Hey again guys, just to let you know I won't be updating for two weeks starting from the 6th of July.
Anyway, enjoy this next chapter.
Varishi x
After Hughes had finished telling his story, he attempted a smile at the Elrics. Not quite knowing what to say, Ed had simply gotten up and thanked him shortly before leaving. It was only Al and Hughes who remained. Al felt sorry for Hughes, he must have felt terrible for what happened, but it really wasn't his fault. It was Tia's. But Al still understood how Ed felt; Al wasn't sure what he would do without his brother. He didn't even know whether he would be able to go on. Ed was Al's hope for the future; Al relied on Ed for everything including getting his original body back.
"If she really is behind all of this, Al," Hughes began sadly. Al looked back at Hughes in confusion, was he really in a position to make requests? Either way, Al listened to what he had to say anyway, "Just tell her I'm sorry. She won't believe me, but she should know anyway. I always thought it was shame I didn't get to know her well enough to invite her over." Al was surprised at Hughes' words, he wanted to apologise to the one who had nearly killed him, but not only that, had nearly killed Ed too. He couldn't really understand what Hughes should apologise for, but if it was going to bring Hughes some sort of peace of mind then it was worth assuring him that he'd do it. Even if that wasn't strictly true.
"I will, but you're not to blame for any of this." Al stated simply. With that, he got up and left to find his brother so that they could decide what to do next. It was clear in everyone's mind, Ed's, Al's, and the Colonel's that Tia Wilson definitely had the motive to kill Hughes and Ed remembered her, there was no doubt about the fact that she was involved. Not only that but the fact that she had a motive in the first place made her the most likely candidate to be the ring leader of this particular attack.
Al stepped heavily down the hallway in the direction he had seen his brother go, he had walked all the way out of the hallway and into the building's main foyer before he spotted Ed. The older Elric was stood with his head slightly cocked to the side in curiosity as he watched a particular guard. It was a hot day, so naturally some officers were wearing a different uniform than the usual. This particular guard however was wearing the usual uniform, but the blue overcoat was unbuttoned revealing the black shirt they wore beneath the coat. Ed was staring at the officer as though he was out of place, like he didn't belong there. Al approached Ed and laid a hand on his shoulder to let his brother know it was just him.
"I was just wondering how Tia would have known where Hughes lives." Ed asked rhetorically. Ed was right. Hughes had only just told Al how he's never known her well enough to invite her over to his house. Ed turned to his younger brother and stuck his hand inside Al's armour; he quickly found what he had been looking for and pulled it out. That evidence bag with a scrap of black cloth in it. The blonde pulled out the small sample of cloth and stared at it before staring at that same guard again, "I think she infiltrated the headquarters. The military always have good quality clothing made from local raw materials like wool because they're representing the state and supporting local farms. So this cloth matches military uniform perfectly. It would also explain how Tia Wilson could have gotten hold of Hughes address easily."
"Are you sure you aren't over thinking this a little? She could have followed Hughes home from work." Al suggested. He was readjusting the straps that held his armour together after Ed had gone fishing through the things he stored in there. Ed shook his head, he was sure then. He sighed; both brothers knew that if Tia Wilson could infiltrate the headquarters once, then she could infiltrate it again and that meant that although it would be really risky for her to pull off a murder in a military base she still could. The Hughes family still weren't completely safe even at headquarters.
"Hughes leaves at the same time as a ton of people and he often doesn't go straight home even after then. He doesn't even have a pattern to anything." Ed pointed out. Al looked at his brother admiringly, sometimes it seemed as though Ed could answer anything. Then, as though reading what Al had been thinking a few moments ago just by looking at him Ed nodded, "I know, Hughes and his family are in danger here too, but then again they're probably still safer here than they are somewhere else. There isn't really much sense in moving them again; I don't even know where we'd move them to at this point. Let's just catch these people, okay?"
"Right! Where's Colonel Mustang?" Al said whilst looking around him for the solemn faced Colonel. Ed shrugged his shoulders and did a quick sweep of the room like Al had. He knew that he was checking in on Hawkeye, but could that really take this long? He'd left over ten minutes ago now, and he was usually the kind to hang up when someone else is still talking because he doesn't care much for what they have to say. Ed had always thought that it was different when he spoke to Lieutenant Hawkeye; after all he liked her better than he liked Ed that much was certain!
"Whatever, I need some fresh air to think I'm getting all stiff being in here." Ed moaned while stretching his arms out and shuffling around on his feet a little. Ed had been in the headquarters less than an hour and he was already claiming to get impatient, there was still plenty of the day left. Al sighed in exasperation; he knew that Ed would only get more and more frustrated if he stayed in the building any longer.
"Fine, wait outside and I'll go and hurry the Colonel up." Al instructed. He turned on his heel and went on his way; he didn't even know where Mustang had gone to use the phone. Al knew that it wouldn't take long to find Mustang anyway; they would soon be on their way. Ed watched as his younger brother walked away and let out a deep breath when he realised he could get out of the place he considered to be cooped up.
He exited the building and started to wander around just outside the gates thinking intensely of what to do next. There was a clue somewhere in everything that he had uncovered, something that would tell him where to go next, it was at the back of his mind but all of the other knowledge combined with his lack of sleep recently prevented him from reaching that all important conclusion. Mustang had the files containing everything they had on this case so far, all the more reason for the older Elric to impatiently await his return.
Al wandered the halls of the Central headquarters for a while before he heard Mustang's voice still on the phone. Mustang was being overwhelmed with a lot of information of how the chase was going. As Al approached him, Mustang simply nodded in acknowledgement and then turned his attention back to the phone. Ed was just going to have to wait for a little longer; he would at least have some more time to think to himself without Al and Mustang interrupting his thoughts every other minute.
The moment Hawkeye had answered the phone Colonel Mustang hadn't hesitated to tell her everything that they knew. She was most likely chasing Envy rather than Tyke Goodman and he gave her all of the information that he had and was relevant. After he had finished, Hawkeye realised that what Mustang had said had explained a lot of strange things that had been happening on the trail. Goodman had been heading south, but then about fifteen miles out of the city the team had found the clothes he had been wearing lying discarded in the street. But rather than wait on it, they had taken the clothes as evidence just in case they needed it in future and then they had continued following tracks. Eventually Hawkeye and her team had come to a standstill, it seemed that at a certain point, Goodman or Envy had left multiple tracks and they now had no idea which direction was the direction he had really gone in.
In fact, Hawkeye had been just about to call Mustang. The Flame alchemist nodded his head, after hearing this new information it became clear to him where he and the boys needed to head next, "Stay where you are, Lieutenant. I'll bring the Elrics over and we'll take it from there." Mustang looked over at Al who nodded in agreement. Ed had seemed agitated and didn't seem to know where to head next anyway, so Al knew that his older brother would probably be happy to have a decision made for him.
"Right, let's go and get Fullmetal and we'll take a car out to meet Lieutenant Hawkeye and her team." Mustang ordered. Al followed him back down the hallway to go and meet the older Elric who was probably still storming around the grounds wondering what to do next. They had enough details to work with now, all that was left was to catch the criminals, and that would probably clear up the rest of the case, the details that remained to be tied up.
Ed walked out of the gates and decided to take a walk around the block, he theorised that the more he got his blood pumping, the better he could think. So as he thought he walked briskly out of the Central headquarters gates, briefly turning to a random lower ranked officer to order them to let Al and Mustang know that he'd be back in around ten minutes and that they should be waiting for him by the gates. With that he sped off and wracked his mind for that damn memory holding the answer from him. Then it came to him and he stopped in his tracks. There was one house that he knew of where Tyke Goodman wouldn't be out of place, it was empty and according to the file it was pretty secluded so visitors were rare. Rush Valley.
"That's it!" Ed whispered happily. It was a flimsy idea, but given that they had no idea where else to look the old house where the Goodman's used to live was a good place to start. Having the idea fixed in his head now, the pressure that he built up on his shoulders was relieved and he felt a lot lighter. Ed smiled and quickened his pace to get back to where he hoped Al and Mustang were already waiting for him so that he could tell them what he'd come up with and get on with his case. That is, until a loud smack and a sharp pain filled the back of his head. Ed felt strong hands lift him off of his feet and throw him onto a cushioned seat before he passed out.
Al and the Colonel had been waiting by the gates of Central for half an hour now, was the officer that conveyed Ed's message sure that he'd said ten minutes? Mustang saw out of the corner of his eye that the large hollow suit of armour next to him was beginning to get nervous, he was subtly shaking. The Colonel looked straight ahead out of the gates, something wasn't right here. Fullmetal might not have always kept his promises to others, but he had never broken a promise to his brother before.
There, all done. I hope you enjoyed it!
Please review for me! Do you still want to know how it ends?
Thanks a lot guys,
Varishi x