We'll Always Have Paradis
Chapter 8
The cool air nipped Annie's skin while she rested against the frosted metal railing. On the open rooftop of a downtown forty stories high-rise, free from any obstructions, she observed the sun sinking before her. It bathed the city in a pink, orange, and purple glow as it bid farewell for the night. Annie tapped against the railing with the cigarette in her hand, occasionally taking a small puff. The dissonant creak of a rusty metal door alerted her as stealthy footsteps gradually made their way over to her direction.
"This better be important," an irritable voice crept from behind.
Annie finished her cigarette before she turned and faced a man who was only a few inches taller than her. "You're a piece of shit, Levi."
"What's new?" he sneered.
Resting at 5'3" with a dark undercut and impeccably pale skin, Levi Ackermann's deceivingly youthful appearance hid his actual age. He meticulously curated his attire with a pastel turtleneck and pressed khaki-colored trouser under his tan trench coat to appear more mature. Even then, he came off looking like a business intern fresh out of college with daddy's money. The only giveaway to his age was his worldly eyes that looked like they hate your mother and a scowl that could not give less fucks if he tried. It must have been good genetics or secret Botox injections that freed him from any settling forehead wrinkles. Annie didn't think it was possible to meet someone as stoic as her, but then Levi sprung into her life—a request she had not asked for.
"You wanted me to get information from Reiner but then you go and send a rat to mess with my records," accused the seething younger woman, "You decided on a back story and now you change that without telling me. Make up your damn mind."
Levi already looked disinterested with the conversation. "Correction. Hange thought it was a good idea to give you a convoluted back story like some second-rate Disney garbage," he pontificated. "More so, I don't see any inaccuracies with your current records."
Annie rolled her eyes at his semantics. She had to agree with Hange though. Convoluted or not, the truth about her being alive and in comatose for the last several years would bring more questions and suspicious. Why would the government keep her alive under taxpayer's money for so long if not for information gathering?
"You're trying to get a job. I have expressed many times that I don't want you working on anything BUT the mission I gave you. We want you to get information on his connection with Marley, be it the government or the terrorists." Levi stood with his back straight like a soldier as he spoke. His hawk-like eyes were trained on the blonde. "Besides, we pay you more than you deserve for the mediocre work you have been giving us."
"You've got to be kidding," Annie scoffed. "Your meager stipend covers jack shit. I was literally holed up in a drug den. I was going to rob an Apple store for fuck's sake."
"Maybe you should stop buying shoes then," Levi retorted.
Annie gritted her teeth, wishing that she hadn't finished her cigarette earlier so that there was something to distract her from her boiling rage. "It was one pair of fucking heels," she spat through her teeth, getting into Levi's face with her own while fighting hard to quash her mounting anger. The shoes weren't even that comfortable. She was just forced to buy them get away from Reiner's seduction. It's not like this guy would understand.
Despite the unpleasant company, it was good to meet someone in the eyes without straining her neck for once. In an exaggerated motion, she dropped her sight to Levi's feet. "You can have them, though. They'll fit your small ass feet."
What she failed to mention was Reiner's comment on her feet being a bit big, which still irked her more than she cared to admit. Annie absentmindedly wondered if she and Levi had the same shoe size.
A frown permanently etched on Levi's face for the rest of the conversation. He was used to people making comments about his height, but somehow Annie managed to take a jab at his pride with his shoe size. Levi looked like he was about to backhand her on the spot. Sensing a dark, ominous cloud hovering from above, Annie decided to take that as a minor victory and backed off from pushing him further.
"All I'm saying is that if you want me to do this properly, I need more resources." The woman steered the conversation back on course, "Reiner is a lot smarter than he looks. He's going to be suspicious if I have a miraculous source of income, especially after that stupid prison story."
Uncharacteristically patient, Annie tried to reason with Levi without coming off as annoyed even though there was a chance that her cover might have already been blown because of this dipshit. "Also, I can keep an eye on him since he works there. There's definitely more to the place than meets the eye and your one rat won't be able to cover everything."
Levi shook his head and waved his hand dismissively, "Fine. Keep a record of all of your earnings for my review. I want every cent documented."
Annie frowned. 'Yuck! Bookkeeping,' she thought. Leave it to Levi to ruin the fun of everything.
The unfiltered look of disgust on her face gave him a tick of satisfaction. "We'll halt on the per diem," he continued.
"Well, no. I still need that," Annie quickly inserted.
"Aren't you being a greedy little pig?"
"The bar thing is just a part-time job, Levi. Everything cost money. If you want me to prioritize the mission, you need to keep paying me." If Levi thinks she's a fool that he could just step on with his tiny feet, then he had another thing coming. He needed to understand that there was no such thing as a free meal in this economy.
"Need I remind you that you are in no position to negotiate." But he relented after a brief moment of consideration, "You will be paid as I see fit. That means I want quality information. Document all of your spending as well. I need receipts." His lips curled slightly when he added, "And cut back on frivolous spending like ridiculously expensive shoes."
Annie soured at his reminder.
"Updates?" His voice clapped, back to business as usual.
"Were the DNA samples from the other day not enough for you?" She glanced away and checked her nails.
"That was just a ton of splooge. I could've sent a pig to do that job. Oh wait," he mocked, poking at her forehead, "I guess I did."
Annie bit her tongue, fighting the urge to respond back to his insult. "So original," she grumbled under her breath before clearing her throat. "He's part of some criminal organization with the Reeves, but I guess you figured that part already with your source." Then she remembered the event that kickstarted this, "And he murdered a prostitute at Motel Maria last week."
"That's all?" Levi clicked his tongue, brushing off her statement as if she told him that Reiner was jaywalking. "You seem to have forgotten that it's your job to get information to me. I guess we've been paying you to spread your legs. I'm sure a whore like you enjoyed every second. You can't just send us a bucket of semen and pat yourself on the back for a job well done."
Annie was done playing nice with this tiny condescending asshole. "Jealous much? I'm sure if you asked nicely, he'll fuck you too."
Levi's patience with her disintegrated. He lunged at her. She dodged and tried to throw a fist at his face, but he slipped from her aim and spun behind her like a top. He grappled her wrist, twisting it to her back and pinning her hard against the horizontal bars while pushing his foot down on the back of her knee. That foot was a lot bigger than she had initially surmised. Afterwards, he tugged on her wrist upwards until she cried out in pain. He pressed himself so close to her that she can feel his breathing on her neck.
"Don't test me, Leonhardt," he warned.
Pain shot from her shoulder blade when she struggled under his iron grasp. Annie tried to let out a chuckle as she gritted through her teeth, "Wow, Levi, you kinky bastard. Does this turn you on… dominating a poor defenseless girl?"
"You? Defenseless?" he huffed. Then Levi looked at her with disgust, "As if I would subjugate myself to a dirty traitor like you." He released her as if touching her was an insult to his hands.
Annie scoffed loudly, rubbing her sore wrist and rotating her shoulders back, "Yea, right. You prefer the sneak attacks." She had been waiting for the opportunity to confront him, "Admit it. You and one of your cowardly men assaulted me when I was unconscious. I heard you two."
"You wish. I would never devalue myself with the likes of you." His cool charcoal eyes bored down at her with disinterest. "I merely gave instructions. We saved your life, you ungrateful bitch." Levi explained his reinterpretation of the event with such effortless suavity that Annie might consider thanking him if she had lesser will. Instead, it angered her more.
"Saved my life by fucking me when I was in a coma? That's rich," she seethed. "Saved my life so that you can torture me endlessly when I wake up. Yes, I should be fucking grateful."
Annie crushed the box as she retrieved the last cigarette from the pack in her pocket. She squeezed the metal lighter to slow the shaking of her hands. The promising hiss of the paper to the flame sounded loudly in her ears.
"They were planning to pull the plug on you. It was our last-ditch effort with some experimental technology. Hange insisted that you would be worth saving. I bet she's eating her words now." Levi crossed his arms and turned his head away from her, signaling the end of discussion.
Annie rested on the railing as she blew smoke into the wind, watching the last sliver of orange in the darkening sky. She couldn't stand to look at the imp-size man behind her at the moment. Clenching her fists so hard that her nails began to bite into her palm, she fumed that her strength had not fully returned to her.
Levi was the first to break the silence, "What information do you have on Eren Jaeger?"
Annie stayed quiet for a moment. Her eyes followed the specks of lights emanating from the traffic below. She could barely make out the shapes of the ant-sized vehicles as they zipped through the gridlock streets to predetermined destinations. Like popcorn in a microwave, windows of the surrounding high-rises began to illuminate sporadically, decorating the nightly sky of central metropolitan. Despite all the city noise and hectic motions bordering her, Annie felt a minute of tranquility.
Taking a deep breath through her nose to subside her torrent emotions, she finally spoke, "Reiner had no reaction when I mentioned Eren." She paused with her back still at Levi, "Why are you so focused on Eren?"
It was silent on Levi's end. He was reluctant to give Annie any additional details.
"How do you expect me to help you if you don't tell me jack shit?"
Levi tsked in annoyance. His eyes swung side-to-side in contemplation before begrudgingly giving in, "Eren reunited with his half-brother. We have intel that the two ran off to Marley and created an underground organization, possibly plotting to start a war either for the government or against it. We know they still have connections in Paradis and that we are the potential target of future attacks. They amassed a large cult dubbed 'The Jaegerist.' A few members are under investigation for conspiracy, but there are more of them hidden amongst us."
Annie turned, finding Levi sharp glare boring into her. "I don't suppose you know anything about that," he inquired.
Annie shrugged, feigning ignorance. Judging by the name alone, she had an inkling of what he was referring to, but her knowledge was mostly outdated. Levi already had that information from her. Besides, she had lost contact with her old group outside of Reiner. If she could reestablish her connections, she would not need to rely on this douchebag as her ticket out. Levi was her keeper, and he was the worst.
"You are so useless," the said douchebag muttered under his breath.
"Then why are you using me to stalk Reiner? If you think he's a cultist, why don't you arrest him and interrogate him yourself?" Annie purposefully blew a puff of smoke at Levi's face. He shot her a warning glare.
"I don't know why you're complaining when you have been enjoying his company every night." Levi stated nonchalantly, "I thought you said you couldn't stand him, but here you are, spending more time with him in you than out like some bitch in heat."
Levi must have suffered some sort of childhood trauma that defaulted him to slut shaming, Annie concluded. She balled her fists and swallowed her pride, biting down on the cigarette filter. She took a wide step towards him and teased, "Your obsession on this subject makes me think that you actually want me, little man."
Levi rolled his eyes and lifted his chin. "You would like that, wouldn't you, child?" He also took a step forward.
They let the howls of wind fill their inch gap of silence as they both stood their ground like alpha wolves. Steely gray met with icy blue as they dueled over dominance through an intense glaring contest. Annie was the first to concede, finding Levi's presence smothering. She backed into the railing behind her and redirected her attention upwards. There were bigger battles to be fought.
"You said you are going to send me back home to Liberio when I finish this mission. That's still the case, right?" Annie asked quietly, staring at the darken, starless sky above.
"Well, guess we both have to sit tight then, since you're shit at this," Levi huffed, looking very much like a petulant schoolboy.
Annie wished she didn't have to rely on this man as her route to return home. However, during her time under custody, the government managed to scrub all of her existence from any records. She didn't have a passport. She had a driver's license that was connected to a criminal record. If she tried to use that license for any type of unapproved transportation, Levi would get notified immediately, dwarfing any plans of escape.
"The world is so different after 4 years." Annie realized too late that she had mused out loud. Reiner must be rubbing off on her.
"Yea. 4 years ago, I still had my crew. And then you killed them." Understandably, bitterness dripped from every word.
Annie takes another drag of her cigarette. This was not the subject she wanted to discuss.
"I placed listening devices throughout the apartment except for the bathroom and the fire escape," without waiting on Levi to make another patronizing comment, Annie explained, "The moisture and the echoing from the small room isn't ideal conditions for the devices. Same goes for the external elements in the fire escape." The technology at Paradis Island is still very behind compared to Marley's a decade ago.
Levi did not respond, so Annie took that as a sign of his approval. At the mention of spy technology though, his eyes dropped to her uncovered wrist.
"Where's the watch we issued you?"
Annie's face contoured into a grimace. "That watch is ugly and outdated, just like the rest of the technology in this goddamn country."
The mechanical watch served as a listening device and a tracker but was garbage at telling time. No matter how often Annie corrected it, it always ran a few minutes slow. The high maintenance device also required constant winding and crapped out when submerged in water. There were a few instances where Annie was tempted to smash it to tiny bits with a sledgehammer just to take out her anger on Levi, but she thought better and pulled back.
"What? Ever since you bought some fancy ass shoes, you think you're sophisticated now," Levi mocked.
Annie rolled her eyes. Conversation with this man was like picking a fight with a brick wall. She dug into one of the pockets in her bag and pitched a small object towards his face. He snagged it mid-flight without a flinch.
"It got wet," she drawled with the tobacco stick back in her mouth.
Levi stared at the watch in his hand. There were some stains in the dial, parts of the chrome paint flaked off from the circular case and the faux leather strap was just days from falling apart. He pulled on the crown to give it a wind, but the small knob just fell off. Maybe the girl had a point. He shoved it into the deep pocket of his coat.
"You ought to take better care of government property," he grumbled.
Annie knew she had won that one.
She bit back the smirk before beginning again. "The other night, when Reiner got really drunk, he mentioned the named Historia. She's the Queen, right? What was that about?"
Levi shrugged, "You tell me."
"I'm guessing there was some kind of connection between him and the new queen." Annie mused out loud. The woman did look awfully familiar, even prior to having her face plastered all over the media. Annie must have been exposed to her at some point four years ago.
"If Reiner is part a cult, she might have ties to that as well." Annie proceeded with her train of thought, "But why would a queen need a cult when she rules over the country. Unless…" There were too many pieces missing from this puzzle.
"I never said that we think he is part of the Jaegerist," Levi finally intervened. "We are investigating his ties with Marley and the possibility of an inevitable war. Also, Queen Historia does not rule the country, she reigns."
Catching confusion on Annie's face, he continued, "Putting this into terms that even you can understand—the Queen is the figure head of Paradis Island. She makes decisions on specific, inconsequential regulations and meets with outside leaders. Her power is balanced by Prime Minister Dhalis Zachary, who is supported by legislators of the state. He does the 'heavy-lifting', to simply put it."
Annie let it all sink in as she sucked into the last bit of her cigarette. "So, are you working under the Queen or the Prime Minister?"
Levi averted his laser focused glare for a second as if he was hiding something. "I am part of the government. That is all you need to know."
Annie tried to absorb and parse through all the information that had just been flung at her. There was probably a lesson on this back in school. Truth be told, she had never paid attention in any of her classes besides physical education. Tests were usually multiple choice and easily passable with common sense. It also helped that Bertholdt wrote most of her history papers. Somehow the world just got more complicated now that she actually needed to learn about this.
Suddenly a realization dawned on Annie, her eyes widened as she looked over to Levi, "Is Reiner the baby daddy? That could be a possibility, right?"
A short, strangled noise escaped from Levi's throat that could only be interpreted as a stifled chuckle. Seemingly caught off guard by Annie non sequitur outburst, he shook his head in amusement. "Maybe you should ask your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend." Annie snarled, flicking the butt of her cigarette to the streets below.
"Leonhardt, leave the analyses to the experts. You just worry about getting me the information I requested." Levi's voice seemed to have softened a bit.
The blonde nodded reluctantly. She then hesitated before speaking again, "I need a meeting with Armin. To restock."
Levi rolled his eyes, "Never forget that you, undeservingly, were given a second chance to atone for your crimes." The lines on his face appeared less harsh though, "I'll see what I can do about Dr. Arlert. Consider this meeting adjourned," with that he left, slamming the heavy door behind him. A brick wedged itself between the door and the frame, preventing it from locking.
Annie fished for her second pack in her purse, but she felt the lollipop that Reiner handed her earlier.
At five past five in the early evening, darkness had already shrouded the sky of the late autumn night. Light pollution obscured all the celestial bodies from view saved for the sharp crescent moon. Annie could recall the day of the accident as if it was just yesterday, when her whole world changed.
Four years ago, one misstep caused Annie her freedom.
Annie had always considered herself a careful person. So, reality bit her in the ass when she was caught in one of the infiltration missions—and it had to be Levi of all people to hold her captive. Everything became surreal after that point.
During the interrogation process, they strapped her to a hard wooden board that was tilted backwards in a shallow inclined, just enough for her head to dip further down than the rest of her body. Her limbs were stretched and pinned, one on each corner. She was wary of their actions but remained tight lipped. Then came the wet cheesecloth that plastered over her entire face, sealing her eyes and mouth but not enough to end her through suffocation. The buckets of ice water followed, pouring on her head at random intervals as questions sniped at her. Time blurred into a long agonizing eternity as they continued to dry drown her.
Annie thought the whole ordeal was pointless for information gathering because her throat and vocal cords spasmed so violently by the end of it that she was unable to speak even if she wanted to. It was just an excuse for a bunch of sadists to get off watching her suffer. At that point, she knew that her death was the only possible ending whether they could crack her, so she took a chance to escape before she could betray Marley and outlive her usefulness in the eyes of her captors.
At her weaken state, they dumped her into a cell shackleless after the torture session. Be it a rookie mistake or an answer from the heavens, Annie knew that it was her best chance to make her escape when she caught wind that a new, inexperienced agent was assigned to monitor her that day. She gathered her strength and began plotting. Everything played out exactly like she had envisioned. Well, almost everything.
The binds that restrained her during her waterboarding session cut into her wrists due to friction from her thrashing. With the only sharp object in her cell being her fingernails, she picked on the open wound, digging passed the surface level of her skin. When the lesion burst open, she prodded and wringed her wrist for blood until a puddle gathered next to her on the ground. As soon as she heard footstep approached, she feigned unconsciousness. The guard barged through her cell door upon the sight and rushed to check on her. When the officer got close enough to her to feel her rushing pulse, Annie pulled her into a rear naked choke, crushing her victim's carotid arteries between her bent arm, rendering the guard unconscious after a few seconds. With much urgency, she switched outfits with the officer.
Although the building was heavily guarded, no one batted an eye at Annie. The uniform was a size too large for her, but she managed to veer away from any attention. She kept her eyes low and forward. As soon as she made it to the exit, she hotwired a police paddy wagon closest to the gate and sped off. That's when they finally noticed that she was missing from her cell.
It was surprising that it took so long for anyone to notice that she had escaped. One would think that at least one guard would be monitoring the security footage of wanted criminals. There must be some truth to the rumors that the internal police force was made up of a bunch of lazy idiots.
Adrenaline surged through her as she sped through the bustling city. Upon circling the same block for the second time, it occurred to Annie that she had no idea where she was going.
She couldn't go carelessly contacting Bertholdt and Reiner with the government searching for her and surveying everyone with any ties to her. Although she had not revealed their connection, it only made sense that they monitored students from her class in hopes of catching her or, better yet, another spy. Taking a plane, train or boat was also out of the question. There was no chance that they did not already register her in the travel ban list. Walking into one of these sanctioned ports was basically the same as walking into a police station with a white flag of surrender. Despite her high stamina and endurance levels, it was still impossible for her to swim across an ocean to Marley, especially in her current state. Her only course of action, she concluded, was to go into hiding. Just for a little bit, until she can get a hold of Zeke and the others somehow. That was the best solution. Now she just needed to figure out where.
The four members of Levi's team were nearby when an announcement of her escape blasted through their radio. Immediately, they recognized the stolen police car and chased after her in their undercover vehicle. Annie mentally kicked herself for not planning passed the prison escape when she was still in her cell. She wasted too much time milling about. But there was no way she was going back to the torture chamber with them, not alive. And death was not on her agenda.
She took them around town as they relentlessly pursued her, glued to her ass like a fungal wart. She drove into busy streets and cut into sidewalks and through alleyways, but they were unyielding. It made sense, as the Levi squad was known to be the best of the best. Though, it was probably not hard to be the best when the standard was set so low. At some point during the chase, Annie managed to find the switch for the sirens, which made it easy for people to get out of her way. However, it also made it convenient for the other car to follow her even closer.
They zigzagged all over the city in what felt like hours when it was only a couple of heart pounding minutes. Annie didn't care where she was at this point; she was desperate to lose them. The answer came calling when she turned into a street leading to a crowded six-way intersection. She decided to shoot her shot. With no time to second guess, she stomped on the accelerator, running a red-light during rush hour.
That was the beginning of the end.
In the chaos, a semi-truck lost control and in order to avoid the police wagon ahead, it swerved. The nine-ton trailer toppled over sideways, crushing the vehicle behind as other cars joined the pile up, killing the four members of Levi's squad on the spot.
Annie did not get off scot-free though. When she was distracted by the bedlam from her rearview mirror, another sedan T-boned her.
Everything happened all at once so fast that even to this day, Annie couldn't completely process it. There was a loud ringing in her head overlaying against metal screeching upon impact. With her heart thumping against her ribs, Annie felt piercing pain all over her body as her breathing labored. Then the back of her head hit something hard while she whiplashed in the metal prison. Darkness swallowed her immediately, trapping her in her mind for the next three and a half years.
It wasn't until she woke up, that she learned of the details of the event. That the Levi squad –the best and the brightest in the force at the time— was killed because of her. That many pedestrians were injured and several thousands of dollars in damages were inflicted. However, if you ask her whether she would do it again knowing that people would be killed on the journey, if she could have gotten away this time around, she would without a doubt answer yes. There was no guilt to be had because it was their choice to go after her. If they left her alone, she would be home, and they would still have their lives… maybe.
After her awakening, she endured more torture while undergoing rehabilitation. This time she was too disoriented to keep her lips sealed. Most of her information had been moot and useless at that point. She had a funny relationship with lady luck though.
"Our lead agent went missing. It just so happens that you are the perfect candidate for the role. You have a choice to take her place or die as a criminal."
Those magical words that spared her life.
"How can I trust that you won't pull the rug from under me when the job is done?"
Hange and Levi made a deal with Annie for her to return home to Marley once the mission was complete. Although the details of the arrangement were hazy at best, she was too desperate to refuse the offer. It was that or her execution and, in the end, Annie will always fight to live. Four years later and at the mercy of the man who was the bane of her existence, she won't let anything stop her from seeing her father again. What more could she lose?
After all, she was a survivalist. Right?
A/N: As always, thank you for reading this and thank you for all the support! I hope you are not overwhelmed or underwhelmed by this chapter ('whelmed' seems to have a negative connotation). This chapter was a real challenge initially, I had to let it sit for a month before coming back to it to start fleshing it out. After getting down a rough first draft, every draft progressive became a little more fun until I started really enjoying the interactions between two characters that are completely different from me. I sent this over to my beta reader/editor, who knows nothing about AOT, but she was really helpful cleaning up the conversation and pointing out emotional inconsistencies and just confusing parts in general. There was also a pacing problem in the second section. We went through a Zoom call in the evening to talk through her edits/suggestions as she rocked her baby to sleep. Later, I reworked my overall story outline again to change a plot point that affected this chapter. My beta reader went through the second version and helped me punched up some dialogue. I really want to thank her even though she will never see this because I never gave her the link to this fic. Thank you, M!