Book Three - Chapter Ten: A Different Sort of Job

The men were glad to be ashore but they were lacking funds to enjoy themselves as per usual. Barbossa, as his duty demanded, went to his captain to inform him of the crisis on hand.

"Captain, how do ye suggest we supply this vessel?" he asked quite seriously.

"Get the men to pick up the cargo and haul it in, as usual," Jack replied.

Barbossa was not humoured and his face showed it.

"We haven't enough to put food fer a week on the ship, Jack. We haven't a place for the men to sleep. We haven't powder for our guns. We haven't even been able to test the cannons to see if they'll be needin' replacin'. We're in need of everything and haven't a penny for it. The men can live without pay this time, Captain, but they at least need to know that their bein' fed for their service."

Jack thought for a moment. This was a serious issue. If only he had not already lost his savings. Then he remembered what his savings had purchased him and came to the conclusion that it was a worthy investment nonetheless. He would need to find alternative funds now.

"Not to worry. I'll see to it," the captain told his first mate.

Barbossa was highly doubtful of his captain's boast.

"And how, pray tell, are ya plannin' on comin' up with that sum?"

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, mate! And as such, I've got a few friends in some helpful places. Besides, we only need to secure the basics to keep the men happy. Once they've regained their confidence we can let them run amuck on some small port town or spit of a village. Like a smorgasbord of plenty!" Jack said happily, waving his hands to visualise the mountain of plenty he foresaw.

Barbossa started to chuckle. The captain nodded his head knowing that his first mate was seeing the same vision of the men running wild in a mad ransack. Barbossa's chuckle elevated. Jack began to laugh. Barbossa's chuckle erupted into a full-fledged laughter.

"Ah, Jack," Barbossa said once he had recovered from his momentary fit, "I say 'tis one of yer better ideas. I was beginnin' to think that ye'd forgotten what a pirate is." Then his expression became serious again. "Just be sure that ya don't go weak when not all the men come back. Even a spit of a village holds jails and pistol shots."

"That is the nature of the beast, isn't it?" Jack said.

The agreement having been made, Jack set out to secure what he could. His statement of having friends in these parts was a lie, or at least it was intended to be one - not that Jack had a great memory for past acquaintances. What he was relying on was his ability to quickly make friends, or rather, Amelia's ability. He approached Amelia with the proposal. She heard him out without any immediate reaction.

"What do you think?" he asked her. "Could you pull it off?"

"You want me to bait myself?" she said seeking clarification.

"In a sense, yes. You don't have to do much, just be friendly," he said.

"Oh, I can be friendly, Jack. The question is can you handle me friendly?"

"If not, well, I guess we'll just have to shoot the buggers and call it a day."

Later that day, Captain Jack Sparrow went to a tavern, as his usual custom, but he did not seat himself down with a pint and a woman. He chatted with a few people and then proceeded to sit down at a table where a card game was taking place. He kept his air light. The men around him chuckled and winked at one another, sensing the stranger to be naïve in the art of bluffing. Jack did his best not to watch the door, but as he was running low on coins to lie down on the table, he began to worry that the girl was not coming. This was the last hand that he could afford to lose. The men at the table were making some smart comments about the stranger's ill luck. As they laughed, the tavern doors opened and a trail of scantly clad women entered. All heads but Jack's turned.

The bar keep even gave a laugh and said, "A tad early for business ain't it?"

The harlots let out cackles and ruffled their skirts.

"Gotta show the new girl the ropes," one of them said.

Sure enough, in the ensemble was a fair face. Although her dress was as tattered and worn as the rest of the girls', she did not bare the same roughness on her skin. There was not a hunger in her eyes, but a beguiling coyness that escaped from the deep seas of her eyes.

"I've got a rope I could show ya," the barkeep said, still laughing.

The harlots cackled at his wittiness and fawned around him for a free drink or two. The new girl did not partake but slowly sashayed over to where the greater action was to be found. Some of the men whistled at her and made teasing comments.

"And no one gentleman 'nough to offer a poor girl a chair?" she said cheekily.

Half of the men at the table pushed back their chairs and offered up their laps.

The girl giggled playfully and walked around the table brushing her hand over each man's shoulders. While walking, she observed not only who had the largest pile of winnings in front of him, but the entire appearance of the men and the accessories he brought with him. She made one full round and then made her selection. The man she chose did not offer his lap and so he sat pensively at the table. The girl stood behind him and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"You're wasting your time, poppet," the man said, "I's a Christian man."

The girl giggled and let her hands slid down his arms as to lower her self closer to his ear. "So I see. But you've already begun drinkin' and gamblin', why not let me give you something to really pray fer?"

Blood rushed to his cheeks, and he shifted as though he had been made uncomfortable. The men around him laughed at him.

"Here you are, my honey," the man beside him said offering up his lap, " 'Do unto others as you'd have done unto you' is what the good book says. I can think of a few things I'd do unto you."

Another man from across the table blurted out, "Or into ya!"

A roar of laughter took over the table.

The girl moved one of her hands across the man's breast until she cupped his chin. "Too bad," she said with a small pout, and then she kissed his cheek and moved to the offered lap beside him. The new man welcomed her well. She sat on his one leg and put an arm around his neck. She began to strum her fingers up and down an opening in the man's shirt.

"Dickens!" the man shouted back to the barkeep. "A drink for the girl!" He pushed some of his winnings to the side, intended to be payment for the barkeep.

The card game resumed, though more players were finding themselves distracted. The girl continued to flirt and be flirted with. Jack watched her and watched how her hands worked their delicate magic, keeping the man distracted with one and slowly removing his affects with the other.

The drink arrived for the girl and the barkeep took hold of the money that was set aside from him. The other girls came over.

"What's this, Charley?" one of them said, "Too good to be buyin' us a drink, now?"

"Aye, whoever gives us a good luck kiss will earn 'erself a drink," the man called Charley said. Despite the fact that the girl was still on his lap, the other girls came round to kiss him. As a joke, even the man beside him leaned over to get his free drink.

"Get off, Paddy, you bleedin' dog, 'for I knock you one!" Charley said to the would-be kisser.

"Calm yourself, mate," another man said, "ya can't be hogging up all the ladies now."

The girl on his lap got up and made another half round of the table. She sat herself down in the lap of the man who had the largest pile of winnings. The other ladies found their own laps to sit in or shoulders to lean on. The round came to an end and Jack found himself having lost again. Everyone at the table laughed at his ill fortune.

"I guess that's my final game, then" Jack said.

The men told him that his luck must be bound to change - a man can only lose so much. In truth they just wanted to strip him of every last ounce of wealth and he seemed like the kind of chap who would fall for it with a little bit of encouragement. Jack removed a ring from his finger and placed that on the table to allow for himself to be dealt back into the game. Out of pity, the other men put in a larger amount to boost his spirits, knowing that it would not fall into his hands.

"Alright," Jack said taking hold of his cards but not yet looking at them. He shot a look over to the new girl. "How about a good luck kiss for me, then?" he asked her.

The girl giggled and blew a kiss from her hand to him. Everyone at the table laughed at his rejection. The game played on. All of the girls fawned over the players. One by one they shot looks up to one another, batting eyes or smirking slightly. When it came time for Jack to make a decision for his hand, he looked up at the girl. She gave him a quick wink. Jack sighed and pretended to wipe some sweat from his brow. He tapped his fingers on the table and then decided to stay in the game. The others felt that the stranger was trying to play his last game all-or-nothing. The round ending, everyone revealed their cards. It was a shock to everyone when the stranger proved to have the upper hand. Jack laughed at his change of luck.

"Guess you were right, mates," he said. "How 'bout another go?"

The other agreed to another round. As the cards were being dealt out again, he turned to the new girl and said, "Another kiss, then?"

Once more she blew him a kiss across the table. The game played out and once again the women checked one another. Jack looked up for his cue and acted accordingly. A few more rounds were played. Slowly, the winning piles of those around the table were finding their way in front of the stranger. The girls did their best to try and comfort the men in their losses. Finally, when the man's winnings were down to half, he said he was leaving the game. Jack shot a look to the girl, but she was already handling the situation.

"Poor dear," she said to him getting off of his lap. "Maybe we can see that your luck improve just a bit before the day's out," she said to him, playing with his shirt. He put his coins back into his purse and stood up away from the table.

"You're just wanting to get your hands on this," he said holding up his purse.

The girl smiled alluringly and put his hand down.

"Well, it being my first and all, I'm sure we can say that it's on the house. That is if you don't mind giving me a few pointers along the way," she whispered in his ear.

He did not actually believe her but the offer sounded good nonetheless, even if he would end up paying for it in the end. He took hold of her, bid the other a good day, and led his new girl away.

Jack suddenly became very uncomfortable. He knew that he could keep the charade going without her, but he did not like these things being done in secret where he could not see. He assumed that she was armed, though he did not know how. If she was able to pull a pistol on Darius there was no way that she would fail to do so here in a scripted ploy. He was determined to leave the game as soon as possible encase his services should be needed elsewhere.

In the back room, the new girl had placed a blindfold around he man's eyes. She spoke to him seductively. Though he did not trust her, he did not think that she was capable of doing any harm. She kept him occupied for a good length of time, but still avoiding any of her true duties. Soon, one of the other women entered the room silently. She would take over from here. The new girl tucked away the few valuable items she could away and left the back room, exiting the tavern entirely. She did not expect to find Jack already waiting outside of the back door.

"Well?" he said to her.

She put her finger to her lips and hushed him. It was too close to the tavern to begin speaking of the subject. She walked on ahead of him, returning to the pier. Jack followed but not too closely behind her. She stopped before getting too near the Black Pearl, behind found rows of crates and barrels that were waiting to be loaded onto other ships.

The leader of the harlots, the woman who first introduced Amelia at the tavern, came along the pier, looking for the "new girl". She walked along the loading docks, as agreed until she spotted her by the crates with the stranger.

"Here you are, then?" she said. "Us girls kept up our end of the deal, now yours."

Amelia reached around her neck and unclasped the teardrop necklace. She had only just held it free in her hand for a moment when Jack intervened.

"Hey, now!" he said, "I gave you that."

Amelia was not impressed with her captain's chosen time to indulge in sentiments.

"That was the agreement," she said to him.

Jack took hold of the necklace instead. Both women were shocked at his sudden interest in the jewellery.

"Now, love, this, as I understand it, is to go to you and your bonnie lasses for participating in this little…escapade. As charming a trinket as it may be, what can you possibly do with it? As is, you can't all of you wear it, which means that it must fall into your hands alone, which will, in turn, cause a spring of jealousy and cries of inequality, etcetera, etcetera. Only means of profit it holds is if you sell it and split the avails as the matriarchical head so decides. Now, we can make that business just that much easier by cutting out the trinket in itself and getting down to the cash value," Jack said.

"Jack -" Amelia tried to persuade him to stop but received only a raised palm for a reply.

"How much are we talking here?" the harlot asked.

"How much is it worth to you?" he asked her back.

"Ten pounds," she said quickly.

"Ten pounds? Think you're Bess Broughton or something?" Jack replied aghast.

"I've got a lot of girls to keep up."

"It was a day job and a mild one at that," Jack argued.

He took out a money purse and poured out a handful of its contents.

"Take it and off with you," the captain said.

The harlot took it. She did not seem impressed but that was more in relation to her treatment than the profits she received. She poured the coins into her own pouch and was off.

"Jack, doesn't spending the money entirely defeat the purpose of gathering it?" Amelia said.

"Not if the coin you spend is from pre-gathering," Jack replied. "I pinched a few before even stepping foot in the tavern."

Amelia shook her head. "The famous Captain Jack Sparrow has resorted to pocket picking?"

"Hey, I've been picking pockets since before I could talk, love," he said proudly. "My parents weren't exactly the most law-abiding citizens. In fact, I don't think that they were ever registered citizens. Point is, it's in my blood, love. What's your excuse?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play coy with me. I was watching you at that table. When did you get a chance to learn to pull it off?" Jack asked.

"Unlike you, sir, I was raised to be a perfect lady. A lady should be able to stand in the middle of a crowded room and either be the centre of attention or completely void of it - depending on the situation. I just let one hand perform one trick while the other does its own candid performance," so saying, Amelia started to pull out the spoils. There were a few items hidden within her bosom, others seemed to appear out of folds in her dress, while others came from under it. Jack watched mesmerized as item after item was being laid out on top of one of the barrels. It seemed to defy all physics but alas, there it was. At least this answered one of Jack's earlier questions.

"So you weren't armed," he said.

"What? Of course I was," Amelia said in disbelief that he would think her to have gone anywhere without some form of protection.

From another hidden place under her dress she pulled out a pistol. Jack looked at it, looked at her, and looked at the place it had come from.

"Where do you put these things?" he exclaimed. "Do you have some secret compartment or something that I don't know about?"

Amelia laughed.

Jack fell to his knees and began lifting her dress.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Investigating," he said and then disappeared under the skirt.

Amelia could not help but laugh. Part of her laughter stemmed from the absolute ridiculousness of it all, and the other part was from the awkwardness of him brushing up against her legs.

"Amelia!" a voice called.

A lump was instantly caught in the girl's throat as she saw her father approaching. He must have only just seen her, which was some relief. It was too late for Jack to get out of the way. There was no way he could rise without revealing where he had been. The best choice was to keep all attention away from her waist down. Amelia immediately put her hands down on the barrel in front of her and leaned on it. Jack made sure that he had his legs and feet tucked in as well as he could manage. This would be a deadly place to be discovered by Barbossa, but it was not a bad place to be. Jack looked around and decided that it was just like being in a small tent but, in his opinion, with a much better view.

"Amelia, what the blazes are ya wearin'?" Barbossa exclaimed.

Amelia looked down at her less than flattering dress. There was no way that she was going to be able to explain it, nor did she even want to try.

"It's a long story," she finally said.

Barbossa raised an eyebrow but said nothing more on the subject other than, "Be sure to cover yerself up on the ship." He looked down at the loot on top of the barrel. "Supply funds?" he asked. Amelia nodded her head. Barbossa fingered through what was there. "Not bad," he said. "Should do well enough fer now. Where's the captain?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders and said, "My guess would be that he's back at the tavern getting himself into more trouble."

"Aye, does sound like him." Barbossa gathered up the various pouches and filled them up with whatever was loose.

"If I see him, I'll tell him that you've dealt with the supplies," Amelia said.

"Aye, but don't you be goin' to no tavern lookin' fer him, 'specially in that," he warned her.

She nodded her head obediently and watched her father walk off. She did not move until he was no longer in sight. Then she lifted her skirt a bit and walked a few steps away from the man below her.

"Well done," Jack said to her. "I have to say that I will never again doubt what you're capable of carrying on your person. My god, you can fit just about anything down there."

"What did I say about discretion?" Amelia said.

"Something about me lacking it, I believe," Jack replied.

Amelia was not humoured. Another question came to mind.

"And who's Bess Broughton?" she asked.

Jack gave a series of awkward laughs before being able to say, "She's expensive."

"Former acquaintance, then?"

"No, not of mine. Some things just aren't worth that kind of money when you know you can get it cheaper," he said, realized only a moment too late that he should not have said it. Amelia pushed passed him to get to the Pearl's gangway. "I didn't mean you!" he shouted after her. "Amelia! Amelia, come back here!" But she did not turn around. "Bloody hell, woman! Gah!" He punched one of the crates but immediately regretted that idea too. Oh, how that young woman drove him mad.