Hesitating for just a second, Alex snaps back to reality, glaring at the three enemies in front of him.
I'll take a hostage! That bitch will do!
Alex immediately draws his [Executioner's Blade R2] and rushes towards Kalifa, only for her to disappear right in front of him and appear next to her fellow agents.
Soru...
"Calm down. Coo," a high voice suddenly says. "We are not here to fight Coo. I am Hattori, and the Gentleman carrying me is my partner, Rob Lucci. Coo."
"The fuck?" Alex mutters, staring at the man responsible for the voice and his pet pigeon on his shoulder. "That ventriloquism is so cringe."
Does this guy really need to pretend to talk to his pigeon?
"Coo. Coo. Uneducated Pirate! You are wrong," Lucci responds, acting as if his pet pigeon is speaking.
"May I inquire why you have called us here?" Benezia asks, stepping forward.
"We know that you are after us..." Kaku says, "that Green-haired girl may act all innocent, but we can see right through her. Meeting her once or twice is just a coincidence, but she has been tracking our locations repeatedly. "Not only mine, Lucci's and Kalifa's, but also Blueno's, who, on paper, has absolutely no connection to us. That immediately gave it away. You know about us!"
Fuck! How? Menchi's Zetsu wasn't enough?
"No," Alex responds, trying to act calm.
"Yes, you do! Stop lying, it's a waste of time!" Kaku yells, exasperated. "That your friend here focused their investigation solely on us is a dead giveaway. Don't think you can simply talk your way out of here. You should confess."
"No," Alex keeps saying, unable to come up with a proper response.
"You piss me off! Are you stupid?" Kaku yells angrily.
"No, you!" Alex counters, just as angry.
"Stop this worthless babbling, you two. I will repeat the question," Benezia interjects, still calm. "Why have you called us here? What is your purpose?"
"We want to deal with the kidnappers," Kaku continues. "Iceburg needs to be kept safe."
"Surely you don't suspect us, huh?!" Tereza shouts. "Don't tell me you are like those sheep employees outside."
"No," Kalifa states firmly. "You, as well as Lucci and Kaku, were at the Sea King you brought in the entire day. Before that, you were busy as well, and that Green-Haired girl was stalking us. You are in the clear. Not only that, we know that Iceburg is somewhat sympathetic to your little group, so you neither had motive nor opportunity."
"We'd like to propose a deal..." Kalifa says, clenching her fists. "I don't know how much you know about us, but we are actually on your side. We are solely interested in keeping Iceburg safe. There is absolutely no need for a worthless fight. We'll simply ignore you, and we hope you'll do the same."
"It's as simple as that," Blueno states. "Just treat us as a mere secretary, two foremen, and a barkeeper, okay? We are just a group of friends trying to save the beloved Mayor. There is no reason to complicate things, surely you agree? Let's rescue him and share a drink together in my bar afterwards."
"Why would you need our help? Deal with the damn kidnappers yourselves—they might have left Water 7 already," Alex says, unwilling to help.
"Impossible," Kalifa states. "We have stopped the Sea train, and the company has patrol boats surrounding the Island. Nobody leaves or enters—the entire City is on lockdown. Anyone who tries to forcefully enter or leave will be exposed, and we'll immediately pursue them. Iceburg is definitely kept inside the city."
"You sure he is alive?" Alex asks.
"Yes," Kalifa stays, now visibly annoyed. "He has no value dead—he is obviously kidnapped to achieve a special purpose."
Probably luring you fuckers out... to kill you!
"Surely you already suspect someone?" Benezia asks calmly, observing the agent's reactions carefully.
"Rogue Marines..." She explains. "I am not at liberty to tell you more."
Obviously, the players.... but why did they kidnap Iceburg? Is it really to kill them... or maybe it's a quest?
"Let's just say... that we would be interested in helping you," Alex says. "What would you offer us in return?"
"Coo! Aren't you indebted to the mayor? Don't be greedy. Coo." Lucci says, still pretending that Hattori is speaking.
Hell no.
"No. Give us money... or some techniques or something. You guys are probably Marines yourself, right? Not like I know or even care. Give me something of value," Alex says, pretending that he doesn't know a thing.
"You keep lying, you already know about us, I am sure!" Kaku yells, glaring at Alex. "The reward is simple—we let you guys leave and won't kill you right here, right now."
"Are you dreaming, Giraffe nose? I'll slice you in two if you keep spouting that bullshit!" Alex threatens Kaku, taking a confident step forward, his hand on his blade's handle.
"We merely suggest a cooperation," Kalifa responds. "Help us search for him and inform us should you find him. This doesn't have to end in conflict. Think about it, what will we gain if we fight now?"
"..."
Good, I think that much acting is enough... it won't arouse suspicion now.
"Fine!" Alex says, taking a step back. "However, we only do it because we like the mayor, not because of you. You'd better ignore us afterwards... also, the Mayor better pay up, once we rescue him."
"Coo. Finally, some reason!" 'Hattori' responds cheerfully.
Fucking pigeon! You can eat that one later, Jewel. In fact, I insist.
Princess Jewel is not in the habit of eating any random animal, but since it resembles her beloved chickens, Princess Jewel will reluctantly agree.
However, as Soulmate himself said, it's not the pigeon who is talking.
Right... I knew that.
"What exact steps do you propose?" Benezia asks. "For now, we are willing to cooperate."
"First, we investigate; we need to find the Mayor, specifically the location where he is held," Kaku says. "We also need to find out who did it and their abilities. You can contact any one of us, Kalifa at the Headquarters, Blueno at his bar, or Lucci and me. We won't be at our posts until we find Iceburg, but you can contact our employees and relay the information. We need to find him as soon as possible."
"We are in agreement," Benezia states. "If you want to contact us..."
"We know where to find you," Kalifa says, interrupting Benezia, confidently snickering.
"Is that supposed to be a threat or a really bad attempt at flirting? Not that I would decline..." Alex mutters.
"That's sexual harassment! Pervert!" Kalifa says, glaring at Alex, this time not acting.
"If you'll excuse us," Benezia says, turning around, leaving the old dilapidated building.
Tereza and Menchi quickly follow behind, while Alex watches the four agents in front of him a little longer.
Finally, he smiles and follows after the others.
This won't go as you have planned... I swear.
Back at their hideout, the group meets up immediately and discusses today's events, while Menchi is cooking close by, preparing a fresh batch of the best Green Quality Sea King meat.
"So much happened," Alex says. "We got a huge bounty, obtained a lot of meat from the Sea King, and now this... So many things are confusing. Anyway, before we talk about the important issue at hand, I've got some news to share."
Alex then explains his finds and quickly transfers the Sea King meat and Shark meat to Menchi, while also handing a single Seastone to everyone, including Jewel, leaving him with 6, and of course, the precious [Seastone Dagger].
"You found a lot!" Menchi exclaims, greedily staring at the flood of items in her inventory. "Thank you. We got around the same amount—nothing special, but you did a great job."
"Thanks, I guess," Alex responds. "Anyway, I hope we aren't in trouble because we cashed the bounty for Urouge... We can always claim we killed him but didn't collect the bounty, since Galley-La will be the ones officially claiming it. Still, we should report to the organization about the kidnapping and maybe our fight against Urouge... perhaps mention these CP9 people as suspicious without any details."
"I'll do just that," Benezia replies, already organizing the report in her head. "We are in agreement, once again."
"That's nice, but this really isn't the issue at the moment!" Tereza cuts in, throwing her hands up in frustration. "What do we do?! Isn't that deal with the agents pretty suspicious? Usually, I am confident, but these are strong people... you must have felt it too when we stood in front of them. They are the real deal, not some pushovers."
"Yes..." Alex concedes, rubbing the back of his neck. "They will try to kill us without a doubt. As soon as we are no longer useful, they'll show us no mercy. I wonder why they offered us the deal in the first place? Are they perhaps a little intimidated by the Marine players? Or is it that they acknowledge us to a certain degree? I mean, we took out a bunch of high-caliber enemies, so maybe they respect our abilities?"
"Indeed, that seems to be the case," Benezia says. "They want to lower their risk, so they are probably intending to use us as scapegoats. I agree with Alex—they'll try to eliminate us as soon as this incident is over."
"Well, we all agree then. I was trying to play it calmly, but honestly, this is perfect for us. We'll be the ones using them as scapegoats... and once they are no longer useful... hehe," Alex snickers, a nasty grin spreading across his face. "I love scheming against people who scheme against me!"
"How can we take them out? They are pretty strong, or am I wrong?" Tereza asks, still looking unconvinced.
"The Seastone, obviously," Alex replies. "Both Lucci and Blueno will be in serious trouble. They figure we don't know about their abilities because they have never used them... but we do!"
He then taps the side of his head. "All of their strength is meaningless! Once the Seastone comes in contact with their bodies, it's over. They can be twice as strong, and it wouldn't make a difference. The fact that we know their weakness is our strongest asset, and it would be foolish not to use this opportunity."
"This is indeed a realistic strategy, but the problem is that Kalifa and Kaku are not Devil Fruit users yet. We need to deal with them the hard way," Benezia explains. "Still, let us carefully construct a few plans of attack."
... this will take a while.
Zzzzzzzz
Not helping!
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