Treasure

Will stared apprehensively at the black waters surrounding the lifeboat that he and Jack shared. The waves buffeting their small craft were the very same shade they had been on the night that his mother had lost her life.

He glanced longingly at the safety of the Dauntless just as Gibbs leaned over the railing to yell, “Captain, what if the worst should happen?”

“Keep to the code,” Jack yelled back, handing the lantern he carried to Will and taking up the oars.

“Code?” Will questioned as Jack rowed their lifeboat into a narrow cavern, leading them deep into the heart of the Isla de Muerta.

“The pirate’s code,” Jack answered. “Any man that falls behind, gets left behind.”

“No heroes among thieves, eh?” Will responded.

“A pirate’s gotta look out for himself, mate,” Jack said, setting the oars aside and letting the current of the water slowly carry them the rest of the way.

“Ye know,” Jack remarked as they landed on solid ground, “for someone who hates pirates so much, yer well on yer way to becomin’ one. After all, ye break a man out of jail, help commandeer a ship, and yer completely obsessed with treasure.”

Jack started off at a quick pace in the direction of the many voices they could hear distantly echoing off the cavern walls. Sprinting to keep up, Will said sharply, “I am not obsessed with treasure!”

Jack whirled around to face him so suddenly that Will practically ran into him. “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate,” Jack said before grabbing Will and pulling him into a rough, passionate kiss that left Will quite breathless and burning from the inside out.

Peering over a large rock, Will could see Captain Barbossa and Elizabeth standing in the middle of a large mob of pirates. Barbossa was saying something about a blood sacrifice needing to be paid by the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner.

It was then that Will understood fully what Jack had meant about himself being ‘leverage.’ Again, Will felt the bitter hurt and anger wash over him with the knowledge that Jack was about to betray him, and somehow, after that breathtaking kiss they had just shared, it hurt even worse than that night in the tavern.

Breaking out of his reverie, Will realized that he had to act fast before Jack gave him away. Taking a nearby scrap of wood, he hit Jack, whose back was to him, just hard enough to render him unconscious.

He knelt beside Jack quickly to make sure he was alright, and sighed in relief when he saw that Jack’s breathing was steady.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Will whispered, turning his attention back to the swarms of pirates before him. As he watched, he tried to tell himself that he had done the right thing.

'But if I was right in my actions,' Will thought sadly, then why do I feel so horrible?

* * *

Elizabeth winced in pain as Will carefully bandaged her stinging palm where Barbossa had sliced it. She had been quite startled when she had first realized that pirates were captaining the Dauntless, but for now, she was just glad to be safe.

“Will?” she ventured at last. “When you told Mr. Gibbs that Jack had fallen behind, did you mean Jack Sparrow?”

“Yes,” Will nodded. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to reach you in time.” He quickly recounted all that had transpired, being careful not to mention the bargain he had made with Jack.

“That’s awful!” Elizabeth exclaimed when he had finished. “I can’t believe that such a vile person exists!”

“He isn’t vile,” Will said immediately. “He’s just…” He trailed off, trying to figure out exactly where he had been going with this.

“Will,” Elizabeth said, “the man would have handed you over to Barbossa without a second thought. Why are you defending him?”

“I…I don’t know,” Will faltered, trying to make sense of his emotions.

* * *
“Ye’d better be tellin’ me the truth, Sparrow,” Barbossa growled, standing next to Jack on the deck of the Pearl.

Jack didn’t respond; he just rubbed his head delicately where a large knot was starting to form. “Honestly,” he grumbled. “What is it with blacksmiths and hittin’ me over the head?”

* * *

“Once again, Jack, I seem to have won,” Barbossa crowed gleefully as his crewmembers bound Will up tightly.

“It would appear that way,” Jack muttered as they shoved Will roughly next to him.

“Now, Mr. Turner,” Barbossa continued. “We have just one more stop to make before we reach the Isla de Muerta. Can ye guess what that might be?”

As he spoke, Barbossa jerked his head, indicating for his crewmen to take Jack’s crew below deck. They did so, leaving only Will, Elizabeth, and Jack on deck.

“Watch the prisoners,” Barbossa told two of his crewmen, “and keep ‘em quiet until we reach our destination.” He glanced pointedly at Jack as he made his last remark. Jack merely glared in reply.

“Come here, poppet,” one of the men cried, grabbing Elizabeth roughly and dragging her over to sit between himself and his companion. “Now then, don’t ye dare think of pullin’ no tricks like ye did last time.”

“Elizabeth!” Will shouted, straining against the ropes that bound him to the mast next to Jack.

“Hush,” Jack hissed at him under his breath. “Be quiet. Ye’ll only make things worse.”

They remained silent for a few minutes, staring straight ahead, not looking at one another. Finally Jack spoke, still not looking at Will.

“Now, perhaps ye’ll tell me why ye felt the need to strike me back there.”

Will looked angrily at Jack. “You know bloody well why,” he said quietly. “If you had given me up to Barbossa then, Elizabeth might be dead right now.”

“What are ye talkin’ about?” Jack said, finally locking eyes with Will. “Who put that idea into yer head?”

“You did.” Will had to struggle to keep his voice low. “I heard you and Gibbs talking that night in Tortuga. I’ll not be your leverage, Jack.”
Jack winced as Will spoke. “Ye heard that? Listen, Will, I was just sayin’ that so Gibbs would help me gather a crew. I would never have turned ye over to Barbossa.”

“Oh, really?” Will said sarcastically. “And I suppose you had no intention of trying to take the Pearl back, either?”

Jack sighed deeply. “Alright, so I was hopin’ that I’d get meself a chance to take me ship back, but I never would have betrayed ye in the process.” Jack saw that Will was no longer looking at him, preferring instead to stare down at his shoes.

“Will, look at me.” Slowly, Will raised his eyes to meet Jack’s sincere gaze. “I would never have betrayed ye,” Jack repeated.

Will let out a shaky breath and stared out at the blue sea. “I want to believe you, Jack,” he started, “but I just don’t know that I can.”

“Now look here, Mr. Turner,” Jack whispered. “I may be a filthy pirate, but there’s one thing that rings true for all pirates. Once we obtain our treasure, we don’t give it up t’ anyone.”

Will’s head snapped around to look at him, his eyes searching Jack’s face, trying to discover the meaning in those words.

“Here we are!” Barbossa announced as the ship neared a tiny island. “Mr. Sparrow, Miss Swan, this is where ye’ll be gettin’ off. Oh, and Jack,” Barbossa turned to him, sneering. “If ye’ll notice, this is the same little island we made ye king of the last time. Let’s see if ye can pull yet another of yer conjuring tricks.”

Jack let out a growl low in his throat as they cut Elizabeth’s ropes and shoved her roughly to the plank. She glanced desperately back toward Will before the pirates swarmed around her, eager to watch her drop to the blue waters below.

“Jack,” Will said urgently. “Whatever happens, you will take care of Elizabeth, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Jack murmured distractedly, gazing out at the little island with apprehension.

“Jack,” Will said, worried that Jack wasn’t paying attention. “Promise me.”

Jack turned those dark eyes to him and leaned his face so close to Will’s that he could feel his warm breath. Jack softly whispered, “Will, have I ever given ye reason not to trust me?”