A/N: This chapter wasn't in our story originally. We just wrote this one last week based off of an idea we had for a mission, but it's one of our favorites now. We hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!
1913
"The Cully mansion is on 12th Street," Havoc said, pointing to a spot on the map.
The Mustang unit was gathered around in the living room area of a West City safehouse. They'd been invited by the western officials to help catch a suspected arms smuggler, a man by the name of Scott Cully. Over the course of the last week, the members of the team had arrived one by one to avoid notice, beginning with Havoc who had arrived on Monday. It was now Friday and the last member of the team, Fuery, had arrived by train that afternoon.
Each had traveled in civilian clothes, leaving no trace that they were associated with the military as it would defeat the purpose of the western forces inviting them there for an undercover mission.
"Any suspicious activity?" Mustang asked.
"Besides the fact that the place is way too nice for someone who supposedly works in real estate?" Havoc chuckled. "I never saw any weapons entering or leaving the building, but you don't need guards for a civilian residence and I definitely saw my fair share of those."
Falman nodded. "That matches my research as well. The Cully family didn't start making a name for themselves until a few years ago when they moved into that mansion from somewhere in the east. No one knows where they came from and I couldn't find any record of a man named Cully living in the East, so it's most likely an alias."
"Right, that's what the waitresses at the cafe were saying this week," said Havoc. "They came out of nowhere and had that mansion built. Cully's story is that he inherited a lot of money from a distant relative and decided to relocate to the west, but it doesn't check out."
Breda snorted. "Surprised you even got any surveillance work done if you were too busy talking to the waitresses."
"Hey, they had plenty of gossip they were willing to share on the man. Two birds, one stone. They're all excited about this soiree he's throwing tomorrow night for his daughter's 18th birthday. Supposedly anyone who's anyone will be there."
"Sounds like that's our best chance to get close to him, then," said Roy.
"I thought so as well," Havoc agreed. "I've already procured an invitation." He pulled it out and set it on the map. "The western officials had it forged with a fake name for a man and a woman, a Mr. and Mrs. Caverly." he explained. "They thought it would be less suspicious to have two of us go in as an undercover couple than to have multiple individual invitations forged. So that means Lt. Hawkeye will be one of the ones going in...unless we want to put Fuery in a dress."
"I'll have to run the radio equipment," the sergeant interjected quickly.
"Right. So that just means we need to decide who's going to be Mr. Caverly."
"I look old enough to be her father," said Falman.
"No one would believe she'd go for someone like me," said Breda.
Havoc smirked. "Well, I guess I could always do it..." He looked over at Riza.
Riza had been listening to the discussion the entire time in a corner of the room, her arms crossed over her chest. Without hesitation she replied, "Not gonna happen. I'm not getting lovey-dovey with a smoker. We've had this discussion before."
Havoc groaned. "That's right. I forgot."
"That just leaves…" Fuery began as all eyes started to move toward Roy who was leaning against a wall opposite them.
The man in question shrugged and pushed away from the wall. "I'll do it. If the Lieutenant doesn't object."
Riza raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't look like there are any other options, sir."
"That's true." said Falman, nodding. "You two would be the most convincing appearance-wise."
"That settles it, then," said Fuery. "The Colonel and Lieutenant will go in as Mr. and Mrs. Caverly wearing wiretaps so we can hear if you need backup. The rest of us will set up a stakeout as near to the Cully mansion as we can get without arousing suspicion."
"I suppose that means I should go find myself something to wear," said Roy. "We'll rendezvous here again tomorrow at 1600." He looked at Riza. "Would you like a ride back to your hotel, Mrs. Caverly?" he asked with a hint of a smirk.
Each of the team members had made separate living arrangements for the duration of their stay. Havoc and Breda were posing as cousins living in this safe house while Falman stayed alone in another and Fuery, Mustang, and Hawkeye all had reservations in separate hotels, though Riza's hotel was the closest to Roy's. Since he frequently drove her home after work in the East due to their apartments being in close proximity, this didn't raise any eyebrows with the rest of the team.
"Sure, if you don't mind." She rolled her eyes but secretly she wanted to laugh. If only they all knew. They were giving them exactly what they wanted. A night of freedom to be themselves with each other out in the open. She followed him out after saying goodbye to the others. "I'll need to see if I can come up with something nice to wear, too. I hardly own any dresses."
They approached his car and she got in the passenger seat. A small smile was on her face.
He got in and started the car. "We could always stop by a formal wear shop on our way. Since our cover is a married couple, it will actually make our cover stronger to be seen out together tonight as well," he smirked.
She chuckled. "That's true. I could use your help picking something out anyway. I'm not very good with girly, dressy things."
"I think I can help you there," he said and began the drive into town. "So what was that earlier about a conversation with Havoc you've had before? Something about 'not getting lovey-dovey with a smoker'?"
She glanced at him. "Oh, just a stupid indiscretion back at the academy when we got drunk and he kissed me before we shipped out to Ishval." She said it like it was no big deal, mostly because she had forgiven Havoc so long ago that the thought of it made her laugh most days.
Mustang's foot hit the break a little harder than he intended and he turned to look at her. "Wait, what? How have I never heard about this?"
"I never thought it was important enough to mention. It was one kiss and it was years ago. And for the record, he kissed me and I certainly did not kiss him back."
Roy thought back to how Havoc had volunteered to go undercover as her husband, to the time he had talked about how hot she was when they were in the elevator the night of Hughes's bachelor party, and the day he'd been so defensive of her when he thought Roy had deliberately hurt her. It all made more sense now.
"He's got a thing for you," he said as he resumed driving.
Riza looked at him like he was crazy. "Don't be ridiculous. He does not. He just likes to flirt sometimes because he knows I won't fall for it."
He shrugged. It did seem like Havoc just had a thing for anyone with boobs, so he couldn't really fault him for it.
They parked on the curb in front of a formal wear shop and Roy got out to open the door for her. He caught sight of the their reflections in the glass of the store front as they made their way inside. It was strange to see them both dressed in civilian clothes, something he hadn't seen in years. "I'll find my tux, then meet you in the women's section if you want to go ahead and start looking."
"You sure you're not still jealous about this whole silly Havoc thing? I don't wanna leave you alone if you are." She said as they entered the store. "But yeah, you can meet me over there."
"I wasn't jealous in the first place," he denied. "I'll see you in a few minutes." He reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before walking away. It was just a small sign of affection, but it felt incredible to be able to do something like that in public.
She smiled. He was totally jealous. She turned and headed over to women's to browse. It would probably be better to wear something black, as it would be less conspicuous. They shouldn't stand out too much going undercover. She found a couple black dresses that seemed decent enough and also covered her back. She slung them over her arm as she went to look for matching shoes that wouldn't kill her feet and that she would be able to run in if necessary.
Roy picked out the first black tux he found in his measurements and went to try it on. Satisfied, he told the sales associate to bag that one up for him and went to find Riza. He found her in the shoes. "Looks like you didn't have much trouble finding something you liked," he said, noting the dresses draped over her arm.
"Well, these would all cover my tattoo but I'm not sure which one to go with. I figured black would help me blend in better." She held up her arm so he could look at the dresses. "Feel free to help me decide because I have no idea what I'm doing."
He looked back and forth between them. "Well, it might be easier to decide if I could see them on you first." He smirked.
She rolled her eyes. "You really want to do this now?"
He shrugged and looked at his pocket watch. "We have plenty of time and we need to make sure it fits before tomorrow anyway."
"Right. Well. Okay then. I think the fitting rooms are this way." She pointed towards the back of the department. This whole thing was so weird to her. It had been so long since they were out like this together so casually. They walked back and she was let into an empty room to change. "I won't be long."
Roy leaned against the wall outside of the changing rooms and waited. He tried to remember the last time they'd been able to go out in public like this, with no worries about what someone else might think if they saw them out together. By his count, it had been eight years ago, before he had gone to Ishval, before she joined the military, and before everything had changed.
Riza only struggled for a moment to get the snugly fit garment over her body. She smoothed it down. It was a simple black dress that hugged her legs and stopped above the knee, as well as came up to the base of her neck with cut off sleeves. She put on the black heels and opened the door. "This is the first option." She said, trying to keep her cool instead of being shy about showing off to him.
"You look great," he said, looking over at her. He hadn't seen her so dressed up since Hughes's wedding three years before. "Do you still want to try the second option or go with that one?"
"I'm not sure I like how this is for my thighs, honestly. I have to be able to conceal and carry my guns," she said, realization dawning on her. She shrugged. "I'll try on one more." She disappeared behind the door again. When she came back out, she was wearing a longer dress. This one came with a slit up to her mid-thigh and a small collar around her neck. It was still sleeveless. She looked at Roy and waited.
His eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline when he saw her. "Wow," was all he managed to get out at first. His eyes roamed over her body from head to toe and then back up again. By the time his eyes met hers, the room was suddenly feeling ten degrees hotter than it had before. He tugged self consciously at the collar of his shirt. "I like that one a lot."
Riza felt her cheeks getting warmer at his reaction. "You sure it's not too much? Although it's perfect for my weapons." She glanced at herself in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself.
"I think it's perfect, but I'll admit I may be a little biased."
She smiled at him. "Thank you. Give me a minute and we can check out." She went back to change back into her regular clothes. Once she was done, she came back over to him, still smiling slightly. "This is strange but sort of amazing, isn't it?" she said quietly.
He smiled back at her as they made their way to the front of the store. "I know exactly what you mean."
They paid for their purchases and returned to the car. "I was thinking...since it's still early in the evening, maybe we could stop for dinner on our way. For the sake of keeping up appearances for our undercover mission, of course." He winked at her.
She chuckled. "Well, when you put it that way I guess I HAVE to have dinner with you." She reached over to gently place her hand on his leg while he drove.
"Well, I suppose I should admit that I have an ulterior motive besides establishing our cover. I've never been able to take you out on a real date before and I'd say it's a bit overdue."
Riza looked over at him. "You're very sweet. Then again, you always have been. At least to me." She squeezed his thigh affectionately.
The next night, they all convened as planned in the safe house occupied by Breda and Havoc at 1600hrs.
Roy emerged from the downstairs bathroom, pinning cuff links into the sleeves of his tux. He joined the rest of his men gathered in the living room while they waited for Hawkeye, who was getting ready upstairs. "Were you able to get the surveillance equipment set up this afternoon, sergeant?"
Fuery nodded. "Yes, sir. Everything is ready to go. We'll just need to attach the listening devices to your clothes." He picked one up from the table and passed it to Roy. "If you pin that under your collar, we should be able to hear you just fine, but it will be out of sight. Unfortunately, using earpieces would be too obvious, so we won't be able to communicate with you,"
"Understood." Roy pinned the small device under his collar and Fuery put on his headphones. "Everything clear?"
Fuery nodded. "Sound is nearly perfect."
Havoc stood to the side, buttoning up a sports coat while they did this. Since he already had extensive knowledge of the area, he was going to be posing as their chauffeur. Falman and Breda were in their civilian clothes still and would be keeping out of sight in the surveillance van with Fuery unless they were needed.
Upstairs, Riza inspected her reflection one last time after securing the last of her guns to her hidden leg. She made sure to pack as much as she hoped she would need in the event of a violent emergency. Her hair was pulled into a neat bun with a couple tendrils falling loose to frame her face round her bangs. The metal earrings still decorated her ears, as they had since Roy had given them to her. She slipped her shoes onto her feet and exhaled before opening the door to begin her descent down the stairs.
When they heard the sound of her shoes hitting the steps, the men all turned their heads to look upon the only female in their unit and one of the stars of their operation. Havoc's jaw fell open ever so slightly, his eyes fixated on the woman in black. Breda and Fuery were both quite frozen as well. Falman looked at her, smiled politely, then turned his head away.
"You look lovely, Lieutenant." Falman said, but not in a weird or flirtatious way.
Riza smiled slightly, trying not to let herself turn red under the scrutiny of all her comrades. "Thank you, Falman."
While the rest of the men watched Riza enter, Roy watched Havoc. He hadn't quite forgotten what Riza had told him the night before. Not that he could blame the guy.
His eyes met hers when she reached the bottom of the stairs and he gave her a small smile. "Mrs. Caverly," he greeted with a smirk as he crossed to her. "I think you may have forgotten something." He reached into the pocket of his tux and pulled out a simple metal band he'd transmuted earlier that day. A matching one adorned the ring finger of his left hand.
Riza gave him a knowing look before accepting the ring and placing it on her left ring finger. "I'd say I'm officially armed and ready, sir. Whenever you are." She then gave him a gracious smile and added, "Mr. Caverly." She had to start getting into the swing of calling him that.
He smiled and glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of the men who had all still been watching them. He raised an eyebrow and they all busied themselves with whatever they could. "Are we ready to move out?"
"Yes, sir! Havoc will drive the two of you and we'll leave ten minutes after to take our spot a block away," said Breda.
Havoc snuffed out his cigarette on the bottom of his shoe and headed toward the door. "I'll have the car ready when you are, Mr. and Mrs. Caverly."
Roy offered an arm to Riza. "Shall we?"
Riza nodded and linked her arm through his. "Yes. Let's get this night under way."
Fuery tilted his head as he watched them leave. "Huh. They seem so...natural like that."
Breda gave him a weird look. "Really? I think it's freaky."
"Well that, too. But they're very good at looking like they love each other." Fuery continued.
"They have been working together for even longer than we've known them. It's not that much of a surprise is it?" asked Falman, ever the observant one.
"That's a fair point." The other two conceded.
Havoc pulled up to the curb in front of the Cully mansion and got out of the car to come around and open the back passenger door. Roy emerged first, then stopped and offered a hand to help Riza out behind him.
Up and down the street, other well dressed members of society were emerging from similar cars as their chauffeurs struggled to get their passengers as close as they could to the event. The gossip about this being the party of the year certainly hadn't been exaggerated, but the sheer number of attendees would work to their advantage in masking their movements throughout the night. They needed to get inside and look for any evidence they could that the man's money was coming through illegal arms dealing to Creta as was suspected.
They followed the crowd up the long walkway, through a beautifully landscaped garden, and to the front door where butlers were checking invitations. Roy procured theirs from inside his jacket and held it out to one of the men. "Mr. John Caverly and my wife, Elizabeth," he introduced. They hadn't previously agreed on first names for their aliases, so he supplied the first two that came to mind, and the first name that came to mind for Riza was her mother's name.
"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Caverly," said the man, ushering them inside.
Roy felt a bit relieved as they entered. They hadn't spotted the invitation as a forgery and getting in the door was half the battle.
Riza stayed with him, hooked onto his arm, as they entered the party. She looked around, her sniper eyes observing everything they possibly could. She noted the types of crowds close to corresponding tables. There was a floor in the center of the ballroom for dancing couples. At the other end of the large room stood Scott Cully himself next to his daughter. She looked so happy. Did she know about what may possibly be going on with her father's money?
They approached a table of champagne and Riza reached over to grab one and hand it to Roy. "Would you like some champagne, dear?"
"That sounds wonderful, darling," he said as he accepted the glass from her. As he took a sip, he observed the other people in the room over the rim of the glass. They needn't have worried that Riza might stand out with the high slit in her gown. Everywhere he looked were trophy wives of Cully's business associates wearing dresses with plunging necklines and risque hemlines. Diamonds glinted on wrists and at their throats. If anything, they ran more of a risk of standing out for the opposite reason than they had thought.
They'd made it this far, though. They just needed to blend in long enough to find an opening to sneak away and explore the rest of the house for the evidence they needed. The other men were prepared to provide a distraction if it became necessary.
The soft music that was filling the background of the event came to a stop and everyone inside turned to look toward the center, where Cully stood by his daughter. The man smiled and raised his hands in an elaborate gesture before he said loudly enough for all to hear, "Thank you all so much for coming! As most of you know, it is my beautiful daughter Annabelle's birthday! This is cause for much celebration and we are both delighted to welcome you to our event. Please, drink and eat to your heart's content and feel free to join us here on the dance floor!"
The music changed to something more appropriate for dancing and couples began to flood the floor, Riza watched everyone that moved intently, making sure she observed as much as she could. She sipped her drink and casually leaned against her "husband's" shoulder. "I don't think I've heard this song before."
Roy wrapped an arm around her waist, his hand resting on her hip. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face. Going undercover as Riza's husband was certainly one of the more pleasant things he'd been asked to do while in the military. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Dance with me?" He reasoned that, logically, this would help them blend in more than if they just stood to the side observing all evening and it would be an easy way to move around the room to get a better look at the exit options without arousing suspicions, but, really, he just didn't get the opportunity to dance with her often and it always brought back memories for him of their first Christmas together and their kiss under the mistletoe.
Riza smiled up at him. "Sure, just promise you won't step on my feet." she teased. She knew very well he was a fine dancer, seeing as how it was he who taught her how to dance her first time. She had the brief thought that he had been her first for just about everything, and it made her stomach jump with excitement. She slid her hand down his arm and squeezed his hand before placing her empty glass on the table. "By your lead, handsome."
He set his glass next to hers and used the arm around her waist to guide her onto the dance floor before turning to face her. He put one hand on the small of her back to draw her close to him and took her hand in his as they joined the other dancing couples on the floor. "You're so beautiful."
She blushed slightly, averting her gaze for a moment before looking up at him. "Thank you. I'm glad you think so." She kept in step with him the entire time. They were always so in sync, she never really had to think about how to move. Her hands gripped him a bit more tightly. She never wanted to let him go.
Roy didn't want the song to end and when it did he drew her closer for a moment longer and pressed his lips to hers. It was a wonderful feeling being able to do that when he felt like it even when they were out in public. He drew back after a moment and took her hand in his as they left the dance floor. He glanced casually over at where Cully was greeting guests with his daughter to make note of where he was in the room.
Riza smiled softly and followed him. Her eyes made their usual scan of the room quickly as they walked. She observed the guests, the guest of honor, and the guards at their posts.
Meanwhile, Fuery was mildly blushing while he was sitting in a large vehicle outside of the mansion only a few blocks down the street. He could hear when they kissed, and assumed it was probably just cheek kisses, but the thought of them being so convincing for this mission astounded him as well as embarrassed him since he was the only one who could listen in.
Breda looked at him. "Man, are you blushing? What's going on in there?"
"No, I'm not! It's just warm in this van since I have to share it with all three of you!" Fuery said defensively. Falman and Havoc were also in the vehicle with them.
"It's probably because I'm in here." said Havoc, smirking with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was up front with the window cracked so they didn't suffocate from his smoke.
Breda rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Inside, Roy and Riza had made a slow circuit of the room's perimeter, exchanging occasional pleasantries with other guests.
Roy noted how often a guard would walk past the main door. There was approximately five minutes between each patrol and there appeared to be only two of them inside. The majority had been stationed at the mansion's outer perimeter. He did the math in his head and that meant it took each man ten minutes to do a complete circuit of the mansion and with only two of them, they couldn't be everywhere at once. Those weren't bad odds. All they would have to do would be to slip out of the room unnoticed shortly after one patrol went by and be careful not to run into either of them while they explored for evidence of Cully's arms dealing.
He glanced back to where he had last seen Cully, but the man was no longer there. He saw the daughter, Annabelle, on the dance floor with a young man. He glanced around and caught sight of Cully exchanging whispers with another man who he knew to be Chester Hemsworth from reading the files on the man's known associates. Scott Cully looked up then and his eyes met Roy's. He said something to Hemsworth and the man walked away before Cully started toward Roy and Riza.
Roy gave Riza's hand a gentle squeeze then took a few steps to meet him. "Mr. Cully, a pleasure to finally meet you!" he said enthusiastically, extending his right hand to him.
Cully took his hand and gave it a brief shake before withdrawing. "And you are…?"
"John Caverly. And this is my lovely wife, Elizabeth."
Riza nodded her head politely and smiled. "A pleasure, Mr. Cully." She hugged Roy's left arm close to her. They were the picture of a happy couple. Cully noticed this, and smiled in return.
"It's very nice to meet you as well. I can see you two are very much in love, what, with the way you two were dancing earlier. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone so in tune with each other." Cully said, slightly leering at them, his eyes falling lastly on Riza a little longer than she would have liked. She resisted the urge to grab one of her guns from under her dress. Cully continued, "I take it you two are newlyweds?"
"Oh, well. Technically, but we've known each other for many years now. So it feels like we've been married for much longer." Riza replied smoothly, stroking Roy's arm. "You have a lovely daughter, by the way." She tried to change the subject.
"Thank you. She is quite stunning, isn't she? I can't believe she's so grown up already." Cully replied. He did seem to genuinely care for his daughter, at least. "So tell me, Caverly, what brings you to the area? I don't believe I've even seen you two in town recently."
"We just moved to the area from the East for my work," Roy lied. "We're hoping to start a family soon and we heard this town was a great place for raising a family."
"Really? I came from the East myself several years ago," said Cully, looking a bit harder at Roy as if trying to place him. "Perhaps we have met before…"
Roy was saved from answering as a collective gasp rose from the crowd and the music ceased. They all turned to see a large tiered birthday cake being wheeled into the room and toward the center of the dance floor as people cleared a path for it. Annabelle was standing at the center, beaming.
"If you'll excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Caverly…." Cully went to join his daughter.
Roy saw their opportunity as everyone crowded around and began to sing Happy Birthday. He tugged gently on Riza's arm and nodded his head toward the nearest door.
Riza nodded and turned to begin making their way toward the door. Once they were through it, she exhaled. "Was it just me or did that guy seem extra weird and creepy to you?" She asked him, still holding onto his arm.
"Not just you." he replied.
"Good." She let go of his arm. "We should start checking out these rooms for anything out of the ordinary."
"My thoughts exactly." He started in the direction of a nearby hallway. They moved quickly, but quietly. The halls were deserted as everyone else was distracted by the festivities in the ballroom. They checked one room after another, listening at the door for any sounds of occupancy. The further into the mansion they got, the darker the hallways became. It was clear Cully didn't want anyone accidentally wandering down this way, so the lights had been turned off to make sure no one mistook this for a route to the main entrance.
The footsteps of a patrolling guard echoed in the silence as they rounded a corner into yet another hallway in this labyrinth of rooms. Roy and Riza looked at each other, eyes wide. There was nowhere they could hide. The guard would hear if they opened a door now.
Roy could take the guard down easily, but if the second guard came along and found his partner unconscious or noticed he was missing, he'd raise the alarm and they'd be found. They could run for it now, but the guard would probably give chase and they'd never have a chance to get inside again. That left him with only one option.
Acting quickly, he gently pushed Riza back against the wall and started kissing her passionately. He used his hand to lift one of her legs to wrap around his and pressed his body close to hers.
Of course this caught Riza a bit off guard. But she also wouldn't complain. She held her leg tightly around his thigh and returned his kiss with equal passion. A low moan hummed in the base of her throat. Even if she would need a cold shower later, this was an excellent idea for their cover.
Meanwhile, poor Fuery was turning a hundred shades of red. They sure were taking this mission seriously. This was definitely no kiss on the cheek. Weren't they just checking rooms? Why suddenly start making out then? He wasn't sure what was going on, but kept his headphones on for fear of missing something important to the mission. He looked around the van, trying to distract himself from the sounds of kissing and moaning.
"Something wrong?" Havoc asked, one eyebrow raised when Fuery looked his way.
"Nope! Everything's fine!" Fuery answered quickly.
Inside, the guard's footsteps drew nearer by the second before they halted entirely when he caught sight of his unexpected company in the otherwise deserted corridors. He rolled his eyes and continued on his patrol. It wasn't the first time a drunk couple had wandered away in search of some privacy at one of Cully's events and it probably wouldn't be the last.
Roy continued kissing Riza for a few moments after the sound of footsteps faded away. He slowly pulled back and smirked. "That was a close call."
"Indeed." Her face was flushed and she was insanely turned on. Hopefully if all went well tonight, they could meet up later in their hotel. For now, she had to do her best to keep focused on the mission at hand. "Are you ready to continue, sir?" she said in a low voice. She just remembered that Fuery could hear them and tried to sound more professional in order to fight back her embarrassment.
He had to fight back a joke about the possible double meaning of her question. He'd definitely like to continue what they had just started, but it would have to wait. He made himself focus on the mission at hand. "The guard didn't seem too concerned about us being in the east wing of the mansion and so far these rooms have all been empty and unlocked. If there had been anything important here that they didn't want someone to accidentally find, he wouldn't have let us stay here, so I say we give up on the rooms here and head to the west wing."
Riza nodded. "You're right. Let's move." She turned to face the west side of the building. She began to move, swiftly and quietly despite her heeled shoes. Surprisingly her feet weren't killing her yet. Who would've thought that playing dress-up (albeit unwillingly) with Rebecca back at the academy would've come in handy one day? They both came upon another hallway with several doors. She began to cautiously open them one at a time to see if any might be locked. "If you find one that won't open, let me know."
He nodded. They split up and he checked the rooms on the right side of the hallway while she checked the rooms on the left. He'd made it halfway down his side with nothing to show for it when he found a door knob that wouldn't turn. This had to be it. He caught her eye from where she was a little ways down the hall and motioned for her to join him.
She came toward him, a hand reaching up to her hair. It was currently up but when her hand came back down, her hair fell down with it leaving it in a slight disarray. A bobby pin was between her fingers and she began to pick the door lock with it. "I definitely took Rebecca's talents for almost useless until this night." she remarked. She jostled the knob with her pin and they heard a distinct clicking sound. The doorknob turned and she pushed the door open slowly to reveal a rather small library of sorts.
Roy looked at her, impressed with this skill he hadn't known she possessed. "Excellent work," he said as they entered the room. A cursory glance revealed the room to be full of nothing but book cases and a desk. He crossed to the desk and flipped through a few ledgers he found there, hoping to find something incriminating, but whatever code Cully used wasn't easily discernible. He let out a frustrated sigh and was about to exit the room when he noticed something was….off.
He walked back into the hallway and glanced to the door of the room he had last checked and the blank expanse of wall between the doors. Yes, something definitely didn't add up. He turned back to the wall of bookcases to his right. "There's at least six feet of space unaccounted for between this room and the next one," he informed her as he crossed to the book cases and examined them. He noted the spine of one book at shoulder height that looked more worn than the rest and reached up to pull it off the shelf. The whole bookcase responded, swinging open to reveal a staircase that led underground. "Bingo." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his ignition gloves.
"Well done, sir." said Riza, who reached down to her thigh and pulled out one of her many guns. She held it in front of her as she walked closely behind Roy into the passageway. They took stairs down into a dimly lit path. At the end of the path was a large steel door. Riza nodded and Roy reached out to turn the large wheel that served as a knob. It opened to reveal a large area containing crates of what looked like guns and other weapons. Riza followed him inside, looking everywhere to take in their surroundings. "I'd say we definitely hit the jackpot."
Roy pried open a nearby crate to inspect the contents and found it to be full of grenades and ammunition. He let out a low whistle. "We found it," he said for the sake of Fuery and the others. "And it's even worse than we thought it would be. Looks like they've got quite the smuggling setup with Creta." He walked further into the room opened another crate and found similar contents. "West Wing, under the study. Time to shut this party down."
"Not so fast, Flame Alchemist."
Roy spun around to see Cully enter, flanked by six guards who all had guns aimed at him and Riza.
"I couldn't place you earlier, but now I know where I've seen you before," the man said with a pointed look at Roy's gloves. "You see, Creta isn't the only country I've worked with. I had quite the setup with the Ishvalans before you and the other state alchemists put a stop to that war and I had to find a more lucrative market."
Riza aimed her gun at the men and glared at Cully. Her eyes darted to count the guards and observe their positions. She was outnumbered. Roy wouldn't be able to use his fire without the risk of causing an explosion and killing all of them. She could probably take down at least half of the guards by their legs, but that would leave three unattended who could gun down Roy. Even bullets were risky in a place like this. She smirked slightly. The odds were very much against them until backup arrived. Which meant she couldn't miss.
Roy could see Riza's shoulders stiffen with resolve and he knew exactly what she had planned. "Thanks for the confession," he said to Cully, reaching up with one hand toward the hidden microphone under his collar. The guards cocked their guns and watched him suspiciously. "Woah, easy there," he said holding his hands up in a non-threatening gesture with his open palms facing them. "Just want to show you something." He kept his left hand up in this position as he slowly reached for the bug with his right. He plucked it out from under his collar and held it up for Cully to see. "As you can see, everything you've said has been recorded. There'll be no getting out of it this time."
Cully's face contorted with rage and he stepped toward Roy, his arm outstretched to snatch the device, but Roy was quicker. He grabbed Cully's arm in his left hand and wrenched it up and back, using the momentum to twist around so that Cully was between him and the guards as a sort of human shield.
The guards hesitated, not wanting to wound their boss if they shot him. That moment of hesitation was all they needed.
Riza took advantage of this moment and cocked her gun smoothly before aiming and shooting two of the six men in their legs. She made sure to aim for the bone so that the bullet would not pass through and hit a crate. A third man took aim at her, but she was much faster and landed a hit into his shin, taking him down. But the fool had his finger on the trigger, and it pulled. His bullet went flying into the air, missing Riza, but headed somewhere far more dangerous.
Roy saw what happened as if it were in slow motion as he realized what would happen next. He shoved Cully roughly away from him and into two of the remaining guards, knocking all three to the ground close to the door, then tackled Riza, holding her body close and using his own to shield her from the blast.
Riza squeezed her eyes tightly as she braced for the blast that was sure to come. She knew what would happen as soon as the man had missed his mark.
The ballroom lights flickered as the explosion shook the mansion and a chandelier crashed to the ground, scattering shattered glass everywhere. Havoc, Breda, Falman and backup soldiers from the West had received Roy's message over the radio and entered to clear the civilians and make their arrests while Fuery waited in the van.
Before the blast, Havoc had been watching as soldiers from West City arrested Cully's known associates. Everything had seemed under control, but now he looked around, wide-eyed, and spotted Breda and Falman doing the same. No words passed between them, but they all understood. They ran for the west wing, trailed by two of the local soldiers.
They found themselves entering the study library that Roy and Riza had discovered earlier. The whole room was in disarray from whatever made the building shake. Bookcases were overturned and books littered the floor. They could see a large door was open to reveal what appeared to be some sort of secret passage way. Havoc nodded, made a signal with his hand to move, and rushed forward while the others followed closely behind.
They made it to the bottom of the stairs and came upon what could only be described as chaos. Havoc's eyes went wide with shock as he took in the sight. The ceiling had crumbled about halfway down the sides of the expansive room. He scanned the area, searching for his comrades. "Colonel?! Hawkeye?!" he shouted.
Breda and Falman began to shout for them as well as they all approached the debris. Now that they were closer, they could see a couple of mangled body parts from what looked like Cully's guards. One of them was still alive, but trapped by rubble. Cully was also pinned down by a huge slab of concrete on his legs. His eyes were wild and crazed as they met Havoc's.
"You all thought you could best me, did you? See what happens when you mess with me? You die! You all die!" he shouted. Havoc clenched his jaw, walked up, and kicked Cully in the face.
"This is all your fault!" he shrieked. How could this evil man, after all he had done to hurt others, be alive while his friends were probably dead?
"Havoc! Calm down!" Falman yelled. He and Breda both had to grab him by both arms to pull him away from Cully. "You'll kill him if you don't stop. We have to take him in."
"Fucking bastard!" seethed Havoc. "He should be dead! Not them!"
On the other side of the collapse, Riza began to regain consciousness after being knocked out by the blast. The ringing in her ears was painfully loud. Her vision was slightly blurred as she blinked her eyes open. All she could see were large pieces of rock and other debris as the dust settled around her. She was alive? When she felt the weight upon her, she realized she may not be for much longer. Was she pinned down by rubble?
She heard his breathing, and she turned her head and could smell him on top of her. "Roy?" she whispered. He wasn't responding, wasn't moving. His breathing was shaky and uneven. "Roy?!" she shouted, then she coughed. The smoke had gotten to her. Maybe that was why he wouldn't wake up? It didn't matter. She wrapped her weak arms around his body and tried to shake him. "Please wake up! Don't you dare die on me! Do you hear me, Colonel! I will never forgive you! Wake the fuck up!"
Outside in the van, Fuery sat solemnly, listening to everything unfold through the radios the other men were equipped with. After a moment, he started to hear something else from the headset he had connected to the listening device Roy had been wearing. He snatched up the headset and listened carefully. At first it was just static and the sound of shifting debris, then suddenly he could hear Riza's voice through the listening device, even though it sounded a bit muffled.
He grabbed his radio. "Guys, Hawkeye is alive! I can still hear her!"
Havoc visibly looked relieved when he heard the Sergeant's words. "Thank God! What about the Colonel, Fuery?"
"I don't know. I can only hear her, and from the sounds of it, she's with him but he's not awake." Fuery responded, worry evident in his voice.
"All right, men. Clear this debris, on the double!" Havoc shouted to the others. He joined them in pulling away rocks.
Roy groaned, shifting slightly in her arms as he regained consciousness. Every muscle in his body screamed out in pain. He could hear her voice, pleading with him to wake up. That was good. It meant she was safe. He had gotten to her in time.
He wanted to reach out and comfort her, assure her that he was going to be fine as well, but he wasn't so sure of that just yet. He fought to open his eyes and the sudden light accompanied by the ringing in his ears made his head hurt even more. "Riza?" he managed to get out, a bit weakly. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, thank God!" Riza said, tears in her eyes. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up!" She clutched him tightly. The thought of losing him had always terrified her. "I'm so sorry, it was my fault. I should have shot the gun out of his hand!" She couldn't seem to look anywhere but his eyes. She couldn't bear it if this were a dream, so she just kept looking at him to keep herself grounded.
"Not your fault," he insisted. "We were outnumbered. I was the useless one, not able to use my alchemy down here without blowing us all up….I knew what was going to happen as soon as I saw his finger pull the trigger….I was so afraid I wouldn't get to you in time." He held her closer and buried his face in her neck. He could smell her perfume and that, more than anything, assured him that this was real. "I can't believe we both made it out."
"I know. I'm so glad, Roy." she whispered, her lips grazing the side of his head affectionately. "Are you able to move at all? Is anything broken?"
He moved one arm to help push himself up into a seated position, keeping the other arm wrapped tightly around her waist. He moved his legs experimentally. "Nothing broken, I think. Just pretty banged up and bruised. You?" He looked at her, his concern evident.
She did the same thing as he to make sure. "Nothing broken." She coughed. "Just suffocating from the smoke a bit and I'll be sore for a while." She reached up to caress his face, a gentle smile on hers.
Roy gave her a small smile in return and leaned in to gently press his lips to hers for a brief moment. "I love you," he said as he pulled back and wrapped his arms around her.
Back in the van, Fuery's jaw was nearly on the floor as he held the headphones to his ears. It was like watching a train wreck. He wanted to stop listening, but he was frozen in place. So much made sense now that hadn't before. He wondered how they all had missed it, it seemed so obvious now.
"I think I see light!" Breda yelled out as he pulled piece after piece of concrete rubble back from the wall. A few more and he broke through just enough to be able to see through a small window like gap he had made. His face broke into a grin when he saw both of them alive and well. He didn't even notice the rather compromising position they were in, attributing it to them hugging after surviving a near death experience together. "They're alive!" he shouted back to Havoc and Falman. "We'll have you guys out in just a minute!"
Breda's voice came over the headphones and that jolted Fuery into action. He jumped up and went to the recording devices, backing up to the point where he had first heard Riza's voice and recorded over the rest of it with silence. If anyone ever asked, he'd just say it was a miracle that the microphone had lasted just long enough to let them know she was alive before it gave out. He'd never say a word to anyone about what else he had heard. He respected them both too much to do that.
Riza looked over at the sound of Breda's voice. "We're over here!" she called out. She looked back at Roy. Back to being soldiers. "We should probably get moving, Colonel. We don't need to stay in here much longer with all this smoke." She said a little breathlessly.
Roy nodded and pushed himself up to walk over to the debris wall and start chipping away at it from their side. It didn't take long until they were able to make a hole wide enough for someone to fit through. He helped Riza through first, then climbed out after her, wincing slightly at the pain in his body.
"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Havoc said, grinning at the sight of them standing there whole and relatively unharmed. "We thought for sure you were both done for."
"So did we." Riza responded, offering her friends a smile. Havoc grinned and pulled her into a friendly hug.
"I'm glad you guys are safe. I started to think of work without you two, and how I'd be stuck with all these guys, and I almost went crazy!" he said with feigned emotion.
Riza rolled her eyes and pat his back a moment before pulling away. "I'm sure you would've lived. Paperwork would never get done. But you would've lived."
Roy watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. "I almost died, too, y'know."
"Yeah, but I thought you might incinerate me if I tried to hug you," Havoc responded with a shrug. He put his hands in his pockets and pulled out a cigarette from one and a lighter from the other.
Mustang glanced around and caught sight of Cully's bruised and bloody face as he was escorted out in handcuffs by some of the West City soldiers. "What happened to him?"
"We found him here with his leg trapped under a concrete slab from the cave in," Falman explained.
"That still doesn't explain the face."
"Let's just say Havoc really did miss you," Breda said.
A/N: We're getting close to the events of the show now which mainly occurs in 1914-1915. We hope to have the next chapter, which will be the last before we hit 1914, up on Sunday as usual, but one of the authors found out yesterday that she's having her wisdom teeth removed on Friday, so it will partially depend on how much we can get done between now and then and how her recovery goes. We will have the next chapter up as soon as possible, though. We hope the extreme length of this chapter will make up for any possible delay.
As a fun fact, when we started this chapter, we didn't know how it would end. We just wanted a mission where they went undercover as a couple. When we got to the underground room scene, we actually had three possible endings in mind before we settled on the explosion and subsequent events.
Thanks for reading!-J&C