"I sincerely apologize for the delay." He paused in his step and released the smoke from his cigar.

"I had to take care of some distractions, see. "

Something about his stocky build appearance made my stomach twist in unease. I could feel my body pressing even more into the seat, almost touching Kid beside me.

Bege Capone

With hands clutched in front of me, biting my lower lip, I side-looked Kid. He was sternly analyzing Capon as if he was cautious not to lose him out of his sight. Meanwhile I silently continued observing his sharp jaw, chin, and cheekbones. I just couldn't overlook the fact that this guy was perfect. A wish to just touch his bare skin came to my mind, as his alluring lips twitched in anger. I tore my thinking away from him, my face definitely flushed in a bright red color.

F-o-c-u-s. Just...focus Y/n! Dammit stop looking at him!

But it was easier said than done. My body, like it was working on its own, subconsciously struggled not to make any physical contact, and it was effortless, cause the redhead nonchalantly leaned so his hand brushed over mine.

My heart fluttered as I mentally scolded myself. Then I decided to just go with the flow and squinted my eyes, reluctantly scaning my shaky hands. 

In the contrast from others, Bege Capone wore a hat, that threw a shadow under his eyes, making them almost undetectable. The only thing I was able to deduct was his stern look and sharp facial expression.

The atmosphere changed from there onwards. Everyone seemed to catch the ominous aura and warily waited for his next move.

My heart twisted and sunk with nerves as I sat in front the mafia leaders.
So, this is how everything looks like...

"You are probably asking yourselves why you all are gathered here... As you heard, Doflamingo launched 2 months ago his product SMILES on the black market."

They all knowingly nodded. The pinkette leaned a bit closer, her lips formed into a thin line. As for her neighbor, his clutched fists bore even more into the flash making it white around the knuckles. On the contrary, Law didn't seem fazed at the news, but still remained alerted.

Capone held the cigar up to his mouth and drew in the smoke.

Kid beside me grew impatient, shifting in his seat before he growled in disgust, sending the older man an unrelenting stare. "Cut to the chase, Capone."

Guards that cornered the entire room warningly, probably sensing the threat that was hanging in Kid's voice, without any delay, made a step further to interfere.

"Kid..." Killer hissed, firmly trying to restrain the hothead.

But to everyone's surprise, Bege didn't take a notice to that and snickered at the respond.

"I wouldn't be so impatient if I was you...Eustass. This concerns you too, see. In most cases every group would be on its own...but desperate times call for desperate measures." He huffed a bit, relentlessly holding onto the silent he builds up in middle of his sentence.

"I'm all aware that every last one of you holds a grudge against Doflamingo. Ones are personal..." he glanced at Law. There was a strange glint in his eyes but that dispersed immediately when Bege turned to the other pair. "While some are strictly business." Attentive eyes were now piercing into Bege, like silently demanding for more information.

"Does the name Caesar Clown sound familiar?" He smirked to himself, eyes assessed with interest.

One after another they all nodded, leaving me dumbfounded. Caesar Clown?

"Caesar Clown-demented scientist, now working for SAD." Vito murmured, giving me the impression on trying to fill me in.

"So, that shit finally accomplished something? Well, bastards like him are really lucky. But what does it have to do with ... " "I see" Law interrupted, his dark eyes shimmering with menace on his face.

"Oi, asshole! Try doing that again one more time..." He didn't finish his threat. His hand jerked, sending the papers across the table, ruining the carefully stocked documents. Law, not impressed whatsoever, smirked, tilting his head in amusement.

"And then what Eustass-ya? You'll try to suffocate me? Feed me to lions?" Law's head indifferently rested on his tattooed arms, as others, in bewilderment stared at the two utter opposites.

"You bark more than bite." I jerked up, swallowing the salvia that gathered in my mouth, anticipating something that I knew it would happen.

Kid's face twisted. "What did you say?! That's it! You are dead, Trafalgar!"

Before their fists could collide, they had been stopped and pushed back by their own subordinates.

"Gentleman, not now. You can kill each other later." A giggle came from the corner of the room, which was then hushed.

"I would really hate to see spilt blood on my belongings." Bege's tidiness came to the surface, as his unpredictable mood shifted again.

Two mafia bosses glared insignificantly at each other, both hoping to cut one another's head off later.

"Now, please sit. While playing like some under-developed humans, Doflamingo is killing his test subjects faster than light."

Everyone seemed a bit perplexed to the newly gained source of information.

"Finally got your attention, I see." He clicked with his thumb and index finger, which probably made one of his man to immediately bring an envelope to the boss then contributing it among us- giving us a copy. "Here. This is all of the data that we gathered. His product-SMILES is by the statistics still not fully finished as they are still gathering test subjects from the age of 6 to 13 and 18-30. Trying out the new drug, see."

"What kind?" The Surgeon of Death causally inquired.

Capone shook his head, exclaiming. "Huh?"

"What kind of drug?" Repeated Law, flipping some of the papers that were stacked in his hands. His lips were compressed into a thin, furious line.

I wonder what had possibly angered him.

"My established forces concluded that it is a drug that increases your usual abilities by 80%. From hearing to running, logical thinking to mass murdering. The subjects under the influence of it are in a trans-like state where they don't feel or understand anything in their surroundings. Working only by animal instinct. It is artificially made, and it resembles a colorful pill that can be digested without any beverage. Quite convenient." The raven's voice firm and there wasn 't a sign of holding back. It was point-blank.

Bege then spoke slowly:" But there is ... more." His pupils  narrowed to crinkled slits. I balked. Somehow his change of tone made me more nervous then ever before, as I wished not to be in his presence. 

But I don't have a choice, do I?

"Just remembering the first found casualty is disturbing. It may not mean anything to you. But it can lead us to many important clues. For instance. There is more than one variety of the drug. The one that we came across was one of the worst forms of it-under the code Heyer*." He grabbed the map from before, clutching it at the end. "Zombie. That's what you become after one consume. A living zombie. Rotting till you die from organ failure. Necrosis. Skin black and green, scabby and flaking off. And that's just the first stage. If you open the folder you'll see a taken picture of a girl, somewhere in her twenties."

My eyes flashed up to Kid's face in terror, pleading him to stop me. His jaw tensed, but nodded absently, his face altering when taking the brown envelope. I sighed, as I noticed I couldn't endure the pressure. 

Bartlomeo snarled even more ferociously as he took the other evidence in his hand.  

"Let me remind you. This is only stage one. Two weeks ago I was able to detect the vanishing children and adults within my area, due to the sudden government's decision to put the blame on us. You needn't have a lot of brain cells to know who did that...and why right on our territory."

Bartolomeo recoiled, his lips curling up above his teeth: "What?!"

"Doflamingo is planning on expanding Smiles from Dressrosa to the West, South, East and North Blue- dirtying the mafia's name...ironically. With a small twist to it, of course....He would still remain untouched and be worshiped as a companionable millionaire by the police force and the citizens." He explained with the calm voice of authority. He carefully removed the cigar, his sharp gaze keenly judging each participant until Bege's eyes bored into mine.

"And that's when Y/n L/n comes in."

Kid stiffened immediately, all over, without turning to look at me. "What do you mean by that?!" The words were all aggressive, and by the look on his face he was close to going berserk.

When Bege spoke, his tone was soothing, trying to demolish the sudden hostility. "Unfortunately, on the day of her escape I struggled to obtain her." He sighed. "Such a dreadful job it was. Gaining some advantage and carefully making a plan was hastily crushed by a certain individual that came up with the same conclusion as I did, but unfortunately a bit sooner." Bege's voice was mockingly hoarse, but some bitterness was still detected behind his 'friendly' demeanor.

"So, I'm prepared to negotiate with all of you. If we all team up and take down Doflamingo, each one of us would profit from it." He spread his arms wide. "This is my proposal."

Silence now wasn't welcomed. I was able to deduct the importance of the immediate answer. Yes or no. Only one choice was there to be made.

"I'm in. But there better not be a catch." Law confirmed, a bit grimly.

Bonney and Bartolomeo looked at each other, giving a curtsy synchronic nod, before declaring their decision- "We are also in. Some fun would be quite welcomed."

"Kid, you are the last one to decide."

"There's a catch. We both now we can't stand each other and now you are asking me to join you? You have either become a pussy or there is something else you desire. Which of those two is it, you fucker."

Capone scowled, on the contrary his wife, Chiffon, struggled not to kill the redhead with her death glare.

"Well, you are partially right. There's something I acquire from you..." His eyes flicked, again landing on me.

"And that is?" Kid impatiently asked, his tone being livid.

"To use Y/n as a bait, of course." He answered in a low cheerful voice, ignoring the terror that promptly incapacitated me. 

[ A/n  ]  ~  The drug that I mentioned-Heyer, is actually an already known illegal substance  called Desomorphine (dihydrodesoxymorphine). It's an injectable opioid derivative of codeine. On the street and online, the drug is known as Krokodil or Crocodile. The drug effects in the story and on the streets are a bit moulded as I tried to recreate the familiar feeling from One Piece. *