A Shitty Love

(1.4)

Simone

"What? NASA!?" Simone repeated with disbelief.

"Why?" asked Everett.

"They're asking to look around. They're outside right now," Clair panted through heavy breaths.

"You think—you think it's because of these guys?" James asked.

Claire nodded. "They look like agents. Like, from a movie, agents."

Erwin approached their huddle, "Who is NASA? Why do you think they're here because of us?"

"They're a government organization, and they've never ever popped up like this," Clair said to him. Erwin looked at his fellows and nodded.

Simone wondered what that meant as she and her colleagues followed Claire out of the gym, presumably to find a suitable place to hide the "Survey Corps" as they called themselves, "I guess that is what they are"... when five large suited men exited the elevator.

They all stopped speed walking and tried to look normal. "How may I help you gentlemen?" Claire said invitingly.

"We're NASA personnel, looking for some items of ours that have been... misplaced," the man speaking was tall, bald and nicely tanned like Mr. Clean—in Simone's opinion at least— "Do you mind if we look around?" Mr. Clean had already motioned for his men to search.

"Why are you searching our facilities, Mr. ...?" Claire asked.

"Brown. We're searching all facilities in the areas surrounding our base, mam," he said, holding out a warrant and badge to Claire while looking at Simone's vulgar shirt and back to her face. She gave him a once-over with a cheeky smile even though she inwardly panicked at the sound of the other suits getting closer to the gym. "Nononononononononooooo" were her exact thoughts. She did not want to know what these dudes who were obviously not just NASA personnel would do to them if they knew too much.

Simone heard the gym door open and braced herself for the tranquilizer or pshh of a silenced pistol or many other unfortunate scenarios her frantic brain could produce but it never came. The door closed after a few seconds and they continued the search. Where had their crazies who now didn't seem so deranged go?

"What are you doing at work this time of morning?" Mr. Clean asked.

Claire looked at her watch and exclaimed, "Its four already?! Damn, guys we got carried away with work! Good job team!" "Go ahead and freeze-frame us all high fiving, Claire, that'll really make him believe us," Simone thought sarcastically. Her manager was obviously terrible at lying to police.

"What were you working on?" Mr. Clean's men had finished with this floor and were continuing on the higher levels.

"We can't tell you that," said Claire.

"Of course you can, I won't tell."

"Its top secret!" she insisted.

"As a government official with a warrant, I'm asking because of its value to our search," Mr. Clean said with a smile that could disintegrate kitchen grime.

"It's an affordable anti-inflammatory that people can take routinely to prevent eczema flare-ups before they happen, instead of having to go to a doctor for constant break-outs, if you must know. Claire doesn't want to lose her job for leaking company projects, and neither do we," Simone said smoothly. "So, I hope you were serious when you said you wouldn't tell."

"Hm. That sounds extremely convenient. I have eczema myself," Mr. Clean eyed Simone appreciatively.

"So you'll keep quiet?" Simone asked, daring to sound a little bolder than she felt.

He was about to reply when his earpiece lit up with sound. Whatever news he got must've been satisfying because he then smiled genuinely at Simone and said "I won't tell a soul." He pulled out a card and handed it to her. "Call me when it's ready... or before."

"About the medication, Mr. Brown?" Simone asked with raised brow. "Sir, you were literally about to kill us, now you're macking. We have orthopedic seats in the next room, please take one."

"Sure. It's Jason, by the way. Have a nice day ladies, gentlemen..." The elevator doors opened behind him and he joined his associates. They went into one of the windowed rooms and watched until they saw the NASA agents drive away with a convoy of SUVs. Ferric audibly exhaled and slumped against the wall.

"Dude, are you okay?" asked Everett.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just got warrants," he said, casually.

"For your arrest?" asked James, disbelief touching his brown eyes.

"Yea—" he stopped abruptly when he saw Claire stare at him, "... aaa-of course not. Another kind."

"This fool is a legit fugitive!" Simone thought with mild amusement.

They found the gym completely emptied. "Where'd they go?" asked Claire as James approached the windows. "We left them here, how'd they get--"

Before she could finish, the Survey Corps drifted down from the top of the wall closest to the door Claire and her team had just re-entered. As each of them touched the ground, metal cords zipped from the ceiling into their boxes of metal that held several of the same type of sword-thing that had previously cut James. Looking at the wall, Simone could tell they must've dug the blades in as handholds.

"Holy shit, that was cool!" said Everett. Connie and Sasha tried to strike poses of appreciation, but looked mostly silly.

"How did you do that?" Claire asked them.

"Our 3D Maneuver Gear. It is how we fight the titans," Erwin said.

"Oookaaay. We need to have a long talk before people get here for work in a few hours, but, first, you all need to shower and change." Claire started towards the door.

"What's a shower?" asked Hange.

Clair explained it to them and each was amazed except Hange, who seemed a little disappointed. Levi walked out the door first after Claire, saying, "Maybe this place isn't so shitty."