Once out of sight of anyone at Central the three friends took off at a run toward the warehouses. Chanticleer had an unmistakable fierceness to his step. Then again he couldn't be blamed since two of his childhood friends had been kidnapped. It took about half the time to get there than it usually did with the new speed the trio had. Once there the Dawn knocked the main door off its already weak hinges.
"Brody! Mark!"
From a hidden place in the rafters a figure jumped.
"Chanticleer?"
"Luke!"
The two ran and embraced, each just glad to see the other.
"Where are the others?"
Luke looked at him with the words caught in his throat. He almost looked afraid of the Dawn, or at least of how he might react to the news.
"I, we." Luke swallowed hard. "You're not goin to like it." he finally managed to say.
"Luke?" Mark crept out from a back room. "Have you…Chanticleer! Edward, Al! Boy am I glad you guys are here."
"Mark, is it true you have one of the creeps that tried to take you and the others?" Ed commanded.
"Yes we did I have him tied up in the back. If you guys can…"
"Where's Brody?"
Mark had the expression like a dog that knew it was about to be whipped.
"We tried to keep them back…"
"Where's Brody!"
"Please don't get angry…"
"I SAID WHERE IS HE!"
"I know where your friends were taken."
Before the Dawn went for Marks' throat a slightly muffled voice from the back room caught their attention. Next thing anyone knew the door had been flung open and Chanticleer barged in.
"Where's my brother!" he demanded.
"What's in it for me? I don't intend…"
A punch to the head halted his sentence.
"A chance to keep your life that's what! And your teeth!" .
The Dawn felt an arm grab his shoulder and try to pull him away, it was Ed.
"This is not the time to blow a gasket!"
"I know how your feeling but this isn't the way to get your brother back."
"How can you! Have you ever lost Al!"
"Yes I have! But I never blew my top about it, that way I could think straight!"
This put a sudden dead end to the Dawn's fury. Luke appeared on his other side.
"You forget," he said calmly. "They took my brother too."
Ed looked up at them with knowing eyes.
"We'll get him back, don't worry."
"Not if I decide to keep my mouth shut."
The hostage sat grinning at the group that had entered the room.
"As said before I know where those two were taken. But I don't think I'll tell unless you ask really nice and let me go."
"We can't let you." Alphonse said. "We can't risk what you might do if we set you free"
"And what might I do?"
"Take a shortcut to your buddies and tell them to scram to another hideout so you get away so telling us where the bad guys are and then bailing isn't lying?" Mark suggested.
To everyone's surprise and Chanticleer's fury the guy started laughing.
"You still don't get it do you?"
"Get What!" the Dawn grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "What do you know and aren't saying!"
"Oh I'll tell you all I know but not until I get a perk or two. Like while I tell you what you want you cut these ropes and let me go. How's that for a deal?"
"There's no way we can agree to that! We need…" Luke started.
"We need to do as he says." The Fullmetal said sadly.
Ten eyes stared at him, eight of which in pure bewilderment.
"We're honestly…going to let him…just take off… and assume what he says… is the truth?" Chanticleer said, his voice trembling with vehemence.
"He's our only link to Brody and Lucus. Whether or not he tells the truth we can only hope. But are we any closer to getting them back without him?"
"Brother, are you listening to what you're saying?"
"Yes, I don't like it anymore than the rest of you but either we let him go or stand here picking our noses and do nothing at all." He picked up a broken piece of wood, transmuted it into a switchblade and handed it to Mark. "Don't start cutting the ropes until he starts talking." He ordered.
Mark didn't look at the Dawn when he picked up the blade. His expression was like that of a rabid cobra.
"You'd better know what you're doing." Was all Mark said.
"Now we're getting somewhere," the kid said with a note of triumph.
"First of all, who are you?"
"Craig." He said simply.
"Whom do you work for?"
"I'm not at liberty to say. I can only call him Boss or sir."
Mark cut a line.
"Why did your buddies take Lucus and Brody?"
"The Boss wanted to get back at someone that worked in the military. He said a kidnapping would get the military involved and he was right. He wants one of your buddies to come and rescue them so he can settle a score."
"The perfect ransom." Luke muttered. "I give you back your friends if you agree to fight me and win. If not you will all end up dead."
Mark cut another line.
"So where were then taken?" Chanticleer said with difficulty to keep his voice steady.
"To a little backwater town called Drahoe. Ever heard of it? If you sneeze while passing it you'll walk right by it."
His attempt at humor didn't amuse anyone yet Mark cut the third line.
"So you've set the trap and now you have bait, who are you trying to reel in?"
"Don't know." Craig shrugged. "If you military bozos don't send the right guy the first time I'm sure the boss will wait until you bring him in."
"What happens if the first rescue team doesn't have the person he's looking for?"
"Like I said he'd wait, after killing the first team…"
Mark had the blade on the last rope and waited to see if Ed had any more questions before cutting it.
"At Drahoe because some wing nut wants to get back at a military man for something he apparently did."
Craig nodded.
Mark started to cut the line very slowly.
"Of course all these drastic measures you guys have put your time into was just a waste of energy."
Everyone looked at him with a blank stare.
"You still don't get it? I was left here on purpose so I could tell you where the hostages were taken! The agreement to let me go was just a perk I came up with. I would've eventually told you anyway if you were patient enough."
Al could almost see steam coming out of Lukes' ears.
"All this was done for nothing!"
The rope had been cut enough so all Craig had to do was pull against it and it snapped. With a look like ha-ha-I-tricked-you he stood up and made his way toward the door. Chanticleer stood in front of the door and didn't move.
"You have to move out of his way." Ed stated. "He told us what we needed and now we have to let him go."
Reluctantly and with fury shaking in each step the Dawn unblocked the doorway. Craig was obviously proud of himself for being such a genius he marched with pride to the door. Then, in the blink of an eye Ed tacked him and pinned him to the ground with his transmuted arm to his throat.
"Brother?"
"Huh?"
"I thought you were going to…"
"You said we should…"
"BACKSTABBING LIAR!" Craig's' voice shadowed everyone else's confused stutters. "You said after I told you everything you'd let me go."
"And I intend to hold true to that." The Fullmetal said with a smug grin. "You told us what we needed and now we're letting you go…back with us to Central."
Of every furious and humiliated expression ever made in the past Ed now looked down at what had to take the cake.
HAHAHAHA! I love staying up to late hours of the night thinking up ways to make peoples lives difficult.
Ed: I'm just glad you made me the one to put the bad guy in his place. Puffs up in pride
Me: You just fit that's all. Coughs Favorite character coughs But I think you're about to get one of those anime bumps. (Looks behind him)
Ed: Anime what?
Me: That big pink bump you get if some one knocks you on the head really hard.
Ed: What makes you say tha-OUCH! (Anime bump shows up)
Chanticleer: Don't you ever leave me in total suspense like that! (Just hit on head)
Ed: DON'T GET MAD AT ME I DIDN'T WRITE THE STORY!
Chanticleer: Do you honestly think I'm going to complain to the author? She's the one who decides what's going to happen to us so the last thing I want to do is make her mad.
Ed: That's no excuse for…….
Me: Next up on The Rising Dawn! They've sapped all the information out of Craig as they can and now the rescue starts. But who could possibly want to 'settle a score' with anyone at Central with whom and why?
Chibi me: Oh sure amateur, while you're at it you might as well ask if the group will bring the right person the 'Boss' wants the first time so no one else will have to die.
Me: Actually I was about to and how did you get out of that jar? Never mind I don't want to know so I'll see y'all next chapter.
Dray-hoe