Pirates of the Caribbean 06 Silver (3 page)

"You have pirate in your blood."Arabella's face darkened."I am nothing like you!" she spat. "I wish you were dead, mother!"Captain Smith frowned at her daughter, setting her jaw. Then she slapped Arabella ac
ross the face and stormed off.

CHAPTER FOUR

Jack watched Arabella and her mother talking on the other side of the ship. The two women were so much alike: the way they stood, the way they frowned, the way their hair blew back. It was definitely likely that the two would be making up any moment now. Well, as likely as Jack sprouting wings and flying back to the Barnacle. He sighed. It was only a matter of time before real fireworks between the two women began.Which
meant he had only mere moments
to slip below decks to see what was up with Left-Foot Louis and Silverback."Here, let's quickly be off below to see what the deal is," Jack said with a conspiratorial grin to his crew."How is it you say in English ...?" Jean asked jokingly, faking a thicker French accent than he actually had.

"Oh yes, NOT A CHANCE."

"We already had one tangle with LeftFoot," Tumen agreed. "He is after our blood. And he doesn't play fair--even for a pirate. For all we know he's hiding in the shadows with his dagger, waiting for us.""Oh, blast the lot of you," Jack muttered, but he couldn't entirely blame them. The foul-tempered--not to mention huge and scary--pirate was already in a rage, thanks to Silverback.He tur
ned with a hopeful grin to Tim
and Fitzwilliam.

"Well, boys? Shall we?""I, uh, Silverback, uh," Tim stuttered, turning bright red. "He frightens me.""Fitzy, please say at least you'll be joining me in this little jaunt," Jack said, exasperated."Normally, I would not hesitate," the aristocrat said.

"I should like nothing more than a chance to have a go at a pirate. But' I had best stay here to receive Arabella, after she and her mother finish conversing. This has been an exhausting day for her, and no doubt she will need emotional support."Jack narrowed his eyes at Fitzwilliam.

"All right, you lily-livered lot! You all stay up here with your histories and your blood feuds and your ladies. I, Captain Jack Sparrow, am going below. Alone. No--don't bother volunteering now, it's too late," he added, holding up his hand and walking away. "Too late."Jack
tried to be inconspicuous. He
pretended to be inspecting the ship: rapping on barrels, examining a sail, running a finger along a rail and seeing if he could find a trace of dust. When he was sure no one was looking, he jumped down the hatch."I wonder if Captain Laura's cabin is all girly, Jack mused to himself, sneaking down the corridor. He pressed his back up against the bulkhead and wedged himself into the shadows. "Lace on her bunk . . . little, I dont know, frilly things. Flowers decorating the place ..."Two familiar-looking pirate shapes lumbered down the hall. Jack immediately shut his trap and looked for a place to blend into his surroundings. Unfortunately, there was nothing nearby except for a couple of smelly, slimy-looking barrels.But the pirates were coming closer, and there was nowhere else to
go.

Jack sighed, held his nose, and jumped into the closest barrel. He landed with a wet thud on a pile of stinky, wet rubbery things. He held his breath as best he could. In the darkness he felt around the wood until he found a wooden plug filling the bunghole. He pressed it hard with his thumb. It popped out--with more noise than he intended. Jack flinched. No one seemed to have heard it, though. When he pressed his eye to the now-open hole he had a perfect view.Jack could see Silverback and Louis. He waited expectantly for the explosions to begin.Except there weren't any."Care to have my grog ration tonight?" Left-Foot offered politely."Oh, thank you, that would be lovely," Silverback responded, equally politely. "I
s your liver acting up again?"

“
Oh, it's in a terrible state," Left-Foot Louis bemoaned. What was going on? Something on Silverback glittered in the low light--and it wasn't his tooth or his leg this time. It was around his neck--a silver charm at the end of a leather cord. It looked a lot like a gem. In fact, it looked quite a lot like the piece of bronze that was set in the Sun-and-Stars medallion. Could it be the second gem? The number of coincidences connected to that blasted amulet was increasing very quickly. Jack grinned. And here he was, in
the middle of it all
not that he wanted its power. He was done with curses and magic. Like he said. But mysteries . . . Well, that was something else. Wouldn't it be nice to know what the medallion was truly capable of?

"Lauras still complet
ely fooled, isn't she?
We pulled the wool over her eyes," LeftFoot said with a rotten, toothy grin."For now, yes," Silverback said, nodding. "She still thinks we hate each other. That we're at each other's throats. We must be careful to maintain this ruse. I think the time is drawing nigh to execute our plan."

"Aye," Louis said with a growl. "Once we get our mates to take over the ship, I can return to the Cutlass. Go back to being a proper captain again."

"And I can take over the Fleur Silverback said with
a gleam in his eye. “I
don't think it will take much to incite the crew. Captain Laura runs a little too tight a ship-- for pirates, anyway."They were planning a mutiny, Jack realized with horror. The foulest crime on the high seas. Instant hanging offense, no matter what your
alignment--navy, merchant, or
pirate. These two were the worst of the worst. "It's a little more complicated now with her daughter and her weird little friends," Silverback pointed out.Weird? Fine. But Little? Jack took offense at that."Now she's got allies," Louis agreed. "It could be a problem."Silverback laughed. "I said complicated, not a problem. They're just children, Louis."

"Oh, aye, but ..." Louis looked around, then leaned forward to whisper into the other pirate's ear. It was obvious that Silverback didn't appreciate the gesture, or Louis's breath. "Don't be fooled. I know they look just like wee
Barnes
. . . but they're a force to contend with. Trust me on this one. Especially the cat."Oh, don't be ridiculous, Louis," Silverback said, wa
ving his hand in dismissal. "A
cat, indeed. We'll get rid of them and then Mr. Reece. It will be quick. We'll have no more obstacles to our mission."Now it was Jack's turn to sneer. It wouldn't be easy or quick. Nor would they succeed. Louis was right. The crew of the Barnacle really was a force to be reckoned with. And once Arabella and Captain Smith made up, they would join forces and overcome this mutiny.Assuming Arabella and her mom actually made up.

Now what were the two pirates doing? Jack wondered. While Jack was being all smug, they had stopped talking . . .Then he saw Louis come back into view . . . and head straight for the barrel.Jack gulped, and held his breath. It was like Louis somehow knew exactly where Jack was. He leaned over and reached in!Jack panicked, pressing hims
elf up against
the slimy wood. He frantically grabbed one of the slippery, rubbery things that he was sitting on and shoved it into Louis hand.Louis pulled his hand out. Apparently, it was what he was reaching for after all. He had no idea Jack was in there, too."So the mutiny will take place tonight at dusk," Silverback said."Aye," Louis nodded and offered him the slimy thing. It was a fish! Head and all. Mostly raw and only half-pickled. Silverback shook his head. Louis shrugged and shoved it into his mouth, head first. With a contented growl he ripped off a chunk. Then he chewed with satisfied, smacking noises.Jack shuddered. He couldn't imagine eating a fish like that ... at least, not without som
e paprika sprinkled on top.

CHAPTER FIVE

Back on deck, Arabella was rubbing her face where her mother had slapped her. Okay, she probably deserved that a little bit. And she didnt really wish her mother were dead. But it really hurt that she had never even sent word ... all those years. . . . Just knowing that her mother was actually alive would have made things so much more bearable.Captain Laura Smith was looking out over the sea, still fuming. Then she sighed deeply
and went back to her daughter.
"I ..." Arabella began, unsure of what was going to come out. Forgiveness? Anger? "I thought you were dead. Couldn't you have gotten me some word ... somehow. ..."Whatever her mother was about to say next was lost forever when First Mate Reece approached and interrupted them."Beg pardon, Captain. But I've just finished looking at the charts. If these winds keep up, we should be in Port Royal in a little less than a day," he said."Excellent, Mr. Reece. And the East India Trading Company ship we're scheduled to intercept?"Mr. Reece grinned. "Right on target, Captain. According to our sources."All of Arabella's confusion about her mother vanished. "Oh, right. I forgot. Not only d
id you run away from your only
daughter for life on the high seas, but you're also a pirate," she said disgustedly."You should have all the facts before going about accusing people," her mother said sharply. "The captain of the ship we're going to seize already knows about our little heist. In fact, he helped plan it. We're going to split the profits."

"And this is better, how?" Arabella snarled. "People could still get killed in the fight! And it's still stealing"Her mother rolled her eyes and patted her daughter on the head. As if to say: you're too young to understand. Arabella stomped away, toward a concerned-looking Fitzwilliam.Meanwhile, Jack had waited until the coast was clear to come out of his stinky barrel. He popped his head out of the hatch to see if anyo
ne was looking, then sprang up
onto the deck. He practically fell over himself running toward Arabella."There, there, do not be too upset," Fitzwilliam was saying to her, arms open for a comforting hug. "Your mother just ...""Yes yes, no time for that now," Jack said, grabbing Arabella and steering her away. Fitzwilliam's face fell.Jack put an arm around Arabella's shoulder, pretending to comfort her."You stink, Jack," Arabella said, holding her nose and pushing Jack away.Curious, he took a whiff of himself. Unfortunately, he had to agree. He was sopping in half-pickled fish juices. "Sorry about that. But look, we've got a problem, Bell-me-lass."

"Get away from me, Jack" she said, angry to the point of tears. "I'm in no mood for yer
games
Jack sighed and tightened his grip so she couldn't get away. No, a real problem, my faithful first mate. I did a little legwork on the couple over there, Silverback and Left-Foot Louis. Turns out they're actually in cahoots; demonical, piratical cahoots! They've planned a mutiny for tonight, and it sounds like they have most of the ship on their side."Arabella's eyes widened at the word mutiny. Usually when pirates were sick of a captain, they just demoted him (or her) and picked a new one. It was one of the only civilized, bloodless things they did. Then she shrugged."So what. Good riddance. My mother's a pirate--she chose a life of villainy and bloodshed. Serves her right."Jack closed his eyes in exasperation. So rarely did any of his crew ever sto
p to see the big picture.

"All right, Bell. First thing. You have got to let this thing with your mother go. Drop it. Just for a moment. Second thing. It's not your dear mum I'm worried about, lass. Louis and Silverback have said they are going to come after us--you and me and everyone on the Barnacle--first, because they have some wacky notion that because you're Captain Laura's daughter you would help her out."Arabella frowned, trying to figure out what Jack was driving at.

"We. Have. To. Get. Off. This. Ship." Jack spelled it out for her impatiently. "Savvy?"Arabella looked a little uncertain. "But how will we do that?"Jack squinted at the horizon. The sun lay right above it, beginning to mellow in the late afternoon. "We only have a little while before d
usk--everyone is going to be
ramping up for this mutiny thing. Tell the others--quietly--to start heading toward the Barnacle. Once the commotion starts, no one will notice us slipping over the side. It should be easy in the confusion, as long as we don't run afoul of Silverback and Louis. I'll see if I can loosen the ropes now, while no one's looking."Arabella nodded mutely.

She went over to Fitzwilliam first, who was pretending to be interested in a particular knot in the rigging. He had been trying to listen in on her and Jack, but the wind wasn't right."Be prepared to leave," she said, also pretending to look at the knot. "There's going to be a mutiny. Start heading--casual, like-- to the Barnacle. If me mother--if Captain Smith spots you, just pretend you're doing something else. No one else will care""Mutiny?
" Fitzwilliam mouthed. Then he
sneered. "I would expect no better of these ... pirates," he hissed.Arabella just ignored him, moving on toward Jean and Tumen. She had no desire to get into a discussion with the aristocrat about how this was unusual behavior for pirates. How their leadership was actually quite democratic: the captain was elected, and the profits were shared equally. A much better system than any of the private merchant ships, really ... if you didn't mind the looting and pillaging. . . . And the powers that be would never let a woman be in charge of a proper' ship. . . .Arabella shook her head. Was she feeling sympathy for her mother's chosen profession? She wouldn't allow it. She bit her lip and sneaked a glance at her mother.

Captain Laura was giving some order in high spirits, t
he wind blowing her hair back,
a fierce smile on her face. The pirate who she spoke to nodded and hurried away--at least he looked like he was fully devoted to her.All Arabella really wanted with the Sword of Cortes, and the treasure, and these adventures, was freedom. Freedom to be able to be her own woman--and here was her mum, already doing just that.And now her treacherous crew was going to take it all away. And probably hill her."M'mselle," Jean said as Arabella came up to him. "You seem a little ... out of sorts." He and Tumen were sitting on barrels, looking like they were enjoying themselves despite their situation. A pile of several banana peels lay on the deck, and Tumen's mouth was still full.