Chapter 2

The hallways of the Central Military Base were bustling full of people Monday morning. Inspectors, soldiers, and officials filled the once dark and deserted basement level hallway, surrounding what was left behind from the brawl the afternoon before.

Colonel Mustang could hear their muffled voices even from behind the furor's door on the second floor as he sat, making his report of the incident that he had witnessed. It had only taken a few minutes for him to speak of what happened, for it contained very little information to begin with. He had been in his office, heard the Lieutenant fire her gun, he had followed the noise, and seen his subordinate and the assailant exchange gunfire. The assailant was hit in the upper body, and made their escape as a circle of smoke surrounded them.

Furor Bradley laced his fingers together and rested them on the desk in front of him. "Is that all that you can recall?" he asked in his normal kind voice.

"Yes Furor, sir." Roy answered respectively. "That is all."

"Then thank you for your time." He said with a smile. "You may go back to your duties, Colonel Mustang."

Roy stood up and saluted his commanding officer, turning to leave the office. As soon as he had closed the door behind himself, his subordinate officers were crowded around him excitedly, wanting to know the details of the attack.

"So tell me, Colonel, is it true that you were attacked by three men in red uniforms with guns and knives?" Fury asked with fear in his eyes.

"Guns and knives?" Havoc interrupted before Roy answer, "I heard that they had ninja stars and that they were top assassins!"

"Top assassins… oh please. They were obviously hit men, and why would they have ninja stars!" Breta chimed in.

"The technical name would not be 'hit men'", Fulman interceded; "They would rather be referred to as-"

The colonel clenched his fists, getting a headache from all the shouting.

"That's enough!" he shouted. "There was ONE man carrying ONE gun. End of story!"

With that, he stormed off down the hallway and up the stairs towards his office. He really didn't have time for all that nonsense.

Before he could enter, however, he heard voices from the inside that stopped him in his tracks. One was recognizably Lieutenant Hawkeye's voice, but the other was a low masculine voice that Roy didn't know.

"I really don't understand why you want to stay here any longer." The man's voice was insisting. "With everything that happens around here, you should be packing your bags and taking the first train home to be with me and the rest of the family. Forget all this soldier crap."

"You know my answer to that." Riza responded steadily. "My decisions are none of your concern, and they remain the same as always. I am going to stay here under Colonel Mustang's command, and you can just go back home before you get yourself into trouble."

Roy narrowed his eyes. Someone was giving his Lieutenant trouble, and he didn't like it.

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Riza meanwhile, was focusing on her paperwork, while her younger brother barraged her with all the same complaints that he always gave her when trying to convince her to go back home.

"Come on, Riza." He begged, leaning forward on her desk. "Please just come home. Mom really misses you."

"Jay, I told you to go home." Riza repeated, her voice holding a hint of frustration. "Please. I have work to do here. I still need to make my report of yesterday's incident, finish my work, and begin the investigation. Hearing you beg me to desert the Colonel and just go home is not going to convince me to do so."

Jay frowned and his crystal blue eyes filled with angry tears. "Christ, Riza. Listen to yourself! You've abandoned your own family!"

"That's enough!" she cried, bringing her fist down hard on her desk, making it rattle slightly. Jay stepped back from her desk a little, not expecting her outburst.

"I am NOT abandoning ANYONE." She cried. "I am bestowing honor to our family's name by being a military official. I would be abandoning the Colonel if I was to just leave because you can't stand having to take care of things on your own. You're an adult Jay- you're 19. Get a job, and stop dreaming about becoming an alchemist. By doing that, you are only hurting mom."

Her brother clenched his fists as a tear slipped down his face.

"I WILL become an alchemist. I…"

"Just go home, Jay." Riza interrupted, settling back at her desk with her calm exterior. "Leave."

Opening his mouth, Jay was about to argue once again. However, he stopped himself and stepped backwards from his sister. Turning around quickly, he ran for the door before he cried. Just as he was about to turn the knob, he looked back at his older sister who was currently reading a paper as if he was no longer in her presence.

"You're not my sister anymore." He said sadly. "You're a mindless dog of the military that will die with dishonor along with that insane Colonel of yours."

At his harsh accusations, Riza snapped her head up from her work only to see him retreating from the office.

"Jason!" she shouted after him, standing up from her desk. "JASON!"

The only response she got was the sound of his retreating footsteps echoing down the hallway.

With a shaky sigh, Riza dropped back into her seat, holding her head in her hands. Her brother's words echoed through her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. She was so enveloped within her grief; she didn't hear the Colonel step into the room.

Roy's eyes came to rest on his subordinate, hunched over at her desk. He had heard the entire conversation that had taken place between Riza and her brother, and had seen the tears streaming down the young man's face as he had emerged from the office, not even realizing the colonel was right there.

There was so many things that Roy wanted to say to her… many, many things.

"Lieutenant…"

Riza gasped at the sound of the Colonel's voice. She blinked quickly and wiped the few tears that had managed to defeat her soldier's exterior before lifting her head to look up at him.

"Sir… I… I can explain.

Roy held up a hand to silence her and smiled. "There is nothing to explain, Lieutenant." He said reassuringly. "I heard the whole thing."

Riza's eyes widened in embarrassment, and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "I am sorry, sir, for my brother's disrespect. I can…"

"Thank you, Lieutenant." He said, interrupting her from her embarrassment.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sir?"

"Thank you for staying with me." He said softly.

The tone of his voice caught Riza by surprise. Warmth ignited within her heart, and she felt instantly at ease.

"Of course," was all she could reply, "My loyalties lie with you, sir."

A sudden knock on the office door brought both of the officers out of their conversation with a frenzied jolt.

Riza hurriedly made her way to the door and opened it, giving Roy time to seat himself at his desk.

The Lieutenant found herself face to face with Furor Bradley himself. Whirling around to face the Colonel, she nervously announced his majesty's presence.

"Colonel Mustang, Furor King Bradley has graced us with his presence here today."

Roy stood up at his desk quickly, saluting his superior for the second time that day.

"Good afternoon sir." He said calmly, although his heart was racing from the unexpected visit. "What can I do for you?"

The Furor laughed and smiled. "Don't be so formal, Mustang. We just spoke a little while ago. I just came by to introduce you and Lieutenant Hawkeye to the new investigator."

Riza and Roy quickly exchanged confused glances. This case needed a new investigator?

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Author's Note:

Hello again! Chapter 2 is up and posted… hope you like it! I forgot to mention this in the first author's note of Chapter 1, but I am turning this story into a fan comic as well. Hopefully once I get out of college for the summer, I'll be able to finish that too… so hopefully that's something to look forward to! Thanks again for reading! Ch. 3 coming soon!