𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 into a large, elegant cabin. immediately, bella's gaze turned ice cold as she stared at beckett.

jack started going through the jars and small boxes in the room.

"curious. your friends appear to be quite desperate. perhaps they no longer believe that a gathering of squabbling pirates can defeat the flying dutchman. and so despair leads to betrayal. but the three of us are no strangers to betrayal, are we?"

beckett turned around, impatience dripping from his voice.

"we had a deal, jack. i contracted you to deliver cargo on my behalf. you chose to liberate it."

bella bit her tongue to keep from arguing this, but jack did for her. "people aren't cargo, mate."

"but you incurred a heavy debt for it, didn't you?" beckett's smug grin began to spread. "it's not here, jack."

"what?" he asked innocently. "what isn't?"

"the heart of davy jones," beckett clarified. "it's safely aboard the dutchman, and so unavailable for use as leverage to satisfy your debt to the good captain."

"in my humble opinion, that account has been settled," bella chimed in.

"by his death?" beckett asked her. then his glare narrowed in on jack. "and yet, here you are."

"close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. that's how i get by," jack replied.

"your good deed cost me, jack," beckett said, again referring to jack's liberation of the enslaved people aboard the wicked wench.

"and you have spared me any possibility of ending up as anything other than what i am," jack answered. "and for that, i truly thank you."

"now, what if davy jones were to learn of your survival?" beckett asked. he moved to his desk and began pouring out drinks. "perhaps you would consider an alternative arrangement. one that requires absolutely nothing from you but information."

bella glanced at the pieces of eight on beckett's desk. "regarding the brethren court, no doubt?" she grabbed one of the drinks and gulped it. "well, only in exchange for fair payment..."

jack downed a drink. "square my debt with jones..." he grabbed the other one that beckett was about to drink. "guarantee my freedom."

"of course," he said. "it's just good business."

"still your favorite line, huh?" bella muttered. beckett looked at her with slimy desire. jack grabbed bella's hand protectively, but she merely shook it off. "were we in a divulgatory mood... what then might we divulge?"

"everything," he said, leaning towards her and lowering his voice to a whisper. "where are they meeting? who are the pirate lords? what is the purpose of the nine pieces of eight?"

"i think we'd prefer to maintain our monopoly on those answers," bella replied, getting dangerously close to beckett's face. "it's just good business, isn't it?"

"you haven't changed," beckett raised his eyebrows. "the opposite of a respectful young lady."

"i've always loved the idea of not being what people expect me to be," bella replied, softly yet strongly.

beckett looked at her thoughtfully. "in that case . . . i hope you both enjoy the gallows."

"i've been!" jack said, finally pulling bella away from beckett. "once you've taken in the view, there's really not much else to it."

bella smirked.

jack continued. "now, far be it for me to give advice to you. but if i were me, and you were you, we'd each have the same lack of trust in the other. imagine you're me. you being me would propose that rather than you telling me, being you, where the brethren court is meeting, you'd lead me there instead. whereupon, you could serve up to me the pirate lords, the nine pieces of eight, and the whole of the brethren court on a silver platter. and you being me, i would likely accept such an offer if i were you. savvy?"

"on a silver platter?" beckett repeated.

"with a frilly linen napkin," smiled bella sweetly.

bella stepped away from him and learned against the table with all the tiny boats. jack followed, but walked to the other side of the cabin. he picked up a fan.

"you can keep barbossa, the belligerent homunculus and his friend with the wooden eye, both... and turner. especially turner," bella nodded in agreement. "the rest go with me aboard the pearl, and i will lead you to shipwreck cove, where i will hand you the pirates on a silver player, and you will not hand me to jones. bloody fair deal, don't you think?" jack proposed.

beckett thought this over for a moment. "and what becomes of miss stevens?" he lightly gestured to her.

jack flexed his jaw, and glanced at bella. she looked back at him, then glared at beckett. "what interest is she to you?"

beckett didn't respond, which answered the question. "jack, i've just recalled!" he said instead. "i have this wonderful compass which points to whatever i want. so for what do i need you?" beckett grabbed jack's compass from a table.

"it points to what you want most, and that's not the brethren court, is it?" bella interrupted.

"then what is?"

"me... dead," jack said.

"damn," beckett muttered. he tossed the compass back, and jack threw him the fan.

"although, if i kill you, then i can use the compass to find... shipwreck cove, is it? on my own," beckett pulled out a small pistol and pointed it at jack's head, much to bella's surprise. "cut out the middleman, as it were. sounds clever to me."

bella again interjected. "doesn't sound clever to me," she began. already, her fine manipulation and negotiation skills were showing. she exchanged a knowing look with jack, then placed her hand on beckett's arm and made him lower the gun.

"with jack killed, you'd arrive at shipwreck cove, find it a stronghold nearly impregnable, able to withstand blockade for years," she set the stage perfectly.

"and then you'd be wishing 'oh, if only there were someone i had not killed inside to assure that the pirates then come outside'," jack finished.

"and you can accomplish all this, can you?" beckett asked.

"you many kill me, but you may never insult me. who am i?"

beckett looked confused and shook his head.

"i'm captain jack sparrow!" jack said.

suddenly, a loud blast of a cannon knocked beckett over slightly.

"done!" jack quickly shook beckett's hand, then grabbed bella, the two of them escaping the cabin easily.

they ran out onto the deck, and jack dragged bella in the direction of a cannon. he kicked away the brace, and flipped the cannon over.

bella looked up at him with admiration. he was a genius.

jack wrapped a rope around the cannon wheel, a burning fuse lighter in hand.

"you're mad!" beckett yelled, appearing from out of his cabin.

"just enough to make him interesting!" bella responded as jack wrapped his arm tightly around her waist.

"and thank goodness for that, because if i wasn't, this'd probably never work," he finished, lighting the cannon. it fired, and the cannonball hit the main mast.

bella hung onto jack trustingly as the rope pulled them up and out.

they landed safely aboard the pearl.

"and that was without even a single drop of rum," jack smiled at the crew. he helped bella down from the statue they had landed on. then, he saw will, and without missing a beat, said: "send this pestilent traitorous cowhearted yeasty codpiece to the brig."

a/n

big things coming :)

lmao my wattpad editor is glitching today & not letting me put an image at the very top of a chapter . . . but i have a zoom in 3 minutes so i didn't have time to fix it.

ok i just wanted to say THANK YOU for 20k reads. this can't be real. i love you. you're the kindest, sweetest people alive.

i'll see you friday w a new chapter!!

sarah