A/N I am sick today which is why I'm updating in the middle of the day. I'm not cutting school or anything... Anyway, here is chapter six, and it has Ling! I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time Ling has made an appearance. (I know it's really sad that I don't know that, but I'll blame it on the fact that my head's about to explode.) So, please don't be daunted by that huge first paragraph. It's honestly probably the largest one I've ever written. Nothing else to say except to thank everyone for reviewing and adding this story to alerts and favorites!

Hawkeye sat on the edge of the small bed in her prison cell. Absently, she fingered the unfamiliar clothes she had on. The cotton shirt was scratchy, but she hardly noticed; she was focused entirely on evaluating her options. At the moment, there wasn't much she could do. Having already tested the iron bars and found that they were sturdy, she was fairly certain there was no way of escape with what she had. Her next option was to somehow trick a guard into unlocking the cell, or somehow stealing their keys. In a prison with this level of security she decided it was unlikely that the guards just patrolling the hallways had the keys to her cell. It was a much more logical assumption that only higher ups, or possibly only Colonel Douglas himself held the keys, so stealing a set was out of the question. She also considered faking some kind of injury and forcing them to open the door to see what was wrong and give her treatment. If she could catch them by surprise by putting on a good enough show, Hawkeye was certain she could overpower whoever it was. Of course, then she would be faced with the dilemma of breaking out of a high security prison full of armed guards. Even with her stealth training and experience in covert operations, she doubted she could make it to the main gate without being apprehend. That plan was still in her arsenal if it came to that, but for the moment she hoped that the colonel would find way to get her out of here. She doubted it, though; someone had went to a great deal of trouble to frame her for this murder, she was sure that nothing Mustang tried would get her out. At least nothing legal. So, she was left with just hoping that the rest of the team could keep him from doing something stupid and rash.

Well I can't just sit around! Hawkeye thought, frustrated. She got up and started to pace the tiny room. In two strides she had reached the opposite wall. She stopped there, and rested her head against the wall. She couldn't even pace. With a small sigh, she turned around so her back was pressed against the wall and she slowly slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. She buried her face in her hands. She didn't know what she was going to do. It was not a feeling Riza Hawkeye was used to. Well, if I can't escape, I can at least try to get a message to the colonel, telling him what's happened… Now if only she could think of a way to do that…

There had to be a way. There was always a way to do something, it was just a matter of her thinking of it. They hadn't let her call anyone, so technically she was entitled to a phone call. If they let her take it, she couldn't call the colonel directly, but maybe she could call someone else. Maybe Madam Christmas. She would be discreet and she would get the message to the colonel, but Hawkeye didn't want to bring any unnecessary trouble down on the Madam. When running a hostess bar, one tends to try and stay out of the military polices' way. There was always a chance that they would try and trace the call. Not being a technician, Hawkeye wasn't certain if they could succeed or not, but she'd rather not risk it. Of course, all this consideration might just be a waste of time. They had searched her apartment illegally, manufactured evidence and somehow gotten false testimony, why should they break the pattern now and let her actually have a phone call?

Suddenly, the halls were ringing with a loud clanking sound. Quickly, Hawkeye stood up and pressed her face to the bars, trying to see what was going on. Unfortunately, her cell was right on a corner and she couldn't see at all into the next corridor, where the noise seemed to be coming from.

Hawkeye gave a slight gasp of surprise as a guard was thrown into her sight. He slid across the floor with a slight ooof. He then lie still, she couldn't tell if he was dead or just unconscious. It was clear something was happening. Dammit! Please don't let the colonel have stormed the prison! She prayed desperately. Despite what he thought of himself, the colonel was a good man. Hawkeye knew that he wouldn't just abandon her here. Whether or not that was a good thing though… But he wouldn't have been stupid enough to try and break her out himself, right?

The clanking was getting closer. It was right around the bend… any second now. Her knuckles went white, she was gripping the bars so hard. It was like time had slowed and everything was happening in slow motion. First his foot appeared, then his leg, his body and torso, and finally his head. Despite the sluggish pace at which it seemed to happen, her mind couldn't work until Barry the chopper was standing right in front of her cell. Of all the things she had expected to see, he wasn't very high on the list. She dropped the bars and stumbled backwards in surprise.

"Hello, Honey!" Barry said, in one of his more menacing voices. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"B-Barry! What're you doing here?" She asked, backing up a few more steps.

Instead of answering, he slashed the sword he was carrying down on the lock to her cell. It snapped off easily.

"Word on the street is that you murdered some guy named Hughes…" Barry said, opening the door and coming into the cell.

This time Hawkeye stood her ground. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at Barry. "I hope you didn't kill any guards," she stated, starting to catch on to what was going on.

"Awww, c'mon! I come here to save you and all ya do is scold me!"

"Did you?" Hawkeye asked, her glare deepening.

"Nah. I just knocked them out. It's no fun if ya don't chop 'em up."

Hawkeye gave a sigh of relief. If he hadn't killed anyone it was most likely because the colonel had sent him, and ordered him not to. She relaxed a bit, but still didn't let her guard down. Better safe than sorry. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"Why d'ya think, honey? I'm here to bust you out!"

"But…" what was the colonel planning?

"No buts! If ya don't come with me, they'll put you in front of the firing squad!"

"What?" Hawkeye asked.

"Have a look for yourself," Barry replied, reaching into the odd half-coat he always wore and pulled out a newspaper.

Hawkeye snatched it from him. She immediately saw her picture, and read the headline. She stared at the article, shocked. With a jolt of surprise, she realized that she wasn't shocked at all. Like deep down, she had known that this would happen. "I've been convicted?" she asked. There was no emotion in her voice, just weariness. She never should have gotten up today. Today. She couldn't believe that it hadn't even been a full day since everything bad thing possible started happening. It was like she was in a dream that she couldn't wake up from.

"Yep, toots. You can come with me and escape, or stay here to be executed."

Hawkeye quickly scanned the article. Although, it pronounced her guilty, it made no mention of what her punishment would be. Undoubtedly, Barry was right, though. She knew military law well enough. Killing a superior officer was treason, a crime punishable by death. The public would call for her execution, they would have nothing less. No one would have any trouble believing she'd done it. After all, twenty percent of all officer assassinations were committed by subordinates. "Alright, let's go."

"Uh, guys… Not to interrupt, but I think the backup's arriving!"

Hawkeye turned towards the voice. To her surprise she saw a young Xingese man. Based on his height, Hawkeye guessed he was a little older than Edward Elric. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. "Who are you?" she asked, suddenly not so sure that the colonel had orchestrated this whole thing.

"An illegal immigrant I picked up." Barry answered.

"I'm Ling Yao, nice to meet you," he said, smiling and inclining his head slightly. "Now, we really should be leaving."

Hawkeye shook her head. She turned back to Barry. Not certain that she was making the right decision, she said, "Alright, let's go."

The three of them started sprinting towards the doors of military police headquarters. Hawkeye and Ling ducked behind Barry's metal body when the soldiers who had been called in as backup started firing. Any of them who weren't incapacitated by the ricocheting bullets, Barry quickly knocked out with the hilt of his sword. Hawkeye spared a moment to pity them before running past. Barry also efficiently took care of any stray guards they came across. In almost no time, they had reached the doors, and burst into the night.

"Which way?" Hawkeye asked, when they were standing on the street.

"Follow me!" Barry yelled, and took off into the darkness.

For a moment, Hawkeye stood still, unsure of what to do. Well, she had trusted Barry this far. On the one hand, he might be here on Mustang's orders… on the other he just wanted to chop her up. She didn't have any guns on her, but she was fairly confident she could get away from him unscathed if she needed to. Deciding to hedge her bets, she ran after Barry.

Mustang sat at his desk, his head resting on his folded hands, he was staring at the phone. The not knowing was killing him. So far, he hadn't heard anything. He wasn't supposed to do anything until the escape was reported, but he was debating with himself about leaving for Second Street right then. And of course, another part of him wanted to go down to the prison to see what was taking so long. They should have been out by now, right? Any number of things could have gone wrong. He shuddered to think what would happen if the military caught Barry. Mustang knew Barry would give him up in a second to save his own skin. Maybe this wasn't the smartest plan in the world, but it was the lieutenant's only chance. Nothing in life is gained without risk. If he had to risk his career on getting her to safety, he would do it gladly.

Suddenly, the phone rang. The colonel jumped in his seat. Shakily, he reached out a hand to pick it up. "Colonel Mustang," he said.

"Sir?" came the squeaking response. Most likely some low-ranking officer from the communications department.

"Yes," Mustang said, drumming his fingers on the desk, impatiently.

"I'm Sergeant Weiss. I-I have orders for you. Well for the whole military actuall-"

"What are they?" Mustang asked.

"I'm supposed to inform you that First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye has escaped from the detention center in the western sector. She was convicted of the murder of Brigadier General Maes Hughes. Her comrades are believed to be armed and dangerous."

"Oh?" Mustang asked coolly, but on the inside he gave a massive sigh of relief. They had made it. They were out. Wait a second, comrades? He wondered, but before he could think about the matter anymore, the Sergeant started speaking again.

"All military personal are to be on the lookout for her. Your orders are to mobilize some or all of your subordinates to aid in the search. If the fugitives resist, shoot to kill."

Mustang felt his stomach drop at those words. Shoot to kill. He knew he should be happy with those orders, his entire plan depended on them, but still… Shoot to kill. "Alright. Thank you." He said to Sergeant Weiss.

"Yes, sir!" With a click, the call ended.

For a second, Mustang couldn't move. Shoot to kill. He shook his head to clear it. This was no time to become unfocused. He had to meet Barry and the Lieutenant. He shuddered as he thought of what would happen if other military personal caught them first. That won't happen! He thought fiercely. "Lieutenant Breda," Mustang said.

Breda turned. "Yes, sir?"

"I'm going out for a few minutes. Take care of things while I'm gone." Mustang said, reaching into a drawer in his desk and grasping his ignition gloves.

"Yes, sir!" Breda said snapping a salute.

As the colonel left the room, Breda gave him a quick nod, as if to say 'good luck.' He then grabbed the phone and punched in a number. After a few rings, he said, "Hello, Jacqueline? Yeah, my boss just left. I think he's going to meet Elizabeth."

Mustang smiled, and snapped the door closed, cutting off the rest of the conversation.

A/N Please stay tuned for the next chapter! And please, please, please, I cannot stress this enough, please, review!