Chapter 27: New disruptive element.
The meeting place was not far from Straw Hat territory which was a plus because Law didn't have the luxury of time or patience either, besides, his distressing condition was not going to improve and he was not going to get rid of the problem that night, he will not find rest until Nami is recovered too, he felt it was going to be more difficult because Crocodile had no intention of returning her or exchanging her for something like his sister, and why the hell did he want to keep her!? Law did not understand this insane point and when he tried to find the answer, a dysfunction was occurring in his brain and the gap that needed to be filled widened even more.
Roger's desert was, as its name indicated, a real desert, a vast land without houses or inhabitants, a dark place where illegal transactions and especially murders took place, Law hated going there because it was a kind of dumping ground for him, he could find all the rubbish of the Mafia that was trying to take the territory that had not belonged to anyone since Roger's death over twenty years ago.
While he was surrounded by the darkness of the night, Law saw a light in the distance and without delay, he motioned for Shachi to walk towards it, it was the first sign of life he had seen since arriving in the desert and it was probably his sister's kidnappers because they were showing him their location by flashing light as a signal.
Law was feeling more and more anxious as he got closer to his enemies, negative thoughts flooded his mind and he began to doubt his decision to come with only two men, he had not strengthened his defense and he had neglected the use of violence, but on the other hand, he was confident because he knew that it was not in the interests of his enemies to fight him, the main reason for this is that Crocodile would want to cover up the story of the theft, otherwise he will have serious problem with Kaido, if the emperor found out that one of his allies has been duped by one of the novices, he will surely get rid of him and Crocodile would not take the risk of that happening.
When Shachi parked the truck a few yards from the enemy's car, Law had been blinded by the light from the headlights which prevented him from seeing properly, all he could perceive were two figures of muscular men, the surgeon of death frowned as he noticed that each of them carried an assault rifle, which was confirmation of his negligence about using violence, plus there must be more men hiding in darkness waiting to attack, if that happens he will surely be in hell before sunrise.
"What shall we do now?" Shachi asked, noticing that his boss lingered in taking the initiative while he was deep in thought. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was mentally preparing to go to hell." Law replied as he continued to inspect the waiting opponents, looking left and right for other cars hidden in the shadows.
"We're from North Blue," Shachi began before striking a laughing pose. "The Norse go to Valhalla dying in battle, so it's an honor to die here."
"Better than hell, I'm relieved to hear that," The Surgeon of Death joked before realizing that now is not the time to do it. "You go with me and tell Penguin to leave the car on and get ready for departure," He put his hand on the handle of the door preparing to open it. "We're going to leave this damn truck to them so don't forget a thing in here."
Law got out of the truck slowly because his wound was burning him and he didn't want to make it worse, it was already a miracle that he could still stand up because he had been bleeding for some time, walking slowly towards the car before stopping when his field of vision improved and he could see his sister sitting in the back of the vehicle, her eyes were covered with a bandana and her mouth was taped with duct tape, a real kidnapping scene.
"Did you bring back the weapons?" One of the armed gorillas asked.
"Yes, they're in the truck," Law nodded, restraining himself from insulting the two mountains of muscle in front of him, if he didn't have the weapons so why was he carrying a big truck with him. "And my sister?"
"She's here." The one who had spoken earlier answered before nodding to his companion, giving him a silent order.
The left gorilla as Law nicknamed him in his mind walked towards the car and opened the back door before grabbing Lamy by the arm, forcing her out by pulling her hard which irritated the surgeon of death, because it was not an appropriate treatment for his sister. In the meantime, the gorilla on the right went to check the weapons which were in the back of the truck, closely watched by Shachi who was on his guard awaiting the unexpected.
"Everything is okay, give them the girl." The right gorilla ordered the left gorilla after he finished his inspection, apparently he was the one in charge of the mission because his companion hadn't opened his mouth to say a word.
Law had experienced a moment of disconnection from reality when he saw how the man continued to pull his sister as if she was a sack of potatoes, at that moment he wanted to slaughter the gorilla who thought he was invincible but he was unable to do so for Lamy's sake.
The Surgeon of Death was so focused on calming his murderous spirit that he didn't even notice his wound aching as he ran to his sister to greet her, he had come to himself when he took her in his arms and although he wanted to enjoy the moment of reunion, he could not do it because he had to get out of this place as soon as possible, before another problem arises.
"Calm down now," He whispered to his sister as he removed the bandana that covered her watery eyes. "You are with me." He added before starting to guide her to the car.
Lamy moaned several times as she couldn't speak because of the duct tape on her mouth, she was shaking like a leaf in panic and she was constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure her kidnappers were not following them.
When they finally got in the car, Penguin hit the accelerator even before the doors closed, Law sat in the back seat next to his sister and it wasn't long before he untied her hands and released her mouth.
"Law it's it's a disaster…" Lamy tried to speak as she caught her breath.
"Calm down, you can tell me everything after you catch your breath." Law stroked his sister's face gently to give her a sense of security.
"NNNami!" She stammered before being choked again.
"Do you know what's going on with her?" Law asked, now feeling very interested in what his sister was trying to tell him.
"Yes," She nodded in response. "She told me to tell you that our kidnapper's name is Hawkins and he knows about Arlong's case." She repeated verbatim what the redhead had told her.
"Hawkins! That bastard was hired by Crocodile," The Surgeon of Death echoed as he thought the situation was getting more and more crappy. "What does he plan to do with Nami?"
"Apparently he's going to take Nami to Doflamingo." Lamy responded slowly as she knew her brother wasn't going to like what she told him, she was aware of Law and Doflamingo's relationship.
"What?!" Penguin and Shachi did in unison, looking back simultaneously.
"How the fuck did Hawkins find out about Arlong's story!?" Law exclaimed when he already knew the answer to his question, Hawkins was known to be the man who knows everything. "It cannot be true, it is impossible."
"That's what Nami told me to tell you." Lamy shrugged because she was as confused as her brother.
"What are we gonna do boss?" Shachi asked looking at Law over his shoulder.
"I don't know," Law responded by pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to think. "If Doflamingo finds out that I left Nami alive, he will start to suspect me." He said what went through his mind out loud, completely forgetting his sister's presence by his side.
Lamy moaned in surprise at hearing it, she was even more afraid for Nami.
"We must act quickly, if Nami falls into Doflamingo's hands, he will surely torture her to make her speak before killing her!" Penguin grew impatient as he raised his voice to his boss, when he realized what he had done he pretended to be interested in the road as he froze looking straight ahead.
Silence fell in the car as each of them lost their minds. After studying the situation from all sides, Law found only one solution and that was to ask for help from the only person who could get him out of this mess.
Law pulled his phone out of his pocket after he refrained from swearing because he didn't want to say dirty words in front of his sister. He searched the phone book for Corazon's number.
Law was starting to get impatient as he called for the second time because the communication was cut during the first try, Law knew the reason for this, Corazon made the mistake of sliding the screen to red all the time to answer while it was the opposite, the man could not unfortunately be cured of his clumsiness.
"Hello," Corazon finally answered, his voice was drowsy because he was probably sleeping. "You missed me for calling me at such a late hour."
"Listen, there is an emergency." Law said quickly, not wanting to waste time in unnecessary chatter.
"What's the matter?" Corazon asked seriously, surely he understood the gravity of the situation because Law never involved him in minor matters.
"It's a long story," He began as he thought of a way to sum up the whole story from the start. "Basically I fucked up badly lately, I stole a cargo of weapon from Crocodile and I was shot in the abdomen, Crocodile hired Hawkins and they found out it was me, then they kidnapped Lamy and one of my subordinates."
"Wow, I'm stunned," Corazon commented after he was silent, waiting for the story to continue. "I have a lot of questions for you, I don't know where to start." He took a moment to think. "How's your injury? Did you recover the hostages? And why didn't you consult me before you screwed up your life!?"
"I'm still alive and just got Lamy back." He responded quickly as he hesitated to bring up the most important subject with his interlocutor. "Unfortunately, Hawkins doesn't want to let go of my subordinate." He paused, brushing the hesitation out of him. "I have something important to ask you."
"If you want my help, yes, I'm not going to leave you in trouble." Corazon offered without hesitation.
"So you have to help me find Hawkins as quickly as possible," Law growled, starting to lose patience. "My subordinate he kidnapped is Nami, the girl who was part of Arlong's gang, apparently he's planning to take her to Doflamingo."
"WWWhat?" Corazon asked with a shocked voice. "If he does that, it will get more complicated for you, Doflamingo will have proof that you are working behind his back."
"I already know, no need to remind me."
"Damn, everything is going to screw up when we were almost there," Corazon growled scoldingly. "How could you be so careless?"
"I already know." Law repeated.
"No you don't know nothing, I told you a thousand times not to go near Doflamingo, but you ignored me and you teamed up with him just to bring him down," Corazon cried out, his voice could be heard by everyone in the car. "And now the girl is in danger because of you, why didn't you let her go like I asked you to?"
"I don't know." Law was defeated, he was already blaming himself before Corazon blamed him.
"I thought you already know it, now you don't know, answer my question!" Corazon grew impatient. "Why didn't you let her go like I told you to do?"
"I kept her with me because I don't trust her." Law decided to say the first reason he kept Nami with him, keeping to himself that he had feelings for her.
"I'm going to save the girl, I won't let my brother hurt her." Corazon declared, his chivalrous side gaining the upper hand.
"We also need to get rid of Hawkins." Law clarified as his blood boiled as he thought of the man who kidnapped the two women.
"Damn," Corazon swore. "It will be hard to find him, he's more invisible than a ghost."
"You have to find him as quickly as possible."
"Where are you now?"
"I go back to HQ."
"I'm coming now." Corazon said before hanging up.