Gibbs stood at the helm of the Black Pearl and took advantage of the favourable wind to put as many nautical miles between himself and Tortuga as possible.

One of the new crew members had been telling him for hours that they had to turn around and get Jack from Barbossa. The boy's name was Tristan.

"The codex says any man who falls behind is left behind," he had tried to explain to him.

But Tristan seemed to want to not give a damn about the pirate code. As did Rachel, who occasionally confirmed Tristan in one of his arguments.

Why she had not taken the opportunity to go on the Royal Navy ship, Gibbs did not know.

Tristan was still speaking adjuring to Gibbs.

Gibbs sighed deeply. He didn't like the whole situation either and actually wanted Jack back as soon as possible, but they had to come up with a plan first, and that was pretty hard without Jack.

The new crew members had arrived at the ship, and Gibbs hoped they were all capable and good men.

The serious and piercing eyes of the young man next to him made him nervous. Gibbs shrugged helplessly.

"Where else are we going now if not after Barbossa?" asked Tristan.

"At the moment we are heading west. I want to leave Barbossa far behind, and also those other pirates who took part in the battle at Tortuga harbour."

"These were no pirates. They were Royal Navy men. I recognised Commodore Clayton," Tristan clarified.

"How does a pirate from Tortuga know Commodore Clayton?" Rachel wanted to know suspiciously, and Gibbs also was interested in the answer.

"I come from near Port Royal, not directly from there. Am I automatically a pirate because I briefly signed on to the Black Pearl? Besides, that's my business. But I'm not a snitch, if that's what you mean," Tristan said dryly and left Gibbs and Rachel.

They both looked after him.

Jack sat breathing heavily in the small cell he shared with Temari. He was getting worse by the hour and was still toiling away on getting the bullet out of his shoulder.

It wasn't deep, he knew, because every now and then he could briefly feel the cold metal when he searched for it. His fingers began to tremble and he finally gave up, cursing.

Then he looked at Temari, who was moving incessantly from one side of the cell to the other. Her movements were smooth and effortless, reminding Jack of the gait of a predator.

In general, this woman attracted him physically more than he preferred.

"Lady, could you perhaps …?" he asked, pointing behind his back.

Temari stopped and lifted her skirt. Jack's eyes widened. But in her boot was a small dagger and she drew it now before lowering herself to the ground beside him.

"You haven't been checked for weapons?"

"I guess you're smart."

She bent down to Jack and made use of the dagger.

Jack couldn't help himself, he had to stare at her face, rude as it was. Long lashes covered her large, beautifully shaped eyes. They burned full of life in a green, giving Temari a vitality that could infect anything and anyone at any time.

The triangular face was framed by her strikingly high cheekbones and a pointed chin. She was not a classic beauty. The chin was a tad too small for that, the bridge of her nose turned into an arch a little too early.

She had a good and proper portion of that ominous certain something that you couldn't put into words.

Jack winced. It was not only her dagger on his shoulder that was responsible. The desire to touch Temari grew in him the longer he looked at her. The attraction emanating from her was too much and he no longer fought it.

Temari had removed the bullet from his shoulder and dropped it on the ground.

Jack grabbed her face with both hands, pulled it towards him and kissed her. When Temari then made no effort to break away from him and even returned his kiss with such fervour that he would have preferred to be alone with her in his cabin, Jack was taken aback.

His fortune was not to last, for a dirty laugh from behind the bars of the cell reached his ears. It was a small, stocky pirate, and he explained to Jack that Barbossa wanted to talk to him.

Jack stood up and swayed after the pirate. He was unable to form even a clear thought as he entered the large room where Barbossa and Tia Dalma were sitting.

Temari had caught him completely off guard. Why, Jack did not know.

Tia Dalma grinned knowingly at him as he too ended up on one of the chairs, tied up with a rope. Jack gave her an unnerved look before turning to Barbossa.

"Your request, Hector? Make it quick, I'm busy."

Barbossa wrinkled his nose and looked at Jack insistently. "Ye're in a cell, Jack. What could possibly be keepin' ye so busy that ye won't negotiate with me?"

His voice had this threatening tone that didn't suit Jack at all.

Barbossa continued, "But first I want to know what ye and Tia Dalma were discussin', in her hut, when you cold-heartedly knocked me to the ground afterwards."

"That was an oversight. I sent you my best regards. Did they not arrive?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders innocently, and he obsessionally tried to find a comfortable position on the chair. Finally, he put his feet up on the table in front of him.

"But you said something about negotiating. So I assume that I have something that you would like to have. Well, you can forget about the Pearl. She's mine until I go down with her. The other thing you might like to have is Rachel. Am I right?"

Jack had slowly returned to his normal intellect and was jabbering away.

Tia Dalma laughed and it was a laugh that went down the spines of everyone present.

"We didn't discuss anything, Barbossa. Except the usual, and then the witch threatened Rachel with a knife. After that, it was your turn to make your grand entrance. That was it."

"Well, then ye're no further ahead than I am. All I know is that Tia Dalma is very interested in both women. Temari and this Rachel. Time to enlighten us!"

Angrily, Barbossa stood up and walked threateningly around the chair where Tia Dalma was sitting. She looked just as angrily and shook her head stubbornly.

"All right, so ye don't want to talk. I'll get to the bottom of yer secret, witch."

Smiling, Barbossa turned to Jack, but he outpaced him.

"Agreed, Hector. You get Rachel and in return you let me go."

"Jack, the proposal sounds coherent, but I think I can also get the woman without losin' ye in the process. Who knows? Maybe soon I'll be captain of the Pearl again."

"I don't see how. Your boat is sluggish. If my crew doesn't want to fetch me back, you've got a bad hand, mate."

Jack examined the dirt under his fingernails with fascination, feigning utter disinterest. He secretly hoped that Gibbs and his crew were not so stupid as to try to free him.

Barbossa snorted.

On the Black Pearl, it was now agreed that Barbossa had to be sought out and Captain Jack Sparrow freed.

They had Rachel, who was still trying to control her powers – unfortunately with moderate success – and by now the crew was more numerous, and so they could go for a fight.

The buccaneers were in high spirits and looking forward to the coming battle.

Tristan stood on deck, eager to plunge his sword into Barbossa's heart. He would avenge his sister Temari, he had sworn that day, the day she disappeared, hijacked by pirates of the Fortune …