A/N: Thanking you for you reviews! Also, I actually posted this when I planned; shock, horror! Anywho, nothing else to say so read on!
The Marine and the Surgeon
Lin had gone with the marines and had ended up in a large office sitting in a hard wooden chair, heavy chains wrapped around his ankles and bolted to the floor, while the 9 marines who escorted him stood in a semi circle behind him and pointed their rifles in his direction. Interestingly, they had left his hands unbound and they currently rested in his lap.
In front of Lin was a large, heavy looking, wooden desk with nothing except a Den Den Mushi resting on it; behind that was a chair big enough for a whale. Then a door to the far right of the room opened and Lin discovered why the chair was so large, to hold the sheer massiveness of Vice Admiral Chiketta. He was taller then Lin by about half of him above and he was wider by about 4 of him, Lin was surprised he even fit through the door he had entered through.
The deep purple scaly hide, flashed with tattoo like blue streaks, seemed to ripple as he sat down. He was nearly pure muscle, nothing like the other large fishmen who tended to be more in the 'fat' category. He still wore his marine trousers, but now he had draped a marine coat over his shoulders like a cape, and it dangled to the ground as he took a seat in the giant chair. He squirmed a bit, presumably to get comfortable, and then settle with one elbow resting on the arm rest with his chin resting in the large webbed hand and his other held loosely on the opposite side.
"Well…" he said, his low voice thundering despite the gentle speech. Lin didn't give a reply he kept his eyes locked on the Fishman's. "'Devil Leg' Lin…" He paused again as if contemplating something. "Your bounty is a measly 20 million, nothing compared to some of the other pirates I picked up on the island."
Lin sniffed as though Chiketta had insulted him but remained silent. The two of them kept staring at each other and as the contest continued Lin very slowly raised a hand, pointed a finger and began to pick his nose. It was at it for about a minute and then he pulled free a large green blob, looked at it for a second, and then slowly flicked it away, watching it arc and land on the weaved carpet on the floor. None of the marines moved and Chiketta did not comment, his own bland grey eyes staring at nothing but Lin.
"Do you know what I'm interested in…?" Lin suddenly said, started to lean forward and then stopping when he realised the chains on his ankles would have him sprawled face-first on the floor. "Why a man, who committed a crime worth maybe a serious thrashing, has been condemned to life in a cell." He leant back again and flexed his fingers before spreading them on his knees.
"Vandred is not the only one…all those cursed by the devil should die. But as I cannot kill innocents in the eyes of the law I can still pass judgement on any level below it, and such I plan to keep them out of the world and locked in a cell for the rest of their lives."
A flash of anger appeared in Lin's eyes but it disappeared quickly and Chiketta didn't seem to see it as no reaction could be seen from him. "I see…a bit prejudice for a Fishman don't you think?"
"I see no prejudice. Just like you would quarantine a person dying of the plague, these people are cursed and should be separated from the general populace." He was serious one second and then a chuckle escape between his thin lips. "But we are not here to talk about that, we are here to decide what sentence to give you. Everyone else captured on California Island has been given prison sentences, here in 'The Spider', as appropriate to their bounties and one is even to be handed over to the World Government; there is a Shichibukai on their way to pick him up now."
Lin didn't need to look around to see the shock of the marines behind him; clearly they had not expected a Shichibukai to be the escort. But Lin wasn't too impressed; there were a lot of pirates, rookie and veteran, worth the trouble of the current generation of Shichibukai. There were only two of the seven that Lin was truly impressed by and he didn't expect to see them for a long while yet.
"What is there to discuss then? I have a bounty for 20 million and I'm willing to be locked up for the amount of time that bounty gives me, so what's the trouble?" Lin said, giving a tiny tug on the chains around his legs as a test, which went unnoticed.
"The problem is that I believe you are also cursed but I have yet to gain definitive evidence to suggest as much." Lin started to speak but the Fishman raised his hand, showing off the thick muscle on his arm, and Lin stopped. "I saw you fall off the cliff, I don't know why but I can guess it was because of the wound you suffered to your chest." Lin touched the bandages he was wearing, which were turning slightly pink as his wound had broken open slightly.
"I saw you were still conscious as you flipped your body in the air as you entered the water, but then when I jumped into the water I saw you fail to struggle in any way."
"Don't you know that hitting water from that height is like hitting steel? I was knocked unconscious when I hit the water; I think waking up here is proof enough of that."
"You were knocked unconscious? So you claim, but I saw your eyes open in panic a second before I arrived, I saw them moving around as if panicking."
At this word Lin's look turned mad and he clenched one hand. "I. Never. Panic." He said through clenched teeth. Chiketta's facial expression didn't change, although Lin wasn't sure if it could more then a raised eyebrow, but Lin got the impression he was being laughed at. "And how could you prove such a thing, I was out of it while you brought me here."
"Oh you fell unconscious, it was just later then you wished us to believe. But it doesn't matter what proof I do or do not have at the moment, after the day is done you will wish that you had told me immediately that you were cursed."
Before Lin could say anything a door slammed open, not the one Chiketta had come through but a door behind where Lin sat. He heard the marines turn in surprise, their weapons cocking as they moved, before a voice shouted out and they all made a noise of surprise.
"How dare you!" the voice said as it stomped towards Lin. "I said I was to be told immediately if any blood started seeping through the bandages, fool!" A figure appeared out of the corner of Lin's eyes but before he could get a good look at him he had crouched down in front of him and Lin's view was obscured by an aged brown leather cowboy hat.
"Don't you dare speak to a Vice Admiral in such a way; remember your place, Surgeon!" the voice belonged to the Commodore.
"This man is my patient and you may well kill him!" The surgeon looked up and Lin's heart nearly stopped there and then, but if he made any outward reaction, the surgeon did not react. "Look, he's already going into shock!" his hand reached up and pressed against the centre of his collar bone and he held it there, his fingers stretching up around his neck. It took a minute to realise what he was doing but Lin was too late to react as the blood was cut off from his brain.
Dots appeared in his eyes and Lin managed a "Fuck…you…" before drifting off into unconsciousness once again.
"Take this man immediately to my surgery and make it fast!" the surgeon snapped and the marines jumped to action, two of them picking Lin up the arms as a third undid the chains around his legs. As they came free the third one grabbed the legs and lifted them up as the three marines jogged out of the room, the remaining marines going after them.
The surgeon started to exit but Chiketta made a noise that made him turn around quickly. "Yes, I do not have long to save his life."
"The commodore was right; do not forget you place…Dragon Fist." The surgeon's eyes narrowed at that old name. "You are lucky I wish to investigate him further, heal him and then as soon as you say he is ready, I shall continue my investigation."
"Dragon Fist is a dangerous name, Chiketta." The surgeon said as he turned to exit through the door. "You best keep it to yourself." Was all he said before closing the door gently behind him.
He took off down the corridor, ignoring the marines cleaning or aimlessly walking, and took a few turns before coming to a pair of double doors with a brass plate on that read 'Head Surgeon' which indicated his private operation room when he needed to work on his own and in private, and depending on who he was working on. He didn't slow down and burst into the room to see the marines placing Lin gently on the raised bed that was positioned in the centre room.
"Now get out!" his voice was firm and, although he had no official standing within the marines, they all snapped a salute and exited quickly; except the commodore.
"I know that the Vice Admiral favours your skills with the tools, but do not think that it gives you any authority over my men." The commodore was taller then the man he was trying to intimidate and used his height to his advantage, moving in close and glaring down his nose.
The surgeon looked up with a snarl on his lips as he spoke. "I couldn't give a rat's arse about your men, or you! Now get out of here before I forcefully remove you myself."
The Commodore looked as if he was about to argue when he gave a look that showed he was remembering the last time someone had refused to leave the Surgeon's room and was thrown out of a window while the surgeon was still working on a patient. "I won't forget this!" the marine said through clenched teeth before stalking out and slamming the door shut.
Lin was still unconscious, lying on his back on the bed, his hands resting loosely by his sides. Once again his legs had been bound, this time by leather straps, but the surgeon moved across and undid them before checking the wound on his patient's chest. He removed the cloth that covered it, throwing it into a bin in the corner of the room. His long slender fingers traced the wound and the stitches he had put into it earlier.
It was a deep gouge, edges pulled together by the thread, that ran about 13 inches long, starting at the collar bone and going down at a slight angle to the right. It had sliced through the muscle, cracking a number of ribs as it went, and ended just below the sternum where it had been deep enough for someone to place their little finger up to the knuckle in it with no trouble at all. It had seemed to stop bleeding now, at least for the moment, so the surgeon quickly applied new bandages, lifting Lin's heavy body with one hand with no trouble at all.
After he had finished he moved slowly across the room and filled in the record he kept of any procedures he did in this room, for his own private consultation if he needed it. When he finished he swivelled round on the stall he was sitting on and leant back on the desk, his elbows propped up and his hands dangling to the floor.
He had a look of interest, confusion and anger on his face all at the same time and if someone had walked into the room at that very moment they would not have even tried to bother him. He was staring at Lin, examining every inch of him, not that he hadn't already, and focused on the hair and scars on his face. He stood up suddenly and walked across to Lin, before laying a hand on the crisscrossing of scars on his face.
"Why…" he muttered "Why are you still alive? Why did you do this? Why did you leave us?" his questions remained unanswered by the unconscious Lin, but he was planning to get some when his charge woke up.
A/N: Ooo, this 'Surgeon' seems to know something about Lin! Who could he possibly be and what is his connection with our lovable pirate Captain with a temper? Keep eyes and ears peeled for the next chapter heading you way and things will be revealed.
