"Hello?"
"Think I've got some information you might like."
Law ducked his chin lower, sweeping his gaze around at the passing pedestrians on the sidewalks. No one paid him much mind though, too busy trying to get to their own destinations. The snowy weather also meant they were eager to get out of it, so they weren't going to trouble themselves over someone else's conversation. Or so he hoped.
"What have you got, Boa?"
The voice on the other end sounded pleased. "One of my girls just got a request from Buffalo for a night alone."
"Didn't think he was the type for whores." Law said shortly, dodging left and right to avoid hitting shoulders with anyone. The slick pathways made this more difficult, but at least there weren't too many people out today. He stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for the crossing sign to allow him to go again.
"Normally he's not. Or at least, that's what I've gathered so far. Never paid for any of mine, at least."
"I'm guessing there's more?" He pried, eyebrows raising expectantly. She wouldn't sound so pleased if there wasn't at least a bit more.
"Heh, as a matter of fact, I just sent you the time and address of the meeting. I'll let you decide to do what you want with it. Just consider my debt repaid to you."
His phone vibrated against his ear, and he glanced at the screen. She's texted the information he needed, as she'd said. "I appreciate it."
"You know, everyone's talking about what you're doing, Law. How you're planning on taking down Doflamingo. It's got all manner of people chomping at the bit."
He frowned, shaking his head. The crosswalk sign signaled it was ok to walk, and he began to cross with another group of pedestrians who'd been waiting. "And why's that?"
"You're dangling the possibility of a major shift in power. If you actually pull this off, there's a dozen other leaders waiting to take his place and run this city by their rules."
He let a tiny grin grace his lips. "You included?"
Boa chuckled. "I won't lie, the thought is pretty appealing. But there's too much competition for my tastes. I like the stability that neutral ground offers me. No one's enemy and no one's friend has suited me just fine so far."
"I suppose that's reasonable." Law stated with a small nod.
"But that's besides the point. You've got what you need from me. I'd appreciate if you ceased all contact from now on. Wouldn't want the others thinking I'm actually rooting for you. Might think I'm taking a side. Which I'm not."
"Right." He agreed. Boa didn't like getting involved with the city's affairs, content to run her prostitution ring in relative isolation. "I won't be seeing you then."
"Good luck, Law."
The phone clicked and he put the phone back in his pocket, pulling the zipper to his jacket up a little higher. He needed to get back to his base and plan for his next move.
There was a tentative knock at her bedroom door. Summer opened her eyes a little but otherwise didn't react.
"Hey, Summer? I've made us something to eat for dinner if you want to come out." Shachi said from behind it, his voice slightly muffled because of the obstacle. She could tell he was hoping she'd take the suggestion, but she only sighed quietly to herself.
"I'm good, but thank you."
There was a pause, before he spoke again in a less enthusiastic tone.
"Ok…well, I'll put some away as leftovers in case you get hungry later."
"Sounds good." She said quietly, eyes still staring at the ceiling mutely. She heard him step away from the door finally, before she closed them again.
It was becoming increasingly obvious that Shachi and Penguin were growing more concerned about her. She hadn't left the bedroom in some time, too tired and unmotivated to socialize with them or do anything other than rest. The countless days spent cooped up in the same three rooms was draining and doing negative things to her mental state.
She hadn't been out in the sun for at least a week. Summer felt cold and pale, afraid to even stay in front of the window for lengths of time, in case her irrational fear of someone watching her was true. Her overactive imagination had her worried that there was an unseen sniper on the roof of the building across the street, and that she'd see a little red dot on her chest before being shot right then and there.
It was ridiculous, she knew, but then again, everything about this scenario was ridiculous. It felt straight out of an action movie or something. And yet this was her new reality.
How long could she last living this way? Not for the first time, she wondered where Law was, and what he was doing. Was he in hiding? What exactly did he have planned to defy this Joker person? He'd seemed to have a semblance of a plan before she'd left his apartment, but he hadn't given her any details. Probably to reduce her worrying, but she was concerned regardless.
She missed him. She hoped he was ok. No contact with him at all only added to her fears. The worst part? If something bad did actually happen to Law, if somehow he was caught up in all the danger that he'd warned her about, how was she even to know? If he were…killed…would she even find out about it? Or would she be stuck in this godforsaken hotel for another month waiting to get a phone call that would never come?
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she let her depressing thoughts wander, and she tucked the covers higher up towards her chin, hoping that sleep would just take her again so she wouldn't have to think about it anymore.
Shachi had just finished packing away the left overs into the fridge when Penguin came back from his shift. He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a long sigh as he sauntered in.
"You look like hell." Shachi said, leaning against the counter to face him.
"Tch, I feel like hell. The snow is causing more accidents, and worse damage. Lots of difficult jobs." He explained, taking long strides to the couch, before collapsing into it's cushions. He let out a groan of comfort as he settled into it a bit deeper. "God, I miss my bed."
"Why not go home and get some rest? I can cover for awhile." Shachi offered, following him into the living room area.
"Nah, you've been here all day. About time I relieved you." He glanced towards the bedroom door, seeing it shut. "She's still in there?" He added in a quieter tone.
The redhead shrugged with a sigh, shaking his head in defeat. "Hasn't come out all day."
"Not even to eat?"
"Nope."
Penguin grimaced. "Damn it…I don't know how to help her."
"She's just bored. And worried." Shachi said, knowing it was a combination of many things, but those two were most prominent. At least, he thought. She'd complained on multiple occasions about having no information and not being able to think straight without knowing Law was at least ok.
"I get that, but that doesn't mean she should stop eating." Penguin griped, crossing his arms. "How are we supposed to help her?"
"I don't know, man…" Shachi didn't have an answer. If he did, he was sure there wouldn't be a problem in the first place.
"Law will be pissed if he finds out we're not doing anything." Penguin sat up in his seat, finally standing and wandering over to the doorway. Without preamble, he tapped on the door.
"Summer? You awake?"
There was a moment of silence before they both heard a muffled 'Yeah' come from inside.
"Why don't you come on out and watch some tv with us? You know, to spend some time together and get to know each other. How does that sound?" Penguin reasoned, hoping she'd agree.
Predictably, she didn't. "No thanks. I think I'll just sleep if that's ok."
The mechanic sighed heavily. "You haven't come out all day. You need to eat something too."
"Not hungry."
Penguin looked over to Shachi, who only raised his palms up and shrugged in defeat. There wasn't anything he could do to get her out, short of barging in there and dragging her from the bed. But that was a bit too invasive for both of their tastes.
"We're supposed to be taking care of you while Law gets everything handled. You're not letting us do that." He said loud enough so she could hear him and understand that her lack of cooperation was starting to bother him.
"I never asked you to babysit me."
"Summer, come on." He griped in a tone that conveyed his irritation.
"I'm fine."
"No you're not. Come out already."
There was a thump from within the room, and he stepped back from the door as just a moment later it swung open to reveal the blonde standing there in her sleeping clothes, eyes red and puffy from crying.
"If I'm such a burden and inconvenience for you then just go. Leave me here and forget about me." She cried, her voice catching with a sob halfway through.
"You're not a burden, Summer." Shachi rushed to deny, standing and walking to where they stood. "We just need you to stop letting yourself go like this."
"Eat something. Walk around a little. That's all we're asking for." Penguin added with crossed arms. He still looked a little annoyed, but otherwise kept his tone neutral.
She glanced between them, both encouraging her to come outside and take care of herself. Her flash of anger from when she opened the door melted away and her lip quivered. Another sob wracked through her, and she covered her eyes with her hands, shoulders hunched. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act like that…I'm just…It's just…this is too much…"
Penguin grimaced and uncrossed his arms. Both men shared an uncomfortable glance, unsure of how to help her feel better. They'd never been too good at comforting upset women. Shachi nodded his head towards her, urging Penguin to do something. He raised his eyebrows, shrugging a little, and Shachi shook his head at his incompetence. He mimed hugging her with his hands, and his friend finally got the message.
"Umm…don't worry about it, Summer." Penguin said, stepping forward to hesitantly wrap his arms around the crying woman. "It's alright. We know this is all super stressful."
"Maybe we've all been a bit too high-strung recently." Shachi supplied helpfully, stepping closer and smiling warmly. "We could all use a bit of relaxation, yeah?"
She nodded against Penguin's chest, before finally letting him step away from the embrace. "I really do appreciate everything you've been doing for me. Both of you. I know I haven't been the best at showing that, but I do know how much you're sacrificing to make sure I'm safe."
"It's no problem, really." Penguin said, feeling a little flustered now. He wasn't used to women talking to him like that.
"Why don't we all watch a movie or something? I'll go rent something and we can all spend some time together, like Penguin said. How's that sound?" Shachi suggested, mood improving once he saw her nod in agreement.
"Ok." She wiped away at her runny nose with her hand, trying to make herself look a bit less gross.
"Alright, I'll go get us something. Anything in particular you want to watch?" He asked, heading to the kitchen to grab his keys.
"Umm…maybe a superhero movie?" She said, shrugging. "Or, a comedy? Something that'll lighten the mood, maybe."
He pointed at her and winked, opening the door to the hallway. "You got it."
The door to the hotel room cracked open, and Law's head perked up. Through the crack in the closet door, he could see both the hooker and the man he was after walk inside. The girl was aware of his presence, having been informed by Boa that Law would be present—if she was uncomfortable with having an audience to her work, she didn't show it—but the man was oblivious to the intruder listening to them discuss details of that night's events.
His eyes narrowed. Buffalo. He was fatter now that he was older, but then again, he'd always been what Law considered a bigger individual, even as a teenager. Age hadn't been kind to him, it seemed. He'd grown out his hair, and apparently still styled it in strange ways. His arms were marked in pock-marks, signs of a veteran drug user. Looks like he hadn't kicked the habit quite yet. Some things never changed.
He sat on the bed and had eyes only for the prostitute he'd hired for the night. Seemed they'd finished negotiations, because she took off her shirt and guided his hands to her covered breasts. Law looked away then, not really looking forward to hearing what would follow afterwards. The last thing he'd want to do was actually watch.
A very uncomfortable and slightly scarring hour passed. The moans and thumps and screams soon ceased, replaced instead by heavy pants and sighs of the last vestiges of pleasure wearing away. Law had closed his eyes, for fear of accidentally looking out the crack in the door and seeing something he really would prefer not witnessing. The shuffling of the bedsheets prompted him to open them, waiting a few more minutes just in case. The sound of the bathroom door shut just a moment later.
Peeking out the crack, Law saw the gang member facing away from him, smoothing over his hair and scratching at his backside. He grimaced, but watched nonetheless. The prostitute must have gone to the bathroom. Buffalo reached over to the nightstand beside the bed and checked his phone, eyes downcast and his back still to the closet.
Now would be the best chance he had at this. Law clenched his hands around the makeshift garrote he'd shaped of thick, steel wire. Standing from his seated position without a sound, he gently pushed open the closet door and stalked towards the bed.
From the bathroom, the toilet flushed, creating just enough cover noise for Law to make his move. He rushed the last few feet, bounding the width of the bed just enough to lash the wire around the man's neck.
He dropped his phone in surprise and panic. It dully thudded to the floor. He choked out, hands scrambling behind him to whoever was attacking him, but Law was careful. Pulling back with everything he had, teeth grit in effort, he twisted them around and planted his knee into the man's back, both choking him and pushing him down into the covers to prevent any sort of fight back.
He gurgled out helplessly, feet kicking and body twisting in an attempt to preserve his life, but in the end it was fruitless. The man must have had more fortitude than what Law had predicted, because it took much longer than what he'd anticipated before he eventually stopped twitching and convulsing painfully.
His arms went limp and his head lolled to the bed beneath him. Law kept the pressure on for a few more seconds, just to be sure, before he released the garrote with a pant. The strength it had taken to keep him still had been enough to wear him out, and he placed a steadying hand to the bed to keep himself upright.
After a shaky moment of getting his breath back, he stood and examined his handiwork. Buffalo didn't move, body still facedown in the bed. Law returned to the closet and pulled out the few bottles of rum he'd bought that night.
He opened the first and splashed it all over the bed, staining the covers and the pillows with the golden liquid. The stench of sex was covered up by the alcohol, much to Law's relief. Once it was empty he tossed the bottle to the side. Then, with a lot of effort, he rolling Buffalo to his back and poured some of the liquid on his face and chest. He splashed some in his mouth too for good measure.
The third bottle was spilled around the floor and the nightstand. Maybe it was overkill, but he wanted to be sure the job wasn't botched. Law tossed the last bottle, only halfway emptied, on the bed beside the gang member, near his hand.
The bathroom door opened just as Law took out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket, opening the top and taking one out.
"Mind if I borrow a light?" She asked, now fully dressed with her bag in hand.
Law shrugged and handed her the stick, then tossed the pack onto the bed beside Buffalo. She placed it in her mouth and he offered up the lighter from his pocket, flicking the flame to life and holding it under the far end. She took a few drags once it caught, holding it deftly between her fingers, then puffed out the cloud of smoke.
Law searched the room for any evidence of him being there, but found none. He'd been careful not to cause any evidence of a struggle, so there wasn't anything to clean up.
"You think this might spread to other rooms?" She asked deftly, flicking the ashes onto the floor carelessly.
"They're vacant. I checked with the receptionist. And the fire department should get here before it spreads too far." He reasoned.
She shrugged uncaringly. "Whatever you say." With one last long drag, she flicked the half-smoked cigarette onto the bed and turned towards the door. Law stayed another moment, watching as a small tendril of smoke began rising towards the ceiling from that spot. Finally, he turned and left as well, closing the door behind him before the blaze could really begin.
Summer searched through the last of the pieces of the puzzle for any of the corners and edges left. "That should be all of them." She said, placing the box to the side and inspecting what they had so far.
Small sections of the puzzle's outline were already partially put together. Shachi and Penguin sat on the opposite side of the coffee table, trying to fit pieces together of the edges while she did her side.
After they'd finished watching the movie—some superhero movie that also doubled as a comedy—Shachi had revealed that he'd bought a 1,000 piece puzzle to keep her busy if she were bored. So they'd started to work on it that night, none of them very tired or obligated to go anywhere else.
"Are there any more pieces with blue specks in them?" Penguin asked, holding up one for example. Summer looked on her side and found one or two.
"Here."
"Thanks." He placed them in the pile with similar colors, working on putting them together in the right order.
"I don't know how you knew I loved puzzles." Summer said suddenly, smiling in content.
He shrugged. "I didn't, just found something that might take a long time to do, and give you something to do by yourself if that's what you wanted. Or something we could all work on together."
"Well, I'm glad you got it." She said.
"I've never been a puzzle guy." Penguin admitted, his face all twisted up in concentration as he inspected pieces. Seemed he was struggling with some of them. "I always found them kind of boring."
"Really?" She asked in surprise. "I've done them since I was a little kid."
Penguin shook his head. "I was more of an outdoors kid personally."
"Same here." Shachi added. "Riding bikes, going to the park, that sort of thing."
"I stayed indoors most of the time growing up." Summer admitted, eyes fixed on the puzzle's pieces. It was another reason she liked puzzles. You could focus on doing the puzzle while also conversing with somebody. It was a good bonding activity.
"That sounds so boring." Penguin said. "What's there even to do inside all the time?"
"Well," she started with a slight shrug, "there's puzzles like this, or books and movies. I read a lot, and drew pictures." She paused with narrowed eyes. "That reminds me. I haven't worked on my drawings in a long time. I think I got too caught up in my photography to remember my notebook."
"You draw?" Shachi asked with interest.
"Yeah, but pencil sketches." She said. "Nothing too amazing."
"Do you have any with you?" Penguin jumped in on the conversation.
She shook her head sadly, fitting two pieces together and picking up another to try. "Nah, my notebook is at my apartment."
"We could get you another one if you'd like."
Summer looked up at Shachi now, smiling. "I'd really appreciate if you did. Drawing will give me something to do during the day when I'm bored."
"Ok, next time one of us goes shopping, we'll get you a notebook."
"Awesome." She said, then returned to the topic of discussion from before. "So, what's so great about the outdoors? At least, as a kid?"
"Everything." Penguin said with a grin. "You get to run around and do whatever you want, with nobody to stop you."
"Sounds chaotic." She commented.
"That's what's so great!"
Shachi chuckled. "You have to remember we were the troublemakers. Fun for us mostly meant a headache for everyone else."
"Any noteworthy stories you remember?" She inquired, curious as to their childhoods. Based on everything Law had told her about them, and the way they acted now, she was sure they'd be interesting and most likely hilarious stories.
They both paused, thinking hard to themselves, before Penguin finally spoke first.
"Well, there was the one time we climbed up a tree and used it to get on top of one of the telephone poles. One of the neighbors had to call the fire department to get us down."
"Why would you do that?" Summer asked incredulously with a small shake of her head.
"As a kid, you want to get us high up as you can. That was the highest place we could find." He said with a shrug.
"One time," Shachi started with a grin already in place, "we convinced all the other kids that one of the houses in the neighborhood was haunted, and the only way to get rid of the ghosts was to draw crosses all over it. It took a week for them to wash all of the marker and crayon stuff off of the siding and garage doors. We were grounded for three months."
"Oh my god, you can't be serious." She said, glancing between the both of them. But neither one gave away any sign that they were kidding.
"Or there was the time we dumped packets of blue food coloring in the community pool water." Penguin continued with pride in his tone.
"Oh no…" She said, already seeing the outcome of that. But she couldn't help the grin on her face.
"We only got caught because my parents found all of their boxes of food coloring missing the blue bottle. That got me grounded for 6 months." He explained with a chuckle. "Ah, good times…"
"My childhood was never that…adventurous." She finally concluded. There were several words she could have used but that one sounded the least insulting. "I always followed the rules and tried never to make the families mad. Better just to be a good kid and not give any reason to be punished."
She was still smiling, but neither of them responded for a moment. She looked up and saw their faces marked with confusion, looking between each other.
"The families?" Penguin quoted, not making the connection.
"Oh, you probably don't know, huh?" Well, it would make sense. Unless Law told them, which she doubted he'd ever do that, they wouldn't know her situation. "I grew up in the foster system. Bounced around from home to home.
"Oh." Shachi said lamely. There was another slightly awkward pause, before he continued. "I didn't know that."
"Me either." Penguin added casually.
She shrugged, smile not wavering in the slightest. "It's ok. Only my closest friends know that, and it doesn't bother me to talk about."
Despite her saying that though, they didn't seem to want to bring it up again, and strayed the conversation from family and childhoods to something different. It was a little bit disappointing. She'd been expecting to discuss it, but apparently they weren't altogether comfortable with that. Well, that was fine. At least she got to get to know them a bit better.
It was a step in a good direction.
A line of police tape prevented Vergo from going any closer to the hotel, so he had to stand behind the boundaries of the 'possible crime scene,' as the police were calling it. A few other onlookers stood beside him, but they had no real reason for being there. He did.
Firefighters and policemen stood outside, talking to the owner or manager of the hotel. The red and blue lights from the responding vehicles glared against the side of the building, giving some light to the darkness.
Vergo had a feeling he knew what had happened, but he needed to confirm facts before calling Joker. You didn't bring your assumptions or opinions to him. You brought facts and evidence.
Two men wheeled out a gurney towards the ambulance, a white sheet covering whatever was underneath. The person was large and bulky, just about the right size of the person Vergo was there to check the status of.
They wheeled the person into the ambulance, shutting the door before he could see anything else, but that was really all he'd needed. Buffalo hadn't answered any of his calls or messages, and Vergo had been sent down to investigate. This fire in his hotel room wasn't a coincidence. He didn't believe in those.
Shaking his head, Vergo stepped away from the police tape and headed towards his vehicle. He brought his cell phone up to his ear after dialing Joker.
"Buffalo is dead." He said bluntly after the call was answered. No point in beating around the bush. Best to just get straight to the point.
"So it would seem." Came the boss's answer, somewhat annoyed and disappointed. "I don't like the fact that Law's been able to eliminate not just one, but two operatives of my family with relative ease."
"He's getting bolder." Vergo agreed.
"Too bold." Was his reply, grumbling below his breath. There was an extended silence while Joker processed this information. "What details do you have?"
"None so far. We may have to wait for the police report to learn specifics, but the media is rumoring it to be accidental."
"No, Law has a hand in this. I'm certain."
"…" Vergo said nothing, awaiting orders.
"Hmm…come back for now, we'll wait for more details to emerge from the investigation. In the meantime, I'll inform the network of possible spies. I suspect he's got a few of my enemies lending him a hand in these plans of his, and I don't like the idea of meddling within my operations."
"Understood."
They both ended the call, itching to get their hands on the rogue man and teach him to mess with the Donquixote family. And this time, they'd make sure he understood it with perfect clarity.
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