CHAPTER 2
Author's Note
For anyone wondering, I'll be uploading a new chapter every Wednesday/Thursday :D
~Gum
It surprised him how such drastically different ways of life could coexist in such a small city. Unlike the unpleasant surroundings of yesterday, Eren Jaeger now found himself in a neighborhood full of tidy houses and well-trimmed lawns so similar to one another that he almost got dizzy.
Home after beige home Eren walked by, peering at the number neatly painted onto each one of them. 17. He was looking for the number 17.
Jackpot.
He examined the house in disbelief. What the hell did the menacing Survey Corporation have to do with such an innocent looking house? He could see a gingerbread man and his loving wife coming out of that thing. Precisely cut grass, potted plants of a variety of beautiful colors and a shimmering white car without a speck of dirt on it. The house matched well with its front lawn; two stories, windows so clean you could lick them and, of course, beige. The teens eyes lingered on the wine-colored drapes that hid the interior of the house on each and every window. What could be hiding inside?
Suddenly, he felt nervous or more like... suspicious. Taking a deep breath, Eren walked to the front door. He frantically tried smoothing the creases of his newly bought white buttoned up shirt only to accidentally create more instead. Despite all the unanswered questions floating in his brain, the first instruction printed onto the sheet he was given suddenly made sense.
Rule number 1:
The client must wear a semi-formal outfit. If the client is under or overdressed they will be denied service.
If he were to walk around in his usual hoodie and baggy pants, people might confuse him for a robber. The rich folks were always so paranoid, thinking everyone was out to get them.
Eren looked down at his watch.
2:20 PM
One more minute.
Rule number 2:
Arrive exactly at 2:21. At that time the client will have no more than three minutes to knock on the door. If the client arrives anytime later than what was previously established, the meeting will be canceled entirely.
Meeting.
Who would he be meeting? His guard? The boss of the corporation? The old bastard again? A rifle to the head? Were they just going to rob him and then dispose of him? After all,
Rule number 3:
The client must have the first payment in hand at the time of the meeting. The sum of money being 1,600 dollars. The client must bring the amount in one hundred-dollar bills. Note that the first payment may not necessarily be the continuous payment given during the period of time the client will be hiring for.
2:21 PM
Eren gulped. If he knocked too loudly would the other person get mad? But if he knocked too soft maybe he wouldn't be heard.
Oh, shut up and just do it Eren.
So he did.
Knock. Knock.
His knuckles barely left the wood when the door rapidly opened. He flinched instinctively.
"Eren! Hi! How are you doing? Come in, come in."
He was swiftly ushered into the house, not by a rifle, or a big guy but by a short, sweet looking blonde with warm brown eyes. She wore a white buttoned up shirt and a classy black skirt that ended right above her knees, exposing her well defined legs which were enhanced by the slick black heels she wore. The outfit complimented her slim figure quite well. Eren wondered how such a delicate woman handled the rough and tough guys she probably had to deal with on a daily basis.
"U-Uh hi, th-this is about the... umm... hiring thing, right?"
"Yes, yes, you're at the right place. Come along now." She turned around and walked down a corridor, signaling for him to follow, "I hate to skip the pleasantries but I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment so if we could do this as fast as possible that would be great."
"Fine by me."
Eren's eyes wandered through the rooms he passed. A big, shiny kitchen, a living room that was so impeccable it didn't even look like anyone had actually lived there. Though a beautiful house, it didn't feel like a home. Everything was too in place, too bare. There weren't any pictures of loved ones or little ornaments that had no purpose other than to look pretty.
Things began making sense when he saw the tons of carton boxes in a hollow room, some empty, some labeled with BOOKS, CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, PLATES and more.
"Moving in or out?" He mused only to mentally slap himself in the face for being so nosy.
"Out. Here we are!"
The teen turned his attention forward. He was presented a small office with light blue walls and a white desk with a matching computer. He sat on the seat in front of it and looked at the empty shelves backed against the wall. Looked like she was packing up the stuff in that room too.
The woman sat in front of him, moving the mouse to activate the computer and quickly typing things into the keyboard.
"So, Eren Jaeger. 17, quite young-"
"I-I'll be 18 soon."
"Oh! Well, considering this is probably the only time we will see each other, I grant you an early happy birthday!"
"Uh, thanks." Man, this woman was so nice. He wanted to hide in her arms and never let go, and he had barely met her 30 seconds ago.
"So, you're looking for a full-time protection package. Now, there are three: basic, normal and premium. They vary on the skill of your main bodyguard, now for you I would recommend-"
"Ah- Premium. I... would like Premium." The teen fidgeted with his hands. He just wanted to feel safe for one second.
The woman gave him a curious glance, "I understand but Premium full coverage is expensive. If you are feeling insecure, we have many greatly skilled bodyguards in the Normal package-"
"I-It's okay. Money's not... not an issue."
She hummed thoughtfully before returning to her screen, "Alright then. Premium package and do you have an estimate of how long you will be needing our services?"
"Uhh... No... N-not really..."
"A week? A month or two?"
Eren sighed heavily. These weren't the type of questions he wanted to answer quite yet. He felt so... clueless. The past month had felt so bizarre to him he couldn't tell if he was actually dreaming or not.
"Six months? Maybe?"
The blonde nodded, "So a long-time user."
"Hopefully."
If he didn't die first.
One or two minutes passed in which the sound of fingers tapping away at the keyboard echoed throughout the semi-empty room. She typed at an extraordinarily fast pace, hypnotizing the teen. Eren couldn't help but notice the shiny diamond ring she wore on her left hand. This woman was obviously used to a very particular way of life.
After a quick exchange of money, she said, "Now all that is left is for your main bodyguard to be assigned. This won't always be the person that will be guarding you but they will be your main connection with the company. If you have any questions, comments or concerns you will direct yourself to them and you will entrust this person with all and any information they may need to ensure your protection. We here in Survey Corps do not take personal matters into consideration so know that if you are asked something by your main bodyguard it is solely to complete their task of avoiding possible threats."
Eren nodded.
"Any particular requests?"
"Uh, requests?"
"Male, female, interactive or distant? More than anything people ask for someone that will be in touch quite often but there are those that prefer to be interrupted as little as possible."
"No, it can be whoever."
She nodded once again. Petra flipped the screen of her computer so the teens view of it was much clearer.
"This is Oluo Bozado. He is one of the best bodyguards this company has."
Eren repressed a groan. It was the old bastard from yesterday. If he couldn't stand 'Oluo' for a couple of minutes how was he supposed to see his face during the next six months?
"Oh, that's the guy that I, uh, did the interview with... we didn't get along very, uh, well... Isn't there someone else... maybe?"
"I'll do it."
Eren nearly fell off his chair. Though he had tried holding onto his dignity by gripping onto the table before hitting the floor, it was thrown out the window as a small whimper escaped his lips.
The woman, who was unfazed by the intruding voice, gently covered Eren's hand with her own and gave him a comforting smile. Turning to whoever had spoken, her anger seeped through.
"Dammit Levi, can't you be more considerate? You know very well our clients are running away from bad things and then you just barge in like that."
Eren slowly took back his hand, still feeling the warmth of the woman's hand. It occurred to him that it had been kindest gesture another human being had shown him in some time. The brown-haired boy turned his head to see who she was directing herself towards.
Apparently, this "Levi" figure was a... rather short man leaning against the door frame. Pale skin, black hair in the shape of an undercut... man, since when did undercuts look so cool?
Suddenly, he was caught staring. The young man's cool silver eyes dug into Eren's, sending shockwaves of fear down his body. He quickly turned back terrified, focusing his gaze onto his lap.
"Didn't you hear Petra? I said I'd take the client."
Petra rubbed her temples before situating her hands back into a typing position, "Loud and clear. Eren, this is Levi Ackerman, also a very skilled bodyguard. We could assign him to your case if that is what you prefer. "
"I wasn't asking."
"It's not your decision to make." She whispered venomously.
Eren didn't know what the hell he was in the middle of but Eren knew that he wanted to get the fuck away from it before things got any more intense.
"Eren? Would you prefer Oluo?"
The teen was just about to agree when he felt a hard hand land roughly on his shoulder, "Doesn't get any better than me kid. Even Petra has to accept I'm the best at what I do."
He didn't even bother to look at Levi, opting for Petra's honeycomb eyes for some guidance.
"Since when do you care so much about who your clients are?"
"If he's gonna pay Premium he might as well get his money's worth. Oluo will just pester him all day. He's a nosy bastard. Doesn't take the "no asking about personal matters" rule seriously. The kid just said he hates him already. I'm trying to spare him. Isn't that right kid?"
Well, looked like he was between a rock and a hard place. Why did he say anything about Oluo in the first place? He should've just kept his mouth shut.
"U-Um, yeah..."
"Are you sure, Eren? Levi's just a big bully, you don't have to listen to him."
Levi was a big bully indeed, that would probably break his neck before he could even say no.
"Y-Yes?"
"Fine." She said, clearly upset.
"Current address?"
The older man groaned. Roughly gripping onto the sides of Eren's arms, he ungracefully pulled the teen up into a stance, "We can do this later."
"Levi, what are you doing?! I'm working here!" Petra sharply responded, rising from her seat and shooting a menacing glare towards the man.
Said man slapped a hard object onto Eren's chest to which the teen responded by grabbing it. It was a cellphone. Not a moment later was he forcefully turned around and pushed. The brown-haired boy didn't know what else to do except be guided towards the exit.
"I'll figure all that shit out." He said coarsely.
"By the gods, Levi! Are you really going to ruin this for me? It's my last client!"
"Shut up."
Eren only focused on not tripping on his own feet as the man continued pushing him down the hall. He didn't even bother to look back at Petra who was following them.
"Excuse me?! Did I hear correctly?!"
"If you heard the word 'shut' followed by the word 'up' then yes. You heard correctly."
They were at the front door when Levi Ackerman said, "Listen kid, I'll reach out to you in an hour or two. Until then, lay low."
The man was pushed aside by Petra, "And if he doesn't reach you by that time, do yourself a favor and come back for a reassignment, because it'll mean that he's dead."
She then slammed the door closed, sending shivers down the teens spine. Okay, maybe now he could see how she was capable of handling herself in the Survey Corps.
Eren sighed, the feeling of dread filling his entire body. Now facing the street, he looked to his left; he looked to his right.
What now?
Yay! Levi has joined the party! From the original material he is my favorite character so I'm glad to have him around. See you guys next week!
~Gum