I know that the mini-cams and microphones are too advanced equipment for 1910, but Amestris is highly advanced for the age canonically, and we can say that it's even more so in this AU just to simplify matters.

Chapter twenty-two

Alphonse was still afraid that the others were angry with him and Ed as they walked inside Roy's office with Riza. She had grabbed the wallet too and handed it to Roy before she shut the door so that the others couldn't hear them speaking.

Or maybe Roy was going to yell at them?

Roy was standing in front of them, Riza was in front of the door and they had no way to escape this way. They were trapped.

Al looked down at his feet, too scared that he would find Roy looking at them with that same angry glare that he had this morning when Ed went too far. Al hated it when grownups were angry. And they had been angry with him and brother every time that him and Ed wouldn't stop crying because of nightmares and wouldn't let them near them. Riza and Roy were the only ones that Al had actually trusted to comfort them because they seemed like they needed to do so, instead of just the usual "please don't cry so I can go back to sleep without feeling bad".

Al couldn't take it if Roy and Riza were angry with them now. They had made things difficult for them, though, so he wouldn't blame them.

Roy sighed and kneeled down in front of them both, putting a hand on a shoulder each. "I'm sorry, boys," he said heavily.

Al was surprised. He sounded guilty?

"Why are you sorry? We were the ones who made things difficult for you," Al said quietly. For once, Ed seemed to not know what to say. He was probably afraid of getting scolded again if he opened his mouth. Ed was also the one who had made the deal, so he was most likely trying not to say anything that would get them into even more trouble.

"I'm the leader of this investigation and should have foreseen that Yoki would try to use you two like this. I should have warned you. I shouldn't have left you alone without that knowledge. It is my fault that you two got in that position in the first place." He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I scared you two back there. I'm not angry with you, I swear. I shouldn't have yelled like that."

Al looked at him, he wasn't lying. He actually blamed himself for this. "B-but I should have stopped Brother from making that deal! I should have said no!"

Roy sighed again. "I'm still the responsible adult here. You shouldn't blame yourself. Yes, it was a stupid thing to do, but you didn't know how much trouble it would cause. You weren't trying to make things difficult for us, I won't treat you as if you did. Just remember that you two shouldn't involve yourselves in our cases, it's not safe. We're trained professionals, you're children and you should act like it."

"I'm sorry, I really thought I could help," Ed said with a small voice. "I messed up again. Even when I try to make it right, I just screw things up."

"Don't say that, Ed, the one who messed up here was me."

"I should have thought it through first. I just made things difficult for you. Sorry."

At that, Roy just pulled them into a hug. "It wasn't your fault, boys."

Tears were running down Al's cheeks. He felt a sudden surge of panic. Roy was right. They had made a deal with a criminal and that put them in danger. Roy said that it could even mean that they were on the list of possible victims of a serial killer. There could be someone out there planning to kill them. Yoki could be planning their murders right now.

"It's your turn now, boys! Let's see how thinly I can slice you!"

Mom just lying there, bloody, twisted. Dead.

The smell of blood.

Barry was getting closer, he couldn't get away. He was trapped and Barry was smiling and laughing and the meat cleaver was bloody.

Then Ed was crouching in front of him, forcing his head down, holding his arms around him. Al couldn't move, Ed was stronger.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM! TAKE ME INSTEAD!" Ed was screaming.

"I prefer both."

Then suddenly one of the arms around him simply fell to the floor and Ed was screaming.

And Al knew they were going to die.

It was the same terror that was surging through him now. That knowledge that someone wanted him and Brother dead and they couldn't do anything about it.

Al threw his free arm around Roy and began sobbing, feeling the hug strengthening. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, I won't let anyone hurt you. None of us will."

Riza was soon stroking his hair too, and Al just cried. He was scared. He was scared and they had done something stupid and he had a large lump in his stomach. And Al trusted these two adults, and so he could let himself cry and be scared when they were there.

Once Al was done crying and the hug broke up, Roy still had a hand on their shoulders and Al had a feeling that there was something more.

Roy sighed heavily, looking like he hated himself. "However, I need to ask you two a favour. If you don't want to, then you don't have to. If you say yes, it may help to keep you safe in the future." He seemed ashamed of himself. "Would you be willing to keep feeding Yoki information in order to help us get him once and for all?"

Al felt his stomach clench. He instinctively wanted to scream "No!", but Roy had said something about keeping them safe in future.

"How will that keep us safe?" Ed asked.

"Because as long as you're useful to Yoki, he won't want to get rid of you and then we can catch him before he knows that something is up. It will also mean that we have a perfect opportunity to finally get some solid evidence against him. And we will have you two under constant surveillance whenever you're alone. We'll be there to pull you out at a moment's notice."

"And if we say no?" Al asked.

"Then there's a big chance that Yoki will try to hurt you and you will have to be put under constant guard with limited movement outside."

"So we'll get grounded?" Ed asked.

"Basically, yes. If you don't want to do it, then I understand. I am not trying to force you to do anything and it's up to you."

Al looked over at Ed. Being guarded for who knows how long, wasn't really tempting, but Al really didn't want to be in more danger. He just wanted a normal, safe life. But that wasn't an option right now.

"If we say no, will we have to move?" Al asked. He was just getting used to the flat and didn't want to move around anymore. And chances were that Riza would lose her job at the same time.

"Worst case scenario: you three will have to move to another part of the country and live under other names. Best case scenario: you'll be moving in with me and be under constant guard by at least two police officers."

So if Al let himself be scared, then he'd be forcing Roy and Riza to turn their lives even more upside down than they already had? It wasn't fair!

Al looked over at Ed, seeing that he had reached the same conclusion as he had. Ed nodded at him and they turned back towards Roy.

"We'll do it," they said at the same time.