Pulling My Strings 〆『Law x Reader』

Law's P.O.V.

     "Deja vu anyone?" F/N said, not a hint of humor laced in her tone. A muscle flexed in her jaw, eyes flicking and searching through the cages.

     I stepped up next to her, both of us coming to a realization. "There's nothing in the cages," she whispered, a confused yet calculating expression on her face. F/N looked around, peering into the seeping dark for any sign of life. "Nothing's here? Do you think they've moved them?"

     "No..." An expanding caution overcame me, my gut twisting in discomfort.

     "I have a bad feeling about this," F/N read my mind, claws jutting out from the tips of her fingers. "I sense absolutely nothing in here. Why wouldn't they be guarding the inside?"

     "Let's move forward. We'll be noticed if we just stand here," I told her, starting my stroll through the sickening prison. The dense smell of sweat and mold wafted into my senses, the scent reaching my tongue. There were torches hung on the wall every ten meters or so, shining a scolding light on the rough stones below it.

     Our footsteps echoed throughout the building, the only sound heard beyond the enclosed warehouse. "Stop," F/N grabbed my upper arm harshly, tugging and turned to look back at the entrance. "Let's not go any further."

     "What is it?" Her eyes flashed a deep scarlet.

     "It's just a hunch, but something feels wrong." F/N whipped around, dragging me by my arm, seemingly in a hurry. It felt as if each step was rushed, her strides widening with each push forward. Only giving a recklessly light check on the guards as we stepped outside.

     She hauled me a good dozen meters away from the building, guiding us into an ally that was shielded from the festival lights.

     With her back outstretched against the sandstone wall, she peeked around the corner. Her pupils seemed to dilate as they searched for any sign of movement. 

     And just like that, a group of armed men in onyx uniforms slipped out of the building. "Where've they gone?"

"I knew it!" she hissed quietly, sizing up the group of half-dozen men.

     "They must have figured out it was a trap," one of the guys mused, lowering his chin as they discussed further.

     F/N's brows sewed together, lips slightly parting as she tried to puzzle all of the information together. The men's voices muttered in the background, barely audible over the blasting live music only a few blocks away. There was a rushed overtone to their words, matched with twitching body behavior.

     "Let's move. They're not here," she whispered, getting one last look to map the men's faces before whipping around and sprinting. I followed at her heal.

F/N's P.O.V.

     I didn't look back to see if Law was behind me, already reassured by his dragging scent. Those men were wearing the same garb as the intruders at the bar, no doubt about it.

The walls of the ally felt like they were closing in on me, gripping my throat and squeezing until every drop of oxygen slipped out of my lungs. I'd never felt this feeling before.

     Guilt.

     Robin and Bepo were taken in an effort to find me, that waitress beaten in spite. My fault. It was my fault that they were hurt.

The auction. They must be there, there was nowhere else for them to go.

Law. I needed Law.