Kindred Spirits

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”

- Benjamin Franklin -

Chapter 21

Taking opportunities

Devon had stopped to look down her precious Bullet, who was currently quite busy sculpting a very artistic form out of his own faeces right in front of a small formation of bushes on their left. When finished, the bulldog looked once at the damping sculpture before he covered it with sand and dust. Then it shook itself firmly and glanced up at Devon, as though he were looking for praise of his accomplishment. Devon acquiesced as she smiled and patted her dog lovingly on its side.

‘I really don’t see why ye couldn’t have left th’ bloody dog wit’ Will ‘n Liz. It’ll only be a burd’n ta us ye know. Jus’ havin’ it poopin’ like tha’ costs us precious time an’ not ta mention how it draws attention all th’ bloody time…’ Jack spoke agitated, while his eyes scanned the ships that were docked in Port Royal’s harbour.

Devon didn’t respond. Maybe he was right, but she couldn’t leave the one thing she cared for most behind. Although she was certain Elisabeth could have taken very good care of Bullet, perhaps even more than she did sometimes, but she couldn’t leave Bullet. If she had let her dog stay with the Turners it would never be in danger, Tho’ th’ donkey prob’ly would be, she thought with a smirk. But she knew she would never do it. Bullet belonged to her and he belonged with her. Fate had brought them together in the first place, and it only seemed right that fate would be the one to decide when she and her dog would part again.

Jack nudged Devon’s side and pointed to a large vessel on their left and Devon was abruptly shaken from her thoughts to look towards the vessel in question.

‘Too big, loaded wit’ cargo; therefore too heavy fer what we need…’ she stated matter-of-factly while her eyes searched for a more suitable ship.

Jack raised one eyebrow at her. ‘An’ jus’ what makes ye th’ expert on th’ subject?’ he snapped. He happened to be her superior, and as a Captain, if he thought that this particular vessel would do just fine then he’d be damned to have her tell him otherwise.

Devon pointed her finger in the direction of the docks where men were bringing large crates aboard. They would never get her out of the harbour by themselves, Jack had to admit she was right, but he would rather eat his beloved hat then admit to something like that. So he decided to do something much sneakier and just pretend that he had seen it all along.

‘Ah. Good eye, lass. I was jus’ testin’ yer knowledge an’ perception ye know,’ he stated while flatly waving his ringed index finger under her nostrils.

Devon smiled and glanced at the antics of the man she had been in a wild war with just the night before. ‘Were ye now… Now ye see I could’ve sworn tha’ ye’d wanted ta board ‘er…’ she casually bit on her nail, while glancing over at him to gauge the reaction.

Jack mumbled something in return in Spanish if she was not mistaken, but she wasn’t too concerned at the moment.

She narrowed her eyes and scanned the harbour as she looked through her long eyelashes.

‘Sparrow?’

‘What’s it now?’ he sighed while he kept looking for a suitable vessel to… borrow.

‘What say ye to givin’ Norrington a lil’ payback? I think it’d be most interestin’ since he ain’t jus’ a poor loser but a lousy lover as well…’ she sneered.

Jack’s eyes widened at that statement, ‘Lover? Ye mean ta tell me ye slept wit’ …Norrington?’

She shrugged her shoulders, ‘Former lover, Sparrow. An’ quite th’ lousy lover at tha’. Th’ “stiff upper-lip” managed ta turn ta putty in me hands due ta me charms naturally… But ‘sides tha’, ‘e was jus’ a Lieutenant, no wig back then. ‘E was also surprisingly funny back then too. Seems tha’ th’ white wig o’ his drained all th’ humour out o’ ‘im. Tha’ an’ I had ta get out o’ there somehow… so I jus’ did wha’ I’m incredibly talented at, seduction…’ As her narrative trailed off an incubus grin twisted her lips.

‘That’s how ye escaped him?’ he said with a smile on his face. ‘Can’t believe ‘e fell fer tha’. I pictured ‘im as quite th’ noble guy, who would ne’er fall for th’ likes o’ ye. How’d ye manage tha’?’

‘I ‘ave me ways… Tho’ I vaguely remember sayin’ somethin’ along th’ lines of, ‘I've crushed seventeen men's skulls b’tween me thighs! Wanna ‘ave a closer look?’ An’ I made ‘im more incline t’agree when I gave ‘im a push in th’ right direction. I can be very persistent when I need ta get what I want,’ she smirked, amusement glistening in her eyes.

Jack didn’t know whether he should take that seriously and assumed she was lying, but there was something in her eyes made him uncertain…

‘So ‘ow ‘bout it, Capt’n?’

‘‘Ow ‘bout wha’ tart?’ He said, deeply amazed and confused by the things she had just said.

‘Do we give ‘im a nice farewell gift, or would ye rather we take a nice farewell gift? An’ th’ name’s just too perfect…’

‘Wha’ name?’ he said, now slightly agitated since she couldn’t just tell him what she meant and let him get back to looking for a proper ship for them to take out of this retched place. When she didn’t answer, he followed her gaze and found the HMS Liberty slightly swaying in the waterfront. It was a ship similar to the HMS Interceptor that he had… borrowed years prior, only smaller. Just by studying the ship’s structure for a few moments, he could tell she was fast. Not as fast as his Pearl, but it would have to do. In fact, he thought, it would do very nicely indeed.

He considered the idea as he stroked his moustache, ‘Alright Duville, let’s do it,’ he said, while he grabbed her hand and began to drag her towards the docks.

‘What? Ye mean righ’ ‘ere an’ now Sparrow?’ Devon asked mockingly with raised eyebrows. ‘Now as temptin’ as tha’ sounds, dear Capt’n, we don’t ‘ave any o’ our precious time ta waste on givin’ in ta these dirty urges o’ yers. We’ve got a ship ta commandeer after all.’

Jack rolled his eyes at the frolics of the cocky woman in front of him and proceeded to pull her along towards the docks where the HMS Liberty was on the verge of sailing off without them. She unleashed Bullet and instantly made to stroll up the gangplank. Jack stopped her mid-stride and attempted to yank her back by a strap of leather on the back of her vest. ‘Are ye daft, woman?’

‘Seems tha’ way. ‘Sides, I be jus’ as daft as ye! Now come on!’ she snapped over her shoulder while she drew both her pistols.

Jack shook his head good-naturedly but jumped on board after the vixen nonetheless, with Bullet following closely behind the pair. As if by instinct, Jack pulled his hat further down over his eyes so that it would shade his face a little and drew his pistols. While Gillette was on the poopdeck shouting orders to his men, the pirate duo crept stealthily aboard and hid behind several barrels on the maindeck. The duo had not even gotten settled behind the barrels when the gangplank was pulled in and the anchor was lifted. Devon couldn’t help but think why exactly it was that none of the naval officers had noticed them by now. In the end she gave up trying to understand and just blamed it on their stupidity. Just as she was about to confront Jack with the question, the devil simply stood up and began making his way towards the redcoats. This left Devon with no other choice than to cover his back, which, all in all, wasn’t a very horrible task, considering the fact that she had quite a view. Focus on yer opponent, Dee, not on th’ pirate booty.

‘Ev’ry body stay calm, we are takin’ over th’ ship!’ Jack shouted in his deep melodic voice.

Once again, Gillette found himself staring in the barrel of Jack Sparrow’s gun after hearing this particular threat for the second time. Only this time he wasn’t accompanied by an inexperienced pirate-blacksmith, who shouted ‘Avast!’ afterwards, but a very crafty female that currently stood beside his old enemy.

‘It’s you two!’ Gillette snarled and all the men on deck stared in their direction.

‘Aye, us two. Now why don’t ye be a good lil’ Lieutenant an’ go fer a nice lil’ swim Gillesy,’ Devon purred, while she unlocked the safety one pistol at a time. The sound of the clicks could be heard all over the ship, because it seemed that all of the lobsters had gone and lost their tongues.

After a brief silence, Gillette spoke up. ‘This ship is too big for two men to sail, let alone a man and a woman. You two won’t be going anywhere but back to the noose.’

Jack stepped closer and raised his gun to point directly at the tip of the Lieutenant’s nose ‘We beg ta differ, Gillesyboy.’ And with one swift movement he kicked Gillette’s legs from under him. And Gillette fell down, very ungraciously. The other men ran forward, drawing their rifles on the two pirates.

Devon’s blue eyes gleamed as she glanced over at her partner. ‘Look, Sparrow, th’ toy soldiers wanna play…’

One of the men fired a shot at Devon and she had been caught off guard, but at least Jack had enough sense to shove her out of the line of fire. Damnit, tha’ was close, she thought.

Devon looked at her dog and smiled quite wickedly, ‘Go fetch, darling.’ Then she glanced at Jack, her smile softening a bit as she whispered a silent “thank you”. He smiled in return.

Bullet groaned viciously and its white fangs glistened in the midday sun. And before the officer who shot at Devon could blink his grey eyes, Bullet had his fangs fixed into his buttocks.

‘Ye know what they say ‘bout bulldogs, right?’ Devon drawled, immediately back in her element as he yelped in pain. ‘When they attack…’ she paused for a moment, tapping her index finger on her chin, ‘they ne’er let go.’

The man’s eyes seemed to pop out of his skull while he whimpered at the comment and from the pain. Devon’s throaty laugh filled the air. ‘Get it off of me!! Get it off I tell ye!!!’

Devon grinned wickedly, ‘Sorry mate, no can do.’

During the spectacle, Jack had managed to disarm Gillette and now he raised his voice.

‘Look ‘ere, there now is eleven o’ ye left. The Dragon Lady ‘ere can surely take out five men, an’ I can take six –’ he heard Devon clear her throat and rectified the statement quickly, ‘– or she can take six an’ I can take five. But tha’ don’t matter, ‘cause th’ point is tha’ ye can either abandon this vessel by yer own free will, or ye can stay an’ end up as Duville’s loveslave.’

Again a throaty laugh caught the wind. ‘Thought we wanted ‘em off th’ damn ship, Captain, not make ‘em eager ta stay,’ Devon stated, while she stepped over the crippled form of Gillette.

‘Dear ladies, wha’ th’ Captain here be tryin’ ta say is this: this is where our ways part. We can do this th’ easy way, or ye can make us do it th’ ‘ard way. Your choice – would ye rather be dead or wet?’ she queried as she mocked a weighing scale with one gun in each hand. ‘It be yer call, mates.’

Jack smirked while he glanced at the bulldog that still hung from one of the men’s backside. Hmmm, maybe it can be handy ta ‘ave a dog ‘round…

The lobsters glanced back at the two pirates and then talked over the threat amongst themselves in hushed tones. Jack took the opportunity to join Devon on the other side of the deck, which just happened to be a perfect spot to listen in on the lobsters’ conversation from.

One of the men spoke to his mates, ‘She’s the best shot in the whole Spanish Main, I heard the Commodore say so myself,’ while he glanced over in the direction of the mad piratess. When she gave him a deadly glare, and raised one of her silver pistols just another inch, he immediately dropped his weapon.

Devon grinned. ‘This is true, very true in fact. But ye seem ta be fergettin’ ‘bout me partner in crime, Captain Jack Sparrow. He be th’ best swordfighter alive,’ and with that she winked at Jack. Reputations are SO bloody convenient sometimes…

With that the remaining rifles fell down on the spotless wood of the maindeck. Jack then approached Gillette, hoisted him over his shoulder and simply tossed him overboard.

Devon grinned and hollered, ‘Go Fetch!’ to the other men. When Bullet released its fangs from the flesh they were digging in and ran over to the railing, the poor man that he was attached to whimpered again in relief but nearly screamed when Devon came towards him. But it turned out that he didn’t need to carry on since she was merely rushing after Bullet to keep him from going after Gillette, and pulled him back by the collar.

She shook her head, ‘Not you luv, mommy meant th’ other dogs.’

While Gillette shouted for help, the other men didn’t move a muscle to follow their superior into the cool water.

Jack sighed and glanced over to Devon, she returned his gaze and again, that one look was enough for Devon to know what he was asking her.

‘Ladies, th’ Capt’n ‘ere be feelin’ a bit suffocated by th’ vast amount o’ red on this ‘ere deck. Now what I’m gonna do is count ta ten an’ then I’m gonna pull me trigger here. No – wait, I fergot tha’ I can’t count ta ten! Guess I’m too stupid fer tha’… I can, however, count ta one…’ and with that she shot a perfect hole in one of the officer’s hats. The man’s face grew as pale as a sheet. It took him a moment to register that a bullet just a hair’s breath away from his head and once he did he shouted from shock and jumped overboard, the same thing his hat had obviously done a second prior to its owner’s jump. Devon’s laughter rang out over the ship and the sound reminded Jack of brass bells. She stepped forward, and the men, who hadn’t moved an inch since their one-sided conversation, shuffled backwards. ‘Oops!’ Devon stated innocently while she batted her lashes, ‘It appears tha’ me finger slipped! Silly me, now where was I?’ she looked at Jack.

Jack winked at her and said, ‘One, luv.’

‘Ah yes… one…’ and she pulled the trigger of her favourite silver pistol and fired an other shot, this one whizzed directly past a white wig before the man wearing the wig, flew overboard as well.

One man appeared to have gotten his tongue and spine back and whispered, ‘She missed!’ relief showing evidently on his face.

‘She did not miss. She never misses unless it be on purpose. She was jus’ warning ye, ye lit’le twit. Now, please jump off, before she’ll be forced ta shoot ye next time.’ Devon stated, tucking one pistol between her thighs and swiftly reloading the other.

‘Hmmm, ye be bold lil’ ladies, aye? So I guess tha’ means yer not at all intimidated by me?’ Devon said slowly while she strolled along the row of men.

None of them spoke, the only thing they did was glance at each other and wonder what she would try next.

She turned and winked at Sparrow, who watched the show that was going on with a devilish smirk. She was rash, she was bold, she was witty and she was daring. In an odd way, she was so much like him. Besides that, there really was no need for him to interfere this time, since she seemed to be managing just fine with him watching her from the background.

Devon placed her hands on her hips, giving the men one of her cockiest smiles, while she spread her legs a bit, ‘I like tough men,’ she said while she licked her lips.

She slowly walked up to one of the officers, pressed her body against his, held the barrel of one of her guns under his chin and stated, ‘An’ I really like you. Pants down! Now!’

‘W-w-what?’ he stuttered.

‘Pants down. Now!’

‘B-b-but why?’

‘Come on now mate, in order fer me ta ‘ave my filthy way wit’ ye, ye ought ta loose th’ pants,’ she quipped, clearly amused by the confusion she had caused.

His eyes seemed to grow wider and wider with every word she spoke and he looked at Sparrow.

Duville followed his gaze and snorted. ‘Ah, don’t mind th’ Capt’n, lad. ‘E won’t be offended… jealous maybe…’ Jack snorted loudly. ‘As I said, jealous maybe, but ‘e won’t be offended… now loose them breeches laddie an’ let me work me magic,’ she licked her lips and eyed him.

She stepped even closer to the redcoat and she tucked her barkers away for a moment. She quickly took out her small dagger and cut through the fabric of his breeches, revealing a part of his white knickers.

‘Now that’s rather disappointin’ mate,’ she said while she looked down, ‘Most men I meet can’t wait ta bed me, an’ here ye ‘ave th’ chance an’ yet ye let me down, quite literally as well……’ she shook her head in mock displeasure and gave a dramatic sigh.

Devon pressed the tip of her knife slightly in the gap she had created and the man bit his lip, while his eyes began to water from the pressure of the knife. All the men watched in horror as a tiny stain of crimson started to form where the silver tip was pressing on the man’s white undergarment, but when a yellowish fluid started to drip down onto the main deck Jack Sparrow just couldn’t contain his laughter.

Devon looked at the navy officer in front of her, while she allowed her eyes to travel all over his attire. ‘Quite the stallion, eh? Maybe I should just slash it off, since it seems tha’ ye don’t know ‘ow ta woo a lady wit’ it anyhow.’

That was the last thing she needed to say as one by one the men jumped overboard, swimming to safety.

Risking the shark bites and jellyfish stings was less scary in their opinion than being around Devon Duville at that moment.

When the last one fled she tucked her knife back in her belt, before she went to adjust some of the ropes on the sails. The Caribbean wind tugged at the crisp white sails above her and they were on their way. Dee made her way over to the railing and glanced over, seeing red spots swimming to shore, she sighed, ‘They’re really not much fun.’

tbc