Levy's brain worked in overdrive as she ran through possible scenarios and outcomes in her head.
Had Saber Tooth actually developed tech that could black her signals? Had Gajeel been caught, his true purpose uncovered? Was he in danger?
Levy typed vigorously at her keyboard, trying to restore the signal. The screen remained dark.
"What do you wanna do Levy," Natsu asked from over her shoulder.
"I don't know," she said, hearing the panic in her own voice.
Natsu put a hand on Levy's shoulder and turned her toward him.
"Levy, this is your op. We may be off book here but you made the right call. You're the expert here, you know what to do." Natsu paused giving her a serious look. "What's the plan?"
Levy swallowed hard, glancing back at the blank screen of her computer. She nodded.
"We need eyes in there," she said with a confidence that surprised her.
"Done," Natsu said, immediately moving towards his gear.
"No," Levy said firmly. Natsu looked back at her in surprise. "We don't know for sure if his cover was blown, but it will be if you go in there." She moved to Gajeel's bag and started rummaging through it. "We need someone who isn't going to break cover. Someone they see as safe who can go in there without raising more suspicion. Most importantly, we need someone that can break through their tech."
Realization crossed Natsu's sharp features. "Okay, back up, I know you're field trained but this is another level-"
"I have a plan," Levy cut him off sternly. "I need you to set up some backup. Get Gray to gather as big a team as he can, as quickly as he can. We may have to raid them now if things go south. We can't lose everything we've worked for. Once I'm in I'll reestablish coms and send you a signal if I need you to move in."
Natsu gave her a hard look, but Levy knew this was the right plan. It was the only plan.
"Like you said Natsu, it's my op."
Natsu grimaced. "Damn Levy, now you sound like a proper agent," he grinned.
Levy pulled Gajeel's phone from his bag. "Go meet Gray," she said as she moved to the door, "I'm going to call in some help of my own."
"Should I even ask?"
Levy smiled in spite of the stress. "Probably not." She slid the door open and added, "You've got a half hour, got it?"
"Yes ma'm," Natsu laughed as he jumped into the front seat.
With that Levy stepped out into the dirt lot and headed south, away from the warehouse.
Levy opened Gajeel's phone, pulling a device from her pocket as she did so and plugging it into the base. She broke through the password without issue and started scrolling through until she found the number she was looking for. She pressed dial.
The phone rang twice and went straight to voicemail. Levy cursed under her breath and dialed the number again. She met the same response.
"Damn it," she said to herself as she hit send again. "Answer the phone," she whispered to herself.
The phone picked up.
"Gajeel if you call me one more time I'm going to reach through this phone and punch you. You-"
"Rogue," Levy said quickly, cutting off his rant, "It's Levy. Where are you? I need your help."
There was a long pause.
"I'm on my way to a meeting in the packing district. I'm already late and I don't have time for whatever plot you and Gajeel have cooking up at the moment."
"Gajeel's in danger," Levy said simply.
There was another long pause.
"And why should I care? I told you both not to bother me. My bastard of a brother can deal with whatever shit he's gotten himself into on his own. I'm sure he can handle it."
"You're going to the warehouse to meet with Minerva, right?" Levy guessed.
"How the hell-"
"Look," Levy said taking a deep breath, "Minerva's gotten mixed up into some really bad business. Gajeel is undercover but I lost his signal, I think it's something to do with your tech." Levy was taking a big risk sharing this with Rogue, she knew that. But he was her only way of getting in that building.
"Why should I help him?"
"Because he's your brother," she offered simply. "And because, despite what you may think, he cares about you. He would do the same for you."
The phone was silent for a moment before Rogue finally spoke again.
"Where are you," he asked.
"I'll text you the address, it's across from your destination."
"Damn it," Rogue growled. "This project was supposed to be mine. Minerva was going to put me in charge. She hasn't even told me what it is yet. That's what this damn meeting was for."
"Be glad she hasn't or you'd be an accessory."
Rogue cursed under his breath. "See you in a minute, I'm almost there."
Levy's heart pounded as the line went dead.
"Mr. Redfox," Minerva's voice echoed in the small empty room inside the warehouse. He'd been escorted in by two large, gruff looking men that he didn't recognize. They certainly weren't at the party. If they had, they would have stood out like gargoyles no matter where they'd been standing. They had kept him waiting for over a half hour already before they took him back. He'd noticed a strange pop in his earpiece when he'd entered, but the tech Levy had set him up with was the best he had. He wasn't too concerned over it.
"Minerva," he greeted, calling her by her first name. He noticed the frown crease her dark lips before disappearing again.
"This way," she said, moving towards a door on the opposite wall and gesturing him to follow.
They entered a long, narrow hallway of corrugated steel walls. The air was musty. The lighting was dim, the rooms all cold enough to chill Gajeel underneath his jacket.
As they walked in silence, Gajeel tried not to let his mind wander back to the blue haired girl in the van. The look of determination in her eyes when she had said she wanted to stick to the mission was stuck in his head. It was the confidence there that had stuck him. The look was a stark contrast to the mousey nervousness she'd had in the boardroom that first day they'd met. There was something about it that made Gajeel feel… proud? No, Gajeel thought, that wasn't quite right. But this wasn't the time to try and figure it out.
Gajeel shook his head in an attempt to clear it as the passed through another door into the main body of the warehouse.
Immediately Gajeel pressed the button on the side of his watch, trying to get a picture of the place before Minerva turned back to him. He wasn't sure it would work, but at least it was something.
"This will be the headquarters for our new operation," Minerva began as she turned to face him. She smiled. "This building has been inlaid with new tech we have been developing for years. It is state of the art. No other technology in existence could break through the barriers we've created."
Gajeel kept his expression blank while his gut tightened. Was that what that popping noise had been? Had he lost his connection with Levy? There was no way for him to know. He would need to be careful though, this was not the time to go dark and then be found out. This case was going to earn him the respect of his coworkers, acceptance into the company. He was not going to screw this up. The thought of Levy sitting out there and losing sight of him was concerning. Hopefully she wouldn't do anything rash.
"What makes this project so special," Gajeel grunted coarsely, "Why all the secrecy."
"Because," a slow, smug voice came up from behind him. "This is as much our operation as it is Minerva's."
Gajeel turned, unsurprised to see the dark haired Mard Geer standing just behind him. His arms were crossed behind his back. A long, dusting trench coat hung around him, patterned in shades of black and dark purple.
"We have product we need to move," he said, brushing by Gajeel and moving down the steel staircase to the main floor. The heels of his boots clicked sharply with each step. "Saber Tooth is providing the security we need, and in turn we are cutting them in on the profits."
"And by 'we', you mean Tartaros?" Gajeel said coldly. He needed Mard Geer to admit that the Tartaros family was involved with moving the drug.
Mard Geer gave him an oil slick smile.
"The Tartaros family has never been involved in anything untoward," He said simply. "We have neither participated in nor have we ever been held accountable for any crime or misdemeanor. We are… careful," he added slowly. "We protect our own. We could protect you, if you agree to assist us."
"And what is it you want me to do, exactly."
"It's really quite simple," Minerva chimed as she moved down the stairs. Gajeel followed her to down to the hard concrete floor of the main space. Partitions blocked off machinery that whirled and groaned loudly behind them. It sounded like a cement truck. "Mard Geer has a few… loose ends that need tidying up. That's what you're here for."
Gajeel turned back to Mard Geer, he let a hint of suspicion tint his voice. "For a guy who talks about being careful," he said meeting Mard Geer's eyes, "it sounds like you don't seem to trust your people with this. Why? Why me?"
"I know a lot about you, Mr. Redfox. A man with a reputation to handle the ugly situations others can't quite stomach. You built quite a reputation for yourself at Phantom. I take notice of the people worth taking notice of."
"And you don't want whatever this is to be tied directly to your family," Gajeel prodded. This was exactly what he needed. He needed to keep the man talking.
Mard Geer's smile widened. "Perceptive, just as I had expected." Then he nodded. "To be fair, you're not wrong. I have to be careful what my people take part in directly and what tasks we… outsource."
Gajeel noticed Minerva shift her weight ever slow slightly, like a nervous gesture. Apparently not even she was immune to the intimidating sound of the other man's voice. Maybe she didn't actually want to be involved with him… But that didn't really matter now. She was clearly just as much a part of this as they expected Gajeel to be.
"In addition to assisting with physical security for Saber Tooth," Minerva said smoothly, "There is a problem we have run into that effects both us and Tartaros. You see, there seems to be evidence that some of the security files within our system have been tampered with."
Gajeel arched a brow, as if in surprise. As if he and Levy hadn't done just that the night before. He looked back to Mard Geer, "and that affects you how, exactly?"
Mard Geer tilted his head to the side, examining Gejeel, as if judging his trustworthiness one final time.
When he finally spoke, his voice had an almost palpable chill.
"I believe someone in the family may somehow be involved."
Gajeel was taken aback by that, genuine surprise sweeping over his sharp features.
"You think you have a traitor inside the Tartaros family?"
Mard Geer nodded silently, letting his words settle in. "A traitor," he replied slowly, "that needs to be dealt with in a fashion appropriate to his crimes."
Gajeel nodded, understanding the implications in the other man's words. This wasn't simply an investigation. This was an assassination. Whatever it was that Gajeel had been expecting, it was nothing like this. He'd assumed it would be something directly tied to the drug. This was far, far more dangerous.
"What is it about the product you're developing that would make one of your own turn on you," Gajeel asked, trying to turn the conversation back to Lullaby. The drug was what the case revolved around, this business with Tartaros was far beyond what they had expected to be pulled into.
Mard Geer looked over to Minerva and nodded. The tall woman cleared her throat before she spoke.
"Tartaros needs the highest level of security to move their product- a drug. It's called Lullaby. Technically it is not exactly illegal in and of itself as it is a new substance and it has not yet been able to be labeled as such. Though moving any such type of drug is still illegal as far as distribution. We are providing them a secure facility for production and will be rolling out tech for them to use for distribution and exportation."
"So there you have it," Mard Geer said, spreading his hands out in front of him. "An opportunity that will afford you everything you've probably never imagined you can have. The pay is beyond what it should be, but we can't have just anyone do this for us, and your pay will reflect that."
Gajeel was about to respond when the steel door at the top of the stairs flew open and two figures emerged.
Rogue stood there, his features twisted in rage. Next to him was Levy, her big eyes filled with tears. Rogue's hand held her by the arm just as he had the night before, pulling her along after him.
With every muscle in his body, Gajeel fought the urge to rush up those stairs, pull Rogue off of her, and throw him back down them.
"M'lady," Rogue said, almost panting. "I have something you need to hear."