AN: Happy birthday again, dear Joyce! Yeah, the fic is like super late. Sorry for that.
I hope you don't mind too much that I decided to connect the fic with the actual situation in Ferguson, and a little message for everybody who reads this.
I hope you enjoy the story.
Reviews are welcomed
The fic is vaguely inspired by Bonnie and Clyde.
One Piece belongs to Oda-sensei.
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Izou watched the man sitting opposite him carefully, waiting for him to start talking.
The white-haired police officer stared into his coffee with utmost concentration, only taking an occasional drag from his cigar.
"Officer Smoker.." the Asian man decided to break the silence and shifted in his seat to a more comfortable position for taking notes, hoping that he wouldn't have to wait even longer.
"Alright..." Smoker muttered, taking a last deep breath before finally starting to tell the story the young journalist was so eager to hear.
"What do you already know about Jewelry Bonney and Basil Hawkins?" he asked as he leaned back into the armchair.
"I have done some research on their past, to be honest." Izou gave the other a brief smile. "The most spectacular thing about Bonney was her marriage to a certain X Drake she never divorced. And maybe the lack of a criminal record. Hawkins on the other side has a nice criminal record and was even sent to prison..."
"Where he beat an inmate to death." Smoker finished the sentence in a grim voice.
"He was sexually assaulted by him." Izou couldn't help but argue.
"He murdered him!" the officer barked.
"Oh, what else should he have done? Go an report it to the prison guards?" the young man sneered. Smoker shot him a deadly glare. He knew that the other was right, but admitting it would mean admitting that the government was at fault and he didn't want to do that yet.
"It is said that Basil's goal after getting out of prison and continuing his criminal career wasn't fame or anything like that. He wanted to get revenge on the prison system for the abuse he suffered." Izou was looking directly into Smoker's eyes, a challenging smile on his lips.
"What do you want?" the officer growled, unsure of how to react thanks to his inner conflict.
"I want to write their story. Nothing more. But I can't do that based on lies. That's all." the reporter was still smiling.
Smoker on the other hand was frowning even more, but he didn't say anything.
"Okay. So let's continue." Izou continued. "Can you tell me something more abut how the two of them met or is it still unclear?" the Asian man asked, playing with the pen in his hand.
"Still noting." the officer answered, obviously annoyed about the fact.
"What a pity... " Even if the comment sounded sarcastic, Izou meant it for once as it made writing the story a bit more difficult. He felt silent for a short moment, contemplating what to ask next as the other man didn't seem eager to talk freely.
"Could you give ma a short overview of the crimes they committed?" the raven asked finally.
Smoker shot him a disapproving look."You can look that up in the police archive."
"Please answer the question, Officer." Izou responded politely, causing Smoker to frown even more.
"They were robbers, killers and kidnappers." the white-haired man said finally.
"Are you sure about that?" the journalist questioned again. "It seems that there is no proof that Miss Jewelry killed somebody."
It was obvious that Smoker was slowly loosing his patience, as the knuckles on his hand clenching the glass turned white.
"No. There isn't any proof." he hissed.
Izou made a short note before looking up again. "Than why was she shot? I heard Ranger Akainu didn't even give them the chance to surrender." he asked innocently.
"What the hell are you aiming at?" Smoker's voice was trembling with suppressed anger.
"Nothing, Officer." Izou retorted, calm as ever. "Can I continue?"
Smoker only nodded in response, the vein on his forehead throbbing.
"So, could you tell me why exactly each of the six rangers ambushing the couple gave a different report?" the reporter wasn't smiling anymore as he posed the question, his eyes looking for even the smallest reaction on the others face.
"So that's what you were trying to get at." Smoker was suddenly calm. It seemed almost as if he had reached an inner peace. "You are right. The police made a lot of mistakes here. The whole system is corrupt and not working and the 'justice' actually isn't just."
"Thank you." Izou smiled again, but this time it was a honest smile, and stood up. "That's all I wanted to hear. I hope this realization makes you want to change something. Have a good day." with these words the young reporter left, leaving the stunned Smoker sitting alone in his armchair.