Sorry for such a late update! I usually update weekly and this overran terribly due to me having to go to the doctor's :( wah.
In response to reviewwwwws: Whovian10: thanks for telling me, I love to know where I'm going wrong! I'm trying not to be boring and use "he said, she said" all the time, I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense :( glad I've got Jack's character right, he's very hard to write!
Dame-of-the-Living-Dead: awesome name! Thankyou, glad you like it!
Disclaimer: Jack, most unfortunately doesn't belong to me. Otherwise I'd be a happy girl... ;)
Toni stared. Jack bit his lip and reached into his pocket. When he didn't take his hand out, Toni stiffened. "If you're planning on knifing me, I'm afraid I might have to cut you first." From inside her long apron pocket she brought out a small dagger and held it by her side. "I'm not stupid, Sparrow. I've been running a pub for a good many years and I know the signs. Believe you me, you're not the first to decide to take your chances." Jack feigned offence.
"I would never dream of it."
"Of course." Toni didn't put away the knife. "Come on, love. Trust me."
"I'd rather trust a murderer."
"I'm a pirate, does that not imply it?"
"Hence why I wouldn't trust you." His twisting smile lifted once again and he peered into the rum bottle in front of him, irritated by it's lack of alcohol. "If I tell you why I need you on board, then will you trust me?"
"No."
"Good lass." He grinned as her face became confused. "Why would I want someone who trusts instantly? I'd rather have a kid who wanted mutiny than one who wanted to lick my boots. Not that I'm implying I wouldn't like that," he added, watching her face screw up in distaste.
"You're disgusting." He stood up, and bowed low.
"Why thank you." He looked around at the near empty pub. "Is there somewhere we could speak privately?" Toni raised her eyebrows.
"I'm goin' nowhere with you."
"Alrighty then." He dropped back into the chair and held out another for her. She slowly sat down, not releasing her grip on the knife.
"I don't know how you got a hold of that bracelet, but many people would kill thousands for it." Toni's eyes widened.
"This?" She fiddled with the three charms that looped simple brown threads with one hand.
"Ghostie, you've got a hold of one of the most sought after charms in the world..." He took his hand out of his pocket to bring out a grubby looking chain with a similar charm. "This being the other one."
"But what do they do?" Jack smiled.
"Well, they say that whoever has a hold of one of these charms either has fantastic luck, or rather terrible."
"So I've got the terrible?" she asked, peering at the three charms.
"No, I do." Her eyes snapped up.
"Are you telling me I have good luck?" she said acidly.
"I am, actually," he replied coolly. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the amount of times you could have been beat up, robbed or..." He squirmed in his seat. "Er... Taken advantage of, is rather high. Because you've been wearing that charm, every time a thief has tried to pick pocket you, or every time you thought you would starve, you've been saved somehow. I however..." He curled his lip. "As I acquired this rather recently, I've been having the worst luck I think is possible. Sails tearing, boats being lost, crews leaving..." He sighed.
"And how did you acquire this?" The pirate looked up with deadly serious eyes.
"There are two ways to take a charm from someone. Giving it to a blood relative of the same gender, or kill them."
"I'm taking that to mean you didn't just get that from an Uncle then."
"No."
"I got mine from my mother." Interested, Jack tilted his head.
"When did she give it to you?"
"Around a week before she vanished." His eyebrows rose into his hairline and he scratched his head.
"What was your mother's name again?" he asked slowly.
"Jan. Jan Flint." Jack stood up abruptly and turned to walk away. "Wait!" Toni called after him. Jack turned around and for the first time, Toni saw anger in his eyes. "Jack?"
"Sorry," he said sharply. Toni was bewildered, and tired. She didn't want to deal with this pirate.
"Look, Captain. I really need to close up and-"
"Will you come with me?" Toni shut her mouth.
"I don't..." The young woman felt pressured, unsure of what the right decision was.
"Come with me, and if it doesn't work out, I'll let you off the boat, you can come back here to your brother and your pub. I won't try to make you stay." Toni avoided looking at his searching eyes, and stood up herself. She returned the knife to her apron. "How long do I have to tell you if I can come or not?"
"Tomorrow, noon." She let out a small gasp. It was so near... "Love, I'll be back tomorrow. Tell me then." With that, Jack strolled out and into the dark, dangerous streets of Tortuga.
Toni picked up the empty rum bottle and for the second time that night, felt tears threatening to fall, pricking her eyes. "Pull yourself together, Flint," she spoke quietly. Suddenly, anger flared up inside her. Why did that damned pirate have to show up now? Her rage building, she approached the only customer left in the pub who was passed out, asleep. She smashed the bottle next to his head, and he woke, swearing and shouting. "Bloody hell, what the fu-"
"Get out. We've closed." The man fell out of his seat and staggered out of the door, cursing as he went. Her brother had jumped awake, and was now pretending he had been the entire time. "Must have dozed off for a moment, sorry about that. Now, is there anything-"
"I'm tired Alfie, can you just go to bed?" she snapped. Her younger brothers' eyes widened in shock and upset, but followed orders.
As he returned to his room, Toni walked up the stairs, her feet falling heavily as she went. In one practised move, she opened her door and kicked her worn boots off, just barely managing to pull of the apron and let it fall to the ground before collapsing onto her bed. Exhaustion was overtaking her fast, and she only had enough time for around four hours sleep before-
A faint noise came from downstairs. Toni froze, and she strained to hear. There were murmured voices, she was certain of it. She couldn't hear the words, and slowly she got out of bed, and started to creep along the landing, crouching and peering down between the bannisters to the bar. Five, shadowy figures stood in the middle of the room, deep in conversation. Toni cursed quietly, in her rush to get to bed, she had forgotten to lock the door. Barely daring to breathe, she looked closely to see if she could see their faces. She only recognised one, the drunk who she had thrown out just fifteen minutes before. As she listened closely, she could just work out their mutterings.
"I swear, she has it!"
"Bullshit, that is. You bring us here and there's not even a bloody person in the place."
"She was right here, swear down-"
"Cut the crap you two. We search the place, get what the boss wants and we're out of here. If we run into that girl and her brother, then there's a gift for us, and a corpse. Not hard." The other voices let out low laughs and started to look around the bar. Toni hadn't realised how hard her heart was beating, and her eyes fell on her brother's room. If she could get to his room, they might have a chance at escaping this murderous lot. Trying to keep her breathing under control, she inched along the landing towards the staircase, a spiral that would hide her as long as she stayed still. Instinctively, she reached for her dagger, but she remembered too late it was in her room. Anytime they came near her, she froze and held her breath, half certain they could hear her heart drumming against her rib cage.
On the last step, she fell to her hands and knees and started to crawl oh-so-slowly towards Alfie's room. It was barely 10 feet away, she could make it. Just as she reached the door, a hand jammed down on her shoulder and another one grabbed her mouth. Toni was wrenched up and a voice hissed in her ear "Thought I didn't see you, sweetheart?" She tried to bite his hand, but the man had her mouth jammed shut and she couldn't make a sound. In a last attempt to warn her brother, she kicked out at the door and her captor swore. The man dragged her away and pulled a gun from his belt. The door swung open, and her brother's face froze in surprise. The other men were already leaving, and as Alfie was about to move, the man shot the gun straight at him. Toni tried to scream but no sound came out, and her brother dropped to his knees, yelling out in pain.
The man pulled her out the door and Toni could only concentrate on freeing herself, her brain not yet comprehending what had happened to her brother. Tears running from her eyes, the young woman hit out valiantly against the kidnapper and thought of nothing but freeing herself. Just as the man pulled back the trigger on his gun yet again, she felt him flying off her and another hand grabbing her arm, a familiar voice shouting out. "I don't think you quite understand how to treat a lady." "Jack?" Toni screamed, and the figure holding her arm laughed.
"Glad you got that one, ghostie, now. Time to run!"
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