Chapter Three:

"Our unsub – Thomas Harding, if you're correct about your theory that he's the one doing these killings – has been targeting men around the age of thirty," Hotch said grimly. "So far, he's killed four people, with less and less time between each kill. The first victim was found three weeks ago, the second victim ten days later, the third a week after the second, and the fourth was found early this morning. The local police were at a loss and weren't making any progress on the case, so they sent copies of their case files to us and requested our assistance."

Mustang frowned. "So you aren't with the police department?"

Rossi shook his head. "No, we're members of the FBI – the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We work for the national government and we're based out of Quantico, Virginia. Any police department in the country can request our assistance in helping them with a case, so we travel across the country. JJ –"he indicated the pretty blonde sitting beside him – "is our liaison between the media and our first point of contact for local law enforcement requesting our help."

"What makes what you do so different from what these local police departments are able to do?" Edward asked.

"Our department is called the BAU, the Behavioural Analysis Unit," Morgan explained. "We use psychology and sociology, along with an analysis of the crime scenes, victimology, and the behaviour of the unsub at the crime scene to form a psychological profile of the criminal. From there, we can use the profile to help predict what the unsub is going to do and where they might strike next."

"Huh," Edward replied, impressed.

"The problem we've been encountering in this case is that we haven't been able to find any connection between the victims," Prentiss added. "In most cases, serial killers have a specific type of victim that they target – the victims will often have either some physical trait in common, like hair or eye colour, or something else linking them like the same career or financial status. But in this case, the only thing we've been able to find to link the victims is that they're all male and between the ages of twenty-eight and thirty-three. Unfortunately gender and age are the least helpful in developing a profile. The only other thing linking them is the fact that they have all died from having their blood boiled."

"Damn bastard," Edward muttered, dropping his left fist onto the top of the table.

"Easy, Fullmetal," Mustang cautioned him. "Truth wouldn't have sent us here if we couldn't do anything to help. There must be something else that is missing." Edward nodded and took a deep breath to calm himself down, although his face still showed his anger and displeasure with Harding's actions.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Mustang, but if you don't mind my asking, why do you keep referring to Edward as 'Fullmetal'?" JJ asked curiously.

"It's my military title," Edward explained. "Upon receiving their certification, state alchemists also receive a code name which usually says something about what their alchemic specialty is. I specialise in working with stone and metal of all types, so I was given the title of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Harding, as I think we mentioned, specialises in manipulating boiling liquids, so he was given the name of the Boiling Alchemist, which isn't anywhere near as cool as Fullmetal, if you ask me."

"Good thing no one asked you, runt," Mustang quipped.

"Don't call me a runt, you bastard," Ed retorted, his cheeks flushing with anger.

Mustang just grinned at him and Edward scowled and aimed a punch at his commanding officer's shoulder with his right arm, which Mustang leaned out of the way of easily. After snarling slightly at Mustang for daring to dodge the blow, he looked over at the agents. "Could I look at everything you've got on the victims? I might be able to spot something you missed, from an alchemic standpoint, that is."

The agents exchanged glances, but seemed hesitant to share the files with him. It didn't take Edward long to realise why. He rolled his eyes in irritation. "Look, this isn't the first rogue alchemist I've been sent after. I might only be sixteen, but I've seen a lot of horrible shit in the last few years. If you're thinking that the files are too gruesome to show a kid, well…I haven't been a kid for a really long time. I'm legally an adult in Amestris, since I'm the sole provider for my brother and me."

"It's true," Mustang added in support. "By our laws, Fullmetal is considered an adult, and he was an emancipated minor when he was twelve. He's served the military in both an investigative and combat capacity, and he was on the front lines in helping to save the country during the coup we just recently repelled. There's very little that he hasn't seen and dealt with already; if you withhold information from him, you're only going to be crippling our ability to help you."

Morgan's phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Garcia. I'm going to take this," he told Hotch quietly before he headed for the conference room door.

Hotch nodded and finally slid a stack of files over towards Edward, who took them eagerly, interested in the challenge that this presented.

Reid stood up and moved down a few seats to sit next to Edward. Edward gave him a quizzical look and Reid smiled shyly. "I thought that you might need some explanations for some of the references in the files, since your world seems to be so different from ours."

"Oh, thanks." Edward said before turning his attention to the files. He took a look at the photo clipped to the front of the first file and frowned, then moved on to the next file in the stack and his frown deepened. He quickly checked the other two files and shook his head. "Holy shit," he breathed. "Mustang, come and look at this."

He placed the files side by side as Mustang leaned over for a better view. It only took him a few seconds of studying the photos before his jaw dropped in disbelief as he made the same connection that Edward had made. "Damn that bastard," Mustang swore softly.

"What? What is it?" the rest of the agents asked together, even as Hotch moved to stand behind Ed on the other side.

"No wonder no one here ever made a connection. Only we could've made a connection – or at least someone else who'd been in the military long enough to have met most of them," Ed theorized, while Mustang nodded in agreement.

"It makes sense. Harding wasn't the most popular person around East City, but you never would have realised it Ed. You've been away on missions and dealing with Father and the others for most of your military life. These four especially had a major problem with him and had filed multiple complaints against him. General Grumman even took notice and was planning on having him transferred out to the western command, but then the Promised Day arrived and we needed all hands on deck dealing with the aftermath."

Edward scowled. "So, he's what? Taking out his revenge here on these innocent people?" His tone was laden with disgust, since he was a big believer of punching the real problem whenever possible, instead of using scapegoats.

"What's going on?" Hotch interrupted. "What did you figure out?"

Mustang and Ed looked up from the photos in surprised, having forgotten that they had an audience. Mustang cleared his throat. "Excuse us. We didn't mean to get carried away, but we know why Harding targeted these four men. Your victims could be the identical twins of four of our state alchemists. We mentioned that Harding, Fullmetal, and I are also state alchemists, and as you probably gathered from what I told Fullmetal, Harding wasn't very popular. I certainly never enjoyed working with him, and as far as I know, Fullmetal never met him." He looked over at Edward. "I'm right about that, aren't I?"

Edward nodded. "I've met a few of the other state alchemists, but I've primarily worked with Armstrong or you whenever I had to work with another state alchemist. The rest of the time it was just Al and I. I remember meeting these four in passing when I used to come back to East City to report in after my missions, but we weren't friends."

Mustang turned back to Hotch and the other agents. "These men have different names and lives, but they look identical to some of our state alchemists. I'm willing to wager that Harding ran into the first victim by chance and killed him, assuming that he was the Amestrian alchemist he resembled."

"It makes sense if you look at it this way," Ed nodded. "I wouldn't have thought about it if I hadn't seen those photos, but I haven't been stuck in a parallel dimension for nearly a month without a group of federal agents to act as my guide. The first thing he probably did was freak out at the difference between Amestris and this world, and then check to make sure that his alchemy still worked. After that…well, I think it would depend on why and how he came here. If he ended up here by accident, he might have been trying to find a way home; but if he came here deliberately somehow, he probably tried to make himself home here."

Edward tapped the file of the first victim with the index finger of his left hand. "If it was purely a coincidence that he ran into the first victim, he probably thought that another of our state alchemists had figured out how to get here and was coming after him, especially knowing that they didn't get along."

"Okay, that makes sense to a point, but how do you know what he'd do once he got here?" Hotch asked, trying to quell the suspicion in his voice.

"Because, aside from the killing part, it's exactly what I would have done in his position," Edward said slowly as he rose to his feet and took a step closer to Mustang, who also rose to his feet. From the look he cast upwards at Hotch, the older agent could tell he'd hadn't been as successful as he had hoped in moderating his tone.

Time to stop dancing around the issue, Hotch decided. "How do we know that the second we find this guy, you won't join him? He is a fellow countryman of yours, as well as a fellow alchemist, after all."

"And how is my talented, amazing tech princess today?" Morgan asked as soon as Garcia picked up the phone.

"Probably better than you are, gorgeous," Garcia teased back. "Rossi sent me a message and asked me to run backgrounds on two different names – a Roy Mustang and an Edward Elric, with a focus on foreign connections. I've put the names through every program I can get my hands on and I've got nada. If we can narrow it down to a specific country, I might be able to do a more targeted search, but I'm not finding any records belonging to either of those names, legally or illegally."

"I'll get photos of the two of them to you as soon as I can – maybe you can get a hit on their pictures rather than their names," Morgan suggested.

"Sure thing, hot stuff. I've also got a deep background check running on all of the victims, but I still haven't got any hits."

"You are a gem, baby girl. I'll get back with you soon if I can come up with some more information," Morgan promised before he ended the call and stepped back into the conference room.

It seemed as if the temperature had dropped nearly ten degrees in the few short minutes he'd been gone. Hotch stood at the far side of the conference table, and the two alchemists were on their feet about five feet away, their postures rigid and tense.

"How do we know that the second we find this guy, you won't join him? He is a fellow countryman of yours, as well as a fellow alchemist, after all," Hotch was saying.

Edward's golden eyes blazed with outrage and his left hand formed a fist at his side that was trembling with rage. "Because that man is a disgusting example of our country! He uses his alchemy to kill!" The agents flinched at the anger in the teen's voice. "It's not like he was ordered to kill or blackmailed into doing it. He chose to do it, for his own benefit and satisfaction! And all because he wanted to get revenge on people he thinks wronged him. But since he can't get to the people who he actually has a problem with, he's going after the next best thing. It's despicable, and it is wrong! The bastard should be caught and he should be punished, but you can't do it. He's an alchemist and a decent one from the looks of his record. There are very few other alchemists who could go up against him and hope to win, and even fewer non-alchemists. Mustang and I would never join his side. Never."

Mustang put his hand deliberately on Edward's left shoulder as he stepped closer to the teen. His tone was more level and less angry than Edward's, but his onyx eyes were cold whereas Edward's blazed molten fire. "Fullmetal is right. Harding has taken his alchemy and used it for something horrible. Alchemy is a gift that should be used for the good of the country and its people. 'Alchemists be thou for the people'. Using alchemy like this… well, it's simply wrong."

An awkward silence filled the room and Morgan couldn't help but wonder what had happened in the short time he'd been out of the room. It had seemed as if they had reached a tentative agreement to share information and help each other, but suddenly it seemed as if the alchemists and Hotch were at each other's throats.

Mustang took a deep breath. "There's more that you need to consider. Fullmetal was correct in saying that you will definitely need our help in this. My specialty is long-range alchemy, while Harding relies more on close range alchemy. Fullmetal is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, as well as being brilliant at all ranges with alchemy. For your team to have any hope of being able to arrest him you would have to get up close and personal with him to destroy his array, and as non-alchemists, your odds of being able to successfully do that are slim to none."

Edward snorted and waved his hand at the four files still spread out on the table. "This is what alchemy can do in the hands of a skilled, if insane, alchemist. If you attempt to approach and detain Harding, all it would take would be for him to lay a hand on you for a few seconds and you would be dead. I've seen it happen before, and believe me, it isn't a nice way to die."

"You must understand that Harding is our responsibility. State alchemists are the best of the best, and Harding is no exception to that. If he wasn't a superior example of an alchemist, he never would have been able to pass the entrance exam. We knew he was dangerous in Amestris when we found those alchemic traps set at his home, and now he's here in your country where you don't understand his weapon of choice. We are not only capable of catching him, we're your best and only hope of doing so," Mustang finished, his black eyes moving from one face to another as he judged their reactions. He could feel the tension in Edward's body ebb, and, judging that he was unlikely to run across the room and punch someone, he removed his hand from his subordinate's shoulder.

The stand-off continued for another few seconds before everyone slowly relaxed, although they kept their eyes on each other, with the agents looking to Hotch for guidance. Hotch finally nodded and jerked his head to the side. "BAU team, we need to talk."

Without another word, the team moved across the room towards the door where Morgan was still standing, leaving the two alchemists standing at the far side of the table, copies of the victims' files still spread out on the tabletop. Morgan backed out of the conference room and was followed by the rest of the team, although he turned to Hotch as soon as the door was closed behind them. "What the hell was that all about, Hotch?"

Rossi quickly filled him in on the connection that the alchemists had discovered between the victims and their unsub and Morgan thought it over before nodding. If the alchemists were right about Harding's personality, it made sense that running into a double of someone he knew would cause him to lash out in surprise with the first victim. "But it doesn't explain the other victims. The first victim could have been a coincidence, but now it seems as if he's deliberately hunting for others who resemble people he knows from Amestris," Morgan concluded quietly.

"But we've seen that before," Emily pointed out. "Most serial killers target victims who remind them of someone significant in their lives."

"Right, but it's usually only a single person that they are killing over and over – a girlfriend, wife, boss, someone who slighted them," Morgan pointed out. "Serial killers are almost always acting out of an obsession with righting a wrong they feel like they've suffered by eliminating the source of that wrong. Either that, or they're seeking to fulfill a fantasy and they kill the people who fail to meet perfection in that fantasy. But this unsub is targeting people who, if Elric and Mustang are right, only had personality conflicts with some of his co-workers."

"It's the best theory we have and it does at least explain why these four were targeted," Reid replied. "We don't know how serious the conflicts were between Harding and those four back in Amestris, just that the conflicts existed. There might be some other connection, but it's the only one we have at the moment."

"Garcia wasn't able to find any information on those two based on their names," Morgan added. "If we can get photos of them to her, she can run another search to see if she can pull data based on their appearances."

"Above all," Hotch said, "we can't have them running around the city investigating on their own. For now, I'd rather keep them close and work with them, at least until we can prove the connection between them and the unsub exists. We'll use the information they can provide, but I want to make sure that we're continuing to investigate the possibility that this isn't Harding. Reid, help Elric and Mustang go over the files and see what else you can get from them, and then start working on a geographic profile. JJ, go ahead and set up a tip line with Garcia and be ready to call the media in for a press conference as soon as we have anything else. Prentiss, Morgan, and Dave, I want you to set up interviews with the families and acquaintances of the first three victims and see if you can learn anything new that the local LEOs missed. I'm going to meet with the lead detective on this case and coordinate with his men, and then Dave, you and I are going to start putting a basic profile together."

Nods from the rest of the team had Hotch looking at them with approval. "Last, and most important – I don't want Elric and Mustang to leave the precinct without one of us. Until we can prove that they're not involved in this, I want at least one of us – preferably two – to have eyes on them at all times."

The team split up to work on their assignments, knowing that they would have to work together to solve this case, just like always. Having Elric and Mustang there could be useful, but there was still an issue of trust that would need to be resolved.

Edward was still seething at Agent Hotchner's insinuation that he and the Colonel would even consider joining Harding. Well fine, we don't need them, and we clearly can't trust them. I'll review these files, and then the Colonel and I can start investigating on our own.

Pulling the files closer to where he was seated, he opened the first one and began to read. It was clear that the local police hadn't been able to compile must useful information yet, and even though there were a few things that he didn't understand in the files, he understood enough to realise that there was definitely no reason for Harding to have killed these men. No reason other than the fact that they shared likenesses with four Amestrian state alchemists, that was. Lost as he was in his reading and analyzing the details, he didn't notice that someone was beside him until they sat down in the chair next to him. Startled, he looked up and saw Dr. Reid next to him.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Reid said apologetically.

Ed frowned, not willing to show any weakness to these agents. "No, you just surprised me. What do you want?"

"Same thing as before. Was there anything in the files you want me to explain?"

Edward studied him for a moment. Reid genuinely looked like he wanted to help, so Edward shrugged and started pointing out a few things like "computer programmer" and "football" to Reid. He listened carefully to Reid's explanations and tried to absorb everything he was being told, considering his lack of context for this world and its history and technology. He saw Mustang stand and walk over to Rossi and Hotch to begin talking to them in a low voice, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Was there anything more you needed help with?" Reid's question brought his attention back to the files and he shook his head.

"No, I think that was everything. Thanks for your help," Edward smiled at him and he saw Reid relax a little before he turned his attention to a large map that he had spread out on the table. The agent took different coloured pens and began plotting out various points on the map, seemingly at random. Ed watched him for a few minutes, trying to deduce why Reid was choosing those particular points. "Sorry to interrupt, but what are you doing?"

"It's called geographic profiling. I look at the locations where the victims lived and worked, where they disappeared from, where their bodies were found and from there try to figure out how the unsub is getting around and if there is a pattern to his movements or traffic conditions that might help us locate new witnesses or other evidence we would have otherwise overlooked."

"Huh." Edward studied the map again. "So how are you coding this? Is it colour coded by which victim the dot relates to, or by what type of location it is?"

Reid smiled and began to explain what each dot represented and how it related to what he was attempting to do.

Morgan and Prentiss returned late in the afternoon from their first round of interviews to find the conference room in full activity. Reid and Edward were pouring over the map, which was marked with nearly a dozen dots in different colours. At the other end of the table Hotch, Rossi, and Mustang were in discussion about something with another set of files spread out in front of them. Remembering his promise to Garcia, Morgan pulled out his phone and managed to take two quick pictures of the two alchemists, which he forwarded to their analyst as JJ came in with several cups of coffee and passed her offerings around.

With that done, the two of them joined Reid and Edward who both looked up as they sat down across from them. Prentiss smiled. "How are you two getting along?"

"It's interesting. You use tools that we've never really considered using back in Amestris," Edward admitted.

Reid glanced at the teen and then looked away quickly, a nervous, almost guilty look on his face that the other three picked up on almost immediately.

"What's up, boy genius?" Morgan asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

Reid looked back at Edward. "Would it be okay if I asked you some questions about where you're from? Your world sounds so interesting, and we've never met anyone like you and Colonel Mustang," he asked quickly, as if he was afraid that Edward would be offended.

Edward hesitated, considering for a moment, before he shrugged. Reid had taught him a lot about how his team worked on cases in their world, and shared information with him about things he hadn't understood in the files, so answering some questions about Amestris would be equivalent. "Okay, but there might be some questions that I won't answer."

"Fair enough," Reid said. For the next several minutes, Ed answered questions from all three agents about Amestris' history and its neighbouring countries. Or rather, he answered as best he could considering that his country's history had never really excited him beyond the alchemy part, and without giving away any sensitive information that was only pertinent to the military.

JJ came over to join them, her curiosity written openly on her face, as the conversation eventually drifted away from Amestris and into the subject of alchemy. All of the agents noticed Edward visibly become more engaged and enthusiastic at this point, and it was clear that this was one of his favourite subjects to talk about.

"So, Edward, where in Amestris are you from? It sounds like a large country," JJ asked.

"It is. Al and I were both born in Resembool, a little mountain village in the southern part of the eastern region. Right now though, we pretty much live wherever the military sends us, and for the last three months that's been Central City."

"Who's Al?" Emily asked.

"My younger brother, Alphonse," Edward said with a smile on his face. "We're a year apart in age, but we've basically been travelling together ever since I joined the military, since I'm his legal guardian. We're the best team that there is."

"Does he look like you?" JJ asked. "I mean the same hair colour and eye colour? Because yours are really unique. I don't think I've ever met anyone with that combination or even that exact same shade."

Edward nodded. "Our hair is the same colour, but his eyes have a little of our mother's green in them, so they're more hazel than mine are. But at a casual glance, most people think we really look alike."

"So where are your parents?" Morgan asked. "How did you get their permission to join the military when you were twelve?"

Edward's expression changed completely. His face grew hard, and his eyes looked haunted. For a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't answer the question, but after a few seconds, he finally answered, although his whole body was tight with tension. "They're not around. Hohenheim walked out on us when I was four and didn't turn up again until six months ago, but he died a month ago from injuries that he sustained during the attempted coup. Mum died when I was nine."

"I'm so sorry, Edward," JJ sympathised. "That must have been awful, you and your brother growing up without your parents. I can't imagine being in that position."

Edward shrugged. "It was fine. We had Granny Pinako and Winry. They helped to look after us – bringing us food or having us over for dinner - for a year or so, and then we found our alchemy teacher. She took us in while we trained under her. We went back home then –" he broke off suddenly and visibly shook himself, suddenly aware of what he was saying. "Then we went back to Granny for another year, until I joined the military. After I became a state alchemist, Al and I were fine," he finished quickly.

The agents could tell that there was something else that he wasn't talking about, but they knew they'd never get him to tell, so they ignored the obvious omission, especially since Edward had already stated that he wouldn't talk about some things.

"Winry and Granny sound nice. Are they related to you?" Prentiss asked.

"No. Winry is my childhood friend. She was the closest neighbour that we had, and Granny is her grandmother. She raised Winry when her parents died in the war. They're automail technicians, the best in the country," he added proudly.

"Automail?" Reid asked in confusion.

"You don't have automail here?" Edward was surprised by this. This world seemed so advanced; he had figured that they'd have amazing automail here. When the agents all shook their heads, he frowned. "So you don't have prosthesis for people who lose limbs in accidents or serving the military?"

"Of course we have prosthesis," Reid said. "So in your country you call it automail?"

Edward nodded. "Winry builds and designs the automail with Granny's help, and Granny performs the surgeries and handles the after-surgical care and rehabilitation with Winry's help, but recently Winry's been apprenticed at another automail shop in Rush Valley. She'll probably go back to Resembool once she finishes her apprenticeship. It's usually made out of steel or some form of metal alloy, depending on where it needs to be attached and what it's needed for."

"Interesting," Reid said. Before he could ask any more questions, Hotch stood up from the far end of the table and cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention.

"It's getting late, and we've made some progress today, but I don't think we can do anything more until morning, so why don't we head to the hotel and get some sleep?" The rest of the agents murmured their agreement and started gathering up their go-bags, ready to get a good night's sleep, especially considering the early morning they had had. Mustang and Edward realised that they had a problem, however.

"Is there anywhere here in the precinct where we could sleep?" Mustang asked before the team left.

"Why? The hotel we're staying at should have some rooms available," Morgan asked, a little confused.

Mustang smiled wryly. "I'm sure it does, however, we have no money to pay for it. I doubt your hotel would take Amestrian currency."

JJ and Prentiss had a quick whispered conversation before JJ turned back to the alchemists. "You can use my room. I'll bunk with Emily."

"Are you sure?" Mustang asked. "We're used to sleeping on couches. We'd be fine here."

"Of course. You'll need your rest too, and trust me, the couches in cop stations aren't comfortable," JJ assured them.

The two alchemists exchanged glances and shrugged. Mustang, in turn, shot his most charming smile at the two female agents. "Thank you both. We appreciate it." With that, the team and the alchemists left the precinct and hopped into the cars and headed for the hotel and a decent night's sleep.

A/N - So I've had a couple of people comment that they really loved the unbeta'd version of this story so I was wondering, do you guys want me to re-publish the old version of this story so you can read it if you wanted? So you'd have two versions of this story? What I'd do is remove the revised chapters on this story and replace them with the old ones then publish the revised story as a separate story. Let me know what you think to that. Also, let me know what you think to this revised chapter!