Your Last Day

by Fallen Crest

AU The assassination of Fullmetal set forth chaos that was never anticipated. Hughes loses his trust in Mustang as his investigation leads to him being suspicious of his friend. Mustang attempts to stall Hughes to protect his subordinates, while Ed is in turmoil about hiding the fact he is alive to his brother who is struggling to discover the truth of what happened to his brother.

10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Thanks for reviewing!

Your Last Day

Chapter 10

*Central Command*Hughes*7 am*

Ring! Ring! Ring!

A groaned sounded as a hand came out from under a desk and searched blindly for the phone. When his hand found the phone cord, it yanked it hard and sent the phone with a bunch of papers and pens to the ground. He ignored the mess clattering to the ground around him and picked up the phone. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes here." Hughes said tiredly into the phone.

"Hello Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. You have an outside phone call from a Mrs. Hughes." The operation said.

Hughes groaned and pushed his glasses up to rub his eyes. "Patch her through." It wasn't often that civilians could call the military HQs, but the spouses of high ranking soldiers had a special code they used to call in the cases of emergencies. He couldn't imagine what emergency his wife had, but it had to be important if she was calling now.

"Maes?" A gentle voice said.

"Gracia," Hughes said with a huge smile. "Hey honey. What's wrong?"

"You didn't come home last night." Gracia replied with the frown clearly heard in her voice.

Hughes groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, dear. Something has come up."

"Something so important that you have to sleep at HQ?" Gracia asked.

Hughes crawled out from under his desk. He gathered up the papers and pens he caused to fall and attempted to make them somewhat organized. "Yes, it is."

Hughes stopped when he noticed that one of the papers that fell was a picture of his precious little girl. His little girl…He would freak out and be out for revenge if she was killed. What was Mustang doing by doing nothing about Ed's death? Or even saying he had Ed die for a reason?

"It's very important." Hughes continued, voice thick as he ran a finger over his daughter's face. Well, if no one would search for justice for Ed, then he would.

"I understand, Maes, but don't overwork yourself." Gracia replied.

Hughes smiled a bit. His wife was such an amazing, understanding woman. "I promise."

"And come home tonight. I want to see you." Gracia said.

"I'll try." Hughes answered as he put his picture down. "I missed you last night. I'm sorry for not coming home."

"I know, just call me next time. I was worried." Gracia replied.

Hughes grimaced as he put his phone back on the desk. Of course she was worried. He worked a dangerous job. He could have been killed last night and she would have never known so she would be scared. "I'm sorry. I will, dear. I love you."

"I love you too, Maes."

*Train*9 am*

Myers walked into the engine room of the train, surprising the conductor. "This train needs stopped now." He ordered.

The conductor stared at him in shock. "What? We can't just stop the train in the middle of the nowhere!"

"It is by the order of the military." Myers growled. "There are some suspicious people on this train. Until my superiors order me otherwise, the train must be stopped here and no one gets off the train. If you do not stop the train soon, I will have you detained!"

"You can't do that!" The engineer snapped.

Myers glared at him. "If you interfere with this investigation, I will detain you and I will have every right to."

The conductor and engineer shared a look.

"Damn it," The engineer growled and he yanked hard on the emergency break.

"And you'd do well not to mention my investigation to anyway." Myers growled.

"We got it." The conductor snapped. Damn rude military soldiers. They acted like they owned everything.

Myers nodded and left the engine room. When he was gone, he sighed and started to act like he was doing an investigation when there was really nothing to investigate. He couldn't believe he had to lie about a mission to get this train stalled halfway to Central. If this was discovered, he was going to be in so much trouble with his higher ups. What was Colonel Mustang after by keeping Alphonse out of Central? Why couldn't he just go see his brother's grave? None of this made much sense to him, but he would follow his orders.

*Central*Command*9 am*Hughes*

"These are all the possible vantage points our sniper could have been at that had the right angle to shoot Lieutenant Colonel Elric the way he was shot." Major Armstrong said as he handed a list over to Hughes. "There are only three locations. We have fully checked the apartment complex and the surrounding area, but found nothing. We started checking out the church tower yesterday, but were not able to finish. We will complete the search of the church tower and the clock tower today."

Hughes nodded and put the list down. "Take Major Marten's team with you to help with the search." He got up and left his office to head to one of the adjoining offices. When he walked in, he found Marten's team working on paperwork with Marten at the head of the room, sitting at his desk with his head bowed over his paperwork.

Hughes whistled to gain everyone's attention. All of the soldiers immediately flew to their feet. That whistle usually meant that Hughes was in the room and was trying to get their attention. They all snapped him salutes.

"Sir." Marten said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Your team is assisting Major Armstrong in searching two locations today." Hughes ordered.

Marten lowered his salute. "What are we looking for in these locations, sir?"

"You are looking for the exact location that the sniper that killed Lieutenant Colonel Elric was at." Hughes explained.

Marten's expression darkened slightly. That was a reason Hughes chose this particularly team to help. He knew how Marten felt about kids and he did not take lightly to a kid, a kid that was their comrade at that, being killed.

"Understood, sir." Marten said.

Hughes nodded. "Be prepared to leave in half an hour." With that said, he went back to his office where his own team was waiting further instruction.

"I want a list of all soldiers that were working as guard to any vantage points that a sniper could have used, along with who their commanding officers are." Hughes ordered Lieutenant Miller as he walked into the room.

Miller nodded. "Yes sir."

Though Hughes ordered that, he only want the list of soldiers under Mustang's command that were working as guards. He didn't want it to be true, but he was sure that Mustang was involved in this somehow. But he couldn't tell his team that just yet so he would have them get what he wanted without alerting them to the information he was really after. Besides, it would be helpful to check all of the soldiers out.

"Major Armstrong, you, Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh are leaving in half an hour with Major Marten and his team to continue the search of the church tower and the clock tower." Hughes ordered. "If you find anything, report it immediately. I don't want anything falling through."

"Yes sir!" Three voices responded immediately.

Ross laid a map out on the table in the room. They only found three possible locations that could have been used as the spot for the sniper to use to kill Ed. Just because they haven't found anything in the apartment complex doesn't meant that couldn't have been the location. If they couldn't find anything in any of the buildings, well, there were still the escape routes. She just had to lie out of the escape routes that she could find in the half hour before she had to leave. Ed was a friend of hers. She could let his murderer go like this. The person who took that teen from having a long life was going to pay for this.

*Central*Command*9 am* Mustang*

"Lieutenant Myers, how nice to hear from you again." Mustang said as he picked up his phone, not taking his eyes off of his papers. "I hope you have good news for me."

"I stalled the train on the tracks halfway to Central. I don't know how long I can keep it stalled here though, sir." Myers replied.

Mustang raised a brow. "I said stop it in a city, in a train station."

"I thought this would be the best method so those two could not hop off the train and get on a different train to Central." Myers replied.

Mustang smirked. "Good thinking, Lieutenant. Keep the train stalled as long as you can. I don't want them arriving tonight."

"I understand, sir." Myers said. "Permission to speak freely?"

Quickly signing his name on a document, Mustang pushed it to the side and grabbed the next one. Why did paperwork just never end? "Permission granted."

"Why am I doing this? Shouldn't Alphonse Elric have the right to see his brother's grave?" Myers asked.

"He has every right, but when he arrives, he will want to know about his brother's death and why it happened. There are no answers yet so I want him stalled while we work on it." Mustang replied quietly into the phone. Myers had no idea that Ed's death wasn't being investigated by him since he wasn't in Central, but the rest of Mustang's team knew the truth. He didn't need them hearing this lie. It would just cause problems. He knew this lie could only work so long. Myers would be returning to Central soon, but he just needed Al stalled. Myers would do the job assigned to him, even if he didn't lie to him, but the lie was also covered with some truth.

"I want to be able to give him some answers when he gets here, but I can only do that by him being stalled." Mustang replied. And it was true. He had things he needed to tell Al, but he couldn't do that yet. He needed Blake to get out of the city first so he could talk to Al. And it wasn't time for Blake to leave. He was hoping to get Blake out by tonight or tomorrow morning. Until Blake left, Al couldn't be here. There was too much risk of the two meeting each other.

"I understand, sir." Myers replied.

"Good," Mustang said as he signed his name on the form in front of him. "Then keep that train stalled as long as possible." He dropped the phone back onto the hook with a sigh. Where was Lieutenant Hawkeye? Until she called him and told him what was going on, there was nothing that any of them could do.

*Train*9:15 am*

"Why has the train stopped?" Winry asked, staring out the window with a frown.

Al shifted in his seat. In his experience, a train stopped in the middle of nowhere either meant one of two things. The train had broken down or there were enemies on the train. It was usually the latter, but on rare occasion, the former has occurred as well.

"Do not worry." A voice said over the intercom on the train. "The train has broken down. We will have the problem fix as quickly as possible, but do not panic. There is nothing wrong. Please be patient while we work on fixing the problem."

"Oh, well, that's good." Al said in relief. At least it wasn't another attack. It wasn't an attack, but it was still annoying. He wanted to get to Central as quickly as possible. Oh, great, now he was turning impatient like his brother always used to be.

Winry sighed. "That means we're stuck here until the train is fixed?" She wanted to get to Central as quickly as possible. She wanted to see Ed's grave. Until she saw that, the fact that he was gone from her life would never solidify. Until she saw it, she could not accept his death. It would be hard to do, but it was even harder to just sit here and wait.

"It would seem so. Don't worry though. It shouldn't take too long hopefully." Al replied, though there wasn't much feeling in his voice. Like Winry, he just wanted to get to Central. Sitting around on a train that wasn't moving for hours was just wasted time. It was time he could be using to discover the truth of his brother's death.

*Central*Command*9:30 am*Hughes*

The moment his team was gone to investigate the last two locations for any clues on Ed's killer, Hughes pulled out the information he managed to acquire about Mustang and his family the night before. While his teams worked on finding the location the assassin shot from, he would investigate his suspicions of Mustang's family. There was something strange going on here and he would figure it out.

From the knowledge he had that Mustang told him about his family, he did not know his parents. They died when he was a child and he was raised in Central by his father's younger sister, Chris Mustang, also known as Madame Christmas. He didn't grow up with any kids, so it wasn't likely that Chris had a son, especially one as young as Blake was.

But there was one problem. Hughes had managed to get Mustang's medical records, along with any records he could find on his deceased parents and Chris Mustang's records. It was hard to do. It was like the Mustang family lived in the shadows, but Hughes found them. He had been friends with Mustang for years. It was because of that friendship that he knew where to look and gather the information. It took all night and a few hours of sleeping at the office, but he got it.

Flipping through the files he had gathered on Mustang's family, he ended up making a family tree. Mustang's parents dead. He knew Mustang's dad had a sister, which was Chris Mustang. His mother was an only child. His grandparents from his dad's side and his mother's side were deceased. There was no man in Chris's life as she lived her life managing a bar and being an informant for Mustang, which he only knew about since Mustang informed him of that once.

There was no one else. No aunts or uncles of Mustang's. There was no one that could give Mustang an eleven year old cousin! So where did this Blake come from? According to Kayle who talked to Warrant Officer Walkers for him, it seemed Blake was close to Mustang, but how could that be? Hughes checked the records. Mustang never took vacation time so when would those two meet to get as close as Walkers claimed them to be?

He wasn't sure why this bothered him, but it did. A fake cousin appearing after Edward was killed? And Ed's death seemed to have been planned by Mustang. Just what was going on with Mustang?

First he brought Ed to the military then left him to die. Then his "cousin" suddenly appeared at HQ a few days after Ed was murdered. And if there was one thing Hughes understand it was that there were no coincidences.

*Madam Christmas' Bar*11 am*

"Get up!" A voice shouted that was followed by the sound of the curtains being ripped open.

Ed groaned and rolled over on his bed, pulling his pillow out from under his head to hide his face under it.

"Blake Mustang, you will get out of bed now! You are not going to sleep the whole day away."

The pillow was snatched away from Ed, allowing the sun to assault his face.

Grumbling under his breath, Ed dug his hands into his eyes that were aching from the sun. Why did she feel the need to wake him up? Al never bothered to wake him up unless it was getting really late in the afternoon. He was so used to being able to sleep as much as he liked.

Ed cracked his eyes open to see Kristina standing over him with a frown. "What do you need?" He grumbled.

"For you to get up. It is already eleven, Blake. Get up. You shouldn't be sleeping all day." Kristina grabbed his arm and pulled him into a sitting position. "Get dressed and come get what should be lunch."

Ed blinked as she left the room, closing the door behind her. He stayed sitting on the bed, still half-asleep, for ten minutes before he finally stumbled off the bed to get dressed. As he got dressed, he did his hair all spiky like Tara taught him. He glanced at the gun on his dresser before leaving the room. There was no need for it since he wasn't going anywhere.

"Don't see why I have to get up anyway." Ed grumbled as he walked downstairs. "It's not like I have anything to do."

"Then you find something to do." Kristina scolded from the bottom of the stairs since she was ready to start climbing them again to get Ed since she thought he went back to sleep. "Are you meeting with Roy today?"

Ed jumped the last three steps and landed by Kristina. "I had no plans too." He replied as he walked over to the bar counter where a plate of food was waiting for him. "So, once again, that leaves me with nothing to do."

"Find something then. Honestly, kids are all the same." Kristina muttered as she walked behind the counter.

*Train*11:15 am*

"Two hours." Winry said, gritting her teeth. "It should not take two hours to fix a problem. I have half a mind to go up there and fix it myself!"

Al chuckled nervously. "Now, Winry, calm down. You don't know how to fix a train."

Winry huffed and crossed her arms. "Could be walking to Central. It would probably be faster at this rate. At this rate, we won't arrive until tomorrow."

Al sighed. Her impatience was starting to sound like Ed's. Whenever this happened to Ed when he was on a train, he would eventually have enough and just get off the train and start walking to the next city. "It takes time, Winry. I've been on a broken train for hours before. Just give it time for them to fix it."

Winry leaned back in her seat and stared out the window at the unchanging scenery.

*Central*Command*11:30 am*Hughes*

"Sir," Miller said as he walked into Hughes's office. He stopped in front of the man's desk with a salute.

Hughes closed the folder that he was studying about Mustang's family as he tried to find any possible way for Blake to be connected to Mustang. It would help if he could gather information on Blake. Was he an orphan brought into the Mustang family? Was he blood related to Mustang through a family member that Hughes hadn't managed to find? He just couldn't find what he was looking for.

"What is it, Lieutenant Miller?" Hughes asked.

"I have those lists you were after." Miller said as he held out a folder to Hughes. "There were six locations that were guarded with two teams of five at each location. That is sixty soldiers on guard duty. The twelve teams came from Lieutenant Colonel Hein's unit, Colonel Douglas's unit, Colonel Shay's unit, Colonel Jenkins's unit, Brigadier General Grand's unit, and Brigadier General Vines's unit." He held out the stack of folders he was carrying under his arm. "These are the reports from each soldier on guard duty. All of them say that no one got passed them into any of the locations. Of the three locations that had the right angle to take Lieutenant Colonel Elric out, it was Shay's, Jenkin's and Vines's units in charge."

"It's not possible." Hughes growled. "The assassin got in somewhere." There was definitely something missing. A lie somewhere in here. The assassin being good enough to sneak passed soldiers. Something had to be in here that would lead to the truth.

Hughes went through the list he was given with a frown. He doubled check the list of the soldiers guarding the vantage points against the list of commanding officers. None of the soldiers worked for Mustang and none of the commanding officers had any connection with Mustang. Grand and Jenkins were in the war with Mustang, but they weren't in the same unit. There was no close connection at all to Mustang. Did that mean he was wrong about Mustang being involved in this? Or was he still missing something? If the assassin was someone that had something to do with Mustang, it was very well possible that the assassin was skilled enough to get passed the soldiers. This job was one that required a professional assassin after all. But that was a lot of soldiers to get passed to get to a good point just to kill a State Alchemist in broad daylight.

It was a question of this: why kill Edward? Why him and not someone else? What was the motive to kill him?

Hughes tapped a finger on his desk as he looked up at Miller. "Alright, I want you to pull all of Fullmetal's mission files and start going through them. Find a reason that anyone would want him dead."

"Yes sir." Miller replied with a salute.

*Central*Command* 12:30 pm*Cafeteria*

Two hands reached for the last bowl of soup at the same time. Both hands froze as the owners of them looked up. Piercing black eyes met angry hazel eyes.

"Hughes." Mustang greeted with a calm expression while on the inside he was anything but calm.

Hughes grabbed the bowl and put it on his tray, never once taking his cold eyes off of Mustang. "Colonel Mustang."

Mustang frowned. It seemed that Hughes didn't cool off over the night. He was still pretty furious at him if he was being this formal.

Hughes slid his tray down to the next station. "I looked it up." He said as he grabbed a bottle of water.

Mustang grabbed his own bottle. "Looked what up?" He asked confused. As far as he knew, there wasn't anything that Hughes was supposed to look up.

Hughes stopped and looked back at him with a glare. "Blake Mustang?" He snarled quietly. "He doesn't exist. I've found no records of him and no connection of him to you. What are you playing at? Get sick of Ed so you off him and bring in a new kid that you have pretending to be your cousin?"

Black eyes narrowed at Hughes. "You looked up my family?" He asked angrily. "Just because you didn't find his parents doesn't mean they don't exist, Hughes. Now I suggest you stay out of my family business."

When Mustang went to walk pass him to get to the cashier, Hughes stepped into his path once more, keeping his cold eyes trained on Mustang's face. Being a trained investigator, he unlike Mustang, was better at reading expression and seeing the tells that people gave off when they lied or were nervous. No matter how well a person trained, there was still something to spot. He just had to find it, and being friends with Mustang for years, he knew those tells. They were subtle, but they were there.

"I don't know what you want. Just because you didn't find something, you are now stepping out of line." Mustang replied dangerously. "I suggest you step aside unless you want court martialed, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. "

It pained him to say it, but he needed Hughes to back off. He couldn't have Hughes getting too close to this. He could realize something. He could report something. And that just couldn't happen. It would put Ed and Lieutenant Hawkeye in danger. Why was Hughes even looking into this? Well, if that was what he was going to do, he would have to fight Mustang all the way. He would not let whatever Hughes was doing endanger his subordinates.

Hughes's eyes narrowed at him, but he did as what was told and stepped to the side. "Enjoy it for now, Colonel Mustang."

Mustang raised a brow, but Hughes didn't elaborate as he picked up his tray and moved to the cashier and paid her before leaving the line and a worried Mustang behind.

"Sir?"

Mustang turned around to see a frowning Havoc standing there.

"What was that about?" Havoc asked, staring in the direction that Hughes went.

Mustang looked over at where Hughes was sitting. "I don't know." He looked at Havoc. "We have to be on the alert for him now."

Havoc nodded. "I heard from Warrant Officer Walkers that Lieutenant Colonel Hughes's unit is investigating Lieutenant Colonel Elric's murder."

"What?" Mustang asked sharply.

The blond Lieutenant nodded. "That is correct, sir. They started investigating yesterday it seems."

Mustang slammed his tray down on the counter and walked away with a frowning Havoc putting his own tray down to follow after him.

"Colonel, sir?" Havoc asked as he walked a few steps behind him as they left the cafeteria.

"How far are they in the investigation?" Mustang demanded.

"I got a call from Lieutenant Rufus when you left the office." Havoc said quickly. "They already got the order from the investigation unit to release all of the files on missions that Chief did to them."

Mustang nodded. "They think it was a revenge attack right now. Do it." He looked at Havoc. "Release it all. The mission files, the reports from everyone involved, all the paperwork for damages Fullmetal has caused, everything. Bury them in the paperwork. We can't let them find the order papers that brought Fullmetal to Central before the parade. Hughes already distrusts me. If he finds the orders that brought Fullmetal out of his vacation just for a parade, I'll be put under scrutiny. He is already investigating me."

Havoc nodded. "Yes sir." He looked around the hallway. Since it was lunch time, the halls were empty. "And what do we do when they do come across the paperwork?"

"We stall. We make sure nothing of this operation reaches anyone's ears." Mustang replied. "Go to the bar and warn Blake. Hughes is trying to find information about him as well. His sudden appearance has put him on the radar as well. We can't let Hughes talk to him."

Havoc nodded. "I'll give word to Fuery to alert the rest of the unit in the east of your orders then head there right away."

*Bar*Ed*1:30*

"Wouldn't it be better to just tell him?"

Havoc looked over at Ed with a frown. "We are trying to keep this very quiet. Even some of our most trusted comrades don't know you're alive."

Ed tapped a finger on the table with a frown. He looked around the bar. It was mostly empty except for a few patrons which was why he was sitting in a corner booth with Havoc. "I get why they don't know. The less people that know, the safer it is for everyone. It is less likely to get out, but Hughes is…he's what? Investigating Colonel? If he digs too deep…" He frowned.

"Yes, he'll find you." Havoc replied. "This is why you have to avoid Hughes."

Ed leaned on the table to be closer to Havoc. "You said he is looking up Blake Mustang. He is going to find me. How do I avoid him?"

"You're deep undercover." Havoc said softly. "You're not going to stay here."

Ed blinked and leaned back. "What do you mean?"

"As soon as the call comes in, you're gone." Havoc replied. "You'll be leaving Central and heading north most likely, if our theory is correct and that's where the Drachmans are stationed."

Ed glanced around to make sure none of the patrons had moved near them. "The call from Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Havoc nodded. "Ms. Elizabeth Stone has to call us first."

Ed's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses and he nodded. "Then I assist her?"

"Yes, the moment you leave Central, you have to call in and check with me or Colonel Mustang at random intervals." Havoc explained.

Swallowing, Ed nodded. The moment he left Central to do this, he was alone. There would be no one else to watch his back when he left. He was on his own without alchemy. All he had was his guns and hand-to-hand combat if he left Central. "I thought you guys were supposed to have my six." He said quietly.

Havoc frowned.

Ed looked up with a glare. "How can you guys watch my six if I'm leaving alone?"

"By trusting us." Havoc replied. "Trust us. We're going to do what we can to help you."

Ed scowled and leaned back in his seat.

*Hughes's House*9 pm*

A pair of slim, gentle arms wrapped around Hughes's neck from behind.

"You finally come home, but you are still only focused on work. This is a first." Gracia said as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

Hughes turned his head to look at his wife's face. He gave a small smile and kissed her cheek. "Sorry." He looked back at his coffee table which was covered with files and reports about all the soldiers that were on guard duty and information about Mustang. Until the files about Ed's missions arrived from East City, he was stuck going all over all these files trying to find something that he had missed. He left the office early today to see his wife and daughter so he didn't get to see Major Armstrong after their search of the locations that the assassin might have been, but if something important was found, he knew Major Armstrong would call him at home or even come by.

"Elicia is still really sad about what happened." Gracia said softly. "She doesn't understand that Edward is gone. It doesn't help that her father is not home often these days."

Sighing, Hughes leaned back into his wife's arms.

"Tell me," Gracia continued, brushing her hand gently over his cheek. "What is on your mind that has you sleeping at the office?"

Hughes sighed. "So much." He replied.

"Talk to me." Gracia said.

Hughes stared at her for a moment before his head dropped and he pulled himself out of her arms. His hands covered his eyes. How could all of this have happened? First, Ed was killed. Then there was Mustang. He…How could this be possible? He knew Mustang. He was a great, loyal man, but then why was he saying what he said? Why wasn't he doing something about Ed's death? Nothing about this seemed right.

Gracia looked at her husband sadly. He wasn't crying, but she could tell he was hurting so much right now. The way he covered his eyes, the way his hands were shaking. He was upset and angry about something. There wasn't much she could do. There were just some days that this happened. He was working a high stress job after all. What she could do was be there for him.

"Maes," Gracia took one of his hands into hers and held it tight.

"Ed's murder." Hughes said. "He planned it. Mustang planned it."

Gracia didn't reply. She just held her husband's hand tighter. Maes called his friend by his last name. That was something that he never did. It was always Roy before. This must be seriously hurting him, especially if Mustang really did plan something like that. It would be the ultimate betrayal to Maes and it would eat at his heart until he found out the truth.

"Is it fact?" Gracia asked.

Hughes shook his head and curled his hand into his hair. "I don't know." He whispered. "I heard him talking to Havoc in the bathroom and he clearly said he had Ed die for a reason. But…I don't know. There's just something about it." He looked at his wife, who just sat there, staring calmly at him as she waited. He knew his wife. She would sit there and wait for him to continue or if he wanted, she would let it go. But…maybe he didn't want her to let it go. He just needed to get it out.

"We fought." Hughes said.

Gracia's eyes widened. "Oh, Maes."

"I think if Havoc wasn't there…" Hughes trailed off and shook his head. "I've been put in charge of solving Ed's murder." He looked at all the files on his coffee table. "I have to find his killer. And if he planned it…." He looked up at his wife with pained filled eyes. "If Mustang planned it, I have to arrest him and I don't think I can do that."

"That doesn't make you a bad person." Gracia told him. She brought up one of her hands to his face and cupped it. "It just means you are that loyal to your friends. There is nothing wrong with that."

"But if he did it, I can't be that loyal friend. I have to be the soldier putting away a traitor." Hughes said thickly, closing his eyes. As angry as he was, there was no way he could do that to a friend. He couldn't be the soldier that slapped cuffs on a friend. It was just too hard. He had to distance himself from Mustang, make them enemies. He couldn't be a friend to a suspect, but it was just hurting so much to investigate this with the possibility of Mustang, his friend, comrade, his brother-in-arms, being someone so deceitful and cruel that he would plan to have a kid killed. After what they faced in the war, how could he do something like this?

"Whatever you decide you have to do at the end of this," Gracia said, staring into her husband's face. "I'll believe in you, all the way."

*Mustang's House*10 pm*

Mustang sat on his couch, staring down at a glass of scotch. Everything was a mess. Hawkeye was still MIA, not having checked in yet. Ed was close to freaking out with worry about screwing up and getting people killed. Alphonse was on his way to Central earlier than expected. And now Hughes was investigating Ed's murder. Whether it be Al's wrath about his brother's death or Hughes's digging, this operation was going to be destroyed if something didn't interfere.

But what could he do besides stall? Hughes…no matter what Hughes thought, he was still Mustang's friend. He couldn't do anything to Hughes or his men. All he could do was find ways to stall them in the investigation. He knew an investigation would happen and was prepared for it, but he wasn't prepared for this. He wasn't prepared for the lead investigator to be Hughes. Or that Hughes would feel such hatred for him over what happened.

Those ice cold eyes he saw at lunch. They were filled with more than just anger. There was a deep burn of betrayal shining in his friend's eyes and it hurt so much to see. He was the one who put such a look in his friend's eyes. The burn was caused by him because he chose to leave his friend in the dark for everyone's safety. All he wanted to do was go to Hughes's house right now and ask for forgiveness. Hell, he would even let Hughes punch him as much as he liked if he would just forgive him and if he would believe in him that he didn't betray him or Ed.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Groaning, Mustang threw back his drink and went to pick up the phone. Even at home, he couldn't be left alone to his thoughts.

Rubbing his eyes, Mustang picked up the phone with half a mind to snap at the person on the other end. But with his great control, he crushed that urge and instead said, "Colonel Mustang here."

"Sir, Lieutenant Myers here." Myers said.

Resisting the urge to sigh, Mustang leaned against the wall. "Status report."

"The train started moving once again five hours ago. We will be arriving some time tomorrow morning." Myers replied. "The kids are still on the train, a bit more agitated than before. Both seem ready to beat something."

Mustang raised a brow. Both? He knew Winry had a temper from the stories she heard from Al, just Al since Ed didn't like to share. But Al too? He must be in a real hurry to get to Central, which was understandable. Al was patient, but someone who heard his brother was murdered would want to get to where he was killed quickly to figure everything out. Closure was brought by finding out the truth.

"Good, Lieutenant. Keep an eye on them." Mustang replied. Without waiting for a reply, he hung up the phone. Great. Al would be in Central tomorrow. Now he had to keep Blake and him separated. Where was Hawkeye? She should have reported in a long time ago! Was her cover blown? Did the operation already go haywire? Waiting around was one of the hardest parts of an operation. It left worry and thoughts of what could be happening to foster into existence.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Mustang growled and turned to look at his phone which he had just walked away from. If he had to hear a phone one more time today!

He snatched the phone up and put it to his ear. "Yes?" He asked agitated.

The familiar stern voice that replied was like Heaven to his ears.

"Hello, Mr. Ashen."

A/N: Last chapter. I swear the next chapter is going to pick up. I tried to think of something to pick up the action in this chapter….and as you can see, I got nothing. I decided that this chapter would focus more on Hughes's investigation and Mustang's stalling tactics. It was actually quite fun.

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