Sorry it's taken so long to update! I've been working odd hours lately and haven't had time to write. But enough of that, here's the next chapter!
Merry early Christmas!
Roy looked at Ed with soft eyes. "I will help you but only if you promise not to kill anymore people." He said, resting a gentle hand on Ed's shoulder.
Ed peered up at him with watery eyes and nodded with a sniff. "I'll try but what do I do about the Police? They'll find me." He cast a worried gaze up at Roy.
Roy frowned. "Let me worry about that. For now I need to get you someplace safe. This place is swarming with Police." He said.
A loud siren sounded off in the distance, causing Ed to stiffen up. He turned towards Roy. "They're coming!" He said with panic laced in his voice.
Roy glanced at the way they'd come. "You just had to pick a dead end alley..." He grumbled.
"Like I meant to!" Ed snapped at him, "What do I do? There's no place to hide!" He said.
Roy glanced at him briefly. "I'll go and tell them you got past me. Meet me at my house later tonight but make sure there's no one there before coming in. I'll be waiting." Roy said with a kind smile before turning and jogging back the way they'd came.
Roy ran out into the street when Police cars pulled up and Maes came running out.
"Did you get him?!" Maes asked hurriedly, looking behind Roy hopefully.
Roy shook his head. "He got past me. We'll have to send more search party's out to look but I assume he's long gone from here." He said.
Maes gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "We'll get 'em, don't you worry. It was probably a good thing you didn't run into him, after all, he is a murderer." He said.
Roy gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, good thing." He said.
Maes turned towards the guys around him. "Alright everyone, The Shadow got past Roy here so I need everyone to keep a close eye out. He could be hiding anywhere. Be on high alert. He was almost captured tonight." He said, before shooing them away.
"I think I'm gonna head home. The Shadow is long gone from here and I almost had the son of a bitch too..." Roy mumbled as he kicked the ground in faked frustration.
"Don't worry Buddy, we'll get 'em. And when we do, we'll put the Death Sentence on 'em!" Maes said with a bright grin.
Roy snapped his head up with widened eyes but quickly got his composure back and nodded his agreement. "Well, see you tomorrow then." He said with a small wave.
"Yeah, see ya Buddy!" Maes called out to him, "Try to get some sleep for once!" He yelled.
Roy waved off that last statement and let out a big breath of air once he was out of sight. He thought about what Maes had said.
He shuddered at the thought of Ed getting the death sentence. He couldn't let it happen.
He walked home through the dark, no longer scared of seeing the Famous Shadow roaming about. He walked up to his door, relieved to see there was no Police there anymore.
The house was dark and silent, almost eerie after what had transpired over the night. He flipped on the lights and glanced around.
"Edward, are you here?" He called.
He turned around quickly when he heard the floor creak under someones weight. He fixed his fingers in a snapping pose until he saw Ed standing there with an almost innocent look on his face.
Roy lowered his hand. "You startled me." He said, letting out a held breath. "You could've said hello or something you know." He glared at Ed.
Ed flashed a bright smile. "Why? So I'd miss out on your scared face? Nah." He said with an amused look.
Roy rolled his eyes playfully and plopped down on the couch. "So, did you have any problems getting here?" He asked.
Ed's smile dropped and he breathed in. "Cops caught sight of me at one point, it took a lot of running and climbing to escape from them. Persistent little things, aren't they?"
"Well, I did hire them just for that reason you know." Roy smirked at Ed's irritated look. "So, got any plans to free your brother?" He asked.
Ed shook his head and leaned back on the couch. "Gotta get myself outta harms way first." He raised his head off the couch and smiled at Roy. "Guess it's a good thing I met you, huh?" He said.
"You know, speaking of that. How exactly did you meet me? Why did you knock on my door, of all things?" Roy asked after a moment.
"Quite honestly, it was just bad luck I picked the one house in the whole neighborhood who was with the Police. When you said who you were I had to come up with a story to cover my ass, it wasn't easy you know." Ed said, sticking his nose in the air. "I think you should say sorry for making me do that." He said.
Roy raised his brows. "Say sorry for you having to lie to me? Are you crazy?" He asked. "Well, I mean, crazier than you are."
Ed shrugged. "Guess so."
"You can stay here for a little bit but I suspect Maes will be stopping in sooner or later. If he was to find out that I have been harboring you here, he'd kill me." Roy said. "I don't even want to think what Hawkeye would do to me..." He shook his head.
"Well then we need a plan. I say we just go in guns blazing to the gang and take them all out!" Ed said, grinning at the thought of killing the gang.
Roy shook his head. "You might just put your brother in more danger. No, we need a more thought out plan then that." He said. "Do you know where they're holding your brother at?" He asked.
Ed shook his head. "If I knew, do you really think I would be killing people for them? Hell no, I'd have rescued my brother long ago. If those Bastards have hurt him in anyway, I'll do much worse then just killing them. I'll have them skinned alive." He growled.
Roy flinched at Ed's cold eyes and remembered what the boy was capable of.
"Right, well. Do you know where some of the gang are held up at? We can devise a plan to capture one of them and force him to tell us where they're keeping him." Roy said.
Ed nodded excitedly. "They'll wish they never messed with us." He said. "I know that a few of the gang is set up on the south end, just outside of town. They're in what I think is an old dairy barn. The thing is huge though, which is why I've never tried to go in it myself. I'm sure they'll be packing guns." Ed said.
Roy nodded. "We'll have to come up with a way to make it so they can't see to use those guns." He said.
Ed grinned. "I think I have a way." He reached into his pocket and pulled out smoke grenades. "These should do. I would've used them when you trapped me in the alley but you didn't give me enough time." He explained.
"Those will do nicely. Now, do you have the schematics for that building?" Roy asked, blowing over Ed's statement.
Ed nodded. "They're at the library, back in the old files they keep." Ed said.
"How good are you at hand to hand combat?" Roy asked.
Ed's golden eyes lit up with excitement. "I am pro! Al and I used to battle it out as practice all the time. I'm one of the best around!" He bragged.
"Good. Tomorrow we strike." Roy said.
Ed flashed a smile. "They'll never know what hit them!" He said.
Just then, a loud knock rang out among them.
Ed's eyes widened. "I thought you said no one would find us here?!" He hissed with panic laced in his voice.
Roy glanced at him. "No, I told you Maes might stop in at some point!" He whispered. "Now shut up and let me think!" He demanded.
"Don't you dare open that door!" Ed growled, warning him with narrowed eyes.
"I have to open the door! Maes will know somethings wrong if I don't." He said quietly. He got up from the couch.
"Just a minute!" Roy called to the door. He started walking towards it only to fall to the floor by Ed's weight.
Ed flipped Roy over onto his back and held a knife to his throat. "Don't you dare tell him that I am here!" He hissed through clinched teeth. He pressed the knife harder on Roy's skin, making him flinch.
Roy started up into the murderous golden eyes and felt true fear. "I won't tell him you're here, now get off of me." He said carefully.
Ed glared down at him before yanking the knife away and rolling off of Roy's stomach. "You better not be lying to me..." Ed snarled as he fled into the kitchen and hid in a large cupboard.
Roy blinked as he pushed himself up off the floor and walked to the door. He breathed out a deep breath and opened it.
Maes grinned at him. "Hey buddy! Took you awhile to answer, everything all right?" He asked, looking past Roy into the house.
Roy smiled. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just tripped over that damn door mat you put down last week. I think I have bruises."
Maes pushed past him into the house, eyeing the things inside.
Roy sighed and closed the door. "I'm fine, by the way!" He said.
"What do you want, Maes?" He asked point blank, trying to keep his eyes from wandering to Ed's hiding spot.
"Just stopped in to make sure everything's good. Wouldn't want that murderer to come back, now would we?" He asked with a smile.
Roy narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Are you implying that Ed is the murderer? Because there's no proof of that yet." He tried to sound convincing.
Maes smiled lightly. "Actually, there is. There's a lot of evidence and then there's also the fact he ran. He did run, didn't he?" He asked.
Roy felt anger swell at that comment. "You know damn well that he ran! He ran when you guys came with sirens wailing and lights flashing. You probably scared him!" He growled.
Maes frowned. "Why would he have any reason to be afraid of the Police?" He asked.
Roy stared at him. "Because the Military killed his family!" He yelled out a lie, feeling his heart sink at lying to his best friend.
Maes scowled. "Are you certain that's even true? He's done nothing but lie since he came here." He said then sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He admitted.
Just then, a loud bang sounded from the kitchen. Sending icy fear down Roy's back, making him shiver.
Maes looked towards the kitchen. "What was that?" He asked, listening.
Roy swallowed. "Probably nothing." He said unconvincingly.
Maes glanced back at Roy. "That didn't sound like nothing to me. Come on, lets go and check it out." He said, lowering his voice as he waked into the kitchen.
"I don't hear anything now." Roy commented, feeling his heart racing at the thought of Ed being discovered. He tried to keep his eyes from flashing towards the cupboard but failed.
Maes followed Roy's eyes to the large cupboard. He nodded his head towards it, letting Roy know that he found where the noise came from.
"I think it was probably just rats." Roy blurted out, trying desperately to keep Maes from opening it.
Maes frowned at that suggestion. "You've never had rats, you're a clean freak." He said, turning his attention back to the cupboard. He reached for it.
Roy felt his heart stop as Maes grabbed the door to the cupboard and open it. Roy blinked at the nothingness of the cupboard and he let out a held breath. "Guess it was the rats." He said.
Maes frowned. "Right..." He closed the cupboard again. "Well, if you ever need me, just call. You know I'll always be here if you need me." He said, resting a hand on Roy's shoulder and looking him in the eye.
"Please don't put yourself in danger for no reason. Don't do that to me. You're my best friend and I don't want anything to happen to you." Maes said.
Roy nodded. "I won't." He said.
Maes patted him on the back and started walking towards the door. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Buddy. Get your rest, I know you need it." He said with a smile and then left.
Roy let out a deep breath and turned just as Ed came stalking out of the other room.
Ed looked at Roy with a sly smile. "Did you really think I was that dumb?" He grinned at the dumbfounded look on Roy's face.
"But I saw you go in there! How'd you get past us?" Roy asked.
Ed shrugged. "Skills. How do you think I've made it on the streets as long as I have?" He asked. "Anyways, back to business. Tomorrow we go through with our plan and find my brother." He said.
Let me know what you think of it! Leave a review if you'd be so kind!
