A few days passed and Ryker just did one or the other job to supplement his income as a Fairy Tail wizard. And he was already starting to worry about the lack of action. His last jobs were easy and fast, with no emotion or threat. He wanted something more exciting and difficult, his psychological needed it. His attacks were getting more frequent (he did a good job of hiding them from his guildmates) and he needed to distract his head. To tell you the truth, no job he has done since he joined the guild has been as challenging as he wanted. But that day could bring something new.
"Why the hell does Gray have to be naked all the time?" He said as he watched the fight between the ice wizard and the fire wizard and others unfolding in the middle of the room. Mirajane smiled at her friend sitting at the bar.
"He's been like this forever," she said laughing. "Want something?"
He turned his attention to her. "I would like a coffee, but Mira! Your coffee is ... weak, "he said and surprised Mira.
"Weak !?", she said in disbelief. "But I always did it like that!"
"You see, not that it's bad, it's just weak for me," he said, trying not to belittle the bar trend. "Can I?" He said, pointing to the coffee maker, which was allowed by the woman. He went behind the counter and went straight to the coffee maker.
"How are you doing?", Mira questioned him.
"Simple, I put more powder and less water. Well, that's how I like it, but in many places people also prefer weaker coffee. So you don't do wrong Mira. It's just that, from the place I came from, we prefer stronger coffee, "he said as he prepared the powder and put the water in the kettle to boil. Mira watched him, but she wasn't angry or anything, she understood that it was just his peculiar taste.
"Don't let the water go over 80° C, otherwise it will burn the powder and leave a bitter taste in the coffee," he said. - Curiosity: this is true.
"You know a lot about coffee, Ryker," she said, smiling.
"It was a rare and luxurious drink, so when we got a little we tried to make the best of it," he said, smiling out of the corner of his mouth.
Across the hall Gajeel was looking at the scene and questioning himself. "What the hell is that guy doing?", This caught the attention of a little bluehaired mage sitting next to the Dragon Slayer.
"What?" She said looking at him.
"There shrimp," he said, pointing to the bar. "The new guy is making coffee, it seems. Why would he do that? Isn't that demon there for that? Or will he become a bartender. ", He laughed.
Levy turned to see and noticed that Ryker and Mira were side by side across the bar and he was, in fact, doing something and Mira was following along, with what looked like a smile, but so far it didn't. It was no big deal, she was always smiling.
A thought came to the script wizard and made her blush, being noticed by Gajeel.
"Hey!? Everything okay there? "
"Ah yes. Only one thought came to me ".
"What would it be?" He said with a frown on his face.
She leaned over to him "Are they ... having anything?" Both turned their faces and looked at the pair and smiled at each other.
Back at the bar, the coffee was ready and he put it in a cup for himself and another for Mira. "Drink and see what you think," he said as he drank.
"It's strong!", Mira said with a grimace, and Ryker gave only one of his characteristic smiles. "And this is how coffee should be taken," he said, finished his and returning to the seats and sitting down.
"A ... anything else you want to show me?", She said with a shy smile and a blush on her face. Ryker made a thoughtful face at his mate's question.
"No, just that, I think", Mira smiles at him, as always, showing her sweet side. "Mira, are there any new jobs that were posted on the board recently? I mean, interesting work, "he said and she looked at her partner and thought for a few seconds.
"I think there are some, yes. They were placed earlier and I don't think anyone has taken it yet, "he said.
"Great, I'm going to take a look," he said, getting up and heading towards the mission board to look for something good.
He scanned the board looking for the ones he thought were most interesting, but it was hard to decide. If there was anything cool it was hidden in a lot of missions that he considered crap. He was about to give up when he finally found something that could be useful and besides that he would have a fat reward, $700,000 Jewels. It was this one, he took it and went straight to Mira to say he was going to take that mission.
"Hey Mira, I'm going to get this job," he said, handing it over to her, who, taking it, looked surprised.
"He is sure? Are you going with someone? "She said with a note of concern in her voice.
"Of course, Mira. And I am going alone, I am more than capable of carrying out this mission ", he said with his sawed eyebrows and a serious air.
"This is a mission to capture a fugitive criminal. It says here, too, that he is a mage. This type of mission is done as a team and is generally classified as Rank S. I do not know why it is in the common frame. Wouldn't it be better if you went with someone else? ", She replied, still worried. His companion had not carried out any more complex missions alone and was still new to the guild. But she was surprised when she heard a light laugh from him.
"Don't worry. I've done missions similar to this one. They weren't exactly the same, but I had to seek out and capture targets of special interest. So I am fully capable of completing this work. And, if it is in a common frame, it is because the mage is not there great things. Besides, I'm looking forward to a solo mission for the guild. I think I already proved that I understood the modus operandi ", he said with conviction.
Mira resigned herself, but did not let go of her concern. "All right. I will warn you that we are sending a wizard for this mission. But be careful. There is something wrong, here it does not say who the criminal is, this is not common ".
"I will, Mira, and don't worry," he said placing one of his hands over Mira's hand. When she felt the touch she blushed and gave a slight shy smile.
"I'm going to stop by your house then and get my things, okay?" He said and she waved. "I'm going to need a map, because I have no idea where this place called Lepoglava is", Mira laughed and said it was the name of the prison and handed him a map with the train times, so he went back to the Strauss' and he picked up his things, but the train would only leave at night.
He finally returned to the guild and waited. He would have to take a train to a nearby city and wagon to go to the prison, the whole trip would take about eight hours, five to the city, which seemed to be small and three more by wagon, but that made sense, no one would put a chain with dangerous prisoners near large centers.
When he gave his time, Ryker left the guild and headed for the train station. Once there, he bought the ticket for the city of Elky, the closest to the prison, and waited on the designated platform until his train arrived, which took a little longer. It was almost 10 pm when the train stopped at the platform. He embarked and went to his cabin, yes he wanted more comfort and privacy, after all it would be five hours of travel. And these were quiet hours, which he enjoyed wide awake, taking his stimulants, antidepressants, painkillers, antipsychotics and others.
"Hello Mira," said a shorthaired bluehaired mage, sitting at the bar.
"Ah, hello Levy-chan. Want something?".
"Just an orange juice, please."
"Going out".
"So Mira, what's your relationship with Ryker?", Levy said giving Mira a sly smile.
The whitehaired woman turned to her friend a little surprised. "We are just friends. Why?".
"Well, Gajeel and I saw you two together earlier, preparing something and you seemed so intimate. I mean, he's living with you, too, isn't he? "
The whitehaired mage blushed heavily and began to play with her fingers timidly. "He was just showing me how he liked coffee. And he is only at home because he has nowhere to live, "she said, handing a glass of orange juice to her friend, who was still very flushed.
"But do you feel anything for him Mira-chan?", Levy asked still with a malicious smile, but with an air of curiosity too.
"Well, I… I don't know. He's very closed and doesn't talk about himself, "the other mage said, shy and slightly flushed.
"Well, I think you make a beautiful couple, and he is always close to you. I mean, he is always here, at the bar and living in your house and everyone knows that he helps you to clean the guild in the morning and stays with you until you close the guild ".
Levy's speech made Mira more flushed than ever and she didn't even know how to respond. She knew that he was always there and that he helped her a lot, but she never showed any kind of romantic interest in her or anyone. She thought he just saw her as a friend and nothing more, and yet a distant friend, he always said that true friendships take time to build. But, could someone from the outside see something that she was not seeing?
"W… we're just friends, Levy. And I don't think he thinks about that kind of thing. It seems to me that he has a lot of internal issues to resolve, " Mira said trying to convince that there was nothing between them, but she also spoke with an air of sadness and concern for her friend's condition.
Levy looked at his friend as he sipped his juice. "I still think you would make a cute couple. But if you're saying they're just friends then that's fine, "she laughed, and Mira laughed back. The two stayed there talking and gossiping about the other relationships of the guild.
As soon as he arrived in the city of Elky, it was more like a village, he went towards the information desk. He wanted to know where the carts were so that one of them could take him to his destination.
"Hello!" He said to an attendant at the ticket window. "I need to get a cart for Lepoglava. Could you tell me where I can find one? "
"Just move on, sir. Leaving the station, turn left and there will be a point where you can take one, "said the young man to him.
"Thank you," Ryker replied and went on his way as he had been informed. Getting to the point there was a sign with his name on it. Probably Mira informed the contractor and they sent the means of transport. He did not hold a ceremony and entered the cart and there was another three hours of travel. The jail was certainly in a very remote area. It was dark but you could see that it was a place with light wooded hills and some farms. It was an environment that would be difficult to track, many places to hide and lose track.
After three hours in a wagon he finally arrived at Lepoglava prison. It was a huge place, with many guards, many proficient in magic, he could feel it. Security tears on all sides and doors and more controlled and guarded doors. There was a lot of security and probably strict protocols. No one would be able to escape from there without help, especially domestic help, he soon concluded. Ryker was led through the corridors to an office, which was currently empty.
"I ask that you wait a little while. Soon those in charge will come, they are just finishing some issues and will come to meet you, "said the guard who was leading him. When he finished his speech he went out and closed the office door, which was very simple, in fact, there was a sofa on the wall and a table on the other side of the room with bookshelves with some books and a paper cupboard. He stood there for a few minutes, waiting.
The door opened and four handsome and uniformed men like all the other guards, but it was noted that they were above and in control of the entire prison, entered the office. Ryker was sitting with his legs open on the couch and didn't get up when they entered.
"Sir Ryker, do I assume?" One of them said.
"Exactly," he replied dryly.
"My name is Asper, this is Gon, that is Haiss and the other is McArthur," he said introducing himself and introducing the others. "We are in control here and we were the ones who sent the order to your guild."
"We are happy that you were able to attend to us so promptly," said Haiss, who was taller than the others and blond.
"Very well," Ryker said, rising from the couch and facing the men in front of him. "You lost one of your guests and you need me to find him, right? I want to know everything about this guy ".
The men looked at each other, were clearly nervous and uncomfortable. Asper, who appeared to be the leader of the group, took the lead. "I believe you have faced it before, I mean about 10 years ago".
"What!? What are you talking about? Ten years ago I was not in the guild, "he said angrily. He realized that these guys were nervous about something and it looked like they didn't want to tell him everything. "Listen here," he said loudly and very seriously, which scared the commanders. "It is better for you to say everything, I am realizing that something here is not right. Then spill it right away! "He shouted.
Those guys were so nervous that they couldn't even speak properly, but Asper again, took the lead, calming down and saying what he needed.
"Sorry. We didn't know you weren't in the Fa ... ", Asper started to say but was interrupted by an angry Ryker.
"It doesn't matter, get to the point."
"Ah, yes, of course," said Asper, startled. "The criminal who ran away, as I said before, faced his guild about 10 years ago. After that event he was tried, convicted and imprisoned. About three years ago he was transferred here, because he was very dangerous and we had a better structure to maintain him. But a few days ago he ran away and we don't know how ".
"Wait a minute!", Ryker said in surprise. "You said he ran away a few days ago. How many days was that? "He asked in a very serious tone.
"Five days ago," McArthur, a man with brown hair and medium height, replied. The response made the magician furious and his expression denounced this, and it scared the prison commanders very much.
"Five days!? Do you know that this bastard's trail has cooled and it will be much harder to find him now? Why didn't they send the request as soon as he ran away? ", His tone was way above irritated.
"W ... we tried to work it out for ourselves, but we couldn't, so we asked for help", Gon replied, this was the shortest and most paunchy of them, he had little hair too.
"Idiots," Ryker said angrily and moving around the office trying to control himself. "Who is this guy after all?"
"His name is José Porla," replied Haiss.
"I don't know who he is," Ryker said dryly.
"He was a máster, of the now defunct Fairy Tail rival guild, Phanton Lord." When the term 'master' and 'guild' reached Ryker's ears, his expression changed completely, and for the worse, to the despair of men.