Barbossa quickly rolled up the map and tucked it back inside his jacket. He was loath to confess to Jack Sparrow that he was having difficulties and thus strike a blow to his own pride, but common sense dictated that outright lying would get him nowhere at the moment. "There have been...complications," he said at length. "But nothing so insurmountable as to be cause for despair. Why do ye ask?"
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Bootstrap arched an eyebrow slightly at the man's -he assumed it was the first mate- declaration. After a moment's pause, he turned to face Jim. "Have the men at ease, but make certain they're still ready, should anythin' go amiss," he ordered. "Maccus, Ho Kwan, with me."

The first mate saluted sharply, and moments later Bootstrap was standing behind Li on the deck of the Earth Shaker, flanked by the two crewmen he'd selected. "An' he couldn't have declared that without readyin' the cannons an' showin' every indication that he intended to attack?" he asked dryly in response to the man's earlier statement.

Lee heard the command that they had to go at ease. He sighed and he crept up near the stairs, so he could hear what was going on. His cannon was the first one and nearest to the stairs, so if he had to get back, he could do so quickly.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

"Jones is dead," Bootstrap replied flatly, carefully gauging the other captain's response. "More than a decade now." It never ceased to amaze him how many people had yet to learn of Jones' death. One would think that after a decade folk would start to catch on, but there was still usually at least one passenger who came aboard expecting to have to plead for mercy, only to find that Jones no longer lived. Not that this captain in front of him seemed the sort to beg for mercy, of course. No, he seemed more the type to harbour an age-long grudge against a ship and her long-dead captain and care little about which methods were employed to take revenge. Just his luck.

Drawing himself up to his full height, Bootstrap met the other captain's gaze evenly. "Captain Bill Turner," he introduced himself. "Any business you have with the Dutchman will be conducted with me."

Barbossa glanced sideways at Jack, regarding the pirate with an air of disinterest. "An' that would be?"
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"I'm captain by the commission o' the goddess Calypso," Bootstrap replied evenly. "Now, you requested an audience. With all due respect, we need to be on our way, so whatever business need be conducted, let us conduct it quickly an' without further delay."

Lee continued to listen to the talk as it unfolded. Why would the captain of The Earth Stalker want to talk to Jones? And how could they not know that Jones is dead? It has been a long time since his death and Will's and Jack's heroic deeds. You'd have to have lived in the Locker not to know! Lee thought to himself.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

"I ne'er expressed a disinterest, Jack," Barbossa countered. "Only a firsthand knowledge of your penchant for...avoiding key aspects of the truth. State your case concisely an' without falsity, or get out of my cabin an' let the crew do with you as they will. I've no time for circuitous talk."
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"An errand of great urgency," Bootstrap replied with finality. "If you've nothing more to say, we'll on our way now."

Barbossa appraised Jack narrowly, then slowly took the map back out, keeping it firmly in his grasp. "A temporary truce, then?"
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"There's no need," Bootstrap interrupted. Before Poseidon could reply, the two crewmen had disappeared into the side of the ship, and Bootstrap was simply gone.

Back aboard the Dutchman, Bootstrap immediately began giving out orders. "Get us out of here," he instructed shortly, trusting Maccus to follow him and listen as he made his way bellow-deck. "Leave a few men ready on the guns, just in case. I want Penrod up in the foretop with a spyglass to observe any movements of the Earth Shaker while she's still in view. Don't be too obvious about it, though; I jus' want to make sure we're not followed."

As Maccus hurried back up to repeat the orders to the crew, Bootstrap made his way over to the room in which Will and his family were still waiting. "Will?" he said, sticking his head in. "I think the threat of combat's over. Cap'n apparently just wanted a word with me." Or rather, with Jones. "Jus' thought I'd let you know it should be safe to come back out on deck again."

Will quirked an eyebrow at Elizabeth and took the steps up to the deck two by two - small William scampering ahead - to go to the railing. He scanned the Earth Shaker momentarily. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, and no indication of pursuit. He turned to direct his father an inquiring look. "A word about what?"

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Lee heard the orders and ran up, going to the riggings to be ready to prepare the main masts. That was a weird meeting. Lee thought.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

Barbossa rolled his eyes and pursued Jack out of the cabin. Using his free hand, he grabbed the pirate firmly by the arm and dragged him back into the cabin. "A truce means I help you, an' you help me, Jack. I'm helpin' you by not sendin' you to yer well-deserved fate at the bottom of the ocean. Now you get to help me with this map." Without further ado, he spread the map in question out on the large table and placed weights on the corners to keep it open. "Here's about where we are now," he said, pointing to a spot in the ocean with one long finger. "This map is unlike Sao Feng's charts in that everythin's set, an' it's laid out like a proper map. What I want to know-" he paused to indicate the array of odd symbols adorning the map "-is what these are for."
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"D.amned if I know," Bootstrap muttered wryly, looking around to see if any of the crewmen were nearby. Once he was assured that none would be listening in on them, he turned back to Will. "Truth be told," he disclosed quietly, "'e wasn't even lookin' for me. He was lookin' for Jones."

"Davy Jones?" Elizabeth repeated with a frown, matching Bootstrap's surreptitious tone. "But he's been dead for over a decade now! How did the captain still not know of something so significant?"

Bootstrap merely shook his head, at a loss for a decent explanation. "He didn' say. Didn' even seem to believe I was captain at first, nor that I was commissioned by Calypso. He did seem to go a bit queer at the mention of the goddess herself, though, an' then we were done. Quick as that. No questions, no threats, no offers...nothing. I've got men watching to see if she'll be followin' us, but...." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Strangest thing ever."

Will's expression creased briefly into a frown as he glanced out to sea once more. "Commissioned by Calypso..." he murmured, half to himself as if in though. "And we're steering clear of them." It wasn't really a question. A captain who didn't know of Jones' replacement. What business had he wanted with him?

"Did you hear a name?" he inquired a touch abruptly.

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"I didn't," Bootstrap admitted regretfully. "Like I said, strangest negotiations I've ever taken part in. I don't pretend to have Jack's gift for words, but I get what I need out of a conversation. But this man...couldn' get a straight answer out of 'im. On anythin'. An' then the conversation was over, just like that. He seemed no more eager to spend overmuch time in my presence than I was in his, an' we just...parted. He had nothin' more to say, I suppose, an' I'd given up on answers." He paused, seeming to be considering something. "Will, we never had any dealin's with a ship called the Earth Shaker durin' your captaincy, did we? It's not jus' senility getting the better of me?"

Will shook his head quickly, dismissing the idea. "Not that one, I would remember." One more glance out to sea. "We'll make sure she doesn't follow?" A captain who would give no answers was decidedly suspicious. It was not as if the Dutchman was an easily defeated vessel, but caution never hurt. Not to mention with William and Elizabeth aboard, he added silently, but said nothing of it out loud.

Delphi could not come too soon.

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"Of course I will," Bootstrap assured him. "For now, though, you ought to take some rest. Both of you. You are passengers on this ship; you're not needed on deck right now." He paused momentarily, then cleared his throat. "In fact, I could keep an eye on William up here for a few hours, if you both wished to rest...together."

Elizabeth's eyebrow immediately shot up, her questioning gaze falling on Bootstrap wordlessly.

"I can ensure that there are no intrusions," Bootstrap promised, inclining his head marginally.

Elizabeth flushed slightly, at once embarassed by what her father-in-law was implying and grateful for the kind gesture. She cast a quick glance over at William, who seemed to still be occupied with examining various items and remaining blissfully ignorant of the conversation that was occuring. Slowly entwining her hand with Will's, she looked up at her husband. "It has been some time since we both slept," she said softly. "We could no doubt use the rest."

Will's first instinct was to decline, out of an uneasy desire to remain on deck - but one glance at Elizabeth made the thought vanish as though it had never been. He knew now, too, to savor every moment with her, every kiss. Ten years was a long time, a long time in which he'd learned painfully what he should never take for granted.

Abruptly he realized the conversation had halted awkwardly, and his grip on Elizabeth's hand had tightened; his glance turned to a gaze. Directing a rare smile at Bootstrap he nodded - "Aye, could use the rest."

It was an effort not to stop and kiss her in some shadowed corner the moment they were out of sight of the crew.

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Lee contiuned to work quickly and hard, as he was trained. He didn't want Bootstrap coming down on him and he knew that the Captain would be watching him, since he slacked eariler that day. He sighed as he checked the riggings to make sure it was secure and in good condition.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly