Thanatophobia |Levi Ackerman|

Chapter 24

I walked into the study and I immediately saw Hange who looked more than frustrated. Armin and Historia had clearly just walked in as well. She looked from Armin to me to someone behind me. I turned to see Levi standing in the door frame dressed in formal attire.

I looked away immediately not wanting to look interested in him. He had left for the last two days without much reasoning so he wasn't worth my breath. I walked over to the window in the room and I crossed my arms silently. Hange's eyes trailed over everyone and I could see that something was very wrong. Hange was usually the one making everyone else feel unsettled, but she was squeamish in her own seat.

"So what's all this about that I got rushed back here for?" Levi asked with a sense of displeasure.

He came into the room and walked over to the table where she had been sitting. Eren and Mikasa walked in with the rest of us including those who were supposed to be keeping watch. I walked into the room but stood opposite Levi next to Eren and Mikasa as they came to stand by the window as well.

"Pastor Nick was murdered." Hange said calmly and silence hung in the air for a moment.

I heard Sasha gasp near the doorway, but my focus was on Hange.

"We don't know how or who but he was found this morning in the Trost barracks." She said with a dark tone in her normally spunky voice.

"How did I not know this? I left Trost at lunchtime." Levi said and at a first glance it still looked to be as bright as day, but the sun was nearing the distant horizon.

"I stumbled upon it myself when I went to inquire about the Reiss family. MP's seemed to be keeping it on the down-low and wouldn't let me back in. I couldn't even investigate the crime scene before they told me it wasn't within my jurisdiction." She said shaking her head. "Told me it was a robbery-murder, case closed."

"Sounds like a load of shit." Levi spat. "The church is loaded, that's no secret, but no one in the military barracks has any reason to go for him when all he had were the clothes on his back."

"I won't argue there." Hange said getting to her feet. "Bottom line is our one chance at getting information about the church and what they know about the walls and Lord Reiss is gone."

"I suppose he wasn't going to crack anyway. He was a guy with an iron shell." Levi said shaking his head and pacing the room.

"Maybe so, but this looked like a textbook case inside job. They were practically squirming as I pressed them for information." She said looking to the ground. "The patrolling guard who was watching outside the room had bloodied up fists and knuckles. Not to mention sweat running down his temple."

"Observant, but does that necessarily mean correlation?" Armin asked.

"Whatever the church knew, the MP's must've wanted it for themselves. I had ordered him to stay in the barracks hoping he'd stay under the radar from anyone who could hurt him, but clearly, I was mistaken." Hange said and I could see she was placing blame on herself. "This was my fault, I should have been more careful."

"These are interior MP's. If they're acting out like this there's something deeper going on here." I said because she didn't need to pin this on herself. "That kill order came from higher up."

"How many nails did the priest have? You saw right?" Levi asked and I was taken back by the question but looked to Hange.

"It was only a quick glimpse, but all of his nails were missing, he just had the nail beds I think." Hange said not sounding so sure.

"People who talk, talk after pulling just one." Levi said and I guess he had experience. "Ripping more wouldn't make him talk. If he really kept his mouth shut then that means they have no idea we know about the Reiss family."