Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc was in serious need of a smoke break. Ever since the move to Central, Hawkeye had really started enforcing that "no smoking indoors" policy the Fuehrer had passed a few weeks back.
Making a good impression- as if! She's just tired of the office smelling like an ashtray. I don't see what the big deal is, it's just smoke. Not that you'll catch me complaining about it. Hawkeye's scary when she's angry and she's practically psychic. I don't get it. It's like she's got a built-in alarm that goes off whenever anyone even *thinks* of breaking one of her rules. Every time I try to sneak a quick smoke, she's right there with that *glare* of hers. How could such a pretty lady be so cruel! And then she has the nerve to walk off like nothing ever happened! … I'll never understand women.
Jean rocked back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, lazily contemplating the ceiling. He could deal with not smoking in the office, but why did he have to take his smoke breaks outside? Why couldn't he just have one in the hall? It was December! It kinda defeated the purpose of a cigarette if you were all tensed up from the cold. But he did have to admit that it made his smoking habits stand out that much more for any pretty ladies that might be watching.
After all, there aren't many ladies who can resist a handsome guy like me doing something as cool as smoking.
Jean sighed as he pushed his chair back. He grabbed the pack of cigarettes waiting on his desk and stood up, stretching slowly before ambling over to Lieutenant Hawkeye's desk. He opened his mouth only to be silenced by the brisk, business-like tone of one Riza Hawkeye.
"Taking your smoke break already, Second Lieutenant? That's fine, but don't take too long. And Havoc? I expect your paperwork complete, orderly, and in the appropriate pile on my desk by noon today. We'll be leaving early due to the blizzard we're expecting late this afternoon."
"Yes Ma'am. Of course, Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am." He saluted smartly before turning on his heel and walking out the door at a quick pace. He hated to rush something as special as his smoke break, but if he was going to get all his paperwork done by noon, he needed to speed things up a bit. He turned onto the last hallway that separated him from the front entrance of the building and his anticipated nic stick when he happened upon a sight that awoke his inner gossip. Something that, admittedly, wasn't very hard to do.
Denny? And...Sciezka? Alone in the records room? Oh, this could be good…I always thought he had the hots for Maria! *That little sneak!* I wonder if I can get close enough to hear what they're saying…Who am I kidding? A little eavesdropping won't even be a challenge.
Jean stopped in the middle of the hallway before looking around lazily. He sauntered over to lean against the wall outside the records room, just out of the strange couple's line of sight. He pulled an obviously well-used lighter out of his pocket and flicked it open and shut with a bored look on his face, expertly hiding the fact that he was listening intently to the conversation taking place just a few feet away from him.
He realized rather quickly that the soft conversation wasn't about anything remotely romantic- like where their next secret meeting would be, for example- but the longer he listened, the more his curiosity was piqued. It seemed Brosh was telling Sciezka about his chance encounter with a crazy woman, her unconscious kid, and a large mysterious man that claimed to be her husband and just so happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to Major Armstrong. He had just finished telling of their abrupt disappearance and begun describing a strange feeling he'd had about the kid.
"It's the weirdest thing. I could swear that I've seen him before. There was just something about that Edison kid that screamed 'You know me,' but I can't put my finger on it. But when I looked at his parents, nothing rang any bells. It was like I'd just met them for the first time. And, now that I really think about it, he didn't look much like either of them. Or look like them at all, really. Too shrimpy to be related to that mammoth and too pale compared to his ma. I dunno, maybe I'm just over-thinking things."
"Maybe they adopted him. That would explain his looks and their reactions. I've read that women who adopt can be very clingy, and the adoption process can really strain a couple's relationship. That's probably all it was."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Just… please don't tell Ross about all this. She'll kill me if she finds out I let a strange woman into my house."
Jean smirked and kicked himself gently off the wall, flicking his lighter shut and wandering down the hall towards the front entrance.
Well, not as juicy as I'd hoped, but not a total loss either. All I've got to do is get Breda, Falman, and Fuery to bet on the next time Ross'll kick Brosh into the middle of next week. Then I let slip to Ross about Brosh's little encounter with a certain brunette, and bam. Easy money.
Jean gave the wooden door in front of him a hard push and walked out into the frigid December air. He eagerly took out a cigarette and lit it before dropping the battered lighter back into his pocket. He shivered and took a long drag before blowing the smoke slowly out of his nose and mouth. He was torn between hurrying through his smoke break to make up for the time he spent listening in on Brosh and Sciezka or taking the time to fully appreciate and feel the welcome release of nicotine. The choice was made for him when he saw the hulking, shimmering body of the younger Elric brother heading his way.
Havoc took a few more puffs from his cigarette while he waited for the suit of armor at the top of the steps in front of Central. When Al reached the bottom of the stairs, he threw the rest of his cigarette down and ground it into the snow.
"Yo, Al! You boys finally back in Central, or did Chief just stop by for more cash? Hey, speaking of Ed…where is he?"
The climbing suit of armor looked up, warm eyes managing to give off concern and anxious worry in waves. His young voice, always startlingly at odds with his fierce appearance, was soft and sad as he began to answer the easy-going chain smoker's questions.
"Good morning, sir. Brother and I were planning on staying in Central for a while, but... When we got to our apartment we had a little... argument. Someone was keeping a bunch of stray cats in our rooms. Brother wanted to kick them out, but it was snowing and I didn't want any of them to get sick… Brother just took off somewhere. I didn't follow him because I thought he'd come back after blowing off some steam, but he never did. I was hoping that maybe Colonel Mustang knew where he was…"
The mismatched pair had continued walking towards the colonel's office while Alphonse told his story. They were now standing just outside of the outer office where the rest of Mustang's team was working feverishly, occasionally sneaking peeks at an irritated Hawkeye before redoubling their efforts.
"I haven't seen him, but I'm sure Colonel Mustang knows what's going on. Why don't we go see if he can tell us anything about Ed."
Jean opened the door and walked into the office to be greeted by a cold glare and a carefully emotionless voice.
"Second Lieutenant Havoc. You're late. So glad you decided to join us after all."
Jean flinched and backpedaled, flailing his free arm behind him as he saluted the furious Lieutenant. Finding the large metal arm he was searching for, Jean- with strength born of desperation and refusal to die a virgin- pulled Alphonse into the room behind him.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, Ma'am! I ran into Alphonse outside and we started talking. Turns out he needs to talk to Colonel Mustang about Major Elric, Ma'am. Is the colonel available, Lieutenant Ma'am?"
Still frozen in a salute, Jean hoped with everything he had that the younger Elric wouldn't let on to just how brief their talk had been.
If he plays along, I might actually make it out of this alive.
Hawkeye was still carefully schooling her voice and expression, which wasn't a very good sign for Jean, but her gaze shifted onto the suddenly very nervous suit of armor. When she saw his discomfort, her gaze softened slightly and she agreed to let the colonel know he had a visitor. Shooting another piercing glance at Jean to let him know she wasn't finished with him yet, she entered the inner office and shut the door behind her. The entire outer office let out a sigh of relief, and Breda straightened in his chair, massaging his aching hand.
"Jeez, Jean. Why'd you have to go and disappear like that? Hawkeye's been breathing down our necks for the last 20 minutes because of you! You're lucky I'm even talking to you right now."
"Shut up, Heymans. It's not like you're the one she's pissed at. And besides, who says I even want to talk to you? Knock it off before I sic Hayate on ya." Breda shivered.
"Don't even joke about that! Besides, Hawkeye'd never let you near him. You'd just land yourself in deeper trouble."
Jean snorted in annoyance, snapping back to attention as the door to the inner office opened.
"Havoc, Alphonse, the colonel will see you now."
She stepped back to allow the two access to the room and shut the door behind them. The colonel was sitting with hands clasped, hiding his mouth, with a frostily aloof air about him.
"Alphonse. You wanted to discuss something with me about Fullmetal?"
Al nodded and began nervously telling the colonel about the previous day's events. As he listened to the story again, Jean felt a sense of foreboding creep over him.
Something isn't adding up here. Edward would never stay away overnight without telling Al. This doesn't look good. Wait…this couldn't have anything to do with Brosh's mystery kid… Could it?
Alphonse finished telling his story and lapsed into a worried silence, waiting for the colonel to say something-anything-that would help him find his brother.
"This isn't right. Judging by your story, he was probably headed to my office. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware you boys were back in town until Lieutenant Hawkeye told me you were here to see me. And then there's the question of who put those cats in your apartment. I must admit, it's ingenious, but I can't claim responsibility for it. What's more troubling is that whoever's behind all this had access to your apartment, and knew exactly how you would both react. I don't like this. Hawkeye, Havoc, do you have anything to add?"
Colonel Mustang's brow was furrowed, his mouth twisted downwards in a thoughtful frown. Hawkeye shook her head and dove back into her thoughts, turning the story over in her mind for anything the colonel had missed. Jean stepped forward with a grim look on his face.
"Colonel Mustang, sir. Earlier I heard Sergeant Brosh and Sciezka from the records department discussing the Sergeant's encounter with an odd couple and a strangely familiar boy. From what I understand, the woman claimed the boy was her son and that he'd knocked himself out by falling on the ice. I'm not sure if the incident has anything to do with Major Elric's disappearance, but it sounds a bit too coincidental for my taste. You should probably consider talking to Sergeant Brosh to get the full story. Sir."
The colonel's eyes snapped and he nodded an affirmative to Hawkeye. She saluted and swept out of the office.
"Thank you for your input, Second Lieutenant Havoc. I'll put that information to good use. Now, before you leave- I've been informed by Lieutenant Hawkeye that you've been taking unnecessarily long cigarette breaks. She requested that I take away your smoking privileges for a week. Due to your recent exemplary performance, I think I'll deny that request. But she'll be watching you much closer now- so don't let it happen again. Dismissed."
Jean saluted, weak with relief, and left the office with Alphonse to fill in the others and await the results of Sergeant Brosh's interrogation. He looked at the ceiling and sighed.
I know you'd probably hate it if you knew how worried we are right now, but it's your own fault. You've really grown on us all, kid. Wherever you are, don't you dare die on us. Not today. Stick around a little bit longer. And blow something up while you're at. It'll help us find you quicker… but please, kid…just stay alive.