Chapter thirteen
Roy sat on the camp bed with Ed and Al, the three of them just hugging each other tightly for hours, talking. They talked about a lot of things, none of them wanting to move despite Roy and Al still being in their pyjamas and there were clean clothes three feet away from them. Which was the way this Greg man found them. Ed had given Roy a pretty okay impression of the guy, but Roy had yet to actually speak to him and make up his own impression of the man. He would, however, like to thank him for his help.
The look on the man's face as he slammed the door shut behind him put that in the back of Roy's head however.
"You're in trouble, General Mustang," Greg said somberly.
"What's wrong?!" Roy, Ed and Al said at the same time.
"They found the rest of Ed's "body" flimsily buried in the forest behind your house, sir. Apparently it's been there for about a week by the looks of it, but the rain has moved it into view sometime yesterday."
Roy felt his stomach clench. So it had begun.
"I'm sorry, sir, but half the military's after your head already. The body was naked, mutilated and it had been tortured slowly before the less vital organs had been removed, according to one of the secretaries."
Roy felt Ed and Al tense as the descriptions were delivered. He hugged them closer.
"I guess I dodged a bullet, huh?" Ed laughed shakily.
Roy felt his insides twist at the thought that Ed would actually have suffered through that if it hadn't been for Fredricks.
"Also, sir, every single soldier that works out in Ishbal have sworn that you and Ed never turned up." Greg looked awkward as he said it. "I'm sorry, sir, but you're not too popular with the discovery of that body. Right now it's your word against a lot of people and only those who know you are saying what bullshit it is. Rumours are spreading all over HQ because that's what these people want. And you disappearing just before you were supposed to be arrested, really doesn't help you look innocent."
"I understand, thank you." Roy really didn't know what else to say right now. Out of all the despicable crimes to be accused of, that was one of the worst he could think of. He was angry and felt betrayed that so many officers lost their trust in him so quickly. But these were Eastern officers. He'd proved his worth back in Central, but here he was still very much the Hero of Ishbal which meant that he was a mass murderer to a lot of these people and little else.
It was Ed and Al's turn to hug him.
Riza was confused as to what was going on. The General was gone just before he was accused of Ed's murder? There was no way that he would lay a finger on Ed, and they were seriously thinking that he'd slowly torture him?
She was called in for questioning because of her closeness to General Mustang and was looking at a cold-eyed, unpleasant officer. He was glaring at her like she was the one who killed Ed. As usual, she conducted herself as coldly and professionally as she could.
"Captain Hawkeye, do you have any idea as to the whereabouts of Brigadier General Mustang?" The man had a thin, annoying voice and tried to sound like a tough guy even though he had a slight lisp.
"No, sir, I do not."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Yesterday at Colonel Elric's funeral. I gave him my umbrella. It was at about four o'clock, sir."
"Are you aware that Alphonse Elric seems to have gone missing too?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why do you think that would be?"
"Alphonse was staying with him, sir, it would only be natural for him to go away with General Mustang."
"And why was Alphonse staying with him?"
"General Mustang has become something of a father to him these last few months, sir. With his only remaining family now dead, he would most likely wish to travel alongside with him."
"Did Colonel Elric have the same kind of relationship to General Mustang?"
"Yes, sir."
"Captain Hawkeye, are you aware of the allegations that General Mustang has been abusing Colonel Elric during this time?"
"No, sir. I do not believe that to be true, however."
"Why do you not?"
"Because General Mustang loves the Elrics like his sons. He would never do anything to harm them."
"So the many quarrels between General Mustang and Colonel Elric that have been reported are what, according to you?"
"I beg your pardon, sir, but plenty of teenagers tend to rub their parents up the wrong way. It does not mean that they didn't care about each other. Mostly it has just been friendly teasing and little else."
"So you do not think that General Mustang would be capable of killing him, is that what you say?"
"Yes, sir. He would never torture a child, much less any of the Elrics."
"So you do not believe that General Mustang has kidnapped Alphonse Elric to do the same to him as he did to his brother?"
Riza nearly lost it. Is that what they were thinking? How could they believe such a thing? Didn't they see him at the funeral?!
"Certainly not, sir. It is much more likely that he has chosen to become a fugitive in order to look after Alphonse," she forced herself to say.
"Very well, Captain Hawkeye, you are free to go."
"Thank you, sir."
Riza walked out of the interrogation room and down the corridor where she ran into Havoc and Breda. "Hey, Riza," Breda said.
"Hi, boys," she said in a mournful tone as she threw her arms around their necks and swung them around as she whispered, hardly moving her lips at all, "give me the name of the officer Ed supposedly went to speak to about the General abusing him." She released them, "hope to see you later at the bar. We're having a drink in Ed's honour, after all!" She then began fake crying, her tears nearly the real deal after hearing about what happened to him. Looking like she was emotionally destabilised seemed to be the best way to deliver messages these days. After all, a lot of people knew she had a soft spot for the Elrics, and it hurt very easily to think about Ed these days.
Riza walked into Madame Christmas's temporary bar as the woman was waiting to get a new location back in Central. Breda, Fuery, Havoc and Falman were all sitting there in a booth, Havoc waved at her once to get her attention.
She sat down together with them and sighed inwardly. She had been bombarded with questions from almost every single officer that recognised her. Most of them kept hinting towards the fact that they really shouldn't have expected anything better from the Hero of Ishbal and some said that the war must finally have done its work on him. They had turned against the General quickly after his original promotion to Central.
"They're really trying to say that he's a psychopath?" Havoc said, reading her expression.
"Yes. And they are treating Al's disappearance as a kidnapping now as well."
"How can they think that the General would do something like that to Ed?" Fuery said weakly.
"Something's obviously going on here, I'm just glad the General got away before it caught up to him and landed him in jail," Breda said with a scoff.
"Did you get my order?" Riza asked.
"Yes, the Madame just needs some time to prepare it for you."
"Of course."
Ed was lying in the camp bed between Al and Dad. It felt funny to think of him that way, but it also felt right. And he was hugging Al as he lay on the couch next to him while Dad hugged Ed. It was nicer and warmer than it had been for days. To have a strong, warm arm hugging him like that made his fears and anger go away. The second camp bed stood forgotten on the floor. And so he could hold onto his little brother who still occasionally broke out into tears of joy. It was great to be lying here, feeling loved and knowing that they weren't angry with him. That they didn't blame him for not being able to tell them that he was still alive. It didn't mean that he didn't feel guilty about it, though, but right now, he would take what he could get, because it made Al happy.
It made his Dad happy.
It was confusing to go that final step with calling him that, but after everything that had happened, Ed was actually happy to have a parent.
Because he needed it.
And those bastards had the guts to accuse Roy Mustang of killing him, torturing him? It made him so angry he felt like hitting something.
Instead he just squeezed his left arm, the one not holding Alphonse, around Dad's right, which was lying across Ed's chest.
They must look like a gang of sentimental fools, but Ed deserved this, dammit.
And so he closed his eyes and fell asleep as the warm arm squeezed him back, making its silent promise never to leave him.