A Spot of Blackmail
folder
Pirates of the Caribbean (All) › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
1,877
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Pirates of the Caribbean (All) › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
1,877
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 5
Alfred didn’t keep them waiting long. He was back in the same corner he’d been in the night before, and was even more unpleasant-looking than Gibbs’ description had led Jack to believe. Anna would definitely be better off without her cousin hanging around, he decided. He slipped into the darkest nearby space he could find, so that Alfred didn’t see him. Despite the magpie appearance, Jack could be amazingly inconspicuous when he wanted to.
By previous arrangement, Anna would start the bargaining with Alfred, and then when he finally got around to telling her what he wanted, Jack would appear and back her up. On the theory that getting it over with was better than waiting around, Anna wanted to deal with him before she started singing. So, when Jack saw Alfred sitting in his corner, he made himself inconspicuous. Which, considering his magpie appearance, he was surprisingly good at.
Anna steeled herself for the coming unpleasantness, half thinking she ought to dip into the porter first and half afraid she’d get herself drunk and the whole situation would go to blazes. “Arguing with yourself before you even get to arguing with him? Great. Just great.” She sighed, straightened her spine, thought of Jack watching her back for her, and walked over to Alfred, to get it over with. He was concentrating on the bowl of stew in front of him, and she had to get his attention by slapping her hand on the table in front of him. She had the small satisfaction of watching him jump and spill stew down his front.
“All right, you bastard, let’s get to it. You want money. How much?”
“Well, that depends on who wants to know you’re my cousin Maggie, not Anna who owns the tavern.”
“Nice try. Show me anyone on this entire island who doesn’t answer to at least two names, and I’ll show you a fool.”
“Five hundred pounds.”
“Where do you think I get it from? I don’t make five hundred pounds in six months. One hundred.”
“Three.”
“A hundred and fifty.”
“Two hundred. And I drink for free.”
“In return for what?”
“I won’t make it general knowledge that you came to Jamaica from London, and probably washed up here after you stole something and broke your indenture. Who’s going to run the place if you’re in jail, eh?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’d find somebody.” Jack had emerged from the shadows and stood behind Anna’s chair. “Now the offer’s at two hundred pounds, is it?”
“It is. And what business is it of yours?”
“Well, mate, I’ve got what you might call an interest in this place. And if Anna doesn’t run it, I’m not interested. So, if anyone else comes along and decides to take it from her, I’ve got an interest in keeping them from doing it.”
“You own the place, then? Maybe I should deal with you. Now, she said she’ll give me two hundred pounds. From you, I want three.”
“Now, see, there’s a small problem there. Even assuming I had three hundred pounds, why would I bother giving it to you?” Jack had produced a dagger from somewhere or other, probably lifted from somebody else, and suddenly Alfred found himself looking at it, cross-eyed, while Jack played with it. “It would be easier for all concerned if I were to just kill you, really. You wouldn’t need the money, so the lady wouldn’t need to give you any, and I wouldn’t need to waste my time standing here talking about it. So here’s what I propose. You settle for a hundred pounds total, and when you get it you leave Tortuga for good. In return for which I won’t inconvenience you by putting this somewhere painful, and I won’t inconvenience Anna by making a mess all over her taproom. Savvy?”
Alfred savvied, all right, but he had to make one more effort to salvage the situation. “I want the money tomorrow night.”
Anna took over the situation again, having had a brilliant idea. “It’s a lot of money. Night after tomorrow, you’ll have it. That’s the best I can do. The rest of the conditions stand.” Jack knew she was working on something sneaky, and wondered if she’d tell him what it was. Otherwise he’d have to get it out of her somehow.
“All right. Bring me gin for the rest of the night and we’re square.” Alfred was determined to get at least one night of free drink out of the deal, and was surprised when Anna gave in. She figured the loss she took on gin would be made good in another way, and went off to sing feeling somewhat better about life in general.
*************************************************************************************
A/N: I know this is a short chapter (and for me, that's saying something!), but there's more coming in the next day or so.
By previous arrangement, Anna would start the bargaining with Alfred, and then when he finally got around to telling her what he wanted, Jack would appear and back her up. On the theory that getting it over with was better than waiting around, Anna wanted to deal with him before she started singing. So, when Jack saw Alfred sitting in his corner, he made himself inconspicuous. Which, considering his magpie appearance, he was surprisingly good at.
Anna steeled herself for the coming unpleasantness, half thinking she ought to dip into the porter first and half afraid she’d get herself drunk and the whole situation would go to blazes. “Arguing with yourself before you even get to arguing with him? Great. Just great.” She sighed, straightened her spine, thought of Jack watching her back for her, and walked over to Alfred, to get it over with. He was concentrating on the bowl of stew in front of him, and she had to get his attention by slapping her hand on the table in front of him. She had the small satisfaction of watching him jump and spill stew down his front.
“All right, you bastard, let’s get to it. You want money. How much?”
“Well, that depends on who wants to know you’re my cousin Maggie, not Anna who owns the tavern.”
“Nice try. Show me anyone on this entire island who doesn’t answer to at least two names, and I’ll show you a fool.”
“Five hundred pounds.”
“Where do you think I get it from? I don’t make five hundred pounds in six months. One hundred.”
“Three.”
“A hundred and fifty.”
“Two hundred. And I drink for free.”
“In return for what?”
“I won’t make it general knowledge that you came to Jamaica from London, and probably washed up here after you stole something and broke your indenture. Who’s going to run the place if you’re in jail, eh?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’d find somebody.” Jack had emerged from the shadows and stood behind Anna’s chair. “Now the offer’s at two hundred pounds, is it?”
“It is. And what business is it of yours?”
“Well, mate, I’ve got what you might call an interest in this place. And if Anna doesn’t run it, I’m not interested. So, if anyone else comes along and decides to take it from her, I’ve got an interest in keeping them from doing it.”
“You own the place, then? Maybe I should deal with you. Now, she said she’ll give me two hundred pounds. From you, I want three.”
“Now, see, there’s a small problem there. Even assuming I had three hundred pounds, why would I bother giving it to you?” Jack had produced a dagger from somewhere or other, probably lifted from somebody else, and suddenly Alfred found himself looking at it, cross-eyed, while Jack played with it. “It would be easier for all concerned if I were to just kill you, really. You wouldn’t need the money, so the lady wouldn’t need to give you any, and I wouldn’t need to waste my time standing here talking about it. So here’s what I propose. You settle for a hundred pounds total, and when you get it you leave Tortuga for good. In return for which I won’t inconvenience you by putting this somewhere painful, and I won’t inconvenience Anna by making a mess all over her taproom. Savvy?”
Alfred savvied, all right, but he had to make one more effort to salvage the situation. “I want the money tomorrow night.”
Anna took over the situation again, having had a brilliant idea. “It’s a lot of money. Night after tomorrow, you’ll have it. That’s the best I can do. The rest of the conditions stand.” Jack knew she was working on something sneaky, and wondered if she’d tell him what it was. Otherwise he’d have to get it out of her somehow.
“All right. Bring me gin for the rest of the night and we’re square.” Alfred was determined to get at least one night of free drink out of the deal, and was surprised when Anna gave in. She figured the loss she took on gin would be made good in another way, and went off to sing feeling somewhat better about life in general.
*************************************************************************************
A/N: I know this is a short chapter (and for me, that's saying something!), but there's more coming in the next day or so.