Garner's house, hopefully awaiting the arrival of Garner and Kate. They knew it would be unlikely that they would return, but if for some stroke of luck they did return, the two wanted to be sure they could catch them.
"It's not likely they'll be returnin' anyways." Webber replied, following Adger behind the row of houses.
Adger gave a small nod. "Yeah, very unlikely." The two crossed the street casually, not fearing being seen at this time of night. "It's so much easier when the prey is stupid." He chuckled.
The two made their way surreptitiously to the appointed tavern where Clarke was, unknowingly, waiting for them. The two were about to step out from behind the view of the trees when Adger stopped suddenly and Webber careened into him.
"What is it?" He blundered loudly.
Adger quickly hushed him. "The Navy guard is here…" He whispered, narrowing his eyes.
"Something isn't right here." Webber added, peaking out from behind the other pirate captain.
"Someone must'a caught wind of out meeting…" Adger trailed off, his eyes scanning the area.
The two waited.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Bolton was growing impatient. He had finished his third drink and it was growing later and later. Upon his return to Veridian, he had hoped to quickly go to the comforts of his home and family and catch up on sleep; but this was preventing him from otherwise doing so.
"We both know they are here in the town." Garner reiterated. He had been saying little things of the like over the past hour, trying to reassure and persuade Bolton at the same time.
"But they are not here." Bolton replied irritably.
Garner was silent. His eyes scanned the tavern once more. "Maybe it's the guards." He said suddenly, his eyes lighting up. "I can't imagine Adger and Webber coming down the main street. Too risky." He stood, about to inform Bolton that he was to dismiss the guards, but realized he was in no position to do so. He sat back down awkwardly.
Bolton chuckled. "Release the guard. I think if the two come, we should manage to control the situation."
Garner nodded and stood, leaving the tavern. He made his way around the tavern, quietly and individually releasing the guard that surrounded the building. Most were relieved, releasing baited breath and murmuring their thanks.
As Garner worked his way back towards the front, he kept his eyes focused forwards. He did not want to act suspicious, or act like he was awaiting the two pirate captains. He quietly reentered the smoky tavern. Sitting back down at the table with Bolton, he gave a small nod, indicating he had done what he had been told.
Again, they waited.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Jack had stayed in his hiding position behind the bush. He had found a little spot where he could kneel and still be able to see what was going on before him. He grew used to the silence as the night fell darker and darker. A guard would switch his weight to the other foot; another would check his pocket watch. Those were the only events that had occurred.
Leaves crunching and twigs snapping jolted Jack out of his reverie. The noise continually grew louder and closer and out from behind the trees crashed Adger and Webber, unaware of the soldiers before them. Jack watched as Adger stopped just in time, at a tree not a yard from himself, realizing the scene before him.
Jack crouched lower, so not to be seen, and lost track of how long he had to remain in the uncomfortable position.
The two pirate captains spoke in whispers, planning what to do at first, but then they just remained where they were, completely unaware of their enemy crouched next to them in hiding as well.
After an undetermined amount of time passed, Jack watched as Garner circled the establishment, speaking to each guard, and what Jack assumed, releasing them from their duty. His eyes narrowed. Were they growing weary of waiting and not expecting Adger and Webber to come? Jack wished that that was not the case, but he again only could wait.
Adger and Webber were whispering furiously now, arguing between themselves. Adger finally said something that hushed his companion, but they made no move to enter the tavern. They made no move at all, remaining where they were as they had for the past hour. Waiting.
Jack was sick of waiting.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Kate jolted awake with a start. A nearby seagull made a call, waking Kate from her sleep. She hadn't remembered falling asleep, and she was certain that that could have done no good. She looked up at the moon and assumed that it had been quite a long time since Garner had left her there.
She stood from her hiding spot and stretched her limbs. She cautiously looked up and down the beach, seeing no one. The plan should have succeeded by now; Garner was to come back to the beach to give her news and then they would figure things out from there. Yet, no one was to be seen.
Kate frowned, trying to think what to do. Perhaps they had come to find her and after searching and not finding her, had left? Kate knew it wouldn't be wise to remain where she was for the rest of the night. What would come in the morning?
She decided that if they did not come to find her, for whatever reasons, she would go and find them.
Kate did not take the main street; though it was dark, she still would run the risk of being spotted and did not think it was worth it. She simply hiked up the path that ran behind most of the shops. There was a line of trees and other vegetation nearby so that if she needed to hide, she could quickly blend into the vegetation.
Kate noticed two figures standing in the opening ahead. She slowed and started to walk inside the line of trees, trying to keep out of sight. Kate stopped behind a large oak, fearing that if she moved any closer she would be spotted. She squinted and her eyes widened when she recognized the two men: Adger and Webber.
Among further investigation, Kate realized that they were not alone. She could see, from her angle, another man crouching next to them in the bushes. Kate's jaw dropped when she recognized the red bandana and slim figure: it was Jack.
That treacherous liar! Kate wanted to storm over and demand him to tell her why he was, again, associating with the enemy. She narrowed her eyes. What were they doing? How could he, again, betray Garner?
Garner.
Her thoughts flew to the Navy Captain, who she assumed was still in the tavern, waiting for Adger and Webber to arrive. It had been too long, though. Adger and Webber must have realized the trap and were waiting on their chance to pounce on him when he left.
Kate couldn't believe this. She didn't know what she could do to lure them into the tavern. The three men could easily overcome her, but she could maybe run fast enough to alert Garner that they were outside, waiting for him.
No, that wouldn't work. The point of the plan was to surprise them. Perhaps they didn't know that Garner was inside.
Then what were they waiting for?
Cliffhanger! :O Reviews make my day. :)
-Becca