Gathering Clouds(2)

Armin could feel dread constricting him as he heard the contents of the conversations.

"Are you saying ... Reiner and Bertholdt have been missing for over a week already?" Hange, covering her mouth with one palm, looked on at Miche.

"Yes. They were in Ness Squad and disappeared soon after we had returned to the wall. Reiner left a note telling Ness that he and Bertholdt had some urgent matters to attend to and would be back soon." He shook his head. "It was probably a ploy to buy some more time before we noticed anything unusual. I guess we have our answer as to who the Female Titan's allies are."

Hange reached for a stack of papers on her desk, then pulled out 2 pieces. "Because of the chaos five years ago, pretty much all of their family records are spotty or missing. There's also the issue of Christa's forged documents that we discovered, but the fact that she didn't disappear after Annie's capture means it's unlikely she's their accomplice."

"They're definitely Annie's allies." Armin finally interjected. "R-Reiner ..."

His voice trailed off. He had been tasked by Commander Erwin, before he left for Mitras, to assist Hange and Miche in uncovering the identities of the Female Titan's allies. Progress had been slow the past few days due to the recovery work from the expedition being carried out; but the new development had confirmed his worst fears.

"... Reiner approached me before we left for the expedition for a drink." Armin continued. " He was particularly curious about where Eren's location was. We ended up comparing our maps, discovering how Eren's position was marked differently on it. I told him my speculation that Eren true's position was probably at the rear of the formation."

Hands folded, Miche leaned against the wall, "... the Armored Titan attacked our formation from the rear."

Armin's head sank. It was his fault that so many people died. He nearly caused the expedition to fail, and the loss of so many lives. The pangs of guilt that stirred stung him so deeply. He would rather die than be a burden, and he had been only that.

Hange shook her head. "It's not your fault, Armin. No one could have predicted this." she turned to Miche. "How many sets of missing ODM gear do we have from Squad Seven's Armory?"

"I've asked Ness about it already - 6 missing sets of ODM gear. There were 4 missing horses as well from the stables ."

"So we may have more enemies aside from Reiner and Berthodt … But the amount dosen't match up. A ploy to confuse us regarding their true numbers?" Hange's gaze drifted to the window.

Armin squeezed his eyes shut. So there might be more enemies aside from Reiner and Bertholdt - he guessed as much. Miche and Hange were also incredibly sharp; no wonder Commander Erwin placed such a high degree of trust in them.

Who else could it be? As silence settled over the room, Armin racked his brain. He had to make up for his blunder … there had to be some clues. But so far all their investigations pointed only to Reiner and Bertholdt being suspicious. Christa's forged documents were also iffy, but she was unlikely to be their accomplice. There had to be some leads … there had to be …

Armin's eyes snapped open.

Hange noticed the change in his expression. "Did you think of something, Armin?"

"Yes …" He wouldn't describe what he had thought of as certain, but it was still worth sharing. "There's a chance Reiner and Bertholdt still haven't given up on going after Eren - They may have taken the extra sets of ODM gear to serve as backup. When Eren emerged from his titan form at Trost, the heat had rendered his maneuvering gear unusable. If Reiner and Bertholdt planned to engage him again, they'll need spare ODM gear to escape in afterward; especially beyond the walls."

Miche walked over to the planning table right in front of him, and tapped his fingers at a few spots. "That may be a possibility, but how are they supposed to know where Eren could return from? He could leave Mitras through any of the four districts on Wall Sina. Wait a min-"

"The Northern District of Orvud, The Eastern District of Stohess and the Southern District of Ehrmich. The few available roads that lead within them have been blocked off by trees and landslides at choke points due to the rain. Leaving only the Western District of Yarckel as the only option to enter and exit from the capital." Armin stood up and crossed out multiple positions on the map. "It's too coincidental, and even though it is the rainy season currently - it is rare for such an incident to occur all at once."

"That's true, the scale of the obstruction is unusual." Miche sniffed. "They've probably speculated that the Levi squad's hiding place is somewhere between Trost and Karanes, so Eren would probably travel downwards upon leaving Yarckel. If we also consider that Reiner and Bertholdt indeed came from outside the walls, they would be aiming to ambush Eren along his way back, a place where they can monitor the road and can escape beyond the walls easily. Somewhere near the walls. Such a place would be …"

"Utgard Castle. It has a bird's-eye view of one of the main roads and is right beside Wall Rose. If they blocked the other two main roads out of Yarckel, the one through Utgard Castle is the only option left." Hange's voice came from behind. "I think Armin's right on this one. Your thoughts, Miche?"

The other squad leader gave another loud sniff and kept silent for a moment. "We should prepare to leave right now. If we can get to Reiner and Bertholdt before they make their move, they'll be forced to flee. There's no incentive for them to waste their energy fighting us if Eren isn't even there. Our priority should be Eren's safety." Miche looked up at Hange. "What's your final decision? You're the stand-in commander in Erwin's absence."

"Given the casualties from the recent outing … the strength of the Survey Corps has yet to recover fully. We also don't have time to contact the Levi Squad to get them to join us." Hange said. "... but we can't take any chances with Eren. Since our current Headquarter's location is close to Trost, I'll speak with Commander Pyxis there to see if we can rope in some Garrison troops to assist us. Help me pass the mobilization orders to the other squad leaders, Miche, Armin."

"Roger."

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