Cornered

North 4

Sasha and Reiner broke away as soon as they could. As the corps rode past a small stand of trees the riders pulled aside using the cover to hide their movements. Armin did his best not to hold his breath. He didn't doubt Sasha's skills in this and knew that Reiner would be good back up for her in case anything went wrong. He turned his attention back to riding.

Sasha directed Reiner to wait in the trees and tethered their horses where they wouldn't be seen. She told Reiner that the best plan would be to have him use his gear to knock the other rider off his horse and then take him captive. Reiner didn't have any better ideas so that was the plan they decided on. Sasha had Reiner climb one of the trees to give him a starting point for his jump. Waiting was not particularly easy. Especially for Sasha since she was worried about Connie. Reiner was not used to staying still and waiting. He watched for Sasha to tell him when to act.

The first thing they noticed as the rider grew closer to them was the hoof-beats and the creak of saddle and tack. From what Sasha could hear it sounded like he was keeping pace with the corps. Her instincts continued to tell her that he was definitely following them and though she had no proof beyond her own feelings she was willing to bet that she was right. She heard him yawn as he was making the final approach and she smiled in triumph. She raised her arm slowly to signal Reiner to be ready, then waited for just the right moment.

As her arm lowered she heard Reiner run along the branch and jump out over the road. He fired his gear into the tree's trunk controlling his fall as he took out the rider. Sasha bolted onto the road and grabbed the horse's reins. It bucked and pulled trying to break free of her but she spoke soothingly to it and tried her best to calm it down. Reiner had knocked the rider onto the ground and stunned him enough that he wasn't ready for the punch that completely knocked him out. Sasha gently stroked the horse's nose as it continued to slowly calm down.

Eventually she was able to lead it over to the others and dug two carrots out of her saddle bag. She fed one to the new horse and one to her own. Reiner carried the scout over to the horses before slinging his limp body over his saddle. He worked quickly tying the unconscious man down so he couldn't escape. Then they untethered their own horses and started riding back to the column their prisoner in tow.

Once they had caught up with the others Jean put Reiner in charge of the column. Armin showed him on a map where they should stop and set up camp. Then Armin had Sasha tie up the scout they had captured.

"Are you sure he'll be able to get free?" Armin asked.

"Yes. Anyone can break free of this knot if they pull at it enough. Just make sure he doesn't pull too much while you're asking him questions." Armin nodded then sent her on with the column. Jean and Armin rehearsed the questions they would ask one last time then started trying to awaken their captive. The man came around slowly clearly still dazed from his encounter with Reiner. Once he was awake he sat up suddenly in his bonds and stared at Jean and Armin.

"You-you'll never get away with this! You hear me! The Survey Corps is in big trouble, especially now that you've assaulted an officer of the Military Police!" Jean looked unimpressed.

"So you are a member of the Military Police." Armin said. The man looked startled then realized what he'd said.

"Ha, ha. No I'm not, you can't prove anything."

"Why are you following us?"

"I just said you can't prove anything, even that I was following you."

"Who sent you?"

"I'll never tell!"

"Was it Nile?"

"Ha! As if Commander Nile has time to follow you nobodies around! He'll make sure you are disbanded and removed as a branch from the military!"