"Take cover!" Shachi shouted, crouching behind a table, gun pointed towards the door. The rest of the men were in similar positions, all listening closely for the point the guards would break through the door. The sound of feet grew louder, as boots hit the tile floor somewhere down the hall.
"Make sure they're secure!" Penguin shouted, nodding in the direction of the hostages. They had all been tied up, but they didn't want to take any chances. Bepo went into action, watching the medical staff with a critical eye. If they tried anything, he'd know.
The bear was a little worried that his best friend went off on his own. The Captain was known to do things by himself, but even that usually meant Bepo was nearby or even with him. In such a dangerous and unpredictable place, he wasn't sure splitting up was a good idea. They didn't have a clue what these people are capable of.
Commands were being shouted down the hall, and everyone shifted position.
A second later, the doors burst open, and bullet were being fired inside. The medical staff screamed, and those who weren't behind the relative protection of the tables set up at random points were riddled with bullets in seconds. They died instantly, slumping over onto the shoulders of their coworkers, who subsequently screamed in fear. Bepo crouched down below the line of fire, making sure to stay behind the tables. As first mate, it was his job to protect the crew when Law wasn't around, and by God, he'd protect them.
"Exterminate all intruders!" One of the armored guards ordered, and the assault continued. Bepo growled loudly, angry that he couldn't fight these people with his karate style.
"We want our nakama back!" He shouted, waiting for the first opportunity to attack.
"I noticed you got a new hat." She said, touching the brim with her finger. Law glanced up at it, like he'd only just realized.
"I did." He said, brushing her hand away.
"What happened to your old one?" She pouted, still inspecting his headwear. He shook his head in amusement. Sometimes, the smallest things had her mesmerized.
"I still have it." Law helped a limping Summer turn the corner, waiting on her directions. She looked around at the rooms, trying to remember where the Doctor's office was. She'd only ever been there once, long ago when she was 12 or something, but the awful memories of this place was making it hard to remember single details.
"I think its down this hallway." Law nodded heading over to the first door. It was unlocked, and he swung the door open.
It was an office, but Summer shook her head. "It's much too small. His was the biggest and most ornate."
They moved onto the next one, which was locked. Law set Summer down against the wall and broke the lock. He readied his weapon, before remembering one thing.
"I almost forgot." He said, reaching for something on his belt. A grin spread across her face at the sight of the four daggers. Gently taking them into her hands, she took them from his grasp.
"You took care of them." She mentioned, inspecting all the blades in satisfaction. He gripped the doorhandles again, waiting until Summer nodded that she was ready. In one swift move, he opened the door and looked inside.
"Oh my god!" A woman, half dressed, shouted. A male nurse sat on a chair, with the female straddling his waist. There were several marks all over his necks, no doubt from their activities before the two pirates had intruded.
"Jesus!" He cried, trying to cover himself up. The woman pulled up the straps of her bra, fixing her hair swiftly. Unperturbed, Law was about to walk away, but Summer grabbed his arm. He turned back, perplexed.
"Please?" Summer asked, an evil glint in her eyes and that sexy smirk she wore every time she was up to something. With a matching grin, he gestured towards the door, deciding to wait a few feet away against the wall.
"Sorry to intrude…" Summer said to the nurses, closing the door behind her. A few moments later, he heard bangs and crashes, clothes were ripped, the woman screamed, the man gurgled in a sort of grunt/moaning noise. Inside, he could hear Summer laugh in delight, and he felt a sort of pride, that his woman had a heart of steel and wasn't afraid to act upon it.
…His woman? He stopped short, pondering the thought. He'd never had the inclination to call her that, but…he supposed it was true. There was no way he would let her be with anyone else. Still, it sounded so…sentimental, that he was unsure if it could apply.
The female nurse gave a strangled cry, as if she were choking, and there were a few hard thumps against the wall. Law waited patiently, knowing that Summer probably had a lot of pent-up anger and hatred towards the staff, and thought that it was reasonable for her to want this. Exacting her revenge would be a part of the healing process, the Dark Doctor believed.
It was silent not even thirty seconds later, and Summer opened the door. Stepping through, Law saw her covered in blood, which he knew would be those of the nurses. He wasn't worried about those two hurting her. She was much too strong.
"Ok, now I'm ready." She smoothed down the front of her thin shirt, smearing the blood across the fabric. She didn't seem to notice or mind. Law wrapped her arm around his neck again, and they headed to the next door.
Summer had noticed how gentle he seemed to be handling her, and it was more than surprising. Sure, they'd kissed before, but that could be attributed to her relief, and the fact that she loved him, but why was he acting so strange? She expected stern glares whenever she tripped or went the wrong direction, witty and sarcastic comments on her intelligence, anything that she was so used to before. Where did his teasing nature go?
Had he changed since she'd been taken away?
Max ran his fingers gently over the awards of science and research that hung on his wall, taking it all in for the first time in a long time. All the years of dedication to his work and nothing else, all on display for everyone to see. He'd mostly ignored the hanging things on his wall, save for the wanted poster in the middle. Even now, his gaze wandered over the worn edges and the picture of the young woman.
She looked so innocent, in her first picture. A lost child looking for direction and guidance. She'd been so malleable, back then, so easy to manipulate. His studies with her had gone so much better, and the results from back then still sat in his desk.
More out of impulse than anything, he went over to the filing cabinet. Though nobody else knew, it only held one file, and he reached inside for it. The manilla file read 'CLASSIFIED' in large red letters, with her subject number on the top.
Opening the cover, he gazed at the numbers and words written there, marked permanently into his research, for only him to look at. Her pictures, before and after experiments, her CT scans after psychological tests, the instructions for her intake and privacy conditions. Everything he'd created and maintained for so long…
Where had it all gone wrong?
"This is the last door on this hall. The Doctor's office is around the corner." Summer said, staring at the carved wood door, looming further down the way. Gently pulling her back to where they were, Law turned the knob and found it unlocked. Shared a glance with Summer, they walked inside.
A massive archive storage took up the room, rows and rows of metal cabinets ran parallel to one another, standing at least five feet tall. Law sighed.
"There's no way we have time to look through all of this."
"The Doctor hates it when people aren't organized. There has to be some sort of system or code that these go by." Summer ducked out of his grasp and limped towards the first cabinet. Opening it, she began rifling through the files. "What are you looking for anyway?"
"It's a file on devil fruit origins."
"They've been studying devil fruits?" Law shrugged.
"According to an underground information dealer." Summer shook her head, deciding not to ask right at that moment. She could interrogate him later. Law approached a cabinet of his own and began searching
"All of these files are neurology-related." She opened the cabinet next to her. A few moments later, she closed it. "These are for anatomy."
"Entomology." Law stated, shutting his cabinet.
"So we just have to find the one for botany, or devil fruits, or something along those lines." Summer concluded, taking in all the cabinets in the room with a sigh. Law opened another, setting his sword against one he'd already checked.
"Let's just keep looking."
There! That was the moment!
There was a pause in the gunfire, as several of the men reloaded or simply waited for one of the pirates to pop their head over the tables to fire back. But Bepo was much too quick on his feet for any of the guards to react in time, and he went flying through the air with his foot out, kicking the nearest guard in the face and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Hey!" One of the guards said, about to swing up his gun to the bear. That was when the pirates retaliated.
"Kill them!" Blake shouted, and the Heart Pirates raised their guns. Bepo began beating the men, while the rest provided cover. Bepo's 'Hya!'s' and 'Ha!'s' were followed by kicks and punches to the men, and they were utterly defenseless against the first mate. Within minutes, the armed guards were lying either dead or unconscious on the ground, and the firing soon stopped.
There wasn't a sound after that, just the heavy breathing of the pirates and the whimpers of the staff. They all looked a little shellshocked, with wide eyes and shaking hands. The firefight had left many of them dead, especially those who hadn't been behind the tables along the wall, but the Heart Pirates really didn't care that much. It's not like they were decent people, at least in their eyes.
"Secure the doors." Bepo said, taking charge with a firm tone. Blake and several men took one door, while Parker led another group to block the opposite end.
"We'll have to wait it out until Captain finds Summer."
ns 15.158.61.54da2
