*Author's Note: "Born Without A Heart" is technically Part 2 in the Heart Shaped World series- But I've designed them to be stand-alone as much as possible so feel free to read on, or go check out Part 1: "Wicked Game". Hope you enjoy!*
Gajeel wanted to punch something, or someone, or both would work too. He'd been working as a PI at Fairy Tail Private Investigation and Security, the leading private security firm in the area, for over a month now and they were still giving him the run around.
He wanted a good case. Not the shit cases they kept throwing him. He was the new guy, but he'd already proved his worth, he knew. So why were they still treating him like a novice?
Fairy Tail had recruited him during an investigation into Gajeel's previous employer, Ivan, at The Blue Kitten nightclub. Gajeel had agreed to double cross Ivan in order to catch the bastard in the act of selling off his dancers in some sort of human trafficking ring.
The thought made Gajeel burn with rage. He couldn't believe he'd almost gotten caught up in something so disgusting, just to make a buck. Gajeel didn't really care whose side he was on, good or bad or whatever, but that was a line he was not willing to cross- especially when someone he cared about was at risk of getting hurt. He didn't give a shit about most anyone, but Juvia was the exception. She'd been there for him when no one else was, and he wasn't about to see her in danger in any way.
When Natsu, Fairy Tail's lead PI, had approached Gajeel about turning on Ivan, he'd thought the smug ass hole was full of shit. But when Natsu said Fairy Tail could protect Juvia, who was working at Ivan's club, well, Gajeel couldn't turn that down.
Now Gajeel was stuck canvassing the streets of the city investigating cheating husbands and shady jerks who owed one of their clients a debt. The gig was a bust. He'd probably leave Fairy Tail after this case. Being the "good guy" just wasn't for him.
Gajeel turned down a dingy alley in the heart of downtown. The guy he'd been following for the last two weeks was hiding something down here. Every night the kid would hit up a different pawnshop, lift a few small items, and head back here to dispose of his goods. Why he was hiding his earnings down an ally was beyond Gajeel. If it were him, he'd get rid of the evidence as soon as possible.
But Gajeel wasn't a cop. He wasn't there to arrest the little punk. He had a client that wanted something returned, a family heirloom that was lifted from a little shop a few blocks down. Apparently the man had been planning to buy it back that day, only to find it missing. The broker said he hadn't sold it, the police said there was nothing they could do, so the man called Fairy Tail.
And now here Gajeel was, wandering down an alley with broken streetlights and dumpsters that reeked of putrid garbage. He fucking hated this job.
His black hair hung loose past the collar of his tan trench coat, a grey fedora pulled low over his eyes.
There was a noise at the end of the ally, voices talking in a hushed whisper. Gajeel moved deeper into the shadows as he crept closer.
"This isn't enough," a low, frustrated male voice said.
"Come on," a second voice pleaded. "I'll have more tomorrow. Just give me an advance."
"Afraid it doesn't work like that, Eli," the first man said without sympathy.
"I need it!" Eli's voice rose in desperation. There was a sudden flurry of movement in the shadows ahead, the sound of a scuffle between the two men.
A sharp metal clank sounded as Gajeel's foot knocked into a hard object on the floor.
Shit.
Gajeel charged forward as the two figures raced toward the back of the ally. One, taller and leaner than the other, moved with lightning speed toward a brick wall, ascending it with little effort and disappearing behind it.
"Damn it," Gajeel said under his breath.
Gajeel overtook the shorter man, grabbing him roughly by his jacket and yanking him back. He struggled as Gajeel wrapped a strong arm around his neck in a choke hold.
"Let me go!" Eli's voice squeaked out under Gajeel's weight. "I didn't do anything!"
"Sure you didn't," Gajeel scoffed, the hint of a satisfied smile on his lips. With his free hand Gajeel whipped a pair of cuffs out of his pocket and secured the guys hands behind his back.
The guy lunged back with all his weight, knocking Gajeel off balance. He lurched forward but Gajeel quickly took him to the ground, pressing his face hard into the wet asphalt.
"Stay still you piece of shit or you'll be eating gravel."
Eli stilled below Gajeel's weight.
Gajeel chuckled humorlessly at the pathetic kid on the ground.
"What were you doing down here?"
"Nothing man, I wasn't doing-"
Gajeel pressed the guy's face harder into the asphalt.
"You really wanna argue with me, kid?" He snapped gruffly.
"I was making a deal," Eli's voice strained to speak.
"For what?"
"A puppy," the kid snapped sarcastically.
This time Gajeel punched the kid in the side of his head with an iron first.
"Shit man!" Eli cried. "Drugs, fuckin' drugs man."
"Idiot," Gajeel growled. Of course it was drugs. The kid must have been shoplifting and then meeting whoever that other man was to trade for the drugs.
With the kid still pinned to the ground, Gajeel surveyed the area. There was no sign of the other man. There were a few footprints, but the misty rain that had begun to fall was already washing them away.
Something shinny on the ground caught Gajeel's eye.
"Hey man, let me up-"
"Shut up and stay there or you'll be eating through a straw" Gajeel snapped as he moved towards the sparkling substance spread across the ground near the brick wall. He knelt down close to examine it.
About a half a dozen bright, amethyst colored crystals the size of rock candy littered the ground. Gajeel picked one up, looking it over, he gave it a sniff, but it was odorless. He broke one in half.
They weren't crystals, just a crystalline substance Gajeel had never seen before. He scooped up the pieces and dropped them into a small zip lock bag.
"What kinda drug were you buying?" Gajeel asked as he dragged the kid to his feet.
Eli hesitated.
Gajeel tightened his grip on the man's wrists.
"Ow!" The guy cried. "Lullaby! It's called Lullaby!"
A sly grin creased Gajeel's mouth as he led to guy toward the unmarked car parked around the corner.
"You just made my day," Gajeel snickered, now knowing exactly what the purple substance was. Finally, he had something interesting to do.
Levy was at her wits end with this assignment.
It was already past midnight. She yawned and stretched in her chair, the cursor on her computer screen flashing at her. She re-tied the orange cloth headband that tamed her wild blue hair, keeping it out of her face.
It was past midnight and she was still at work, but that wasn't unusual. She was performing a routine security check for a private network she had helped set up a few months back.
That was her specialty at Fairy Tail- Cyber Security. Cyber Security fell under their Intelligence branch. Intelligence was research, and Levy loved research.
Her assignments varied, ranging from tracking stolen goods, surveying the movements of criminals, and hacking into private security systems. Recently, though, she'd kept being handed all the security checks.
The Cyber Security branch was in charge of setting up custom, secure networking systems for clients in need of high-end security for their companies. They even had a few government contracts. During a security check, Levy would attempt to break-in to one of the private systems designed by Fairy Tail to see how their work was holding up. If Levy was able to infiltrate their system, the team would then go about fixing the bugs and holes that she discovered.
It was fun, Levy conceded. They were fairly low stress projects since they were really just drills and practice. But it was getting tedious.
Levy hadn't worked a real case for over a month. Not since assisting her superior, Freed Justine, in an operation to break into a closed security system in order to catch a human trafficking ring.
Although it had gotten Levy's blood pumping, she wasn't really a part of the action. While her counterparts where involved in physical surveillance, her position took place further behind the scenes.
The Security team, headed by Gray Fullbuster, and their lead PI, Natsu Dragneel, raided the facility where the trafficking was being done. Levy, on the other hand, had basically been confined to their equipment van while Natsu, Gray, and their teams did all the work.
Sometimes she envied her friends Natsu and Gray. They got to be hands on with their cases- truly involved in taking down the bad guy. Levy's victories were more detached, consisting of numbers and letters on her computer screen.
But when it came down to it, Levy's job was to help people, to keep them safe, and she loved that.
A knock at Levy's open door made her jump.
"May I interrupt?" It was Freed, as tall and put-together as always. His long, pale green hair matched perfectly to the tie below his grey suit.
"Of course!" Levy said in a chipper voice but with a tired smile.
Freed moved fluidly toward the seat across from Levy's desk. Levy slid one of her three monitors to the side so she wouldn't have to strain to see him over the top of it, her short stature working against her.
"How's the check for Blue Pegasus going?"
"No holes yet," Levy said, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Who set that system up?"
"Originally? I did."
Freed arched his brow.
"We don't normally have the creator do the checks on their own system."
"Well..." Levy started. "I've been handling all the checks recently. I'm not getting any real assignments."
"Hmm," Freed hummed thoughtfully. "That may be changing."
Levy's spirit swelled at the thought of finally having some interesting work to do. She smiled brightly, the sleep vanishing from her eyes.
"Thank you, I-" she began, but Freed cut her off.
"Makarov called a meeting. I want you in there with me."
Freed spoke as if attending a meeting with the head of Fairy Tail was no big deal. Levy felt butterflies burst into her stomach.
"Third floor, conference room one. Be there in thirty minutes."
Without another word Freed swept out of Levy's office.
If Makarov called the meeting, then whatever the case was, it was important. Freed wanting her in there with him... Well, it was a huge compliment, and that rattled her nerves to her core.
Immediately Levy began scrambling through her desk drawer for a fresh notebook and pen. Being prepared was kind of her thing. As nervous as she was, as long as she was prepared, she knew she'd be just fine. She just wished she knew what the meeting was about.