Chapter 4: Team up
Fido Antonio sat alone in Lt. Col. Armstrong's office, struggling to stay awake. He had drunk a large amount of coffee, but it did not seem to do the trick; he almost dozed off a few times.
The door opened, and the hulking man walked inside, dragging a State Alchemist Fido saw earlier with him. Fido did not understand why Armstrong was going shirtless, or why he was radiating so many sparkles. This guy is really creeping me out.
The female alchemist grunted and then found a seat next to Fido.
"Why the hell is his shirt?" he whispered to her.
"It's not my fault the Lieutenant Colonel hates shirts," the girl hissed, "how come you didn't remember anything?"
"My memory is... not that good. I can't even remember your name!"
"SILENCE!" Armstrong shouted. "Okay, since Mr. Antonio here isn't a reliable witness and Ms. Houston has time and time again failed to capture any rebel soldier, I have no choice but to force Mr. Antonio to join Ms. Houston doing her work. I will make sure Mr. Antonio is well-paid for his assistance."
"Wait a minute, why do you guys even need my help? I'm just an amateur."
Armstrong lowered his voice, "since most State Alchemists were fired, imprisoned, or killed during Roy Mustang's revolution, we really need anyone with some alchemical knowledge to assist us."
Gertrude Houston raised her eyebrows, "wait, what does alchemy has to do with the rebels?"
Armstrong placed a finger on his lips. He placed a small notebook on Gertrude's hands. "Go to the Second Branch Library and look for the documents written in this, then you will know where to start."
"The Second Branch Library, huh?" Gertrude stared at the notebook Armstrong gave her, then at her silver pocket watch."
Author's notes: For some reason, I have some trouble to find a convincing way to have Fido team up with Gertrude. If readers have any idea, please include in the review.