Title: Revolutionary in Reverse
Summary: AU Smoker, an ordinary police captain in Las Vegas, finds himself over his head when he receives an order to pursue two brothers, Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace. But the further he goes into their world of danger, conspiracies and secrets, the more he finds the fine line between good and justice becoming blurred…
Author's Note: Okay…first One Piece fic. It's an AU because the plot bunnies wouldn't get out of my head. I think it's going to be pretty long, and not exactly focused on Smoker (so sorry if you're a fan). And, I really think that there should be more One Piece fanfics!
Oh yeah, just a quick note: since my other fic, Wizards and Puppies, is going to be my priority, updates for this will take a while and often be sporadic, but the chapters will probably be longer. So, here goes nothing…
Prologue
Fifteen years ago.
"Shh, stay quiet." The older boy whispered. One hand was wrapped protectively around the shoulders of the younger boy, still no more than five, who nodded solemnly in understanding. Though usually the younger of the two was not one to listen to anything anyone said, the older boy managed to convey a tone of urgency that managed to override his unruly nature, even if it was only for a while.
Currently, the two children were crouched in a dark alleyway on the streets of the huge metropolis, and the stench of decomposing trash and sewage permeated the area, like a malevolent miasma stifling the air and the two unfortunate boys. Two minutes passed in complete silence, only broken by the faint sounds of traffic and bustle, and even those were muted in this place.
Five blocks away, the boys knew, was a building, tall and imperious but strangely menacing, and with the large word "Raftel" printed in big letters on the front, above the emblazoned sign of the country's emblem. And in front of the building, directed by a few men in dark suits, there was a large crowd of soldiers, all armed with standard military gear: bullet-proof vests, helmets, and guns. It was the perfect preparation for a hunt.
The soldiers already had the area surrounded, and all they needed to do was to flush out their quarry. The search would be methodical, the careful combing of every inch, not a single place would be overlooked. The soldiers would find what they were looking for, they always had. There was no need to hurry, because, after all, they had all the time in the world. There was no escape, and the quarry knew it.
The older boy's hand trembled ever so slightly against the younger one's shoulders, a movement so small that it was nearly imperceptible. But the younger boy noticed, and looked up towards the freckled face of his brother, dark eyes innocently wide. The older boy saw the gaze, and his eyes hardened, his hand became firm, and his grip tightened reassuringly. There was no need to worry, his promised silently.
Two agonizingly slow minutes crawled by for the two boys in the alleyway. "'m hungry." Finally unable to stand the silence and boredom, the younger boy spoke softly, his eyes pleading.
"Quiet!" his complaint was immediately rebuked. The older boy, looking tense, motioned for him to be silent once again.
Silence reigned once again. The older boy's eyes fell shut, and for a moment he looked almost serene, until, "Are we going to-" The younger boy didn't finish before the older boy's eyes snapped open, and he placed a hand over the other's mouth, gently but securely.
The approaching sound of heavy combat boots sounded nearby. Both the boys quieted, sinking lower into the shadows. They were as still as the shadows themselves.
But still, the soldiers approached. The boys tensed, the muscles in their bodies tightly strung, like bowstrings ready to snap at any given moment. Closer. The older boy's eyes searched around, like a cornered beast, looking for some way to escape…
"I think there's something over—"
The soldier who spoke never got a chance to finish, because at that moment, a deceptively small fist slammed into his face, with such force that it shattered his jaw and simultaneously knocked him unconscious. But, much to the attacker's dismay, a final gasping cry escaped from the man's lips, not loud enough to be a scream, but it was sufficient to notify his companions to the incident.
"Hey!" three men turned and saw the small figures, no longer hidden, but revealed for all to see.
"RUN!" the boy who had attacked shouted, latching on to the younger boy's hand.
"Why you brats…you can't escape!"
Run, runrunrunrun…
Hearts pounding, bare feet pattering on pavement.
There was no turning back, because they would not—could not return to the hell that they had just escaped from.
"Run!" the older boy said again, gasping. The younger boy stood still for an uncertain moment, innocent dark eyes unfathomable, and then broke into a run, understanding the urgency of the situation in his brother's voice. He ran with the fear of an animal escaping the bloodthirsty jaws of its predator, like the wide-eyed, quick-footed rabbit.
Behind him, the older boy turned around to face the squad of soldiers. Even outnumbered nine-to-one, he still had the look of that some would call madness, some bravery, but clearly stating that no one would pass.
A soldier raised his weapon, but was quickly stopped by one of his companions, "Idiot! We need them alive."
The boy's eyes flared, filling with anger as tangible as fire. He spoke, four words with such determination that even the trained soldiers faltered for a split second, "You won't touch him!"
One week ago. Los Angeles.
Two black sedans silently escorted the large transport truck rolling solemnly down the street, one on the front and one behind. It was a scene unusual enough to draw the stares of the more curious folk, and most of these folk were wondering silently or not so silently who exactly was in those vehicles, and what they were transporting that was so important it required escorts. The blank sides and the conspicuously missing license plates on the black sedans as well as the truck did nothing to check the gossip.
The truck did in fact belong to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more commonly known as the FBI. And currently, the woman known as Agent "Black Cage" Hina was sitting in the passenger seat of the foremost vehicle, her arms crossed in front of her chest in a seemingly relaxed manner.
Intelligent brown eyes roamed around restlessly behind long blonde hair, betraying the impatience she felt inside. "How much longer?" she asked the driver beside her, a fellow co-worker by the name of Fullbody.
"Just ten more minutes 'till we arrive at the destination point." Fullbody replied, glancing in her direction.
"Good. I can't wait to get this load off our hands." Hina muttered. It was true; the "special delivery" that they were making gave her an ominous feeling, especially since they had not been informed as to what it was they were delivering. In fact, the only orders they received was to deliver it, whatever it was, to the nearest scientific research department. Government or not, the whole thing just stunk of conspiracies or foul play.
"Of course, darlin'," Fullbody drawled. "Say, after this is over with, why don't we—"
"Shut up." Hina didn't even wait for her co-worker to finish his proposal, "Don't flirt with me on the job, idiot."
Said idiot pouted silently, but made no more attempts to invite her to dinner. He had seen her in action before, and knew that she was definitely not the kind of girl that he wanted to piss off. "Sheesh, stubborn prick." He muttered under his breath.
But apparently he hadn't been quiet enough, because the next thing he felt was a sharp jab to the side of his head, courtesy of the stubborn, seriously annoyed prick in the passenger seat.
"Don't make me say it again, Fullbody. Shut. Up."
The car once more lapsed into silence, and Hina closed her eyes for a moment, telling herself to calm down. Just ten more minutes, she reassured herself. She could wait that long. After all, what could happen in merely ten min—
BOOM!
Out of instinct, Hina threw herself down, simultaneously reaching for the holstered gun strapped to her belt, and Fullbody, still a trained agent despite his slight shortcomings, cursed and braced himslef. A millisecond later, the sedan flew forward with enough force to knock the breath out of both agents and bring stars to their vision.
Their car flipped, skidding to a rough stop ten feet away from where it had been seconds before, wheels still running uselessly in the air.
The door burst open, kicked out from the inside, to reveal a slightly bruised and ruffled but still mostly unharmed Hina. She had her gun raised in front of her while her eyes scanned the surroundings. The transport truck that they had been escorting was now a burning wreck, blown apart by some tremendous force.
A bomb!?
She searched around for any suspicious-looking people, but the only people around were frightened bystanders. Screams had already started to sound in the area. The agents in the flanking car had already gotten up, and were now shouting for the civilians to calm down, but only succeeding in creating more chaos.
"Fullbody! What's your status?" Hina called, sparing a glance towards the upturned car.
"S-still alive…" the other agent replied, sounding shaken but not injured.
"Pity." Hina returned her attention to the burning wreckage. Damn, the higher ups are not going to like that…
Suddenly, something in the fire seemed to move. Her brown orbs widened, and her hands lowered the gun, almost of their own accord. "What the…!"
In the fire was a pair of dark eyes staring back at her. Hina's first reaction was to shout for help, there was obviously someone trapped behind there. But all ideas to help were abandoned as she suddenly realized that first, there was a person standing in the fire, and second, he seemed to be completely unharmed. "Impossible!" disbelief filled her mind, as her brain tried to comprehend what her eyes were telling her.
As if noticing her gaze, the person suddenly turned away, disappearing into the flame. But Hina could not pull her eyes away from the spot that she had last seen the figure, even when Fullbody managed to pull himself out of the driver's seat and ask her if she were alright.
She could have sworn that right before it disappeared, the figure had given her a grin and a cheeky salute.
TBC
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