A/N: Back with Chapter 3! Was busy catching up on my updates for 'The Day He Saved My Life' that I never got around to finishing this one! So hope you guys enjoy
Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail!
Natsu's POV
I sat in my chair, rereading the note that Layla had given me from Lisanna. I was a man of very little fears but this note had me slightly on the edge. Lisanna and I go way back; she is the leader of my former drug circle before I left and became a drug lord. She showed me many things but was very angry when I left and had told me to always watch my steps, and now it seems like Lisanna was hot on my tail. Oh well, I knew I couldn't work myself into hysterics just yet; my drug operation outnumbered Lisanna's … at least for the time being.
"Gajeel!" I shouted as I hid the note in one of the drawers of my desk.
"You called, sir?" Gajeel appeared in the doorway, a blank expression on his face.
"I have another assignment for you," I said as I stood up from the chair.
"What would that be?" Gajeel asked, his expression remaining unchanged.
"We need more members; I received a note from Lisanna and if this turns into a turf war we will need more bodies," I explained as I walked around the desk and leaned against it.
"I will get started right away," Gajeel said, nodding quickly before exiting the room. With that problem solved, I needed to find something to do with my day as I usually spent Wednesdays away from here. However, with being a notorious criminal and it being the middle of December, entertainment was in short supply. That's when I had an idea;
"Sting!" I called out, waiting for the blonde to appear.
"Can you go fetch Layla for me?" I asked as the blonde appeared in the doorway.
"Of course, sir," Sting said as he disappeared for a few seconds. After a minute or so, I heard the clicking of heels stop at the doorway.
"You needed me?" Layla asked as she entered the room, a glum expression on her face.
"Yes, come with me," I said as I led her out of the room and to the exit of the warehouse.
"Where are we going?" She asked as we exited the warehouse and continued walking to the end of the docks.
"Just to look at the water; come, sit," I said as I sat by the edge of the docks, Layla eventually doing the same.
"So why did you bring me out here?" Layla asked with a bored expression.
"Well, I know everyone else but I don't know you; since I am the boss, I like to know who I'm working with, ya' know." I asked, smirking at her.
She nodded, "Makes sense," she said, her expression still bored however. I could tell she wasn't really enjoying this.
"So what's your backstory? What made you turn to a life of drugs and crime?" I asked, curious how some ordinary looking girl like her would choose a life like this.
She shrugged, "My mother died when I was little and my father was never really around so the only comfort I had was drugs," she said, although she didn't seem to sure with her story. I chose not to question it though.
"I understand; I didn't know my mother, and my father abandoned me when I was little," I said, inwardly cursing myself from bringing up the man who had abandoned me. There was a lot of pain there and I really hated bringing it up.
"You alright?" I asked after Layla hadn't responded.
"Look, I know we work together and such but I really don't need to get mushy with anyone. I have no interest in being friends or whatever you were hoping for, but if you excuse me, I'm going to go. I know you're my boss or whatever, but please only call on me if it is for a job," Layla said, starting to get up.
"I had no intention on being friends; I was merely curious as to why some ordinary looking girl would come throw herself into my drug ring," I said, standing up as well.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at me with a level gaze.
"I mean I don't trust you so I figured I would try to get to know you a bit; and it took some balls to speak to me like that so you seem like you will definitely prove useful. Feel free to go now," I said, dismissing her with a level gaze to match and a wave of my hand.
"Whatever," Layla said as she stalked off, and I sighed as I heard her footsteps trail out of sight. Why did she think I would want to be friends? Someone like me doesn't have friends…
Lucy's POV
God that was the most awkward thing I have ever done; I had spent my first longer moment alone with Natsu and had hated every minute of it. He had asked me how I had gotten into drugs, and luckily I had a painful past to fall back on, however the drug part had been a lie. I had no intentions of getting close to a dirty criminal like him and the only thing that I wanted to focus on was how I was going to take this disgusting drug ring down. Perhaps I could start by figuring out who the person that sent Natsu the note was. He or she was obviously an opposing drug dealer as it had mentioned something about territory. I needed to get back to the precinct and check all this out, and luckily the precinct wasn't that far away from her. I took my time getting there though, just in case Natsu was having me trailed again. After figuring out that the coast was clear. I entered the precinct.
"Heartfilia? What are you doing here; isn't it your day off?" Erza asked as I took a seat at my desk.
"Yes, but I recently discovered some new leads on my case and needed to look in on them," I said.
"Need any help?" she asked as she rolled her chair next to me.
"Actually yes; do you know of any drug dealers that operate on the same territory as Natsu Dragneel?" I asked as I began opening the records of all known drug dealers in the city.
"There are two actually; one is Cobra, but he is just an independent dealer and then some woman named Lisanna. She is actually wanted for almost as many charges as Natsu," Erza said, pointing to the name on the list. My eyes immediately widened when I saw the last name; Strauss. This couldn't be the same Lisanna Strauss that I went to high school with? She was always so popular and good, but something told me that this wasn't just a coincidence. Perhaps I could enlist Lisanna's help in taking down Natsu if I promised not to bring her in. I know it was wrong to do but Natsu was wanted for more charges and sometimes you have to break a few rules to win.
"Do you know where I can find Lisanna?" I asked Erza as I closed out the list.
"I heard she operates from the abandoned Strauss manor that overlooks the other side of the pier, but we've searched the house many times and found nothing, but feel free to go check it out," Erza said as she slid back over to her desk.
"Thanks," I said as I rose from my chair and headed towards the door.
Once I had picked up my car, I drove to the old Strauss house, and suddenly I felt a strange feeling of nostalgia. Lisanna and I had been friends in high school and I had spent many nights at the Strauss house. However the night before graduation, a mysterious fire had started in the house and had killed most of Lisanna's family, aside from herself and her sister, Mirajane. The house itself remained in okay shape but both Mirajane and Lisanna had vacated since. I just hoped that Erza's information panned out and that I would find Lisanna there. Upon arrival to the Strauss house, I exited my car and headed for the door.
"Lisanna? Are you here?" I asked as I knocked on the door. After no response, I stood back and kicked the door open with a swift kick, and I cautiously entered the house.
"Lisanna? It's me, Lucy!" I shouted as I entered the house, although I kept a tight grip on the gun that was strapped to my side. Good thing I had brought it with me.
"Lucy? As in Lucy Heartfilia? I suppose you've come to try to arrest me like all of your cop buddies have tried?" I turned as I heard a familiar voice and I saw Lisanna standing there, her hands cupped around a pistol of her own.
"No it's not that at all; I need your help and I was hoping we could make a deal," I said, raising my hands up to show that I had no intention of harming her.
"What kind of deal?" Lisanna asked, her pistol still pointed at me.
"I need your help to take down Natsu Dragneel, and in exchange, I will erase your records from the police files so you will no longer be wanted," I said, and I saw Lisanna's brow furrow in confusion.
"And how do I know that this isn't one of your police tricks?" Lisanna asked, the pistol still raised towards me.
"Because we used to be friends and you know that I would never lie to you," I said, giving her the same serious look I used to give her when we were younger. I smiled as Lisanna lowered the gun.
"Very well; what kind of help were you looking for?" she asked, her brow raised with curiosity.
"I infiltrated Natsu's drug circle and I was sent to intercept a dealer of his only to find him dead and a note attached that was signed by someone named "L" which I can only guess is you," I said, and I saw Lisanna nod.
"Yes it was me; Natsu has been selling and moving in on my territory and it has been seriously cutting my profits. If taking him down is really your goal then I am glad to help however I can," Lisanna replied, crossing her arms as she walked to sit down one of the few chairs that occupied the empty house.
"I need to start taking down Natsu's empire, which means I need to start bringing his dealers in," I said as I took a seat on a chair nearby.
"And where do I fit in to all of this?" Lisanna asked.
"What if I can convince Natsu to expand his territory? Knowing him, he will continue to move into yours, and that gives you an opportunity to snag his dealers. If you can bring them back here and allow me to arrest them then I can continue working in Natsu's ring without being discovered," I said, hoping Lisanna would catch on the rest.
"And since we would be selling on my turf then Natsu would assume that I would be picking off his dealers?" Lisanna asked, and I smiled as she was still as sharp as ever.
"Precisely… now will you help me?" I asked, taking Lisanna's hand in mine.
"It's a big ask, but if it means getting rid of Natsu and my records erased then sure," Lisanna said, returning my smile with a squeeze of my hand.
"Great, so how about we meet back here tomorrow; I will talk to Natsu tonight and see what I can do," I said as I stood up from the chair.
"Sounds good," Lisanna said, and I waved a quick goodbye as I exited the building. Sweet! Now I was one step closer to taking Natsu down!\
Natsu's POV
"Sir? Layla has requested to speak with you," I heard Sting say from behind me.
"Send her in," I said, dismissing Sting with a wave of my hand.
I turned in my chair as I heard the familiar click of heels, "I thought you didn't want to speak to me," I said as the blonde stood before my desk.
"I said I didn't want to get mushy or be friends; this is pure business and I think you may be interested," she replied, and I raised an eyebrow as she had piqued my interest.
"Go on," I said, nodding for her to continue.
"Well, I was out on the streets and I heard someone say that people are looking for a supplier down on the other side of the pier and I was thinking that maybe we could begin selling and expanding out that way?" Layla suggested, her eyes alight with happiness over her idea. I thought about it for a moment, as I knew that was Lisanna's territory. However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for more money and I desperately needed more ground to cover.
"Very well Layla, I say we should move forward… but since this was your idea, I want you to be the one who starts selling out there; it will be good field practice," I said, and I saw Layla's eyes widened.
"I thought you didn't trust me? Why would you entrust me with such an important task?" she asked, crossing her arms and raising one of her brows.
"I don't trust you, but no new recruit has ever come up with any new ideas and frankly it is the best we have right now, so I am willing to trust you Layla, as long as you don't disappoint," I said, smirking at her.
"Of course, sir, I will get started tomorrow," she said, bowing slightly.
"Go talk to Gajeel; he will set you up with a stash and then you can take it out tomorrow and sell as much as you can," I instructed.
"Yes, sir," Layla said as she turned towards the door, her blonde hair swishing behind her. I seriously hoped that this newbie won't disappoint, as I desperately needed to start increasing my income.
Lucy's POV
Boo-yah! Natsu had accepted my deal; that dumbass just sealed his own demise. Today couldn't be any greater as I was about to start the big chunk of my mission. Soon Natsu would be behind bars and I would have that promotion in the bag! But first, I had to go see Gajeel as Natsu instructed so I could keep up my cover.
"I was told to come see you about a stash I could start selling tomorrow," I said as I approached Gajeel, who was busy playing on his phone.
"What kind of stash did you need?" Gajeel asked as he looked up from his phone.
"Natsu didn't say, he is just sending me to a new territory tomorrow," I said, and I saw Gajeel nod in understanding.
"Then you will just need a basic stash of marijuana; whenever we get sent to new territories we usually start with that and if we get a big enough demand then we send out the bigger stuff," Gajeel said as he stood up and motioned for me to follow him.
"So I am giving you an ounce, which is twenty-eight grams. Grams for ten dollars each, so make sure you try to sell it all and if you don't then bring whatever you don't back. Bring back all the cash also, but you automatically get to keep a twenty-five percent cut so you can hold on to that and bring the rest of the cash back. Sting will take the money and I will take the remaining stash and then we will report it back to Natsu. If Natsu is pleased then you will be sent back out, but if he is not then you will be sent to a different territory," Gajeel explained as he led me to the back room of the warehouse, and my nose began burning as the smell of all the different drugs began hitting it.
"Here is the stash; take good care of it… and good luck tomorrow," Gajeel said as he handed me the ounce bag of marijuana. I felt really horrible holding it but I knew that I needed to do so as to retain my cover.
"Thanks," I replied quickly as I left the room. I shoved the bag in my jacket pocket and started making my way out of the warehouse. Now I only had to solve the last conundrum; how I was going to muster enough money to bring back to Natsu. I knew I couldn't actually sell the drugs as that would result in me losing my job if Laxus ever found out. Maybe I could get Lisanna to take it from me and I could get some money from her… I knew that it was still selling technically but at least I was selling it back to a drug dealer. I breathed a heavy sigh as I continued my walk back to my house; this mission was getting more and more complicated by the minute but at the same time it also provided a bit of a thrill. I just knew that no matter what I wanted to take Natsu down and that I really wanted this promotion; my job was all I really had as I had few friends and no boyfriend and that I lived alone. I had a lot riding on this mission and I had to be sure not to fail and that required even more precision than I was already putting it. Natsu made it clear that he didn't trust me and if I wanted to continue this charade then I needed to make earning Natsu's trust a top priority which of course meant that I needed to return with a good amount of money tomorrow. I yawned suddenly, realizing now just how tired I was after my long day. For now, I needed some sleep and I could continue with Operation Take-Natsu-Down tomorrow. I smiled a small smile as I arrived to my apartment door, a good feeling sitting in my stomach over my progress today.
A/N: Well that's that! Over 3000 words! That's better than I usually do! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it! Stay tuned for the next update!
