Chapter fifteen

Alphonse was actually having fun. There were a lot of strangers and lights, but they also had three police officers looking out for them. Ed even seemed to be enjoying himself a bit. Mister Hughes had bought them both a gigantic lollipop each. They were so big that the stick was long enough for Ed to hold himself because it reached all the way down to where his hand rested in his sling. Ed still didn't trust Mister Hughes, but Al couldn't help but like him. He was really just like an adult child. He kept jumping between the different stalls, wanting to try out everything he could.

Mister Hughes suddenly jumped in front of them, grinning eagerly. "Okay, boys, I want you both to point out a lucky duck for me!"

Ed just raised his eyebrows and Al looked at him questioningly, but then their eyes fell on a large stall with a bunch of rubber ducks floating around in a large, circular pool with a person standing in the middle. The ducks all had magnetic hooks on their backs and there were a few poles with magnets on the end lying along the edges of the stall. From the ceiling hung a bunch of different sized plush ducks.

"You're not serious, are you?" Ed asked.

"Deadly! I've already paid for you! Now go on and win us a toy!"

Al had to say that he didn't really think that he'd win. The chances of winning were pretty slim, but he picked up a pole at the excited urging from Mister Hughes and the smile from the guy in the middle of the stall. And so Al picked up a duck, but at the lack of a mark underneath it, there was no prize. Al was actually a bit disappointed at that. The plush ducks looked pretty cute actually.

"One more go, sonny!" the man said, smiling brightly at Ed.

"Al, you see that one with the rusty hook? Go for that one," Ed said. He'd been studying the ducks and Al had a feeling that he had actually been trying hard to find one with a price. He was looking just a bit too excited about finding out if his guess was right.

And so Al tried fishing it up, but it fell down pretty quickly.

"Try again, Al," Ed whispered. Al was slightly amused at the way his big brother was glaring at the duck as if it had personally wronged him by having a rusted magnet.

And so Al tried again and again to pick it up. This was Brother's turn after all and he seemed to be dead set on that duck.

In the end the man decided to pick the duck up for him, revealing that the underside had a large, red X. The man smiled widely. "It's the grand prize! Congratulations!" And so he picked down the biggest type of plush duck and handed it to Al. It had to be at least half a metre long and it was really soft. There were only two more left of them now that Ed had won it.

Al turned to Ed. "I can carry it for you, Brother. Congratulations!"

Ed was smiling a bit at Al, obviously pleased with having won. "You take it, Al. Animals are more of your thing, anyway."

"You sure?"

"Of course Al. Just make sure to give him a good name." Ed was grinning at him now. He always seemed to find joy in making Al happy.

"Thank you, Brother!" And so Al hugged his duck. "How about Bob?"

"Bob can work."

"Then Bob it is!" And so Al placed Bob under his right arm while Riza handed him his lollipop again. Al had never won anything at these places, so it was fun to see the kind of slight fame he gained from carrying a grand prize under his arm.

Mister Hughes came over and ruffled their hair, grinning even wider. "See! I told you! Now what do you want to do next?"

"I want to see you cops shoot," Ed said with an evil smirk. Al's eyes fell on a stall ahead of them. There were guns and you won the grand prize if you hit five of the moving targets in five shots. "It's your turn now, cop-boy," Ed said.

Riza had told them that she was good with a gun and Al believed her. Ed had actually managed to convince her last week to take them down to the firing range just to show how good of a shot she actually was. Mister Hughes, however, didn't know just how deadly Riza Hawkeye was yet. And so they went over to the stall and Mister Hughes paid for three rounds, still grinning just because Ed had finally suggested an activity.

And so Mister Hughes took the gun, looking a lot more professional about it than the previous person that had tried his luck. He got three out of five targets and won a keychain with a smiling monkey. He grinned at it, clearly happy with his prize. Al just studied his brother. Ed was smirking evilly and Al had a feeling that he basically just wanted to wipe the smile off of Mister Hughes's face.

"Mustang's turn next!" Ed announced. He too had an air of professionalism about him and he got four out of five targets, making the stall owner slightly nervous about just who they were. Roy won a teddy bear with a police uniform, making Mister Hughes laugh his head off and take a picture with a camera he had hidden in his coat pocket.

Ed went over to Riza and Al followed. "Okay, Riza, kick their ass," Ed said, smirking.

Riza winked back at Ed and took up her position. Unlike the others, she carefully studied the gun first. She then took up her position and fired five rather rapid shots, hitting all five targets in five seconds, making the man inside the stall jump back a bit before she carefully put down the gun. Ed was giggling.

The stall owner looked terrified. "Just who are you?"

"I'm a police officer, sir."

"Aha ... Well, you won the grand prize for sure, Missy." He picked down an enormous plush gorilla with a bazooka. It had to be about a metre in length, had large teeth and was wearing sunglasses. Al had to say he preferred Bob.

Ed, on the other hand, clearly seemed to find it to be to his tastes.

Riza had noticed it too. She walked back to them, carrying the large toy. "How about you get this one, Ed? I can hardly keep it in the living room."

"Great! Did you see Hughes! You wiped that stupid grin right off his face!" Ed snickered. Al turned around to look at the two policemen. They were looking scared indeed and Mister Hughes was standing there with his mouth slightly open.

Riza was sitting in the front seat together with Mustang and Hughes. They were a bit cramped, but with the duck and the gorilla, the seat next to the boys was full. Both Elrics were asleep.

Riza was happy to see that she had actually earned some respect from Ed. He had smirked at her and asked her to "kick their ass" after all. So yes, she may have embarrassed her boss, but Ed had actually acted like a kid for once without being guarded against her.

No, she had made some progress with Edward today.

And so that kept her smiling in the car for the rest of the way back to the flat.

At least until the radio suddenly called out and Havoc told them that there had been another murder.