Chapter 9: Broken Rules
With a silent sigh, Riza signed a paper with the plans she had been working on for the last couple of months. She was organizing the reconstruction of an old building to serve as the first Military museum of the country. It was well overdue, and she was happy to be in charge of a cultural project for a change.
The Führer's office was not the same King Bradley had used. When the repairs were finished after the Promised Day, Riza had been quick in checking all the rooms to suggest Roy to take the safest one, leaving the second best for Grumman. It wasn't the biggest or prettiest of them all, but there were no tall buildings in front of that side of H.Q. from where sharpshooters could hurt them.
As Roy had promised her, they were still sharing the office, and so were most members of his old team. Her desk was next to Havoc's. In front of them, against the opposite wall of the room, were Breda's and Falman's desks. Fuery, however, had been promoted and was working now in the Communications' room, with his own two subordinates.
Riza looked at Roy. His hair was always slicked back now, during work. He looked more serious, more adult. It was uncomfortable for him, she knew; but he never complained. His impeccable uniform and his medals became eventually a single item. He even carried a sword, sometimes on special occasions, and sometimes just because. It was heavy, and he would never use it, but it was a symbol of his power; it inspired respect.
Roy blinked, and his attention moved from the document on his desk to his wife's eyes, like he felt he was being watched. For a moment Riza just stared back, and a sensation of warmth washed over her. Roy smiled softly and winked at her, and the pen fell off her hand. Every now and then she allowed herself a second of weakness, in the safety of the office, in the privacy of their silent communication. It was a welcomed, much needed distraction.
Concealing a sheepish smile, she moved the pen from the paper it had fallen on, and left it aside. She closed the folder and stood up.
"I'll get a cup of tea. Does anyone want some?"
"No, thank you," replied the three men in the office.
"All right."
She reached the exit and barely touched the handle, when the door slammed against her side and she fell violently. She whimpered, and immediately heard a group of chairs scraping against the floor.
"Whoa, shit!"
She looked up and saw Havoc kneeling against her.
"I'm really sorry, Lieutenant Colonel. Are you all right?"
Teary-eyed, she massaged the back of her head. "…I guess."
"Havoc, what the hell?!"
Roy was helping her stand up before she even saw him coming.
"I'm sorry, sir! I came running and pushed the door too hard."
"Why were you even running?" Breda asked.
Havoc grinned widely. "They say there'll be ice cream for dessert today! We need to take the first turn of lunch break."
Breda gasped.
"No, you won't," Roy told him. He helped Riza walk back to her desk. "You just assaulted my wife. I don't think you're getting any ice cream, Captain."
Havoc looked devastated. "But it was an accident!"
"How are you feeling, Lieutenant Colonel?" Falman asked. "I can bring you an aspirin."
Riza waved her hand dismissively. "I'll be fine."
Roy sighed with exasperation. "Bring the Lieutenant Colonel and me our lunch first, and then you can take your break."
"Right away," Havoc said. "Again, I'm really sorry, Lieutenant Colonel."
Riza nodded. "It's fine."
Havoc abandoned the office. Breda and Falman sat back down, and Roy sat on Havoc's chair, close to Riza. He looked at her with a frown, and she smiled wryly.
Riza removed her turtleneck and put it on top of her uniform jacket, over the compartment's door in the ladies' room. One of her bra's straps had fallen off her shoulders when she hit the floor, and having lunch like that had been terribly uncomfortable.
As easy as the movements should be, she found the work to be quite complicated, if not painful. The muscles in her back and neck had tensed up during the incident, and she couldn't turn her head freely. Sighing, she fixed the clothing problem as careful as possible and started to get dressed.
She heard a pair of women entering and stopping by the mirrors.
"I'm just saying," one said. "I like Hawkeye but I can't believe nothing happened before the engagement."
Riza froze in the motion of putting back her jacket. People would talk; they always did. But making her presence known wouldn't be the best idea now if she wanted to prevent an awkward moment.
"That's none of your business, though," the other woman replied.
Riza recognized her voice. That was Second Lieutenant Lucy Olmsted. She had met her in the academy and they took some courses together. Olmsted was stationed in Briggs for a long time, but was transferred to Central after the Promised Day when there was an urgent need to fill the positions that the fallen soldiers had vacated.
"Of course it is. It's everyone's business. You know I liked Sergeant Brosh, but did I do something about it?"
The faucet was turned on.
"No, I did not," she continued. "I had to suck it up and go on; otherwise I'd have ended up behind bars."
Riza buttoned her jacket and noticed the silence in the room as someone washed her hands.
"I'm sure the ink must have entered my veins by now," Olmsted muttered. "Stupid pen."
Her friend chuckled. "Anyway, I'm sure some rules were broken here, and it's so unfair. I mean, they were always together; it's obvious they were seeing each other."
"Even if they were, there's no way to prove it now. You're wasting your time judging people like that."
"Yeah, I guess." She sighed. "My time's up."
The faucet was turned off.
"Bye."
Riza heard the door being opened and closed, and the sound of the towel being yanked from its hanger. She stepped out of the compartment and stood next to Olmsted, to the clear surprise of the younger woman.
"Lieu—Lieutenant Colonel!" she stuttered; her face getting a reddish tone. "I'm sorry, we—"
"Don't worry about it."
The Second Lieutenant dried her hands with care as the Lieutenant Colonel washed hers. Riza looked at the mirror. She had removed her clip barrette to lift the turtleneck over her head. She didn't want to make any unnecessary movements that would bother her muscles, so she left her hair down.
"Last week you mentioned you wanted to help with the museum, right?" Riza asked.
"Yes, I can type the informational signs."
"I'm almost finished with the list of exhibits; can I bring it to you later?"
"Sure, I'd love to check it out."
"All right, thank you."
Olmsted opened the door. "You know, you always stay a little longer than me, so if I'm gone by then, you can leave it on my desk."
Riza smiled at her. "I will."
Jean Havoc dropped the cigarette to the ground and turned it off with his shoe. Cutting his break short, he rushed back inside the building to inform the Führer that the person he had been waiting for was here. Having seen her car approaching from the height of H.Q.'s building, the blonde Captain calculated there were still five minutes left until she reached Roy's office.
In the hallway he found Falman entering the office and he followed him in. There was no one else inside.
"Have you seen the Führer?" Havoc asked him. "The Ice Queen is here."
Falman raised his eyebrows. "Oh! Well, he was not in the cafeteria and neither was the Lieutenant Colonel." He walked to the door on the left of Roy's desk. "They might be in his private office."
Havoc nodded. "If he's not there I'll go look for him."
Falman fisted his hand and raised it to knock—he froze. Immediately he looked at Havoc.
He frowned. "What?"
Falman began to sweat. His fist loosened as his index finger pointed toward the door back and forth, indicating that something was going on in there.
Havoc stood up and approached Falman just when Breda entered the office. Confused at his coworkers but nonetheless curious, he joined them too.
Silently, they leaned toward the door and listened.
They heard someone moan.
The three men bolted upright in shock and exchanged glances. Yes, they had all heard the same thing. Falman stepped back, but Breda grabbed his collar and pushed him close to the door again.
"Wait, not that hard," a woman said. It was Riza's voice.
"I'm sorry!" Roy replied. He sounded worried.
"You can be more gentle."
Havoc shook his head. "I think this is bad, guys," he whispered.
"There?" Roy asked.
"Yeah, that's nice."
"Hold your hair."
As seconds passed, Riza moaned once; then twice. Havoc, Falman and Breda shared wide-eyed looks as they listened.
"Do you like that?"
"You're so good."
Falman frowned. "This is not allowed!"
Breda slapped the back of Falman's head; then touched his lips with a finger to ask for silence.
Riza moaned again.
"That sounds pretty hot, Lieutenant Colonel. Glad you're enjoying yourself."
"Oh, could you not make fun of me?"
"I'm serious. I'd take you home right now."
"Ah, that'd be great, actually. I could lie down on the bed."
"Don't worry. My offer to keep my hands all over you will still stand later."
Riza snorted. "Somehow that doesn't sound too bad. You have magical hands."
Havoc breathed through his teeth. "We should tell them to stop. Armstrong will arrive any moment, now."
Riza moaned. "Ah, yes." And again. "Right there."
"Damn, seriously. I'll need a cold shower if you keep doing that."
"I'm sorry, it does feel good."
Breda sighed. "I'll go check." He went to the door and stuck his head out into the hallway. Immediately after he got back into the office and ran toward the men. In a rushed whisper, he told them, "She's coming!"
Havoc and Falman gasped.
Roy's assistant forced his eyes shut and, all tensed up, knocked quickly and repeatedly on the door. "Sir! General Armstrong is here to see you, sir!"
For a moment there was silence. Olivier Armstrong finally entered; Breda had left the door ajar. The three men stood in a line as she walked toward the private office and saluted her.
"Welcome to Central, General Armstrong!" they all said.
She nodded. "Thank you. Is the Führer there?"
Riza emerged from the office with her hair still down, and Roy came out behind her.
Riza saluted her. "Good morning, General. Welcome back."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel. Good to see you." She saluted Roy. "Führer Mustang."
"Thank you for coming, General Armstrong," he said. "Please come in."
Roy and Olivier got into the private office and he closed the door, while Falman closed the door to the hallway. Riza walked to her desk and, in the movement of the others getting back to their respective places, she noticed they were all watching her.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"
Falman flinched. "Uh…"
"Not at all!" said Breda, and forced a smile that he soon covered with a book.
Stranged, Riza eyed them with suspicion, but didn't ask any more questions.
It was about half an hour past leave time; almost everyone had left the building by then. In the Führer's office, only Roy's assistant, Falman, had stayed behind to help him with the last few documents. Time had flown by for Riza, and she'd forgotten to bring Sec. Lieut. Olmsted the folder with the Military museum files. She would be probably home by now.
Remembering their earlier conversation, Riza still took the folder and brought it to her commanding officer's office, for Olmsted to find the next morning.
She knocked on the door and got no reply, so she opened it. She only took a step forward before she froze.
On the other end of the office, before the window, two people in military uniform were kissing. Riza's jaw dropped. The tall man was in his late thirties and wearing a ponytail. She recognized him immediately.
"Lieutenant Colonel Copper!"
With a jump of surprise, the pair broke apart. The brunette woman that was with him, whose back was facing Riza, turned around to look at her. Riza gasped in shock.
"Olmsted…"
The woman quickly covered her mouth with her hand, looking at her superior officer with urgent worry. He looked pale already.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Riza demanded.
"I—I can explain!" Copper said. "It was me, not her! I… I just heard I'm about to be promoted." His voice was shaky. "I got over excited and, and I, uh..."
Riza looked at the woman. She was rubbing her eyes.
"It was a thoughtless reaction on my part," he continued, "but I swear this never happened bef—"
"You're crying."
Olmsted looked at Riza with her eyes wide as she brushed the last tear from her face.
Riza frowned. "Why are you crying?" She looked suspiciously at Copper; then back at her. "Was he forcin—"
"No!" Olmsted shouted.
She looked at Riza for a moment, who was staring intensely back. She took a deep breath and turned to the man. "Please, sir," she said weakly. "You don't need to protect me."
She took a paper from the desk and gave it to Riza, who scanned it for a moment.
"A reassignment request?"
"Yes."
Upon a closer look at the teary-eyed woman, Riza knew Olmsted wasn't just upset for being caught. Something else had bothered her.
"I didn't know," Olmsted protested. "He didn't have the decency to talk to me about it."
Copper sighed with defeat and collapsed on his chair, looking down at nothing in particular.
"I was just asking him not to sign it," the brunette continued.
Riza raised her eyebrows. "By kissing him?"
Grimacing, Olmsted shook her head. "I was putting an end to it, too. I'd rather go back to normal than stop working for him."
The man covered his face with his palm. It was all over for him, now.
Riza lifted her head slowly in understanding; her lips closed in a thin line. "How long have you been dating the Lieutenant Colonel?"
Olmsted gulped. "Just for the past two weeks."
Copper jerked his head up to look at Olmsted. Messy sounds of blows behind Riza startled the three occupants in the office immediately after. Having called everyone's attention, Sheska was picking up her books in the hallway.
"I'm sorry!" she said loudly. She was shaking. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry!"
"That's okay," Riza calmed her.
Sheska fixed her glasses and grabbed the last book from the floor. She saluted. "Lieutenant Col—" Her pile of books moved forward and she lowered her arm to urgently catch them.
Riza showed her a sympathetic smile. "You're excused, Sheska."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Sheska rushed away from Copper's office, and Riza closed the door to avoid any more interruptions.
"Are you going to report us?" Olmsted asked. She seemed more calmed, now.
Riza frowned and looked sideways for a moment, thinking. She turned to the Sec. Lieutenant. "I'm afraid I have to. The fraternization rules are strict and I can't just ignore this. It is my duty to report you."
Olmsted flinched. "Please, don't." Lowering her voice, she asked, "Can't we keep this between us, Riza?"
Riza was taken aback by hearing her name. Back in the academy, she called Lucy Olmsted by her first name, too. But this was a different time; things had changed long ago.
"Nobody needs to know," Olmsted continued. She put her palms together in a pleading gesture. "Please, don't do this. We'll be court-martialed."
Riza held her folder under one arm, laying her other hand on her waist. "You knew the risks; this is your own fault."
Olmsted lowered her head.
Riza sighed. "I'm disappointed in you, Second Lieutenant." She looked at Copper. "And you…"
The man looked at Riza with heavy eyes.
"The Führer has so much respect for you, Copper."
The man nodded and stood up. "I take my job very seriously, Lieutenant Colonel." He approached Riza slowly as he spoke. "And I appreciate the Führer's respect of my work. He said it to me personally many times."
"Yes, I know."
"I'm sorry I lied," he said gravely. "I only meant to protect my subordinate."
"I understand that," Riza said. "But it won't be me you'll have to explain it to."
He cleared his throat. "Given that… this is the first time we break a rule, and that we're both hard-working, dedicated people… I wonder if it would be much to ask you for a favor just this once. I could continue with the reassignment of Second Lieutenant Olmsted under Colonel Jones, if you let me."
Riza checked the document in her hand. It still needed Copper's signature for the request to be valid, and the Führer would still have to approve of it.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that," she said. She showed him the form request and shrugged. "I'm even holding proof, now. Giving up a subordinate of seven years is not something you hear every day."
Riza put the request paper inside her folder.
Copper growled and fisted his hands. "I'm asking you, please!" He took a firm step closer. "Don't tell the Führer about it. We didn't cause any harm and—"
Riza raised her hand to stop him. "You're asking me to lie to my husband! I believe you forget I'm the First Lady of this nation, Lieutenant Colonel."
He breathed through his nose. "No, ma'am, I'm well aware. But you'll punish us for a small affair. A reassignment would let us have an actual relationship; it's what I'm asking for."
She shook her head. "It's too late for that."
She looked at the woman. Olmsted was rubbing her arm in a soothing manner.
Riza spoke softly to her. "You'll understand I'm just doing my job. I would have expected you to do the same if you had caught me."
Olmsted nodded. Riza left the office and walked toward hers. She noticed the Second Lieutenant following her into the hallway, but she didn't turn back to look at her.
Roy was by his desk putting on his coat. He smiled at Riza the moment he saw her, but frowned a second later. Only when she looked into his eyes did she lower her pace.
"We're leaving?" she asked. She put her folder in her desk's drawer.
Roy blinked. "Yes... Are you all right?"
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah."
"You're all tense. Is your back still hurting from the fall?"
She relaxed her shoulders. "A little."
He smiled wryly. "You need some rest." He took her by the arm and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. "Come on, let's go home."
There were a few officers at the entrance either greeting each other or talking, who saluted Roy and Riza as they passed by. Riza spotted Lieutenant Colonel Copper handing a key to the receptionist. She couldn't hear the conversation, but he looked visibly upset.
On a couch against the wall, Second Lieutenant Olmsted's eyes found Riza's. Grimacing, she stood up and saluted. Riza could still see the desperation in her eyes, pleading her not to tell. Riza turned her head away from the woman, and moved forward among the saluting soldiers.
Once under the setting sun, she looked down and took a slow, deep breath. She wished she hadn't found them. She wished she wouldn't have to be in that position. But doing her duty was more important than any sympathetic feelings. She was the First Lady; she couldn't let a rule violation pass like it wasn't important. A strong nation's structure needed strict and obedient soldiers.
Riza looked at Roy. It hadn't been easy for them to keep a strictly professional relationship through all those years, but they did it. One slip up, one single kiss would have ruined their goals forever had someone found them. They'd had this silent understanding, being friendly only when they were alone, but still not letting it get any further than that when they both knew they wanted to.
If only Olmsted and Copper had been more careful, they would still have their jobs, and Riza wouldn't have remembered how long and lonely her nights used to be. Even when she didn't approve of their behavior, she understood it. She never kissed Roy before they got engaged, but she lost track of the many times she wished she had.
