A Pirate Calling

Chapter Three: The Deal

"That son of a bitch!" she fumed, walking quickly down the wooden sidewalk. "I'll kill him! That bastard!"

She was angry. No, she was furious. When she had woken up that morning she had known something wasn't right. Something tiny had been altered in her room and she knew it. And when she searched her room to find that the coin was missing she knew exactly who to go to. Jacob Galvin was about to get a taste of her anger.

At this point she wasn't quite sure what she was going to do. The man had stolen from her and yet she hadn't called the cops. She wanted to give him a chance first; allow him the opportunity to just give her the coin back without making her get the law involved.

Finally his building rose up in front of her. It was a single story blue building, wide windows set deep in the walls. A single glass door rested in the middle of the brick walls, nothing written on it; no name, no hours of operation. For a moment Fay wondered what it was that he did. It all seemed so mysterious, so . . . unnerving not knowing what he did for a living.

Steeling her nerves, Fay pulled the door open, jumping slightly as the bell hanging from it jingled. Instantly she saw Jacob in conversation with another man, both men looking extremely serious. The minute Fay opened the door Jacob's eyes flicked to her. A grin flickered across his face only to disappear seconds later.

"We need to talk," she said, ignoring the man he was talking to.

Jacob smiled slightly to the man. "Excuse me for a moment, won't you?"

"Of course," the man sputtered, glancing back to Fay.

Jacob walked slowly up to her, his hands going into the pockets of his black pants. "Ah, Miss Nolan. A pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you?"

"Don't give me that you bastard. You know exactly why I'm here."

Jacob sighed and looked over his shoulder at the man standing in the room. A tight smile crossed his face as he turned back to her. "Why don't you step into my office? Let me just finish up here and then I'll be in to speak to you in a moment."

Fay opened her mouth to reply but he took her by the elbow and led her quickly across the room. She got the distinct feeling he was trying to get rid of her. "I'm not going to just-"

Jacob turned her around to face him, standing in the doorway, his hands once again in his pockets. "I just need a moment, Miss Nolan; after which you will have my complete attention." With that he shut the door, effectively shutting him off from her view.

Through the door she could hear him talking to the other man. "Sorry," she heard him saying. "Ex-wife."

The other man laughed at his words.

Anger welled up again in her chest at his words but she quickly squelched it. She was already pissed at him for stealing her coin (and she knew it was him), she did not need to add anymore fuel to the proverbial fire. Sighing, Fay turned around slowly, taking in the wide room. A set of windows rested in one wall, thick blinds open wide enough to filter in a few rays of sun. Against the back wall were three bookshelves standing from floor to ceiling. An antique wooden desk sat in the corner, nothing on it but a marble bust, a simple silver necklace hanging around the shoulders. Fay's eyes were drawn to the necklace for a moment but then she drew her gaze away, instead turning her attention to the books littering the shelves.

Fay walked up to the bookcase closest to her. She tilted her head to the side, craning her neck to read the titles on the bindings. Pirate histories littered the shelf, mixed in with books about various famous historical figures. Not once did she come across a book of fiction as she perused the contents of the shelves. Tomes of mythologies sat wedged in between miniature statues of Greek and Roman deities. A small bust of Medusa glared out at her, its mouth open in an angry snarl. Fay ran her fingers along the thin snakes erupting from the marble scalp.

Another marble bust caught her eye a moment later. The detail to the face took her breath away. The face was misshapen, small beady eyes glaring out from a face with no nose. Tendrils of what looked to be hair poked out from beneath a small hat, a hat that she had only ever seen in historical paintings. The face seemed familiar to her, something that perhaps she had seen in a dream or in a book, but not one that she could place. She couldn't pull her eyes away; couldn't look away from the almost grotesque face.

"Interesting piece, eh?" a voice said behind her, causing her to jump. She hadn't heard the door open.

She turned around quickly, almost slamming into Jacob's chest. Fay backed up a step, her back hitting into the bookcase.

Jacob grinned. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"You, um, you must love history," she replied, changing the subject.

"It's a hobby," he said, his eyes scanning the bookshelves behind her, his voice growing distant. "Some events are fascinating. Different people have different theories on what happened when. No one ever seems to agree."

Fay's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Jacob turned back to her. "Nothing." He shook his head. "What can I do for you?"

Fay gaped at him. "Are you serious? You know exactly why I'm here."

Jacob cocked his head. "Do I?"

"Stop playing innocent Galvin," she spat out. "You stole my coin. I want it back."

Jacob stepped up closer to her, pressing her farther into the shelf. He raised one arm up, bending it at the elbow in front of her. Fay flinched for a moment and then felt foolish for doing so. He grinned at her reaction and simply held the coin up clenched between his thumb and forefinger.

"Have you figured out why exactly it's yours?" he asked.

Fay rolled her eyes. "I told you already."

"And I wasn't satisfied with your answer."

"I don't give a shit about what you were satisfied with-"

"Can you hear it?" he asked, interrupting her tirade.

Fay stared at him, perplexed. "Hear what?"

"Can you hear it?" he repeated.

"I don't hear anything."

Jacob studied her face, taking in the defiant look in her eyes. He wondered, for a moment, if he should give her the coin back. "Then how do you know it's yours?"

Fay's mouth dropped open at his words. She quickly shut it. "Are you seriously asking me how I know it's mine just because I don't here anything? You really are insane."

Jacob stepped up again, his body pressed up against hers. He rested one arm against the shelf behind Fay's head and leaned in close to her. Fay's eyes shot up to his, glaring at him for getting so close to her. "I'll make you a deal." He said.

"I'm not interested-"

He placed a finger on her lips. "Just listen. I'll give you the coin back. If, and I mean if, you can hear it, I'll let you keep it. If you can't . . ."

He let his words trail off, letting the threat seep in. "I'll give you three days," he continued, his hand leaving her lips to cup her chin. His thumb caressed her cheek, the calloused pad rubbing against her skin. Fay felt her heart begin to pound. Why did she always start to feel this way when he was near? It was as if he could stare into her soul; as if he could read everything that she was thinking.

"Do we have a deal?" he asked, his breath warm against her cheek.

"Will it give me the coin back?" she whispered.

"For three days."

Fay sighed. "Fine."

A smirk finally crossed Jacob's face. "Good." He stepped back slightly, grabbing one of her hands and pressing the cool coin in her palm. He moved completely away, walking to his desk and sitting down. Fay watched as his eyes were drawn to the necklace for a moment, curiosity building inside of her. Seconds later he looked up, staring at her unnervingly. "Can I help you with something else?"

Fay jumped at his words. "No." she replied, her hand tightening around the coin. "I'm sorry."

"Then I'll see you in three days." He replied, dismissing her with his words.

Fay bristled a little at his tone. "Yeah." She responded and turned on her heel. The heat from the summer sun hit her the moment she stepped from the building. Fay leaned against the side of the wall, closing her eyes. Why had she let him off so easy? She had gone in expecting to give him hell; expecting to have to fight for the coin. What she hadn't expected was for him to give in so easily. What did he have to gain from this? What were his plans? Why was he being so cryptic?

Jacob leaned back in his chair. His gut was telling him the Nolan girl was bad news, that there was more to her than met the eye. But his senses were telling him differently. He had walked in on her avidly staring at one of the busts on his shelves and the one she was so interested in was not one he cared to think about. It was one with a key to his own past; one that caused him to really wonder who she was.

His eyes flicked to the bust on his desk, his eyes tracing the silver necklace resting there. Would she hear it? Would she hear the song? And if she did, what would it mean?

Three days. She had three days and then his questions would be answered.

AN: Well? What'd you think? I'm sorry it took me so long to write. I was so inspired with DCD and then thinking up a new idea for the movie Red Eye. But finally it is written! Yay! Anyway, hope you enjoyed!

Dawnie-7: I thought the fight in the bathroom was a good touch. My friend said she laughed out loud at that part. It was actually my favorite part of the chapter.

Katty Noir: Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked it.

The DuTchess of Doom: I'm glad you liked his name. It literally took me forever to figure one out for him. I looked up dozens of names for both of them. I think they turned out pretty good too . . .

PineAppleLint: You know I like making you guys guess. It's one of my favorite past times. And you know it's not a good story without some handsome stranger randomly showing up in a mirror!

The Lady Shieldmaiden: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

Almenel-Miriel: Thank you! You can ask any of my other reviewers and they'll tell you that I love to leave you guys guessing. And about Jack . . . you'll just have to wait and see 'cause I'm not telling! ;D

Mystery GYRL: Yes. I did have problems, but I'm glad that you liked how I ended it. I was still having issues with how I ended it. But I hope you like this chapter!

PyRo-GiRl-18: Thank you! Yup. That's me. Making things mysterious 24/7!