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Chaos exploded in the bathhouse. The pirates all turned to fight the East India Trading Company agents together. Whatever danger the pirates posed to each other, they knew that the agents were a much, much, worse threat.
Below the room, Pintel and Ragetti lit the fuses on the grenades. A moment later, an enormous explosion rocked the building, and half the floorboards collapsed, forming a ramp to the lower floor. The pirates rushed up the ramp and joined the fight.
Sao Feng shoved Steng aside and leaped into battle, leading his pirates forward. The dust from the collapsing building shrouded the fight in shadowy smoke. The clang and crash of swords and pistols rang through the darkness.
Glancing up, Elizabeth saw Beckett’s aide, Mercer, striding into the bathhouse with a phalanx of soldiers behind him.
As the walls continued to tremble and collapse around them, the pirates clambered over the rubble and escaped into the street outside. Pistol shots rang out as pirates leaped from dock to dock, swung on ropes, and swarmed up ladders. They fled in all directions, fighting for their lives.
Amidst the fighting, Pintel spotted Steng, and, seeing his dragon tattoo, thought that he was a fellow pirate. Suddenly, a stack of crates started to fall and Pintel quickly leaped forward to push Steng out of the way.
Steng turned and slashed at Pintel with his knife. Pintel jumped back.
“Hey, ” he protested, “you’re a pirate!” But Pintel was well versed in the Code, and he knew that a true pirate would fight the East India Trading Company before his own kind—even if they were usually on opposite sides. This man was no pirate!
Steng grinned and slashed at Pintel again. Pintel fell backward over a rail and landed with a splash in the river below. He burst to the surface sputtering and coughing but otherwise unharmed.
A few of the agents, running through the streets, came across the cart that Tia Dalma had been pushing. The mystic was nowhere in sight. Seeing a group of pirates turn to fire at them, the agents ducked behind the cart, using it as cover. But suddenly there was a great fluttering of wings, and all the canaries burst out through the doors of their cages, which had been left open. Something was wrong. Realizing it was a trap, the agents jumped up to run just as the cart exploded in a giant fireball.
Nearby, a wall collapsed, and Mercer, who had been eagerly partaking in the action, was knocked into a shadowy corner. Slightly dazed, Mercer stood to rejoin the fight and then froze.
He had happened upon an interesting scene.
Sao Feng had a knife to Will Turner’s throat. In the background, the sound of fighting continued. But in this dark corner, Will and Sao Feng were alone—or so they thought.
“Odd coincidence, isn’t it?” Sao Feng hissed. “The East India Trading Company finds me the day you show up in Singapore.”
“It is coincidence only,” Will replied.
With a twist he broke free from Sao Feng’s grasp. He pulled his own knife and stood facing the Pirate Lord. Unseen in the shadows, Mercer grinned and drew his pistol. Here was the perfect opportunity to kill Will Turner and the Pirate Lord of Singapore. He aimed carefully.
“You want to cut a deal with Beckett?” Will asked Sao Feng. “You need what I offer.”
Mercer paused.
“You crossed Barbossa,” Sao Feng said. “You’re willing to cross Jack Sparrow—why should I expect any better?”
“They are in the way of what I want,” Will said. “You’re helping me get it.”
Sao Feng nodded. This was logic he understood. And he stood to gain much from this underhanded deal.
“You betray me,” he said in a low voice to Will, “and I will slit your throat.”
“Then we have an understanding,” said Will.
They lowered their knives, and Sao Feng handed Will the navigational charts to the World of the Dead. With a nod, Will disappeared into the darkness, Mercer close behind.
Having escaped the battle, Elizabeth and Barbossa ran up to the docks and found Will standing on one of the platforms. Barbossa spotted the charts in his hand.
“You have the charts!” he cried, delighted.
“And better,” Will said. He indicated Tai Huang behind him. “A ship and a crew.”
“Where’s Sao Feng?” Elizabeth asked.
“He will cover our escape, then meet us at Shipwreck Cove,” Will answered. Elizabeth was puzzled. Why had Sao Feng given in, after arguing against them so strongly? Perhaps the attack by the East India Trading Company had made him realize what a grave threat they were. Regardless, they had what they had come for, so Elizabeth decided to accept it without any further questions.
“This way,” Tai Huang said. “Be quick.”
Tia Dalma, Pintel, Ragetti, and Cotton appeared out of the smoke and together they ran after Tai Huang.
From his spot in the shadows, Mercer smiled to himself. He hardly had to do anything. The pirates were turning on each other, and as long as they were divided, they were no match for the East India Trading Company. Soon, they would be wiped out.
On board the Hai Peng , Will Turner stood at the rail, watching Singapore burn. The fire that had started in the bathhouse was now spreading quickly through the wooden shacks and platforms that made up the city. While his eyes were on the flames, his thoughts were far away. Over and over, he thought about the deal he had made with Sao Feng. If only he could tell Elizabeth ... but that was impossible. They both had secrets now. And she would never understand his motivations, just as he could not, would not, ever understand her feelings for Jack.
As the ship continued to sail out of the harbor, Barbossa stomped up to Will. “You weren’t supposed to get caught,” he snarled.
Will regarded him evenly. “It worked out the way I wanted,” he said, and moved away. Barbossa could never know that Will had deliberately let himself be captured so he could speak privately with Sao Feng and offer a deal. It had been a risky venture, but the risk would be worth it if it meant he could rescue his father. He slipped down into the depths of the ship.
Elizabeth Swann stood at the rail, too, watching as the fires consumed the harbor. “There’s no place left for him to cower,” she said softly. “Do you think Sao Feng will honor the call?”
Tia Dalma stepped out of the darkness. “I cannot say,” the powerful mystic murmured, her eyes seeming to see beyond the burning ships and docks. “There be something on the seas that even the most staunch and bloodthirsty pirates have come to fear ...”
Elizabeth shivered, knowing Tia Dalma was speaking of the Flying Dutchman . Although it was halfway around the world, she felt as if she could sense the dreaded ship lurking in the depths of the ocean.
They had to rescue Jack Sparrow. For there was only one hope for the pirates: to stand together against Davy Jones and the East India Trading Company. If they could not do that ... they were all doomed.