Disclaimer: I own none of the characters!

Note: Sorry for my lack of strategy knowledge. BUT, there's some semi-fluff? - Enjoy!

Eren had a plan. And it was a good plan; Armin had helped him with it after all.

They went earlier in the day to the construction site. It was a little way from the city itself, but they could still see the tall buildings. At night, Armin said, the lights would easily be seen. They scoped out the site as much as they could, with the men there who were working and surveying the land.

They found possible hiding spots and the quickest routes to the road. The best places to stick cars. According to Armin, whatever was happening would take place where there's lighting, but not spotlights to keep their anonymity.

"So from here," Armin said, pointing, "we can see the work lights. But over there, the lights wouldn't be as bright. So they would be able to see without being seen."

"So we need to stay on this side?" Eren asked. Armin nodded and turned.

"Everywhere on this end is where we can expect to be. We'll have to bring really good equipment. Guns and handcuffs…"

"Yeah but if it's just one person—"

"Eren, it's never just one person," Armin said firmly. "Irwin may be meeting a mob leader here but he's a mob leader. Implying that he's in charge of a larger group of people. Do you really think a crime organization is going to send out their top man alone? To meet an investigator?"

Eren considered his words. "Oh…"

"So most likely, he's going to have his men with him. Lurking in the shadows. That's where we'll have to come in. It'll be our job to detain them and keep them off Irwin if things get nasty. There's a good chance we won't catch them all; so we shouldn't expect to. But all we need is one."

"Why? Wouldn't it be better if we all tried to grab as many as we can? It makes more sense. To get as many as we can off the streets."

"No," Armin said. "Well…in theory, yes. But in actuality, no. We need one; someone who we can use for information and leverage. We focus on one and catch him, then we'll find the others. If we all split up and try for a lot, there's more of a chance of everyone getting hurt, getting scattered and losing them all."

"I didn't think of it that way…"

Armin smiled and patted Eren on the head. "I know. Has anyone offered to come? Or will it just be the three of us?"

"Ah, Reiner said he'd help. And Jean and Marco. Connie too."

"That's good," Armin said. "Too many of us gives us too much of a chance of getting lost. We'll have to split up eventually. But we should definitely do it in pairs. And each person be responsible for their own teammate. We can avoid big clusters. That'll make us easy targets."

Eren's head was spinning. In his mind, he had only pictured a grandeur drug bust with Irwin and Levi in the middle of it. Armin was suddenly talking strategy; the plot that lead up to the scene in Eren's head. He followed along just fine, but it was heavy and getting complicated.

"Understand?"

"Yes, I understand!" Eren cried. "I'm not stupid. Hey…do we need to wear all black? To blend in?"

Armin gasped.

"Of all the questions you could possibly ask, you ask about dress code!?"

"It's a legitimate question!"

Armin sighed and tugged at his hair. "Yes! Yes, wear all black so we'll blend right in!"

Their night came. The six of them sat in Jean's car, since it was the biggest. Eren had been forcefully thrown into the very back of the SUV; since Jean was driving he refused to have Eren anywhere close to him. Armin sat in the front, giving directions. Reiner, Marco, Connie and Mikasa sat in the middle.

Eren bounced around in the back.

Jean parked the car on the side of the road; out of sight from the dirt and mechanical equipment, but still within running distance. They all piled out of the car and gathered around Armin as he gave out instructions. Everyone listened carefully, following his exact words.

Mikasa looked around cautiously.

"We have to split up now," Armin said. "Jean and Marco. Reiner and Connie. Mikasa and Eren—"

"I can go alone," Eren said. "Armin, you go with Mikasa. She can protect you."

"We'll be in a group together," she protested. "All three of us."

Reiner laughed. "Can you really protect them both, Mikasa? That's a lot of work."

Eren hissed and Mikasa shook her head.

"I can do it," she said. "I've had years of practice."

Jean snorted, pushing his face into Marco's shoulder to stifle his laughter. Mikasa punched his arm.

"Alright, then…if everyone is ready…," Armin said. "And remember to lay low and stay quiet and stay out of sight…"

Everyone nodded. Quietly, everyone started to walk off to their designated spots. Eren watched everyone disappear, following close behind Mikasa and Armin. They drew their guns and sat low behind a pile of dirt.

Eren was breathing heavily. His heart was racing. He could barely see, from the angle he was at and because of how dark it was. He could easily see the Vegas lights, as Armin had predicted. And when he turned to face the site, Eren could see movement.

The bodies' shapes weren't anything he was familiar with; no one he recognized.

He bit his lip and carefully slipped out from behind the dirt pile.

"Eren, what the hell are you doing?" Mikasa said. Her voice cracked over his hissing whisper. Eren waved her off.

"Shush," he said. "I'm getting closer. Stay here."

He crept low, ducking his head as he ran around to another pile of dirt. And from that dirt he spotted a tractor he could easily get behind and get a better look at the scene. He had to keep an eye out for Irwin.

He watched the scene for a brief moment before he stood up straight to make a quick dash over. A sudden tug at his shoulder and a sharp hit to his face stopped any action he had.

Eren stumbled, holding his jaw and blindly raising his gun. He couldn't see who had hit him; he was dizzy and numb. But he held his gun with a firm hand, even though his legs were unsteady. His arm was grabbed, wrist hit hard enough to make him drop his weapon and he was brought to his knees within a matter of seconds.

He felt blood form in his mouth. There was dirt in his eyes and getting in his nose. His face was pressed against the ground, his arm wrapped around behind his back. There was an elbow between his shoulders, keeping him pinned down. He heard clicking and he knew his assaulter had a gun. He tried to move, but he couldn't get up.

He closed his eyes as the gun was run over his temple, pushing back his hair from his face. He could practically feel the man over him breathing just as hard.

"You're fucking joking."

Eren's eyes shot up. He looked up and could see a horrified Levi staring down at him.

"L-Levi!"

"You little shit!" Levi hissed through gritted teeth. He pressed the gun harder into Eren's temple. "You fucking little shit, I almost fucking killed you!"

"I noticed!" Eren spat back. "Get off!"

Levi stepped off him and Eren sat up, coughing out dirt. Levi reached down and snatched him by the collar of his shirt, however, shaking him with a firm hand. He held the gun up to Eren's chin and even cocked it this time.

"What in the ever living fuck are you doing here? What made you think this was a good fucking idea?"

Eren gasped at being tossed around so suddenly. He struggled to pull away but Levi kept him in place.

"You were going to ambush Irwin!" Eren said. "We had to stop you."

"We…fuck…are there more of you here? And why did you think I would fucking ambush Irwin?"

"Because…," Eren muttered, "because—"

"Wait. Wait, fuck. Who did you tell?"

Levi's tone changed. His grip on Eren's shirt loosened and his eyes widened. He took a horrified step back and ran to the ede of the dirt pile, looking around. Eren coughed, pressing a hand to his throat and chin. He could still feel the ice cold of the gun's barrel on his skin.

"Eren," Levi said, almost desperately, "who did you tell?"

"About what?"

"About this? About this meeting? About me being here?" Levi asked. He kneeled by Eren's side, grabbing him by the shoulders. He had even dropped his gun. "Eren, how many people?"

"I don't know. Just whoever was in the office," Eren said. He rubbed his jaw. "Why does it matter? It's not like—"

And then they heard it. The awful sound of gunshots being fired.

Eren's stomach dropped. He scrambled to his feet as Levi got to his. They both drew their guns.

"Eren, go back. Get your friends or whoever and go back," Levi said.

"No!" Eren snapped. "I'm not about to—"

"Eren!" Levi shouted. "This isn't a goddamn game. Get the fuck out of here before you end up dead."

He stared at the desperation in Levi's eyes. In what lighting they had, Eren could actually see how worried he was. How fearful he was. And Eren knew then, that if there was ever a time for him to listen, it was now.

"I'll go find them…"

"Fuck, thank you."

Levi sighed, relieved, and tangled his hand in Eren's hair. He brought Eren down to his level and kissed him hard. There was no real way to stop it. And there was no way to control it.

Eren had to let it happen. His heart was racing even faster, adrenaline clouded his thoughts. He leaned forward into that kiss once he realized what was happening. And as soon as he did, Levi jerked him away.

"Get the fuck out, you shitty brat."

It was the worst time for a kiss. There was no time to savor it. No time to question why it happened. No time to return it. And yet it still managed to feel right. They were rushed. It was clumsy. It was passionate. It was spontaneous.

And even then, knowing he could die—realizing Levi could die—Eren couldn't help but smile as he ran off to find everyone.

Mikasa and Armin had left their spots. He could see that the car was still in its spot. So he started to run toward the sound of scuffling and voices. In the distance he saw Mikasa and maybe Jean. Or Marco? He couldn't tell. His head was hurting.

There were more gunshots and Eren suddenly felt a pain. A serious pain. He snapped his hands to his side and stopped running. He felt something hot and wet on his shirt, that soon covered his hands. His eyesight went blurrier and he fell to his knees as he felt weak.

It wasn't possible.

He tried to stand and winced, keeling over. He heard his name being called in the distance. It was Mikasa he heard. And dammit she sounded upset. He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it for days. Months.

Maybe years?

Or maybe minutes. That seemed more appropriate with the hot blood on his fingers.

He raised his hands, just to check. Red. There was definitely red. Even with his blurry vision, he could see red. His own red.
And then there was black.