Happy holidays if you celebrate, and either way, have a wonderful week, everyone! Let's get ready for another year of adventures in the Grand Line.
32. Leap of faith
(Baptized by truth we will reap what we sow)
The pouch with the vials that Trafalgar Law had handed Marina weighed distinctly heavy on her hands. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing. So far, he had upheld his end of the bargain, but nevertheless, Marina returned to the castle carrying not just the samples, but also a feeling of failure. Not because she had to resort to strike a deal with a pirate that should have been thrown behind bars years ago, but rather because he didn't seem to have any inclination to heed her advice, and that put Mack directly in danger. She wished she could speak to him directly, but every time she did, she realized that she didn't know what to say. Not after how things had gone the last time they'd seen each other. Was he mad at her? Was he disappointed? Did she still know him at all? She had no idea.
Outside of the waiting room, the steward announced the arrival of the prince, and a little too late, since he was already in the room, Marina remembered to stand up from her seat, but he gestured at her to sit back down, as he did the same on a plush armchair next to her. Truth be told, Marina felt like she shouldn't have been allowed to even come near the upholstery before she changed into clean clothes, but nobody seemed to mind. She supposed it was the privilege of wearing a uniform.
"I'm sorry to disturb you so late at night, Your Highness."
"No need to apologize," he said. "Is it true that you have found something of use during today's investigation?"
"Possibly. I was given these samples by one of the doctors in town," she said, giving him the pouch. It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie, either. The glass of the vials tinkled gently as he took one out and held it up for examination. "I was told they are from a patient who has developed the illness and from one that might be showing the first symptoms."
"So the infection has already reached the lower town?" He asked, eyes fixed on the liquid. "That isn't a good prospect. We'll have to be even stricter with access to the castle town."
"They seem to be isolated cases. People do seem to stay indoors whenever they can, but I haven't seen signs of the actual epidemic having spread."
"For now," Ignatius said with a grim expression, and returned the vial to the pouch. "Thank you for your work, Captain. This might yet be the breakthrough we needed."
"Isn't it too early to think that?"
He smiled at her. "Hope is a wonderful thing. Every bit helps."
Marina found herself reciprocating the smile. There was something about the way the man carried himself that put her at ease, likely the fact that he wasn't stuck up at all. She could use a break from those types. "Anyway, tomorrow I'd like to venture further into the island with some of my subordinates. We've seen there are a few villages along the island's main river, and I'm sure we can find out more if we go somewhere the plague has already touched."
Ignatius dropped his smile. "I must caution you against that. There are some places not too far away that you could visit within the span of a day, but I cannot, in good conscience, send you there. The risk of infection is too high."
Marina's mind had been made up before they had the conversation, so she wasn't going to budge. "I insist. We'll retreat if we assess that it isn't worth the risk, but if we are so short on samples to work with, it's necessary that we take a chance on this."
"I can't argue against that," he admitted. "Just be aware that there's a chance we may have to quarantine you and your men upon return."
"Understood," she sentenced. "That is all I had to report."
She thought the meeting would be done with that, but Ignatius didn't move.
"Before you go," he started. He looked troubled and a little nervous. Marina understood the former, but not the latter. "I would like to know if you have noticed any… peculiar activities in town."
"Not that I can think of." Aside from a dangerous pirate crew hanging around.
He fidgeted with the strings of the pouch as he thought of what to say. "Rumors of civil unrest have been running rampant for a while now." It was plain that it shamed him to admit it. "It's due to the epidemic, no doubt about that. They started shortly after it began to spread and we called the doctors of the kingdom to form a coordinated team."
"It bothered the citizens, I take it?"
"Naturally, it was unnerving to be missing some of the local doctors in the middle of a contagion, but it wasn't worrying until somebody came up with the absurd conspiracy theory that we are hiding a cure." He sighed, defeated. "The truth is, I am worried about security. I am aware that closing the gates to the castle town didn't help our case, but we must buy time by any means necessary. I have tried to talk to His Majesty about sending more soldiers to the lower town, but he's reticent to put our soldiers in danger, and he is too proud to ask for help." With a self-deprecating smile, he said, "Alas, I am not."
"I'll keep an ear to the ground."
Ignatius exhaled with relief. "Thank you. I know it is a lot to ask of you, but the last thing we need is a civil war breaking out while we're in the middle of this crisis." And with a heartfelt appreciation that touched Marina, he said, "Your arrival must have been a blessing from the sea gods, Captain."
—
The erratic climate of Pavis made for a pretty picture when it wasn't getting in the way, Saki would admit. She didn't have a very good night's sleep after Marina's warning, and before the guys woke up, she smuggled a pickled vegetable jar from the pantry and sought refuge down on the lower deck, facing the sea. It had intermittently rained on her three times since then, she'd seen one rainbow once the sun was up, and the array of low-hanging clouds formed an unnatural-looking perimeter around the island that suddenly cut off at a certain distance. It was like being under a grey, fluffy porch with terrible leaks. She was sure there was a technical explanation for that and Bepo would give her one if she asked, but her mind was busier with other matters.
Over the course of several hours staring at the horizon, trying very hard to eat away her feelings to no avail, she had managed to deplete half of the jar and somehow not her a chemical burn in her mouth.
Somebody was bound to find her sooner or later, of course, and she had work that she couldn't postpone eternally, but she was glad that nobody had come looking for her before noon, because it meant that nothing was on fire and, most importantly, that nobody was worried about her. Well, maybe Law was, since he just had to worry about everything, but he had more pressing stuff to think about, now that Colin was responsive, and that she didn't have a concerned bear hovering around was a sign that he hadn't told anybody about what had happened the night before. No doubt Bepo would end up hearing about it, but she didn't think it would reach the ears of most of the crew unless they were in direct danger.
She felt her stomach lurch when she thought about it and doubled over the pickle jar, blaming the guilt instead of the vinegar. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She just wanted to travel with her friends.
If Marina had read the reports, she had to know what happened to her mom, and it led her to wonder if that was how her travels were going to end, simply vanishing one day too, in the eyes of the rest of the crew. But that would be bad. The guys were the type of people to go look for her. Could she maybe convince them to let her go, if push came to shove? She doubted it. She also didn't know what to make of Law's idea to become a Shichibukai. It would grant them immunity if it worked out, but the government could very well ask for her in exchange for the position, too. That would also be pretty bad. It had the potential to throw Law's entire plan out the window, and he was too smart to buy any excuses she might come up with to try to leave. She couldn't do much but to believe in his ability to navigate the situation, and really what was putting a little more faith in him at that point? Not that it made any difference. She was married to the crew, through and through.
What a weird year she'd had, she thought, straightening up a little and shoving another pickle in her mouth, when the door to her left creaked and she heard to pairs of footsteps. Oh, crap, she hadn't put any make up on yet.
"About time we found you!" Penguin exclaimed. "What are you doing down here?"
"Oh, you know, just felt like watching the sunrise."
"The sun's in the middle of the sky," he said, and looked up at the clouds that obstructed the view. "I guess."
"Yeah, but it's been going up all this time."
Shachi, who had never had any tact in his life, went, "You look like ass."
"I feel like you've said this to me before."
"Happens more than you'd think."
"It's alright. You're never going to have a girlfriend."
"I've had a girlfriend before!" He replied, flustered.
"Really?" She took an uninterested look at Shachi. "Lucky bastard."
And she kept eating.
Shachi and Penguin shared one of those silent telepathic looks that they sometimes had, and, like a pair of lowly gangsters trying to prevent her from escaping, sat down to her left and right.
"I'm stress-eating," she said, munching as she did and holding up the jar. "Do you want some?"
"That was full last night."
"Yes, it was."
"It's bigger than your head."
"Yes, it is."
Shachi didn't say anything else as he fished out a small onion. Penguin, however, did. "Your breath smells amazing."
"It's not like I'm going to be kissing anybody. Garlic's good for the immune system." She aggressively put the jar in front of him. "Take one."
She realized maybe a bit too late that Penguin may have perceived the offer as a threat, because he did as told very quickly.
"Moody day, huh?" Shachi commented, glancing at the sea, too.
"If I hear a period joke I will dump the rest of the jar on your bed."
"Wha—no! I wasn't getting at that."
There were days when it was definitely best not to climb out of bed. "Sorry."
The two shared a renewed look of concern, and she didn't like being the source of it, so she tried to swallow the discomfort with one of the aforementioned cloves of garlic.
"Question for you," Penguin said, suddenly perking up and giving Saki whiplash. "When's your birthday?"
"August seventh," she replied automatically.
"And what day is it today?"
She blanked out for a few seconds. It was nearly September. "Holy shit, I totally forgot!"
"How do you forget your own birthday?!" Shachi retorted.
"I don't know, I guess all days blend together at sea."
"We could've had an excuse for a party instead of infinite boredom," Penguin complained.
"Yes, well," Saki said, slightly miffed. It was her birthday, so it was her right to forget about it whenever she wanted. "It doesn't really matter."
"It's your birthday!" He insisted. "You survived another year."
That made her crack a smile. "Who would've thought a year ago?"
"I think there's been room for doubt during the year, too."
The beginnings of a chuckle had started to spill from her mouth when Shachi smacked the back of her head with something. "Take this, idiot."
"Ow."
She was handed a small rectangular package, enveloped in yellow paper with a pattern of little hand drawn Heart Pirates Jolly Rogers.
That had taken some dedication. "You got me something?" She asked, astounded.
Ever since she started working, she had always insisted to the Old Man and the kids not to get her anything that wasn't a cake and couldn't be split between the four of them. She knew they were short on cash, since they lived off just one salary, and Saki was always of the mind that, if she really wanted something, she could pay it with her own money. They wouldn't have accepted not getting her anything, though, so cake was their compromise. Tsubaki tried her hand at making them sometimes, and she always managed to burn the bottom. Saki ate it anyway. Other than that, hadn't gotten a birthday present since her dad passed away, if she didn't count finally getting Law to cave in and allowing her to fix his fingers.
She should count that. What a relief it was.
Maybe one of the reasons she hadn't noticed her birthday had gone by was that, whether she realized or not, she didn't think there was much to celebrate with so much of her family missing. But that was kind of unfair for the rest of it, wasn't it?
Penguin was giddy. "Go ahead, open it!"
Saki then realized that she had been holding onto the present with a blank face like anidiot, as Shachi had very aptly described her, and, spurred by the encouragement, she did her best to remove the paper without it tearing too much, because it was cute and she wanted to keep it.
If she had been surprised by the unexpected gift, its contents left her speechless.
"Well? Like it?" Shachi asked with a grin that Saki didn't see because she wasn't tearing her eyes away from the present.
"You bastards are all on a quest to make me cry," she said, blinking back tears but smiling all the same.
Said bastards had made a copy of one of the drawings in her sketchbook and cut it to size to it fit a silver picture frame with delicate filigrees. It was sturdy, and nicer than anything she'd ever had. Inside the confines of the frame, a freckled woman with flowy platinum hair looked to the side in concentration.
"That's my mom," Saki said.
It was a memory from a long, long, time ago, her mom sitting on the couch, trying to sew the holes in her husband's trousers. She was terrible at it, but it didn't stop her from trying.
"I know!" Shachi replied, sounding proud of himself. "You showed me her picture once, remember?"
"I did?"
"Of course you did, how else would I know?"
And he remembered.
"Shachi said you kept it inside a book," Penguin explained while Saki was busy getting hit by a train of feels. "We were going to get you just the frame, but we had the opportunity to take it a step further. The portrait's very pretty, by the way."
"And I never forget a pretty face," Shachi said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"That's why you stole my sketchbook," Saki said, trying to sound accusatory and failing. Mom.
"Stealing is such a harsh word," Penguin replied. "We borrowed for a good cause."
"I was actually going to give it back when I found it, but then an idea happened."
"I went nuts looking for it."
"We know. Captain came to scold us this morning and when we told him what was up, he also pitched in. And then scolded us."
"That part's supposed to be a secret, by the way," Penguin added.
"I had a nervous breakdown in front of Bepo and Jean Bart. I owe you nothing."
"Fair."
She was opening her mouth to hopefully say thank you without choking on her own mounting feelings when Shachi, adept as only a manly man could be at avoiding sappy uncomfortable scenes between mates, punched her arm hard enough to hurt and said, "Get ready now! We're celebrating!"
"Celebrate what?" She said, like a dumbass.
"Your birthday!"
"But there's no need, it was weeks—"
"If you think we are going to pass up a perfectly good opportunity to go pub crawling, you are sorely mistaken."
Penguin got up and pulled her up along with him. "Go drop the picture in your room and meet us by the gangplank, unless you want to take your mom drinking."
"I think she'd like it."
"Then let's go!"
"Wait, let me fix my face first!"
"That's a lost battle," Shachi said, because of course he had to.
"I'm not listening!" She said, starting to head to the door. "Someone carry the pickles to the galley, too."
"No need." Shachi picked up the jar under his arm, and, shooting a satisfied smile at his friends, said, "We'll take it to go."
Saki skipped into the sub, holding the picture close to her chest. There were days when it was definitely best not to climb out of bed, but this wasn't one of those.
—
"You're free to go," Law said, looking at the thermometer he had just retrieved from Mack. The fever had gone without a trace after a good night's sleep.
"Told you so."
"It's intriguing, though," he replied. "Do you get to get random fevers when mosquitoes bite you? Any rashes?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't have spent the last few years in a tropical island."
Law hummed as he put the thermometer aside, not entirely convinced. "In any case, we should find out soon if you had the same as him," he said, referring to Colin. "The lab may not be able to identify the virus, but they should be able to tell if the samples match."
After last night, deciding there wasn't any further need to keep him in isolation and that he wanted to have his operating theater back in case they had a real emergency, not a random dude, he had moved Colin to the sickbay. Despite feeling very weak still, he was able to stay awake without trouble now, and Law guessed that he'd make a fast recovery once he had a few solid meals. He had been able to hold a conversation with him, at last, and found out that he was barely eighteen and had decided to set out for the sea when the plague reached his town, but not before he'd been infected, and only got sick after he had already sailed. That hinted at an incubation period that Mack may or may not have skipped.
Though Law had saved the patient, not completely sure how, his natural curiosity kept him theorizing, even if nothing was at stake anymore. According to Bepo, the Log Pose would set in less than forty-eight hours, and then they'd be able to leave for a place that wasn't on the brink of disaster. Of course, there existed a very real possibility that someone in the crew managed to get sick in that span of time, and he didn't want to think about it, because he knew his luck, and if he did, and he had the smallest hope they wouldn't, it would happen. Was it logical? No. Did it make him feel better about something that escaped his control? Absolutely.
"Doubtful," Mack replied. "It didn't look the same at all."
"You might have a natural resistance to the virus," he said, and added after a beat, "or maybe it's something that only affects certain people and you're one of the lucky winners."
"I'll hope it's not the latter," Mack said, getting up from the cot where he was sitting. "You say the results will be ready soon?"
"It shouldn't take more than a day. They know what they're looking for and should have the equipment to see it."
It wasn't logical, either, that he wanted an electron microscope so badly, in the unlikely event something like this happened again, he told himself, and he was considering giving up half of his room to have one installed. He could sleep in the sickbay forever.
"Tell me when she's back." Mack didn't have to specify to be understood.
"I don't know if she'll deliver the news," Law said, although he had a feeling she would.
"I do," Mack said with conviction. "I just want to clear up something up with her," he reassured Law. "I'm not going to do anything stupid."
"I know." If Mack, of all people, planned to do so, Law didn't think he'd have anything left to believe in. "I'll tell you when she gets here."
"Thanks." He stretched, and his back popped. "I think it's time I went back to my galley."
The inflection of the possessive was noted. Law was perhaps infamous for being a workaholic when something interesting captured his attention, but he thought it was extremely unfair that the rest of the crew didn't give Mack half of the grief he received when he willingly spent nearly every day in front of the stove. Law wasn't even aware that there were so many things a person could do in a kitchen.
He turned to Colin, who was staring blankly at the ceiling. He didn't know if he'd been paying any attention to the conversation at hand, but it made no difference.
Colin did notice the stare, though. "I haven't thanked you yet."
Law went to retrieve the instruments he had dropped on a tray and started to organize them inside a drawer.
"I don't need your thanks."
"But—"
He didn't want to have that conversation. People always took it so personally when he saved their lives.
…Wait.
"I saved you because I wanted to, not because I had any intention to help. I don't want anything in exchange."
Saki had said it best some time ago, he mused. He wanted to solve the puzzle, and couldn't care less about the human component. Or maybe he could, but he did his best not to.
The was a silence before Colin spoke again, so long that Law thought that he was done talking. "That's good, because I don't have any money."
"I figured as much."
Another pause. "I could, if you don't mind—"
The sentence was cut off by Bepo's arrival, which mad Law doubly happy.
"Captain! Do you know where I can find Shachi and Penguin?"
He had an idea. "You need them for something?"
"I wanted to remind them to check the gas in the refrigeration system. They said there was a leak and that's why the sub got boiling hot when we escaped Marineford." He looked around, and said, disappointed, "So they aren't here, either."
"I think today they'll be…" He looked for the right word. "Indisposed."
Bepo caught the drift immediately. "They're drinking again?!"
"I kind of encouraged them."
Bepo stared at him with worry and placed a paw on his forehead. "Are you getting sick?"
Law batted his arm away, embarrassed. He noticed Colin smiling in the background. "I told them to take out Saki."
"I haven't seen her all day."
"Me neither, but I don't think she'd feeling well."
Bepo muttered a quiet 'oh.' "Something happened?"
Law glanced at Colin, who might not have known what the issue at hand was, but had already heard enough. "I'll tell you later. We need to make plans. About that."
Only then, thanks to the vagueness, Bepo noticed that the person in the cot was actually awake, and he grinned at Colin. "Hi! You look much better!"
"Oh, uh, thanks." He still seemed to be weirded out by the talking bear.
"What are you going to do? We'll be leaving the island in two or three days."
"We can't drop you any closer to your town," Law said quickly. He had had enough with one patient that he had, ultimately, only saved through luck, and he wasn't going to risk the safety of his crew.
"I don't want to go back," said Coin just as fast. "It was hell back there. People were dropping left and right." Then, sounding much more timid, he continued, "I was wondering if you needed another hand on board? I can help with anything!" He hurried to add, though as weak as he was, it didn't sound very convincing. "I'm a fisherman" I-I've been sailing since I was a kid."
In Law's eyes, he still pretty much looked like one. "This is a pirate ship, not a fishing boat."
"Fish," whispered Bepo, taking Law by surprise.
"Bepo?"
"Fish," he repeated, a little louder, and looked at Colin. "Are you good at fishing?"
"O-of course I am!" He replied, seeing his chance. "Doesn't matter if it's a net or a rod. Hell, even with a pointy stick in shallow water."
"Captain," Bepo pleaded, and Law felt the full brunt of the polar bear cub eyes. "Fresh fish."
"We're at sea all the time, Bepo," he tried. He felt guilty and didn't know why.
"Yeah, but we never catch much. We live off the pantry."
Law averted his gaze and went back to reorganizing his drawer.
"I could get you fresh fish any day."
Let it not be said that the boy didn't know how to grab an opportunity when he saw it.
"Captain. Salmon."
"Those are river fish."
"It's the Grand Line!" Bepo was indignant. "You can't tell me there aren't saltwater salmon out there!"
"There are," Colin said. "And there's also cod, and tuna, and—"
"We've never fished a tuna," Bepo said, putting on more pressure. He got closer to Law and said to his ear. "We have to admit we're kind of incompetent at that."
Law could swear that Colin had heard, and when he looked up, the boy was trying not to laugh.
"Do whatever you want," Law said to the two of them, deciding that Bepo had a point and he had no reason to deny it, but damn if he was going to admit it in front of a stranger.
At worst, the kid would see that he had no place in a pirate crew and jump ship at their next stop, though he'd be a dead man if he did. Not because Law cared, oh no. But he was going to hunt him to the end to the world if he dared break Bepo's heart.
—
Phillip and Howe might have been excellent examples of what a Marine should be, but they weren't the most adept at spy work, understandably. They just weren't trained for it. But Captain Marina had asked them specifically to do this mission because there weren't any others soldiers she trusted more, and they were going to make her proud even if they had no clue where to start.
They had descended from the castle town that day dressed in civilian clothes and gone for a walk around town. That was, until they realized they weren't going to find out anything by walking aimlessly, so instead they looked for the busiest pub in town and made themselves at home in it. Insurgents like those sorts of places, right? At the very least, surely they could listen in to some conversations or learn about suspicious rumors. Unfortunately for them, in the two hours they spent sitting in a corner or the pub, very close together so as to take up less space and be less conspicuous, the only rumor that started making the rounds was that the two new guys huddling together in the corner were a gay couple.
(Personally, Phillip didn't mind because he would have liked it to be true, but romantic relationships were sort of frowned upon between colleagues.
Howe thought exactly the same.
Neither of them had ever brought the subject up, and thus was not aware of the other's opinion.)
It was hard to keep up the enthusiasm, but the day was long and they couldn't give up yet. The venue was getting more crowded as time went by and people also dropped by to grab some food, and at some point during this, tables were getting scarce and three patrons took up the one next to their underprivileged location.
They retreated even deeper into their corner when they saw the Jolly Roger on the two men's clothes. They recognized those faces. The woman that was with them wasn't waving any Jolly Rogers around, but was equally recognizable. She was considerably more lively than the last time they'd seen her, considering that she had been unconscious then. After the chaos the Heart Pirates had left in their wake when they fled their base, Captain Marina had been in the worst mood they'd ever seen. The entire platoon had tried their best to get her to snap out, tempting her with food, wooden figurines and even a shiny new set of screwdrivers, but it took her weeks to go back to being herself.
They weren't sure what had happened; only that she had fought the woman and the pirate captain, and even after that she had refused medical assistance, saying that she felt fine. It was odd, since Captain Marina had never been one to shy away from doctors, and she was very strict when it came to her subordinates' health, too. They could only guess it had something to do with her brother being in the crew.
In any case, both Philip and Howe were aware that these people were dangerous, and that they had apparently negotiated a truce with their captain while everybody was busy dealing with the epidemic, but they couldn't be trusted. And even if their captain or Captain Marina's brother were trustworthy, neither were present at the pub. It was three wildcards at an arm's reach from their seats.
And for some ungodly reason, they also had a half-empty jar of pickles and the portrait of a woman on the table.
After a few minutes of being noticeably silent, tense, and throwing sideways glances at the pirates, the worst happened.
The woman, who was more than halfway through her drink in a spectacularly short time, announced to her companions, "Those guys are watching us."
The merry atmosphere of the table became something more muted, and Howe straightened on his seat and faced them as Phillip went pale. Nowhere to run now. They couldn't risk a fight, though, there were too many innocents around.
The guy whose eyes were lost under the brim of his cap asked, "Are you bounty hunters?"
"No," Howe said, very stiff.
"Oh, are you fans?"
"No," he repeated, bristling at the suggestion.
"I don't think they're pirates, I'd know if I'd seen their bounties," the woman said. She sounded a little tipsy. Come to think of it, the other man did, too. Had they been drinking before coming into the pub? "Oh, are you conspirators? 'Cause we're not interested."
"There's a conspiracy?" Her friend said, very interested.
She shushed him, but Phillip took the opening. "You know about the conspiracy?"
She looked at him for a long second. "Nah." And she took another swig.
"You don't look afraid, either," said a fellow ginger to Phillip.
"I'm not."
"Y'know, Shachi, I think I've seen them before," the other man said.
"Really?"
"Now that you mention it," she said, eyes narrowing.
"Do you think they're Marines? Captain said they'd be around."
"So what? You're undercover?" She asked all of a sudden, making Howe jump a little. "Isn't that what Cipher Pol's for?" There was a lot of animosity that hadn't been there a second ago.
"No, we—"
"Now I remember!" The man named Shachi exclaimed and pointed at Phillip. "Peng kicked you in the face back in the Marine base!"
"Did I?" He leaned over the table to take a closer look at Phillip's dumbfounded face. "Sorry, not sorry. It wasn't personal."
"That was a day and a half," Shachi said.
The woman nodded. "You tell me. I thought I was kicking the bucket for sure."
"But you didn't!" Their other companion said with a grin, and lifted a hand.
They high fived while saying heeeey, or tried to, because they nearly missed the mark and ended up slapping each other.
Unexpectedly, Shachi looked back at Howe and Phillip and said, "You look kinda sad in that corner. Why don't you sit with us?"
Howe found the idea preposterous. "We could never."
"Might as well get along, we're all stuck together in this death trap of an island," the woman said. "And it's my birthday pseudo-party! Come on, this round's on me."
"You aren't embezzling our funds, are you?"
"Don't be silly."
Phillip and Howe were confused. They hadn't expected these people to be cordial, much less buy them drinks.
It had to be a trap. But if it was, it was better if they found out their intentions before it was too late and they caught their squad off guard and in a vulnerable position.
Phillip was the first to find the courage to step forward. "I'm a teetotaler."
Perhaps not the most impressive thing to say, all things considered.
"Oh, that's fine. Ask for a juice or something," said the woman casually, not even looking in his direction because she was trying to wave down a waiter.
Howe approached the pirates as well, but before he could say anything to his friend, the asshole who was wearing sunglasses indoors slammed the jar of pickles in front of them. "You want some?"
—
Marina hadn't had a great day, but then again, that seemed to be the general trend of her life nowadays.
She had left two of her most trusted subordinates behind to investigate the matter of the rebellion while she headed out with the rest, and after seeing in person what was out there, she wished she had spared them the trip.
They had traveled further inland and away from the castle area, following a river that had a handful of villages along its course, and they had visited two of them when Marina decided that the best course of action was to turn tail before something worse happened. She knew when the scope of a situation surpassed her ability to help, and as much as it pained her, this was clearly the case. It was only mid afternoon when she ordered her soldiers to go back. Pressing on would only put them in more danger.
They found two ghost villages. In the first one, they managed to see a handful of inhabitants going on errands, and one of them told them most people that weren't sick yet were staying indoors as much as they could. In the second one, she abandoned all hope. The streets were completely devoid of life, and after wandering around for a while, trying to find anybody, they reached the main square, which could have been a perfect postcard picture had it not been for the deep pit someone had dug in the middle, and where a cloud of flies seemed to be converging. Upon closer inspection, they found the only remains of human presence in the form of a pile of burned corpses. They didn't know if the person who had collected the dead was still around, inside the pit, or had moved somewhere else to escape the plague, but there was no one to ask.
Marina thought with worry that it made all the sense that the citizens were burning the corpses to prevent the illness from spreading further, but it would make the collection of samples for the lab difficult. She supposed this was one of the reasons she had been told that they didn't have much to go on.
She went back to the castle town empty handed and frustrated as she hadn't been since she stumbled upon the ruins of Asteria. Then, to make matters more inconvenient, she and her soldiers were retained for close to two hours at the castle town's entrance checkpoint.
She was heading to her room, only looking forward to a long shower during which she could devise a new plan of action, reports be damned, when she ran into Flagel in one of the corridors that connected to the castle's conference room.
"Any luck in the wilds?" He asked with a smirk, already imagining the answer. It was pretty much written on Marina's face.
"Only of the bad sort," she said. "This is serious. I'm starting to think most of the island's dead."
That piqued his curiosity. "Oh? But didn't you say the lower town was doing just fine?"
"And it is. In fact, I've noticed more people out this evening than the rest of days."
"Fascinating," he said, and it struck Marina as odd that he didn't sound insincere. "I wouldn't worry much if I were you; we will be leaving soon."
"Excuse me?" She replied, surprised. "These people need help. Are they sending relief aid from Marineford?"
Flagel held back a snort. "You know as well as I that this island isn't important enough to waste resources on as we are right now."
"Then what was the point of sending us here?"
"Who knows," he said with a nonchalant shrug, and turned to continue on his way to his quarters, which were mercifully located in the opposite direction of hers. "Don't worry your pretty little head, you've got your ruin of a base to go back to. Good thing you're decent at cobbling things together."
It was a testament to Marina's self-control that she didn't grab a fistful of that ridiculously long hair and yank with all her might.
She needed to make a call. Marina was sure that Flagel had spent the time she'd been out in the field talking to their higher ups and the royal family, and if he wasn't disclosing whatever information he had, she'd have to find out through someone else.
As soon as she got to her room, she discarded her red jacket on the back of an armchair, reached for her Den Den Mushi, and sat down. She might as well have had a direct line to Rear Admiral Curtiss, because it seemed that he was the only person she called those days.
She heard a loud yawn when he picked up the received, and she had to hold back another one. The armchair's cushions didn't make the job any easier.
"Hello, this is Curtiss."
"Good night, sir. I'm Marina."
"Of course it's you. Who is else is going to call at this hour?"
"Apologies, sir, but this is urgent," Marina said, smiling and not sounding sorry at all. "I was wondering if you had heard anything about the kingdom of Pavis."
He sighed. "Yes, Marina, I have. And for your own safety, I won't share what I know. Not that I'm allowed to disclose it, anyway."
"For my own safety?" She repeated in disbelief. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I know you well enough to assume you'll do something you'll regret if you know what is going on," he said blandly.
"Flagel says we're leaving soon. Is that true?"
"Commodore Flagel," he corrected. "It is. Did he say anything else?"
"No."
"Then he has done you a favor, for a change."
"How is keeping me in the dark—"
"Marina, I beg of you." He sounded so very tired. "Do as you are told and don't question your superiors. You are a soldier. The chain of command exists for a reason."
It was like talking to a brick wall. "Yes, sir," she relented. She didn't think she'd be able to get anything else out of him.
"Wait a second." The receiver made a sound against a surface, and a moment later, Curtiss picked it up again. "My wife says you can come for dinner as soon as we're settled in the new Marineford. The house isn't finished yet and she's already thinking about interior decorating," he grumbled.
Marina couldn't help the found smile that spread on her face. "Thank you, sir. And thank her on my behalf, as well."
"I will. And I hope you will follow my advice."
"I'll try. Good night, sir."
"Good night, Marina."
The smile vanished the moment that she hung up, and the exhaustion from the day came rushing in until she finally gave in and crumbled on the armchair. Was every Marine's life so complicated, or did she just keep getting the short end of the stick, no matter what she did?
She consoled herself with the fact that, if anything, Curtiss had confirmed that something was happened behind closed doors, and something important enough that Marineford was involved. Whereas in other times that would have reassured her that the matter was in good hands, she wasn't so sure anymore. The decisions the upper echelon had been taking since Fire Fist's arrest were incomprehensible to her, and there was no denying that with a few empty Shichibukai spots and Fleet Admiral Sengoku hinting at a resignation, the situation in headquarters was more volatile than ever.
But there were some things she could still do on her end. She needed to talk to Howe and Phillip to hear their report, and she also needed to get a hold of prince Ignatius to ask if the laboratory had the results already. Perhaps he would be willing to divulge some information to her – he had already done so with the rumors about an uprising, and he seemed to have taken a liking to her. To Marina, too, it felt like he was the only ally she had in town, because she sure as hell didn't even trust Flagel as far as he could throw him without haki, and same went for Trafalgar, even though they were all, supposedly, temporarily, on the same side.
Making a colossal effort, she rose from the armchair, headed for the bathtub, turned on tap and let the water run. Maybe a bath was in order. She had definitely earned it.
She removed the rest of her clothes, thinking about all the things she wanted to the next day, and absentmindedly scratched a bug bite on her lower back, before plunging into the water and forgetting about the world for a few minutes.
—
"I'm so sleepy," Saki said, and it came out as incomprehensible mumbling because a treacherous yawn escaped her.
Mack didn't understand the words, but he was familiar enough with her to correctly guess she was complaining. "That's what you get for being out until night."
She was doing the dishes from dinner right then, because she had gone straight to bed after a whole day of bumming around with Shachi and Penguin. In Mack's opinion, she should have been grateful that at least she wasn't hungover.
"Yeah, but I slept like seven hours. I shouldn't be this tired."
"That's age catching up to you."
"I suppose you should know. It's all downhill from here, huh?"
Mack was about to say something very unkind at the veiled insult when they heard a knocking against metal coming from de deck. Saki jolted awake at the sound. Someone was at the door, and Mack had a fairly accurate idea of who it could be, but before he could rush out of the galley, a set of footsteps hurried to the door. Being early as it was, it had to be Law.
Saki, despite looking like she wasn't still fully grounded in reality, caught on quickly and told Mack after just a glance at his face, "I can watch the pan while you're upstairs."
He nodded, glad that she had offered. "Yeah, you do that. It'll be just a moment." He wasn't sure how true that was, but he could hope.
Saki hummed in response as he took off his apron, hung it on the wall, and stalked towards the deck.
He had assumed correctly. Law and Marina were on the deck, mirroring each other with their arms crossed and a displeased demeanor.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Please," Law replied, and Mack could only see his back from where he was, but by the way he moved and his tone, he could tell that he was done with whatever they were talking about. "If you're trying to find an excuse to not share what you know, you should have gone for a better one."
"It's not an excuse," she insisted, agitated. "I'm telling you what happened!"
"I know how to do my job," Law spat back.
"Oh, you do, don't you? Then how do I know that you didn't do it on purpose to set us back?"
As entertaining as it was to watch two people that stubborn and proud butting heads, Mack decided that it was time for an intervention. The stabbing chances were getting higher and higher with every exchange. "What's going on here?"
Whoever heard him speak would assume by the bored inflection that he was simply tired of everybody's bullshit, but Mack was actually feeling quite nervous inside. He didn't think anybody could blame him, seeing how things had gone the last time he'd seen his sister.
Marina stiffened visibly when she saw him, but the reaction came and went in the blink of an eye, and for some reason, relief seemed to wash over her.
"She says they couldn't use the samples I gave her," Law said, and it was clear as day that he didn't believe her.
"I'm telling you they were contaminated."
"They were properly extracted and sealed."
"That's not what the laboratory says!"
Law tsked and shook his head. He wasn't looking at her at that point. "Look, I don't care. It's not my problem anymore." And then he muttered, "Serves me well for making a deal with a Marine."
That last comment did nothing to calm down Marina. "If you ask me, from my point of view, it looks a lot like you were trying to make us waste time."
"What the hell would I get from that?"
"And what would I get from coming to see you if I wanted to withhold information?"
"I know you're busy getting on each other's nerves, but has it crossed any of your minds," Mack interrupted, "that both of you can be telling the truth?"
They stopped bickering just look at Mack like he had grown a second head in the shape of a coconut.
"You believe her?" Law asked him, pointing at Marina. There was a sincere question under the annoyance.
Saki chose that moment to come out from the sub, likely alerted by the argument, but she didn't get in the middle, instead choosing to stop at the doorway and survey the situation.
Mack didn't mind the audience much, because he was certain Saki would take his side if it meant not having to clean fresh blood from the deck. "I think that she believes what she is saying."
"You're taking his side," Marina said, more disappointed than incredulous.
"Who told you the samples were contaminated? You can't tell for yourself."
"One of the doctors at the laboratory. I meant to talk with the prince himself, who is leading the team, but he wasn't available. They examined the samples themselves."
"There you have it," Mack said, gesturing at Law.
"Then someone in that lab is lying," he sentenced.
Marina drove a killer glare at him, and she turned to Mack. "Is he telling the truth?"
"He wouldn't make a mistake like that." She didn't seem totally convinced, so he added as an example. "It would be like you mixing up the voltage polarities of a circuit."
She was taken of guard for a second, and she mumbled something that sounded like, "You remember." It took her a moment of contemplation to finally accept what he had said, and nodded. "Very well."
Mack hadn't really put much stock on her trusting his word, and it rekindled the small hope he had.
"Captain?" Saki called out softly, like she didn't want to be there but knew it was a bad idea to leave them as it was, and just like that, Law seemed to stop fuming. She gestured with her head inside, and he took one last glance at Marina.
"Good luck with the courtly intrigue. I've got nothing else for you."
He left after Saki and though on a subconscious level he was worried about the smell of burnt eggs, the overall feelings was gratefulness that she had come to deactivate had of the ticking bomb they had on board.
Marina seemed to physically deflate the moment Law was out of sight. Mack hadn't seen her like that since they were still living together, and certainly not when they had talked in her office. He wondered if being in a place where none of her coworkers could listen in had something to do with that.
"Are you okay?" Mack asked.
She ran a hand over her face. "Could be worse." She looked up, and for an instant, Mack saw the same old awkward sister he'd always known. "You're… You look fine."
"Thanks?" He said, confused.
"I heard there was someone ill on board."
"It wasn't me."
"Yeah, I know. I knew. Anyway," She shook her head, as if to clear it, "was he really trying to help?"
"In his own way, though you won't see him admit it."
She seemed to accept that quickly. Maybe it meshed well with the image of Law that she had in her head. "He did give me that impression, but one can never tell." And then she looked at the mountain where the castle sat, obscured by the clouds. "It seems like I have something new to do."
"Mari—"
"I'll be back," she said forcefully. "If he's right, I'll tell him myself. I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong."
"There's something I need to give back to you," Mack said.
"I…" The look of surprise on her face didn't last long, but her determined expression came back immediately. "Later. I have a feeling it'll be safer here. I'll be back," she repeated.
She seemed to be struggling with something, but Mack couldn't tell what, only that she looked a little ill, and no wonder.
"Alright. Take care."
"You too."
She turned around, and after a few steps, Mack couldn't hold back anymore.
"You know you've got a brother, right? You can come for help whenever you need."
She stopped briefly, without turning to look at him, and he thought she was going to completely ignore him when she shyly waved at him goodbye, still without looking in his direction or saying anything, and went down the gangplank.
For two people who had no idea how to talk to each other, it hadn't gone so wrong, Mack thought.
But there was no time for reflection. The utmost priority was saving their, most probably charred, breakfast.