Trigger warning: Mentions of smoking and cigars, alcohol, slight torture, and fatal car crashes. Click away if that's not your cup of tea.

He rolled the cigar between his lips. It's earthy taste stained Levi's tongue as he shuffled through the hundred dollar bills between his calloused hands. He counted, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and that made a stack. Again, one through ten, another stack. He and Mikasa paged through the thousands of American hundred dollar bills before there were none left and they all sat on the table patiently, waiting to be inventoried.

"Thirty-five grand flat." Mikasa affirmed and stole a puff from her brother's cigar, much to his displeasure. "Between the two of us, that's $17,500. A little less than what I'm used to, but I guess I'm not complaining."

"I am." Levi drawled, and took another puff. "We deserved at least fifty grand. That son of a bitch was hard to take out, and I almost couldn't plant the poison properly before he got back." He began splitting the pile in half with Mikasa's help. His fingers moved quickly, laced with experience. Across from him, Mikasa watched, mesmerized, by the way the green of the bills began blended together to form gray the faster her brother shuffled through them.

"Money is money, aniki." She sighed and took her half to be bounded together with a rubber band later.

"True, but we kill people for a living. We put our lives on the line for that pathetic, short, little man everyday. For his personal problems, too. We should demand a raise."

"And ask for what? Double the pay?" Mikasa scoffed and brushed off his suggestion. She wasn't arguing, but the idea seemed so far-fetched.

"You say that like it's not possible." He raised an eyebrow.

"Because it's not," her eyes rolled, "Fritz paid us this little today because he already gave us a downpayment of ten grand. We can't get greedy here. You know he's quick to replace his men."

Levi leaned back in his chair and pulled at his collar, suddenly feeling like the air around him was too hot. He blew smoke out of his mouth before speaking, "Maybe he is. But we're Ackermans, you can't find people as strong as us anymore. We're too valuable to him and he knows it."

"I don't know, Levi. We may be strong, but that man is cold and deranged. There's little to no negotiating with him. We overstep just an inch and we could become one of his targets. Besides, you know how well he can cover up his kills; he makes each one look like a little accident. Maybe that's why his little girl ran away to Busan and never came back." She shrugged and stole his cigar again. Mikasa knew Historia when she was younger. Rather, when she was a normal kid and went to school. Historia came skipping towards her during lunch one day, asking if she wanted company because the small raven-haired girl looked lonely.

"Oi, light your own, brat. I remember Historia from when you brought her over. Such a good heart, it's a wonder how her father is the complete opposite." He snatched it back from her when she finished with a smirk. The taste of wood lingered on her mouth and she frowned. "If you don't like how it tastes, then stop taking mine."

"Why don't you get the spice ones next time? Cinnamon is my favorite." She suggested.

"Disgusting. Buy it with your own money, then, I hate cinnamon." He tossed her a cigar which she caught and placed it between her pink lips.

"You hate everything." Her speech was muffled, "And why does everyone hate cinnamon?"

"I don't hate you."

"Gross. Stop." She laughed. Silence took over the air between them- that, and the smoke. Mikasa frowned, deep into thought. It was true, being a hitman was what she did for a living. She wasn't necessarily proud of it, but there was no other way to live in Daegu as unemployed orphans. Even when her brother had become her legal guardian, Mikasa saw how difficult it was to support them both unless she contributed.

The younger Ackerman wasn't gonna work at a fast food restaurant either, for she wasn't the biggest fan of social interaction. In fact, she remembered Levi saying:

"If you want a job, then put your strength to good use. Work for Mr. Fritz with me." He tried convincing her time and again, but it was obvious to him that his little sister was hesitant. "Look, things are different now, Mikasa. Mom and dad aren't around anymore to provide for us. We're on our own. And no company or boss is gonna hire a couple of street rats off the bat. This is our only choice." Mikasa remembered feeling scared, nervous, a hundred emotions at once because God she barely had any time to grieve her parent's death before she had to worry about surviving. She was only sixteen, barely learning to drive, and it had only been a month after she lost both her parents in a brutal murder.

"What's up with you?" Levi interrupted her train of thought, "If you leave it in your mouth too long it'll get soggy."

Mikasa took the roll out of her mouth and brought its flame to a halt against the ashtray. "Nothing." She lied.

The nineteen year old took a quick look at her surroundings. The dim orange light from the one lamp they owned illuminated the room. Honestly, it gave her a headache; she hated that shade of orange. Behind her, a large glass door took up most of the wall and gave her a view to the busy streets of downtown Daegu. Their apartment was small, minimalistic, but it was more than enough for the siblings. Nothing hung on their walls. Their money went to insurance- health insurance, car insurance- food, water, electricity, everything they wished they had growing up.

It was tough, Mikasa pondered, but they made it. The only thing she was left wondering now, is how long they were gonna live a life of severe crime before she could break off and live a normal life.

"Levi," she called out. The said man hummed in response. "Are we ever… are we ever gonna get to that night? You know, with mom and dad?

His face dropped, his aura suddenly shifting to a darker mood. "Soon, Mikasa. As soon as we get our hands on those tapes."

"That's the only thing keeping us from finding them?"

"Essentially, yeah." Levi answered. "They won't give them to us even if we're their fucking kids. Says it's confidential or whatever. Such bullshit." He puffed.

"Huh." Mikasa glanced at her briefcase on the lumpy couch as ideas ran a million miles an hour through her head. The young woman was frowning, debating with herself before she got up, snatching the suitcase and slipping her shoes back on.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" Levi demanded, flinging the butt of his cigar at her head.

"I need to handle something really quick." she shook the ashes out of her hair with annoyance.

"This late at night? With the suitcase I know has your favorite scalpel in it? Mikasa, whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait."

"It's been waiting for two years, Levi. I'm settling this now."

"Are you- are you seriously going on a hit?" He stood from his chair, "And put a jacket on, you're dressed indecently."

"No, I'm not." Mikasa answered, shoving him back down and ignoring his comment on her state of dress. "I'll be quick, I promise. Don't wait up, Aniki." and she began heading out. Halfway through the door, she turned her head over her shoulder and looked back at her brother, "Also, it's not a hit if I don't kill anyone."

If Levi's usual persistence and unnecessary aggression wasn't going to get them the records from that night, then Mikasa was going to have to use her own methods of persuasion. But as she glanced down at the man keeping the tapes of her parents' brutal murder, getting a full whiff of the booze on his collar, she couldn't help but think twice about her approach. Maybe she should skip straight to the torture.

"Hannes-san," Mikasa was batting her eyelashes, leaning over the counter and giving the old man working for the traffic cameras a whiff of her perfume, "Please? I really need those tapes."

"Darling, I really can't." Hannes answered, though it seemed he was rather interested in something else. "Although," he continued, "I think I can bend a few rules and maybe… perform a trade." His voice was hoarse from the cigarette smoke poisoning his lungs.

A fake giggle slipped past her lips, "Hannes-san, aren't the cameras filming?" Ew, she thought to herself, Levi would kill her if he was here. The blond man, his cheeks tinged with pink, grinned one of the ugliest smiles Mikasa has ever seen in her life.

"I can turn them off just. For. You." And he did. With a simple flick of his wrist, he unplugged the cord in the wall that powered on all the security cameras.

Perfect.

The security guard eyed Mikasa with an eerie smile, causing her to cringe inwardly. Instead, she feigned a smile and swung herself behind the counter with him.

Hannes began to sit up to cop a feel, but she roughly pushed him back down to the swiveling chair. The goal, Mikasa had set prior to stepping foot into the building, was to make the least amount of physical contact with him. Again, the man began to sit up only to be met with his ass back in the seat.

"You're a feisty one." Hannes commented. She bit the urge to roll her eyes as she shrugged her coat off her shoulders. Much to her disdain, his drunken eyes raked up and down her athletic figure. She hummed in agreement and swooped down to plant a kiss on his cheek. It was slow and lingering, making him want more. It was only when he turned his head to plant a fat kiss on her mouth and his hands reached for her hips when she took hold of the nearest cable and wrapped it twice around his wrists, securing the knot firmly before he could touch her.

"Woah, woah! Hold on there, darling." Hannes tugged at his restraints, "I uh- didn't know you were into these kinds of things! Shoulda given me a warning at least. But I can't- I can't touch you like this, hon. And these are kinda tight. I'm old, you know."

"That's okay," Mikasa smiled wickedly, bringing her lips to his ear, "just let me do all the work, yeah? And then, you can give me what I want." Hannes blushed at her statement and nodded furiously. He could already feel the blood rushing southwards when she sunk to her knees, sliding a hand up his calf. Mikasa fumbled with the zipper of his pants and her breath was hot on his neck. She could practically feel Hannes shaking under her touch. The raven haired girl detached the radio from the waistband of his pants and removed all weapons from the garter as well. She had him completely disarmed.

Slowly, she began reeling back from him, never once breaking their eye contact. Hannes gazes up at her in confusion, his blue eyes still clouded with inebriation when the Ackerman stood at her full height above him.

"What are you-"

Her knuckles came into contact with his jaw and his stupid swivel chair was sent wheeling back and slamming into the wall behind him. His neck snapped in the opposite direction and Hannes felt his teeth sink into his tongue painfully. The impact had blood trickling down his nose and mouth, a look of shock spreading across his face.

"You fucking bitch!" He spat the blood onto the floor, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Mikasa shrugged nonchalantly at the question.

"A lot of things, really." She reached for the slick black briefcase and opened it on the counter before him. His eyes widened at the plethora of knives, clamps, scissors, and the arrangement of blades all neatly organized in front of him. Mikasa's hand hovered over each blade, debating on each one as if this is how she regularly shopped. She finally stopped at the menacing karambit her uncle had given her. The knife's blade curved smoothly with its grip and safety ring customized specifically for her hand to use. Kenny had given it to her before disappearing off the grid completely.

Upon picking the knife up, Hannes felt his heart physically drop to his feet. "W-what are you doing?" He cried out. Mikasa ignored him, stepping closer to the restrained man.

"Wait, wait!" He desperately begged, "I'll tell you what you want to know! Just please don't hurt me!"

Mikasa frowned. "You're not even gonna resist a little? I haven't even started yet." She raised the curve of her blade to the inner part of his elbow and tightened her grip. The old man whimpered and squirmed in his seat.

"I promise!"

She dropped the knife, rolling her eyes. She hasn't done this in awhile, she was beginning to get rusty.

"Fine." Mikasa consented and set the blade back into the case.

"April 7, 2012, 2:29 am. A married couple drove down Munhwa-ro 67-gil right behind the Daegu bank. It was a hit and run and the opposing driver was under the influence. I need the surveillance records from that night."

"D-Daegu?! This is the Gangnam District, you crazy motherfucker! Why would I have-"

Mikasa picked up a straighter knife this time and twirled it to where the blade was facing down, driving it into his upper thigh. Hannes screamed, cutting off his own sentence and struggling against the cables that tied him tightly to the chair.

"Don't talk to me like that." She deadpanned, "At least, not when I have a multiplicity of knives in front of me." she cocked her head at him condescendingly, "I need those films, Hannes-san. But of course, if you're not interested in telling me, we can play a game instead."

"A- a game?" He inquired weakly.

"Yes, a game." She confirmed, "I call it 'Onion'. It's where I take my sharpest knife, and we get to see how many layers of skin you have. Last time I played, I counted three, obviously- if you paid attention in school- but the more calloused the skin is the more counting I have to do. So what do you say?"

Four o'clock in the morning rolled around and Mikasa quietly opened the door to their shared apartment. She slipped out of her shoes and attempted to make her way to her bedroom without making so much as a floorboard creak. As she reached for the handle, a voice stopped her short.

"Mikasa."

She jumped.

"Levi." She responded, turning around to see him laying down on the couch.

"I thought I told you not to wait up?" she set her case down on the coffee table and sunk into the couch next to him. Her shoulders dropped tiredly and she flexed her calloused fingers, sore from the constant grip on her knife.

"I didn't. I fell asleep, as you can see, but you're not as quiet as you think. I heard you walking up the stairs outside." Levi's voice was indeed husky with sleep as he swung an arm over his eyes. "There's blood on your shirt. What did you even do?"

Mikasa's gaze shifted down towards her top to where there were small freckles of blood decorating her once white blouse. She sighed. And they had just run out of bleach, too.

"How did you know that was me going up those stairs?"

"Come on. If you don't know which family member is walking by the way their footsteps sound, are you really family?"

She paused before mumbling, "Good point."

"You didn't answer my question." he drawled, still half asleep.

"Oh, yes." Mikasa began, and decided it'd be best just to lay it on him. "I uh, went down to the Department of Transportation and got my hands on mom and dad's accident."

"You what?" he was suddenly wide awake, sitting up on the couch and nearly ramming his forehead into his sister's shoulder.

"I got the tapes, Levi." she confirmed again.

"Uh? How?" his face contorted into disbelief, "I've been trying for two whole ass years."

"I know." She shrugged, "But your constant threats and assaults aren't gonna convince anyone anymore. You don't have a woman's charm." Mikasa flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically to put emphasis on the last word. The elder suddenly felt his blood boil.

"If that old man's dick went anywhere near your mouth I swear to mom and dad I will make you swallow toothpaste." He jumped up and grabbed her shoulders, "Mikasa, did he touch you? What happened?"

Mikasa sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "No! Nothing happened, aniki, I just," she squirmed out of his grip, "I had to seduce him a bit, yeah, but it wasn't long before I resorted to torture. I just needed him to voluntarily tie himself down."

"You what?"

"If you ask 'what' one more time I'm going to lose my shit." Mikasa rolled her eyes, "I just played onion." She said sheepishly, like it was a normal day in her life. The younger woman reached into her coat pocket and retrieved a small black flash drive that she transferred the copy into. She placed it in Levi's hands.

"Christ, Mika. Did you kill him?" He still struggled to wrap his brain around the fact that his baby sister- the same girl who he's seen as a small child crying because not all the kids got the same sized slice of cake at her birthday party- seduced an old man and then tortured him for the tapes they had both been scrambling to get their hands on.

Mikasa faltered before nodding wordlessly. "He bled out."

Levi sighed, "I guess… we'll look over this tomorrow. I'll contact Hanji. Go get some sleep."

Sleep nowadays, ironically, felt like such a distant dream. Sleep nowadays consisted of them laying in their separate beds on their backs, eyes closed but their mind acutely aware of every noise skirting around them. From a tree tapping their window to footsteps stopping right in front of their door, the Ackermans slept with paranoia by their sides and a gun under the mattress.

So when the sun casted a warm orange glow through the four corners of Levi's empty room, his eyes merely shot open in awareness that another day had started anew. He rolled onto his bare side and groaned as he glanced around the room to scan for anything out of the ordinary.

The twenty-five year old made his way to the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator for some food. The fridge was getting awfully skinny. It was filled with nothing but milk, Arizona tea, eggs, and a few selection of spices. Levi sighed. Padding over to Mikasa's door, he knocked twice before swinging it open. The girl was burritoed within her blankets with a pillow over her head. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. She was not one to move around so much during the night, really only her head and legs shifting in her sleep.

"Geez, look at you. Sleep well?" his question hung in the air by a thread. She buried her head further under the pillow.

"No." She answered, resurfacing on top of the mess of sheets and pillows for air, "I couldn't get his screams out of my head." Levi's demeanor changed as he sat on the edge of the bed. He placed a hand on her hair sympathetically.

"I told you that's why we don't do that anymore. We're hitmen, Mikasa, not persecutors." he said softly.

"Ugh, I know." Mikasa rolled over, "The asshole just wouldn't give me what I needed."

"You're starting to sound just like me."

"Woah, I wonder why." She shot back dryly.

"The bitchy sarcasm must run in the family, huh?"

"Probably." And Levi shrugged.

"By the way. There's no food in the kitchen. We'll grab breakfast somewhere and then hit the grocery store." He suggested, shaking her fully awake and nudging her towards her closet, "Get ready. We'll leave in ten."

"Okay, okay." She pushed herself up, "What about the tapes?"

He paused at the doorway.

"Hanji is open for us at noon. I called in last night."

Mikasa eyed his exposed back warily. "Okay."

Mikasa didn't like grocery shopping because it reminded her too much of her mother. She picked up on a lot of her mother's mannerisms, for instance, the way she pushes the cart with her forearms, wipes down the handles with a disinfectant cloth, and even tries to get the best deal on paper towels which already cost a little over three thousand won.

She pushed around the cart filled with only essentials, mostly milk, cereal, pancake batter- the usual. Oddly domestic for hitmen, but hey, they liked pancakes, too. As the siblings finished up their list and Mikasa wheeled the basket into the express line, a scowl appeared across Levi's face when people will overflowing carts entered the line that clearly stated "fifteen items or less". His foot tapped impatiently.

"Levi." She called out. He looked at her. "Stop tapping your foot, it's making me anxious."

"I just fucking-" he caught himself before he started yelling, "Fifteen items or less. Less. What does 'less' mean, Mikasa?"

"Levi-"

"What does fifteen items or less mean?"

"Oh my god- it means less than fifteen items, aniki." Her hand twitched at the sudden craving to hit him upside the head.

"Exactly."

"You know we'll make it to Hanji's. It's only half past eleven, we can drop the stuff off at the apartment really quick then go to her place. Relax."

Levi inhaled, held his breath for four seconds, then exhaled, and he felt his blood pressure slowly return to normal.

"Sorry." He muttered, "I just really need to see that fucker on tape. It's making me jittery."

"Well if it makes you feel any better," she spoke while setting the items on the conveyor belt, "at least we have less than fifteen items."

"Oi, shitty glasses, open up!" he later pounded on the door continuously. Then there was a shuffling behind the barrier and the door swung open, revealing Hanji in her signature ponytail and her glasses hanging on the collar of her shirt. She smiled brightly at the sight of the two. Despite Levi's strong distaste for a majority of the human population, Hanji was one of the very, very few people he cared about and trusted enough to tell her of his occupation.

"Levi!" and her gaze shifted towards the girl behind him, "And Mikasa! My favorite two people. Come in, please!" the pair shuffled in and took a look around her place. They weren't strangers to her usual messy apartment, it was just different in comparison to their spotless place.

"So," Levi spoke after settling down on the couch, "you got my text right?"

"I did!" Hanji responded, "And I dumped the burner phone just like you told me to. Don't worry. And I have the computers set up for the surveillance. Can I have the copy?" she held her hand out.

Mikasa reached into her pocket and dropped the flash drive onto her palm, watching the brunette pad over behind her computer desk and plug it in. Hanji typed away at the computer for some time before turning to Mikasa.

"Do you know what time the accident happened?"

"2:30 in the morning." She answered immediately. Her heartbeat quickened as Hanji nodded, tapping at the arrows to skip to the time. Levi stood up from the couch and joined the two behind the computer.

"Here it is." Hanji stepped away, "You ready?" she watched as the Ackermans exchanged a look and nodded silently. The younger sibling reached out to grip her brother's wrist as she prepared herself for the scene she was never able to witness herself.

The screen was fuzzy. It's movements were like a choppy and poorly put together stop motion movie. Black and white, showing an all too familiar white Hyundai driving slowly on the narrow, open road. Levi's throat tightened as another car approached. It was fast. Way too fucking fast, and it was swerving in and out of their lane. Mikasa felt her blood boil and her vice grip tightened around Levi's wrist.

Their parent's car slowed down to a stop at the sight of the erratic car, pausing before cautiously moving forward. Hanji could see the person in the passenger seat of the Hyundai on the phone, probably with the police.

Suddenly, the car opposite of the Ackerman's gained tremendous speed, and the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it's nose right into the driver's side of the white car. The impact sent the car flying to the side, rolling over once before crashing into a neighboring building.

Hanji swallowed thickly, feeling as if she were intruding. She looked to her side at the heartbroken siblings, watching as their eyes were glued to the screen. Hanji knew they were just waiting for a face to show up.

The car being controlled by the drunk was completely crumpled at the front, yet barely denting into the cage. The drunken driver stumbled out of the vehicle and landed on the gravel on his hands and feet, emptying his stomach's contents on the road below him. He looked up, his eyes meeting the demolished car in front of him and the blood dripping out of the car. The young man stood from the ground and staggered backwards. He looked at his hands. Then behind him, then took off running- or rather hobbling- back where his car came from. Briefly, he looked up and into the camera for a fraction of a second before leaving the premises of the accident.

Levi pressed the spacebar to pause the video. He said nothing, and neither did Mikasa. He rewinded the video right before the man fled, waiting for the perfect moment to pause it. Then it was there, for the split second the idiot had the balls to look into the camera, Levi stopped it.

"Hanji." He said darkly and stepped away from the computer, "Can you find him for me?"

"Yes-" she choked, "Uh, yeah. I can."

She turned away from the siblings to give them a moment as she scanned for his face. Mikasa pivoted to look at him.

"Aniki." It was almost a whimper.

"I know." He responded, not needing to hear anymore. He brushed off a stray tear from his sister's face and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "We'll get that piece of shit."

Mikasa nodded and looked away to swipe at her tears, sniffling when Levi rubbed her back soothingly despite his own heart clenching in despair.

Hanji's fingers flew through the keyboard while the siblings stood in silence. The brunette zoomed in on his license and checked the owner of the car, tracking down his current work and home address and seeing nothing on his criminal record except driving under the influence and involuntary vehicular manslaughter. Hanji let out a shaky breath and pulled up his picture.

"Levi, I got him. But!" She covered her computer before they could get their hands on the information, "Hear me out. I just wanted to say, if this has anything to do with Fritz or work, I strongly suggest you reconsider. Look, I know it's not my place to say any of this, but if you're thinking about going out and killing this kid then you need to be careful. I loved working with the two of you, you truly were the best teammates, but I left because Fritz cheated me of my profits and benefits time and time again and I'm afraid it'll happen to you, too. He can cover his tracks impeccably well, but it's only a matter of time before someone digs too deep."

Hanji paused before continuing, "The only reason no one stands up to Fritz is because they're scared of him and what he can do. Fritz acts like the mastermind of this whole network, but really, he hides behind his men and will make them fall on their sword for him."

The pair stood in silence for awhile. They let her words sink in, and if it weren't for all the teamwork and trust they builded up, they would have let her words go in one ear and out the other. Levi nearly reconsidered, because it had been so long ago and they already had their lives built up from scratch, was he really willing to compromise that now? Mikasa's voice brought them to a consensus nevertheless.

"Thank you, Hanji, but I'm afraid Levi and I have already made up our minds. We want him gone, and that's final."

Hanji's shoulders slouched in defeat, "As you wish." She turned the screen towards them and took a step back.

The two siblings ran their eyes over the screen like hungry dogs, eating up as much information as they could.

Mikasa opened her mouth to speak, her voice dropping to a dangerous tone. "Eren Jaeger. Now nineteen years old, and lives in Daegu."

The older man felt his face twitch at the name. "Huh." He read the last line of the description, "The motherfucker owns a convenience store."

A/N: "Aniki" means brother. As you probably know by now, Isabel called Levi that and I thought it was so cute I had to use it.

I really tried to make this as accurate as possible so now my search history looks so sketchy haha. I ended up looking things up I never would have imagined typing in. I loved writing this story so much, and truth be told, watching Criminal Minds helped me plan this out! I hope you enjoyed as much as I did, leave me some love in the reviews~