sorry guys I uploaded that too earliy. Please go one chapter back if you had already read this one and progress later on. I'm sorry!
Chapter 14: the Hideout
When the Straw hats, Ace and Kid reached the city gate of Salando Kid knocked on it and a police officer opened the window.
"Good morning, you had probably a long journey, but I'm afraid today no one's allowed to enter the city." The police man said formal.
"What why?" Kid asked even though she already knew the answer.
"There was a crime near the entrance and we need to make investigations." The police officer explained.
"But what can we do to go to the government? In Eqrado was a raid of a pirate crew and we need to get supplies for the people there." Kid said with an urgent tone in her voice.
"We know about the raid and we called the marine they send someone who will stay from now on…" the police officer started to explain.
"Oh my gosh!" Usopp squealed but before he could continue Zoro stomped on his feet so he wouldn't speak further.
"Don't mind him he's just tiered." Nami explained after the police officer looked at Usopp with risen eyebrows."
"Yes he was a bit too long in the desert!" Kid added and the police officer focused on his explanation.
"For your request to the government I have to put you off until tomorrow, my apology for that matter." The police officer apologized and said, "I have to ask you to leave now."
"But what about the carriage we left behind the other day?" Sanji asked before the police man could close the window, "we left it at a cross-road near the city entrance." Sanji explained.
"That was probably stolen we haven't seen a carriage around the entrance. You shouldn't leave stuff simply around." The police officer said firmly and closed the window.
"And what should we do now?" Robin questioned ruminatively.
"There's no other option but to go to the hideout of the network." Kid answered.
"What no…" Usopp whined anxiously.
"Where is that hideout" Luffy asked "I want to get something to eat."
"The food isn't for us Luffy!" Ace said with a wagging finger and added, "And by the way we were there just the other day."
"You've got that?!" Kid said a bit surprised, she'd never thought that he would figure that out.
"Tcha obviously you're not that unpredictable as you thought" Ace said cockily and walked off.
"Grr… I hate it when he does that" Kid snarled angrily. Before she and the rest followed him into the forest
After some time Kid caught up with Ace and asked: "Have you realized that you're walking in the wrong direction, you brazen jerk?"
Now it was Ace' turn to snarl hostilely as Kid took over the lead: "guess the feud's on again."
As Kid guided the group to the barrack Luffy approached her and said while he was picking in his nose: "Kid I'm actually disappointed. Why did you keep me away from the food the day before?"
"I had the assumption that my father was around!" Kid explained.
"So your dad really sold you?" Luffy asked what caused Kid to stop and pull on his earlobe.
"I thought you're not interested in my past." Kid said with her calm voice.
"I thought a question won't hurt… could you please let my ear go?" Luffy whined with pain.
"You're an idiot…" Kid said and loosed her grip of Luffys' earlobe; she really appreciated Luffys' reaction to her past, but in the end he was just as annoying as his brother and additionally he replaced Aces know-it-al manner with pure stupidity.
Kid walked ahead while Luffy was sitting on the ground and massaged his ear, because he had fallen to the ground as his earlobe swung back to him. "Why is she so mean?" Luffy asked when Ace approached him to help him to get up.
"Because she's a crazy bitch…" Ace answered and got an angry look of Luffy.
"Why are you insulting my new crew member?" Luffy wanted to know as he took Aces helping hand.
"I guess Kid's right about you!" Ace assumed as he passed Luffy.
"What do you mean by that?!" Luffy asked as he followed Ace.
After the group reached the barrack Luffy and Ace did find the other day they saw a carriage in the front of the barrack. "Look I'm sure that's our carriage!" Chopper said pointing at the empty carriage.
"Shush…" Kid said because she had heard something from inside the barrack and she paced forward to the still open door to enter the building. "Anne-Marie This can't be! Are you a ghost? Have you killed our boss?! "
"You'd better put this thing away." The Straw Hats and Ace could hear Kid say as they approached the door as well.
Luffy went ahead to see, that Kid stood close to the door with risen hands in a conciliating gesture. "What's wrong?"
When Luffy entered the barrack he saw why Kid had raised her hands: next to a bed stood a nervous woman pointing a gun at Kid the finger on the trigger.
Luffy instantly inflated himself through his mouth until his body grew to a big balloon to shield Kid from the strange woman; because of this the woman became even more jumpy and shot. But instead of bursting Luffy the bullet was deflected and almost hit the woman when it was slung back. The woman screamed in fear and cringed down to the ground while Luffy shrank back to his ordinary size.
"I won't allow you to hurt a friend of mine!" Luffy said earnestly with a sinister look in his eyes.
"Give me a break… stop calling me a friend of yours!" Kid said testily as she pass walked Luffy, approaching the woman on the floor and asked in an almost friendly way, "Are you okay?"
The woman looked first at Kid's hand and then her confused glance shifted to Kids face. "Your Anne-Maries little girl!" the woman said after she blinked and realized that Kid wasn't a ghost, "you look just as your mother! I was so worried when I heard you and your brother were disappeared after your mothers suicide, by the way my sympathies" the woman started to sputter, "How's Tommy?"
"He died long ago!" Kid answered guiltily.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that!" the woman apologized sincerely.
"So my mother did commit suicied!" Kid said restrainedly as the rest of the Straw Hats and Ace entered the barrack.
"What just happened?" Nami asked as she neared Kid and the strange woman.
"I've mistaken Kid with her dead mother and I was such a dummy and thought that she killed our boss!" the woman blathered again. "By the way my name's Samantha."
"Well actually Kid did kill him, but she did it in self-defense." Luffy explained off handily.
"Thank you Luffy…" Kid muttered looking annoyed at Luffy.
"Your welcome." Luffy responded not sure for what Kid thanked him, what caused Kid to snarl something under her breath.
"Did you know why your boss was searching for me?" Kid asked when she saw that the woman gave her horrified look.
The woman slowly shook her head still looking with wide opened eyes at Kid. After Kid had clarified everything to the strange woman she looked at her with a combination of disbelieve and commiseration. "I had no Idea." The woman said sadly, "I'm so sorry"
"You were just fooled like my mother and all the others, Samantha. They led you to believe that everything was perfect as long as there was a son and heir. They brain-washed all of you, and the children were the one who suffered the most." Kid summarized everything what was wrong with the network.
Nami, who sat on the bed next to Kid and the woman, could barely restrain her tears. "What a sick society." Nami mumbled what led Kids attention away from Samantha "You have to do something to stop this all!" Nami said to Samantha while tears rolled down her checks, "there are still people who follow that sick Ideals."
`Why is she crying? Is her commiseration really that big or is it fake?` Kid asked herself in thoughts while she looked at Nami, before she looked to the others, everybody seemed to think the same thing, they had to encourage that woman to take on the lead.
"But how can I do something, I'm not more than a woman." Samantha confessed
"Are you a mother?" Robin asked suddenly.
"Yes, I have two boys and one little daughter." Samantha answered.
"You have to stand up for them. Don't let the same thing that happened to Kid happen to your daughter!" Robin replied urgently.
"You can do it, just believe in yourself!" Chopper stated, "Don't you won't a better world for your children?
"They are right, but not only your kids also several generations depend on you. Don't let them down like my mother did it with me." Kid said with an encouraging smile on her lips as she looked at Samantha.
"Of course I want a better world for the children, I will give my best!" Samantha said earnestly.
"That's good, now let's eat something!" Luffy said suddenly and Sanji whacked him as an answer.
"Have you even listened to what Kid just had told!?" Sanji yelled annoyed.
"Not really I was looking at the food…" Luffy said pursing his lips.
"This food isn't for us anyway Luffy!" Usopp remembered his captain, "I think we should put as much as we can on the carriage and hit the road."
"I don't like to say it but the long nosed chicken is right!" Kid endorsed Usopps' suggestion.
"EY!" Usopp yelled unsatisfied with Kids nickname for him before he and the others started to grab the food to load it on the carriage.
"Kid you won't stay and help me to bring things to how they should be?" Samantha asked.
"I already closed that door and I am not willing to ever look back again." Kid explained earnestly.
Robin looked a bit sad to Kid but left her thoughts to herself while she brought two bags of rice with her Devil Fruit powers outside. After the carriage was filled with the nutrition of the barrack Kid told the Straw Hats and Ace to stay out side for a moment.
"I wonder what they are talking about!" Chopper said to Nami and Robin.
"How about a little observation…" Robin said with a giggle before she crossed her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes, "Ojo et Oreja fleur" Robin whispered and let one eye and one ear grow inside the building to see and hear what was going on.