Chapter Twenty
He doesn't bother to hide the disgusted frown twisting his deceptively youthful features as he watches the emaciated snitch finally poke his head through the bedroom doorway. Gaunt visage drawn in a content smile, Payne pauses briefly to cast the Captain a wary glance before beckoning them forward with a smarmy grin.
"Shall we—?" The snitch is cut off by Sasha Braus' sudden squeal. "Ah, what a lovely sound. I'll bet you'd squeal louder with me between your—"
"Do you want me to slice it off?" Captain Levi's eyes narrow menacingly as he shuts down the licentious informer's advances. Payne hastily shakes his head as he turns away prompting Sasha to heave a sigh of relief.
"Right, what was it that you wanted to know?" The pale man asks awkwardly shuffling forward, tightening his belt around his waist as he shuts the door behind him.
"About seven weeks ago an MP was killed in the Narrows. She was shot six times." The informer's eyes narrow at this as he taps the side of his chin with a thoughtful frown.
"Rings a bell," he admits somewhat hesitantly. "Yeah, I remember now. What about her?"
"I need to know the one responsible for killing her," the Captain supplies as he crosses his arms.
"Huh? But the police closed their investigation ages ago. Said it was some thug who did it. Even went after the guy—almost had him too."
"What was his name?" Captain Levi asks watching him closely.
"Daniel-something or other." Behind him, Sasha stifles another disgusted squeal as the informant scratches his groin vigorously.
"Where is he?"
"He locked himself in his apartment and blew his brains out when the MPs came looking for him," the informant replies with a shrug.
"Did he have any friends?" The Captain presses narrowing his eyes expectantly. The informant nods after some thought. "Where can I find them."
"There's a warehouse in the Narrows, big ugly yellowish-building. Sort of looks like a barn. Anyways, I've seen a couple of his friends going there to hide stolen goods. At night they usually go there to move a fresh batch of goods from their latest score. I'll draw you a map—"
"Don't bother," Captain Levi mutters impatiently as he kicks off the wall and walks away without so much as a backward glance at the informant. Sasha immediately turns to follow him making sure to keep Connie between her and the snitch's lecherous gaze.
"Happy to be of service. Be sure to come again," Payne calls out after them as they descend the stairs. Captain Levi narrows his eyes in disgust as he hears the informant resume his itching. "You're welcome back anytime sweetheart."
"Ugh, so disgusting!" Sasha mutters with a deep shuddering gasp. "You couldn't pay me enough to sit beside him let alone let him touch me."
"I can't believe how cheap some of these girls are," Connie mumbles distractedly as he wistfully eyes an especially amorous couple kissing by the bar. "Back on the surface, the girls cost at least twice as much."
"How do you know?" Sasha asks with a curious frown.
"Because Daz and I dared Thomas and Reiner to ask them." Sasha's jaw drops visibly at this. "Back when we were trainees, we'd see them hanging around this tavern we always passed whenever we were in town on our way to the post office. There was this one in particular that all of us really had our eyes on. I swear she was even prettier than Chris—I mean Historia."
"You do know that some of them are guys right?" Levi offers, catching them both off guard.
"Ewut?" Connie asks in a muffled voice as he bumps into Sasha's back.
"You've seen Armin, is it really that hard to believe?" They shake their heads simultaneously, eyes narrowed in horror as they mull the Captain's words. Captain Levi turns away with a satisfied smile, returning peacefully to this thoughts as they continue down the garbage-strewn streets.
They walk down winding paths through crooked alleys climbing up a few stacks of stairs before crossing a bridge overlooking a garbage-riddled canal. Captain Levi's eyes narrow once more as he observes several small children jumping and swinging over the stagnant water, a few unfortunate souls falling or splashing in every now and then much to the amusement of their watching comrades.
"I take it you know the way, huh Captain?" Connie asks with a dry chuckle as they emerge from the brothel. Captain Levi manages a brisk nod as he continues down the street turning to lead the way north. "Amazing, you still remember your way around town. How long ago has it been since you left?"
"I lost track," Levi admits with a tired sigh. "I tried hard to forget this place as quickly as I could when I joined the Survey Corps. But now that I'm here it's almost like I never left."
"I'm sure there've been some changes—at least a few tiny ones," Connie asks with a bemused chuckle.
"Gunner and Humphrey are older now but that's about it. Everything else looks the same."
"Gunner huh? That's the big oaf who shot you at the gate huh?" The Captain nods prompting an indignant sigh from the bald cadet. "He's pretty jumpy, even for an MP, isn't he?"
"He's not an MP and trust me, he's not jumpy. Just impatient."
"Not an MP?" Connie scratches his head as he purses his lips in obvious confusion. "Well, that explains the crossbow and why he didn't have a uniform. But how come he's guarding the entrance then?"
"Because the MPs let him. He's better at it than they are anyways. No one gets past Gunner without permission."
"Oh, I see. I didn't think we'd need passes to get through after all it's not exactly as if it's another city. It's just directly beneath Mitras."
"Not passes," Levi corrects. "Money. Unless you're with MPs on official business the only way in or out of here is by paying the Stairway Tax."
"Stairway Tax?" Connie Springer repeats as he wrinkles his nose. "Sounds expensive."
"It is. Most people spend their entire lives saving up to pay their way out but even then it's not enough."
"Huh? How come?" Sasha asks finally breaking her silence.
"People down here need permission just like everyone else to remain in the capital. Unless they can hire a smuggler to smuggle them out of the city or a forger to get them the necessary paperwork, paying the stairway tax is pointless. They typically don't last very long before the MPs find them."
"Did you have to pay a smuggler or a forger?" Connie wonders.
"Neither. Commander Ervin helped me with the paperwork once I became a scout—think of it as payment for my services." Connie was about to say something in response when his words were abruptly cut off by the deafening growl of his tall classmate's belly.
"Oi, Potato Girl, cut it out will you!" He snaps turning to shoot her an annoyed look.
"I've told you, stop calling me that!" She shoots back grabbing her midsection with a tired grimace. "Besides, it's not as if I can help it."
"Let's stop here and eat," Levi suggests turning towards a nearby tea shop.
Without bothering to check if either of his teammates was following him, the pint-sized Ackermann enters the empty shop, sliding into a chair by the corner. A middle-aged man greets him with a nervous bow, meekly handing him the menu before scampering away.
"We should probably take off these coats, they make us look a lot more menacing than we are," Connie suggests as he begins to shrug off his traveling cloak. The Captain gives him a pointed look prompting him to chuckle nervously as he returns his hood to its place.
Captain Levi hands Sasha the menu when he notices the drool dangling from the corner of her mouth as she peers down at it from over his shoulder. She sheepishly mutters a word of thanks as her eyes scour the printed words hungrily. Connie eases himself into the chair opposite the pair of them, reaching into his cloak with a tired sigh.
"What are you doing?" Captain Levi wonders as he turns to face him. Before the diminutive youth can respond, the Captain lowers his gaze and catches a glimpse of a leather drawstring clasped within his calloused fingers. "Put it away. I'm buying."
"Really?!" They both squeal turning to face him with tearful eyes.
"Tsch! The fuck are you looking at me like that for? You're going to pay me back once we get to the surface." Their shoulders noticeably deflate at this as he rises from his seat. "So don't go too crazy with your orders. Keep em nice and simple and get me some black tea."
"Uh, where are you going sir?" Sasha asks turning to watch him as he begins to walk away.
"I have to take a shit."
Among other things…
He notices the waiter eyeing him nervously from behind the counter as he slowly but surely makes his way outside. There is a muffled groan followed by the dull thuds of heavy blows landing as he turns to find a pair of figures tussling in the alley nearby.
Crossing his arms as he leans against the wall, grayish-blue eyes narrow in silent concentration as they move from the struggling pair, briefly falling on the groaning form stirring weakly on the ground behind them.
Okay? That makes two…but where are the other two? There is a sudden blur of movement as a fourth figure suddenly leaps from the balcony of the next door building, knocking the now-wrestling pair to the ground as he pulls out a knife. The hood of the tallest figures is knocked off in the process, revealing the familiar light brown undercut of Jean Kirchstein.
Captain Levi heaves a bored sigh as he watches his subordinate finally dig a knee into his opponent's stomach sending him reeling before turning his attention to the armed newcomer. Jean deftly disarms his assailant before smashing his boot unto his now-howling opponent foot's, driving his elbow into his face for good measure. The cadet begins to straighten up but pauses when he notices the Captain studying him calmly. Just as he picks his knee to cross over his fallen opponents' writhing bodies, Captain Levi parts his lips to slowly mouth a warning.
"Look out?" Jean repeats with a confused frown. "For wha—?!"
Confusion twists the young scout's elongated features a split second before the final assailant emerges from behind a large dumpster, tackling him to the ground with a mighty roar. Jean manages to extricate himself from the thug's grasp, rising to his feet. The crook's first few kicks land heavily sending Jean crashing into the dumpster. When the chortling crook reaches down to snatch the tall scout by his hair, he is immediately repelled by a fierce uppercut and crumples to the floor in a motionless heap.
"What are you doing here?" Captain Levi asks as he moves to join a slightly winded and thoroughly disheveled Jean.
"Sir, I'm sorry but this couldn't wait. I had to tell you myself as soon as I found out. I couldn't trust anyone else with this." Jean reaches down to retrieve the satchel he had discarded during the skirmish. Long fingers immediately pull out a thin folder which he hands over to the Captain. "Those are Private Lindberg-Lane's notes on her last investigation. Before she died, she was assigned to look into the disappearance of Ludwig Christensen."
"Why does that name sound familiar?" Captain Levi asks narrowing his eyes as he turns his attention to the handwritten notes Jean had given him.
"I'd never heard of him so I had to look him up," Jean admits as he turns to watch the Captain. Levi Ackermann calmly approaches the closest crook. Sliding the notes back into the folder, he tucks the fallen officer's file beneath his armpit before squatting to face the bloodied man. "Turns out he's a retired watchmaker who lives in the Capital with his youngest daughter."
"No that's not it," the Captain mumbles somewhat to himself as the crook watches him quietly. "Hold on a second Kirchstein. "You see that shop?" Captain Levi asks pointing over his shoulder at the tea shop he had emerged from earlier.
The crook manages to trail his finger with a half-swollen eye before nodding weakly in response. The Captain watches patiently as slowly but surely the other crooks begin to stir. When they notice him watching them expectantly, they immediately mimic their comrade and trace the Captain's finger back toward the teashop. "You're done robbing that man. I don't ever want to see you or your friends here again."
"Yes, sir!" The four assailants cry out in unison before scampering away with panicked shouts. The Captain straightens up, returning his attention to the file once more as he walks back to the teashop. Sasha and Connie are both shocked to see Jean and immediately swamp him with concerned questions before catching the irritated look in the Captain's eyes as he reclaims his seat.
"Go on," Captain Levi urges, briefly turning to stir his tea.
"His daughter reported him missing to the MPs when she returned home from work and found him missing. There were obvious signs of struggle so she immediately knew that someone had kidnapped him. What really got to me was that in his daughter's statement, she claimed that her father's study was the only room in the house that seemed to have been ransacked. Everywhere else was as she had left it that morning."
"Did they take anything?" The short-tempered Ackermann muses as he tips his teacup toward his lips. Jean can only manage a small shrug.
"Beats me. She wasn't allowed in her father's study so she never went in there. It's possible that the kidnappers could have been after something in her father's office in the first place."
"You think they only kidnapped him because he walked in on them?" Jean nods in response.
"In that case, there's a good chance that he's probably dead by now," Connie states quietly. "Either they found what they were looking for in his study and killed him for walking in on them before dumping the body somewhere, or…" he trails off unable to bring his sentence to its only logical conclusion.
"Or they made him take them to it and killed him anyway," Sasha mumbles through a mouthful of apple pie.
"If he's dead, then what did they do with his body? Hmm, genius?" Jean asks leaning sideways to nudge Connie's side with his broad shoulders. "There's no way they could have dumped his body in the capital. After the Stohess Operation the city was on high alert and crawling with MPs so there was no way they could have snuck him out."
"When did his daughter report him missing?" Levi asks frowning slightly.
"About nine weeks ago, sir," Jean replies after consulting his own notes. "Why?"
"They did it down here." The three cadets watch him with identically bemused expressions.
"Ewut?" Connie asks through comically pursed lips as he scratches his head dimly.
"Did what where Captain?" Sasha asks with a confused chuckle.
"Killed him," Levi snaps drumming his fingers along the table impatiently. "Fucking amateurs."
"Sorry Captain it's just that we're not used to—"
"Not you," Levi replies resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "The Kidnappers. The office was just a ruse. A red herring to throw us off the scent. That probably explains why it took her so long to get on the right track."
"Er, come again?" Jean mutters foolishly.
"Lane. He had been gone two weeks before she finally stopped looking for his body and focused her attention where it should have been all along," Levi explains as he holds up a handwritten note the deceased MP had left behind in her file.
"Um, what does it say?" Connie mumbles sheepishly after staring at the document thickly for several moments.
"'Archer Industries.' Back when I first became a scout, they were one of the main manufacturers of the omnidirectional gear before they went belly up. According to her notes, Christensen used to work for them before becoming a watchmaker."
A stunned silence hangs in the air between them as Captain Levi leans back to drain his teacup.
"Y-you can read that?" Connie wonders with an impressed sigh as he returns to squinting at the untidy scrawl. "It looks almost like another language to me."
"You should see Commander Ervin's chicken scratch," Levi states matter-of-factly.
"So why would they kidnap him and bring him down here?" Sasha asks narrowing her own eyes as she absentmindedly rubs her tummy.
"Do you have a picture of this Christensen person?" Jean pulls out an artist's sketch from within his own notebook before holding it out for the Captain. Levi Ackermann rises to his feet instead, turning to address Connie. "You and Jean head back to Gunner and show him that picture. Ask him to tell you everything he knows about that man and whoever he entered with. I want names."
"But what if he won't talk to us?" Jean blurts out earning an irritated glance from the Captain.
"Figure it out! We meet back here in six hours." Sasha rises to follow him as the boys immediately depart to do as they have been told. Captain Levi quickly counts some money before placing it on the table. The shopkeeper emerges from the back room at the sound of the clattering coins. He casts Levi a grateful nod as he sheepishly shuffles forward to accept the payment.
"So where are we going?"
"Hunting."
The displeasure on Nile Dawk's face is impossible to miss as he approaches the pair of sweating scouts huddled over several wriggling and unconscious forms. Scattered coughs punctuate the smoke-filled air around them as he watches the Captain drag a pair of weakly-struggling thugs aside by their collars. Pausing briefly to watch Sasha securing several unconscious bodies around a thick wooden pillar, the Commander loudly clears his throat when neither of them turns to acknowledge him. Sasha Braus starts suddenly at this, briefly lowering her hands to salute him before returning to securing a firm knot around a dazed thug.
"Captain Levi. When Ervin asked me to bring you in I was under the impression that we would be working this case together."
"We are working the case together."
"Oh?" The Commander asks softly arching a lightly twitching eyebrow. "Then how come the Lieutenant and I weren't informed about this…operation?"
"Because you would have only slowed us down." Nile Dawk's eyes narrow angrily as he crosses his hands.
"Got something better to do than this?" Lieutenant Bruce wonders with an indignant huff.
"Yes."
"Do share, I'm dying to know what could possibly be more important than this. You know you scouts act all tough but I'll bet you're all just a bunch of empty barrels only good at cutting up titans."
"I'm confused," Captain Levi mutters. "I thought you were supposed to be insulting me."
"Enough!" Commander Nile Dawk asks stepping between them with an impatient sigh. "Did you find out anything?"
"Lane was investigating Ludwig Christensen's kidnapping when she was murdered," Levi Ackermann reports as he leads the Commander aside. "These fuckers knew the man who kidnapped Christensen before he died."
"Who died? Christensen or the kidnapper?"
"Both." Commander Dawk's eyes narrow skeptically at this. "The kidnapper was killed about two days after Lane died. Apparently, the MP's immediately sniffed him out and managed to corner him."
"Which reminds me, we found Captain Lindberg-Lane—the victim's husband," the Commander informs him distractedly. "He freaking pissed himself when we brought him in and told him that the investigation had been reopened."
"Interesting," Captain Levi mumbles as he arches an eyebrow.
"Not really," Commander Dawk grumbles. "Turns out the reason he was so nervous was because he was the one who killed the kidnapper. He broke down and confessed as soon as we told him we were re-investigating his wife's murder."
"I see," the Captain muses. "I think Christensen was recently killed."
"What makes you say that?"
"Before becoming a watchmaker Christensen was a production supervisor for Archer Industries." It is the Commander's turn to arch an eyebrow.
"The Archer Industries?" Nile Dawk mumbles crossing his arms with a thoughtful frown. "Seems like your gut was right all along. Do you think this was Kenny Ackermann's doing? The murder I mean?"
"No. At least not directly." The Captain rubs the back of his neck with a tired frown as he struggles to make sense of all he had learned. "I think Kenny came down here and started recruiting some fighters. Naturally, he had to arm them so he left behind some of the anti-personnel maneuvering gear. My guess is that he gave them specific instructions to lay low until something happened."
"His death possibly?" The Commander offers.
"Or the false king being overthrown." Commander Dawk's arms fall to his side in shock. "Kenny wasn't the type of person to leave things to chance. He rarely did anything without some sort of insurance. He might not have received any formal training but the man was quite the tactician."
"This? This is his insurance?" The Captain nods grimly. "Explain. Cause I don't get it. If he was trying to start some sort of secret army to rebel in his absence, then why not just recruit from the Military Police like he did when he made his primary squad."
"Like I said. Kenny isn't the type of man to put all his eggs into the same basket. Recruiting normal MPs outside of his squad was too risky. It was a miracle that they managed to operate in the shadows for as long as they did. But luck can only go so far. Besides, there's always a chance any new recruits might be incompetent or even too frightened to act when the time comes. Compared to the other three branches, you MPs have it good. Why would anyone risk throwing it all away by going against the flow?
"Kenny must have expected King Fritz and his cronies would lose power if he and his squad failed to reclaim the Founding Titan from Eren. He probably knew that some nobles would be threatened by this and be inclined to oppose the true Queen. But these people would probably never act on it unless they had the necessary support. Or muscle so to speak."
"Enter the reserves." Commander Dawk mutters with a mirthless chuckle. "So when Kenny started preparing to reclaim Eren he sent them word down here to mobilize as well. He mustn't have left enough equipment for all of them to use so they most likely kidnapped Mr. Christensen and forced him to make them more."
"Which is why I think Christensen was killed recently," Levi mutters quietly. "After he served his purpose, there was no need to keep him hanging around."
"Just like Dimo Reeves."
"With a nine-week head start, we have to assume that they've made more than enough to arm all the soldiers Kenny recruited."
"Fuck me." Commander Dawk sighs rubbing his untidy hair with an irritated growl. "We have to get reinforcements. We're not capable of dealing with this by ourselves. We'll get slaughtered."
"No," Levi growls with a determined frown. "They'll be counting on that. If this is really Kenny's handiwork, we have to think outside the box. One of the reasons the Trost ambush was so successful was because Kenny knew how I would think and specifically devised a strategy to counter that. If we fall into our old habits we're finished. Besides we don't have much time left."
"What do you mean—"
"It's already begun. The Queen received a letter from the former Queen threatening her life about three days ago. They're growing bolder. They're probably moving out as we speak."
"Then I'll send word to the MPs stationed at the stairs, we'll lock down the entire area and flush them out. If their plan is to back up the rebellion we cannot let them reach the surface."
"They'll just pick us off using guerilla tactics," Levi counters.
"True but it should buy us enough time to send for reinforcements."
"Alright." A reluctant frown twists his boyish features as he watches the Commander turn to take his leave, grayish-blue eyes concealing the growing dread within him behind an intense sheen of concentration.