Apologies and thanks to those of you waiting for this update! Particular thanks to Stabbity Death and Rishan! Things have been crazier than I anticipated, and I've hardly had time even to finish out this chapter! But enjoy while it's here!
The woman stopped defending the platforms when she saw the train leaving, but the man no longer cared about getting the girl. Instead, he took out his anger in continuing to attack the woman who had denied him his prize. The fight, however, was a fluid dance—they were equally matched physical fighters, and both could deflect and block the other's attacks smoothly. The man selling tickets, who had been about the call the police to arrest the man, stopped and simply watched the fight in awe.
However, the woman was more disciplined. As the fight continued, fists and legs weaving in and out, the scarred man began to wear down. While the woman kept her composure, his moves grew slower and his breathing heavier.
After she kicked him back once again, he stumbled back and stayed still, panting. "You know...I could still...kill you right now," he managed.
Laughing, the woman kept her arms raised in a defensive position. "So could I."
Suddenly, the man lunged. While she blocked the attack of his left arm, his right shot out and grabbed the strap of her bag. Red light flared, and the woman gasped in shock as her bag disintegrated into dust and its contents fell to the floor with a clunk. She stumbled back a few steps. "I could just as easily do that to your skin," the man sneered.
Narrowing her eyes, the woman stayed silent and on the defensive. An Ishballan alchemist? He must be an exile, she decided. No Ishballan tribe would allow such blasphemy to say in their village.
"Will, that certainly changes the tempo," she said. "But I know that song, too." When she slipped her fingers underneath her sleeve, blue light flared, and she produced three small knives. Before he could react, she hurled them at the man. One simply ripped the fabric of his shirt, but the other two hit home in his shoulder and side. The man yelled, pulling the knives from his skin and let them clatter on the floor.
"Stop right there!" Both the woman and the man turned to see a small military squad crowding in the lobby, handguns at the ready. The scarred man seemed to weigh his options for a moment, and the turned and ran for the windows behind him. The squad opened fire, yet not one bullet found its mark as the man crashed through the window and escaped. "Follow him!" the leader shouted, and all but one officer left on the chase. This officer spoke to the ticketman, who had come out from behind his counter.
The woman sighed, glad that no one was actually injured (except for her opponent). Kneeling down where her bag had disintegrated, she sifted through the dust and threads to find her belongings and acquisition still intact.
While she pulled her shirts and the book out of the mess, the officer and the ticketman approached. "You alright, Quinn?" the ticketman asked.
Quinn smiled and rose to her feet, clothing draped over one and book in the other hand. "Slim, you know that if my book's alright, I'm alright."
After giving the officer a thorough description of the man and bidding goodnight to Slim, Quinn headed home. Her house was part of a small training yard she ran on the northern outskirts of Central. Seeing it again filled Quinn with relief. Not only was she home, but she also intended to stay for a long while. A light was on inside—it seemed that Kali, one of her best students that she'd put in charge, was waiting for her return. Quinn unlocked the door and stepped inside.
"Evening, Master West!" Kali called from the kitchen. "Julian and I are back here. We've got some coffee for you."
"Coffee sounds wonderful." Quinn smiled as she tossed her clothes into a basket. Heading into the kitchen, she found Kali and Julian seated on one side of the small table, each with a mug of coffee, and a fresh pot brewing on the counter.
"How was your trip?" Kali asked, tucking a few stray red hairs behind her ear.
"Uneventful, until a short time ago. Although I did find what I was looking for," Quinn said, setting the book One Hundred Fifty-one Recipes for Chicken, or, How I Became a Chef onto the table. "With any luck, the recipes are actually real. I never was a very good cook," she added wryly. Her students chuckled, and Julian examined the book while Quinn poured herself a cup of coffee.
"So what happened earlier?" Kali asked.
Quinn sipped her mug and told them the incident with the scarred man at the train station, and how he'd been after a young girl. "He wound up getting away, though," she amended.
Kali's bright eyes were wide. "That sounds like one of the serial killers on the loose!"
"Serial killers?" Quinn asked.
"You missed out on an interesting several days," Julian remarked, leaning his wiry frame back in his chair.
"I can tell," the woman said, her voice dry. "Do catch me up."
"Well, there's been the serial killers, but one of them was arrested a couple of days ago. Some nut who called himself 'Barry the Chopper,'" Kali said, disgusted. "But who knows if he's the only one."
"That's not all," Julian said. "You remember Shou Tucker, right?"
"Ugh, how can I forget the man who made a talking chimera a couple years back?"
"He's been arrested, and executed, for using his daughter to make a chimera. Apparently he'd done the same thing with his wife with the first talking chimera he'd made."
Quinn gasped, and her two students nodded grimly. "I'm surprised the military let that go on for so long," Quinn said.
"They say they were unaware of anything."
"Right."
"They've got a new wiz kid now, too," added Kali. Quinn looked at them, puzzled. "Yeah, get this. Some thirteen-year-old passed the State Alchemy exam. They say he can do alchemy without a transmutation circle. Can you believe it? A teenager in the military!" Kali cried.
"He's the youngest one ever," Julian added.
"Well, even though you won't be teens much longer, you could still both be in the military yourselves," Quinn said. But something clicked in the woman's mind. A young State Alchemist...she remembered the scarred man saying those words to the girl he'd been threatening! She wondered if this kid knew his friend was alright.
"Well, we'd better go so you can actually get some sleep tonight, Master West," Kali was saying.
"Oh, right," Quinn said distractedly. She took her students to the front door. "So what's the name of this hotshot State Alchemist, anyway?"
Kali turned, partway out the door, and met Quinn's imperious eyes. "Edward Elric."
Kali and Julian said their goodbyes and headed down the street to their own homes. Quinn watched them go from the threshold. Tomorrow she would meet this Edward Elric.
Review if you feel so inclined! I will try to update as soon as I can.
TheFerryman'sDaughter
