We rode for most of the day, trying to stick to the forest as much as possible in case any stray Titans came around. Unfortunately, the day was hot, the sun relentlessly burning down on us from above. By the time we found a small stream, both the horses and ourselves were sweating like pigs. Making sure to watch the cadets, I flicked my head at Steve. He got the message straight away and headed to the left of our location, to make sure we had not been followed. I took the right and left Levi and the kids at the water. By the time Steve and I rounded back, everyone else had refreshed themselves. I led Streak to the stream first before hopping off. He immediately ducked his head to drink.
"How about you jump into the stream for a little splash, Squad Leader?" Steve joked, slapping me on the back as he passed.
I chuckled and knelt by the water, cupping a bit into my hands. The cooling sensation washed over me, pun intended.
"Don't tempt me."
"Now we need to lay a trap."
I perked up at the order and glanced over at Levi, who was being now being surrounded by his squad.
"There's bound to be some loose MPs roaming around here. What our objective is, is to interrogate a few of them for information. A general direction of where Eren and Historia went can only get us so far."
I filtered out the Corporal's voice once I had heard enough to get the gist of what they were doing. Maybe we should sneak into the closest town and grab some supplies. As Steve and I tied up the horses, Squad Levi began busying themselves with preparations.
"What do you suppose they're doing exactly?" Steve murmured, glancing over at Armin covering himself with a cloak. Jean had his hands full with some empty water flasks. I shrugged.
"Beats me, I stopped listening when Levi gave me the glare."
"Eavesdropping, were you?" Steve slyly elbowed me.
I placed a finger on my chin pondering unnecessarily. "I like to call it, curiosity."
Steve chuckled, shaking his head.
"Well in any case-"
Suddenly, he froze, narrowing his eyes at a spot behind me. I instantly honed my five senses in that direction, trying to detect something unusual.
"-in any case, maybe we could find some berries or edible plants around here. We have supplies but we don't know how long we're gonna be out here." Steve suggested, before flicking his head to the spot behind me. I chuckled along, instantly understanding his note.
"I guess there's nothing we can do, even if that Sasha girl complains. You stay here with the horses, I'll be around. Just holler if you need me."
With a wave, I headed directly to where Steve saw something. As soon as I entered the forest, my body went into high alert. Levi's squad may have a trap laid out for one or two people, but who knows how many MPs were out here. Two MPs wandering out here on the hunt for a group of Survey Corps soldiers was practically suicide, particularly with how every run-in ended.
Surely they weren't stupid enough to travel purely in pairs.
"Gotcha."
"Ack!"
A rifle suddenly pressed up against my neck, forcing me back into someone's body. Using that, they had me in a headlock. Both of my hands flew up to hold the rifle back, leaving me just enough space to suck in a deep breath.
"It's about time we got you, Officer Hazura."
My eyes widened at the greeting. They knew my name. Did they know about my double life as an investigator? Shit, Fuji!
Gripping tightly onto the rifle barrel with my left hand, my right swung down and swiftly unsheathed a blade before stabbing it to the left of my head. There was no scream, only a loud gasp as the offender stumbled backwards. The hold on the rifle loosened, enough for me break from the choke hold. Yanking the rifle away, I leapt backwards for a vault and kicked the offender in the gut. The MP went flying through the trees before landing heavily against a tree trunk. Another sound triggered my left ear and I glanced over, just in time to spot the partner soaring right at me. I swore as two rapid shots rang out from them before our weapons collided. The force knocked off my balance and we staggered backwards until my back was smushed against wood.
Luckily, these MPs were only equipped with the usual 3DMG and normal hunting rifles. Nothing looked like the ODM gear that the Inner circle were wearing. Breathing out a sigh of relief, my heart rate slowed to its normal beating. I heaved the weight off me and followed it up with a quick thwack to the head with the rifle. The woman crumpled to her knees automatically, hands up and cradling her head. Quickly swapping my weapons, I brought the left blade to the woman's chin and used the sharp tip to force her to look up at me. My right arm cocked the rifle against my shoulder and I lifted that up, aiming at the other MP just gaining his footing again.
"If you want to try your luck against me, I can't stop you. But please think about how each MP-Survey Corps collision had ended. Let me tell you, we're not the ones dying."
"We wouldn't be dying if you damn Scouting Legion just turn yourselves in!"
"So we can just be killed off the battlefield? You know, you MPs aren't very smart." I commented, raising an eyebrow at the woman who had spoken.
"You've been murdering the Military Police and innocent civilians left and right!" added the other man, joining in on the deep and meaningful conversation we were having. I shifted my weight on the rifle, getting twitchy.
"We haven't been murdering anybody. You MPs are dying because that is the only way for us to defend ourselves against your baseless attacks, since clearly talking it out doesn't work. And we haven't killed any innocent civilians. The only ones being hurt or killed are those being crushed under the debris made from your fucking Interior Police blowing the city to shit."
"That's bullshit! We're only trying to carry out justice by arresting you! But you won't listen!" The man finally had enough and unsheathed a blade, cocking his arm back to throw it. My finger twitched and the rifle exploded, the force shoving the butt of the gun painfully into my shoulder. However, it did the job, as everything within in a 5 foot radius froze. I glared at him.
"Just don't."