Part one: The Contract
Pairing: Royai
Rated: K as of now. Rating will change.
Notes: This is a 1930 Noire AU. Roy is a private detective and Riza request his help to solve a case.
It was a sunny afternoon, but Private Roy Mustang's office was dark because of the buildings surrounding his small the complex. It was also dark because of the cigarette smoke that kept accumulating in the air. Private Mustang hasn't had a single contract in a month and was beginning to desperate about getting a new one any time soon.
The ash of his cigarette fell on his desk, forcing him to stop spacing out. He quickly cleaned the mess and took another cigarette from his pocket. At the same moment that he was lighting his cigarette, someone knocked on the door. Roy was a bit surprised, almost not expecting anyone anymore. He moved his cigarette from his mouth to his hand and told his visitor to come in. The woman that entered was quite different from his usual clients. Normally, people coming to seek his help were either weird older women who lost her cat or suspicious people who were probably into illegal business. But this woman was different. She was a young woman well dressed and actually quite attractive. She had the most beautiful blond waving hair, put in a perfect bun on the side, with some loose strands on the left side of her forehead. She had a simple buttoned up navy blue dress, yet it fitted her perfectly. She entered with confidence, looking almost dangerous. She closed the door behind her and, putting her coat down, sat in front on Roy's desk.
"Good evening, miss…" he began.
"Hawkeye. Riza Hawkeye" she replied.
She had a slightly low voice tone. It was a bit whimsical, but still serious. She held out her hand, which he took. Her handshake was much more firm than what you would expect from a young lady like her.
"Roy Mustang. So, what can I do for you, Miss Hawkeye?"
She put an envelope on his desk, and took out a thick file and a bunch of pictures. She slid a picture of a middle-aged man toward him.
"This is my father. He's been missing for a few months now, but the police has yet to find anything. I'd like you to find him."
Roy took the picture and observed it for a while, then looked back at Riza.
"And you trust me to do a better job than the town's police force?" he questioned.
"If there are private detectives like you in Central, it's because the police force cannot do their job correctly" she answered bluntly.
He laughed openly at her straight-forward comment.
"Very well. Is that the case file?" he asked.
"Yes. It's not all of it, since there's some confidential information, but the essential's in there" she replied.
Riza took a look at her pocket watch, then took her coat and stood up.
"I have to leave now, but I'll come back tomorrow. That way it'll give you time to get acquainted with the case"
She walked toward the door and Roy stood to bid her goodbye, but she stopped, the hand on the doorknob.
"Oh, and you'll understand that I'd like you to abstain investigating without me" she added.
"Of course."
"Then see you tomorrow, Mister Mustang" she smiled.
Since he now had a contract, Roy decided to go home earlier and read the police's file. But first, he wanted to investigate the woman that gave him the file. He always did a bit of investigation on his client, it was normal for any detective. After all, you want to know with what kind of person you're working with.
He settled at his desk to make a phone call. He had a few contacts in the police force, so he used them to confirm the story about her father disappearance. He dialed the same number he did every time he had a contract, because he knew he could always count on that person to get his information.
"Central police station, Hughes speaking" answered the familiar voice.
"Hey it's me" Roy said.
"Hey Roy! It's been a while since you've called the station" greeted Hughes.
"Well it's been a while since I've got a contract so…" Roy began.
"Do you really need an excuse to call an old friend?" Hughes blamed him.
Roy sighed, knowing that his usual blaming and constant talking about his family was coming.
"Have you called me, you would've known that my daughter recently learned how to dress herself up and tie her shoes properly. Isn't it amazing?" he continued.
"Look Hughes, it's great and everything, but I don't have time right now. I need you to verify some information for me" Roy pressed.
"Alright then, what do you need?" Hughes said in a more serious tone.
Roy flipped open the file Riza gave him earlier.
"I need you to tell me about a disappearance case. The guy's been missing a few months ago but the police has yet to find anything. It seems he would've been reported missing after a drinking night out at some jazz bar" Roy began.
"Yep I know about the case. I didn't work on it, but it was well known around here" Hughes cut him off.
"Alright, then I need all the information you can give me about this. Also, if you find any information about his daughter, I would need those too. The name's Riza Hawkeye."
"You got it. I'll you back as soon as I get what you need."
They hung up and Roy began looking through the file. It wasn't anything really helpful, basically just the facts already known by the public. It seemed the guy was last seen when he left the bar with a bunch of friends. However, he never reached his home. He searched a bit further in the file for any information about his family or the friends he was with the night he disappeared, but there wasn't anything, which was weird. Roy decided to let it go for the night and wait for his friend's call to conclude anything.
It was faint, but Roy had a weird feeling about the contract, especially about the woman that gave it to him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the way she acted, the way she talked, that made him uncomfortable. But still, it made him excited. It would probably be the most interesting case he worked on lately.
Hughes didn't call him back at all that evening, like he usually did. Roy thought that maybe he had found something special, but then again, maybe he was only busy with work. He didn't think much about it and went to bed early to be in good shape for Riza's visit the day after. But right in the middle of the night, Roy's phone rang, waking him up. He answered in a grumpy voice.
"Sorry to call you this late at night, but I guessed you'd like to hear this as soon as possible" Hughes began.
"What is it?" Roy asked curiously.
"I had a hard time finding any information on your woman. I finally realized that it was because she's not the daughter of the man who disappeared. Her father is called Berthold Hawkeye and has already been dead for quite some time" Hughes revealed.
Roy hunch was right after all. He noted down everything that Hughes told him about the case and Riza Hawkeye and satisfied, hung up. Roy smirked, even more excited by the case than he was before. She lied to him, a renowned detective, which could only lead to interesting, and probably illegal, business.
The day after, Roy sat at his desk, waiting for Riza to come in. He was revising his notes, readying himself. When she finally came in his office, without knocking this time, he put down his notes and smiled at her with enthusiasm. She sat down in front of his, smiling back.
"So, Mister Mustang, did you have time to look through the file?" she asked in her musical tone.
"I did. But it would've been much more useful to me if it was in fact the real case" Roy replied.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" she asked defensively.
"I mean that the man in the file, which is fake, is not your father" Roy began.
Roy slipped some papers in front of her. One had a picture of a young girl and the other a picture of a blonde middle aged man.
"This is your father, Berthold Hawkeye. He died of an unknown sickness when you were sixteen. Your mother was already deceased, so you had to take care of yourself. But that wasn't really a problem since you're quite resourceful and he left you a lot of money. Now for the reason you lied, that's up to you to tell me" he revealed.
He leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms, smiling proudly. She looked at him with wide eyes, quite impressed by the exactitude of his statement.
"I didn't think you'd see through my lies that fast. You're impressive" she praised.
"So it was on purpose?" Roy said, more as an affirmation than a question.
"You can't blame me for wanting to make sure you lived up to your reputation" she refuted.
Roy was definitely enjoying this. Riza was really a mysterious woman, which he found appealing. Riza leaned on his desk and her face became serious.
"Mister Mustang, the man that disappeared was captured by some organization. I don't know what they want or who they are, but this man is not their first victim. My father didn't die because of some sickness. He was murdered. And I believe the same people that killed my father took away this man. I need you to find them and bring them to justice" she said, her voice nothing more than a whisper.
"So basically you're asking me to put my nose in some illegal stuff that might get us both killed" he taunted.
She straightened herself and frowned, staring directly into his eyes with her focused brown eyes. He joined his hands together and rested his chin on them, smiling at her.
"You've found your man" he said.
"Thank you so much" she thanked him, looking relieved.
Her face had softened and she looked genuinely happy.
"Why don't we begin at the bar where he was last seen? If we're lucky we'll get to see the people he was last seen with" she proposed.
"Or even suspects" he continued.
"Then it's a deal. Meet me there tonight at ten. I'll be there."
Then she left, leaving Roy alone. He stayed still for a long time, just thinking about the contract and the strange woman who requested his help. He was sure that it would be the most interesting case he has ever worked on.