Part XIV

"We've got seven of them," declared Gray, waving a document in his hand as he entered his and Natsu's office.

Natsu groaned lightly, frowning at the news. "That's more than I expected, it's going to take us time to find the right vehicle."

"Stop complaining, fire-breath," scolded him Gray with a roll of his eyes. "Tech is already on it, so you can just sit on your ass and wait for them to pinpoint which vehicles are suspicious."

He crossed his arms behind his head, and leaned against his chair to place his feet on his desk. "I'm not complaining," he pouted. "It's just that we were so close to Hades, and I feel like we just lost all the progress we achieved. I should have known that something like this would happen, Hades would never leave someone as close to him as Cobra in the hands of the FBI."

Gray sighed, sitting down on his own chair and stared at Natsu with surprising seriousness.

"Don't beat yourself up, it comes with the job," he said. "Sometimes we find something, and sometimes we hit a wall. Think about this as a fence, we just have to get over it."

"Are you trying to comfort me?" smirked Natsu, raising an eyebrow.

Gray folded his arms in front of his chest and looked sideways. "No," he grumbled. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't worry too much."

Natsu sobered up, thinking about the blonde woman who stole his heart. He hadn't heard from her in a few days, and he was getting increasingly worried.

"I'm worried about Lucy," he declared after a few seconds of silence.

Gray looked at his with surprise. "Lucy? You mean the blonde chick?"

Natsu nodded, his gaze faraway. "Yeah. She's the one who helped us get Cobra, and now that he's out of prison, it's just become that much more dangerous for her."

"Now that you mention it, we haven't heard from her in ages. You used to come across her every now and then. Do you think she gave up going after him?" asked Gray.

Natsu almost laughed. Oh how he wished she did give up her suicide mission.

"I doubt it," he replied. "She said that she wouldn't stop until she found her guardian. Hades' circle is getting smaller with every person we catch, I fear that she'll get too close to him and that it would end badly."

Gray hummed in acknowledgement, and truly looked at Natsu for the first time in weeks. He could see the bags under his eyes and the paler-than-usual colour of his skin. The concern seemed to be keeping him up at night, he really was anxious about the blonde woman's whereabouts.

"We can't do anything for now," he declared. "But if we find the right vehicle, it'll take us straight to Cobra, and if they're as stupid as I hope they are, it'll also be the same place where we will find Hades. Once we put him behind bars, your woman will be safe."

Natsu smiled, grateful that his friend was trying to lift his spirits up.

"Then I'm all fired up for this shit!" he exclaimed, pounding his fist into the palm of his hand. "And she's not my woman!"

"Yeah right," huffed Gray.

Before Natsu could retort anything back, Gray's phone rang, and he picked it up, gesturing for Natsu to wait.

"Agent Fullbuster," he replied. "Yeah-Perfect, we'll be there."

Gray placed his phone in his pocket, and stood up from his chair.

"Come on, Salamander," he told his partner. "Mira's asking for us. We have a call."

-: :-

Every time Lucy pulled, the ropes seemed to get tighter around her wrists.

In all fairness, the woman who called herself Minerva seemed to be good at tying people up, according to the vivid descriptions of what she wanted to do to Lucy in bed –or anywhere else for all that mattered.

It wasn't far fetched when Lucy thought to herself that she should slightly worry, as she squirmed uncomfortably under the intense gaze of the said woman, who was watching her with an amused smirk pulling at the corner of her lips.

She had brought her back to the strip club, and sat her down on a chair in the middle of a room similar to the one where she found Cobra. The man himself was standing a few meters away from her, looking at her with a scowl on his face, and anger in his eyes. Lucy swallowed, thanking the gods that Minerva chose to send someone else to fetch her boss instead of going herself and leaving her alone with the man.

"So," she started carefully, alerting the two other occupants of the room, "what do you guys want from me?"

"Boss will tell you," replied Minerva. "It's not our place to inform you of his plans."

"Can I perhaps have a small hint?" she tried again. "A girl has to be prepared to face him."

"A girl has to shut the fuck up," snapped Cobra, walking closer and standing in front of her. "I should shoot you right here and now for what you did to me. You're lucky that boss needs you."

Lucy glared at him, "and I should have killed you earlier."

Cobra smirked, crouching at her level. "Wouldn't it be beneath you to take someone's life? It would tarnish a good girl like you. You're too innocent for this kind of life, Heartfilia."

Lucy spat in his face.

"I'm no good girl," she sneered out. "You took my innocence the day your people killed my mother!"

Cobra wiped his face with his sleeve, keeping his calm the whole way through, and Lucy smiled internally at the sight of him trying to control himself, until his hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat. A choking noise left Lucy's lips, and she watched him with horror as he smiled evilly and tightened his hold.

"You bitch!" he laughed humorlessly, "I'm going to enjoy humiliating you once boss is done! I'm going to make you suffer for everything you did! From the way you tricked me into trusting you, throwing me in jail, knocking me out, and for the disgusting way you just disrespected me! You want it dirty? I'll make it as dirty as you'd like!"

By the end of his tirade, his face had gotten red and he was screaming in her face. Lucy struggled to let air in, and her face was rapidly turning purple from exertion and lack of air.

Fuck, I should have called Natsu earlier when I found Cobra here.

"Cobra," interrupted Minerva calmly, and Lucy wished that she could scream at her to help, because her vision was turning blurry. "You're going to kill her, leave the girl alone."

Cobra squeezed one last time, snarling at the blonde woman, before abruptly releasing her neck. Lucy doubled over, breathing in deeply and rapidly, and trying to get as much oxygen as she could. "Start counting your days, blondie."

"Fuck you," she rasped out, looking up at him.

"Don't worry, you'll be doing that once boss is done with you," he replied back.

Lucy didn't have time to insult him back before the door opened, and a man peeked inside. "Boss is here."

-: :-

"We have a call on hold about Hades," said Mirajane, looking at the few agents sitting in the office. Natsu instantly perked up, and looked at her with eagerness.

"Another lead?" asked Erza.

"I'm not sure about that," replied Mirajane. "We have a kidnapping case. There's a young man who claims that Hades took his friend."

"Do we have a name?" said Laxus.

Mira looked at her computer's screen. "A certain Lucy," she declared. "It could be the Lucy from the case."

Natsu's felt his heart stop as his fear came to life, and Gray watched him with worry, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We don't know if it's her, we shouldn't jump to conclusions too fast."

"Put the guy on speaker," said Laxus. "It'll be easier for us."

Mira clicked a few buttons, and spoke up. "Hello? Sir, are you still with us?"

"Y-yeah," replied a young man's voice. Natsu could discern the hind of an accent, but he could not pinpoint where it was from.

"You said that your friend was taken," said Laxus, "why didn't you call the police?"

"Because I know that the FBI is the one responsible for Hades' case," answered the young man, surprising his audience.

"Are you certain that this has to do with the man?" said Erza.

"Yes ma'am. She was looking into him at the time of her disappearance."

"Where were you when it happened?" demanded Natsu, his tone slightly accusatory.

There was a pause on the other line. "In Italy," he said slowly.

Natsu frowned. Italy? Now that he thought about it, Lucy did mention that she had met someone in Italy when she was running away from Hades' men as a teenager.

"Are you Loke?" he asked.

The young man gasped. "Y-yeah, that's my name. How do you know that?"

"Lucy mentioned you," he replied. "Can you please tell us exactly what happened? We need all the details."

"Of course," replied the man. "She called me earlier this morning. I hadn't heard from her in weeks prior to that-"

"Why did she call you?" interrupted Erza.

"She was looking for information about her family," he answered, "and I told her that I would try my best to get her what she needed. She called me later at night, asking if I found what she needed, and I told her that I did."

"Can you tell us what you found?" demanded Erza.

"I'm not sure I can do that," hesitated the young man. "She wouldn't want to-"

"Listen," cut him off Natsu. "If you want to help us find her, you have to tell us everything you know. If what you're saying is true, and if Hades has her, her life is at stake."

Loke sighed. "Alright, but I doubt this will be helpful," he said. "I found that her father left her a safe deposit box in Magnolia's Royal Bank-"

"Do you know what's inside?" asked Laxus.

"No," he denied. "I couldn't access the file-"

Loke suddenly stopped talking.

"The file?" repeated Erza. "This is private information. How did you find it?"

"I'm good with computers," answered Loke. "Listen, I know it's illegal and everything, but I didn't find anything, I swear!"

"This is not important right now," insisted Natsu. "Tell us what happened."

"Yes, of course," he said. "I was telling her about my findings, when she suddenly stopped talking and told me that she had to leave. We have a secret code whenever she's in trouble. It's I'll see you soon. We chose it because I live so far away. I instantly knew she was in trouble when she said that, and the second after, the communication was cut off."

"Can you tell us where she was?" said Gray.

"I don't know about that," he answered. "All I know is that she was looking for something concerning Hades, because she told me that she didn't find it during the phone call."

"Can you recall anything else? Did you hear anything suspicious during the call?" asked Natsu.

"No," denied Loke. "Well, there was some loud music in the background, but it was quite far away-"

"Loud music?" repeated Gray. "She must have infiltrated a club once again, like that one time at Grimoire Heart. She must have found a lead about Hades' girls."

"Is there anything else you need to tell us?" asked Erza.

"That's all I know," replied Loke. "Please find her, she's my friend."

"Don't worry," reassured him a determined Natsu. "We will."

-: :-

Minerva and Cobra straightened up, and suddenly turned serious. The man left the room, and the door opened wide, letting an older man in. He was dressed in what Lucy assumed to be an expensive and rather tasteful suit, and had an eye pad similar to a pirate's on his eye. His white hair was very long, accompanied by an equally as lengthy white beard. Strangely enough, the first thought going through Lucy's head was if he conditioned his beard as well when he showered.

"Boss," acknowledged Cobra and Minerva simultaneously.

"Cobra," replied the intimidating man. "It's good to see that you're well. How has prison treated you?"

"R-rather well," stuttered out the man, looking at his feet in shame.

Hades hummed in responded, and looked away to focus on the other woman. "Well done getting Cobra out of prison and catching Miss Hearfilia, Minerva. I expected nothing less from you."

"I'm just doing my job," she bowed down.

When he finally looked at Lucy, the young woman gulped noticeably under his stare. Even with one eye, he radiated danger, despite his calm demeanour.

"Miss Heartfilia," he said, and she watched him with apprehension. "I have to admit that you look quite different than I thought, the short hair suits you beautifully."

Lucy glared at him silently.

"I'm happy to finally meet you. I apologize for the way my subordinates have treated you," he smiled.

"What?" she blurted out.

"You are not our prisoner," he added, before looking at Minerva. "There's no need to tie her up."

"Sir, she's dangerous-" argued the woman.

"Miss Heartfilia will cooperate," he insisted.

Minerva slowly nodded, and untied Lucy's hand. The blond woman rubbed her sore wrists, sitting wearily on the chair.

"You've caused quite a bit of havoc for us," he said. "I've lost an important number of girls and locations for my ring-"

Good.

"-but all of that can be forgiven," he smiled. "It can all be undone, and you could walk out and go back to your regular life."

"Under what condition?" finally spoke Lucy.

"I need one favour from you," he said. "You see, back when I was…working with your father, he went behind my back and collected quite an amount of material against me."

"My father is dead," she hissed. "Anything he had on you is irrelevant right now, because he will not be able to use it."

Hades simply smiled in acknowledgement, a smile that would have appeared kind had Lucy not known who the man standing in front of her was.

"How old are you, Miss Heartfilia?" he asked.

"…twenty-Five," she replied slowly.

"Do you know how many years a safe deposit box is kept in Magnolia's Royal Bank?"

Loke was right, he's after that.

"I don't know," she answered.

"Ten years," he told her. "Your dad opened one for you almost eight years ago, right when he started collecting information about me. I was aware or it, of course, but I didn't stop him, because I knew that I needed his money to keep growing my business. After all, your dad also knew the consequences of his actions if he had revealed anything about me to the police. That's why he took his own life. He knew that losing his money was a deal breaker for our business."

"Why do you need me for this?" she asked. "Can't you break into the bank or something? You broke into a high security prison. You obviously have the means to do the same thing again."

Hades Chuckled, and she heard Cobra snort.

"The prison is outside of the city, while the bank is right in the middle of it. It would bring too much unwanted attention. It's also nearly impossible to break in, the level of security is three times higher than the prison. Plus, it's surrounded by two police stations," explained Hades.

Lucy frowned. "I had no idea the box even existed until you told me." A lie. "The information inside is not going to leak, you could just leave it there."

"I would have," he said, "but going back to a previous point I made, a safe deposit box is kept for ten years there, before the bank contacts the owner to validate a renewal. Now, let's imagine what would happen two years from now when the bank contacts you-"

"The bank has no means of contacting me," argued Lucy. "I was on the run, from you."

"Don't cut him off, you bitch," bellowed Cobra, striking her across the face.

Lucy almost leaped out of her chair to punch him, but chose not to in fear of getting shot by Minerva.

"Cobra, this is not the way to treat our lovely guest," he warned him.

"Sorry boss," apologized the man.

"Asshole," groaned out Lucy.

"You're right, the bank cannot contact you. You've been off the map for years after all. I must congratulate you for that, we haven't been able to locate you since Italy all those years ago. But here you are, coming to us and offering yourself on a silver platter," he chuckled, crossing his arms in front of him.

"What happens when the bank won't be able to contact me?"

"If the intended person cannot be contacted by the bank, the box is either renewed by a close relative –which you don't have-, or its content is thrown away if the bank deems it irrelevant."

"They cannot go through something that is not theirs," she interjected.

"Sure they can," replied Hades. "The owner loses his right to its content if the box is not renewed. Now, let's go back to our scenario. Once the bank fails to contact you, the box becomes their property, and once they realize what's inside, the police would have the necessary information to incriminate me and put me in jail. I do not exactly know what your father had on me, but I would rather not take the risk."

"Why would I help you?" she snarled out, glaring at the man. "You took everything from me –my family, my freedom, everything. You abuse your power, and use women as if they were your property. I wouldn't lend a hand to the likes of you."

"Let's not make some rash decisions here," smiled the man. "You're going to have to reconsider what you just said, because I can help you if you help me."

"What can you possibly offer me?" she smirked.

"Answers," he simply said.

"Answers?" she repeated.

"To anything you want. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother, to your father, to Aquarius?" he taunted.

-: :-

"We found the vehicles," declared Mira, storming inside the conference room. "We were able to dismiss four of them. We have three suspicious ones, all of them vans."

"Three is still a lot," said Natsu.

"Tell us about those vehicles," demanded Erza.

"Alright," replied Mira, opening the document in her hand. "We have one unregistered van sighted near a house in west Magnolia, one found downtown parked at the back of a strip club, and the last van was located near Grimoire Heart."

Gray winced. "They all sound very suspicious."

"The one near Grimoire Heart is most likely the one we're looking for," said Natsu.

"I doubt it," replied Erza. "The area is still heavily monitored after we closed off the club. I don't think Hades would take the risk to be found out, he's smarter than that."

Erza was right. There was still an important amount of officers watching the area, and more than a few cameras filming it at all hours of the day.

"Then what about the unregistered one? It's easier to get rid of it," suggested Gray.

"No," whispered Natsu, deep in thought. "Hades would not want to attract attention by using an unregistered vehicle. The police often verify who the owners of the cars are as part of their protocol, especially the big ones."

"Brat's got a point," said Laxus. "The last choice we got is the strip club."

"Didn't Loke mention loud music?" stated Gray.

There was silence in the room, as everyone looked at Gray.

"That's probably where Lucy is. If she doesn't know about Cobra's escape, then she's in great danger," declared Natsu, springing out of his chair. "Let' go."

Hey everyone!

Here's the next chapter, where Lucy finally meets Hades. What will happen to her? Will she agree to help Hades? And most importantly, will Natsu find her? All will be answered in the next chapter!

A good 80% of it is already written, so you guys won't have to wait long to find out!

As usual, I hope you all liked this, and leave a review!

Thanks to CrimsonLightKey, HaruhiFujioka1425, Unoyoko94, bloodrayne766, NaLuFTfanatic, Nalu lover, TaylorNReed, FlameDragonHime, Lkityan02, Phiafairy and ToastedWeirdBrain for reviewing!