Second Wind

25

Guys, what the hell are we doing here?"

"I can't believe we're here right now..."

"He's going to kill us. We're so dead."

"What!? I don't wanna die!"

"Shut up you idiots!"

The two complaining voices were silenced by the third, but their defeated expressions conveyed what they thought of the current situation perfectly fine.

"Mr. 3," a fourth voice spoke up, "They have a point. What makes you think the boss will spare us? Shouldn't we get far away from here?"

"You're talking a lot more now that our lives are on the line aren't you, Miss Goldenweek? And I already told you, it doesn't matter where we go. He'll find us. Our only choice is to ask for a second opportunity to get rid of the Strawhats."

"Hey, isn't that jumping the gun a bit?" asked Mr. 5. "Even assuming that he'd give us a second chance, he hasn't contacted us since he gave you those orders! That means he probably thinks you're dead. We could escape right now and he'd never know we survived."

"No, he'd find out," Mr. 3 said somberly. "Don't underestimate the boss' ability to gather information. Especially when he has Miss All Sunday working for him. He won't leave any loose ends."

"This is crazy," Miss Valentine said. "You're just going to walk up to him and say sorry I failed the mission, let me try again? This is Mr. 0 we're talking about!"

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Mr. 3 hissed. "If you want to run, go ahead. I never asked you to come with me anyway!"

Miss Valentine gulped. She knew he had a point, but she also knew their chances of evasion, and by extension survival, were quite a bit higher with Mr. 3 with them.

"That's what I thought. Now let's get going. The more time we spend here, the more time we give the Strawhats to arrive in Alabasta. If they interfere with Mr. 0's plans, we'll never escape his wrath."

On cue, the four undercover agents scurried down an alley towards the center of Nanohana.

"Are we getting close, Chopper?" Vivi asked in mid-run.

"Yes," the human reindeer confirmed. "The scent of gunpowder is getting stronger. I'm certain there's a high concentration of it up ahead." Vivi nodded as she panted heavily. They had completely left Nanohana and were now in the neighboring oasis town of Katorea, to the east. Vivi was surprised Chopper's nose had picked up whatever scent they were following.

"Hey Vivi-chan, the rebel army would be trying to stay hidden right?" Sanji asked.

"Yes, that's right."

"So they'll probably have guards on the lookout won't they?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because I just found some of that gunpowder."

"You two! Stay right where you are!" a voice spoke up from above them. Vivi and Chopper looked up to find a man on a nearby rooftop aiming a rifle at them. Sanji was not-so-coincidentally standing in between the man and Vivi, whose eyes widened in recognition.

"Kebi!?" she practically shouted. This caused the man to temporarily lose his rigid demeanor, but he quickly composed himself.

"How do you know me? Identify yourself." Vivi removed the white hood from her head, and this time the man's eyes widened. He immediately lowered his weapon. "Vivi!?"

Vivi was smiling in relief. She never thought she'd run into another member of the Suna Suna clan. Well, other than Kohza. This made things much easier.