Cornered

Reaction

Hanji was shocked at what had just happened. She always respected Levi's speed but he had been in rare form today. Standing next to him at the speech she had been attentively listening to Commander Erwin, until she heard Levi make a noise of disgust and then watched him take off. Surprise had kept her rooted to the spot until he jumped up and was thrown back into Erwin. Then her gaze had shifted to the armed Military Police behind the commander and she had seen the two with guns lowered. Using her gear she had reached them quickly and been pleasantly surprised to see that Mike had followed her offering assistance as they detained them and stripped them of their own gear and weapons. They would not be firing any more at Commander Erwin. Once that was settled and Mike had agreed to watch them she returned to the Commander's side to offer what assistance she could.

Levi had clearly been much more aware of the situation then she had and she was grateful to him for his willingness to sacrifice himself to save Erwin. She remembered a time when he wouldn't have been willing to do that. How he had grown and changed since then. They reached the barracks after nearly half an hour of walking. They had stopped to take one break during which the doctor had pulled out some herbs and mixed them with water to make a paste. Getting Levi to swallow it while unconscious had been a chore, but she was glad they had. His breathing sounded much easier which she took as a good sign. She turned to the doctor before she left, a smile on her face.

"Do me a favor. Take him out of his dirty clothing before you put him to bed. He won't be happy if he wakes up in dirty clothes." Then she turned and walked out.

Commander Erwin had done his best to clear up the misunderstanding with Nile. It was clear the man felt like his forces were blameless. Erwin knew better. He had been fired at and if it hadn't been for Levi's quick thinking and actions he would be the one suffering from severe wounds. Eventually enough witness' had stepped forward to force Nile to arrest the two members of the Military Police. Erwin couldn't wait for their trial. He hoped that Levi would be well enough by then to testify against them since he had the strongest evidence. He had been facing them when they had fired.

Right now however he had other obligations to look into. He proceeded down to his carriage Mike at his heels. They both climbed in and the carriage took off for their destination. Erwin needed to make sure that Eren and his group were all right. Despite his best efforts he knew that it was possible they too had been attacked in the crowd. They reached the rendezvous point and Erwin left the carriage to check it out on foot. He entered the alley and walked to the hidden door. It opened to his pressing hand and he was pleasantly surprised when a blade was swung out before hesitating and being withdrawn. He looked into Mikasa's confident eyes and smiled.

"Well done. I trust you are all well."

"We are Commander," Armin responded stepping out with Eren behind him.

"Please join me." The four of them climbed back into the carriage which drove off towards their nearest headquarters. Erwin needed to look in on Levi as soon as he could.

"Were you attacked at all?" he asked once the carriage was moving. Armin shook his head.

"No we weren't, but we did as you instructed using the chaos to safely get away."

"Were you watched at all?"

Armin looked surprised by this question and considered it for a second before Mikasa answered.

"No." Such confidence, Erwin smiled. If only he could have ten more of her. With that level of confidence and skill he could do so much. Still two was a good start and the other members of the 104 were surprisingly well trained. He knew they would all be great assets. He had never expected to get so many of the top ten to join the corps. On top of that they had all survived the fifty-seventh expedition beyond the walls. They were tried and tested and their skill was obvious.

"What will we do now?" Eren asked.

"What do you mean?" Commander Erwin replied.

"What will we do now that we've been so openly attacked? Will we strike back?" Erwin breathed a laugh and turned to stare into Eren's eyes.

"The actions of two lowly soldiers do not indicate the opinions of an entire organization. They will be tried by the military court and the court will decide what actions are to be taken."

"But you were shot at! If Levi hadn't been by your side you would have been hit instead. They are still responsible for firing on a fellow officer. That's at least intent to murder is it not?"

"Enough. The responsible parties have been arrested and will be dealt with. You are to remain out of sight and not cause a disturbance. Do I make myself clear?" Eren was clearly about to argue back when Armin's hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to look at his friend who shook his head slightly. Eren sighed and then nodded.

"Good. Now, we are almost to headquarters. I expect that you have plenty to do once we get there." Eren nodded again. When the carriage stopped they all disembarked. Mikasa and Armin followed Eren as he walked towards the stables to help care for the horses. Erwin immediately headed towards the infirmary determined to see how Levi was doing. Hanji was standing guard outside the door and smiled a greeting too him as he arrived. The doctor was still with Levi and had just finished covering him with a blanket. He wore a clean white shirt and Erwin didn't doubt that the blood had been cleaned off of his skin before the shirt had been put on him. Erwin smiled his thanks before turning to Mike who had followed him.

"Please be sure any business that needs to be brought to my attention is brought here. I need to be here when he awakens." Mike nodded and turned to deliver that message to those who would need to know. Erwin made himself as comfortable as he could while Hanji entered and took the seat by the wall.

"How do you suppose the trial will go?" she asked.

"Well that depends on who paid off the squad, and whether or not Levi will be able to testify."

"So an around the clock watch?"

"At the very least. I don't suppose you have any urgent plans?"

"How could I? The great Captain Levi needs me." Hanji smiled at Erwin and he had to smile back. It was nice to have someone as constantly positive as her around. True her perspective was often a little weird but her smile always helped to lift his mood.