Chapter Text
The dim hallways were scarcely illuminated, shades of the early morning sky dancing from the large windows to reflect against the glass. The air inside was cold, making you shiver despite your sweater, your body reacting with anticipation to your surroundings.
Coming in early on your first day seemed like the best choice to get yourself settled and learn your way around; there was nothing you hated more than having others think you were clueless. It was hard enough being a female detective, having to constantly make up for your gender a daily struggle. You did not want to give people anything else to hang on to except your wits.
It had been a mixture of years of hard work and a little bit of luck that had allowed you to take the chance of working with other detectives on this case. Before today, only the elite detective team under the supervision of Erwin Smith was allowed to take on a serial killer case. However, with the victims piling atop each other and the investigation dragging on, his status as Shinganshina district Chief forced Erwin to consider the options. Fresh eyes to help a case that was barely advancing at all. The fresh eyes being you, of course. All of this despite the complaints of his head detective, the man you'd soon be working with.
The elusive detective Ackerman was shrouded in mystery and rumors amongst the force, infamous for his constant refusal to take any recruits, new or otherwise as partners. Respected for his abilities. For all the talk about his work that went around, few knew the man in person, a truth that naturally resulted in a wide variety of outlandish rumors. All of them ridiculous, most of them fake. You hope, at least.
Some attributed his success at his position to an assumed past as a murderer himself, something you thought unlikely. Others whispered he had a list of ridiculous demands anybody wanting to work for him had to fill, some even went as far to hypothesize he was not truly real but was instead a scapegoat name for the department to use when solving difficult cases to protect its detectives from possible vengeance attempts.
The one fact you were certain of was that, throughout this past year, several had applied for positions in this office, only to be turned down despite their expertise. Commander Smith had so far caved in to the lead detective’s request to work alone because of his impeccable record and impressive accomplishments yet the pressure to find the killer kept growing each day and it was time to give in to hiring new people on their team.
The people were getting restless and wanted the person responsible for the deaths caught at all costs. What mattered most, after all, was catching the killer on the loose, not adhering to the requests of his subordinate.
You look down at the box holding your belongings as you hold them closer for comfort, those allowed into the new office at least, as far as you know.
The rough cardboard felt heavy in your hands, despite the scarce items in it. There really was not much to speak on inside of it aside from your favorite stationary and coffee mug.
Whether you’d be given your own office space was still up for debate and you did not want to make a bad first impression by bringing in a million trinkets you had no space for, though you would surely miss your previous, decorated space and your old team.
You also neither expected nor wanted to bring too much attention to yourself, catching the bastard being your main objective, one you had been truly looking forward to. Eyes still heavy with sleepiness from the lack of your morning coffee, you thought more about the case on your way to the new office.
The murders had started around a year prior and were seemingly unconnected as far as the majority knew. The victims varied in age, gender and race had seemingly no affiliation to each other.
In fact, the only connecting similarity, the one that suggested this may be a serial assassin, was how all victims met their demise: a clean slash through the nape of their necks.
The specifics of the victims as well as further details regarding their states had remained a secret to the public. The only reason you knew this much was because of your own involvement in the case, that which had led you here today.
You had spent months trying to be transferred here, doing your best to prove to your supervisors how useful you could be to the investigation only to be turned down every single time. That is, of course, until Commander Smith put out “the challenge”.
It seemed the killer was getting bored of not being caught, or at least getting overconfident.
Unknown to the public, and most of the detective force as well, there had been a note left at the site of the last murder. Although “site” may not be the most accurate description. The note had not been found in the scene, but in the person.
The body and murder site had both looked as normal as they could at first. The victim, Ilse L., had been found by her husband upon coming back from work.
She had called out sick from work that day, making her targeting a likely unfortunate coincidence.
The house was pristine and showed no sign of a struggle anywhere aside from the living room where Ilse was found, the now expected slash to her nape the only thing hinting at what had happened.
It was only until coroner Arlert performed an autopsy that anything out of the ordinary was found. A small piece of paper slipped under Ilse’s tongue. This, along with the decreased amount of time in between killings, changed everything.
Commander Smith had sent a copy of the note’s contents along with pictures of the victim's body and crime scene to other departments, asking for them to present their best with the riddle, hopeful that others could be of help. You had jumped at this opportunity, trusting you could finally prove your worth.
-
Two Weeks Ago:
*tap, tap, tap, tap, tap*
“Mr. Zacharias, wait!” The sound of small yet persistent footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, taunting the tall man and reminding him of the responsibilities he wanted to leave behind once the clock had struck closing time for the day.
There was only one person that voice could belong to in his mind. Mike, however, just wanted to get home so he rolled his eyes and started walking faster, twitching his mustache in annoyance and hoping you would give up the endeavor yet resigned at the same time, well acquainted with the relentless personality you possessed.
“Not now, Ms.Reader,” he said with an authoritative tone.
“Please give me a chance! I know I can solve it.” You started picking up the pace as you kept walking behind him, the rapid sound of footsteps closer with each small tap, so close he could now smell your distinctive scent now.
Everybody had one and he would have been able to know who each person was by that alone. Miss Reader’s was nicer than most, very floral as he recalled. Predominantly lavender, an undertone of something even sweeter, tonka, perhaps? Very faint cocoa at times. The scent of parchment was usually on her as well, probably from all the files she managed on a daily basis, he recalled, pleased with himself for identifying it all.
Mike Zacharias however, did not slow down at that statement. If anything, he seemed to hurry a bit more.
It is not that he lacked belief in the young woman behind him as much as his shift had ended, over half an hour ago in fact, and he had yet to go home thanks to the new orders from Erwin. That annoying bushy eyebrowed freak thought he could just dictate when everyone worked. Not everybody was as obsessed as he was. Other people enjoyed having lives outside of their work.
“Mike… Please...” you said, a pleading tone reverberating around him, slight guilt wrapped up in annoyance making its presence known in him.
He finally stopped at the sound of his first name, a low blow if he may add, and gave an exasperated sigh. Maybe it would be quicker to just give her what she wanted, he thought.
Ms. Reader had been working under him for a few years now and if there was anything shorter than the woman, it was her patience. And temper. These were the thoughts on Mike’s head as he pondered.
She did have an unmistakably sharp mind as well though, always pushing for an answer, sometimes harder than she was expected to do, even in this line of work, so Mike had no doubt she would be of help.
Sigh. If only she was willing to wait until Monday.
“Mike..?” your voice was a bit more hopeful now that he stopped walking.
The damned woman knows her plan is working.
“Fine. But you will be helping me go through the intern applications next week,” he finally conceded.
The ever-growing pile of recent graduates seeking an internship on his desk could surely use a hand and Mike had, unsurprisingly, found no volunteers to help with the task. It seemed their career had caught the attention of this year’s graduates. Perhaps they thought it sounded more glamorous than it actually was. He blamed those popular detective novels lately, focusing on the chase, never on the work.
If he had to take the extra time to help today, maybe he could leave early next week in exchange. Dealing with interns was not his forte, they usually talked too much and, most importantly, their nervousness made them sweat giving off an acrid smell he detested.
“Definitely! Thank you so much Mr. Zacharias!” you answered with a smile, immediately agreeing to his terms.
Oh, now she uses my last name.
“Follow me, Freya,” Zacharias grunted, more than spoke.
Mike turned to the corridor on his right without checking to see if he was being followed, the location of his office was not a secret to anyone either way. He wished it was, there were more people knocking on his door than he had the patience for on a daily basis. You’d think grown adults would know how to do their job.
Now that he thought about it though, those knocks had been slowing down this week; no other person in his team had asked to give the riddle a try.
He had glanced over it himself a few times but, unable to decipher it, ended up pushing it to the back of his mind. Cyphers were never his thing. Not only that, but the pictures of the poor woman were hard for him to watch. The victim this time had been young and pretty, her poor husband left behind to mourn for her.
It never got easier looking at victims. There was just something about how alive this killer’s victims still looked that made him feel uncomfortable. Usually, murders were messy and this made it easier to accept what happened; but this killer seemed more meticulous with his work.
Pushing that to the back of his mind, Mike glanced behind him to make sure you weren’t falling behind, he really wanted to get home and have some sleep. Perhaps he could even have a nice glass of wine beforehand as well.
Approaching the entrance with his nameplate on the outside, Chief Zacharias unlocked the door and took in the scent of his office. He loved the smell of recently polished wood and paper it always brought with it. Others found his obsession with smells odd, but there was something comforting in associating smells to places and even people for him.
To him, his office had the smell of knowledge, being filled with files denoting the cases he had worked on throughout the years.
Glancing over his shoulder again, he saw you had finally caught up and were standing sheepishly in the doorway behind him.
Letting out a slightly frustrated sigh, he strutted towards his desk to look for the folder Erwin had sent and then frowned. Freya was capable, but should she be getting involved in this case?
It is, of course, understandable that she wants to, but it may be too close to home… it could, however, also provide her with closure in a way. Maybe.
Knowing how persistent of a detective you were and that you would get your hands on the file one way or another, Mike picked up the folder and held out his arm in your direction.
“One condition. Promise me you will not overwork yourself trying to figure this out.”
You nodded, a fierce look in your eyes, and gingerly took the folder from him.
“Thank you… really.”
He could already see it. His order would be ignored, but then he couldn’t blame you for trying to put the puzzle pieces together.
The folder was already open in your arms, her eyebrows knitted in concentration and eyes darting across the pictures.
“ I will be taking my leave now if that is all-”
“-wait. This looks like a simple enough cipher, why haven’t others been able to crack it?” came the confused response from your mouth.
Ah. That. It was true that the composition of the cipher itself was easy to understand, but that was not all there was to it. It was never that simple. If it were, Smith would not have ordered to present this as a challenge required for joining the case.
“We have no key to solve it with” And it was true, he thought and grimaced.
A puzzle that should be simple enough to solve, if they had the missing piece.
“I trust you will find it then, Miss Reader?” But you were no longer listening, having taken out a pencil to jot down notes on the file. The only copy of the file he had that she should not be writing on.
But it was too late for that either way, so taking one last look at the woman standing in his doorway he had become fond of over the months, Mike patted your shoulder and walked out.
“I expect you will not let your other assignments slip, Miss Reader.” He knew she wouldn’t, but voiced the order otherwise, hoping it would keep you from focusing too much on the file.
You could be puzzling to him sometimes.
-
You loved puzzles. You always had.
Memories of long winter nights, solving anything from crosswords to murder mystery games together with your mother as the fireplace warmed up your cold finers were close to your heart. The smell of hot cocoa would impregnate the air, comfortable silences broken only by the sound of satisfying answers.
Maybe that had been one of the reasons you leaned towards becoming a detective once choosing a career path came up. The thought of reliving those moments brought on excitement and comfort at once.
Journalism had briefly caught your attention, but it was too far from the action; reporting instead of fixing. That is why after graduating from the academy, you had slowly worked your way up to your current rank of detective.
While it may not always be as glamorous as you had thought, mountains of paperwork being more pronounced than you had dared fear and action nowhere near as common, nothing was more satisfying than helping others find closure where before there was only chaos.
Like making a constellation from the stars in the night sky. Connecting all the dots and chaos into a beautiful picture others could see.
Now you were sitting at your favorite coffee shop, the delicious aroma wafting all around you, vaguely aware of the approaching closing time while you looked over the file once more. There was not much in it but then, this was expected.
The victim was Ilse L., aged 32. She was married with no children and lived in a normal, middle class neighborhood. Picket fences, children playing in the street without the need for parental supervision, it paradoxically embodied safety, a kindness Ilse had been spared.
Her house had shown no signs of being broken into, but her husband had confirmed Ilse rarely locked her doors, trusting the safety of her home, having no reason to feel threatened by anything in her environment.
She had been nursing a bad flu for a few days and, after much begging from her husband, stayed home from work. No noticeable details were added about the state of her dwelling, aside from the first floor where she had been found.
Apparently nothing was disturbed elsewhere in the residence, eliminating any chance of the murder being connected to more mundane crimes such as larceny.
The file listed her occupation as a middle school teacher, the time of death estimated at around 2 pm, only three hours before her husband got home from work.
She had called in sick the day before and the school had assigned a random substitute teacher someone to cover her class. The only other things in the file were a handful of pictures, the autopsy report, and the infamous note you were meant to decipher.
Armin had been analyzing the body as usual when he spotted the piece of paper showing underneath her tongue, the state of the parchment suggesting it had been placed there post mortem.
This confirmed it was not from the victim, who could have left behind a clue for the detectives upon realizing her doom was upon her, but from the killer themselves instead.
At first glance, the note was just gibberish, but you had seen plenty like them before during your various afternoons playing at detective with your mother. The apparently nonsensical jumble of words felt foreign, yet you could immediately identify what unscrambling method to use.
“Mx pssow ew xlsykl qc tvizmsyw kmjx aew yrettvigmexih. Wmrgi mx pssow pmoi syv texlw gvswwmrk mw mrizmxefpi, M ibtigx csy ampp qeoi xli glewi qsvi mrxiviwxmrk. Psso jsvaevh xs lievmrk jvsq qi ekemr.”
The Cypher seemed simple enough at first glance but, like Mike had said, you still needed the key. All cyphers were solvable with one.
This one seemed like a simple Caesar shift which told her a few things. For one, the killer wanted the note to be read, otherwise he would have chosen something much harder to solve. It looked as though whoever had murdered poor Ilse was aware of the effect they were having on the detective force as well, or they would not try to engage in games. They were playing a game with you all, daring you to do your move.
As far as you knew, this was the first clue of this type present throughout the investigation.
There were a few ways of solving a Caesar shift, you thought to yourself. You could either try and figure out which letters stood for those most commonly used, such as “e” and try to figure out the rest from there.
You could also try and go through the entire alphabet using the appropriate “shifts,” all a Caesar shift was in the end after all, was shifting the entire alphabet by a specific number and applying that substitution to the rest of the message.
A simple substitution of each letter for another by following a pattern. Regardless, something told you solving the cypher the correct way was a test - there was a reason Erwin included the rest of the documents on the file for others to see. There was no way nobody in his elite team hadn’t solved this yet, meaning having others give it a shot was not to find a solution, but to confirm it. So that leaves only one choice, finding the key.
Taking another sip of your now cold coffee, you sighed and gave your full attention to the rest of the items on the file: the biopsy report, and photographs.
There was nothing particularly off about the biopsy report. Time of death, somewhere between 1 and 2 pm as established in the quick notes you jotted down earlier, cause of death a sliced nape. There was some blood loss from the wound and the amount of time it had laid on the ground, and it looked like a small puncture wound could be seen near the slash as well though no foreign substances were found in the body.
So there was nothing injected into it. Hmm.
You wondered how they managed to always make the crime scenes look so clean without signs of struggling if nothing was injected to make the victims stop fighting. That had been your first suspicion at least, upon seeing the picture.
Bruises were present in the body’s wrists with the left one showing a sprain from some sort of blunt force impact, purple blooming all around it. Other than a few scrapes, nothing else was noted. This also meant the killer was not abusing their victims.
Thankfully.
A small note was made on the page margin indicating the husband said Ilse’s earrings were missing.
Meaning the bastard took a souvenir. Not rare in these cases, sadly.
The pictures were always the hardest to look at, so you had left those for last. Reluctantly, you shifted your gaze towards them now.
The first photo was of the cut on the back of the neck. It was a deep and precise cut, practiced almost.
Which would make sense being how this sicko has been doing this for a while.
Other photos included the front of the body, a close up of the sprained wrist, wearing a broken mechanical wristwatch, a picture of the note and one of Ilse’s open mouth with the note still inside before it was removed.
Taking out your notepad, you started writing down things that stood out to you.
Gash on the nape of the neck seems to have been made using a single, deep cut. No jagged edges and cut deepness pointing towards significant physical strength from the killer. Broken wristwatch stopped at 4 pm on the dot.
Close up of sprained wrist indicates blunt force used, significant bruising present around it. Handwriting on recovered note is not particularly identifying, letters are all evenly sized and spaced. No trauma evident on mouth or tongue pointing towards the note being placed post mortem.
Putting your pen down, you drank the last of your coffee and glanced around you. The now empty coffee enveloped you in its dim light, headlights from the vehicles passing by illuminating your shape occasionally. The chatter had slowly died down and only the owner and yourself remained, having become friends after several years of patronage, they never hurried you or asked you to leave until it was inevitably time to clean and close shop.
Though your mind burned with questions, the wheels doing their best to turn, your eyes were heavy with exhaustion. Even the coffee you had recently consumed was of little help. Of course, drinking it as often as you did, it was normal for its effects to be dampened.
Grudgingly, you had to admit it was time for a break, even as the words spread across the table remained unsolved.
I did promise Mike I wouldn’t stay up too late looking at these, and there are still reports to write from this week’s work. But something doesn’t seem right .
Running a hand through your hair, you considered going home. Maybe a quick nap was what you needed to let your ideas rest. After all, you hadn’t slept much this past year.
Not since...that happened.
The unwarranted memories always came when you least expected them to.
Shaking your head to dispel the intrusive thoughts, you picked up your things and stuffed them in your bag, paid for the coffee and left.
Your small apartment was barely a mile from the establishment, there was no need for a car and thus you walked.
Not many people were out this late, especially alone and so you took comfort in the empty streets, vaguely illuminated by only the lamp posts and stars above.
The lone sound of your footsteps echoing on the sidewalk as the newly started drizzle kissed your skin soothed you. It was a beautiful night really. If you didn’t mind rain.
Little puffs formed around you as you walked, the cold air painting your breath. Closing your eyes to enjoy the droplets falling on your skin, you walk towards your apartment, the emptiness of the street reminiscent of the lonely walls awaiting you.
-
Taking off the long red ribbon from your hair, you stepped into the shower. The water, so much warmer than the rain had been, soothed you and helped wash away a bit of the tiredness weighing you down.
Now think. What could the key to the cipher be. You got this, Freya.
Thinking back on the scarce contents of the file, not many things could be the lead you were searching for, yet you still went through them one by one in your head.
The murder weapon was never found on any of the scenes, it was obviously a very sharp knife, so that couldn’t be the hint, it was too easy.
Though the missing earrings were mildly interesting, serial killers tended to take souvenirs, they were unlikely a hint either. They had apparently been a past anniversary present. Her husband had been devastated, stating they would be celebrating again in 2 month’s time.
Poor Ilse had died just a few hours before her husband returned.
She didn’t even get to see her anniversary. The killer’s timing is really awful . Perhaps their anniversary date could be the clue? Shifts require a numerical key and special times in people's lives are a common one.
Wait. You thought about that once more as the water ran down your closed eyes.The timing.
Time. The watch .
Your eyebrows bunched together in a thoughtful frown. Ilse had died between 1 and 2 pm. But her watch had stopped at a different time: 4 pm. Not only that, but also the wrist it was on had been bruised from blunt force trauma.
So they had hit her with something. Breaking the watch on purpose .
It was also a mechanical watch, which would make changing the time in it fairly simple.
The key. A simple number, left behind on purpose.
That had to be it. It was simple enough that anyone could find it, if they knew how, making it the perfect clue. Quickly stepping out of the shower, barely bothering to dry yourself, you went to look for some pen and paper, leaving a trail of water across your apartment.
You pulled out the cipher and checked the letters used, small drops falling from your headband dotting the contents of the paper:
“Mx pssow ew xlsykl qc tvizmsyw kmjx aew yrettvigmexih. Wmrgi mx pssow pmoi syv texlw gvswwmrk mw mrizmxefpi, M ibtigx csy ampp qeoi xli glewi qsvi mrxiviwxmrk. Psso jsvaevh xs lievmrk jvsq qi ekemr.”
Then you chose your number key, the same as the time on Ilse’s broken watch : 4.
You were a bit rusty but you still remembered the basics to this type of cipher. First step was enumerating the alphabet with the letter “A” being equal to 0.
This meant the first letter in the phrase, “m,” would be equal to 12. Now here was where the key came into play.
I wish I had kept that cipher solving wheel I made with my mother now. This is a bit of a pain to do manually.
The key was number 4. If you were encoding a message, as the killer had done, you would shift each letter in the message by 4 letters towards the right of the alphabet, meaning the M would become a Q.
This was because while M represented a 12, Q represented a 16 which would indicate a successful shift of 4. In this way, you could simply shift the entire alphabet, substituting letters accordingly.
However, you were decoding a message, so you instead moved each letter back by 4 instead, making the M, the 12th letter in the cipher’s alphabet, turn into an I, the letter assigned an 8. You then only had to repeat the same process with each letter.
At least I didn’t try this with every letter of the alphabet like I originally wanted, that would have taken forever. Still, what a pain.
Slowly but surely, you started decoding the message. M turned into I, X into T and so on.
Several minutes later, your work was done and the message was no longer gibberish. Putting your pencil down, you stretched your tired muscles and read the newly decoded message.
“It looks as though my previous gift was unappreciated. Since it looks like our paths crossing is inevitable, I expect you will make the chase more interesting. Look forward to hearing from me again.”
Well that’s not good. It sounds like they will definitely strike again. Now all that is left to figure out is who the next victim will be and trying to protect them before they do.
You were quite pleased with solving the puzzle, but worried that your clock, unlike Ilse’s was ticking away, inching closer to the next victim’s demise with each passing minute.
-
Tick, Tock
The minutes kept ticking by, the wristwatch on your right hand reminding you to pick up the pace. This building was so large in comparison to your previous workspace with Mike that you felt almost swallowed by it.
You were starting to feel a bit antsy about not having found the office number you had been given yet, your sighs increasing with impatience, your body making shadows on the wall behind you from the slowly increasing amount of light.
The box in your hand seemed, paradoxically, to be increasing in heaviness with each passing second and , to make matters worse, you had somehow forgotten to do laundry with all your nervousness, meaning you were stuck wearing a dress as opposed to your usual black slacks.
Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it was harder to move around with a dress as opposed to pants.
It also makes me stand out more, which is not ideal. And requires a different type of shoes as well, semi comfortable flats instead of sturdier shoes like boots.
A few more turns around the hallway, you were finally in front of the office you had been assigned, happy to finally be able to rest your arms. Despite it all, you were excited for the fresh start, a new team.
I wonder who my new partner will be.
You would be meeting with Erwin and the rest of his staff in a few hours to introduce yourself, but you’d probably meet your partner before then. You knew you would probably be working under the famous head detective Ackerman, but had not yet heard who your direct work partner would be.
Still lost in your thoughts, you opened the door to be greeted by your new work space.
Oh, I could definitely get used to this, you thought happily.
Behind the open door, a large room with beautiful mahogany desks and a large bookshelf greeted you. One of the desks was situated right next to a large window looking out into a small garden within the building, both clear of any items and, from their immaculate looking surface, had been recently polished and cleaned.
A small table situated in a corner of the room housed an electric kettle, a couple of cups and some delicately labeled metal tins that probably contained tea.
How nice of them!
Eyeing both desks, you strolled towards the one near the window and dropped your box on top of it with an exhale.
Since they were both empty, this probably meant none of them were claimed yet and, you hoped, your new partner would probably not mind you having first dibs.
After adding your cup next to the kettle, you carefully took out your stationary and several pencils and color pens before dropping into your chair happily.
It was a comfortable swivel chair, which made you immediately start spinning a bit, forgetting yourself for a second.
You were smiling to yourself as you looked out the window, enjoying the view. Your chair slightly swayed as you half spinned and tried to think of the day ahead making you so distracted you didn’t hear the door open.
“Oi, What do you think you are doing.”
A deep, male voice with a slightly annoyed tone dragged you back to reality.
Snapping your head to the source, you found a crossed arm man, leaning against the door and staring you down with an impatient look on his face. He was wearing a pristine looking white dress shirt, neatly buttoned up. His suit jacked hung from one of his arms, dismissively elegant.
“E-Excuse me?” you were not one to stutter, but you had been halfway through thinking what type of flowers could grow in the small garden outside the window, Old memories fondly circulating your mind when he interrupted you.
“I said what do you think you are doing. You know, sitting at my desk and leaving a mess on top of it as well to top it off.”
Oh.
It seemed your conclusion of the desks being unclaimed was wrong.
“Uhm, I apologize, was there a misunderstanding? Both desks were empty when I came in.”
The glare on his face only deepened at those words, icy grey eyes narrowing, looking at you from under neatly cut black hair. You sunk a bit deeper in your chair, everything had looked so new that it just seemed to be unoccupied. Anyone could have made that mistake. Surely he was overdoing the anger.
“Of course they were. Why would I leave any filth behind at the end of the day. Most importantly, what are you even doing here.”
So much for leaving a good first impression.
This man, whoever he was, must be your new partner . Not only that, but you had taken their desk and they seemed to be in a bit of a mood as well.
Maybe they weren’t a morning person. Y ou weren’t either so you couldn’t really blame them if that was it.
Thinking this was all a clear misunderstanding and hoping he would simmer down, you took a closer look at your supposed partner. His carefulness in attire transcended to his appearance as well, hair neatly combed and styled in some sort of undercut style.
Steely grey eyes, the same ones he used to glare at you with, decorated his delicate face. His defined jawline and sharp nose gave him a stern, indifferent look.
Suddenly realizing that you never stopped spinning side to side in your chair, let alone the fact that you were staring, you planted your feet on the ground and stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in your dress, suddenly self conscious about the differences in your attires and held out your hand with a smile.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Detective Reader and you must be my new partner!”
The grumpy man glared even harder at your words and, frankly, it was starting to irk you. He ignored your hand and strutted towards you, looking down at your eyes.
Because of course even this short stack of a man was still taller than you.
“I did not ask for a partner, nor did I approve of one, now get out, I have-.”
“-You have the job of showing her around the office. Yes.” Both of you turned at the sound of a new voice. Standing near the entrance was a tall bespectacled woman with wild yet beautiful brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, a smirk lighting up her face.
“Says who, four eyes?” was all he said, crossing his arms once more and, thankfully, finding a new recipient for his glar
“Says Erwin!” answered the woman with a laugh. “You must be Ms. Reader,” she said, turning to you. “I have heard so much about you! I heard you solved the cypher in just one day. Impressive, even shorty here took a couple to do so.”
At this, the man turned to look at you once more. Though his eyes still held a glint of annoyance, there was something else in them as well now that looked like surprise. Still annoyed at his earlier outburst though, you decided to ignore it and turn your attention to the new person in the room instead.
“I am! Call me Freya, please. It is really nice to meet you.”
You intentionally made no mention of her comment on the cypher, it had really not been that big of a deal and you didn’t want to make your new partner dislike you even more, if that was possible.
She did not seem to mind, thankfully. Instead, she half jumped up to you to surround your shoulder with one arm, surprising you.
At least it's preferable to getting glared at first thing in the morning.
“I’m Hange Zoe!” she informed you chirpily, “I'm the head of the forensics department so let me know whenever you need anything. I am really excited to welcome you to our team! You can call me Hange by the way.”
Gratitude flooded through you at her kind words. Last names weren’t really your thing and you were happy to see another woman in such an important position. Hange must be brilliant to hold such a prestigious title at her young age. Both her and the man appeared to be in their early thirties.
Noticing your smile, she continued.
“This runt right here is Levi and-”
“Oi,” Levi interrupted her, still looking at you to clarify, “It’s Detective Ackerman to you.”
Oh. THIS is detective Ackerman? The rumored best?
Not only was he not what you expected, but also you had no clue why you had been partnered up with him. He was famous for turning down others to work with.
The thought made your stomach clench. Not had you gotten off on the wrong foot, it looks like you had managed to annoy the famous man himself.
“Oh. I have heard lots about you. Didn’t expect to be paired up to be honest,” you voiced. Sure, you had earned a spot in the team, but you were nowhere near good enough to be paired up with the head detective.
“Nor will we be,” he retorted, “I will be talking to Eyebrows about this after Four Eyes shows you around, trust me-”
Eyebrows?
But Hange cut him off,
“-Nope. Too bad shorty, get started with your tour. Erwin is out on a meeting with the boss and I have new interns to train. We just had a new influx of new faces after the funds got reallocated.” If she was bothered by Levi’s short temper, she did not show it, hinting at their friendly relationship.
“Besides, that is the reason I am here. He told me to remind you that this is an order and that you promised him something or the other,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Her statement only made Levin stiffen his back. You were unaware of what this promise she mentioned could mean, but clearly Levi did and it seemed to bother him immensely. It seemed he was just as stuck in this situation as you were.
Letting off your shoulder, Hange walked over and patted Levi’s on her way to the door. Before leaving, she turned and gave you another wide smile,
“Have fun! Don’t be too scared of him, Freya. He may look scary but he is a total softie once you get to meet him.”
Thinking of her statement, you wondered just how blind Hange was. This man looked as soft as a double edged sword.
Releasing an irritated huff, Levi ignored her comment, finally lifting his glance to show off his exasperated but calm face, seemingly resigning himself to his current role.
Turning around, Levi walked out the door, stopping only briefly to glance over his shoulder and address you.
“Tch. Well, don’t expect me to slow down. I’m busy. Hurry up.”
-
Levi wasn’t kidding about not slowing down. For someone so close to you in height, he was infinitely faster. As he walked ahead of you, a passive look on his face, the man pointed out separate rooms all the while maintaining a brisk and unforgiving pace.
“That is the intern office. To your right is one of the break rooms, don’t waste too much time there. Bathrooms are down the hall and to the left”
On and on he went, merely pointing, never stopping as you tried to keep up.
He may be the best detective, but he was definitely awful at showing people around. The relentless pace his legs moved at and the quick way he mentioned what each door represented made you doubt you would remember much about the place after this so-called toru was done.
Making a mental note to ask Hange to show you around properly later, you continued to walk as quickly as you could after him. She had seemed nice, so you felt she wouldn’t mind. Besides, you thought, the weekly meetings in between teams were standard so you knew an opportunity would come up to speak to her soon enough.
Your full attention was now on the short man in front of you.
“Can I ask you something, Levi?” you were a bit out of breath from following him around, maybe talking would make him relax a little.
“You already did.” he answered back with no hesitation.
Hah. He was one of those. Not that you would let that stop you. Plus, you had to admit, you were a bit curious. Your earlier conversation had left you with more than a few questions.
“Why did Hange say you owed Erwin a promise, or something like that.” And at those words, he finally stopped.
Thank the walls, I really needed to breathe.
“For one, don’t call me Levi.” He said with a slight sigh. More guarded than annoyed, you noticed. He took a small hesitating breath before continuing, “Also, that is none of your business. All you need to know is that Eyebrows wants you here for some reason and it seems like I need to babysit you because of it.”
You had no clue how he could dislike you so much already. You had just met the man maybe 15 minutes ago. Hange also said he was soft, which you honestly couldn’t see, unless she was referring to the look of his neat hair.
“Well, Levi,” you said, ignoring his request to stick to last names, that was something you never truly liked. Especially with someone you were meant to trust with your life in the future. “It certainly looks like it is. After all, it seems that is the reason you are stuck with me.”
You were getting increasingly vexed at his aggressiveness. You had done nothing wrong, if anything, you were trying to help out.
“Tch.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, seemingly contemplating whether to answer you or not as he stared out the window.
You knew Erwin’s word was as good as law in this precinct,so if he wanted Levi to be your partner, he had little choice in the matter.
“Did you really solve the cypher in one day, brat?” His eyes were now scanning your face for any signs of a lie, the stunning color reacting to the light now shining through the windows beside you.
“Yes…” you answered with a sigh. He hadn’t answered your question, but at least he was talking.
And not making you chase him around the corridors.
Levi gave a small grunt, acceptance, it seemed. You were quickly catching up on the fact that he was not very talkative, but it was obvious he was deep in thought. Despite no longer looking at you, he hadn’t moved an inch, something you took as a good sign to keep speaking, but he beat you to it at the last second.
“How did you solve it?”
Hange said it had taken him a couple of days and so you didn’t know entirely if his curiosity was based on interest, aggravation, or something else. Maybe all of them.
No one else in your department had volunteered to solve the riddle when it was presented, and many who had tried from other teams had failed.
As far as you knew, only one other person outside of Erwin’s department had solved it, though upon being questioned about their methods, they had admitted to simply substituting each letter in the alphabet, one by one like you had decided not to do.
“The wristwatch,” you answered, knowing he was asking for confirmation that you had taken no shortcuts to the answer. “It was mechanical and the hour on it was wrong, so it had to have been messed with. There was also trauma on the wrist using it so they broke it on purpose to be trifled with as well.”
Levi nodded at your words. He probably had reached the same conclusions as you had. This time, when he looked at you, there was only resignation. “I guess there's no helping that then. Come on.”
He started walking again, slower this time. You noticed he now stopped behind each door he pointed out, giving you the time to peek inside as he named their contents, though he still tapped his foot impatiently if you took too long for his liking. Regardless, you appreciated the change.
People seemed to move naturally to the side as he approached, nodding at him, barely anyone speaking. Knowing it probably annoyed him though, and wanting to meet everyone you would be seeing everyday as well, you decided to greet everyone you passed.
After a few minutes of this activity, he called you out on it, which made you smile innerly. You were determined to fix your previous mistakes and get along with your new partner.
“Do you have to say hi to every single person in the district. What are you, a kid?” You could tell he was only half annoyed from the way his face was relaxed as he spoke. There were, thankfully, no glares this time.
“I’m only being nice, these are people we will be working with everyday. Plus I have to make up for your grumpiness somehow, right?” You expected him to be mad at that, but instead it looked like the start of a smirk was showing from the corner of his mouth.
“Tch. Don’t get too attached.” he said, rolling his eyes. “The turn over rate is high, not everybody is cut out for this type of job. Besides, once you get your workload assigned, you will mostly be working in the office, not with others.”
He paused before adding the next statement, “Also, you will also be moving your stuff from my desk. I will teach you where everything goes once we get back to the office and teach you how to properly clean as well. I’m not a big fan of filth.”
“Hmm.” Your eyes saddened a bit at those words. You liked that desk. It was right next to the window, meaning you could have something nice to look at while you had a cup of morning coffee. And an afternoon one. Maybe a snack cup of coffee as well.
You had also already started organizing your stationary in it before he walked in this morning and were thinking of getting a small plant for the windowsill. Perhaps keeping a snack drawer.
“What. It’s not that big of a deal. You can always talk to them during your breaks. And cleaning isn’t that hard.” He had misunderstood what you disliked from his previous statement, but that was fine by you.
You wanted to make as little of a fuss as you could, being new and all. Besides, you could come up with a way of convincing him to switch desks later on. Maybe.
“Brat?”
“Oh. Sorry. Just thinking. Anything else?” Your response probably sounded odd after a full morning of speaking to so many people, very short and direct, but you had other things in mind now. Mostly how you had not had anything to eat so far and your stomach was starting to chastise you for it. Very loudly too.
Levi, seemingly unbothered with this, started walking back towards the office, which you were thankful for, maybe it was break time soon? He walked in silence for a bit, surely lost in his own thoughts as you walked back.
The corridors were now empty, people surely working the day away now inside their respective spaces and you were trying to memorize your way around when you noticed you were now in front of the office door, the short man leaning against it, apparently debating whether or not to say what was on his mind.
You were considering whether to try and open the door from behind him when he cleaned his throat and spoke.
“I… I know I am not the easiest person to work with all the time.” He said hesitantly.
So this is his normal attitude then. Here I was thinking he was just having a bad day.
“But I will try and be tolerable as long as you are.” He said, finally opening the door and, surprisingly, holding it open for you as well.
“You can keep the desk for today, but I expect it to be empty and ready for me tomorrow.” With that, he walked over to the long mahogany perpendicular to yours and sat down, ignoring you after having spoken his mind.
-
Another hour had passed, and you were trying but failing to suppress your hunger while Levi worked at his desk. While he seemed to be buried in paperwork, you had nothing to work on as of yet since your assignment was yet to be delivered.
You had tried sneaking glances at him to see if he suggested a break to eat, back at your previous office people had just gone as they wanted and eaten at their desks if they so pleased, but you had an inkling that Levi would not appreciate food anywhere near this pristine space.
Sighing in defeat, you tried to entertain yourself with a variety of activities including swaying in your chair, making a list of the things you wanted to add to the office space, provided Levi did not object much, daydream about the food you were missing out on, and trying to sketch the office space surrounding you.
“What do you want.” You looked up from the scrap sheet of paper you had been doodling in. You hadn’t spoken, so you frowned as you looked your partner in the eye.
“You have been staring at me for the past hour, brat. What do you want.”
You blushed at that, unaware that he had noticed, but your stomach answered for you, rumbling loudly in the silence that followed, making your cheeks warm up even more. Releasing a silent gasp, your eyes widened as you grabbed your stomach. Now would probably be the perfect time to ask where you could get something to eat, or drink at least.
“You need to use the bathroom? You should know where they are now.” He said dismissively, making your blush intensify further as he returned to his paperwork.
He thought you were too shy to use the restroom? Of course.
“Uhm. It’s not that.” You said, shyly. “I just-” you stuttered a bit.
“What. Just spit it out.” came the sharp response, a bit more annoyed now. “I need to finish this work before the meeting today.”
“I’m starving! I haven’t had anything to eat yet, and it’s nearly noon now. I don’t know what the procedure is but I didn’t want to bother you to ask since you seemed busy,” you said innocently. It was partly true.
You had not wanted to bother him, since you felt bad after the long tour he had given you, but also you had no clue what type of food they had around and were hoping he would get some himself so you could follow.
“Tch.” He said with a smirk, still not looking up from his work. “So that is what that horrifying sound was. You can have food whenever, but they usually have snacks during meetings as well and that is coming up soon if you feel like waiting. Other than that, I have some tea you can use for now if you want.”
While that was surprisingly nice of him, you grimaced. Why somebody would choose to drink tepid water when they could flavor it with delicious coffee beans was besides you. Levi did seem like the type, admittedly. You could not picture him drinking anything that could stain his clothes that badly if dropped.
Not that you dropped your drinks accidentally... Often.
“I don’t like tea. It tastes like dirty dishwater to me.” You said, scrunching up your face as you recalled the last time you had tasted tea. If only you had a camera to capture Levi’s scandalized face when your words reached his ears. This had been the most emotion you had seen on his face since you met him earlier today.
So tea is important to him. Noted.
“You did not just say that. Although I guess with your unrefined taste, I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Oh he did not just say that.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with you, as far as you could tell. You were wearing a nice, clean blue dress, your usual ribbon on your hair and a sweater to protect yourself from the cold.
As far as you could tell, the desk you definitely did not intend to give back anymore was perfectly clean as well.
“Take that back,” you retorted, slightly higher pitched. “I look perfectly fine.” You took great offense to his comment after having been so meticulous with your first day appearance.
“Tch. Perfectly like a kindergartener. What are you, five? What grown woman still wears a ribbon in her hair.”
You could tell he was now trying to get a reaction from you from the amused tone of his voice. That ribbon was important to you, though. It had been a gift. It was a wide velvet ribbon that had been given to you by someone special, and you made a point of wearing it every day. Plus, it's not like he was one to speak.
“Oh, I’m sorry, grandpa. Not all of us sport 17th century wear as good as you.” You had chosen not to mention the ridiculous cravat at his neck before, but he was really asking for it now, so mimicking his previous stances, you crossed your arms as you glared at him. He was making it hard to get along with him as pleasantly as you had hoped.
“What do you mean.” He said, eyes now narrowed in annoyance. “My outfit is perfectly suitable for our work environment,” he said, waving an arm towards his clothes.
“I mean that piece of white cloth around your neck. You complain about my hair being childish but you wear a cravat instead of a tie. If you wanted to look dorky, you could have even gone for a bowtie instead.” Levi stood up, clearly worked up, and looked like he was about to throw you out when a voice interrupted.
“Hey both! Erwin is back so we're having our meeting early!” Hange said excitedly.
Finally, a friendly face. A friendly friend bringing news of food which is even better.
Happy for the interruption, you grabbed your sweater and walked after Hange, who was already heading towards the conference room you would be using, not without turning to see your partner’s sulky face first.
Maybe I went too far…
You did tend to get too comfortable with others sometimes and mocking him had not been entirely professional, but despite having known him for so little, he seemed to be gifted at getting on your nerves already. Not many people could do that. In fact, the last person who had managed was… you shook your head.
Not the time or place.
Levi seemed a lot quieter as he walked behind you and you had to admit it was unnerving. Though you guessed your previous inference of him being a quiet person was probably right, you still preferred to maintain a cordial relationship with your co-workers, especially your main work partner.
You would have to make it up to him somehow if you had truly offended him. All thoughts were dismissed however, once you entered the conference room and smelled the refreshments, making a beeline for the coffee pot to pour yourself a cup and grabbing a sandwich and some cookies as well from the offerings in front of you.
You noticed most people were already seated, some of the faces familiar from your earlier stroll, and that the only person not grabbing coffee was Levi who seemed to be pouring himself some tepid dirty dish water from a teapot closeby.
You chose to sit next to Hange who was sitting next to Arlert, finding comfort in their familiar faces, and some of the other people you failed to recognize. Surprisingly, Levi took the seat next to yours and then the tall blonde man in front of the room, Erwin, you supposed, cleared his throat and began the meeting.
He sounded as impressive as he looked, his booming voice matching his tall stature and stern face. He had sparkling yet calculating blue eyes and was dressed impressively, his clothes appearing more expensive than his salary should be able to afford, but you knew this was part of his persona; he represented all of you and wanted to look the part.
The first part of the meeting was mostly a debriefing of their new cases as well as updates on small, current ones. Hange stood up at one point to update everybody on the status of their requests, passing folders around to those who needed them and then it was time to introduce the new members of the team to the veterans. You groaned internally a bit, you had never been good at this type of thing and the meeting was already starting to feel a bit too long.
First to go were the heads of their respective departments. Hange introduced herself as the head of forensics and Armin as their right hand and biopsy expert with trainee Annie. A young looking man named Marco was introduced as their assigned intern followed by others.
As the names sounded around you, your best efforts were made to memorize them all- Sasha, a brunette in charge of toxicology with her intern, Connie. Oluo, Gunther and Petra, experienced detectives in charge of new recruits who were taking on interns Eren, Mikasa and Jean. Two women named Ymir and Historia were in charge of crime scene investigation and had interns Reiner and Berthold. While all the names were starting to mix you up a bit, you had no time to catch up as Erwin asked you to introduce yourself next.
“Miss Reader is the newest permanent member of our team. She was transferred here today from the Zacharias team after solving our little challenge. Is there anything you would like to say, Miss Reader?”
Hesitantly, you shyly stood up and glanced at your hands, you were used to being behind books, doing work behind the scenes, not talking to a crowd.
“Uhm… You all can call me Freya. Thank you for accepting me in your team.” Several eyes were on you. The redhead, Petra, was smiling encouragingly while others, such as Sasha, ignored you, more interested in the food.
“Anyway. I hope I can be of help with the case.” You said as you sat down, as quickly as you could and let out a sigh, catching Levi giving you a curious side glance. At least you could now take a bite of your food to keep it busy instead of talking.
Noticing your discomfort, Erwin proceeded with the meeting and brought up the topic you really wanted to hear, the case you would be working on.
“Thank you, Miss Reader. We are definitely lucky and happy to have you. We will now be discussing our serial killer case. Hange, if you could kindly pass the folders around.”
This time, you got your own so you excitedly opened it to the first page, prepping the colorful pen you had brought with you.
As you did this, you did not fail to notice a slight smirk over his cup from the man next to you as he leaned in and whispered in your ear “Is it coloring time now, brat?” but you ignored him, it was time to finally get down to work.
“As you can all see, there is a list of all victims we have connected to the case. There are also some pages denoting the interviews with the families of said victims, with the names of those that could be potential suspects highlighted. Though the list of suspects is small, we hope this can change with Miss Reader on board now.” Your cheeks warmed up at that, feeling the stares of those around the table on you again. You were not fond of the statements Erwin was making nor the attention being focused on you.
“Some necessary pictures are also on file, along with detailed descriptions by our coroner, Arlert. Anyway, you can all look through it in your spare time. This week, we will be focusing on the family of the newest victim, Ilse. While I am sure you all are familiar with the details of the case by now, we will be contacting the husband for an interview so they can give us more information. We will also be checking in with the neighbors to see if they saw anything unusual as well as talking with the victim’s coworkers. As for assignments, Ymir and Historia’s team will be talking to the neighbors while Detective Ackerman and Detective Reader talk to the husband and coworkers. I expect a report on all new findings. Feel free to talk to the other experts around you that have worked on the case if needed. That will be all for today. Dismissed.”
This was definitely a change from the meetings you had with Mike’s team. Usually, there was a lot more bantering for one. People talked about their weekends and what they were looking forward to during the week but then, this was the elite and main team in Shiganshina, you should expect nothing less.
As people started to get up around you, chattering amongst themselves on their way out, you let an excited smile show on your face.
The real work was about to begin.