Disclaimer: I own no part of Pirates of the Caribbean. Original characters and plots belong to me.

Chapter 9

Running Before the Wind

Clutching the Spanish uniform, I glanced at Hector and Jack. Did they not understand that the very act of donning these clothes was punishable by hanging? But neither one seemed concerned.

Hector left off feeding his pet, and turned to Jack. "Did ye bring 'em?" he growled.

Jack produced a small leather pouch with a long strap, and tossed it onto the table. "In there," he said with a wave of his hand. Then he gestured towards Jack the monkey. "Once 'e knows what to do, give 'em to Brat. She'll carry 'em."

It seemed everyone had been consulted about Jack's scheme, with one exception - me. "Could someone tell me-"

Jack spun about to face me with a sly smile. "No worries, love," he said, rippling his fingers in the air. "I'll explain when we're on our way, savvy?"

My shoulders drooped and I stifled a sigh. As usual, Jack would tell me what I needed to know, moments before I needed to know it. Questioning him any sooner would be useless.

As soon as Jack left the room, I turned to Hector. He had opened the pouch and extracted a very thin, tapered iron spike of about four inches. It resembled the nail a farrier would use to shoe a horse, only much longer, and without the nail head.

I stared hard at the trifling object, and marvelled that the fate of two ships and scores of men all hung on this tiny bit of metal. It would work, I told myself. It had to work.

Jack the monkey was grasping at the little spike, and testing it with his teeth. Hector encouraged him, talking softly in the coaxing voice he always used to train the little creature. Both master and monkey steadfastly ignored my presence.

I had been looking for the opportune moment to slip away to my cabin and write a short letter to Jack revealing Jeremy's identity, and this seemed the ideal time. Trying to remain inconspicuous, I stole towards the door.

My fingers had just touched the handle, when Hector spoke.

"So the Medusa's to be graced by the presence of a courtier," he mused, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He didn't face me, but he had stopped his games with Jack, and I saw him steal a sidelong glance in my direction. "Well, I suppose ye'll find his company pleasin'. Ye be more accustomed to courtiers than cutthroats."

I shook my head, but my heart began to beat a little faster. "Not so. And there is only one man whose company is pleasing to me."

"Yet not pleasin' enough to keep ye in me bed," he said, and resumed playing with his pet.

His remark startled me and injured my feelings. I moved forward and began to object, but he waved me off, as if he had been jesting. Then he asked, "What have ye told him of yerself?"

"That I am a King's Messenger," I replied. "One whose friends include pirates. He doesn't know that we're wed or that Jack is my brother."

I took a deep breath, intending to give Hector a full explanation of everything that I had kept back from him; but I remembered that I had little time in which to prepare for Jack's venture.

Shifting from one foot to the other, I glanced about the cabin. "I really must go – I don't want to be late for Jack. May we not take this up at a more convenient time?"

"Aye." He leaned back in his chair with a half-smile, his heavy-lidded eyes studying me. "Off with ye, then."

I hastened to my cabin, where I scribbled a brief letter for Jack. Then I dressed in the blue breeches, red waistcoat, and blue coat he had given me. I tied my hair back, stuffing the ends into the black silk bag supplied for that purpose, and knotted the silk ties about my neck.

Lacking a mirror, I had to guess at what sort of figure I cut as a young naval cadet. Whether I would be sufficiently convincing was an open question, and I was thankful that this masquerade would take place in the dark of night.

An hour later, Jack and I were on our way to El Morro. Not far behind us, Jack the monkey scampered along in the shadows. I had slung the pouch diagonally across my uniform, and the spikes it held made a faint jingling sound as they bounced against my hip.

Jack's uniform was dripping with gold braid, and his dreadlocks were covered under a very extravagant periwig. He had everything a Spanish officer would need, except for one minor skill - the ability to speak Spanish fluently.

As we walked, he told me each improbable step of his plan, and the muscles in my chest and arms began to grow tight. When I looked down at my hands, they were curled almost into fists. I straightened my fingers, but my anxiety persisted. If the same plan had been proposed by anyone other than Jack, I would never have agreed to it. As matters stood, I could only hope his luck would hold.

"We're all sorted, right, mouse?" he whispered in a slurry voice, swaggering along confidently in his officer's uniform as if he owned all of Havana. "And you'll need to be a bit servile, y' know. Remember, I outrank you."

"Does that mean they'll hang you first?" I retorted under my breath. Then I cast a quick look at him. "And you'd better straighten your wrists," I warned. "I don't think Spanish officers wave them about like that."

When we reached El Morro, Jack produced a large handkerchief adorned with quantities of lace, and signed for me to approach the sentinel. I stepped forward with a knot in my stomach.

Making a proper salute and giving the password supplied by Maroto, I addressed the sentinel in Spanish. Admiral Blas de Lezo, I said, had arrived to drill the soldiers currently on duty. He was suffering from laryngitis, but had brought me along to call out his commands.

Although Jack had told me that these on-duty drills were common, I held my breath as I waited for the sentinel to respond. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced over the wall at a sheer drop of perhaps eighty feet, which ended in a jumble of rocks and crashing waves. If our deception didn't work, there would be no easy escape.

After a moment, to my great surprise and relief, the guard admitted us to the fort. We hurried to the ramparts where the soldiers were guarding El Morro's cannons. Jack stood a little way apart in a dignified pose as I called the company to attention, facing Jack, and with their backs to the great guns.

In the most important voice I could muster, I told them the Admiral wished to drill them on the manual of arms.

Then I stepped behind them, whilst Jack surveyed the scene with an imperious air, and waved his handkerchief at me as if to signal particular orders.

As I shouted each drill command from behind the troops, I stealthily placed a few of the little spikes on the nearest cannon, then I would advance to the next gun and shout the next command. When the spikes had been distributed, I saw Jack the monkey appear over the edge of the rampart and jump onto a cannon.

Immediately, I shouted, "Saquen la bayoneta!" The soldiers drew their bayonets and prepared to fix them on their guns.

Again and again, the soldiers noisily fixed their bayonets. Each time they did so, Jack the monkey dropped a spike into the touch-hole of one of the cannons. I repeated the bayonet drill until all of the cannons had been spiked, and Hector's pet had disappeared once more.

With our work completed, Jack flapped the handkerchief to his right, and pointed. I ordered the soldiers to turn to their right and begin marching, whilst Jack and I made off in the opposite direction. We saluted as we departed briskly through the outer gate, and began to cross the footbridge. Behind us, there was a loud exchange at the sentinel's station.

"Admiral Blas de Lezo?" someone shouted at the sentinel in Spanish. "Blas de Lezo!? The man's been dead for a year!"

"Leg it," I hissed at Jack, and we broke into a run.

- o -

When we returned to the docks, the large wicker trunks that Maroto had delivered were lying scattered about the dock, empty. Their contents had been distributed amongst the pirates as per our plan. We were only waiting for daybreak and the lowering of the boom chain to make our way out of Spain's most prized harbour.

As sunlight began to spill over the rooftops to the east, the customary gunshot sounded, announcing the opening of the city gates. A fresh breeze was blowing from the southeast, and I knew the winds would favour us. The Havana "road" faced northwest and so, once we passed El Morro, the Medusa could put on all her canvas, and the wind would drive us straight out to sea with all possible speed.

Before the gangplanks were raised, I ran quickly over to the Pearl and accosted Maroto. He took my letter and agreed to give it to Jack as soon as we cleared Havana's headlands. As I thanked him, I spied Jack on the quarterdeck. I rushed up the steps to meet him.

"At last we're off!" I said, and embraced him tightly, patting his shoulder. "For luck, my dear – for luck!" Then I took to my heels and sprinted back to the Medusa.

As soon as I boarded her, I saw Hector, strikingly handsome in a Spanish captain's uniform. Impulsively, I intercepted him as he made his way across the deck, and reached for his arm.

"Hector-" I began.

He cut me off with a rebuke. "I agreed we'd speak when it were convenient. Means convenient for me as well as ye, Miss Bitter."

"Aye, Captain," I said, dropping my hand.

The look on his face made his intentions clear. If I wished to act as a mere acquaintance, then he would take great satisfaction in giving me what I desired. I stepped to one side, and he continued on his way to the helm.

Left to myself, I roamed about the main deck, surveying my surroundings as the Medusa slipped her cable and got under sail.

I have always loved the first moments when a ship puts out to sea. At the beginning of every voyage, there is a joyous anticipation that never fails to fill the hearts of everyone on board, touching something deep in the soul of seaman and landsman alike. Experienced travellers look forward impatiently to the moment when the quiet, murky waters and stale smells of the docks are left behind, giving way to the rolling swell and fresh, salty air of the ocean.

And then, as the ship begins to stir, it has always seemed to me that she is awakening from slumber and becoming enlivened by her longing for the open sea. These feelings of happy expectation gradually absorbed me and, for the moment, I ceased fretting over Hector's worrisome humour.

Looking up at the rigging, I saw that most of our crew lay aloft, standing along the yards in the footropes, ready to put on more canvas at Hector's command. All of them were clothed in Spanish uniforms, and Spanish colours were flying from our masthead. It looked for all the world like Spain had taken possession of the Medusa and was making a show of her.

The Medusa and the Pearl threaded their way through the anchorage at a snail's pace, before turning up into the channel that ran past El Morro. I crossed my fingers, hoping that Maroto's plan would work, and that the soldiers would take us for Spanish crews moving the two ships. As we drew near the fort, I secretly eyed the ramparts, even though I remained facing our bow.

The moment El Morro came abeam of our vessel, Hector called out, "Set all squares!" and the crew loosed all the Medusa's remaining canvas. It was a magnificent sight. As the sails were quickly set, the wind filled them with a tremendous, steady force, and the Medusa began to make way at a rapid rate.

Behind us, the Pearl was executing the same commands. At the same time, I noticed a number of soldiers running along the ramparts, some pointing at Jack and seeming to talk excitedly. Then I realised why: they were confounded at the sight of the late "Admiral de Lezo" sailing out of their harbour. I stood transfixed, aware of a hollow sensation in my stomach, hoping with all my heart that we had spiked the cannons successfully.

But judging by the confusion and the frustrated shouts as the soldiers ran from one cannon to the next, Jack the monkey had performed his duties to perfection. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when I saw a flash of fire from a solitary cannon positioned on a lower level than the ones we had disabled.

"Angels of heaven!" I whispered, hearing the roar of the cannon. I stood paralysed as the shot came straight at us and struck our starboard quarter at the waterline near the stern.

I ran to the rail and peered over it before Hector shouted at me to step back. However, I had seen enough to reassure me. The Medusa had been a ship of the line before we captured her, and her sides were reinforced. The cannon shot hadn't caused more than minor damage. Off our stern, the Pearl was bearing off to starboard, as Jack returned fire with her guns. The soldiers scattered briefly, giving us just enough time to sail out of range.

"That be the last time I'll trust ye," Hector growled as he stomped past me towards his quarters. "Ye were supposed to t' spike all the guns! Now me ship needs repairin'."

Crestfallen, I looked across the water at the Pearl, and saw Jack raise his hat to me from afar. I waved limply, wondering what he would think once he had read my letter.

Instead of following Hector, I made for my cabin. Elizabeth stopped me just outside the door. "Did you give Jack your letter?" she asked.

"I left it with Maroto. He'll likely give it to Jack very soon." I stood with my back against my cabin door. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

She knitted her brows, too preoccupied to listen. "The Pearl is full of gold now, and your orders are to help Jeremy Norrington. Perhaps Jack has had enough of this – he must want to pursue his own ventures. "

"I'm sure of it, but I think he won't desert me just yet. We shall see." I smiled, and let myself into my cabin.

Unknowingly, Elizabeth had put my own fear into words: that Jack would leave me to deal with Jeremy, and resume his own quest for the deadly Fountain. The only thing I dreaded more was that he might find it before I could protect him.

Fortunately, I had devised a way to postpone my brother's venture.

Alone in my cabin, I dug into my pocket and pulled out the small item I had stolen when I embraced him. Picking pockets was like riding a horse, I thought; one never really forgot how to do it.

I opened my duffel bag. "Forgive me, Jack, but I can't have you running off just yet," I murmured as I dropped Jack's compass into my bag.

In the afternoon, Hector sent for me to join him in the day room. Expecting a lecture on the proper way to spike guns, I was not looking forward to our conversation. However, he was in a conciliatory mood, thanks in part to the tankard of rum I saw near his hand.

"Lock the door an' come sit with me," he said.

I did as he requested, and he drew me onto his knee. "Apologies for bein' short with ye," he said, petting my back. "When ye've been at sea as long as I have, ye grow accustomed to things happening in the blink of an eye, and ye learn t' speak rough and quick about it." He nuzzled my ear and kissed me. "Still friends?"

"Yes," I replied. Despite his words, a conviction was taking root in my mind that he still did not think me capable of being a Messenger. "I'm sorry about the guns," I sighed. "I want so much to prove myself to you, Hector." Then I gathered my nerve. "There is something I need to tell you about my errand. Something I didn't expect."

He shifted me so that we were face to face, and stared into my eyes. "Ye think I don't know when ye have a secret from me? Well now," he added in a softer tone. "Out with it."

I swallowed hard. "Can you . . . break an accord if something happens after you've made it?"

He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. "Nay, there be no honour in that."

My heart had begun pounding again. "Then I'm obliged to follow through, no matter what. And you promised to accompany me."

Then I told him who we had just rescued from prison, and how shocked I had been to find myself face to face with James' twin. "I know in my heart that we can profit handsomely from this if we're both civil to him," I said. "Wealth and power is what interests him, and Lord Hervey told me of the gold when I was in London. But it is essential that we take care when he's about. He mustn't discover anything he can use to control me once he's back at court." I gazed into his eyes. "Please, Hector. I so want this to succeed."

He stared hard at me for a moment longer. Then he helped me off his lap, strode to the door and opened it. "Send Badger," he said to someone outside.

While he waited, he turned back to me. "I suppose I'll help ye," he said. "But don't ask me to like it."

When Badger arrived, Barbossa gave him his orders. "Tell our guest he'll be dining with the captain tonight, if he's recovered from his illness," he announced.

- o -

At supper that night, I got a taste of what the next week would be like.

There were five of us at table: Hector, Jeremy, Rufus, Elizabeth, and myself. Jeremy had escorted me from my cabin, and we were last to arrive. As he pulled out my chair, I introduced him. He was curious about Mrs Turner.

"I admire your courage in making so arduous a journey, madam," he said with a warm smile. "I trust the reason is a happy one."

"Thank you, sir," she replied. "It is, indeed. Although I'm longing to hear anything of London."

"You may find my stories a little outdated," said Jeremy.

"I'm sure we won't, Mr Norrington," I said, thinking to divert him from questioning us.

"Good heavens – there's no need for such formality," he replied. "You must call me Jeremy, and I shall call you Nina. After all, we were nearly family." He took a sip from his goblet, oblivious to the stare Hector was giving him. "And I shall be pleased to entertain you with whatever you would like to hear."

Then he proceeded to tell a series of very diverting stories, including one concerning the King's mistress having her chair deliberately pulled out from under her by his youngest daughter, and another about a famous doctor playing cards and losing to his dog – twice.

"But surely you have met him?" Jeremy said to me as we all laughed at the story. "He is always at Kensington – the doctor, I mean, not his dog!" There was another burst of laughter. The company had become quite merry, but I was not sure I heard Hector joining in.

"I don't know him. I've hardly passed any time at the court," I told Jeremy as my mirth subsided.

"Well, I cannot allow that," he said. "I'll not have you languishing in the Indies! When you're back in London, I shall make a point of showing you round the court. No doubt you'll make the brilliant match I am certain is in your future."

He smiled to see my face turn pink, but in truth, I blushed because I dared not look at Hector. "You're too kind, Jeremy. But perhaps you could tell us what assistance we can provide for your assignment?"

"Of course, my dear. It is something at which pirates excel." He poured himself another glass of wine and continued. "I set out from Plymouth on a large cutter, the Berwick, with a crew of forty men. I'm not at liberty to disclose details of my mission, but the crew took it into their heads that I was bound for a secret location that offered wealth beyond their wildest dreams. Once that idea had taken hold, they resolved upon a mutiny. They stranded me-"

"Upon an island?" I asked in amazement.

He chuckled. "Worse. They stranded me in Tortuga, and absconded with the Berwick."

"How could they find this secret location without you?" Elizabeth said.

"Oh, I was reputed to have a mysterious map, which would lead them there," he replied. "I suppose they're still searching the ship for it."

He drained his glass and continued. "In any event, pirates should be good at finding the Berwick, seeing that it's their business to find and rob ships. And I'll pay you a very large amount of treasure."

Then he looked at each of us in turn, a confident smile on his face that invited us all to become his colleagues. "You see, my crew were correct as to that part of my mission."

Next: Chapter 10 – An Uneasy Alliance – Jeremy Norrington's tactics begin to pay off, while Nina's secrets earn her distrust.