Denny quickly learned that his partner could really be scary at times. Now was no exception.
He watched Maria Ross pace the fluorescently lit, sterile hallway with a vein popping alarmingly in the center of her forehead. She was muttering vaguely about blatant disregard for military orders, to say nothing of life and limb.
Denny gulped, and began timidly: "I mean…they did get pretty beaten up at Lab 5. Maybe they've learned that it's not a good idea to—"
"Does it look like they learned anything?!"
Denny backed right up against the wall as his partner stopped in her tracks to face him, bristling with frustration and righteous ire.
"Those—those adolescents—are probably planning another escapade as we speak! And what if they don't come back from the next one?! They're just children!"
The next moment, she seemed to deflate, her head drooping forward just a little. Denny was pushing himself to find something to say that wouldn't sound insensitive or combative, but before he could, she was speaking again, her voice small.
"I can't believe they just went off like that. Those two didn't think they could trust us at all—and we're the ones supposed to be helping them. The idiots."
Desperate to speak, he didn't have the remotest clue where the idea came from, and he blushed to the roots of his hair right after he heard himself say it out loud.
"We could hit them."
Lieutenant Ross jerked her head up, eyeing him like he had just suggested that the Fuhrer of Amestris was a ground squirrel.
"We could do what?!"
Well, the words were out, so he might as well defend them. He had nothing to lose.
"Think about it. They've already been yelled at and rebuked by their superior officers, and it didn't seem to make a difference. But maybe if someone just…slapped some sense into them—it might wake them up to how much trouble they've dumped on themselves."
He had a persistent feeling that the more he talked, the more he was digging himself into a deeper hole of humiliation. He should have just stayed quiet—that was always the safest bet.
Maria continued to look at him like he was perfectly insane. After an uncomfortable beat, she responded.
"That's an awful plan, sergeant. One of them is the equivalent of a major and the other is Armstrong's height—not to mention the full-body armor."
Denny sighed and looked down at his boots. "Yeah, I know."
Fifteen seconds passed before she spoke again.
"You take Al."
Denny started, then looked back up at his partner. Her expression was set in a stern frown, but the corners of her limps jumped upward as she faced him again.
"Wait. Really?"
Making a mildly amused sound, she pivoted on one heel and beckoned him to follow her down the hall to where Alphonse Elric sat waiting.
"It might hurt a bit, but not nearly as much as striking a superior officer will. That's why I'm going to handle Ed."
Still stunned, Denny hurried after her smart footsteps. Five minutes later and with a stinging palm, he was slightly less tempted to agree with her assessment.
