Finally another chapter! Warning, mentions of child abuse (not a lot and not much detail, just being safe). And to those who wanted more Levi, there is a little more in this chapter, but I promise he will play a bigger part in later chapters!
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Eren's POV
The next morning Eren woke up bright and early, well at least he thought it was bright; there was absolutely no way to tell what time of day it was inside the caves. If it weren't for the alarm clock sitting on his desk he would never know.
6:15.
He groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head. He literally never woke up this early. Usually it was almost 10 before he did something even resembling waking up. It must be the excitement of getting his own team. Eren found that his initial despair about that had almost completely vanished and was replaced by anticipation and joy; most of that came from his new teammates though.
Deciding going back to sleep was out of the question, he got up from his bed and padded over to his bathroom. He hopped in the shower, hoping the water might wake him up some more. His mind was wide-awake, but his body was another story. His muscles were sore from training yesterday and he could barely stay on his feet. He turned on the spray and yelped as cold water hit his back. After a few seconds though the water warmed to an almost boiling temperature. Once he was done in the shower Eren threw on his favorite shirt, a greenish brown long sleeve v-neck, and grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants. It was always a little chilly underground so most of his clothes consisted of long sleeve shirts and sweat pants.
He made his way out of his room, grabbing his gloves as he left, and headed towards to stairs in the lower common area. He stumbled a little on the dark steps, but managed not to fall out of sheer luck. It seemed the shower had not completely woken him up, but who could blame him? He almost never got up this early, so he would use that as his excuse.
Eren walked across the upper common area to the far corner where the kitchen was. Grabbing a plate he proceeded to gather some food. He picked up a couple pieces of bread along with a banana and a bowl for cereal. After filling the bowl with his favorite cereal—Luck Charms, come on who doesn't like fun colored marshmallows?—he brought his tray over to an empty table and sat down. Immediately two people sat down beside him, one on each side.
Eren looked up to see Armin and Mikasa next to him.
"Good morning Eren." Armin said. "Why are you here? No offense, but you are never here for breakfast. I didn't even know you knew about breakfast."
"Ha ha Armin, very funny. I can eat breakfast if I want. I just happened to be up this morning so I figured I'd try it out. I clearly made the wrong choice."
Armin squawked in indignation at this and Mikasa just chuckled and hid her smile behind her scarf.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence more people sat around the trio. Eren was surprised to find everyone from his new team, well soon-to-be new team.
"So what's the plan Eren!?" God, why did Connie have to be so loud this early in the morning?
"Well, Grisha will want to meet with us and from there I'm not sure. I don't even know if he will approve my team or not."
"What do you mean? I thought you got to pick." This time it was horseface who spoke.
"Yea, I do, but Grisha still has the final say. I don't think he will care though. He says leading this team is supposed give me more responsibility, but honestly I think he just wants me off the base for a while. We don't really…get along. I'll be glad to get out." As he talked, his team looked up at him. The base didn't know how Grisha treated Eren, they all thought he was to golden boy and could do no wrong, but not Grisha.
Everyday was just a question of when, not if, the hits would come. It was inevitable. No matter how hard Eren trained or how good he got, Grisha would never love him; never see him as a son or even a human being for that matter. All he was to him was a tool. Grisha treated him worse than the ground beneath his feat.
He remembered when he was five and was first learning how to throw knives. His instructors would all encourage him when at first he couldn't get it and finally after weeks of training Eren showed his father what he had learned. He hit the target every time, but Grisha was still angry. He kicked him to the ground and yelled at him; said he must be stupid for it to take him so long to learn something so simple. He kicked him one more time in the ribs for good measure and then walked out.
Eren cried for hours, not because of the pain, but because for once he had thought he did something that would please his father and all he got was a broken rib. That was the day Eren started calling him Grisha and not dad. It only got worse from there. The beatings got longer and harder as Eren got stronger. He guessed Grisha thought he could handle more pain now that he was older, but that never made it any easier.
The more he yelled during the beatings, the longer they lasted. Eventually he learned to keep quiet. He would just bite his hand and hold it in. His hands were littered with scars from all the times he bit too hard. Of course, he never let anyone see this; most of the time Eren wore a pair of black gloves with the fingers cut off to cover the marks. The only time he took them off was at night, when no one was around to see.
He looked down at his hands a picked at the edge of one of his gloves. They were getting a little frayed, but they were his favorite pair. He would have to burn the edges back together again later.
Finally, he realized how quiet it had gotten. He looked up to find his friends all staring at him.
"What?"
Immediately they all went back to eating their breakfast. All except Mikasa and Armin. They continued to stare with a look that said 'we will talk about this later'. Eren definitely wasn't looking forward to that.
Glancing up he happened to catch the time on the clock. Crap. We are so gonna be late! "Shit guys, finish eating, we have to be in operations in 2!" Good thing he had decided to actually get up for breakfast this morning.
Eren quickly finished up his cereal and ran to put his dishes away. The rest of the group followed his example and got up as well.
Together they made their way down the stairs into the lower commons and then straight out the other side into the hallway leading towards the gallery. Once in the gallery Eren pulled back the tapestry hiding the stairwell down to the third level and allowed everyone to enter before going down himself.
Once down, they walked at a brisk pace, more like ran, as Eren led the way to the operations room. He ran through the halls taking each turn blindly—right, left, right, left, right, right, left—his legs seeming to know exactly where they were going without having to use the wall as an aid. The rest of the group made their way by following the sounds of his footsteps slapping against the stone floor.
Upon entering the operations room, Eren saw Grisha along with two other men he didn't remember the names of. He assumed they were his second and third in command, but he didn't pay enough attention to know. He supposed he should learn now that he was getting more "responsibility". Whatever.
"Ah Eren, so glad you could join us." The contempt in Grisha's voice was thinly veiled but came out sounding pleasant; Eren knew better. He would get it later for being late.
"Sorry I'm late father. We just finished up breakfast."
"Yes, yes. I see you have brought a few people with you. I will assume this is the squad you have chosen?"
Of course it fucking was, why else would I bring them dumb ass. You just like patronizing me. "Yes father."
"I see." That was all he said. He then turned to look at the map lit up on the table in the center of the room.
They may have been underground, but Grisha spared no expense when it came to equipment for his base. He always had the latest technology and weapons and refused to settle for anything less.
The table was less of a table and more of a giant touchscreen. It was used for planning and strategizing and in this case it showed a map of the city bordering Maria. Sina.
Sina was arguably the richest and most well-to-do city in the country, so it made since that their first mission would be inside this city. Eren was surprised, however, when he noticed the big red circle near the center of the map.
So they've already picked a location. Based off what he saw, it would be a tough place to infiltrate. Generally the center of the Sina was occupied by some of the biggest and richest companies in the country. There were a few exceptions of course, but the center offered more protection from the gangs that occupied the surrounding cities of Maria and Rose, The Wall being one such gang.
Eren had assumed that their first target would be one of the smaller buildings closer to Maria since they were a new team, but from the looks of the map this was not the case.
They stayed in operations for another three hours discussing every aspect of the plan. It was to take place one week from now and in that time, Eren and his team were to do recon on the building to get a feel for the layout and gather any necessary information they may not have discussed already.
The target was a new drug that was developed by the company called Titan Inc. Titan Inc. was one of the largest, if not the largest corporation in the whole city. It had a hand in everything from medicine to weapons to food production. Basically anything the city needed came from Titan Inc.
This particular drug that Eren and his team were to collect was recently developed by the company and was set to go on the market in one month. The drug was said to be a cure for all strains of the flu virus. Eren didn't know if this was true, but if it was it would be a huge break through and the company would make millions.
That was precisely why Grisha wanted to steal it. He wanted to be in control of all profits that came from the new drug, depriving Titan Inc. of this golden opportunity. Along with the money, it had the added bonus of giving Grisha more power over the city, which was always his end game.
Why Eren and his team were involved in something so important, he didn't know. It all seemed a little fishy to him. He would have to ask Armin about it once the meeting was over. He always knew what was up.
As soon as Grisha let them go Eren grabbed Armin's hand and dragged him out of the room. They practically ran down the tunnels and up the stairs. They didn't stop until they made it to Eren's room on the second level.
"What is going on Eren? And ow…can you let go of me?" Eren quickly released Armin's wrist.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I was gripping so tight." Eren said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's fine, now what is it?" Armin was curious to know what had his friend so wound up.
"Don't you think this mission is a little…strange?"
At that Armin's eyes widened a little. "I thought I would be the only one to notice, but yea. Why are we in charge of something so important? It doesn't make any sense. We are a new team and some of the youngest members of the gang, why would Grisha risk it? Unless…"
Armin abruptly stopped talking and started pacing the room. His hands were worrying his hair and he was muttering under his breath.
"Unless…?" What was Armin thinking, Eren wondered.
"Unless he doesn't plan on risking anything." Ok, now Eren was really confused.
"What?"
"Well, it's the only thing that makes sense. The only reason he would use us was if we weren't what was really important." Armin was not making any sense.
"I still don't understand."
"I think he plans to use us as a diversion."
Diversion! What the hell? Now Eren was angry, of course he knew Grisha didn't care about him, but how could he endanger the lives of his friends so easily?
"Eren, calm down." a voice came from his doorway.
When had Mikasa gotten here? She stood in his doorway with her red scarf covering the lower half of her face so Eren couldn't see her expression, but he could see the worry burning in her grey eyes.
It was only then that he realized how worked up he had gotten. His hands were fisted at his side and his eyes were wide with anger. His face felt hot and he was certain that if he could see it, it would be the color of a tomato by now.
"Fine, if he wants to use us, then we will do the same to him." Eren was more certain now than ever before that he wanted to bring Grisha down. He could handle it when his life was in danger, but when his friends were at risk…that's where he drew the line.
"Eren, calm." Right. "We need to figure out what exactly we are a diversion for, whether it's the police or a rival gang, and then we need to come up with a plan." Mikasa was right. They needed to know more so they wouldn't be going in blind next week.
Eren looked over at his friend and noted his worried expression.
"What is it Armin?"
"It's just…I didn't think things would be happening this fast."
Sighing Eren walked over and put an arm around the blonde's shoulders. "It will be alright Armin you'll see. Beside, I think I know someone on the outside who would be willing to help."
"Who?" Some of the apprehension fell from Armin's eyes and was replaced with curiosity. Mikasa, however, only looked more worried.
"When I was really little there was a guy here who was supposed to be the heir. I don't remember much about him all I know is that he left when my dad started killing innocents. I've heard my dad talk about a certain rival gang that's been giving him trouble and I think it's him. I just know that if I can find him he will help me."
"How can you be sure Eren? He might think you're just trying to trick him, I mean, what reason would he have to believe you?" Mikasa was right of course. There was no guarantee that this guy would be willing to help, but Eren would be damned if he didn't try.
"And how will you even know when you find him? Do you even remember what he looks like?"
Eren could never forget those piercing eyes, or that raven black hair. He would know.
"I have to try Mikasa. He may be my only chance."
Levi's POV
He had been sitting at his desk for the last four hours pouring over news articles, trying to figure out what Grisha's next target would be. So far he had come up with jack shit. Nothing he had read would interest the man.
He leaned back in his chair, lifting the front two legs off the floor so he was balancing on just the back legs. He had been at it for too long and everything ached: his back, his head, his eyes, even his butt was starting to go numb from sitting in his chair for so long. One more, he promised himself. He would look at one more article and then give up for the day.
Thumping his chair back down, he grabbed the newspaper closest to him and scanned for an article he hadn't read yet. Suddenly a name jumped out at him: Titan Inc. The article said they had developed some new drug that was set to go on the market next month. From the looks of it, this drug would bring in a pretty penny for the company. This was just the thing Grisha would go after, and the more he read the more he was sure.
Immediately he jumped from his chair and made his way to the conference room. On his way he passed Hanji.
"Oi, Four-eyes! Tell everyone to meet me in the conference room ASAP."
"On it boss!" she yelled, skipping away presumably to find the rest of his team.
Levi opened the door to the conference room and sat at the head of the large mahogany table that took up the center of the room. A few minutes later everyone joined him in the conference room. Sitting at the table were Levi, Erwin, Hanji, Petra, Isabel, and Farlan and along the back wall were Erd, Gunter, and Auruo. Levi and Erwin were sitting at the two ends of the table with the others in between.
"What's this about Levi?" Erwin sat calmly across from him, blue eyes showing the curiosity that the rest of his face did not.
"I know their next target." Levi heard a loud squeal come from his right and looked to see Hanji practically bouncing in her seat with excitement.
"Yes, yes, yes! What is it? Who all is going? When do we leave? What's the plan?"
"Four-eyes! Shut your fucking mouth, before I shut it for you." Levi glared at the hyperactive woman, wishing that looks could kill.
"The target is Titan Inc. The company recently developed a new drug that cures all strains of the flu virus. It's set to go on the market next month and from the looks of it, Titan Inc. stands to make a lot of money." Levi looked around and saw everyone nodding their heads and beginning to talk it over. Finally his gaze landed on Erwin. He wanted to know what he thought.
The man was always cool, calm, and collected. He towered over Levi by almost a whole foot, though that wasn't hard to do seeing as Levi was only 5'3. Erwin was a detective for the Sina Police Department. They had met a while back when Levi left Grisha's gang. Things had been pretty bad for Levi when he first left The Wall. He didn't have anywhere to live and he had no way of earning money
Of course stealing was nothing new to him, being in a gang and all, but Levi had gotten desperate. He was practically starving, so he took the first chance he got.
Erwin had caught him breaking into a shitty gas station looking for some food. When brought in for questioning, he told Erwin of his plan to take down The Wall.
At the time Erwin was still a street cop, but over the years he has been promoted through the ranks and was now considered the top detective in the city. In exchange for help on the Grisha case, he turns a blind eye to some of the things Levi's gang does.
Anytime Levi gets a new lead on Grisha, he brings him into headquarters. Over the years the two had formed a bond and Erwin was now someone Levi would call a friend; or at least as close to a friend that someone like Levi could get.
Erwin cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the others in the room. "You know what I'm going to say Levi. You have to get there first and make sure Grisha doesn't get his hands on those drugs. I assume you were thinking this as well."
Levi simply nodded his assent.
"Good. I expect you wish to do this quickly, so lets get on with it.
By the end of the meeting plans had been drawn and preparations had been made. It was to take place one week from today. They were to infiltrate the building and collect all information on the drug as well as all samples that had already been produced. Erwin was going to keep news of this out of the media, that way Grisha believe the drugs were still there. When his team came to steal the information the police would be waiting for them.
Once all the plans were finalized Levi dismissed his team. They looked as exhausted as he felt. Suddenly a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.
"Have you been sleeping Levi?" Levi didn't have to turn around to know it was Erwin.
"Is that your way of telling me I look like shit, eyebrows?"
"Levi I'm just worr-" Levi turned around and cut him off.
"Just fucking leave it Erwin. I can take care of myself." He had been on his own for years, he didn't need anyone to worry about him. Why would they? He wasn't worth it.
"Ok, but I'm always here if you need me." With that Erwin exited the room and, Levi assumed, headed for the elevators. He didn't actually watch him leave, just heard his footsteps as he walked away.
By the time Levi made it to his room on the top floor he felt like he was going to pass out. He quickly stripped his clothes, tossing them in the bin by the door on his was to the bathroom. He took a fast shower and as soon as he was dry he flopped down onto his bed, not even bothering to put on pajamas.
As soon as his head hit the pillow he could feel himself drifting to sleep. His last though before unconsciousness claimed him was this plan better fucking work.
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