Allegiance, Chapter 7
Tortuga, Six weeks later
by
Full headers in Chapter 1
Disclaimer: The Mouse owns them, but I take them out and play with them. No money involved. All for fun.
Disclaimer: The Mouse owns them, but I take them out and play with them. No money involved. All for fun.
Tortuga was abuzz with the news. Jack Sparrow was back! The story went round that his brig, the Lazarus, had been seen in Port Royal, bold as brass, anchored amongst the Navy ships, free to come as go as she pleased. There were whispers that he had gone over to the other side and that he carried letters of marque, but old hands shook their heads at this. "Gibbs is still with him," they said, "and you know Gibbs wouldn't stand for shite like that. No, it's just Jack up to his old tricks, you'll see." Guesses were made and wagers laid. Low-voiced arguments would break off whenever Barbossa or one of the Pearls came near enough to overhear.
Barbossa received the news with glee. He gloated over his foresight in having confined Will to the ship, thereby cutting the boy off from the gossip. He had himself rowed out to the Pearl.
Will looked up from his book as Barbossa entered. An early return from Tortuga meant trouble, he was sure. If Barbossa hadn't had time to visit a whorehouse, Will knew he'd be in for a bad night.
The Captain tossed his hat aside and sat, putting his feet up on the table. "Wine, boy," he said, "And pour some for yourself, as well. It's great news I've brought ye."
Will poured the wine, served the other man, took his glass back to his chair and waited. Barbossa drank and smiled, humming to himself and staring into the distance. At last he looked at Will and chuckled.
"And do you not wish to know my news?" he asked genially. Will nodded without speaking, wary of Barbossa's air of febrile excitement. Terrifying explosions of temper were all too often heralded by just such a mood and Will had no wish to ignite the powder through incaution.
Barbossa laughed and poured himself more wine. "Why it's just this: Captain Jack Sparrow is back in the Caribbean, in command of a tidy brig, the Lazarus. What do you say to that, boy?"
At the mention of Sparrow's name Will nearly dropped his glass. He set it on the table and leaned forward, eyes blazing. "He is here?"
Barbossa nodded. "He is." He laughed again, a high-pitched cackle. "They said he was dead, but I knew better. I knew all along that the bastard would be back, and here he is. The Lazarus! How fitting!"
Will leapt to his feet. "Here? Here in Tortuga?" He reached for his sword.
"Sit, sit," Barbossa said, waving him back. "Not in Tortuga. They say he was last seen in Port Royal."
"Then we must find him!" Will exclaimed, his face dark with rage. "I have sworn to kill him."
"And so you shall, my boy," Barbossa nodded. "So you shall. And when you do, I shall give you the Lazarus for your own." He poured still more wine and drained the glass. "Sparrow has returned to find me, but the hunter is about to become the hunted. I have a surprise for Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, smiling at Will. "You."
He stood and came to stand behind Will's chair, tangling his fingers in Will's long hair. "You," Barbossa said again, wrenching Will's head back and biting his mouth, "are my secret weapon."
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