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Chapter 23

Morning!
This chapter is quite short, so I'll post another one once I've edited it

Enjoy

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A tense silence followed. The atmosphere in the room becoming thick. Illyria stared at Erwin, a quizzical look all over her face, waiting patiently for the man to continue. Erwin gave several solid taps to his desk.

“Firstly, I think I should inform you, that this is not going to be a pleasant request. That is why I wanted to talk to you about it personally. I wanted to discuss it with you first, before I brought it to the other leaders attention.” Illyria frowned, her blatant lack of understanding deepening. Erwin pressed his lips together and sighed.

“There is a man. Nile Dawk. Have you heard of him?” Illyria thought for a moment and gave a small shake of her head.

“His name sounds familiar but...” she said, shrugging her shoulders and taking another sip of her tea.

“He is the head of the Military Police, their commander.” Erwin paused, allowing his words to sink in for a moment. Illyria gave a small nod, urging him to continue.

“It has recently came to my attention, that Nile is in possession of some documents. These documents, hold all of the MP's deepest darkest secrets. All the indiscretions, cover ups, information on new weapons, their intentions, details of top secret missions, all of it, contained inside a small red book he keeps in his quarters under lock and key.” Illyria nodded her understanding, not sure entirely why he was telling her this.

“I have been in conversation with Darius Zackly, who is the commander in chief of all our military regiments, regarding the existence of the book. He claims to know nothing about it. In fact, he has given his word, that if the book exists, and happens to find it’s way into his hands, he will personally see to it that a heavy reward is given for its retrieval...” Illyria blinked, still not entirely understanding what any of this had to do with her. She frowned a little, but Erwin continued, standing now and moving to sit on the edge of his desk in front of the confused cadet.

“He has promised future funding, Illyria. Funding for the scouts, should we get this book to him. Funding we so desperately need.” Illyria nodded. It felt like it was all she had done since entering his office.

“That’s great news, sir, but I am still not sure what any of this has to do with me?” she asked, meeting the commanders eyes. He gave a quick sigh.

“I want you to retrieve it Illyria.” Her eyes widened.

“Me?” she yelped very immodestly, pure shock momentarily forcing her to forget how to properly act in front of the commander. Though he did not seem fazed, simply nodding his head, smiling gently at her. She shook her head.

“Why me?” she pressed further, not understanding why the commander couldn’t ask another soldier. Her mind was racing. How was she supposed to get this book?

“Because Nile Dawk, likes redheads.” His statement created another tense silence as Illyria’s mind fought to catch up. What was the commander insinuating exactly? Her eyes narrowed slightly, though she tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible.

“Sir... are you, suggesting... that I...”

“What I am proposing Illyria, is that we do our best to take advantage of the situation. Allow me to explain...” he shuffled slightly, presumingly trying to get a bit more comfortable on the edge of his desk.

Illyria wasn’t sure she was going to like where this conversation was heading. It sounded like the commander was planning on using her, in a completely nefarious way. A way she had not signed up for. Yet she listened attentively to him, wanting to ensure she got all her facts right before accusing him of something so illicit. Allowing him the benefit of the doubt for now.

“If you can get your hands on this book, not only will it provide the scout regiment with additional funding, but it will also provide us with invaluable information on the MPs plans. Future and past. You, are an incredibly capable soldier, and you just so happen to be exactly Nile's type...” Illyria stiffened visibly at his words, eyes adopting a cold and hard stare. The commander shook his head.

“Forgive me, I am not suggesting you sleep with the man to gain favour.” She took a deep breath, silently relieved.

“I am suggesting that you let him believe that you want to in order to gain access to his room. Nile is not going to just let you in there and have a nose around without expecting something in return. If you can convince him, that you are interested, I am certain he will grant you access. Once inside, all you will need to do, is distract him, find the book and get out. And you would not be alone. I would not expect you to do this without ensuring your safety. Should you encounter any danger that you, yourself can’t handle, a team would be on standby to handle the situation.” Illyria frowned hard, her eyes screwing shut as she shook her head, cutting the commander off with a wave if her hand.

“Wait... so, you just expect me to walk up to him and offer him some fun and for him to take the bait just like that? I’m sorry sir, but I think this plan is heavily flawed already.” The commander chuckled and shook his head.

“No Illyria, I was hoping you would be a little more discreet than that. The MPs have recently announced the capture of a criminal that they have been following for six months. They have had serious trouble capturing him and pinning any of his crimes on him. That has given them reason to celebrate, and to gloat, they have invited higher ups from the other regiments. This would be the perfect time to catch Nile's attention. He would be at his base, meaning gaining an invitation to his room would be easy enough. And if anyone asks about you, we can say you have recently been promoted.”

Illyria thought for a moment. He had really been thinking about this, and she couldn’t say she blamed him. Additional funding for the scouts would be beneficial. Not to mention knowing all the MPs secrets would certainly give them some leverage in the future. Illyria wasn’t an idiot, she could definitely see the potential if this was pulled off.

Yet she couldn’t help but feel slightly insulted. The idea of whoring herself out for the night to a total stranger in order to gain information was disgusting to her. Though the commander had stated that he had no intention of letting it get that far, she couldn’t help but wonder just how far it would have to go in order for this plan to work. Just how much she would have to do to just get an invitation to his room. How would she distract him enough for her to be able to search for the book? A book which may not even exist. After all, it was just talk. She sighed.

“What if this book doesn’t even exist? What if I can’t find it? Then what?” the commander gave a small smile, moving to stand and shift back behind his desk again, taking a more comfortable seat.

“The book does exist. Several reliable sources have confirmed it’s existence. It is a small red leather book. And from what I have gathered, it is kept in a locked drawer in his desk.”

“But if it’s not there? If he has moved it, then what?” she pushed, wanting to clarify again just what she would have to do if she couldn’t find the book.

“I do not want to put you in any unnecessary danger, Illyria. If the book is not in the drawer, then that is the end of it. You make an excuse and leave.”

Another long silence followed, the commander gauging her expressions, waiting for further questions. Illyria was in deep thought, he could tell. Her fingers tapping the rim of her now cold cup of tea, eyes lost in the swirling liquid, jaw clenching every so often, brows furrowed in deep thought.

“As I have said, this is not an order. It is a choice. You are under no pressure to do this if you don’t want to. If you don’t, we will formulate another plan.”

“Like what?” Illyria interjected, knowing full well the commander did not have a back up at present. His silence clarified her suspicions.
“We will think of something.” He finally admitted. Illyria shook her head.

“No. I’ll do it.” The commander blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting the response she gave. She gave a small shrug.

“It’s for the good of our regiment. The additional funding would do us a lot of good. Plus knowing about their dirty secrets could be beneficial in the future, and knowing about any potential new weapons means we could even create them ourselves, or make defensive ones against them.” The commander arched a thick eyebrow, smiling, clearly impressed with her train of thought. Illyria sighed, placing the cup on the desk.

“You have asked me, therefore I will do my best to not disappoint you.” Erwin’s smile broadened, nodding his head at the impressive woman before him. She gave him a smile, eyes lighting up with mild amusement.

“Although I am not sure how successful I will be, sir. I am not exactly well known for being able to mask my emotions.” Erwin laughed, fondly remembering her last social gathering.

“I have every confidence in you Illyria.” He stated, rising to his feet.
Illyria took this as her cue to leave and stood too, offering him a salute which he gave a singular nod to. He offered her his hand, she took it, returning the small handshake.

“The celebration is in three days. I will have Hanji take you in to town tomorrow, after I have debriefed the rest of the team, to help you find something appropriate to wear.” Illyria nodded, the realisation that she would have to dress up for this occasion making her insides twist in mild anxiety.

“Should you change your mind before then, please, let me know.” She shook her head.

“No sir, I am committed to this. You have my word.” Erwin walked around to her and escorted Illyria to the door.

“Excellent. I will inform the superiors of the plan during tomorrow’s meeting. Thank you again for this Illyria.” She smiled as he opened the door for her, making her leave and heading back to her dorm room.

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Erwin is a sneak! But he's so polite with it, I can't help but like him.
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