Chapter Ten
Winry and Jered had gone to work on Monday, four automail surgeries were needed and therefore, Winry had to be at Mr. Garfiel's automail shop instead of working from home. Jered had escorted Winry to work, walking together as they normally did, Winry's ever-present wrench in her back pocket like it was even before the slew of kidnappings and murders. Mr. Garfiel ran the front of the shop while Winry performed the surgeries and Jered assisted. During the lunch break, Jered ran to the deli on the corner and returned with three sandwiches for those who worked there.
Winry was sprawled in her chair, feet kicked up on a spare stool, the bandana striped from her head as she lay back and stretched in the back room and that's how Jered found her.
"Sore?" He asked, startling Winry to sit up in her chair and slipped her feet from the stool.
"A little." Winry admitted, standing, and twisting at the hips and pulling an arm over her head one at a time, slowly making her way to where Jered stood and was arranging the wrapped sandwiches.
"This one's yours." Jered said handing her a sandwich with 'turkey' written on the wrapper. "Did you not sleep well?" He inquired as he pulled aside a sandwich with 'ham' written on the paper and setting aside the 'roast beef' sandwich for now.
"I must have been tossing and turning and slept weird or something." Winry said, rubbing at a knot in her shoulder. "Everything hurts." She pouted cutely, unwrapping her sandwich, and beginning to eat as she slouched in her chair again, propping her feet up once more with a sigh. She had done two long surgeries, standing on her feet for 3 hours at a time or so.
Jered shuffled off, Mr. Garfiel's lunch in his hand. Winry closed her eyes and ate her sandwich in weary bliss at the respite. The door to the back room opened, but Winry left her eyes closed as she continued to eat her sub. Warm hands cupped her shoulders, kneading the muscles slowly.
Winry's eyes popped open in surprise. "Oh!"
The warm hands hesitated. "Is this where it hurts?" Jered asked gently.
Relaxing back into his touch, Winry nodded, lowering the sandwich back to the wrapper in her lap. "Yes." Jered's strong hands continued their kneading and Winry found herself moaning out before realizing what she had said. "Among other places…" After a moment, she realized the words that had left her mouth and she made a little gasp and sat forward stiffly.
Jered chuckled softly and coaxed her to lean back again with gentle pressure on her shoulders before resuming his ministrations. Winry let her head eventually bow forward as his calloused, yet nimble fingers worked the tension from her shoulders and neck. With a final trace of his finger along her spine, Jered took a deep breath and took a step back, turning to take his lunch and sit at his work table, giving both flustered teens some space.
After they finished lunch in silence, Winry stood to prepare the surgical suite for her last two surgeries. They would be nearly as long as her first two, so she had been glad for the relaxing lunch break, even if thinking of the massage left Winry blushing and a little flustered. She did have to admit that a lot of the knots in her shoulders and neck were gone now, however.
Jered came into the surgical suite with a tray of wrapped surgical instruments. "Next one is Mr. Saunders's ankle port replacement?"
"Yup." Winry confirmed pulling sterilized automail parts for the replacement and setting them on the standing tray next to the padded chair where procedures were performed. "You can go ahead and bring Mr. Saunders back now."
With a nod Jered left to get their next patient. Since she only came into the shop for surgeries a few times a week, they tended to schedule as many as they could on the few days she was in. Winry stretched one last time, preparing for another long surgery.
"Ed?" Winry called, unlocking the front door, and striding down the hall, Jered behind her carrying a big white box. "We brought home pizza!" At the end of the hall, her eyes scanned the kitchen finding it empty and then strode into the living room while Jered set the box on the kitchen table. There was no evidence of the brothers, so she approached the lair in her living room and pounded on the wall. "Are you in there?" She paused a moment, massaging the fleshy part of her hand she had pounded on the wall with. She let out a sigh and trudged back to the kitchen. "Looks like it's just us for now."
Jered had already set out two plates and two glasses of water. "Sit, eat." Jered chided. "You've had a long day."
Winry flashed him a wry smile as she slipped into her seat and eagerly pulled a steaming slice of pizza onto her plate. "Thanks." She said before taking a big bite.
Jered reached over and procured his own slice. "You only have three surgeries tomorrow and then you have the next few days at home."
Winry blew out a breath, ruffling her bangs. "I'm getting bored working from home."
Jered watched her as he chewed and once he swallowed, answered her. "I can imagine. Hopefully Edward and Alphonse figure this out soon."
They continued eating in companiable silence but looked up at the sound of a key in the lock. If Winry felt tired, Ed certainly looked tired. There were dark bags under his eyes, and he was hunched as he dragged his feet forward.
"Ed, come sit down and have some dinner. We brought home pizza tonight." Winry said gently, standing to retrieve another plate and glass of water. Ed paused in the hallway, holding up Al behind him and looked over with sharp golden eyes. His eyes flicked over both of them, and she watched his shoulders rise and fall with a silent sigh.
"Let me clean up first." He said wearily and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Al standing in the hallway.
Al looked around for a moment before coming forward to stand near the table.
"Long day?" Winry asked softly.
"It's been… frustrating." Al answered, careful with his words.
"No progress?" Jered asked just as softly.
Al shook his armored head. "No good leads at this point." Al confirmed.
The bathroom door clicked open and the three teens around the table quickly stopped their soft conversation. Ed sat stiffly, his hair damp from where he must have splashed his face with water.
"Long day?" Winry asked Ed as he pulled the box towards himself and grabbed several slices for his plate.
Ed shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly, focusing on his food. "Sort of."
Winry sighed loudly, giving up on fishing for information about the investigation. "Have you been sleeping well?" She asked out of concern.
"Couch isn't that comfortable…" he grumbled around a mouth full.
Jered opened his mouth to offer something, but Winry stomped on his foot under the table, glaring at him and giving a discrete shake of her head. "Why don't you just transmute it like you did my living room." Winry said coolly.
Ed slid his cold golden gaze towards hers. "Maybe I should." He said with a dismissive shrug and smirk, knowing he was annoying the girl next to him.
Winry opened her mouth to respond but felt a light kick in the shin and turned her attention to Jered who shrugged sheepishly at her. Instead she took a deep breath and took her empty plate to the sink. It was late, she was tired, and didn't have the energy to bicker with Ed. She had another day of surgeries ahead of her tomorrow.
"I'm going to bed. Good night Jered, Al." She said, nodding to each in turn. She turned sardonic eyes on Ed. "Ed, enjoy your couch or whatever." With that, she flicked her long ponytail over her shoulder and strode down the hall to her room. Ed remained unphased, eating in his chair until the loud thud of Winry's door closing sounded down the hall and Ed immediately set down his slice and slumped back in his chair, passing a hand over his hair in frustration.
Ed noticed Jered's green gaze on him and sat up in his chair, meeting his eyes while reaching for his glass and drinking deeply from it, never breaking eye contact. Jered looked away first, looking down at his plate and finishing off his third slice of pizza quickly before also depositing his dishes in the sink.
"Good night." He said, smiling genially at each brother in turn before calmly walking to his room and gently closing the door.
Ed picked at the crust of his last slice, thinking unknown thoughts as he slouched in his chair once again.
"Brother?" Al asked carefully.
Edwards fiddling fingers stilled and he looked at his younger brother standing nearby. "I should probably get some sleep." He said dragging his tired body from the chair, dumping the remains of his dinner in the trash, and carelessly adding his plate to the growing stack in the sink.
Al watched as his moody brother strolled into the living room, stripping down to boxers and a t-shirt before flopping bonelessly onto the sofa and dragging a blanket over himself, facing into the back cushions to avoid his younger brothers worried gaze.
The next morning Winry didn't bother to wake Ed for breakfast, but she wasn't mad enough to not prepare him a plate. After Jered and Winry left for work, Ed woke groggily. Al looked up from the stack of papers in his lap and on the coffee table before him.
"Breakfast is in the kitchen." Al said before going back to his reading.
Ed sat up and rubbed at his eyes, raking his fingers through his tangled hair. Coffee, food and then shower. Ed mentally listed as he dragged himself from the nest of pillows and blankets on the couch. In a tank top and boxers, Edward trudged into the kitchen and downed the last of the coffee in the pot before his eyes even fully opened. Not bothering to sit, he ate the oatmeal and sausage left for him over the sink, dropping his dishes into the soapy suds and making his way to the bathroom for a hot shower to complete the waking up process.
The police department didn't have any new information, so the boys were spending the day at home, working with the materials they already had. The apartment and his 'detective room' as Winry had dubbed it were quieter and easier to focus in than the hectic police station. The doors that sealed when the 'detective room' wasn't in use were wide open and Al was still reading at his spot on the floor before the coffee table.
Ed sighed and made a fresh pot of coffee. It was going to be another slow, tedious day.
Pushing through the third surgery instead of taking a lunch break may have been a mistake. Winry considered as she stretched out in her chair in the back room.
"Are you okay?" Jered asked, appearing over her and looking down.
"Uh, why did you let me do three surgeries in a row?" She moaned pathetically.
Jered stepped away chuckling. "Let you?" He asked incredulously. "You refused to take a break! You said Mr. Sanchez wouldn't take very long and that you'd treat yourself to lunch after." Jered explained, smothering a laugh as the blonde mechanic pouted cutely at him.
"Ugh…" She groaned again. "I made a mistake. My feet are killing me!"
"I'll make you a deal." Jered began, smiling at her. "I'll go get lunch if you start cleaning the surgical suite."
"You haven't started cleaning the surgical suite?" Winry asked disbelievingly.
"Hey!" Jered defended, holding up his hands. "I wanted a break after those surgeries too!" He complained in turn.
Winry huffed playfully. "Fine. Go get lunch and I'll start cleaning."
"The usual from the deli?" He asked as he started making his way to the door of the back room.
"Yeah, that sounds good. And don't forget-"
"Forget the pickles, I know." Jered said patiently, flashing her a smile and leaving the back room.
Winry smiled to herself before getting up to go to the surgical suite to begin the long clean-up process. She began gathering dirty surgical instruments and piling them together to be scrubbed and sterilized later. Winry also began wiping down the surgical chair and sweeping the floors. As she was organizing tools on the countertop, a small amber bottle caught Winry's eye.
"Oh no…" She mumbled to herself, picking up the pill vial and turning it over to read the label. She groaned as she read the name Antonio Sanchez and saw that the bottle contained the pain killers Mr. Sanchez was definitely going to need.
Mr. Garfiel was busy up front with clients and Jered had just left to get lunch. She paused with the bottle in her hands, biting her lip in indecision. Mr. Sanchez only lived a few blocks away. She could run and drop the medicine off before Jered even got back from grabbing lunch. Making up her mind, Winry tucked her handy wrench into the back pocket of her coveralls, the top half tied around her waist, and she made her decision. She decided to leave a note, just in case, she reasoned. So Jered won't worry about me if he makes it back before I do.
Winry grabbed a scrap of paper and quickly scribbled, "Went to drop off Mr. Sanchez's pills. Be back soon. -Winry" She quickly strode out of the back room and out the front door, glimpsing over her shoulder, she saw Mr. Garfiel very busy with several customers, which just strengthened her resolve to deliver the pain killers. Keeping her pace quick, Winry strode down the street, keeping her eyes ahead and focused on her goal.
The streets were eerily quiet, although it had been like that since the curfew began. She was nearly to Mr. Sanchez's house when someone snatched her upper arm and ripped her off her feet and slammed her back into the brick wall. The breath was forced from Winry's lungs with the impact of the blow and as she struggled to gather enough air for either a scream or to ready herself with her wrench for an attack when a damp rag was pressed over her face. The breath she drew was tainted with a cloying sickly sweet scent that left Winry feeling woozy and dark spots dance in her vision.
Winry's fingers grasped weakly for her back pocket, but she was pressed so tightly to the wall she couldn't quite reach it. The strong grip on her shoulders ripped her forward and slammed her against the wall again, her skull bouncing off painfully and another breath forced from her lungs, causing her to automatically take another deep pull of air, filling her lungs with more of the noxious fumes that caused her to finally lose consciousness and fall bonelessly into her attackers strong grip.
"Winry? I got your sandwich. Winry? Where are you?" Jered set the food down in the back room on one of the work benches. He paced around but couldn't find his coworker. "Winry?" He called, poking his head into the surgical suite she had been cleaning. Most of the room had been put back together, but he noticed a note on the counter next to a pile of dirty surgical instruments.
"Went to drop off Mr. Sanchez's pills. Be back soon. -Winry" Jered read aloud to himself. "Shit!" He cried before immediately bolting back out the front door and running to Mr. Sanchez's address which had been left on the counter next to note Winry had left. During his frantic run, Jered found no sign of the blonde mechanic. He made it all the way to Mr. Sanchez's front door where he began banging frantically, waiting for someone to answer.
A middle-aged Hispanic woman answered the door looking bewildered. "Did Mr. Sanchez's blonde mechanic stop by with any pills?" Jered asked without preamble.
The woman stared wide eyed at the young man panting on her front porch and her grip on the door tightened. "No… I haven't seen anyone like that today since bringing home my Antonio."
Jered cursed harshly under his breath. "Sorry to bother you." He said quickly, already sprinting away.
He burst back into the front door of Mr. Garfiel's shop and rushed past the customers up to his boss, panting to catch his breath. "Has Winry come back?" He demanded.
Mr. Garfiel blinked at the young man, feeling dumbfounded. "She left?"
The color drained from Jered's face. "I've got to go." He said before speeding out the door.
There was a stitch in his side, and it was getting hard to breath, but Jered pushed himself to run even faster, his new automail leg from Winry certainly helped. He whipped the heavy door aside and sprinted up a set of stairs, bursting through another door. "Ed! Al!" Jered hollered as he flung himself down the hallway and into the living room where both Elric brothers looked at him with surprise and concerned confusion. "Winry…" He managed between panting breaths.
Ed burst to his feet, and he heard Al gasp. "What about Winry?" Edward demanded, gaze intense and stance tense.
"Gone." Jered gasped out, bent double and clutching his knees as he heaved in air.
Metal clanking was heard as Al clambered to his feet. There was a jerk on the front of Jered's shirt and suddenly he was face to face with the furious Full Metal Alchemist. "Where?! What happened?!"
Jered pulled out of the other boys grasp and turned, ready to run again. "This way." The exhausted brunette said as he turned and began rushing out the door and down the stairs, Ed and Al close on his heels.
Jered led the brothers along the path Winry would have taken to Mr. Sanchez's house. A few blocks from the house, Ed spotted something and the other two drew to a halt. An amber bottle of pills lay in the mouth of an alleyway. Ed stooped to examine it and finally picked it up.
"Antonio Sanchez…" Edward read off the label.
"Is that-?" Jered started as he took a step forward but halted at the hard look he received from the blonde boy.
Reluctantly, Edward held out the bottle for Jered to read, but didn't relinquish it yet. Silently, the taller boy read the label and nodded grimly. Ed pocketed the bottle and began scouring the alleyway. Pausing at the mouth of the alley, the blonde took a deep breath and crinkled his nose. "Chloroform." He muttered quietly.
"What?" Jered asked, sounding bewildered. "What do you mean chloroform?" Jered demanded.
Ed ignored the other boy and continued to stare at the empty alley. There were tire treads further into the alley where it opened up onto street again. Ed walked forward, stooped to examine the ground.
Jered growing frustrated made to stalk after the younger teen, but a heavy armored hand fell lightly on his shoulder. Jered turned and then looked up into the helmeted face of Alphonse. "We discovered chloroform at the last scene. We think that's how he doesn't draw attention to himself."
Jered's face seemed to crumple as if it were hitting him all over again. Winry really was gone. She had been kidnapped running an errand at work. While he was getting lunch. She wasn't supposed to go anywhere without an escort. Feeling overwhelming frustration, a fist flew out and met the stone wall. Al had let out a small sound as Jered erupted into motion and punched the wall. After a moment of holding his pose, he sagged and dispassionately examined his scrapped and bleeding knuckles.
Ed had ignored the racket behind him and focused on the fresh layer of rubber left behind by some kind of large and heavy vehicle. This fit the same clues from Yuki Hirashita's disappearance. Edward took a small notebook from his jacket pocket and sketched the tire pattern left behind. It was time to take this to the police and get some back up and more boots on the ground.
Sarahplainntall here! Sorry for the long delay, life happened as it does. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. *Shameless plea* I appreciate all my readers and encourage reviews, even flames. ^_^