I'm back my dudes so buckle in – we're veering into the au-ish territory where the real fun begins!
Eggs - tysm! I'm glad you're enjoying this!
Jello - I'm happy to hear I'm nailing the characterisations right!
Bradley quickly comes to realise that Lieutenant Hawkeye is becoming a problem. Even with his death threats, Pride skulking around her like a hyena whenever she has to make a late-night visit to the mansion (and he knows that she knows that something is following her there, she always looks so pale and gaunt in the lamplight in a way that is different during the day), but she has almost learned to absorb these stresses, instead somehow becoming more resolute rather than less.
What's the human phrase? Like water off a duck's back.
Riza Hawkeye was swimming in some very dangerous waters indeed.
Wrath decides that he must take a new course of action. She was his responsibility, after all, and considering that Pride was becoming almost insufferable in his comments he decides his action must be swift. She had grown too accustomed to her role as his personal aide – so he needs to uproot her and destabilise her once more – make her aware of her vulnerability constantly.
He didn't fancy his chances trying to touch her again. He could – of course he could – but she wouldn't let him have that particular satisfaction any longer.
He had to keep her close, too. Placing her outside his direct jurisdiction ran the risk of her going rogue, or missing entirely – while Wrath couldn't prove that Mustang hadn't killed Maria Ross in cold blood – he had a niggling feeling that they were all being played for fools, and that did not sit well with him.
The idea strikes him while she makes him his tea one Thursday afternoon. His office smells of sugar and a darjeeling blend from a country south of Aerugo. He watches her carefully as she prepares it – he doesn't know whether she is counting or simply has a very good internal clock – but she always manages to strain before the five minute mark where the tannins become too bitter, and the two teaspoons she mixes in are always so precise even though she is hardly watching herself.
Wrath spends a few weeks deliberating over his decision, but in the end he is sure he has made the right one. The look on her face alone when he informs her certainly makes up for some of the confusion he's desperately trying to ignore.
"I don't quite understand, sir." The Lieutenant stands before him in his office, with perfect posture and an expression that Bradley wagers is doing a good job of not belying the flurry of emotions she must be feeling.
She is not used to playing chess like he is, like her beloved superior officer is. Her heart rate has increased slightly – well, it always does around him and he can't help but feel proud of that – and there's a tightness in her jaw where there wasn't before.
"There has been a number of dossiers on my desk that point to a terrorist faction pooling their resources towards an attack on my family," he says matter-of-factly, brushing a piece of lint off his sleeve in a bored fashion. "My family is of the utmost importance to me-"
She shifts, just barely and inwardly he celebrates. Humans were so fragile and obnoxious with their emotions: even Major General Armstrong, who was known as the 'Ice Queen' amongst her peers, still primped and preened in the meetings with the upper echelon. Lieutenant Hawkeye, for all her reservedness, still spoke volumes in the few tells that she had – and it was blatantly obvious that his family – both true and artificial – was a sore point for her.
Perhaps the idea of family itself was what got a rise out of her. They had very few resources on her – and almost none on Mustang entirely, something that Bradley thought was hardly a coincidence – despite Envy's continued probing, the two of them (bar their military records and psychological profiles) remained as anonymous as they had been when they entered the academy.
He would admit it was an oversight on his part that there were so many clerical errors and lost files in the furore of the Ishvallan Civil War – especially in the Eastern district, where Eastern Headquarters and surrounding administrations were stretched to capacity in dealing with resources as well as a continual influx of soldiers. It certainly didn't help matters now, when trying to find any more leverage on the duo was proving harder than convincing Gluttony that not everyone he came across needed to be eaten.
"-and I expect you to follow direct orders, Lieutenant Hawkeye," he continues deliberately, stressing her surname with a little more emphasis than strictly necessary. The tensing of her jaw is still there but beyond that she is like a statue – perfectly still, perfectly made.
"Yes, sir," she replies clearly, her eyes focused on a spot behind him in the office. "Is there anything else you require?"
Bradley hesitates, before shaking his head and waving his hand in dismissal. "No, Lieutenant Hawkeye. That will be all. Louisa will be expecting you after lunch today, so until then you are dismissed to prepare for your new detail."
She salutes, before turning on her heel and leaving his office at a brisk pace. He watches her as she disappears behind the heavy oak door, sipping on the lukewarm tea he had forgotten about.
Louisa had been more than thrilled when he had proposed the idea to her. Perhaps some insight into his life would be the reminder the Lieutenant needed of what was at stake.