Conspiracies Against Me // Levi Ackerman

1. A Fair Trial

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"Please state your name and duty as a member of the Military Police." Judge Wilson's deep voice is the first to speak in the court room.

"Eileen Wilhelm. A majority of my time working is spent guarding various places within Wall Shina, including that housing the Royal Family. I patrol within the walls and am sent out to make arrests when needed, Sir." The woman's voice is firm, unwavering. Her hands are loosely curled into fists by her sides. She's standing on display in the center of the room dressed in her military police uniform. She doesn't know if she'll be allowed to wear it the next day. Hell, she doesn't know if she'll even be alive tomorrow.

"Do you understand your charges?" He looks away from the paper in his hand to the woman standing below his platform.

"Yes, Sir." She gives a curt nod, letting a piece of hair fall in front of her right eye. She doesn't bother to move it. She wants to remain unbothered, calm, and confident throughout the trial. This is her life on the line, and bringing her sister's murderer to justice.

"The murder of Michele Flinn and attempted murder of Eric Burner." He states and pauses before speaking again. The room of officials and family members are sitting silently in their chairs, eyes trained on her. The looks are either impassive, sympathetic, or scrutinizing. "Do you believe you are guilty?" He asks and pushes down his reading glasses to add weight to his question, studying her behavior.

She meets the older man's eyes. "No, Sir."

"Why, Wilhelm?" He wastes no time.

"I acted in self defense. I was the one who was attacked, ambushed by Flinn and Burner." She finds Eric Burner for the first time sitting to her right. His face is stoic, guided in her direction, but misses her gaze purposely to avoid eye contact. His wife sits next him and holds his hand, glaring at the woman accused. 

"Why would the two want to attack you? You certainly don't look too dangerous - quite small, actually." He tilts his head. 

Eric can feel the bead of sweat threatening to drop from his hairline.

Eileen scoffs and hangs her head. "I'm not. At least, I've never considered myself to be." Without picking her head up, she turns it back to Eric's direction to read him and his wife's reactions. "The reason they'd want to attack me was because I know what Burner's done and I confronted him about it. I told him I'd bring it to the attention of higher authorities and I believe he recruited Flinn to play a part in my attack. I also believe they planned to get rid of me, as well. I  truly feared for my life."

Eric's body is burning at an alarming rate and he can feel his vision starting to darken. It's only getting harder to hear despite the strain it's putting on him to concentrate on what she will say next.

"And what did Eric Burner do that demanded our attention and an attack on his part?" 

"I have good reason to believe that he is responsible for Callie Avery's disappearance." She pauses to let a collective murmur wade in the room. Picking her head up to face the Judge again, she continues. "Callie Avery graduated from the Cadet Corps ranked fifth in her class. She joined the Military Police Regiment 5 years after me. After she gained the ropes of working in the unit, she was paired with me to parole and guard often, so we were well acquainted."

It was almost an understatement to describe their relationship like that. Most of her time working the last couple of years were spent by Callie's side. The two, at first impression, seemed to be an unlikely pair. Only two weeks after meeting did the younger grow fond of the older soldier who would listen to her personal secrets and gossip. Eileen would appear disinterested most of the time like many others, but never failed to surprise when she'd respond in detailed manner. If Callie was complaining about a personal issue, she would provide insightful advice or a comment to paint the situation less worrisome, so the girl would stop overthinking.