It's warm; the sunlight beating unhindered into his back. He's sweating under his robes, and it causes his lip to curl in disgust. Once he's finished with this job he'll be able to shower and rest before heading back to the keep. Simple, like it should be.
But for now he has to wait; crouched on the rooftops and watching the streets below. Those damn informants better have been right, especially after making him run around the city before they'd tell him anything. His eyes catch on a figure in the crowd, his target. It's too busy though, trying to complete the job now would only cause chaos, and he'd prefer to make it back to the bureau in one piece.
It's not like his target is alone either; he spies the guards that walk with him. Damned nobility. He follows him from above; it's become almost second nature after years of practice, unknown to the rest of the city as he slips over sun bleached stone. Any city guards that do notice him are quickly disposed, their bodies stashed from sight. He pauses when he realises that he's ahead of his target, and he backtracks with an irritated sigh. A few minutes tick by before he finds him again, standing at one of the plaza stalls, laughing and joking with the clerk without a care in the world. It doesn't seem right, that a man with murder and kidnap to his name would act so civil to a measly stall merchant. It doesn't make sense.
With a perplexed stare he watches as one of the guards ushers him away, but not before he presses coins into the clerk's hand with a kind smile.
Definitely not right.
He should just continue with the job but he can't shake the feeling that something's awry as he drops down into a shadowed alleyway. He's rather not sully his blade with an innocent's blood. With light footsteps he makes for the stall, pulling his hood lower over his face as he casts watchful glances around.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"Oui. That man," he points in the direction that his target went, "who is he?"
The clerk offers a smile. "Ahh, Signor Smith. He's a regular customer around these parts. A nice man for nobility."
The corners of his mouth tug downwards, brows knitting together as he turns away. "Merci." He returns to the rooftops, feet light and quick and he runs from building to building, eyes scanning the heaving masses of people.
At least his target is easy to find again; his height putting him above mostly everyone else, and his guards being less than inconspicuous. Tailing him is easy, almost annoyingly so when he stops every few minutes to pass coins to beggars or to exchange conversation with anyone and everyone. It's confusing, and it just doesn't add up.
This was meant to be a simple assassination. Quick and clean with no loose ends, but the uneasiness in his gut won't leave.
He could always return to the bureau, gather more information before committing to a decision. Make sure it's the right choice he makes.
When his target heads into a private garden and the opportunity to get information from the man himself presents itself, he can't resist. He's always been an opportunist, and with the guards waiting in the street he can't pass the chance up.
He just hopes that Erwin Smith is an honest man.
The streets pose no challenge as he leaps to the buildings on the other side, one or two people glancing up as he pulls himself up and over the ledge. He drops down with barely any noise, landing lightly and in the shadows of the buildings enclosing the garden on all sides.
It's just the two of them, Erwin resting on one of the stone benches, and he makes forward with quiet steps, looking entirely like a predator stalking its prey. His gaze remains trained on Erwin's back, eyes sharp and catching everything that moves around them. Perhaps it's that that gives him away, or perhaps he forgot to keep quiet, but he's only a few feet away when Erwin turns, eyes catching with his own.
"Are you here to kill me?"His accent is strong, thick and almost choking the words that leave him. There's no fear in the words though, only a genuine questioning that causes Levi to stiffen and halt in his movements. "You've been following me for a while, haven't you?"
Levi pauses, swallowing past the dryness that's beginning to claim his mouth. "…Yes," he pauses again, straightening up and setting his mouth in a hard line. "Yes to both of those questions."
He expects Erwin to run, to call his guards, to do something other than just sit there. To do something other than smile and look so damn calm about it. Levi finds that his smile infuriates him more than it ought to.
"What the fuck are you smiling for?" he spits, his own accent making Erwin's sound clunky and inelegant in comparison.
"I was wondering when you'd come." It's said almost as chuckle. "But I'm afraid I'm not the guy you're looking for."
Granted, it could be that Erwin's just trying to buy himself time but there's something honest in those blue eyes that Levi can't bring himself to disbelieve. Though he still questions; "how do I know you're telling the truth?"
Erwin pauses for a moment before he smiles again, as if he doesn't have a proper answer. "You can either believe me or not believe me. I want to find the guy as much as you do; I've even got some information, if you want it."
That catches Levi's attention, and after a moment of consideration he nods.
"When-"
"Tomorrow," he interrupts. "I need to take care of some things first." Without another word he turns his back on Erwin, making haste as he climbs one of the walls to return to the rooftops.
Erd looks up from the counter when he walks in, offering a smile as he straightens up and clears away the paper that litters the worktop.
"You're back early. Finished the job so soon?"
"We've got the wrong guy," Levi replies, yanking down his hood to let the cold air of the bureau at his sun warmed skin.
Surprise flickers across Erd's face, his brows furrowing together as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Not that I doubt your intuition, but our informants spent months tracking him down. It's highly unlikely they'd be wrong."
Levi already knows that, yet he can't push aside his hunch and Erwin's honesty. He locks his gaze with Erd's, voice determined and unwavering. "I just need a bit of time to check things out myself." It's not like he doesn't trust others, but he's the kind of person who can only fully believe something he's himself.
"Alright," Erd relents, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Three days. If you can't find anything in that time then you'll just need to do the job, I'd rather not have someone else sent out to do it because you don't want to."
"Three days," he repeats, as if assuring himself that three days would be enough time to prove wrong the information that took months to gather originally. With a nod to himself he heads into the other room, settling down onto the cushions on the floor and stretching out. "Three days." It's a quiet mumble as he closes his eyes.
No doubt tomorrow he'll have to run laps around the city, but for now peaceful sleep in the afternoon heat is enough.