I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
She had to admit that this Krista "with a K" was highly attractive. Ymir kept at her heels, she glanced around once in a while to learn that they were the only ones out on this street this late. A low whistle passed between her lips, she clicked her tongue, she wanted to fill in the silence. While she had been to cities across the country, none of this looked familiar.
The tall buildings did not permit her to see any notable landmarks.
Her eyes wandered here and there before settling on the cars and trucks that were parked. A majority of them claimed to hail from Florida. She bobbed her head in agreement- Miami was the last place she met up for a contract from Annie. She wondered if she was in Miami at all.
She jogged up to catch up with her- for the woman's small stature, she could walk pretty fast. They traveled down one block before Krista stopped in front of a decrepit apartment building, one of those that were used as projects for the homeless but now abandoned. Krista took out a set of keys from her pocket and fiddled with the lock, trying to relieve if from its jam.
After a few minutes of struggling, the lock finally gave in and opened the gate. At this, Krista entered, leaving Ymir to close the gate behind her and wait for the secondary door to be unlocked. With little struggle, the door finally opened and the two walked up a flight of stairs.
"Now that we're out of the streets, mind telling me what city we're in?" Ymir asked as she watched Krista try to find the correct keys to open the gate.
"Miami, Florida," Krista curtly responded, throwing her coat onto an end table.
Despite its exterior, the interior was well-kept and shined rather neatly. Though, the boarded up windows, followed by iron bars reminded her of where exactly they were.
"The city of magic," she went into the parlor, sliding into an armchair and sizing up Ymir. "Tell me- what sort of voodoo brought you back from the hell of max?"
She crossed her legs, peering up at the woman. She was quiet for only a moment before getting up, sauntering to the refrigerator and pulling out a decanter of whiskey.
"Actually, don't tell me- the less I know, the better," she didn't seem all too interested to begin with as she poured herself a generous amount in a glass. She didn't even offer to pour Ymir one as well as she went back to the arm chair.
"Magic, huh?" Ymir inquired, she pulled up a chair across from her and sat there, bending slightly to rest her elbows on her own knees. "I dunno, you tell me, you're my partner for this, aren't you? Thought you read up my case file and know how the hell I got out, not like I got my side of the story."
She scoffed at the amount the girl was going to drink. She shook her head, smiling at the ridiculousness in front of her, she ran one hand through her hair. For some reason, she expected to be tailed by a fat man in a suit, some guy who was on the verge of retirement, not some little woman who could count for a child.
"You're not at all what I was expecting," she admitted. "Thought I'd never live to see the day I see an agent dressed as..." She motioned her hand towards Krista's dress. "...that, y'know. Whore, basically. Is that your get up? You spread your legs, get some, and then take some sort of information out of them? Man, never knew the FBI was so desperate for so much help, they come to me and prostitutes, all time low. Really."
"Ah," Krista gestured with her glass, sipping it without a grimace, "I see why they picked you- denser than a bag of bricks."
Krista didn't bother giving a smile as she watched Ymir.
"You should've figured it all out about now, but, I really shouldn't be surprised at all... Of course Levi would give me such a piss poor case."
She drank more, staring off into nothing.
"It'll be the big one," Krista whispered mockingly at what Hanji said to convince her to take it.
At the sound of being insulted by the blonde in front of her, Ymir could only glare at her. "It's a big one considering it involves the most powerful organization known to American citizens. Ought to be trembling in fear of it, hell, it breached into one of your people. If you think it's unimportant, so easy to handle for you, why don't you go out there and clear it all up?"
She was tired already.
She had been tossed into a plane and then jostled around for hours in a van, not to mention the motion sickness. Usually at the sight of a good drink she would get right to it but it was not the best of times to partake in such a thing. Hearing the girl in front of her made her roll her eyes- at least she hoped that whoever they partnered her with had some sort of professionalism.
As Krista took sips of her drink some more, Ymir rubbed her eyes. "You aren't supposed to be drinking anyway, it removes the professional courtesy you're supposed to impose, for Christ's sake."
"The professional courtesy of what?" Krista finally smiled a bit, swirling her drink. "I didn't realize I was humoring a big bad wolf." She took her drink, standing, and walking to stand near Ymir. "I'm meant to disarm and find the weakness in people's words. I find your sensitive, troublesome quirks- and, I either put a gun to it, or I put you in jail for it."
She lifted the glass to Ymir's lips.
"Now, for some who swung for the other team, why are you so serious about the Law? Last time I read what I could get of your case, we put you away for good."
She kept the drink to the woman's lips, tilting it lightly, waiting for her to drink.
"Drink the water," she whispered. Almost even demanding.
Ymir brushed the glass away from her lips, she had no intention of getting drunk at the moment. It would cloud up her mind and considering what she was going up against sooner or later, it would best be for her to remain sober for at least most of the duration. "I have damn good reason to be serious. You know the deal. I do the job, Ilse goes to college. I don't do it or if I run away, someone, somewhere at whatever safe house you got her in, will put a bullet in her skull.
"Taking into account the FBI's track record, I just want to get this job done and over with. Hell, why am I being watched by you anyway? What makes you so special? Thought I was a high-profile criminal, shouldn't I be given a high-profile guardian or something?"
She pushed away the glass when it was brought to her lips.
"Stop that."
Krista took it back and sipped the very place Ymir's lips touched.
"Perhaps we know you have a weakness for blondes? It doesn't matter. We have a job and we will tackle it." Krista was back at her chair, quiet and relaxing, wondering when exactly she receive the signal. She muttered,"At least pretend to enjoy yourself. No strings attached. Just be thankful you're out of those walls."
At least the inmate was truthful about her contract.
"Those walls were starting to feel like home," Ymir huffed, she sat back in her chair. "You familiar with Zeke and his men? They mostly operate down here anyway. I used to get jobs from them. Killed debtors, runaways, rivals, everything they needed dead so they can get their power. Never messed with their business or anything until I got a hefty deal for one of their own men, some guy named Berwick, one of the officers in there."
She shook her head.
"They said to never fuck with Zeke but I needed the money and took up the job. Got on their bad side. Had to turn myself in to protect myself and Ilse...now you guys want me to get out of my own cage and bring them all down because none of you could clear up the mess I made. Now that I think of it...it's more of myself fixing up what I've done, but this isn't like fixing a broken window."
"It absolutely is not. I don't play with the big bad wolves like you- I know very well that we're just lambs behind the fangs." She remarked. "I don't lose much if I hardly play, but I'm in it this time. Mostly because my hands are tied- tough shit to us, isn't that right?" She grimaced, drinking more. "But, maybe we'll come out with some meat- get what we want?"
Krista bored my gazed at Ymir, exhaling.
"Am I giving you the right encouragement? Is this helping you feel better so we can work better? If not, I'll gladly shut up."
She placed the glass down, finally.
"I don't get what you are," Ymir sighed, normally she wouldn't talk to people, even before she went behind bars. It was usually get in, get the job done, get paid, then leave. In truth, she never worked with a partner. Too much potential backstabbing, literally. "What are you getting out of this?"
"I'm getting experience to look good on my resume," she snorted. "Not much but a little kiss on the ass."
She glimpsed at Ymir.
"Why does it matter to you? Or, will it comfort you if I tell you the truth?"
She felt her head finally buzzing as her body was finally relaxing.
"If I'm going to be working with a partner, I may as well know that you're worth someone getting her ass out of trouble," she explained,"I don't want to be put in a situation and be left for dead when things get their worst."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I will look out for you as much as I can. More than Ackerman would," she mentioned, "and, I wouldn't dare leave you with Zoe- people who 'die' tend to end up in her labs for 'testing'. Some in the force believe she's a necrophiliac, or gets off on torture. I'd hate for you to find out."
Her words were ridiculous but she held no intention about it being a joke. In fact, she gave her a grave look.
"The police aren't so golden anymore, are they? Especially if they have you and me."
"Seeing how the FBI is infested with Zeke's men, no doubt the police would follow suit, at this point it could be anyone you knew that's been turned," she figured, she got up. "Enough with this. They said they'll equip me with whatever I need. Show me what they are, I want to see how generous your people can be. The amount they give is the amount of need they want this job to pull through."
Krista got up, placing her glass on the small coffee table, and headed for the hallway that had three doors. To the third on the left, at the end, was one that Ymir was led to. She opened the door and let Ymir in first.
Within it was a twin bed, then a table with a single suitcase. Ymir curiously raised a brow, she examined more of the room and looked around some more only to learn that the suitcase was the only external object there. She strode to it, opened it, and found that only there was a sniper rifle and semiautomatic handgun. Both came with matching silencers.
"...this it?" Ymir asked, she laughed under her breath, she snapped the briefcase shut. "You guys really must not need me to do the job. I can't work with this, I need more. I'm not just a killer, I need more equipment!"
Krista stood near the door, leaning against the frame.
"You make due," she informed her,"perhaps you can take out the little guys and steal their guns and work your way up?" It sounded ridiculous. "As you can see, we're stretched for equipment, and, y'know, might not want to arm the convict up to her teeth- just in case."
"What? You think I'm going to shoot you?" Ymir asked, she shook her head. "Nah, you got a nice face, be a shame if I mar you with these things. At least it's better than a knife, though I could use one in case close combat occurs." She shook her head again. "No, no, Levi said that I would be supplied with everything."
She stared at the case once more.
"Guess this is all you people have." She then glanced over at Krista. "What about you? You supposed to tag along with me or you gonna help me? I need files, gotta know who my targets are, what they do, where they go, how they even sleep, surely you got information about that since you got that nut-job of a Hanji on the case."
"You sure do know how to make a girl feel special."
Krista went to the suitcase, admiring the sniper rifle of choice.
"Yes- that's more my expertise. Subterfuge, information brokering, and keeping my ear to the wall deal."
She sat on the bed by the guns.
"We have files, we have targets, we have what they do, we have their addresses and close relative's addresses, they sleep as if they were babies, and they'd most likely like to sleep with me if I gave them the offer- you're an experienced hitman. It should be like fish in a barrel- I distract, grab information, and, when we got what we need, you can do whatever."
She brought her eyes back at the guns.
"I'm used to the corruption- so, if you feel like killing them in some horrible way, just mind that I'm not around. It gives me the creeps."
Again, her voice betrayed her words. She didn't seem like she would care if she somehow did hear it.
"Doubt we could use you more than twice if you go in there with that face," Ymir started,"I can't just go in and hunt them one by one, they'll be spooked and run too fast, too far, burn the whole operation and start anew, then everything will fall apart. They'll have to be taken down all at once, that's the best choice if we want this done fast."
She paced around, thinking.
"We're going to need help on this. Since you guys only gave me this-" She waved her hand at the guns. "-you people didn't think of bringing in more bodies to do it. Give me your phone, I need to call some people."
"What sort of people, Ymir?" Krista kept her phone close to her, narrowing her eyes. She didn't want the other woman to go through her own contacts.
"More me," Ymir pointed at her chest. "There are four targets, each need to be dead as soon as fucking possible. For this to go off, you're not going to do it all on your own. Now give me the phone and let me do my job. Also, I'll need money to grease them up for this. Again, more me...unless you got anyone else in mind who's willing to help but do not have ties to Zeke."
When Krista didn't respond to her, Ymir sighed and covered her eyes, she rubbed them, exasperated.
"Look, I guess I'm just a consultant at this point and my best advice to go about doing this is my way, now give me a damn phone so I can call up more people that I can rely on. I'm not going to place a target sign on you if that serves as any sort of comfort. I'm not stupid to try any of that shit with you."
"Permission granted as long as these 'others' don't blab or may be corrupted. It's our heads on the line, Ymir," she gave over the phone and waited to listen on her conversation.
"They're good people," Ymir assured her, she took the phone and dialed in a number. She waited, only to have it go to voicemail. about two more times before the number went through, a man's voice came on the line.
"Who this?"
"Get Sasha," Ymir said sternly.
"...who this?"
"Listen, you fucking moron, it's me, Ymir, now get Sasha on the line-"
"Whoa, shit! Ymir! Heard you were doing hard time, not getting out without a body bag last I knew. What's up, girl?"
Ymir rolled her eyes and paced around, becoming frustrated at hearing the idiot on the other line. She pinched the bridge of her nose, warning him,"Don't make me ask a third time."
"Alright, alright, no need to get your nuts in a twist, give me a moment, she's kinda...preoccupied at the moment- hey, excuse me, sir, if you can shut up for a while? Yeah, we'll attend to you after the next guy. Goddamn, targets, never silence quite easily, eh? Especially when they start pleading like I'm the judge."
Ymir didn't answer.
"...hey, Sasha! Get over here, you got a caller!"
In the background, Sasha shouted,"In a minute, Connie, Jesus! This guy's gettin' all squirmy!"
A gunshot rang through the speaker.
Ymir paused in the middle of the room, she rubbed her eyes and waited before the phone on the other end was handed over to the second voice, Sasha's voice came out, she practically shouted,"Ya gotta have a good reason why you're callin'!"
"Sasha, it's me."
"Oh...oh! Ymir, you! Got out early?"
"Yeah, sure, something like that. I got a job for you, pays you well, I can set up an arrangement, a week from today. Need you to get Jean and Marco too. You cool with that?"
Sasha was quiet for a moment, then spoke,"Ymir, Marco died last year. He was gunned down by Feds before he could get to the Senator. Jean's been...well, he's not real happy but I'll get him to work. You'll owe me for this."
"I know, and I promise you, this job will pay well."
"...fine, where we meetin'?"
"Your place. Also, I'm bringing a client of mine. She'll have the cash ready."
At this, the line dropped and then Ymir handed Krista her phone back.
"Their rates are the same as mine before. We tried to keep competition out of this," Ymir started, she went to sit on the bed. "Considering who we're up against, they won't be willing to unless the pay is good. Levi said you'll provide me all I need, I need those people, you need those people. Money is what we need, we need that else I'll just get to the meet-up with an empty case and some hot prostitute."
Krista took her phone back, watching Ymir with amused.
"I'm glad you find me soft to the eyes."
She clicked her tongue, glancing at the dialed phone number and memorizing it. Just in case those people ever became a problem then at least she could bug the phone.
"Well, I don't carry cash with me, exactly, but I do have the code to a safe somewhere on location. Might not be all of it, but who pays cash up-front these days?"
She got up, walking to the side of the bed, and lifting the mattress up and off. It was the box spring mattress; she withdrew a concealed knife and cut up the fabric, revealing a cache.
"You can ask Levi or Hanji for more if it's not enough," Krista sighed. "C'mon, grab it, and the guns- and I will be your 'hot' accessory piece to your 'bad-ass' reunion."
Krista's lips slightly curled at the ends.
"I did transactions electronically, had overseas bank accounts, those others are more...local operators, they like seeing physical copies," Ymir started, she went and touched several bills, it was a while since she touched actual money. "This will be enough to get their attention." She went outside and found another suitcase, she brought it in and started filling it up with the bills, keeping them neatly packed and aligned with one another. "We pay them a portion if the contract is made, then we pay the rest after the job is done."
She didn't bother to count. It was all for show to garner their attention. She finished packing the bills together and snapped the briefcase shut.
"Now that's over with, I'd like to see the files, get to know our targets better," she said, she went to the living room, expecting the files to be handed to her. She had no idea where everything was, but what she was used to was gaining a photograph and her client telling her to shoot whoever was in it.
But for this operation, she wanted it to go smoothly. There had been one or two incidents in the past where they got away, but she always made sure to catch them sooner or later.
"Of course," Krista went to the living room with her, retrieving the manila folder and passing it over to Ymir. "You will find everything necessary- frequented locations, family, records, bank account statements, photographs, and any past committed crimes."
She sat near Ymir, overlooking the folder.
"If you have any questions, shoot them to me," she lounged by her, staring up at the clock, "when do your friends expect you?"
"Gave them five days, should be enough to collect the money...usually we meet around midday, share a couple beers, shoot some of those gators, sometimes we even go to Church if we feel religiously up to it," Ymir listed off, she softly chuckled,"those were good days if we aren't running around trying to get our marks. Met Sasha up in Orlando, she had a call on a gang leader, same as me. First it went sideways, she ended up with the gun to her head but guess who came along to save her? I shot him down, she let me take the cash and we went off sipping margaritas on the beach."
Ymir huffed as she laid out the papers in front of her.
"You can go to bed if you like, I'm going to look over this." When Krista didn't move, she finally glanced at her. "...you can handcuff me if you want, regardless, I'm not running off, not stupid."
"An old lover? Not surprising," Krista picked up her whiskey again, enjoying the quiet evening. At most, she'd be hitting every seedy bar to hit her cases, dig up dirt, and open new cases with whatever was on the street. "Sadly, I'm not into bondage- at least not on the first date," Krista said, grabbing the remote and turning it onto the news. "Plus, if you ran, I know Hanji and Levi are holding you by the balls. I don't need to threaten or cuff you."
"She wasn't a lover or girlfriend or any of that, she's got this...fucking midget that hangs around her all the time, pretty sure she's savvy with him," she said distantly, she looked over the files of Annie.
She found that the woman had been arrested multiple times on accounts of drug trafficking, human trafficking, murder, she had quite a lot on her list yet she was never pressed for charges on a good majority of them. While they had records of her, someone had been working hard to avoid her from getting a life sentence at the very least.
The other two men were held on similar accounts yet both of them were never prosecuted properly.
However, Zeke had a light file, so light that it only consisted of one paper, a photograph of him.
"Looks like whoever infiltrated cleaned up a lot on this guy," Ymir said, holding up the photograph,"you people really let things spin out of control. Not even a birth date or anything."
"'You people', you keep saying that, but you act as if I'm the highest in the hierarchy- able to read all files, know every person." She took the last sip of her whiskey until it was finally gone. "I'm just the person who puts in the hours, and accidentally caught Doctor Zoe on a mania-induced night. Not that my bank account is complaining, but, still- I'm not the problem. I came in late to this party, Lagnar," she fiddled with her empty glass, observing it in the lamplight.
"I say 'you people' because 'you people' seem to act like you're going to do work for this country, which is a shit country by the way considering all the politics going on, sheep for citizens, everything," Ymir laughed lightly,"but the reality of it is...you're just an enemy to the other people. The citizens you're meant to protect."
She shook her head.
"FBI...never scared me until now. Thought I'd give it a whirl, put Ilse in protection, yet here you are, putting a goddamn gun to her head." She slapped the photograph of Zeke down. "Speaking of Ilse, you got her number? Some way I can reach her? I know she's in witness protection and all but..."
Ymir trailed off.
"Again, you overestimate how many chips I have on this gamble with having you temporarily on our force," Krista repeated. "I only know as much as Levi and Hanji will supply-which isn't much given how badly the corruption has spread."
Krista was tired of being belittled by the other woman- it was exhausting to hear her shove and sneer about their line of work. Not that she was particularly proud of what she had been doing ever since she got guided into the private sector, but, it was better work than actually killing people for others.
"You may think we're all bad- you say this country is shitty, and, y'know, I may agree to an extent- but this country also produced you. You also hurt 'innocent' people by killing. I mean, by all means, slander the FBI, many give it a bad name, but, just know, you're always three pegs down below us, and nothing you can say is going to ease that guilty conscious of yours and how you regret you picked up a life that endangered your sister."
Krista wasn't one to let someone trample over her the moment they arrived.
She clicked the TV off and stared at Ymir.
"Now, it doesn't feel nice to be slapped around after being done a rather big favor, does it? Shape up or get out of my face, Lagnar. You were given a free ride so at least pretend to be grateful, you bitter shit."
"Endangered her?" Ymir asked, she laughed again, she brought her feet up to the table, slamming them as she looked directly at her. She crossed her arms. "I didn't want to be forced into this life but I was, because it paid so fucking well. I kill someone, I get paid, I put food on the table, I go to bed, rinse and repeat. The people I killed weren't exactly innocent either, you know. I'm not one judge, oh wait, I am, because I'm the one pulling the trigger, but I've seen some shit those people done and I'm pretty sure they deserved what was coming to them."
She pointed to herself.
"I wasn't killing innocent people, get that? I was killing people who done wrong to other people, some justice you people tend to neglect. Damn, you can get every file you can possibly have on me but you won't know shit about me still. I'm not a psychopathic gunslinger out to destroy lives with every outburst I get, I'm just someone who did a job that others didn't want to do.
"Apparently, unlike 'your people', I can do a job. I don't break contracts. I came to your people, fucking told them to put my sister in witness protection, do my time, and now that something came up, you think it's wise to fucking decide to threaten me with her life just so I can get something done for you. That's some twisted shit, real, sick shit."
Krista laughed.
Oh, she laughed.
"Lagnar, this is your case file- not your tinder profile. I don't know whether you like sex on the beach, or if you'd rather cuddle on a beach on sunset. Give me a break. Like I know every inch of that -passionate- soul you have."
Krista chuckled right in her face about it.
"Again, 'my people'? I am not the FBI. I work for it- I do smaller cases. I'm not the head of it all deciding who gets to die, who is left off the hook- the sooner you stop generalizing, the sooner you will realize that the shit on your back and shoulders? Yeah, that's from you because your head is so far up your ass."
She was getting frustrated with the woman. She kept talking like she knew everything and the world was an evil oyster and she was some grand hero who was on the other side of the tracks.
"Listen to yourself- you were 'forced' because it paid well? Just like lawyers or doctors were forced to become their profession for the pay. What happened to, say, I don't know, working at a diner, or at the postal services? Work your way up? And, really, judge of a person's life just because you can take it? I suppose I'm the judge of all whiskey if I can simply drink it? Dear Lord, they sent me a child who believes they know the world in their hands- get real. Just hearing you regurgitate your closed-off views is enough to make me want to write it down and publish a young-adult book about some troubled emo kid."
"You know, when Levi and Hanji said that they were going to shove me next to a partner, I was expecting someone who would be professional in their line of work. Maybe even respectable. What I didn't expect was that they were sending some little girl with a gun preparing to put my life into some warped perspective."
She clicked her tongue as she got up.
"Who the hell decided that you ought to work on this with me? In what way did they see you compatible to be with another human being? What'd you do to even get a high profile case like this, huh? Had to suck off some guy in administration? Spread your legs for your boss? Go on, tell me!"
"Well, I sure as hell didn't screw up enough where I had to put my sister in witness protection." She snorted.
"I find it just, hilarious, Lagnar, at how I'm being so very uncouth suddenly when this whole time you've been a pain in my ass, complaining and shoving unaccredited sneers at me."
Krista was used to the sideways glances the others gave her when she had to pretend she was a prostitute. Oh, how the office loved to say that Ackerman just enjoyed her ass and that's how she got that sudden promotion. Too bad he was rather gay.
"Well, I guess they used the same criteria to get you- find a little girl, give her a gun, and put her in the same play room as the other and send them off to tackle a big issue. Who knows, Lagnar? Maybe they're using us as bait for your little friends, maybe we're the first people to storm Normandy, and end up as corpse shields for the actual, real officers?"
Krista was bored and pissed at the same time. It was infuriating because she really had no connections to swap off with so she could relieve her stress at the shooting range.
"Are you done with throwing your piss at me? If you are, I will stop, too. I only returned it to see how much of an ignorant hypocrite you were. I got the answer I needed. I got it plain and clear."
Ymir walked about the room here and there, she waved her hand as if trying to get her out of the room in her own way. "...just...just no. Let's just get this shit over with and then get back to our lives. Besides, about the officers, which one of them can you really fucking trust with your life? Huh?"
Ymir was done listening to her, she headed for her room to where her torn up mattress was; she slammed the door. She merely tried to put it back together and then landed upon it, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling. This was a bullshit situation those people placed her in.
It was something unnecessary. In her defense, she wasn't even supposed to be out and about doing this.
Not anymore.
She was hoping she would get peace and some sort of obscure safety behind bars but that didn't work out for her, not right now.
She scoffed and turned to her side, going into a fetal position to face the wall. She wondered what Ilse was doing, was she sleeping now? What year of school she was in anyway? Does she have friends wherever she was at? Hopefully safe?
Ymir bargained her life away to keep her protected, she just hoped that those people knew what they were doing with her.