Chapter Three

Arising Complications

Katrina was running on adrenaline and found that she was wide awake throughout the rest of the early morning hours. Because she felt so excited, she couldn’t stay in one spot for long. She remedied this by spending the time she should have used for sleeping in as many different positions as possible in her cell, though she kept as much distance between her and Jack as possible. However, he hadn’t bothered her once since they reached their agreement, keeping completely to himself.

Though there were times when Katrina was quite convinced that he had as much company as he needed. As she tried to sort out the numerous ideas flooding her mind, she caught catches of random conversations spoken between Jack… and himself. The first time it happened, she thought she was hearing things.

“But what shall we use for leverage?”

“Well, you got us into this mess, so you find a way out – what do you think?”

“Excuse me?” Katrina said, spinning around.

Jack’s head popped up and he stared at her, surprised. “What?”

Katrina frowned. “Were you saying something?”

Jack paused. He crossed his legs and stood up. “Are you imagining something, love?”

Katrina’s eyes narrowed. “Um… no?”

“Then go ahead and use your imagination,” he said, bowing extravagantly and sitting back down.

Katrina attempted to wonder what that comment possibly meant, but it ended up giving her a headache, so she let it drop.

When dawn broke and the thundering footsteps of the crew could be heard overhead, along with the slightly muffled orders of Barbossa, there were three things that continued to run through Katrina’s mind. The first was how to break out of the cell. Neither she nor Jack had tried to figure something out in the long early morning hours and their agreement – upon reflection – had been based solely on the fact that she thought that Jack knew his ship well enough to find a way out of the brig, while he seemed to think that she would think of something. So far, Katrina’s couldn’t think of anything, even though she had been puzzling about it for hours.

The second was what she was doing on this ship in the first place. It had seemed like a good idea when she was still working at the Three Black Cats, but now she wasn’t so sure if she should have left. Perhaps things weren’t quite as bad as she thought back home, even if her pick-pocketing career was going to land her in disaster at some point. Yet, she had been surprised that her plan had gone so smoothly. Katrina had never fully worked out a plan before this “escape from Nassau”. She usually ran on half-worked plans and improvised where necessary. Tonight, she had technically succeeded in fulfilling every aspect of her plan, except that she had overlooked the outcome of some of her actions. She had never expected to land in the brig. She had expected to land on the ship and either become a stowaway until it reached the next port, or strike a bargain with the captain.

Which she had done – sort of.

If Jack was telling the truth, that was.

That led her to the third point she was puzzling over. Where did Jack fit in the picture? He had said he could help her find her father if she helped him sail his ship. What did that entail and why should he trust her? From what she knew of pirates, they would easily stab a friend in the back if the price was right. Jack was a strange man, from what she could tell, yet there seemed to be some sort of intelligence behind all of the absurdity. And he was dangerous – that much, she knew. Perhaps it was easy to catch him off his guard with a paddle or if you were backed by a dozen crewmembers, but from the brash, confident way he had spoken to Barbossa, Katrina thought that he was someone who rarely backed down to anyone.

And that meant that he was dangerous.

Perhaps Jack did know of her father. He was a pirate, after all, and Katrina did have a name to go by – or rather, a last name. Her father was a captain who sailed somewhere in these waters, and there was some probability that Jack had met him once. She had been cautious at first, not wanting to reveal the name to Jack in case there was some feud between him and her father, but now that they had an agreement, she would have to tell him.

“Stop that!” an infuriated voice suddenly said.

Katrina stopped pacing and turned to Jack, one eyebrow raised. “You’re one to talk,” she bit out. “Stop talking to yourself.”

He gave her an unreadable look. “That has nothing to do it with, missy,” he answered.

“Yes it does!” Katrina exclaimed, irritable now. “I can’t help pacing, I’m thinking! Here’s another deal –” She dropped down on one knee so they were on the same level. “—you don’t talk, I won’t walk. How about it?”

He paused, his eyes narrowing.

“That’s a terrible deal,” he said, standing up. “Methinks you need some bargaining lessons.”

Katrina stood up, too. “Right,” she said huffily. “Go away.” She spun around on her heel and strode back towards the edges of the cell, clutching the bars with her fingers. She heard Jack start to approach her and lashed out at the water pointedly. He jumped back to avoid getting hit by the spray of water.

“If you’re attempting to find a way to flee from our incarceratory cell,” he said after a moment, coming to stand beside her, “might I suggest a certain piece of advice that has never failed anyone who has understood its true meaning?” He leaned against the bars and grinned at her. “Half-pin barrel hinges.”

Katrina sighed and rolled her eyes. “Excuse me?”

Jack’s eyes glanced at the hinges. He patted her briefly on the shoulder. “Think like the whelp, dearie,” he said. “It’ll come to you.”

Think like the what?!

Katrina turned her head and watched him cross the cell and sit back down. He was muttering to himself again, something about a garden party. Irritably, she brushed her hair out of her eyes, raised her chin and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“HEY! YOU UP THERE!”

Jack looked up, his eyebrows raised. He saw her looking at the ceiling. “Oh, you’re not yelling at me then?”

Katrina shot him a dangerous look. “Shut up.” She turned her attentions back to the ceiling. “HEY!”

“They’re not going to hear you, love,” Jack said, adjusting one of the straps he was wearing around his wrist. When Katrina turned to retort back, she caught sight of a “P” branded on to his skin. She paused.

East India Trading Company, she thought. They had been an extremely powerful force in the Caribbean waters until about two months ago. Then something had happened – she had heard many different stories. One claimed that a fleet of pirates had destroyed half the armada. Another said that a freak hurricane had swept the flag ship to a watery grave. A third – and most unbelievable – said that the Flying Dutchman had carried the company’s ships down to Davy Jones’ locker.

Katrina shook her head. That was neither here nor now. She cleared her throat.

“HEY!” she yelled. “PIRATES!”

“Shut it, would you?” Jack snapped suddenly. “Shouting at the ceiling invariably is not going to do you any good, missy.”

Katrina turned to him. “I was just –”

“No!”

“I was trying –”

“Not happening!”

“You don’t –”

“Shut it!”

Katrina glared at him. “OKAY!” she yelled. “Stop it.” She turned her back on him as she angrily swiped at her hair – it had worked itself loose and was now a tangled mass of red tumbling over her shoulders and flying into her eyes and mouth.

“Listen, girl,” Jack said, “we’re not getting out of here until I find some form of leverage. And that’s not happening until—”

“Leverage?” Katrina interrupted.

“Do you propose some other way of releasing those bars?”

Katrina paused. “You want leverage?” She glanced at the ceiling just as they heard the thundering of passing feet above from the remaining crew. She threw an impish look at Jack. “Just watch me.” She threw her head back and hollered again. “HEY!”

As if on cue, Ragetti tumbled down the stairs into the brig. Katrina jumped in surprise and took a step back from the bars of the cell. She glanced at Jack, who had raised an eyebrow and was looking at her expectantly. He shrugged. She winked and stepped towards the bars.

“Ragetti,” she called softly, beckoning with a hand.

Behind her, Jack drew back into the shadows as much as possible, watching.

“I heard you calling,” the pirate said, rubbing his eye-patch.

Katrina nodded. “I was. I need your help.”

“My help?”

Katrina toyed with a piece of hair. “Come here,” she said. “And I’ll tell you.”

Ragetti looked confused. “I really shouldn’t be talking to prisoners,” he said, backing away.

Katrina tried to keep her irritation out of her expression. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “For kicking you before.”

“Oh?” He paused, a strange expression on his face. “No one’s said sorry to me before like that.”

“Come on, then,” Katrina continued. “Just one favour. Please? For me?” She smiled simply, one hand curling around the bars of the cell.

Ragetti stepped towards her. “What do you want?” he asked.

“I have a question,” Katrina said, inching as close to the edge of the cell as possible and thanking the constructors of this ship – whoever they were – that they had left large, square spaces between the bars. “One that Jack won’t answer and I really need to know something now that I’m part of this crew, prisoner though I am.”

“A bit unfairly, too, I wouldn’t wager,” Ragetti said as he continued to walk forwards.

Katrina raised an eyebrow. “Really? What makes you say that?”

“Well, according to standard laws,” Ragetti began to explain, “the Captain had no need to imprison you because you had committed no crimes, except perhaps trespassing on private property. However…” His voice trailed off as Katrina reached through a gap in the bars and caught hold of his arm, pulling him closer. “H-however… uh… you weren’t really trespassing because… because you were with the Captain.” He finished in a rush.

Katrina leaned forwards. “Tell me why this ship has two captains,” she murmured.

“Um… well, it’s quite a long story, I would think – perhaps it would be best if you heard it from someone like Pintel –”

“Shh,” Katrina interrupted, raising a finger to her lips. “Quiet.”

Ragetti became very still.

Katrina hated doing it, but she was experienced enough to know that the trick worked on most men and she could usually twist the results in such a way that it best benefited her. She had never tried it on a pirate, let alone on a pirate who was on the other side of a set of bars, but Ragetti was enough of a romantic that he had fallen for it without even noticing what was happening. She had placed her hand of his cheek and gently drew his face towards hers. The gap in the bars was just large enough that she could place a full kiss on his lips. She felt him tense in shock for a moment, and then he kissed her back.

Ragetti never noticed that Katrina managed to draw his pistol from his belt until she pressed it against his chest.

Katrina drew away slightly. “I know you have the keys,” she hissed, her face only centimetres away from his. She glanced up at him and saw that his one eye had widened in surprise edged with slight panic. “Unlock the door, or I’ll shoot.”

Ragetti swallowed hard. “A-all r-r-right,” he said. He reached for his sword.

“Leave the sword,” Katrina instructed, keeping the gun pointed at him. She didn’t look at Jack; she couldn’t risk any way of Ragetti finding out how useless she was with the things, even at a close range. “Get the keys out.”

Ragetti fumbled for the keys. Finally, he with drew them and stared nervously at her.

“Unlock the door.”

He shoved the key into the lock and turned it. The door sprang open. Katrina glanced at Jack and cocked her head. He stood up and followed her as she withdrew the pistol and ran out the door, keeping the gun on Ragetti.

“Take off your sword and leave it at your feet,” Katrina continued. Once Ragetti did as he was told, Katrina cocked her head in the direction of the cell. “Give me the keys and get in there.”

With a trembling hand, he passed her the keys. At gunpoint, the one-eyed pirate shuffled into the cell. Katrina shut the door and locked it before shoving the keys into a pocket of her coat. She smiled at him. “Thank you for doing business,” she said sarcastically, before turning around.

Jack was gone.

“Jack?” she said, her eyes narrowing as she looked around.

Suddenly, he appeared out of nowhere. Katrina yelped in surprise.

“I was just gathering my effects,” he said as he slung his sword belt over his shoulder. “And yours.” He tossed her her knife and pistol. Katrina caught the pistol, but missed the knife as she was still holding Ragetti’s gun. She bent and swiped it hurriedly off the floor, stowing it away in her pocket as she dashed after Jack, who was heading for the stairs leading above decks.

“Impressed?” she asked.

Jack paused and shrugged. “I’ve seen better.”

“I’d like to see you try that,” Katrina replied indignantly. “I got us that leverage you were so keen on, so take great care when insulting me.”

Jack stopped and stared at her. She ignored him and stomped past him. He frowned.

“Next time it’ll be think like the wench instead of think like the whelp,” he muttered to himself. He paused and shook his head. “Yeuch!”

Katrina sighed, exasperated. “Come on,” she snapped. “You wanted to steal your ship. Let’s go steal it before we run out of time.”

“Commandeer,” Jack corrected, sounding just as annoyed. “The word is commandeer. And we’re not commandeering it, it’s already my ship!”

He rushed after her, taking the steps in twos, and followed Katrina as she climbed out on to the upper decks. The sun was already high in the sky and very bright as there were no clouds. She looked around happily before falling over sideways as a wave crashed into the side of the ship and the resulting rocking motion knocked her off balance. Cursing under her breath, she got to her feet, trying to keep her balance.

“Not been on many ships then, eh, missy?” Jack commented as he watched her.

Katrina scowled at him. “Right then,” she said. “Now what?”

“Now you go back to the brig where the Captain put ye,” a pirate said.

Katrina sighed and turned around, seeing the pistol pointed at her before the pirate holding it. Her eyes narrowed. “Pintel, is it?” she asked. “You might want to know,” she said, stepping towards him, though she kept a close eye on the pistol, “that your friend Ragetti, a very gullible fool, is currently locked in the brig. Shouldn’t you go join him?”

Pintel scowled at her. “It’d be good for you to remember your place, poppet, and that I wouldn’t be scared to shoot you between the eyes right now!”

“Really,” Katrina said sarcastically. “What a wonder.” She stepped past Pintel and looked at the rest of the crew who had followed Pintel. They were a mismatched bunch – a man with a parrot on his shoulder, a bald midget and two men who looked as though they were trying to fit the picture of traditional pirates. She raised a hand and tapped her fingers on her chin. “I wonder,” she continued, “would any of these fine gentlemen sit well with shooting a woman such as myself?”

Pintel’s expression became confused and he glanced at the others.

Jack raised a hand.

“If I might –”

“I would!” Pintel said, having not heard Jack at all.

Katrina hadn’t, either. “Would you, now? Want to bet?”

“How much?”

Katrina paused. “Five doubloons.”

“Five?!” Pintel exclaimed. “You’re out of your mind.”

“What? Think I’m not worth it?” Katrina arched an eyebrow.

“Try me,” Pintel countered.

“Can I just—?” Jack tried to say, but no one was paying attention.

Katrina raised her chin and gave Pintel a challenging look.

He waved his pistol threatingly in her face. “One.”

“Four.”

“Two.

“Three and a half.”

“AYE!” Jack shouted, waving his arms and stepping between Katrina and Pintel and pushing the pistol aside. “Shut it, both of you,” he ordered. “This is my ship and there will be no shooting of crewmembers by other crewmembers unless there is good reason for it.”

“But I am worth three and a half doubloons, at least!” Katrina exclaimed.

“Katrina,” Jack started, but paused. He looked as though he was going to say something and then changed direction. “Stop.”

“Of course, Captain,” Katrina said, crossing her arms. She tilted her head. “So how much do you think I’m worth?”

Jack made an undistinguishable sound and waved a hand in her face before turning to the five crewmembers Barbossa had left behind on the ship.

“Right,” he began. “I am now captain of a ship. And being captain of a ship, I am going to offer you all a bargain. I need a crew. You need a ship to sail on, as I have a feeling Proprietary Rogers is not in a very good mood after a little girl raided his strong room.”

The five pirates glanced at Katrina. She shrugged.

“You can either stay onboard and be part of me crew,” Jack continued, “or you can try your fortunes out there—” he pointed his thumb in the direction of the harbour – “and see how far you can get. Being pirates and all, I rather doubt you’ll get very far. Gentlemen,” he finished, “where do your allegiances lie?”

The pirates glanced at each other and shrugged.

“That’s what I thought,” Jack said. “Prepare to make sail!”

The five pirates dispersed across the ship. Katrina watched as they prepared it to leave and felt a wave of excitement. She was finally leaving Nassau. Smiling, she turned to Jack, who had taken a compass off his belt and flicked it open. He was staring at it with an odd expression on his face.

“What?” Katrina asked.

Jack snapped the compass closed. “We’re going to Tortuga.”

Katrina blinked. Tortuga was a pirate’s town. “Do you think I’ll find my father there?”

Jack paused. “Lass,” he said, “there comes a time when one must stop thinking about oneself. No, we aren’t going to bloody Tortuga to find your bloody father. We’re going to Tortuga because I say we’re going to Tortuga – savvy?”

Katrina frowned. “We had a bargain,” she said coldly.

“A bargain works two ways, love,” Jack answered. “You do your bit, I do mine and then we’re square. You haven’t done your bit yet.” He turned and sauntered off towards the helm.

Katrina stared at him, opening her mouth to say something rather pointed, but then decided against it. She turned and stalked away angrily. She passed by Pintel, who had gone down to the brig to rescue Ragetti. They were both scowling at her as Pintel harangued Ragetti for allowing himself to get caught by Katrina.

“You idiot,” Pintel was saying. “Why do you think it is that we always say women onboard are bad luck?”

“Because they don’t know how to sail and they get in the way?” Ragetti ventured.

“No!” Pintel said sharply. “A woman onboard will deceive you and trick you, just like that one did.”

“She’s pretty though,” Ragetti said.

“That’s even worse. She ain’t pretty, not from where I’m standing.”

“Could do without the red hair, though.”

“Hey!” Katrina spun around and glared at them. “What were you saying about my hair?” she snapped.

“It’s very fine hair—” Ragetti began, but stopped when Pintel slapped him.

“Well, you’ve already managed to do no good on this ship, poppet,” Pintel said. “Always trouble on board a ship, a woman is –” He broke off suddenly as Ragetti interrupted.

“Black cat!” he exclaimed, pointing. “That’s good luck! Here, kitty!”

Katrina watched in amazement as Ragetti and Pintel donned identical devilish grins and began chasing after Calico, who had dashed across the deck. She threw her hands up in the air – whether she liked it o not, she was just going to have to get used to the pirates’ strange behaviours.

Calico led Pintel and Ragetti on a mad caper across the Black Pearl as the ship made it out of the harbour and into open sea. Katrina, with a limited knowledge of ships and how they functioned, stayed out of the way of the small crew as they went about their chores to make sure all was in working order. Instead, she folded her hands and placed them on the railing of the ship, watching the ocean waves crash against the sides of the ship.

The spray of the sea felt nice on her face and for once she was glad that she had let her hair down. Though it was becoming tangled in the wind, it was rather fun to have it flying out behind her as the ship moved forwards at a fast pace, quickly leaving Nassau behind them. Jack was at the helm, every so often glancing at his compass, frowning at it and then bashing it against the wheel. Katrina found this set of actions rather odd, but she was beginning to find that she couldn’t expect less from Jack.

Eventually, Calico came running back towards her and skidded to a stop, nuzzling the side of her leg before batting at it playfully. Katrina dropped to one knee to scratch his head, but the black cat slipped by her and ran towards the stairs. Katrina attempted to catch him by the tail, but her fingers closed on thin air. Scrambling to her feet, she dodged Pintel and Ragetti as they went flying by her, and chased Calico up the stairs. She arrived just in time to find him sitting at Jack’s feet, cautiously inspecting on of his boots.

When Jack finally noticed the cat, he looked down at it and shook his boot free from its claws. Calico hissed and flattened his ears. Jack made a waving motion with his hands.

“Good kitty,” he said. “Shoo!”

Calico hissed and raised a paw, extending his claws.

Jack stepped backwards, taking out his pistol and pointing it at the cat.

“Leave my cat alone,” Katrina said, stepping forwards.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so it’s your cat, is it?”

“It’s a ‘he’, not an ‘it,’” Katrina said coldly. “His name is Calico.”

Jack frowned. “Why name him that?” he asked. “He’s black.”

Katrina rolled her eyes. “Never mind why. I thought it was a good name when I was fourteen and now he won’t respond to anything else.”

Calico meowed.

Jack glared down at him. “Go away,” he said.

Calico hissed.

“I want to know why we’re going to Tortuga, Jack,” Katrina said as she watched him trying to shoo the cat away.

Jack gave up on the cat and looked at her. “I’m Captain,” he said.

“That’s not a reason,” Katrina countered.

“There has to be a reason?” Jack shot back.

Katrina’s eyes flattened. “Without reason, there is no purpose,” she said. “Even if you don’t know what the reason is for doing something, it’s still there. Very rarely do we do something without cause.”

Jack made another undistinguishable noise and looked at his compass again. He glanced at Katrina and then back at the compass and shut it.

“There’s a likely chance your father will either be in Tortuga or will have recently been there, girl,” he said, looking away from her and out at the sea. “If he’s still alive, that is. However, even if he is there, don’t count on me wasting me time looking for him. That’s something you’ll have to do all on your lonesome, love. I’m a Captain and I have business in Tortuga to take care of.”

Katrina shook her head. “Sure, blame everything on being a Captain,” she said. She tapped her fingers on the wheel and leaned into his field of vision. He seemed to be trying not to look at her, for some reason. “Captain or not,” she said, “you made a bargain with me. You wouldn’t be standing her commanding your ship if it hadn’t been for me. I got us out. It’s your turn.”

“I’m doing you a favour by allowing you on me ship and sailing you to Tortuga,” Jack replied, looking away from her. “Can’t do no more than that.”

“So you’re going to drag me along while you sort out your own troubles?” Katrina huffed.

“Complain again and I’ll lock you in the brig, girl,” Jack snapped, finally looking at her. “And make no mistake, your little trick won’t work on any of us.”

Katrina rolled her eyes. “You’re the most useless pirate I’ve ever seen,” she said as insultingly as she could manage. “You can’t even sort out your own troubles, and so you use other people to help you out and then you go and turn your back on them! You’re even more worthless than the thieves living in the city.”

“Lass,” Jack said, “I’m a pirate. Rule number one: you don’t play by the rules.”

Katrina arched an eyebrow. “Does that include that rule?”

Jack opened his mouth and stopped, uncertain of what to say.

Katrina looked at him pointedly.

Jack recovered quickly. “Love, there are only guidelines in our rulebook,” he said. “And there are always exceptions – and I use ‘em all. After all,” he added, stepping backwards and making a grand gesture, “who am I?”

Katrina shrugged. “The worst pirate in the Caribbean?” she suggested.

Jack’s expression fell. “No,” he said. “I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.”

Katrina froze. She felt as though her heart had leapt into her throat. She stepped backwards, her eyes wide, staring at him in shock.

Evidently that wasn’t the reaction Jack usually expected, as he shot her a strange look. Yet, Katrina knew that she was in an entirely different boat from most people. Well – from everyone else.

It took her a moment to regain the confidence needed to get her vocal cords working, and even then things didn’t come out quite right.

“Sparrow?” she spluttered. “Captain Sparrow?!”

He looked at her as if to say, “isn’t it obvious?”

Katrina raised a hand to her mouth and stepped sideways as she tried to contain the manic laugh bubbling up inside her. Jack was still regarding her strangely when she suddenly burst out laughing and stared up at him.

“What?” He didn’t sound impressed.

Katrina, who was doubled over with laughter, attempting to gain control by straightening up, but to minor success. The corners of her lips were still twitching. “My mother is such a liar!” she crowed. “You’re not dashing at all!”

Jack blinked. “What?”

“She always said that you were the most dashing man she ever met,” Katrina added.

“What?!”

Katrina’s eyes narrowed and moved to his wrist, where she could just see the tip of the “P” branded into his skin.

“Let me see your wrist,” she said, stepping towards him.

“What?!”

Katrina closed the distance between them in two quick steps and immediately seized his wrist. She shoved his sleeve back and saw the bright blue sparrow tattoo engraved in his skin. She swallowed hard, ever bit of laughter suddenly gone. Wetting her lips, she let go of his arm and stared up at him, making eye contact.

Jack regarded her with a very nervous look as he readjusted his sleeve. “Who are you?” he asked, his tone flat.

Katrina blinked. She tilted her head.

“I’m your daughter.”