"You are a real piece of work, Levi," said Farlan, running his fingers through his blond hair. "What were you thinking, messing around with Richard's men?"
Levi seemed unbothered by the comment. Sitting on a wooden chair, he kept sharpening his rusty, but still functional knife. His comrade, Farlan, was standing next to him, looking at his calm labor with disapproval.
"It was self-defense," said the boy.
"Well, now we will need to keep our heads low for a while, so less money for us," Farlan sighed. "The others are not going to like it."
The third and youngest integrator of the group, Yan, was lying on a beige mattress, looking up to the wooden ceiling. He slowly stood up, as his leg had been hurting for the past days.
"Maybe I can suggest something to make matters easier for now." The other two boys looked at him. "I've been scouting around the east part. Remember that seamstress shop? I noticed that one of the houses next to it had no lights or people around for a couple of weeks. Not to be disrespectful, but maybe there is no one…alive there."
"And if there is?" argued Levi, still playing with his knife.
"Then we pretend to be a pair of drunks who got into the wrong house," Yan smirked at the thought of it, while the other two stared at him with a blank expression. "Come on guys, it probably hasn't been raided yet. We should search for supplies before others come up with the same idea."
Farlan looked at Levi, searching for his approval. He was always the one that complained the most with any plan, no matter how simple or safe it was in the first place.
"He has a point. If we downgrade the other's pays, they won't trust us anymore and we will probably be out of manpower for the next heists."
The boy stopped playing with the knife. He put it back into the small scabbard and fastened it to his belt before giving his verdict.
"East side, huh?"-he stood up- "very well, but you two will act as the drunks."
The trio stood in front of the seamstress shop. The owner had died some months back, and the entire building had already been scavenged for food and supplies. In the Underground, someone's death usually meant that their inventory would be left unsupervised. If one were to be quick enough, they could get their hands on their personal belongings before the deceased's family or friends. Not even the dead were respected in the gruesome city.
Despite his difficulty walking, Yan was the one leading the way towards one of the nearer houses. Bringing him to these types of operations was always a risk, but if they were to play as drunks as an escape plan, his abnormal gait would make it more believable.
"This is the one," announced Yan. The house was a one-floor, stone and cast construction. Despite its irregular look from the outside, it also seemed to be sturdy and well made. There was one small, wooden-framed window carved on the front side, with no curtains. Farlan approached the window, but the interior of the house was indistinguishable due to the lack of light. No one seemed to be inside. At least alive.
"So…do we knock?" said Farlan.
"Dunno, you are the drunks here," answered Levi, shrugging.
"Alright then...HELLO?" screamed Yan as he opened the front door. "WE ARE HOME!"
Farlan followed him inside, and once both boys ensured that no one was there, they made a sign for Levi to enter as well.
The house had no decorations besides a wooden set of chairs, shelves, and a table. There was no mattress; just some old, dusty blankets piled up in a corner. They inspected the shelves and looked for hidden crates, hoping to find something other than rags.
"Seems like the place has been picked up clean…" said Farlan.
"In what world do you call this clean?" said Levi, passing a finger over the dusty table. "But it doesn't seem like anyone else had the same idea of breaking in, otherwise not even those ugly chairs would be here."
"What do you suggest then?" asked Yan.
Levi wandered through the room before approaching the window to make sure that it was not an ambush. On his way, one of the wooden floor panels creaked loudly, startling Yan. He made a sign to his other two companions to be quiet, while he knelt next to the panel and knocked on it lightly. It was hollow, and his knock was followed by noise on the other side.
"Yan, get a lantern ready," instructed Levi as he removed the knife from his belt and cover. Farlan approached him and both gently removed the panel. Once it was gone, a staircase was revealed, leading to another room below.
"Are we sure about this, Levi?" asked Farlan, with a worried expression in his eyes.
"Just be ready to bring out your best acting performance."
Yan joined his two comrades with a lit-up lamp, which Levi grabbed before slowly entering the basement. The other two followed him down the stairs. As they were about to inspect the newly discovered area, a figure from behind the staircase jumped onto Yan. The figure wrapped their arms around Yan's neck, and pushed him to the floor.
Farlan and Levi quickly assisted his companion by grabbing each one of the stranger's arms, pushing the attacker towards the basement's wall. Once the stranger was pinned against the building, Levi pointed his knife to their neck to ensure no sudden moves.
Even with only the light from the dropped lantern, the face of the attacker was clear. It was the same girl Levi had faced some days before. With the same anger showing in her dark eyes, she shook her legs, trying to break free from the boys' grip. Levi responded by drawing the knife closer to her neck.
"You really like getting in trouble, don't you?" said Levi.
"You know her?" asked Farlan.
"Not exactly, but she knows Kenny, apparently." Once Levi mentioned the old man's name, the girl screamed in response.
"Ehm…guys…I think she is from the Survey Corps" interrupted Yan. On one hand, he had the lantern, and on the other one, a green cape with the distinct wings of freedom stitched on it.
"Don't touch that! I'll kill you…I'll kill you!" she screamed.
"No way. She is too young and too weak, she is probably just a good thief," said Farlan.
"Then…what about this?" Yan moved the lantern, illuminating the back of the room. Facing the wall there was a big, wooden table covered with spare parts and mechanisms. But the one that caught the trio's attention was the round, wired-up metal coil in the center. "That's what they use to move around, right?"
Both Farlan and Levi stared at each other and then at the girl, who looked down.
"Please, I will give you food and…whatever else, just…don't take that…please…" she muttered.
After a brief pause, Levi decided to intervene, "Yan, give me some of that wire hanging over there."
Yan nodded and brought the wire from one of the hangers next to the table. With help from Farlan, Levi tied up her feet and hands, and attached his knife back to the belt.
"What are you going to do to me?" whispered the girl, with no trace of the furious rage that had possessed her before.
"For now, let's just talk," answered Levi. He then signed Farlan to join Yan in exploring the rest of the room. "First of all, how do you know Kenny?"
The girl didn't reply, looking away from her captor.
"Did he hurt you?" As he received no response, Levi sighed. "Of course he did, that's the only thing he does."
"He is a monster. I hate him. And I hate you."
"Well, I hate him too. We are not…close anymore." Levi wasn't surprised at the girl's reveal. In the end, Kenny had ruined many people's lives, including his. The girl didn't seem to be comforted by his response. Levi could still feel that if it weren't for the wire around her limbs, she would've already tried to strangle him at least twice. "You are not part of the Survey Corps I take it"-the girl shook her head- "then how come you have their gear?"
"I just…found it," she replied. The other two boys turned around as she spoke. Farlan approached her.
"You are fixing…Mobility gear?" said the blond, with a surprised expression on his face. "Is that your plan to escape the Underground? You know you still need a permit to live above, right?"
"I don't…want to live above. I just want to fix it," she replied, looking down again.
"That's some stupid logic for someone smart enough to build mobility gear," said Levi. He thought the girl he had blushed at his compliment, but it could've also been her getting even angrier at him.
"What do you want from me?"
"Does the gear work? Can you use it?" asked Farlan.
"I mean, yes. Kind of. I just need to find a way to fill up the gas canisters and adjust the pressure of the…"
"Oi oi oi, he asked whether it works," said Levi, stopping her as she drifted into a monologue.
"Yes," she replied. Farlan and Levi looked at each other for a moment.
"Yan, look after her for a bit, Levi and I will be upstairs," instructed Farlan.
Yan nodded, and the other two boys went back up to the house.
"This is more than what we were expecting. If we can get her to build some of those mobility gears for us…think of all the heists we could pull! No more running around the Underground! We could even go to the surface without paying those ridiculous taxes!" said Farlan.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know yet if it actually works."
"Do you really think she would've protected it like that if it didn't?"
At Farlan's comment, Levi recalled how she had faced Richard's gang for just a bag of metal parts. "It might be important to her. That doesn't mean it works."
"Then we encourage her to make it work." Farlan smirked. "Come on Levi, you know this could make us the greatest band in the Underground. We could easily dodge the authorities with that gear!"
"So, you suggest we take her in?"-Farlan nodded- "I have seen her fight. She is fast, but impulsive. And her workspace is so dirty and messy…" lamented Levi.
"Just think of all the tea you could get if we were to rob the big fat guys from above," joked Farlan.
Levi looked at the basement's entrance, pensive. Farlan was right about the advantages of the gear, but the girl didn't seem like someone who would easily trust them. However, no one in the Underground really trusted anyone. She also seemed to have a personal vendetta against him and Kenny, despite Kenny abandoning Levi almost ten years back. But if she knew something about the old man's whereabouts, she could help Levi get to him.
"Alright, but let me do the talking. Remember that she hates Kenny, and hence me. I'll try to make her see that we are on the same side," concluded Levi before going back to the basement.
Yan was waiting, and it seemed like the girl had stopped showing resistance to the wire ties. Levi kneeled in front of her. Getting a closer look, she must have been 17 or 18 years old, just a bit younger than him, despite being almost the same height.
"Let's make a deal"-she raised her eyebrows, in surprise-"We will help you find the parts or whatever you need for that gear. In exchange, you teach us how it works and let us use it."
"That's not a deal. That basically makes me your slave," she pointed out.
"You get protection, which seems like you need, especially after our first meeting." She rolled her eyes at the reference. "You will be part of our band, so you get a cut from our earnings and a shelter. You also get to fix that gear, which you apparently don't plan on using anyway." He made a pause to read out her expression, but she did not seem to react. "You hate Kenny, and so do I. I will help you fight him if that's what you want."
She appeared more pleased with the last part of the offer, "I didn't say I didn't want to use the gear. I just…don't want to live above," she muttered. "But since my other choice is probably getting beat up by you two…I agree."
"Oh, you think too ill of us," said Farlan as he joined the group down the stairs. "We are gentlemen first and foremost."
She looked at him and smirked, for the first time.
"I'm Levi. The blond gentleman over there is Farlan, and the guy you graciously attacked is Yan"-the boys shyly waved their hands as Levi introduced them- "and you are?"
"I'm Sophie, Sophie Lhant."