Author's note: Sorry for the delay, been very busy lately. Anywho, I wanted to give a special thanks to Spicy Lime 63 and Kalez-and-Death for reviewing, and everyone who has read this FanFic so far. Seriously, I love you guys—you're why I write! :D
C H A P T E R T W O
Posthoumous
"Let's see… Number twenty-three…twenty-four…twenty-five—and number twenty-six."
Singling a silver key from the other ten in his hand, the local Coroner Doctor Geoff McCourt sighed and placed the key into a slot located next to an aluminum handle, unlocking what looked like to be a filing cabinet. It was a sort of cabinet, and it did file things, but not papers. The cabinets that lined the perimeter of the large mortuary were home to the deceased, each having their own slot and number from one to fifty; the maximum number of cadavers this hospital, Central Hospital, could hold in one room.
There were multiple other rooms in the building that looked just as plain and grim as this one, although this room was special. It was reserved for the bodies of state alchemists, no matter how they passed.
So Edward Elric was no exception.
Pulling open the drawer out quite a few feet, Geoff moved around to the side of the metal "bed" pulling out a pair of latex gloves from the white lab coat that covered a black suit, Geoff moved to unzip a black body bag to reveal the ivory skinned alchemist within it.
"To think that you would be killed by a car…" He muttered in his typical scruffy voice, shaking his head in disappointment as he stopped unzipping the bag once he had fully exposed Edward's torso. "I thought you were supposed to be some sort of prodigy or something." The doctor added, raising both of his brows. Geoff was never bothered with talking to the deceased, he actually enjoyed it, as odd as his wife thought it was. Because for one, when he had secrets, he could divulge them to someone who was never going to speak again, and to him, that was wonderful. Besides, a man in his forties that worked alone like he was needs some form of entertainment, no matter how disturbing it would seem to others.
Turning away from Edward, Geoff walked over to a large metal table with a white clipboard resting upon it, which he picked up before turning around to walk back over to Edward. Pulling a pair of glasses from his breast pocket, Geoff put them on before lifting the clipboard to his eyes, beginning to read aloud to himself. "Time of death…ten-seventeen…cause of death… Hemorrhaging." he glanced down at Edward's face sympathetically, "—Well that's not any fun, is it?" he said, before setting the clipboard aside Edward's still zipped up legs. Using both of his hands then, the coroner carefully placed them on either side of Edward's head, turning it to the side so he could see the back of his head. Nodding then, he studied the opening in the back of his head before gently laying Edward's head back down and making a mark on the clipboard.
"Well, guess it's time that I have a look to see what else went wrong with you." Geoff said, setting down the pen he had been writing with and walking back over to the same table that the clipboard had been resting on before. This time though, he went about searching for a rectangular metal tray, which he found and brought back over to Edward's body. "And now we begin the autopsy." The doctor intoned, seeming rather pleased about this part as he plucked a scalpel from the tray.
Pressing the palm of his hand firmly to the right section of Edward's chest and placing the tip of the scalpel at his throat then, Geoff's brows knit in concentration, making sure that he was going to make the incision in the right place, though he did not get very far...
"Dr. McCourt?"
Head lifting, Geoff lifted the scalpel from Edward's throat, looking over his shoulder toward a speaker resting high up on the wall across the room.
"Dr. McCourt?" A woman's voice repeated over the intercom.
With an agitated grumbled the doctor put down the scalpel in the tray and pivoted, facing the speaker. "Yes, Ms. Harris, what do you need?"
"Ah, there you are," Ms. Harris replied, a smile evident in her tone. "General Roy Mustang is on the phone and would like to speak with you, do you have a minute?" She asked politely.
"No," Geoff replied impatiently; he detested being bothered in the middle of an examination. "I'm in the middle of finishing an autopsy, Ms. Harris, please tell Mr. Mustang to call back later or to leave a message."
"Yes, sir." And with that the intercom shut off.
Relaxing, Geoff resumed his work. "Things like this always happen to me…" He complained, picking up the scalpel again and moving into the same position he had been in before he was interrupted. Pressing the razor against Edward's throat, and applying a firm amount of pressure he—
"Dr. McCourt?"
Startled, the scalpel slipped and buried itself deep in the Elric's neck, although Geoff had stopped his hand before he hit the esophagus. He cursed and pulled his hand back, looking over his shoulder once again to scowl at the speaker. "Yes, Ms. Harris?"
"Uhm, General Roy Mustang—"
"Yes, yes, I told you to tell him to call back another time." Geoff interrupted irritably.
"Yes, I did, but he… Well, he's here."
Geoff frowned, "That's unexpected…" He muttered before clearing his throat and raising his voice again, "I thought you said he was on the phone."
"He was driving by and decided to stop in."
Sighing, he stood up straight, tossing the scalpel once again into the tray. "Alright, send him down." He was now superior to a General of the Army, thus why he had to relent; he did not have the power to keep him out of his work area, no matter how much it disrupted his progress.
"Yes, Dr. McCourt." And the intercom was shut off again.
"Well, looks like we'll be having some company, Mr. Elric." Geoff told Edward, though he didn't sound happy about it.
Suddenly hearing a loud knock on the metal door, Geoff turned and leaned back on his heels slightly, peering through the small rectangular window on the door to see who it was. "…And the party arrives so soon." He muttered grimly, noticing the three figures in blue military uniforms.
Taking off his gloves as he walked across the room to the door, Geoff pulled a name tag from his lab coat and flashed it in front of a small square box. As soon as he did so, there was a small beep, followed by a click as the door was unlocked. Opening the door, Geoff forced a smile onto his lips. "Yes, gentlemen—" He paused, realizing that there was one blonde haired women hidden somewhat behind the two men; one with raven hair and the other with red, "—and lady. What can I do for you?" He asked politely.
The raven haired man grunted, seeming to see past Geoff's business visage, and pushed past him into the room.
"Excuse me, but you didn't answer my question." Geoff began, looking vexed.
Onyx eyes never glanced at the doctor, instead they had rested upon Edward's body bag. "Do you have someone here by the name Edward Elric?" He asked straightforwardly, although he already knew the answer.
A little put off by man's attitude, Geoff stepped away from the door and toward him as the rest of the entourage entered the room as well, though they said nothing. "I presume that you're General Mustang?" Geoff began sourly before answering his question. "Yes, but I'm right in the middle of an autopsy… I'm afraid you'll either have to wait outside or come back another time." He explained, gesturing back toward the closed door.
Mustang finally glanced toward the doctor, though it was no friendly stare, it was cold…almost menacing…though he quickly looked away, starting over toward the table Edward's lifeless body lay upon, implying that he wasn't going to listen.
"General Mustang, I believe I said I was in the middle of an autopsy. You can't stay." Geoff stated firmly as he began making his way over toward the raven haired man, though he was stopped short when a hand came to rest on his shoulder, jerking him to a halt. Irritated by this, Geoff turned his head to the side and scowl. "What do you're doing?" The doctor's snapped, although his angry expression fell when he found a pair of intense red-brown eyes boring into his.
They belonged to a blonde haired woman, who was shorter than him, but wore an expression that was too intimidating to challenge. So he grunted, drawing his attention away from her to look back toward Mustang, who was bent over Edward's body, waiting for the General to say something.
The room grew deathly silent as Mustang failed to speak, his focus solely on Edward's frozen visage. Brows knit and lips pressed parted slightly, Mustang eventually murmured, "God damn you, kid." His words caught everyone's attention. Dr. McCourt even leaned forward a little, hoping to hear more.
"Sir..?" Riza Hawkeye, the woman that was standing beside Geoff spoke, her tone low; careful…like she was in the same room as a sleeping infant. Mustang didn't move. "Sir…you wanted to say something about Edward's body…"
This grabbed the General's attention, for he finally stood erect, nodding once to confirm Hawkeye's words. "As soon as you are done with this autopsy I want you to contact me so I can come pick him up."
Geoff's brows skewed upwards at his request. And here he had thought he had issues with talking with the dead, and this man wants to pick up Edward's body and take it away to do God knows with it. "Why?"
"I want someone else to take a look at him." Mustang replied, finally turning around to face the other three with a severe expression; seeing proof for the first that Edward Elric was dead had bothered the General, no matter how much he had trained himself to not show personal emotions during work.
"Ah… Well… Then, yes, I will make sure to call you." Geoff replied reluctantly.
Normally he was not allowed to release bodies from the hospital, they were to head straight to the cemetery or wherever they were to be laid to rest, but something in the General's eyes made him think twice about denying his request. Why was the General concerned with someone else taking a look at Edward's body? He was one of the most trusted coroners in the city, hell even Amestris, yet here was the General, on the verge of displaying some sort of maudlin concern over a dead alchemist.
Mustang actually seemed subtly surprised that Geoff had agreed; the doctor had not been pleased with him since he and the other two military officers had arrived. Of course he did not know why, though he made the assumption that it was because they had interrupted his precious autopsy time. Rolling his shoulders a bit, he glanced back toward Edward's body before starting back toward the door.
"If you don't call within the next twenty-four hours I'll be stopping by again." He noted as Hawkeye, and the red haired man following Mustang toward the door.
"I will call you," Geoff replied, his tone becoming more agitated by the second, "You have my word."
With one last glance over his shoulder, Mustang looked past Geoff toward Edward, his expression looking a little hopeful…as if he was waiting for the blonde to sit up and tell him that this was all some big prank on him for all the insults. Much to his dismay, the Elric did nothing of the sort. A frown crossing his lips, he opened the door and flashed one last glance toward the doctor, giving him a nod before making his exit.
As soon as the door closed, Geoff relaxed with a sigh, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Damn military…" He muttered, walking back over to Edward and pulling out a pair of fresh latex gloves from his coat pocket. After putting those on, the doctor picked up his scalpel and leaned over the Elric's body slightly. "Now I am sure I will be able to finish this." He said, a frown settling over his lips. Well, at least he was hoping he would, but sometimes hope was not enough.
"Dr. McCourt?"
"For the love of God!" Geoff shouted, tossing his arms up into the air. He was sick and tired of being interrupted, and if it happened again he was going to—
"Dr. McCourt~" Ms. Harris' voice sang.
"What is it this time?" He snapped, not moving from his position until he knew what it was that Ms. Harris had to tell him.
"There is a gentleman on the phone who would like to speak with you."
"Well, who the hell is it?"
"He didn't say, just said that he had a quick question that will not take more than three minutes of your time."
The doctor thought for a moment, "Well what I'm doing is more important than him, so tell him to leave a message."
"But he said that it was about his son, who was a state alchemist, sir."
Geoff was seriously getting fed up with this alchemist crap. But what choice did he have? He had to take care of any matter concerning them, no matter what he thought.
With a growl, Geoff yanked off his gloves, tossing them and the scalpel down into the tray before zipping up the body bag and pushing Edward's body back into the cabinet, making sure to look it before he turned on his heel and strode over to the door to exit the room.
Almost running to his office down the hall to get this phone call done and over with, Geoff grumbled multiple curses, only calming when he noticed his office door ahead, which he stopped outside of the second he reached it. Unlocking the door, Geoff opened it and headed inside. It was a small office unfortunately, and it made the doctor rather disgruntled being within the white walled room, with its cheap blue carpeting with numerous stains on it that were not from him; he was sure of it. It truly made him feel underappreciated to have this small of a room for his use. Didn't anyone understand the things he saw and what he did for the state? Apparently not… But at least Central Hospital had provided him with the basic office necessities; a phone, computer, fax machine, copier, desk, chair, and so on—for he was sure that he would have quit his job had he had to go out and buy everything he needed. Walking across the small space to his desk, Geoff cleared his throat and picked up the line, placing the phone up to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Ah," A man's voice began, "Hello."
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"I just had a quick question."
"Uh-huh…" Geoff grunted, "Who is this?"
"James Helms." The man replied.
The name didn't ring a bell. "…Well what do you need, Mr. Helms?"
"I was wondering how late you were going to be in your office." James replied, "My son served in the military, Major Krieg Helms… I wanted to come in and see his body."
Normally the doctor would have told the person he was speaking with to hold for a few minutes while he searched for the patient's file they were calling about, but to speed things up, he just decided to ask only one question he saw important. "Was an autopsy done?"
"So I've been told."
"I see…" He glanced at his watch, "I will be in for a few more hours, feel free to stop in."
"Alright, thank you." James said simply before abruptly hanging up.
A little taken aback, Geoff looked at the phone before huffing and setting it down on the receiver. "Waste of my time…" He grumbled, moving around his desk to pull open a drawer full of files. "Let's see… Helms…H-E-L-M-S…" The doctor frowned as he looked through the H's. He went through the files three times before closing the drawer, looking perplexed.
He said Major Krieg Helms didn't he? Yes the man did, but according to his records there was no one by the name "Krieg" or "Helms," and definitely not "Krieg Helms." Geoff scratched the top of his head then, moving to pick up a coffee mug off of his desk and move across the room to fill it up with coffee; he'd have to ask Ms. Harris about this later, or to trace the number, but not right now, he needed to get back to work
Walking back down the long hallway back toward the room he had been in before with Edward's body as well as the rest of the cadavers, Geoff pulled his name tag from his coat, flashing it in front of the square box beside the door that led back into the room before putting it away again. As soon as the door unlocked, he pushed it open and walked inside, the door slowly swinging closed behind him.
"Finally, I can get back to what I was doing before all these people started bothering me." He said to himself as he crossed the room back toward the cabinet.
This time he was sure he would be able to finish the autopsy in peace, which rarely happened, but hey, he could dream. Retrieving the set of keys from his pocket, Geoff placed it into the slot for #26 and back up as he pulled the drawer all the way out, only to drop the keys that he was holding as well as the coffee mug.
"Whe-Where…" He stuttered, walking around the mess of coffee and ceramic to the metal bed and placing his hands on it, seeming horrified at whatever it was he saw. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" He muttered frantically, suddenly whirling around to look at various places of the room. Rushing over to a small red button located on the same wall the intercom was, only further down the wall at eye level. Slapping the palm of his hand against the button, Geoff stared up at the intercom.
"Deb!" He shouted just as her heard Ms. Harris' side of the intercom click on.
"Yes, Dr. McCourt?"
Could she be any more casual?
"I want you to check all the security cameras, Edward Elric's body missing!" He blurted out, sounding nearly hysterical.
"Edward Elric…" Ms. Harris sounded a bit more alert now, "How is he missing?"
"He got up and walked out on his own!" He spat sarcastically, "How do you think? Someone came in here and stole his body! It was probably that Musta—"
"No need to shout, Dr. McCourt, I'm going to look at the security cameras now." Ms. Harris interrupted calmly, "I'll let you know if I see anything."
Geoff remained silent for a few moments, letting out angry puffs of air, though he did ultimately end the conversation with a growl "Well hurry it up," before storming away from the intercom and out of the room in complete fury.
There was only one person that had talked about taking Edward; Mustang. He must have taken his body when he left, he knew it, and he was going to do something about it.
