Pirates of the Caribbean Oneshots

Talks and Threats

The Pirate Lords were filing out of the hall after the conclusion of a meeting, with Hector Barbossa at the rear, when a voice spoke from the shadows of the balcony over the room.

"Captain Barbossa, a word."

Turning carefully to maintain balance on his newly acquired wooden limb, Barbossa's eyes narrowed at the request. "Who says I want to have a word with you?"

"I wasn't askin'. Sit back down before you fall down," the voice retorted, the scrape of a chair being pushed back punctuating the end of the sentence. A scruffy grey terrier trotted down the stairs, followed by two slightly larger dogs with wiry red-gold coats.

Tilting his hat forward slightly, Barbossa resumed the seat he'd just vacated, not lifting his head as a shadow fell over the table in front of him. There was a clink of a bottle being set down, then a figure sat opposite him. "That one's for you."

With a nod of thanks, his gaze lifted to the man who had joined him at the otherwise empty meeting table.

Despite the fearsome reputation attached to his name, there was nothing particularly foreboding about Captain Teague's outward appearance. Silver-streaked black dreadlocks swung over his narrow shoulders, trinkets in them shifting every time he moved his head. He'd removed the feathered hat that usually sat atop, a green bandana now the only covering remaining. Dark eyes ran over Barbossa slowly as his arthritic fingers pulled absent-mindedly on the cuffs of his scarlet frock coat, rings catching the flickering candlelight.

He took a drink from the bottle before he spoke. "Blackbeard cut your leg off?"

"No." Barbossa pulled the cork out of the wine he'd been given with his teeth. "I cut me leg off."

Teague's head tilted a little. "What-start at the beginnin' , Hector. You stole the Pearl in Port Royal, to undertake the voyage to find the Fountain of Youth. What happened then?"

"No thanks to Jack for stealin' that blasted-"

"Beginning of the story, Hector."

Barbossa sighed. "On the way to the Fountain, mostly through guesswork, I ended up off the coast of Hispaniola. In the dead of night, I've no idea how he ever found us or spotted the Pearl, Blackbeard struck, guns blazin'. We gave as good as we got, full broadside volleys, probably would've seen him off if he hadn't boarded."

Teague watched silently as Barbossa recounted the story, noticing the tightening of his fingers around the bottle as he drank, the slightly vacant look that now appeared in his eyes.

"He came over himself, Teach. Fuses smokin' in that beard, dressed head to toe in black. Put his hand on his sword and the ship-"

Barbossa drank deeply before he spoke again. "The ship came to life, turned against us. Ropes came down from the masts, tanglin' up the crew, wrapping around them like snakes."

His gaze flickered downwards. "Wrappin' around my leg."

With a groan of discomfort, he lifted the limb up onto a spare chair, the wooden peg sticking out straight.

Teague waited silently as he resettled himself, running his free hand up and down the thigh of his healthy leg. "My arms were free and I still had me sword and I'd be damned if I let Blackbeard decide my fate."

Barbossa's blue eyes were hard and flinty, his jaw set firmly. "I did what needed done," he stated forcefully. "I survived. I lost the Pearl, I lost me leg, I lost the crew, but I survived."

Across the table, Teague was looking at the prosthetic thoughtfully. "Have you had that looked at by anyone recently?"

"No. No need."

Raising an eyebrow, Teague was clearly unconvinced. "I have a very good-"

"I don't need your fucking help, alright?" Barbossa snapped, scowling. "I don't need your witch of a doctor to prod and poke me, I don't need your advice or your blame for losing that goddamned ship and I'm finished with this conversation."

He slipped his crutch under his arm, going to rise.

"Sit down. I ain't finished yet."

The Code Keeper's voice was cold and steady, command ringing in his tone as he gestured pointedly at Barbossa's half-standing position. He waited, face impassive, until the other captain was once again seated.

"You're gettin' my blame for the ship. As captain, you ain't supposed to abandon ship. It's a fuckin' coward's way out and you know it, especially on a ship that you were never supposed to captain in the first place." A twisted smile flickered briefly on Teague's lips as he took a drink.

"So that, you're getting my entire blame for and I'll likely never let you forget it. I can't make you see my doctor, and you probably should hope I never tell her what you just called her, because she'll slit your throat in your sleep."

He looked at Barbossa directly again.
"I presume you're still affected by the incident?"

Barbossa drank and wiped his hand across his mouth. "Which part of "I don't need your fucking help?" did you not hear?" He asked hotly.

"Oh for-" Teague rolled his eyes, pushing his chair back. "Fine. Fuck off, Hector. I'm wastin' my time."

He stood up, watching as Barbossa did the same while lifting his hat off the table. Taking a drink, he flicked a hand to gesture the taller man through the door ahead of him.

In the doorway, Teague caught Barbossa's collar, pushing him against the frame. Close enough to smell the wine on his breath, the words hot against his ear in contrast to the pistol's barrel pressed into his jaw. "You lay a hand on the Pearl again, and I will personally remove your remaining leg, and everything in between them, before keelhauling you underneath my Troubadour. I will make Blackbeard look downright fucking merciful."
Silver teeth flashed in a dangerous grin as the pistol was pressed in harder. "Savvy?"

Stunned, Barbossa nodded. Teague released him and sauntered out of the room, tipping his hat lightly as he vanished up the corridor.

Gathering his crutch and scattered wits, Barbossa made his slow way out of the meeting hall, pondering the conversation that had just taken place.