Chapter 2.

At 8 the next day I sat in my car, parked in the suburbs. A lot of greenery and a fence separating the neighborhood from a highway gave the illusion that the area wasn't part of a city. There were no tall buildings to obstruct the view, or steady streams of people on the move.

Thanks to my mother staying the night, I'd gotten some extra time in the shower this morning. I combed my fingers through my still damp hair while I waited, trying to undo the worst tangles. I gave up after a while and pulled the dark strands into a ponytail. I switched to a radio station playing classical music, and allowed myself some time to relax. I pushed the unpleasant images from yesterday to the back of my mind. I wouldn't let anything distract me.

Most days, Ace would have breakfast in a bar that was attached to an inn. Sometimes he had company. Today he was alone. I saw him exit the brick building and aim his strides at his fiery red Honda. He wore shorts and a sleeveless tank top. I duly noted that he was unarmed. He was about halfway to his car when I approached him, and there was a third left when he noticed me.

"Good morning," I said. He paused, his shoulders tensed briefly. He walked past me, and I heard the clicks of a car being unlocked.

"I'd like to have a chat with you." I followed him at a leisurely pace. He opened the trunk and threw in his backpack.

"Are you planning any trips to Tallinn?"

This made him pause again, before he slammed the trunk shut. He went to the driver's door, and I moved to intercept him before he could get in. "You can't keep ignoring me."

"I don't have anything to say."

"Do you prefer the food here over Palermo's?"

He finally looked at me, his face sour. "Pal what?"

"You had lunch there the other day."

"Is that what this is about? It's not illegal to dine out. Don't you have better things to do?"

"What did Capone Bege want?"

He shrugged with one arm. "I have to get to work." He pulled at the handle, and I moved out of the door's way.

"Just tell me one thing. Are you going to help us or not?"

"Not," he said with emphasis.

Wrong answer. I had expected it, but I was still disappointed.

"Take care, okay?" He gave me a confused glance before he slammed the door shut.

I was the last person to arrive to the office. Zoro was on the phone, and Franky and Luffy were looking over some documents. I was secretly relieved to notice Luffy wore more work-appropriate clothes - sneakers and a plain shirt. He'd stuck with the shorts though.

"Hi, Robin." He was sitting on Sanji's empty desk, his legs dangling over the edge.

I smiled politely at him. "Good morning, Luffy." I planted my bag next to my desk. "Has there been any developments?"

"Bege and Vito has only been at home and at work. Vista went to a bar but other than that nothing." Luffy said.

Zoro put the phone away and approached us. He looked at me. "I need to speak with you in private."

There were a conference room across the hallway from us, and it was unoccupied at the moment. The chairs here were much more comfortable than the ones in our office. I leaned back in one and had to stifle a yawn.

Zoro went around a table to sit opposite to me. He sat bent slightly forward, with a frown on his forehead that hadn't been there yesterday. There was the hint of stubble on his chin, and he wore the same outfit that I'd seen him in last.

"You are late." It wasn't an accusation.

"I went to speak with Ace," I said.

"And?"

"He doesn't want to cooperate. I didn't get any new information. I'm not giving up yet though."

"We don't know where he was last night. Don't approach him on your own again."

I nodded. "Did you want something else?"

"Forensics are at the cabin as we speak."

I blinked once. "Why?"

"A man was walking in the area with his retired cavader dog. Called it in around 6."

"You?"

"I sorta know the guy. Friend's friend." He raised an eyebrow at me in a silent question.

"It's suspicious, but I don't think it's implausible."

He visibly relaxed. "When the murder investigation becomes official, I'll ask to join in. I'm thinking that I'll work with Franky on it, while you and Luffy continue to focus on the drug case. That okay with you?"

A third of our team was missing. I sighed inwardly. "There's probably a connection. I agree, we should assist with both cases."

"Okay then." He stood up, and started heading for the door. "Franky and Luffy can't know any of this yet."

"I know," I said, rising as well.

During the briefing with Usopp and some other members on his team, I sat in the back of the room with my second morning coffee. Usopp stood at the edge of a long table. I had the impression that he liked being in charge for the first time. Chopper sat to his right, looking focused. Zoro had seated himself next to Tashigi, a petite officer. They both had their attention on Usopp, but his arm rested on the chair behind her, and the fingers of his free hand intertwined with hers beneath the table. It was adorable.

Two more men entered the room, and Usopp cleared his throat. "Alright, everyone's here. We received news from the hospital during the night. The 15-year-old is in stable condition, he's awake and talking. He gave a description of the guy who sold him the pills, including tattoos and a scar on his neck, and it matches one of Bege's men." He turned to gesture at a photo. "He's in custody but refuses to talk without a lawyer." He pointed to another photo. "He asked for Vito."

"He'll be out before lunch," Zoro said.

"I think so too. Tashigi, Chopper, you'll follow him when he leaves. I want to know every step he takes." They nodded. "With a little luck, he'll lead us to something."

"Is that all?"

Everyone turned their heads to the speaker.

"Is that all you'll do?" Smoker repeated.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Usopp said.

Smoker stood up. He had been lodging in an armchair, due to his right leg that was wrapped in a cast, and put his palms on the table for support. He would normally be in charge, and was supposed to be at home resting due to his injury. His hair was already turning grey despite being in his late thirties, and I theorized it was due to all the pressure he put himself under.

"Get a warrant and search his home. Confiscate his electronics. Check his phone history. Look up his acquaintances." Smoker said. "He's clearly guilty."

"These men aren't amateurs. That won't give us anything," Usopp said, but he had started to sound unsure.

"You won't even try?" Smoker countered. He looked at the people seated around the table, except he avoided me, Zoro and Luffy. "We're not here to let criminals get away."

"No one is doing that," Zoro said, and Smoker glared at him. He returned the look, with about the same calmness as that of a snake waiting to strike its prey. Tashigi looked like she wanted to sink through the floor.

To my surprise, Luffy was the first one to speak next. "If you want to get rid of wasps, do you take them out one by one or go for the hive?" he said. "The goal here is to stop the drug traffic, right? Bege has a lot of men working for him, and he'll just replace anyone he loses. Some underling isn't the problem we should be focusing on."

"What do you think we should do?" Chopper asked.

"Find out who the suppliers are, and cut off the import from Estonia."

"Easier said than done," Tashigi said. "The police over there are either clueless or corrupt. They're no help."

Smoker had turned his glare on Luffy, who was completely unaffected.

"You all make good points," Usopp said. "For now, we'll proceed as I said. The guy is definitely not alone in this. Monitoring him could lead to arrests of higher-ranking criminals." He glanced at Smoker, who sat down. Smoker was a dedicated cop with a strong moral compass, and I respected him, but when he came face-to-face with evil, he wanted to immediately eradicate it. He didn't see the bigger picture. It looked like my newest colleague might, however.

"Moving on," Usopp said, and looked at Zoro, then me. "Have you got anything new?"

"Franky is planting a wire in the VIP room of the restaurant. If Bege has another important meeting there, we'll know what they talk about," Zoro said. "He's also looking up cameras in the area. I'd like to know who drove the Mercedes."

"The driver? Why?" Usopp asked. Zoro shrugged.

"Gotti is Bege's driver," Tashigi said.

"He was attending a yoga class at that time."

"Yoga?" Tashigi asked, dumbfounded. Zoro smirked at his girlfriend´s reaction.

I spoke for the first time in a while. "There could also be cameras around Joseph Gambino's office building. I could look it up."

Zoro's shoulders stiffened. We were the only people in the room who knew we were also investigating a murder. "You should do that, right now. Any tapes may be deleted after some time."

"Certainly." I rose and grabbed my jacket. "Please excuse me."

I started with examining the street. I knew roughly where Joseph had been dropped off, and expanded the search area by fifty meters in each direction. There were no cameras with the right angle to reveal the inside of the Mercedes.

When I once again entered the office complex, the front desk was occupied unlike the day before. The receptionist, a smartly dressed woman about 25 years old, was tapping something on her keyboard. "Just a second," she said.

I waited while she finished her task. She was more likely to help me if I wasn't rude. Two minutes passed before she looked up at me. "Yes?"

"Did you work yesterday?"

She furrowed her brows. "Yes."

"I'd like to ask you some questions."

The phone at the desk started ringing. "One moment," she said, and picked it up. "Hello?... Yes, it is... No. I'll connect you..." She pressed a button on the holder and put the phone down. "Sorry. You were saying?"

"Do you remember seeing this man yesterday?" I held out my phone to show her a photo of Joseph. She frowned at the screen.

"I... think so."

"Was he with someone?" She looked at me quizzically, and I showed her my police id. "It's important."

The phone started to ring again, but she ignored it. "I don't remember."

"When did you see him?"

She shook her head. "He's just a familiar face. One of many. I couldn't say."

"Do you have surveillance in the building?" I asked.

"Yes, but..." she frowned. "Customer integrity is very important to businesses here. All video footage is deleted in the morning. Sorry."

"It's fine." I took a post-it note from her desk and wrote down my name and number. "If you remember anything about him, please call me."

"Will do."

I nodded to her. "Thanks for your help. Have a nice day." She smiled back.

There was one thing I wanted to know before I headed back to the precinct. I went up the four set of stairs and pressed the intercom button. After a few signals a gruff male voice emanated from the speaker. "Yes?"

This didn't seem like a place accessible to any random person. In addition, they were lawyers. I certainly couldn't show my police id and expect to be granted entry. I took a page fron Nami's book of tricking the opposite gender, and nonchalantly pulled at the cleavage of my shirt. I leaned closer to the speaker. Above it was a advantageously placed camera lens. "Hi, I'm here to see a lawyer. Could you let me in?"

The door opened, and a young, bulky man filled the entrance before me. "Do you have an appoinment?"

"No, but..."

"It's appointment only." He looked at me with disdain, but there was something else there too. He hadn't slammed the door on me yet. I smiled and tilted my head.

"I'm very sorry, I didn't know. Joseph gave me the impression that I could drop by anytime."

"Joseph?"

"Gambino. He works here, doesn't he?"

"Not today."

"Oh." I chewed at my lip, and twirled some strands of my ponytail. I hoped I didn't look as stupid as I felt. "Um, this is a little intrusive, but could I use your bathroom? I don't have any change on me."

"That's fine," he grunted. "Follow me."

He led the way into a circular reception room, attached to two narrow hallways lined with small offices. The door I'd passed wasn't the only way out - there were an emergency exit at the end of one of the hallways. I briefly checked the nameplates on the doors we passed, and located Joseph's office near the middle.

"Bathroom's in here," the man said, and held open a door for me. I smiled gratefully at him and entered. I glanced back to see him returning to the circle room.

I lingered for a half minute before I soundlessly opened the bathroom door. I didn't see the man or anyone else in the office. I quickly walked to Joseph's office and pulled at the handle. The door was locked. There was a full-size window next to the door, but dark curtains veiled the inside. The glass rectangle above the door wasn't covered, but too high to reach.

My phone beeped as I received a text, and the man came into my line of sight. I started walking again.

"Thank you." I brushed past him.

"Wait!" I stopped. "Do you maybe want to hang out sometime?"

"No. Goodbye."

I read the text on my way down the stairs. It was from Zoro.

Get back now.

"Before I begin, this is sensitive information. None of this can leave the room. I was only told because this impacts us. Do you understand?" I, Franky and Luffy nodded. "Two bodies were found about 130 km to the north. They were buried together near an empty cabin. The owner of the cabin and the nearby land has a house in this city, but doesn't appear to be home and isn't answering his phone. He has an Italian surname. One of the corpses was stacked on top of the other. It's a man in his early 50s. He was in worse shape and his death was very recent. They haven't been able to identify him yet. They did recognise the other victim."

Zoro paused. I sat completely still, while anxiety gnawed at my insides. Zoro walked to the board outlining the members of the gangs in the city. He stopped next to Newgate's section. "Thatch is dead." He grabbed the picture of the brown-haired, gently smiling man. He picked up an envelope marked with an X and dropped the photo in it. "There is no info about the cause or time of death yet."

I thought of Ace. Vista. They hadn't seem to be in mourning. I didn't think they knew. I didn't think any of Newgate's men knew about their associates' passing. Unless they were involved, of course.

"Remember, no one can know. We don't need a war."

The last sentence was directed at me. Thatch's body had been found at a cabin Bege had visited several times. Bege was working with Newgate, but we didn't know why. Somehow Joseph fit into this.

"We will work alongside homicide on this. Any questions?"

"Plenty, but none that you can answer," Franky said.

"Robin, a word." Zoro inclined his head.

"No," Franky said as I stood up.

"No?" Zoro replied.

Franky crossed his arms. "We're supposed to be a team. Tell us what you two have been hiding. It affects all of us."

"You've been hiding something?" Luffy asked. All of a sudden he looked eager. "Is it food?"

"What? No." Zoro rubbed at his forehead. "Okay, I'll tell you. But this is also strictly confidential." He reported the events from yesterday, but didn't mention Chiffon at all. He showed them the pictures he'd taken of the three culprits.

I wasn't too pleased about this. I could understand why Zoro trusted Franky, but Luffy had only worked here for a day. He seemed dependable, but it was too soon to be certain.

Zoro finished retelling the events, and asked about the cameras.

"I got nothing," Franky said. "The only useful camera needed maintenance."

"I don't know who the driver is. But I got something else. It won't hold up in court but it can still be helpful to us." I went to my bag and pulled out a USB stick. "After I dropped Zoro off last night I went back to Gambino's office. There was a camera above the elevator just outside his company. I acquired the surveillance tapes of the day."

"How?" Zoro asked. I looked at him in silence. "Nevermind. What is it?

"At twelve thirty, one hour after he returned from the lunch, Joseph exited his office and met with a man that resembles one of his would-be murderers. Joseph didn't seem worried, nor was he forced to go with the man. He left with him of his own free will. He didn't have the bag that we saw him with earlier - I think it's still in his office. He never came back after that." I handed the USB to Zoro. "It starts just before the 6th hour mark."

"Alright. I'll have a look later. Franky, you'll go with me to check out the murder scene. Luffy, Robin, check with Usopp if there's any news about the drug dealer and see what you can dig up on Thatch. We'll be gone for some hours."

"Good luck."

After they've gone, I turned to Luffy. He was looking at the pictures of the gangs. "I'm going to Subway to buy lunch. I could get some for you, if you like? My treat." He didn't answer. He was slowly rubbing his temple and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Luffy?"

He snapped out of it, and snatched Ace's picture from the board. "I'll borrow this." He turned and took off towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" I didn't get an answer before he was gone.

I called Olivia on my way to the restaurant. I told her that I was working late, and asked her to babysit her grandkids again today. She was nothing but thrilled at the prospect. I didn't know what I'd do without her.

Author's note: This chapter was information-heavy, like the first one. I hope you still enjoyed it. There will be action ahead. Promise.

PS. I do not think there are no competent police in Estonia. This fic takes place in a world only similar to ours :)