Silver Raven

The Man with the Bounties

Hawk steps around the bar top, revealing his shorter stature. It seems odd to me that a man with a voice as deep as his only comes up to my nose. "Ember, take over for a bit. I have some business to deal with!" He yells to a young, petite woman in a waitress outfit. She gives him a wave of acknowledgement but never actually looks at Hawk. He leads us down a hallway labeled "restrooms" and turns into the very last door. The moment he clicks the door shut, the noise from the bar turns into a dull rumble. The room is small but not uncomfortably so, it's almost cozy. He nonchalantly plops down onto a couch and motions for us to do the same. Hat-kun and I sit across from Hawk while Train remains standing behind us. "Suit yourself," Hawk shrugs towards Train. "So you're a friend of the Doc, huh?" he makes eye contact with Trafalgar and his tone is light.

"Yes, he also once saved my life." Trafalgar replies simply.

Hawk lets out a hearty laugh. "He seems to have made a habit out of that, hasn't he?" His behavior seems disarming, which almost puts me on edge.

"We didn't come here for small talk." Train interjects.

"Right, right, of course. You guys are lookin' for the pirates." Hawk stops laughing but he still doesn't appear to be serious. 

"We were hoping for a few more details before facing them," Hat-kun confirms, leaning forward, indicating that the man has his undivided attention.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what crew it is. But they number about 70, and my sources tell me most of them have a bounty on their heads... Although, none very high. I'd say they're an easy target if you're looking to score big." Hawk explains, briefly faltering in his explanation. 

"This guy isn't telling us something," Train whispers from behind me. I nod in return, something does feel off.

"And do you still have your papers?" Law asks Hawk.

"Ya, I got them all right here." Hawk points his thumb over his shoulder to a khaki bag bulging with papers.

"What are those?" I ask.

"Bounties. I've got a paper for every wanted criminal alive." he says, pleased with himself that he caught my attention.

"You've collected all of those things?" I say is awe. Although, I'm not sure if it's impressive or obsessive.

"He does more than just collect them, he memorizes them. Isn't that right, Hawk-ya?" Law smirks at the man. Clearly he thinks it's impressive.

"Well, most of them anyways." He tries feinting humbleness, but the grin never leaves his face. "For example, the man behind you is Soul Stealer Train, 95 million dollar bounty. His alias comes from his Devil Fruit to control whether people are conscious or not. Does that sound about right?" Hawk lists off, completely unfazed by Train's glare. "Now the pretty lady next to you, I couldn't tell ya who she is."

Trafalgar raises an eyebrow, "now that's odd. Raven-ya, I could've sworn that Kuma robot was just about to list off your bounty back in Sabaody."

I feel my mind tuning, trying to decide how much I should tell them. Finally I decide to shrug and say, "The government thinks I'm dead. Or at least, they thought I was. I don't know if they've figured out who I am after I was in the paper with you."

"Now that's interesting." Law shifts his whole body to face me, now implying that I had his undivided attention. What I said must have peaked his interest.

Train clears his throat behind us. "We didn't come here for a social call. If that's all the info he has I say we go."

"Not so fast, boy. I plan on going with ya." Hawk's eyes are gleaming with excitement.

"Captain?" Train looks to Trafalgar for support.

"I already told him he could come." Law still had his eyes fixed on me, making me slightly uncomfortable but I just ignore it.

"Besides boy, you'll never make it through those tunnels without a guide."

"Tunnels?" Train says in shock.

"Ya, the pirates set up their base in the middle of the mountain."