a

The Sacking of Port Royal
by TortugaBlack

CHAPTER 13: The Arrival of the Rona

The crew of the Pearl stationed about the deck of the pirate galley stopped what they were doing to watch the visitor from the South Seas empty her sails and drift gracefully into the cove. Springing atop the rail and holding to the backstays, Sparrow studied the new arrival as the sloop was pushed to the lee, her sheets loosened, before easing into an anchorage off the Pearl’s starboard bow. A shout went up and her sails were dropped, crewmembers rushing to secure them. The hollow thumping of the ship’s windlass was followed by a loud splash and the great anchor dragged its cable into the depths of the cove. With the grace of a southern belle, the Rona swung on her tether alongside the galley.

“Ahoy, the Black Pearl!” A tall striking figure in tropical whites and scarlet sash strode to the Rona’s port rail.

“You bring the darkness, Captain Hayes,” Sparrow shouted. “Furl your sails and come aboard.”

With pistol butts bristling at his waist, Bully Hayes sent a friendly salute of acknowledgement in Sparrow’s direction. With dark hair hanging free and unbound, the big man sauntered across the deck of his ship barking orders and directing his men, who rushed about securing the ship. A moment later a small boat was swung over the rail, lowered into the calm waters between the two ships and hurriedly tied off.

Sparrow jumped to the deck and beckoned his first mate to him. “Mister Gibbs, make ready to receive visitors. Watches to remain fore and aft.” Lowering his voice, he held the older man’s attention with unblinking directness. “Our guests are to be welcomed…but watched. Savvy?”

“Aye, Cap’n.” Gibbs smirked knowingly. “Watched they be.”

Sparrow tilted his head toward the crow’s nest on the main mast amidships. “Send a man aloft with a hooded lantern to relieve Mister St. Jon. Post another below.”

“Aye, Cap’n,” Gibbs agreed hesitantly, his brow darkened at a thought. “T’will be a dark night, Jack, a light will carry a fair distance.”

“Not if the signal is directed to the man below, from the man above, and not toward the open sea,” Sparrow said patiently.

Gibbs’ expression lightened. “Aye, that would do it.”

“One flash when sails are spotted, twice if they change course for Port Royal.” He raised an eyebrow at his second in command. Getting a nod, he continued, “There will be no lanterns topside unless by my orders.”

“Aye, Cap’n!” Getting a curt dismissal from Sparrow, Gibbs hustled off, his booming voice calling out names of several crewmen as he directed them amidships.

“Mister Turner.”

Having watched the exchange between captain and first mate with a growing appreciation for Sparrow’s patience with the older man, Will started at the sound of his own name.

“Before Captain Hayes and his party come aboard, I want you below at the end of the companionway outside Miss Swann’s cabin.” The tone had changed from the patient order spoken in light humor to one spoken with an undercurrent of anxiety.

“She’ll stay out of sight, Jack,” Will reassured him, trying to hide the grin that threatened to break the seriousness of the other’s concern.

“So say you,” Sparrow grimaced. “I fear I have far less confidence than you in her ability to do as she’s told.” He stepped to Turner’s side and leaned closer. “It would not further our plans, mate, should those of the Rona see the daughter of Port Royal’s governor aboard the Pearl and moving at will, savvy?”

The thought had a sobering affect and a sideways glance into the dark eyes of the pirate told Turner that had been its intent.

“Take Mr. La Bouche with you.” Confident that he had made his point, Sparrow side-stepped around Turner to stand again at the railing where he watched the crew of the Rona hard at their tasks, the tall, imposing figure of their captain striding easily among them. Darkness was closing in, the figures becoming ghostly specters in the declining light. He turned again to face the young blacksmith.

For a moment Sparrow stood in silence, holding Will’s attention with a finger held up between them. As if having reached a decision, the captain of the Black Pearl closed his fist and pulled it abruptly towards his chest. His expression was at once stern and worried. “From here on out, mate, any weapon drawn against you will be done without regard to rules…please, remember that.”

Will Turner reached a hand towards the pirate in an effort to relieve his concern, then thinking better of it, allowed it to drop to the hilt of his sword. “I shall,” he promised.

v v v v v

Inside the quartermaster’s cabin Elizabeth Swann stood alone listening to Will Turner’s retreating footsteps, knowing that he was leaving her side for another. In weary defeat she stepped away from the cabin door and crossed to sit on the small bunk.

All her life she had wondered how she would feel should someone – especially another woman – come between them and she had faced that possibility, knowing that their different positions in life would always make it a threat. But with time she had grown confident, knowing that she held his heart as closely as now she realized he held hers. She had grown, matured and became woman enough to read the devotion and love in his eyes. She had heard the gossip about the handsome young blacksmith who had eyes for only one woman and she had glowed with pride. Another woman would never come between them. Not once would she have believed it could be the siren call of the sea, the ghostly footsteps of a dead father, or the friendship of a pirate that might take him from her.

Unable to remain still Elizabeth got up to pace the confines of the small cabin. From her tour below deck with Ana Maria, she knew it to be one of only three at the stern: the captain’s quarters, by far the largest, and two smaller ones belonging to the quartermaster and first mate. She glanced again at the wall separating the small cabin from the one next to it. Stepping off the length of the room and remembering what she could of that portion of the captain’s quarters where they had met with Sparrow upon boarding the Pearl, she guessed it probably shared the wall with another room within the captain’s quarters.

Footsteps from the direction of the main hatch sent her rushing back to the door, her heart pounding. Had Will come for her? Harkening to the captain’s stern warning, she remained silent, listening. The steps – more than those of one man – stopped outside her door, but made no move to enter. She put her ear again to the door, more footsteps, voices, the sound of a door opening, closing. The captain’s quarters!

Hastening back to the shared wall, she put her ear to it. Nothing. She swore in frustration. If she had thought to pick up any information spoken through these walls, she realized, it would mostly likely be bedroom talk and not the information she craved. Disappointed she returned to the closed door and again put her ear to it.

v v v v v

In the companionway dimly lit by several lanterns, Will Turner and Jean La Bouche took up positions between the captain and quartermaster’s cabins to await further orders. Moments later Sparrow stepped below, Bully Hayes at his heels followed in turn by two other members of the Rona’s crew. The men halted before the captain’s quarters. A quick exchange between captains and Hayes nodded to the Asian warrior at his side.

The Asian, small wiry with a hard look in his eyes and a long scar running from eyebrow to chin, put a hand to the hilt of a long-bladed curved knife protruding from his sash and, without speaking, took up a position to one side of the door. The other crewman, a one-legged man in greatcoat and battered hat, remained at the bottom of the stairs, his hand rested lightly on the butt of a flintlock pistol tucked in his belt.

Turning toward his own crewmen, Sparrow gave a nod to LaBouche, who stepped forward to take up a position at the opposite side of the doorway from the Asian. At Sparrow’s hand flourish in Turner’s direction, the young blacksmith backed up until he stood between the captain’s quarters and the opposite end of the companionway, his back to the quartermaster’s door. Satisfied with the stationing of his men, Sparrow opened the door to his quarters, motioned Hayes in ahead of him and followed; the door closed behind them.

The shadows lengthened in the narrow companionway as the darkness outside deepened. The Pearl, as if sensing the impatience of her crew, shifted restlessly at anchor, the incoming tide slapping relentlessly at her wooden sides.

From his post outside the quartermaster’s cabin, Will Turner waited. Sparrow and Hayes had been behind closed doors for over an hour while the men positioned outside remained alert but silent. Pirate crews, he speculated – even while working together – seemed a suspicious aloof lot, ready to cut another’s throat at the least provocation. He swore silently with growing unease. To this he had brought Elizabeth Swann. Even with the impending attack, would she be any safer aboard the Pearl than in her own home or had his selfish desire to have her near put her in far more danger?

The door opened and Jack Sparrow beckoned to him. Torn between curiosity and his obligation to guard Elizabeth’s door, Will hesitated until a nod from Sparrow in LeBouche’s direction moved the black crewman into the companionway halfway between Will’s post and the one he’d taken by the captain’s door. Relieved Will stepped past LaBouche and entered the captain’s quarters ahead of Sparrow.

Inside the cabin Bully Hayes paced the length of the room with restless energy. Expecting one of Hayes’ crew to follow him in, Will was taken aback when the cabin door closed behind him, leaving him alone with the two pirate captains. Surprised, he looked upon Hayes with new interest. The man gave him a brief nod in greeting then continued his pacing, otherwise, he showed no undue concern at being alone within the confines of a small cabin with two armed men onboard a ship other than his own. From the man’s demeanor, it was obvious to Will that it wasn’t discomfort or anxiety at the prospect of betrayal that kept Hayes moving, but the energies of a man who was likely never still. Pulling his attention from the pirate in white, Will walked to the opposite end of the room to stand at Sparrow’s side.

“Captain Hayes,” Sparrow smiled. “This is my swordsman, William Turner.” A quick look at Will silenced whatever the younger man had almost blurted out in surprise. “What he is and who he is will not leave this room…per our agreement.”

Hayes stopped his pacing and eyed Turner with intense appraisal. “Captain Sparrow, you can’t be sending this boy against the likes of Ben Pease?” He shook his head in obvious disappointment. “Ol’ Ben’ll pick his teeth with him.”

A grin, a flash of gold, and a touch of mischief sparked in Jack Sparrow’s eyes as he reached for his sword.

Remembering the lessons of the morning, his reflexes on a hair trigger and expecting pirate treachery, Will Turner drew his sword in one swift, fluid motion. A flash of naked steel and the flat of the blade smacked hard across the knuckles of Sparrow’s sword hand before he could clear the blade from its scabbard.

Taken by surprise, his eyes wide at what appeared to be an unsuspected attack, Hayes grabbed for his pistol. It cleared his sash, but before he could level it, a boarding axe struck it from his hand and the point of the youngster’s blade was at his throat. With his Adam’s apple bobbing under the threat of the blade, Hayes spread his arms wide, his hands open and empty. “He’ll do, ” he croaked, his eyes wide and centered on the strong steady hand that held the cutlass.

“Oh, good! Back to business!” Sparrow quipped lightly, his smile broadened. He addressed Will. “You may lower your blade, Mister Turner, Captain Hayes has seen the error of his ways.”

Glancing suspiciously from first one then the other of the men, Will Turner slowly lowered his sword, sheathed it, and retrieved his axe. Sparrow had already turned back to Hayes.

“Then we have an accord?”

“Aye!” Hayes acknowledged heartily.

The humor that had been in the Sparrow’s dark eyes was suddenly gone, replaced by the deadly seriousness of his plans. “Once the attack on Port Royal is underway, the Pearl will stand off the northern end of the cay with a watch on the harbor.” Returning to the long table he took a seat and motioned Hayes to join him.

A quick nod of respect to the standing swordsman and Bully Hayes took the offered chair next to Sparrow. Between the two men tankards and a rum bottle half-empty stood close at hand.

Taking a stance behind Sparrow’s chair facing Hayes, Will stood at ready, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.

“With cannon exchange between the fleet and the fort, we should be able to see any ship leaving before the party’s over, ” Sparrow continued.

“I can’t say I agree with your sense of fair play, Captain, if wait for his break we must,” Hayes grumbled. “I know Pease. He won’t stand to cover the flank of the attack when there’s plunder to be had elsewhere. He’ll break .” Getting no argument or comment to his words, the big man sighed. “But in this matter I will bow to your decision.”

Sparrow touched a finger to his forehead in a loose salute. Without further comment, he waited for Hayes to continue.

“Once Pease and Reyes break from the pack and move toward the plantations to the northeast, the Pearl will signal the Rona with two flashes from the crow’s,” Hayes recited. “We lift sail, follow the Pearl past the harbor and in the wake of the two deserters.”

“Aye.” Sparrow leaned forward, closing the distance between them. “The Spot’s a decent-sized brig and well armed, but Reyes never leaves more than a skeleton crew aboard her during a raid. The rest of the crew will go ashore with their captain,” Sparrow emphasized, his gaze locked to that of the other man. “Keep the Rona in her sight – but well back – with your colors hoisted. That should keep the crew’s attention without alarming them, while you slip aboard her from longboats at her stern.” He eased back in his seat and reached for the rum bottle. He poured himself a drink and passed the bottle to Hayes.

Refilling his tankard, Hayes took a drink. “Aye. The Rona being a strange ship in these waters will worry them, but the Jolly Roger should ease their concerns. As long as we stay well away, they should have no reason to go to their guns. Once we’ve boarded, secured the ship, we wait and get the drop on the landing party. What plans have you for the crew?”

Sparrow shrugged. “Do what you must. Reyes is a coward with no sand in his craw, but don’t let your guard down with the crew; most are blackguards and dangerous. They’ll fight.”

“Those taken?”

The captain of the Pearl thought for a brief moment. “Put them in your brig if you have one.” He raised a questioning eyebrow. At Hayes’ nod, he continued. “If all goes as planned, we will have captured the Jackal and be waiting for you at Beggar’s Cove. We will give up Pease, his crew, and the Jackal in exchange for the Spot; the plunder in their holds will be shared.” Sparrow smiled. “The crew of the Spot you can keep.”

“And blast them all to Davy Jones’ locker!” Hayes roared with hearty laughter. “Aye, I’ll send the Jackal down with a full crew!”

Sparrow’s eyes rolled upward for a moment as he contemplated Hayes’ offer. With an elbow on the table, his hand cupping his chin, Sparrow lightly crossed his lips with a finger. His eyes settled again on the man across from him. “Tempting.” He dropped his hand and eased back in his chair. “But no. On your way south, relieve them of their weapons and anything else of value and set them free.”

Silence fell over the table. Then as if in mutual agreement both men pushed to their feet and headed for the cabin door. Turner fell in step behind them.

At the door Hayes turned back. “Mister Turner.”

Will stepped quickly alongside Sparrow, his hand still lightly on the hilt of his sword. “Captain Hayes?”

“Don’t underestimate Pease, boy. He’s a dangerous man and will do what he must to put you down.”

“Aye, ” Will agreed.

Again silence fell between the men. And again it was Hayes who broke it, his attention on the young blacksmith. “Good luck to you, Mister Turner.” He offered his hand.

Will took the hand, an easy smile played across his handsome features.

“And, boy,” Hayes flashed a quick answering smile. “Leave enough of him for me.”

“Aye, Captain…I shall try.”

“Good man!” Hayes released Will’s hand and turned back to Sparrow. “The Rona will await your signal.”