Okay, so chapter 4 was originally supposed to be the entire mission discussed in the last chapter. However, while writing it I discovered that the mission was going to take a little more writing than I thought. Next chapter it will be completely done, though, and we will get back to the girls after that. I just really wanted to get something out to you guys so you didn't have to wait too long, and I really didn't want to have a huge chapter either.

Thanks a lot to by beta, Mandalicious, who edited this very quickly so I could get it out to you guys tonight.

Chapter 4: Nemesis

"Shouldn't I… you know, be sneaking in the back or something?" Lucy asked after Dr. Nefario dropped them off with Gru's ship a block away from Nemesis's lair. "You can try to get him to trust you and tell you what Perkins wanted, and I can see if I can break into his computer or something?"

"I thought about dat," Gru admitted, "But we have very leettle information on his lair, and I'm not sure how to geet yoo een undetected. The AVL hasn't given us much time to prepare, so we have to work weeth what we have."

"But just walking in the front?" Lucy asked skeptically. "Isn't that exactly what you didn't want me to do? Especially if we want him to believe your story about not working with the AVL anymore?"

Gru shook his head. "Dee plan has changed. I doubt eet ees possible for me to conveence him I am not a spy. Your job ees to ask him for the information, and I weell convince him to geeve eet. We weell play good-cop-bad-cop. Yoo weell find dat I can be very convinceeng."

Lucy frowned. This still didn't sound like a very good plan. So much could go wrong.

"But what if-" Lucy started to ask, but then Gru grabbed her hand gently.

"Lucy, remembor dat I asked yoo to trust me?"

She nodded slowly. She couldn't keep herself from staring into his eyes and how intently they pleaded with her. For a moment, she thought he looked regretful for some reason, although she couldn't understand why.

"I do." She insisted, and although he smiled, Lucy caught a glimpse of doubt in his eye. Did he really not think she trusted him? Lucy suddenly felt incredibly sad. It was one thing to not trust someone or not be trusted, it was another thing to trust someone so completely and have them not believe you.

Lucy couldn't believe how easy it had been to walk straight into Nemesis's lair. All Gru had to do was crack the code into Nemesis's building, which was basically an abandoned factory, and they were in. Gru found the lift into the real underground part of the lair, and in no time they were zooming down to meet the villain himself.

"Maybe I just haven't broken into enough villain lairs, but aren't there supposed to be like traps, or henchmen trying to stop us or something?" Lucy asked.

"Not all veellains do dat." Gru explained. "Some veellains like guests, especially spies. Eef I were to make a guess, I would say dat dis ees the only elevator een and out of the lair, and Nemesis ees probably the only one een control of eet."

"Oh, so he would rather have intruders come to him where they will be trapped instead of meeting them outside where they can still escape."

"Precisely," Gru agreed. "Eet would have also made eet impossible for us to split up and corner him eef there ees only one way down. Dere ees no doubt cameras everywhere watcheeng us."

Lucy couldn't help but glace at the walls and ceilings to look for hidden cameras, but she found none.

"Here we are." Gru said when the lift stopped. "Leet us go meet Mr. Nemesis, shall we?"

Lucy adjusted her white shoulder bag with a smile.

"Let's."

Together they walked through the deserted hallways of Nemesis's lair. The artificial lighting made their skin look sickly pale, and the only thing they could hear was sharp clicks of Lucy's high heels and Gru's dress shoes hitting the tile. This place was completely different from Gru's lab, despite both being the lair of a villain. Where Gru's lab was always buzzing with excitement from his minions, this place felt soulless, like no one had walked down these halls in ages. Gru's place had test tubes, half-finished rockets and bombs, but this place had almost nothing except a ton of filing cabinets, and some ugly decorative pieces of art in some of the rooms they had passed by. The only impressive thing they found was in a room full of desks covered in papers, because in this room there was a very large screen hooked up to what looked like a supercomputer.

"Well, this place is kinda… lame." Lucy commented.

Gru rubbed his chin. "Nemesis ees not known for making weapons or bioweapons, or anytheeng like dat. From what I heard about him, he has a very logical mind and he ees very good weeth computors. He ees beetter known for comeeng up with nefarious schemes dat nevor fail. He eithor enlists the help of other veellains or miraculously pulls off the crime on his own."

"By himself?" Lucy asked skeptically. "How? He doesn't seem to have any henchmen."

Gru shrugged. "No one knows. But out of nowhere he weell suddenly have a famous painting, or secret government files, and no one would know how he got eet. Dere would be no tapes catcheeng him een the act, and no alarm evor sounds in the places he targets. The man ees a genius, and dat's why he is called Nemesis. The Nemesis."

"Wow, he is good. No wonder Perkins recruited him."

They stepped into a large open room. There was only one way forward through a large door that seemed to lead to more and more hallways.

Suddenly, the two spies could hear the gentle clicking of shoes against the tile floor, and the sound was coming directly towards them in a slow, steady pace. Lucy couldn't help but move closer to Gru as the sound approached. She was sure she could handle an old man in a fight, but being closer to Gru helped steady her nerves a bit, especially since they didn't have much of a plan.

"Well, hello," a gentlemanly voice greeted. The person attached to the voice was a rather short man in his sixties. He had long grey hair which he tied back in a ponytail, a dark suit, and a very straight, powerful stance that made him seem taller than he really was. If Lucy saw him on the street she would think he was just a rich, old man going to a party. And yet, his entitled and rather condescending grin would make her either want to slap him, or stay as far away from the man as possible. He had an aura that something was 'just not right' about him like most infamous villains did, even Gru. Although Lucy found Gru's to be rather enduring, and while other people moved out of the way to let Gru pass in a crowd, Lucy just wanted to hug the big guy.

"What brings you to my home?" Nemesis asked with a small smile.

"My name ees Gru, and dis ees Agent Wilde. We are here-"

"Oh yes, I know exactly who you are, Mr. Gru," Nemesis interrupted with a wave of his hand. "I'm a big fan. It's not every day one meets the man who stole the moon, is it?"

Nemesis walked up and held out his hand for Gru to shake. "Eet's a pleasure." The older villain was nothing less than polite as Gru uncomfortably shook the man's hand.

"And Agent Wilde, was it?" Nemesis asked. "A pleasure to meet you as well, my dear."

Lucy spared a brief glance at Gru before shaking the man's hand, slightly baffled.

"Now, I know you came all the way down here to ask me something, but before any of that, can I offer either of you anything? Coffee? Tea?"

"No," Gru spoke up gruffly. "Thank you, but leet us be getteeng down to business first."

"Ah, business before pleasure, I can respect that!" Nemesis commented cheerfully, winking at the two of them. "Proceed then. What is this business you wish to speak about that must be so important that you couldn't just call me about?"

Gru looked at Lucy and at first she didn't move. Once she noticed his look, however, she jumped into action. "Oh, my turn, that's right!" She cleared her throat and began to speak in what she called her 'professional voice'. "Mr. Nemesis, my organization, the Anti-Villain League, has received information that you have been recently contacted by a Mr. Perkins, is that correct?"

Nemesis smiled in amusement. "That is correct, my dear."

"The AVL has been quite interested in Mr. Perkin's movements as of late. Mr. Gru and I are here to request your corporation with the AVL and we ask that you tell us what Mr. Perkins contacted you about. If he is paying you, rest assured that we can double that amount." That part had been a complete lie, but Lucy had to come up with some incentive to get Nemesis to agree to do this. "You will be highly compensated if you work with us, but if you withhold information, the AVL will consider you to be Mr. Perkin's partner and react accordingly."

After a long few second of silence, Nemesis asked: "Are you quite serious?" Nemesis's voice took on more of a dangerous tone, but he still sounded more amused than angry. "The AVL sent an ex villain and a ditzy little number to threaten me?"

Lucy was about to retort, when suddenly Nemesis took a few steps closer to her, and it was a few steps too close. She wanted to back away, but she also didn't want to give him any more ground. She also didn't want to move any farther away from Gru.

"I'm sorry to say, my dear, that there is nothing your little organization can offer me or threaten me with that would cause me to work with them. Some villains like the leashed look, I supposed, but I certainly do not."

Lucy could feel Gru twitch beside her, but he remained silent. Lucy didn't understand. Why wasn't Gru doing anything? Wasn't he supposed to be the bad cop or something?

"It was a valiant effort though, my dear. I'll give you that." The look the man was giving her was freaking her out, and she couldn't help but flinch when Nemesis reached out towards her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ears.

Before he could reach her, however, Gru grabbed the man's arm in a powerful grip, stopping him from touching her.

Lucy let out a mental sigh of relief. Kicking the disgusting man in the face like she wanted to do would probably ruin any chance this mission still had at success.

Nemesis frowned at the larger villain, and roughly pulled his arm away. He opened his mouth to speak, but Gru beat him to it.

"Dose are dee reasons Agent Wilde ees here. Dey are not, however, my reasons."

Nemesis's eyes lit up in interest. Lucy looked at Gru in confusion. What the heck did that mean?

"Oh, and why are you here, Mr. Gru?" Nemesis asked.

Gru folded his hands behind his back and walked forward until he stood in-between Lucy and Nemesis.

"Eet ees true I worked for the AVL to help dem capture El Macho, but eet was done for my own eenterests."

"Let me guess, you also wanted the PX-41 serum?"

"Exactly." Gru nodded. "But aftor seeing the effects for myself, I have to say I have no eenterest een the formula anymore."

"It was a bit unpredictable," Nemesis agreed. "If you can't control your weapon it could easily turn on you. El Macho's plan was weak at best."

"Some good deed come from dese events, however, seence I now have access to classified intel from the AVL." As Gru said this piece of information, Lucy's mouth when dry.

Nemesis smirked. "You're not quite the dog on the leash I presumed, Mr. Gru."

Gru suddenly turned on his heels to face Lucy. She was taken aback by his sudden cold expression. He reached out and snatched her white purse from her shoulder before she even realized what was going on.

"Hey!" she shouted. "What are you doing?"

Gru didn't even glance at her as he turned back to face Nemesis.

"The AVL sent me here because yoo were contacted by Mr. Perkins. Dey want to know what he ees planneeng. I, however, want eento dis plan. He contacted yoo and many other great veellains, so I am weell aware he ees planneeng sometheeng big."

Nemesis chuckled. "I don't think Mr. Perkins is going to trust a villain who worked with the AVL, sorry Mr. Gru."

Gru grinned deviously. "Dat ees not a problem, seence Mr. Perkins won't have a choice. I have an offer he can't refuse." Gru handed Lucy's purse to Nemesis.

"Gru, what are you doing?" Lucy protested, slightly panicked.

Gru continued to ignore her. "Dis badge weell geeve yoo access to some AVL classified information. The badge alone may not be enough to do much damage, but Agent Wilde often forgets dee top secret pass codes and so she writes dem down and puts dem in a secret compartment in her purse. Eet may take a while, but I'm sure yoo and Mr. Perkins can find some use for dis?"

Lucy was shocked into silence, something that rarely happened to her.

'Gru, this isn't part of the plan!' her mind shouted at him.

Nemesis chuckled again. "You don't happen to know what Mr. Perkin's plan is, do you?"

When Gru gave him a confused look, Nemesis shook his head. "Never mind. Mr. Gru, I think this might just show to Mr. Perkins how… useful you can be." He stepped around Gru to address Lucy. "What's the matter, Agent Wilde? Was this not part of your plan?"

Lucy glared hatefully at the man that had her purse and everything she needed to get into the AVL headquarters.

"Now don't look at me like that, my dear. You should have known better than to trust a villain, especially to have one as your partner." Nemesis pulled something out of his pocket, and Lucy's muscles tensed, expecting to have to dodge a blast from a weapon. Instead, Nemesis pulled out what looked to be a small remote. He pushed a button on the remote and all at once a post came up from the floor and ropes flung out of the post, binding Lucy tightly against it.

"Hey!" She protested. "Let me go!" She squirmed against her bonds, but they only seemed to tighten against her.

"Say goodbye Gru, this is the last you will be seeing of this pest," Nemesis said cheerfully as he began to walk towards the doorway.

Gru turned to face her and actually had the audacity to smirk.

"Weell, Agent Wilde, dis has been fun." Gru offered cruelly.

"Yeah, so much fun," Lucy spat back. "You know, most dates just take me out for a dinner and a movie!"

"Yoo joke, Agent Wilde, like yoo think yoo weell be makeeng eet out of dis?" Gru approached her with his hand behind his back. He seemed to tower over her, even though she was at least as tall as him, taller in heels.

Lucy couldn't help but glare at him. She may have only been capture by a villain once before, but Lucy had watched enough spy movies to know what to say next. "You're not going to get away with this, Gru! The AVL will know I'm missing and they will lock out my access codes!"

"Den we better work fast… are dose bonds tight enough, Agent?" He asked when he saw her struggling with them again.

"Very tight," Lucy assured him, and then grinned. "I just didn't know you were into this kind of stuff, Gru."

Gru went so red in the face that Lucy almost lost her cool and burst out laughing. Any chance to embarrass Gru after what he did to her was a win in Lucy's book.

"But then I guess I haven't known you for very long." Lucy continued. "I misjudged you."

"No," Gru corrected, almost angrily. "Yoo underestimated me."

"Maybe I did, but the AVL wont, Gru!" Lucy countered. "They are going to stop you!"

Suddenly, Gru was very close to her face, glaring menacingly at her.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I'd like to see dem try." Gru was only a few centimeters from her, and she could feel the heat from his body against her, his breath tickling at her ear.

"Would you too stop flirting already?" Nemesis interrupted rudely, suddenly intruding on whatever weird moment they were having.

Gru lurched back in embarrassment. "Weell, umm, I—" he stuttered, and then seemed to regain himself. "Dat is… Goodbye, Agent Wilde," he said at last.

Nemesis held up his remote and pushed one last button.

The post Lucy was tied to and the circular tile she was standing on started sinking into the floor. The ground beneath her opened up into what looked like a large body of water that she was slowly descending into.

"I'm sorry to have to do this to such a pretty face," Nemesis added, "But we can't have you squealing to your little organization. You understand."

Lucy struggled frantically against her bonds.

"And don't worry; the sharks haven't been fed in a while so you won't have to worry about the painful experience of drowning."

Lucy gasped and looked over the edge of the platform. Sure enough, she could see grey masses moving in the water.

"Well, Gru?" Nemesis asked, placing his remote on a small table by the door frame. "Should we go and discuss plans? I'm a gentleman and would prefer not to hear a lady cry."

Nemesis began walking out of the room, when Gru suddenly said, "Wait!"

Lucy looked up in confusion.

"We shouldn't leave dis here," Gru said, picking up the remote Nemesis had left on the table and putting it in his own pocket. "Yoo know how good guys are," he explained. "Yoo leave dem to their deaths for five seconds, and suddenly dey find a way to escape. We don't want to geeve her any chances."

Nemesis nodded approvingly. "You're a very logical thinker, Mr. Gru. I think we are going to work wonderfully together."

Gru and Nemesis left the room without a backwards glance.

Lucy looked at the predator filled water and stared to feel a lump of fear spreading in her chest.

Despite everything that happened with Gru and the implications of what this could mean for the rest of the mission, Lucy couldn't help but think, 'What is with villains and their obsession with sharks?'

I don't have much to say here besides that the next chapter will be out very soon! Please don't forget to review! They are the best gift you can give an author!