"You know, I kind of like this place," Cherry said out of nowhere.
"I'm sure you do, what with all the chaos and skullduggery going on here," Nami snarked.
"No, not that," Cherry dismissed, then paused. "Okay, that's nice too. What I mean is that I like the aesthetic, the atmosphere, and the clockwork gadgets especially. Everywhere else I've been has had its own charm, some more or less than others, but Gristol speaks to me in ways that other places haven't."
"What about the people?" Reiju chimed in.
"Well, the people kind of suck, admittedly. However, that ought to change for the better once this whole coup d'etat fiasco is over with," Cherry answered. "Corvo and Emily are cool, though. Even that old grump Sokolov, although his apprentice is as creepy as he is brilliant."
"So, what? Are you planning to retire here?" Nami asked, mildly interested now that she could see she was serious. "It'd be nice to be able to visit you, once I've settled down at Cocoyashi someday, when I've had my fill of adventure."
"Bah, I'm going to live forever. No point in retiring," Cherry waved off the idea. "I'm thinking that I might claim the island, though. Do you think Luffy would mind?"
Nami sputtered. "What? You're going to conquer it? Do you think they'll just let you do that?"
"What does 'let' have anything to do with it? Once I stake my claim, who can even argue?" Cherry retorted.
"She does have a point," Reiju agreed.
"And if Emily objects?" Nami glared.
"Then she better start training. I'll accept her challenge any time," Cherry chuckled.
Nami huffed, clearly annoyed.
*boboboom*
The echo of an explosion rang out in the night.
"You didn't," Reiju accused.
"I did," Cherry smirked.
"Who did you blow up this time?" Nami asked.
"Same guy. His bedroom this time," Cherry walked over to the window of their room and opened it wide. She wasn't the only looky-loo to do so tonight. "I reckon that he doesn't deserve a good night's sleep."
…
"Do you think she did that one, too, Corvo?" Emily asked, peering through the boards on the window at the orange-red glow lighting up the city's skyline.
"Probably," Corvo grunted his disapproval.
"I think it was probably Burrows again," Emily commented. "It's in the right part of the Estate District to be his mansion. Do you think she got him this time?"
"No," Corvo answered with confidence.
"Why not?" Emily voiced her curiosity.
"Because she promised not to," Corvo answered simply. "She only nabbed the Pendletons because I left them untouched."
"What do you think she did to them?" Emily couldn't even bring herself to say their names, wretched as they were.
"I don't know," Corvo gave his non-answer. "Pirates aren't well known for mercy, though, so nothing good. Hopefully they'll live to see proper justice."
Emily didn't agree, and Corvo must have read the thought on her face.
"Lady Emily. It is important to a civilized society that it holds fair trials and that even criminals have inalienable rights," he said seriously.
"I know that," Emily huffed. "How does what you did to High Overseer Campbell fit into that?"
"When criminals use the system meant to prevent their crimes or punish them to instead protect themselves from consequences, they have abandoned the protections that that system would have afforded them from other unlawful actors. My own actions will necessitate a trial to be held for me as well, when this is all over," Corvo insisted.
"What?! No! You didn't do anything wrong!" Emily defended.
"I've done plenty of wrong," Corvo disagreed. "And if your citizens are to place their trust in you, then you must hold me accountable for my actions, no matter how necessary they are to be taken."
Emily couldn't accept that. "Then I'll pardon you!"
Corvo was silent for a moment. "It would be within your rights to do so, as queen, but how would you handle the marines?"
"The marines?" Emily faltered.
"I have allied myself with a notorious pirate. If the World Government decides to take issue with this, then even a queen cannot stop them," Corvo explained.
"They… they don't need to know," Emily said.
"Perhaps they'll find out, perhaps not. I did not get the impression that Miss Harpin was the type to be subtle," Corvo claimed, then added. "No matter how sneaky she can be if she wants to be."
Emily had never felt so powerless, except in the moments after her mother had… died. It had not occurred to her how even a queen may be limited in what they can do.
"What is she so 'notorious' for, anyways?" Emily asked in a quiet tone.
"She and her captain defeated Kaido and Big Mom," Corvo revealed.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhh?!?!?!" Emily boggled.
…
Burrows was hiding in a dingy guard barracks, like a rat. He barely slept last night, terrified as he was of another bombing.
It was in this place that he received a reply from the Pendletons to his early morning warning to move to a more secure location. He hadn't trusted that they had been quiet enough to avoid being found by someone who could plant not just one but two bombs in close proximity to his person.
Except, the reply wasn't from the Pendletons. It was from the madame of the Golden Cat.
He opened it in trepidation.
"I am sorry to inform you that the lords Pendleton are no longer staying at the Golden Cat, and we have not been informed of their current whereabouts."
Did they wise up and flee, or did they get caught. He would have known if the Golden Cat or their home had been blown to smithereens, so the chances they were dead was low.
And where was Kaldwin Emily? The madame was aware of her presence; she had to be in the know to hide the girl there. Why wasn't the girl mentioned in the note? Did she suspect their messages were compromised?
Burrows couldn't assume that. If their messages were being read by an enemy, then they were probably completely screwed no matter what. Better to operate on the basis that there was still a fighting chance of success.
Perhaps… Perhaps he should bring the marines in on this. Having them snooping around was an enormous risk, but their help in both manpower and experience dealing with pirates were far more outstanding than Gristol's.
He was likely going to regret this, but he went to find a long range den den mushi.
…
The den den mushi in Captain Nezumi's office rang, specifically the one for calls outside the command structure. After a loathsome sigh, he answered it. "This is Captain Nezumi of the six- of the fourteenth branch of the marines. Who is this and what do you want?"
Nezumi sat up straight when the voice on the other side explained the situation.
"Don't worry, Lord Regent, we'll have this mess cleaned up in no time at all. Mark my words," Nezumi said with the perfect amount of deference.
He laid down the receiver after Burrows hung up the line, and smiled. "So you've come crawling back to us after a few small time pirates stirred the pot a bit? Pathetic. I'll be sure to squeeze every Beri I can out of you, for the favor of cleaning up your mess, heh."