Underdogs

TWENTY

❝I don't think he realizes, but he doesn't look so tense when she's around. There's something special between them, and they should really dig into it. There's more to life than just surviving for the sake of it.❞ ㅡ Farlan Church

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Chapter twenty:

BACK FROM HELL

A tense silence had wrapped around them, yet to be broken as the situation sank in. His grey eyes drifted towards the open window, followed some birds as they flew towards the bluest sky freely. Despite everything, he was glad to be back ㅡ he was glad to finally leave the Underground City behind. 

His heart had missed the soft breeze of the morning, the fresh air and the hot sun; and he was eager ㅡ ecstatic, even ㅡ to see the glow of the moon again, to feel its cold touch on his pale skin.

Levi averted his eyes from the window to narrow them upon the man standing behind the large desk, suddenly unable to relish in the peaceful sensation he had been so desperate to greet. His mind was restless; worry for Galene and anger towards Erwin Smith clashed in an exhausting battle that had been going on for hours. 

Never in his life had he experienced so many emotions bubbling inside him, fighting to overcome one another and see the light; it was draining him.

"Take a seat, Levi."

His eyes narrowed even more, if possible. It unnerved him beyond belief; how that man was acting so calm ㅡ so detached, as if nothing troubled him. Gritting his teeth, it took Levi all of his self-control to remain still.

"I have no desire to waste my time with you right now," Levi stated in a flat voice, not bothering to keep his displeasure at bay.

Erwin gave him a long stare, considering him. "Galene is in the hands of good doctors. There's nothing we can do for now, so we may as well discuss some important matters in the meantime."

It was difficult to reason with Levi when he was furious, but he was still an intelligent person who tended to think before acting ㅡ most of the times, at least. Erwin seemed pleased to see him giving in, not without clicking his tongue beforehand. 

Plopping himself down on the brown sofa, Levi crossed his arms over his chest and made his face go expressionless. "You knew about her incident with Everhart." To be honest, he was unsure as to how much the commander knew, so he kept her real relationship hidden.

Erwin walked over to a small table, poured coffee into two cups before offering one of them to the short man. "I suspected it."

Eyeing him, Levi took a sip and placed the cup in front of him ㅡ too hot. He had burned his tongue. "How?" 

With a sigh, Erwin sat by his desk and frowned. "The Military Police had been investigating them for a long time. They had some men infiltrating the organisation in their early years, so they knew about the traffic of children. Some of them, however, ended up joining Everhart because they paid them more than what the officials offered."

Levi couldn't help snorting ㅡ he had always mocked the Military Police for being useless. He had been running from them for years and they had never gotten close to getting a hold of him or his gang. Knowing how simple their minds were didn't come off as a surprise to him, but he still found it pathetic.

But something about what Erwin had said made him pause. Traffic of children, he noted. In the underground, Levi had learnt that it wasn't quite that. Yet he wasn't going to give information that could put more eyes on Galene and force her to go through more questioning. 

"Finding out their businesses were breaking down was easy, but they had to investigate about the reasons behind... and that was another whole story," Erwin admitted. "It took them years, money and people to get to the bottom of the situation."

Levi bit back a scoff; no matter how much they had spent in the search, it was evident they hadn't gotten to the bottom of the situation. "I don't give a crap about how those bastards managed to get there. I'm just interested in knowing how you found out about Galene's connection to Everhart."

"Evidently," Erwin mused while giving him an annoyed look. "I had my suspicions, seeing as no one knew anything about her until she was suddenly on the top of the chain in the Underground City. Out of the blue, she had built a resistance against Everhart and had dozens of followers. That was strange, but the fact that she's so willing ㅡ desperate, almost ㅡ to find freedom and stay away from the underground was what confirmed my thoughts."