Roy was not happy. His whole body hurt. He was exhausted and shaky and weak. There were four people currently in his apartment, and that was three people too many. Roy didn't want all these extra people in his apartment messing up his things and making judgemental comments and...eating.

But he supposed Havoc was right. Roy's stomach was all twisted into knots, and he wasn't sure he could manage food, and getting any sort of rest kind of felt like a betrayal of Hughes. But they weren't getting anywhere anymore. They hadn't been getting anywhere all day. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, Roy knew they were just spinning their wheels at this point. They didn't have any ideas, and nothing anyone was saying was helping.

Roy got up, and made his way into the kitchen. He opened his fridge despondently, hoping something would have magically appeared that he could use to feed his guests. It hadn't. It was still empty aside from the leftover rice and chicken he'd made a few days ago, and a collection of half-empty sauces and other odds and ends. It was barely enough food for him, much less for the three other unexpected guests he'd been foolish enough to invite into his home.

Roy closed the fridge, turning around to find Havoc. He jerked back, startled, and Havoc nodded knowingly. "Nothing in the fridge, huh, sir? I feel that."

Roy groaned, as quietly as he could manage. Havoc's whole "energized and aware" thing was really starting to get on his nerves. He knew that it really wasn't fair to snap at him because of it - even five years ago, when Roy had been Havoc's age, he seemed to remember having a lot more energy.

Besides, at the rate his younger subordinate had been sucking down cigarettes and coffee, it would probably take a calendar year before he would even be able to sleep.

Roy turned his back on Havoc and began opening the cupboards where he kept his dry goods, in the vain hope he might have some kind of pasta or something. So far, all he'd managed to uncover were a few packets of ready-to-heat meals.

"Hey, crazy," Havoc said, apparently as loudly as he possibly could. "You have stovetop ramen too! Oh, except yours is the more expensive kind…I get it cheap. Is the expensive stuff any better?"

Roy tipped his head forward, knocking his forehead gently against the cabinet door. It didn't do anything for his headache, but it made him feel slightly less mortified.

"Havoc?"

"Yeah, sir?" There was the unmistakable flick of a lighter being opened, and Roy shuddered.

"No smoking," he snapped, then took a deep breath. "Havoc…why don't you go out and get food for the group? I'll...I'll even give you some money."

"Wow, thanks sir! Sure, I'll run out and get something." Havoc flickered into his periphery, holding his hand out and beaming. "Any requests?"

"Something edible," Roy said shortly, dropping a handful of cens into Havoc's outstretched palm. Havoc snickered, stuffing the cens into his pocket and giving Roy a half-salute. He left the kitchen, and Roy heard him in the living room asking Ed if he wanted anything specific.

Roy waited in the kitchen until Havoc was gone, telling himself that he was just double checking to make sure that he didn't have any food. He wasn't hiding from his exuberant subordinate.

The slam of a door signaled Havoc's exit, but Roy found that he still didn't want to face the others. Edward would be difficult, as he always was, and Roy was just not prepared to deal with him, especially in his own apartment. He should have home field advantage, just as in East City Command, but somehow, having his coworkers in his living space was leaving him feeling off-balance and vulnerable.

Roy supposed his current situation could be exacerbated by the drugs. Riza had given them more details about both the sort of side effects they could expect during the drives between pointless stops today. The tychine itself would eventually cause paralysis, although hopefully not before Roy had stopped taking the drugs to combat it. For now, the after effects would be limited by his hourly dose of Kyrenol, although as he approached the hour he would start to experience such side effects as muscle weakness and tremors. He was supposed to stop taking the Kyrenol and let the paralytic work its way through his body as soon as he safely could. But even if he didn't, he would slowly build up a resistance to Kyrenol and it would stop working, forcing his hand.

The Kyrenol also came with a host of side effects, and Roy could see why they didn't normally encourage people to stay on it for long. The headache was already starting, and with it came nausea. Later would come the dizziness, lightheadedness, more weakness, confusion. Mood symptoms too, Riza had said - anxiety, depression, irritability, anger. Hopelessness.

And that was of course not to mention any effects brought on by the strict dosing schedule itself. Who knew when Roy would next be able to sleep for a stretch longer than an hour? And that was after he'd woken up at four in the morning for the godforsaken fake meeting, after a long night out with...he couldn't think too hard about this. Remembering everything that he had stacked against him made him want to curl up into a ball.

Not being sure if those feelings were genuine made him want to curl up into a ball even more.

But that wouldn't help save Hughes, so Roy made his way back out to the living room.

Havoc returned about a half hour later. He had some sort of rice-based dish for all of them, and mounds of fluffy bread. The smell of the food made Roy feel hungry instead of nauseous, so he thought it would be safe for him to pick at the bread, and at least get something in his stomach.

Havoc had also acquired a huge roll of butcher paper, which he promptly spread out on Roy's floor.

"What is this?" Riza asked.

"I, um," Havoc rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "I thought it might help if we made a timeline or somethin'. And a lot has happened so...figured it would be easier on paper that was big."

"That'll never work," Roy said with a frown. The only thing they would be able to add to the timeline were events they had been present for, and they already knew all of those. How would seeing them listed out help anything?

Havoc's shoulders dropped a little, and he looked down and nodded sheepishly. "Okay, sir. You're probably right." Then, he looked back up, wide eyes innocent and trusting. "So...you have a better idea, then?"

Roy's frown deepened. Of course he didn't have a better idea - he was starving, exhausted, and completely out of anything even approaching an idea. And even more infuriatingly, he had no idea whether or not Havoc knew that and was trying to manipulate him, or if his subordinate was really just waiting for Roy's superior idea. It was usually hard to tell with Havoc.

"Fine," Roy said, trying his best not to sound petulant and not quite succeeding. "We'll do a timeline."

"Food first," Ed snarled, and there was a scuffling sound as he ripped one of the bags out of Havoc's hand. He tore it open and extracted the takeout container, looking like he was ready to stab someone with the fork he was now clutching in his other hand.

"We can eat first," Roy announced magnanimously. Ed ignored him, somehow already halfway through his plate. Riza and Havoc, who'd been in the process of getting themselves food, spared a moment to nod at him politely.

Ed finished long before the rest of them, and dropped the plate on the floor beside the couch. Roy winced as sauce splattered across the hardwood, but he told himself firmly that he could clean it later, and that they had bigger things to worry about, and that after tonight he would never allow anyone but himself into his apartment again.

"I'm ready to make a timeline," Ed announced.

Havoc beamed proudly and transferred himself and his plate to the floor, drawing a long line across the butcher paper he'd spread across Roy's floor. "Okay!" He stared up at them expectantly.

"What are you waiting for?" Roy asked. "We're making your timeline."

"Oh. I figured you guys would probably remember when stuff happened better. I wasn't even there for the first part of it. I'll just...take notes."

Roy found, somewhat to his surprise, that this didn't annoy him. In fact, it actually made sense. Maybe the bread actually had been a good idea after all - Roy thought that he felt better.

It took about two hours two fill everything in, with all of them crouching uncomfortably on Roy's floor and writing with a few half-empty pens that Roy had found lying around. Some of it was a little fudged - Riza was sure the Military would have called her the second they received the call that Roy and Ed had been taken, but Roy thought there could be up to a half hour of useless debate in there - but for the most part, it was as accurate as they could make it. As Roy had expected, it was largely blank after that morning. As much as they tried to find an event they could anchor the day around, there just wasn't anything. Today had been completely useless.

"Hey, look at this," Ed said suddenly. He jabbed at the paper, hard enough to make it wrinkle, but Roy could tell it was an excited jab.

"What?" Roy leaned closer. And was pointing at the call Riza had received from the military. Roy still wasn't sure what he was excited about.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye got the call that we were missing just after 6:30 in the morning," Ed said.

"And that means…?"

"They got Al and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes around five in the morning. So depending on how long the Military HQ waffled about what to do, they had been contacted between and hour and an hour and a half later."

"Right." Ed was making Roy feel rather slow and stupid - he still didn't see where this was going.

"Do you think they would have called HQ from some random payphone, with two State Alchemists in tow? No! They must have gotten back to their home base by the time they called the Military HQ. Al and Hughes are being held less than two hours away."

It seemed so completely, blindingly obvious when it was put like that. Everything had happened so quickly, and while it was terrifying, in this case it actually worked in their favor. Al and Hughes hadn't been hauled halfway across the country - there was no way the people who had taken them would have had time. They were within driving distance of East City.

They'd been so focused on trying to find out the identity of the people who had taken Al and Hughes. But as it turned out, that didn't really matter. They didn't need to find out who had done this to find out where Al and Hughes were. And once they knew where Al and Hughes were...Roy could get them back himself.

For the first time all day, Roy felt something that almost might have been hope. He took a deep breath, sitting back on his heels and feeling his hands start to shake, ever so slightly. Beside him, Riza was reaching out for Ed's shoulder, smiling with relief.

"Good thinking, Edward."

"Yeah, nice one!" Havoc patted Ed on his other shoulder, leaping to his feet and grabbing the car keys off Roy's end table as he headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ed asked in confusion, turning to stare at the Second Lieutenant. Havoc stopped, jingling the keys impatiently.

"Umm…to drive in circles until we've checked everywhere?"

Roy's headache returned with a vengeance, and he stared blankly at his subordinate, who had just come out with the stupidest idea that he had possibly ever heard. "Havoc, sit down. Right now."

Havoc opened his mouth like he was going to argue, then apparently thought better of it and slumped down petulantly on the sofa. He dropped the keys back onto the end table with a clatter, then crossed his arms and glared moodily off into the distance.

"So, we know that Hughes and Alphonse have to be within ninety minutes of us," Roy said, carefully ignoring Havoc's sullen silence. "Does anyone have any...good ideas about how to find them?"

It had been an hour or so since Ed had realized that Hughes and Al were within driving distance, and at first, Riza had seen a notable difference in both Ed and Roy's mood. Ed seemed more focused, and Roy had been able to shake off some of the melancholy that had clung to him for much of the frustratingly useless day.

But that had apparently been nothing but a brief second wind. When they hadn't immediately figured out how to locate Al and Hughes, Roy especially had gotten discouraged again. Ed's energy had flagged as well, and now he was mostly staring vacantly at the timeline, occasionally writing indecipherable notes in the margins.

"This isn't getting me anywhere," Ed finally blurted out in frustration, scribbling a particularly angry-looking note next to the phone call. "We should have rescued Al by now."

"Just give it some time, Chief," Havoc said, with a lot more conviction than Riza felt she could have mustered.

Ed sighed, throwing the pencil down and draping his metal arm across his eyes. "At least I know Al's gonna be okay. He's practically indestructible."

Roy's pen clattered to the ground. Riza jolted up to look at him - he'd gone pale. Riza watched as he swallowed hard, placing both hands flat on the ground like he thought he'd fall if he didn't.

Riza made eye contact with Havoc, on the other side of Roy. He looked worried, and his eyes were on Roy too.

"Hey, Ed…," Havoc said slowly.

"I'm getting water." Roy shoved himself to his feet, and made his way unsteadily to the kitchen. No one stopped him.

Ed made a small, annoyed noise in the back of his throat. At first, Riza was going to reprimand him - Roy was going through a lot, and it was perfectly valid for him to need some air. But then she realized Ed wasn't paying attention to Roy. Possibly, he hadn't even noticed that Roy had left. He was completely fixated on the piece of paper in front of him, and annoyed about something he saw on the timeline.

Riza gave Roy a few minutes to collect himself and return to the living room. When that didn't seem to be happening, Riza also got up and made her way into the kitchen. She was sure Roy was alright, but this day had been hard on everyone and she just wanted to check….

Roy was standing next to the sink, an empty glass beside him. His elbows were braced on the counter, his forehead resting in one hand. He was trembling faintly.

He turned around when he heard her enter the room. His eyes were vaguely bloodshot - Riza didn't think he'd been crying, but he may have been rubbing at them. His expression twisted to something almost embarrassed, but mostly, he still just looked numb.

"Lieutenant," he croaked. "I-"

Riza silently took the glass of water from the counter. It was bone dry, and she filled it in the sink. She pressed it into one of Roy's shaking hands. He just stared at it, still looking horribly lost. In a fit of something like sentimentality, Riza put her hand on his upper arm.

Roy gave her the smallest of nods, and took a little sip of the water. The tremors didn't completely vanish - Riza doubted they would until she could get Roy to a hospital - but the shaking eased somewhat.

Riza watched him finish the water, not removing her hand from his arm. Once he was done, she took the glass, washed it quickly, and set it by the sink. It was time to go back out to the living room. Nothing needed to be said.

They had been sitting on the hard floor of Roy's apartment for five rounds of medication, and they still hadn't managed to find anything. Havoc shifted, resting his back against the knobby leg of Roy's atrocious couch and taking a sip of the instant coffee he'd found in the back of a cupboard. He yawned, rubbing his eyes slightly and once again focusing on the timeline.

Nothing became any clearer. Havoc was starting to worry that they'd never think of anything, especially because at this point, the rest of the group was not doing well. Roy was frighteningly pale, with hooded eyes and a perpetual tremor to his fingers. He looked exhausted, but Ed looked even worse - his hair was beginning to escape its tight braid, spilling around his ashen face and shielding his eyes from view.

Riza, of course, was awake and alert as usual, although Havoc was starting to think that she was also feeling the effects of their late night. She did look a little tired, and Havoc thought that she was being a little sharper than usual, especially with the Colonel.

Maybe she would feel better if she kept drinking coffee. Havoc had pretty much been drinking coffee nonstop since he'd arrived at Eastern HQ, and he felt fine. Between that and the nicotine, he was ready for anything.

Unfortunately, as awake as he felt, he didn't think that he was going to be the one to come up with a plan to save Al and Hughes. Usually, he was more the guy that executed someone else's plan, and if someone else failed to come up with one, he really wasn't sure where that left them.

"What have we not thought of?" Riza mused. Havoc really hoped that she wasn't talking to him, because he didn't have an answer for her.

"Hmm," Havoc mumbled, trying to look as if he was thinking, and not just confused. Roy and Ed did not bother, or were unable, to respond.

"Something about that phone call," Riza said to herself. "There has to be something there…. What about phone records? If we could get the records, we may be able to trace the area that the call originated from…."

"Hey, that sounds great!" Havoc blurted out, at the same time as Roy crossed his arms and said "That'll never work."

"Sorry?" Riza said, with an icy politeness that had Havoc scooting back automatically, out of range.

"Phone records don't work like that," Roy said dismissively, shaking his head. Riza's eyes narrowed, and her lips tightened.

"Oh? Then tell me, sir, how exactly do they work?"

Havoc had never heard Riza actually snap at the Colonel. He'd heard her telling him off, or gently pointing out mistakes, or even firmly putting him back in his place, but he'd never heard her snap. When he looked at Roy, the Colonel looked just as surprised as he felt. Riza's expression was unreadable, but the fact that she wasn't immediately apologizing...that had to be a bad sign. She must be completely exhausted, but Roy was clearly exhausted too, and he probably wasn't able to process the situation any better than she was….

The tension in the room was thick enough Havoc could have cut it with a knife. He doubted it would escalate into an actual fight, but with everything as unstable as it was, he figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Havoc knocked his coffee mug off the end table he had set it on, and it made a loud, unpleasant thud as it cracked on Roy's hardwood floor.

Havoc had about one second before the guilt set in, and he looked around in a panic. But, at the very least, the loud sound seemed to have provided a more than sufficient distraction.

"Here are some napkins," Ed said, handing Havoc a handful from their dinner. He sounded rather wooden, but that didn't really matter - it was the first words Ed had spoken in what felt like hours.

Havoc mopped up the few drops of coffee that remained in his cup, carefully not saying anything and avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the room.

"You might be onto something with the phone records," Roy said softly. An olive branch - Roy almost never admitted when he'd been out of line.

"It's...it's the best idea I think we have right now, sir," Riza said. Another olive branch - Riza almost never admitted when she wasn't sure of something.

"Alright," Roy said, visibly trying to pull himself together. "We may be able to use our pull from the military to commandeer the phone records, otherwise I think we'll just have to try to take them…."

"Um," Havoc said. He was still holding the cracked mug in one hand, and the napkins in the other. "Wouldn't the place with the phone records be...closed? It is the middle of the night."

Roy looked down slightly. "We need rest anyways."

Roy was definitely right about that. As much as they clearly all wanted to keep running on fumes, they were just hitting the point where it would no longer be possible. "We do," Havoc said.

"Just...just for a couple of hours," Roy said uncertainly. "Until we can get the phone records."

"Just for a couple of hours."