Adrift

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Thank you again to Grace for getting this back to me so quickly! She truly is a wonder, as I may have mentioned before. :)

And thanks to CoffeeMuse for your comments (I know! Don't the cliffhangers just kill?) and welcome to Ero Sennin (your review was absolutely wonderful! I truly love your enthusiasm!). Hope you enjoy this installment and don't worry, I'm already hard at work on the next one.

If you like it, please review! And if you're feeling too shy to do so, well...I truly hope you're having fun on my own personal POTC ride!

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Hector stalked back and forth through the galley of the Corazón, his arms cinched angrily across his chest as he watched Jack Sparrow stroll about, rifling through cupboards and drawers as though searching for swag on a captured galleon.

If the wretch hadn’t chopped out the centre of Sao Feng’s map to the fountain after the battle with Beckett and the British armada in the first place, he’d have been well rid of Jack Sparrow centuries ago and a happier man to boot. Cheating death again and knowing that Sparrow had been unable to do the same...ah, but he’d have enjoyed his immortality all the more for it.

But it was not to be. When Calypso had spared them all that wicked night, she had also answered Jack’s cries for mercy as his pitiful craft was being battered to bits in the storm. Not only had she saved the painted devil but Hector could have sworn he’d heard the goddess cackle in delicious irony as she’d deposited Jack’s weevil-infested hide upon the deck of the Pearl by way of a sudden, foam-topped swell.

Hector could still see him, sprawled across the boards and hacking like a near-drowned cat as the lightning subsided and the clouds parted overhead. He would have run Jack through and tossed his corpse back overboard but for Calypso’s promise that the Black Pearl would remain his so long as he swore that Jack would never be without a ship of his own. Little had he truly appreciated the worm’s propensity for losing the very same and the burden it would become as decades fell to the wayside.

Now the Pearl was long gone and he had to continue fulfilling the terms of that ancient accord. There just didn’t seem to be a way to gain any ground on the slippery snake that was Jack Sparrow.

“Don’t know what was going through your head, taking up with the likes of Elizabeth Swann in the first place,” Jack drew Hector’s attention as he continued to natter on, a smug look on his face. He lifted up a crystal wine glass and then tapped it with his fingernail, holding it to his ear as if testing its quality. “Nothin’ but trouble and sorrow trail after that one.”

“Same could be said of ye,” spat Hector, grabbing the goblet from Jack’s hand and placing it back in the sideboard. “And I’ll be thankin’ ye to leave me belongins’ be. Ye stand a better chance of takin’ the helm of the Pearl again than ye have of sailin’ off in me ketch. Ain’t nothin’ in me possession that will e’er belong to ye.”

“Ah. And do you think to include your lady love in that?” asked Jack, a lascivious smile spreading across his face as he twirled up the ends of his moustache.

Hector began to sputter before he thought to gather his wits about him, instead giving Jack a narrow, sideways glare. “Don’t need to. She’d not have ye.”

Jack wandered over to stare out the starboard porthole, drumming against the bulkhead with his long, spindly fingers. “S’that right? Well, apparently she’ll not be having you either. Pretty sure that’s her making for your boat launch right now.”

Rushing to the window and shoving Jack unceremoniously to the side, Hector peered out. Damned if the little maggot wasn’t right! Striding purposefully towards where the power boats were docked was his Elizabeth, a satchel swinging at her side and her head held high.

Hector let out a growl and then grabbed Jack roughly by the scruff his neck, dragging him protesting and clawing at Hector’s hands as they clambered up the stairs and made their way out on deck. Unlikely he’d leave Sparrow alone on his ship again, not now that he understood that Jack coveted the Corazón – it would be just like him to sail off as Hector watched from the pier, a bit of payback for some of the same from Hector so many years before. Either that or he’d drink Hector’s wine stash dry, an act not nearly so dastardly but a thought that was upsetting nevertheless.

“Off!” Hector said as they emerged into the sunlight, pointing threateningly towards the gangway.

Jack held his hands up in mock surrender and meandered down to the pier with Hector stomping behind, close on his heels. “I’ll just find something to occupy my time ‘round here, shall I?” he muttered, scurrying out of Hector’s way, and wandering in a somewhat irregular path towards where the other boats were berthed and men were gathered.

“’Lizabeth!” bellowed Hector at her, and although Elizabeth turned to look back at him briefly, she didn’t stop her determined progress. He could hear the buzz of a distant engine and understood that while he and Jack had retreated to the galley to talk, she’d arranged for her own transportation off of Wisteria. The realization sent a cold spike through his heart – she was leaving and hadn’t even bothered to tell him so.

It didn’t take much time for him to catch up with her, even with his injury. His legs were so much longer than hers and although she moved at a steady pace, she wasn’t trying to outrun him.

“And where do ye think yer goin’?” he asked brusquely as he came up beside her and matched her gait.

“I’m going back to work,” she said calmly without breaking her stride. He found the serenity on her face far more troubling than if she’d yelled at him. “I’m finished playing house with you.”

He grabbed her elbow and abruptly stopped her. She winced and looked accusingly at him, but he didn’t release her. “That what ye think this is? Child’s play?”

“I don’t know what this is,” Beth said, turning to look at him, her brown eyes betraying some of her sadness. “My problem is that I’ve been so caught up in the intensity of all this...of you...that I’ve lost my perspective. I need to take some time away to get myself back on track.”

Hector swept a dark glance around the pier and the men who had been watching the drama unfold suddenly found new and interesting ways to keep themselves busy. Turning back to Elizabeth, he quietly said, “Ye promised, didn’t ye, that nothin’ that leprous dog Jack had to say would change the truth of what ye held in yer heart. What I am to think now, to see ye flee and without so much as a by-your-leave?”

She shook her head, closing her eyes with a sigh. “You don’t get it, do you? Nothing he said caused this. The decision to leave me out, to hold back – that was all you. Hector, if you don’t believe that what we have is strong enough to withstand the truth...well, I just don’t know what to do with that.”

He knew what she said was spot on but he couldn’t make himself let her go. Hector straightened himself to his full height and glared down at her. “‘Lizabeth, I forbid ye to leave the island.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up and she laughed in a short burst of genuine amusement. “You forbid me? What are you going to do, toss me in the brig? Chain me to your bedpost? Or maybe tether me to your waist so you can keep me in sight at all times?”

“This ain’t no laughin’ matter,” he snarled. “Danger awaits ye on the open water and here ye are, tossin’ yerself into the belly of the beast with nary a thought fer yer own safety. Have ye come to despise me so much that ye’d take such a chance rather than remain under me protection?”

She gave him a long and defiant look. “Protection – that’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it? Do you know how tired I am of having the men in my life feel that they need to shelter me and keep me safe? My father, Will, Jim...even Tony. Do I really come across as so dainty and helpless?”

“T’is the nature of men’s hearts,” Hector said gruffly, relaxing his hold on her arm and gathering her hand into his, “to protect that which they love best.”

Her bottom lip quivered slightly at his words, but she took a deep breath and pushed on. “And what are you protecting me from when you refuse to be honest with me about what is happening?”

He didn’t reply immediately, his heart aching more with each word she spoke. She was slipping away and he hadn’t an inkling how to put a stop to it. “Perhaps that be about protectin’ meself as well as ye. Ye push fer the truth, yet ye know not what ye ask or what knowin’ will do to ye. And that be assumin’ ye’d be inclined to believe the words as passed me lips in the first place and not think me demented.”

Elizabeth stepped closer and her warm, soft scent moved around him, lifted on the gentle ocean breeze. “You have to take that chance and allow me to decide for myself. One way or the other, I’m going to find out. Wouldn’t it be better for both of us if I heard it from you rather than someone else?”

He couldn’t wrestle with it any longer. Better to reveal what he could and let fate sort out the rest. Fighting the urge to take her in his arms and hold her tightly, he hesitantly nodded his agreement. “Aye. There’ll be no arguing that point. Ye promise to stay here with me and there’ll be no more secrets between us.”

Elizabeth frowned and seemed about to disagree, but then jerked in surprise when the horn from the newly-arrived powerboat blew a long flat note from the dock. She instinctively grabbed for him and the gesture, involuntary or not, gave him hope. She might resist his desire to keep her safe but she still needed him.

When he looked to the boat – one belonging to the Blackhearts, in fact – Hector recognized one of the girl’s workers, but the lad seemed reluctant to come ashore and interrupt their discourse. He wondered what his men had said to cement his formidable reputation amongst those as crewed the Penzance. Or perhaps it was Elizabeth’s wrath the youngster feared – Hector knew well enough how fierce her fury could be. A perfect match for Barbossa in all things, she was, and a complete idiot would be he who suggested otherwise.

She waved to acknowledge the hail and turned back to Hector, her face set with steely resolve. “No, I can’t stay,” she said firmly. “I have to go back to the conservation lab – I promised Tony I’d be in to oversee the work on the relics while he keeps the dive going.”

“If’n ye need to be leavin’, I’ll be comin’ with ye,” he said stubbornly, raising his chin and giving her a look that he hoped discouraged a challenge.

She glared at him for a heartbeat or two before she finally nodded. “Fine,” she said, and he was sure he saw a fleeting trace of relief in her face as she did so. Brave front she had put up, but he knew he’d shaken her when he reminded her of what might be awaiting her. Might be he’d have felt some guilt over it, too, had it not been so dire a situation.

Elizabeth knit her brow and looked back up at him. “What are you going to do about Jack?”

By some grace he’d almost forgotten about Sparrow and he sighed resignedly in unwelcome remembrance. “Should we take him with us to the warehouse, our enemies will have found us before nightfall. Leave him here and there’ll be nothin’ left of me island by the time we return.” He turned to look fiercely down the pier where Jack was tossing his limp hands about, spinning some tall tale for a few of the Blackhearts who’d congregated in a circle around him.

“What if your men took him ashore? A night on the town might be just the ticket for someone like Jack. I have a feeling that he won’t have to look very hard to find a good time,” mused Elizabeth, watching as Jack acted out some wildly exaggerated dance on the planks of the dock and drew an uproarious laugh from those watching.

Hector turned back, the sly smile on his face likely mirroring hers. “Like I told Jack...yer a bright girl and here ye managed to take his measure right off. Aye, that’ll work. Can’t hardly conspire against us if me men drink him under the table.”

He was about to make off to set the plan in motion, but she stopped him with a hand upon his arm. “And tonight...after I’ve seen to things...then we’ll talk?” she asked, a warning in her voice that told him he’d best not toy with her any longer.

“Tonight we talk,” he agreed, giving in to his impulse to seize hold of her and kiss her soundly. She gave an angry squeak of protest and pushed hard against his chest, but after a moment her lips began to soften and her small fists opened up to instead cling to him tightly. Slowly she melted in the circle of his arms and her tongue darted out to steal a taste of his passion as she moulded herself against him.

When he at last set her back upon shaky legs and with hardly a breath left in her body, Elizabeth looked up at him in a heated daze. A few brave bikers dared to hoot and holler at the display while off to the side, Hector was almost sure he could hear Jack making gagging sounds and threatening to poke his own eyes out with a sharp stick. His lips quirked in a smile, satisfied at having set Elizabeth’s body afire and having made Jack feel squeamish.

“Don’t think for a moment,” she huffed prettily, the colour still high in her cheeks, “that you’re off the hook just because of one kiss.”

A sombre mood took him again at her words and nerves flared in his gut. “I told ye, lass. Ye’ll have yer answers, and saints preserve us.” He left her behind and strode down the pier to find those amongst his crew who shared his high opinion of Jack Sparrow – them as could be trusted to handle the little bastard accordingly.

+++

The western sky was smeared with splashes of purple, pink and orange as the sun began its descent towards the ocean. Hector turned his face into the glow for a moment, savouring the waning warmth of the day. Dawn and dusk – since he’d come back from the grey nothingness of death, he’d not taken the beauty of either one for granted.

“We’re ready to cast off!” Elizabeth called, holding up a hand to shield her eyes so she could catch sight of him against the sunset. Sublime she looked in the golden light, the waves behind her catching the rays and tossing them like glittering doubloons across the surface of the ocean.

Hector had convinced Elizabeth to delay her return until he could see Jack off his island and on his way across the wee bit of water keeping civilized Florida from its unknowable neighbours on Wisteria. Did his heart some good to see Sparrow herded reluctantly aboard the speedboat by a boisterous crew on unplanned and very welcome shore leave. They’d all been given clear directions that Jack was to be good and stewed, if not rendered entirely insensible, before they even gave a thought to returning. He had every confidence that his men would take their duty to heart.

The thump of his boots echoed off the planks of the dock as he walked back to the boat, jumping down and heading for the helm. The lad had taken a position there already, but a long cold look from Hector had the youngster muttering under his breath and sent him backing away to find a seat beside his boss.

Elizabeth patted the boy comfortingly upon the shoulder and shot Hector a disapproving look, but he simply shrugged and started up the motor. The Spectre 32CS powerboat was part of his fleet and he wouldn’t be putting forth an apology for taking command.

They started across the short channel and Hector eased the throttle forward, gradually giving the craft enough juice that her prow angled upwards out of the water. The power vibrated through his hands and their progress kicked up a misty white wall of water on either side of them. The wake from a freighter pulling out into the Gulf began to slam against the hull and the speedboat skipped across the crests towards Key West.

The closer they got to shore, the closer he came to facing the conundrum that would be the conversation with Elizabeth. Perhaps it wouldn’t do to reveal too much at first – if he could remind her of bits of her past life, it might be enough to trigger her own memories. But what then? Fine to say that nothing would change the way she cared for him, but until she was faced with the truth of who she was and the tie that they’d shared, it was an empty promise.

While both of them had returned from beyond, how did he explain that he had come back centuries earlier than she, and not through the same kind of rebirth at all? Would she remember that moment at Tia Dalma’s bayou shack that signalled his return to the world of the living? He’d looked upon a hundred thousand dawns and a hundred thousand sunsets since last they’d said goodbye – how easy would that be to accept?

The notions tumbled around in his brain at a dizzying pace and his head ached at the seeming impossibility of it all. A high pitched whine coming from somewhere made the sensation all the worse and he gritted his teeth against the pain.

With a sudden startling understanding that the sound was getting louder and why, Hector whipped his head around and saw a dark shape coming up on them from the south towards tiny Sunset Key. The long, thin boat was running with no lights and no clear markings, surely not a good sign. The scream of its engines cut through the lower throb of his boat and gave away the sheer horsepower of those who were fast approaching.

He’d let himself be distracted yet again and he cursed himself loudly. Laying in wait, the enemy had been, banking on the chance that Elizabeth would abandon the security of the island and thus become separated from those prepared to do battle on her behalf. Too late, it was, to call the others for assistance – by the time they arrived, the fight would have been decided.

“Hold tight!” he warned before he wrenched hard on the wheel and brought the boat around to bear northeast, slamming the throttle forward with the result that both Beth and the boy were tossed from their seats with startled cries. He wasn’t sure he could outrace the other boat for long, but perhaps for long enough that he would make it through the Fleming Key Cut ahead of them and lose them in amongst all the pleasure craft that crowded the shallows.

Hector heard the crack of a rifle and the windshield of the Spectre shattered around him, tiny cubes of glass flying up and back. Too close for comfort, he thought as he ducked down and risked another backwards glance, ignoring the gash that had opened up on his cheek. They were coming up far faster than he’d anticipated, obviously determined to stop him before he could get Elizabeth to safety.

Another shot, louder but going wide. “’Lizabeth!” he shouted over the drone of the boats. “Open the hatch b’neath ye and crank the valve open!”

Hector swerved tightly around a sailboat and took off straight east towards the Cut. Elizabeth patted his leg to let him know she’d done as he asked and he pushed down on the red button on the dash. The burst of nitro into the engine shot them across the surface of the water and Hector had to wrap both hands around the wheel in order to stay upright on his feet.

He took a fast look over his shoulder and saw the other boat falling behind. The trick would likely end up burning the engine out of the Spectre, but it would buy them enough time to reach the marina at Garrison Bight and that’s all he figured they needed.

As the effects of the nitrous began to fade, Hector came up fast on a long tour boat, meandering along beside the entrance to City Marina. He gunned the engine and shot in front of them, banking a sharp right into the tiny harbour, and earning shouts from the pilots and a blast of their horn as they voiced their displeasure.

The corroded smell of their engine followed them to the far slips and the Spectre began to sputter. Hector slid the vessel in between two large, dark and unoccupied cruisers and cut the engine. Turning, he saw Elizabeth and the boy, bruised up, tangled together amongst the seats and breathing hard.

“We haven’t a moment! Grab yer things, we need to be movin’!” he hissed, leaning down to yank each of them to their feet. Pushing them up the ladder ahead of him, Hector could hear the approaching rumble as the other boat entered the marina and geared down.

He climbed onto the deck and staying low, scuttled over to where the next boat was berthed. The other two followed his lead and they crouched together behind the bow. “Listen up, boy,” Hector growled lowly, grabbing the lad by the front of his shirt to ensure he held his attention. “Three be too many – ye must make yer own way once we reach the street. They’ll not follow; it’s not ye that they be wantin’.”

The kid stubbornly set his jaw and gave Hector a look of fearful fortitude. Even if it annoyed him, he had to credit the youngster for not falling to pieces given their situation. “I’m not going to leave and have something terrible happen to Beth,” he whispered indignantly. “We should wait it out here and call the cops on my cell.”

“Brad,” Beth said quietly, carefully prying Hector’s fingers loose and giving him a look that told him it would be best to keep quiet, “Please don’t worry about me. I promise you that I’ll be safe. I need you to get back to the warehouse somehow and make sure everything is okay there. If you see anything – anyone – who doesn’t belong, that’s when I need you to call the police. Okay?”

The growl of the engine grew louder, the predator approaching slowly and steadily. “This be a delay we can ill afford,” Hector warned, taking Elizabeth’s arm. “They’re on their way o’er here.”

Brad looked torn, clearly struggling over concern for his boss and wanting to get himself away from what had to be a terrifying state of affairs. Finally he nodded and looked to Hector for direction. He stayed low, creeping along, and the others followed his example until they ran out of cover altogether.

“There! They’ve disembarked! Get them!” roared a man’s voice, and the boat once again picked up speed.

“Move!” bellowed Hector and the three of them began a full out run up the pier towards the street. Pain knifed through his leg but he didn’t slow, not when doing so could cost them all their lives. Gunfire erupted and the dock splintered below their feet, but they were far enough towards the road that an accurate shot from a boat bobbing about at water level was impossible. Eventually the bullets stopped and Hector knew they were following them up onto the dock.

Hector paused only for a moment when they reached the sidewalk before leading them into early evening traffic. The screech of brakes, more horns and more epithets assailed them from all sides but the angry words went unheeded as they dashed to the far side of Roosevelt Boulevard.

Facing the water was a shop that offered the rental of scooters, and Hector pointed Brad towards it, shoving a handful of bills into the boy’s fist. “Get yerself o’er there and talk to the clerk. Act all nonchalant and no one’ll pay ye any mind. Barter a way back to the warehouse and do as ye were told to by the lady, do ye understand?”

He didn’t wait for a reply but grabbed Beth by her hand and dragged her around in back of a row of tiny shops that were busy with customers and lit with vivid neon colours. Behind the alley was a yard full of cars and he pulled her down with him, shuffling along in a crouch through the rows. There was the distant wail of a siren – someone must have reported the gunshots at the marina. Hector didn’t think the arrival of the authorities would prove a detriment to the enemy; they didn’t seem the type bothered with the rules of law. He knew it wouldn’t stop him, not if he was truly determined to harm someone as deserved it. Say, Jack Sparrow, for instance.

He pulled Elizabeth back behind a cube van and sat on the cement for a moment, rubbing out the cramp that had seized his thigh. There were no hurried footsteps behind them, no sign that they’d been followed, and even though the prudent course of action would be to vacate the vicinity as quickly as possible, he needed a moment to gather his thoughts.

Elizabeth let out an uneven breath and he glanced over to see that her hands were shaking. She was wringing them, trying to stop the clear display of nerves, and her eyes were glassy. He reached over and wrapped both of her hands with one of his, squeezing gently until the trembling had nearly ceased. “Ye done just fine, girl,” he murmured. “Might have been scared but ye kept yer head. Ye always have.”

“I’m not scared,” she whispered harshly, narrowing her eyes. “I’m fucking pissed off! These pricks have ruined my life and if I get even one chance at them, I’ll make them eternally sorry for their efforts.”

He smiled grimly. “Don’t doubt that ye would, but we’ll not be takin’ the opportunity to do so this evenin’. T’is a fool as brings a knife to a gunfight, or so I’ve been told. Since that’s all I happen to have on me person, we’ll be beatin’ a strategic retreat tonight.”

She snorted. “And go where? Wisteria is out for now, at least until the crew is back and sober. And I wouldn’t dare try either the dive site or the lab now – I’d be putting my people in even more danger.”

“Don’t ye trouble yerself o’er that, now. All we’re in need of is transport and I think I’ve spotted somethin’ that will suit.” He eased himself up and took a quick look around the side of the van, seeing no one and hearing not a sound except that which spilled over from the crowds on the streets.

He motioned her forward and she took his hand once more, following as he slunk towards a dark and shady section of the lot. Yes, he’d been right – it was a bike alright, ‘though not one he’d ever thought he’d be caught riding.

“Figures that when I’m most in need of a ride,” he said with disgust as he looked at the 1978 Honda Goldwing, “there ain’t nothing available but a barcalounger. Good thing I’ll not be seein’ the crew tonight – wouldn’t e’er hear the end of it were I to be spotted on such a pretty bike. Might even get meself kicked out of the club o’er it.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Beth whispered. “It actually looks very comfortable.”

He gave her a wry look and shook his head in disappointment. “Ye be sayin’ anythin’ of that sort again and I’ll be forced to revoke yer membership, lass. This ain’t nothin’ but a plaything fer them as pretend to be bikers.”

Hector pulled the knife from his boot and pried off the metal ignition cap, tugging on it until the wires were exposed. Elizabeth looked around furtively, likely more worried at being caught by the owner than she was at being taken surprise by those as were hunting them.

He cut the green and red wires, and used the edge of the knife to strip away the insulation until the copper was laid bare before he wrapped them tightly together. “Okay, ‘Lizabeth. Climb aboard.”

She looked at him as though he had lost his senses. “I’m not sure how to tell you this, Hector, but you haven’t started the bike. What do you plan to do, push us to safety?”

“Why, ye must have done this before!” he said with mock delight. “Jus’ get on the damned bike and hold onto the sissy bar. And not a sound that might attract attention– I’m not wantin’ anyone, friend or foe, to see me astride this abomination.”

“Oh, ha ha,” she said, giving him a withering look as she climbed onto the posh leather seat. “You’re a laugh riot, my Captain.”

He gave the stand a kick and grabbed hold of the handlebars. “Weren’t jokin’, missy.”

He put the bike into first gear and walked it down the dark alley, away from prying eyes. “Get ready,” he warned. “Once she gets going, I’ll be jumpin’ on and off we go.”

Elizabeth looked at him doubtfully but slid as far back on the seat as she could to ensure he had enough room to mount. Holding the clutch down, he started off running down the gravel-encrusted blacktop. When he figured he was finally going fast enough, he released the clutch and the purring motor hummed to life. Hector grinned broadly at the surprise on her face and then leapt onto the seat, revving the engine and propelling the Goldwing forward as she took hold of his hips.

As they reached the end of the asphalt strip and got ready to make their way southwest on Truman, Hector turned to look back down the alleyway. At the far end stood a dark figure of a man, his features lost in the gloom. There was the unmistakable outline of a rifle hanging at his side.

They’d been well within range and yet he’d not attempted to fire. Hector wasn’t going to take the time to either think it through or give the bastard another chance. He put the bike into gear and roared away into the emerging night.

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Oh no! Another loose end! Don't worry, the next chapter will let a bit more slip...