Chapter 29

At 6pm sharp, Levi arrives at the address Erwin had texted him this morning. He'd left Eren at the hospital after Grisha had offered to give him a ride home later night so that Levi could get on with his errands, an offer he'd been thankful for as he could see Eren wasn't quite ready to leave Jean and Marco just yet, and forcing him from his friends' sides so he could go and see Erwin just seemed cruel at this stage.

The location, to Levi's surprise, happens to be a church that he's passed in the car on several occasions, but is unable to remember the name of. He parks the car a little down the street and steps out, surveying the area as he makes his way to the front entrance. He almost thinks he's at the wrong place, until Erwin steps out of the large, wooden front door to meet him.

"Erwin, what were you doing in there? What is this all about?" Levi asks, slightly demanding in his confused state. Erwin, however, is unphased by Levi's tone and simply shakes his head before ushering him inside.

"No time to explain, I'm afraid. But there's someone here who wishes to speak with us, he reached out to me last night on my way back to the club. He says he has some information but doesn't wish to speak to the police about it, says it could be beneficial to our cause." Erwin says in way of explanation, leading Levi down the aisle of the church, the smell of recently burned incense stinging his eyes as he passes rows and rows of pews before his friend is leading him into a room at the very back of the house of worship.

Erwin opens the door without knocking and steps inside with Levi in tow. To the smaller man's disbelief, inside the room and situated behind a minimalistic desk with two free chairs in front of it, sits Pastor Nick with his hands clasped under his chin and eyes closed in what looks to be prayer. Not that Levi is all that familiar with the concept, he hasn't prayed in an incredibly long time.

"Pastor?" Levi calls out in almost a whisper, and Nick opens his eyes slowly to look up at Levi.

"Good Evening Levi, we meet again, although I had rather hoped our next meeting would be you attending one of my sermons. I take it our conversation yesterday did nothing to deter your feelings on the matter?" Pastor Nick asks, tilting his head at Levi and the smaller man can't help but feel uncomfortable at the gaze from those dark eyes.

"Can't say it has Pastor. Although I am rather confused, you were the one who called us here? What could you possibly have to say that could help us in any way? As I recall, your entire little group were the ones causing a ruckus last night after you gave me your word that you'd keep it under control. And now, another man has been shot." Levi glares at the Pastor accusingly and Erwin steps slightly in front of him to calm him down.

"Levi please, Pastor Nick here reached out last night by way of an olive branch. He understands that last night got out of hand and wishes to make amends by telling us what we need to know." Erwin explains, but Levi isn't so easily convinced by his friend's attempt to keep the peace.

"And what makes you believe that we can trust a single thing that comes out of that man's mouth? Huh Erwin? Don't you think it's all just a little a little too convenient that every time there is a commotion caused by this man and his 'flock', there happens to be a Titan attack right at that very moment? It's happened three times now." Levi spits, and this is when Pastor Nick chooses to speak up again.

"Exactly, it's been three times now, that's not by chance. At first, I thought it was a coincidence when those boys were shot in Trost, we were just there as peaceful protestors looking to spread our message when the guns went off. We left immediately and we didn't even hear until the next morning that a man had died. Then a couple of months later we were informed that there would be a rather large crowd at that club in Karanes, The Basement, a bigger crowd means a larger audience, so we decided to go. Things got a little heated then too, some of the patrons didn't appreciate our presence there…"

"Well, no shit." Levi interjects, rolling his eyes and folding his arms in irritation. Erwin places a hand on his shoulder and Nick continues, unperturbed.

"It's a public area, so long as we don't step foot inside the premises, we aren't causing a problem. I made sure to remind my group of that after that unfortunate incident at Maria's bar near the start of the year." Pastor Nick says with a grimace.

"So, you admit it? That was your doing?" Levi asks angrily, "You are the head of the Titans? You've been writing the hate messages, the pamphlets, the online groups…you're responsible for the shootings?!"

"That's what I'm trying to explain. Yes, we infiltrated Maria's bar that time, but I wasn't there on that occasion, they just got a little rowdy and tried to push their luck a bit. After Ray was beaten half to death, I made sure they all knew better than to try that again. And I'll admit to the hate messages and everything else. But the shootings, we are NOT responsible for. We are not the Titans…at least not completely. I think somebody is trying to frame us in that regard." Pastor Nick states, taking the time to look both Erwin and Levi directly in the eye, and Levi notices for the first time that there is a slight tremor in the man's speech, almost like he's feeling way out of his depth.

"That's quite the accusation you're making, Pastor." Erwin states casually, "What evidence do you have to back up your claim?"

"Truthfully, I have none. That's why I haven't gone to the police with this information. Our…methods of protest thus far are questionable enough that the police would have no problem throwing the book at us and deeming us a bunch of murdering, religious maniacs. I would never allow my parish to take the fall for this, they are good people, truly they are…I know you won't believe me, but not one of them has what it takes to be a killer." The Pastor implores, eyes begging for the pair to believe his words.

He can't say that he believes the corrupt Pastor entirely but remembering the young boys who helped Annie bring in the ambulance for Marco the night prior gives him something to think about. They were practically kids and looked scared shitless as far as Levi can remember, neither of them looking like the standard scumbag one would picture when envisioning the Titans. Then again, as Levi well knows, looks can be deceiving.

"So, say we were to believe you? We take you and your parish's names away from the equation, we stop sniffing around your cause and we rule you out as the Titans all together. Where does that leave us? We have no leads, no idea of what we're looking for…how can you know that you're being framed? You must have some suspicions of your own if you're so keen to share this with us." Levi muses aloud, and even Erwin raises his thick eyebrows at this, moving to take a seat in front of Pastor Nick's desk, waiting for his answer.

Nick sighs before nodding his assent, "You're right, I do have my suspicions. But you must understand, that by telling you all of this, I'm breaking the trust that my parish have put in me, the confidentiality that is expected of me when it comes to the sanctity of confession, you have to realise the gravity of that, and know that I don't do this lightly. Please remember that before you decide to act."

Levi says nothing, standing stock still with his arms crossed, but Erwin leans over and places his elbows on the man's desk.

"Pastor, you have invited us into your place of worship in order to help us, you are directly opposed to our client's way of life, his choices and his cause, you have nothing to gain by bringing us here and giving us this information. I can't speak for Levi, but I don't believe you would do such a thing unless you had a very good reason or a big enough hunch that you would put yourself and your entire community at risk. So, with that in mind, we will treat your claim with the utmost respect and consideration. I am also a man of my word, and I give you my word on this." Erwin assures him and Levi sees the Pastor's gaze flicker over to himself before the man closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Every time we have been present at a large event where a shooting has occurred, we were always given the event information externally. The people who tipped us off about the clubs…they never actually came with us for the protest. They weren't people who were ever affiliated with our group, nor had they ever expressed any desire to be." Nick reveals, and Levi narrows his eyes at him, walks over to the desk and slams his fist down on it harshly.

"So, you were told were to go, by people not directly involved with your group, and those times just seemed to magically co-incide with the dates when all of those innocent men were shot? Some of them died, Nick, and you didn't think to report it to the police? Instead you decided to go along for the show when you could have easily prevented it from happening?" Levi snarls, and Erwin has to hold him back with his prosthetic arm to stop Levi leaping over the table and attacking the Pastor.

"There was no way to tell that there was a pattern until now. Every time there has been a tip off, it's come from a different person and the locations were so far apart that it didn't occur to me to think that there would be a shooting until it happened. And it's not like tip offs are uncommon, all of my activists are vigilant and dedicated to spreading our message…even though we lose members with each Titan attack that happens. But these ones, like I say, always came from people outwith the group, and these are the ones that led to the Titans shooting more innocents. That's why I'm telling you now, there must be a reason we're being invited to these." Pastor Nick says regretfully, and Erwin nods at the words.

"From what you're saying, it sounds like they're using your group as a shield." Erwin states thoughtfully, and Levi runs a stressed hand through his hair.

"Which is just going to make it a hundred times harder to find them." Levi adds, beginning to pace the room.

"What do you mean by a shield?" Pastor Nick asks, looking between the two men in confusion.

"A shield is when one individual or a group use another, more well known, more vocal group to cover their own tracks. In order for the Titans to be able to successfully infiltrate and carry out their attacks, they need a larger group who are likely to cause a scene to be there at the same time, so that the focus is kept off them and they can do what they are there to do with minimal chance of them being discovered." Erwin explains, "We think that's why you've been given those event details, the people who gave you them are not trying to help you, they're trying to use you to protect themselves."

"So, what does this mean? Is this our fault? Have we caused this?" Pastor Nicks demands, becoming more and more distressed by the second. And it becomes clear to Levi that this man is not a killer, simply an old, skewed, fool.

"It's not your fault, but your involvement certainly hasn't made things any easier. If anything, you could maybe have prevented several of the shootings if you'd just refused to go. If Erwin's idea that the shooters are working on behalf of someone else is correct, then there's a chance they may have been too cautious to go through with it without the cover." Levi states frankly, "But there's no way we can know for sure."

"But what makes you think that the shooter, or shooters in this instance, or working for someone? I thought the Titans were an organisation?" Pastor Nick asks, resting a hand on his desk and using the other to rub at his temple.

"They are." Erwin clarifies, "But I trailed the shooter from last night and there were several things that concerned me. For one, I could see that he was a white male, probably aged early to mid-twenties, I didn't get a good look at his face, but based on body language and his voice alone, he certainly seemed like quite a young man. Second, was how nervous he was, I tried to keep as hidden as possible but he kept looking back as if expecting someone to come up behind him at any second, I could be wrong but that doesn't strike me as someone driven by duty or devoted to the cause, then again I can't know for sure. The third thing was the phone call."

Levi stops pacing and whips his head to stare at Erwin, "What are you talking about? What phone call?"

"I followed him to some old buildings on the East Side, he was on a call but he was also up on higher ground at this point so I didn't get a lot from it, and I couldn't risk him seeing me, but the gist of the call suggested he was reporting back to someone. He sounded almost…scared, I think. I lost him after that, but I quickly deduced that he's definitely not the mastermind behind all of this, I can't even say for certain that he's a fully-fledged Titan." Erwin confirms, and Levi becomes thoughtful upon hearing this.

"If he's as young as you think he is, then there's a chance he's being manipulated. And the problem with that is, even if we do find out who this kid is, he may have more to lose from telling us who the higher ups are than he would gain from it." Levi says before asking, "Nick, you said you were always informed in advance by outsiders on the nights of the attacks. Can you tell us who tipped you off on those occasions? Do you remember what they looked like? Could you even describe them for us? Their mannerisms, clothes, distinctive marks, anything?"

Pastor Nick nods, "The first two that came to me, I don't know them all that well, just that they're brothers. Falco and Colt their names are, I can't remember their last name I'm afraid, their family is relatively new to the area. I can't say much else about them, Falco came around first, said he'd been doing some research and found out there was to be a rather large turn out at Wall Rose in Trost, and that we would get our name known that way. He seemed so well put together, said that we were doing the lord's work and deserved to have the world hear our message. Colt was similar the next time when he came to tell us about The Basement, he even commented on the shootings in Trost, said they were tragic, but we still should do our duty to the church." Nick explains, and Levi can't help but feel a niggling sensation at the back of his brain, like he should be remembering something important, but he can't quite figure out what it is. It annoys the shit out of him.

"That's a start, those names are quite distinct, it shouldn't be too difficult to track them down unless they've been using aliases." Erwin says, writing the information down on a pad he keeps in his inside pocket, it's an old method but Erwin has always been old-fashioned that way, "What about this time around? Anything you can tell us about the person who approached you about Maria's?"

Nick hesitates before nodding grimly, "Yes, I know him quite well actually, he's lived in Shiganshina almost all of his life, I think he's maybe 22 or 23 now. His mother came to the church quite regularly when he was growing up, but it wasn't until recent years that he started coming along himself. He lost his brother to a brain tumour you see, and his mother became ill a few years ago with Leukaemia. I think he wanted to come and find some sort of answer in these walls, but I don't know if he ever did. His name is Marcel Galliard."

"Galliard, you said? How are you spelling that?" Erwin asks, taking note of Pastor Nick's recital of the name. Levi still has the odd feeling in his head, like he's missing something incredibly important or that he's overlooked something, it's not something the man often feels but his mind has been scrambled over the course of the last 24 hours. Maybe he'll be able to recall it once he's had time to process things, so he instead decides to ask Nick more questions about Galliard.

"You said you know this kid quite well? Is there anything else you could tell us about him that could be important for us to note? You said he didn't start coming to church until recently, in that time has he ever expressed any negativity towards homosexuality? Or shown any interest in joining your activist group?" Levi asks and the pastor shakes his head.

"No, never. In fact, he'd never actually shared any of his opinions on the matter until he came to me with the details of the drag performances at Maria's bar, he said that he'd spread the word online so that we could reach out to a bigger crowd within Shiganshina." Pastor Nick says.

"So, he was the one that leaked the information on Rogue's set online, he set this whole thing up. But why? To get to Maria? None of this is making sense. Bertholdt was close with both Rogue and Maria, and he's shot dead with several others injured, why? To cover up the fact there's a connection to Rogue? And then that kid Nac – a kid Rogue herself had befriended on the night she visited - is killed and pictures that include Rogue's face are strewn everywhere. Then Rogue's performance is leaked online, and Galliard sets the scene to make his way to Maria…the common factor here is Rogue, it has to be at this point." Levi states in realisation and Erwin nods his head in reluctant agreement.

"If that's the case, then there is something else you should know about Marcel." Pastor Nick pipes up, "Back when his brother Porco died, Marcel would have only been about 17 or 18 at the time. He struggled terribly to deal with it, and he unfortunately developed a terrible drug addiction. Cocaine, I think it was. He completely messed up his life, lost out on opportunities for college, he had a bright future ahead of him and he threw it all away for the drugs. He cleaned up his act not long after his mother became ill, and as far as I know, he hasn't touched it since. But he came to me back when she was on death's door and told me about this surgery that was available, it was experimental and not covered by their insurance. It cost $250,000, but he was absolutely determined to get the money together to make it possible…" Nick explains, and Levi cuts him off midway through his sentence.

"Is any of this relevant? I don't see how this is going to help us."

"I'm getting there." Nick states with slight annoyance lacing his tone, Erwin glares at Levi from the corner of his eye as he continues, "He came to me for guidance on the matter, said that he could get the money if he made a deal with the devil. He said that he knew exactly what he had to do, but it would mean him confronting his demons and that he would owe a massive debt if he were to take the deal. I told him that I couldn't tell him what to do, he'd have to look to the lord for guidance and that he'd know in is own heart what the right thing to do is."

"What did he mean by that? Making a deal with the devil?" Erwin asks curiously, "That doesn't sound like your standard loan shark to me. And if this guy was hooked on drugs before, no bank would have loaned him the money under any circumstances."

"I can't be sure." Pastor Nick states, "He never told me what he meant by that, and I never asked for him to tell me either, it wasn't my place to know and I didn't need to either. All I know is that he left my church that day, took his mother abroad within a matter of weeks and then they came back. Unfortunately, I don't think the surgery turned out the way he'd hoped, it helped prolong her life, but it didn't get rid of the cancer completely. She's alive, but for how long, no one knows."

"So, he took out a loan with somebody in order to save his mom's life, and the cost of that would mean that he would owe a debt in return…a life for a life maybe? It could be possible that the 'devil' in this scenario is cashing in on that debt and that's why Galliard is involved?" Levi suggests, "He's never shown any interest in Nick's cause before and from what we've heard, there doesn't sound like a reason he would hold any hatred towards gay people, at least not enough to take a life. It just doesn't seem to fit the picture you're painting of this guy."

"I would have to agree." Erwin supplies, "So if we go with that theory, and Galliard is paying off a debt to somebody, he's failed. Marco is still alive, which means whoever wanted the job done won't be happy. And the only way we can get Galliard to co-operate with us without him feeling threatened, and to end all of this completely, will be to find out who exactly he owes this debt to. Who could have been in the position to lend him such a vast amount of money?"

"My immediate instinct would have been his drug supplier?" Levi offers, "Drug dealers make a hell of a lot of money doing what they do, and as far as Galliard is concerned, the drugs are what ruined his life, and by extension, the person supplying him those drugs technically had a part to play in that. And he did say, that going to this person would mean having to confront his demons. I say we try and find out who his supplier was, and from there I think we have a solid suspect in all of this. They could lead us straight to the Titans."

"I don't think so." Pastor Nick states, shaking his head at Levi's train of thought, "You don't need to try and find out who Marcel's drug dealer was, I know exactly who it was, and I highly doubt it'll help you in your effort to find the Titans."

"What do you mean?" Erwin asks, at the same time Levi asks, "Who was his dealer?"

Pastor Nick looks at the pair of them in succession before he answers.

"Marcel Galliard's drug dealer was Eren Jaeger."