Dangerous Territory

Revenge for the Dead

Warning: graphic violence.

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On the other end of the fort, a massive metal door opened, and a group of women huddled around as they peered out. Carly raised her hand to hold them still.

"We need to wait for the Resistance to get the signal," she whispered. "They'll pull the attention away from the south. That should give us an opening."

Eren walked up beside her. "It was supposed to be Armin to give them that signal."

She smiled up at him. "If I know anything about German soldiers, it's that you're trained to be flexible with plans. If Armin can't give that signal, your men will figure out a way to make it possible."

Eren knew he could trust his men to get the job done. Looking around at the dark space between the fort and the defensive wall, he caught sight of a door immediately across the way.

"That must be the entrance to the tunnel. Armin said it might be guarded."

Carly smirked and held up a syringe. "I still have tranquilizers."

Eren frowned at the needle. "What is that stuff anyway?"

Carly hesitated, and then awkwardly admitted, "It's the same drug Nicolo used to knock you out."

Eren's eyes widened, and he exclaimed softly in shock, "He got it from you?"

"I sold that man many things. I was smart enough not to ask what he used it for."

Eren scowled, but he could not really be angry at her for being cautious. "You said you knew who drugged me and attacked Levi in the attic, but you refused to say who, only that it was not the Resistance. The Gestapo told me tonight, it was Nicolo."

Carly's normally placid face now pinched in grief for her lost friend. "To protect him, Yelena, Levi, and the entire Resistance movement in the Lorraine region, I couldn't tell you his identity. I took a big risk helping him." She glanced around at the internment camp walls. "In the end, it didn't go so well for any of us."

Eren glanced down at her hip soaked in blood from a bullet. "Well, I know for a fact, they will sleep soundly."

"Not for long, though. Taken orally like you did, it takes many minutes to kick in, but the effects can last up to eight hours. Administered intravenously, the effect is instantaneous but is limited to an hour at most. Pharmacology can be tricky at times."

"You'd make a terrifyingly efficient doctor."

Carly smiled proudly at the compliment.

Oktyabrina walked up to them with Levi in her arms, looking more contrary than ever as he was cradled like a child in her massive arms. His brows were tense as he whispered, "Écoutez. Listen."

They held silent, and faintly they heard the gunfire shifting.

Carly smiled that the plan worked. "The Resistance is moving north. They got the signal."

Eren still looked stern. "Wait until the soldiers also move positions."

They held still for a few more minutes. To his side, Eren saw Levi shivering from the cold air and his injuries. He seemed to hold his breath at times, probably struggling not to groan. Eren began to reach out to hold Levi's hand, until he realized that he now had two missing fingers. He grimaced in anguish.

Things would never be the same between the two of them.

Levi grumbled in English, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not that hideous."