Chapter 8

"Sorry. The place is a little humble," Paulie said, forcing open the stiff door.

"No need to apologise. I stayed in a very similar place myself for years when Tom's Workers disbanded," Iceburg explained.

Compared to the grandness of the main headquarters his one-man apartment was slumming it. It was cramped and basic, but he did his best to keep the place neat and in good repair. Pictures of his family and friends took pride of place on his wood-clad walls and surfaces, though a few frames still sat awkwardly empty where he'd ripped the photos of the traitors out.

He prepared tea while his dad and Iceburg made polite small talk. He brought their drinks and lugged over the chair from his desk. It was a tight squeeze to fit himself in with them around his tiny self-made kitchen table. It only sat one or two comfortably. He prayed his dad wouldn't embarrass him and kept a close ear out for anything that started to verge on inappropriate. But it didn't take long.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" he asked. "You two didn't come back here to get some did you?" He laughed and slapped Paulie on the back.

Paulie spat out his mouthful of tea. "Oh my God. Dad?!"

Paulie pushed him from his chair beside him and he crashed to the floor rolling in laughter. The floorboards creaked beneath him.

Iceburg coughed.

"Sorry Iceburg, you'll have to forgive him. He has an uh… off-colour sense of humour," Paulie muttered. He reached across the table with the teapot and poured Iceburg a refill, not meeting him in the eye.

"Thank you," Iceburg replied. "It's fine though, I'm not offended."

"Oh good," Paulie sighed. "He knows it winds me up, seems to get a kick from that." He rubbed his neck. "He's a pain, but he's my dad so…"

He kicked him lightly.

"Come on, get up you," he grouched.

Danny got to his feet clutching his side. "Couldn't help myself," he said, sitting back down, his laughter just starting to die down.

Paulie glared at him. He was thinner than Paulie remembered, his long dirty-blond hair tied back in a limp ponytail that was getting greyer each time he saw him. He sighed again, and decided to let it go.

"You hungry dad?" he asked.

"Starving son. What you got?"

"Iceburg?"

Iceburg shook his head. "I'm alright thanks."

He got up to peer into his fridge. It was more or less empty except for an old carton of milk past the date and a few tomatoes that were starting to grow some off-white fuzz.

"Ugh, nothing edible," he admitted. "Haven't really had the time to do a proper home-cooked meal in a while, so guess I haven't been keeping up with groceries either." Paulie sat back down. "Sorry about that."

"Oh well then," his dad shrugged.

He gave his dad a top-up of tea instead.

"If I knew you were coming I'd have got some snacks or something to have with a drink at least," he apologised. "Anyway, is your crew all here too?"

"Yeah, all of us," Danny smiled. "You should come see them all, I'm sure they'd like that. Feels like years."

"Maybe because it has been," Paulie explained. He took a gulp from his mug. "Hope you're planning to stay at your ship, cause there's not a lot of vacancies in the city right now. Aqua Laguna did a number on Water Seven this year, did I tell you that? Worst it's ever been."

He glanced over at his dad's weather beaten face again and Paulie started to put two and two together.

"Hey, you didn't get caught up in it did you?" he blurted out.

"Just caught the tail end of it near San Faldo," his dad explained. He laughed weakly. "Got pretty lucky there."

He reached and placed a hand firmly on his dad's shoulder. "Dad, how many times have I told you to set anchor somewhere this time of year? Could have gotten yourself killed and all your crew too."

"Well I'm not the navigator," he shrugged. "I'm still alive though aren't I? Maybe lady luck was looking out for me for once. Or who knows, maybe your mother's been praying for me."

"Jesus dad, stop being so damn careless."

He felt something brush against his leg and when he looked across the table, Iceburg was looking straight at him with a slight smirk.

"But then again," Iceburg said. "Your dad and his crew weren't the only ones out in that storm."

"Ha, sounds like you need to heed your own advice before you can dish it out son," Danny remarked, slapping a hand on the table.

"That was different," he blushed. He let his hand slip from his dad's shoulder and folded his arms on the table. He brushed his boot against Iceburg's leg. "Besides, you can't talk either," he added.

They shared a brief smile across from each other.

"Anyway," Danny interrupted. "We're just docked near that scrap yard. Got talking with those odd guys at that God-awful crooked looking house. Said they didn't mind us dropping anchor round there for a bit. If you're looking to stop by, that's where we'll be."

"Franky House?" Paulie asked.

"Maybe, I don't know what it was called. They seemed nice enough though."

"Those guys work for us now, you know."

"Ah you don't say?"

There was a lull in the conversation and he offered his dad and Iceburg another fill of tea to fill the silence.

"So how come you've stopped off home?" Paulie asked. He frowned. "It's never really just for a visit."

"You got me," Danny raised his hands in defeat. "Hoping my boy might take a look at his old man's ship for him."

Paulie took a deep breath.

"Things are pretty busy right now," he said. "And if it got caught up in Aqua Laguna, I'm sure it needs more than just a quick job."

"Ah come on."

"It's not just an excuse. Haven't you been keeping up with the papers lately?"

"Nah, not really."

"Paulie's actually helping out a lot more at headquarters since his recent promotion," Iceburg offered. "Well, since a little before that actually."

"Impressive. That sounds like pretty big news son."

He reached to pat Paulie on the back, but he shrugged him off.

"Don't really get out to the docks as much," Paulie stated.

"That's a shame," Danny replied, and he looked over at Iceburg. "Taking him away from his work…"

"Yeah, well, Iceburg needs the extra help at the minute," Paulie added firmly.

"Just Iceburg now is it? No more Mr?" he asked curiously.

Paulie hadn't even realised himself that he'd dropped it. He glanced self-consciously over at Iceburg, then reached to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "If I get the chance I'll look at her, ok? If I can't though, just take her on round to the shipyard and the guys'll do a good job of her."

"Ah, I was kind of hoping for family rates."

"Oh, so free, is that it?"

"Sorry, more debts piling up again."

"God, whoever heard of a pirate that goes around collecting debt instead of treasure?" he grumbled. "You're gonna have to stop getting me to bail you out and do you favours. Help you out with your debts when I can, but I have enough of them of my own you know?"

Paulie drank his tea to the bottom and bought his mug down on his table a little heavier than he really intended.

"Of course, cause you're never around your shit all just comes back to me in the end," he snapped.

"Should I let you two talk alone?" Iceburg asked.

He made to get up, and Paulie did too.

"No, we should both go," Paulie replied. "Look dad, we'll talk later alright? Me and Iceburg were really just stopping by here to pick some things up."

"Ah, alright, yeah," Danny said sheepishly and got up out of his chair too. "Well you know where I am, so like I said, everyone'd love to see you."

Paulie reluctantly let him pull him into a hug.

"I'll swing around at some point," Paulie said half-heartedly.

His dad pulled out and gave him a look as if unconvinced.

"I will," Paulie insisted gruffly. "Just, lots to do."

His dad turned to Iceburg and took him into a hug too. Iceburg stood rigid in his arms and glanced back at Paulie, who answered with a bewildered shrug of his shoulders and a shake of his head.

"Take care of him, alright?" Danny said.

"Umm, I will," Iceburg replied, looking a little puzzled.

"Sorry about all that," Paulie said after they'd waved his dad off. "Hope it wasn't too awkward."

They stood by the canal just outside his apartment block and watched him disappear off into the backstreets.

"It's alright," Iceburg answered. "Family can be quite complicated."

"Yeah, well, tell me about it," Paulie complained. "Between him and my mother I don't get any peace."

He kicked a small stone along the cobbles and it bounced its way over the curb and into the canal with a tiny splash.

"Hmm, we can't really risk making our way back on foot again," he said. "Don't know about you, but I really don't fancy getting caught by that mob again."

"There's a yagara tied just over there," Iceburg replied, setting off and Paulie shuffled after him.

"Wouldn't have put you down as the type to go round stealing people's yagaras," Paulie replied.

"Well, we're just borrowing." He approached the seahorse and kneeled to give her a scratch under the chin. "Hello there girl," Iceburg said warmly.

She replied with a cheerful whinny.

"You don't mind if we borrow you for a little while would you?" Iceburg asked, stroking her head. "We just need a ride back to the Galley-La headquarters. You know the way back to your home from there don't you?"

Paulie wasn't quite sure whether to find the sight of him bargaining with a yagara embarrassing or quite endearing and decided it was probably alright to admit he felt a little bit of both in that moment.

"Well, even if you don't, you'd be able to find the same route back again, wouldn't you? I'm sure you're a very smart yagara with a good sense of direction."

She nodded and Iceburg gave her another pat.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you to help us out," he said, getting back to his feet.

"Well?" Iceburg said, gesturing Paulie to get on.

"What are you, some sort of yagara whisperer?" he teased.

Iceburg chuckled. "Do you want to drive or shall I?"

"Yeah, I don't mind if you want to drive this time, she seems to like you."

He brushed past Iceburg and hopped into the back seat, throwing his bag beside him that he'd packed enough in to last a few weeks if needs be. Iceburg untied her from her post and carefully climbed in, setting off.

Paulie dipped a hand over the side into the water and let his fingers draw ripples by the side of the carriage.

"I've been missing him lately," Iceburg said abruptly. "Franky, I mean."

"Oh," Paulie answered.

"Sorry, that probably seems like it came out of nowhere to you," he added, glancing back at Paulie over his shoulder. "Just thinking about family, I guess. I probably haven't ever told you that we grew up together, have I?"

"No," Paulie answered. "I mean, I knew you were both part of Tom's Workers of course."

He had to feign surprise which he probably didn't pull off too well. Iceburg looked back ahead and began to talk a bit, but there wasn't much he hadn't heard already from Kokoro. It was hard to know how to engage with the conversation when he knew more than Iceburg realised and when he didn't want to let on about all the details Kokoro had spilled. So every now and then he just responded simply and hoped it would do.

More than anything, he guessed Iceburg just wanted to talk and didn't seem to mind that Paulie didn't give him much back. Perhaps it was some relief to him to finally talk about what he had to keep hidden for so long, Paulie wasn't too sure. But as Iceburg recalled the memories of working in the shipyard with Tom and Franky, and of home-life with them and Kokoro and Yokozuna too, he sounded bright and cheerful, chuckling to himself now and then. Paulie eyes stayed trained on his back as Iceburg wound them through the canals and talked. He sat back and smiled quietly to himself. He was glad to hear Iceburg had plenty of happy memories to share.

"It was only really after we all got back from Ennies Lobby that we had the chance to talk with each other for the first time in years," he said. "I thought I wouldn't be able to forgive him if he destroyed Tom's blueprints, but in the end I've been feeling nothing but relief they're finally gone. It's been a huge weight off my mind."

"I can imagine," Paulie answered. "Those plans were the reason for all of this mess in the first place. Hopefully now things can finally calm down."

"I hope so," Iceburg sighed. "Now he's gone again so soon though, I've been worrying about how he's doing."

"I'm sure things are good with the Straw Hats," Paulie insisted. "I mean they're a good crew. They'll be taking good care of him. "

"Hopefully."

He hesitated, then decided to go ahead and reach out for him. He gave Iceburg's arm a quick reassuring rub. "Is there a way you could get in touch with him? I'm sure they must have a transponder snail on board."

Iceburg turned back to him with a weak smile. "I've tried, but they must have travelled out of range for now."

"Right," Paulie nodded.

"I don't know about you, but I miss them too sometimes," Iceburg said.

"The rest of the Straw Hats?" he asked.

"Kalifa, Lucci and Kaku. Blueno from the bar too."

"Miss them?" Paulie blurted in disbelief. "I can't seem to get over how much I hate their guts for what they did." He clenched his fists. "Any time I'm reminded of them I get so angry. And everywhere I go it seems there's some sort of memory of one of those shits that comes to mind."

"In the end, I suppose, they were just doing their jobs like the rest of us," Iceburg replied. "That night aside though, maybe you'll think back a bit fonder when the hurt's passed."

It was strangely measured and accepting. Paulie didn't know how he'd reached that stage so quickly. He scooped a little pebble up from the seat and threw it as far as he could out into the canal.

"Can't see that happening any time soon," Paulie grumbled. "I mean, I guess we had some good times, but knowing they were fake all along? Don't you hate them for that?"

"No, surprisingly," Iceburg said. "I'd like to think there was at least something in there that was genuine. That makes me feel a little more at ease honestly."

Paulie's eyebrows rose.

"If there wasn't, I'd find it a bit too disturbing," Iceburg added.

"Wouldn't count on it," Paulie answered. "Sometimes you're too generous for your own good. I mean they tried to murder you for God's sake!" He shifted his weight forwards and braced himself on his elbows against his legs. "Maybe if you'd just let yourself get angry about it you wouldn't be feeling so afraid at night you can't sleep."

"Well, does hating them really feel any good either?" Iceburg asked. "Carrying around those sorts of feelings of resentment just wears away at you."

He supposed Iceburg did have a point. "Maybe it doesn't," Paulie said. "Maybe right now hating them just feels easier than hating myself for being so damn blind."

"Don't hate yourself for trusting them, it's not worth that," Iceburg added. "If you can, try to be proud of the kindness you showed them when you did."

"Easier said than done I guess," Paulie said. "That's definitely a nicer way to look at it though," he thought out loud. He let out a long exhale. "I think I feel a little lighter now after talking about it. So thanks."

It was a conversation he hadn't quite realised he'd needed as much as he did. And once they'd finished, he felt some of the weight of his festering resentment had lifted from him.

"I thought you seemed bothered still," Iceburg said, and turned round to him.

"Like I said though, I'm surprised you don't resent them for it too," Paulie answered. He looked back. "But I guess we have to just move on, right?"

"Well, yes," Iceburg replied. "We have the interviews for their replacements starting this week. In fact, I was hoping to get started with the secretary interviews tomorrow morning."

"That seems a little soon," Paulie said. "Shouldn't you give a bit more time to let people get their papers in?"

"We've had so many applications for the post already," Iceburg replied. "And like I was saying, the sooner we get someone, the sooner you can be getting on with more important things. Like your training. We'll look over everyone's papers tonight and start to prepare. If you don't mind me asking, I'd really appreciate if you were to join me for the interviews. It'd be much easier to have a second judge of character alongside me."

"Yes, of course, I can help," he replied.

"Thank you Paulie."

Iceburg turned his focus back to directing the yagara and veered them off to a higher route.

"I'll keep the foremen applications open for a while though," he explained. "We've only really had internal applications from the foremen of other Docks, but then we'd have to repost for their positions."

"I'm a little nervous about taking anyone from outside the company right now though," Paulie admitted. "Why not just promote people up, shift them around? I mean, we don't want another situation on our hands."

"More than likely what happened with CP9 is the sort of thing that happens once in a lifetime," Iceburg replied calmly.

"Might want to add some kind of evaluation to the entry tests to weed out anyone dangerous," Paulie fretted. "I mean, it's a nice policy you have going don't get me wrong. If you're good at your work, it doesn't matter if you're bat-shit crazy. But it'd be nice not to have to go through it all again."

"We'll just keep a close eye on anyone new," Iceburg laughed. "Besides, if we changed that policy now, we'd have no one left in the company." He glanced back again. "You and me included."

Paulie woke in a sweat with the sun glaring at his face through the gap in the curtains of the third floor guestroom. The room was incredibly hot, and he went to pull the curtains and crack open a window. It let in a little breeze, but the room still felt muggy and uncomfortable. After the storm season, the warm season usually came to Water Seven not long after, and it seemed summer had now come upon him in full force. He didn't really tend to cope all that well with the heat. It had a tendency to make him feel sluggish and tense, and because of that, he went about business even more irritable than usual.

He stripped off his sweaty tank top and went to have a shower in the room's en-suite.

There was a lot of noise from his window when he entered the room again. He scowled out the window at what had now become a familiar sight, but still found scope to hate more and more each time. A flock had gathered at the front gates, townspeople and press for the most part, but as he studied the herd more carefully, he noticed something else that shocked him.

He rushed to throw on his jeans and a clean shirt and hurried to find Iceburg.

He found Iceburg's office empty, so went round to his bedroom and knocked the door a couple of times. When there was no response, he pushed open the door cautiously and peered in.

"Iceburg?" he asked. "Are you awake?"

He went in hesitantly and found Iceburg still asleep.

"Sorry to have to wake you," Paulie said, gently stirring him. "Not only that, but it's with bad news too."

"Hmm?" Iceburg opened his eyes and seemed a little confused to see him.

"Uh, not what you want to hear first thing in the morning I'm sure, but that government guy's back," he explained gravely. "That one who kept coming and bothering you all the time. He's waiting outside the front gates."

"Corgi?" Iceburg mumbled. He sat up slowly. "Why is he here?"

"No idea honestly."

"I don't like this Paulie, I feel a bit uneasy."

"You and me both," Paulie muttered. "Do you want me to go chase him off?"

"As much as I would like that, I suppose I should try to find out what this is all about," Iceburg answered, and pulled back his sheets and got up. "Those blueprints were destroyed," he frowned. "I don't understand what else he might be after..."

"I'll go meet him with you."

"I'd appreciate that, thank you."

"Press is here too though," Paulie added, irritated. "There's every possibility they're going to read into the fact that it's early in the morning and we're leaving the building together. Are you going to clear the air about that?"

"Well, all the fuss might actually work to our advantage here," Iceburg answered.

"What do you mean exactly?" Paulie complained. "Hey, don't go throwing me under the bus again!"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Iceburg assured him. "But we'll say nothing about all that for now. With Corgi here, I just don't think it's the time." He placed his hands on Paulie's shoulders. "Just trust me on this for now."

"Hmm, you've let me down before," Paulie stated. He looked Iceburg up and down. "Aren't you going to change out of your pyjamas?"

"No, I couldn't really be bothered," Iceburg shrugged.

Paulie shook his head in disapproval. "At least fix your hair," he scolded. "You look like Lulu. Here. You've got a bit, just there."

Paulie reached and smoothed out a cowlick for him.

They stepped out together in the dry heat. For the early morning, even for the hot season, it seemed a bit too much. He didn't have the patience for either the press or a rather unwanted and unnerving guest on a normal day let alone the hottest of the year so far.

They approached the gates to endless commotion.

"Would you all just shut the hell up for one minute?" Paulie yelled at them through the gates. "We don't have time for this."

They didn't quiet down and Paulie lost it. He kicked the gates and they clanged deafeningly.

"Iceburg's got a visitor, you ingrates," he hollered. "Either leave right now or give your mayor a little Goddamn respect and shut your damn mouths for a minute to let them talk."

They went eerily silent and Paulie felt a slightly twisted surge of pride.

"Good morning Corgi," Iceburg called through the gates.

"Hello Mayor Iceburg," Corgi replied, and pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "I thought I wouldn't have to see your face again, but here we are."

"I'm afraid if you're here to apply for the role of my secretary you're a little late. Applications have closed already," Iceburg said.

There were some laughs from the crowd but Paulie stared them down and they soon hushed again.

"I suppose though if you're desperate for the job we could squeeze you in for an interview at the end of the day if we still have time," Iceburg added. "Do you have your résumé with you?"

"Enough silly games," Corgi huffed. "You certainly kept me waiting here long enough."

"It's very early in the day to come visit unannounced," Iceburg explained. "As you can tell I'm just up."

Corgi looked his pyjamas over with a sneer. "That seems a bit lazy if you ask me, but oh well. Are you going to let me in?"

"We can talk right here if you like." Iceburg gestured to the crowd. "Of course, that's if you wouldn't mind the press listening in, would you?"

"I don't, but would you though?" Corgi retaliated.

Iceburg crossed his arms and Paulie noticed his face tense. "What have you come to speak with me about this time Corgi? You should know by now those blueprints were destroyed."

"So you did have them after all?" he accused. "That was very uncooperative of you not to hand them over when we asked you to."

"I didn't have them. I would have thought you'd have seen a report about what happened," Iceburg said. "Or is the government completely incompetent?"

"Hey, careful there Iceburg," Paulie advised cautiously.

"He's right," Corgi seethed. "Watch what you say Mr Mayor."

He turned to his aide beside him who handed him a heavy stack of papers as if to prove a point.

"Anyway. I'd like to talk to you in private again if that's possible?" Corgi added. "It's about the Straw Hat Pirates, does that change your mind?"

At their mention, the crowd got worked up again, and staring them down didn't work for Paulie this time around.

"Just invite him in Iceburg," Paulie nudged him.

"Do you know something about this Paulie?" Iceburg asked him discreetly.

"I have a bad feeling in my gut," he worried. "Might be better to be cautious. Just in case. Plus they're all getting riled up again. It's getting hard to even hear each other."

He waited for Iceburg to nod, then he went to pull the gate open just enough for Corgi and his two aides to slip in and no one more. Whatever Corgi had to say, the press weren't going to get.

"This one's got better sense and manners than you do," Corgi sniffed, and walked on before them to the front door.

"You should work on your manners yourself," Iceburg replied fiercely. "This one's my Vice President."

"Maybe you'll come speak with us too then, Mr.. uh?"

"Paulie," Iceburg affirmed.

"Iceburg?" Paulie asked.

Iceburg nodded.

"What are the press so worked up about out there?" Corgi complained. "They're still screaming away outside."

He stood up from his place at Iceburg's meeting table to try and peer out of the nearby window. At the other side of the table, Paulie watched him tensely from Iceburg's side.

"Seems a little suspicious to me, all this fuss," Corgi added, wrinkling his nose.

"Just the cult of celebrity Corgi," Iceburg said with a shrug. "For some reason it's rather alive in this city right now."

"Somehow I almost feel sorry for you," Corgi replied, sitting back down.

"Well, that's very kind of you," Iceburg smiled. "Now if only they would leave us alone and you would leave us alone perhaps we'd get a bit of work done around here."

"Very funny," he said with a mock laugh.

He flipped through his papers until he found what Paulie presumed he'd been looking for.

"Anyway," he began sternly. "Would I be correct in saying that this Cyborg Franky character and the Cutty Flam of Tom's Workers, the company you were once a part of, are one in the same?"

"Is that what your report says?" Iceburg asked.

"Yes."

"Then yes."

"You said recently in an interview that this same Franky built the ship for the Straw Hats, didn't you?"

"Is that what your report says?"

"Are you going to ask that for every question?" Corgi reeled. "God this man is infuriating!" He took a moment to massage his temples. "Well?" Corgi pressed. "You said that, right?"

"I said that, yes," Iceburg stated. "It's not a crime to build a ship."

"No, it's not. You had a close relationship with this man though, didn't you? Both apprentices under the same man. Are you still in contact with him?"

"Is that what your…"

"Damn it, answer the question already!"

"No," Iceburg said.

Corgi and his men would probably have missed the tone, but Paulie caught the disappointment beneath.

"The government would be willing to offer a great reward for any information you might have about the Straw Hat Pirates and their whereabouts. Or any plans they might have going forward," Corgi said clearly. "We could make you a very generous deal."

"I'm not interested in any more deals," Iceburg answered. He got up from his chair and glanced at his bare wrist. "Oh, is that the time? You should really be going now Corgi."

Paulie sighed and got up too.

"Just think it over," Corgi insisted. "From what I've heard, Water Seven's hit a rough spot lately. I'm sure if the World Government were to expand your contract with them it would help you out. A smart man would probably take that deal."

"Maybe I'm an idiot," Iceburg shrugged.

"Oh I have very little doubt about that," Corgi smirked. He got to his feet and gathered up his papers and his aides followed his lead. "This might not be the last time I'm here. If you decide you want to hear more about what we can do for you, get in contact with us."

He reached into his blazer.

"Here's a transponder snail."

Corgi sat it down on the desk. Paulie didn't really trust it. There was every possibility it was bugged or even rigged for surveillance. He'd tell Iceburg to get rid of it as soon as possible.

"Well, let's hope it will be the last time Corgi," Iceburg said. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

Iceburg ushered Corgi towards the door.

"I'd rather we'd not have to meet again too honestly, you like to make my job difficult for me," Corgi said. His nose twitched. "One last thing, there are some scientists researching on this island. Who are they?"

"I don't really think that's anything the government needs to concern itself with," Paulie said.

"Maybe it is though," Corgi replied, looking him over suspiciously.

"They're just helping to research the recent storm," Iceburg insisted.

"Not looking to help resurrect the ancient weapon Pluton then?"

"Like I said," Iceburg said. "Those blueprints were destroyed."

"But for all I would know some shipwright's already got them memorised in order to rebuild it and you're getting ready to do just that. Or maybe the damn thing itself's been hidden somewhere deep beneath this city for years and they know where to find it," he rattled on. "But I'll take your word for now."

He took it in turns to give both Iceburg and Paulie a hard stare.

"I'll be going now. Good luck with your media storm," he said. "I'm sure we'll all be hearing every little detail about what's happening in Water Seven for the foreseeable future."

"Yes, well, I'm sure the Government will be riveted to hear exactly what I'm eating for breakfast in the mornings," Iceburg answered.

"I'm starting to get a feel of what life must've been like for you for the last five years," Paulie said sympathetically across the breakfast table.

"Eight actually," Iceburg answered. "He's been coming to visit me since before Galley-La was even established. Though much more frequently after that."

Iceburg had washed and dressed by now, but Tilestone had probably been and gone already while they met with Corgi and was nowhere to be seen. It was a relief to be able to talk over the meeting in peace, but he began to worry that he still hadn't got round to talking everything through with him and Lulu.

"Is that the way all of those meetings tended to go?" Paulie asked.

"This one was fairly mild," Iceburg said.

"I was pretty relieved to hear it was an offer and not an accusation," Paulie worried. "I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time waiting for a curve ball to be thrown at us."

"About what?"

"Honestly I've been worried about having helped the Straw Hats out at Ennies Lobby," he admitted. "What if this visit from Corgi wasn't about some offer at all? Maybe he's really here to start sniffing around for more information about all of that?"

"Hmm, is this why you've been a bit on edge lately?"

"Yeah," he said. Iceburg didn't need to know more, but he felt he owed him something at least. He felt more and more uncomfortable with the idea of keeping things secret from him. "I wouldn't have felt right not helping them out. But it meant getting ourselves wrapped up in some pretty serious crimes. Who knows what could come of it if they found out about that?"

"I'd say if we haven't heard anything by now, the government has no idea that all of you were involved," Iceburg assured him. He took a drink of coffee. "Well," he laughed. "If they knew, they'd most likely have come to arrest you all already."

"That doesn't exactly put my mind at ease about it."

By that logic, the government wouldn't bat an eyelid before swooping in to cart them all kicking and screaming to Impel Down if they saw those photos.

Paulie tensed. He felt his chest grow tight. "God, it's so warm today," he complained.

He took a sip of water.

"It's a little hard to breathe, could you open a window or something?"

"Are you alright Paulie?"

"God, I feel like I can't breathe," he panicked.

"Everything's going to be alright," Iceburg said.

He got up and hurried to Paulie's side.

"Try to take slow, steady breaths."

Iceburg breathed with him until Paulie began to calm a little. He took Paulie's hand in his.

Paulie was surprised to find that, rather than panicking him more, Iceburg's touch seemed to soothe him. He tentatively closed his fingers round Iceburg's hand and gradually his breath eased back to normal.

"Sorry," Paulie said.

"No, it's me who should apologise," Iceburg said. "I made a joke of something that's clearly worrying you a lot, I'm really sorry Paulie."

He gave Paulie's hand a squeeze.

"If it's any reassurance at all, I hope at least that you know that you're not alone in this Paulie. I'm here for you."

Paulie felt his heart beating in his chest, though this time it wasn't from panic. "Uh, we should really go get those interviews started," he said, and he loosened his grip on Iceburg's hand.

"Do you need a moment?" Iceburg asked.

He handed Paulie his glass of water and he took a drink.

"No, I'm fine. Probably better to just get started for the day and get my mind off things."

He started to get up and Iceburg stood with him.

"I'll go get those candidates shown in," Paulie said.

"Are you sure?" Iceburg replied. "I wouldn't mind doing it."

"I'm alright. Let's just get on with it."

He marched back out to brave the heat and the familiar crowd.

"Paulie? We didn't get the chance to speak with you earlier," a reporter to the front called. "Your interview in the Water Seven Times this morning, is this true? Are you really the son of a pirate and a nun?"

He sighed. Of course they'd published that despite even begging them not to. "What makes you all think you've even got the right to know?"

It surprised him to find himself as calm as he was. Perhaps his moment of panic or the scorching heat had already worn him out and taken the fight out of him but somehow he didn't even care now if that interview was out for all to judge.

"You're all treating my life like it's a spectacle," he told her. "Like it's something just to amuse you all. Are your lives really all so uninteresting and your minds so petty that it makes you feel good to dig up people's dirt and throw it in their faces?"

He quickly moved on.

"Anyone here for the interviews, I'll check your papers and let you in," he called. "If I see anyone from the press trying to worm their way in, I won't hesitate to throw you out on your ass."

It didn't really matter to him what those papers said, but he worried about his mother and what it might mean for her and her future at the convent.

He fed the first group in through the gate and tried to get his mind back on work.