Hand in Hand

19. Signal

"This is all my fault. I'm the one who suggested to keep him in the Trost Barracks. I should've known not to trust the Military Police to keep a watch over him safely. This seriously sucks!"

"Calm down, four eyes," Levi grunted. "It's not your responsibility to know the future. I got to say though, I'm surprised Pastor Nick was able to keep his mouth shut till the end. It shows dedication, I'll give him that."

"How do you manage to be so bitchy and sweet at the same time?" Hanji cleaned the tears off her glasses and looked across the table at Commander Erwin. "It wasn't just any MPs. It was the Interior Police, Djel Sannes to be exact. When me and Moblit heard the news, we visited the room Past Nick had been living in. Standing guard was Sannes. After taking a closer look, I could see cuts and blood on his knuckles. Pastor Nick was tortured for information and then murdered."

"They wanted to know what he had told us about the wall and the Reiss family," Levi added.

Commander Erwin nodded in agreement. "I fear Lord Reiss, along with the Military Police, will go to great lengths to make sure the secrets of the Walls stay a secret."

Levi sat back in his chair and stretched. It was midday and he had already felt exhausted. Life had finally started to seem to slow down but with the death of Pastor Nick, he was reminded yet again that the life he chose was not one known for giving breaks. He knew that the most important thing was the task at hand, find out what Historia's father knew and why he needed Eren. Despite that, the annoying sight of Commander Erwin and the lingering scent of (y/n) on his clothes only made him want to rush back to the Trost Branch. Being stuck with Hanji and Erwin in the Trost Capital felt like a prison sentence.

"That's another thing, Erwin," Hanji noted. "We know that Lord Reiss wants Eren for some sort of plan he has, but how does Historia fit into all this? She's his daughter. A noble Lord having an estranged daughter by some unknown... harlot? There has to be more to the story. Reiss wouldn't want that covered up for nothing."

"Since Pastor Nick didn't tell the Military Police anything, It's safe to say that they don't know we know about the Reiss family." Erwin looked down at palm and shook his head. The entire situation made no sense to him, and with no information linking Historia to Lord Reiss, is was harder to get a clear answer. "We can use that to our advantage. As long as we keep both Eren and Historia safe and in our possession, Lord Reiss will have a hard time going through with whatever he has planning."

"Right now, Moblit and (y/n) are back at the branch watching over the 104th," said Hanji. "Nifa came along with us, but she'll stay with you when we leave and report back if anything happens. For now, I think they're safe."

"Oh, that reminds me, how is (y/n)?" Erwin asked, a sly smile creeping onto his face. "Did she seem okay?"

Hanji groaned from across the room. "I left so quickly I didn't even get to see her!"

"Why wouldn't she be okay?" Questioned Levi. The black pupils of his eyes slowly dilated as his gaze set hard on Erwin.

The Commander shrugged. "There's no reason why she wouldn't be okay." He chuckled and flashed Levi a grin. "I'm just making sure she isn't tired from our trip together."

"What are you smiling about, Erwin?"

"Hmm?" Hanji, now intrigued, stood up and sat down next to Erwin. "Why would she be tired? Did she get over exhausted on the trip home? I hadn't changed the dosage of her pills, she should've been fine."