Levi

When Eren finished talking, Ackerman was standing against the wall, studying his friends' expressions. He was trying to guess their thoughts. Levi had known them for a long time. However, they had never been in a similar situation before, so he had no idea how they would react.

Hanji sat across from Eren, staring at the boy with incredulous eyes. On her right, Erwin mused, pressing his eyebrows into a menacing line. He never looked that serious before. Mike was staring at Yaeger with a blank expression, only narrowing his eyes slightly.

Zoe was the first to speak.

"Maybe I'll start? Damn, boy, you surprised me. Even in our wildest dreams we would have never imagined that one of Grisha's sons would come to us and offer his help."

"Yes. That sounds too beautiful", muttered Mike, looking at Erwin. "What do you think?"

Smith regarded Eren with silence. The young man looked back at him without any hesitation or batting an eye. Levi had to admit it was quite impressive. He already knew it was only a matter of time before Erwin would trust this boy.

"You're saying that you and Grisha are not on good terms. How can we know for sure you're not just trying to use us, to buy yourself back into his favors?" Smith asked, resting his chin on his hand. "Secondly, if you two don't get along, and Grisha has sidelined you, how do you even want to help us?"

Levi had to admit that these were the perfect questions. He looked at Eren, waiting for the answer.

Surprisingly, the boy didn't seem confused. He nodded almost imperceptibly, as if he understood the need to ask these questions.

"Forgive me if I say this again, but we have to trust each other. You're right, detective, I have to improve my relations with my father, but I need your help to do that. We need each other. I will provide information, but first I have to gain Grisha's trust. And I won't be able to do this without you."

"Boy, do you realize how ridiculously this sounds?", Mike asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "Erwin is right. You will use us for your own purpose, and then we'll end up with nothing, while you'll crawl back into your crazy father's favors. What's in it for us?"

"It doesn't have to be any important information", Eren said quickly, glancing at Mike. "Grisha just has to believe that I did something in his favor, that I took a chance. I have to show him that I have become a man." Eren grimaced. "Yes, my father is oversensitive at that matter. You have to prove your loyalty to him, over and over again. You can guess now why it was so difficult for me. It's hard to keep your opinion to yourself when your father is a maniac."

Levi allowed himself to furtively lift the corner of his mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, he met Erwin's gaze. He knew him well enough to know exactly what the man was thinking.

Ackerman nodded, and then walked towards Eren.

"Now the adults have to talk. Can you leave us alone?"

The boy jumped to his feet and smiled at Levi. Ackerman felt a twinge of irritation as he realized once again that Eren was a head taller than him. He considered it really unfair.

"Okay. Where should I wait? The kitchen was this way, huh?" The boy asked, then walked to the first door and went inside.

"You little shit, don't go there, that's…", Levi called after him, but the door slammed shut before he finished the sentence, " ...my bedroom."

Hanji laughed at her friend's expression.

"I think he feels right at home", the woman said, then adjusted the glasses at her nose. Levi sighed, then dropped into the chair Eren had been resting on a moment ago. He looked at the faces of the three detectives sitting in front of him.

"So?", Ackerman asked in a low voice. "What do you think?"

"I think we should do it", Hanji was the first to speak. She fixed her hazel eyes on Levi. Despite the late hour, her gaze sparkled with excitement. "Look, even if this boy wants to deceive us somehow, let's turn this situation to our favor. He's still a kid, for god's sake, we're way smarter than him."

"Don't forget that he can be a puppet in Grisha's hands", Mike remarked, crossing his arms in front of him. "Shit. It would be very unfortunate to use Eren's assistance only to end up shooting ourselves in the foot…"

"Mike, I think Hanji is right", Erwin interrupted, looking at the mustachioed man. "In my opinion, if Grisha would wanted to deceive us, he would have sent someone older. Sending a kid seems too risky. Yes, I know this bastard uses children, gives them guns in the streets and so on, but this is different. It's about negotiating with the enemy, setting conditions, et cetera. I think Eren really came to us in his own free will."

"I agree with Erwin, though I think we should be very careful", Hanji admitted, folding her hands together in front of her. "Maybe we should let him prove himself."

The talk took them a while. The detectives were rather open for cooperation, though they agreed that they should not trust Eren right away.

"Levi, what are your thoughts?", Mike asked, looking at Ackerman from under a frown. Levi rested his hands on the table and considered the answer.

"Firstly, let's talk to Shadis. If he agrees, we will plan the next step. We will arrange a fake operation, a beating, a kidnapping, anything that will make Grisha trust his son again. Then it will be Eren's turn to prove to us that he is on our side. If he leads us to Grisha, we will help his friends leave the country. But only if Shadis give us the permission." Levi drummed his fingers on the table and looked at Erwin. "Is this plan good enough for you, Smith?"

Erwin nodded appreciatively.

"It's perfect. I would have never came up with a better one."

"It's settled then", Hanji said, standing up. "I'll get our boy."

She walked towards Levi's bedroom and opened the door. After a moment, she turned on her heel, grinning widely. Ackerman took that as a bad sign.

"What is it"?, he asked, pushing his chair back and getting up from the table.

The woman chuckled softly and pointed at something with her finger. Levi approached her and his eyes widened as he saw Eren, curled up and sleeping in his bed.

"He looks so cute…", Zoe whispered, trying not to laugh. "Like a puppy!"

"Hey, you bastard! Get up now!", Levi called loudly, going inside, grabbing one of the pillows and throwing it at the sleeping boy. Eren rose on his elbows and looked around in surprise. "I just made the bed today! Gosh, now I'll have to make the laundry again!"

"Man, relax." Eren got up from the bed and stretched. Meeting Hanji's amused gaze, he asked, "Is he always like this?"

"Man? As I said before, I'm not your friend." A menacing vertical line appeared between Ackerman's eyebrows.

"Unfortunately, he's a real pedantic", Hanji replied, then ruffled Levi's hair. Ackerman pushed her hand away. Eren laughed, then left the bedroom with the two detectives.

"So, have you decided what you are going to do with me?", the boy asked, coming back to where he had been sitting earlier. "Should I be afraid?"

"It all depends on our supervisor's decision", Erwin replied. To the surprise of all, he extended his hand towards Eren. "Still, thank you for having the courage to do something like this. You don't even know how much that means to us. My name is Erwin and it's really nice to have you here."

Eren stared at the broad-shouldered blond man in amazement. He shook himself quickly, however, and took the man's hand, squeezing it tightly. Hanji got up and patted the boy on the shoulder, also congratulating him on his courage and expressing hope for cooperation. Even Mike stated that if all went smoothly, they would gladly use his help.

A gentle smile brightened Eren's face.

This smile was different from the one Eren presented at the very beginning of their meeting. Back then it was carefree, confident, as if Eren was trying to minimize the distance between them or prove to the world how cool he is. This new smile had gentleness, timidity, and subtlety, as if Eren couldn't believe that someone had given him a reason to smile at all. The boy looked as if some weight had fallen from his heart.

Eren finally looked at Levi. The man just rolled his eyes.

"If you fall asleep on my bed again, I promise you won't get up ever again", Ackerman muttered. "The same goes for breaking into my house. And now it's time for you to go."

"Sure. I'd better use the back door, just in case."

Before Yaeger vanished into the darkness of the night, they made some arrangements about contacting each other.

When the detectives were finally alone, they exchanged still surprised looks.

"Anybody wants some tea?", Levi asked.

Everyone nodded.

Armin

As the clock hand inexorably neared the appointed time, Armin packed his equipment into a bag and walked outside the tenement. The sun was already high in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day. The boy, however, was not able to enjoy the nice weather. At the same moment he reached the curb, a black SUV appeared in front of him. A tall, slim but well-built man got out of the car and gave Armin a blank look. He opened the back door for the boy. Arlert got in. He couldn't remember the man's name. He knew his nickname was related to some bird.

The man sat down next to a broad-shouldered driver, who started the engine.

Armin extended his hand, even though no one said anything. He knew the rules. The tall man handed him a cotton sack. The boy put it on his head, losing any ability to observe the surroundings. He wouldn't see much anyway, because the windows in the back were tinted on both sides.

The fact that he was a friend of Eren didn't mean anything. Grisha took all possible precautions. He was very sensitive about the security measures.

The journey took them longer than usual. Armin was a little surprised. He did not have a phone with him, it was an item forbidden by Grisha. Armin could only bring with himself the computer equipment which was necessary for his work. When they finally arrived, the boy was searched (not gently) and then led (even less delicately) to one of the rooms in the building. He couldn't check the time, not until he turned on his laptop. They drove for an hour.

Armin looked around. It was certainly not one of Grisha's many residences. The place looked uninhabited, more like a warehouse or an abandoned office than a home. Empty desks, old, half-open closets. The boy, however, was not going to complain. Electricity worked perfectly, the generators had been delivered earlier.

Finally, Grisha showed up.

As always, Armin noticed the resemblance to both of Grisha's sons. Both Eren and Zeke had something similar to their father in their appearance, but it were completely different details. As for Eren, it was the color of the eyes, hair, thin figure and a calm manner of moving. Zeke, on the other hand, looked more like Grisha overall. Like his father, he wore round glasses, had stubble and a long face. Eren's appearance was more similar to his mother. To be fair, Armin never met Zeke's mother, so he had no information about her. Grisha's first wife died very early, under rather mysterious circumstances, and neither Grisha nor Zeke liked to talk about it. Carla, on the other hand, was in charge of Grisha's hotel chain, and Eren rarely saw her.

According to Mikasa, Grisha liked to surround himself with women. Sometimes they were his age, sometimes much younger. Luckily, Armin had nothing to do with that part of this man's life. Grisha needed him for a completely different reason.

The man sat down next to Arlert, patting him gently on the shoulder. He fixed the boy with a green gaze that was voided of warmth. Grisha's eyes were cold, though he tried to make them look kind. It was as if the lion was trying to smile with its murderous fangs at his victim. The man's brown hair was smooth and swept-back. The delicate stubble made his face handsome, though the impression was spoiled by an insidious grimace. After a short greeting, Grisha got straight to the point. He handed the boy a piece of paper with several names on it.

"The usual, boy. I need you to find something on these five gentlemen. Pictures, conversations, just like always. The more you find, the greater your reward will be."

Armin nodded. They both knew he wasn't doing it for the money.

You couldn't say no to Grisha, and if you dared to do so, you didn't live long.

Armin knew very well why Mikasa was involved in this dirty business. Formally, it was about using her help to arrange meetings with clients and to conduct negotiations. Mikasa was a beautiful girl, and Grisha's partners were mostly men. Her presence had always a very positive effect on the outcome of the discussions. But Grisha decided to have her by his side for a completely different reason. The girl was his hostage. If Armin or Eren would oppose Grisha, the man would probably hurt Mikasa without any hesitation.

He needed Armin because of the boy's skills. Arlert could dig up some dirt on Yaeger's enemies. And he needed Eren because he was his son after all. His son, who knew too much. Grisha still believed that he could turn him into the second Zeke.

Armin hacked into the computer of one of the man designated by Grisha, who was a politician. As he flipped through the man's e-mails, he thought with some satisfaction that maybe it would end soon. If Eren would really start his cooperation with the police, maybe one day all three of them could be free.

While downloading pictures of some disgusting orgy, Armin's mind was far away.

He really hoped it would all be over soon.

And that he would never meet Grisha again.