Warning: Lots of swearing, gun violence, violence in general, drug use/addiction, murder, and eventual smut.
I'm having a lot of fun writing this so far. I hope you enjoy!
"Hey, did you hear me?" Erwin stops typing and looks up from his screen. "Levi."
Levi shakes his head, his signature scowl beginning to curl on his lips. It's Wednesday, right in the middle of Levi's work week, and Erwin had just dropped a bomb on Levi with the same air of casualness he used whenever he asked Levi to turn in a report by the deadline, or stop being mean to the Narcotics team, or to kindly stop making toilet jokes to the new recruits.
Unfortunately, Levi heard Erwin's words loud and clear. Erwin had just asked him to take over the undercover investigation of a drug ring in Shiganshina, a small city in the South known for its oil and fish exports.
"What the fuck, Erwin?" he chokes out.
Levi takes a look around him. Erwin's office is neat and minimal save for the large stack of papers that clutter his desk. An obnoxious amount of medals and certificates decorated the walls, which almost always caused Levi to roll his eyes when he looked at them. The senior officer was staring back at Levi with a trained smirk, too used to Levi's vulgar language. The tense atmosphere in the room causes Levi's gut to ache.
"Why are you surprised?" Erwin asks. "Captain or not, we both know you prefer field work to paper pushing."
Levi bites his lip as he thinks of a response. It's true, of course. Levi's loyalty to Erwin knows no bounds, and yet, today, every part of Levi screams a solid, "No," that prickles under his skin. Despite being a part of the police force for five years, Levi had never been asked to work undercover. He'd brought in more than enough convictions working at the desk and occasionally accompanying police detectives Petra and Eld on their investigations.
Levi personally knew officers who'd returned from undercover work after months or even years of serving— all of them had to undergo mental health counseling and were often torn over testifying against criminals they'd pretended to befriend.
He recalls reading the file on the Shiganshina drug ring, which was a mere twenty pages long. Twenty pages of information was dust to Levi; uncharted territory meant unspeakable dangers.
Best case scenario, Levi would walk away unscathed after taking down an amateur drug operation started by two high school dropouts in their basement. Worst case scenario, Levi would have his head chopped off for interfering with a branch of a major drug operation. Levi's gut feeling tells him the situation in Shiganshina leans towards the latter.
The narcotics business is some dangerous stuff, Levi thinks to himself.
"Not this kind of field work, Erwin," Levi starts, hands gesturing wildly, "Auruo was literally murdered investigating this ring last week and I'm his replacement? I like my head, thank you very fucking much."
"And a pretty head that is," Erwin agrees with a contemptuous smile as he leans forward on his elbows, fingers locking together. Levi rolls his eyes.
Erwin continues, "But more than that, you're smart, Levi. Too smart to get yourself killed. You're my best officer. Do you know how much you've done for this department already?"
"A shit ton, that's what," Levi offers with another scowl, knowing Erwin was about to recite a list of Levi's achievements in his five years in the Narcotics Division.
"Yes, exactly." Erwin reaches for the topmost paper in his obnoxiously tall stack. Erwin points to a bearded man's mugshot. "Remember him?"
Levi's eyebrow twitches. "'Course I do. Mitabi Jarnach. My first arrest."
"It was through your investigation and subsequent interrogation of Jarnach, a seemingly unimportant figure in our records, that we were able to conduct a raid on the Reeves Company's biggest drug shipment of the year and catch Dimo Reeves, the kingpin." A proud smile graces Erwin's lips as he speaks.
He moves over to the next few papers in the stack in a methodical manner. Levi recognizes it as a case report he had written four years ago, which included a picture of mangled human remains. "And this man -Thomas Wagner- how could we have possibly solved his murder and several others if it weren't for you listening in on Dimo Reeves' son, Flegel's, wiretapped conversation and completely cracking their code?"
Levi narrows his eyes. He remembers that case well. He'd been listening to Flegel's conversation over and over again, visualizing the words as maps in his head, comparing them to past conversations, until he realized exactly what he was talking about— the location of Wagner's body and the manner in which he was killed. It led the team to a bay full of body parts in black trash bags. Levi still remembers the horrifying cries of Wagner's mother when he informed her they finally found her son. Those cries sometimes infiltrated his dreams on those rare nights where he found himself able to sleep.
He smacks his hand onto the papers, stopping Erwin from moving to the next few. "Spare me the fucking praises, Erwin. I'm more valuable here, not in some drug-infested city. You really want me to put my ass on the line for this?"
Erwin moves his hand away from the papers and lowers his gaze thoughtfully. "Yes. It's the only way to make sure Auruo's death wasn't in vain."
Levi's gaze softens in mild surprise. "And here I thought you were a cold-hearted bastard."
Erwin chuckles darkly. "Please stop fighting me on this, Levi. You have to understand- I'm not asking you to do this," Erwin pauses as his lips curl into a smirk, "I'm telling you to."
"Way to abuse your power, Commander Smith," Levi remarks pointedly, crossing his legs in his seat.
Erwin ignores him and gestures towards yet another piece of paper, this time an unsigned contract. "The details are all in here. You'll be granted full immunity for any necessary illegal actions undertaken during the operation. You're looking at just a few months to half a year. At minimum, I expect you to collect as much information as you can; but the objective is to get convictions and take the Shiganshina drug operation down. Once you sign, I'll set you up with Hange, your handler, and erase you from our database. Of course, you'll be paid handsomely for this." Erwin's serious gaze meets Levi's incredulous one. "Tread slowly, Levi. Don't make the same mistakes as Auruo."
"You seriously think I can get farther than Auruo did? We still don't even know who killed him and why."
"It's part of your assignment to find out."
"Do I even have a choice?" Levi's voice drops as he takes the contract in his hands, eyes skimming over the terms.
"On paper, yes. But frankly speaking, no."
Levi nods knowingly. "Manipulative bastard."
Erwin smiles. "The one and only."
"Knowing you, you've got some big theory or plan in the works, right?" Levi presses further, pen hovering over the signature line.
"No, just a feeling," Erwin replies cryptically.
Levi shakes his head. "I'm signing a death sentence over a fucking feeling, how reassuring." He scribbles his name onto the paper, signature neat as ever, and Erwin smirks.
"I have full faith in you. I expect you to come back from this assignment alive." Erwin pulls out a manila folder of files from the stack. "The case files."
Levi cocks a brow as he snatches the case file from Erwin's hands. "Don't underestimate me, Erwin."
Detective Hange Zoe peers at Levi through her glasses for a long moment. He stares back at her from across the table, annoyed. It's been a week since Levi signed his life over to becoming an undercover cop for Erwin and he was finally able to meet his handler, the one person in the police force besides Erwin he was permitted to make contact with during his investigation.
Levi had spent the past week training for his new assignment and reading both the Shiganshina drug ring file and Auruo's hastily typed reports over and over again until he could recite the words verbatim. The mental maps were beginning to form in Levi's brain, but he lacked way too much information to be able to know where to start. Auruo had only spent two months on the case before his untimely death, and in that time, he only managed to report his contact with low-level drug dealers. In a sense, Levi was starting from scratch.
"Hey, shitty glasses, I didn't come here to waste my time having a staring contest," Levi barks.
Hange laughs loudly, earning a few stares from the other customers in the quaint cafe. Levi fails to hide his pleasant surprise at Hange's blatant resolve to remain unfazed by his manner of speaking.
"Sorry, I just can't believe Erwin would assign someone as mean-looking as you to this case. How are you gonna make friends with that scowl?"
"And I can't believe he'd assign someone with less than half a brain cell to be my handler," Levi retorts with a cross of his arms.
"Didn't they teach you manners at the academy, Levi?" Hange laughs again heartily and quickly puts her hands up in a 'surrender' motion. "I can call you that, right? Levi?"
Levi turns his head indignantly, finger gripping the handle of his teacup. "Whatever. I didn't go through the academy. Didn't you read my file? Are you illiterate, too?" He glares at the brown-haired woman suspiciously.
"Fortunately, I can read very well," Hange replies as she adjusts her glasses. She offers Levi a bright grin and explains, "I just didn't read your file. I thought I'd learn about you from the man himself."
Levi briefly considers telling Hange about himself, but quickly decides against it. "There's nothing worth knowing about me. Not for the purposes of this investigation, anyway."
And it was true. Levi Ackerman, Captain of the Narcotics and Vice Division, had been erased from the police databases. All cases he was involved in now required a security clearance to be approved by Commander Erwin Smith himself.
His new identity was Levi Ackerman, a deadbeat who was just fired from his no-name company because of misconduct and insubordination and has a traceable criminal history of car theft, drug dealing, and the occasional street brawl.
"Aww, that's no fun, Levi!" Hange cries. She leans forward excitedly. "What's your star sign?"
Levi huffs in annoyance. "Don't joke with me, four eyes. I'm putting my ass on the line for this operation."
Hange's demeanor changes drastically as her voice lowers and her shoulders tense. "Trust me, Levi, I know. I haven't gone undercover myself, but I've been told by other experienced officers that if you come out of that operation all kinds of fucked up, it means you were successful."
"Now that's a shitty measurement for success if I've ever seen one," Levi mutters under his breath.
"It is, right? Now, I can share stories with you about everything I've learned from my fellow officers, but considering you officially relocate tomorrow, let's get to business." Hange fishes out a stack of files from her bag.
Levi's eyes gleam in surprise as Hange spreads the files out on the table. "Now we're talking."
"First things first…" Hange searches the papers haphazardly until she pulls out a blown up picture and shoves it in Levi's face. "You know this guy?"
Levi's eyes shine in recognition of the young man in the picture, which was taken by Auruo from afar. The subject couldn't be older than twenty, but his serious expression and darkness in his green eyes causes him to look more mature than he needs to be. His long, brown hair is pulled back into a bun and he looks to be physically fit. A pretty one, Levi thinks, and he can't help but pity the boy for getting himself tangled up with the law like this.
In the picture, he's leaning against a wall in an empty alley, lost in thought with his head craned toward the sky. The young man was Auruo's first contact and the source of most of the information Levi had been reading nonstop for a week.
"Eren Jaeger, Auruo's informant, low-level drug dealer," Levi says immediately.
Hange nods excitedly. "Ding, ding, ding! And what are you going to do as soon as you get to Shiganshina tomorrow afternoon?"
"Find him."
Levi doesn't know what kind of asshole ghost possesses him to give Erwin a call in the middle of the night, but he finds himself anxiously listening to the methodical ringing of his phone in his hand as he waits for the man to answer.
His stomach twists uncomfortably, and the captain briefly wonders if his superior has the ability to fall asleep at a normal hour, unlike him. His eyes flit over the emptiness of his apartment and the large suitcase in the corner of his bedroom.
"Levi," Erwin says into the phone as if he'd been expecting his call, "You should be asleep. Your train leaves early this morning."
"I can sleep on the train, asshat," Levi mumbles, instantly regretting this phone call.
Erwin stays silent on the other end, much to Levi's annoyance. Levi speaks up, "Is it too late to turn back?"
"Yes. This isn't your death sentence, Levi."
"Easy for you to say. You get to take shits in your cushy office bathroom without worrying about getting your asshole blown off by deranged drug dealers."
Erwin's merry laugh aggravates Levi. The man's next words are slow but sure, "Are you scared?"
Levi holds his breath. "I don't have time to be scared. I trust your judgement, Erwin. You're looking somewhere I can't even see."
"Right now, I'm looking at files on my computer," Erwin jokes.
"Ha, ha, ha," Levi replies sarcastically, "Your jokes are getting worse by the day."
"I went undercover my first year working in Organized Crime," Erwin says suddenly, causing Levi to jump in surprise. "I took down a small child trafficking operation abroad, but not without sacrificing my sanity and morals along the way. To this day, I still can't read the report I wrote after everything without throwing up."
"If you're trying to make me feel better, you're doing a bang up job at it, you asshole."
"I'm not," Erwin assures with a chuckle. "But I just wanted you to know that, no matter what kinds of things you end up doing or seeing, you're one of the good guys, Levi."
"One of the good guys, huh?" Levi repeats. "So if I kill a man to protect my identity, but fail to take the drug ring down, am I still a good guy or just a murderer?"
"You're still a good guy," Erwin insists.
Levi hums in response, not sure if he's satisfied with that answer. "I don't think so, Erwin. Goodnight."
Levi hangs up immediately and tosses his phone in the wastebasket next to his bed. With nothing to do but drown in his thoughts, Levi's mind wanders to his first task as an undercover cop.
Find Eren Jaeger.