EPILOGUE

Roy looked at the piece of paper again, then back over at his First Lieutenant. "Why in the world are we going out in the middle of nowhere? I'm a Lieutenant Colonel, can't I send a couple of my men on this wild goose chase?"

A small sigh escaped Hawkeye's lips. "This isn't just any old alchemist. There is a rumor that this person is a relative of Hoenheim- an alchemist of some renown. The state wants this man in under their command, they are convinced that he could be a valuable asset to the military."

"Yes, I am well aware of Hoeneheim." He said in a drab droll. "That is assuming of course that he actually wants to join the military."

"That is why they need your charms." He didn't miss the slightly mischievous smile that she gave him.

"And you are coming with me, right?"

"Who else would you trust to keep you on the right path, sir?"

A smile was her only answer. No one, they both knew it. She was his rock, his anchor. She kept him on the straight and narrow path, the path that would lead him to the highest position in the land. He wouldn't trust anyone else with his life but her.

He looked down at the paper again. "Thirty one years old, from Risembool. Hmm. That is out east. I remember passing through there when we were heading out to Ishval. But I don't remember any rumors about any alchemists then. You'd think that we would have heard of him."

"Unless he moved there, or wasn't an accomplished alchemist yet."

"That was only a few years ago. No alchemist gets that good, that fast. I took seven straight years of strict training from your father, and even then I had to learn more on my own."

Hawkeye rolled her eyes. "Of course because if you can't do it less than seven years, then no one can right?" she said, bemusedly. "Well, I guess we will have to ask him when we get there, sir." She smiled at him. "What was the man's name again?"

"Edward Elric."

"I have purchased our tickets already, we leave this afternoon. I suggest that you take the rest of the day off to pack. Lieutenant Havoc will pick you up promptly at 1600 hours. When we get there, we can find out the story of his man, Edward Elric."