TO MY READERS: Hello again! Like I had said a while ago, I had been going through a really rough time as well as having to study for exams and both of those things made it fairly difficult to sit down and write. However, now that I'm out and things have been better lately, I will be working very hard on uploading chapters in a timely manner. So, after such a long time, I present to you Chapter Three! Please enjoy and don't forget to leave me a review to let me know what you think.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN any of the characters or places mentioned in this story. It all belongs to the original creator, Hiro Mashima.
Three
The next morning, Natsu was the first one back at the department: not even the regular desk workers had arrived yet. But he wanted to get started as soon as possible. Finding Zeref's base wasn't going to be easy and he wanted to get a head start. Yet, as soon as he entered his office, he saw Erza sitting behind his desk with her feet up and eating a piece of cake.
"Captain Scarlet," Natsu said, surprised. As he crossed the threshold of the room, he closed the door behind him. "I didn't expect to see you so early."
"Something's come up," she replied, lifting her feet off the top and standing up. "Levy and Gajeel found information on the ships coming into to Hargeon. They requested to see Zancrow and I thought everyone should be there. I wanted to catch you first thing and I figured you'd come in early."
"Let's get going then," Natsu agreed, handing Erza his folders and notebook which she placed on his desk. With her cake in one hand, Erza led the way to the underground prisons.
"Everyone else is already down there, but I insisted we wait for you. Considering you're the second in command," she explained. When she finished her breakfast, Erza crumpled the plastic fork inside the disposable plate and balled it up in her fist.
"Do you think Zancrow is going to tell us which ship has the drugs?" Natsu asked. Walking side by side, he could see Erza's serious expression wavered.
"I believe Gildarts has…secured the matter once and for all," she said, the corner of her lips twitching.
Once they came to Zancrow's cell, Natsu spotted his teammates waiting outside the room with Gildarts leaning against the door. He stood up as Erza and Natsu approached them and he swiped his ID to open the cell.
"How's he doing?" Erza asked in a low voice. She obviously didn't want the others to hear her above their own chatter but Natsu was still close enough to catch it.
"He's doing better. Pretty bruised but he's not talking about it anymore," Gildarts replied in a soft tone. "I think now would be the time to get him that special room." Erza shook her head as the two stepped into the cell and everyone followed suit. Natsu was the first of his friends to enter the cell and what he saw shocked him.
Zancrow sat at the same table, handcuffed to it, but his face was what caught Natsu off guard. His right eye was a deep dark blue and completely shut, his nose was covered with a giant bandage, and his lip had a couple of stitches in it. Glancing at the rest of him, Natsu also noticed both of his hands were wrapped in gauze and the bumps where his knuckles protruded from the dressings had spots of blood seeping through. Zancrow looked like absolute hell.
"Oh my god," Cana blurted out. "What happened?" Zancrow, who had been staring at his hands, used his one good eye to glance quickly at Gildarts. Anyone else might've missed it, but Natsu caught it right away.
"Don't worry," Erza interrupted before Gildarts could answer. "Zancrow is doing just fine. In fact, I believe he will be far more cooperative from now on. Isn't that right?" Zancrow only sighed. Erza turned her gaze to Levy and Gajeel who were still staring at Zancrow's state.
"Oh!" Levy exclaimed when she finally noticed Erza gazing at them. With a folder in her hand, Levy strode in front of Zancrow and placed her folder down on the table to flip it open. Inside were some files but Levy ended up taking out the three large pictures and sliding them towards Zancrow so he could examine them.
"My partner and I found three shipments scheduled to port in Hargeon tomorrow night," she said. "We want you to tell us which one it will be." Zancrow scooted closer but only gave the pictures a short glance before scoffing and leaning back in his chair.
"You guys all call yourself's detectives," he snorted. "Do you really think a ship carrying drugs and other illegal shit is going to be written as a scheduled shipment?" Everyone stared at him with confusion until Erza stepped in.
"Then would you be so gracious as to tell us the name of the ship and what time it will dock?" she said angrily.
"Its name is The Pegasus," Zancrow sighed. "I don't know what time it'll be docking but I'm sure it won't be until late at night. Probably after the dockworkers go home for the night and after those other ships have left. My guess, midnight or later." Levy quickly gathered the pictures together back in their folder and scribbled Zancrow's information down on a small notepad.
"And you're positive your faction leader will be there?" Gajeel asked, eyeing Zancrow who ogled Levy every now again. Natsu could see it was taking all of his friend's strength not to leap across the table and pound Zancrow's other eye shut.
"The faction leaders are always present at exchanges to make sure they go smoothly," Zancrow answered, noticing Gajeel's intense stares. "I guarantee she will be there." It was silent in the room again before Erza spoke.
"Well, thank you, Zancrow for your cooperation," she said. "I'll see to it you get that bed you requested before the next time we see you."
Now that he was longer being addressed, Zancrow's eyes fell on the table again as everyone filed out of the room. Once the door was closed Gildarts sighed loudly, drawing the attention of Natsu and his friends.
"So are you going to tell us what the hell happened to his face?" Cana asked testily.
"Zancrow's condition is not considered fatal so there's no reason to explain the situation," Erza butted in. "All you need to know is that our higher ups are watching our case very closely now and none of you are allowed to lay a finger on him. If you encounter a problem, you are to bring it directly to either myself or Gildarts. The last thing we need is for this investigation to be shut down because of our own stupid mistakes."
"But at least we've got more intel now," Natsu said. "Now we have the name of the ship and a rough estimate of when it will be docking. Once we arrest Zancrow's faction leader, we'll keep getting closer to Zeref."
"Natsu-san is right," Juvia said. "Gray-sama and Juvia have been tracking and linking the girls' disappearances. Right now, all we know is they either come from extremely wealthy and influential families or they were homeless."
"So could the daughters of the rich families be considered leverage for Zeref to get their parents' money?" Erza asked.
"That's what it's looking like," Gray answered. "And the dirt poor girls were probably swept up because no one would miss them."
"Any witnesses to their disappearances?" Natsu inquired.
"None of the police reports we've found have said anything about witnesses or statements pertaining to the kidnappings," he replied. "When these girls were taken it was done with expertise to avoid any problems with the police."
"Great," Cana sighed. "Another dead end."
"Not necessarily," Levy spoke up. "Right now, we should focus on invading the drug shipment and apprehending the faction leader. One door might've closed but another is open now and we need to take it."
"This case will most likely bring up a lot of useless leads," Erza said. "No one ever said it was going to be easy, but it's not impossible." The group nodded and a new confidence built up within them to get busy.
"Natsu, I believe you can take it from here," she said, parting the crowd so she and Gildarts could head back upstairs.
"Right," Natsu said. "Alright, Gray and Juvia, I want you both to try and think of any other girls that might go missing. Rich or not, locate them and bring their names to me. Levy and Gajeel, start informing our guys about this drug shipment. I want every single person in the department who knows how to fire a gun to be there tomorrow night. And Cana and Jellal. Have you two found anything?"
"We found one possibility," Jellal said though his expression said it wasn't much. "We've searched abandoned buildings and any other obscure places throughout Magnolia but nothing definitive yet."
"We're thinking some place far on the outskirts of the city," Cana interjected. "I did find one place which seems pretty secluded and the most likely spot for a faction of Zeref's system. Its facade is called Mag Drug and it's considered a little unorthodox magic shop where people can buy illegal spells or potions. It's the most likely candidate but until we do more research we won't know for sure."
"Most likely, once we apprehend Zancrow's faction leader we'll be able to confirm it," Jellal said.
"Hopefully when we nab the faction leader we'll get more outta her than just her base information," Gajeel cut in.
"Well, in order for that to happen a lot of planning will have to go into our new operation," Natsu replied. "From now on, our main priority is getting at much information together as humanly possible about The Pegasus and her crew. We'll have to gather a team of police officers and other law enforcements and fill them in on everything so far. They'll have to be present as well for when this shipment comes in. Everyone clear?" Natsu's team nodded their heads and some gave muffled words of agreement.
"Good. Now let's head back up and get started."
Lucy was on top that night. Zeref liked to change things up every now again and Lucy hated when he demanded she be the one pleasuring him. She felt far more exposed and it was humiliating. Having sex with Zeref was bad enough but when she had to give in to his wishes, it made her feel like an accessory.
It felt dehumanizing.
Nonetheless, there she was—sitting on top of Zeref as she humped and moaned for him. She kept her head tilted back so she only had to look at the ceiling of their canopy bed and she rocked herself back and forth on him.
"Oh, Lucy. Harder, darling. Harder," Zeref goaded. Squeezing her eyes shut, Lucy painfully thrusted herself deeper into him. It felt like she was being torn apart and there was absolutely no joy in what she was doing.
Just when she was about to climb off him, Zeref smacked his hands down on her thighs and pressed her back on top. Sitting up, he grabbed her breasts violently and began twisting them. Lucy couldn't help the occasional whimpers that escaped her lips but she managed to make them come out as softly as possible. When he noticed she wasn't looking at him, Zeref reached up and grabbed Lucy by the hair, yanking her face down to his.
"Faster," he demanded. Lucy forced herself to smile and she pulled his face down to her chest so he couldn't look at her. As his lips tickled her nipple, she focused her eyes on the headboard of their massive bed.
Suddenly, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted his head, shaking it. Lucy slowly stopped and looked at him, confused and worried. Had he noticed she was acting strange? If so, he would surely punish her. She still had nightmares about the last time he got angry with her. And the scars would always be a reminder.
"Lucy," he sighed, kissing one breast at a time. "Why don't we try it tonight?" Lucy's heart picked up and she shook her head.
"Oh, Zeref," she said, stroking his hair. "I don't know if I'm up for it."
"Please, darling? You'll make me the happiest man in the world."
Looking into his black eyes, Lucy knew she really didn't have a choice. Even though he formed his request as a suggestion, she knew better than to deny him. The thought of what he wanted to do next already made her feel mortified. But she belonged to Zeref, not to herself. There was really no other choice. Smirking, she slowly climbed off him and lowered herself down in between his legs.
"Just tonight," she whispered. Zeref nodded, closing his eyes as she began licking it. He was already drenched from when she was on top but she couldn't shrink away. She had to do swallow it. He told her before it turned him off when other girls spit. The only small console she had was thinking about how she could throw it all up later. She didn't want to think about any part of him staying inside her body longer she allowed.
As she sucked and gargled, he pressed her head deeper between his legs and begged her to keep going. Feeling like she was going to burst into tears any minute, Zeref suddenly yanked her head up to him. Seizing her breasts again, he pulled her in for a long, wet kiss. He licked her lips and stuck his tongue deep down her throat before positioning her on her hands and knees.
"W—wait a minute," Lucy stuttered. "We didn't agree on this…." It was too late. He was already behind her, thrusting himself inside her again. Shocked by both the suddenness and the pain, Lucy let out a scream which she turned into moans. He humped her like an animal and her whole body shook, not just from the rocking but from the willpower it took not to cry.
"Lucy… Lucy," he moaned, going faster and faster. As he continued to hump her, he somehow managed to bring his hands back to her breasts, squeezing them and twisting her nipples. She was in so much pain she couldn't believe he wasn't sensing how uncomfortable she was. But then again, it was probably best he didn't know. Sure he would've stopped, but who's to say he wouldn't beat her senseless for not loving every minute of it.
Her body was not her own: it was Zeref's and he treated it like a sex toy. He only really wanted her around when he was aroused. People gave her the title of "queen" because they believed Zeref had grown fond of her. In reality, he only liked her because she had bigger breasts than most of his girls and she "knew how to please him" and "make him the happiest man on earth." It was all bullshit. She was less than a person in his eyes. Perhaps if she didn't have a voice, he would love her more.
As Zeref started finishing up, a loud knock came on the door of their room. He abruptly stopped and growled as he yanked himself out of Lucy. She let out a barely audible sigh once he released her and she retreated underneath the covers. So enraged by the disruption, Zeref opened the doors without even putting on a bathrobe to cover himself. And he was still hard as a rock.
"What?!" he demanded, holding the doors.
"Oh! Your Majesty! I'm so sorry!" stammered the person beyond the threshold.
"Speak will you still can," Zeref growled.
"Oh, right! We just received information from the Magnolia faction. It appears one of its members has gone missing."
"Who?"
"Zancrow, Your Highness."
"Does she know?"
"Yes, but no one's entirely sure where he was before he went missing. She's worried he might've fallen into law enforcement's hands." Zeref slammed his hands against the door.
"Goddamnit!" he shouted. "What does he know that could give us away?"
"She said he was supposed to be present at the docking of The Pegasus."
"We've been waiting on that damn shipment for weeks and now we'll have to postpone it?!"
"That's what she's suggesting, sir." Zeref was quiet for a minute before he spoke again.
"Tell her to find another dock in this fucking kingdom where we can redirect it. There has to be another place we can grab the cargo. We can't go any longer with it."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Slamming the doors, Zeref stalked back to the bed, rubbing his face in anger.
"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked, opening the bedsheets for him to crawl in with her.
"Now I'm worried about this damn shipment. All the guns and drugs on that ship have been stolen and there are most certainly people looking for it all. If we don't get it out of Cedar and distribute it as soon as possible, we'll be dealing with the repercussions for months," Zeref explained.
"And it's all just our main supplies?"
"Yes. We need new guns and ammunition and the drugs we plan to sell to keep our business partners on our good side. We can't afford to postpone its arrival."
"But we have plenty of weapons. Why do we need more?" Zeref sighed and shook his head.
"Some of our business partners have been pulling out. They think we're on the verge of being discovered. Speaking of which, one of our main suppliers is having a celebration next weekend. I'd like you to attend it and ensure Balsamico is still trustworthy."
"Of course," Lucy nodded. When he fell silent, she worried Zeref wanted to get back to it as he inched closer and pulled her against him. Luckily, he only nuzzled himself into her chest to fall asleep.
"Goodnight," he whispered. Still wired, Lucy gently raked his fingers through his hair as he began drifting off. Once he rolled off her while he dreamed, she crept out of bed and headed into the bathroom where she planned to rid herself of him.
A/N: Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks!