The evening was still, the stench of stale smoke stagnant in the air. The musk left behind by the bodies long gone still haunted the deserted office space. The light from a single computer was the only source of illumination in the hapless darkness. In the very center of its radiance bathed a single individual, as still and lifeless as the room around them. Discarded cigar and cigarette butts littered the tiny office floors while two tall bottles, drained of their life essences, watched over them prominently from the desk, flanking the omnipresent desktop on both sides.
A long throaty groan rumbled from the depths of the room. A shuffle followed by another, much shorter groan. The body slowly and painfully pulled itself up, the chair supporting him creaking and squeaking beneath him.
Mr. Braun sat up, eyes straining under the intense light. Grumbling beneath his breath, he shut off the offending monitor and after a few seconds, breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes quickly adjusted to the room around him.
Fingers found themselves entangling in unusually messy strands of jet black as he tried to massage away a throbbing headache.
Slowly he forced himself to his feet, grunting in discomfort with the pop of his knees and a grumbled "Fuck" escaping his lips.
He stood for a few moments, taking in the dead silence around him. Suddenly a smirk came across his face and a chuckle bubbled up. "Those fuckers finally gave up." he whispered as if trying to convince himself.
Unfortunately he seemed to have jinxed the moment because as soon as the words fell into the quiet, the phone on his desk sprung to life with a long-winded ring.
He froze an expression of pure terror etched across his face. If he stayed completely still and didn't utter a sound, it won't notice that he's there right?
Another ring.
He swallowed. After the call that Hannes forced on him about three hours ago, Mr. Braun had been teetering on the edge of insanity. He became paranoid of everything and everyone around him. Everyone called it a night about two hours ago; everyone except him, of course. By then he had already burned through more than half of his smoke collection and paid special attention to where Hannes hid his secret liquor stash for the night. At first he didn't plan to take any, just for his knowledge. Just… in case.
It didn't take long for that case to be made. The first call rolled in, and he answered begrudgingly. The chillingly familiar voice on the other end gripped him. He hung up before he could make out what his caller was saying.
A third ring.
There were at least five calls since that one, none he bothered to pick up. He just.. waited. A bottle in one hand, a lighter in the other, and a fresh smoke cradled shakily between his lips.
He wasn't even sure when he passed out.
Now, he waited. Too terrorized to move, too fearful to leave. Haunted by a telephone ring.
Before the fourth ring could come, he did something he felt he should've done a long time ago. He ripped the cord from its socket, silencing the thing for good. Watching the cord in his hands, stuck in disbelief of his own actions.
"They've got me afraid of a fucking phone." he growled as he wiped sweat from his brows and tossed the cord to the floor. "Ughh, fuck those bastards." he spat.
Suddenly the sound of a clicking tongue froze his heart in his chest. The sound seemed to echo all around him.
A messy nest of white hair appeared from behind the wall separating his and Hannes' offices. The officer began stuttering incoherently as the slender man slithered more and more into view, the taunting in the click of his tongue matching the slowed pace of Mr. Braun's heart.
"So you have been ignoring my calls on purpose. This does not look good on you, Rollo boy." The man's voice was slow, methodical, and disturbingly playful. "Naughty, naughty boy."
"Sch- Schtein." he cursed himself for stuttering out loud. "How the fuck did you-"
"Get in?" Dr. Schtein laughed. "I hope you don't mind, I let myself in." he explained, pointing towards the door just barely ajar on the other end of the room. "It's not like you were going to let me in. P.S. - Your locks need to be changed in here, they're practically falling apart."
Schtein slinked around the room with a whistle. "It's small, but it's nicer than that rat hole I last saw you in. When'd you upgrade Rollo?"
"That's none of your damn-"
"Was it the phone calls Rollo? Did I overdo it?" he spoke in a mock apologetic tone. "Did we scare you?"
"Shut up." he growled.
Schtein narrowed his eyes, voice dangerously low. "You don't call the shots here Braun."
Whatever was about to rise out of Mr. Braun's throat was quickly swallowed back down. His hands opened and clasped at his sides, then as if finally making his mind up about something, his face grew determined as his finger slid over black metal, slightly gripping it in his tips.
Before he could react however, he received a crushing blow to the jaw, a low thud echoing against the floor as his weapon fell from its hiding place in his waist. As he brought his hand up to his throbbing jaw, he found himself face to face with a black 9mm pistol.
"What did I just say about shots Braun." he clicked his tongue. "Truly you're incorrigible."
"I kepsh my en of za deal." the injured officer barked with a slur.
"Did you now?" Schtein smiled a shit-eating grin.
"She's alive." he managed as he pulled at what felt like a slackened jaw. "And I kept your stupid secret."
"Did you now?" Schtein repeated lowly, a laugh rumbling out from his throat. "That house on the hilltop is nice too. Back then no one lived there, if memories serves correctly, and you were living in the heart of the city. Didn't like the hustle and bustle of city life anymore, huh?"
"So what, I moved! So what, I changed offices! This-" he gestured between himself and the gun. "-is not what we agreed to. Nobody knows who she is and she is alive. That was all you asked of me!"
"I believe the exact terms of our arrangement were 'keep an eye on her' and 'keep her safe'." Schtein pointed out, pulling the gun back with a curious expression. "Can you tell me where she is right now?"
He hesitated. "H-home."
"Is she?"
"She should be."
"Should? Where else would she be?"
"School." he responded more assuredly. "She only goes to school and to the market. Otherwise she's home."
"Why is she enrolled at a military school?" his words were slow and precise, being sure to pronounce every syllable with the utmost care and clarity. "Are you aware of the incident that occurred there not too long ago?"
"In-...Incident?" the word almost got stuck in his throat, his mouth drying. "Which one are you referring to?" Mr. Braun attempted.
"Which ones do you know of?" Schtein's question was met with absolute silence. "I didn't think so."
"Whatever it was, it's a military school. They wouldn't allow anything too bad to happen."
"She was exposed Rollo." Schtein spoke, losing all trace of his usual bemusement. "Any concerned individual after seeing her would investigate. And even worse, it's a military school, a nest full of sympathisers with more than enough clearance to track her down to her roots. Your careless decisions have put Lord Reiss' secrets in the path of complete exposure."
"Nobody will find out!" Mr. Braun declared desperately. "Nobody will look into it."
"Then why is my partner out hunting rats at this very second?"
Officer Braun was at a lost for words. What happened at the school? Why wasn't he notified about anything? How did things get so far out of his control without him noticing? Was he that careless?
"Oh and another fun fact." the doctor snapped him out of his trance, pushing the barrel of his pistol directly into the center of the man's broad chest. "Word is that there were a number of fresh young 'additions' to her collection. You wouldn't happen to know anything about those would you?"
The large man was beginning to break into a cold sweat. "C-collection? I'm not sure what you're talking about." he denied.
Schtein slinked up to his side menacingly, coming right up to his ear so that he could speak barely above a whisper. "You know Rollo boy, in this world there are some questions that just have no safe answers. And trust me, I should know..." he traced the tip of the man's ear with his tongue, causing Braun to visibly shudder, clenching his fist tight enough to make the skin over his knuckles a pale white. "I have all the answers." Dr. Schtein was delighted with sight of the man completely squirming beneath him.
Mr. Braun gritted his teeth, a look blended with disgust, fear, and fury carving itself into his face. He hated this. He hated not having control. He hated his own weakness.
"Now then, let's go."
"Where?" he subconsciously growled deeply.
Dr. Schtein took note of the man's tone with an amused grin, but he chose not to comment on it. "Where else? You said the girl's probably home right? We're going to go get her so I can cart her home to her father and we can finally be out of your hair." Then he cooed, "You'd love that wouldn't you Rollo boy."
Mr. Braun opened his mouth but seemed to hesitate before his voice could fall out.
"If you're worried about your promised payment." Schtein eyed him curiously. "We'll make sure you are taken care of. Now hand me the keys, I'm driving."
~oOo~
"I see."
"Yes, so we're on our way to the house now. Do hurry up and wrap things up on your end will you."
"Yea, yea." Kenny lit his cigarette, leaning against a street lamp, the night around him pushing a chilly breeze past him. "Those little rats have to pop up for air eventually. And I get the feeling it's gonna happen real soon."
The man lifted his cigarette to his lips casually, staring at the dumpster directly ahead of him, the phone still nestled up to his ear.
"Let's hope they do. I don't want you to miss out on all the fun." Schtein snickered. "Now tell Mr. Ackerman 'see you later' Rollo."
Kenny could hear the officer's voice in the background, mumbling, most likely in compliance with Schtein's order. He shook his head slowly and hung up the cellphone, pocketing the device. He pulled a long puff and sighed. In his right hand was his pistol, which he tapped impatiently against his pocket.
…
"Is he still out there?" Armin whispered fearfully.
"I haven't heard any footsteps since he arrived. He hasn't moved." Mikasa confirmed, grunting in frustration at the fact.
Eren pulled himself up to a small, barely distinguishable hole in the metal around them, rusted over around the edges and almost completely stuffed with old papers and wrappers. "Yup, he even looks like he's getting comfortable. Shit, this guy's annoying."
Mikasa swat her little brother across his head, eliciting a sharp squeak which forced him to immediately pull his hands to his mouth to prevent anymore sound from escaping.
"What was that for, are you trying to get us caught?" Eren grumbled through grit teeth, trying his hardest to fight back the tear forcing its way into the corner of his eye.
"No swearing." the girl replied with authority in her voice.
"Seriously?" the black haired boy hissed with narrow eyes.
"Please don't fight right now you two." Armin pleaded with his friends. "Seriously, this might be life or death right now.", he gripped the cloth over his chest desperately, trying to calm his thumping heart.
The siblings both huffed but nodded regardless.
They tried their best not to move around too much in the cramped space. They managed to get close to the school, sneaking around behind gates and fences and dodging through bushes. Wherever they ran though, they could tell their pursuer was not too far behind, whether his voice haunted them around every corner or his shadow approached just a little too close for comfort. Just as the school came into sight, just two short corners away, a particularly aggressive pack of small dogs weren't all too happy with the children intruding on their property. The pack of yapping toy dogs easily grabbed Kenny's attention and within a few seconds he was hot on their trail.
In a desperate attempt to escape being caught, the three dove into a nearby dumpster, Mikasa using her heightened senses to listen out as Ackerman rounded the corner just a few feet away from them.
They've been in their current state of standoff for about twenty minutes. Evening was slowly becoming night and temperatures were slowly falling. The chances of Principal Smith being there were still likely high but their chances and hopes for reaching him were quickly becoming zero.
"Listen. Kids." Armin's heart nearly stopped when he heard the man's voice calling out to them in the distance. "I don't like chasing ya, and I'm sure you don't like being hunted. I don't wanna have to kill a group of kids over a few pieces of paper." Kenny laughed as he spoke that last part. "Just give yourselves up. I know you're in there and that rusty shell can't stop no bullet." the mirth in his voice made the severity of the situation all the more dire.
The area dropped into a dead silence aside from the strange tap of metal against metal as the mercenary's pistol tapped against… something in his pocket.
A few daunting seconds passed, both parties seemingly paused in stalemate. Suddenly a few clangs came from the dumpster followed by the scraping of old rusted metal. The top flew up, a pair of arms up in surrender.
Armin trembled under mercenary's cold expressionless gaze. Still, his eyes read all the determination he was trying to send through the rest of his body.
"I-if… if I surrender the notes to you… you won't hurt us right?"
"Finally ready to negotiate eh?" Kenny snickered in amusement. "You know kid,normally I'd just take what I want by force. No talks. No stories. But…" the man paused for a few thoughtful seconds. "Tell ya what kid, I like you. Hand me that backpack of yours, forget everything you ever saw pertaining to this, and you'll never be bothered by this ugly mug again. We clear on that?"
"Oh, your friends have to give themselves up too." he added, gesturing a head towards the dumpster. "I don't want any funny business out of 'em either."
Hesitantly Mikasa rose from the trash, glaring at Kenny aggressively.
"The boy too." Kenny smiled.
They waited, Eren refusing to come out. After the look of impatience became more than a little apparent on the Kenny's face, Mikasa forced the emerald eyed little rebel to his feet, stretching his arms up in imposed surrender.
"I am not surrendering to the likes of you! I refuse! Fuck… let me go Mikasa!" Eren fought and screamed to the top of his lungs, like a child being forced to eat their vegetables or do chores.
"I told you no swearing." Mikasa huffed, easily holding the boy down during his tantrum.
"That's everyone. So do we have a deal?" Armin pressed.
Kenny gestured for him to come forward. The blond boy did as directed, slinging the backpack onto his shoulder, maintaining eye contact with the stone-faced man as he walked towards him. He seemed to hesitate at the last moment when handing the bag over.
"Changed your mind?" Kenny quirked a brow curiously.
"What are you guys going to do to Christa?"
Kenny hummed, rubbing a hand through his stubble. "Is that really something you should be concerning yourself with?"
"You're not… you're not going to hurt her right?"
Kenny snatched the bag from him and shoved the boy to the floor. Opening the bag he searched through the content. "That's not my call nor do I care kid, that's not my job. If you get yourself mixed up with the military like they're training you shitbags to be, you'll understand what I'm talking about."
When he was satisfied with what he saw he pulled out his lighter once more and lit up a few of the papers, dropping them into the bag as the flames grew. It wasn't long before the bag became consumed by the flames within it.
"Well that's done with." Kenny breathed to himself. Dropping his cigarette and crushing it into the ground, he gave a final nod and walked away from the trio just as Mikasa ran up to Armin, Eren not far behind. The small but powerful fire continued to grow and eat away at the fabric of the bag, ashes flying out in whatever direction the wind blew. "Appreciate the co-operation."
Just as he was about to round the corner, he paused in his tracks. "Commander Smith." he acknowledged as the soldier approached him, a certain brown-haired researcher at his side, both in full military garb. "A little early for a late night stroll ain't it."
"If I was out on anything besides business I would've agreed with you." he returned with a smile. "Would you care to come with us Mr. Ackerman?"
