Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

It creaked, but not too loudly. Pushing the door open, Jack blew
out the candle, placed it a foot from the door inside the passageway,
then closed the door behind him and relocked it. He stood for a
moment, listening, but couldn’t hear anything but the sounds made by
the unhappy denizens of the cells. Before him, the passageway ran for
about twenty feet, then split.
Leftmost passageway…first cellblock. Rightmost…second
cellblock.
Jack headed right. Moments later he was standing before
Christophe’s cell, having entered the cellblock from the opposite side
of the dungeon from the guard post.
Christophe was on his feet, waiting for him. “Jacques!” he
whispered. “Mon Dieu, it’s been forever, where have you been?”
Taking in Jack’s disheveled condition, he added, “What have you been
doing?”
“Shhhh!” Jack cautioned. Turning to face the rest of the cellblock,
the faces pressed against the bars, he held up the keys and put a
finger to his lips, then pointed to himself. The level of chatter ceased.
Then, as La Vipère’s crew caught his meaning, the background chatter
picked up again.
“We have to hurry,” Jack breathed to Christophe. “The guards
come through every twenty minutes or so to make sure nothing’s
amiss.”
Finding the right key, he quickly unlocked Christophe’s cell. “Be
quiet, Christophe,” he cautioned. “Borya’s men aren’t far away. They’re
in the first cellblock. If he gets wind of what’s going on, he’ll surely
betray you.” Stepping back, he eased the door open.
The next few minutes were busy. Jack handed Christophe the ring
of keys, and together they moved quietly down the cellblock. As he
unlocked each cell, Christophe spoke in a hushed whisper, cautioning
his men to remain in the cell with the door shut until he gave the signal.
As they neared the end of the long row of cells, Christophe
seemed to remember something that had escaped him. Placing a
hand on Jack’s arm, he fixed his rescuer with a penetrating stare. “You
will be going with us, mon ami, non?”
Jack shook his head. “No. Once all your men’s cells are unlocked,