Flame Vs Flame
Chapter 1 - Kidnap
Walking through the streets of East Central, I contemplated my mission; the hood of my full length jacket covering any suspicious looks that may appear on my face - along with the wickedly painful and fresh scar on the side of my face. Though I was sure that the jacket brought more suspicious stares my way than normal, I didn't really care much. Once I finished this mission properly I would be free to leave this stupid town, and do as I pleased until another mission came up – or I needed the money of course.
I wondered what those who 'hired' me would think if they found out I had messed up the mission on the first try; my reputation would probably go down the drain if anybody found out. That was what today was about though, if I could get my mark today than there needn't be any questions about yesterday. To them, yesterday wouldn't have happened – didn't happen.
Damn, I can't believe I let them get the jump on me, and when I was so close too! It shouldn't have surprised me that the Military had shown up, considering whom it had appeared I was targeting. Then again, they may have shown up even if they had known my real target. There was no doubt in the possibility of my name being on a wanted criminals list. Or a missing persons. Not that I was missing; I knew exactly where I was. 'Jen is in East City searching for her mark', how hard is that to forget?
Over the heads of the crowded business street, I spotted my target; though it was easy to spot him, he was such a large target I'd have to be blind not to see. Falling into step a few metres behind him, I silently watched and followed until they came to a less populated area. The moment they stepped into the quiet part of town, I seized the chance to make up for yesterdays mistakes. This time there would be no mess and no fuss... well, for me at least.
"Morning," I said calmly, removing the hood, my purple hair catching in the breeze with its new found freedom. The tall guy in the armour and the short blonde walking next to him turned immediately at the sound of my voice.
"It's you again!" The blonde yelled, pointing at me dramatically. Unable to stop it, a wide grin spread across my face.
"Yes, it is. Surprise, surprise." I said taking slow, deliberate steps towards them. "Now normally, I would be thinking that it insane to go after the same target two days in a row. But no, you - you look like someone that is just itching to fight me. So why not? I mean I was having fun yesterday until the military showed up; I just hate it when they do that."
"The military will catch you this time!" This time it was the armour that spoke, not that it mattered, I was just messing with their heads. Though it could be called talking to myself, which sounds much more insane.
"Well, you see now, there's the problem. I've set up a couple of things that will keep the military busy for a while." I pulled out a watch and watched the second hand move. "You should be able to witness it from here it – 3, 2, 1."
There was loud explosion off to the east, close enough to shake the ground we stood on. A tower of fire and smoke became visible over the buildings in moments. The brothers looked on with shocked expressions, the blonde transmuting his automail arm into a blade. He lunged at me but I side stepped and pushed him off balance.
"Don't get so fired up, you'll miss half the show. Over there this time." I pointed in the direction of the next explosion, and it went off, just as I'd set it up to do. Now the military would be too busy to look after a State Alchemist and his brother. I charged at the blonde, slamming him into a wall, his head cracking loudly before he slumped limply to the ground. Ducking, I just missed getting knocked out as well; the fist of the armoured one faster than I would have thought it be – I found that out the hard way last time. He was going to be hard to pin down.
"Hey! Where are you taking me? Put me down. Put me down!"
"Love to do that, but you see - if I don't bring you back with me I'm not gonna get paid. So nothing personal, 'kay?" The armoured one continued to struggle; there wasn't anywhere for him to go down here though. I'd chained up his arms and legs to slow him down, though by now I knew that chains were not going to last for long. He was a soul attached to armour, normal human strength meant little to him; he was as strong as the armour itself.
"Who is paying you?" he asked. Figuring we'd gone far enough for now, I put him down against the wall of the tunnel, my shoulder aching from his weight.
"That's the question you're going to ask? Not why someone would put a bounty on your head? Or how I'm able to carry around a six foot suit of armour?" I sat down against the opposite wall. "You've got strange priorities."
"I'm not that one kidnapping people for money," he said sharply. I laughed, he had fire in him like his brother, but it wasn't going to last - not once he got to them. Nobody who got sent to them ever came back the same way that they were before, and I was possibly one of the only people on the outside that knew that well.