Chapter 10
"I hate loudmouths," Jackson Rickert stated blandly. He slid the gun into his coat pocket before turning around and walking away. Suddenly, a wall sprang up between the man and the open street.
"You're not going anywhere, you bastard! I have some questions for you!" Edward yelled at him.
"You don't want to do this."
"Yeah, I do." Ed caught a glimpse of Mustang slipping on his spark gloves out of the corner of his eye.
"Well, if this is what your heart is set on, I guess I can humor you, at least for a little while."
Mustang was the first to act. He snapped his fingers, sending a directional flame at Rickert. Rickert dodged lazily and appeared in front of Mustang and gave him a quick jab to his nose, breaking it easily. Al rushed forward and assaulted Rickert with an axe kick. Rickert easily sidestepped and then swept his leg at Al's legs. Al fell backward and landed on his back. Ed was Rickert's next target. Rickert punched at Ed twice, but was blocked. Ed swung his left leg at Rickert's head and missed. But his opponent used the opening, delivering a brutal kick to the side of Ed's face. There was a sickening crunch as Ed's cheekbone cracked under Rickert's foot and was flung against the wall.
Mustang fired two more directional flames at their enemy. Rickert dodged both and before he smacked Mustang across the face with a backhand, Mustang squeezed out, "Shit. . ." then was sent flying down the alleyway. Al jumped back in, kicking at the back of Rickert's head. He dodged and grabbed Al's leg and swung him into the wall. There was a loud crack as Al's head hit the concrete and was knocked into unconsciousness as well. Ed slowly tried to stand, blackness encroaching on his vision. Rickert stepped up and grabbed him by the throat. He felt himself being lifted off the ground. Suddenly, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Ed struggled to breathe and clawed at the hand that held him. Then there were three loud cracks. He was dropped to the ground suddenly, his legs unable to support him anymore. The encroaching black on the outside of his eyes finally overpowered his consciousness.
Rickert grabbed his wounded arm and looked to see where it came from. Winry fired two more shots which hit him in the chest and shoulder. None of the shots did any lasting damage, but he bled nonetheless. Rickert jumped back and ran out the alleyway, obviously aware that he had overstayed his welcome, as he heard the approaching sirens. Winry's knees shook, as well as her hands. Then she collapsed onto her knees. As Rickert rushed out of the alleyway, but dropped a single piece of paper. Pinako watched it float lazily to the floor before she picked it up and stuffed it into her pocket.
The emergency teams arrived shortly after Rickert left. They loaded the three men into the back of the ambulance and were hauled off to the hospital.
I know this is a shorter chapter and I'm sorry. I'm leaving the rest to the next couple of chapters. Don't forget to review and give me any suggestions you might have for the story. Thanks for reading!