The Marine

Resealing the hole in the bottom of Gran Tesoro had taken Bill more time than he thought.

It was a process that he couldn’t ‘hide’ nor was he completely willing to just swim around the side of the city ship with the hole still there, so his return to the [Frontier Run] was not done in secret.

It was just before the morning of the sixth day that he had been working, and walking to his ship with long strides, Bill was accompanied by Borodo and a small team of his Marines.

There were Surveliance Snails everywhere, and whereas before Bill hadn’t paid as much mind to the snails as he had the gold dust, now he couldn’t help but feel their silent stare.

For his Officer’s part, Borodo could only speak in turns of phrases. He couldn’t mention Carina at all given her cover but was able to convey enough that Bill clearly understood what the situation was.

And it was worse than what Bill had imagined.

Firstly, speaking indirectly, Borodo informed Bill that he hadn’t seen Foxy’s team in 4 days – which was eyebrow raising but not necessarily a crisis since Foxy, Porche, and Hamberg were altogether strong enough that Bill wasn’t extremely sensitive to their safety.

But secondly, and most importantly, Borodo claimed not to have seen Nelson nor his team for 3 days, and for Bill that was alarming.

The reason behind this was because in order for Foxy to be subdued, unless he ran into a nearly-admiral level figure, there was no way anyone would take him down without a fuss. The man had spent almost 20 years as a pirate and anywhere he lacked in strength he had made up for in trickery and guile.

Nelson on the other hand was barely stronger than the average man, without his exoskeleton suit or weapons, it was very possible that he could be beat up, kidnapped, or worse by a simple gang of ruffians.

With several of his people missing, the warning that the Frontier Run was going to be attacked seemed true, and deciding to first go to their temporary quarters, Bill collected the few dozen Marines in their rooms before heading to the ship.

This amount seemed too few at first, but Borodo explained that he had been stationing their people back on the ship little by little over the past few days.

After Nelson’s disappearance he stopped all the trips into the city.

By now the sun had come up and the dockyard was lit with the morning sun, there were a dozen or so ships at the ‘For Work’ docks but by the looks of them Bill recognized that they were all shipments of food or other necessities.

On the deck of his ship was Miyagi and 30 Marines who seemed to be playing cards, but Bill knew these men and women enough to know that they were really keeping watch.

Despite being dressed in casual clothes, Bill could easily see that they were not only wearing their boots, but their .306 bolt-action rifles, which were usually locked away, were all beside them. Their looks were tense, but when he stepped onboard the heavy atmosphere was immediately lifted, and the Marines who had been ‘playing cards’ all broke into smiles.

For the average Marine, they didn’t know what was going on – Borodo had obviously not explained the situation to them – they only knew it wasn’t good.

But no matter what, with the Commodore present, they believed that even if the sky fell, he would be able to hold it up.

Seeing their smiles, Bill smiled himself and told everyone to be ‘at ease’ but then quickly added: “You’ve all been working hard, you can now go get some rest if you wish. Just make sure and tell the next watch to dress themselves in uniform.”

The fact that Bill himself hadn’t slept for more than a couple of hours during the last 6 days struck Borodo’s mind, and after slightly putting his head down, he said loud enough for just Bill and Miyagi to hear: “Commodore, you need some rest yourself, we’ll be here if anything happens…”

Hearing this, Bill just laughed.

He was tired, but not so tired that he wouldn’t put aside finding his missing Marines, so shaking his head he said that they should talk in his office.

Sitting behind his desk for the first time in about a week, Bill sighed as he sat, then looking at his officers said: “In the future, all Officers and Devil Fruit users in our Department will have to get Vivre Cards…” Bill already had Vivre Cards for Ranse and his other childhood friends, but now he knew he should have gotten more.

Vivre Cards were expensive to make, but well worth the cost, so that would be something he did as soon as he got the chance.

Continuing on Bill said: “… for now though we’re going to have squads go into the city and ask around for any information. Miyagi go get Hollandaise and see if he has any contacts in the city, Borodo, you’ll take a squad of 16 to the Casinos.

Other squads will go around the bars and shops of the city, there’s a lot of ground to cover so we’ll need to hurry.”

Nodding their heads, Miyagi was about to stand, but Borodo spoke up: “Bill, you said before you wanted the men in uniform… are you ordering us to go in armed?”

Now, it was Bill’s turn to nod.

“You’ll go armed and in uniform, there’s too many Surveillance Snails and if the governor of this city knows what we’re carrying, and is targeting us for it, then it makes no difference how we’re dressed – they’ll know our faces.”

Saying that he understood, Miyagi then asked the crucial question: “Just to be precise, Commodore Ox…

Gran Tesoro is a demilitarized zone, if we’re ordered to hand over our weapons and stand down, then what would you have us do?”

Silent for a moment, Bill thought before speaking.

Of course, it wasn’t as if Bill hadn’t considered a multitude of reasons for Borodo’s warning.

During the days that he had been working, in the back of his mind he constantly played out one scenario after the next.

Naturally he had considered the possibility that the Pure Gold was exposed and that his crew was attacked for it.

So what had he decided to do?

Well, if he was outright attacked the answer was simple, and responding to Miyagi’s question he said: “Gran Tesoro is a demilitarized zone, but that doesn’t mean they have the authority to attack, detain, or interrogate active-duty soldiers of the World Government. The two of you know well enough what you’re capable of, don’t bite off more than you can chew and call for backup if you need it.

But to be clear…” Bill said with finality: “… in recovering our people, you’re authorized to use extreme prejudice. Don’t lose your heads, but don’t take ‘no’ for an answer if you believe something to be necessary.”

Nodding strongly to this order, both men only slightly glanced at each other before saying ‘Yes, Sir!’ and leaving to carry out their duties.

Borodo would be in charge of 3 squads of 16 Marines, together they would go around the Casinos looking for their missing people but were mainly focused on Foxy.

Miyagi would be in charge of 5 squads, and together with Hollandaise would comb the outer parts of Gran Tesoro. Knowing Nelson as well as they did, a good portion of their manpower would be directed around the docks and the more affluent hotels.

As for Bill and the remaining 30 Marines, they along with Olga and Acier would remain on the ship and wait for either the attack to come, or to be called by one of the squads heading off into the city.

It took the crew barely an hour and a half to be fully armed and briefed on their mission.

Tempers flared, and even those who hadn’t liked Foxy or his former pirates before couldn’t help but to think ‘it’s fine if I despise him, but you’d better not!’.

Ignoring Olga’s whining beside him, Bill watched as a hundred of his men left the ship, and focusing attention realized that they were likely being watched by a few key individuals nearby.

It was not midday yet, and pulling up a chair, he sat on the deck of his ship, closed his eyes, and waited.

******************************************************

Turning the clock back 5 days, Foxy stood at a craps table throwing dice.

The old trickster knew well how to win, because the old trickster knew well how to cheat!

Fefefe! He laughed as he threw the two dice in his hands, then as if knowing the results, put his hands on his hips and laughed some more.

“7!” called out the dealer, who then placed 10,000 Beli worth of chips down on the ‘Don’t Pass’ line.

This meant that to win Foxy would need to outright roll either a 2,3, or 12.

And with a flick of his wrist could do this, but that wasn’t his plan.

To win big in a casino, Foxy believed that you had to lose small a few times for appearance sake, and so playing the game his chips ebbed and flowed, but they never seemed to grow.

To an observant eye though one could see that as he went from one table to the next, he was always winning more than he was losing. Then, using a sleight of hand, he was handing off extra chips to Porche who promptly stuck them in her blouse.

“11!” called the dealer, who had a bad look on his face, but by now the mans torment was almost over.

Foxy had been at the table for 35 minutes and had won 80,000 Beli, now it was time to move on, so with another ‘Fefefe’ laugh he slapped Hamberg on the shoulder and exclaimed: “z’it looks like that’s all for that! It’za decent haul but a haul nevertheless! Fefefe!”

Foxy was feeling good, but now it was nearing the ships curfew and since he had racked up an outstanding 280,000 Beli over the last 3 days, he was willing to go back without question.

Wrapped up in their own plans, which was to slowly bleed the Casino until their final night in the city – where Foxy would then really rake in Beli by the millions – neither Foxy, Porche, nor Hamberg realized that they were being watched by several pairs of eyes and nearly a dozen Surveillance Snails.

This surveillance started due to the executives keeping a general eye on the Marines, but under surveillance as they were, the Pit Bosses of Gran Tesoro quickly caught on to Foxy’s game.

The following night everything was going according to his plan, and Foxy came to the Casino with the same 50,000 Beli worth in chips that he had started with.

Starting off, he slowed down the Slot Machines, winning a few small pots using his Slow-Mo Photons but making sure he never won the jackpot.

Then he moved over to the blackjack tables where he counted cards, using Porche as a distraction, and won another 20,000 Beli before moving on.

After that he went to the roulette tables and had Hamberg ‘pupu puing’ to the point where the poor dealer almost fainted from the smell of the gorilla-lookalike.

In that manner, Foxy went from one station to the next, winning small at all of them, until he was back at the craps table.

“Come on man… please go to someone else…” asked the dealer, who Foxy was surprised to see had been one of his marks in the past couple days.

This was a mistake; Foxy never wanted to hit the same dealer twice and knew he had gotten too comfortable.

He wanted to slap himself, but it was too late and so playing it off, Foxy laughed and said: “We’ll only be here for a while, just a little while! and who knows, maybe lady luck will be on your side! Fefefe!”

Gambling with a slight sweat, Foxy still wouldn’t allow himself to totally lose, and so after just 20 minutes he was about to leave – having gained 25,000 Beli – when there was a tap on his shoulder.

Turning his head back, Foxy’s jaw dropped at the beautiful red-haired woman who had gotten his attention. Not quite to the level of seeing hearts in his eyes, Foxy nevertheless couldn’t help but say: “Aye, Ms. Baccarat well what do we have the pleasure of your presence for?”

Hearing his, Porche ‘humphed’, Hamberg ‘Pupupu’d’, and the Executive of Gran Tesoro blinked her pretty eyes and said: “The pleasure is all mine, Oyabin, but instead of wasting your time here, why do you follow me for some more… exclusive, entertainment?”

Laughing loudly, Foxy dragged the other 2 along and followed behind the woman.

After all, Foxy thought, he was a Marine now – what could go wrong?

******************************************************

With whitewashed walls, crystal chandeliers, mirrored ceilings, and glittering golden floors that accentuated neon lights which shone with every color, the hotels that lined the city’s main thoroughfare were naturally some of the most extravagant buildings in the whole world.

But for a Celestial Dragon, it was barely passable.

Trailed by a line of forty slaves of many genders and races, Saint Camael sat on the back of an abused panda leading the way.

Did he know where he was going? Of course not.

Would anyone have the courage to ask him if he needed directions? Not if they valued their lives.

Walking just behind the group of World Nobles and their Gods Army bodyguards, Nelson eyed his surroundings as best as he could without drawing attention.

No matter what, he did not want to run into any of his crew now, not even Bill, and if he had to, he would beat them to distract Saint Camael’s attention.

In fact, he had already had to beat 3 of the Marines who had followed him to the dock those days ago.

He had saved their lives, after all, the Marines from Goa Kingdom hated the World Nobility and could barely control themselves when they saw the condition of the slaves, but in saving their lives he had broken their trust.

But what could he do?

Fight back?

Impossible.

It was well known that Celestial Dragons had Marine Admirals on call, but Nelson knew some of the truth about them and knew that the Admirals didn’t need step in to kill a person.

Whether it was Cipher Pol, which was a group of trained killers as far as Nelson was concerned, or their Gods Army, offending a World Noble meant death.

After all, it was whispered that the average soldier in the Gods Army was equivalent to a Marine Rear Admiral – their Captains equivalent to Vice Admirals, and as for their Generals? Well Nelson had never heard of anyone surviving to tell the tale.

Most importantly though, these soldiers were trained to do one thing, and one thing only.

And that was: follow orders unto the death.

Calling them a suicide army wouldn’t have been wrong if not for the fact that their strength and equipment made it highly likely that would survive almost any encounter.

And what Nelson had seen with his own eyes over the last few days, he knew that the Gods Army gear was extraordinary – even by Science Division standards.

Thinking this, he instinctually slowed down when the people in front of him did and was snapped out of his vigilance by a nasally voice: “eh-eh-eh! Mutt! Get Over Heear! eh!”

Not dallying for a single moment, Nelson walked beside Saint Camael – but still slightly behind him – and knelled, shouting: “Order me, Saint!”

“eh-eh! We asked you-eh! to show ourselves to the pleasure palace-eh! but you’ve led ourselves astray-eh!”

Hearing the Celestial Dragon’s irritating voice, his baseless lies and accusations, Nelson made no movement, he didn’t even move when the World Noble finished his tirade by stating that the ‘Mutt who can’t find the way’ should be put to death.

After his speech, in the time it took him to catch his breath, Nelson didn’t deny what Saint Camael said, but instead spoke quickly before the Gods Army bodyguard came to kill him.

“My apologies, Top! I thought this was the correct way, but my nose isn’t as good as a purebred, you know how we struggle!”

*Gasp gasp* “Do we know that-eh!?”

“Yes Saint, your wisdom can’t be doubted, but now I know the correct way, please give this dog- “Mutt-eh!”

Already humiliated by his actions, calling himself a dog, Saint Camaels interjection that he was a ‘Mutt’ made Nelson tremble, but he continued.

After all, Nelson knew he if was killed here, the other Marines who followed him would also likely be killed, and Bill would likely attempt to foolishly arrest the Celestial Dragon for murder.

“Please find it in your boundless generosity to give this mutt another chance!”

“eh-eh-eh!” ticked the Celestial Dragon, then saying that he was known for his generosity, indeed, Nelson wouldn’t be killed but would be given a second chance.

But that second chance could only come after discipline was established.

Because a ‘mutt should never forget his place’ – the Celestial Dragon had Nelson stripped in the middle of street, whipped until his back bled, whipped the other Marines for good measure, then continued on.

This scene was witnessed by scores of terrified onlookers, the Marines’ white shirts were all covered in red – Nelson’s Coat of Justice was torn to shreds.

And due to the restrictions that Borodo had placed on the crew of the Frontier Run, it was unknown to them for the next 2 days.

******************************************************

Sitting on the deck of his ship, Bill meditated lightly.

It was barely noon when he sensed something being launched over the side of the ship.

Moving like the wind, he grabbed the objects out of the air, and threw them into the water – not looking at them as they exploded.

He didn’t need to look because his eyes were fixed on the man who threw them.

There was a crowd of at least 50 pirates, and at their head stood a wild looking gangster woman with a portly curly-haired fellow.

The man was holding a grenade launcher, and seeing Bill, sneered nastily, and shouted out his demands.

He demanded that Bill surrender.