Behind Closed Doors
Summary: Children have been disappearing all over Central City for the past few months. When Roy is put on the case, his worst nightmare becomes a reality he'd rather not live... especially when Edward disappears. (Parental Relationship)
Warnings: Torture, pain, possibly gruesome descriptions and lots of angst… and slight possibility of Male x Male implications…
Authors Note: (Sniffles) Writing this chapter brought tears to my eyes! Hope I don't make you cry too! I suggest you find a box of tissues before you read any further… (Sniffs) Poor Al…
(Cries again…)
Ch7; Of Brothers and Losses…
"Gone…"
He clasped his hands around his head.
"He's gone…"
His fingers tangled in his hair, squeezing tightly.
"He was… taken… by them…"
Tears collected at the corner of his eyes, threatening to spill over the rim.
"They have him…"
He squeezed his eyes shut, his tears finding their boundaries and flowing over them, tumbling down his face, his whole body shaking.
"They have Edward…"
They had his brother…
"Iyah!" The cry came out all strangled and odd, the lump in his throat unwilling to let sound come out properly. He doubled over wrapping his arms around his torso and squeezing himself into a foetal position, feeling suddenly very alone and lost. "Nii-San!" He was his rock, his anchor; the one and only person he could truly feel safe with…the last of his family and he was gone. It was like losing his mother all over again…
A pair of warm hands gently wrapped around his chest, snaking their way past his tensed muscles. A body pressed up against his back and pulled him close.
Winry.
He welcomed the embrace; seeking comfort from the only other person he would honour with the sacred name of family. She was as much his sister as she was his best friend and loving wife.
He held onto her arms drawing in her presence to fight off the pain in his chest, to fill the hole that his brother had occupied for so long… he broke down in her arms.
"NII-SAN…"
"Roy, my boy what brings you here?" the old man had answered the door himself and quickly ushered the young man inside leading him to the sitting room and pouring him a tumbler of old port before settling down himself.
"Well it's a business visit actually, I'm looking for someone. Have you heard any news of a boy called Edward Elric?" Roy cut right to the chase watching the man intently, his eyes flashing with hope and the urgent need for a breakthrough. The old man sat down and frowned. He could tell the boy was of importance to the Colonel but to be honest he was getting on a bit and his memory needed a few minutes to recall certain names and faces.
"Edward Elric you say?" The old man sat back, finding a comfortable position to think in. Roy sat rigid in his seat, watching the old man like a hawk. "I do recognise that name from somewhere… let me think for a second I'm sure it'll come to me." Roy's eyebrow twitched. He was on edge and ready to try somewhere else if the old man couldn't help, this was visible even to the blind which was why the old General wanted to help even more.
"If you don't know Sir it's quite alright, I'll look somewhere else." He'd already decided the old General didn't know anything, the guy was senile. The General saw this but made no response. Roy was just about to stand and presume he'd already been forgotten when the old man spoke up.
"Say, he wouldn't be Hoenheim's little boy would he?" Shocked coal eyes looked up into bright sapphire eyes and the knowing glint behind them intensified. Hope renewed itself within the dark haired Colonel.
"You know Hoenheim Elric?" He asked, his interest showing though. The General smiled kindly at him, showing his age.
"I think 'knew' is the word we're looking for here. Yes I knew Hoenheim, used to bring little Edward with him when he visited a few times, heard he had another boy too; Allan was it? … No, Alfie?" Roy harrumphed before correcting the old man.
"Alphonse."
"Ah! Yes Alphonse. Not as gifted as Edward, but quite the whippersnapper." The old retired General sat back in his high backed seat and rested his hands on his chest, feeling rather proud at having remembered a few old faces from long ago. "I say, how is the boy anyway? He never comes to visit anymore. He must be 18 or 19 now right? Come on man, say something of the boy. An old man can't wait forever." Roy froze, hesitant to answer the man's questions even if he could push sound past the lump in his throat. It didn't go unnoticed.
"Is he ok?" Roy carefully looked up to face the old General with a Colonel's dignity.
"He was abducted last night. I'm sorry, I tried to stop them, but I was too late… He's gone."
Derry opened up the steel holding doors, wincing at the loud squealing creaks that sounded, and let the fat man step inside. A light flicked on and the large man suddenly found himself face to face with a pale face framed with golden blond hair. The boy was strung up like a marionette on chains that hung from the ceiling of the holding cabin while his legs dangled freely just above the straw on the floor. He was out like a light, just as Derry had said he would be. The fat man frowned… the kid was familiar.
"Well this is disappointing, somehow I imagined him a little… bigger." He said, successfully hiding his puzzlement with a different excuse. Derry grunted in agreement, he hadn't believed it himself but when he saw those eyes he just knew. He'd read many newspapers and magazines where witnesses had described the Fullmetal Alchemist with golden eyes like those of a cat; a most unusual colour which just so happened to compliment his hair greatly. Many people had speculated as to why the Fullmetal Alchemist had such peculiar eye colouring and whether it was a way to enhance his power and other such foddle. Derry didn't know and didn't care. He was just after the money the kid was going to earn him.
He let the big man inspect the boy some more, watching as he tested the boy's muscular form and aesthetic symmetry. It wasn't until the large man lifted the lids of the boy's eyes that he spoke again.
"My, my, such vivid colour." A cruel smirk found his unfortunate features. "Watching those eyes change will be fun..." He stepped back from the boy allowing three of Derry's own men to wake the boy up with a counter drug. It wouldn't be fun if the boy was asleep during the entire time he was being beaten now would it?
Mere minutes later two bleary golden eyes opened carefully, not yet registering anything. A small groan escaped the kid's lips and the cruel smirks on the two men in front of him grew. The big man rounded his fist and adjusted his large rings in order to create as much damage as he possibly could.
"Payback's a bitch…" He muttered before sending his heavily armed fist toward the unsuspecting teen at high speed…
The following crack could be heard for miles.
"General, Sir I - " Colonel Mustang began but the old man held up his weathered hand to stop him.
"Colonel, please. I haven't been a General for three years; give a retired old man some dignity. Call me Victor; it is my name after all." Roy felt chastised but quickly recovered and felt the need to repay the favour.
"Only, Sir, if you call me by mine." The old man smiled and chuckled half heartedly. The atmosphere had damped dramatically since the news of Edward's disappearance in the household. It was unexpected but not unsympathised by the young Colonel.
"Victor, Sir, I've come here to ask you about the Underground Secret Trade Organisation otherwise known - " He began, thinking of no other way to get out of the awkward situation than the direct approach but the General seemed to know what he was talking about.
"Otherwise known as the USTO yes I have heard of it. I spent a good part of my life investigating it and I got quite far until the higher ups enforced my retirement. That side of the story had been quiet for some time until last week." This perked Roy's attention and the General took that as a hint to continue. "A friend came by and as time went on our conversation turned to that of the USTO. Apparently the original Boss had been captured by a young alchemist not very long ago but his son took over the business and relocated. I believe the man's name was Sir Freiderick Rancheros of the Rancheros family. Had three sons, two of which are now dead and the third now immensely rich but sour at his father's capture. Hans I think his name was. Yes, Hans Rancheros. That's the person you're looking for."
"Rancheros; sounds familiar." The dark haired man frowned in thought. He'd definitely heard that name before but from where? He couldn't think.
"It should do. You're the Colonel with that famous Fullmetal man aren't you?" Roy looked up a little confused at the man's statement before the truth of the matter revealed itself. It seemed the old man didn't know that Edward Elric and the Fullmetal Alchemist were one and the same. It wasn't that much of a surprise really; Pei-Ling didn't associate that much with the world outside its borders. It was a wonder Roy was actually allowed to enter at all considering the jurisdiction rights over such a case. But the higher ups in Pei-Ling knew who he was and how he was connected to the missing Alchemist. They were also considerate enough to keep it on the low so as not to scare off the people he was tracking down.
Besides, one of the Pei-Ling officials was a debtor too.
"I am." He said cautiously, thinking it would be better if Edward told the man this bit of information… if he could find him in time that is.
"Well then you should know that name very well. You sent him on the mission to find and arrest the man. From what I hear the man did a good job about it too. Freiderick was captured and imprisoned within two weeks where it took me two years to track down the name of the guy." All of a sudden the case came back and hit him in the head. Of course! He remembered the mission and how Edward had thwarted the man with ease; cornering the guy in his own building with his own words and his own tactics. The boy had been a valuable asset on that case and had closed it quickly too. But that just opened up another case it seemed. So why wasn't Central aware of the USTO still running or how the son of Freiderick Rancheros had taken over and was now illegally transporting and hiding illegal goods… including his subordinate?! This needed looking into for more reasons than Edward's case but right now his subordinate needed rescuing.
"Can you tell me where this USTO might be or is there anyone who can help me find them?"
"You think Edward's abductor will use the USTO?" Roy nodded… a pause. "Do you have a team of men at your disposal?" again the Colonel nodded; his eyes dark while the man paused in thought again. "Then I can take you there myself." Roy's eyes flew up to meet those of the old man's with surprise. The questions were written all over the young man's face and the General smiled kindly.
"Colonel Mustang, I was forced to retire when I was on the verge of a breakthrough. It was an unfair dismissal and I have never forgiven the military for that. I was the best in my field and they knew it. That alone told me that the military was corrupted." He paused letting the young man process that information but before Roy could ask the next question, the old man answered it. "I could trust no one Colonel. I'm old and not as quick as I used to be. If I wanted these people brought to justice I'd have to pass my knowledge to someone I could trust to take my place and end this trivial nonsense and get Amestris back to how she should be." Roy swallowed hard. Someone had known, long before he was even remotely suspicious, that the Military had been corrupt.
"Gather your men Colonel. This old General wants one more piece of the action before he's forgotten completely." Roy slid a small smile onto his lips. Perhaps a word or two with the new Fuehrer would put this old man where he wants to be? Who knew?
He stood and mock saluted with a new hopeful smile.
"Yes Sir."
