"I'll give you Eren and Krista."
***
"Captain Levi!" Mikasa was the first to exclaim as I reached for her arm and pulled her back, myself and the other two soldiers accompanying us remaining silent, Levi only choosing to ignore the sudden outburst from the ebony haired girl. He brought his hand up between himself and the older man, who stared back at him in shock, the hand holding three fingers up.
"But I have three conditions." He said. "First, from now on the Reeves company will join the Survey Corps against the interior MP's and the government." Levi reduced the number of fingers by one, still staring unblinkingly at the older man who soon looked outraged.
"Huh?! Are you trying to start a war here?!" The man screeched, the captain still sitting unfazed.
"Second," he continued. "The Reeves company will put their trust into the Survey Corps."
"Trust?" The man spits, almost humoured by the word. "That's a word we only use as a joke in the merchants world."
"Merchants?" Levi replied bored half lidded eyes. "Right now, I'm speaking to you Dimo Reeves. I'm asking you about your way of life. What kind of person are you? Are you going to let your men the people of this town die and face defeat? Or are you going to face those with absolute authority and power over humanity, and fight back? Neither is necessarily the right choice to make, right now it's up to you to choose what you want."
"Keh, only an amateur would sign a contract without knowing all the conditions." The man muttered, staring daggers at Levi.
"Ah, excuse me." The raven said before holding up one last finger. "Third, from now on, whenever the Reeves company acquires rare foods or luxury items, the Scouts get the first crack at them. Like black tea." I hear Sasha nearly choke on her saliva out of excitement, my hands loosening from the black haired girl who had noticeably relaxed in my grip.
"Wonderful!" Sasha exclaimed with glee. "Those are excellent conditions, right boss?!"
"Oi, you-" Connie began criticising the girl before Dimo chuckled dryly.
"Your greed runs deeper than a merchants. I like you." He said reaching over towards Levi with an extended hand, the raven turning to do the same and allowing their hands to meet in a firm handshake.
"You're pretty smart." Levi replied neutrally.
"I accept your proposal."
***
"An ambush?" I ask, palms pressed down on the top of the crate that acted as a table beneath the map of South Rose. My eyes gazed from one marked point to the next before I looked up and found myself looking back and forth between Levi and Dimo who stood side by side on the opposite side of the makeshift table.
"Kind of." Levi replied, pointing to a spot on the map that seemed to be located near a river. "A path along the river and carved into a cliff face leads up to the location here. A twenty minute ride from that spot is an abandoned cabin with a watch tower and a dungeon of sorts that we'll use for questioning who we capture. Reeves will use verbal bait, manipulation, of sorts, to lure MP's into the set trap. Where we go from there we'll decide when the time comes." I stood up straight, folding my arms and shifting my weight onto one leg with a raised eyebrow, the brown cloak wrapped around me swaying with the small motion.
"Is the word 'questioning' a way to sugarcoat torture?" I ask, knowing full well in a situation such as the one we're dealing with now, no one on the opposing side is going to willingly communicate with the Scouts.
"Yes." The raven words bluntly, only making me roll my eyes.
"What about the hand over with Eren and Krista?" Sasha says suddenly. Levi's look pans over to her before he blew out a sigh through his nose.
"Those matters are being discussed. Any questions?" Dimo answers for him.
"Do you have any clue who is working with the MP's? Any idea on why exactly they're tracking us down besides the intent to kill those of us who aren't Eren and Historia?" I ask. The old man only shook his head.
"The orders we follow are orders we take blindly, only knowing the cost of failure is our lives. Most information is classified." He answered, and not an ounce of falsity appearing on his face as he made eye contact with me. I nod in understanding before Levi opened his mouth to speak.
"The plan takes place tonight, hopefully it rains and it's enough to cover the sound of us." He says before his gaze fell back to the map and he raised a hand to wave us all off dismissively. I took in a deep breath, turning on my heel and walking to the area we had set up in the warehouse, a small lit campfire illuminating a surprisingly large area around it. I took a seat on one of the boxes the squad had gathered around the fire, the others soon taking seats as well.
There was a docile silence with the six of us, a low hum in the back of our minds as our inner voices chose to ignore the conversing military superior officer and the veteran merchant. The flames of the fire flickered with the breeze that seemed to flow from any crack in the building it could, small sparks floating up into the air before disappearing completely. The windows we had spied through what felt like just minutes ago showed the serene view of a nearly seamless blend of a dark blue and an even darker grey, night time to take place in less than thirty minutes.
"Y/N." Mikasa was the first to break the silence, my eyes looking at her as hers remained on the fire. A plain but seemingly saddened expression crossed her face, her posture impossibly straight and her hands placed on her lap in a formal manner. "I'd like to go get Eren before it gets too dark." She voices quietly. I purse my lips, soon nodding in understanding before I got to my feet and walked passed her, placing a hand on her shoulder with the intent of passing comfort.
"I'll go tell Levi we're going to get him now." I say, sending her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he has a plan, Eren and Historia won't be in their hands for too long, okay?" She managed to heave out a heavy breath as my hand left her shoulder, my legs carrying me to where I was just minutes prior. I poked my head into view, gazing at the two men who still looked down at the map, hands working their way around the large paper that was spread before them. Their backs were to me, Levi's frame wasn't much shorter than Dimo's, though the difference in their, to put it lightly, widths were rather different.
"Lee?" I voice, my voice a lot smaller than I had intended. He picked up my voice, turning and instantly making eye contact with me, his look only making my heart skip a beat. His arms were folded across his chest, the sleeves of his jacket pulled up and exposing his forearms, in which the muscle beneath his skin rippled slightly as his hand readjusted its grip on his bicep. He tilted his head a little, a small gesture of question and acknowledgement without having to use words.
Walking around the corner, I find the older man turning to also look at me, giving me his attention as well, only adding on to what Levi was already granting me. I stop a few feet away from the two, choosing to somewhat ignore Dimo to a degree, considering such matters weren't at all significant to him.
"Mikasa would like to go get Eren and Historia before it gets too dark, and it'd be easier to go now before we leave to carry out the plan." I summarise quickly, casting the older man a short lived gaze before returning it to Levi, whose eyebrows pinched a little in response to a passed along request. I watched as his tongue ran over his teeth under his lips, his eyes averting from mine as he glanced back down at the map quickly.
"Give me five minutes, I will come with you two." He said, a mellowness taken into his tone that would only be noticeable by those who tried hard enough. I nod in perception, watching Dimo turn back to the map before turning my own back and attempting to walk away, Levi's hand refusing that as it wrapped around my wrist. "Hey," His voice said gently, such a difference between how he said this rather than his usual blank 'oi.'
Twisting my head around to look at him with raised eyebrows, my gaze not sure on which of his eyes to look at as they were both boring into mine. Such beautiful eyes, even with the lack of light on his face now didn't hinder one from seeing the gorgeous irises that shared the same colour as a midnight lake blessed with the light of a blue moon.
There was a flash of an emotion that raced across his expression, one that I couldn't quite put my finger on as his face momentarily took on a softer guise, one that nearly made me choke on absolutely nothing. Feeling the build up of a type of coarseness in my throat, I chose to only respond with a subtle nod that gestured he continued on with whatever he wanted to say, avoiding the use of words in case I somehow stumbled over the pronunciation and enunciation of a simple single syllable word.
"Are you sure you're okay? I can make time to talk if you need me to-" He began saying before I shook my head with a small smile gracing my features.
"I'm completely fine, Lee. If I need someone to talk to, you're my first go to, okay?" I reassure, moving my wrist around in his grip so I was gently holding his hand, giving it a small squeeze before releasing my grip. "Come grab us when you're ready, we'll get our shit together now so we can go immediately."
He gestured a reluctant nod, one that didn't seem like he was convinced by my claims. Because in truth, I wasn't sure if I was okay. After a practical run in with who was supposedly the infamous mass murderer who was nearly as well known as the king, I was definitely still a little shaken up about it.
As I paced back to the fire where the squad all sat around, my hands make their way up to the harness strap that reached across my chest, readjusting it in a fidgety manner, eyes soon fixing themselves on Mikasa whose gaze soon raised to meet mine. I give her a nod, fingers lacing under the straps of my harness and working around the shoulder area as I move my neck around, hoping for a crack or two to sound from it.
"Get whatever you need, he'll be coming with us. He just needs five minutes to finalise some details regarding the plan tonight." I say quietly, this time it was her turn to gesture a nod, her legs effortlessly lifting her from the crate she sat on and carrying her elsewhere to ready herself for the short journey to the rendezvous point we had left our two most valuable assets. I watched her as she crossed the small clearing between the fire and the corner she aimed to go toward, a certain solemnity mixed with slight sadness and frustration hanging heavy over her figure.
I felt a guilt for the girl, knowing exactly how she felt with the sudden agreement to give up on Eren and Historia. She had a unique... bond, of sorts, with the teal eyed brunette, one that lead to more than just being best friends or even under the terms of siblings. I would say it's similar to the bond that Levi and I had, with all the vigilance we had towards each other. But their bond, it almost seemed one sided whereas mine and Levi's nearly seemed... mutual?
Perhaps I was delusional, maybe my mind was now only making up scenarios and creating what it wanted to see. Perhaps I was looking too far into the kindness and conscientiousness Levi displayed toward me. Delving too far into my mind, I was only startled by the hand that made its presence known on my shoulder, a squeeze coming from the hand as my eyes panned from the hand to the owner, Levi's eyes flickering between both of mine, soon shifting to the rest of the squad.
"Get your shit together, we're going to the ambush site immediately after we get Eren and Krista." He voiced. As those very words left his mouth the entire squad wordlessly got up before they all went to get their things. The atmosphere had taken a subtle fall since Levi's decision to give up the two with little hesitation. Mikasa wasn't impressed, the rest of the squad seemed to have taken the news with a little shock too, but deep down I knew Levi had something in mind.
Soon, everyone regrouped around the fire, Jean and Armin hunched over the flame as they put it out, the light dying out and soon leaving us all to dwell in the dark until we left the warehouse. As we all exited the building, Dimo split off from the squad, taking few of his men with him before departing on carriage, the rest of us shifting our gear around our hips and pulling triggers on our hilts, allowing the gear to carry us away into the dusk-bitten night.
The trip didn't take long, not as long as it would've taken given we were forced to walk instead of depending on the transport of our rather useful mobility. Landing close to silently on the street in front of a discreet building near the edge of the district, I glance around as I attach the hilt back onto my harness and pull my hood further over my head before proceeding forward, the rest of the squad following suit close behind me.
The entirety of the building was eerily silent, the darkness from the lack of candlelight and natural light not helping at all with the atmosphere of the inside at all. Even with the squad behind me, it almost felt like I was alone in here. Suffocating, in a sense. Involuntarily, I shiver, even if the air wasn't all too cold. Amongst the darkness consumed room, I could barely make out the light coming from a door at the top of a barely illuminated staircase, feet lightly treading across creaky floorboards and over spilt bags of grain.
The first step of the stairs creaked, the noise only making my lungs quench painfully in response. When we left the two here, I didn't remember any of the building being this uncanny. With obvious reluctance, I take then next step, and the next, all the way to the top of the stair case and place a hand on the doorknob, twisting and pushing the door open enough to let the light from the room flood down the stairs and brightly illuminating the squad who all squinted as a reaction.
Pushing through the door and stepping into the room, both the brunette and the blonde had a half finished game of chess set up on the table between the two, both of their chins placed with a sense of boredom in the palms of their hands as their eyes tracked Historia's turn in the game of strategy. Gently shifting me aside, Levi walked passed me and pulled his hood down, gazing at the two with a questioning look.
"Got your stuff together?" Th raven asked, Eren and Historia looking up at the captain briefly before they reached either behind their chair or under the table, dragging their bags of belongings into view, earning a nod of approval from the superior before he gestured a jerk of his head back to in the direction of the staircase. "Mikasa, take Eren. Jean, take Krista. We will be following the river from just outside Trost on foot." He said, descending the stairs before the rest of us. The squad all followed after him, myself taking the time to put out every candle in the room, checking around quickly before closing the door behind me and trailing after the others.
Expertly avoiding the trip hazards of the floor below, back out onto the streetlight lit streets of Trost, everyone set themselves up into the sky and left my view, only leaving trails of steam in their wake before that disappeared just as fast as it came. I reach up to the lace that tied my cloak around my neck, beginning to walk in the general direction of the Northern Gate as I retied the cloak more securely around my neck.
Happy with how it felt draped over my shoulders, my absence from the squad likely to have been noticed by someone by now, I grip the hilt that sat on my harness and pull the trigger again, watching the wire shoot into a building before it pulled me after it, allowing the feeling of liberty to embrace me in its arms again.
A liberty that would likely be short lived, given the circumstances.
***
can't believe i'm working on a SATURDAY THAT'S SOME NAAAAASTY SHIT
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