A/N: Hi everyone, first, sorry I have not updated in well, a month. Life got busy and I like to write my stories down on paper before I type them up, however this chapter was particularly hard to write because of how I wanted it to be portrayed. Secondly, I hope this is a good chapter. Things are starting to get sort of heavy, but I did mention in the beginning that this story was going to be dark. Characters are going to have bad shit happen to them and sorry if that doesn't groove with you all. If you all want to give me feedback on this chapter PLEASE DO. I really do love the feedback, it helps me develop my chapters and keep them interesting. From now on chapters will be back to normally updated once a week. Thank you for the favs, follows, reviews and support!
**Warning this is mature content and there are sensitive subjects discussed that may be triggers for some people. I tried to keep it not so graphic but eh sometimes it is what is is.
**I don't own characters!
Enjoy~
Gajeel sat on the edge of Levy's hotel bed. They had finally devised a plan to catch Jose. He had been toying with them for far too long.
"You really think this will work?" Gajeel asked, his ruby eyes following the bluenette pace back and forth amidst the hotel room.
Levy nodded curtly. "There's no way he can get out of this, and I'm going to give those cop buddies of yours the links they've ben needing to catch this thorn in my side. He needs to pay, and knowing I'm a part of this his instincts will lead him to me," she said with a glint of determination in her hazel eyes.
Gajeel inhaled deeply and rubbed a hand over his neck. He still had a few reservations about their plan, however they had taken too much time as it was. Everyone aside from the department was on their toes. With no recent appearances or threats towards Wendy, she and Erza had almost become complacent in their routine. Of course Wendy was guarded, yet there was still a notion of a threat neither Levy nor Gajeel could dismiss.
"Gajeel I've got to use myself as bait," she added after the long silence. The hesitation in Gajeel's eyes was more than obvious to the bluenette and in some deep part of her; she felt the gentle tug on her heart.
His thoughts dissipated at the bluenette's words. She was reading him like a book; he was supposed to be the detective here. Gajeel subtly shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh as his mind accepted the situation.
"Yeah Shrimp, I know," he said, hard features unwavering.
Levy looked at the brute once more before gathering her things. "I'll see you later. I'm giving you exactly forty-five minutes to come to the crime scene we've established, after I leave the anonymous tip. We meet back here in an hour and thirty minutes exactly," she confirmed.
Gajeel reluctantly nodded and pulled Levy in once more. "Once this guy is out of our hair, it's back to killing as usual?" he said, his words forming more of a question than an affirmative sentence.
Levy breathed in Gajeel's cinnamon and metallic scent before giving him a squeeze to calm her own nerves. She couldn't quite answer his statement without feeling the pain build inside her chest. Instead, she nodded and left the brute standing silently in her hotel room.
Wendy gathered her things and finished putting on her nurse scrubs. "Erza I'm heading out to work. Do you need anything for when I return? I saw we were out of coffee and I know how we both run on the stuff," Wendy asked leaning against Erza's kitchen counter.
The redhead brought a hand to her chin, her face contorting in serious contemplation. "That delicious strawberry cake they sell at the convenience store sounds good," Erza blurted.
Wendy giggled at the redhead and gave a short eye-roll. "Yeah the one by my work you've been spying on me from has great strawberry cakes," she answered curtly.
Erza's eyes nearly rolled out of her head. "Oh um… you noticed huh?" she asked sheepishly, slightly stumbling on her reply.
Wendy nodded, full of quick wit. "Stealthy, you are not. So please, don't follow me tonight? Romeo is going to meet me at the hospital and make sure I get in okay. No need to worry," she said with an earnest smile.
Erza massaged her temples for a moment contemplating the bluenette's words. She cleared her throat in order to organize her thoughts before speaking. "Fine. Just call me, or text me so I know you're all right. Got it?"
Wendy gave a nod in agreement before leaving the redhead standing in her kitchen. Erza let out a nervous breath and poured herself a cup of tea to settle the anxiety that always followed Wendy's absence.
She only had to wait twenty minutes before she would receive a text from Wendy. That's all things had come down to anymore, one giant waiting game. The department waited for someone to make the first move, they had so far come up empty handed. No clues had been left from the Blue Mistress and Erza's suspicions towards Gajeel's new fling had run dry. He had even seemed more aloof than usual; she hadn't seen the bluenette in weeks. Erza lifted her shaking teacup to her lips and took a long sip. The warm liquid soothed her agitated nerves as she let her mind slow down, then took a seat in her sofa with her phone close by.
Levy sat in her car parked in a lot near a vacant building where she and Gajeel had marked Jose's last known location. It only took them a few days to find where he had been skulking about. The slime-ball didn't appear to be around however a nervous sweat still built in her chest as she waited. The nagging voice in her head hadn't ceased from the moment she stepped foot outside her hotel room. It yelled repeatedly telling her to stay with Gajeel, yet it also told her to hurry as quickly as she could to plant evidence in the disgusting man's decrepit hide out.
She had only taken about ten minutes to set the body in place, however Levy still needed to wait until he appeared to set the plan in motion. Unfortunately he did not tick like a clock, he was a fickle man and completely haphazard in the way he worked. From the times she had flown under his wing, everything was scheduled according to him. Of course it was good to mix things up every once in a while as a serial killer, but he could simply be ridiculous. Moreover, Ramirez took his time, if anything the man was thorough.
She of course would play victim in this instance, play to his will but he still hadn't shown. Where is he? With time ticking, the bluenette waited in angst; her pulse beating wildly as she sat.
Wendy had a few minutes to spare while she anticipated Romeo's arrival. Her nerves danced in her chest as she sat in the darkness of her car. She felt like a sitting duck, it seemed to be the theme f her life as of the past few weeks. She and Romeo had developed a routine where she would sit in her car until his arrival, then once he flashed his lights at her they would walk to the front doors together. He would kiss her goodbye, and after her shift he would follow her home. All the while Wendy sent reassuring texts to Erza to calm the redhead down. Her lie had become clockwork, a well oiled machine that controlled and dictated her every move. Wendy's anxious thoughts were interrupted when the familiar beam of headlights flashed into her review mirror. A hint of a smile crossed her lips and Wendy grabbed her belongings before opening the door.
She came face to face with unfamiliarity and death. Her eyes focused on beady brown eyes that paralyzed her in her tracks. Motion vanished form her muscles and Wendy's basic motor skills escaped her. In mere seconds her nose was barraged with a pungent sweetness that could only be described as nauseating. Wendy couldn't help but gag, but her body failed her as she began to fall into his ensnarement that awakened her inner conscience to panic. All she was able to see was black. No matter how many times she attempted to blink light never came.
When she awoke the vomit that had sat idly at the back of her throat flowed freely past her lips. Wendy's mind sifted through the heavy fog that she immediately regretted as her eyes rested on the situation she had been placed in. Death was welcomed as she allowed her predicament to sink in.
Tools of all variety, shape, and sizes awaited her as she could hardly suppress the scream that echoed through the room. Ramirez couldn't hold back the giddy chuckles that met her screams. He was utterly enticed. He knew that unfortunately, and regrettably, he had to work fast, keeping in his mind that the victory would be even sweeter.
"Aw, don't worry child this will be quick, luckily for you. Nothing personal really, just trying to teach an old pet some consequences," he purred into Wendy's ear causing her to cringe.
She felt the tears sting her eyes as his words pierced her ears. "Why?" she sobbed. Why me?
The eerie smile that crept over his lips sent icy shivers down her already trembling body. In her cries of agony as Ramirez tortured her she could only form her brother's name.
But despite her shouts and sobs her knight in shining armor, the one she depended on most, never came. Andy slowly, death met her instead.
Wendy was now just a photograph to add to his collection, another trophy.
Jose admired his handy work proudly and made his anonymous tip to the department of idiots he had been toying with. Before his departure he dropped his last piece of the puzzle gently around Wendy's bruised cold neck. Blue lace adorned her like a Christmas present waiting to be revealed to his pet and her plaything.
"Gajeel something's not right," Levy whispered over the phone.
Gajeel grunted and rubbed his head, frustrated. "Alright, well get out of there and come back to the hotel we'll talk more once I know you're safe," je replied still perplexed by the possibilities of Jose's whereabouts. Things simply seemed off. He paced the small area of Levy's hotel room. "Levy please be careful, and hurry dammit," he said before hanging up.
Levy obliged and made short work of the distance between her car and the hotel room. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest as she finally reached the door. Before she could slide her card key Gajeel opened the door. His face had distorted into something Levy had never seen before.
"We need to leave, now," he choked out.
Levy's brows furrowed in confusion. "O-Oh okay."
"You should drive," Gajeel said at a mere whisper
"What in the world?" Levy's eyes rapidly searched his in hoped of answers when he let out what could've only be identified as a choked sob.
Nodding her head she took the keys and headed for his SUV. Once they had the doors closed she roared the engine to life and quickly started towards the main roads. "I-I need to know where," she said quietly, stepping on eggshells in hopes not to disturb the brute beside her.
Gajeel rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Right, past the hospital. I set the coordinates on the GPS in my phone. Follow it," he directed, his voice low and filled with what sounded like sheer pain.
Following the directions, Levy sped to their destination. The usual hour-long drive only took less than half the time, although the silence made the drive seem like eternity. A whirlwind of thoughts crossed Levy's mind as she drove and gave numerous side-glances towards Gajeel beside her. Gajeel made only a few short grunts as he attempted to control his emotions. The voice that only showed him red never came; instead it was replaced with silent tears. Emotions he had no idea how to cope with overwhelmed him, and it was overbearing.
Finally, they reached what Levy only knew could be recognized as a crime scene. Everything clicked and Levy let out a small gasp as she threw the car in park. Sorrow hit her like a freight train and she allowed the tears to sweep over her eyes. Gajeel took her hand as they walked closer to the yellow crime scene tape. It took everything he had not to collapse.
"Redfox, I don't want you coming any closer," Makarov yelled from the opposite side of the tape.
Gajeel nearly broke Levy's hand the second his chief muttered the words.
"Ow, Gajeel," Levy whimpered from the searing heat that was bearing down on her phalanges.
A familiar redhead caught her eye and in a flash Gajeel was charging towards the woman. Tears streamed down Erza's broken face as Gajeel raged towards her in a frenzy of hurt and anger.
"That was your one job!" he bellowed furiously.
Levy could see him teetering on the brink of psychosis. Her hands met his studded arms before his fists could rain down on Erza's body. "Gajeel stop!" she shouted while she pulled on him with all her weight.
Erza met Levy's gaze and shook her head while she continued to sob. "I deserve it," she whispered in a monotone voice, void of the emotion her face was blatantly showing.
Levy frantically shook her head as two burlier detectives held Gajeel back. After a few tries they successfully had him seated in the back of an ambulance.
"Now Redfox, you're not going to like my statement but its protocol and you know that. I don't want to have you detained but I will if I have to," Makarov stated.
Gajeel grunted in response and squinted his eyes shut. Levy rested a reassuring hand on his forearm. "Alright, ask," he said.
Makarov cleared his throat before speaking, "Where were you between the hours eight and nine pm?"
Gajeel peered at Levy through he corner of his eyes before returning them to his chief, "With Shrimp at her hotel room."
Levy nodded in agreement, confirming his statement. Makarov studied the two before clearing his throat once more. Levy's stomach sat in her throat as her nerves began to register the fact that they would be looked into.
"And did you know of Wendy's whereabouts?" Makarov asked.
Gajeel visibly winced at his sister's name. "I knew she was supposed to either be with Erza or at work."
Makarov nodded and straightened to give himself a bit more height. "You're suspended for a week. Consider it time for yourself," he added before heading back to the crime scene.
"What did he…what did she look like? How bad is it?" Gajeel asked catching his slip in hopes no one noticed, or measured it up to his current sate of mind.
Erza kept her head hung low in anguish and grief. She heard Gajeel's words but the dryness in her throat took away all abilities she had to speak. There was nothing she could say to make up for the fact that the young woman had been her responsibility.
The lack of response to his questions was quickly eating at Gajeel as he sat in the agonizing silence. He had been one for silence in the past, yet all he needed in the current moment was noise or better so, answers. Gajeel clenched his fists tightly as the various ways he could kill Jose poured into his mind. A disgustingly evil smirk flashed across his lips as he reveled in the need to cut into the man's flesh.
"Gajeel?" Levy's voice rang through his ears cutting the images in his mind's eye.
His ruby eyes still darkened by his thoughts traced over her face. "Yes?" he answered.
She fluttered her fingers over Gajeel's skin sending rivulets of electricity over his arm. "What now?" she questioned, hazel eyes searching the smirk Gajeel had slightly formed on his lips. She knew his thoughts and inner workings of his mind. They had slipped up somewhere and they needed to catch the prey before it caught them.
"We need to go. I'll handle the logistics later. Wendy will have a proper service. Erza I'm leaving, please see to it that she is…handled with care," Gajeel commanded meeting Erza's chocolate brown eyes with a steely gaze. He had to keep his composure and seeing his little sister would not help that. "And make sure that Romeo is taken care of," he added before taking Levy's hand and making the short walk back to the SUV.
Officers lowered their heads or gave him respectful nods as he passed by. They all knew the bond Gajeel shared with his little sister. Little did Ramirez know that he had aided in Gajeel's good portrayal of himself. People would never believe Gajeel to be a cold-blooded killer. Jose Ramirez was as good as dead as far was Gajeel was concerned. The man truly didn't know his boundaries and Gajeel's world was slowly being painted red.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review and if you have any questions feel free to message me. Thanks for reading and I will update weekly SWEARSIES REALSIES (if you know what that's from good on you! wanna be friends?). Okay well that's all, responses to reviews will be in the next chapter. Kay Bye! ^_^