Attack on Titan: Bloodline – Chapter 37 (June 17, 2022)
Jean and Connie piled up the two Military Police soldiers' gear and uniforms while Armin and Mikasa tied their hands in front of them, making sure the bonds were tied tightly and securely.
"We could disguise ourselves as MPs and get past the checkpoint, then snoop around until we figure out where Eren is. Best case scenario, we find Lorraine, too, but we can't count on that," Levi thought, sitting on a nearby stone with his arms folded across his chest, "It's a shit plan, but it's the best I've got. There's no time." He sighed.
"If we don't act now, we're finished."
"Captain," Jean said, handing him a set of folded-up documents, "I found these in their pockets."
Levi took them, unfolding them and reading them quickly. He said, "So, you're Stohess District Military Police. Private Marlowe Freudenberg and Private Hitch Dreyse." He raised up his blade and rested it on his shoulder.
"We'll need to dispose of you."
Hitch and Marlowe both gasped, then Hitch said, her eyes wide with fear, "Because of what you did, Stohess was a graveyard. Over a hundred people were killed!" Marlowe tried to stop her, but she continued, "You bastards. I bet you all think you're some kind of heroes of justice, but you're not! Far from it! You dropped dozens of innocent families into hell on that mission of yours!" Levi looked down at the two over his nose.
"Yeah," he said, "we did."
Hitch turned to Mikasa and Armin.
"You. You were a part of the Southern Cadet Corps, right? You must have trained with Annie Leonhardt, then. Were you friends of hers?"
Hitch sighed and said, "Of course not. She only ever spoke of one friend from there. Other than that, she wouldn't have made friends there, either. Way too gloomy and unapproachable for that. She was just afraid of people like a scared little kid." She glared up at Levi and said, "Now, I will never get the chance to learn anything about her. She's officially listed as missing. You know why?" She gritted her teeth.
"It's because one of your Titans turned her into an ugly red stain on the street!"
Levi said sharply, "Actually, it's because the Titan we captured was Annie Leonhardt herself." Both of the captors gasped. Levi cursed, "Damn it. It makes me sick. Nobody knows a thing about this world. Not us or anyone else. Except, of course, the bastards at the center of it all." He thought for a moment, then said, "Alright. We'll let you go, but we need to give ourselves a head start on you."
"Captain Levi," Marlowe said, "Please let me join your cause!" Levi raised an eyebrow and Marlowe continued, "I believe that the Military Police are in the wrong, here. If there's any way I can fight this world's injustice, then that's what I want to do!"
"Easy," Levi said, "Calm down."
Marlowe said, "I swear, I won't let you down, sir!"
"No."
Marlowe shut his mouth quickly. Levi said, walking to the edge of the babbling stream and sheathing his blade, "I have no way of telling if you have enough resolve to make an enemy of the state." He turned to Armin and the others.
"Let's go. Take them deeper into the woods and tie them up, Sasha."
As Levi walked, followed by Connie, Armin, and Mikasa, Jean cut in front of him and said, "Hey, Captain. Would you let me do it instead?" Levi turned to him. Jean gave him a gentle nod. Levi's cold, blue eyes narrowed.
"Knock yourself out."
Lorraine stumbled out of the wagon for the third time that day, her good arm held tightly by Kenny, and she squinted her eyes in the orange light of the setting sun. She screamed through the cloth gag, her voice muffled and the cloth making her want to cough, and she tried to kick him, but couldn't get any power, thanks to the angle she was being held at.
He brought her up to the checkpoint and said, "I got a special delivery for Lord Reiss. We're headed to the estate. Hope to get there by dawn." He reached into his pocket and handed the man a folded-up paper. As the man dressed in a Military Police uniform looked over the sheet, Lorraine pulled away, but it was no use. Kenny's grip on her was too strong. She even tried to fall, letting her feet slip out from under her, but Kenny just swung her back up to her feet as easily as if she were a little kid having a tantrum in a parent's grip. Tears flew into the air and fell to the ground as she screamed in the hopes that someone would hear her voice, but before she knew it, the checkpoint guard had let Kenny pass through the gate.
"Quit your strugglin', kid," he sighed, "It's not gonna help you any. If you would just stay calm like I asked you to, I wouldn't have to drag your ass through every checkpoint like a screaming toddler. Thought you'd have figured that out by now."
Lorraine felt his arm around her waist as he roughly stuffed her back into the back of the wagon, sitting down across from her. As the carriage started to move again, she leaped up to her feet and dashed for the back of the wagon. He reached for her, but he was just barely too slow as she fell out of the curtain onto her good arm. Ignoring the pain, she stumbled to her feet, but without the use of her arms, she had trouble and Caven, Kenny's right-hand woman and the carriage driver, had grabbed her shoulders, yanking her up to her feet and picking her up by her waist, once again shoving her into the wagon.
"Damn," Kenny chuckled, "You really don't know when to quit, do you?"
Lorraine growled at him through her gag, but couldn't say anything. Her amber eyes, though teary, were filled with complete rage. Her heart pounded in her chest and her good arm was now throbbing where she fell on it, scraping off the top layer of skin and most definitely bruising it.
"Where are you guys," she wondered, glaring between Kenny and Caven, "Mikasa. Armin. Captain Levi." She sat on the bench in front of the old man, still wondering if there was even a way to escape.
Kenny sighed, taking off his hat, "Anyway, that should be the last checkpoint. We'll arrive at Lord Reiss' estate soon. From there, all we'll have to do is wait for Levi to take the bait."
"I wonder if they even know where I am."
Stumbling around the corner into what used to be the courtyard of an old, broken-down multi-room lodging. He wheezed and panted, sweating and listening to his own heart pounding in his chest. Behind him, the same three soldiers from before had caught up to him.
One man with thinning brown hair and a crooked nose chuckled, "Thanks, dumbass. There won't be any witnesses in an abandoned dump like this." Flegel turned and gasped. The man said, falling to his knees, "I owe you one, Flegel. I mean, when you gave us the slip before, I thought for sure I was screwed!" He pounded his fist on the ground and screamed unintelligibly for a moment before picking up his gun and wiping tears away from his eyes.
"Man, thanks a bunch," he said, "My boss would've killed me. I'm serious." He grinned up at him, adjusting his weapon before finally standing up to his feet, his comrades behind him following suit and aiming for Flegel, who held up his hands and cried out in terror.
"Please, wait! Don't shoot me yet! Why did my father have to die?! Did the Interior Police kill him!?"
The man at the front frowned and said, "Not sure why that matters to you. After all, you're about to be a corpse on the street yourself."
"Please," Flegel begged, tears in his eyes, "Before I die, I wanna know! What exactly did my dad do for you to justify killing him?"
The man said, closing his eye and adjusting his aim slightly, "Hm? I thought you'd know. He betrayed us and started helping out those Scout Regiment bastards."
Flegel asked, "So, wait. H-his orders came from the Interior Police? You guys had him kidnap those Scouts?"
The man shrugged and said, "Yeah. It was a different squad, but yeah. I guess old Deemo didn't say too much about it. At least, not to his dimwit excuse for a son." Flegel clenched his jaw and balled up his fists.
"And what if he'd refused to do it," he asked, lowering his voice.
The soldier said, lowering his weapon to his side, "Oh, he knew too much. We'd have killed him one way or the other. What made him think the Survey Corps could help this trash city, anyway?" Flegel sighed.
He growled, "You would never understand. You guys think you're real smart shit, don't you? Do you wanna know the last thing my dad taught me?" The men raised their weapons again and he continued, "He told me a good merchant should trust his nose. I'm glad I listened because it led me to the people who could avenge him. I side with them! My business with you is over, assholes! Now, take a look above you!" As the men fumbled for the triggers, Hange and Moblit swooped down from the rooftops, simultaneously kicking two of them to the ground. Hange swiftly turned and sprinted at the last man standing, raising her fist. As the man fired at her, she leaned to the left, dodging it, though her ear was ringing, and swung her fist into the man's jaw.
"Ow," she screamed, holding her fist, "God damn it, that hurts!"
Moblit, tying up the first two men, scolded her, "Section Commander, that was way too reckless!" She shook her hand and looked up at the balconies.
"We pulled it off! Did everyone hear him?"
The man gasped, "No. The Scouts...? But, why?" As his eyes drifted away from her and up towards where she was looking, his heart dropped. There were about two dozen people lining the balconies, all staring down at the scene.
In the streets behind them, a man said, "This 'dump' ain't abandoned, though to you, it must seem unlivable." Several people crowded behind the man as he said, "Yet, here we are. The place ain't half as nice as it used to be, but it's still our home." He looked up at Hange and said, "We heard everything. We know about Reeves and who had him killed. Every single one of us here is a witness."
The soldier sat up and growled, "Yeah, well, it doesn't matter 'cause it's the government who decides what's true! Idiots! Don't even think for a second that you can get away with this! You're in for-" He screamed as Flegel walked over, picking up one of the men's shotguns from Moblit, and sat on his head, causing him to writhe in pain.
Flegel said, ignoring the man's threats, "Listen. You'll all be fine. The Reeves Company will protect you. You all trusted my father, Deemo. Well, now, I'm in charge. So, from now on, you can count on me. I promise." He looked up at the sound of the citizens clapping.
"Glad to hear it, Mr. Reeves."
"Speak up, next time!"
Hange smiled and placed her hand gently on the top of his head.
"Glad to see you stepped up, Flegel. Now, you give 'em hell."
As the moon rose into the sky, blanketing the fields and hills in a pale blue while stars and clouds painted the dark sky. At the very edge of the forest, Levi stood, having pinned a Military Police officer of high rank to the base of a tree. The man had blood running from his nose, which had been very obviously broken, now sitting crooked on his face, and he was missing several teeth. The man spat out blood and cursed at Levi, who in response kicked the man hard across the face again. Levi knelt down.
"I'll ask you again," he said, "Where'd they take Eren and Krista?" The man laughed weakly.
"You...bastards," he choked out, "You think you're so brave. That post was manned by recruits. They barely even knew how to wipe their own asses. No one is gonna think you're heroes for beating them down."
Levi folded his arms and said dully, "Yeah. The guilt's really tearing me apart." He lifted his leg and shoved his boot into the man's mouth, pressing down hard, feeling more teeth cracking under his foot. The man grabbed at Levi's ankle and Levi said, "But, you know what really gets to me? This mouth of yours. I'm gonna suggest that you start talking while you're still able to use it." He removed his foot, leaving the man gasping and coughing.
"Now," he said, "Where are Eren and Krista?"
"Y-you can't win," the man sputtered, "All that's left to you now is to find some filthy corner to curl up and hide in! If you don't turn yourselves in, then every last Scout we captured will get the noose! Starting with the guiltiest man of all, Erwin Smith!" Levi lunged forward, spinning him around and twisting his arm behind his back. He yanked the man's arm upward, causing a sickening crack, followed by an ear-piercing scream.
"Hurts, doesn't it," Levi said softly, "That's what you get for not answering my question. Some Scouts' lives are more valuable than others. Only those dumb enough to agree to that join us. Once again, where did they take Eren and Krista?"
"I-I don't know," the man cried, "Nobody told me, I swear! Kenny Ackerman doesn't like to make his business known!" Mikasa looked back from her post.
"Ackerman, huh?"
The man sobbed on the ground, pressing himself against the tree. Levi explained, "I know Kenny. So, that's his last name?"
"Y-yeah, but-"
"He never was much for sharing information. Not important shit, anyway. But, I bet you have a rough idea. Now, you'd best try to remember."
He reached down and grabbed the whimpering man by his other arm, holding it out and saying, "You still have plenty of bones for me to break."
"Wh-what the hell?! Are you insane?!"
Levi said softly, glaring down at the broken man, "Maybe I am."