Disclaimer: I own none of the characters!

Note: This is a police-themed AU with an older cast of characters (everyone is basically 21-24 ish for this). I wrote this as a practice/concept/test run to see how it would be received over tumblr. And since there were a lot of requests for more, I'm bringing it here. I hope everyone enjoys~ :3

*Prologue*

March, 2012.

The desert sun was hot. The ground unbearably dry. Dust rose and fell with an occasional wind and overhead a vulture or two screeched. It was a typical desert scene, complete with a limp, bloodied body dumped in a bushy trench.

A vulture landed and drew close, picking at the boy's messy brown hair. He coughed as the bird tugged, holding his side. He slowly regained consciousness and rolled on to his back. Rocks and dirt clumps made him ache even more. He grimaced as he pressed a hand to his side. He was unsure if his ribs were broken but he knew they were bruised. He could taste bitter blood on his lips and one eye was swollen.

Whoever he was he had beaten Eren to a pulp. And then had the audacity to dump him somewhere.

Slowly, Eren sat up, holding his side. The vulture that had targeted him hopped closer. Eren waved a hand at the bird and it jumped back but never left. He rolled his eyes and groaned in pain. With some difficulty, Eren got to his feet and looked around.

At least there was a highway and he could see a street sign. Eren limped closer to the edge of the highway and made his way to the sign. He flopped into the shade and took a long breath.

Vegas was about fifty miles away. He would have to catch a ride. He didn't have his gun. His cell phone was dead. All because of that bastard.

And the day had started off so good too….

Eren Jaeger ran his fingers over his new desk. His new desk. It had been wiped down and cleaned spotlessly. There was a little welcome sign on the corner with a mug filled with pens and pencils. There was even a phone on the other corner and his own chair and hell he even had a little plant in the corner by the window.

It was his own workspace at the Sina Investigative Department.

Right next to him sat his sister, Mikasa Ackerman at her own desk. There was an aisle between them—Eren was thankful for that aisle and the small space it provided between them; they lived together, he didn't want to work shoulder-to-shoulder with her. But she was still close enough to talk to him if she needed.

Eren adjusted his pencil cup and waved to his friend a few desks away.

Armin Arlert waved back and smiled nervously. He turned away, gesturing to the stack of papers on his desk.

It was no surprise to Eren that Armin got into the SID. He got in based off perfect marks on the written tests, where Mikasa scored perfect with her field tests. Eren fell somewhere in-between. Not exactly good with the books (he would have failed without Armin drilling him) and just mediocre with using guns and combat. But that was behind him.

He had made it and that's all he cared about.

"Eren, focus," Mikasa muttered. "You can't get distracted by everything."

Eren hissed and tapped his stack of papers on his desk, letting them all fall even. He sat the papers down and picked up the stapler.

"I am focused," Eren said. "I'm doing my work too!"

"Are you sure you're doing it right?" Mikasa asked, looking over at him. Eren rolled his eyes.

"Of course I am!" Eren snapped. He turned away and started to flip through his papers.

"Are you sure, Jaeger? Need your boyfriend to hold your hand?"

Eren looked up at the grinning face in front of him. Jean Kirschtein was spinning in his chair, completely pleased with himself.

"Shut up, Jean! I'm not going to deal with your shit here, too!"

"Really, Jaeger? I kicked your ass at the academy and I'll do it here too!"

The two boys jumped to their feet. The office shuffled around, trying to get better looks at them. But before the two could grab each other by their throats, the door to the head office opened.

Commissioner Irwin Smith looked around and everyone settled down almost instantly. He said no words; he only scanned the room with his blue eyes and closed the door behind him. He held a manila envelope under his arm and made his way across the room.

Eren watched him with wide eyes. The Commissioner stopped at his desk and held up two envelopes.

"Jaeger, right?" Smith asked with a slight smile. Eren jumped to his feet and saluted.

"Y-Yes sir! I mean, yes that's me, sir!"

Smith looked to Jean. "And Kirschstein?"

"Uhh…yeah, that's me, sir," Jean replied, getting to his feet.

Smith held out the envelopes. "You've each been assigned special missions. Take these and read them over. After that, you're dismissed to do your jobs."

Eren's heart was racing. This wasn't possible, was it? It was his first day and he already had a mission. A real mission, handed out by the commissioner himself. He waited until Commissioner Smith had walked away before sitting down.

Mikasa and Armin were at his side, hovering over his shoulder—Mikasa in worry and Armin in excitement.

Eren opened the envelope with shaking fingers. He swallowed hard as he took out the paper and read it over. He was prepared for this. He had spent the last few years of his life preparing for this. He was ready to die the Sina Investigative Department. Whatever faced him in that note…

"Coffee run?" Armin asked. Mikasa let out a sigh of relief. Eren stared, dumbfounded at the words on the paper before him.

"A…coffee run?" Eren muttered. "It says…I'm to ask everyone in the office…if they want coffee…and to take their orders."

"It's a solo mission," Armin added, pointing to the paper. "See?"

"Yes I see!" Eren cried. "Hey, Jean, what's your thing say?"

Jean's face was just as downcast. Marco was standing behind him, rubbing his shoulders.

"I have to go clean the fucking guns. Isn't there someone for this?!"

Eren slammed his paper on the desk. "Isn't this why we have Connie and Sasha!? For coffee runs?!"

Connie and Sasha looked up from their desks. They narrowed their eyes. Eren fell back against the chair and groaned louder.

"Fine. What the hell does everyone want?"

Eren made his way down the street. He bumped shoulders with almost everyone. There was no point in taking the car; especially when the S.I.D. building was only a few blocks from the coffee shop.

That and the streets of the Las Vegas strip were always packed.

With an impatient sigh, Eren darted down an alleyway. It was broad daylight, so he really did not feel threatened to run down the alleyway. It would be quicker than maneuvering through the crowds of people. He looked down at his watch—he was making good time. He could get to the coffee shop and make it back to the S.I.D. in under—

Bang bang

Eren turned a corner and paused. A man slid down a wall, a trail of blood left behind him. Bright red blood; fresh blood. Real blood. The man's head rested against his chest. The man before him—the man with the gun—raised his gun again, shooting the limp man in the head.

Eren looked away and covered his mouth, unable to take in the sight of blood. The sight of…

"Oi, brat. You lost?"

The voice sent a wicked shiver throughout Eren's body. His heart started to pound. He wanted to run and call for help but then he realized…

He was the help.

"You deaf, you little shit?"

Eren spun around with clenched fists. He stared down the man before him.

The man wasn't very tall; but his expression was calm. He wasn't concerned with his own height. He was dressed nicely; a black suit with a deep red shirt underneath. He was wiping down his gun with a white handkerchief; casually as though he was cleaning a spot on a table.

"Well?"

"You…you shot him," Eren spluttered. The man raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you observant," he said. He put his gun away and turned away.

Eren felt his numbed fingers gain some feeling in them. He reached behind him and pulled his own gun from the holster on his hip. He cocked it with a shaking finger.

"Y-You're under a-arrest!" Eren shouted. The man stopped walking and looked around.

Cold grey met fierce green in the shade of that building.

"Am I really?" the man asked, turning to face Eren. He took a step forward. "So you're a cop, aren't you brat? Is this your first time on the field? First time out alone? What, I bet you were sent to go get some fucking coffee or some shit. But no, you're trying to be a little hero, aren't you?"

Eren swallowed hard. He tried to keep his hands steady but his racing blood and pounding heart made it difficult to concentrate. Everything was gathering around his ears; there was a faint ringing. Everything was losing color. He took a step back as the man kept walking.

"Why don't you just leave this alone? You don't want to get involved in this. You're a good little boy; run along home."

"N-No," Eren said, shaking his head firmly. He chewed his lip. "No. I…I can't…you…I have to arrest you…I'm a cop…I have to…"

He felt the concrete wall against his back. He was backed against a wall—not a corner—and by a man shorter than he was.

"I'll shoot."

"Like hell you will," the man said. "Shitty little brat.

Eren reached into his coat pocket and tried to pull out his handcuffs. The moment his fingers linked around the cool metal, the man moved.

He grabbed Eren by the wrist and with a quick twist, disarmed him. He swung his legs around Eren's, forcing his knees to buckle. Eren fell, hitting his face on the ground. He gasped, holding his mouth as the man grabbed him by the hair. He pulled Eren up and threw him against the wall.

Eren watched the man crouch down in front of him. He held his wrist where it had been twisted, rubbing the sore muscle. He took a breath as the man looked over his gun.

"Look at you, brat, you even have your own gun," the man said. He pointed it down the alley, mock aiming with a grin on his face. "You must feel like a big fucking big shot, don't you?"

Eren stayed quiet, his eyes locked on the man in front of him. He was not going to back down. He couldn't. Not to some murderous swine. The man placed the gun barrel at Eren's temple, tapping it lightly against his hair. Eren swallowed hard.

"You don't want to die, do you brat?" he muttered. "No, you're too full of life. You think you're invincible. That's why you stopped me. Cocky little thing. But what if I did put a bullet in you?"

He lowered the gun, letting it trail down Eren's chest. He pushed Eren's jacket open and snatched out his identification card. With a quick wrist flick, the man opened the wallet up.

"Eren Jaeger, is it?" the man said. He shoved the wallet back into Eren's coat. "Well, Jaeger brat, consider yourself lucky. I'm not going to kill you. But I'll leave you with a warning. Don't ever let me see you again, Jaeger. Because I will not hesitate to kill you. I will put a fucking bullet in you."

Eren shuddered, his eyes still pressed on the man's frame. Even when the man lifted the gun barrel, even when Eren felt the cold metal on his lips—he did not look away.

"Unless you want something bigger in you," the man whispered, "then I'd happily oblige that."

"Fuck off."

Darkness.

It hit Eren like a hard slap. No…not quite a slap. Like a rock to the head. It was all he could recall before he blacked out.

Eren thought over what had happened. Thought over that simple request to get coffee. His brief time at his office desk. That man in the alleyway. He rubbed his head and could feel the bruises left there by his own gun.

He gasped and felt around his holster. His gun was there, back where it should be. He sighed. At least that bastard had the decency to put it back. He let his hands trail to where his handcuffs were—should have been.

He sighed in annoyance at their absence. But he heard the soft crinkle of paper. He carefully pulled out a crumpled sticky note.

Figured you'd need your gun. I'm keeping the handcuffs, shitty brat.

-Levi

Eren let his head fall back against the dirt. At least he had a name to match the face of that asshole now.