Condemned
Chapter 11: Life Saving Tasks and Deals
March 20, 2006
By CCD


Mustang was woken from his nap by a steady knocking at the door. He rolled over hoping that Edward would get up and answer the door, but from the sounds of snoring to his left, that was not a happening thing. He groaned and got up as the knock came again on the door.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," he said as he approached the door.

He opened the door to see Brigadier General Dramazic standing looking wearily.

"Evening, Lt. Colonel, how are you holding up?"

Mustang jumped into a salute "Brigadier General Dramazic, I'm doing fine, ma'am, and you."

She smiled and then burst out laughing. The Lt. Colonel had come to the door looking tired and disheveled. He was wearing a gray, sleeveless t-shirt and his boxers. His hair was a mess and he looked very worse for wear.

"I'm sorry Lt. Colonel, it's just that you look a little worse for wear and I thought it was just me. Do you mind if I came in? I have a favor to ask you and Edward."

"Um…sure," he said as he stepped back allowing her entrance but she held up her hand.

"You might want to get dressed first and make sure Edward is presentable as well."

The Lt. Colonel looked down at his attire and blushed before slamming the door shut before taking off towards the bedroom. He shook Edward who groaned in protest.

"Get up Edward!" He hissed through clenched teeth as he threw on his clothes.

"Why should I, bastard?" Edward muttered before going back to sleep.

Mustang huffed and looked at the door before a thought crossed his mind. He smirked before he strode towards the door and opened it.

"Sorry about that, General."

"It's all right; at least you're dressed now."

"I can't seem to get Edward up though. Got any good ideas on waking him?"

"Hm…" she smirked, pushed passed him; walked towards Edward sleeping in the bed, and took a big breath.

"MAJOR ELRIC, RISE AND SHINE!"

Edward jumped and fell out of the bed; sheets tangled around his half necked form. He was not used to being yelled at to get out of bed. Kara however had been woken up that way several times when she was at her training camps and new that to be quite an effective way to get lazy soldiers up.

"Good, you're up. Now get some clothes on, I got a favor to ask you," she said as she turned around and walked back into the living area.

Ed blushed before he scrambled to throw on his clothes, stormed out into the living room, and plopped on the couch.

"What was that about?"

"You wouldn't get out of bed when I tried so I asked the General to help," Mustang said watching Edward fume.

"It's all right, Edward, the Lt. Colonel opened the door in his boxers so I got something over both of you. I kind of wished I had a camera, but enough about that. I came here because I need a favor and I think the two of you are the only ones I can trust now that Lesner and Truesdale are out of commission," she said in a tired voice as she sat down on the couch.

"What do you need General?" Mustang asked also sitting.

"We took a big hit on that attack. Although many of our supplies were salvaged, it's not enough. At this rate our supplies will run out within the next two weeks and the inn keeper is far from being considerate enough to help us, despite our promises to pay him. With so many sick and injured that we've taken, we can't ration and if we could, it would probably only last another month."

"He probably doesn't expect you to pay. After all, he's read the papers on past wars the United States has been in and although your government pays countries as a whole to repair themselves, they don't really pay back individual businesses and such," Ed said.

"If we were that heartless, we wouldn't be trillions of dollars in debt, but that's beside the point. I received a message yesterday evening from our major supply port. They heard we were low on supplies and said that they would give us some as well as some money to the inn keeper to make him more cooperative, however, they can't afford to send someone here with supplies."

"So you want us to go to them," Mustang stated calmly.

"In a sense, but with the recent attack it worries me. One, if another attack comes, we won't be prepared; Two, if you go, you will have to outmaneuver a camp of Amestris soldiers; three, I have to go with you."

"What?" both of them yelled simultaneously.

"The shipment won't be released unless I'm there. The two of you, more or less, are serving as body guards. I hate to put you into this position. God knows this is not a situation I want to be in, but we have to get these supplies for our troops. If we don't," she paused, "If we don't, they could die, and if that happens," another pause, "I would never be able to forgive myself. As it is, the trip will take two to three weeks to get there and back and if we don't go now…" she left it hanging in the air.

The two men were silent. They knew that they would feel the same way if they can't get the supplies back in time. Mustang fidgeted and Ed sighed before bending over and placing a hand on Kara's trembling one.

"I don't think I could just sit around with the possibility of letting people down and possibly letting them die. I'll go with you, General."

"I'll go too, I feel the same way," Mustang said a bit distracted.

"Is there a problem, Lt. Colonel?" Kara asked not really believing that he meant what he said.

"I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to get past the Amestris camp. We can't hit them head on, and all though we could get by, how are we gong to get the supplies back through without a confrontation."

"Is there any information you can give us on this camp?"

"I know I came from an encampment north of here and it wasn't all that big. We were a bit like the camp here. We were waiting for orders to join the battles; however, the battle came to us. I was injured and persuaded my subordinates to keep their mouths shut so that I could rejoin the battle injured or not. My injury led to me being captured, so I don't really know if this camp is the same one I was in or not."

"But if it is, there's a possibility we might have to face Hawkeye and the others, isn't there?" Ed asked.

Roy didn't reply. It was enough to give the two other officers a good idea as to why he was a bit hesitant about the mission to retrieve supplies.

"I'm hoping to avoid the troops by going through a ravine that runs parallel to their camp, however, if they decide to move, or if they have people guarding it, then we have no choice, but to fight. We'll try to keep the casualties to a minimum though. We're on a mission to get supplies, not fight a battle. I suggest that the two of you get some rest. We'll be leaving tomorrow evening at sunset," Kara said as she rose to leave.

"Yes ma'am"


Two weeks later

"Why of all nights were we called out to do guard duty," MSG Fury asked to no one in particular.

"We want to remain in control of this ravine for swift movement when necessary. And after the attack last week we've doubled the guards," Lt. Breada said in a huff.

Havoc let a puff of smoke escape his cigarette, "That and the supposed military secret hidden deep within the perpendicular ravine. They say that it's what started this war in the first place and they don't call this ravine the Dead Man's Cross for nothing."

"D-D-Dead Man's…" Fury said in alarm.

"The Investigation's Department found no proof of those accusations, Lt. Havoc and this was called Dead Man's Cross Ravine, because thieves wanted to scare away the soldiers who came through it. It has no significance what-so-ever," Hughes said cleaning his glasses before placing them on his face and glancing over at Falman, Hawkeye, and Armstrong," Hughes snapped, bringing the subject to a close immediately.

"Do you really think it was the, Colonel who came through here, Lt. Colonel Hughes or just something made up by the other soldiers to make us nervous. After all how many people do we know can make flames practically out of thin air?" Falman asked.

"I doubt anyone would lie about seeing Roy, but I would have to see him with my own eyes to believe it. If it was him though and if he comes back this way, hopefully he'll stop and talk to us," Hughes said leaving the group to contemplate things.


"I really wish that we had gotten a convoy. This would be so much easier if we did," Kara said as she sat on the back of the wagon of supplies and got a drink from her canteen.

When they had arrived at the port, they discovered that it too had been under attack, and could only offer them a horse drawn wagon full of supplies. The horse, however, was old and could only drag so far before quitting meaning that the three of them were left pushing and pulling the supply wagon.

"It couldn't be helped, but at this rate, we'll never make it through that ravine with these supplies," Mustang said in a huff as he plopped on the sand.

"That and they probably doubled the guards caused you decided that you were going to set the ammunition on fire and cause chaos," Ed retorted trying to catch his breath.

It had been a long two week journey for them to get these supplies. The three of them wanted nothing more than to get back to the inn, get showers, some good food, and much needed sleep. The last time they had slept was at the port and they hadn't slept well due to the edginess they had felt the whole time they were there.

"So, why do you think that there guarding this ravine, it didn't seem all that great to me," Ed asked trying to invoke conversation so they could rest a bit longer.

"Amestris wants to be able to use that ravine to move. It's in a cross shape so it leads North, South, East, and West. It's a valuable asset to have," Mustang said.

"That and there trying to hide a massacre," General Dramazic said looking down at the ground.

"What massacre?" Ed said after a few moments of silence.

"There's no such thing. I went with our Investigation's Department to look at the spot. There was evidence of a battle, but no massacre," Mustang said quickly his face clearly showing that he didn't want to venture onto the subject.

"Then why would there only be two survivors. If you ask me it was a massacre and Amestris higher ups are trying to cover it…Oh never mind, let's just get going."

She got up and gave the horse some water. Ed turned to look from her to Mustang. The Lt. Colonel was looking down at the ground clearly deep in thought. Ed rose from the ground and dusted off his pants.

"Come on bastard let's get going. We need to get these supplies back and you can't be slacking."

Mustang was silent, but he rose and joined Edward in pushing the back of the cart. The General led the horse. They walked another hour in silence when they could visibly see the ravine with the guards standing outside.

"So gentlemen, we'll be arriving at the ravine in about five to ten minutes. What's the likelihood of them letting us walk through without any confrontation?" Kara asked not really expecting an answer from the two men pushing behind her.

She knew from their position, the soldiers could only see her, the horse and a cart. The General was planning on the element of surprise and her subordinates knew it. They had discussed the plan earlier. Upon reaching the ravine she was stopped by a group of soldiers.

"Where do you think you're headed miss?" A Lt Colonel with dark hair, a stub of a beard and glasses said as he approached her.

"I need to get to the ravine. It's the fastest way to get these supplies to the people I care about," she said patting the wagon.

"Your friends in the United States Military I presume," he said, clearly uneasy.

"Damn it," the Lt. Colonel muttered softly as he slipped on his ignition gloves and softly clicked the safety off his gun.

He glanced over at Edward who also had taken the safety off his gun. The younger alchemist then peaked over the top of the wagon and watched as other soldiers approached. They both knew that the General was talking to Hughes and that the other soldiers were their old comrades.

"Why would I take supplies to those damn Yankees? I'm taking these to my family in case a battle breaks out in Dublith. I would give my life for my family," Kara said bringing out the waterworks making the Lt. Colonel take a step back.

In a flash a gunshot was fired and the General was on the ground clutching her shoulder. She glanced up to see Lt. Havoc standing above her.

"Don't fall for her charade; she's one of them. The night of the raid she told us where Lt. Hawkeye was," Havoc said never taking his eyes or gun off the General.

"Easy Lieutenant, she might be able to tell us something about Mustang and Edward," Major Armstrong said placing a hand on the quivering Lieutenant's shoulder

Kara held her shoulder from where the bullet had gone in. She was bleeding and worthless; her only hoped rested on Roy and Ed to pull her out of this sticky situation.

At the same time, Mustang and Edward were waging a battle of their own. They didn't want to hurt their own comrades, but they had to get the General out and through the ravine. Edward started to rise, but Roy grabbed his arm and shook his head. If they moved to quickly, it would put the General in even more jeopardy.

"What are we going to do then, bastard?" Edward mouthed in a huff.

"You'll see," Mustang mouthed back before he began crawling on the side opposite everyone else.

Ed followed. The group was so preoccupied with Dramazic that they could get around without being noticed. The Colonel stopped at the edge of the cart and slowly peered around it. Havoc was the only one holding a gun at the General. It was perfect.

The whole group heard the snap. Havoc cried out and dropped his gun. Kara took this opportunity to sweep his feet out from under him and grab his gun before rolling on top of him and sticking the gun to his temple. It all happened so fast that only Hawkeye had pulled out her gun and was holding it to the General's head.

The entire group froze. Havoc was in danger and they were staring at Mustang and Edward who had also come out of hiding and was pointing a gun of his own.

"I suggest Lieutenant that you drop that gun," the former Amestris Colonel said, his fingers poised to snap.

"Roy, calm down, let's talk about this. Lieutenant, I order you to stand down. Miss, please, can we talk," Hughes pleaded hoping that the three of them would come to their senses.

No one moved. Finally the General sighed. She knew that her soldiers knew these soldiers. Maybe there was a chance for negotiations.

"I'll stand down and order my soldiers to stand down, if the lady stands down. Perhaps we can come to a negotiation," Kara suggested.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, I gave you an order to stand down. I don't want to pull rank, but I will," Hughes said before the Lieutenant lifted her gun.

The General slowly got off Havoc and then backed away from him with his gun still in her hand. Mustang put down his hands and Edward put his gun down.

"Now, all I want is to get these supplies to the injured. We have injured American and Amestris soldiers in custody and they need the medication and food. I believe that you would like the opportunity to talk to these gentlemen behind me; however I need them to help me get these supplies back. So, what do you propose, Mr. in charge," Kara said talking to Hughes.

"Just call me Hughes and since I offered my name…" he left it hanging in the air

"Dramazic," she replied.

"You're base was destroyed so you don't have a stronghold for your prisoners. How about one of my associates and I come with you. We'll help you get these supplies to your stronghold and then we can talk."

"We don't need your help getting these through. However, if you and your associate are willing to be cuffed and blindfolded we'll lead you back to our base. You can talk and then we'll let you go."

"And how do we know that you'll keep your word? How do we know we can trust you?"

She walked to the back of the truck and pulled out a case of medication. She pulled out half of the bottles and placed them in another case before bringing the rest back to where she stood.

"We need this medication for our camp. If you agree to our terms, I'll leave these with your other associates and we'll meet on the other side of the ravine in a week and swap. If you don't bring the medicine we'll keep them hostage. If we don't bring them, then you can keep the medicine for your own camp."

"Fair enough, Major Armstrong. I'm leaving you in charge. Meet us in a week. What time Dramazic?"

"Noon,"

"That's fine. Meet us there with the medicine! Is that understood?"

"I'll be there Lt. Colonel," Armstrong said as he saluted.

"Ok, Lieutenant Hawkeye, I want you to come with me."