A/N: First off, thank you guys so much for your reviews and favs! You guys are amazing! :D I'm thrilled people are interested in this story. That said, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out! I got stuck on the case, which wasn't supposed to blow up like it did. :/ This was supposed to be a fluffy, quick piece and then plot somehow wiggled its way in. *sighs* And so what should have been a short and sweet story is now already approaching 10k and will probably be more before I'm finished. Opps...? This also means updates won't be as frequent as I had initially planned. The goal is still to post again next week, but no promises.

This was also my first time writing Mustang's team and I'm still not happy with their scene. I don't think I have their voices down at all so any tips on how to better capture their characters would be welcome. :)

Okay, enough babbling and on with the story! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, I'm just borrowing.

***Now edited thanks to darkraistlyn! Thank you so much for your insights and suggestions! :D

Chapter 2

When Edward woke up the next morning, he very nearly didn't get up. His throat was so dry, nose stuffy, and his body felt like one big bruise. "Ugh." Edward stumbled to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He didn't have time for this. There was a thief to catch and a smug flame alchemist to show up.

Once he'd gotten back to the dorm the night before, he'd found a note from Al saying he'd gone to get dinner for Ed. As the blond had waited, he'd gone over the information he remembered from the file and looked at a map. He'd spotted a pattern in the places where the thief had been stealing from. It was actually a rather odd pattern until Edward realized it was a swastika that covered the whole of Central. Swastikas were symbols of good luck*. Add to the peculiar pattern it presented for the thief's targets, and it actually was a good luck charm because the authorities weren't able to predict where the thief would strike next. But Edward had spotted it. He was that good.

By the time that was done, Edward's head felt like a drummer had taken to pounding at his skull. He'd gone to bed before Alphonse returned with dinner.

As he dressed, Edward considered maybe not going out after all. Then he dismissed the thought. He wasn't at his best, so what? It wasn't like he hadn't fought before when he'd been injured. This wasn't any different. Not even as dangerous. He felt better already after a shower. .

"Good morning, Ed," his brother greeted when he finally emerged from the bathroom. The younger boy was seated on the couch, some books spread out on the coffee table. They weren't alchemy books he noticed, but fiction novels. Al had started reading them a few months back to get through the lonely nights. When Edward had asked where they'd come from Al had evaded and said the library. He suspected someone on the team had actually directed Al towards the section, probably Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

"Hey Al," Edward muttered, bee lining for the small kitchenette. He filled a glass from the kitchen sink and took a sip. It made his stomach roil. Grimacing, he quickly put the cup on the counter and glanced at the fridge. The mere thought of food made the churning worse. Yeah, definitely not eating anything right now, he decided.

"So, how did it go last night with Colonel Mustang?"

"He wasn't there," Edward answered, grinning. "Apparently there was some big meeting or something. So I dropped off my report, got my next mission and came back here."

"Another mission? But you just got back and the Colonel hasn't even debriefed you on the last one."

Edward shrugged. "Not the first time he's given me mission right after we've gotten back."

Alphonse's armor creaked as he turned to glance at his older brother, echoing the boy's clear discomfort. "I guess. Tell me about it."

Edward quickly explained what he knew about the thief and his strike pattern. The younger boy titled his head when he finished. "That's not a whole lot to go on."

"More than we've had to work with on some missions," Edward grumbled. The colonel had sent him on plenty of missions in the past year and had not provided enough information in his opinion. There was something tickling his throat. He tried to swallow to wet it but ended up coughing.

"Ed?" Vaguely Edward realized Alphonse was calling for him over the coughs. When he stopped, his headache was back with a vengeance. Groaning, he rubbed his head.

"Brother, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Edward croaked and cleared his throat, ignoring his pounding head. "I'm gonna go bust this thief for Colonel Flame face. You wanna go to the library and start researching?"

"Why can't I come with you?" Alphonse demanded, turning sharply to look at his brother.

"Don' need to," the blonde said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's just a thief. No alchemy or nothing. Just a thief the military idiots can't catch. It'll be a piece of cake! How about I meet you at lunch?"

The armored boy didn't immediately answer, studying the elder. Edward plastered on an easy grin. The last thing he needed was Al worrying about him. He just wanted to do this and get the colonel off his back so he could go back to bed.

"Ed, I don't think this is a good idea," Al said at last. "You don't look too good. And you really should discuss the case with the colonel first."

"Heh, as if he ever actually says anything that's helpful," Edward grumbled. He swallowed back a cough. "And I'm fine, Al,"

"Sure you are. Are you going to have breakfast?" Alphonse asked, clearly concerned and not happy with Edward's answer. "You didn't eat dinner last night."

"Yeah, I'll get something on the way. Now I've gotta go if I'm gonna catch him."

"What?" Al cried, startled. "Why now? Don't thieves usually strike at night?"

"Not this guy. Later!"

Edward was out the door before Al could protest any further.

"All right, let's go over it again," Roy said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We know the Diamond Malum began stealing just over a month ago. According to the autopsy reports of the victims we've found when we went back to the crime scenes, he has been killing just as long. There have been twelve robberies so far."

"That makes twelve murders," Hawkeye said quietly. "But only nine bodies have been recovered."

"Hughes, has there been any progress identifying the victims?"

The lieutenant colonel from investigations shook his head, the normally cheerful man grim. "No. The condition of the bodies is making it difficult to identify the remains. According to Dr. Knox, it's almost as if they were, well, melted."

The colonel grimaced, remembering the horrible condition of the corpses they'd found. The victims had clearly been tortured extensively before their death, which had been obviously very brutal.

"I also received a report this morning that the victim found at the fifth scene was a teenage boy," Hughes continued, the light catching on his glasses as he dipped his chin.

Everyone stiffened at that. All thoughts turned to the teenager in their own ranks, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Said teenager had also failed to report to the office that morning. Not that it was unusual, especially when he going to be reprimanded by his superior. Naturally it had irked Roy that Fullmetal had not come in. He'd called the dorm once he'd gotten into the office and gotten no response. Exasperated, he'd dismissed the problem of the boy's insubordination. There was no time to deal with Fullmetal's childish behavior when more important things required his immediate attention.

"We've established the killer's pattern of attack is actually a city-wide swastika, so we do know where he will strike next," Roy said, forcing his focus to stay on the job at hand. "Have we confirmed the location?"

"Yes, Colonel," Breda answered. He pointed to the map splayed out on the tables. "It's a residence owned by one Georg Hoffman, a wealthy entrepreneur with ties to the railroad barons."

"Geez, that guy's seriously loaded to get them cooperate with him," Havoc said, twirling an unlit cigarette in his fingers. Roy had to agree. Railroads were key to the economy and ease of travel in Amestris. The men who'd privately built more railroads for the country were extremely wealthy and influential. If they were involved, however indirectly, then the pressure on his team had just gone up.

"Not just cooperate with him," Breda said. He pulled a picture from a file. "Last fall, the barons gave Hoffman a diamond ring for him to present his wife on their anniversary. Apparently she'd lost her wedding ring a few months before and was devastated. This was his gift to her."

They all gaped at the photograph, even Roy.

"The barons gave him that?" Hughes sputtered, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. Havoc whistled. "That is quite the ring!"

That was an understatement. Surrounded by smaller blue diamonds that twisted into an infinity symbol, the diamond at the center was large and white. Smaller diamonds covered the golden band that held them. It was beautiful to be sure. Almost gaudily so. Hoffman must have truly impressed the barons to receive such a gift for his wife.

"So that's the Diamond Malum's target. Do we know where the ring is?"

"Mrs. Hoffman usually keeps the ring in her personal safe near her vanity. Hoffman confirmed it was still there since his wife left a week ago to visit family in the south." Breda put the photo back into the file and handed it to Roy. He frowned at it, before putting it down on his desk and picking up the Diamond Malum's original case file.

"The police confirmed that our target always strikes in the middle of the day, and given that it has been three days since he last struck he will strike again today."

"These are the street plans for the area around Hoffman's house," Hawkeye said, unrolling city plans of the area on Feury's desk. "Based on the police investigations and our own, it seems most likely our quarry has an extensive knowledge of the alleys and possibly the sewers."

"Which means surveillance will be tricky. We still don't know how he is taking his victims or how he is killing them, so no one is to go off alone." Roy gave his team a stern look.

"That includes you, sir."

Roy dipped his head, acknowledging Hawkeye's words and swallowing the slight spike of annoyance. "Of course. There are still too many unknowns in this case for my liking."

"Agreed," Hughes said. "But this cannot go on. If we are correct, not only can we expect the diamond ring to be stolen, but another murder."

"That's why we're ending this today. Does everyone know their positions?"

"Yes, sir!" His subordinates chorused.

"Good. Hughes and I will be going inside to—" Roy didn't finish, having glanced down one last time at the police file as he set it on the desk.

"Roy?"

There was a smudge on the folder; an oil smudge. "Fullmetal," he breathed, horrible realization kicking him in the chest.

"Colonel? What is it?" Hawkeye sounded very far away, even though in reality she was right next to him. "Sir?"

Roy didn't answer her. Instead, he lifted furious eyes towards his men. "When was Fullmetal seen last?"

His men clearly weren't expecting his sharp question as they blinked and looked at each other in confusion.

"Uh last night, Colonel," Feury said quietly, "when he came to drop of his report."

The mess on his desk. Damn it, Fullmetal had snuck a look at the file when he was leaving his sorry excuse for a report! Something must have startled the boy and he'd made the mess when he closed the folder and dropped his report on top. He was an idiot. He knew something was off last night, but he'd been too tired to realize what it was.

Snarling, Roy demanded, "Who let Fullmetal go into my office to drop off his report?"

Feury and Breda immediately pointed at Havoc. The blonde was sweating and shrugged uncertainly. "Well Boss, I figured you'd want to read it right away and…"

The lieutenant didn't finish because Mustang slammed his hand down on the police file. "He looked through the file the police sent us about the Diamond Malum. How long was he in my office?"

"Uh, not more than a minute, I think," Havoc stammered. "Kid didn't appear to be feeling that great. Was sneezing and rubbing his head like he had a headache. He said he was headed back to the dorms to join his brother when he left."

"Colonel, why does it matter that Edward looked at the file?" Hawkeye cut in. Her coffee eyes were stern as they met his. "You were going to show it to him anyway and discuss the situation with him this morning. And in any case, he didn't examine it thoroughly if he left so quickly."

Roy couldn't answer her. He had planned to show Edward the file and discuss the alchemy traces that had been found. If the brat had come in to the office like he should have this morning, he would have too. There was no way the teenager had time to look at all the files even if had had snuck a peak. Hawkeye was right, he shouldn't be upset. But he couldn't shake the dread that had taken root in his belly. He grabbed the phone. He had to be sure.

"Sir, the mission."

"I'm aware, Lieutenant. Everyone be ready to move out in five." Even as he gave the order, Roy was dialing the familiar number for the Elric brothers' dorm room. No response, again. Swearing, he ordered the operator to connect him to the library, his knuckles going white as he held the phone to his ear.

The librarian, a Mrs. McLaren, was used to receiving calls from the colonel. He often called to check on his youngest subordinate who he knew could get lost in his reading for hours. He didn't give her chance to say anything more than hello before he demanded: "Is the Fullmetal Alchemist there?"

"Oh, good morning Colonel. No, I haven't seen him this morning. His brother, Alphonse is here though."

"Put him on the phone now," Roy commanded.

The woman gave a surprised twitter and he heard her set the receiver down. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the desk, the vice around his chest growing tighter. A minute later, he heard the young voice of the younger Elric.

"Hello?"

"Alphonse, where is Fullmetal?"

The younger teen stammered over the line. "Oh, uh Colonel Mustang. Brother, he was working on the new mission you had for him. The Diamond Malum or something."

"What? I didn't assign him a mission! I haven't even seen him since you boys got back to the city."

Behind him he heard his subordinate gasp as the implications sank in. On the phone, Alphonse made a distressed noise as he seemed to realize his brother had once again done something he shouldn't.

"How long has he been gone?" The colonel demanded, desperately praying the boy had not left long before and there was still time to catch him.

"Ed left a couple hours ago," Al answered hastily. "He said he figured out the next place the thief was going to strike. I don't think he's feeling very good this morning. He was pale, and coughed a bit. He didn't eat either, but he said he was fine! And since it's just a thief I figured he'd be okay. We've caught thieves before and…"

Roy had not realized it was possible for his chest to constrict further. "He's sick?"

When Havoc had mentioned it, Roy had figured it was just fatigue from traveling. But Alphonse had noticed something off too. That meant Fullmetal probably really was sick. Any alchemist worth their salt knew better than to fight when they were ill. Alchemy required the flow of energy through the body without any blockage and precise mental control and focus. With his ability to clap and use his alchemy without circles, that was even more important for Edward. And he was out there right now, planning on catching a simple diamond thief not a cold-blooded maniac who was likely an alchemist. The teenager probably didn't anticipate using more than a little alchemy to catch his target. But he would need it. All it would take was one transmutation or dodge too slow and…

Roy slammed the phone down. "Damn it. Move out!"

Please review and tell me your thoughts! And for those who had a feeling Edward was in over his head...*grins evilly* oh yes, yes he is.

Have a great week everyone!