Chapter 5: Zand Corporation

Chapter summary: Levi demonstrations his colorful vocabulary. Our two favorite boys get to spend quality time together.

"So what's this I hear about adopting stray puppies?" Was the first thing Hanji exclaimed when she flung open the door to her lab, a maniacal grin stretching across her face. She yanked Levi inside by the right lapel of his black suit jacket and dragged him to a chair, ignoring his grunt of discomfort as she looked down expectantly.

"They're contractors, not pets," Levi said as he tried to smooth out the wrinkles she had created during her manhandling. He eyed her disheveled clothes, scruffily pulled back hair, and smudged glasses with mild revulsion.

"Sure, sure, whatever you want to call them." The forensics specialist paid his glare no mind and leaned down to plant her face inches from his with no regard for personal space. He held his breath but stopped himself from pulling away. "When do I get to meet the cuties? I took a peek at their profiles and they're adorable little things! You're going to bring them right?"

"You make it sound like a classroom show and tell. God that's repulsive, brush your fucking teeth, woman," Levi almost gagged as he roughly shoved Hanji's face aside and guessed that she had pulled an all-nighter again. "You can shit on the brats later today."

"Ooooo, all three? The little lady will be a joy to poke; her frown looks like your resting bitch face on a good day. But I think I'll have more fun with her brother," she cackled, stepping back to lean her hip against a cluttered worktable. "He's the type that's tough but easily flustered."

He gave her a flat look and wished for caffeine. "Don't traumatize them. They're not free. Any time you waste is coming out of your budget."

"Protective already, Levi? You're secretly a mama bear aren't you!"

The man's unamused expression didn't falter as Hanji gushed at his fictional maternal instincts. For a fraction of a second his eyes flickered over to one of Hanji's cats, the fat one, peeking its head out from behind haphazardly stacked lab equipment. If only it would knock the pile over.

"Oi, shit for brains, tell me what you found."

"Oh they're not just cute, they're clever little mice! Did you know, they built the Ribera Auction House vault! It's rumored to be a treasure trove of out-of-the-box engineering. Do you think they would share the blueprints if I ask nicely?"

Levi's deadpan stare darkened.

Hanji faltered. She seemed to get the silent threat because she pouted and grabbed a thin manila folder off her cluttered desk. There were only a handful of pages inside. "Yes yes, here you go, you impatient grouch. There's little public information on the weapon itself, but I know its maker. Guess where I saw it." She gave him no time to answer, not that he would have. "At the weapons trade show a couple months ago."

"That you snuck off to during work hours." Levi grimaced at the memory. "And dumped the blame on me when your lab exploded."

"It was for science. And see how it came in handy," she waved off her offense with an unrepentant grin, handing over the folder. The top page was a detailed observation of the weapon found at the crime scene followed by a copy of relevant patents and what looked to be information on the institution which developed the technology. Levi skimmed the pages quickly for keywords.

"Isn't Zand Corporation the research & dev giant that almost went bankrupt recently? The one that tanked in a day."

"Correct!" Hanji nodded at him like a proud parent. "They dissolved a couple of patents responsible for bringing in a huge chunk of revenue, including this weapon. It was supposed to be settled privately, but the media somehow caught wind of it and caused a mass panic sell-off of Zand stocks. It'll take years for Zand to recover, if they even last that long. On top of that, all research documentation on the technology is gone. Poof!" Hanji explained with a flare of her hands.

"But some sadistic joker got their hands on one," Levi fingered the corner of the last page as he reread it. "Maybe more than one."

"They made front-page news for days, so you should have plenty of source material."

Nodding his thanks, Levi shut the folder and stood. "Anything else?"

"Nope, that's it," she said, popping the 'p'. Hanji was already skipping eagerly towards a microscope on the desk he was standing next to, waving him away. "Shoo, I'm picking apart particles from the shoeprints your puppies lifted. Get it? Shoe, shoo? Oh, and be sure to drop by with them later. Happy hunting, Mr. Detective!"

Levi backed away from his overzealous friend. "Do everyone a favor and lay off the drugs," the man said sarcastically over his shoulder as he strode out, ignoring the "no can do!" that followed him.

He didn't open the folder again until he was in the comfort of his private office—well as comfortable as a second-hand office in a decades-old police station could get. He had done what he could to renovate the room. The yellowing walls and ceiling had been repainted in unblemished white; hideous furniture was replaced with tasteful, minimalistic designs; and a more efficient filing and storage system had been implemented. To his utmost displeasure, nothing could be done about the ancient carpet.

Levi settled into his ergonomic office chair and booted up his laptop, cursing himself for forgetting his morning coffee. As he waited for the operating system to load, he read Hanji's conclusions about the weapon that had killed the casino employees.

As he suspected, the bullet was intended to explode on impact. The casing was constructed like a typical mushrooming bullet so that it was more likely to stay inside the target, but the newly designed core and jacket gave the explosives a greater spread of damage than anything seen before, rupturing everything within the blast radius. Death was guaranteed if the bullet penetrated anywhere in the torso, and limbs hit by the bullet were goners.

No wonder the government had been opposed to revealing the technology to the public.

Opening a web browser, Levi ran searches on Zand Corporation. He also took advantage of his police status and Hanji's backdoor hacks to access restricted databases.

Levi felt the thrill of a new mystery stirring in his gut as he dove headfirst into the investigation.

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When Recon arrived at the police station minutes before noon, only Arlert and the Yeager brat walked through the double doors. While they both carried the same dark gray backpacks over hooded utility jackets, Arlert was dressed smartly underneath in slacks, casual sneakers, and a blue polo shirt, which was a great contrast to Yeager's oil-stained jeans, converse shoes, and a black t-shirt with a cube-shaped maze printed in the center—he recognized it as Crypto-Labyrinth's logo. They were engrossed in a conversation that had the brunet grinning mischievously.

"–totally undetectable, delayed stunning mechanism that kicks in only once you…" Eren's expression soured as soon as he noticed Levi walking towards them in the brightly lit lobby.

"Hello, Detective Ackerman," Armin greeted amicably before his friend could open his mouth. "I hope you had a pleasant morning?"

Unaccustomed to humoring acquaintances with pleasantries, Levi grunted a sound that could be perceived both as a yes and a no. "Where's the girl?"

Eren gave Levi the stink eye, but the man was already turning back the way he came. "We don't all need to be here. Mikasa is working on breaking down the explosives residue. If you need her, we can give her a call."

"So!" Armin interrupted hastily, "How can we help?" He towed Eren by the wrist as they followed Levi deeper into the building to the elevators. Lucky for all three, the elevator doors slid opened immediately and they were able to fill the duration of the lift with discussion about the case rather than awkward silence.

"So far, we tracked the murder weapon to a company called Zand Corporation." The detective pressed the "3" button with one precise push. "It's a newly revealed technology that hasn't been approved for market yet. It would have been primarily used by the military if they hadn't lost it."

Both boys looked at him to elaborate.

Levi huffed impatiently, "Zand forked over a lethal weapon to trigger-happy psychos like a gambling addict whoring their daughters for chump change." The elevator ding announced their arrival on the third floor. He led Eren and Armin down a drab hallway and through a wooden office door on the right. "Except it looks like they got jack shit out of the transaction, so the likelihood of blackmail is high."

Armin shifted uncomfortably at the picture Levi's crass words painted, while the man calmly sat down behind his large, tidy, L-shaped desk. Eren, on the other hand, smothered an inappropriate grin as he nabbed a chair on the other side of the small but spotless room, tugging at his friend to do the same.

"We need to find out why they gave away something worth millions and who now has it."

Levi watched Eren furrow his brow. "Zand… I'm pretty sure we know someone from Zand." The young engineer scrunched his nose in thought. "There was a sales rep that called about becoming a supplier for CryptoLab. What did he call for?" He looked at Armin for help.

The blond shrugged. "It may have been for metal? You turned them down after they showed you samples; something about it being too brittle."

The brunet perked up. "Marco Pott, or Blot. That's the guy's name." He swung his backpack off and dug inside for a tablet identical to the one Armin had used the day before. A silent minute of tapping later, "Marco Bott. It was around a year ago for a new metal compound. I ran a few stress tests on the material but the results didn't meet my standards. Super nice guy, though."

"Are you still in contact with him?" Levi asked.

Suddenly, a loud ringing cut through the small room. Eren scrabbled for the phone in the right pocket of his faded jeans, looking apologetic as he answered the call. "Hey Mikasa, what's up?"

The voice on the other end was unintelligible from where Levi sat. He struggled to understand the conversation from one side of the exchange.

"Sure, send me the list. Homemade? Unlikely. I'll check for matches." More garbled sounds could be heard as Eren sandwiched the cellphone between his ear and shoulder to free his hands. "U-huh, yeah…" He tapped on the tablet again, and Levi was curious to see what the brunet was doing on the screen. "Yup, I see it. Thanks." A slight pout appeared on the young man's face. "I know I know, I'll be careful. I know. Talktoyoulater, bye!" Eren smiled sheepishly as he hung up and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

Levi arched his eyebrow expectantly.

"Mikasa sent over the mass spec readings from the explosives. We can try to match the elemental composition to existing configurations in public patents, science publications, private patents that we're not supposed to have access to," Eren whispered the last part conspiratorially with a rueful grin. "You won't report us, will you?"

Levi leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "Give me results, and I heard nothing."

The brunet's grin turned impish and he ducked his head back down to the tablet, quietly typing on it with the pads of his fingers and occasional clicks of nails hitting the screen. Levi looked over at the blond sitting docilely. "So what are you here for?"

Armin gave a deceptively sweet smile. "I'm here to keep Eren in line." An indignant harrumph could be heard from Eren but he made no further retort. "Actually, I'm here because it's Recon's standard procedure to send at least two agents at the beginning of a job until we determine each of our assignments. I also would like another look at the casino's cybersecurity."

Levi observed him for a moment. "That's fine. I need you to get in touch with Garrison and find out how their supposedly secret programming language leaked."

He grabbed a sheet of paper and pen and scribbled the location of the room where the security hardware was now sitting. After a conflicted pause, he wrote down another room number and name, almost feeling guilty. "Here, first go to this room to see Hanji Zoe." He pointed at the second number. "Tell her she needs to get you a level 2 security badge. …Be careful with Hanji. She'll talk you to death if you don't cut her off. After you get the badge, you can find everything at the first room number."

Processing Levi's warning, Armin was hesitant to take the sheet of paper. "Yes, sir."

"Don't let her fawn over you for more than 10 minutes or she'll never stop. She's considerably calmer out of her lab."

Armin heard a quiet snicker from the side, and Levi did as well, "Don't worry, Yeager, you'll get your turn with the mad scientist. She thinks you're the most fascinating out of you three." That shut the brunet up.

Armin exited the room feeling mildly relieved that he wasn't the supposed mad scientist's most favored subject.

"So what have you got," Levi asked when the blond was gone.

Eren looked up with a frown. "Still running. There're millions of patents and publications out there. Even after paring down the number by disciplines and date, there are thousands to search through." He swiped a finger across the tablet and grumbled, "And academic papers are notorious for disorganization and inconsistencies. At least we're not dealing with biology—I might have terminated our contract if we had to deal with that madhouse."

"What?"

The brunet slumped in his seat. "Biologists like to live in their own worlds. They rarely crosscheck existing terminology and naming conventions before creating their own. Example, one paper's 'K' subscript 'b' can mean the same thing as another paper's 'K' superscript 'b' or 'Kb'. And they–"

"Brat, stop." Levi cut off Eren's rant. "I can see you're passionate about this, but I don't give a shit. Give the spiel to Hanji or something. Any hits so far?"

Eren scowled. "I got a few within tolerance. Let's see, one from DARPA, Raytheon, Karanese University, ATK," He read aloud the incomplete list, "…Zand." Eyebrows raised, he looked up to meet Levi's eyes. "Huh. Well, I can guess which one's jackpot."

The detective had sat up straight as soon the familiar name was spoken and commanded, "Get Marco Bott on the phone. Let's see what we can extract from him."

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As Eren listened to the ringing on speakerphone, he wanted to sock the asshole. Who cared if Levi was supposed to be some hotshot detective. It didn't change the fact that the guy had a massive broom handle up his ass and needed to be taught manners.

Despite being shorter than Eren by a few inches, the height difference wasn't noticeable unless they stood side by side. Levi's presence easily filled the room when he wanted to be heard, and the combination of the immaculate undercut and that death glare of his was as good as any command shouted by an army general.

Even now, leaning back in a lazy fashion with an arm thrown over the back of his office chair and crossed feet propped up on the desk, the blank-faced man exuded 'don't fuck with me—I'll end you' vibes, if that was even a thing. But Eren's sense of self-preservation had frequently skimmed the edge of suicidal.

"Don't say anything while I'm talking to Marco. He's a nice guy and you'll scare him to death."

Just as Levi began his snide reply, a calm, male voice answered, "Good afternoon, thank you for calling Zand Corporation. Marco Bott speaking."

"Hey Marco! This is Eren. How have you been?"

"Eren… Yeager?"

"Wow, I'm impressed you remember."

They heard Marco chuckle, "Well, you were the first and only potential client to send us a report of our products' shortcomings."

"Yeah, sorry about that…"

Eren saw Levi's finger begin to tap impatiently at the small talk and reminded himself that trolling a client was unprofessional. So instead of drawing out the conversation just to annoy the detective, he moved forward to the main topic.

"So, what I want to talk to you about is, my supplier for alloy steel is jacking up their price with the contract renewal. I'm wondering if Zand has any new products that could match its performance and cost."

"Of course, Mr. Yeager! Our selection of low-alloy and high-alloy steels has increased significantly in the past year. And depending on the order volume, we can customize the alloyant composition to your specifications."

"Sounds great. But call me Eren. I'm hopefully not an old geezer yet." With a tiny smirk, he flickered his eyes up to meet Levi's meaningfully. Sadly, the older man didn't take the bait. "Anyways, send over the catalog and I'll take a look."

"I will do so right away, Eren," Marco replied, sounding thrilled at the prospect of signing a new client.

"And can we meet in person? Not just about the lineup, I have a few questions about Zand itself, about all that stuff in the news…" Eren faked a worried tone.

"I would be happy to. I understand your concerns, and you have nothing to be worried about." It didn't take long for them to schedule a meeting for later in the afternoon. Marco was even more delighted when Eren warned him that a 'colleague' may be joining them for the coffee date.

After ending the call, Eren crossed his arms. "There. Done."

Levi dropped his legs back down to the floor in one fluid movement and looked at him appraisingly. "Not half bad."

The brunet snorted defiantly even as he felt a tiny bit pleased by the semi-compliment. "You think you could do any better with your prickly personality?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he did a mental facepalm. What was it about this man that caused him to forget the concepts of "professional" and "client" Armin had drilled into him? In the span of 12 hours that Levi was a client of Recon, Eren had expressed more insolence than in his entire history of client interactions combined.

"Is this how you mistreat all your clients?" The detective voiced exactly what Eren had been fretting over. "It's a wonder your business is still alive."

Eren reigned in his sigh. "Now what, sir?"

"Until we meet Bott, you get the honor of sorting through the bullshit I found on Zand." Levi pushed one of several stacks of paper towering almost half a foot towards the younger man, who was eying it with trepidation. "This is your stack. Try not to piss yourself in excitement."

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Sorry for the delay! Hope you enjoyed :)

January 23, 2016