| "C'est trop aimer quand on en meurt."
They love too much who die for love. Captain "Longneck" Logan owed his name to a failed attempt of the Crown to introduce him to the hangman's noose. A quick drop, but no stop - the rope had been of poor quality. As a result, Logan couldn't turn his head anymore; it sat on the pirate's neck at an odd angle. A grisly sight at the best of times, but even worse while finding yourself bound and helpless in the man's presence. Norrington was disgusted by Logan's presence in his cabin. Not much had changed; the maps were still on the desk and the books in their place, but he felt his room had been soiled. He had to be careful, though, couldn't show his anger, and he hoped that, just for once, Gillette would keep his temper in check and his mouth shut. "Ah, Captain Norrington's comin' to see me. Isn't it easier and less troublesome if the pirates catch you, rather than you chasin' after them? Jack Sparrow's made you look quite the fool, you know. Folks are laughing from Tortuga to London." Gillette swore a blue streak, which earned him a punch in the face from one of the two guards. Logan waved him off. "Quiet, boy. Personally I'd been the first to congratulate your captain if he'd killed the bastard. I'm no friend of Jack Sparrow's. But I could be yours, Captain Norrington, if you'll play your cards well." "Who are you calling a boy here, you scum!" "Mr. Gillette, please." Logan watched with great amusement how one calm word from the captain made the lieutenant shut up. This was developing well, and just the way Mercer had predicted. They were all in for an entertaining evening. "That's what I like about you Navy men. You know your place and how to follow orders. I suggest you keep your mouth shut while the adults in here talk, or I'll have your tongue cut out, boy. Have I made myself clear?" Gillette wanted to reply, but upon seeing the warning look in Norrington's eyes, he clenched his jaw, limiting his reply to an angry glare at Logan. Seeing him like that, Norrington couldn't help but think that Logan's assessment wasn't that far off the truth. Without wig and coat, Gillette looked younger than he actually was, and the stubborn expression on his face added to the image of a sulking child. "Good boy. You'll live long. Now, Captain Norrington, let's not beat around the bush: I want Will Turner." "Will Turner is dead." Logan backhanded him with such violence that Norrington feared his neck might break. Something wet touched his lips, and he realised that his nose was bleeding. He chided himself for being a fool - he should have expected something like that. It took two of Logan's men to hold Gillette back. Despite the rope around his wrists, he tried to attack the pirate. "Don't you dare to touch him, you bastard!" he screamed. "Leave him alone! I'll kill you if you touch him again! Let him go!" Logan yawned and rolled his eyes. "Your cabin boy is most bothersome. I tell you for the last time, hold back boy, or you'll never see another sunrise." "Don't get involved, Mr. Gillette. This is my business," Norrington said, trying to sound calm. "And you, Logan: I killed Turner myself. Shot him dead, saw him disappearing in the sea." Another hit. Logan wore a ring with a large diamond, and Norrington could feel how the jewel cut his cheek. His mouth began to fill with the metallic taste of blood. "Don't play games with me. Turner is alive, and I want him." "Will Turner is dead." A punch in the stomach threw Norrington off his feet. "I know he lives. And I know he has Jack Sparrow's compass. So save your life and the life of your cabin boy here and tell me where I can find him." So his gut feeling had been right all along - Logan was after the compass! "Will Turner is dead." Blows and kicks, slaps and punches rained down on Norrington, but he only repeated stubbornly over and over again that Will Turner was dead. Finally, Logan decided to change his tactics. "I admire your courage and your tolerance for pain, but it won't get you anywhere. Sooner or later you will tell me what I want to know. But I see that you're done for today, so we'll have to take a break. Roberts, bring our firebrand forward." Gillette had fumed and rioted and cursed all through Norrington's ordeal. It wasn't easy for the two men to drag him in front of Logan, and they were as bruised as Gillette by then. "He has nothing to do with this," Norrington protested. It was difficult to breathe, he felt as if stones weighed down on his chest, and his vision was blurred. Logan grinned and ran his hand through Gillette's hair, then yanking his head brutally back, which elicited a pained yelp from the man. "Who cares? Now he has. And maybe you'll show more willingness to cooperate if you see what your stubbornness does to your cabin boy, Captain Norrington. Roberts, fetch the cat." * * * Ragetti's random notes: John Lee became famous as "the man they couldn't hang". They tried it three times, without success, as punishment for the murder of Emma Keyse. Today, over a hundred years later, experts tend to think that Lee (a Navy man, by the way) was actually innocent, and some claim that the three times failed hanging was divine intervention. In Captain Logan's case, however, divine powers were not involved. Back Next |
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| CHAPTER 8: Painful Interrogation by Molly Joyful |