February 6, 801 WG
Law walked through town. The Straw Hats were hiding something, that much was clear from their actions, and he didn't have a lot of time. If the Straw Hats found his presence unnerving then they must have the fourth Road Poneglyph coordinates. The town wasn't all that impressive, but it was peaceful, and the numerous children running around and women laughing made him forget his troubles for a moment.
"Kacoo! What are you doing, Trafalgar?" asked a watery tenor, the voice of that irritating pigeon speaking on behalf of the man who was a harbinger of death. The Cypher Pol assassin. Law froze but didn't turn to look. He had once again failed to check his surroundings. He had become too reliant on the voices, which had become so agitated by his actions that they could no longer warn him of other dangers. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a shadow in the space between the buildings.
"Didn't I say I would do as you asked?" whispered Law as he stepped closer to the building and leaned on it as if he had decided to people watch for the time being. He mentally cursed his lack of attention even as he wondered why the agent was here. It was no surprise how he had arrived here. When making their deal, the Cypher Pol agent had made a vivre card of Law so he could track the pirate.
"Kacoo! You are supposed to get the coordinates for Raftel. Why did you walk away from that ship when it was lightly guarded?" The assassin using the pigeon after having already spoken to him before with his actual voice was a strange decision. Law wondered if he was doing it in an attempt to throw him off his game.
"You call Pirate Hunter Zoro-ya a light guard?" Law asked, refusing to be bothered by the change of speech pattern.
"Kacoo! Fair point. So why did you call attention to yourself. They were distracted by their petty squabble, you could have attacked then."
"I will not explain myself to you. I will get you your coordinates and I will save your precious scientist, but you need me alive to do either. Those who have underestimated the Straw Hat crew always pay for it."
"Kacoo! Do as you wish. Just remember if you fail there will be no reason to continue the Ice Man project."
"I won't fail. Raftel and Vegapunk's life. Just remember to keep you word after all this."
"Kacoo! Don't worry. Vegapunk started the Ice Man project of his own volition. If you save him we won't do anything to disrupt his work or render it pointless. That would just upset him. And an upset scientist is likely to sabotage his creations to punish us."
"Oji-san?"
Law looked down and felt his heart skip a beat. Ann stood before him with a fist full of flowers. She was wearing what appeared to be a local dress of green and yellow trim and her black hair was in pigtails. Two boys stood to either side of her, one much older, and stared at Law, their fawn brown eyes suspicious.
Law's mind flashed to when he was the same age as the older boy and looking out for his little sister. The man was still behind him, observing. If Law wasn't careful, he could give Ann away. He was grateful the little girl was dressed the way she was. If she had been in her usual clothes it would have been obvious that she had come with Straw Hat as he was the only ship other than Law's on the island.
"Oji-san? Are you all right?" Ann asked. Her emerald eyes shone as they stared up at him.
"Perfectly fine," he said tersely, feigning annoyance for having some random kid bothering him.
"Come on, Ann," said the older boy and he tugged on the little girl's arm to draw her away.
Ann was stubborn, though, she pulled away from the boy and stepped closer. Law wanted very badly to shoo her away before the man behind him suspected anything, but that would only make things worse. If Ann got upset and started crying, Straw Hat, who had to be somewhere close by, would show up, then it would be all over for Ann.
Law suddenly wondered if the prolonged stay on this island was to get Ann acclimated to the people so she could be left with them instead of continuing the dangerous journey with the Straw Hats. It made sense to Law and it did have a very nice feel to it. A good place for a child with no family to grow up. It was a nice idea but it didn't resolve the immediate issue at hand; how to get Ann to leave without revealing her connection to the Straw Hats or him?
Ann then hugged his leg, patting his calf and said, "It will be all right, Oji-san. Everything will be all right." Law felt his heart go into his throat.
Ann stepped back and offered him one of her wildflowers. "Here! It's the prettiest!" Law wordlessly bent down and took the blossom from her.
"Thanks, now go, you're making your brothers anxious."
Ann mercifully didn't argue the brothers' comment, further fueling Law's speculation that Straw Hat was planning to make this her permanent home. She smiled and turned back to the boys who quickly led her away. The older one looked at Law one last time, this time puzzled, before hurrying the two younger children away. He was a good big brother. Law felt a small smile twitch into place, then his moment of peace ended.
"You're soft," said the assassin, this time using his actual smooth baritone instead of the bird. The edge it brought to the words threatened Law's cool.
"I was thinking of my sister," said Law, the smile disappearing. He wondered if the assassin suspected Ann.
"Then you'll get the job done?"
"Of course." Law suppressed a sigh of relief, the man seemed to have accepted Law's reasoning.
"You have twenty-four hours. After that, you'll have nothing left to offer but your life." The shadow vanished.
Law stood there and stared at the flower. He wasn't lying, he was thinking of his sister. He was thinking of what it would be like to talk to her, to hug her, to watch her play and enjoy a festival with ice cream like before. Something that could never happen again, no matter what decisions he made.
The whispers, that had gone strangely quiet during his conversation with Ann, returned. There was urgency and pleading in their tone. Law shook his head. He had to go through with this. At least if he went through with it, Straw Hat could still survive versus if the assassin got involved. Not just Straw Hat and his crew, but potentially this peaceful island and Ann would die if an agent of Cypher Pol decided to get serious. For Ann's sake, if nothing else, he had to go through with it himself.
Out of sight of the island, a battleship sat anchored. Her sails were furled, but the white and blue flag of the World Government waved lazily in the breeze. Lucci landed on the deck and removed his mask. He didn't know why he couldn't just move forward with killing Straw Hat, but his superiors needed Law's cooperation. Letting him handle this for the time being would get them what they wanted.
Vegapunk's time was running out and Law was the only one that could give their genius scientist the time he needed to continue his work. Getting the coordinates to Raftel would allow them to put an end to the One Piece once and for all. If Straw Hat perished in the process so much the better.
Lucci sensed that Law was trying to get the coordinates without fighting Straw Hat. He wouldn't succeed. Lucci had revealed himself to force Law into action, to make him rush, to act without a scheme in place, to not have time to come up with a counter with Straw Hat. Law would have to get the coordinates now with an eye for speed and not diplomacy. Lucci wondered if Law would actually kill Straw Hat.
It didn't matter much to him, though. If Law was successful, then two of the top candidates for Pirate King would be out of the running for good. Lucci very much hoped for that outcome, though, even if Law managed to get the coordinates without killing Straw Hat, Lucci would just come by later and finish the young man off himself. He owed Straw Hat that much for what happened two years ago.
