A/N: hey wow, time flies when you're having fun! Well actually I just can't manage time for my life. Thank you all for the reviews (though I would have like bit more (sob)) but seriously thank you all. Sorry also if I hadn't replied to your comments, but I thought I was supposed to respond through my writing and not through direct emails so….I am really sorry! Anyway here's the next chapter and btw RIP Maes Hughes (tear drop).

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Chapter 8: Badda Bing, Badda Boom!

A quick look into the life of Riza Hawkeye assured a distinct metamorphosis of character over the past few days. Her usual stern façade had, by degrees, been melting away to reveal a woman of much emotion. She was strong and strict when the situation arrived, as Havoc could assure you after making a small joke about her new more approachable nature (and nearly had earned himself a bullet in the head in the process), but had now evaded the old image of 'scary Captain Hawkeye,' which had circulated around the base from those familiar with her cold formal relations. Indeed, Riza Hawkeye had turned from once an intimidating, cold force to be reckoned with to…well… a slightly warmer, more approachable force to be reckoned with (again, just ask Havoc…).

What had caused this change? Why the new disposition after years of icy formalness? Some may say that, perhaps it was just a general change that had gone unnoticed till now (some like Kain Fuery, that is.). Others pushed the idea that this was not Riza Hawkeye at all but and alien imposter! (Thank you again, Havoc). But these rumors, for that was all they really were, basically spread and died only amongst Roy's echelon of officers (Fuery, Falman, Breda, and Havoc).

What really had caused the change was none other than love. Yes, Cupid's arrow, Aphrodite's touch, whatever you called it, love had caused the transformation within Roy's right-hand woman. That is, or so Maes Hughes thought. Actually, he advocated it more than he thought it, but only really to one person above all else: his best friend Roy Mustang.

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"ROY!" called an all too familiar voice across the foyer of Eastern Command HQ. "Roy, slow down! I've got some pictures of Elysia that are SO cute! You have got to see them!"

Roy's ears pricked at the sound of Maes Hughes' voice behind him. "Oh no, not again…" Roy muttered to himself, a bead of sweat dropping from his brow. He quickened his pace and kept his gaze steadfast toward the door to his office. Thirty feet to go…twenty… ten…almost there!

A hand clapped down on Roy's shoulder, dashing his hopes of escaping into his office. Maes was a good friend, in fact he was Roy's best friend, but he was also incredibly annoying at times. One such example was the near daily ritual of showing off pictures of his three year old daughter, Elysia, while bragging about his family. Roy had to admit that Elysia was a cute kid, but cute had its limits somewhere around the fiftieth picture. Thus, Roy attempted to evade his friend altogether each morning, failing nine time out of ten.

Roy sighed in defeat and turned around with a forced smile. "Hello Maes, what's up?"

Maes grinned idiotically, creeping Roy out a little in the process. "Oh, nothing much with me," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "but how bout yourself?"

Roy let out a breath of relief. Usually by now Maes would have suffocated Roy with the hundreds of family pictures he managed to keep on his person at all times, but today something was different. Roy looked his friend in the eye. What the hell is he up to? Roy wondered, noticing the look Maes was giving him.

"Okay Maes, what are you up to?" Roy asked, now annoyed at his friend's game so early in the morning. Light reflected off Maes' glasses as he cupped his chin with his index finger and thumb, grin changing to a smirk.

"So absolutely nothing is new Roy?" Maes asked again, giving Roy a skeptical look.

"No, nothing Maes," Roy said adamantly. Why is he pushing this so hard? He wondered as he gave his friend a slightly puzzled look.

Finally Maes gave up and turned with a shrug. "Fine, nevermind," he said walking away. A few steps away, he looked over his shoulder at Roy, "Oh and perhaps you can tell Captain Hawkeye I said hello over dinner tonight," he said with a wink as he disappeared back into his office.

Roy's eyes widened in surprise then narrowed. Damn it! How did he find out? Roy sighed and walked through the door to his office. Suddenly another thought entered his mind which made him groan loudly. Great, now he's going to bug the crap out of me about this for weeks!

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"So when are you going to turn in that report?" Jack asked, giving Ed a rare, serious look.

"What report?" Ed asked as he took a swig from his cup of coffee.

It was just about seven am and after a rude awakening and a rousing early morning fight, Majors Edward Elric and Jack Alexiv sat in the military cafeteria along with Ed's brother Alphonse, eating an early breakfast. That is to say that Ed and Jack were wolfing down their plates of food while poor Alphonse politely declined, saying he wasn't hungry. Finally, after about ten minutes, both alchemists finished and now sat, idly talking as they killed time for nothing in particular.

Jack spoke up first. "So why exactly are you here, Ed?" Jack asked, lazily chewing on the end of a toothpick.

"Well, we actually were returning from another phony lead on the Philosopher's Stone," he said with a yawn, "then we were going to make our way back to Resembool, our home town."

"Is that so?" Jack asked leaning back in his chair as he brushed his bangs over the right eye. "So what's the occasion for headin' home? Got a girlfriend or something?"

"NO! I DO NOT HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" Ed shouted back, jumping up from his chair. Al tried to calm him down, a tone of slight embarrassment in his voice.

"Oh so no girlfriend huh?" Jack seemed to mull the fact over for a second, before adding, "Then who's Winry Rockbell?"

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Five Hours Later (about 12 o'clock)

The day had flown by for every officer except Roy Mustang, who sat preoccupied by what Maes had said over five hours ago. How the hell did he find out? Roy thought, agitated, furiously tapping his pen against his desk. Though there was no rule against a relationship between a male and female officer, Roy wanted there to be nothing for the higher-ups to use against him in his quest to become Fuhrer. But I don't want to lose Riza in the process either, he thought, slamming his fist on his desk. All this thinking was starting to really become a hassle. Damn you Maes…

As if on cue, in came Maes Hughes, swaggering in with yet another grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Roy!" he said in a cheery tone. Shrugging off the venomous scowl Roy shot at him, he looked around the office. "So, uh, what happened to Hawkeye?" he asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of her desk.

"She went on lunch break,"he said with a frown, "of course I would be on break too if not for a stupid friend of mine distracting me with his insufferable nosiness."

Maes continued to look around the office until his eyes settled on looking out the window. "So…which friend would this be?"

"YOU, IDIOT!" Roy finally yelled as he jumped up from his desk. He had been working to suppress his frustration, yet eventually it got the better of him.

"What do you mean me? How did I distract you?" Maes asked with an innocent look on his face.

Roy shot him an incredulous glance. Could he really have forgotten? Was he just pulling his leg before? No…he can't fool me this easily, Roy finally decided, regaining his composure with a smirk.

"So that comment you made earlier…you don't remember it?" Roy asked cautiously.

"Roy, I really don't know what you're talking about." His answer was given in the most sincere voice imaginable. In fact, there was no officer in that building who would not have been fooled, that is except for the bead of sweat that dropped from his brow, which gave him away.

Heh…gotcha.

Roy suddenly whipped a picture of Elysia from his pocket, a memento Roy had picked up one day after Maes had dropped it from a pile of about a hundred. He had decided to keep it in case an opportunity arose where it might work in his favor. This looked like one of those opportunities.

"Is that a picture of Elysia…?" Maes began before noticing that Roy had slipped on one of his pyrotex ignition gloves. "Uh, Roy… what are you doing?" Maes asked with a nervous laugh, sweat now rolling down his face.

Roy began slowly, a wide smirk drawn across his face. "Now let's try this again…what, exactly, did you mean by your comment earlier this morning?"

"Okay, okay! You got me! I happened to be walking back from the market when I saw you too heading through the park together. I saw the casual clothes and put two and two together. Now just give me the picture, please!" Maes blurted out suddenly.

Roy tossed the picture over to his friend, "Thank you." Maes started for the door when Roy called out to him again. "Say you didn't share this little observation with any other officer did you?" Roy asked, eyeing Maes suspiciously.

"Nope, no one but you, scout's honor," Maes quickly said, hurrying out the door.

Roy sat back into his chair with a sigh. So there really wasn't any need to worry, he mused as he picked up his pen to finish some paperwork. Wait a minute! Maes wasn't a scout! Damn it!

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Five hours before (back around 7 am)

Ed's face paled as he fell over in his chair. "H-how do you know Winry!" he demanded, jumping to his feet and point an accusatory finger at the nonchalant alchemist seated across from him.

Jack shrugged. "Hey, I'm not called a master of intelligence for nothing, you know," he simply stated, continuing to chew on his toothpick.

Both Ed and Al looked at each other, exchanging looks of awe (A/N: okay I know Al doesn't really have a face but trust me, he's in awe!).

"Wow, how did you come up with that?" Alphonse asked with eager curiosity.

"Um, well, the name's actually etched into his arm," Jack hesitantly replied, pointing toward Ed's exposed metal arm.

Ed's arm jerked up as he examined the 'branding' on his arm with a look of mortified shock glued to his face.

"WINNRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY…!"

Upstairs, in the office of Roy Mustang, Captain Riza Hawkeye looked up from her paperwork and over at her superior.

"Did you just here something?"

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Five Hours Later (again) (about 12 o'clock)

(A/N: I just found out that East City is the name of the city where Eastern Command HQ is, sorry for earlier confusion!)

Jack checked his watch as he made his way toward the warehouse district of East City, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. 12:03pm. With a final look over his shoulder, he kicked the door to one of the numerous abandoned warehouses open and stepped inside.

Two familiar faces from the previous night greeted him as he pushed the door shut and sat down on a crate.

"Ah, good of you to finally show up," mocked the alchemist to his right.

Looking over, Jack recognized the strange goggles that the eccentric alchemist insisted upon wearing. Yes, he had heard of this guy before. No one really knew his real name but rather referred to him by his codename: Ghost. Brandishing a large scythe, which he generally wore slung over his shoulder, and concealing his features by wrapping his face from the nose down with bandages, Ghost was known only in the back alleys of the military. He was no Ishbal veteran as he had passed the alchemy exam several years after, but his reputation proceeded as one of the military's top assassins, that is, to those who knew of him. Yes, the military would deny having any sort of connection with an alchemist like him, but then again what did the military care as long as they had their tool to destroy what needed to be destroyed covertly?

To complete the trio, the oh-so familiar Zolf Kimbley was present, currently lounging on an old table.

Looking around, Jack had to marvel at how the military was a magnet for scum such as them and how they always found a way to lump them all together for some murky assignment.

"So what are we here for anyway?" Jack asked in an agitated tone.

Kimbley jumped up and cracked his knuckles. "What's the matter? The mission getting in the way of your spying?" He hissed with a yawn.

"Let's just get this over with," Jack replied without emotion, "because as a matter of fact, it is."

Kimbley shrugged and glanced over in the direction of the alchemist known as 'Ghost.' "Let's go, it's your turn now ghost-boy," he growled with the hint of smirk crossing his face.

The oddly clothed alchemist stood and clapped his hands together, disappearing into the shadows without a sound.

Looking up, Jack saw Kimbley smiling idiotically. "Time for some fireworks…" he said with a grin.

Author's Notes: Let me just start by saying that I am sorry of this chapter is confusing, pointless, or however other way you could negatively characterize this chapter. Personally I was just trying to set up the real action so thank you for sticking with it. Yes there will be more RoyxRiza, yes I will tell you what's up with Jack's right eye, and yes this will make sense eventually (I hope). A special thanks to the story Branded for the idea of the branding (check it out y'all, great story thus far) and thanks to all the fans out there who keep reading. Read and Review please cuz I need feedback to work with. Thank's y'all!

Let me just start by saying that I am sorry of this chapter is confusing, pointless, or however other way you could negatively characterize this chapter. Personally I was just trying to set up the real action so thank you for sticking with it. Yes there will be more RoyxRiza, yes I will tell you what's up with Jack's right eye, and yes this will make sense eventually (I hope). A special thanks to the story for the idea of the branding (check it out y'all, great story thus far) and thanks to all the fans out there who keep reading. Read and Review please cuz I need feedback to work with. Thank's y'all!