A/N: Hello again, treasured readers! It's been a long wait, hasn't it? Don't worry, we're getting into the home stretch here. Thank you kindly for bearing with me all this time.
Also, I've individually replied to everyone's reviews on my special new blog, so check it out over at: vegaisthereply dot tumblr dot com. Click the 'tags' link if you'd like to sort reviews by a specific fic, or search by your username, and more.
Somewhere in a smoky office, two men are sitting on either side of a desk...
"So I take it the meeting went well?"
"Well enough, no one should have any complaints now."
"That's good...aren't you happy you decided to accept my offer?"
"As long as it continues to be mutually beneficial."
"Speaking of beneficial.. that doctor of yours is very interesting."
"...And?"
"And I was just thinking I wouldn't mind.. borrowing him for a little while. Thoughts?"
"Borrowing? Are you planning to give him back?"
"I'm not planning on killing this one, if that's what you're asking."
"Do what you want, just don't bother me about it."
"Of course, I'll just need his current address...?"
"I'll have it sent to you. Now if you didn't come here for anything, leave."
"Fufufu, always so cold, my dear Crocodile, but if you insist. I'll be back again another time."
-x-
Law is just getting ready to leave when he hears a knock on the door, and sighs, slipping into his jacket before going to answer it.
"Shachi I told you you didn't need to come pick me up—oh." It's not Shachi, but a tall dark-haired stranger in sunglasses and a white coat. "My apologies, can I help you?"
"Trafalgar Law?"
"Yes?"
"You'll need to come with me."
"...Regarding?"
"Doflamingo has invited you to his estate, and I am here to escort you. You can call me Mr. Vergo."
Law's brain stutters to a halt at the mention of Doflamingo's name.
Oh. Fuck.
He tries to slam the door but Vergo catches it and forces his way in. Next Law turns to run towards his bedroom, where he's got that gun Kid gave him tucked away in the closet, but Vergo catches him before he gets two steps away and slams him into the wall, and Law hisses in pain from having his head bounced off the wall and curses a blue streak.
"Don't try to run," Vergo says, "Doflamingo wants you in one piece."
That makes Law's stomach do a sickening flip, and he picks up his struggle with more than a bit of desperate energy as Vergo attempts to pin his arms behind his back, but he gets off a lucky kick to Vergo's ribs. Then Vergo just sneers at him and hauls back and punches him in the head so hard he blacks out.
-x-
Shachi turns up at Law's apartment and knocks on the door. Waits. Calls Law's phone for the fifth time, still no answer. Knocks again. He sighs and gets out the spare key Law gave him and lets himself into the apartment, because he's not going to stand around in the hall until Law decided he wanted to leave. He suspects he'll find Law engrossed in some weird book, ignoring his phone and the door because he didn't want to get dressed and leave the house before noon like a normal person. That was usually the case when he didn't show up to their agreed upon lunch spot on time. But now it's after one and he's starving and in no mood for Law's bullshit.
Fully prepared to complain at Law until he put down the book and gets ready for lunch, it takes Shachi a moment to register the signs of a struggle in the hall.
His adrenaline spikes, "Oh fuck."
He grabs his phone.
"Killer! Law- the doc's fucking gone! Somebody fucking took him! Do something!"
"What? Slow down."
"He didn't show up to lunch and he didn't answer his phone and I went to his apartment there's broken shit all over the place and HE'S FUCKING GONE!"
"Okay, relax. When was the last time you talked to him? Did anything seem strange?"
"I don't know! Yesterday?! Nothing was wrong he was fine!"
He hears a huff over the phone before Killer replies, "Alright, stop yelling. Stay there, we'll pick you up."
-x-
When his consciousness starts to float back he's being carried over somebody's shoulder with his wrists bound, his head is pounding like mad, and everything is blurry. He has a vague realization that he's probably concussed and he tries to struggle weakly, but it does nothing and he fades again fast.
-x-
Killer ends the call, and takes a deep breath before he goes to find Kid and break the news that Hotcheeks is missing. Predictably, Kid does not take it well. There is a lot of shouting that, on top of Shachi's yelling through the phone a minute ago, leaves Killer's ears ringing before Kid eventually calms down enough to get his shit together and they head out.
Fifteen minutes later they show up at the doc's place, where Shachi flings open the door when they knock. "Oh thank god I didn't know what to do, what do we do!"
Killer is unperturbed by Shachi's frantic demand, but by now Kid seems straight up rabid. He's wild-eyed, his hair is standing on end, and the muscle in his jaw twitching. He actually snarls when he sees the upended side table in the hall and the broken lamp. Shachi just gets the hell out of his way as Kid stalks into the apartment, glaring like he's expecting the culprit to jump out from behind the couch so he can wring their neck until their head pops off.
Killer lets Kid stomp around while he pulls Shachi aside to calm the kid down because clearly he was about to burn a fuse. "We're going to figure out what happened to the doc. Has anything out of the ordinary happened in the past few days?"
After a few questions it's clear none of them know anything, but Killer finds it unusual that this is the second doctor that's gone missing in the last six months. When he brings that up, Shachi and Kid both vehemently agree that what's more important is their doctor is missing. Well, Kid really just growls, and his lip is starting to curl in that way it does before extensive property damage ensues.
Killer sighs and rubs his temple. Whenever a crisis happens he always ends up having to handle it because everybody around him always lost their goddamn heads. Kid was great at ruthlessly executing a plan, but he had a bit of trouble responding to situations that required flexible thinking. Especially when someone like his sort-of boyfriend was involved.
He figures it might be useful to get an unbiased perspective at this point, and takes out his phone to call Marco, who picks up after a few rings.
"Hello?"
"Marco, Killer. We've got a problem."
He explains the situation, and Marco listens in silence, until Killer wraps it up with, "I was thinking this seems similar to the last time we lost a doctor."
"I'm inclined to agree with you."
"Alright, I can call Croc and then we-"
"No," Macro replies sharply. Hm.
"...Well we have to do something now or my capo is going to start dismantling the city looking for the guy."
There's a long pause on the other end of the line.
"And why would he do that?"
Killer sighs. He didn't really want to get into this, but there was a legitimate danger that if Marco didn't understand the full scope of this emergency then he wouldn't be inclined to take it as seriously as was necessary before Kid just started strangling whoever he could catch.
"Long story short, he's very invested in getting the doc back and he will resort to any means necessary, so it's in everyone's best interest to figure out how to do that as soon as possible."
"Any means necessary, is that so. ...And you?"
Me? What does this have to do with me? "I don't think I understand what you're getting at."
Macro clears his throat quietly, "Alright I'll get to the point. I need to know if both of you would do anything to get the doctor back, no matter who is responsible."
The implication immediately brings him to full attention. Marco knows a lot more than he's saying, and he didn't want Killer to contact the Boss.
There are two glaring possibilities: either Marco wanted to save the doc and Crocodile would sabotage that effort somehow... or Marco didn't want the Boss to find out because Marco was somehow involved in the doctor's disappearance.
Killer hastily runs through everything that could possibly be relevant to deciding whether he should trust Marco, because if he gets it wrong and something even worse happens to the doc, Kid would either mope for the rest of eternity, or kill him and then mope. Both highly undesirable outcomes.
Points in Marco's favor: before Kid got interested, Marco was arguably the person in the family most looking out for Law's best interests. He was fiercely loyal to Whitebeard in the past, and his crew, and the doctor had saved the life of Jean Bart, so that argued Marco would want to help the doc.
However, after Whitebeard's death and the subsequent arrests of nearly half of Marco's crew, another event that Killer had his suspicions about, Marco's head had gotten out of the game, and he didn't seem pleased with Crocodile ascending to the head of the family.
Killer doesn't know what Marco's relationship with the previous family doctor had been like, the one who first disappeared. Before the doc, their doc, Kid had avoided doctors like the plague, so he had never really gotten the chance to know the guy, and can't remember ever seeing Marco interact with him, or talk about him. If he remembered correctly, the first disappearance had left even less clues: no sign of a struggle, and no word from any corner of the city about where he had gone. They had assumed he had simply run, but with this fresh mess it could hardly be a coincidence.
But... if Killer has to make a bet on the doc's safety and Kid's happiness, chances were that Marco was more trustworthy than the Croc. And the last family meeting had left a bad taste in his mouth.
He decides to side with Marco.
"Anything. What do you need?"
"Good. I've been looking into some things and signs point to Kaido's group being responsible for the disappearance of our last doctor.
"Kaido?"
He realizes his mistake in saying the name out loud when Kid looms in front of him, seething, "It was fucking Kaido?"
Killer huffs, he thought Kid was still too busy stomping around to pay attention to his conversation, and then Shachi materializes next to Kid and whispers, "Who's Kaido?!" very loudly. Killer mouths 'wait' at them, then turns away pointedly to get back to Marco. He can still feel their eyes boring holes in the back of his head.
"Yes," Marco continues, "I believe that he, or someone working for him, has been making covert attempts to eliminate our people. I'm not exactly clear on their motivations, but I think they've been working with someone inside the family... possibly Crocodile himself."
Well. That was disturbing. If it went as high up as Crocodile, that was on the level of a massive conspiracy. Everything had just gotten vastly more complicated; they might as well have wandered onto a minefield. And unfortunately, Kid was the least cautious person he knew. This was going to be a real pain in the ass.
"Alright. So where does that leave us?"
"In a very difficult position, to be honest. Luckily I have a man inside Crocodile's circle, I will get in touch with them and see if they have any news on what's been going on. In the meantime, you cannot under any circumstance tell anyone else in the family that the doctor is missing. I'm not certain who the double agent is, but assume Crocodile and everyone working under Daz Bones is suspect. For now, search the doctor's apartment for any evidence of who was there, and then it could be a good idea to do a sweep of the clinic as well. I'll update you with whatever I find."
Marco's grasp of the situation is somewhat comforting, but Killer is still left with the sense that someone had just pulled the rug out from under him. At least now they had a plan of action.
"Got it. I'll let you know if we find something on this end."
Marco says his goodbyes, and Killer ends the call. When he turns around again, Shachi is watching him anxiously, and Kid has developed a pulsing vein on his forehead.
Killer holds up his hands in a placating gesture, "Okay, Marco just told me a lot of bad shit and you two need to swear that you're not going to do something stupid as soon as I tell you what's going on."
Shachi nods, "I swear!"
Kid leans in menacingly, "What the fuck did he say?"
Killer frowns back at him, "Promise me you're not going to lose it, first."
Kid gnashes his teeth a bit, while Killer remains completely unmoved, but he eventually spits out a grudging, "Fine!"
"He thinks the Kaido group is behind it, and that Crocodile is in on it."
"THAT FUCKING REPTILE?! I am going to fucking SKIN HIM ALIVE!" Kid is already halfway out the door, spitting curses and promises of a long and painful death, before Killer and Shachi manage to muscle him back inside, growling, just barely.
"Christ, you didn't even let me finish. Marco is using his contacts to figure out who has the doc, he'll let us know as soon as he has something. We're going to search this place for whatever we can find, and then go down to the clinic and do the same, alright?"
Kid snaps his teeth together with a sharp click, but he spins around on his heel and stalks back into the apartment, furiously scanning over everything in the sitting room.
The damage appears limited to the front hall, and they don't find anything helpful on the second search, though Shachi gathers the doctor's phone, keys, and wallet. With that done, they head back down to street level and pile into Killer's car to drive over to the clinic and continue the search there.
-x-
The next time Law wakes up he's laying down. When he sits up too fast sharp pain lances through his head and he chokes out "Fuck!" and presses both hands to his head. Oh, he's not tied up now. When the pain dulls down to an aching throb he opens his eyes and looks around. He's on a big bed, in a huge luxuriously furnished bedroom, and he hastily looks down at himself to make sure he's still wearing clothes (he is, thank god). Then he notices Vergo sitting in the room with him on one of the plush armchairs by a marble fireplace. He goes completely still.
Vergo is looking at him. "There's some aspirin on the table. Take it. He'll want you in good condition."
Law glares back and mutters, "Aspirin isn't going to do shit for a concussion," though now in addition to a splitting headache he feels a sinking helplessness, and like he's going to vomit. He smacks the pill bottle off the side table and it clatters to the ground, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Vergo, and tries to gather his thoughts so he can figure out how he can get the fuck out of here before Doflamingo shows up and everything gets a thousand times worse.
-x-
The clinic is just as it usually is, with no sign of anyone having been there since the night before, when Shachi had last seen the doc. After a few minutes of checking each room, the three of them reconvene in the office.
Killer is watching Kid intently as his capo paces around the room like a caged tiger that has sampled human flesh and knows it can get more if it can just figure out how to undo the lock. Kid's frustration and rage are pouring off him, with a creeping black undercurrent of anxiety that Killer has only seen in him once or twice before. It's feeding his own agitation that's been smoldering slowly, a heavy coal in the center of his chest. He's reluctant to contact Marco again and admit that, so far, they've found nothing that can bring them any closer to the doctor, but there is nothing left for him to do otherwise. Without a lead, they could only wait.
Kid's head snaps around and he glares out of the office into the hall. "Backdoor," he mutters, as he slides a hand under his leather jacket and draws his gun, moving silently through the doorway. Killer's pulse quickens and he retrieves his own gun before motioning Shachi to stay put, hurrying to follow a step behind Kid.
When he steps into the hall, he finds Kid holding a dark haired woman at gunpoint. Robin, Crocodile's newest capo.
So much for keeping this quiet.
Robin has her hands raised in mute surrender, though she stares down Kid with an utter lack of fear. Killer can't tell if she's not picking up on the murder spelled out with every inch of Kid's posture, or if she really is that brave.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kid snaps, before Killer can attempt to gain control of the situation.
"Marco told me you would be here," she replies calmly, otherwise not moving a muscle.
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"He said it would be best to give you this information in person. I know who has the doctor."
Kid goes absolutely still, most likely surprised speechless, and Killer grabs the opportunity to take over the conversation, "How do we know you're telling the truth?"
Robin's gaze flicks over to him, "Check my phone for his message, or give him a call. "
He studies her face for any hint of a lie, but her expression remains placid. "Alright."
He walks up to her, staying out of the line of Kid's gun still aimed steady at her head. "Where's your phone?"
"Left pocket," she answers smoothly. He reaches slowly to take it, then accesses the voicemail and finds the last message. As she said, it's from Marco, instructing her on where to find them and to share the information she found.
Now convinced, he looks back at Kid and gives a small nod. Kid lowers the gun, though he doesn't put it away, and Robin lowers her hands.
"Well, I'm pleased you both understand the seriousness of the situation," she says, as cool as if she hadn't been one twitch from getting her brains blown out.
Killer holds back a snort of laughter. For Kid, nothing was more serious. The doc going missing was probably up there with the sun exploding in terms of severity.
"Just tell us where he is," Kid growls.
"Crocodile gave his location away to Kaido's underboss, Donquixote Doflamingo. Chances are that this was not done for the sake of gaining information or anything of that nature, so it's unlikely that the doctor is being held at any of the Kaido group's locations. The most likely place is Doflamingo's estate, outside of the city."
To no one's surprise, Kid explodes. His eyes flare with unadulterated hatred, and he kicks the wall so hard a heel shaped dent is left behind.
"Hey, the doc is going to be pissed when he sees that," Killer remarks.
Kid pays him no mind, delivering another kick to the wall that punches a hole through the plaster.
"FUCK," Kid snarls, jerking his boot out of the wall and whirling around to storm down the hall, gun still in hand.
Killer lets him go, he wouldn't get very far without the car keys. Robin only looks mildly curious at Kid's outburst, and Killer asks her to let Marco know that they were going to pay Doflamingo a visit, then he thanks her for the information and collects Shachi from the office before heading outside. Hopefully Kid hasn't started tearing apart his car with impotent fury yet.
-x-
Law doesn't know exactly how long it's been since he was dragged out of his apartment, but it's been hours since he woke up. Despite all the free time, he's not any closer to having a plan for getting out of there.
Vergo hasn't left him alone for a second, and right now he's wishing that he hadn't been so hasty in making a point of rejecting the painkillers he was offered at first. It feels like his brain is rubbing against the inside of his skull, and the entire left side of his face feels like one huge bruise. He probably looks like he was hit with a bus.
Not only that, a while ago when he had finally moved from the bed with the pretense of using the bathroom, Vergo followed him in there to keep an eye on him, which led to a mostly one-sided argument, and that led to another very one-sided altercation, ending with Law curled up on the marble tiles trying to remember how to breathe without throwing up after getting a fist straight to his stomach.
He doesn't think he's seriously injured, but at the moment even thinking hurts, and it's making it difficult to keep a handle on the skittering onset of panic that keeps creeping up on him.
He's run through every possible escape scenario in his head at least a dozen times. Vergo did not seem like the kind of man he could trick or overpower without some additional help, if the previous conflicts were anything to go by. The man clearly had no compunctions about violently incapacitating him at the smallest provocation, making it unlikely that he would be able to convince Vergo to do anything besides beat him half to death.
He has nothing on his person that could be used as a weapon, barefoot and wearing merely jeans and a long-sleeved shirt as he is, and he doubts Vergo would let him start poking around the room to look for something. Even if he were armed, he's a little skeptical that he would be able to incapacitate Vergo long enough to get out of the room. And if by some miracle he did, he still has no idea where he is, or what lay outside the door.
From what he can see with his limited view of the bedroom windows, there were trees and other greenery outside, which put him in some kind of house, not anywhere downtown. He was unconscious during the whole trip between his apartment and wherever this was, so he can only make a general estimate of how far it could have been. His best guess put him anywhere between half an hour to two hours outside the city, judging from the fact that the sunlight had only just started to ease into evening.
Which is so vague it's next to useless.
As the minutes keep ticking by without any epiphanies or miracles occurring, Law starts to steel himself for what's looking like an inevitable conclusion to this whole sordid day. It didn't take a genius to realize what was going to happen to him if he couldn't manage to escape.
He's still furious with himself for not managing to slip away unnoticed as soon as he saw Doflamingo at that stupid party. He should have heeded his instincts and been on the first flight to Bali after leaving the hotel, instead of using Eustass to smother his anxiety.
In hindsight, he had been so fucking naive. But how could he have known that Doflamingo would take it this far?
He doesn't want to think about where it was going to end, either.
He hears a buzz, and raises his head to watch Vergo answer a cellphone.
Vergo listens to the call silently, his expression giving no hint as to what he was hearing, before he tucks the phone away into his pocket without a word. Then he stands, and crosses the room towards Law.
Shit, shit this was it. Law scrambles away over the bed. He manages to evade Vergo for all of a minute before getting caught and shaken like a misbehaving child. He'd like to struggle, but he's paralyzed under the rough hand wrapped around the back of his neck, his body having already twice learned the difference between his strength and Vergo's, and Vergo drags him easily out of the room.
Vergo forces him to walk through a long lavish hall lined with closed doors, then they reach a small staircase and descend. Law's heart is pounding ridiculously fast, making his head spin as he's led down more corridors and through ornately decorated rooms with high ceilings. They don't meet anyone the entire way, until they exit into another hall.
And Kid is at the other end.
Law's breath freezes in his chest, and Vergo steps neatly behind him, twisting one of his arms behind his back.
"Drop your gun, or I'll kill him right here," Vergo says impassively. That's when Law realizes the muzzle of a pistol is aimed an inch away from his ear.
He can't take his eyes off Eustass, though. Kid looks like a man possessed, his eyes wide and a streak of blood on his cheek, more on his shirt, a gun in his hand that he lowered the instant Vergo put Law in front of him. As Law watches, petrified, Kid spreads his hands slowly before going to one knee and putting down his gun.
"Doc, are you ok?" Kid asks once his gun is on the floor, so quiet that Law can barely hear him over the blood rushing in his ears. He's staring at Law's face with unwavering intensity, and not the least bit of fear. Law wants to shout at him for coming right to Doflamingo's door, of all places, like an idiot, but it feels like someone hammered a nail through his throat.
"Don't talk," Vergo orders. He walks Law down the hall towards Kid, kicking away Kid's gun when they reach him, and fishes out something from his pocket, shoving it into Law's hand before releasing his arm. "Put that on his wrists."
Law looks at what Vergo has given him. A zip-tie. When he doesn't move, Vergo prods him in the back with the gun, "Hurry up."
"Do what he says, Doc..." Eustass tells him, and Vergo barks, "I said don't talk."
Law crouches down behind Kid and loops the plastic tie around Kid's wrists, keeping it loose until Vergo demands he tighten it until it's digging into the skin. He grazes his knuckles over Kid's hand, not knowing what else to do with Vergo watching him intently. You unbelievably stupid fucking bastard...
When he's finished, Vergo grabs his shoulder and makes him sit against the wall, then shoves Kid over next to him so they sit shoulder to shoulder, keeping the gun trained between them. Vergo takes out his phone and presses a key. "Sir. Crocodile's capo is here. Should I eliminate him?"
"Doc."
Law glances sideways at Eustass, and finds him staring straight at Vergo.
"I've got a knife in my coat," Kid breathes, his lips hardly moving. "Take it and hide it."
Law's heart bangs hard against his ribs. How the hell is he supposed to do any of that. This is so fucked.
Vergo ends his call and raises the gun, and Law panics. He throws himself on top of Kid, wrapping his arms around Kid's chest and hanging on for dear life.
When Vergo inevitably grabs his shirt to haul him off, he yells, "Don't! I won't run, don't hurt him!" and presses his face into Kid's neck while he fumbles around inside Kid's coat until his hand closes around cold salvation.
Vergo cracks him over the back of the head with the gun, and uses his disorientation to tear him away from Kid and throw him against the other wall. Law staggers to get back on his feet, somehow managing to numbly press the button that makes the blade snap out from its handle, and rushes at Vergo's back.
Vergo has his gun raised again, aiming straight between Kid's eyes, who glares fiercely up the barrel, a challenge to death itself.
Law's movements feel too sluggish as he raises the knife and brings it down. He wasn't going to make it- Kid—
The shining blade sinks into the thick muscle of Vergo's neck like he's carving through butter. Law watches, a world away, as the blood gushes out, covering the knife and his hand, pouring over the fine white fabric of Vergo's jacket, soaking everything warm and red. He yanks the knife out and stabs him again for good measure. Vergo slumps forward and hits the floor face first.
Law stands over him—it—the body—with the switchblade in his hand as more blood spills over plush cream-colored carpet. He feels cold, as rigid and brittle as dry ice, watching his own adrenaline sublimating out of him, filling the room until his vision is fogged over and everything is silent.
"Doc!" He realizes Kid is standing, yelling at him, and hurries to cut the zip-tie still binding his wrists with the bloody knife.
Kid grabs him by the shoulders as soon as he's free, turning him from the body, and runs anxious hands and eyes over him, softly on his face, then more firmly with the rest of him, making sure he's not missing anything. It only takes a moment, and then he's pulling Law away, scooping up his gun farther down the hall, almost breaking into a run as he hauls Law along with one arm wrapped around him while Law struggles to keep pace.
They burst through a side door, jog down some steps, and then they are running, sprinting through a garden, a gate, a flagstone path, finally coming to a road with a car waiting on it.
Kid pushes him into the back seat of the car, slamming the door behind him and jumping into the passenger side. Killer's already at the wheel, and before Kid has even shut his own door they're peeling out down the street, tires screeching in protest.
"Get your head down," Kid snaps when he realizes Law is staring out the window in a daze, and reaches back to shove Law's face into the back seat with one hand.
He lays down against the smooth leather seat, closing his eyes and listening to the roaring engine. Killer is putting the car through its paces, that much is certain. He hasn't hardly slowed down, let alone stopped.
Law's head is spinning even faster, and not entirely from the headache that's threatening to crack his skull. He had just murdered someone. There blood was on his hands, quite literally. Belatedly, he notices that he's no longer holding the knife, and he has no idea what happened to it.
He had killed someone. Someone who had abducted him for nefarious purposes. Someone who had been about to kill his—well, about to kill Eustass. And Law had killed him for it. He isn't sure what he expected to feel, but he doesn't feel bad. No remorse, no guilt, no sadness. He felt very... happy.
Fun Fact:
So, Doflamingo got Law's address from Crocodile, but how on earth did Kid get it? Especially when he made a point not to go digging around for Law's background?
Answer: Shachi.
Obviously Shachi noticed when Law started making eyes at Kid after weeks of grudgingly enduring Kid's undaunting affections, and he knew that Law hadn't been seeing anyone lately despite his renowned appetite for the nubile young men he had a habit of chewing up and spitting out with crushed egos and broken hearts. Also it didn't hurt that Kid was a capo who could look out for Law during a time of upheaval in the family. The conditions were ripe, and Shachi's meddlesome matchmaker instincts were tingling.
So Shachi decided to give Kid a little extra ammunition to get them alone together for just a few hours, knowing that sparks would fly, because what's more fun than watching a juicy work romance unfold.
One night while Law wasn't looking, Shachi followed Kid and Killer out of the clinic, and demanded to know what Kid's intentions were towards Law. When he was satisfied by the answer, he swore Kid to secrecy and handed over a little folded piece of paper with Law's address on it.
Then he made Kid and Killer give him their phone numbers ("Why..?" "For accountability!"), and thus began the era of Killer getting more texts than ever before, since he was the only other person Shachi knew who was even aware of this budding love affair and Shachi needed to talk about it.
It was only during the week that Law and Kid spent avoiding each other and moping that Shachi realized the whole thing was not turning out to be one of Law's usual affairs. Cue over an hour on the phone with Killer speculating (entirely one-sidedly) about what this meant and what Law and Kid were thinking and how did they really feel about one another and how to fix it so they didn't wind up with a lifetime of regrets. Because it had to mean something if Law was acting so distraught!
Luckily Killer knew how to wrangle a couple of stubborn idiots. Though mostly he did it so Shachi would stop agonizing at him about Kid and Law's damn feelings.
Oh, and what did Kid say to convince Shachi to give his blessing? Well, after Shachi badgered him enough, he stopped posturing and admitted he thought the doc was so gorgeous it was driving him insane and he'd give his left arm for a date. Needless to say, Shachi is now the proud owner of the only debt owed by the city's most ruthless debt collector.