Swiping the cloth along the dusty counter, Natsu rubbed his tired eyes once more. Temptation to drink another cup of coffee surged through him but he fought it down. It would be bad business if he drank half his product before he'd even had a chance to sell it! Although he was beyond tired, he was almost done. The freshly washed and polished rosewood floor shone in the light from the window high in the wall. He was a tad surprised when he came in to the basement to find what he did. Once he'd gotten all the garbage and dust out of the way, he'd confirmed the sleaze bag Jon Doe (Natsu had chosen that name. It would be easier to sign on the man's death certificate when Natsu snapped his tiny little neck!) had in fact spoken the truth.
Much like the bar up on the main floor, there was a long desk in the back, sixteen mismatched tables with six mismatched chairs each, a working cash till, plenty of plug ins in the behind the counter for his coffee machines. Off to the right of the counter a metallic door lead to a walk in. Natsu had gotten in a shipment of ground European Dark Roast, Medium Blend, Decaf and sixteen dozen quarts of all the ice cream flavours you could imagine and then some. All of it was packed away in the freezer, bursting and ready to explode it was so full. Under the bar, dozens upon dozens of very plain white cups of varying sizes from the size of a shot glass to the size of a soup cup as big as Natsu's opened hand lay opening down on saucers, ready for the hordes of caffeine addicted men and women to come and drink.
Off on the left side of the room, two doors lead to washrooms, one for females and one for males, both handicap accessible. Next to the steep stairs leading down, there was a lift, worked by a pulley downstairs. All the individual need do was ring the buzzer and the security standing watch would press the button for it go down or up, whatever the need. A small generator was hidden under the stairs for back up in case of electricity failure.
Opposite the wall with the bathrooms, there was a fire escape door Natsu had managed to disarm, the words EMERGENCY ESCAPE giant letters against a white background. Innocent letters in and of themselves, they served a duel purpose. As a beacon for victims of a building fire...and also a police raid. The emergency exit opened in to an ally, right by the main street. It would be nothing for his guests to rush out and melt in the crowed. Natsu himself had a private escape behind the coffee bar. A section of shelf could be pulled away and fit back in so seamlessly it looked to just be part of the display off coffees, ice creams on ice, and special creams. All Natsu need do is shift the carton of Chocolate Fudge Ice cream and the weight sensitive switch was activated, the door opening enough for Natsu to slip through. That had taken him six hours to install and keep hidden. As it was a display only, the cartons, cups and glasses were filled with sand of various shades to simulate various shades of coffee. He would be the only one back here so he need not worry about anyone accidentally finding his way out.
He'd had a lot of time to think about this. After Lucy had finally calmed down from choking him in the kitchen, dinner was finished and the four of them spent the rest of the night chatting and getting to know one another a little better. Lucy explained her dad leaving, Natsu told his lie about wanting to start a new chapter in his life, Gajeel said he just followed Levy where she went and Levy always moved – part of her job as a collector and appraiser of rare books. All in all the night went well until it was late, Gajeel and Levy leaving with promises to come and check to make sure Lucy hadn't killed Natsu in a few days. Natsu was about to put his coat on and go sleep in his car when Lucy had asked if he'd wanted some wine. After a few glasses in an awkward filled silence, Lucy fell asleep, her head resting on his shoulder.
Although it was to late to take back the forums making Natsu and Lucy roommates, he could at least giver her the night to get used to the idea. That said, he'd chosen to work his way downstairs through his bar and down to his coffeehouse. If he was going to make a living off of this, he would have to open up to the public for his bar and his coffeehouse. The bar would be no issue, he'd already put advertisements for the opening in three days time. As for the coffeehouse...
Back when he was working for Jude, he'd had contacts of his own, jealously guarded and sworn to silence through unspoken mutual agreement. Now that he'd been gone for more then a month, Natsu couldn't help but wonder if they were still loyal to him. When he'd run, the first thing he'd done was toss away and destroy any and all information and electronics Jude had given him or he might have been in contact with. His old boss was not against spying on his own men. That was a lesson you learned fast or paid for dearly later. More then a few times Natsu had to patch up another smuggler or runner after Jude's "little talks". The last man he'd patched up was missing three fingers, all his teeth and eventually went blind in one eye because it was stabbed with a hot poker, Natsu later found out.
And that was people loyal to Jude! Natsu had not only stolen half a million dollars from him over the span of thirteen years, he didn't fight to the death to protect the coffeehouse, ran at the first sign of trouble and never once did he even try to contact Jude or any of his second in commands. That right there would mean a slow and painful death if Natsu was caught...
Looking to distract himself, Natsu grabbed his cleaning gear and left the now clean and well stocked coffeehouse behind him. Just as he shut the trap door hidden in the janitors closet, there was a loud bang on the door. Shelving and hanging his cleaning supplies, he'd just stepped out of the closet to go to the door when the loud knock came again, this time followed by a demanding voice.
"Open this door immediately! Magnolia Police Department!"
Natsu's hand froze on the door knob, his blood turning to ice in his veins.