After a mostly sleepless night, you, Levi, and Kogami reconvened at the crack of dawn.
"I think we still have one more chance to catch Makishima," you stated. "If he wants to dismantle the military, there's one prime target that he hasn't gone after yet."
"Premier Zachary," Kogami muttered, his eyes narrowed in understanding.
You nodded. "I think it would be best for us to concentrate our efforts there, instead of investigating the third victim. We should use whatever time we've got to set a trap."
"Makishima will see this coming," Levi grumbled. "Whatever trap we set will have to be a good one."
"Right," you agreed. "So, here's what I was thinking..."
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Everything was set. The MP's were in their positions. Now, the only thing left was to discreetly patrol the area, searching for any sign of Makishima.
Kogami peeled off in a different direction, but Levi remained by your side. After your run-in with Makishima yesterday, he wasn't willing to let you out of his sight. He still couldn't get over what might have happened if Makishima had chosen to attack you, and it was doubtful that he ever would.
A small, terrible part of you was glad that Levi was here. He had killed people before. If he faced Makishima, he would have no problem pulling the trigger – unlike you. However, the other part of you felt disgusting for even thinking that way. You didn't want to throw more blood on Levi's conscience.
If only you were strong enough to pull the trigger yourself, this whole thing would already be over.
As soon as the thought entered your mind, you flashed back to last night, to what Levi had murmured while you were still sobbing in his arms.
"Your restraint doesn't make you weak, brat. In this world, killing is easy. But people like you – people who are good, and who recognize the value of life on a fundamental level – those are rare. And that innocence is hard to protect. But you should protect it, with everything you have. Because without people like you, we're all lost. So you just keep yourself out of trouble, and I'll handle everything else."
You weren't quite sure if you believed him. You just knew that you didn't want anyone else to die.
While Kogami patrolled the grounds, you and Levi patrolled the inside of the Capitol building, where the premier's office was located. You had, of course, warned the premier that something was coming, but you had also asked him to continue his normal routine. You didn't want to do anything that might tip off Makishima.
The two of you started at the top and worked your way down. By the time you reached the ground floor, you hadn't found anything of interest, and all seemed quiet. Of course, you knew going in that Makishima might not show up right away. In fact, he could very well choose to wait weeks, or even months. Still, you couldn't shake the sensation that you were missing something.
The last place you checked was a forgotten storage room – so far out of the way that you had almost missed it. It wasn't even on the map of the building that you had obtained from the military's records. However, it wasn't very interesting, and you wrinkled your nose as you poked your way around dusty old boxes.
"Hey, did you know the Capitol building had a basement?" Levi grumbled, peering through a door that was half-hidden behind a shelf.
"No," you replied, your brow furrowing as you went to see what he was looking at.
Well, it certainly appeared to be a basement. The staircase descended down into a dark room, but from your current vantage point, you couldn't tell how big it was.
"Think we should check it out?" you asked.
Levi merely grunted in reply. Then he shoved the shelf out of the way, creating a loud screech as it slid across the floor. Now, the way down was clear.
"Oi, go get two of the torches from the hallway," Levi instructed.
You ran out and grabbed a pair off the wall. However, since it was still light outside, the torches hadn't yet been lit. Thankfully, Levi had a few matches handy.
Without hesitation, he started down the steps, leaving you to tiptoe along behind him. You didn't know what might be down here, but you were imagining cobwebs and spiders and rats. You didn't like that at all.
Levi reached the bottom and waved his torch around. "Tch. This place is filthy," he muttered in disgust.
He was right. A thin layer of dirt and dust covered everything, and an unpleasant smell hung in the air. As you had expected, there were indeed cobwebs, but so far, no spiders or rats. There were also several stacks of crates and barrels, which appeared to have been down here for as long as the Walls had existed.
Without a word, the two of you began exploring the space. It was massive – probably covering a larger area than the Capitol building above it – and it was at least three stories tall. You couldn't fathom how anyone had forgotten about a place this big.
The part that made you most nervous was that the basement was built like a giant maze, and you and Levi had to wind your way through stone walls to discover what might be hidden down there. While following Levi closely, you ripped up pieces of paper that you had in your pocket and dropped them on the floor, so that you two could find your way back later.
After several minutes of walking, Levi stopped suddenly. "You hear that?" he hissed.
At first, you could only perceive the crackling of your torches, and your own fast-beating heart. However, when you threw all of your effort into listening, you discovered what Levi was referring to.
"Running water?" you questioned.
Levi nodded. "This basement might actually lead to the sewer."
"That would explain the smell," you mused.
The two of you followed the sound, and sure enough, you arrived at a place where the stone floor dropped off into a river of foul water. You and Levi stood on the edge, peering down with matching expressions of disgust.
"Why would someone build a basement that leads to the sewer?" you asked, crinkling your nose.
"They probably intended it as an escape route for government officials, in case the Capitol building was ever attacked," Levi surmised. He opened his mouth to say more, but he stopped when his gaze landed on a spot on the ground. His eyes narrowed.
"What is it?" you asked as Levi knelt down, examining the floor closely.
"Blood," Levi muttered. "And it's fresh."
You hissed a curse, then started frantically looking around for any signs of danger. Levi rose to his feet, maintaining his ever-calm demeanor as he searched with you.
A few seconds later, you nearly dropped your torch when footsteps began echoing off the walls, the sound originating from one of the sewer tunnels. Levi put a finger to his lips, then set his own torch on the ground before pulling out his gun. He directed you to stand behind a corner, far enough back that whoever was coming wouldn't immediately notice the light from your torch.
Levi slipped behind the corner as well, but he stayed close to the edge so that he could peek around it. The footsteps were growing louder, and they sounded like the person was running. It wouldn't be long now.
Your body went rigid.
At last, the footsteps slowed to a stop. You heard Levi's sharp intake of breath, then...
"Kogami."
"Kogami?" you questioned, rushing over to see for yourself.
Sure enough, the stone-faced MP captain stood in the light of Levi's torch. "Makishima...he's here," Kogami hissed breathlessly, as if he had been running for a while. "Where does this passage lead?"
"To the basement of the Capitol building," you informed him, still trying to wrap your head around his words. If Makishima had come through here recently and proceeded to the Capitol... No way! Did you pass each other?
"I was afraid of that," Kogami muttered. "Come on, there's no time to lose!"
As the three of you raced back through the maze, Levi asked, "Oi, was Makishima injured?"
"I grazed him with a bullet," Kogami confirmed. "Sorry I couldn't do more."
So then, the blood that Levi found belonged to Makishima.
"How did you know he was in the sewer?" you panted, short on breath because of how fast you were running.
"One of the MP's we placed around the gate saw him go in. There's an entrance outside the Capitol grounds," Kogami explained.
You nearly winced at your next question. "Did he have anything with him?"
"A backpack. But I know what you're thinking. I didn't see a body."
If you had breath to spare, you would have sighed in relief. You opened your mouth to press for further details, but all of a sudden, your focus was drawn to something else. You skidded to a halt.
"What is it?" Kogami asked as he stopped next to you.
"My papers," you breathed. "They're gone."
Kogami looked confused, but Levi knew exactly what you were talking about. "Makishima must have picked them up," he muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Kogami pressed. "What papers?"
"I left a trail so we would know how to get back," you replied quickly. "But it's gone."
"Great," Kogami grumbled. "So which way do we go?"
You glanced at the path ahead of you. It diverged in three different directions, and you had no idea which was the right one. Therefore...
"No," Levi growled, reading your mind. "You are not going off by yourself again."
"It's the only way," you insisted. "We're running out of time."
"She's right," Kogami stated. "We have to split up. Yell if you find anything."
"And who put you in charge?" Levi snapped.
"We don't have time for this!" you exclaimed. "Kogami, go. Levi..." You waited until Kogami was out of earshot before murmuring, "I understand. I do. But this is the only way. We have to stop Makishima before he hurts anyone else. I promise I'll be careful. So please..."
You could see the internal debate behind Levi's eyes. At last, he muttered, "Fine. Just...please be careful, (f/n). Don't do anything reckless."
"I won't," you assured him. Then you took off.
You ran a little slower than you had before, keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. After about a minute, you thought you were starting to recognize this path. Another few seconds, and you were sure of it. This was definitely the way you and Levi had come earlier.
You opened your mouth to yell, but Kogami beat you to it.
"Hey! I found something!"
You got ready to sprint back the way you had just come. Only...Kogami sounded a lot closer than he should have been...
"Where are you?" you yelled back.
"Here! Follow my voice!"
You did so, running forward instead of back. Sooner than expected, you found Kogami, who was kneeling on the ground, his back to you. Levi was already standing next to him, looking down at something. Apparently, all three of the passages had led to the same place, in the end.
"What is it?" you asked as you approached.
"A bomb," Kogami stated, and you froze. "Makishima intends to blow this whole place sky-high."