Lucy surveyed the hallway before closing the door, locking both the keyed entry and the dead bolt. Turning to face the room, she watched as Erza thoroughly searched, turning over lamps, an old chipped vase, and even the chairs for any listening devices. Natsu and Wendy used their own heightened senses to gauge whether any outside sources were spying on them.
She walked to the small table in the corner of the room they'd rented for the sake of privacy. There Gray sat, sunglasses discarded, but eyes still closed, as he gathered a few items from various pouches and slots from his well organized travel bag, before retreating into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. No light shown from within.
For a moment, she worried about their current circumstances. This was supposed to be a simple quest involving some low level hoodlums, something easy to get Gray back into the game; not a complex operation involving hostage taking and threats to little children. Lucy didn't want to be the one to say it, but was it a good idea to allow him to continue with the mission?
Going through the trouble of kidnapping a man's family, and orchestrating the whole situation in order to fool a team of mages to abandon a quest, wasn't something a group of common criminals did. There was something larger going on here than a mere smuggling ring operating in a small village, something that required intelligence and resources.
They may be dealing with a crime syndicate.
After several moments of tense silence, everyone seemed satisfied with their tasks, and gathered around the table.
"I've found no sign of surveillance devices," Erza reported, "What about you two?"
"We weren't followed," declared Natsu with utmost certainty.
"Do you really think they could be watching us?" wondered Wendy.
"It's best to assume until we know otherwise. For now, I think we can talk unimpeded. What do we know so far?" asked Erza.
"The note Mr. Rhein slipped us didn't have any clues to go by. Natsu, anything in the bag?" asked Lucy.
Turning the bag over onto the table, a pile of jewels, more than three times they'd been offered in the original quest, along with some loose sheets of paper, spilled out.
"Looks like the mission's been changed to a rescue op. There's a map with some places circled, and a couple of notes. They were addressed to Rhein—"
He suddenly broke off, becoming visibly angered at what he was reading.
"Natsu, what does it say?" Erza demanded.
"The bastards told him to get rid of us or they'd return his family in pieces, starting with his youngest daughter's little finger."
Wendy and Lucy were horrified.
"What should we do? They've got hostages. Should we call for backup?" asked Lucy.
"They were expecting us," came Gray's assessment as he exited the bathroom, "Chances are they were watching for our arrival, and are already pissed that we've decided to stay the night." Instead of his traveling clothes, he'd changed into a different colored button down with his sleeves rolled up. For some reason, he'd switched his gloves out for gauze dressings, which wrapped around his hands to just below the elbows. He'd even changed from the light denim he'd worn here to a dark pair of cargo pants.
He dropped his old clothes beside his bag, before unraveling more gauze. As he wrapped his eyes, he continued.
"Our lingering here will agitate them, make them nervous and more aggressive. They're likely trying to decide if they should follow through with their threat, or stand by to see what we'll do. If we have to wait for reinforcements, their patience will wear thin. We need to act now."
Erza nodded in agreement, the only one among his team to recognize his current actions and attitude as coming from experience gained while undercover in Avatar. He understands the inner workings of a criminal organization, and would most be able to identify the likely responses of an outlaw while under duress.
"Why'd you change your clothes?" wondered Natsu.
"If the smugglers did have a sentry posted by the village entrance, they would have only been required to report our presence to the higher ups. I doubt they took the time to memorize what we look like."
"That's why you were hiding your blindness earlier!" said Lucy.
Gray nodded, saying, "If the smugglers are watching the headman's house, I'm hoping they missed that detail as we were going in. Either way, I doubt they're familiar with every person who lives in and around the village. They definitely won't be expecting a blind guy wandering around town to be a threat to them."
"And the bandages?"
"I tragically lost my sight in the same farming accident which nearly took my hands. It's only been a few weeks. I haven't learned how to navigate yet, so I have to rely on my cousin to lead me around town to run a few errands. Any volunteers?"
"You want to go undercover to find the hostages, with one of us being there for backup," said Erza, "That's not a bad plan. Lucy, what about the map Rhein gave us?"
"It's not much, just a hand-drawn map of the highlights of the village. We can find the farmers market, a couple of inns, including this one, and some local eateries. Of the marked off places, one matches the location of the smugglers' hideout as reported by the intel we already received. The other looks like it's on the outskirts of the local markets. It's not a labeled building, so it's probably vacant. There are a couple of small businesses nearby. A convenience store, a tavern, a couple of diners, nothing of note."
"That's where they are. Rhein's family. They're being held there," said Gray.
"Why do you think that?" asked Wendy.
"They're not gonna want hostages in their den. It's bad enough its location is known. They won't risk a raid that could set their operations back too much. They'll keep the hostages hidden, somewhere isolated, but near enough to take care of basic needs. They don't want them dead, not if it gets Rhein to cooperate. They'll be reasonably cared for until something happens to change their status."
"You're awfully confident about all these things," Lucy observed, not in a praising way, but more with a sense of dread.
"… When I was in Avatar, that was standard operating procedure."
"..."
"*Ahem* Very well," said Erza, "We have very little time, so let's use it wisely. Gray, what do you need?"
All were quiet as they allowed him to consider. Then...
"Let's start with a bottle of cheap whiskey."
ooooo
Lester was moving up in life. No longer would he have to slave away in some old guy's fields, harvesting beans and turnips for so little pay. He'd had reservations when his cousin had introduced him to Brent, someone who held a place on one of the higher rungs of the ladder within the organization he worked for. The pay he'd received after his first job had quickly squelched those doubts. A simple delivery, no questions asked. He has no idea what he's been transporting, nor did he care, so long as he got paid on time.
This assignment was different. Everyone's been tight-lipped about the recent goings-on in the village, but whatever his betters were involved in was none of his business. He knew enough to keep quiet and do what he was told. There certainly wasn't as much excitement in people watching as there was in transporting unknown goods between towns he'd otherwise never would have visited in his old, boring life. Seriously, just because he grew up in this podunk town didn't mean he'd recognize everyone else who did.
There sure had been a flurry of activity ever since Dale and Autry had reported that group of strangers visiting the headman this morning. Just a couple of guys and some girls, and oddly enough, a couple of cats. As soon as they were spotted, Dale had been sent to report their arrival while Autry had remained in the bell tower across the street to monitor the conversations from within Rhein's office, via several audio lacrimas placed throughout.
Their group knew the mages had been sent on their way, so at least the headman had done as he was told. There was some consternation among the higher ups when the mages had checked into one of the inns. Were they just planning to spend the night? Lester reasoned he'd do the same if he'd just walked several hours in order to do a job, only to learn it'd been cancelled.
But what did he know? He was just one of several lowly pawns who'd been pulled from their regular duties to keep a look out for any newcomers to the village, and report back any suspicious activity. How was he supposed to tell whether anyone was a mage or not? Not all mages wore visible guild marks. Also, what the heck counted as suspicious activity?
Leaning against the brick wall of the vacant building which used to house a mom-and-pop store, he gazed out into the street, seeing the same thing he's always seen growing up: A bunch of people leading dull, insignificant, stagnant lives. At the moment, he was just one of those pathetic peons, at least he appeared to be. Just some unemployed loser loitering outside an abandoned lot.
He couldn't wait for this assignment to be over, hopefully as soon as those mystery mages left. He had better things to do than watch the daughter of the guy who ran the diner flirt with the customers, hoping for bigger tips. There wasn't much to learn from the interactions between the florist and the owner of the small book shop across the street either.
The couple coming out of the tavern didn't look all that familiar, but most of the patrons of all these stores tended to blend together after a while. The blind guy kinda stuck out, though. From the looks of it, whatever messed him up happened pretty recently, since the wounds were still covered. He was stumbling and leaning heavily against the pretty chestnut haired woman, who looked none too pleased with him. Coming out of the tavern, Lester could guess what she was upset about. Maybe the day wouldn't be too boring, if these people were able to entertain him for a few minutes.
They were crossing the street not far from his location, and though he couldn't tell what the lady was saying, her tone of voice was enough to know she was fussing the guy out. They turned towards his direction and continued walking/shuffling/dragging along his way. He could now hear the woman's ranting from where he stood.
"Onyx, Uncle will be very disappointed when we get home. Asher should be ashamed of himself, leaving you there alone. He knows you can't find your way home by yourself. What were you thinking, talking him into taking you to a tavern? You should appreciate your life more since the accident. Instead you're wasting it away in that dive of a bar."
"I c-certainly -preciate de pretty barmaid keepin' m' glass full," he slurred.
"That 'pretty barmaid' was a man, and he was trying to make you drink all your savings away."
"You sure? He sound pretty like you, Ruby. Don' matter. Man, woman, or dog, s' long theys keep th' drinks flowin'."
'This guy's a piece of work,' thought Lester.
"Oh, dammit!" exclaimed Ruby as she peaked into her purse.
"Ruby say th' naughty words," snickered Onyx, grinning like he'd just heard the most hilarious joke.
"It's not funny. I must have left my wallet at the tavern. It'll take too long to drag you back there. Excuse me, sir," Ruby called out to Lester, "My cousin is quite drunk, and as you can see, he can't be left on his own. I need to run back across the street to retrieve my wallet. Please do not let him wander off."
Ruby turned to walk away. Lester called out frantically, "Hey! I ain't a freakin babysitter! You can't leave him here!"
"I'll be really quick, I promise!"
"I mean it! Get back here—dammit. Who the hell leaves a cripple alone with some stranger they just met on the street?"
"Oy! I's not a damn cripple!… I'm an Aquarius. Like th' mermaid? That means I'ma mermaid too, yeah?"
"What the hell are you on?"
"No, 's not right," the drunkard murmured, "Can' be a mermaid, s-stupid. Tha's a girl. Ain't no girl. Wha's a boy maid? Is a butler, right? I'ma mer-butler."
"Shit, you really got yourself wasted. You smell like a brewery. You take a dive in a tankard or something?"
"Don' be silly, you silly… silly you. Mer-butlers don' swim in tankards. We're fish people. We swim… we s-swim… wherever the hell we want, 's where we swim. The hell you thhhink you are, sayin' I can' swim in a bloody tankard, you jerk!?"
"I didn't say that, you did!"
"Ain't no one gon' tell me where t' swim, you prick. I'ma kick yer ass, soon as I can find ya. The hell ya keep moving for?!"
"Neither of us are moving! Keep your hands to yourself!"
"Not hands, you moron. They's fins. See? Cuz mer-butlers have fish hands, which look like fins. Is why we call 'em fins."
"It's called a merman, you drunken fool! And they have human hands! The only fins they have is on their tails!
"Ain't got no hands, see?! F*ckin accident took my hands. Took m' eyes, my hands… Holy shit! It took my f*ckin tail!"
Lester sweat dropped.
"… Your cousin needs to hurry the f*ck up. You're really starting to creep me out."
"Gimme back my tail, you damned thief!" Onyx cried as he took a wild swing at Lester, falling to the ground as he missed.
"You better not freakin pass out, dude. I ain't helping that bossy woman carry you home."
Onyx didn't seem to care as he just laid on the ground, wandering into a new topic.
"I knew a mermaid, y' know. Talk 'bout bossy. Don' never cross a mermaid, friend. She'll kick yer ass. Don' even need feet t' do it."
"Riiight. You knew a mermaid. Sure. Hey! Let go of my leg!"
Onyx, grabbing onto Lester's pant legs, was trying and failing to pull himself up.
"You steal a man's tail, least y' can do is help th' man up."
With a heavy sigh, Lester relented, pulling the inebriated fool back up, growing more agitated as he leaned heavily against him.
"You can get off me now. Lean against the wall or something."
"What wall?"
"Oh for crying out—here!"
Onyx felt as he was roughly pushed against the wall, feeling around for purchase as he was left to fend for himself. Lester straightened his shirt, brushing his hands against his clothes as if to wipe off the stench of cheap whiskey he could smell oozing off of the drunkard. He continued to eye the inebriated fool wearily as he felt along the wall, leaning against it and breathing deeply. He better not have to throw up.
"Hey! If you're gonna puke, do it in the trash can by the corner!"
Still feeling along the wall, Onyx paused when he found a gap where the wall met an old, grime-covered door.
"… Y' know what? Think I drank too much."
"Hmph! You think?"
Finding the door knob, he gave it an experimental twist, finding it locked.
"Yeah… I gotta piss real bad. This th' bathroom, right?"
"Hey! Hold up! You can't go in there!"
"No shit, I can' go in. F*ckin door's locked. Oy! Quit hogging the toilet!"
As the drunk started kicking at the door, Lester wiped both hands down his face in frustration, grinding his teeth and muttering curses under his breath. Even had he been paying attention, with Onyx's body in the way, he wouldn't have noticed the bit of frost forming along the door jam where the latches met the plate. He didn't feel the cold which was given off as the rusted metal grew brittle, nor did he hear the small snaps of the latches giving way as Onyx twisted the knob.
Both of them heard a deep voice, belonging to Dale, sounding from behind the door.
"Lester! What the hell are you kicking at the door for?! It ain't time to switch shifts yet!"
"It ain't me! Some drunk is trying to get in!" Lester yelled back.
Dale leaned closer, face against the door so he wouldn't have to yell again.
"Well get rid of him! We don't need anyone drawing attention to this place!"
Awaiting an answer, he was met with pain instead, when the door slammed hard against his face, breaking his nose and several teeth, knocking him out cold.
"Dale! What the f*ck, man! Look what you did! That door was locked! How the hell—"
Lester was cut off when the drunk grabbed hold of his face. Just as he could register the feeling of intense cold, he found the lower half of his face covered in ice. He couldn't breathe. Fear took hold as he struggled to draw in breath, grabbing the arm which still held him as his knees collapsed.
Fear became shock when the drunk reached for the dressings around his eyes, pulling them loose to drape around his neck. The scars were terrible to look upon, and the dread grew when those eyes opened. Unfocused at first, in seconds, Lester had no doubt those cold, eerie eyes could see him just fine.
He reached for the weapon he kept in the waistband at his back, but found nothing there. Panicking, he stared wide eyed as the not-so-drunk man smirked, raised his free hand—which was brandishing the weapon he'd stolen from him—and froze the barrel. The ice within expanded, the metal shattering, the gun falling to the floor in pieces.
A couple of thoughts flittered in Lester's mind. At least he figured out how the man broke the lock, followed by a reconsideration of his life choices, before he lost consciousness.
Gray dissolved the ice from Lester's face as he scanned the room, finding no other smuggler present. He turned his head slightly at the sound of approaching footsteps, recognizing the familiar gait as Erza's, catching her in his periphery as he nodded at her arrival.
"Just like old times," she commented.
"Care to critique my performance?"
"As masterful as always, both the acting, and your impressive take down. You were certainly the man for the job."
"Appreciate it… Onyx?"
"What? I couldn't just use your real name when we're supposed to be undercover. Besides, I thought it was clever, and very fitting. You're one to talk. The best you could come up with was Ruby?"
"Thanks to you, I had precious stones on my mind. Next time, come up with names before we start an operation. If I wasn't playing a drunk, my misstep would've been obvious." Having learned to rely on his hearing a great deal more than his sight, he did so now as he tried to find any clue to the whereabouts of the hostages. "It's too quiet. We should look aroun—"
He stopped when he finally turned to look at Erza, noticing for the first time the change in her appearance.
"Shit. Think my eyes are malfunctioning."
"What?!"
"There's a halo around your hair."
"Oh! No, that's not— My apologies. I should have warned you about your eyes' ability to see through illusions," she stated as she brushed her fingers through her vibrant scarlet hair, removing the chestnut color everyone else had seen. "It's just a glamour Mira taught me. My hair stands out so much, I thought a disguise was needed. I'm sorry to have caused you confusion."
"You made a good call. Don't worry about it. I'm just glad there's nothing wrong with these things," he replied, indicating his eyes, "As I was saying, we should search for the hostages. They could be hidden away somewhere."
"Is anyone here?! We are mages of Fairy Tail, and we've come to rescue you!" Erza shouted.
Gray wasn't ashamed to admit he'd jumped at the sudden yell.
"Or we can do that."
"Sorry."
"… We're here!…" came a timid voice.
That got their attention.
"It came from down the hall!" yelled Gray as he ran to follow the faint cry he'd heard, Erza following close behind. They came to the end of a corridor at the back of the building, having checked every room as they passed, finding nothing.
"There must be a hidden passage or a secret room," deduced Erza, "Can you hear us! We need you to make another sound so we can find you!"
...
"… We're here!…"
"That came from behind the wall," Erza said as she requipped into her Giant Armor. She raised a massive fist, about to break through the stone and plaster, when Gray stopped her.
"Wait! This feels wrong… Hey! How many of you are there?!"
They waited for an answer, until—
"… We're here!…"
"Shit. Move! It's a trap!"
Trusting his instinct, Erza switched back to her Heartz Kreuz armor as she ran ahead, Gray right behind her. As they hurried down the hallway, they could hear a high pitched whine, urging them to run faster. They reached the front of the store, stopping to pick up the two unconscious men on the way out. The whining sound increased in volume and pitch. Whatever was about to happen was imminent. There was no time to pick up the smugglers and move them outside.
"Ice Make: Phalanx!"
Erza had thrown herself over the two prone men, ever the protector, but she was able to see the number of ice soldiers that suddenly appeared to take up positions around their group, large shields held securely in their unwieldy arms. Most faced outwards, the shields surrounding them as an impenetrable wall, while others within the circle held their own above their heads. The whole formation was so perfectly engineered, she could barely see a glimmer of light through the few gaps to be found.
The explosion was deafening, and the walls came down.
Sorry this took so long! Teaching keeps me so busy, and I've been stuck on a fight scene forever! Still got a bit of writer's block, but for the most part, I have an idea on how to execute it now. I was going to wait until the New Year to post this chapter, but a reader asked so nicely about me coming back soon. I hope this tides you over until January. I hope you all have safe and happy holidays!
Next Chapter: Natsu and Lucy conduct some recon.