Wire volunteered to drive them back to their base while Kidd is still unstable. Despite following Kidd all these years, sometimes, they failed to understand what is going through his head. They can understand he's angry, but what exactly is he thinking about?
"Not a word to Killer. You hear me?" He suddenly said, taking Heat and Wire by surprise.
"What do you plan to do, Kidd?" Heat asked but Kidd remained silent, still contemplating about what he just found out.
Killer used to be against Sab. Kidd failed to count how many times Killer told him that Sab is dangerous, that she's not an ordinary woman. Even when Sab proved to be loyal to Kidd, Killer remained vigilant, very wary of Sab.
Yet, what happened to Killer? What is happening between them? What happened to Killer while Kidd was in jail? He has so many questions. Asking Killer about this may be the practical choice, but Kidd doubts the man will tell him everything.
'Then, I just have to corner them against the wall. Oh, I hope you did not betray me too, Killer. Because I swear I will kill you alongside her.'
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"What's wrong with you two?" Ann raised her eyebrows while looking at her sisters whose minds were floating somewhere else. It's been hectic for the three of them that they only managed to see each other today in their hideout to lay flowers on the two makeshift graves they placed for two angels.
"Nothing!" Luffia was the first one to answer, shaking her head before placing the flowers on top of the graves. Ann then looked to Sab who kept her silence, still in deep thoughts.
The three sisters stayed in front of the small graves for several minutes before they went back inside the house. It is a good opportunity to also talk about the things going on in their lives.
"Cipher Pol's been pretty persistent, aren't they?" They are seated in the breakfast nook in the kitchen while drinking some soda that Sab took earlier. "Everything's getting messier. Kaido teaming up with the World Government is a pain in the ass. Not the mention Cipher Pol is targeting Luffia. What's with them? I never understood why they are fixated on Luffia."
No matter how many times they investigate, they cannot find the true reason why Cipher Pol wants Luffia out of the picture.
"We'll waste time figuring out why they want her out of the streets. We can only focus on attacking the people on the list." Sab answered.
"Seems like Kaido and Cipher Pol have their eyes not only on Luffia but you and Kidd as well. The bombing incident two days was the talk of the streets. Are you sure you should be cooperating with Kidd?"
Sab asks herself the same question, especially after what happened earlier with Kidd. Even now, she can't figure out what he was referring to. Even if she asks, she's sure he won't answer.
"Don't worry, I am being careful. I will stop this cooperation soon." Sab only needed Orochi's downfall to trigger the plans set by Dragon. Wano is becoming more of a controversial city now. Even if it's part of Grandline, there's little jurisdiction in that city and many are suffering from Kaido's rule. It doesn't help that Orochi is a part of the World Government that is supposedly in charge of controlling at least a few parts of the city, yet he is in cahoots with Kaido.
The conversation flowed like usual. Sometimes, Ann can't help but wish to go back to the times when all they think about are how to steal food from each other's plates. Now, all they think about is how to stay alive while executing this revenge against people far more powerful than them.
They only stayed in the lair for a few hours before going back to their usual routine. Sab went back to the Mainland in her office in the Celestial Law Firm whereas Luffia went to her part-time job while still in a daze.
Ann decided to go back to her shabby apartment which is still one of a few things she gets into argument with Marco. He always insists that she should move away from this place because of the danger in which she always declines.
Other than the arguments about safety, everything is going well with them. What's not progressing are her attempts to assassinate Whitebeard. That damn old man is so slippery. Ann's second assassination attempt involved a bomb in his car that she managed to attach into his car parked in the Moby Dick building, unfortunately, he didn't use that car. That bomb was pretty much useless.
It was a close call since she heard that not many have access to the VIP parking lot which makes her one of the suspects amongst others. Thankfully, no one pointed at her.
With things progressing between her and Marco, the other commanders were less wary of her, often they discuss things about the group without caring if Ann is around or not. Instead of rejoicing, Ann is wary in case they are testing her.
Even when things calmed down after that assassination attempt, she never let her guard down especially when she gets invited to the Whitebeard Mansion.
As usual, she wears that pretty smile of hers while interacting with others as if she is part of the family. Whatever guilt that is in her heart is being squashed down by her desire to kill the head of the family.
'Even if it means losing Marco'
No, that's not right. She already lost Marco the moment she decided to go through this plan.
'He's just part of your plan. You will lose him sooner or later.'
"Ann. Are you doing alright?" Ann almost jumped off her seat when Whitebeard suddenly approached him and sat on the vacant seat right next to Ann. She's here at the mansion for another dinner with the Newgate family, however, they arrived a little too early, hence Ann has to stay in the gardens to have some tea while dinner is being prepared. Marco a few minutes ago to get something in the kitchen, leaving Ann alone for now.
"Yes, of course, sir." She fakes another smile.
"Sir? I thought I told you to stop calling me that?"
"It's hard to get used to." She said. When their eyes meet, she sometimes wonders how can someone look at her with so much familiarity like Whitebeard? There's so much more in his eyes that left Ann speechless, and regardless of her hesitance to admit it, she sometimes feels intimidated by him.
"Then, you might as well get used to it, Ann." There's that smile again and the meaningful look from Whitebeard that made Ann feel as if there's nothing she can hide from him.
"I'll try."
"Oh, definitely. You're trying your best." And just like the other times, he utters words that seemed to have hidden meanings behind them. "But still not enough. Gurarara!"
Ann's small gasp is drowned by how loud his laughter was. She wanted to refute, to defend herself, yet she chose to stay quiet.
"Please, Ann. Don't be intimidated by me, okay? Most people would be intimidated when they meet me."
"But I am not most people." It's Ann's time to throw words at him while smiling with mystery. Whitebeard meets her eyes, reading what's behind them before he smiles again. That fatherly smile that he used to give to his children.
"Indeed. You're not most people. You're one of a kind. That is why Marco fell for you." His tone changed a little from amused to soft which made Ann feel the tug in her chest at the mention of Marco's name. "I've never seen him so invested into someone as he does with you. Tell me, Ann. Do you love my son?"
Looking into his eyes, she felt the fatherly love she saw in her late father's eyes. At the moment, this is not Whitebeard as her enemy, but he's speaking as Edward Newgate, the father of Marco Newgate. Ann couldn't find it in herself to lie to him or herself.
"I do. I love him..." But that love is not enough to make her want to throw her plans away. She chose to continue this even if it means losing Marco and becoming his enemy.
"I see." Whatever Whitebeard was about to ask was forgotten when Marco arrived, asking what they were talking about which he jokingly answers that they were talking about children and how the old man wants grandchildren
"Pops..." The grumble in Marco's voice only deepens the laughter coming from Whitebeard that also made Ann laugh. One thing led to another as more of the family members of the Newgate household joined in the conversation about children which did not make Marco happy at all.
Despite the situation, Ann feels a little happy to experience having a light conversation. A rarity, given what she was planning to do. Deep in her heart, she wished that Whitebeard is not an enemy, but the reality is what it is.
After dinner at the Whitebeard's, Marco asked if she wants to stay the night at his house which she didn't refuse. They end up having sex like usual. She drowned in her desires for him and vice versa. They burn the fire in their hearts that never died down even after months of being together. Instead, their desire grew stronger to a point that suffocated Ann.
It hurts. It burns like hell when she enjoys being in his arms only to let him go sooner or later. The memories with him will serve as her reminder of the thorny path she chose, and forever it will burn in her mind.
After hours spent on his bed, she got out of it, threw an oversized shirt and her underwear while tiptoeing in the bedroom, careful not to wake him up. As soon as she was at the doorstep, she turned around to see his sleeping face, relieved to see him not stirring even for a bit.
With careful hands, she opens the door and stepped out of the master's bedroom to visit a certain place in the house - Marco's office. It's on the second floor right at the corner of the hallway where his room is. Standing in front of the locked doors, she stares at the keypad. For the past few months, she was subtle while watching Marco enter his code. At first, she will look away as a form of respect for his private information, but as time went by, everything seemed to come naturally for them that he never got bothered when she casually strikes a conversation while he's entering his code. It gave her a chance to memorize what it was.
The door opened without a hitch. Inside, she immediately went to work, looking around for the blueprint of Whitebeard's safe house. Since she met the Whitebeards, she heard a lot of information from them, albeit pieces of information only and she's left to piece them back or do her research. From what she gathered, the main safe house is somewhere in the outskirts of the city, a guarded stadium used for sports during the day, and at night is where the real things are happening.
The stadium where she tried to assassinate him was not even the main one they have. She knew where the 'safe house' is, but she does not know what is inside. Getting the Blueprint is what she needs to execute a plan. Not just any plan, but this is probably the craziest she will ever do.
Marco was talking about it with Blamenco before, so Ann knew that Marco has the blueprint. Where else could he place it other than his office?
She looks around, frantically searching the drawers and everything she can get hold of till she found a folder with a label on it called Moby Dick Stadium.
With a smile, she took the folder out of the drawer. After carefully checking if she messed anything in his office, she stepped out of the office and went downstairs to get her bag and place the folder inside. While she was rummaging in her bag, the light suddenly opened and her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she heard Marco's voice.
"Ann, yoi?" She gasped, frozen in her spot. Her bag is still open with the edges of the folder protruding in her bag. With shaking hands, she carefully shoved the folder inside, praying that he never saw what she was carrying earlier. "What are you doing?"
She didn't answer. She can hear his footsteps getting closer to her and bracing herself, she turned around while wearing the usual smile on her face.
"Oh, I just... I just uh took my phone and my cream. I got some skin irritation on my cheek." She showed him the things she took from her bag, playing the innocent woman that she's trying to portray.
"I see, yoi." He nods, convinced at her alibi. "What happened to your cheek?"
"It got irritated when I scratched some grime on it. It's nothing. It will go away after applying this cream. It's pretty effective."
She meets him halfway through the living room to prevent him from taking a peek at her bag.
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"No. I just noticed you were gone and I was thirsty anyway. Let's go back to bed, yoi?"
"Yes, let's go." Internally, she sighs in relief that he never suspected anything. At the same time, she bit back the annoying voice in her head telling her how shameless she is, how degrading that she has to resort to these methods.
Ann slept beside Marco with a heavy heart.
Come morning, they went on about their usual routines. Of all the times that she stayed here, Marco freed up one part of his walk-in closet so she can store her stuff. Often than not, Marco would always encourage her to move in with him which is always met with gentle rejections. She cannot do everything she needs to do if she's living with him.
During breakfast, they talked about random things, and at times like these, she feels like she's in a normal relationship than one that is about to explode.
"Do you not have anything to do this weekend? You can stay here if you want, or you can hang out with Izou and the others, yoi."
"Are you going somewhere else?"
"Yes. I have some things to take care of." Whenever he says this, she usually never asks, but curiosity got better of her.
"Is it going to be dangerous?"
"A little, yoi. But not that much, don't worry." She's not worried per se. She knows what he's capable of. No one can stay alive in this kind of life without the skills to defend or attack.
"Marco..." She starts, placing the utensils back on her plate to focus on him. "Did you ever think of getting out of the streets?"
Her question made him blink a few times, wondering if he heard her wrong.
"Sorry, that's so out of the blue. Forget about it." Ann doesn't know what she's trying to point out here when asked that. There's no way he will leave the life of being a Mafia boss at all.
"Do you not like that I am part of a Mafia, yoi?" They might have talked about the Mafia world, but never to this extent. The conversation is threading into dangerous territories.
"No. I don't dislike it. I am just curious. I mean, it's dangerous, isn't it?"
"I understand. You have to understand that being in a Mafia does not always mean violence. Violence is part of it because you are just defending your family. The members of Pops' group, they're our family and we're going to defend them however we can. Not just them, but also the people that are living in our territories."
"Yeah... Okay. But you're constantly at war with other groups."
"We are always fighting with them to defend our territories. Sometimes, getting territories in conflicts is part of the aftermath, yoi." The mention of territories had Ann frozen. She took her right hand off the table to hide it underneath so she can clench her fist, almost bruising her palm.
"You obtained territories?"
"Yes, yoi. When Shiki disappeared, we have to claim territories to avoid others having an advantage over us. Even the death of the late Mafia King. We were able to secure the territories when so many of the groups were vying for them."
"The late Mafia King, huh?"
"You've heard of him?" Ann fought so hard to remain casual to not alert Marco of the change in her mode.
"I've heard of him. The people in the bar usually talk about how cruel and brutal he was."
Marco nodded and was about to tell her more but his phone suddenly rang off, prompting him to excuse himself to answer it. It gave Ann a little bit of time to compose herself and to forcefully subside the building anger in her heart.
Hearing it from Marco that they vied for the territories of her father only made her resolve firmer. She knew what Marco said is the natural cycle of the Mafia world - you have to eat otherwise you will be eaten - however, her view of the situation is different when it involves her parents.
It never mattered how this whole plot against her father started. It never mattered if her father was in the wrong. All that mattered to her is that she wants to kill everyone who was involved in driving their father to the wall.
'So, Whitebeard wanted the territories so bad, huh?'
What hurts more is that Marco was somehow involved too. If and when the time comes, will she be able to pull the trigger against Marco?
That's a question she cannot answer. And if she's being honest, she's afraid to find out.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
After dropping off Ann back at her apartment, Marco made his way to one of their safe houses to supervise the inventory. In most cases, he doesn't have to, but this time, they're trying to maintain the tightness of the security, especially after Firefist's attempts at killing their Pops.
Blenheim led the investigation about the assassination attempts along with Haruta and Izou. They went to lengths just to check which people had access to the Parking lot where supposedly only a few people do and most of the people on the list were members of their group. It's quite hard for them to even suspect the people they treated as family. Torn, as one of the commanders, Marco asked Izou and Haruta to go through the CCTV cameras instead.
The only issue is that they cannot find a trace of evidence at all.
"They must have planted it months ago or they must have sneaked into the safe house to place it. It's quite hard to point out but we're trying." That was what Haruta said after checking the CCTV records for the last two weeks.
The investigation is still in progress but Marco is pretty much hands-on when it comes to dealing with important and million-berry transactions. While the security is very tight, it does not hurt to be sure.
Marco surveyed the area and spoke to their members who were in charge of the security. No anomalies. At least not yet.
After a brief conversation, Haruta handed him a list of people that went inside the parking lot as well as their level of access to the building. And amongst the people on the list was his girlfriend, Ann. For a brief second, he was bewildered, but after thinking about it, Ann was part of the maintenance team for their vehicles. Whatever doubts that were on his head were immediately erased.
"Keep on looking. Make sure you monitor their movements, yoi."
"We are. He's just a slippery bastard. He's way too good in hacking that we have to change our network security measures." Haruta was grumbling because of the amount of work they have to deal with all because of Firefist. He's not like anyone they have ever fought before. He's pretty smart to no fault, slippery, and very calculated. He managed to outsmart all of them. As expected of someone who managed to destroy two of Big Mom's safe houses.
"We're going to catch him one of these days, yoi. Have Squardo look through the list and see what he has to say."
Haruta called Squardo who was also in the safe house to check the list. After a few moments of reading, he suddenly spoke.
"Ann shouldn't have any business in the VIP parking lot on this date." Hearing his girlfriend's name, Marco cannot help but frown. "She should have been working on the car racing project."
Sensing the tension in the air, Haruta carefully glances at Marco and noticed the sudden change in his usually laid-back expression. His eyes looked like they are burning with annoyance, all directed at Squardo.
"Are you suspecting Ann, yoi?" His voice was low, almost sounds like a mumble but Haruta and Squardo winced at the tone. They knew Marco for years to know he's starting to be pissed off.
A pissed-off Marco is not someone you want to deal with. They've seen his cruelty that is often masked by the laid-back attitude. Most of the new members only knew him as the heir of Whitebeard. In this world, strength and intelligence are important. New members question Marco's claim to the throne of Whitebeard, often doubting his capabilities to lead until they see him in action.
When the devil in him is awakened, no one wants to be the receiving end. Squardo doesn't want to, but he must be firm on his stance. This is Pops they are talking about and anyone suspicious should be questioned without a doubt.
"No. I'm just saying she doesn't have business there at that time." He was pointing to a certain date in the list where Ann went to the VIP parking lot.
Fuming about his answer, Marco looked at one of the random members. "Get Blamenco and Blenheim now, yoi." He may not be shouting but the members knew never to ask why otherwise, they will face an icy glare from his beautiful blue eyes.
As soon as Blenheim and Blamenco arrived, they asked Marco what was the discussion all about. Haruta immediately explained to them which also made them frown.
"Hold on. When was it?" Blamenco asked.
"About a week ago," Haruta confirmed after looking at the list.
"Ah, yes! Actually, we were together at that time. We have to repair several bikes and we're short on manpower, so we asked her to help out. You can check. My badge ID should be on the list as well." Their electronic system requires an employee to tap their badges before accessing certain areas. Certainly, no tailgating is allowed.
Haruta looked at the list again and confirmed that Blamenco's badge ID was on the list, just a minute after Ann's timestamp entry.
"Yes. He was with her judging from the timestamps."
For some reason, Marco heaved a sigh of relief as if the thorn of doubt has been finally removed. It's not that he doubts Ann, but with what Squardo told him earlier, he can't help but also question why her name was on the list.
Now that is cleared, he can finally relax.
"Sorry. I didn't know." Squardo instantly apologized.
"Do not worry about it, yoi. I know you mean well." The discussion continued after the tense atmosphere died down. They proceed with identifying more people on the list while also dealing with the enhanced security in the safe house, the subject of Ann as one of the suspects is no longer in their minds.
However, had they looked through the file and the list of people that entered the building, they would have found her name again on the same list, same date, but different time.
Ann Ortiz, badge ID 110661, time of entry: February 18, 2022, 11:20 PM.
Unfortunately, that was overlooked. Such a simple mistake can cost them their lives and the life of the person they want to protect the most - their Pops.