When You Suspect the Worst
Thanks for the feedback:Prozacfairy,KuramasGirl123,winryrockbell2Yimi Makuyasilent:tears:fall,WildfireDreams, eeerica, Phoenix Hoshika,goddessofsilvermoonJebby,Lawrence Hazeltoe, BlackFire-Dog
Author's Notes: Sorry for the long delay, but one of the other stories I'm working on is just reaching a climax while this one was at a good pausing point with imho (what with Ed safely reunited with Roy), so "Friends: Old and New" has been getting a lion's share of my writing time. Things should be moving more quickly again. Ch 21 is already typed, just waiting editing and I've got three other ch. awaiting typing (however they're mostly Roy's staff, I'm thinking about interspresing some Ed & Roy stuff between them).
Phoenix Hoshika:Yeah, I've noticed theword strings, it's some sort of bug in the fanfic editor so I've triedmake sure I do my lasteditsbefore uploading, but I do write my author's notesafter Iupload (because I don't include themin the copyon my archive site).
Ed's reaction to killing Envy is fairly muted because Envy wasn't real to him once he realized that it wasn't Al. He didn't realize sooner because of his oldfears aboutAl not being able to forgive him.However when Envykept reiterating that hehated Ed it jogged his memory of the real Al vehemently insisting that he could NEVER hate him. At that point, in Ed's mind, Envy becamejust a figment froma nightmare, not a real person.
Re: Farman's death. It happened off page, in chapter 16 Roy tells Maes that he's just come from identifying the body.When Sloth took Ed Farman couldn't stop her because she had orders from the Fuhrer but he tried to follow her so that they'd know where Ed was taken and turned up dead several days later.
Jebby: Yeah, I know. g> Sometimes I just get in the mood for unrepentant angst. I only torture the characters I love.
Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Hiromu Arakawa. I'm just borrowing them for a bit of non-profit angst.
Lt. Hawkeye glanced worriedly between the clock on the wall and the office door for the fifth time that morning. While it was anything but unheard of for Colonel Roy Mustang to show up for work late his absence seemed ominous this morning. She traded a concerned look with Jean Havoc and saw that he shared her premonitions.
At eleven 'o clock the door burst open and the Fuhrer; accompanied by a full squadron of his guards and several State Alchemists; strode in. He gave Mustang's staff a piecing glare, as if he were searching for something and was disappointed when he didn't find it.
Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda and Fury leapt to their feet and saluted. "Fuhrer Bradley, sir," Hawkeye greeted him smartly, nominating herself as the group's spokesman in Mustang's absence.
"Hmmm, you're surprised to see me, but not shocked. So he acted on his own did he? I must admit I hadn't expected that."
"Fuhrer, may I ask the reason for your inspection?" Hawkeye said with a feeling of dread growing in the pit of her stomach.
"Ahh yes, the reason. Your Colonel Mustang tried to assassinate me last night. You haven't, by any chance, seen him this morning?" the Fuhrer asked lightly.
"No sir," Hawkeye replied.
"Not terribly surprising I suppose," the Fuhrer said. "I came here expecting to arrest the lot of you for treason, but it seems I might have been hasty. For the moment I am suspending all your current duties. If you bring in your rogue commander I will consider your loyalty to me proven. That will be all gentleman. Have a good hunt."
After the Fuhrer left there was a long moment of silence then Fury asked, "What do we do?"
"We find the Colonel before anyone else does," Hawkeye replied smoothly.
"Sure we're the only ones who would bring him back alive," Havoc said. "But what's the point? Even with Maes Hughes running the Court Martial division he'll end up in front of a firing squad."
"Unless he's innocent?" Fury suggested. "He is isn't he? The Colonel wouldn't do anything so rash would he?"
"Edward has been missing for almost a month," Hawkeye stated simply. "And did I say anything about taking him back?"
"Did you notice who wasn't at the Fuhrer's right hand?" Havoc remarked. The group exchanged a grim look of satisfaction: Vato Falman's death had been avenged.
"Bradley and Douglas were our only solid leads to Edward's location," Hawkeye said in a business-like tone. "The Colonel wouldn't have tried to kill them without first extracting that information; that indicates the attempt was up close and personal."
"And there weren't any fire alarms last night," Havoc added. "The Colonel wasn't interrupted in the middle, he walked away with information about Ed, believing that both the Fuhrer and his secretary were dead… How the hell could Roy Mustang make a mistake like that? He knows if he gave a person a third or second degree burns before the smoke clears."
"Maybe – maybe that wasn't Fuhrer Bradley," Fury offered nervously. "They replaced the real Juliet Douglas, why couldn't they replace the Fuhrer too, more than once if necessary."
"It's possible," Hawkeye allowed. "Regardless we have to find the Colonel first and tell him that he's wanted for high treason."
