"You found this in the dorm?" Asked Roy, standing behind Fuery's chair watching his meticulous hands as he pried apart the bug.
"Yeah, it was stuck onto one of the legs of the bed." Havoc replied from the other side of Fuery's desk, watching with squinted eyes as the tiny parts were splayed out across the desk.
"Damn, this whole situation is so messed up." Breda commented, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who the hell is behind all this? I mean, Ed was kidnapped by that psycho lieutenant colonel, but he's in jail now." He added, poking at the small pieces of machinery on the table, with Fuery batting his hand away. Hawkeye sighed.
"The further we look into this, the more I'm beginning to think that Rogers had a few friends." She added, the corners of her mouth pulling into a frown.
Ed could hear their murmuring from across the room, but couldn't really make out what they were saying. His body ached from being stuck on the couch in the same position for so long, and he longed for the ability to walk. He knew they were all talking about something juicy over at Fuery's desk, and he wanted in on the situation. So slowly, carefully, he stood from his place on the couch, keeping the weight off of his flesh foot, and holding his automail arm out for balance. He stretched his stagnant muscles out the best he could without toppling over and hopped in place a few times experimentally before bouncing his way over to Fuery's desk. Every hop rattled his ribs, sending a sharp pain through his side every time his foot hit the ground, but at least he wasn't stuck on the couch anymore. Al was out getting something to eat for Ed, so there was no one stopping him from sneaking up behind the crowd of soldiers. He swayed uneasily on his one foot, but pressed his hand against the wall to steady himself. Soon, he found himself standing beside Fuery's desk, all of them too busy staring at the tiny parts that he fiddled with to notice that Ed had approached. Ed squinted and wondered what was so interesting about a bunch of screws and pieces. They were all starting to remind him of Winry.
"What's with the little robot pieces?" He asked, scrutinizing the parts littering the tabletop while he held tightly onto the edge in order to keep himself upright. They all jumped a foot in the air at his voice in the quiet room, a small screwdriver flying out of Fuery's hand and hitting Havoc in the face.
"Ow! Ed? What are you doing up?" Asked Havoc, rubbing the new sore spot on his forehead. "Wait a second, how are you even up? How'd you get over here?" Ed shrugged.
"I still have one leg." He reasoned, turning his head back down to the desk. "So what is all this stuff? Looks complicated." He added, squinting his eyes and poking at a stray chip. Roy sighed, strutting over to Ed's side and scooping him into his arms, earning a squeal of surprise from Ed.
"Put me down, Mustang! I'll bite you!" Ed protested, hitting Roy's hands with his one balled fist and baring his teeth. Roy shook his head.
"No, Ed. You're going to hurt yourself all over again if you keep getting out of bed." He asserted, placing Ed back down on the couch, minding his injuries. "If you keep getting up I might just handcuff you to the couch." He theatened, tossing the blanket back over Ed, who looked so furious Roy swore he could see steam pouring from his ears.
"This is so not fair!" Ed objected, hitting the couch cushions beneath him with an outstretched automail hand. "I am legitimately going insane, Mustang! I'm not kidding!" He glared at Roy with large eyes, a feral look on his face. Roy frowned with a shrug.
"I'm sorry, Fullmetal. You and I both know it's for your own good." Ed slapped an automail hand against his forehead, his eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets. A moment later, he sighed and let his arm fall slack as his side, a look of defeat and betrayal on his face.
"You've got to at least tell me what you're doing over there. All I've been hearing is your mumbling for the past 20 minutes and I can't understand a word you're saying! I'm gonna blow a gasket8!" He griped, throwing his hand over to the group of soldiers who were eyeing him with vague amusement. Roy looked to his subordinates, then back to Ed. He exhaled through his nose, sitting on the couch across from Ed.
"Havoc found a bug in your room." Roy stated bluntly, crossing his arms against his chest. Ed raised a brow, looking bewildered.
"What, like a cockroach or something?" He asked, brow furrowed in confusion. Roy blinked owlishly at the kid, while quiet chuckles reverberated from across the room.
"No, Ed. A microphone."
Realization flashed through Ed's face, his brows shooting up to his hairline and his lips pursed in the shape of an o.
"Oh, that kind of bug. That makes more sense." He chuckled, scratching his neck sheepishly. "Wait, so there was like someone listening to all of my conversations?" He continued, a scowl creeping onto his face. Roy nodded.
"We think so. Fuery's trying to see what's going on right now." He replied, throwing his thumb to point at the group of soldiers studying a tableful of the microphone fragments. "Of course we can't know anything for sure, but it definitely looks like someone was listening to you. That's likely how they knew where you would be when they shot you." Ed rubbed his chin, as if taking in the situation. His face fell.
"That is so freaking creepy." He muttered, shuddering. Roy nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Ed. It is creepy, so that's why we're going to find out why it was there and how it got there so that we can bring whoever did it to justice." He assured him, a stern and focused look on his face. Ed nodded in acknowledgement, looking perturbed at the fact that someone had been listening in on his every word for who knows how long. Roy didn't blame him.
"Sir, I think I found something." Fuery piped up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Roy immediately stood and hurried over to Fuery's desk, with Ed sitting up in his spot and leaning to get a better look. "See this chip?" He pointed to a small blue microchip, picking it up with tweezers. Roy nodded. "This isn't an Amestrian part. I'm not quite sure where it was manufactured, but it's definitely not like anything I've ever seen before." He declared, scratching the back of his head. Roy hummed curiously.
"That is certainly interesting. We'll have to do some research to figure out where it came from, maybe then it can point us in the direction of the guy we're looking for." Roy commented, rubbing his chin in thought.
"What is it? What'd you find?" Asked Ed, standing on his one leg and hopping in place, eyes darting around anxiously.
"Ed! For the love of God sit down!" Roy shrieked in exasperation, padding over to Ed and pushing him down on the couch. Ed groaned loudly.
"Well what'd you find?" He repeated, squirming antsily on the couch. Roy sighed, the edges of his mouth upturning a little.
"Sergeant Fuery just discovered that one of the parts in the microphone isn't Amestrian, which insinuates that whoever we're after either isn't Amestrian or had connections that aren't Amestrian." Roy informed, sitting down behind his desk and picking up the phone. Ed scooted around in his place to look at Roy.
"Who are you calling?" He wondered, eyeing the black phone in the corner of Roy's desk. Roy swirled a number into the phone and held the receiver to his ear.
"Hughes. I want to have another look at Rogers' file." He replied, a smirk growing on his face. "I've got a feeling his nationality might have a relation to our little foreign chip."