Royai week
Day 5 prompt: Conspiracy
Several scenes in this were written while I watched episodes 46 and 48 of Brotherhood.
disclaimer: I own pretty much nothing. At all.
"In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of people united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination."
Riza Hawkeye tried to keep herself calm as she walked out of the military headquarters. She needed to act as though this was a normal day. She was just going to head home, and everything would then continue as usual. Tomorrow she would be back, and once more she'd be wondering how much longer Bradley and the other Homunculi were going to let her live.
Except, that was not how this was going to go at all. This time she wasn't returning to military headquarters.
She did go home first, but that was because she'd been leaving Hayate there, hoping that this way no one would think to take him away. Her dog was too smart for his own good, and could easily get in the way of those with too much power.
Riza sighed as she opened the door and entered her apartment. "I'm home Black Hayate," she called, knowing that her dog would either be there waiting, or would come running.
"Woof!" Riza looked down and saw Black Hayate sitting on the floor right in front of her, staring up at her with clever eyes. He knew that today was a big day, and he'd been getting increasingly worried when she came home late. She'd found him closer and closer to the door every time she entered her apartment, and she knew he'd be glad to get out of there.
"Come on Black Hayate, let's get going," Riza murmured, heading towards the bag she'd kept packed for the last week and a half. "The Colonel's waiting."
Roy smiled as he walked away from the Armstrong manor. It was a good thing Oliver was not a fool. Their men were already starting to gather to the mansion in the guise of workers, and despite her obvious dislike of him, she wasn't about to betray him. This plan was their best bet.
He whistled as he strolled through the dark streets. Soon enough he'd be back with his subordinates, and all would be well.
Riza shrugged on her coat and made sure that her guns were fully stocked. "This is it, everything goes down tomorrow. It's do or die now; I'm glad the two of you have got my back," she said firmly.
"Hey, anything for you Riza," 2nd Lieutenant Heymans Breda said. "Even if it does mean deserting." He didn't seem unhappy about the thought, and Riza knew that he'd been relieved to receive her message about the coup d'état, especially if it meant he could escape his post and come to help her and the Colonel.
Sergeant Kain Fuery sighed, and Riza almost winced once more at the thought of his battered face. He'd had a hard time of it where he'd been posted, and as an incredibly loyal soldier who disliked breaking the rules, this wasn't the easiest thing for him.
However, what he said was entirely unexpected.
"Oh man, there go our careers," he muttered.
Riza turned with a smile, and laughed slightly as she looked at the young soldier. "Once the dust has settled we'll make sure the Colonel answers for us."
Fuery and Breda nodded, looking serious. Although Fuery wasn't eager to sacrifice his career, he would willingly do it to save his country, as they were doing now, and Breda was an able soldier who had been working alongside Riza for years.
They were going to win this battle, no matter what happened.
Roy walked hurriedly towards Madame Christmas's bar. He knew very well that he was being followed, and also that it wouldn't take long for them to discover her connection to him. He'd already asked her to get the girls out of there, and hopefully she'd listened to him and sent them away toward Xing.
He entered the bar, ignoring the "closed" sign, and wasn't surprised to see his aunt standing there, obviously ready for him.
"Roy-boy, good of you to stop by," Madame Christmas said, looking him up and down as though checking to make sure he hadn't done anything foolish enough to hurt himself.
He nodded in greeting and sat on one of the barstools. "Got anything for me today?" he asked lightly.
"I'm afraid your hunch was right on the money," Madame Christmas murmured, sliding a packet over to him. "He may look like a cute little brat, but Selim Bradley is not human."
"How old are these photos?" Roy wondered, as he sifted through the packet. He turned one over and closed his eyes briefly. "Twenty years? This one is over fifty years old. And he's with a government official in every one of these.
Madame Christmas lit a cigarette and started to smoke, something Roy remembered with no fondness from when he was a boy. Now though, it brought the image of Jean Havoc to his mind, and he brushed the memories away impatiently.
"I decided to check into the Fuhrer's supposed home town as well. They've got plenty of records showing that he was born and raised there, but I couldn't find a single resident whose even seen the Bradley family. That mansion is just a hollow Facade, and of course there aren't any relatives," Madame Christmas said, lowering her cigarette as Roy looked up at her.
"I appreciate this Madame Christmas. It couldn't have been easy to get this intel," he murmured.
"Yeah . . . Although, as soon as I found out Selim Bradley wasn't human . . . Well, my exhaustion didn't seem to matter anymore." Madame Christmas said as she closed her eyes for a second. "I've gotta wonder," she added, turning to look at Roy. "How hasn't any of this gotten out before?"
"Because he has a father named King, who happens to be the most powerful man in the country. They can hide anything they want; fabricate anything," Roy explained as he stared at the photos. This was more complicated than any other conspiracy he'd thought of in the past, and this wasn't a theory.
Roy winced slightly at the explosion above.
"There it goes," his aunt sighed. "My poor little chateau."
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, but I'll buy you a new one," Roy said, tossing the detonation button into the sewage water.
Madame Christmas looked at him for a moment, and then smiled. "Well, you've got some time to do it. It's probably best if I lay low for a while."
"And what about all of the girls that worked for you?" Roy asked, turning towards her. He'd warned them, but he hadn't heard what happened after that.
"Of course you're worried about them," Madame Christmas said, sounding amused. "Well don't concern yourself to much. They're off sunbathing in an exotic local, and I doubt they're thinking of you."
Roy chuckled, but his aunt interrupted him before he could say anything. "Now get focused. There's too much at stake; you need to be thinking about saving this country," She said, her eyes boring into him.
Roy stared at her for a moment, before he nodded firmly.
She smiled back and then turned away. "And the next time I see you, you'd better not be inside a body bag and marked as a dissident. I won't be happy with you," she said, starting to walk away.
Roy turned and stared after her, knowing that was her way of telling him to be careful. "Thanks for everything Madame. I promise that I will repay you."
"Oh, so you'll remember me when you've made it big?" Madame Christmas sighed and raised her hand in a wave. "Well, I guess I'll have something to look forward to then won't I?"
Roy snorted as she disappeared into the darkness. "I really wish she'd stop treating me as a kid one of these days," he muttered to himself. He stood there for a moment, then remembered the urgency of the situation and picked up the briefcase that was on the ground beside him. "Alright then, I guess I'd better get moving."
Riza turned as the door opened, and her heart leapt at the sight of Roy.
"About time Colonel," Breda said, and Riza couldn't help but agree. "Didn't think you were gonna show."
"You keep up with the smart comments. I'll take them as a sign of confidence," Roy said, appearing to be amused. He turned towards Riza. "You made sure that you weren't followed?"
"Yes, and if we had been, this little guy would have alerted us," Riza said, glancing down to where Black Hayate stood near her feet. He wagged his tail and barked.
Roy knelt to rub his head. "Good boy. Keep your nose peeled ok?" he said, and then stood. "What are the Bradleys' status?"
"I've got the entire family's itinerary for the next three days," Riza said seriously. "The Fuhrer went to observe the training in the east, Selim joined him for the trip as well."
"Then you haven't heard the news," Roy said, looking around. "The Fuhrer's train was destroyed with the Fuhrer riding in it."
Riza gasped, as did Breda and Fuery. This was news that none of them had heard. Being deserters from the military did have it's downsides. "Well I'll be darned," Breda muttered. "Old man Grumman doesn't like to take any chances does he."
"That means that security is gonna be elevated now," Riza said, thinking carefully. "This could be even more difficult than we thought that it could be."
"How much is this going to affect our mission?" Fuery asked, stepping forward. "Is the eastern battalion still going to invade central as planned?"
Roy sighed and closed his eyes for a brief second. "All we know is that the Fuhrer is missing," he said. "This is either a once in a lifetime chance, or we're walking into a trap."
"It doesn't really make a difference," Breda said immediately. "We've gotta see this thing through." Fuery nodded in agreement, determination written all over his face.
Riza nodded as well, just as Roy's eyes met her. For a heartbeat there was silence. "Your orders sir?" Riza asked.
"Whatever action we may take, we're heading straight for the battlefield," Roy said strongly. "And no matter the outcome, there's no turning back. Even if we win, this mission still won't be close to completion. Not until we rebuild this nation, with me as the Fuhrer. We'll still have the task of setting things right. In other words, I'm only giving you a single order to obey," Roy paused for half a second. "Don't die!" he commanded. "Understood?"
"Sir!" Breda, Fuery, and Riza all said in unison.
They were all in this together, for better or for worse. Riza's eyes met Roy's and she nodded at him. Not much longer and this country would be whole once more.
And all because of a conspiracy.
"I'm glad you're safe Lieutenant," Roy said, stepping forward and facing her. "And thank you for the intel on Selim Bradley."
She nodded. "You're welcome sir. You know that I'll do whatever you ask me to."
Roy laughed slightly, momentarily putting his hand on her shoulder and meeting her eyes. "I know Lieutenant, I know."
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