I'd like to give my thanks to My-name-is-foxglove and Wolfborg007 for reviewing - you guys really keep me going!

As for your inquiries on Team Mustang... You'll have to wait and see. Muahahaha! Actually, I'm planning a flashback chapter or two to be posted soon - be patient!

Also you might want to re-check some of the older chapters, because I'm going to fix up some typos... Some major ones...

Now here's Chapter Four. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Four

"I'm not going to let another young, innocent person die because of me." His voice was a low hiss. "Please... Listen to me..."

Roy wasn't quite sure why he was back in the cafe... but he was there, again, along with Jane Krowehill. Come to think of it, wasn't this about the fourth time he was eating with Krowehill? Him and women.

This place had good coffee, though. Roy had been living on the stuff for the past few weeks. Caffaine was useful. It helped him stay up for days on end. The cake... The cake was also tasty. Chocolate cake with ridiculously thick icing.

Oh, was that Jane talking to him? He'd been so immersed in the smooth sweetness of the cake that he hadn't even been listening. "... the military, right?"

"Huh? Pardon me?" Roy took a gulp of coffee, and wiped his mouth on the napkin.

"I said, you were in the military, right?" When had he told her that? Perhaps on their first meeting? Roy had forgot about that. My stupid, stupid, big mouth...

"Yeah." He hoped he could get out of this without revealing anything too much.

"To me, you look like a capable commander. If you've fought in the war, survived all that - and you'd climbed up to such a high position - I don't think you quit because you 'got tired of the job'." God, this lady was bold. How did she remember all that, anyways?

There wasn't much point in lying. "You're right, I suppose, but only by half. I really did get tired of it all. That shithole they call a military..."

"Did something happen?" Roy narrowed his eyes. He knew Jane worked at a newspaper; was she going to publish this little interview? As if noticing his sharp gaze on her, she said, "I promise I won't tell anyone. I swear."

"Fine." Roy put some more cake into his mouth, brow furrowing. He'd rather be burning in his own fire than be here, telling a near stranger of one of his most painful experiences. Ah, what the hell. He had nothing better to do for the moment, anyways... "Where to start..." He sighed. "We... Me and my subordinates... I... I was offered a mission. If I succeeded, I'd be promoted. Problem was, it was half impossible. We were supposed to go up to the north and capture some runaway criminals - big-time bank robbers. I was such a fool for accepting it..." They'd just used us as bait, he added to himself, like useless lab mice. They didn't mean for us to survive... They wanted the stolen gold, nothing else. Bastards.

"So what happened?"

"We failed." It was all that Roy could manage without letting his voice break. The memories came flooding back to him. The snow. The ice. The gunshots. The screams. And the blood... He shuddered, and his hands tightened into fists under the table. Desiring some warmth, Roy reached to take another draught from his coffee. It seared his throat as it went down, but the heat made him feel a little better.

Jane's tentative voice reminded him that he wasn't alone. "Mr. Mustang...?"

"I'm fine," Roy lied. "I'm fine." It sounded so fake and forced, even to his own ears. As he spoke, he clapsed his hands on the table. It was then Jane saw his right hand, which, on that accursed mission, had been victim to a very sharp knife. Roy remembered that very well - all too well. It had barely hurt, for the air had been so cold. The blade had sliced his small finger cleanly off. The hot blood that came from the wound had drenched his glove, making the alchemy useless... And all the while, his subordinates were struggling -

"Oh..." Krowehill breathed, her eyes wide at the sight of the scarred stump. It mirrored Roy's own shock at that time, seeing his maimed hand for the first time. Now, though, it was only another part of his new life. He'd discovered that a single missing finger wasn't as inconvinient as he'd imagined before. He could do everything he used to do - even his flame alchemy.

Roy's eyes travelled from Jane to the window. Instantly, every one of his senses were alert and sharp. Trouble had risen - he'd gotten company. He was able to immediately pick out the familiar blue uniforms of the soldiers of Amestris. They were policemen - and they were almost certainly after him. How they'd found him, he wouldn't know. But that wasn't important. Roy had to get out of here, now.

Just as Jane was getting accustomed to the sight of the hand, Mustang took out a glove and put it on. It had a sort of circle drawn on it, in black. She'd seen something like it somewhere - was it in a book? Probably. Realization dawned on Jane - it was an alchemic circle. Afraid, all of a sudden, she looked up to Roy's face, but his attention was elsewhere.

"Jane. I had a good time with you, but I'm afraid I have to leave." He said in a low voice. It was calm and firm, but also tinged with an urgency that hadn't been there before. Jane knew at once that something was wrong.

"But - you've only been here for fifteen minutes!" It was an attempt to figure out what was going on.

"I've got some people looking for me - and I don't want to be found." He nodded towards the windows. Were those police vans parked outside? Jane's heart began to beat faster. "They're here."

As he said so the front door burst open. Framed impressively in the doorway was a policeman with a large gun in his hand. Heads turned towards him; immediately the chatter of the cafe died away into a chilling silence. Jane found herself scanning the shop for Tom - where was he? Did something happen to him? He was nowhere in sight. It just added to the unpleasant coldness that had begun to clench at her stomach - pure, raw fear.

"Everyone! Out! Out! We're here to arrest a wanted man!" The policeman shouted. When no one moved, the man cursed, and fired the gun into the air, once. The loud gunshot was enough to raise a loud, hysterical panic - the diners began to scream; they pushed to get outside first. Even Jane felt her heart skip a beat. Mustang, however, didn't even flinch.

"Jane, get out of here." He said, his lips barely moving. The policeman was coming towards their table.

"You're Roy Mustang, aren't you?" The officer had his gun trained at Roy's chest. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "If you come quietly, no one will get hurt."

Jane was astonished to see Mustang smirk. "Your name's Richards? I'll have to remember that. You've seen my face."

"Put your hands up in the air, scumbag! Now!" The policeman bellowed, spittle flying from his lips. Then he saw Jane, who was still in her seat beside Roy. "And you, Miss! Please get out! I was ordered to shoot anyone who gets in the way - although I don't particularly want to hurt a pretty thing like you, this job'll land me in a big promotion. Out!"

Jane couldn't move. Half of her was frozen to her chair by fear, but the other half was burning with something that was rather something like determination. She didn't want this Roy Mustang to be taken away to be jailed - or executed, she thought with a shudder - he was a good person - almost a friend -

"Jane. Go." There was a steely edge to Mustang's voice that made him sound more like the criminal he was supposed to be.

"No - " Without thinking she burst out of her chair.

It was then the policeman fired. Twice. Jane felt the first bullet fly over her head, miss her by inches - the second was headed straight for her. It was Roy, instead, who'd taken the hit. He'd lunged in front of her, using himself as her shield - Jane realized that she'd screamed as the blood exploded from his shirt, as he staggered into her. He'd gripped the table behind him with one hand; Jane's arm with the other.

"Why?" She trembled at the sight of all that crimson. "Why did you..."

"I'm not going to let another young, innocent person die because of me." His voice was a low hiss. "Please... Listen to me..." His eyes turned to the advancing policeman. Jane, breathing fast, struggled under his weight. "Never mind... It's a little too late for that now." Roy suddenly dropped to the floor, and Jane cried out again, thinking he'd passed out or died - but then she saw that he'd done it on purpose. He'd slammed his gloved hand to the floor. There was an odd crackling noise, along with some flashes of light - and suddenly, what seemed like a giant hand made of wood burst out of the floor and grabbed the policeman in is grasping fingers. The man screamed, and began to fire wildly, but all he hit was the floor and ceiling. Jane could hear more soldiers, probably reinforcements, charging in over the gunfire -

Mustang had took her by the shoulder. He was back on his feet, but he was pale, and Jane could see the large amount of blood on his clothes. "Under the table. Now, Jane," he said breathlessly.

"But - " Jane started to say.

"Now!" Mustang roared, finally having lost control. She had no choice but to obey. Jane dove for cover and wondered what was going to happen next.

She could see nothing from under the table except for everyone's legs. There were too many policemen... At least seven of them... There were shouts and more shots - Jane covered her ears - but soon the problem was the heat.

How had it happened? Was that really fire she was seeing? Like a protective wall, shielding them from the police and their bullets - where was Mustang? That overrode her terror of being burnt. Jane crawled out from under the table, calling his name.

Suddenly he was at her side. She opened her mouth to say something, but he shot her a look of warning. "You stay under there under the fire disappears - "

"No - "

"Listen to me!" Mustang paused for breath. "Please. My fire might kill you - stay here. I'll be long gone by the time you'll be able to come out. I don't want you to try and find me again. Alright? Promise me."

Jane knew that it wasn't good for her to hang out with a wanted man, no matter how friendly he was - she had a job, a good, normal life. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't want to get entangled with this Roy Mustang any further. Who knows? She could be arrested as an accomplice - heck, she didn't want to be jailed! If she did as she was told now...

"...Okay. I promise."

And then, despite the not-so-great situation, and the pain he must be in, Roy grinned. "Good girl. It was great talking to you." He straightened, turning back to the fire. "Get under there."

Jane dove for cover, just in time. A shattering boom shook the shop; she'd probably screamed again, in fear of being disintergrated, but her voice was lost in the terrified shouts of the policemen, who were obivously all running for the doors at the sight of all those orange flames coming at them.

She didn't know how much time had passed before everything was quiet again. Jane opened her eyes, which had been squeezed shut, and removed her hands from her ears. "Mr. Mustang?" She whispered in to the silence, knowing that she would get no answer. He was gone, like he'd said he'd be.

Maybe it had been all her fault - if she hadn't existed, he wouldn't have come to this place every day - the police might have never found him, and none of this would have ever happened. Jane felt terrible. What if he'd been killed? He could've escaped a whole lot quicker if he hadn't had to save Jane's sorry neck. It was all my fault. My fault...

Jane never, ever shed tears, but now, she felt completely devastated. She began to sob.

TBC