UNDER HEAVY CONSTRUCTION [BOOK 1] the daughter of a dying bloodline and humanity's strongest soldier find themselves entangled in a web of emotions they never expected to feel. but as the relentless fight towards freedom continues, they wonder if th...
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The room was quieter now as Hange wrapped up the news. Her body language was stiff, like she was trying not to show how bad she felt. Pastor Nick had been murdered in Trost, sometime during the night. Hange had been holding him there for more questioning, and now he was dead. She stood at the front of the room, arms crossed and it wasn't hard to tell she blamed herself.
However, there was a different tension in the room as well. You shifted in your seat as you looked down the table at Levi. He hadn't spared a glance your way the entire meeting.
He must have felt your eyes on him because his gaze soon met yours. You were tempted to look away from the cold stare, but you wanted to make sure he saw your frustration. You shot him a frown, holding his gaze for a moment until he broke it and looked back to Hange. Coward. You scoffed.
"So you're saying the military police have something to do with this?" Armin asked.
"They must have." Hange answered, "They've always been on our case. I just never imagined they'd make a move like this..." She trailed off.
You frowned in thought, "They tortured him. Probably trying to figure out what he told us. Makes sense if they're scrambling to cover their tracks."
Levi spoke for the first time since the conversation started, "Could be that. But this is the Interior MPs we're talking about. It won't just be about covering tracks."
You didn't answer. His tone rubbed you the wrong way, as if he was trying to correct you. You kept your eyes ahead, jaw tightening. Days of silence, and now he speaks up just to double down on what you said.
You caught the quiet sound of him scoffing, but you didn't bother reacting.
He turned to Hange, "How many nails was our friend missing?"
"I-I only caught a glimpse, but all his nail beds appeared to be empty." She said.
"Then we can be sure he didn't talk. People who talk would've spilled after one nail. There's no need to take off all ten. I'm impressed he lasted that long." Levi mused.
There's something about the way he said it that bothered you. He made it seem like Pastor Nick's suffering was just another datapoint. And maybe it was, but you didn't like how easily he acknowledged it.
"Then they know nothing of the Reiss family yet." Armin concluded.
"Yes. But one thing is for sure, the government is up to something. And we've got a target on our backs." Levi hummed.
You all turned to silence as you mulled over what this could mean for the Scouts. For you, it was nothing new, what with being a fugitive from the second you were born. Then, there was a knock at the door before a scout soldier walked in hurriedly.
"Captain Levi, sir! I have a message from Commander Erwin." She announced, walking over to him and handing him a piece of paper. "I went to tell him about Pastor Nick, but he sent me off with this instead."
