"Lucy it's time to come back." Erza's voice was sharp, her tone leaving no room for an argument but Lucy tried anyway.
"Erza, I'm so close just give me another week or so. I'm really on to something here." Lucy cradled the phone between her cheek and her shoulder, fixing her blonde hair in the bathroom mirror.
"It's getting dangerous Luce, I don't know if we'll be able to get there in time if something happens. Is this damn cover of yours more important than your life?" Erza's words weren't angry but calculating, honestly curious.
They had been working on this plan for months, infiltrate Grimoire, get the information they needed and get out without getting caught. It had been simple enough getting in, Lucy was pretty and no one knew yet of her allegiances with Erza. It had taken almost three months to begin to hear the whispers, the plotting.
"You and I both know it is." Lucy snapped. "I'll contact you in a week, if I don't have anything new you can pull me out."
She snapped her phone shut and turned it off, sliding back into its holder on her thigh. She smoothed her dress down, twisting this way and that to ensure the phone was hidden from view before heading back out into the hallway.
The building she was in reminded her somewhat of a palace, albeit a dreary one. The tall stone walls and large windows were old, and in some places in need of serious repair. Her heels clicked against the stone floor as she made her way back to the lounge, her hips swaying.
"Lulu, I was getting bored so I thought I'd come find you." A blur of pink and red dashed down that hallway to meet Lucy.
"I was just on my way back Meredy, no need to come looking. Besides didn't you really just want to get away from that boring meeting?" Lucy teased the younger girl, putting a hand on her pink hair and laughing when she pouted.
"It's no fun, all they're talking about is that dumb old man again, trying to come up with a way to take him on." Meredy huffed, flicking her pink ponytail over her shoulder.
"What old man?" Lucy asked feigning disinterest, "You mean ol' Gramps Makarov? Why would they want to bother with him?"
"You don't know Lu? He's totally enemy number one. Hades will stop at nothing to destroy him and take away everything he loves. I think they finally found a place to start too. He has these groups, well they're more like gangs, and his favourite is an all girl one nicknamed Fairy. Blue thought targeting them first would be the best way to start, start by breaking the old man's spirit, finish by breaking his body." Meredy chuckled darkly before grinning up at Lucy.
"That's interesting, why haven't I heard of this Fairy before? Are they a new gang?" Lucy could feel her voice tremble and she cursed internally.
"No, they've been around for ages, but recently they started recruiting again." Meredy started walking back towards the meeting room. "I heard their commanders name is Scarlet and that she's ruthless and cruel."
"She sounds like a tough opponent. Do you have a plan to draw her out then?" Lucy asked as the reached the doors, a feeling of dread creeping down her spine.
"I suppose you could say that we have bait Lu." Meredy grinned again as she pushed open the doors.