Missing Piece

Chapter 21

Law stared out at the rising sun in the horizon, a frown tugging on his lips. The others still haven't returned. The marine scouting festival ended the night prior and there was still no sign of the three. "Do you think they're alright?" Bepo questioned next to his captain, voicing the thought that they all had.

"Cole-ya, what happens if one was to say get scouted?" He asked hypothetically. Because that's what he really hoped it was. Hypothetical. That they would return any moment now as he stared off into the distance.

"They'd get taken to the Marine Base or brought to Marine HQ for training. Given the war and the tensions from the aftermath, I doubt they'll be taken to New Marineford just yet. It's more likely there's a training camp stationed somewhere on the island." Cole explained, drawing on his past life as a marine for details. "...that's if their identities haven't been discovered yet." They were lucky Charlotte only grabbed them versus their typical uniform with their Jolly Roger.

"If that was the case, then we'd hear the news by now." Jean Bart added with a sideways glance to their captain. "The captain's always worth more than the subordinates. They would have used them to draw Captain in." They all couldn't deny that fact.

"Good." It meant that the Marines didn't know that they were pirates yet. Scouted was a whole lot better than being jailed. "But their cover won't last forever." While Charlotte may get by since no one knew about her affiliation to their crew yet, Shachi and Penguin both have a bounty on their heads. "Bepo-ya, can you track them?" With an apologetic look, Law shambled Shachi and Penguin's sweaty clothes to the table.

Bepo stared at the offending articles of clothes. A paw over his nose. "Aye, aye... Captain." He nodded reluctantly.

"Capt'n!" Cole started only to pause at the stare his captain gave him. "Aye... Capt'n. I'll stay on standby." As an ex-marine he'd knew where to go to find them fastest, but the chances that the trainers would recognize him was also high. This was now a stealth and recover mission; a familiar face wasn't going to help with that.

"Bepo-ya, you're to stay with Cole-ya." Law added after a moment and the bear snapped his head to his captain, eyes silently asking why. They were all eager to help rescue their friends "Bepo-ya, you're a bear. You'll stand out the most."

At that, the bear's face went into shock and then his head dropped. "I'm sorry, Captain." He apologized and the others deadpanned. Did he forget he's a bear?

"Did you catch their smell?" Law pivoted and the bear sprang back up instantly, nodding furiously.

"You two are oddly relaxed given the situation." Charlotte commented lightly between bites as she stared at the other two's refreshed faces. They seemed to have had a good night's sleep despite being kidnapped by their enemies and taken to their base.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Shachi retorted back immediately. The three of them sat amongst themselves in the large cafeteria, dressed in white and blue. A tray of food before each of them, untouched save for Charlotte's plate.

"There's nothing to worry about. By now, Captain must have realized something is up and will come to our aid." Penguin added with a proud smile.

Charlotte slowed her next scoop of food, pausing to quirk a brow at the other. Was he stupid in the head? "He, the pirate captain, high bounty target of the marines, will willingly walk into an army base full of marines and marines trainee to rescue two—"

"—three," They immediately corrected, both beaming.

Charlotte rolled her eyes at the correction, "—three whoever's in his crew?" She finished and scoffed. They nodded back energetically, proud smiles on their faces as if saying "that's just their captain. Isn't he awesome?" She frowned at the thought, muttering a half-hearted "Yeah, right" back. Unsure if she, herself, believed her own "yeah, right". Wasn't she wrong back in Kukonda Island too? She saw the look of concern on his face when he treated them. "You guys forget, what if he gets caught? This is a marine base full of marine officers." She'd be damn if she lets her target gets captured by someone else. "It's better that he doesn't come." She concluded with a spoonful of food to her mouth.