Hello all! This chapter is a little shorter but the next one will be longer again. I hope you enjoy!
As always, I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima and I thank him for it's use in my own creative expressions *bows*
It had been mid-morning when Zancrow had gotten the summons to go see his boss; Hades wanted an update on the situation with Zoldeo and Nirvana. Instead of councilman Purehito's offices at city hall, he was told to go to Grimoire Heart's private headquarters in a warehouse in northern Fiore. Unlike his public persona Purehito; Hades, the leader of Grimoire Heart was secretive, untrusting and power hungry. His goal was total control of the city and by influencing both the government and underground crime world he was closer than ever to accomplishing what was thought impossible.
Zancrow was sent to an empty room when he arrived and then paced for almost an hour waiting, with each passing minute he felt his ire raise but it was balanced out by the small seed of fear. He ground his teeth in annoyance at the situation and at himself; he had almost nothing he could tell Hades that he actually wanted him to know. He looked up at the sound of a door opening but it wasn't the Master like he expected but his business partner and best friend. Azuma Fawna strolled silently into the room, the look on his dark face warned Zancrow that he was about to be lectured.
"Whatever it is, you can spare me," he muttered before Azuma could open his mouth. He was not in the mood for his meddling.
"I wish that I could," Azuma replied in his rumbling deep voice. He had the stature and build of a pro athlete instead of the business man that he was. He towered a foot taller than Zancrow, with thick muscled arms, legs like branches and a torso as wide as a tree trunk. Even casually dressed in a polo shirt and designer jeans he looked ready to burst out of his clothes like a dark skinned and dreadlocked Hulk.
"The truth is," his continued, his voice dropping to just above a whisper. "I was called in by Hades just as you were. My warning might be too late to save either of us."
The seed of fear turned into a sharp stab in his chest but Zancrow dismissed it. "I have everything under control," he lied between clenched teeth. "This is just a minor set-back; the plan will go off without any more problems. I will fix this."
"I warned you when you brought this to me there were too many ways it could go wrong," Azuma replied, his tone hadn't changed but the words sounded regretful instead of urgent now.
"Your earlier objections are not valid in this case; it is something that we never could have predicted. Besides, it's not like you are involved so why would Hades punish you for my betrayal?"
"Do you really think that if he finds out I knew about your plans and did not reveal them before-hand that he would not hesitate to kill me as well? It has been inevitable since the moment you conceived this charade that it was doomed to fail and drag us down with it."
Zancrow felt like lashing out in rage at his friend but he knew that now was not the time for his usual impulsive reactions. He was just about to give Azuma another sharp reply when the inner office door opened.
A tall woman strolled into the room and faced the two of them squarely. "Master Hades will see you now."
"Both?" Azuma asked, his face giving nothing away.
"Both," the woman confirmed before turning back to the door. They followed her through into Hades' dark private office, the blinds on the windows were closed to the bright day outside and the only light came from two lamps fixed into the opposite side walls. The Master could sometimes be too over-dramatic for Zancrow's taste, which was saying a lot.
"Zancrow, Azuma, its good of you to join us," Hades greeted them eerily. It was more of the other way around Zancrow thought bitterly, he had been waiting to see him for over an hour.
"It was our pleasure Master," Azuma replied instead. "Whatever we can do to serve you and Grimoire Heart, it will be done." His tone was sincere yet strong and believable; Zancrow was always impressed on how dedicated Azuma was to the cause and its leader. He was surprised sometimes on how much the man was willing to overlook when their business deals did not act in the best interest of the organization, like they did right now.
"I'm glad to hear that," Hades's expression didn't change. The shadows were only lighting up about half of his bearded face and his eye-patch made him look even more ominous. "I'm hoping that our little problem has been solved; please tell me that you have good news Zancrow?"
He wanted to growl but Zancrow knew that it would just further raise Hades' increasing suspicions. "We have yet to locate the girl or the envelope, I had the men break into her apartment and sit outside on the street but she hasn't come back to it yet."
Hades threaded his fingers together and placed his arms down on the desk, glaring at Zancrow through one narrowed eye. "So you have failed to locate one defenseless woman?" He sneered. "Yesterday you assured me that it would be taken care of right away and now you are telling me that you have nothing."
"She does not have a cell phone and or any living family. We believe that she is getting help from someone but we don't know who," he lied. He knew exactly who would be helping Levy McGarden, but he did not want Hades to know those details, not yet. "I am trying to get a detailed background on her but so far there is nothing."
"The police report said that there were two witnesses in the alley," Hades replied quietly. "How are you so sure that it is the woman that possesses the envelope and not the man?"
Zancrow didn't question how Hades had managed to get a hold of the confidential files, either legitimately through his office or by criminal means he could get any information he needed at any time. He only hoped that the report wasn't detailed enough to give too much away too soon or else he could be caught in his lies.
"We think that if we find the woman that she will lead us to the man." It was actually somewhat true.
Hades looked at him for a long minute as if he was judging the response. "Very well," he said finally. "I will be expecting updates on your progress and you had better have results soon." He turned his head to look at Azuma. "This leads me to my next order of business; it seems that we have a traitor in our organization."
"Sir?" Azuma asked with a raised eyebrow, but his face was still completely expressionless.
"Zoldeo did not have access to what he stole but he had stolen it nonetheless. That means that one of our inner circle was feeding him information for profit, that it treason to Grimoire Heart and must be punished. I want you to find out who the traitor is and eliminate them by any means necessary."
"Are you sure that it was an internal leak?" Azuma asked. "Is there any other way that he could have gotten it?"
"I have taken great pains to make sure that the secret of Nirvana is only ours, which is why it must remain that way. However Zoldeo came by the document, it must be contained."
"I will not let you down sir," Azuma bowed his head. Show off, Zancrow thought to himself but it would appease Hades then he could put up with it.
"Make sure that you don't, either of you. Contact me when there is any progress. You may leave."
Not wanting to stay any longer than he had to Zancrow muttered a response and turned to the door. Azuma nodded to the woman still standing in the corner of the room before following him.
Zancrow waited until they were out of earshot and on their way out of the building before speaking. "Well that was not as bad as I thought it was going to be." Now that it was over he felt like laughing, he was going to get away with this and right under everyone's noses.
"It was still not good." Azuma raised an eyebrow. "So you have a plan then?"
"Don't worry my friend, everything will work out. What are you going to tell Hades?" Zancrow was curious about the other man's next move.
"If the Master wants a traitor I shall have to give him one," Azuma replied simply, his expression hadn't changed but his voice had become firm.
"Really?" Zancrow didn't know if he should be scared or impressed by his resolve. "There isn't anything I should be worried about, is there?"
Azuma shook his head slightly. "As easy as it would be for me to end this here and now there is no way out of it for either of us. Once I start digging there is no telling what I could find."
They had made it outside now, nodding to the two men standing security by the metal gate surrounding the warehouse property they broke off to their own separate cars. The gates opened and Zancrow headed off to his own building. He had to check in with his men to see where they had gotten on tracking the girl down and if she had the document. If Redfox had it then things would be even more complicated, he needed him alive in order to throw off suspicion later on when the information was leaked.
Hades had talked about the pains he had taken to keep this information exclusive, that was what made it invaluable to Zancrow and once it was revealed that it had been compromised than he would be able to do what he wanted without consequences. Hades thought that he would soon be the most powerful man in Fiore, but Zancrow didn't intend to let the old man keep that title for too long before taking it as his own. He smiled to himself as he drove along, there might even be a way he could use this situation to his advantage, he would just need to get a little more creative.
Lisanna was still sleeping deeply when her cellphone started ringing beside her, she groaned and pulled the sleeping bag over her head to try and block out the noise. It was after noon, the girls had been up until almost four in the morning watching TV, eating leftover pizza and popcorn and gossiping about their lives before falling asleep on the floor. Finally the phone stopped and Lisanna sighed with relief before rolling over, but before she could get comfortable it started up again.
"Ugh…" She groaned, reaching out of her warm blankets to find her phone and see who was trying to call her. The display blinked Mira and she knew that her sister wouldn't give up until she answered.
"Hello?" Lisanna croaked into her phone.
"Lis!" The older girl sounded surprised and relieved. "Where are you? It's after lunch; I thought you would have been home hours ago."
"I was sleeping," Lisanna mumbled. "We stayed up really late last night."
"I need you to help me," Mira ordered. "So get here as soon as you can."
"Alright, bye." Lisanna hit the end button and then looked around. Wendy was curled up in a sleeping bag and blanket beside her, and Wendy's white cat Charle was between them. She was surprised that the conversation hadn't woken her up but if Wendy was still as tired as she was then an earthquake wouldn't wake her.
Lisanna crawled out of the sleeping bag as quietly as she could, she really wanted a shower but it would take too much time and Mira wanted her back ASAP. Making Mira wait too long was a hazard in itself. She pulled her duffle bag into the bathroom and got changed quickly; washed her face, brushed her teeth and then pulled her hair back into a short ponytail. She tip toed out, trying to be as quiet as possible but when she got back into the living room Wendy was awake and stretching.
"Mornin'" Lisanna sang. "Well, kinda anyway."
Wendy's hair was sticking up all over the place and she still looked half asleep. "I slept like a rock," she murmured. "What time is it?"
"Almost one, Mira called so I gotta run but you're coming over for supper right?"
"I'll be there," Wendy yawned. "See you later."
"Later." Lisanna grabbed her purse and duffle bag and slipped out the door. She could have called a cab but the day was so bright and sunny she thought it would be nice to walk. The slight breeze smelled like potted flowers and hot pavement which made Lisanna's nose twitch with the sudden urge to sneeze, seasonal allergies could really suck.
The traffic was pretty heavy for a Sunday; lots of cars and people around but it must have been because of the holiday. Lisanna cut into an alley, she was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't notice that she was being followed by a black SUV with dark tinted windows.
The walk from Wendy's back to Laxus and Mira's was only about twenty blocks and Lisanna didn't make any stops along the way except to pull her sunglasses out of her purse and put them on to help with the headache she had. The SUV pulled up and parked across the street from the Dreyar house, the driver watched as Lisanna walked up the driveway and let herself through the front door. He stayed for a few more minutes and then eased back out onto the street, his work was done for now.
Alrighty! If you are enjoying this story and like my take on the modern day Fairy Tail AU, make sure you check out my new posting: Seven Dragon Detective Agency- Side Stories with the new one-shot fic "First Day". Better description for it in the posting. See you soon!