Doflamingo learns that you have been kidnapped. He and the Family start to plan the rescue.
"It's about (y/n). She may have been captured."
There aren't many things that make Donquixote Doflamingo feel that unpleasant pressure of concern in his chest, but Corazon's words regarding your whereabouts achieve it; at least for a few seconds until such sentiment is replaced by an anger that, for now, is calm.
"Stay there. I'll send Lao-G and Machvise to your position."
"But wait, Doffy, don't you want to know more about it before—?"
Doflamingo hangs up without letting Corazon complete the sentence, proceeding to give his orders to the members of the Family. He doesn't know how Corazon has reached such a conclusion, if it's just theory or if he has sound motives for it, but it doesn't matter to him. Corazon admitted two weeks ago that he wasn't going to sell you out, so the fact that he has called him with information about you is enough to make him want to talk to his brother somewhere safe.
Once Lao-G and Machvise are on his way to Corazon's shop, he summons the rest of the members of the Family in the conference room. Even with Lao-G driving at full speed, it will still take them 15 minutes to arrive, which means that he is forced to wait for the time being.
Doflamingo exhales a long, irritated sigh while leaning his elbow on his desk, resting then his jaw in his hand. Patience has never been among his virtues, but the past two weeks have tested the little he has beyond all imaginable limits. Despite all the resources and people he has at his disposal, he couldn't afford to send everyone on your trail. Rumors have already spread about you leaving his side, but if your disappearance were officially confirmed, for sure his enemies would try to make a move in an attempt to find you and then use you against him.
That had been his strategy to follow, at least. After all, the chances that you lowered your guard at some point and came to light were higher if he performed a moderate search. However, after receiving Corazon's call, he thinks that maybe he should have been more ruthless, and that he should have followed his first impulse of turning the whole city upside down until finding you.
With gritted teeth, his eyes travel to the picture that he has on his desk. All the people whom he has ever done business with usually have pictures in which they appeared posing with their partners, showing them off.
The picture he has from you couldn't be more different. Only you appear on it. You aren't even looking too fancy, nor posing, not even looking at the camera. It's not from a particularly important event either, but from one of the many nights you have spent with the Family in the manor. Doflamingo doesn't remember who took the picture, probably Baby 5 or Rebecca, but the way you look in it, relaxed and laughing and looking like you were at home, was what made him choose it.
Normally, looking at that picture is enough to make him feel serene when he's stressed about something. At that moment though, rage is the only thing that he feels with the mere idea of having already lost you when he managed to find you.
Falling in love with you never entered his estimations, even if you caught his interest the first moment that he saw you in Corazon's shop. He is used to inspire fear and admiration in equal parts in other people, and also to have whatever he wants with a mere snap of fingers. So, meeting someone as young as you who managed to stand her ground despite being afraid of him was unexpected, and a promise of entertainment.
That was part of the motive why he hired you. He was always down for a good challenge, and you were definitely one. Seducing you was always part of his plan, but he had always thought that it would be nothing more than a memorable but still fleeting affair.
After all, you were too well natured. He had known that from the start, and at first, he had thought that you could never fit in his world; but you did. You worked hard day by day in the company even when being blackmailed; you took care of Baby 5 when the woman needed help even if you had no obligation to do so; you worked with the Family during that sleepless night in order to be ready for the police inspection; and later on, when you accepted his past without hesitation, he had already decided that you were the person he wanted to keep forever by his side.
However, he knew that it was too soon for you to learn certain things. That's why he restricted your access to certain reports, and also the reason why he preferred not to tell you anything about his business with Nefertari Cobra. Deep inside he had known that you wouldn't accept them, and he had kept silent, delaying to the maximum the moment in which you would need to learn everything.
Doing that was a mistake. He knows that now. He should have predicted that you wouldn't stay still after being lied to, and that you were stubborn enough to go find the truth for yourself. And now, because of his decisions, chances were high that you have been caught again.
Doflamingo closes his free hand into a fist and snaps it against the table to release some of his frustration, making everything on it tremble. Wherever you were, he was going to find you and take you back. He refuses to ever consider the option of you being dead. Everyone in his circles knows who you are because of your connection to him, so if Corazon's intel turns out to be correct and you have been kidnapped, he doubts that the perpetrators are stupid enough of causing you a permanent harm, unless they wanted that the entire city is reduced to ashes in retaliation.
The sound of the telephone stops him from continuing that train of vengeful thoughts. He picks up the phone. It's Diamante.
"Doffy, everyone is here already."
Doflamingo checks the time in his wristwatch and realizes that Lao-G has a new personal record, since only 10 minutes have passed since he received Corazon's call.
Again, he doesn't say anything before hanging up. He looks at your fallen picture and places it correctly on the desk before abandoning his office towards the conference room, sited in the same floor.
As Diamante has said, all the working members of Donquixote Company are inside the conference room plus Corazon and his two employees. Everyone is sitting on the long, oval table with the exception of Machvise and Gladius, who are always standing out of habit, and Corazon and his lads, the last looking rather nervous of being there despite their attempts of hiding it.
"Well, I'm all ears, little brother," Doflamingo approaches the table and sits at the head of it, interlacing his fingers to rest his chin on them. "What do you know about (y/n)?"
Corazon is uncharacteristically serious while turning towards the green haired punk to extend to his hand towards him. The punk extracts his mobile from the pocket of his trousers and types something for a couple of seconds before placing it on Corazon's hand. Corazon then approaches the head of the table while talking.
"Bartolomeo received this message some minutes ago." Corazon hands the mobile to him. "We don't know who the sender is, but I don't think you have trouble figuring that out."
Doflamingo's eyes open more behind his sunglasses when reading the SMS that appears on the screen. The name 'Akainu' automatically makes a vein appear in his forehead, but before reaching any hasty conclusions some verifications needed to be made.
"Buffalo, Baby 5, establish contact with Monet right now."
"Right away, Boss!"
In less than five minutes Monet is online and in the process of finding out who has sent that message. She and Vergo stayed in Dressrosa after the Family spent that short holiday there, in order to keep taking care of the now secondary company branch installed there. Given that you have been hired to cover Monet's position in the city, there was no one else that Doflamingo can trust at the moment.
As usual, Monet doesn't disappoint him and in five minutes she chuckles with triumph.
"Alright, I have found him." Her eyes open more in the giant screen hanging from the wall. "Sorry, 'her': officer Tashigi is our sender."
Doflamingo frowns, not recognizing that name immediately.
"Should I know her?"
"Behehehehe! Yes, you should, Doooffy. Her boss is your favorite inspector in the police, behehehehe."
The vein in Doflamingo's forehead intensifies, since Trebol's comment immediately rings a bell regarding the name of that woman.
"Smoker," he hisses while everyone in the room displays respective signs of disgust.
"But it has no sense," Pica intervenes with a confused, high-pitched tone. "If Akainu has (y/n), why has that woman sent a warning? He is her boss, right?"
"Monet, are we sure that that mobile belongs to Tashigi?" Diamante intervenes while Doflamingo gets lost in his own thoughts and deductions.
"Absolutely," Monet answers with a convinced tone. "I reviewed that phone number register and officer Tashigi is the only person who has had it since she was a teenager. However, what I cannot guarantee is that someone else has used her mobile to send that intel."
"Miss Viola is in the Police Department, right?" Senor Pink intervened after stopping chewing his pacifier, like every time he was nervous. "Maybe the hard-boiled thing to do would be to contact her so that she investigates Miss Tashigi."
"No, that would be too risky," Diamante intervenes again. "If everything is a trap, Viola will be under surveillance, so if she approaches Tashigi with any excuse, Akainu will know it and we don't know what will do to (y/n) then."
"I don't think it's a trap," Baby 5 intervenes with that serious tone that she doesn't use often, unless she was really concerned or angry about something. "Viola has sometimes commented that Smoker has been about to be fired several times for his arguments with Akainu, so maybe she is really trying to help."
"Then we should interrogate her, iiiin. I say that we adopt a direct approach and kidnap that Tashigi woman."
"I can have a bomb ready in 20 minutes. We can create a distraction in the street and when the police are sent there, some of us can enter to take her."
"Hey hey, guys, I don't think that kidnapping or bombing is the solution here. Can't we just relax for a bit and think about a solution that doesn't involve casualties?"
"Behehehehe, you keep being the same softie, nee Corazon?"
Doflamingo raises his hand at that moment and everyone stops talking to look at him while he focuses his attention on Bartolomeo, who is leaning against the opposite wall next to that blonde lad.
"Why did you receive that message?"
It takes Bartolomeo a moment to understand that Doflamingo is addressing him, since he looks at his surroundings to make sure of it before talking.
"Sorry?"
Doflamingo tries not to lose his patience already at the dumbfounded question.
"That message was sent to your phone, right? However, I doubt that you and that officer are close friends, so my question is..." Doflamingo's tone turns impatient now, "...what do you know that we don't know so that that woman has contacted you with that information?"
Bartolomeo gulps audibly in the silence of the room while all the eyes fix on him.
"I…" Bartolomeo clears his throat and tries again. "Isawher."
Doflamingo grits his teeth, his suspicions confirmed.
"Come again, kid?"
Bartolomeo gulps again, sweat appearing on his forehead while a guilty expression appears in his face.
"I saw (y/n) yesterday..."
Bartolomeo is still finishing his sentence when Doflamingo stands up with enough violence to make his chair fall into the floor. He's already approaching that punk with the intention of tightening his grip around his throat when Corazon puts himself between him and Bartolomeo, who has frozen in place while Cavendish steps in front of him, acting as a useless shield that Doflamingo wouldn't have any trouble in breaking.
"Doffy, Doffy, calm down, please," Corazon says while the rest of the Family stays put, simply observing the turn of events while waiting for Doflamingo's orders. "You won't gain anything by taking it out on Bartolomeo. It's not his fault."
"Is it not?" Doflamingo hisses. "If he had informed us about (y/n)'s whereabouts, she would be here by now."
"And if you hadn't got into an argument with her, she wouldn't have left in the first place."
The temperature dropped in the room at Corazon's comment.
"Careful with your words, little brother," Doflamingo's tone has a threatening edge that matches the dangerous aura that now surrounds him. "You know I'm usually merciful with the Family, but right now I'm not in the mood to be provoked."
Corazon sighs, moving his hands so that they stopped grabbing Doflamingo's biceps and rested on his shoulders instead.
"I don't want to provoke you, Doffy," he said with a pacifying tone. "But my point is that, right now, throwing accusations isn't going to help us rescue (y/n). No one could have imagined that Akainu would go after her, and I guarantee you that if Bartolomeo had known that (y/n) was in trouble, he wouldn't have wasted time in telling us about it."
A poorly muffled sob sounds at that moment, and Doflamingo doesn't need to avert his eyes from Corazon to see out of the corner of his eye how the green-haired punk broke down, causing his blond boyfriend to enclose an arm around his shoulders to console him.
"The only thing that matters now is that (y/n) was safe and sound yesterday," Corazon continued. "And if Bartolomeo saw her, we have a lead to know where she was and what happened before she was captured."
Doflamingo exhales a deep sigh. Part of him still wants to give that punk a lesson for having remained silent up till then, but Corazon has a point. The less time they wasted the better; there would be time for punishments later.
Still, it's Corazon the one who approaches Bartolomeo to start questioning him, for sure wanting to avoid that Doflamingo dealt with him with way less delicacy. At least, thanks to the punk's accurate testimony and Monet's hacking ability, they access the footage of the previous date from the street cameras placed around the supermarket that you had visited. At first, Doflamingo gets impatient because you don't appear in them, but when Bartolomeo insists that he knows the exact hour when their meeting took place, the Family eventually deduces that maybe you have avoided the main road not to be recorded in the cameras.
Monet switches then to the cameras close to the secondary streets and alleys, and after several minutes of search Doflamingo's heartbeat pulsates faster when a hooded figure appears for a very brief instant before disappearing inside a building.
Doflamingo doesn't even need that Bartolomeo confirms that the clothes of the hooded figure are like the ones you were wearing. He's able to recognize the way you move even in such a short video.
"Monet, can you gather information about the residents?"
"Already on it."
"I do not recall havin-G investi-G-ated that buildin-G, youn-G master," Lao-G intervenes while other members of the Family nod, agreeing with the man.
Doflamingo neither. He has studied every one of your past and current acquaintances to detail since the day he was warned about your absence. He has also talked to every single one of them in a decent civilized way, holding back his usual threats. Hurting the people you cared about was a technique that he couldn't risk using, for the time being at least. It would cause that you disliked him even more than you maybe did, reducing the chances of returning to his side by your own free will.
"Oh my," Monet's eyes are now wide open on the screen. "I think I've got the person with whom (y/n) was staying with." Monet looks straight at him. "And you're not going to like it."
Doflamingo sighs with impatience.
"Don't worry Monet, as long as it's not Smoker, I'm not planning to go there to kill anyone." There is a stony silence in the room, during which Monet becomes a statue and during which Doflamingo's vein manages to be even more pronounced than before he talks again in a hiss. "So, it is Smoker."
The silence that falls next is even tenser than the previous one, and this time Corazon needs the help of all the Executives to stop Doflamingo from abandoning the room to go beat that Inspector to death.
In the meantime, Senor Pink makes the right decision to call Viola to explain the situation to her. Everyone manages to convince Doflamingo to wait for the woman's report, something he reluctantly does when realizing that acting recklessly without having all the data could cause you more harm than good.
"So you're confident that Smoker is not involved?" Doflamingo inquires once he's back on his chair again, with Corazon close enough to him to act in time in case he tries to leave the room to have some heads rolling, concretely Smoker's one.
"Yes, I'm positive," Viola comments in a low tone, probably after having found a safe place to talk without raising suspicions. "I've asked around a little, and he hasn't come to the police department today. People say that he's sick, but he was perfectly fine two days ago, so I think it's safe to assume that he tried to help (y/n), and he was 'put into custody' as well."
Doflamingo nods. That would explain why Tashigi has sent that message to Bartolomeo. You probably told Smoker about seeing the punk, and after being caught he managed to reach his subordinate to inform the last person in seeing you.
It has been a clever move, he has to give Smoker that, but that wouldn't stop Doflamingo from having a couple of words with the man after everything finished. For sure you have some nerve, hiding with one of the people he disliked the most. He doesn't plan to let that pass either when having you back.
"Okay, so, now that we're practically sure that Akainu has (y/n), what are we going to do to get her out of there?"
Doflamingo looks at Corazon with surprise.
"'We'?"
It's Corazon's turn to open his eyes wide.
"What, did you think I was going to stay out of this?"
"Well, you are the black but pure sheep of the family, always avoiding any illegal involvements."
"Yes, but since my best employee and close friend has been kidnapped, I'm not going to stay behind with my arms crossed."
"And we will help too," Cavendish suddenly says while looking at Doflamingo with more resolve that he was expecting from such an apparently delicate man. "(y/n) is our friend too after all."
"Yeah, so we'll do whatever necessary." Bartolomeo looks at Doflamingo with reddened eyes and an expression that looks more unsure than Cavendish. "Please."
Doflamingo looks at the two young men alternatively before turning to look at the Executives for silent advice. Pica, Trebol and Diamante exchange respective glances before nodding.
"They are not well known as us," Diamante says, "so we can use their help for the rescue plan."
"Oh, I want to be used too!" Baby 5 instantly said, looking at Doffy with big puppy eyes. "Do you need me too, right Doffy? Right?!"
"You know you looked cuter when you were talking seriously before—OUCH!"
"SHUT UP, BUFFALO, I HAVEN'T ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION!"
"Then that means that we won't kidnap anyone, iiiin…"
"And we won't use bombs either it seems…"
"Now now, gentlemen, it's not hard-boiled to look so depressed for such a matter."
"And neee, neee, maybe our final plan involves some kidnapping or bombing, behehehe!"
"Everyone: calm down! We still need to know where (y/n) has been taken before making any plans!"
"Oh, we know that already, Pica. While we spoke, Vergo has been investigating Akainu and has juicy intel about the 'secret installations' that the man is currently using."
At that moment Vergo appears on the screen, showing his usual serious expression despite having a muffin stuck to the side of his face. The man confirms Monet's words and sends them the possible locations where you could be held.
They continue analyzing the footage of the street cameras situated close to Smoker's apartment. Some seconds are missing from it, for sure corresponding to the exact moment of your kidnapping, but it seems that Akainu hasn't been able to risk deleting the entire footage because they get a clear view of a suspicious black car leaving that street.
Monet tracks the car's advance with the street cameras until at some point it leaves the city. From then on, it is trickier to continue the tracking, but thanks to the information Vergo has provided about the cover places that Akainu uses for his illegal interrogations, and thanks to the hacking of road camera controls and gas station's cameras that Monet carries out, they eventually find place where you've been held, in the outskirts of the city.
Now that they know your location, it was time to prepare the rescue.
No one has the intention of sleeping that night. Everyone restlessly works side by side to create, study, and prepare the rescue operation for the next day. Probably a couple of days would be necessary to leave everything tied, but Doflamingo refuses to let you spend a single more day in that place. He's already trying not to attack the place straight on after all, since that would imply to turn all of them into fugitives; although, if worse comes to worst, it's a path that Doflamingo is willing to take.
At some point of the evening, Trafalgar Law also joins the operation, since they would need his help to quite a critical part of the plan. Just like Corazon, the doctor didn't strike Doflamingo as someone who would participate in something illegal, but he was willing to 'break the law' for you as well, as Corazon says when the man appears, causing the doctor to roll his eyes with patience with the terrible pun.
By 4 a.m., everything has been planned in detail and asides from some final touches, one only decision remains to be made, and not a minor one: to pick the mole that would enter the installations to set everything into motion.
"It cannot be a member of the Family; Akainu knows every one of us well enough," Corazon says while sitting next to Doffy, his arms crossed on the table where multiple scattered papers contain the plan to follow. They are alone in the room at the moment, since the other members of the Family are busy finalizing their respective tasks, and it's been a while since Bartolomeo, Cavendish and Law stepped in the rest area to take a small nap, not used to having so many emotions in a day. "And the youngsters have an assigned role already."
"I know. We're a little out of options." Doflamingo briefly removes his sunglasses to rub his eyes for a moment, putting them on again while reaching for a folder that Jora brought him a couple of hours ago. "I've been trying to find an alternative, but at this point, I think we'll have to depend on him."
Corazon frowns while Doflamingo opens the folder and starts passing the pages.
"On whom?" Doflamingo shows the report to Corazon, who opens his eyes wide before looking at him. "Are you kidding me? After everything that happened, you're going to ask him for help?"
"Yes, because precisely after everything that happened, he's the best candidate. Given how things are on his side, he can't afford to reject the offer I'm going to make him, and he already knows what I'm capable of. He won't dare to betray me. Besides, remember the proverb, little brother: 'a known evil is better than an unknown good'."
Corazon sighs and reclines against his chair with his arms still crossed while Doflamingo reaches for his mobile.
"Well, I still think it's crazy, but you're the expert here." Doflamingo is about to mark a number when Corazon talks again. "Doffy."
"Yes?"
"What are you going to do with (y/n)? After we liberate her, I mean."
Doflamingo stops when he is about to mark the last number. He looks at Corazon. The man's eyes are fixed on him, expectant of his answer. He isn't surprised about the tension that is now surrounding Corazon. Everyone knows that he isn't someone who tolerates treason. There were not few people who have been punished for betraying his trust, and whenever such a thing happened, he acted as judge, jury, and executioner with no hesitation.
However, for the first time, he isn't sure what he was going to do with you, since during the past weeks, the feelings that assaulted him every time that he thought about you were very varied.
The ruthless, cruel part of him wants to punish you. He can feel wrath bubbling inside him every time that he remembers the message Jora sent him when he and the Executives barely arrived at Wano, saying that you hadn't spent the night home and couldn't get in touch with you. That part of him wants to hear you beg for forgiveness, and it has even played with the idea of hurting a loved one so that you experience a little part of the pain that your leave has caused him.
But that other part, the one who treasured you like he has never treasured anyone before, only wants you to be back and safe; it wants to feel you in his arms, and make you beg for completely different reasons, like all those times he has achieved so in bed while you squirmed under him, because your voice was the only one that he wants to hear calling his name in such a way from then on.
"We'll cross that bridge when she's out of there," he eventually says, finally making the call while Corazon sighs in defeat.
"Okay, but just know that if you try to keep (y/n) against her will, I—"
"Who the fuck is calling as this hour?"
Doflamingo approaches his index against his lips to indicate Corazon to shut up. Then he turns the speaker on.
"It's me."
There is a pause at the other side of the line, before the interlocutor talks with a tone that is ragged by a mix of sleepiness and anger.
"Doflamingo. How the hell do you have this number?"
"I have my resources. I assume that I have woken you up."
"What do you think, you asshole? You're calling at...shit, it's fucking 4:11 a.m.!"
"Now now, there's no reason for not keeping this conversation civilized."
"I have no interest in keeping any kind of conversation with you, civil or not, understood? Damn, you have some nerve calling me after what you did to me."
"Please, you know I hate to point fingers, but I'm quite sure that you were the one who started this whole rivalry decades ago." Knowing that his words were going to provoke a protest, he continued talking before such a thing happened. "But that's in the past, and I'm willing to make a peace offering in exchange for a little favor."
A snort sounds at the other side.
"Well, unless your peace offering consists of jumping off that fancy office of yours without a parachute, I'm not interested."
"Are you sure? Not even if I agree to share 25% of the actions of my branch in Alabasta?"
"You mean the branch you stole from me? Unless you raise it to a 50%..."
"35% is my final offer. And also, I will retire my bid from Pluton security system so that you're the only potential buyer."
There is silence at the other side of the line before a laugh explodes at the other side.
"Kuhahaha. Well, I admit that's an interesting offer." There is a pause, during which Doflamingo assumes that Crocodile has lit a cigar because he hears him take a drag. "And what is that 'little favor' about?"
Doflamingo exchanges a glance with Corazon, who shrugs in resigned support, and starts to talk.
Not sure if anyone deduced who Doflamingo was talking to, but I hope you are looking forward to see him again, this time as a kind-of-forced 'ally' xDD
Also, I haven't forgotten that this is a reader fic, so (y/n)'s POV will appear in the next chapter as usual 3 :)