Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its very fabulous characters, although I wish I did…
Summary: Ace is an undercover agent for the World Government's top assassination force CP9. His mission to infiltrate the Chicago police force and get close to the rough and rugged captain who also has his own mysterious past of heart break and loss. What Ace doesn't count on is forming a bond with the man whom he has sworn to loath for all eternity. What will he do now? Modern AU. Contains Yaoi (boyxboy lovin') so if you don't like, don't read. Rated M
Pairings: Portgas D Ace x Smoker, Zoro x Sanji, Luffy x Nami, Robin x Franky, and many, many more ;^)
This is my first fanfiction, and my first yaoi, so please please please leave comments on what you like and don't like! Ive never published any of my writing before, so I would really love to know what you guys think!
This story is in revision. 5-7-15
Hellfire
Chapter 1
Ace's alarm sounded in an obnoxious pattern of beeps increasing in volume with every cycle until he leaned over on his side to smack the 'off' button, groaning into his pillow. He flipped onto his back again and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. Damn, he hated mornings…
Sighing, he rolled out of bed, and ran a hand through his messy bed hair as he padded into the kitchen of his new apartment. Ace made his way to the sink and felt his bare foot rush up against a mound of fluff. An annoyed growl soon followed.
Ace chuckled as his cat, who was basically just a grumpy ball of gray fuzz, staggered drunkenly toward the empty food dish. The cat glared evilly at Ace and gave an impatient "mowah" as the raven got a glass of water.
"Yeah, yeah, Fatty. Your foods coming," Ace said with affection, and proceeded to get the food.
He placed the food in the bowl and tried to casually place a hand on the head of the gray feline, only to draw it back sharply milliseconds before the cats fangs snapped the air where his finger had previously been.
Ace shook his head as he made his way to the bathroom and into the shower. He sighed again as the hot water ran over his tense muscles. Ace thought about the new 'job' he was starting today. More lies to live, more pretending. He turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist. As he dried his wet hair with another towel, he heard the faint 'ping' of his phone as it received a text message. He walked out of the bathroom and over to the night stand beside his bed. Flipping open his phone, Ace read the message:
The boss wishes you good luck.
Ace gave an annoyed huff, snapping the phone shut, "'Good luck' my ass. This assignment is fucking impossible."
Towel around his slender neck, Ace opened the closet and looked dully at the suits that hung on the racks on one side and then at his own comfortable clothes on the other. What to choose…, Ace thought. In his line of work, impressions were everything. Can't spin a good story without playing the part, so he needed to be careful. One fuck up and the whole operation went to hell.
Reaching into the closet, he pulled out one of the monkey suits. Rather be an overdressed prick than an under dressed prick, right? He grumbled internally as he dressed himself. After brushing back his damp hair back, and he put his favorite pair of boots, Ace grabbed his brief case off of the kitchen table along with his keys. He shrugged on a wool coat and wrapped a very badly knitted scarf that Luffy had made for Ace when they were children around his neck. Ace shoved the keys in his coat pocket, checked the cat food dish one more time, then headed out the door.
The door to the police station slammed with aloud crack as the wind blew it shut, catching Ace in the ass. He hissed in pain and embarrassment, but either this happened quite frequently or the police staff were really dedicated to their work, because they didn't even acknowledge Ace.
He cautiously made his way toward a desk with a friendly looking woman. He stood there patiently for a few moments, waiting for attention, before he cleared his throat politely. The woman's short bob bounced as she jerked up her head from reading her paperwork, her unfocused brown eyes meeting his in slight confusion.
"I-I'm sorry. Can I help you?" she asked kindly, fixing the glasses that had slipped down her nose.
"Uh, I hope so. I'm Portgas the-"
"The transfer from New York! Yes!" she interrupted, clapping her hands in happiness, "We've heard so much about you! Please, I'll show to your office."
The police officer shot up quickly from her chair, ushering Ace to follow. She led him to a door at the end of a dim hallway, and opened it. The room smelled strongly of cigar smoke, the air slightly hazy.
The woman police officer waved a hand in front of her face, coughing, " I'm so sorry. Let me open some windows and get some fresh air in here."
Ace followed her into the smoky room. The office was a pretty decent size; the objects sparse. Only two desks and three large metal filing cabinets occupied the room. On the front of one desk was the name plaque 'Portgas D. Ace', but on the other desk the plaque was covered with dozens of papers scattered from the wind from when the windows were opened.
Ace turned to the woman as he placed his briefcase on the desks surface, "Thank you very much, Miss…?"
The woman waited a moment in expectation until she realized she hadn't introduced herself. "Oh," she blushed slightly, "I'm Tashigi! I'm an assistant of Captain Smoker."
Captain Smoker. Ace thought sourly, remembering the Captains file. "Ah, yes," he smiled coolly, "Well, it is nice to meet-"
Ace was interrupted for a second time as the door to the office slammed open, the wind scattering even more papers. Ace jumped slightly in surprise, but Tashigi grimaced in embarrassment as a burly man in a huge white over coat stomped into the office, stopping short when he saw Ace.
"Who the hell are you?" the man asked gruffly.
Ace didn't like the tone that the man used, and now he knew for sure that this was not going to go as he planned. This huge man seemed to fill the room with his presence. He stood there, with two cigars in his mouth, his thick white hair wind swept, and his face pink from the cold. Even without reading the man's file and studying it, Ace was sure that he would have recognized the authoritative aura this man held.
Ace cleared his throat politely and stuck out his hand, "Portgas D. Ace at your service, sir."
The man, who Ace recognized as Captain Smoker, looked down at Ace's outstretched hand, then back at Ace's face.
"So, you're the brat they sent from New York? Well, kid, Chicago is a hellva lot different the NYC," Smoker growled as he walked around Tashigi, and sat down at his desk.
Ace watched the man gather up all the loose papers on his desk and stick them unceremoniously in to a drawer, and locked it.
"Tashigi," Smoker called.
"Yes, sir?"
"Get those addresses for the two informants for today's meetings, and" He added as he tapped cigar ash into the tray on his desk, "get the kid some proper equipment. If he gets shot we wouldn't want him to bleed all over that pretty suit of his."
"Yes, sir, right away!" Tashigi complied, smiling at Ace as she left the room, the door shutting with a soft click.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room before Smoker snapped, "Shut those damn windows, brat. It's cold enough to freeze your balls off in here."
Ace begrudgingly did as the Captain asked, then went back to his own desk. Ace had thought this was going to be difficult enough to get on Smoker's good side, but actually having now meet Smoker, he realized he basically had a snowballs chance in hell in getting what he needed from the cigar smoking bastard.
The raven had no idea of how to approach Smoker besides through time, but that was time that he didn't have. The man was as clean cut as a cop could be. The Captains file described him as a hard ass cop that saw strictly in black and white. Smoker was known throughout Chicago as the White Hunter, a demon that didn't stop until the job was done. He was a man that accepted no bribes, and no surrender.
Ace draped his overcoat and scarf over the back of his chair, not bothered at all by the cold air in the room. He looked at Smoker who was opening his mouth to voice a biting comment, but fortunately it was cut off as Tashigi walked back into the office. She handed the Captain a Post-it note, and waited beside his desk.
Smoker's eyebrows furrowed as he read the scrawled words across the slip of paper. He looked up at Tashigi, " What? Why are you still here?"
Tashigi rolled her eyes as she adjusted the glasses on her face, "I need the keys to the armory, Captain. You wanted Mr. Portgas to have proper equipment?"
Smoker grumbled as he fished a set of keys from the pocket of his coat, and handed them to Tashigi.
The police woman then motioned for Ace to follow her, and guided him down a flight of steps that lead down to the basement. They walked along a short hallway and reached a wall that was made of cage. A booth was barricaded off to the side behind it.
Two young men sat in the booth, watching Ace with interest. The shorter of the two, a boy with pink hair, seemed to snap out of the daze first by calling, "Hi, Miss Tashigi! How's it going? Is that the transfer from New York?"
Tashigi smiled fondly, "I'm fine, Colby, thanks for asking. Hello to you to Helmeppo," Tashigi greeted to both boys, "Yeah, this is Ace. We are here to get him some gear."
Colby smiled, while the blond, Helmeppo, just glared at Ace, studying him. Ace gave them a polite half smile in greeting. Colby hopped out of the chair he had been sitting in as Tashigi unlocked the cage door. The pinkette walked over to the newcomers.
"It's great to meet you, " The teen smiled warmly and stuck out his hand to Ace.
Ace took the offered limb politely and shook it firmly, and then took in the room they were now standing in. "So," he asked, "This is the armory?"
Colby nodded eagerly as he lead Ace and Tashigi to another door and quickly typed a code in the code key pad. Ace mentally stored the code sequence in his memory as the boy talked,
"Me and Helmeppo are down here a lot, so, if you have any questions or need help, don't be afraid to come to us. Now," the pinkette clicked on the lights and gestured to the farthest wall of the room, "the vests are over there, and the weapons are all along the east wall."
Ace thanked the teen and walked over toward the displayed weapons. He felt Tashigi watch him as he grabbed the nearest gun and examined it, checking the balance, its weight and the feel of it in his hand. He put it down, not satisfied. He picked up another and another until he had examined at least seven different guns.
He turned to Tashigi, "I know that these are standard issued police weapons, but do you have something maybe more slender? The bulk and weight of these guns wouldn't let me fire quickly enough."
Tashigi seemed surprised at his question, but smiled broadly at him before she walked over to a locked cabinet. She unlocked it and withdrew another weapon, then she relocked the cabinet and went back to Ace, placing the gun in his hand.
Ace tested the gun in all the ways he had the others, and then nodded as he accepted it. "Feels good. Thanks."
Tashigi continued to smile at him like he had just won the lottery, and was starting to make him uncomfortable. He quickly walked back to the two teens in the booth and filled out the necessary paperwork before making his way back up the stairs to his and Smoker's office, Tashigi was in tow.
He reentered the office, running his fingers through his hair in mental frustration. This was going to take more work than he had originally thought.
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