FicWad

The mansion was comprised of white marble, towering high above the surrounding homes and shops. While the Winslow household looked fit for a king's residency, the rest of the city wasn't as spectacular. Black, degraded stone made up the other buildings. This was obviously the shady portion of the town where the more illegal activity would reign. There was a lot less traffic on this street, but the occasional drunk or scantily dressed woman would cross the path in front of them.

The trio hid in an alley facing the front of the mansion, eyeing the guards armed with guns outside. Any other occasion would have seen them sprinting towards the door, cutting down anyone they met along the way. This time they were hesitant to make such an entrance. One wrong move and both their crewmates could be killed.

"How do we get in?" Summer asked, crouching low by the dirty wall. Obscenities were graffitied on the stone, most of them directed to someone named Dave. If the situation wasn't so tense, Summer would've laughed at some of the insults. Poor Dave.

"If we can get close enough, I can teleport us in. We would need to be in range, and the walls are rather distant to the house." Law replied, peering at the pristine walls that bordered the property. "There's a tree on the left perimeter. Perhaps that would get us close enough." He turned to Bepo.

"Can you smell them?" The bear lifted his nose and sniffed, concentrating with a scrunched face.

"Just barely. Both scents are extremely faint, more so Reid's than Liam's." For some reason, this made him concerned. The doubt written on his face was alarming, and she began to fear the worst. Summer swallowed hard.

"What...what does that mean exactly?" He shook his head sadly.

"I'm not sure, but it could only mean he's not conscious. The body gives off a stronger scent when they are awake." This made her heart clench up instinctively, and her eyes widened. She didn't want to think about the alternative...

"God, I hope they're alright." She muttered, and Bepo took this as disapproval on his part. His head dropped.

"I'm sorry." She sighed and patted his head.

"Hey, let's just get through this, ok? We'll bring them back, safe and sound." Even as she said it, she struggled to convince herself it was true. Law's concerned glance wasn't very reassuring either.

"We'll have to sneak past the guards near the wall to make it to the tree." He said, shifting focus away from their dark thoughts. The men in front of them walked in casual but predictable patterns, always taking several steps to the right before spinning on their heel and heading the other direction. The amount of men covering the walls made it unlikely they would go unspotted.

"We'll need a distraction, don't you think?" She asked, and Law nodded.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas?" She smirked, already thinking of one scenario.

"Hmm...You don't have a bottle of booze, do you?" He gave her a questioning glance, but shook his head. Searching the dingy alleyway, her gaze landed on a mostly empty beer bottle. She took an experimental sniff, recoiling at the rancid poured a little on the front of her shirt, making her body smell like the foul liquid.

"I'll get them to gather at the front, so try to get in an alley on the left side. Run to the tree when they are all distracted." Giving a mischievous little wink, she walked out into the open towards the mansion.

What on earth was she planning? In their new spot further left of the first alley, Law watched in fascinated curiosity as Summer pretended to drunkenly stumbled towards the entrance guards. He had to admit, if he didn't know any better he would've guessed she were actually drunk. Every few steps she would drag her feet and pretend to stumble slightly before 'barely' catching herself and continuing forward. When she was about halfway to the house, he noticed that all the guards' eyes were on her.

Even from this distance, he could hear her high-than-average giggle and fake hiccup. A few people walked past her and she stumbled into them in her 'drunken stupor.' One guard was approaching her cautiously, gun still in hand but not drawn.

"Ma'am." He greeted at a polite distance. She stopped and swayed on her feet.

"Well, hellooo Mr. Guard Man! How are YOU this lovely evening?" She asked, giggling in between sentences. The guard gave a small smile and lowered his gun further, seeing Summer as nothing more than a drunk wandering the streets.

"I'm doing rather well. Are you lost?" She gave a wide, maybe too wide, smile.

"Oh, no! Of course not! I know exactly where I'm going!" She walked closer to the man, and by this time had gained the attention of some of the guards nearby. They had stopped walking in their regular patterns, now stopped to watch the scene unfold. Law didn't think they saw much action guarding that wall, and any distraction was obviously a welcome one.

"Ma'am, I think you should put the bottle down now. Perhaps you've had too much-"

"Is this a mansion?" She basically yelled out, seemingly in awe by the blinding white building. Her arms spread wide, and she walked closer to the wall. The bottle slipped from her hand and she started to hug the stone.

"It's so pretttyyyy!" She slurred, and Law restrained himself from laughing. He glanced at the other men, but they hadn't moved away from the wall completely yet. The guard glanced around in confusion, not quite sure what to do with the 'drunken' woman. Holstering his gun, he walked over and gently removed her body from the wall. She gave a cry of protest.

"Ma'am, I think you should make your way home now." She practically threw herself to the ground and pretended to cry, though it sounded real enough.

"But I can't go home! My bastard of a boyfriend cheated on me and now I can't go back!" She wailed, curling into a ball on the grass. She continued to lament how heartbroken she had been when she found out and that now she had nowhere to go. Several of the men walked closer, holstering their weapons. The left wall was completely unguarded now, and Law nodded to the polar bear beside him.

Summer must have realized that she had everyone's attention and worked to maintain it by getting on her knees and grabbing the guard's hand. "Do you think I'm pretty? Do you?" She cried, tearing up further.

Law didn't waste any time, running in a crouch over to the tree with Bepo behind him. None of the guards noticed their sprint across the street and they made it underneath without a problem. He hoisted himself up and was satisfied to see that one of the branches extended out past the wall, allowing him to cross to the other side. He edged closer, Bepo a few feet behind him, judging the distance to the house and the maximum size of one of his rooms.

From his position, he could see Summer clearly. From the looks of it, the guards had 'convinced' her to calm down and head home. She weakly nodded and walked around the main wall towards the left side of the wall. Once she was out of the guards' range of sight, she sprinted towards the tree and quickly scaled it, a look of triumph on her face.

"How was that?" She asked, edging closer to the end of the branch they stood on. Law smirked.

"Well, at least I know that you would make an entertaining drunk if that's how you act." He thought the comment would've gotten a rise out of her but she only grinned back.

"Room." He muttered, extending his hand and releasing the blue sphere. It just barely touched the wall of the house, but it was enough. Concentrating, he teleported them all inside.

Out of the three, Summer was the only one that landed wrong. She wasn't prepared for the tugging sensation of her body and ended up falling straight onto her face in the middle of a lavishly decorated bedroom. It was a miracle no one was inside, but they didn't have time to waste. Standing up and brushing herself off, she went to stand by Law.

"So, now what?" She asked. He had moved to the partially opened door, looking out the space provided cautiously. Bepo sniffed the air experimentally.

The hallway wasn't very spectacular, save for the high ceiling and thick persian rug that spanned its length. Small side tables furnished either side, topped with potted plants and ashtrays.

"What are we-" Summer was cut off by Law's hand on her mouth. Her eyes widened and she gave him an angry look, but he glared at her for silence. He nodded out the door, and she turned to look.

A young woman, a maid by her outfit, was walking down the hall, her back to the room they were hiding in. Law had a calculating look in his eye, and Summer knew he had a plan.

"Knock her out and put on her clothes. You can disguise yourself as a maid and search the house." He whispered. She nodded, almost sad when he let her go and backed away. The sensation was strange, so she shook it off and focused.

Summer crept out of the room, her eyes glued to the maid's back. Her footsteps were silent, but she knew that people tended to have a feeling of when they were being followed.

Apparently, this girl did not possess it as she didn't turn around once as Summer stalked up to her and deftly brought the hilt of her dagger down onto her temple. She didn't have time to cry out, and began to fall. Catching the fallen girl, she dragged her body back to the room they were hiding in.

"I hope her clothes fit me…" Summer commented, eyeing the woman's frame. Dragging her victim behind a changing screen, she gave Law a glare that could've made a Yonko pause. "Don't you even dare look."

He raised an eyebrow but turned his back, allowing her privacy. He didn't miss the fact that Bepo was standing nearby and she didn't have a problem with his presence. He would not, however, admit that it made him just a little jealous.

The ruffled sound of clothes brushing soon ended and Summer stepped out in the woman's uniform. The black and white contoured her curves and small waist, though the fabric was stretched a little tighter than comfortable. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"Quit staring, you pervert." Law smirked as her cheeks grew red.

"I don't take orders from you." Her fists clenched against the floor length skirt and she angrily walked towards the door.

"Damn you to hell." She muttered, opening up the door without hesitation and into the hallway outside.

Her small steps brought her down the maze-like halls of the mansion, clicking softly against the wood when rugs weren't laid out. It was a miracle she hadn't run into anyone yet, despite her disguise. The skirt wasn't easy to walk in and she tripped over the hem constantly. Resorting to holding up some of the fabric, she quickened her pace.

All the hallways looked identical, and it took a lot of remembering where she turned to avoid getting lost.

'Reid, Liam. Where are you? Please, stay alive until we find you.''

The sound of voices ahead brought her out of her thoughts and she almost stopped in the middle of the hallway. Realizing that this would blow her cover, she continued walking, curious as to what was going on.

"The Mrs. won't like that we're late getting back." One of two large men said as they turned the corner and walked down the hall towards them. Forcing her eyes down like a normal maid would do, she tried to make herself look as inconspicuous as possible.

"As long as she can have her fun with them, she won't care when we're back." The other replied, glancing at Summer as they passed one another. "Hey, you there!" He said.

She froze midstep and turned slowly. Her gaze still to the rug, she swallowed meekly.

"Y-yes?" She squeaked out, playing the role of an insignificant housemaid. The two brutes had stopped walking and were now facing her. By the looks of the muscles on their arms, it would be dangerous to be found out now.

"I've never seen you around before…" One said, taking a step closer. She took a step back.

"I-I'm newly hired. The Mrs. gave me a job after my mother died." She lied, assuming the 'Mrs.' was Mrs. Winslow. She gave a little curtsy, difficult in the long gown, just for show. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, just stared at her as she kept her eyes glued to the floor. The silence was unbearable, and she was just about to run away or attack them. Thankfully, one smiled.

"Well, what'll be your name, then?" The one on the left asked. She gave a weak smile and glanced around. There was no one else in the hall.

"Mari, sir. Mari Conner."

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Miss. Sad to say, we have urgent business to attend to, so we'll be on our way now."

It was then that she noticed a riding crop and long iron rod in both or their hands. Her blood froze from the seemingly innocent objects they were carrying around. They could mean anything, really. But she saw exactly what they were. Tools for torture.

The other man wasn't smiling. In fact, he was still glaring at her, almost questioningly, as they turned to leave. She was still standing in the same place even after they had vacated the hall.

Sucking in a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, she followed after the two men.

Law and Bepo waited in the bedroom, tensing each time someone walked past the door. Each occurrence set them on edge, just waiting for the one time when someone found the two pirates. In that instance they would have to fight back, and more likely than not the unsuspecting person would cry out and raise alarm of intruders in the mansion.

"What's taking her so long?" Law muttered, eyeing yet another maid walk past the door. His grip remained tight on his nodachi. Bepo shifted position on the floor, sniffing the air again.

"I can still smell her, she isn't too far away." He sniffed again, this time furrowing his brows. "Reid and Liam's scent is stronger now. We must be close."

The captain nodded, and surveyed the room once again.

It obviously belonged to a man, judging by the lack of decoration and the musky smell that permeated the air. The walls were darker in tone and the bed sturdy and practical by luxury standards. However, it didn't seem to be used frequently. The nearest table had a small layer of dust, the bed didn't look slept in at all, the windows were drawn shut…

"Summer is coming back." Bepo's voice broke through Law's thoughts, drawing his attention to the door to await his blonde cook.

A few minutes passed before Summer pushed into the room. It took only a second to take in her wide smile and know that she had been successful.

"I think I know where they are." She sat down on the floor to catch her breath, and Law watched as her face took on a concerned look.

"I ran into these two big guys in the hallway. They were carrying a riding crop and a branding iron. I followed them as close as I could without them knowing I was there. I think they went into the cellar."

"You know which hallway it's in?"

"Yeah, I could lead us there. Bepo's nose can help too." She said, gesturing to the polar bear.

"How long would it take us to get there running?" He asked, and she thought for a moment.

"Maybe 2 minutes max. That's if we aren't stopped along the way." She said, knowing that he wanted a very specific time. The situation was so precarious that they couldn't afford to exaggerate.

"Then lead the way." The pirates stood and rushed out into the hallway, following Summer down the confusing hallways. Discretion was discarded in their hurry. At this point, it didn't matter who saw them. They were getting their nakama back.