Just as a heads up, F-bombs, so not for the super young. I don't know why you would be reading if you were super young, but what the hell?
Chapter 9
"God, if I was on that train for another minute, I was going to freak out," Ed complained. "Finally in Central, now we can get some work done." The trio began walking through the station mingling between them when Ed heard a familiar voice call his name, or rather, call him brother. "Hey, Al," Ed called back waving, but then shrank when he saw who was with him.
"Edward," Mustang greeted.
"Colonel," Edward responded indifferently.
"He's actually a General now," Al corrected.
Before Ed could make a rude comment, Winry cut in, "Oh, you were promoted? That's great!"
"Yeah, fantastic," Ed muttered. Winry glared at him. "What? This promotion is just going to increase his ego even more!" He protested.
"Anyways," Mustang interrupted, somewhat annoyed, "we have information that you probably want to look at." Ed instantly became serious. He nodded, and then brushed past Al and Mustang.
About an hour later, Ed, Winry, Al, and Pinako settled their luggage down in Ed and Al's room. "Alright, Al and I are heading to the National Central Library with Mustang. If you two need anything, you can find us there," Ed said. Winry and Pinako nodded and then the brothers walked out to meet a waiting Mustang outside the room.
"So, what were you able to dig up?" Ed asked once they were in the stairway.
"We found out that a man named Brohime Streisland used the alias Rickert Faison," Mustang explained.
"General Mustang seems convinced that he killed Brohime Streisland, but his official execution date was two years after General Mustang supposedly shot and killed him," Al elaborated. He pulled the papers out of his pocket and showed Ed.
Ed looked at the paper thoughtfully, "A Drachman spy? I didn't know that Drachma actually spied on us."
"There are spies from Drachma, Xing, Creta, and even Aerugo in Amestris, even though we are not currently at war with either Xing or Aerugo," Mustang interjected.
"Oh, well, good to know. So, how does this help us?" Ed asked.
"This man is almost seventy-five in this picture," Al stated, pointing at the mug shot of the man, "but I met a man the other day, his name is Jackson Rickert. The same face, the same eyes, but Jackson Rickert is about fifty years younger than Brohime Streisland."
"Did you guys get a picture of Jackson Rickert?"
Mustang pulled out another piece of paper and handed it to Ed. "Wait, I know this guy," Ed stated, narrowing his eyes on the face on the piece of paper. Where did he know this man from?
The trio stepped outside into the summer sun and brushed past a man with a fedora and trench coat. The man walked up the steps leading into the hotel. Edward stopped and looked back. "Don't you think it's a little hot out for a trench coat?" He asked rhetorically. He turned to follow the man, Al and Mustang trailing behind him. They continued up the steps cautiously, being careful not to arouse anymore suspicions. There was commotion above them; thumping and pounding. The trio rushed up the steps, fearing the worst. They noticed the door to their hotel room was broken and slightly ajar. They slipped in silently, daring not to breathe. But the room was empty. No sign of Winry or Pinako or what, or whom, could have broken the door.
"Fuck! Where the hell did they go?!" Ed yelled.
"How could they have disappeared so quickly?" Al asked incredulously.
"Wait, look," Mustang pointed at the window. There were signs of a quick transmutation. "They had to have gone this way."
"Then let's go!" Ed barked before having Al transmute the wall. Ed jumped out onto the adjacent rooftop, followed by Al, but Mustang turned around to follow by foot.
Ed caught the glimpse of the man shoving Winry off the roof. "Hey!" Al yelled in protest. The brothers rushed forward to catch the man but he jumped, too. They looked over the side and noticed a transmuted hand that lowered the man and his abductees to the street. Al transmuted their own hand and lowered them to ground level as well. Ed and Al rushed across the street, chasing Winry and Pinako's abductor. He shoved the two women farther by jabbing a gun into Winry's back.
The brothers finally cornered the man in an alleyway while Mustang caught up to them. "Alright, you son of a bitch, who the hell are you? What do you want?" Ed barked.
The man pulled Winry in front of him as a human shield, "Turn back the way you came, or I'll kill this girl here and now," he said as he leveled his gun with Winry's head.
Ed jumped forward grabbing the man's arm and pulled him away from Pinako and Winry. Ed threw the man to Al who slugged him in the gut, causing him to collapse to his knees. The man lifted his gun up to shoot Al but Ed snatched his arm from behind and twisted it behind his back. The man dropped his gun. Ed stepped around the slumped figure and grabbed him by his coat and pulled him to his feet.
"Let's try this again: who are you?" Ed growled. The man simply smiled. "Why the hell are you so happy?" Ed snapped.
"Just wait 'til my boss gets 'is 'ands on you," the man spat out. Ed brought his left knee up into the man's stomach, forcing him to cough out all the air in his lungs. He went limp in Ed's hands momentarily.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Ed snarled again. Al stepped forward, visibly concerned. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ABOUT YOUR 'BOSS'?" Ed's grip tightened on the coat in his hands. Winry put a hand on his shoulder. Ed's grip tightened even more before he let go, pushing the man away. "Al," Ed said wearily. Al transmuted a box around the man with a series of breathing holes at the top.
"Wait! Hold on!" The man called to the group as they walked away. "I'll give you what you want! I'll tell you everythin'! Please!" His voice was muffled. Ed almost missed it. But it caught Ed's attention nonetheless. He walked back to the box. Al transmuted a small rectangle so the man could talk.
"Alright then, spill it," Ed commanded.
"Not 'til you let me out," the man negotiated weakly.
"Okay, your choice," Ed said nonchalantly as he walked away.
"Damn it, wait! I'll. . . I'll tell you! But promise me you'll let me out afterwards!"
"That all depends on you."
"Alright; six weeks ago a man paid me to find you. He wanted me to kill you but abduct the women."
"What man?" Al interjected.
"Tall, brown-haired guy, built like a fuckin' bull. I never knew 'is name."
Al pulled out a photo and showed it to the man, "Was it this man?"
"Yeh, yeh! It was 'im!" He exclaimed.
"Hey, that's the guy that we met on the train!" Winry pointed out.
"Oh, yeah, it is him," Ed scratched his chin.
"This can't be a coincidence," Mustang said.
"Alright, so who are you?" Ed asked forcefully.
"I'm Noel Mintt."
Okay, so why would you accept this job?"
"The money was good!"
Mustang thought a minute, "You're coming with me. You'll be useful later." He clapped his hands and negated Al's transmutation.
The man took a few steps towards Mustang when a loud gunshot rang out. The man's head snapped back and he fell to the floor, dead. The group turned to see a smoking gun in the hands of Jackson Rickert.
The plot thickens! Again. Well, thanks to those of you who stuck with this story for this long. I've been basically writing out of my ass up from chapter 5 to now. I had most of my story already written out, but I've made lots and lots of changes and modifications. Please review and don't hesitate to give me any suggestions on where to take the story, writing, fighting, or fluff (I know there hasn't been a whole lot of fluff, I know, but I'll be getting to it soon).
