Press Play [LawLu]

Chapter Forty-One: Organizing Podcast Stories

Law yawned and took a long drink from his coffee. Letting Luffy keep him up late when he had to work the next morning wasn't the best idea. Law was taking inventory when the bell rang, letting him know someone had come into the book shop. Law set his coffee under the counter and closed the notebook he was writing in, leaving the pen he was using between the pages.

"Good morning, what can I help you with?" Law asked before even looking to see who had just passed the register.

"Morning Law," the customer said as Law looked up. The last person he expected to see standing before him was Smoker. He wasn't in uniform. Law didn't know whether or not to consider that a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, Law didn't have much of a choice when it came to talking to him.

"I really hope you're just here to buy books," Law muttered. Law would much rather be doing inventory than this.

"I wish that were the case," Smoker admitted. Had there been anyone else in the store, Law would have had an excuse to tell Smoker to bother Law some other time, but Law didn't have that luxury. It's like fate itself had made this arrangement. Well, if that were the case, Law really didn't have a say in the matter, did he?

"What is it then?" Law asked. He may have come off as rude, but frankly, Law didn't care. And he was certain Smoker didn't give a fuck about pleasantries either.

"The retrial has been set for July 11th," Smoker said. Fucking christ, that was so far out. Law expected there was a little more urgency with a murder case. But to hell with that right? It's not like Cora's killer was walking free.

"What of it?" Law asked. Law grabbed his coffee from under the counter, he was going to need it for this.

"They need you to testify in court, if you don't there won't be enough evidence to convict Doflamingo," Smoker said. Law didn't really buy that...

Law clenched his teeth. "There are two people that could have done it," Law spoke quietly, keeping his voice even and treating the conversation as if it had nothing to do with him. "It was proved that I couldn't have done it, even with a motive. So naturally, the only other option is him. So why would I need to be there when there's evidence that says everything for me?"

"I don't like it either, but I don't control that. I'm just doing what the lawyer Fai hired asked of me," Smoker said. "And she's been right on every other call, so if I were you I'd trust her."

"What happens if I don't?" Law asked. He'd do anything he could to avoid interacting with Doflamnigo, or anyone else from that family. It not that Law had a problem dealing with them. In fact, Law would love to Doflamingo pay the consequences for what he did. But Lami had made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with them at all. And Law cared more about his relationship with his little sister than about seeing Doflamingo behind bars.

"Chances are the jury won't convict him, since he's a big record label he'll get away with it," Smoker said with an expression on his face that matched someone eating rotten sour cream. "A man like that, who murdered his own brother, and let the consequences fall on a kid, doesn't deserve a shred of what he has."

"I'll have to think about it," Law said, giving no attention to Smoker's last comment. His sense of justice was probably as strong as Law's loyalty to his family. But Law would love to see Doflamingo pay for everything he did. Lami would understand that, wouldn't she?

Smoker gritted his teeth. "This isn't some game kid—"

"Don't you think I know that?" Law snapped. He felt bad for his tone just a little bit, so he was cautious with his next choice of words to be sure that Smoker didn't take it the wrong way. "I just care more about rebuilding my life than whatever happens to that bastard."