CH - 57

Daddy Masterson was one of the world's greatest snipers. His name had been spread across the world. He was known as the Marine's top sniper, and had even been promoted to Ensign, an officer rank, which no other active sniper had ever achieved. All incoming snipers into the Marines were even shipping to Loguetown to be trained by him specifically. His prowess was known to be unmatched.

But one day, there came a man; a pirate; whom Masterson challenged, and lost to. This man's name was Yusha Yasopp. He was the sniper of the Yonko Red-Haired Shanks' crew, and had gained his own renown, not only across the East Blue, where he was from, but the whole world. And in that moment, when Yasopp had the honor of killing one of the most important men in the Marine order, he refused. Instead, Yasopp gave Daddy an out; to be alive for his daughter, as Yasopp lamented over his own inability to be there for his own child.

And with this broken honor, Daddy Masterson quit the Marines, to focus on his own life, one in which he delved into chaos and ruin. And now, here he was, playing puppet to a pirate.

"Hold there, Delvin Mallory!" Masterson shouted.

"Shit!" A man shouted. Mallory was a relatively young man. He had a buzzed head and a very straight face. He wore light leather armor that allowed him to move quickly. He was a thief. This was his trade.

Masterson had his eyes on the man and stood in a clearing, where the street shops were all set up in a confusing pattern and people walked by in haste.

Mallory looked back to see the man standing back. He had a large parka on so you couldn't see his arms. But the thief knew he was in trouble. He turned and headed into the crowd and began sprinting. He tried to shove people out of the way, but had to duck and dive between others, and started shouting at them. His voice was coarse. "Move!"

The sniper stood patiently at the back and lifted his parka to reveal thirty pistols that were strapped to his body. He pulled one with his right hand and aimed it into the crowd. He was steady and took his time. But there was no opening. There were too many people and Mallory kept ducking and swerving to avoid giving Masterson a straight shot. "Dammit," he cursed lowly to himself, then shoved the pistol back in its holster and began chasing after the man through the crowd.

Mallory already had a fair lead though, and being a thief, he was exceptionally fast. Masterson was high level sniper, but he was not meant to be quick of foot. He was a precision instrument, not a runner. He had to think.

More likely than not, Mallory would remain within the crowd, unless cornered. That would keep the gunman at a disadvantage. He had been at this for a while and he knew what he was doing.

Masterson struggled to keep up. He was relatively large and couldn't keep himself from running into other people. He felt like a burden just trying to pass people. I can't let this bastard get away! So he pushed harder and started knocking people aside. "Get back here!" he shouted angrily.

Mallory would not wane though. He rushed through the crowds with the pursuing vet. He was beginning to fear for his life. Loguetown was a rough place. He had come here fairly recently and attempted to stay in the shadows, as a thief does. He had not succeeded as well as he had hoped.

Mallory got caught up in a wave of people that pushed him off his feet. There was a large group of pirates that he ran right into, not paying attention, and got knocked down.

"Why you little-" one of the pirates shouted.

Mallory was a moderately small man, so he attempted to stay out of real fights. "Oh, shit!"

The pirate bent down to grab at him, but Mallory dodged the man's grasp and swiped a knife across his hand, spilling the pirate's blood.

"You little shit!" the man yelled, and began to go after Mallory too.

The thief was in a panic. He ran as hard as he could down an abandoned alleyway.

Masterson made sure he was able to keep an eye on him. He made short, concise moves. The thief had made another enemy. This was good, but bad at the same time.

Mallory rushed through the alley but saw the massive pirate coming at him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He stopped and looked up. There was a clear path to the top of the building if he could make the leap. He rushed against the wall and scraped until he was able to latch onto a small ledge, too small for anybody else's hands. He yanked himself up and lost the confused pirate.

Masterson smiled.

Mallory rushed up a fire escape and kept climbing. He got to the top of the building and gave himself a small respite. He sat down and gave himself a breather. He was heaving.

"That was quite the show," said a man behind him.

Mallory jumped and turned around to see the man that had been following him. "Who the hell are you?! Why are you following me?"

"You've made a nice little name for yourself, haven't you?" Masterson unfurled a bounty poster from his cloak and tossed it at the thief. "It's time you were taken down."

"Oh, shit." Mallory looked at his wanted poster. He had made a name for himself. He had a bounty of three million beri. He had been able to get by without hassle for a while and kept people off his ass, until now. "You're a bounty hunter?"

Masterson just stared.

"Well you're not gonna take me that easily!" He shouted, then flung a knife at his hunter.

Masterson sidestepped the blade and pulled a pistol from his cloak.

Mallory went stiff. "Dammit!"

"Now, come with me quietly."

The thief stared at the ex-Marine. "Fine."

"You did well," Avarik Halcen told the sniper once he had returned to the pirate's ship, with thief in hand. "With this, we have our in." Halcen looked down at the man with his big green eyes. They shone in the day's sun and glistened. This man had something evil in mind.

"What… what are you going to do to me?" Mallory asked, shaking. Masterson had bound his body in ropes to prevent him from attempting an escape.

"Oh, I'm not gonna do shit," Halcen said. "But you are going to get your due."

"What does that mean?"

"Hush."

"What the-?"

"SHUT UP!" Halcen shouted

Mallory quieted himself, but began to panic.

Halcen turned toward Masterson. "Are we clear on the rest of the mission?"

"I know what I'm doing," he spat.

"Good. Cause we can't afford you fucking this up."

"Trust me, I'm fully aware of the consequences. Can we get moving now? I want to get this shit over with as fast as possible."

"I'm sure your daughter would appreciate that," Halcen said slyly.

Masterson harrumphed.

"Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on?" Mallory raged.

"Will you shut him up?" Halcen asked Masterson.

Daddy looked angrily at Halcen. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Well, he's likely to be pretty talkative when you finally take him in. His wanted poster does say 'Dead or Alive.'"

"You want me to kill him to keep your part a secret?" Masterson gaffed.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Guys! Let's not be rash! Come on! Maybe you can just let me go and I won't say anything!"

"That's not an option," Halcen said.

"I'm not gonna bloody my hands for your dirty plan," the vet spat.

"Oh, but you had no problem doing it for the Marines for years?"

"Don't you dare!"

"Guys, come on! I swear! I won't say anything!"

Halcen turned to Mallory. "The fact that you won't shut up right now tells me all I need to know." Halcen pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Mallory's head, and with one quick pull and a bang, the man was dead.

Mallory's body dropped to the deck of the Black Tail. His blood began to pool from hole in his head.

Everyone froze, staring at Halcen.

Masterson went stiff. He had just watched the man who kidnapped his daughter murder a man in cold blood merely for talking. This was when he realized, he really didn't want to play this game. He gulped.

Halcen pointed at Jory. "Get this cleaned up. We can't have blood stains setting in on my ship."

Jory's eyes were wide. He hadn't been ready for this. "Uhm… yeah."

Halcen motioned to Kazuki. "Let's go."

The sniper followed suit. He was armed with some leftover pistols and a dagger. This wasn't supposed to be a full on battle mission, but a get in and get out. Halcen had almost asked Fein to come with them, being that he had some stealth qualities, but thought against it. He left everyone else on board to guard the ship and keep an eye on Bo. They had some issues to work out, but they didn't have time to deal with it right now. There were more pressing matters.

The day was beginning to end, and night was catching quick. It had taken almost all day for them to fledge out their plan, and longer to find and capture Mallory. But it had all come together in fine timing. This really wasn't something Halcen wanted to do out in the open of daylight.

Masterson carried Mallory on his shoulder through the city streets, while Halcen and Kazuki remained up on the building tops following from a distance. This was something Halcen was worried about was making sure since it was just him, Masterson, and Kazuki, that they didn't team up on him. This was why he had left Bo on the ship and brought Kazuki instead. Bo was in much too emotional a state. Kazuki could still be reasoned with. He was a smart guy. He could be kept in check.

Finally, they got to the entrance of the base. This was where it got risky. The sun was almost all the way down and dusk had covered the sky. But there was going to be much more security, especially since their attack on the base the previous night. The Marines were going to be on high alert. They had to be extra careful.

Halcen and Kazuki stopped for a moment when Masterson came up to the checkpoint. Halcen sat down and took out a small piece of chocolate that was wrapped in foil and began unwrapping it.

Kazuki stood there, watching his old mentor. There were certain strings one just shouldn't do. "Halcen, I gotta ask: why?"

"Well, I figured we had a minute, so why not have a snack?" Halcen said, as if the statement should be obvious.

"No, I mean… why did you kidnap his daughter? Isn't there a line… even for you?"

Halcen chuckled. "Look, pal, I know you've got an attachment to this guy, but there are things that need to be done, regardless of how much you might not want to. That's what separates the boys from the men. I saw what had to be done, and I did it. And if that means I get hateful looks, then so be it. I'm not gonna stop doing my job just because you don't like how I'm doing it. Okay? Remember, you're the ones that asked me for help."

Kazuki scoffed and shook his head. "You really think that excuse is going to fly? Do you really think this will end well? What, you'll give Carol back after you feel like Daddy's finished his tasks, after you're bored with pulling his strings, right? And then Bo and I will just forgive what you've done? And what, we'll all sail off into the sunset, like nothing ever happened?"

"However you decide to act is on you. I can't control how you feel. Nor would I want that responsibility. You two are grown men. You've seen the shit that's out there. Don't pretend to be this naïve. You're a smart man. Do you think I'd let something this small push me to the edge like that?"

"Wait… what the hell does that mean?" Kazuki thought he heard something off in Halcen's explanation.

Halcen's face twitched, then he popped the piece of chocolate in his mouth to end the conversation.

Kazuki just shook his head. "Fine. If that's the way you want to play it."

They both turned back to check on Mister Masterson. The man had finally made the case to let him in. They had to have two men come as an armed escort to walk with him to the Captain's office. This was where the plan got risky.

Halcen and Kazuki had to cross over the buildings without being seen. Most eyes would be on their old Ensign. Masterson himself was the distraction. But that was only part of the plan.

Masterson finally arrived at Vergo's office. He carried the dead man and tossed him on the ground in front of Vergo's desk. Masterson looked about the room. "Looks like you had a hell of a party."

"What are you doing here, Ensign? Former Ensign."

"Why did you have eggs for dinner?" Masterson asked.

"It was a ramen bowl. It had chicken and eggs. How did you know?"

Masterson merely motioned to his face.

Vergo swiped his left side of his face, missing the leftover food completely. "Did I get it?"

"Sure…"

"So, why are you here?"

"No time for pleasantries, Captain?"

"I'm afraid there's no time. Unless it's urgent business, I've got little time to chat. We've got problems arising left and right, and there's an inspection coming in a couple days."

"Well, I'll get right to it then. This here is Delvin Mallory, a wanted criminal. He's got a bounty of three million beri. I would like to be paid."

"What? Now you've reduced yourself to bounty hunting?"

"I've got to get by somehow. My daughter needs me to take care of her. If I throw you a little fish here and there, we can get by just fine."

"Seems like a waste for someone of your talents."

"My whole life has been a waste. I'd rather take this time to focus on my daughter."

"Suit yourself."

"He was carrying these on him," Masterson said, walking up to the desk. He plopped down a bag full of weapons. There were a couple knives, a short sword, two handguns, and a hand grenade. In reality, Mallory had only been carrying two knives, but that wasn't enough to warrant what needed to be done next.

"Looks like he was planning on hurting someone."

"That's what I suspected."

"Hmm… I'll make sure these get taken care of."

"And about my pay?" Masterson asked.

"Ah, yes. That will be taken care of as well." The Captain looked to the two Marine escorts. "You take these," he said to one, handing him the bag of planted weapons. "And you take him to get paid," he motioned to the other Marine.

"It's been good seeing you, Captain," Masterson said.

"I suppose," Vergo said with little enthusiasm. He watched the three men leave his office, and then immediately went back to work.

Halcen and Kazuki were waiting in position. Kazuki knew exactly where the requisitioned equipment was stored. They just had to wait for the man to come and open up their treasure chest. They were ready.

And only a few minutes later, there he was. There was the man that came to open the door to their destiny. Or rather… something vastly dissimilar. More like… a weird itch you can't get by yourself.

The Marine carried the bag of the weapons pried from Mallory's dead body. He carried the keys to the building too. This wasn't an easy place to break into. There were two armed guards standing at the entrance, waiting patiently. There were keys and surely an alarm or trap to keep thieves out. But Halcen was no thief. He was a pirate. He was going to blow this place to high heaven if he had to. Luckily, he didn't have to.

They waited patiently as they watched the key-bearer go in through the door. It took him a few seconds to get the door open, but as soon as they did, it was on.

"Now," Halcen said to himself. And then he pressed a button on a small device he carried with him.

A small explosion emanated from the bag the man was carrying. A noxious green gas spewed from the bomb and caused the man to panic. He had no idea what was happening. He made a move to toss the bag away, but it was already too late. He began coughing and fell to his knees. He quickly fell to the poison's effects. All this alerted the guards he had passed.

They dropped their guard and went to inspect the man. They ran into the haze of green smoke that covered the small area and began to feel its effects as well.

"Aaaaaannnndddd…. now," Halcen said.

This was where the two men went into action. They put on their small gas masks, nodded to each other, then jumped down from the rooftop of the opposite building and dropped down on top of the guards, knocking them both unconscious. Their bodies crumpled like cardboard.

Kazuki looked about to make sure nobody else was nearby, watching them. They needed to remain unnoticed. "We're clear."

Halcen stood up and said "Let's go." He walked up to the first man, who Kazuki had poisoned and pulled the key from his grasp. "Worked like a charm." His plan was going smoothly.

The two wanted men slipped into the chamber and out of the moonlight. They had to pass through a long hallway but there was nothing that prevented them from moving forward. There was one small gate that they had the key for, but that was it. Otherwise, they slipped through unmolested.

They arrived in a pitch black room, but they could tell it was large. Kazuki fumbled about until he found a lamplight and lit it. A small segment of the room began to glow. He could only see for a couple yards. He went about, lighting the rest of the lanterns in the room until their glow was enough to actually see. They found themselves in a room about fifty feet across that was a giant circle. There were iron fences lining the sides of the room in a wide circle as well. There was only one actual gate though. And there they saw the massive treasure trove.

They gazed in wide wonder at the joy they had found. There were chests upon chests upon chests filled with knives, guns, and grenades. There were racks filled with spears, swords, and maces. There were stands layered with magnificent pieces of armor and embroidery. There was even a giant pile of what seemed to be unsorted equipment lying in the very middle of the room. The place was heaven.

Halcen stared with jeweled eyes. "Holy shit."

Kazuki looked about, nodding. "I knew it existed, I just didn't realize how much there would be."

"So you go ahead and find your guns, I'm gonna take a look around."

The two them split up and started searching the mounds of weapons and armor. This was like Christmas shopping. They had never seen so much they wanted for themselves all at once.

And as they began to work their way through the treasure trove, they heard rattling.

The two men turned from opposite sides of the room and looked at each other.

"Was that you?" Halcen asked.

"I was hoping it was you," Kazuki said.

And then the giant mound of loose weapons began to shift.

They looked upon it with abject horror, wondering what was about it happen.

"Who the hell turned the lights on?" came a gruff voice from under the pile.

"Fuck," Halcen whispered to himself.

There, dressed in casual navy blue pants and a white t-shit, was a giant man. He stood twelve feet tall, with pale white skin, mangled red hair, and confused green eyes. His wasn't very muscular, but had a bit of pudge on him. He looked about the room in confusion. "Who are you?" he asked, when he settled his eyes on Halcen.