She hurriedly dragged Carol into the hallway towards the front door, taking care to say low to the ground, and pulled an armchair over to block the hall way and give her something to hide behind while she shot. The sniper took the blanket off the back of the armchair and tried to slow the bleeding from Carol's wound before returning to her position to defend them.
As luck would have it, Roy Mustang's apartment was in the next building over and he was miraculously at home to hear the shot. When he went outside to investigate he saw that the building next to his was in a state of minor turmoil and he began to run over to investigate. When he had crossed about a quarter of the distance he began putting his gloves on and heard more shots being fired.
When the first figure reached the window Riza shouted out to him. " Stay right where you are! I am a military trained sniper and will not hesitate to fire."
"We know you're a military sniper! That's why we're here you military dog!" he yelled back, reaching for his gun.
Amateur thought Riza, but what she shouted was different. "Why are you after military snipers?" She questioned, wondering where the other men were.
"Carol Blunt and the infamous Elizabeth Hawkeye of the Amestris Army's Snipers. Both active in the massacre at Ishbal." Riza sucked in her breath as the man stepped into the room through the low window. His skin was dark and his eyes were the accusing red of an Ishbalan. He raised his gun and Riza snapped out of her guilty daze. She pulled the trigger once again against an Ishbalan, the molten guilt inside of her surging up.
This seemed to be a signal. A few more men rapidly approached the window. No words were exchanged this time, only bullets flew between the armchair and the window. Then, as Riza felled a third man, she noticed just how many there were and the other window shattered. A second wave of men entered through it and Riza found that she had spent a clip of ammo already. As she drew her second gun a bullet flew through the armchair and Riza realized that her shelter would not last much longer.
As the sounds of more gunfire reached his ears Roy looked around and spotted the mass of people silhouetted by the light pouring from the windows of an apartment at the back corner of the building. He hurried toward it, seeing the signs of firing guns and smelling gunpowder on the breeze as he pelted on toward the fray. He just had time to register the fact that the person shooting from inside was exceptionally talented with a gun before he reached the hedges he had planned to use to shield himself.
Riza was surprised when she heard a loud knock on the door behind her. Oh please, no. I can't hold them off there too. She thought, fear mounting in her.
"Blunt! Are you ok in there?" shouted a voice from the other side of the door.
"She's injured! But don't come in, they're around back!" Riza shouted back. She heard shouting outside the door as the man that she had spoken with started sending soldiers around to the back of the building. Then flames erupted outside the second window that had been destroyed. That's the Colonel! Riza's mind screamed as she fired once again through the other window. What's he doing here? He's going to get himself killed! Through this fear Riza saw that she did not have any ammunition left. She crawled painfully to Carol, who's breathing was harder now. A feeling of hopelessness washed over her as she applied pressure to the wound. Carol couldn't be moved, if the Ishbalans kept coming they would be killed.
Roy snapped and the crowd of men struggling to get through the window without being shot was no more. He could not hear any more shots and waited for the flames to die down so he could climb through the window to check for survivors. As the last flames died away he heard shouts coming from around the corner.
Suddenly Riza heard a voice come from the window. "Retreat! We'll get them and that meddling Flame Alchemist later! We will have our revenge." With this she raised her head and saw the figures sprint away, and then Roy running after them, hands outstretched and ready to snap. Before he could use his alchemy the Ishbalans had disappeared into the maze of alleys behind the barracks. Riza saw him turn and approach the window, obviously having decided that checking for survivors and wounded was more important.
"Is anyone still alive in here?" called Roy as he climbed through the shattered window.
"Colonel! We're back here. Carol's injured, we're going to need paramedics." Riza called as she pulled Carol's hair out of her face and continued her efforts to stem the bleeding. Roy ran over to the armchair and quickly pulled it out of the way with a look of complete surprise.
"Lieutenant!" he exclaimed, seeing the scratches and blood on his officer and then the woman on the ground before her "I'll call for cars." He murmured as his eyes found the pool of blood around the wounded woman. As Roy turned to go into the kitchen to make the call a man burst into the hall. Roy pivoted, hands ready to protect himself and the two women, but lowered them when he saw that it was a soldier.
"Paramedics are here. We called them when we heard that there was someone wounded in here. We heard the guns stop, so we thought it was safe." He waved a group of people in and stood aside. The newcomers quickly relieved Hawkeye of her task and Roy moved to help her up.
"Here, we can get you looked at and then you can tell me what happened. You know we're going to catch this case anyway." He said quietly as he raised her to her feet. She nodded and gestured for him to go ahead of her as was normal. Her commanding officer simply shook his head and put his arm around her shoulders to steady her. She was hurt and he wasn't going to have her pass out walking behind him. He dimly registered the fact that soldiers had come around the corner of the house and were checking for enemy survivors as he led his Lieutenant out of the apartment to a waiting ambulance. Riza was also lost in thought. She was wondering how long ago Carol had been wounded and found the answer in the form of the clock at the end of the hall. Her battle had begun 18 minutes earlier. As she mulled this over her thoughts turned to another question. Why, she thought are snipers suddenly being targeted?