Chapter 21 –
"Remind me why we didn't head straight to Kaumafy?" Pidge asked grumpily as she slumped slightly in her chair. "That soldier said he saw Lotor on the outskirts of the town!"
"Because that lead was hours old," Ed explained as he and Brookes went over the reports in front of them. "Kaumafy is an hour's drive from Resembool. By the time we got down there and came back, we would've lost a whole day on a lead that is nearly a day old itself. We need to stay here until we get one more recent," he reminded her, face twisting in sympathy when the Green Paladin groaned in boredom.
"I finally understand Mustang's aversion to paperwork," Lance muttered as he helped Ed and Brookes sort through the papers in front of them. "You guys only put the alert out about Lotor last night! How are there so many tips already?" he complained.
"If Mustang hears you bitching about paperwork, he'll feel justified in his complaints and neither Miss Riza nor I will be happy if he does," Ed warned him, pointing a threatening finger at him that had half the table grinning at him. "We've gotten so many tips because people in Amestris are nosey fuckers." Al's hissed 'brother!' went ignored as Ed continued unperturbed. "They all hear that the military wants helps catching a dangerous criminal and suddenly the neighbour they hate is definitely hiding a fugitive in their shed or the shifty person they saw down the street while they were shopping probably knows who we're looking for," Ed said, rolling his eyes to match the exasperated tone of his voice.
"Yeah, it's the same where we're from but you guys don't have the technology to spread this information everywhere quickly, do you? Not like we do?" Lance asked, eyes flicking to Brookes uncertainly.
"He knows as much as Grumman does," Ed reminded Lance, causing Brookes to look up from his reports before he went back to them when he realised they were talking about him, not to him, "and we have our radio systems and newspapers. The military outposts in whatever town that has a broadcasting station gives the hosts the information we give them and they broadcast that info every so often. I think it's every hour for this case since Lotor is so dangerous," Ed told them before shrugging unconcernedly, "and the newspapers were given the sketch of Lotor and ordered to make it front page news on the next edition to be printed," Ed said. "Since there's nothing else to listen to or read, almost everyone will have gotten the information from the news last night and seen the picture of Lotor this morning. Anyone who doesn't listen to the radio or read the newspaper will have heard about our search by now because each town will be talking about absolutely nothing else for the next week, at least," Ed informed them.
"Edward, I think we've got something here," Brookes said, interrupting their conversation as he all but threw a report into Ed's face. "This soldier reports that a farmer just north of Meox spotted someone closely matching Lotor's description heading through the woods on his neighbour's property. At first, the farmer thought it was his neighbour until he called out a friendly greeting that startled the figure into looking up and he saw the purple skin and white hair. The figure took off into the woods and the farmer lost sight of them. It took the farmer twenty minutes to make the report since he had to go into town – no phone on his property – but by the time he had and the MP's started their search, they'd lost him," Brookes explained even as Ed read the report.
"Meox is only a three-ish hour drive from Resembool. He could have covered that distance in under 24 hours if he didn't stop for a break," Ed said, not sounding overly convinced Lotor would've. "The report goes on to say the MP's tracked the suspect going in a relatively north direction," Ed said, golden eyes devouring the words. "If Lotor didn't gather any supplies in Kaumafy, he might have to stop soon to stock up. If he has a map of the country or at least the eastern side of Amestris, he could go west to Metso, north to Keog or go into East City itself," Ed told them.
"I doubt he'd risk East City," Brookes said, lips pursing as he spoke. "He could go west to Metso, as you said. From there, he'd be able to go north straight to Central. There wouldn't be any villages or towns in his way if he did but Keog is smaller than Metso and I don't think there's much of a military presence there, if I remember correctly," Brookes went on to say, eyes glazing over slightly as he tried to recall any information he knew about the small village east of Central. "Maybe a three- or four-man team at most," he said. "If he went there, he'd be able to stock up quickly without much risk of being caught by a MP officer, especially if he allowed himself to be sighted a little ways out of town and doubled back into town while the MP's were busy tracking his false trail. Once done, he'd just slip away," Brookes added.
Ed screwed up his face in a way that told everyone he had an issue with something Brookes had said. "I don't think we should take into consideration how well manned our outposts are because there's no way for Lotor to get that information unless he watches each outpost or stumbles across a soldier who has that information and gets it from them," Ed pointed out. "I mean, I don't even know how many soldiers and MP's we've got stationed in outposts and bases and I doubt Mustang or his teams do either. Investigations' teams or high-ranking officers like Grumman might be the only ones who know that information, or could at least hazard a guess," Ed added thoughtfully.
"Well, we've established there are really only three options available to Lotor and we've ruled out East City as too big a risk for him, right?" Al asked and both Ed and Brookes nodded. "Do we have a list of what he got in Kaumafy, if he got anything at all?" he asked and Brookes dug through their reports.
"Ah," he said as he scanned the paper, "it says here that a grocery store reported they'd been broken into. They did inventory the previous evening so they did another that morning when they realised they'd been broken into and only found four days' worth of rations and a large water bottle missing. Later on, the camping store in Kaumafy also reported they'd been broken into but all they could find missing was a sleeping bag, torch, fire-staring kit, hunting knife, a map of Amestris, and three sets of clothing, including a heavy coat normally sold during winter months," Brookes told him.
"So would four days' worth of rations be enough to get him to either Metso or Keog?" Lance asked, eyeing up the map in front of Ed.
"Well, it would be just enough for a human to get to Metso but not Keog," Ed told them. "And that's assuming he's able to cover the same amount of distance I can during a day," he added. "I don't know what kind of training he's had or what his stamina is like and that little scuffle we had in Resembool told me nothing useful about that sort of thing," Ed said, a little annoyed.
"Well, I know that Allura and Coran have amazing stamina," Shiro said, frowning in thought, "but we've never really tested them to see how good they are in survival situations like this. It's always been them testing us," he said.
"My work with the Blades has shown me that they're quite capable of pushing themselves to go further than should be possible without much sustenance," Keith piped up. "Their stamina is on par with what we've seen from Allura and Coran and I've heard a few of them talk about what their training was like before they defected from Zarkon. If Lotor received the same training, he would be completely capable of covering that distance in good time," Keith told them.
"So what does his stealing four days' worth of rations tell you about his stamina?" Ed asked Keith directly.
Keith contemplated for a moment. "None of the Blades took more rations than they absolutely needed," Keith said slowly. "Part of that was because they didn't have an endless supply of food like the Galra did but I've never once seen or heard of a Blade having to scrounge for their own food or steal food from someone when their mission wound up taking longer than expected. Whatever rations they'd taken from the headquarters lasted them long enough for them to get back, no matter how long their mission ran over for," Keith told them. "So, if Lotor took four days' worth of rations, I'd expect them to last him four days at least. He has a map of Amestris and I assume he knows how to use it or he wouldn't have bothered taking it," Red and Lance huffed slightly in amusement, "so if he can get to Metso in four days' time but not Keog, I'd put my money on Metso," Keith said, nodding once in agreement with his own words.
"But if he can manage to stretch those rations out, he might make it to Keog inside a week," Brookes pointed out. "If his stamina is that good and he can make his rations last longer than he should, it could happen," he added a touch defensively when Red looked a little insulted on Keith's behalf.
"He could also hunt his own game and forage for food along the way," Ed argued. "He took a hunting knife and he has that rifle of his," Ed said. "It probably wouldn't be much good for taking out a deer considering how much damage it did to the trees in Resembool he hit but if he used it to injure the animal before finishing it off with the knife, he'd be able to get fresh food that way so maybe he wouldn't need to go into a town at all," he told them.
"Unless he wants to know what's happening," Lance commented pointedly.
Hunk nodded beside Lance. "Yeah, it makes sense for Lotor to go into a town to try and gather intel on what the military is doing about him," he said, defending Lance's comment. "There's no way he didn't figure out you and Mustang were military. Both the Alteans and Galrans have really good hearing and he would as well. You said that you and Mustang were talking about Generals Combes and Widdon and that you mentioned Central. It wouldn't have taken much for Lotor to realise you're military and this is where you're based," Hunk said.
"Yeah so it makes sense that he'd want to know what was happening, especially since he tried to murder the two of you and didn't succeed," Pidge said, joining the Blue and Yellow Paladins' train of thought. "He'd be an idiot not to. He's in a foreign country with no ally within reach while his enemy are backed up by the country's entire military. If I were in his shoes, I'd be trying to suss out all the info on you lot and your plans on dealing me I could," Pidge said rationally.
Ed nodded at their words and found he wasn't the only Amestrian doing so. "What if we send out two teams tomorrow? One to head to Metso and one to Keog. In a car, they should get there well before he does," Brookes suggested.
"That could work," Ed said, pulling out his pocket watch and eyeing the time. "No one in Mustang's second team will be in today since it's their day off but if we arrange for everyone to meet here at, say, 7:00am, we'd have enough time to brief them and see if I can't steal a couple so your team isn't split three ways between Metso, Keog and here," Ed said. "I can take Havoc as a driver for a team and I think Valentine acts as Lambert's team's driver so he could take the second team, if you want, Brookes?" Ed asked.
"Yeah, that would be good," Brookes said. "Williams is normally my team's driver but he's working on a case right now and I'd rather not pull him out in the middle of it," Brookes said with an apologetic grimace that Ed immediately waved away.
"All good," Ed told him. "I'm sure Havoc and Valentine will be happy enough for the chance to waste a few hours driving a team somewhere," Ed said with a small smirk.
"I'm sure you're right," Brookes said, a matching grin on his face. "I can loan you Lieutenant Clarke for the day, if you want an Investigations officer with you though?" he asked.
"Clarke? She's the one who almost stabbed Havoc when he asked her on a date right?" Ed asked and Brookes blanched at the memory.
"Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea," Brookes said, getting agreeing nods from most everyone in the room but Ed shook his head.
"Nah, she can go with Valentine," Ed said easily. "She's a great investigator and she'd be a good addition to whichever team she's on. Are you sure you can spare her for the day though?" Ed asked, knowing full well how protective commanding officers were over their soldiers, especially ones of Clarke's and Hawkeye's calibres.
"If she goes with Valentine, definitely," Brookes said. "I don't want to be the one to explain to General Mustang why his 1st lieutenant was stabbed by mine on a mission for us," he said with a slight shudder as he imagined that particular conversation.
"I think you'll find that Captain Hawkeye would be more than able to point out why exactly Mustang shouldn't get too mad at you or Clarke if she did do that," Ed said. "The amount of times Mustang's probably been almost stabbed for flirting with some poor woman likely rivals Havoc's by an extreme amount," he said with a shrug that had several people in the room coughing to cover up their amusement while a familiar sigh sounded from Al.
"I think I would be far more surprised if you were proven wrong about that than I am with your claims," Blue said with a small hum. Her words had her sisters nodding in agreement.
"In his defence, he has become a lot better in that department after his promotion to Brigadier-General," Al said, finding himself unable to not rise to Mustang's aide while the man himself wasn't there to do so.
"I suppose you have a point," Ed said, expression twisting into a grimace as though he couldn't quite believe he'd just defended Mustang even a little.
Brookes decided it was best to get the conversation back on track. "So we'll have Lieutenant Clarke and Sergeant Valentine on one team and Lieutenant Havoc on the other," he said, capturing everyone's attention once more. "Who else do you want on the teams?" he asked Ed.
"Well, we shouldn't really send more than four people – Lions excluded – to each town," Ed said. "The cars wouldn't be big enough for that many and I doubt Grumman would let us take another truck and waste the fuel on two trips that will likely end up with us back in Central empty-handed," he added pessimistically. The combined efforts of him, Green, Yellow, Mustang and Den hadn't been enough to bring Lotor down in Resembool and he doubted that anything less than every member of Voltron plus the alchemists and their teams here would be enough to capture him in any other town. "If I go with Havoc and Al goes with Clarke and Valentine so each team has got a capable alchemist," Ed looked at Al, who didn't look happy but nodded, "that leaves one Voltron team with Al and two with me. Who wants to go?" Ed asked, looking at the Lions and their pilots expectantly.
"As much as I wanna nominate me and Green," Pidge said and Green immediately whined in displeasure, "I discovered last night that your city's electricity supply isn't as fast as ours back on Earth or the Castle-Ship. Mustang's agreed to either take me or have someone from his team escort me to any mechanical or technological stores you have so I can find the parts I need to build an electricity convertor. With that, I should be able to use more electricity quicker while in Mustang's house so I can finish work on your tablet. I still have stuff to do with it and I can't tell how well the convertor will work so I can't say for certain that I'll have it built by tonight and your tablet's upgrades finished," Pidge told Ed, doing a marvellous job to look unaffected by Green's pleading expression.
"Are you sure?" Ed asked and Pidge gave a nod that led to Green huffing in disappointment. "Okay, that's you two out," Ed said before he looked at the other four teams for their responses.
"Hunk and Yellow can go with Alphonse, if that's alright with the three of them?" Shiro said, deciding to take charge in the decision making so no arguments could break out.
"We're okay with that," Hunk said while Yellow nodded.
"I don't have any problems with them coming with me, Sergeant Valentine and Lieutenant Clarke," Al said and Ed found himself feeling quite a bit of relief. It seemed that forcing Al to talk with Lance and Shiro last night had not only paid off the night before but still seemed to be paying off today as there wasn't a single ounce of tension or unhappiness in Al's expression or body language as he looked over at Hunk and Yellow to give them a warm smile.
"So that's Al's team sorted," Ed said. "Who's coming with me and Havoc?"
"If you think you two can handle Lance and Keith, they can go with you while Black and I stay here to help Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and/or General Mustang," Shiro told them. Both Keith and Lance looked an interesting mix of offended, excited, and faux non-plussed about going with Ed and Havoc while Red and Blue looked ecstatic about it.
"Works for me," Ed said with a nod. "Are you sure you wanna be stuck here with Mustang for company though?" Ed asked Shiro, ignoring Al's sigh from behind him.
"I think we'll manage it," Shiro assured him, eyes betraying the amusement his flat tone had tried to hide.
"I can always threaten him if he gets too annoying," Black suggested enthusiastically.
"Mustang or Shiro?" Ed asked without missing a beat, gaining himself a heatless glare from Shiro and chuckles that were quickly stifled from the self-named Garrison trio.
"Shiro is never annoying," Black said, causing Shiro's lips to lift slightly in a smug smirk before he remembered himself, "most of the time," Black continued saying, giving Shiro her own smirk when he immediately made a protesting noise that was practically drowned out by the snorts from the others whose Lions were transcribing the conversation for their Paladins while Lance was whispering what Blue told him to Al and Brookes since they didn't have a bond with any Lions, "but I was talking about Mustang," Black said, eyes twinkling at Shiro playfully.
"How high is your threshold for annoying?" Ed asked curiously. "Oi!" he snapped when Al smacked his flesh shoulder. His glare didn't seem to affect Al any.
"Black is not allowed to attack General Mustang for no reason," Alphonse said sternly, making sure his firm gaze pinned both his brother and the Lion in question.
"It wouldn't be for no reason," Ed argued, "and she didn't say she'd attack him; just that she'd threaten him," he reminded his younger brother, who did not look overly impressed with his argument.
"You and I both know that the Lions still aren't fans of General Mustang's and with how close they are to you in personality, you'll have to forgive me for thinking Black will take any possible excuse," Al said, his brow raised in a dare for Ed to argue with him.
Black looked rather offended but had to say "he's probably not wrong," to Ed, albeit she did so begrudgingly.
"Since we have the teams sorted," Brookes said, obviously trying to steer the conversation back to their mission, "which one will be going where?" he asked.
"My team will go to Metso while Al's will go to Keog," Ed said immediately.
"Are you sure you want to make Havoc all the way to Metso? After how much driving he did yesterday and the day before?" Al asked, looking worried for the 1st lieutenant.
Ed hummed in thought. Havoc hadn't seemed overly excited about driving them back to Gracia's the night before and seemed very eager to get back to his and out of the car so it stood to reason that he wouldn't want to drive the several hours to Metso then back to Central in the same day. "We could take the train to Kadayr then take a car to Metso," Ed said, not sounding overly enthused about the idea. "I'm not sure the civilians are quite ready to travel with the Lions on a train though," he said.
"Well, your team could go to Keog instead," Al suggested.
"Actually, if you wanted to go to Metso, Ed, you could take the back roads," Brookes said, looking at the map. "Havoc wouldn't have to drive through all these towns," he said, gesturing to the line that connected Central to Rush Valley, "since there's unpaved roads that connect the old slums to one another," Brookes told them. "I think Kanama connected to Mefzaum by a dirt road and there was one that headed south, connecting to a couple of other slums that were established but never added to the official maps, before it connected to Emiruy. From there, Havoc would only have to drive half an hour to get to Metso," Brookes told him, his finger tracing where the road he was talking about ran.
"Right, because the military supposedly was going to run supplies to the surviving Ishvalens and anyone else who lived in the slums to show that they were saddened about having to take such drastic measures against the Ishvalens to settle the war," Ed said, his screwing up into a scowl that was reflected by Al and Brookes, "so they needed to make it look like they were going to provide some sort of help for the refugees and our own citizens since some of those in the slums were Amestrians who were homeless for whatever reason until they could integrate into society," Ed said with a sour tone.
"I take it they didn't?" Lance asked, his tone subdued far more than it usually was.
"From what I remember," Brookes said, taking over for the blonde, "they did do a few charitable supply runs in the first few months after the war but then Fuhrer Bradley started limiting how many supply runs were done every month and continued doing so until they were stopped altogether, citing how he couldn't justify the money and supplies the military was spending when we had fights breaking out on the borders with Aerugo and Creta every other month, saying that the soldiers on the frontlines needed those supplies more than some refugees," Brookes told them.
"There was a charitable organisation or two who tried to keep supplying the slums with food, hygiene supplies, and other items donated by the public but they struggled to reach every slum," Brookes went on to say. "Slums in the far ends of the country rarely got given supplies unless the towns closest to them had items they could spare. Most of the time, those in the slums had to work for farmers at crop harvesting time or to random jobs around the closest town in exchange for supplies for themselves or their families, if they had any," Brookes told them.
"However the roads were constructed and they have been somewhat maintained by people using them for horse-drawn carts or travel between slums on foot," Ed said, getting the subject away from the disgusting way the Ishvalen refugees and even Amestris' own homeless were treated under Wrath's reign and back on why they had originally brought up the slums, "so Havoc shouldn't have to drive for as long as he would if we had to make our way down to Rush Valley and go through Mefzaum to get to Metso. We'd cut half the travel time by using the back roads," Ed said but Al didn't look too convinced. "We could ask Havoc if he's up for that trip," Ed suggested, trying to get a compromise.
Keith had said he'd put money on Lotor making his way to Metso and Ed was willing to trust the Red Paladin's judgement. Ed didn't want his little brother going up against Lotor without the whole Voltron team and their teams. In fact, the only reasons he wasn't keeping Al in Central with Shiro and Black was because he was a phenomenal fighter and a brilliant alchemist. While he knew Hunk's bayard was a powerful weapon and that Yellow, Clarke and Valentine would be very capable in a fight, Alphonse would be their heavy hitter or the one who'd best be able to cover their retreat if they did run into Lotor while in Keog. He couldn't put Clarke, Valentine, Hunk and Yellow at risk by denying them the strength Al could bring them just because he'd rather his little brother not be in danger at all.
"Okay, Brother," Al said, agreeing to Ed's compromise.
"Would you be able to find out now?" Brookes asked, a touch pushily. "I'd like to let Lieutenant Clarke know what her duties are and how long she is likely to be gone for as soon as possible since she may have to make arrangements with her family since I believe her husband works on Sunday nights so she may need some time to find a babysitter for her daughter," Brookes explained, trying to justify his pushiness.
"Yeah, shouldn't be an issue," Ed said. "Unless Havoc's taken after our boss, he should be in the office," he added with a shrug, once again ignoring Al's exasperated 'brother!' from behind him. "I'll go see if I can catch him now, if you're all alright waiting here?" Ed asked the group.
"Yeah, I'm good," Al said while Brookes and the Paladins nodded.
"Can we go with you?" Blue asked, batting her eyes up at Ed who only gave her a deadpan look in response to her blatant attempt to manipulate him.
"You do realise I don't need a five Lion escort to walk three offices down, don't you?" Ed asked, brow raised questioningly.
"We know but that's not the point. We plan on spending as much time with you as we possibly can while we're hunting down Lotor and waiting for Princess Allura and the Holts to find a way to bring us back to them," Blue informed him rather bluntly and Ed fought hard not to blush. He wasn't quite sure he succeeded with the grins that formed on Lance's, Hunk's, and Al's faces.
"Fine," Ed said, sighing out the word like he was exhausted, "some of you can come with me. First three at the door," Ed said. His words caused all five Lions to immediately scramble for the door in a hilarious fashion that had everyone cracking grins at them before Black and Blue slunk back to their pilots in defeat. "I guess Yellow, Green, and Red will be going with me," Ed said as the three Lions in question grinned smugly where they stood. "We'll be back in like ten minutes unless someone convinces us to join them on a lunch run, in which case the Lions will advise you of where, how long, and get your lunch orders, if you want food," Ed told them.
"Have fun," Shiro said, still looking faintly amused at how put out Black looked. "Try and stay out of trouble," came the familiar words that had Ed rolling his eyes.
"I'm literally going three offices down," Ed said as he headed for the waiting Lions and let them out of the office. "How much trouble could I get in?" he asked before he gave them a wave and closed the door behind him.
"To answer your question; that much trouble," Red drawled as Ed fought to keep the disbelief off his face as he watched Fuhrer Grumman, Generals Combes and Widdon and the four soldiers who acted as Grumman's guards walk towards him while he was literally three feet from Mustang's office.
"Good morning, Fuhrer Grumman," Ed greeted politely, pairing it with the salute protocol demanded he use when addressing the Fuhrer. "Shush you," Ed added silently to Red, who merely grinned at him.
"Ah, good morning, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric," Grumman said, looking a bit relieved and vaguely annoyed. "Good morning to the three of you as well," Grumman said, addressing the three Lions who had accompanied Ed.
"I've told Black and she'll tell Shiro," Yellow told Ed, who scratched her once behind the ear in thanks. He noted the two generals had clocked the movement but decided it was best for everyone if he just ignored them.
"So is this just a random coincidence that we're running into you here or are you after Mustang?" Ed asked Grumman. The lips of the generals curled up in distaste, though Ed wasn't sure if it was because of his casual attitude or the mention of Mustang. Either way, Ed didn't care a single bit.
"Actually, I was hoping to speak with you," Grumman told him and Ed's brows shot up in surprise.
"Er, okay," Ed said. From the expression on Grumman's face, Ed didn't think he was in trouble for something but the smug glints in the generals' eyes made him doubt himself momentarily. "Is it alright if I just duck into Mustang's office first? I need to ask Havoc something, if he's in there. After that, we can go back to the office Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, Voltron, and I stole," Ed suggested, looking directly at Grumman for an answer.
Both generals tensed up, as though they were about to snap at Ed but both the Lions pinning them with a half-threatening look and Grumman speaking had them staying quiet. "Of course, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric," Grumman said. "The matter I need to discuss with you isn't urgent," he said and if Ed wasn't mistaken, there was some contempt in Grumman's tone that was aimed towards the generals when he said that.
"Sweet. I'll only be a minute," Ed said before he looked at the three Lions. "Come on," he said to them, making sure to speak out loud.
Ed walked around the group, ignoring the generals as they glowered at him while he knocked on the outer office door. The call for him to enter came from Hawkeye and Ed opened the door to find everyone watching the doorway expectantly. The three Lions were sitting around him and – although they chuffed out some greetings to the group – their eyes never left the generals. "Lieutenant-Colonel Elric," Hawkeye greeted and Ed wasn't surprised to realise that the blonde captain had figured out he wasn't alone in the hallway.
"Hey, Captain, I just need to ask Havoc something real quick," Ed told her. Her nod was all the permission Ed needed to do so. "Are you up to driving me, the Red team and Blue team of Voltron to Metso tomorrow? We figured if we take the back roads through Kanama and the other slums, we'll knock half the driving time off," Ed said to Havoc.
"Shouldn't be a problem, Lieutenant-Colonel," Havoc said, grinning when Ed glared at him for the use of his title. "This got something to do with Lotor?" he asked curiously and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, we've got some reports of him getting supplies in Kaumafy and Voltron believes they'll last him maybe four days. If he's heading north, which we're inclined to think he is, he'll have to restock at either Metso or Keog or risk running out before he gets to Central," Ed told him. "Al's gonna head another team and go to Keog for me," he said before anyone could ask.
"What time are you planning on leaving?" Hawkeye asked and Ed hummed.
"Well, I want to ask Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and see if she'll loan us Sergeant Valentine for the day so he can take Al and the others to Keog and I think they're normally in around 7:00am on a Sunday so we'll probably leave here soon after that," Ed told her.
"I'll let General Mustang know for you," she told him and Ed gave her a smile.
"Thanks, Captain," he said before flicking them all a wave. "I gotta go. I'll see you all later probably," Ed said, knowing full well that one of the team will be sent to the office he and Brookes had commandeered to tell him that Mustang had ordered him – and probably Voltron – to his office to discuss something. Several goodbyes preceded him closing the door, making sure not to get Green's tail caught as he did so since he knew the Lion would not appreciate it.
"Is there anything else so important that you need to deal with it now or are you able to sacrifice a few minutes out of your busy schedule to discuss an important matter with the Fuhrer and us?" Combes asked, his voice dripping with condescension as he glared at Ed.
"Thank you so much for asking, General Combes. That's real considerate of you," Ed said, making sure his voice was laced with just as much sarcasm as possible while keeping the fake smile plastered in place, even if he didn't bother resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "The office we're using is three doors down, Sir," Ed said, ignoring the glare he was getting from Combes as he addressed Grumman.
"Thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel. If you wouldn't mind leading the way?" Grumman asked, apparently deciding that Ed's sarcasm was acceptable considering it had been Combes who started it. Ed nodded and turned on his heel, letting the Lions fan out in front of him before he fell into step with Grumman. "I meant to ask but did Mrs. Hughes agree to house some of the Voltron members after all?" Grumman queried.
"Yeah, the Blue and Black teams are staying with us," Ed told him. "Oh, did I remember to tell you that Scar would be at the Promised Day memorial service?" Ed asked, choosing to ignore the soft scoff he heard from one of the generals behind him. Red, however, didn't let it go and gave a displeased growl.
"Yes, you did," Grumman told him and Ed gave a small sigh of relief. "I'd like to hold a meeting with you, Alphonse, Brigadier-General Mustang, his team, and a few others who played an integral role in Promised Day in ten days' time. Will that be a problem for you and your brother?" Grumman asked as they came to a stop outside the office Ed had been leading them to.
"Nah, I don't think so unless something happens with Lotor," Ed told him after a moment's contemplation.
"Wonderful. I'll let you know a time and date once I speak with Samantha. Of course, I'll understand if the meeting is postponed because of our foreign criminal," Grumman said, "but I have faith that you and Voltron will have the matter sorted by then," Grumman told him, giving Ed a warm smile that was almost ruined by the disbelieving snorts Combes and Widdon gave. Before Ed could do or say anything to them, Grumman turned to face them. "Is there something the two of you would like to say?" he asked levelly.
"No, Fuhrer Grumman," they both said at the same time.
"Then perhaps you have a cough or a tickle in your throats that you were trying to get rid of?" Grumman inquired. "If so, please do go and find yourselves something to drink. I'd hate for your throat issues to keep making themselves known," Grumman said. Ed could feel his delighted amusement echoed by the Lions and reflected in the eyes of the four soldiers with them at the way both Combes and Widdon were turning an embarrassed red.
"Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman, but we're okay. We'll make sure it doesn't happen again," Widdon said, sounding like he was forcing himself not to grit his teeth as he spoke.
"Marvellous," Grumman said before he turned back to Ed and nodded to the door, given Ed silent permission to open it.
Ed was considerate enough of those inside to knock on the door twice before he entered it – mainly so he didn't have to explain why no one inside looked surprised to have the door open unexpectedly. "Heads up," Ed said, in a way one could've considered an attempt at trying not to be overheard but just failing to achieve that goal.
"Fuhrer Grumman, Sir!" Brookes said, snapping to a perfect salute the moment he could. "General Widdon, General Combes," he added respectfully, dropping his salute when Grumman nodded for him to do so.
"Fuhrer Grumman, it's great to see you again," Shiro said, speaking on behalf of his team and giving Grumman a genuine smile. No one missed the uncertain side-glances the generals got from Voltron however and Ed could see that the two idiot generals were having to hold themselves back from commenting, likely knowing that someone (probably Ed) would merely suggest it was only because the foreigners had no reason to trust the generals.
"Hello, Fuhrer Grumman," Al said, giving the older man a wave paired with a smile. Grumman had been forced to request that Al stopped saluting him like his brother did since he wasn't part of the military and he didn't want to cause anyone any confusion. Al did abide by his request though Ed still sometimes caught him making the aborted movements to do so.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen, ladies, and Lions," Grumman said pleasantly, granting each of them a warm smile before he allowed it to be replaced with a more serious expression. "As much as I wish this was a social visit, it isn't," Grumman told them.
"Figured as much since you have those two in tow," Ed said, leaning against the edge of the table and folding his arms in front of his chest in a casual manner. Green, Yellow, and Red had gone back to their pilots but all five Voltron units were switching between watching Ed, Grumman, and the generals. "What's up, Sir?" Ed asked.
"Generals Widdon and Combes requested a meeting with myself this morning and an hour ago we held it," Grumman told him, looking as thrilled as Ed sounded with the aforementioned generals in his presence. "Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, would you mind telling me what happened yesterday afternoon after you left my office?" Grumman requested.
Ed looked a little surprised and confused but did as he was asked. "We headed to Mustang's offices so we could introduce them to the teams," Ed said, gesturing to Voltron, "but then Al, Blue, Lance, Hunk, Yellow, and I needed to leave straight after the introductions to meet with Major Armstrong so I could describe Lotor to him in order for us to have a sketch to give the teams, military outposts, and newspapers," Ed recounted. "Once we finished with the Major, the six of us headed out the front gates of the base and were greeted by Sergeant Browning from the carpool. General Mustang had arranged for him to drive us to Mustang's house where we planned to have dinner and introduce Voltron to the Hughes'," Ed explained and Grumman gave a nod.
"Before we'd headed for our appointment with Major Armstrong, I dropped in on Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert's team to ask them to meet us at the Bluebird Café since I knew they wouldn't be in today and I wanted them to have a sketch of Lotor," Ed told Grumman. "I asked Sergeant Browning to drive us there first so I could give them the sketch and give them any extra details of Lotor I could. Once I had done so, I left the Bluebird Café with the intention of rejoining those in the car and heading to Mustang's but someone bumped into me," Ed said. "When I looked up and saw their face, I recognised him from an open file 1st Lieutenant Greene had on his desk. The suspect was wanted in connection to the brutal assault of a State Alchemist and he recognised me. Showing the complete lack of intelligence he possessed, the suspect took off down the street and I followed in pursuit after calling for Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and Lieutenant Greene to back me up," Ed told them, scowling slightly at the memory of the completely unnecessary foot chase the previous afternoon.
"What I didn't realise or honestly expect was to see Blue and Yellow behind me when I glanced back to check if Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and Lieutenant Greene were following me," Ed said, making sure he sounded as though he was still a little shocked by it himself. He saw the twinkle in Grumman's eyes that told him the old man didn't believe a word of it. More satisfying was the glowers he was getting from the two generals. "When I realised they were there and that the people in the street were getting out their way a lot quicker than they were getting out of mine, I asked the two Lions to get ahead of me, hoping it would clear enough of a path that I could risk using alchemy without putting civilians in danger. They obliged and within seconds I was able to construct an earthen wall that the suspect ran straight into. The two Lions were kind enough to sit on either side of him to ensure he didn't escape while Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert, Lieutenant Greene, and everyone else who decided to join the chase caught up," Ed reported.
"Once the suspect was in cuffs, I deconstructed the wall, promised Lieutenant Greene and Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert the suspect's collar was theirs then those of us who had been on our way to Mustang's got back in the car and headed for his house," Ed said, wrapping up his tale. "Would you like me to tell you how the dinner went?" he asked casually, seemingly unaware of the annoyance radiating off of the two generals standing just behind Grumman.
"No, thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric," Grumman said, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly. "However, I would like to thank you for telling me about the arrest yesterday," Grumman said and Ed latched onto the opening the Fuhrer had given.
"No problems, Sir," Ed said with a shrug. "Outta curiousity though, why did you come all this way to ask me when you would've seen Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert's report tomorrow or Monday?" Ed asked.
"Nosey," Green accused amusedly.
"Like you aren't," Ed hissed back through their bond.
"As I said, Generals Combes and Widdon requested a meeting with me this morning and I was able to grant them one, which we held an hour ago," Grumman said. "They'd witnessed your pursuit of the suspect but their report differs slightly to yours," he told them. "I believe I will need Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert's report tomorrow to resolve this matter," Grumman said, sounding a touch exasperated and more than a little annoyed at this, which Ed couldn't fault him for.
"Okay, I gotta know what their version of events were," Ed said, almost burning with curiousity at what kind of ridiculous story the two morons in front of him had concocted.
"According to Generals Widdon and Combes, the Blue and Yellow Lions aggressively chased a seemingly random citizen down before pouncing on him after he had run into your alchemic wall. They then pinned him to the ground and behaved threateningly towards him," Grumman said. Ed could feel a boiling rage burn under his skin but he forced himself to only react by raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "In light of this incident, Generals Widdon and Combes decided to come to me and report the danger they believed faced the citizens of Amestris from the Lions and request that we secure them somewhere isolated from the public until such time as the ten of you leave for your home country," Grumman told them, nodding in understanding when he saw the outraged sparks in the eyes of most those in front of him.
"Well, at the moment, the only people who are in danger of suffering the Lions' wrath are Lotor and any person who makes our lives harder – be they a criminal who doesn't just surrender immediately to me or someone else," Ed said. His tone may have been casually thoughtful but Ed knew the generals had heard the subtle threat in his words. "However, we will comply with whatever action you deem necessary, Fuhrer Grumman," Ed said. "I'm sure you overheard me speaking with Captain Hawkeye and Lieutenant Havoc before so you know that we plan on being back on base by 7:00am and leaving to pursue some leads by 8:00am hopefully. I can ask Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert to have her report ready and delivered to you before then, if you'd like?" Ed asked, enjoying the suspicious looks he was getting from the generals. He knew that the two had undoubtedly counted on Ed protesting the possible treatment of the Lions and using his reaction as further ammunition for their claims.
"I appreciate the offer, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, but I would rather your teams leave as soon as possible in the morning. I believe the matter of finding Lotor and apprehending him is a touch more important than this situation," Grumman said, his tone daring the generals to try and argue with his decision.
To Ed's hidden disappointment, the generals didn't rise to the bait, though they did look like they were chewing on a lemon as they held their tongues. "No problems, Fuhrer Grumman," Ed said easily.
"Now that this matter has been discussed as much as possible without the arresting officer's account, I'd like to ask you all a few more questions about your plans for tomorrow," Grumman said, looking at the group in front of him as a whole. "I'm sure the two of you have work that requires your attention so I'll wish you a good day, General Widdon, General Combes," Grumman said, facing the two in question.
It was obvious neither general wanted to leave but both knew they had no reason they could claim for staying to listen to their discussion. "Good day to you as well, Your Excellency," Widdon said, raising his right arm in a salute that was barely better than the ones Ed used when he had to salute Mustang. Combes' salute wasn't much better but Grumman didn't seem surprised or bothered by them as he dismissed the two of them.
Ed barely managed to resist the urge to flip the two off as they left the room and Ed just knew that if they had been the ones to shut the door instead of one of the soldiers standing guard, the poor door would've been slammed shut. "What are pair of fucking arseholes," Ed growled the moment the door was shut.
"We couldn't agree more," Black snarled disdainfully. Her sisters' expressions matched her own and so did the Paladins.
"I will freely admit a similar thought ran through my mind the moment they finished telling me their version of events yesterday," Grumman said, surprising Ed, Al, and Brookes somewhat, "however, I must remind you they are technically your superiors and you really can't talk about them like that within earshot of me or them," Grumman said, his eyes betraying his amusement at the situation.
"Yeah, I know," Ed sighed. "Until they do something that really shows their intelligence to a degree where you can fire them or I can hit them, I'll behave to the extent I normally do," Ed promised him.
"Good enough," Grumman said before anyone – namely Al – could protest Ed's language. "Now, I would like to know what you have been working on in here today but first I would like to apologise to the ten of you for what just happened," Grumman said, addressing Voltron. "Rest assured that the Lions will not be locked away somewhere while you're in our country but I was in the unfortunate position of needing the physical proof that the five of you truly aren't a danger to the average, law-abiding citizen of Amestris and I didn't have it on hand. It was all I could do to remind those two that their word didn't mean much after the Belmont case a few months ago so I would need the story from Edward as well," Grumman said, sounding truly apologetic.
"There is no need for your apology, Fuhrer Grumman, though it is appreciated," Shiro assured him. "We understand that you were in a tough spot and we are thankful that you managed to talk those two down long enough to get Ed's version and buy yourself until tomorrow before any decision has to be made," Shiro said.
"Tell him we understand his predicament as well and that we are also grateful to him," Black ordered Ed, who dutifully relayed the message to the Fuhrer.
"Thank you," Grumman said once more. "If someone wouldn't mind bringing me up to speed quickly, it would save Samantha the trouble of finding me so I'm not late to my next meeting and it would save me the lecture I would receive from her," Grumman said after a couple of moments.
His comment made several of them chuckle. "Yeah, Miss Samantha is someone whose bad side I wouldn't want to get on," Ed said, still laughing lightly. "So this is what we've uncovered so far…"
"Right, so you have the choice between the pharmacy or the small, beauty store that Lieutenant Clarke told us about," Ed said as he, Al, and the entirety of Voltron headed off the command centre and towards the centre of town so Ed could fulfill his promise of buying Lance whatever he needed for his skin care routine. It was nearly mid-afternoon now and Ed was a little annoyed they hadn't been able to escape the base earlier but it couldn't have been helped what with needing to sort through the next day's plans, speaking with Mustang about what Grumman and the two generals had wanted (Ed hadn't grinned like a maniac when he was proven right, no matter what Al said) and making sure they weren't abandoning Brookes to doing a tonne of work by himself.
"Are the two stores near each other?" Lance asked, biting his bottom lip as he contemplated between his choices. Lieutenant Clarke had been surprised that a teenage boy had asked her about her skincare routine when Brookes had summoned her to their commandeered office to go over the next day's plans with her but she had readily giving Lance all the information he could want on the little store she'd found.
"I have no clue," Ed said honestly. "I never caught the address," he admitted. He had been more entertained by how Havoc had seemed intent on making sure Clarke was always out of arm's reach of him at all times. The blonde lieutenant still hadn't lived down the fact that he had almost been stabbed by the married lieutenant when he asked her out a few weeks ago, not realising, of course, that she was married.
"The store Lieutenant Clarke spoke about it a block away from the pharmacy," Al told Lance, rolling his eyes at his brother. "The pharmacy is closest to us right now," Al added, figuring Lance was about to ask something similar.
"Can we go there first and check out what they've got?" Lance asked and Ed gave a nod, not really caring which way they did this. His only goal out of this afternoon's outing was to eat at the Cretan restaurant nearby. "What are you guys gonna do while we're in there?" Lance asked the others curiously.
"What do you mean?" Shiro asked, brow furrowing slightly.
"Well, none of you enjoy shopping for skincare stuff or whatever so I figured you guys would be doing something else. Ed and Blue are already roped into going with me for obvious reasons," Lance said with a small shrug.
"Well, me and Yellow are going with you because I know you'll want opinions and Ed – no offense meant, dude – won't know jack about any of that stuff," Hunk said.
"Oh, none taken whatsoever," Ed assured the larger teen, more than willing to admit he had zero knowledge in this area.
"Plus, someone needs to make sure you don't accidentally spend all of the money in Ed's account," Hunk said knowingly.
"Completely valid but rude of you to point out, Hunky," Lance pouted. Hunk merely looked amused with his reaction.
"I can take the others on a tour around some other stores, if you guys want?" Al suggested. "I have Brother's bank details in case you want to buy anything," he added.
"I wouldn't mind having a look at a technology store," Pidge said thoughtfully, reminding all of them of her earlier explanation about why she and Green wouldn't be going with a team the next day. "It might help me understand more about where you guys are up to in terms of technology and what limitations I've got when it comes to my project," she said.
"I don't have any complaints about that idea," Shiro said and Keith nodded in agreement.
"If that's what you lot wanna do," Ed said with another shrug. "Don't spend all of my money because I do need some way to pay for lunch this afternoon," Ed reminded them, a teasing lilt to his voice.
"Ah yes, we wouldn't want to deal with you when you haven't eaten for a while," Al teased, grinning at himself before he yelped in pain and shock when Ed punched him in the shoulder.
"Don't sass me or I'll do worse," Ed threatened, pretending not to notice the stifled giggles around them and the unrestrained ones in his mind. Al grumbled at him while rubbing the stinging skin Ed had caused with his hit. "We'll meet at the Cretan restaurant near the park once everyone's done," Ed instructed, ignoring Al's mutters.
"How long do you think it'll take you to find everything, Lance?" Shiro asked the Blue Paladin.
"Should only take me an hour, maybe an hour and a half," Lance said after a few moments contemplation.
Shiro gave a nod at his words, as did Ed. "Alrighty, so we'll meet at the Cretan restaurant in an hour and a half," Ed said decisively, getting nods all around. "You guys make sure you stay with Al. I don't need you accidentally giving those two dickhead generals any ammunition to use against the Lions or you," Ed told them, his tone becoming serious.
"We will," Shiro promised while Pidge, Keith, and their three Lions nodded in agreement. "You guys keep yourselves out of trouble as well," he instructed.
Ed rolled his eyes fondly. "We will," he swore, knowing Shiro wouldn't leave it until he had.
"Yeah, we'll stay outta trouble, bossman," Lance said, voice light and cheerful while Hunk nodded. No one really commented on the fact that Shiro only relaxed when Hunk gave his nod.
"Make sure you tell us if there's any trouble," Black said and Ed gave her a nod.
"You do the same," Ed requested of her, Red, and Green and all three readily agreed. "See you guys soon," Ed said as they approached the corner that Al would lead the others around while he led Lance, Hunk, Blue, and Yellow straight on.
"See you soon," Al echoed before they headed down the block, leaving the five of them to wait for the traffic to clear long enough for them to cross the road.
Lance waited all of three seconds after Al's group had branched off before he nudged Ed. "So are you ready to let out the rant you've been holding in since the generals entered our office?" he asked, unashamedly hoping the answer was a resounding 'yes' and he wasn't disappointed.
"Can you believe the audacity of those two dickwads?!" Ed exploded as they crossed the street, startling a couple of already uneasy passers-by. Both Lance and Hunk shared a grin that was unknowingly echoed by Blue and Yellow. "Just the absolute gall on them to try that sort of shit after the stunts they pulled while Mustang was being framed is astounding!" Ed exclaimed ardently, oblivious to the amusement the four with him felt as they followed him up the street as he continued to passionately rant about the two generals and what he'd do to them, given half the chance. Lance, Hunk, and their Lions were more than happy to let the blonde get rid of some of his pent-up rage at the two generals and if they got some entertainment out of it, that was just an added benefit.
A/N - Here's 21 for you all. Ngl, I seriously debated whether it was worth me starting up my laptop to post this but here you go. I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you to the couple of people who were sweet enough to leave me a review on the last chapter. I really appreciated them so thanks! I'll probably see you all next week