Prism
The familiar scrambling of frantic footsteps around him faded into a soft lull around him as the soothing pitter patter of tiny raindrops settled into a hush. Rows of yellow taxi cabs lined the streets, drivers impatiently blaring their horns at every little thing. Neon lights flickered and sputtered above his head, a waste of electricity, he noted mildly. A blonde man with spiky hair shoved past him rudely without offering a word of apology before disappearing into the throngs of people, most of whom were sporting dark coats with black umbrellas raised above their heads.
Jellal grunted irritably as he stepped into a particularly large puddle of murky water. The rubbish lying around on the streets had clogged the drainage system, causing the water to accumulate on the sidewalk. He lifted his right leg out of the puddle gingerly before hopping onto a dryer spot. For a country supposedly with the largest economy, he would have thought that it would have been simple enough to at least ensure that the sewers were clear from blockage. He ran a hand through his hair, took a deep breath and continued on his way.
The bell hanging from the top of heavy oak door jingled merrily as Jellal stepped into the small coffee shop. The owner waved at the regular.
"The usual?"
Jellal smiled. "Yeah."
The snowy haired man busied himself with preparing the coffee. "How's work coming along?"
Jellal's eyes never wavered as he focused on Lyon's mixing. "Good, same old you know."
Lyon handed the cup to Jellal as the other deposited some change in his hand. "What is it you do exactly?"
The blue haired man took a long sip from the cup and smiled as the sweet warm liquid trickled down his throat. A good cup of coffee was a daily life necessity if he wanted to start the day with his eyes open. "I'm just a data analyst, going through the same old boring routine every day."
The both of them laughed politely and Jellal made his way to the door. Spotting a red haired lady trying to enter, he moved to open the door for her. She looked surprised but thanked him quietly as he nodded in acknowledgement and left.
It was odd, he thought to himself but for a moment, he was certain that they had met somewhere before. He spared a glance backwards. His eyes caught hers and he turned back quickly. Could it be? No, it couldn't be. He was good with faces.
Dismissing the fanciful idea, he hurried towards his office building around the corner. His boss would kill him if he was late for work.
"Hold the lift please," he shouted, jogging over to the lift as quickly as he could without spilling his coffee.
He let out a breath as he hopped into the lift. "Thanks," he smiled at the woman inside the lift. His eyes scanned the buttons before he reached over and pressed his floor number, which was one floor above hers.
The lift started moving slowly upwards and he kept his gaze on the floor display screen. There were only the two of them in the lift and Jellal shifted slightly to the side, feeling the awkward tension between them.
The silence was broken once more as the woman spoke up. "I see that you're also working in the same company as me. Who, may I ask, are you?"
Jellal turned to look at her. Well, she was bold, to say the least.
"Siegrain Fernandes, data analyst." He stuck out a hand.
She ignored his outstretched hand pointedly as she scrutinized him, eyes flickering up and down his body. His hand curled into a fist awkwardly and he retracted it. He was certain that she was going to issue him a warning letter or something for some random offence, such as being dressed to scruffily or whatnot.
The lift clunked to a halt and the doors opened with a soft ping. The raven stepped out elegantly and turned back towards him.
He coughed nervously. This woman was weird, scary even. The doors started to close but she stuck out a hand, her fingers curling around the door and they bounced back open. Jellal stood there frozen, doing nothing but stare at her brightly painted fingernails. Oh man, was she going to murder him in cold blood right here right now? He was way too young to die.
Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Well then, I hope that I'll see more of you, Siegrain Fernandes."
Jellal cracked a nervous smile at her as she sent a coy one back at him.
Great, a possibly psychotic woman was flirting with him. Just another ordinary day at the office. Cool, totally cool.
Ultear sauntered down the hallway, smirking slightly at the sight of people scrambling to get out of her way. Stopping suddenly, she surveyed the office with a critical eye before signaling a secretary over.
"Do you know who Siegrain Fernandes is?" She spoke softly in a clipped tone.
The pink haired girl nodded frantically. "Yes, yes Ms Milkovich. He is a data analyst working in the floor above. He has only been with us for about 4 months."
Ultear nodded and marched off, ignoring the poor frightened girl behind her.
Siegrain Fernandes.
A smirk graced her lips at the thought.
She turned the doorknob and entered the office. Her father looked up. "Ultear, good, you're here." He gestured for her to sit down.
She sat down in front of him. Hades smiled. If one didn't know him, one would have thought that he was a caring, lovely old man who was enjoying retirement with his numerous grandchildren. None could imagine that he was in fact one of the most ruthless men in the city. He was, after all, the head of the city's mafia, Grimoire Heart.
"Now, let's discuss the problem of Succubus Eye." His eye glinted dangerously. Ultear leaned back in her chair, folding one leg over the other as a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.
"See you tomorrow, buddy!"
Jellal turned and waved at his colleague. "See you later."
He shot a glance at the clock on his desk.
7:00 pm.
He stood up casually, stretching his arms above his head and exhaled deeply at the satisfying feeling. He let out a large sigh and looked around him. Everyone had already left for the day. Perfect.
The chair creaked noisily as Jellal sat down heavily and went to work. Numerous different programs popped up all over the screen, painting the screen a hazy black and white. His fingers danced across the keyboard, the soft glow from the computer screen throwing shadows across his face. His eyes sparkled with excitement at the numbers moving rapidly across the screen.
Jellal slammed a finger down, causing the numbers to stop immediately.
"Got it," he murmured to himself.
He extracted a small USB and plugged it into the computer. After a moment, he pulled it out and slipped it back into his pocket.
"Well," a smooth, velvety voice said behind him, "aren't you working late today."
Startled, Jellal whipped around only to see the scary woman from the lift. "I…yeah, it's been a busy day." He swallowed. "So, how may I help you, Ms…?"
"Milkovich," Ultear replied.
Jellal gaped at her for a moment. He had no idea that she was the boss's daughter. Not. Good.
Ultear's smile widened at the look on surprise on his face. He stood up quickly. "How may I help you, Ms Milkovich?"
"Are you done here yet?"
"Yeah, I'm done. Do you need something?"
She gestured for him to follow her and without waiting for an answer, she strode towards the exit. "How about buying me dinner?"
Hesitating, Jellal laughed nervously. "I…yeah, sure." He grabbed his jacket and bolted after her.
This was starting to get complicated.
The lift doors opened and the two of them stepped out into the lobby only to see Hades standing there, his attention focused on his cell phone.
Ultear waved. "Hey Dad."
Hades looked up and grunted. Jellal opened his mouth to greet him but he choked on his words as a thin film of red liquid sprayed towards him. He stumbled backwards in shock. Hades sank to his knees, his eyes rolled back and with a bullet hole between his eyes.
A high pitch scream shattered the still air and Jellal instinctively launched himself at Ultear, knocking her to the ground just as another bullet buried itself into the wall behind where her head had been moments before.
"Stay down!" He shouted.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed for help. "I need help! Someone's trying to kill us!" He shouted into the phone as the operator connected.
Jellal grabbed Ultear by the collar and they bolted towards the corridor, away from the windows. He shoved her behind the wall but he felt himself being propelled around the corner. He spun around and fell down onto the floor, cracking his head on the floor. Jellal looked up, stunned and dazed and it took him a few seconds to realize that he had also been shot in the shoulder. He struggled to his feet, wincing at the pain.
Ultear grasped at his hand. "What's going on?"
Jellal gasped in pain at the sudden jolt running through his arm. "I think…someone's trying to assassinate you. I think he's gone though. Hitmen never stay for long."
He groaned in pain again. The blood had seeped out from the wound, staining his white shirt a crimson red. He pressed a hand to the wound, applying pressure to stop the bleed.
"Hey," he said. "I need you to stay alert Ms Milkovich."
Ultear looked slightly shaken but she nodded. The sound of distant sirens pierced the air and he jerked his head towards the door. "Think you can handle the cops for me? I think I'm gonna head to the hospital first."
"Of course, sure." She replied breathlessly and headed towards the door on shaken legs.
Jellal stumbled to his feet and barreled through the back exit.
A blonde man with spiky hair shoved past him rudely without offering a word of apology before disappearing into the throngs of people.
He fumbled with his cell phone and the slip of paper that the blonde man had slipped him. He entered the number on the slip.
"What the hell is going on, Laxus." Any trace of the nervous act he had put on had evaporated. "This was supposed to be a simple case of money laundering!"
"I'm afraid it's all getting rather complicated now, Mystogan."
What had he gotten himself into?
Author's note:
So, who or what is Jellal doing? This story started when I went to this bar and there was a woman singing and I just had this whole idea of having Edward Snowden, Prism, Fisheye Placebo and John Mayer's song Assassin in the same story.
Hello new readers, thanks for stopping by. You've probably never read my stories since I haven't published or updated in ages but thanks for reading. I remember joining this fandom when there were only 20 Jerza stories and now how it has grown haha.
To my old readers, sorry is all I can say and I am working on Retribution.
Wolfy