Oh my...so it's been about, what, 2 months since I last updated? I know I said that I would try to update faster but I think we all know now that most of the time that does not happen. This chapter was very tricky to write and took a lot of determination. Once I sat down and forced myself to write, even if it was only a paragraph, the creative juices began to flow once more. And of course, I was lazy as nature intended me to be. But if it's any consolation, not posting this chapter was slowly eating away at me and made me feel guilty. I hope this chapter will fulfill your hopes and enjoy that twist at the end. This is the farthest I have ever written. I have never written beyond this point, so after this chapter it will be completely new territory to me. I have the rest of the plot planned out but there are a couple of kinks to be worked at. I shall post an update near the end of this month to let you know how things are going. Thank you all who have waited patiently for this and I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! Thank you to My True Love for editing this.
Chapter 23: Secrets Revealed
Jack decided he did not like pregnancy. He found it an irritating and abhorrent condition that affected those around the expecting person more than it affected the person that actually had the condition. The pirate noticed a very recognizable pattern with Elizabeth during the short time they had been trapped in the cell together. First she would sleep, then she would wake up and vomit, and then complain about how awful it was to be with child and that she had nothing decent to eat, before falling back to sleep. And then the whole cycle would repeat again: sleep, vomit, complain, and sleep some more. On top of all of that she became irritable very quickly so even the smallest thing Jack would do would set her off. He does not know how much more he can take of it. If he has to hear her high voice complain about how a man could never handle pregnancy one more time, he is going to tear his ears off.
"Poor whelp. Doesn't even know what's hit him," Jack said thinking of the surprise Will is going to receive the next time he sees his wife. Mrs. Turner's sleeping form laid serenely across from him on top of a blanket Jason brought down two days ago. Jack didn't know how much time he would have in silence so he was treasuring every second he had to himself.
At the top of the stairs, the door opened with a squeak and loud clunky footsteps came rushing down the wooden stairway. From the moment the door opened Jack knew it was Jason. He's the only crew member that ever dared to come down, save for a man that mopped the floor once. He glanced over to Elizabeth to make sure she was still asleep, before standing up. Now was the perfect time to have a one-on-one chat with Jason.
The man Jack was expecting soon appeared in front of the cell bars and ignored Jack's glare entirely. He looked at Elizabeth's sleeping form with curiosity then stared at Jack with a belligerent glare. "What did you do to her?" Jason inquired harshly.
"Why do ye think I did anything to her? She's sleeping. She did that all on her own. Pregnant women do that ya know."
"Maybe I should have the ship's physician take a look at her. Make sure she's healthy," Jason said worried.
"She's perfectly fine with me."
"A person with creditable medical knowledge should look after Bethy."
"And who's to say that I have none?"
"I highly doubt that you have any experience."
"I've cut off six fingers, five arms, and two legs without giving the patients any alcohol of any kind, pulled large shards of wood out of men's bodies while mid-battle, and sewed countless wounds. I think that would suffice to be considered as creditable medical experience."
"Still, you did not dedicate your life's work to medicine," Jason tried to rectify his former statement.
"I'd bet you that that man has no real-life experiences. He may have learned how to sew and care for a wound, but has he ever done it himself?" Jack inquired with a smirk.
"I heard a bloke say that when they captured his ship he said he had a diverse medical experience background."
"Well 'course he's gonna say that. What idiot would say he's had no experience to a bunch of pirates? Has anyone ever seen him perform any surgery?"
"Well…not that I know of but-" Jason started.
Jack wagged his finger at Jason. "Ah ha! So I could be right. Told ya so mate," he said with a triumphing smile.
"I guarantee you he is a fully able doctor. Who would bring a doctor with no medical experience on a ship?"
"'You have any evidence to prove me wrong?" Jason remained silent. "That's what I thought."
"Well at least he's not a pirate," Jason said softly but still filled with hatred.
"And you're one to say?" Jack snorted. "In case you haven't noticed mate, you're on a pirate ship! You signed to join the crew which makes you a pirate. We're the same. If either one of us was to talk down to the other, it would be I talking down to you ‚cause I'm a captain. I have me own ship! You on the other hand are just a recently hired navigator, picked up out of pure desperation. And you scowl when you call me pirate? Realize who and where you are before you even dare to insult me about my profession." Jason was shaken at Jack's uproar. He looked at the pirate sitting in the cell and could tell he did not feel guilty about anything he said. He did not mean for the line about the pirate to slip out, Jack just made the anger inside of him build up and the line accidentally slipped out. The old man looked at Elizabeth and reminded himself to focus on her in stead of Jack. He let out a long calming sigh and released whatever anger he had left in him on the cell door with his hand gripping it with all his might.
"I didn't want to get into a quarrel with you. All I want is to make sure Bethy and the baby are healthy."
"Well they are. Otherwise I would have demanded for medical attention by now."
"I'm still going to be keeping my eye on her though, just in case you might have missed something." Jason reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a rectangular shaped object.
"Give this to her when she wakes up. It's the chocolate she asked for." He threw the chocolate to Jack between the cell bars. "If she's like my Rosalind, it'll do wonders for her."
"Rosalind, that's your wife I'd imagine," Jack stated while examining the sugary treat in his hand. "Where's she now? Waiting at home for her pirate husband to return?" he said insensitively.
"She's dead," Jason quickly answered back. His cold glare left Jack feeling slightly guilty for mocking him. "She's been dead for over twenty years. And not a day goes by that I don't think about her." The pirate captain could tell by the elderly man's countenance that it was painful for him to talk about his wife. His eyes were heartbreaking and the angry look once on his face became soft and sorrowful.
"I'm sorry mate," Jack apologized quietly.
"You didn't know." The tension in the room was so thick Jack swore he could see it. Both men were in an awkward situation and neither of them wanted to do anything to appease the pressure. Fortunately Jack was born with the Gift of Gab and easily broke the quietness.
"One wonders why an old man such as yerself would be on a pirate ship. You'd think that you'd rather be sitting at a tavern somewhere, drinking rum like there's no tomorrow and treating yourself to some good pleasurable company."
"You'd think that wouldn't you? But no, I still have some adventure left in these old bones o' mine." He slapped his knee to show an example.
"Why this ship?" Jack asked.
"I'm good at navigation. They needed a navigator. I was in the neighbourhood. Just pure luck." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"And what about before the fateful day ye joined this crew?"
"Worked on a merchant ship for a good number of years."
"What made you change to pirate?"
"Wanted something new." Jack looked at Jason sceptically. His answers seemed to be quick and honest, but he felt like the aged man wasn't telling him everything. There was more to the story than meets the eye. He was on the verge of uncovering the mystery he's been trying to solve. He could feel it. All he needed to do was push Jason over the edge.
"Understandable. Become a pirate to add some excitement. You can earn a pretty penny too. Finding treasure, sacking ports, attacking merchant ships…ransoming hostages." Jack said trying to act nonchalantly.
"What?" Jason replied, taken back by Jack's last addition to the list.
"Ya know…finding someone of great importance, keeping them hostage until you get a hefty ransom. A governor's daughter, for example." Jack slowly stood up and swaggered over to Jason.
"What are you implying, Sparrow?" he questioned, insulted by his statement.
"Oh you know exactly what I'm implying," Jack said with each word sounding more ruthless than the last. "You can't get your ransom if you have a dead girl. She would be useless then."
"I would never do such a cruel thing to her!" Jason replied shocked.
"C'mon matey. We're both pirates here. I know the way yer mind works. Ye happen to have a damsel onboard who has a wealthy father that would do anything to make sure she comes back safely. It's a pirate's dream! Why else would ye obeying her every whim?" Jack said with a grin.
A burst of anger exploded inside Jason. He grabbed a bar on either side of him, to prevent himself from hurting Jack. "Do not be so quick as to assume you know how my mind works Sparrow. I would never use Bethy's status for my personal gain!"
"Then you're acting under orders from that bastard Wickham."
"No," Jason denied as he tried to contain himself.
"Answer me question then. Why are you acting so kind?" Jack inquired, narrowing his eyes at him.
"A favor for an old friend."
"What friend?" A loud voice from above called for Jason's assistance. The older man in the brig released his strong grip on the cell bars and stepped away from Jack.
"We are not finished Sparrow," He threatened as he ran up the stairs to his caller.
"We are definitely not," Jack spoke to himself and took a bite of Elizabeth's chocolate.
Will Turner steered his ship, the Raging Swan into port as best he could. He was having a difficult time maneuvering correctly into port, not only because he only had one other man helping him, but he was also steering directly into the sunset, which made it extremely tricky to see where he was going. The only direction Will had were shouts from Johnny, telling to move port or starboard. Johnny and Will's teamwork eventually got the ship safely into the docks without a scratch and secured with it the utmost discretion. Mr. Turner thanked his helper for his assistance and accompanied him below deck.
The two men entered the captain's cabin which had become the gathering ground for the rest of the three passengers on the ship. Sarah was laying comfortably on the bed, waiting for her husband to come back down (Will offered the Dorns to use the main cabin to reside during the voyage and they gladly accepted said offer) while Gibbs and Amy were sitting at a small table, chatting about general topics until Will and Johnny walked in, and all talking ceased.
"Finally! Now we can get down to business," Amy said enthusiastically. Sarah sat up when her husband joined them on their borrowed bed and she rested a loving hand on his shoulder.
"Have any of you thought of a plan?" William asked the three, who previously occupied the room.
"Those two," Sarah pointed to Gibbs and Amy," have been rambling on about ridiculous plans that are never going to work ever since we stepped foot on this ship."
"Not all of them have been ridiculous," Amy defended herself. "That one about the chickens wasn't so farfetched."
"Training a flock of chickens to peck Henry to death I think counts as farfetched."
Amy crossed her arms and sunk down in her chair in disappointment. "I think it could have worked…" she mumbled.
"Maybe in your world, but in the real world chickens can't be taught to obey orders like that,"
"So, I'm taking this as a no," Will said.
"You're right," Sarah said, giving Amy a glare.
"Great," Will said sarcastically. "We're going to have to start from scratch then I guess."
"That you are correct," Amy agreed.
Will let out a heavy sigh and scratched his head. "Well…what do we know about Wickham?"
"He has Jack," Gibbs stated.
"And your wife," Sarah referred to Elizabeth.
"Anything else?" Will asked.
"He has lied about my father and deserves to spend the rest of his days at the bottom of Davy
Jones' locker," Amy said bluntly. When everyone in the room looked at her, she shrugged in response.
Johnny decided quickly to move to another subject. "He has a ship with a large crew."
"Alright. Does anyone know what this ship looks like?" Will inquired of the group.
Gibbs was the first one to speak up. "Well it looks like-" he searched for the correct words to finish the sentence. When he did not find them, he decided to restart the sentence. "You see it's very-" once again his brain could not complete his statement. "Well…no."
"It sounds like we have our first mission. Before we can move further with any plans, we need to identify the place to attack."
"But how are we going to find him?" Sarah pointed out.
"There's a pub not too far from here called the Mermaid's Tale. I've heard sailors come from miles around to drink there," Amy suggested.
"That's not the only reason they come," Gibbs quietly added with a knowing smile.
Amy continued. "He's bound to be there one night. We could wait for him to leave and follow him to his ship."
"And what are we going to do while he's there? Just sit there and wait?" Gibbs asked with a raised brow.
"Well…yes. What do you think Will?" Amy asked for his opinion.
He shrugged. "Sounds like a plan to me. Who will go though?"
"I'll go with ye Will," Gibbs volunteered.
"As will I," Amy followed Gibbs' offer.
"Amy, what if he notices you? He'll surely take you, and then we'll be worse off than we are now," Sarah warned.
"I have to go. I'm the only one here who knows what Henry looks like," Amy looked at Will and Gibbs. "You two could follow half the men out of that tavern and still not find the right man. How will you two know who Henry is if neither one of you is able to identify him?"
"Fine, you can come," Will agreed. "But you'll have to wear Jack's coat and hat to hide your face and body."
"Fair enough." Amy replied with a content smile.
" When do we leave then?" Gibbs inquired.
"It's twilight now so we will have to set off within the next hour." Will replied.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go stalk that old bastard," Amy said excitedly.
The Mermaid's Tale was as lively as ever. Mugs of rum seemed to appear by magic from the crafty barmaids who replaced the drinks undetected. Sailors in the plenty engulfed the never ending alcohol, as they scoped out pleasurable company for the night. The men were drunk and blissful and the women were more than happy to find some business for the night. The customers were so engrossed in their own affairs that no one noticed three men enter from the door. Two were fairly young and one their senior. The elder man led the two young men to a table in the back of the tavern, partially isolated from the other tables.
A buxom barmaid came up to the old man, also known as Gibbs, and asked for his order.
"Three rums," he said. She took three mugs out of the arms of a nearby barmaid and served them to the men.
"Thank you," said one of the younger men named Will Turner. The barmaid walked off without acknowledging him.
"This place is very…colourful," said the third man, who was really a woman called Amy, in the most positive tone she could manage.
"It does live up to its reputation," Will commented.
"This place brings back old memories. Jack ever tell you this is where we first met?" Gibbs asked Amy.
"Really? He's never mentioned it before."
"Not surprised. It's not a story he would like to spread around." Gibbs stated as he took a gulp of his rum.
"Why? What happened?" Amy asked curiously.
"'Probably best that he tell ya. It's not me place."
Before she could interrogate Gibbs further, the man the three came to spy on walked into the building. "Look! There he is!" Amy pointed to the main entrance of the tavern. A well-dressed man with peppered black hair and piercing green eyes entered. He had a serious look on his face and looked out of place in the rowdy tavern. A younger woman by the name of Anamaria decorated his left arm and stayed close to him. The sight of Henry and Ana together sent chills up Amy's spine and she sank lower in her chair to prevent from being seen.
"So that's him. Looks like he has a stick up his ass ta me," said Gibbs said mockingly.
Will looked over to the lady sitting next to him and sensed her discomfort. "Don't worry, we won't let him see you," he whispered words of assurance in her ear. She smiled at his words of comfort and sat back up again. Henry and Ana sat down with the rest of the crew on the opposite side of the tavern, completely oblivious to the people watching them.
"Now all we have to do is wait," the eldest man said. And wait is what they did. For the next few hours, the trio sat and watched Henry's crew drink countless mugs of rum and a few disappeared upstairs with a lady friend. Later into the night, Gibbs admitted that he was growing far too tired to stay watch so Will and Amy dismissed him to go back to the Raging Swan. The two tried their best to stay awake but it was Will who was first to drift off. Amy took pity on the man and let him sleep in his chair. She was far too alert to even think about sleep. Even though Henry had not looked in their direction the entire night, the fact that he was in the same building as her was unnerving.
Amy finished her mug of rum. She looked around to find an available barmaid when she noticed that Henry was getting out of his seat. Ana soon followed him and they began to walk towards the exit.
"Will!" she cried softly. Amy shook his shoulder to wake him up and his eyes jerked open. "Henry's leaving." She pointed to Henry and Ana, making their way through the crowd to the door. Will gathered himself and threw some coins on the table to pay for the drinks. Carefully they wound their way through the sea of sailors and made it to the door.
Amy peered outside and saw Henry walking down the dirt road, which she assumed led to the docks. They waited for their targets to move out of hearing range to pursue after them. Will and Amy ran behind the corner of a building and continued watching him. They ducked and hid their way the entire journey to Henry's ship. Finally, they reached their destination. Amy and Will crouched behind a pile of creates near Henry's ship and observed Henry and Ana walk up the gangplank and disappear out of their sight.
Amy soaked in every detail of the ship she could. It was a medium sized ship, about the same as the Pearl, and called Poseidon's Saber. She took note of its location, surroundings, and anything else she thought might be helpful later on. Amy looked around the docks and noticed that Will and she were the only ones in the area. Without a second thought, she stood up and began walking towards Henry's ship.
Luckily Will grabbed her before she got too far and pulled her back. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to get Jack and Elizabeth!"
"But we don't have a plan," Will pointed out.
"It's called improvisation, William, and Jack does it all the time." Amy tried to move forward but Will grabbed her coat and pulled her back again.
"What are we going to attack with? There's only two of us and we have no weapons. And we don't know how many people are on that ship."
"That's why we're going to make it up as we go along. Now I'll go first and you'll cover for me." Amy tried to persist further but this time Will stood in her way and held her arms tightly so she could not escape.
"Amy, this is neither the time nor the place to rescue Jack and Elizabeth. We're both exhausted and partially drunk. There is no way we could successfully rescue them in this state. Wait until we have a plan and more people with us!"
"But his ship is right there! No one is watching. We will only have to punch a few people at the most!"
"You don't know that. Listen I know how much you want to go get Jack. Believe me I'm holding myself back from getting Elizabeth-"
"I like that feeling. That feeling is good. Go with that feeling, Will" Amy tried to persuade him.
"But I know the probability of us succeeding is very slight. Please, just wait until we're better prepared. He will be here when we come back." Amy looked at Will, then looked at Henry's ship. She wanted to shove Will to the side, but she wasn't physically strong enough. She knew Will was completely serious about this and his opinion was not going to waver.
"Fine. We'll come back in a couple of days."
"Excellent choice. Now, let's go back to the ship to rest up." Amy agreed and they turned in unison to walk back to the ship. Amy thought she was smarter than Will and turned around quickly to run to Henry's ship, but Will was one step ahead of her and grabbed her arm swiftly, fully expecting her attempt to escape. "Don't even think about it." Amy sighed and decided to give it up completely and followed Will back to his ship.
"Jacket."
"Kitten."
"Lady."
"Man."
"Elizabeth, this game is really pointless," Jack complained. Elizabeth became fed up with being bored and came up with this simple game instead. The game was to follow the alphabet and say the first word that comes to mind that began with the first letter, and the other person would say a word that began with the next letter and so on. Jack was forced against his will to play the childish game and felt like his brain was slowly rotting with every answer he gave.
"Do you have a better suggestion?"
"Well…no. But do we really have to resort to a game that can amuse a toddler?" Jack replied frowning.
"I just want you to stop talking about Jason. I'm tired of hearing about it. Jason is not going to hurt us."
"And how do you know that Lizzie? You can't read his mind."
"What makes you think that you can do any better?" Elizabeth sighed at his stubbornness. "I can't explain it, but I just know he's not up to anything. It's a feeling. Call it 'woman's intuition.' "
"I've learned over the years that said 'woman's intuition' is generally wrong."
"But you said 'generally', didn't you?" she said with a knowing smile. "Perhaps this is one of the times that it is right."
Jack rolled his eyes. "How 'bout we get back to the game? I'll go- nuance."
Elizabeth inwardly laughed at his obvious insult towards her and kept her grin. She knew this was as close as Jack would get to defeat. She decided to let him have his way.
"Opium."
"Prissy."
"Queer."
"Rum."
"Jack, you always say rum," Elizabeth complained.
"The rule of the game is to say the first word that comes to mind, and rum is the word that comes to mind."
"Can't you think of another word?" Elizabeth snapped.
"No," he said childishly.
"Fine then, I'll say a different word. Rude."
"Sex," Jack said with a smirk.
"Jack!" Elizabeth's mouth dropped.
"Just following the rules of the game, Lizzie." Elizabeth huffed at his immature answer. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the damp ship wall.
"At least I'm not obsessed with a harmless old man," she murmured.
"Oh, that's really mature Lizzie."
"I'm only following your example Jack. You started it."
"Didn't," he retorted quietly.
"Did."
"Didn't."
"Did."
"Didn't."
"Did times infinity," Elizabeth said quickly so Jack could not answer back. Jack was clearly mad at the fact Elizabeth thought of that trick before him, and stuck his tongue out at her in reply. Lizzie smirked in triumph and adjusted herself more comfortably in her spot on the moist floor.
"Well, I still think I'm right about Jason," Jack said not willing to let Elizabeth win the battle going on between them."
"Oh my goodness Jack, just drop it already!" Elizabeth said frustrated.
"No. It's the only thing I can think about that keeps me sane."
"Well you thinking about it makes me insane."
"Not my problem. You don't have to listen to me, ya know." Elizabeth moaned and rested her head against the wall.
"Why are you so difficult?"
"Because you refuse to see how genius my thoughts really are." Lizzie couldn't take any more of Jack stubbornness and hid her face in her hands so she would not have to look at his smug face any longer.
When Jack saw Elizabeth bury her face in her hands, he took this action as defeat and congratulated himself for winning. Thinking about Jason was not the only thing that kept his mind busy, aggravating Elizabeth was also one of his favorite things to do. Jack rejoiced in his victory in silence.
"You know…what if he's not after either of us," Elizabeth thought aloud.
Jack rolled his eyes. "What happened to 'let's not talk about Jason and his evil nonexistent plots'?"
"Well, I never completely disagreed with you. I thought that it was strange that he acted so nicely. I was just jaded with you talking about it. But all your ramblings have got me thinking about him."
"Ah, so Mrs. Turner is a hypocrite."
"Yes, I suppose so," she admitted.
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
"Because I knew that if I did you would never stop pestering me about it" Elizabeth confessed.
"I already do that."
"I know. My plan didn't work the way I hoped it would."
"So out with it then. What's yer theory?"
"Well, I figured that if he wanted me, he would have either separated me from you, in case he tried to do something and he would not have to deal with you, or stop giving us food until I agree to his terms, so I'm almost certain that I'm safe."
Jack nodded. "Alright, a valid thought."
"But then I thought that the purpose of this whole mission is to find Amy. Both of us have close relations with Amy and we're already being used as bargaining tools by Henry; but Jason has been treating us with care and keeping us comfortable. Like he is keeping us alive now and then we're going to have to repay the favor later."
"So keeping us healthy is his bargaining chip."
"Yes."
"And what does he want?"
"I think he wants Amy," Elizabeth said with a worried expression on her face.
Jack stayed silent for a moment before continuing to speak. "What does he want with her?"
"I don't know. That's as far as my theory got."
"Hmm…" Jack thoughtfully stroked his beard as he pondered about Elizabeth's idea. The thought had crossed his mind once or twice but it never really settled in his mind. Since Elizabeth brought up the idea, Jack could now take a deeper look into it. As much as he hated to admit it, it did all fit. Jason would make sure Jack and Elizabeth stay healthy and form an alliance with them. When the time is right, he would then ask for his favor, because of the trust between the three of them, or threaten to cut off their food supply. Even though Jack did not care for him, as long as Jason had Elizabeth on his side he could probably get the favor he wanted. Unfortunately, they had no evidence to support their idea.
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Jack stated.
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"Ask him of course."
"You've already tried that. He's not going to answer."
"I'm not going as him directly. I'm going to ask him indirectly."
"He's going to catch on, you know." By a stroke of luck, Jason's loud footsteps began to ascend down the stairs.
"He will if you keep speaking loudly," Jack replied softly.
"Don't do this Jack!" she warned. The pirate ignored her when Jason came into view. Jason nervously glanced at Jack then smiled at Elizabeth.
"Hello Bethy. Are you feeling well?"
"Yes I am. Thank you for asking." Elizabeth shot Jack a look because Jason was acting gentlemanly.
"Did you get the chocolate?"
"Yes I did, although a large bite was missing from it." Elizabeth looked at Jack again. "But you were right, the chocolate did help my stomach."
"Glad to be of help" Jason replied with a smile.
"You know who else likes chocolate?" Jack interrupted. "Amy." Jason shifted his weight uncomfortably at the sound of her name and Jack took note of that.
"And why should I be interested in this little tid-bit?" Jason asked nonchalantly.
"No reason. Just felt like pointing it out. After all, I am her fiancé. I should know these things."
"Fiancé?" the old man repeated shockingly.
"Ye seem sorta flabbergasted. Ya didn't know that?"
Jason was at a loss for words. "I, well…um…no, I didn't. No one in the crew has mentioned it. I just didn't know how close yer were to Amy is all," he tried to cover up his shock.
"Oh. Well she's doing all fine and dandy, in case ye would like to know." Jason gave an empty smile and gripped the cell bars tightly. He was becoming tense.
"Has…has she mentioned anything about her father?" Jason hesitated to ask. Jack's head perked up at the question. This question was far too specific to be casual conversation. He was finally getting somewhere.
"As a matter of fact she has. What's it to you?"
"What did she say?" Jason pleaded, ignoring his question. Jack gave him a quizzical look but continued on.
"She said she regrets that she didn't go on his final voyage and misses him very much."
"She didn't say she hated him?" the elderly man asked hopefully.
"No. She has never spoke a single insult about her father." A comforting smile took over his face. He let go of the bars and took a step back.
"Good to hear. Oh my. Bethy, I forgot your food. I'll go and bring it down"he quickly made an excuse to leave. Jason began to walk away but Jack called him back.
"You knew her father," Jack stated. Jason turned around to face him.
"Excuse me?"
Jack stood up and leaned on the cell bars. "I'm not a simpleton. Why else would you ask all those questions? You knew him."
Jason sighed and thought carefully about his words. "Yes, I did know him. A long time ago."
"That's why you're here isn't it?"
"Part of the reason."
"You want to get to Amy, don't you?" Elizabeth could not let Jack harass Jason any longer and stood up next to Jack.
"Jack, this is getting ridiculous. Leave this poor man alone! Jason, I apologize for his behaviour," she said.
"I'm not going to stop, Lizzie. You tell me what you want from Amy," Jack demanded.
"I want nothing from Amy." Jason started to get defensive. "I'm here to make sure she's safe."
"Why?"
"As a favor to her father."
"What connection did you have with him?" Jack interrogated him.
"A…a…a sailor on his old crew." Jason hesitated a little too much. His voiced was higher pitched from being under pressure from Jack and the words came out too uncertainly for them to be the truth.
"That was a lie," Jack said harshly.
"No it wasn't," he spoke too quickly.
"Who are you?"
"An old sailor It's the truth!" Jason replied desperate.
"Tell me who you really are!" Jack ordered.
"An old sailor!" Jason tried to save himself.
Jack was riled up in his fit of rage and grabbed Elizabeth by the neck and threatened to choke her. "Sorry about this Lizzie," he whispered in her ear. She yelped and struggled to get out of his grasp.
"No! Don't hurt Bethy! I'll tell you if you let her go! Just don't harm her!" he pleaded.
"Tell me who you are first and I'll let her go." Elizabeth yelled at Jack to let her go but he held on to her with all his strength. She looked at Jason and begged him to tell Jack what he wanted to know. Jason looked at Jack then at Elizabeth. He couldn't let this continue any longer.
"I'm Amy's father!"