Partners in Crime Fighting

6. The Raid

HANJI: After two weeks of gun training, the kids learned how to shoot a target.

Just in time for the raid on Trost, too.

At eleven PM on Thursday night, Officer Ral rammed her fist on our door. "They've arrived on Trost Avenue earlier than we had expected." She said.

"Thank you, Officer. I'll call if I need reinforcements. Hanji, get your guns." Levi said. "And don't let the brats come! I don't care how trained they are!"

I was about to open the door to the backyard when the kids met me at the door. "We're ready, Hanji!"

"No," I insisted, "Levi told me to tell you he didn't care how well-trained you are now."

"But Hanji, you wouldn't have taught us how to shoot if you didn't want us to fight on the front." Armin pointed out.

Shit, he got me. "Fine! But if Levi says no, then it's final!"

We stormed out to the shed, retrieving each of our guns. I strapped Sawney and Bean in their holsters on my thighs. "Let's go."

We met Levi at the front door, and I handed him his guns.

"I told you not to let the kids come." He repeated.

"Armin said we wouldn't have taught them to fight if we didn't want their help." I said.

He glanced at the kids, then at me. "Dammit we don't have time for this! Let's go!"

"Woohoo! Time to kick Titan ass!" I cheered.

We kept our backs plastered to the wall of a restaurant. The Titans were picking through the remains of a jewelry store.

I poked my head around the building to catch a glimpse of them.

The clothes on their backs were bloodstained and ripped. Their figures were distinctively teenaged, which shocked me. Never before had the Titans recruited children.

Their most distinguishing item was the masks they wore to hide their faces. Without them, they could've been any other gang.

The grunts or lesser gangsters always wore similar masks with male features, but these kids wore the intricate ones: the tallest one wore a mask that resembled a bald human head stripped of flesh to reveal the muscle and sinew underneath, and they referred to him as "Colossus"; the second largest wore a similarly human-esque mask, but his had an armor-plated face, respectively earning him the title of "Armor"; and the only distinguishable female wore one that had more feminine features, referring to her as "Female". She looked like the only girl.

I gasped. Levi slapped a hand over my mouth.

"Sh!" He poked his head around.

"I think I saw something behind there!" One of them yelled.

"Sic 'em out, Female!"

We pressed our backs to the wall, but Eren started to step out of the alley.

Levi grabbed his hoodie. "Stay where you are! Wait for my signal!" He hissed.

Eren gritted his teeth and stayed put. "I recognize one of them, the one who killed my mom."

"You can't go after him." Levi decided.

Female's back was to us. We couldn't make a run for it, but we could at least take her out.

Levi nodded at Eren.

Eren jumped Female, but before he could punch her she whirled around and kicked him in the side.

With him curled up on the ground, Female pointed her gun at Eren.

Levi fired Isabel, missing Female. She ducked, and we spilled out of the alley.

"Run!" Levi demanded.

I grabbed Levi's hand, and the kids grabbed each other.

I loved the thrill of the chase, but it was better when we were chasing them.

Female was closing in on us, fast. She was kind of small, but her speed made up for it.

Armin was screaming as he noticed Female drawing extremely close to him. Mikasa took his hand and in one swift move, she yanked him onto her back and proceeded to give him a piggyback ride with no sign of slowing down.

"Split!" Levi shouted, and we diverged among several alleys.

Of course Female saw us split, but she wouldn't be able to choose which one to go after first unless she had a reason.

Levi dragged me through the alley, leading me to where the alleys spilled out onto the main street again.

"Did she see you?" I asked. "She might have recognized you and wanted to go after you first."

"I don't know, I was ahead of the group." He admitted.

Suddenly, we heard gunshots and yelling.

Levi and I followed the sound to the alley where Mikasa and Armin were.

Mikasa was firing at Female, who dodged the bullets. Female fired at Mikasa, who ducked behind a Dumpster.

I was about to go in when Levi pulled me back.

I signed to him in sign language, "They'll be killed!"

"I want to see how they do," he signed back.

We had learned sign language to communicate with each other in times like this.

We watched intently.

Armin fiddled with his gun, finally holding it correctly and shooting Female in the leg.

She stumbled back, tripping over a box and falling onto the pavement. Her mask slipped off.

Before she could put it back on, Mikasa shot at her hand. She fired more warning shots to scare Female off. To protect her identity, Female put her hood over her head.

Levi jumped in and pinned Female to the wall. "Hanji, her hood."

I removed her hood and Armin gasped.

"Do you know this individual?" Levi asked.

"That's...Annie Leonhardt. She goes to school with us." Armin said.