A/N- This was written for the Live Journal girlsavesboy ficathon. Hawkeye and Lan Fan are super kick-ass; it's been shown over and over. I think that Maria Ross is kick-ass, too!
If FMA were mine, the initials would stand for: FLAME MASTER ALCHEMIST.
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Maria Ross inhaled the scent of new-mowed grass and silently thanked whatever power had granted her such a lovely day off. The little gated park in her neighborhood was a gem. The sky was a perfect shade of blue. The few clouds were as white as Briggs after a blizzard, and the golden sun's rays warmed the air to a most pleasant temperature. The fragrant grass was storybook emerald. Best of all was the tree. Maria had been contemplating that tree since winter, when its stark nakedness had revealed its faultless structure. She had never seen a tree that was more meant for climbing than that beauty up ahead.
She approached the tree and then circled it, caressing the rough bark. Then, shielding her eyes, Second Lieutenant Ross studied it from its gnarled roots to its crown. Maria shrugged her shoulders to center her knapsack and planted her foot in the lowest vee. She paused to lean her cheek against the trunk before proceeding. Shortly, she settled in a comfy crotch about a dozen feet up. Her knapsack hung conveniently on a smaller branch, she extracted her thermos, a container of fruit and cheese, and the detective novel that Riza Hawkeye had loaned her.
After a couple of chapters of reading, sipping, and nibbling, she took a break to observe the activity below, reveling in her bird's-eye view. Inexplicably, looking down from a tree was much more fun than looking down from a window in a building. It was still too early for the park to be bustling, but a few other early risers had begun to drift in. One of them caught her eye.
I think that's my new partner Denny Brosh! Maria carefully squirmed into a position with a better sight line. The man was holding onto a little boy with his right hand and a little girl with his left. She didn't know him well, yet; they'd only been partnered for three weeks. However he had mentioned that he was the oldest of several siblings. The little ones with him were quite young, and she didn't think that Denny was quite old enough to be their daddy. Denny seemed young for his age, anyway.
"You just tell me what you want me to do, Second Lieutenant Ross," Brosh had declared after a snappy salute. He must have meant it, too. He seemed to defer to her constantly, more than one might expect from a partner, even one of a lower rank.
Maria watched Denny unfold a blanket and set down a duffle bag. The three Broshes (she was certain) seemed to be discussing something, and then he patted each child on the behind. The two little ones trotted off to the monkey bars, and Denny leaned against a tree, relaxing, but keeping an eye on his younger brother and sister.
Maria repositioned herself to resume reading, but she contemplated Sergeant Brosh instead. He didn't exactly seem incompetent, but other than being excellent at following orders, he didn't seem to be much of a soldier. He seemed more natural with the little kids.
I wonder what made him chose the military. The aggressive and confrontational government made the Amestrian Army an unsafe career choice. She'd have to ask him about that.
He does look really cute in those shorts and tee shirt.
She knew that she should climb down and talk to him, but she was really enjoying her aerie and promised herself that she'd certainly do it before he left. She returned to her novel. Riza's correct about this book. It's right up my alley.
Maria must have dozed a little, not a smart thing to do up in a tree. She wasn't clear on what made her close the book and silently rearrange herself in her hiding place. It was instinct or something else subconscious. Maybe some birds flew off. It was almost like a chill in the air. Her trained eyes swept the area as she moved. The western iron-barred gate to the park was shut, and a man appeared to be standing right inside it as a sentry. Ditto for the northern gate. A scan of all 360 degrees of the park revealed that it looked like no one was going to be entering or exiting the square until without the self-appointed guards' permission. The men at the gates were all wearing gray shirts. Gray shirts! Shit. The Gray Shirts were a violent paramilitary racist group. Having studied the perimeter, she looked down.
Her eyes swept the ground. Denny, his brother and sister, and what appeared to be the only five other un-gray shirted people in the park were being herded together, gagged, and one by one, tied to the monkey bars. The little ones had been gagged first, as they had begun to cry as soon as the strangers had grabbed them. Denny's little brother seemed to be choking on his gag. There appeared to be a portable radio. Guess I'm not gonna have a relaxing day off.
She did have a gun with her, stuck in her knapsack. That was the Riza Hawkeye influence, again. Maria thought that Riza didn't have much of a boundary between the military and personal parts of her life, but she did have a convincing argument for being armed at all times. And Riza was apparently right. You never knew what you might run into. Maria had surely not expected her weapon to come in handy today, her tree day.
But her tree was her ally, too. The trunk was only about five feet from the wall, and a few of the branches extended over it. If one of those branches could hold her weight, she might be able to get to a pay phone and get help. The men who were guarding the gates were mostly focused into the park and on the roundup, so she would be able to maneuver once she got outside the walls. It seemed like an odd positioning choice, but they had probably anticipated more trouble from within instead of without. Maria withdrew her gun and shouldered her sack.
The second lieutenant edged over to the sturdiest-looking limb spanning the wall. She extended her leg and pushed down on the branch. It did not move. Good. She inched forward, as silent as a thought, checking to be sure that she was not drawing any attention. Slowly, she made her way. Within a couple of minutes, she had made it to a point directly above the wall. She was about four feet above the top, and she lowered herself down onto the top edge of the wall.
So far, so good.
The wall itself was about eight feet tall, so she could not just jump off. However, there were vines growing on and down the wall, and if she grabbed several, they ought to be able to support her weight … some. She grasped a thick rope of vegetation and extended her right leg down. She forced herself to extend her left leg over, and she was hanging. The vines began to pull from the wall, but she grabbed others on the way down, slowing her descent. She managed to land on her feet with very little noise. There was no activity at the gate in the wall she had just scaled. There was a pay phone across the street near the corner. She walked at a nonchalant pace. If one of the gray shirt guards looked at the street, all they would see was a woman walking. No matter.
Her hands were shaking, and she had trouble finding coins and putting them in the correct slots. It was difficult to think straight. With what seemed like great effort, she managed to dial her own office. Warrant Officer Tosh answered on the fifth ring.
"Warrant Officer Tosh, this is Second Lieutenant Ross. There are approximately six Gray Shirts holding eight hostages at Dragon Park. They have guards at each of the four entrances. At least four of the Gray Shirts are armed…."
Maria could hear Tosh repeating her message to the others in the office, and she knew that her co-workers were snapping into action. She could hear voices and chairs scraping.
Tosh assured Ross that soldiers would be there ASAP and that she should stay clear.
But she could not do that.
Crossing back to the park side of the street, she withdrew her jackknife from her sock and cut a few of the more pliable vines from the wall. She was sure that her racing heart and her shallow breathing would mess her up, but her training must have kicked in, and she crept up to the nearest gate. The unofficial Closed for Maintenance sign hanging on the iron bars explained why they felt they could face inward. She raised her arm, and, through the bars, cold-cocked the Gray Shirt with her pistol. She caught him on his way down, struggling to hold him up and to keep from being noticed. After lashing his hands together with the vines, she tied him to the still closed gate, thereby (she vigorously hoped) securing him, keeping him erect, and giving the appearance of him still being on guard. She gagged him with her scarf, hoping that it was not noticeable. All of the remaining Gray Shirts were still focused on the hostages and did not seem to realize that they were one man down.
The soldiers would be coming from the east, so she made her way to the western gate guard, the one who would be likeliest to spot the rescuers and to have a clear shot at them. Why they were watching the hostages instead of the traffic around the park was baffling, but it certainly made knocking them out easier! After replacing her supply of vines, she stealthily approached the second fellow who was taller and heavier than the first Gray Shirt. His height made it difficult for her to strike him in the correct place, and the first hit did not knock him out. At least, he turned instead of yelling, and she was able to get him with her second wallop. She was having a little more trouble holding this terrorist up, but her weight training (another Riza Hawkeye influence) paid off, and Bad Guy Number Two was tied up to his gate. Using her knife, she cut and tore her light jacket into pieces to use as gags and silenced Big Bad Guy. So, onto Bad Guy Number Three. She couldn't judge how much time had passed, but she thought that the rescue team should be arriving very soon. As she moved toward her third target, she realized that her legs had stopped feeling so heavy and that she was no longer shaking. Her breathing was regular. She marveled about that for a second and got back to work.
Bad Guy Number Three turned out to be a Bad Gal, not much bigger than Maria, and Maria took her out tout suite. The troops really should arrive any second, so Ross decided to peer around the female guard and check the status of the hostages. From this angle, she could see Brosh straight on. He, along with the rest of the captives, was still gagged and tied to the bars. What a relief, she thought. He hasn't had a chance to try something foolishly heroic. She was so focused on her tasks that the irony of her thoughts floated away unnoticed. Suddenly, her stomach clenched. Denny was looking right at her. For a moment, she feared that he would start making a fuss, but he merely rotated his neck as if attempting to ease a crick and then looked back at her. He's definitely seen me. She nodded and then disappeared behind the wall.
Where are they? It seems like hour have passed. Or seconds. She couldn't tell. Would she have to do this all by herself?
Well, no, thank goodness! Here they come. A sigh escaped her. Whoa! A few guns were drawn and pointed at her. She stood still and saluted until Captain Maddox saw her and signaled the soldiers to lower their revolvers and rest.
"Second Lieutenant Ross, what's the status of the situation?" queried Maddox.
"I've immobilized three of the guards," she reported. "The hostages are all restrained and still being held at gunpoint. Sergeant Brosh is among them."
"It's very kind of you to have left us something to do," grinned the captain. "Do you want to wait here and rest or join us?"
Ross smiled back and saluted, "I wouldn't want to miss anything, Sir!"
"Well, then let's roll!"
A few minutes later, it was all over and the hostages were freed. With a sob, Denny Brosh threw himself at Maria and flung his arms around her. Before she could respond, he remembered himself, drew back, and saluted. Shaking her head, Maria smiled and opened her arms. Denny's impact nearly knocked them over.
The next day…
Maria was on her fifth lap when she realized that someone was swimming beside her. She recognized the short blond hair of Riza Hawkeye and attempted to stand up and salute.
"Relax Maria," Hawkeye advised, continuing to stroke. "I do want to hear about your heroics, though. You're the talk of the town!"
After relating a short version of her adventure, Maria laughed. "Next day off, I'm scheduling a mani-pedi."
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A/N- As always, thank you for reading. I really wanted to give Maria a little more (computer) screen time. Please check out some of the other girlsavesboyfic stories on LJ. There are stories from all sorts of fandoms. Please review if you feel like it ; ) . Take care.
