A bomb.
Makishima would destroy the Capitol, and dozens of important government officials along with it. It didn't matter if Premier Zachary survived or not, because either way, Makishima could frame him for the crime – effectively obliterating any public confidence in the military, while at the same time, weakening the government. He would kill two birds with one stone.
"Can you stop it?" you asked desperately. Your mind was racing, trying to figure out what you should do.
"I can try," Kogami replied grimly. "It might take me a while."
"We may not have that kind of time," Levi grumbled. "Who knows when the bomb will go off? Not to mention, Makishima is getting away."
The dilemma was so stressful that it reminded you of how you felt when you faced titans. But thankfully, those encounters had taught you to remain calm under pressure. You took a deep breath, then quickly broke down the situation. "Okay, we have three objectives: one, disable the bomb; two, get everyone in the building to safety; and three, catch Makishima, if we can even find him."
"He left a trail," Levi observed, pointing out more droplets of blood on the ground. "Looks like it leads back toward the sewer. We must have passed each other again."
You made a snap decision. "I'll warn the people upstairs. Levi, go after Makishima. Kogami..." You hesitated briefly, hating to ask this of him. But you had no other choice.
"I got it," he muttered, trying to reassure you with a confident smirk. Then he turned to Levi, his expression becoming serious. "Just make sure you get the bastard for me, okay?"
Levi nodded.
------------------------------------------
You sprinted up the steps and through the forgotten storeroom.
"There's a bomb underneath the building!" you yelled to the receptionist. "Get everyone out now!"
Immediately, she started moving, along with others in the vicinity who had heard you. They had protocols for emergency evacuation, and you were sure that they would get everyone to safety as quickly as possible.
Now that your task was done, you ran outside, past the gate, to the spot where you had placed an undercover officer. "Where's the entrance that Kogami used to get into the sewer?" you asked him breathlessly.
"There," he stated, pointing it out.
"Okay," you panted. "Listen, there's a bomb underneath the building. I've already told the staff. I want you to find the other soldiers we brought here and make sure they get to safety."
"Yes, ma'am!" he boomed as he saluted you. Then he rushed off.
You made your way to the manhole and pulled the grate away. When you looked down, you were relieved to see that the sewer wasn't completely dark. The light from this grate, as well as others, provided enough visibility that you wouldn't be blind in most areas.
You sat on the edge and, after taking a deep breath to steel yourself, you slipped down into the sewer. It smelled even worse here than it did in the basement, but you had bigger problems right now. You stood quietly and listened, trying to ignore the noise from the street above you.
Eventually, you heard it – running footsteps echoing off the stone walls. And they were coming closer.
You slipped behind a corner and waited.
Suddenly, the footsteps changed direction. They were now moving away from you...
You growled in frustration and emerged from your hiding spot, just as a second pair of footsteps approached. Before you even had time to call Levi's name, he had turned a corner, racing after Makishima.
You hissed a curse and followed, but no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't catch up to them. Levi was so fast. And it seemed – impossibly – that Makishima was equally as fast.
Eventually, you turned into a long stretch of sewer. You could see Makishima at the other end, climbing a ladder while clutching his side. Apparently, Kogami's bullet was starting to get to him.
The slight ebb in Makishima's pace allowed Levi to close the distance, and he was now only a few meters away. He pulled out his gun...
But Makishima was already on the surface. Levi barked a curse and climbed up after him. Both men were out of sight by the time you reached the ladder, panting heavily.
You made your way up, and you were surprised to find Levi standing there, looking around frantically. "Can you see him?" he growled.
You searched the crowd, which was bustling along, completely oblivious to the fact that a murderer was in their midst. Suddenly, you saw it – a flash of white hair.
"There!" you exclaimed, pointing him out to Levi. The two of you took off.
Makashima had leapt into the seat of an unattended carriage. He glanced back, amber eyes meeting your own for a split second before he snapped the reins, sending the horses into a gallop. All around him, people screamed and dove out of the way.
Not wasting any time, you grabbed the reins of a horse that was tied up nearby. You jumped into the saddle, pulling Levi up behind you. Then you raced after Makishima, trying your best not to hit anyone in your haste.
Seeing that you were catching up, Makishima urged his horses faster. Mere seconds later, another carriage crossed his path – Makishima having appeared too quickly for the driver to react.
There was a loud crash. Several people screamed. Chunks of wood flew through the air. And impossibly, you saw Makishima stumble away, sliding into a space between buildings that was too small for your horse to fit through.
Amidst the chaos, bystanders flooded the street to get a better look and to help the survivors. You were forced to yank your horse to a halt so that you didn't run over anyone. Unable to go any farther with her, you jumped to the ground, with Levi following right behind you. Your progress was slowed immensely by the crowd, and that cost you precious time.
Eventually, you made your way to the alley that Makishima had taken – if indeed it could be called that. You had to turn your body to the side so that you could fit through the immensely tiny gap. It led you all the way out to the edge of town, where an endless field of wheat rose before you.
"You've got to be kidding me!" you exclaimed.
Levi nudged you and pointed to the ground. "Use your eyes, brat."
You looked at the spot he indicated, and you nearly gasped. While Makishima had been losing mere drops of blood before, it seemed that the carriage accident had taken a huge toll. You had seen enough injures during your time in the Scouts to know that this amount of blood loss would have been severely debilitating.
You glanced to Levi with a grim expression.
No longer in any hurry, you walked at a normal pace along the morbid path, trying your best not to step in anything. And as you walked, you realized that Makishima's injuries wouldn't just be debilitating. They would be fatal.
After what seemed like an eternity, you cleared the field, and you found Makishima waiting for you. He was on his knees, with his back to you and his arms thrown wide. Like a martyr.
When you stopped a few feet away, he began speaking to you casually, as if you were old friends. "So, it was you after all. I had a feeling it would be, ever since I saw your face."
You knew what he was talking about. After countless soldiers had tried, you – the one he perceived as more "human" than all the rest – had finally brought about the end of his reign. But you also knew that you hadn't done it alone, nor could you have.
You didn't respond to Makishima's words. You didn't see any reason to. There was nothing more to ask, or to learn, or to say. It was over.
The next few minutes seemed to last forever. But eventually, Makishima fell to the ground. Dead.
You didn't move, or speak. You didn't even know how you should feel right now. On one hand, it was good that Makishima could never harm anyone again. But on the other hand, you were sickened by the idea of taking any joy or relief from a human being's death. And of course, your head was still reeling from all the things that had happened over the past few days, trying desperately to catch up, to make sense of it all.
Finally, you realized that you just felt empty.
As if he sensed this, Levi reached out and took your hand. That small contact – that gentle reminder that you were not alone – breathed a bit of life back into you. Instinctively wanting more, you turned toward Levi, leaning your body against his chest while you buried your face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around you, shielding you from the world.
Now that you were hidden in his warm embrace, it was so easy to let your mind go blank. Nothing existed except for the love and protection that Levi gave to you. Nothing else needed to exist, for as long as you two stayed that way.