Chapter 3 everybody! Sorry for the late post :3
When Armin got to work the next morning the receptionist, a pretty woman with shiny long auburn hair, told him to immediately go to Levi's office,
"He said he wants to see you as soon as you arrive, he seemed troubled about something," she said in her pleasant voice, her hazel eyes worried.
If only he'd see how people looked up to him around here, Armin thought, wondering why such a decent man isn't seeing anyone.
"Good morning sir," he said politely as he came into the office, the venetian blinds were closed, permitting a dim light into the room, he could tell from the look on Levi's face he hadn't slept well the night before, if slept at all.
"Please close the door behind you Armin," he said in a toneless voice.
"May I ask what's wrong sir?" Armin said cautiously.
Levi sighed, and then told him about what had happened last night. Armin was listening intently, Levi told him "Mikasa's stalker" had called, threatened Levi, and said he had her brother Eren, in captive. Armin's eyes widened, he was rather surprised, but the bombshell was what Levi said last: "Then he said Mikasa's his daughter, and hung up." Armin exclaimed in surprise.
"I already sent a request to Chief Erwin Smith, asking permission to reopen the Jaeger's case," Levi said rubbing his eyes, "Goddammit," he muttered.
"Well, this sounds really messed up," Armin said after a moment of high strung tension.
Levi shot him a deadly look.
"I-I mean, don't you have any idea who this man could be?" Armin quickly added.
"I'm almost sure it's this Dr. Clevane. He knows my parents, and he obviously knows the Jaegers. When he resigned several months after my parents died, he didn't say where he was going, or at least, it isn't in his record." He sighed, uncertain.
"But if it was him, why would he leave his daughter behind, if she's so important for his experiment? Whatever that is," Armin thought audibly.
"That's what I don't understand, he left before Mikasa was born though. Her birthmother died several hours after labor." Levi said.
"The records don't say how he met Mikasa's mom though?" inquired Armin.
"They don't, but she was a friend of Carla Jaeger, Dr. Grisha Jaeger's wife, so she probably met this lunatic through them."
"So that's why they adopted Mikasa, for their friend's sake, that's really nice of them." Armin thought, "So, when are you planning on telling her?" he asked.
"Tell her what exactly?" Levi asked without looking up his report.
"About the whole thing of course."
"Definitely not," Levi paused, "I'll just tell her to be more careful for now."
"With all due respect sir, I don't think that's a good idea, since she doesn't really trust you.
Hiding important information like this isn't going to help in gaining her trust, heck it would make her even more skeptic." Armin pointed out.
"I just want to make sure this man isn't lying, because if he isn't, then that means he's the Jaeger's murderer, and that murder was made to look like an accident." Levi stated.
Armin felt sickened.
"I know you're only a trainee and you have night classes, but you're vigilant and quite intelligent, so, would you like to help me investigate this?" Levi said grimly. "I'm warning you though, this might get dirty."
"I'm definitely in sir, so where do you suggest we start?"
Mikasa was driving back home when her phone rang, her heart jumped, hesitantly; she grabbed the phone and checked the caller ID.
"Hello," she said, annoyed at her edginess, "You gave me a fright."
"Sorry about that, you're driving?" Levi could tell from the noise.
"Yes, I just left campus, long day." She said.
"Well then, go straight to your house, it's getting dark already, and make sure you're not being followed." Levi ordered.
"I already am, doing both actually." She replied; a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I'm just making sure, I apologize for coming off as a bossy prick."
Mikasa inwardly agreed that he was, "Apology not accepted, I'm supposed to be enjoying my college life, you're killing it." She said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well, at least you seem like you had a good day," Levi said.
"Yeah it was fairly peaceful," she said, remembering the nice day she had in school, she had a presentation that went well.
"Glad to know, take care." Levi said, his monotone voice hiding the distressed state he was in.
"Sure, have a goodnight." she replied, smiling slightly.
He might be a stranger, but she felt that he cared for her, even if it was his job, it felt nice. For the first time in so long, she didn't feel very lonely.
Mikasa walked towards the mirror above the sink, she couldn't help but think there was something amiss, she was in what looked like a hospital's bathroom, her hair was longer, but that wasn't only it, looking intently at her face, she realised it looked a bit different than hers, smaller eyes, slightly bigger lips, less angular face. She slowly lifted her finger and touched her lips, which were chapped; she realised she looked paler than usual, and she felt really tired.
A kick to her stomach broke her out of this strange reverie, she looked down at her self, "I'm pregnant?" she thought, horrified she quickly left the bathroom, she was right, she was in a hospital room, except the metallic door made it look like a prison cell. Panicking, Mikasa quickly tried the door, it was locked, she knocked and knocked until her knuckles hurt, no one answered.
She wanted to scream, frustrated and confused, she started to feel sick, and she felt something warm coming down her legs, when she looked down she saw that she was bleeding,
a pool of blood was already forming on the floor, she screamed-
Mikasa woke up in cold sweat, gasping for air, her heart hammering in her chest, it was just a dream, she thought, her panic slowly fading as she got up and washed her face, yet it felt so vivid.
She took a quick shower. To change the pace, she decided to go eat breakfast at the Blouse café close by.
"Good mornin' sunshine!" Sasha practically jumped at her when she came in.
"Good morning Sasha. How've you been?" she asked the girl, eager to be distracted from the disturbing dream.
"Well ya know, same ol' same ol'," she said in her fruity voice. "So, is it just you?"
"Yes, I'll just sit on one of the stools," Mikasa replied.
"okie dokie, ya know what ya want?" she asked.
"Just some waffles and a glass of fresh orange juice please," Mikasa seated herself on one of the red stools in the middle.
"Okay darlin'."
When Sasha came back with Mikasa's order, she took the stool next to her, looked around, and then started talking, "You know, just last night, a blondie with a crabby face came in here askin' about a Mikasa Jaeger," Sasha said quietly. "I told her I never heard of such a name, she then showed me a picture of ya, but don't worry, I told her I didn't recognize ya. To be honest, she looked like a creep, and my instincts never lie, somethin' told me she was trouble." Sasha said, her usually happy face now serious.
"That's odd," Mikasa said, feeling suddenly exposed, what if this woman Sasha's telling me about was working with the stalker, what if the stalker found out I live somewhere in this neighborhood, she thought, mortified.
Sasha felt the unease coming off of Mikasa,
"But don't ya worry, she's probably long gone now, she won't bother ya." Sasha waved her hand reassuring.
"If she comes by again, please tell me" Mikasa said, her mind wandering.
Sasha changed the subject, talking about her busy life as a waitress and student.
"Where do you study though?" Mikasa asked her.
"Oh, I take online psychology classes, I don't have time to attend college, I like workin' here in the family business." Sasha said, they talked while Mikasa ate, she liked the kind girl, despite her talkative nature, it helped Mikasa keep her lurking thoughts at bay.
Armin was on his way to work when he received a text from Levi, "good news, we got the green light from Chief Smith on the case." Armin was glad.
When he arrived Levi asked him to look for files on Dr. Clevane and Dr. Jaeger from boxes he got from the storage, they looked too dusty.
"Can we take out the gas leak incident file as well?" Armin asked; curiosity getting the better of him.
"And why is that?" Levi asked over his shoulder.
"It must have some useful information regarding Dr. Clevane and Dr. Jaeger." Armin suggested.
"Fine, do whatever you think will help, try writing a report about your findings." Levi said, looking through pages of Dr. Clevane's file.
"Apparently, this guy is a genetic engineer, but took a minor in Criminology and Forensics." Levi said after a moment of silence.
"That's impressive, although quite diverse if you ask me." Armin said, looking for more relevant stuff in the boxes, "Why would he want to study all that?" he questioned.
"I'm not quite sure yet myself, perhaps he was always a madman with abhorrent future plans," Levi replied.
Whenever Armin dusted off the files he took out, Levi grunted in disapproval.
Mikasa was studying in the library for an upcoming test that afternoon, she was intently reading an article on how to effectively calm down a panicking patient when a girl suddenly loomed over her, "Hello," she said, Mikasa saw that she was a short blonde woman, probably in her mid-twenties, her face wore a passive expression, Mikasa's mind quickly jumped to what Sasha told her that morning.
"Hi," Mikasa said quietly,
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" the girl asked, sitting anyway.
"Okay, sure." Mikasa said more alert now.
"My name's Annie Leonhardt, you're Mikasa Jaeger, right?" the girl said in her croaky voice.
"Yes, yes I am," Mikasa replied hesitantly,
"I knew your brother in high school, Eren, he was a really nice kid," she said.
"Oh, so were you two friends? Because he never mentioned an Annie before." Mikasa said, coming off a bit harsher than she'd intended.
"No, we barely spoke to each other, but what happened really hit us all, my condolences for your loss," She said.
"Thank you." Mikasa replied.
"Well it was nice meeting you Mikasa," Annie said as she got off
"Likewise, Annie," Mikasa said, getting back to her studies, she must be the girl Sasha told me about, Mikasa thought, eyeing the suspicious girl as she walked towards one of the far bookshelves, her slim figure stiff, as if expecting an assault.
When Mikasa left the library she dialled Levi's number, he answered after three rings,
"Yes, Jaeger?" he said.
"Would you mind looking into Annie Leonhardt for me?"
"I don't think that's how you make friends Mikasa." he said sardonically..
"I'm serious. And besides, I think I know how people make friends." Mikasa was getting tired of Levi's irksome attitude, "She seems suspicious, she was asking for me at the Blouse Café, showed the girl working there a picture of me, and she just-"
"Okay slow down," Levi interrupted, "the café that's a few blocks away from your apartment?" he asked.
"Yes, and as I was saying, she just approached me here in the library, telling me she knew Eren from school." Mikasa finished.
Levi was silent for a moment, "Okay, I'll look her up, give me a second." Levi said searching the computer records on his desk, "so what do you plan to do?" he asked, Mikasa could hear him typing vigorously.
"I'll pass by the grocery store grab some stuff, make sure no one's following me, and then go home." She said casually.
"Sounds like a good plan, but I meant about her?" Levi seemed distracted.
"Well I don't know, ignore her for the time being." Mikasa said.
"Classic, Annie Leonhardt, 23 years old, parents deceased, brought up in an orphanage since birth, private tutoring due to inhospitable behaviour, that's all there is, no record of her current status." Levi concluded.
"But, how come she lied saying she went to school with Eren? I don't understand,"
"Perhaps she knew him from some other place," Levi said, remembering what Dr. Clevane told him about Eren, "Anyway, need anything else?" he asked, changing the subject.
"No, thanks," Mikasa said.
"Alright then, be careful Mikasa." Levi said.
"I will." she hung up.
Annie can't say she isn't a fan of conspiracies and evil masterminds. she always knew she was somewhat sadistic, after all, not many people admitted, which means she's saner than so many others.
Despite that, she hated being tied down, if it weren't for the debt she's paying to this nutty doctor, she would've left this shithole a long time ago.
"So did you talk to her?" asked Reiner when she approached, he was lying comfortably on the grass, hands under his massive blonde head, his eyes shone like gold under the sunlight.
"Yeah," Annie replied. "I think it's time you guys did the dirty work." she said annoyed, they were all in this together after all.
"This is crazy, what if we get caught lurking around her, she knows scary people." Bertholdt said, he was always the first to chicken out of things, since they were all in diapers.
"Calm down Bert, the only one she would suspects is Annie," Reiner said sarcastically, getting off the grass and dusting off.
"Bailing me already, huh." Annie said indignantly.
"You know I can never betray you guys." Reiner said, now serious.
"So do we wait for his call or act now?" he asked.
They were assigned on kidnapping Mikasa, but Dr. Clevane strictly told them to wait for his command. He had promised them that by doing so; they will be free and finally done paying their debt.
"I say we leave it be for now." Bertholdt said, his eyes darting left and right.
"I say we follow her, when it gets less crowded in here, so we take her, drug her, her car would be here so people would look around this area first, which will give us time-"
"Woah, slow down." Reiner interrupted Annie, "We don't want to blow it, I agree with Bert, that girl's got eyes, and we have lives ahead of us. I don't want to end up in prison, besides, what if someone sees us?"
"Look, its either we do it now, quick, clean, and easy, or wait until tomorrow when that motherfucking detective assigns bodyguards or God knows what, and it'll be ten times harder with higher risks of exposure." Annie said sharply,
Reiner sighed, "You do know we need to prepare for this, she might not know of her abilities yet, but if she panics she could unconsciously beat us all to pulps."
"I already have the paralysis serum," Annie said with her calm half smile,
"Wait guys!" Bertholdt started to panic. "Where on earth are you planning to take her?! Dr. Clevane will definitely be displeased by our disobedience!" he said.
"Dr. Clevane can suck his dick." Annie said, irritated.
"Besides, when we take her we can lock her up in Ward E, he never goes there anyway." Reiner said, the doctor had bought an abandoned old prison -that was on the outskirts of the city- a long time ago under a false name, that's where they kept Eren. All cells were underground, and basically all their activities were in there.
"Perfect, so we attack right before she leaves." Annie said.