Chapter Text
The next morning Leah was rushing into work, goggles barely off her face as she found her desking. She was silently praying that if she could get to work Iverson would ignore her and not mention the accident she called in the night before. Instead she felt her hopes and dreams dropping off Skarin Turn as Iverson’s voice rang through the Garrison Offices.
“McClain” The man’s voice reverberated through the intercom on Leah’s desk and she winced a bit as she knew what was coming for her.
“My office, now”
Accepting her fate, Leah stood up to go to Iverson’s office, but not before slipping a note to Veronica on her way.
“Can you search this plate for me V?” she said, referring to the plate number of the woman from the night before that she had written on the slip of paper.
“Anything for you sis” Veronica said. Leah’s sister was an analyst for the garrison, having retired from field work after an injury left her with splitting pain in her right leg when she ran. Veronica could live on her own well enough, and the injury certainly hadn’t dulled her bright spirit, but she was now more happy with office analytic work than anything out in the field. (As opposed to Leah, who was stuck behind the desk against her will and with no real reason besides Iverson’s spite towards her).
“That’s why you’re my favorite” Leah said before continuing her dreaded journey to Iverson’s office.
Inside Iverson’s office the chief of Garrison sector 7 stood with his back to the door, staring intensely out the office building’s windows.
“Would you care to explain why you were calling in an accident late last night, you know you’re on probation.”
“I know, but there were people hurt, I felt like I should notify the proper authorities. I mean, it’s the turn, what else would you expect from probable drunks that time of night?”
“Then would you care to explain the shots fired?”
Leah bit her lip.
“It was one of the hostiles, their bikes were illegal, you know that!”
Iverson turned around and leaned against his desk.
“This just isn’t how we do these things Leah…”
“Why does it even matter sir?” She asked “I’m already on probation”
Iverson sighed and grabbed a folder of his desk, handing it to Leah.
“What’s this” She asked, flipping through what looked like a case file.
“It was going to be your next case”
“Are you serious?” She said, mouth agape.
“Yes, but with your actions I was considering taking you off the case.”
Leah’s face fell until she caught on the past-tense in Iverson’s words.
“But someone found your stunt useful, and convinced me otherwise.”
Iverson said, gesturing to the side door of his office, where another person was entering. The other person being none other than the woman on the red bike from the night before.
“Meet Akira Kogane” Iverson said. “One of our best undercover agents, and your partner for this case.”
Akira looked at Leah with complete disinterest, and Leah couldn’t believe that this woman had vouched for her infront of Iverson. She looked nothing like most of the city girls Leah saw both in and outside the garrison. She wasn’t wearing a garrison uniform, but instead baggy jeans clung to her hips and fell over calf high worn boots. She had goggles atop her head and an oversized black and red leather jacket wreathed around her torso. Leah hated to admit it, but Akira looked cool in an unnaturally effortless way.
Akira looked to Leah and back to Iverson.
“So you haven’t debriefed her yet?” She asked
“I was hoping you would.” Akira nodded and gestured for Leah to follow her. She led them through the door in Iverson’s office and down a corridor lined with windows that overlooked the city and the 65 story height that the Garrison’s offices were located in. In fact the whole building was taken up with Garrison activities, from floors for training to infirmaries to garages on the bottom floor that led straight out onto the packed streets. Leah had spent at least five years of her like training and working here, it was her life’s mission. If she wanted to continue that mission, she would have to not fuck up this case, which couldn’t be all that difficult. (wishful thinking, in hindsight)
Akira led them into a dimly lit office, with a set of couches and industrial shelves lining the walls. The shelves were full of assorted boxes and chests most of which were closed, but some were openly overflowing with ammo or clothes or other gear.
“So tell me about yourself” Akira said, shoving a cup of coffee into Leah’s hand and sitting down on one of the couches.
“Huh?”
“Tell me why you’re on probation, to start. I’ve gotta know my partners before I work with them.” Akira gazed at Leah from the couch like she was picking apart her history simply from looking at her. Feeling vulnerable being the only one standing Leah sat.
“I thought you were supposed to debrief me.”
“Not until I know your story.”
She sighed and took a sip of the coffee, surprisingly it was exactly how she took it.
“I thought Iverson would have told you.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
Leah gritted her teeth. It wasn’t her favorite story to tell, that was for sure.
“I was on a raid of a fighting ring, down in streetlight, you know”
Akira nodded.
“Well it was just a typical raid. I was with a couple agents, Rizavi was there, do you know her? Well anyway, Griffin was the captain of that case. He and I were having some, personal disagreements.”
“Personal disagreements? With James? Boy, do I know what you mean.” Akira said. Leah couldn’t help but wonder what she meant. Had Akira dated Griffin? She didn’t look like the type to date well, anyone, much less James. But that didn’t matter obviously, why would it matter who Akira dated?
“At the site of the raid there were these two children, two small galra kids.” Leah saw Akira’s jaw tighten at that, but she didn’t care to ask why.
“And just a few feet away was their mother, completely out of it, quintessence vials all around her. And these kids, they were all alone, and even though they were galra all I could think of were my niece and nephew, both the same size and-” She felt her voice tightening and took a deep breath.
“Well I tried to smuggle them out of there, against Griffin’s orders.”
“Did you get them out?”
“Well the thing is, they were the kids of the man who ran the ring, and my distraction with them led to him getting away.”
“Shit”
“Yeah” Leah nodded. “That disaster, along with James’ spite towards me due to our, “disagreements”, got me probation for ‘the undetermined future’”
“Well I guess the future’s now.” Akira said and Leah smiled back at her, letting the jerk, James, slip out of her mind.
“So the case” Leah asked, taking another sip of the surprisingly delicious coffee.
“It’s pretty rough.” Akira flipped through her version of the case file and Leah followed her example and did the same.
Akira explained that there had been an attack on the planet of Altea which had stolen a variety of top secret experimental goods, along with the treasured Princess of Altea.
“Princess Allura? That’s terrible, she’s so nice, and so pretty.” Leah said.
“You ever met her?” Akira asked.
“What?”
“Nevermind”
The Garrison believed that the heist had been carried out by a criminal organization known as “The Blade of Marmora”. And that the only way to find out how and why of the operation, along with where the princess and the goods were being kepts, would be to infiltrate it.
“How are we supposed to do that?” Leah asked, having no experience undercover whatsoever.
“I have connections on the inside” Akira said. “And they’ve ousted all our other undercover guys. You, with no experience going undercover, will be perfectly unsuspecting if they think you’re with me.” Leah nodded, but she wasn’t entirely sure she was ok with infiltrating the highest profile criminal organization in the galaxy.
“Tomorrow night we’re meeting up with some of my contacts. Make sure any friends/family know not to report you missing.”
“Report me missing?” Leah asked. “How long is this operation going to last?”
Akira shrugged. “Idk, couple weeks.”
“How do you leave for so long so often without family members questioning?” Leah asked, but stopped when she saw the shadow fall over Akira’s face.
“There’s no one to ask.” She said before gulping down the rest of her coffee and standing up. She moved to look out the window of the office.
“I’m sorry Officer Kogane, I didn’t mean”
“Call me Akira, it’ll be weird if you address me as Officer while we’re undercover.”
Leah nodded, rolling the name ‘Akira’ over in her mouth.
“Well, Akira, what else do you need me to do?”
“Just meet me at this address tomorrow at 5. Wear anything but your garrison uniform” Akira said, turning to flash a grin at Leah as she continued. “That’s when the fun begins”
Back in her apartment Leah was packing a bag of essentials for the mission. She shoved all sorts of clothes in the bag along with at least two pistols and all sorts of other stuff she thought she might need. In all honesty, she had never been on a mission like this, and she had no clue as to why Iverson chose her for this job. Though she had spent her years in training, and it had prepared her for employment in all areas of the Garrison, including undercover missions, she had never actually done it. She had been assigned to patrols and raids, and that’s what she had assumed she’d be doing for the rest of her career. It’s not like the life of an undercover agent hadn’t intrigued her, in fact she had sometimes fantasize about it while they covered it in the last year of her training. It was alluring, a life of fighting crime from the inside out, seeing the galaxy through the eyes of the underworld. It certainly meant some sacrifices, most undercover agents were on the job so often it was hard to maintain friendships and romances or to really settle down until they retired, (that is, if they even survived to leave the job).
A younger Leah, bright eyed and up for adventure, disregarded the risks and put the undercover unit as her top choice for placement. She doesn’t know what her life would be like if she had been chosen. She only remembers standing in the crowd as the names of her peers were called to do the job she so longed for, including the infamous Akira Kogane.
But now it was finally her chance, and she didn’t intend to fuck it up.