ATTENTION! THIS CHAPTER IS WRITTEN FROM ERWIN'S POV!
Fire In Her Eyes
ERWIN'S POV
Once every soldier had gathered in the yard, I stepped up onto the porch and they immediately fell in line and saluted me. This wasn't the first time that I've looked out into a crowd of grim and frightened faces and had to lie to them. As much as it was for their own good, I've always felt that it was important to be as honest as possible to those under my command. They deserved that much for trusting in my judgment- more even. However, in this instance, secrecy was the key to defeating our enemies within the Walls. So, when I began to explain the situation to them, I was vague on the details, using mere reassurances to quell their worries. I knew, or at least hoped, they'd be smarter than to take my words at face value and furthermore understand my intentions behind them.
After finishing my announcement, I dismissed everyone and stepped off of my makeshift podium. I watched as they looked to one another, the torchlight throwing shadows off of their uncertain faces as they slowly began to shuffle back inside to escape the winter chill. Some stayed to mingle amongst one another, conversing in low mumbles and guarded whispers. I didn't mind however, I had expected this. After all, my speech was lukewarm at best, offering no real promise of progress or solution. It was only natural they'd be discouraged.
As the crowd cleared up, I noticed Levi staring dully at the stragglers around him, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Nice speech." He muttered, his eyes meeting mine as I stopped in front of him. Clearly, the lack of enthusiasm from the rest of the soldiers wasn't lost on him.
"It had to be done," I said as I scanned the people around us. We were nearly the last ones left.
"Right," Levi replied.
I know he would have been perfectly satisfied if I had said nothing to them at all. However, my position demanded that I be a mediator between the other two branches and our own. At times, things have gotten quite political. However, in the case of the recent attack, I don't think things have ever gotten so blatantly ugly… not to where it had gotten out to the public, anyways.
As my gaze wandered, I spotted Belova's blonde hair in the crowd. She was at the rear of the group that was filing back into HQ. The young woman looked cold and uncomfortable with her arms crossed in front of her and her head slightly bent. From what little I've seen of Belova, I've noticed a strange duality about her, running back and forth between confident and reclusive. I wondered what side of her we'd see at the meeting tonight. When I returned my gaze to Levi, I saw he was staring at her as well. There was a slight pinching around his shadowed eyes that could be read as concern.
I knew Levi was protective of her. Over the years I've learned how to read him, and it was obvious that he cared for the woman, whether he knew it or not. Working with her would be difficult not only because of her strange disposition, but also because of Levi's attachment to her. He wasn't going to be happy with the level of involvement I wished to put her in regarding this case.
Dragging his eyes away from her, Levi spoke again. "We should go." He said before heading around the building to the side door. Glancing at the woman one more time, I soon caught up to him as we headed to the War Room.
TITANTITANTITANTITANTITANTITAN
The War Room looked like a cross between a meeting room and a classroom with one long table placed in the center and a chalkboard at the front. It was here that the real discussion would take place- shared only with a trusted few. It was what Zackly, Pixis and I had agreed upon the day after the attack, when Belova led Levi and I into the woods.
Slowly people came filing in, the first being Hange, followed by Ness and Zacharius. Levi was leaning against the wall in the back, quietly watching as everyone found a seat. When Belova entered, her cautious gaze went from Levi's, to mine, to the half filled table and finally to the floor. Finding a seat near the back, she quietly claimed it.
Up until a few days ago, Uma Belova was a woman I had no faith in. However, there were two factors that led to changing that. The fist being her assessment of the killing in the woods: she had given immediate insight into what might have taken us days to figure out. The second, and most prominent, being the situation we were now in.
Belova riled against authority acting as an independent agent, making her own calls. Even now, as I looked at her from across the table I could see that ever-present fire burning low in her eyes. She only needed a bit of fuel to set it ablaze once more. Suffice it to say, she was not the type of soldier the military looked for. While being highly self-sufficient, Uma Belova wasn't moldable.
However, now that we were being targeted by an invisible, human, enemy, I doubted that normal soldiers were going to be the ones to win this fight. We needed people who operated differently, who would not act within the predictable parameters of their training. As far as I saw it, Uma Belova was my number one candidate. It was ironic to say the least, but now I was willing to bet money on her.
Looking around the table and seeing that everyone was in attendance, I began the meeting.
"Everyone, thank you for coming. Be reminded that whatever is said inside this room can never leave it. As you already know, rumors of the attack last Saturday have been spreading like wildfire within the Walls. What people are saying is, for the most part, false and I believe it is to the Survey Corps' benefit not to correct them. I've called you all here because you are the select few whom I trust with the full details of the case. Those of you who have been involved by accident or circumstance have the same level of trust I'm giving the rest of these members."
With that said, I began to go over the details of the attack, starting from the beginning. Once an entire overview of the event was given, I finished by saying, "Given the accounts of both Levi and Belova, I believe the attack was an internal operation within the military. Our enemy is a lot closer to us than we think."
The silence I was met with afterwards was pregnant with thick tension. It seemed that the gravity of the situation had fully sunk in. I continued to move on by telling them what we had found out given the evidence left at the scene.
"The shell casing we found at the edge of the training grounds has been identified as belonging to one of our military grade flairs. Coincidentally, all records of ammunition being signed out on that day have been lost. Unless we find the gun that was used, we cannot trace the flair. Despite several dead ends, there has been a promising development regarding the body found in the woods. Hange would you mind explaining?"
"Sir," she nodded before standing from her seat. Though she remained serious, she was obviously in her element. "The brunt of the injuries on the body seemed to have been made post mortem. What initially killed him was a single cut to his throat. But what's really important here is the dismemberment of his hands.
"The theory laid out by Belova was that the victim had written down the information he'd stolen from the records room onto his hands and that his attackers removed them in order to collect the data. My team and I found traces of ink on the inside of the victim's sleeve. It turns out your theory about him taking notes was correct." She said, turning her gaze on Belova, who slowly stiffened in her seat as all eyes came to rest on her. She remained silent, small flames flickering in the embers of her eyes.
"So that means there's no way of finding out what information he was looking for?" Asked Ness, turning his attention to Hange.
"Unfortunately, no." She said, her glasses flashing in the low lighting, covering her slightly discouraged expression. It wasn't reassuring considering her usually unflappable nature. Still, knowing Hange, she'd be the last one to give up on something like this. "Right now, there's no way to tell what information they were looking for. However, the method he used means there's an even greater chance that that he worked within the military."
Ness nodded, folding his hands on the table in front of him and leaning in. It was only when I saw the wrinkles of worry on his forehead that I realized he wasn't wearing his usual headscarf. "So what do we do to move forward?"
"Nothing." Came Levi's harsh reply from the back of the room, earning him some confused looks from the group.
"What Levi's saying is that, unfortunately, we are going to have to wait until either more evidence presents itself or until our enemy makes their next move," Hange translated for everyone.
In short, the situation was dismal. We all knew it without saying it. However, failure wasn't something we could afford to think about.
"I have full confidence in this group and its ability to track down those responsible before they can strike us again." I told them. "In the meantime, Hange and her team will continue to search for more evidence and you will all be given immediate updates as new developments occur. Unless there are anymore questions, this meeting is dismissed."
There were no questions. I hadn't expected there to be any. Everyone slowly got up from their seats, somber yet slightly more confident than the soldiers were outside, and exited the room. Despite how things seemed, I knew I could trust these people to do what needed to be done. As foolish as it sounds, I wasn't worried yet. Anyway, I don't think I could afford to be.
Just then I caught Mike Zacharius take a hard, long sniff of Uma's head as they were leaving the room.
"What the hell!?" She cried, shocked and disgusted as she immediately twisted his arm behind him and slammed him against the wall. All of this happened in a matter of seconds and I was inwardly impressed by her reaction time.
"Uma," Levi barked, stopping her from going any further.
Having got what he wanted, Mike didn't seem like he minded the rough treatment, though. He simply looked over his shoulder at her with a dull, patient stare.
Looking between the two men, that fire now burning brightly in her eyes, she begrudgingly let go of her offender. Although she was obviously perplexed, she didn't bother asking for an explanation as she left the room. However, her cutting gaze was still pinned on Zacharius the whole time.
Once Mike straightened out his clothes and closed the door behind him, Levi spoke from his place at the back of the room. "So, what's the real plan?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of him and leaning against the table.
"This is it." I said, not afraid of being honest.
"Tch, figures."
"Winter is around the corner. I'm guessing we have until the end of the snow season before they start becoming active again," I told him, rounding the table to stand on the opposite side.
"Even rats have to survive the winter, eh?" Levi muttered, seeing my logic.
Winters here were harsh and running a large operation would be nearly impossible given the heavy rationing of food and lack of supplies during this time of the year.
"It will at least give us some extra time. The next expedition needs to be planned as well. There's a lot that has to be done," I told him.
"That's fine," he said, making his way to the door. "Just as long as you don't leave it all up to Shitty Glasses."
With that last remark, he left. Somehow, I took that as his way of being motivated.
AN: REVIEW FAVOR FOLLOW! I'm so happy to see so many fans show their support for 'Battle Cry'. Thank you all So so much! I hope you all enjoyed my attempt at something new with writing this chapter from Erwin's POV. He is going to show up a lot in the story from here on out and I thought it only appropriate for him to get his own chapter. ALSO I have been writing a special chapter for Valentine's Day (very loosely themed and without any rom-com, fan service tripe) so please look forward to that! It will reveal more of Uma's past and her life after the Minsk Mina Massacre.