As always, thank you for your support and heart-warming reviews, Nuzha and RiverRush21 :) I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Chapter 8
"You were right, Riza." Sugar commented while sipping her tea, "You were right about Williams."
"Was I?" Riza placed a plate of cookies in front Sugar and sat on the couch, opposite to her.
Sugar immediately munched on a cookie. "Ooh, raspberry. Back to Williams, it's only been a little more than a week since I've moved to the Western Headquarters, and Ida and I already found his two subordinates, uh, what're their names again?"
"Brown and Baker."
"Right, Brown and Baker! We saw them exchanging suitcases with two men; I think they're Dubois' pawns, and I'm pretty sure they were exchanging money and drugs. I remember one of them clearly, he had a mole under his right eye, like Ross' but bigger; he had black hair and toothbrush mustache, and god did he have thick pouty lips."
Riza raised a brow. "When and where did you see them?"
"Around twenty-two hours, two days ago, outside this fancy-ass bar called 'The Crown', in the alley, near the back door of the bar." She continued, "We would follow them almost every night after work, and thanks to that, I got these freaking dark eye circles, look!" She pointed at the darker skin below her eye.
Riza chuckled lightly, "And?"
"We saw that Dubois guy, he's pretty hot isn't he?" She stated casually, unaware of Riza tensing slightly. "We saw him with a woman, actually several, different woman everyday. They would stay in the bars or pubs till one, then go to hotels."
"Hmm…" She hummed, and stood. "Alright, I'll report it to the Führer."
"Okay," Sugar stood too, stuffing another cookie in her mouth. They walked to the door while Riza opened it, and Sugar stepped out. "See ya soon."
She waved and saw her off until she was out of sight. Just when she was about head back, someone called out, "Miss Elizabeth!"
She whirled around to see her neighbor. "Miss Hannah." She greeted back, "How are you?"
"Fine, thank you." She replied rather timidly. "I baked some lemon cake, and I was wondering if you would like some."
Riza hid her surprise and nodded, with a smile hanging on her lips. "That would be lovely."
What a pretty garden, Riza thought as she sat on a chair with a tea table in front of her, while her eyes scanned the Rochester's house's garden, with a little pool and bushes of different kinds of flowers.
"Miss Elizabeth? Are you alright?"
She adverted her attention to the woman holding a tray with two teacups and saucers, a teapot and two plates of lemon cake slices. The teacup sets are crystal and trimmed with gold! She exclaimed mentally when Hannah placed the cup and plate in front of her. A life I can never relate to.
"Oh, yes I'm fine. I was just looking around, the garden is just so beautiful." She smiled at the older woman and looked over to a tree with delicate red flowers. "The plum blossom flowers are very pretty too."
"Thank you." Hannah chuckled and poured the tea in the cups. "You like plum blossom?"
Riza thanked her, "Yes. It fascinates me how it can bloom so vividly even during the harsh, cold winters. It's such a shame there aren't a lot in Amestris." She smiled brightly, "My husband told me where his mother lived had lots of plum blossoms planted there."
Hannah raised a brow, "You're husband's Xingese?"
"Half." She corrected and sipped her tea. "Hmm, rose tea?"
"Home-made," Hannah replied proudly, "I just made them this morning."
Riza took a bit of her lemon cake. "The cake's delicious too. How domestic, Miss Hannah. I can never be like you."
She laughed, "I'm glad you like it, I guess years of having cooking and baking lessons finally paid off. Ah, please bring some home. I baked a bit too much for two."
Riza joined her laughter, feeling relaxed and cheerful. But she felt odd when she glimpsed bruises on her neck and wrists, where her collar and sleeves failed to cover. When the conversation died down, she carefully asked. "What's wrong with your wrists and neck?"
Hannah tensed, eyes wide as saucers. She let out an awkward laugh, "Oh, it's nothing. Probably bumped into something without realizing, silly me."
Riza narrowed her eyes, "Really? What can you bump into to get that huge bruise on the neck without realizing?"
"It's nothing, really." Hannah frowned harder, eyes looking anywhere but her, and she clenched her trembling fists.
Just when Riza was about to pry more, her sharp ears heard footsteps running towards them, and she turned to see a boy running towards Hannah. Her mood instantly brightened when Hannah laughed and picked up her son, then planted a kiss on his cheek, while the boy squealed and giggled in joy.
"Say hello to Miss Elizabeth, sweetie." She held her son and faced Riza.
"Hello, Mrs. Grumman." Gerald greeted shyly.
"Hello, Gerald." Riza smiled at the sweet, fair-haired boy. "How was your day?"
Gerald pouted. "They teased me again. I told them to stop, but they wouldn't."
"They?" Riza asked. "Your classmates?"
He nodded. "Mrs. Grumman, am I weird?"
She looked at Hannah, seeing her sigh, she looked back down at the little boy. "Are you? I don't know. But you know what?" She grinned and pinched the boy's chubby cheeks gently, "All the best people are."
Gerald's eyes widened adorably in amazement and gave her a toothy grin. "Mama, did you hear her? She said I'm the best!"
Hannah smiled in gratitude at Riza and chuckled at her son. "She's right, you are, and you always will be."
She heard footsteps approaching the again, this time heavier. Before she could turn and see who it was, she saw the mother and son tense; Hannah hugged her son tighter, while the little boy clutched his mother, anxiety evident in their eyes.
"You're back, honey." Hannah spoke uneasily, and Gerald buried his head between his mother's shoulder and neck.
She turned, and frowned. Hannah's husband looked just like how Sugar described Dubois' subordinate looked like. He turned to her, sizing her up.
He smirked, lust building up and were evident in his eyes. He extended a hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Finch Rochester."
She shook his hand, but wasn't enough to take it back as he placed a kiss at the back of her hand. She suppressed the cringe and the urge to slap him, and managed, "Elizabeth Smith." She glanced at Hannah and narrowed her eyes at her, signaling her to not say a thing. "My husband and I just moved next doors a month ago."
"Last month? I should've noticed earlier. Hannah, why didn't you tell me anything?" He asked his wife rather harshly, and she looked down and muttered sorry. He looked back at Riza, her hand still in his. "Apologies, Mrs. Smith."
Riza shook her head politely and took her hand back. He continued, the smirk back on his face. "Ah, how nice, to have such a lovely lady as a neighbor. How bout' we have dinner sometime? I know this fantastic steak house downtown. Maybe this Friday, what do you say?"
"I'll have to ask my husband about it." She replied, trying not to whip the gun out from her thigh holster.
"Your husband?" He let out a booming laughter. "You know, it can be just the two of us."
She glanced at Hannah, puzzled. Sensing her irritation, Hannah spoke timidly. "Dear, why don't you-"
"Was I talking to you?" He snapped at his wife, and his son tensed and glared at him.
"Mr. Rochester." Riza interrupted and forced a smile. "About the dinner, I'd love to, but I'll have to ask my husband about it. He's rather protective, you see."
"Ha! More like controlling!" He wiggled his brows at her. "You ought to be with someone more carefree, love."
Hypocrite! She mentally snapped. "I should get going now, it was nice meeting you."
"Oh no, the pleasure's mine." He approached her and placed a kiss on her cheek, then left the garden.
"I'll walk you outside." Hannah smiled nervously at her.
She nodded and followed. "Goodness me. Your husband is a very, uh, bold man."
Hannah sighed. "I was young and stupid." She then looked down and murmured, "The only reason why I'm staying by his side is because I don't have the money to raise my son by myself."
When Riza was about to say something, Hannah looked up and spoke. "Ah, so are you Smith or…?"
Riza smiled sheepishly at her. "Grumman. But please do me a favor and refer me as Smith in front of him," She said and raised her index finger in front of her lips cutely, making Hannah chuckle. "Ah, and one more thing."
Hannah quirked a brow up. "What is it?"
She leaned closer to her. "You will soon be able to attain the money to raise little Gerald by yourself. Drug-dealing and domestic violence are illegal after all, and as long as you're willing to testify for the latter, half of the property belong to the wife after he goes to jail."
Hannah gave her a flabbergasted look, utterly bewildered and shocked. "Drug-dealing? Jail? What do you me-"
"It's been a wonderful teatime, thank you for the cake, Miss Hannah." Riza smiled lightly and turned to leave, but stopped when the older woman called out.
"Wait! Miss Elizabeth!"
"Yes?"
"I-" Hannah said, uncertainty in her voice. "I- There's so much to process right now, but…thank you. I don't know where the drug dealing came from, and who you really are, but I'll trust you. If there's anything you need or any favors to ask, I'm always here."
"Hmm… perhaps start looking for a job, you'll need it." She grinned and left.
"How was afternoon tea?" Roy asked the minute Riza stepped into the living room, where Roy was sitting on the sofa with a book on his lap.
"Wonderful, I brought you some cake." She placed it on the dining table and fetched a fork for him, then sat on the chair next to his seat. "Her husband, not so much."
"Her husband? You met him?" He asked as he approached her. He planted a sweet kiss on her forehead and she returned one on his cheek, and sat down. "What was he like?"
"Persistent and… handsy. He asked me if I would like to have dinner with him this Friday, just the two of us." She watched his smile twist to a frown in amusement.
"And? What did you say?" He nearly growled. Handsy? That bastard!
"I told him I needed to ask my husband first." He looked relieved for a moment. "But that's not the main point, Roy."
He frowned. "What is it? Did he do something to you?"
She shook her head. "He works for Dubois, Sugar and Ida saw him doing the business with Brown and Baker a few days ago. Roy?"
"Hmm?"
"Spousal abuse is a crime, right?"
"Depends." Roy replied as he took a bite of the cake, and smeared some icing on his lips. "Why? Did he?"
She nodded and wiped the icing off his lips with a thumb, and licked it off while Roy stared. "I saw a huge bruise on her neck, he probably strangled her."
"I see, and I assume that she wants to file a divorce but doesn't have enough money for both her and her son?" He took another bite.
She nodded again. "But I guess it doesn't matter if he's going to jail for drug trafficking anyways, she'll still get half of the property, and now I just need to report it to grandpa." She stood up, "Ah, now that I think about it, we'll need to go back to the bars to check on Dubois, it's been awhile since we went. He's supposedly going to 'The King's Head' tomorrow, right?"
He let out a muffled 'yeah' while finishing his cake.
Riza shivered slightly as she stepped out of the house with Roy. She couldn't be blamed, really, for wearing a skater dress on a chilly December night. She was on a goddamned undercover mission! But on the bright side, she looked lovely in the dark plum dress with lace half sleeves, and matching high heels. It took Roy nearly all his willpower to manage to look away from her.
Roy chuckled when his wife leaned closer to him, pressing her side to his. He offered his coat, but she declined and opted for his arm. "Well, here we are." He announced when they arrived.
'The King's Head' was a fancy bar, just like 'The Crown', if not, the music was more cheerful than the classy one in 'The Crown'. They stepped in, and Riza immediately noticed two familiar faces sitting near the edge of the counter.
"Ida! Sugar!" The two turned to the couple approaching them. She lowered her voice, "Dubois or Williams?"
"The former, and his subordinate." Ida replied and smiled, "It's been awhile, Miss Elizabeth."
"It sure has." Riza grinned and they exchanged a friendly half-hug. "So where are they?"
The two lower ranked soldiers sent the General a respectful nod to replace a salute, while Mustang returned it with an acknowledging one. "They're inside."
"Roy," She looked up at him and pulled him down slightly to his level. "Go ask the ladies about him, but leave if you see him or his subordinate, they might recognize you."
He nodded and went. Riza continued. "Sugar, that subordinate, Finch Rochester, he's my neighbor."
Sugar looked at her, wide-eyed. "Are you kidding me? My, we live in such a tiny-ass world."
She nodded, "He's also suspected of domestic violence. I saw bruises on his wife's neck and wrists, I can't be a hundred percent sure if it's him, but she dropped several hints."
"Scum." Sugar snorted while Ida nodded his head in agreement.
"You two keep watch while I take a look of them. Hopefully I can get something out of them." Riza said and walked further inside of the bar.
She instantly spotted Dubois and Rochester, sitting on a couch with women sitting around them. She settled at the counter, sitting on the stool, planning her strategy.
Just when she was about to order a drink for herself, a tall glass of Zombie was in front of her. She looked up at the bartender, "I didn't order anything ye-"
The bartender pointed towards the end of the bar counter. She turned to see Rochester smirking at her. "Hello, love."
She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at him without him noticing, "…Hello, Mr. Rochester." At this point, she could notice Roy glaring at him while the woman in front of him flirted shamelessly. She glared back, signaling him to not do a thing.
"And I was wondering why you turned me down." Rochester continued, "Are you alone?"
"My husband's here too. And you shouldn't be alone, it's Friday night, aren't you supposed to be with your wife and son?" Riza quirked a brow.
"Them! I'd rather not, especially after you're here, next to me." His smirk widened as he placed a hand over hers and one on her thigh, rubbing it. He leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "Say, why don't we play some pool?"
Irritated, she removed his hand off her thigh and stood. "I don't see why not."
He laughed and as they walked towards the pool table, she signaled her friends to come closer and keep an eye on her and Dubois. Understanding her signal, Ida and Sugar sat on the stools near the counter and ordered drinks for themselves a few moments after Riza glanced at them.
Roy, too, watched carefully as Riza and Rochester each had a cue stick in their hands, as he resisted the urge to slip his ignition gloves on and the burn the man to crisps. His temper flared up when Rochester wrapped his arm over her waist, and all he wanted to do was to fling the girl in front of him off, and drag Riza home after setting that man on fire.
Riza pulled away from him and frowned. "Mr. Rochester, would you please cut it out? You're a married man and I'm a married woman, I intend to be loyal to my husband."
He frowned, then it twisted back into the smirk he had. "Why not this, if you win, I'll give you anything you want. Anything. But if I win, you give me a kiss, on the lips. Deal? Ah, and of course we don't have to do it in here, if you don't want your dear husband to see it."
Not in here? Her lips twisted into a small smirk. "Deal."
Rochester's smirk couldn't get any wider and nastier when he struck the eight ball down the pocket. He immediately turned to Riza and grasped her chin, "Well, love, a deal is a deal."
Riza mocked a sigh. "Tis-" Before she could finish her sentence, he crashed his lips onto hers, molding it against hers roughly, while trying to forcefully plunge his tongue into her mouth as Riza desperately clammed her mouth shut.
She pushed him away from her, and wiped her nearly bruising lips. "Not in here, remember?"
Rochester chuckled. "My apologies. Well then, let us get out of here."
Riza nodded and followed him to the back door that led to the alley. She glanced at Ida and Sugar, and they nodded as Ida proceeded to leave the bar while Sugar continued to keep an eye on Dubois.
She sighed when Dubois didn't seem to notice his subordinate leaving as the women around him kept him occupied. Just be careful, Riza! She thought warily.
A/N: Hm. I think I'll update every Friday (HK time). Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are very welcomed :)
