Sorry for the delayed update.

Disclaimer: same as always.

8 Philosopher's Stone

A clap resounded in the narrow alley. Ed slapped his palms against the wet bloodstain. Raindrops mixed with his tears and poured down his face. Too overcome with grief to move, much less coherently attempt a transmutation, the teenager stood in the rain braced against the alley wall. He didn't notice the military soldiers streaming into the alleyway.

At the mouth of the alley two people sat in the backseat of a black sedan studying the brothers through the glass window. Finally one of them spoke. "If there were ever a thing known as the act of the devil, this case must be it." Hawkeye's clipped voice was soft, but it echoed in the car's silent interior.

Roy watched as the boy's shoulders heaved beneath his rain-sodden cloak. "The devil, huh? We State Alchemists are the military's human weapons. If there is a need, we will be called to duty and if ordered to we must soil our hands," he said emotionlessly. "What Tucker did and the position we're in right now are similar if we look at how both affected human life."

"That is an adult's reasoning." Hawkeye's reddish-brown eyes never left Ed's trembling figure. "But they are just children."

Oblivious to all of it, Ed blindly stared at the water pooling at his feet, his hands still placed against the wall. Even if he could have moved, he was afraid to move them for fear they would tremble. "Niisan," Al's gentle whisper broke into Ed's consciousness. "The Lieutenant Colonel."

Ed mustered the energy to push himself away from what was left of his little sister, his white gloves coming away stained in her blood. He lifted dull gold eyes to the approaching State Alchemist. Mustang's calm strides contrasted sharply against the chaos of the alley.

"It is a useless effort," he told the young boy in a dispassionate tone. "It is impossible to rebuild a life form that has lost its life already, no matter how good an alchemist you are." Rain dripped from the tips of his messy black hair, running into his eyes.

His sharp eyes studied the boy's features. He waited for the surge of anger and indignation at what he was sure the boy would interpret as a personal insult to his strict code of pride. He got no such response. He prodded again. "Who will become happy if you revive a defective chimera?"

Something flickered in the young State Alchemist's eyes. Roy struggled to purge all sympathy and gentleness from his voice; the brothers did not respond to kindness and babying from him and he saw no need to give it to them. "There will be much harsher things down the path you two choose. You must accept this, even if you must force yourselves to, and move on."

Angry gold sparks shot from Ed's eyes at the command. "Accept this?" he demanded hoarsely. Enraged at the Lieutenant Colonel's carefully neutral expression, Ed lunged at the older man.

Mustang easily caught the boy's wrist. "You have some goal you wish to accomplish, don't you?" he reminded Ed roughly. "Do you have time to stand around idle?"

Another black sedan pulled up. Major Maes Hughes stepped out of the backseat into the scurry of the investigation team. "A man can't even take a bath with his daughter without being disturbed," he muttered, resignedly rubbing the back of his head.

Mustang held the boy's gaze. "The rest is the investigative department's job. Get out of the way."

The fight drained out of Ed leaving him feeling as hollow as Al. He ripped his arm from Mustang's grip. The anger Roy had been striving for was once again replaced by tears and misery in his gold eyes. He pushed past the sea of blue uniforms and blindly ran out of the alleyway.

Hughes frowned at the scene before him. "This is awful. Is this the serial killer? He only goes after young women and slices them to death." He turned his attention to the blood-splattered wall. "It looks like she blew up from the inside."

Ed stood at the mouth of the alleyway, off to the side. His normally rigid shoulders were slumped in despair. Rain trickled down his blond hair and down his face, cleansing away the saltiness of his tears. His tears were gone and so was his anger. He was empty. Not even the grief could fill the hollow emptiness.

Ed and Al trailed after Lieutenant Havoc, following him down the hallway. "Look at your faces." Havoc frowned at the bags and deep shadows under the boy's eyes.

"We've just been through a lot," Ed replied wearily. "We've decided not to hesitate, so…" he trailed off. "What are our orders?"

Havoc stopped at double doors. He pushed them open. "This." Ed and Al peered into the dark room. Books were strewn over the floor and tables and glowing yellow eyes looked back at them from cages. "Organize the data here in order to gain an understanding of Tucker's research."

Ed's eyes went wide. He lifted them to the blond lieutenant incredulously. "Are you asking me to continue Tucker's research?"

Havoc puffed on his cigarette. "Although he went about it in the wrong way, Tucker's research had some benefits to the military."

"Then let Tucker do it," Ed exploded.

"He died." Both brothers gasped. "His crime was apparent so the upper classes decided to execute him."

Ed took a step towards Havoc. "They concealed the case? Is that possible?"

"Show some loyalty to the military." Havoc tapped the thick book he held on his shoulder. "That is one of the State Alchemists' rules." He handed the book to the speechless boy.

Al kneeled on the floor, systematically sorting and restacking books. "It looks like Tucker was doing research on the Philosopher's Stone, too," he observed into the room's silence.

Ed sat at the other end of the room, resentfully feeding the chimeras through the cage bars. "Yeah? That's nice."

Al put down the stack of books, his almost endless supply of patience with his brother wearing thin. "How long are you going to sulk like that, Niisan?" He looked down at the books in his hands. "The Philosopher's Stone is the ultimate secret of alchemy. It amplifies the alchemic technique by infinity and enables transmutations that don't abide by the principle. In other words, we could do things that we couldn't."

A burlap sack hit Al's metal face, some of the food falling onto his chest plate. "That thing is just a legend," Ed muttered. "It's only a fairy tale."

Al wouldn't give up. "But Tucker, a State Alchemist, was researching it, so…"

Ed shot to his feet and whirled on his brother. "I don't care about his research." Ed's vehement outburst sliced through the dark room. "Al, did you forget about Nina?" Al just stared at his brother. The blond boy was stretched to the breaking point. Ed ran out of the room.

"I cannot permit that." Mustang finished signing a document and put it aside to give back to Hawkeye.

"Why?" Ed took a step towards Mustang's desk. "The serial murderer might have done that to Nina. Let me help," he implored.

"What was the job I ordered you to do? What happened to the analysis of Tucker's research?" Mustang arched a raven-black eyebrow.

Ed quieted. He lowered his head. "I don't want to do that," he mumbled. He lifted his chin. "I'll investigate on my own."

"Then leave that behind." Mustang nodded to the watch that hung from Ed's belt.

Ed grabbed the watch and slammed it down on the Lieutenant Colonel's desk. "I was planning to." He stalked out of the office and down the steps of Central Headquarters.

He stomped past Al. "Niisan…Niisan, wait." Al jogged to catch up with his brother. "You aren't the only one who's mad because we couldn't do anything for Nina. We're alchemists. Our job isn't to catch the criminal. It's to do more research so that we can save children from becoming like Nina." Al stopped as Ed broke out into a run.

Ed ran away from headquarters. Away from the blasted Lieutenant Colonel, away from the military, even away from his brother. No one understood. Ed didn't know if he understood himself.

He roamed aimlessly through the streets of Central. Ed was jarred from his thoughts when he accidentally walked into someone. He jumped back, about to apologize. The apology died on his lips when he saw who he had hit. "You're the guy from the library."

The dark-skinned man's eyes narrowed behind his dark lenses. "Since you were able to enter the library's first sector, are you a State Alchemist as well?"

Ed stuck his hands in his pockets. "At the time, yeah." He shrugged. "But I'm not one anymore."

"Is that so? That's better for your sake." He turned around and walked away from the bewildered boy. He gripped the tattoo visible under the torn sleeve. "That's better if you don't want to be destroyed by this arm."

A small, light blond-haired girl stepped off the train onto Central Station's platform. She placed her hand on her head to keep her wide-brimmed hat from flying off. The short skirt of her cream-colored dress fluttered in the breeze.

"Won't Ed and Al be surprised? I, Winry, am going to congratulate them." She smiled and wrapped both tiny hands around the handle of her enormous suitcase. "Okay, let's go."

Al stood under the shade of an empty pavilion where troops lined up. He bowed to the shorter blonde before him. "Thank you, Second Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"It's no problem. But I barely know anything about the Philosopher's Stone," she confessed. "At least I have not heard that it exists in reality. I thought it was just a legend."

"Really?"

Hawkeye's reddish-brown eyes darted around the empty area. She leaned forward. "I believe that you shouldn't pursue it," she warned in a low whisper. "It is said that bad things happen to those who seek the Philosopher's Stone."

"Oh, you're interested in the Philosopher's Stone?" a man's voice asked.

Hawkeye jumped, ashamed at having been caught doing something so unprofessional as gossiping. Al stepped aside to reveal a dark-haired man who had been quietly standing behind him. He glanced at the lieutenant who was stiffly saluting the man. "Who's this?"

Hawkeye slid her eyes to the suit of armor. "He is…"

"You wish to obtain the Philosopher's Stone?" the man asked Al. He was tall and broad-shouldered in his military uniform. A black eye-patch covered his left eye. A smile seemed to perpetually lurk at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes."

"For what reason?"

"For huma-- I mean, I want to get back the thing my older brother lost," Al quickly covered up his slip.

The man smiled. "You are a caring little brother. I don't know too many details about it either, but there are many who believe in the Philosopher's Stone. Also, I sometimes hear that someone has succeeded in creating it. Rumors like that end up in the military. The Central Library's first sector should have records of that."

"Really?"

"Only State Alchemists can use that place," the man informed him.

"So a State Alchemist can confirm if the rumor is true or not," Al contemplated under his breath. Al bowed to both military officers and excused himself.

Hawkeye watched the boy go. She turned to the man. "Fuhrer, why did you tell him such a thing?"

King Bradley turned to the lieutenant. "It is a good thing for a young man to chase after a dream. Do you not think so, Second Lieutenant?" His single eye sparkled with merriment.

Ed placed his lunch tray down on the table. He barely glanced at the two sandwiches. He opened a file and began scanning through the criminal records. Behind him, he could hear Major Hughes gushing about his new picture of his daughter.

Hughes plopped down in the seat next to the boy. He thrust a photo in front of Ed's nose. "How is she? You think she looks like me? Everyone says that."

Ed didn't look up. "Don't bother me, old man."

"That's not very nice." Hughes placed the precious photo back in his chest pocket. "I'm showing you that analysis of serial murderers that I'm prohibited to show others." He picked up one of Ed's sandwiches and brought it to his mouth.

Ed grabbed the sandwich and was able to recover half of it. He put it back on his tray. "You owe me two favors from the incident with the train and then with your wife," he reminded the major.

"Is that so?" Hughes chewed on the bread. "Anyway, we're really stuck here. There are no witnesses that can even attest to the fact that the crime took place here in the city. The bodies have been sliced to death and it's hard to believe he did that all in that short amount of time."

"Maybe he killed the victims elsewhere and then brought them in," Ed suggested. "How much time elapsed after victims died?"

Hughes considered the boy's words. He may be young, but that mind was sharp. "The autopsy didn't tell us the exact time. But the military and police are having all cars in the city searched by opening and checking all trunks."

Ed looked back down at the criminal records before him. "There must be something we're missing," he thought aloud. "Like a car that can hide corpses."

"Or it could be an alchemist."

Ed glared at the older man. "Alchemists aren't murderers."

Hughes merely leaned back in his chair and shrugged. A young soldier approached the table. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Elric?" he addressed the boy. "You have a guest at the Central command desk."

A young woman in a lime-green dress shouldered open the door to the kitchen. Her long brown hair fell into her eyes as she dragged in a large brown sack. "How are you doing?" she greeted the other workers.

A rather fat man looked up from where he was washing dishes in the large aluminum sink. "Thanks for doing this all the time," he said, soap bubbles up to his elbows, soaking the rolled up sleeves of his kitchen whites.

"Don't mention it." She sat down. "There was another State Alchemist qualification exam wasn't there?"

The man nodded. "Did you know that this time someone twelve years old passed the exam? I heard he did this with his hands and transmuted something." He placed his soapy hands together in front of his chest.

The woman laughed softly. "Is that true?"

"Oh, look, it's that blond kid." He pointed to Edward as he passed by the counter. "He's still a child." He resumed his washing. "Anyway, be careful with that killer out there. I heard that beautiful ladies get killed."

She shot a look at him through lowered lashes. "You're worried about me?"

The man's plump cheeks were tinged red. "Yes."

"I hope he gets caught soon. So did you hear anything else about the case?"

Winry sat on the steps of Central, her chin propped up in her hands. She had taken off her jacket as a concession to Central's heat. Her hat also lay on the ground next to her suitcase. "How long is Ed going to make me wait?" she sighed.

She perked up when she looked at the street in front of the headquarters. A large van-like car was parked at the bottom of the steps. She ran down the steps and circled the vehicle. "A refrigeration machine. Central does have the latest cars." She ran her fingers over the cool metal. "How cool. I want to break it apart," she said wistfully.

"Breaking it apart would cause some trouble."

Winry jumped at the voice behind her. A woman in a lime-green dress stood with her hand on the car. Embarrassed, Winry folded her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, is this your car?"

The woman smiled kindly. "Yes, it's our food shop's carrier."

Winry tilted her head. There was a strange gleam in the woman's eyes. "Is something the matter?" she inquired politely.

She blinked and the look was gone. "Would you like to see the inside?" she asked, opening the back door.

Winry gasped with pleasure. "Can I? Thank you," she gushed, stepping inside.

Ed followed the officer outside to the front steps of Central HQ. He shaded his eyes against the bright sunlight. No one was there. A pink jacket draped over a large brown suitcase sat on the top step. A floppy white hat lay next to it.

"I told her to wait right here," Ed's escort frowned. Ed scanned the area, looking for any traces of his visitor. His gaze settled on thick tire tracks at the base of the stairs.

He sprinted down the stairs and examined the tracks. A glint of light caught his eyes. He bent down and picked up an unusually large screw. It was the same size as the ones in his auto-mail. Winry? Ed turned to the officer. "Was there a car parked here?"

"Yes, a refrigeration car from the food company that delivers for the military cafeteria," the brown-haired man answered.

A refrigeration car. It was cold and big enough to transport…bodies. Ed's breath caught in his throat. Gripping the screw tightly in his fist, he took off in a run following the car's tracks. The confused officer called after the young boy then gave up when he realized the boy didn't even pause in his mad dash.

Ed slowed when he saw the refrigeration car parked in a deserted alleyway. He climbed into the back of the car. He could almost see his breath. He heard soft weeping and followed the noise. A young woman in a lime green dress and long brown hair huddled against the wall. Ed crouched down.

"Are you a prisoner, too?" he asked, concern lacing his words. He stood up and turned to look at the refrigeration car. "Let's just find my friend and I'll get you out of – oomph." Something whacked him from behind and Ed crumpled into darkness.

Ed drifted back into consciousness and groaned as pain shot through his head. He tried to lift his hand to soothe the ache at the back of his head but found he was bound to a wooden chair with thick chain wrapped several times around his torso. His right auto-mail arm was also missing. Ed's vision blurred back into focus.

The brown-haired woman stood at a table. All around hung large slabs of pork and beef, some still carcasses of pigs. "Welcome to my shop, boy," she greeted. She raised her hand to her hairline, grabbing the brown strands. In a smooth motion, she pulled off the wig to reveal sparse short blond hair. "I'm this shop's owner, Barry. I've heard that you're an alchemist that can transmute things with just your hands, so I took precautions." The slender man nudged the auto-mail arm that lay on the table.

"As a congratulations for coming this far, I have something to show you." Barry pushed a nearby pig and it slid to the side. Winry was bound and gagged, her hands chained to the ceiling and her blue eyes wide with fear. "Winry!" Ed struggled harder against the abrasive chains.

Barry picked up a large butcher's knife the length of his forearm. The dim light in the refrigeration car glinted menacingly off the sharp edge. Barry sidled up to the bound girl. With each inch he came closer, Winry's eyes widened further. "I'll slice her apart beautifully," he reverently murmured, his beady eyes caressing her milky white skin.

"You can't just kill a person that easily," Ed yelled, aghast at the maniacal gleam in the man's eyes.

Barry turned those eyes on Ed. "Oh but it is," he breathed. He began walking towards Ed. "I started with my wife. We had a fight. I actually didn't mean to kill her. But I took her apart so artistically." He stopped in front of the boy. He placed the knife on Ed's left shoulder and applied pressure. Ed clenched his jaw as the sharp blade cut into his skin. Winry let out a muffled scream from her position across the car. "It just got easier after that." He lifted the blade. "I'll take care of you first, before I start on her," he informed Ed graciously.

Behind his back, Ed's left hand trembled as he grasped Winry's screw in his almost numb fingers. His hand was damp with sweat and he prayed he wouldn't drop the screw.

Barry hefted the gleaming knife above his head and brought it down to cleave the boy in two. Ed squeezed his eyes shut and desperately thrust his thumb over the tiny transmutation circle he had etched into the chair back. Blue light crackled and Ed leapt from the chair a split second before Barry's blade slashed through the wooden chair.

Fear and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Ed scrambled to his feet. He grabbed the iron rod on the floor that he had transmuted from his chains. He lifted it up just as Barry brought the blade down again. The clang of metal against metal almost drowned out Ed's ragged pants for breath and the man's crazed laughs. Blindly defending himself with his makeshift weapon, on a stroke of luck, Ed whacked the knife out of Barry's hand and the rough tip of the rod sliced the killer's hand. Barry stared at the blood trickling from his palm. He let out another deranged laugh.

Taking advantage of the slim opportunity, Ed scooted out from under the killer and raced toward Winry. Using the tip of the rod, he jiggled her chains with his shaking arm, praying that the chains would fall free. Barry was staggering to his feet. Ed desperately rattled the chains some more. Cold sweat broke out on his skin, making it harder to keep a steady grip on the rod. Winry tugged on her chains trying to get the boy's attention. Ed's blood was throbbing in his ears and he almost didn't hear the urgent noises Winry was frantically making. Ed's eyes darted to where he had left the killer. Barry had retrieved his knife and was advancing on the two twelve year-olds. Ed was torn. The chains showed no sign of coming loose. Uttering a cry of despair, he abandoned Winry and the rod and sprinted for the table. He grabbed his arm, and seeing the blade slicing through the air towards him, swerved. The knife sank into a hanging pig mere centimeters from him.

Ed weaved through the hanging pillars of meat. He clutched his arm knowing it was his and Winry's only hope, although hope for what, he didn't know since the possibility of making it out of there alive seemed very doubtful. With white knuckles, he grasped the auto-mail in his left hand and jammed it into his shoulder dock. The pain was instant and immobilizing. Ed fell to his knees, unable to spare the extra energy to keep standing. Winry visibly flinched and squeezed her eyes shut as Ed's cry of pain echoed in the car.

Barry followed the boy's tortured bellow and brandished the knife once more. Staring helplessly at the blade he was almost sure would end his life, Ed clapped his hands together. He never got to the transmutation. The blade fell and Ed instinctively raised his right arm to block the blow. His mind completely blank with fear, all Ed could do was put death off for a couple seconds at a time with the arm Winry had so painstakingly constructed. The sparks of steel colliding with steel were reflected in Barry's glazed eyes as he repeatedly raised the knife and brought it crashing down against Ed's auto-mail.

Trying to shut out the frightening clang that could soon end in her childhood friend's death, Winry climbed up onto a small table. From the advantage of the added height, she futilely struggled to lift the chains high enough off the hook. Her knees shook violently and the table crashed to one side. Winry swung from the chains and thumped hard into a pig carcass.

With the force of the impact, the carcass skidded on its overhead track and crashed into the back of Barry's head. He fell forward landing on top of Ed. Somehow, with the time given him by the brief distraction, Ed finally completed the transmutation. Barry's crazed assault came to a halt as his sword knocked the knife out of his hand on an upswing. With a hoarse cry, Ed poised his auto-mail blade over the man.

"Niisan, no!"

Ed whirled at the voice, bringing the sword with him. The sharp blade clanged loudly against Al's chest plate. Al placed a metal hand over the dented armor, taking in his brother's haggard and drawn expression and too-bright eyes. "I won't die from just that," he said softly.

Ed dropped his arm and stared at his brother. Relief flooded him and the adrenaline fled him in a rush. He turned tear-brightened eyes up to the suit of armor. "Al," he managed to force out through his frozen lips.

Footsteps pounded in the small car and black boots surrounded the killer. Barry shrugged and smiled as he raised his hands at the prompting of several gun barrels.

Al took in the slices that went up and down his brother's exposed left arm. Blood dripped from each wound. "Niisan, does it hurt?"

A few officers came forward and freed Winry from her chains. Silently, she rubbed her raw wrists and looked at Ed who was still kneeling on the ground. He was hunched over Al's thigh. "I thought he was going to kill me," he rasped. "I thought I was going to die. I was scared," he admitted, his slim shoulders shaking. "I was really, really scared." Al placed a cold, reassuring hand on his brother's back.

Apparently, Major Hughes had also noticed that the same refrigeration cart went in and out of HQ everyday. Following the same trail of thought that Ed had, they were able to find them in time.

Ed huddled inside a large orange blanket someone had draped over him. Al sat next to him and together they sat in silence against one of the nearby buildings. Lieutenant Colonel Mustang stood near a sedan with Second Lieutenant Hawkeye whose hands rested on Winry's calming shoulders. Winry was also ensconced in a blanket and her small hands were cupped around a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Around them, military cars were parked haphazardly and strobe lights lit the dim area. Soldiers marched in and out, officials shouted orders. None of it reached either brother.

Al finally broke the silence, but he looked straight ahead, not at his brother. "Niisan. The Philosopher's Stone might really exist. But to find it you need to be a State Alchemist." He placed his hand against his hollow chest. "I don't have a body, so I can't feel. I can't even feel the pain that you felt when you thought you were going to die," he admitted. "It's sad and tough." Al's voice trailed off. "I want to return to my normal body. My human body. I want to find the Philosopher's Stone, even if it is something that goes against the flow of the world and is said to be impossible."

Ed didn't say anything. He gave little indication that he heard his brother. Gone were the traces of the brash boy who had defied all odds to become the youngest State Alchemist, leaving the mother-less boy vulnerable like he hadn't been since the day they burned their house. Ed finally spoke. "When I thought I was going to die, I found that all I could do was scream," he confessed hoarsely. "My head became blank."

Ed's voice was soft and tiny. "I thought too highly of myself. I thought I could save someone else." He looked down at his palms, one flesh and blood, the other cold steel. "But our hands are full trying to regain our original bodies. To accomplish that, I don't care if people call me a dog of the military or a devil."

Ed looked up with blank eyes. "But we really aren't devils or even gods." He dragged in a shaky breath. "We're just human," he cried, torment lacing each word of his revelation. Ed buried his face in his hands, covering the hot tears that streamed down his cheeks.

"We couldn't even save Nina." His voice broke and shook with the force of his turmoil. "We're just petty humans."

Mustang swiveled in his leather chair and considered the boy before him. "A condition?"

Tired and worn, Ed stood before the Lieutenant Colonel's desk fully dressed in his black attire and red cloak. His silver watch lay face up on Mustang's desk. Although his eyes were still red-rimmed from lack of sleep and exhaustion, when he met Mustang's gaze, they were dry. There was no room for tears on the path he had chosen to walk.

"I'll abide the military's intentions. So I want you to give me all the information you have on the Philosopher's Stone," Ed stipulated. "I want permission to search for the Philosopher's Stone when I am not on a mission."

Mustang studied the boy's mulish expression. He had known when Edward first approached him at Central Station that handling this boy would be playing with fire. But who better than he, the Flame Alchemist, to control the flames? He folded his hands under his chin. "Do you want your crime of performing human transmutation known to the public? Your little brother would be carted of to the nearest laboratory and experimented on as the first successful case of soul transmutation." Mustang leaned back in his chair. "I could threaten you by saying something like that," he smirked.

Ed gritted his teeth. Once again, he had played straight into the Lieutenant Colonel's hands. Mustang negligently opened a desk drawer. "But very well," he granted. He pulled out a thin folder and placed it on his desk. "Just so long as you report all your findings to me." He pushed the folder across the desk toward the boy. "Here, the Fuhrer has give you a second name." Mustang chuckled. "It's a rather ironic name."

Confused, Ed picked up the folder and opened it. We give the name "Full Metal" to thy Edward Elric in the name of Fuhrer King Bradley. Ed scanned the official military document. He looked up. "'Fullmetal?'" he repeated.

Mustang nodded. "Every State Alchemist is given a silver clock and a second name. The name you will carry is Fullmetal," he confirmed. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."

A scimitar smile slowly spread across Ed's features. "Fullmetal." He rolled the word around on his tongue. "I like that heavy name." His gold eyes met Mustang's black ones. "I will carry it."

Ed and Al strolled down the streets of Central trailing after an excited Winry. Today was a beautiful day for shopping, she had proclaimed.

Al obligingly clanked along next to Ed. "That killer had nothing to do with Nina," he said quietly.

Ed pushed his coat back and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, he had an alibi that night."

Al was silent. "Then who erased Nina?"

A man watched the two brothers from the shadows. Sunlight glinted off a silver chain attached to the young boy's wide brown belt and disappeared behind his cloak. The man turned away and put his sunglasses back on. The boy had just signed his death warrant.

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