Chapter 8: On the Job
The sharp, obnoxious ring of her telephone screeched into the silence, startling Edeline out of her thoughts. Cursing, she began digging through the stacks of unsigned documents on her desk and fumbled blindly for the phone.
"Elric." She intoned distractedly into the receiver, reaching for another thick folder.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Colonel." As soon as she recognized Mustang's smug, smirking voice over the phone, Ed's stiffened and her eyes immediately narrowed in annoyance. "Would you care to explain to me why you signed off on that request for research funding about reversing Chimera transformations? That's not one of our priorities right now."
"Bastard." Ed gritted her teeth, her fingers tightening around the pen in her hand before she slammed it back down onto her desk. "In case you've forgotten, General, I'm in charge of all things related to overseeing and monitoring alchemist activity in the military now. So yeah, I have every right to approve a request like that."
"And in case you've forgotten, Lieutenant Colonel, I have the right to overrule you." Mustang replied pointedly, sounding too self-satisfied for Ed's liking. "Research funding for State Alchemists must be strictly screened to make sure—"
"Lieutenant General Armstrong already signed off on that!"
"And now, I'm countering it. You forget, the State Alchemist program is under my jurisdiction."
"You called me just to tell me you're overruling me?" Ed demanded incredulously, imagining that instead of tightening her fingers around the receiver, she was tightening it around Mustang's neck instead. "Look, you Bastard, you've been bugging me for useless shit like this all fucking week! I don't procrastinate like you, do you know how much paperwork I have to finish this morning?! How did you even get my direct number?!" She growled.
"I have my ways." Came his amused, haughty reply.
"Goodbye, General Shit-head."
Edeline didn't bother waiting for his answer before she sneered and promptly hung up the phone, muttering to herself as she crankily reached for another report to go over. Before she even finished reading the first paragraph, however, the phone rang again and she cursed loudly before automatically snatching it off her table.
"Elric."
"Are you really busy or do you really just enjoy hanging up on me?" Mustang's amused voice sounded once again through the phone's receiver. "Congratulations on topping the written alchemy exam by the way. I have your watch—"
"Mustang, I am never picking up my phone again."
Gritting her teeth, Ed slammed the phone down again just before she affixed her signature on the document she was reading and reached for another folder. As she flipped it open to view its contents, however, the phone rang once again and, more out of instinct than anything else, her hand automatically reached out to grab it.
"Elric."
"…I just wanted to see if you would actually pick up the phone again."
"FUCK OFF, YOU BASTARD!" Ed practically roared into the receiver, not even bothering to screen her words this time as she let out another chorus of curse words and slammed the mangled phone down violently onto the table.
Seething, Ed was just debating on whether or not it was a good idea to hurl the blasted phone across her room for good measure when the doors to her office suddenly slid open and a tall, slightly lanky red-haired Private walked in with a wide impish grin on his face.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Colonel!"
Hanz, their team secretary, didn't bother waiting for Edeline to acknowledge his entrance before he walked over to her desk and placed a large, formal white envelope on top of the document that Ed was reading, deliberately obscuring her line of sight.
Blinking, Ed raised an eyebrow and lifted her irritated gaze to give him an unimpressed glare.
"And what the fuck is that supposed to be?" She drawled flatly.
The redheaded Private was undaunted by the anger he heard in Ed's voice and he answered her with another cheeky smile.
"It's your invitation to the State Dinner next Friday, Ma'am." Hanz told her, giving her a teasing wink. "It'll be held in our main function room at 9PM. The Fuhrer likes to hold one every year after the last batch of State Alchemists have been appointed." He added as a matter-of-factly.
"Forget it, I'm not interested." Ed retorted as she swiped the envelope aside and returned to her paperwork. "Now get that thing away from me and get the fuck out of my office, Hanz." She snapped.
"But Lieutenant Colonel." To her annoyance, Hanz didn't move but remained exactly in place before giving her another knowing grin. "All officers from the rank of Major and up are required to attend." He sing-songed.
Edeline didn't even look up at him and flipped another page of the report she was reading.
"Fuck you."
"You're really not my type, Lieutenant Colonel." Hanz made a face at her and shook his head.
"Are you trying to make me angry?" Ed challenged.
"You're always angry." Hanz scoffed and gave her a pointed look, ignoring Ed's admonishing glare as he leaned down and helped rearrange some of the stacks of documents that were precariously teetering over the edge of her desk. "It's just a State Dinner, Ma'am. Every officer is required to attend, you won't be able to get out of it."
Ed groaned loudly in response and finally looked up from her paperwork, snatching the envelope from him and slipping out the card that was inside. Hanz bent down and peered over her shoulder as she read its contents.
"What exactly is this State Dinner about anyway?" She grumbled.
"Like I said, it's an official welcome to all State Alchemists every year. Fuhrer Grumman started the tradition three years ago." Hanz explained as he snatched the invitation from her hand and held it up to inspect it under the light.
"Fan-fucking-tastic." Ed muttered, rolling her eyes before she reached for her pen again and turned back to the report she had been reading. "Is this a formal event? What exactly am I supposed to wear to this thing?"
"It says here that everybody is expected to come in proper formal attire. That means a dress for you, Ed." Hanz answered, giving her an amused look.
Ed groaned again and brushed away a stray lock of blonde hair that had fallen into her eyes.
"Oh come on." Hanz smirked as he walked around her desk to stand beside her, leaning down so that his head was beside hers. "Ma'am, if I had your blonde hair and your assets, I would definitely flaunt it, babe. Speaking of which—" He reached for Ed's golden braid and held it up pointedly against his head. "How do you think blonde hair would look on me? I've always thought I'd make a pretty attractive blonde." He mused.
"I can't even comprehend the gayness of that statement, Hanz." Ed retorted, stifling an amused smirk as she snatched her hair away from him. Rolling her eyes, she cast another disgusted look at the invitation.
"I don't have to go with anyone right?"
"Nope." Hanz chuckled and shook his head. "But if you do wantto go with someone, go with that new Energy Alchemist guy, he's really cute. And I saw him checking you out that other day too." He pointed out.
"Right." Ed snorted at that and tucked the card back into the envelope before stuffing it into her desk drawer. "You forget, all men check me out." She drawled haughtily.
"I don't." Hanz retorted with a smug smile.
"Fuck off." Ed scoffed at that and finally snatched another thick folder from the endless pile of documents that towered in front of her. "Now get the fuck out of my office before I stab you with my pen, Private." She ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Hanz gave her another playful smile and wink before he offered her a salute and strode out of her office, whistling happily as he closed the doors behind him. Shaking her head to herself, Ed couldn't help the amused smirk on her face as she thought about how, out of all her new teammates under Olivier's command, Hanz was closest to Ed's age – only a year older than her – so it was inevitable that they were very casual around each other.
Maybe a little too casual. Ed thought with a scowl.
Shaking her head, she was just debating inwardly with herself on whether or not she should finish up with the report she was reading when she heard another knock on the doors to her office, forcing her out of her thoughts.
Thinking it was Hanz again, she looked up with a glare, ready to snap at the red-haired assistant when to her surprise, a handsome blonde man strode in instead, carrying yet another stack of thick documents in his arms.
"What the fuck are those?!" Ed blurted out, watching in horror as he deposited them onto her desk.
"These are the complaints filed against all our State Alchemists that you have to endorse, and look into this week, Ma'am." Lieutenant Mikhail Archer, Ed's personal assistant and adjutant, smiled knowingly as he arranged the papers on her desk. Afterwards, he walked over to stand stiffly behind her, adjusting his pristine military uniform.
Mikhail Archer was a tall man, almost 6 feet, and he was, admittedly, quite easy on the eyes, with platinum blonde hair and mint green eyes. He was a dedicated family man, very by-the-book, notably prim and proper, and from what Ed had heard, he was one of the very first who had submitted his application to be assigned under Lieutenant General Armstrong's new division.
Truth be told, the first time he and Edeline had met and Archer was informed that he would actually be reporting to her instead of Olivier, he was less than ecstatic, especially when he found out that his new Commanding Officer was 6 years younger than he was. In fact, on Ed's very first day of work, she and Archer didn't exactly hit it off – though Ed figured that might have been her fault since she kind of emphasized how young she was by smirking and flirting obnoxiously with the conscientious man until she had made him visibly uncomfortable.
She couldn't help it though. The way he had looked at her when they were first introduced made Ed feel like a petulant child, and so she responded in kind by making sure Archer remembered exactly that she was, in fact, a woman.
It was only a few days after Ed's first week, the day Archer found out his wife had gone into labor and was rushed to the hospital, that things between them had changed. Edeline, against Olivier's firm refusal, had dismissed Archer for the week, even despite the important meetings scheduled that week that he was supposed to help her prepare for.
Suffice to say, Olivier had been furious when she found out and had subjected Ed to a week of overtime.
After Archer had returned to work and realized what happened, he finally apologized to Ed for his judgmental behavior and has been constantly glued to her side like a nuisance ever since. Although Ed had to admit that the man, like him or not, was pretty damn awesome at his job. He actually reminded her very much of a male-version of Riza Hawkeye when it came to his relentlessness in making sure Ed always submitted all of her paperwork on time.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Ed's eyes narrowed as she snatched one of the folders from the top of the pile and leafed briskly through it. "Didn't you just give me stacks of paperwork half an hour ago?!" She demanded.
"These are more urgent, Ma'am. The Lieutenant General expects your input on these by Friday." Archer told her, his lips twitching when he saw the way Ed groaned again and slumped down noisily into her seat.
"We seriously have this many goddamn reports against all our State Alchemists?" She whined.
"Oh no, Ma'am." Archer raised an eyebrow and gave her an incredulous look. "These are just the paperwork concerning our alchemists assigned to Central and East HQ. The Lieutenant General instructed me to hold off those ones assigned to West, North and South HQ until next week." He added cheerfully.
"How considerate of her." Edeline growled as she snatched another folder from Archer's outstretched hands. "You know, when the Lieutenant General recruited me, she didn't exactly tell me that part of the job included this much paperwork. If I had known back then, I probably wouldn't have agreed to come back." She pointed out, scowling.
"It comes with the seniority, Lieutenant Colonel." Archer explained, giving her a mildly sympathetic smile. "The higher in rank up you go, the more authority you have, and that just means the more you have to approve."
"Hey, how about this?!" Ed ignored his attempts to placate her as she suddenly sat up straighter in her seat and gave him a deliberately suggestive smirk, batting her eyelashes at him. "You finish half of my paperwork due this Friday, and I'll…flash you for five whole seconds." She grinned.
To Ed's extreme disappointment, Archer seemed to have finally gotten used to Ed's antics at this point and so he didn't even blush anymore like he used to in their first few days of working together. Instead, he gave his CO an amused smile and pointed to where Ed was supposed to affix her signature onto his receiving copy.
"I'm really more of an ass type of man, Ma'am." He deadpanned.
"Ugh." Ed crossed her arms and grumbled irritably under her breath. "I'm not that confident about my ass."
"I know." He smirked back.
After she finished grudgingly signing all the papers he held out, Archer nodded and straightened back up, the smile never leaving his face as he began heading calmly towards the doors. Just as he was reaching for the doorknob, he turned around and gave Ed one last glance over his shoulder.
"Oh, and Ed?"
Ed looked up, meeting his bright green eyes from across the room.
"The Lieutenant General mentioned that she wanted to see you in her office in about 15 minutes. Something about an update on that confidential case you're currently looking into." He told her.
"Noted, Lieutenant. You're dismissed."
After Archer had closed the doors to her office, Ed let out a weary sigh and finally stood up, digging haphazardly through the piles of documents on her desk for her research notes. It took her a few minutes to find all of her handwritten little scribbles but thankfully, nothing seemed to be lost. Once she had stuffed them all into a folder, she stood up and tugged uncomfortably on her new military uniform before walking out of the room.
The new layout of the office for Olivier's team had been structured so that Ed's office was situated practically beside Olivier's, at the very far end of the team's quarters. Unfortunately, it meant that Olivier could easily see each time Ed exited her office, and that meant that she had absolutely no excuse whenever Olivier asked to see her.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team were set up in their individual cubicles around the spacious outer office, with Lee's table being the one closest to Olivier and Archer's being the one closest to Ed.
As she walked out of her office, Ed couldn't help compare how different the dynamics were under Olivier's new team with that of Mustang's. Three years ago, Ed remembered that the outer office of Mustang's team had always been loud – the silence filled by Fuery's loud typing, Falman talking over the phone, and the sound of Havoc and Breda's boyish, laughter-filled quips flying back and forth. In contrast, Olivier's office was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional ringing of the telephone or whispered question, but even then it was always work-related.
Ed really had to hand it to Olivier though.
In the two weeks that she had been working with her new colleagues, she had to admit that all of the people whom Olivier had selected to be a part of her new team were pretty damn awesome.
Major Lee, who Ed and Al had met before in Resembool, was only 27 years old. She was easily the scariest member of their team after Olivier, and, since she was Olivier's adjutant, she was usually seen glued to the Lieutenant General's side. She used to work in special operations and intelligence, and though Ed hadn't confirmed it herself, Hanz had told her a rumor about how Lee had apparently infiltrated an entire Drachman military base by herself – and that was when she was only 18 years old.
Lieutenant Archer, on the other hand, had actually been in reconnaissance and communications before he was drafted into Olivier's team as Ed's subordinate. He was their team's direct officer in charge of overseeing military regulation enforcement. Ed had also looked into his personnel file, so she knew that he had graduated top of his class back in the academy. He joined the military later than most, wanting to get married first, but made up for it with the fact that he's risen up four ranks in less than three years.
The oldest and most veteran members of their team, Lieutenant John Maddox, Captain Felix Ridge, and Major Dwight Brogan, used to be officers in the military police assigned to Fort Briggs. All three of them were extremely loyal to Olivier, so she had brought them all with her when she was reassigned to Central. They were astonishingly large men, almost big enough to give Alex Armstrong a run for his money. Both of Brogan's arms were automail, apparently having lost both of his arms to a pack of rabid wolves while out patrolling the wall back when they were in Fort Briggs, while Maddox only had one eye and used an eye patch to cover the large scar over the other one. Under their new team structure, they worked closely with Olivier and Lee by overseeing all non-alchemist related, military personnel cases and presenting them to Olivier for her evaluation.
The team's designated secretary, Private Dylan Hanz, was their most junior member but in spite of that, he was actually the most hardworking and efficient of them all. Edeline knew that Hanz had joined the military only a year ago and that he was only beginning his career but already, his administrative skillset was an integral part of their team. Within a week since they had started their new jobs, he had already developed a filing system to sort and distribute all of their team's paperwork, as well as a system to make sure he was constantly on top of Olivier's and Ed's schedules.
Unfortunately, Hanz' meticulousness when it came to schedule also meant that he knew exactly where Ed was supposed to be at any given time, and so when he saw her stepping out of her office that morning and idly watching the rest of the team, he gave her a knowing glare and pointed her towards Olivier's room.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm goin' already!" Ed rolled her eyes at him and grumbled as she crossed the short distance towards the Lieutenant General's office.
As she passed by Maddox, Ridge, and Brogan's tables, which the three men had all lumped together at the center of the outer office, she saw them glance up at her and give her amused smirks. Lee, whose desk was the closest to the entrance of Olivier's office, looked up from her desk as Ed approached gave her a cold, assessing look before nodding and gesturing her silently towards the doors.
She had raised a hand to knock when she heard Olivier's sharp voice calling out to her from inside.
"Get in here, Fullmetal."
"Mornin', Boss." Sensing the urgent tone in Olivier's voice, Ed pushed through the doors and immediately sat down onto the chair in front of her desk.
Olivier had been reading through a thick stack of documents when she had entered, but the minute Ed sat down, the Lieutenant General didn't waste any time as she immediately flicked her cold blue eyes up and stared expectantly at her.
"Tell me about what you've figured out so far about those missing officers." She ordered briskly.
"I need more time, Ma'am." Ed answered, trying not to shrink under the Ice Queen's narrowed blue eyes. "So far, all the files you gave me are just givin' me fragments, but nothin's really forming a coherent picture yet. Though, I am more than 90% sure at this point that this perpetrator is most certainly not Roy Mustang."
"And exactly how are you so certain of that?" Olivier challenged icily, giving her a dubious look.
"Because yes, those officers were killed using flame alchemy but—" Ed hesitated as she opened her folder and took out some of her notes. "—I studied those ashes myself and I found traces of more than just oxygen."
Unimpressed, Olivier merely raised an eyebrow at her and crossed her arms impatiently over her chest.
"And why exactly should I find that observation relevant?"
"Because I know Mustang's alchemy!" Ed snapped back, giving the older blonde a pointed glare. "Mustang, if anything, has always been precise when it comes to his use of flame alchemy. It's his specialty, after all. He doesn't leave traces of any other chemicals in his alchemy other than oxygen, and yet, the ashes that were sent to the Fuhrer had bits of burnt wood and even water! It wouldn't have made sense for Roy to have used those elements." She argued.
"So what are you saying, that this supposed perpetrator's flame alchemy is…messy?" Olivier asked blandly.
"More thanmessy. It was inexpertly done." Ed confirmed, a knowing gleam in her eyes. "Almost as though the person didn't even have full control of his flames. In fact, I'm even willing to bet that this asshole killer, whoever he is, doesn't know shit about real flame alchemy. He might have even found a way around it!"
"Fullmetal." Olivier sounded frustrated as she reached out and massaged the bridge of her nose in growing exasperation. "I understand that you're loyal to your former Commanding Officer, and that you're sure of his innocence in all this, but I can't go to Fuhrer to exonerate him using just these…alchemy speculations! I need something concrete! Actual evidence that shows Mustang didn't do it!" She growled.
"Then I'll find you evidence!" Ed retorted hotly, her golden eyes flashing at the challenge. "Three years ago, Al and I started a bit of research into a specialized field of advance alchemy called Cosmutation. We never got to finish it back then because we were more focused on finding the philosoper's stone, but our notes should still be in the supposedly allows seamless transformation from one form of alchemy to another." She explained.
"Seamless transformation from one form of alchemy to another? What does that mean?"
"A person who uses Cosmutation can transmute, say, air and water to create wood, and then simultaneously transmute wood and water to create fire." Ed added, leafing through her hastily scribbled notes. "I wouldn't exactly call it flame alchemy, but it would be pretty close."
"That's not possible." Olivier blinked and glared suspiciously at her, looking unconvinced.
"It is very possible, just difficult as fuck." Ed countered, shaking her head. "It was a branch of alchemy that originated in Ancient Xing so not a lot of people in Amestris know about it. I'll ask Sheska to look into our old archives. If I could just find those old research notes Al and I made, I might be able to complete it and prove that this perpetrator who killed those officers wasn't using flame alchemy at all." She wondered out loud to herself.
"Very well." Olivier finally seemed to be satisfied with her explanation as she turned back to her files and gave Edeline a curt nod. "I'll give you full reigns on that then, just keep me updated on whatever you find. Oh and make it quick, Fullmetal. The last thing we need is another officer disappearing when the Fuhrer's only just gotten back. Speaking of which—" She paused and turned to give Ed another sharp look.
"The Fuhrer is back from his diplomacy trip, and he's already called an update meeting with his Generals this morning." She began, ignoring the look of confusion that crossed Ed's face.
"So…?"
"It begins in less than thirty minutes." Olivier continued as she closed the folder in her hand and placed it on top of the pile on her desk.
"Okay—?"
"He's asked me to bring you along because he wants to welcome you back into the Military in person." Olivier leveled Ed with her icy glare. "Now before we go, however, I want to make sure I've briefed you properly on the current political situation going on right now among the high officers before I actually introduce you to them." She added.
"Political situation?" Ed couldn't resist sneering at that and she rolled her eyes. "No offense, Lieutenant General, but I don't really care much for things like that. I never gave a shit about politics back when I was a kid, I still don't give a shit now." She retorted bluntly.
"Fullmetal, as a member of my team, you have to be aware of who you're dealing with because I cannot have you embarrasing me." Olivier admonished her sharply, her eyes flashing in warning. "Now, after Fuhrer Grumman, the two probable contenders to becoming the next leader of Amestris within the next three years are General Neumann, and General Dietrich. General Neumann is Mustang's directsuperior, while General Dietrich is mine." She explained.
"Yes, I've heard of them." Ed grumbled, rolling her eyes. "I know that a lot of the ruralfolk in Amestris favor Neumann because he's all nice or some shit but Dietrich is the stronger contender in Central, since he's the militaristic one."
"It's more than that." Olivier's eyes narrowed as she leaned back against her seat and folded her hands primly against her lap. "While Nuemann thinks of our State Alchemist program as unnecessary, Dietrich's views regarding the State Alchemist program are quite…extremist, to put it mildly. In fact, he was the one who first suggested the idea of putting our most skilled alchemists out in the front line during the civil war against Ishval."
Ed's eyes widened in stunned realization.
"In any case, do not make a spectacle of yourself later." Olivier added, deliberately changing the subject before Ed could ask anymore questions. "After the Fuhrer, Nuemann and Dietrich are the two most powerful men in the Amestris military right now, and I won't be able to protect you against them. Don't do or say anything to upset either of them."
Instead of answering, Ed crossed her arms over her chest and gave the older woman a wide, shit-eating grin.
"What makes you think I'd say anything to upset them?" She chuckled.
"I don't have time to coddle you like Mustang did, Fullmetal!" Olivier growled sharply, causing Ed to flinch in surprise and shift nervously in her seat. "Now unless you want a saber stuffed down your throat, when I bring you with me to that meeting later, you will refrain from acting like your normal self and show proper respect all your superiors. Am I making myself clear, soldier?" She challenged in a dark, foreboding tone of voice.
As she was once again subjected to the icy glint of Olivier's death glare, Ed immediately backed off and huffed, scowling as she slumped down dejectedly into her seat.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Roy was definitely not having a good morning.
Not only had he accidentally slept in and managed to piss Hawkeye off by arriving more than thirty minutes late to the office, but he had also spilled a cup of searing hot coffee over himself after his brief telephone conversation with Edeline that morning. He supposed that was his fault though – he had been so amused by her hanging up repeatedly on him that he hadn't realized he was holding a cup of coffee and when he had leaned back against his seat and laughed, he had unwittingly tipped the cup over so that the hot liquid spilled down his pants.
Seeing as he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of appearing before the Fuhrer with a coffee stain marring the front of his trousers, he had excused himself to go to home and get changed – inadvertently pissing Hawkeye off again as she reminded him pointedly that there were stacks of documents that needed his signature within the day and he hadn't even started on one.
Roy decided not to mind it that much though, it wasn't like Hawkeye hadn't threatened to shoot him in the crotch before, though he figured he probably shouldn't do anything else to provoke her that day for good measure.
In any case, after Roy had changed into a clean pair of pants and returned to the office, Hawkeye promptly informed him that his meeting with the Fuhrer and the other Generals was moved earlier so Roy no longer had any time to prepare as he immediately headed for the Fuhrer's office despite his groggy, coffee-deprived state.
Fortunately, there weren't a lot of Generals yet when he got to the conference room adjoining the Fuhrer's office and so Roy was able to grab a seat at the far end of the table. Within a few minutes, the rest of the Generals entered the room after him so Roy glanced up, only to blink and stare in surprise a few seconds later when Lieutenant General Olivier Armstrong walked in, a young, familiar blonde in a military uniform trailing close behind her.
Is that Edeline?
Roy had to blink a couple of times as he stared at the blonde in front of him, his eyes trailing up and down the blue uniform that wrapped rather snugly around Edeline's slender frame. Despite how he had bugged her incessantly over the phone almost every morning since she had started work, this was actually the first time Roy had seen Ed since she had visited his office two weeks ago, and seeing her now, looking so grown-up in her military attire, brought an uncomfortable flush to his cheeks.
Fortunately, neither she nor Olivier had seen him yet as they were too busy conversing with another General by the doorway so Roy took that moment to drink the sight of her in, almost hating the fact that the blasted uniform seemed to conceal most of Ed's curves. To his further disappointment, her long blonde hair was back in a single braid, tied neatly at the end with a ribbon, and hung just above her waist. He couldn't deny that the uniform looked good on her though, and he almost didn't recognize her as that small, loud-mouthed girl in her trademark, hooded red jacket.
"Mustang."
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Roy managed to look up just as Olivier and Ed approached him, both blondes taking the vacant seats adjacent to his. He recognized the voice that had spoken as Olivier's, and he greeted the other General with a brief, curt nod.
"Armstrong."
"General Bastard." Ed greeted as she smirked obnoxiously at him, instantly causing Roy's left eye to twitch as he turned and leveled her with a warning glare. She ignored him, however, and leaned back against her seat.
"Can you give me back my watch now?" She grunted.
"I'll give it back to you after the meeting, Ed. May I ask why you're here by the way, Lieutenant Colonel? This meeting is for Generals only." He gave the scowling blonde a deliberately mocking sneer.
"The Fuhrer wanted me to bring her." Olivier answered him before Ed could say anything else. "He said he wanted to personally welcome her back. He probably just wants to congratulate her." She waved her hand dismissively.
"It's weird seeing you in uniform, by the way." Roy commented, smirking as he cast a teasing look at Edeline from the corner of his eye. "I almost didn't recognize who you were without the leather pants and that tacky red coat of yours."
Ed's eyes narrowed angrily and she nudged him sharply in the side.
"Fuck off—"
"General Dietrich." Olivier cut off the rest of Ed's retort as she and Roy both stood up sharply from their seat and greeted the tall, gray-haired man entering the room with a formal salute. Belatedly realizing her lack of manners, Ed slowly stood up after her Commanding Officer and acknowledged the tall man with the same formal salute.
"At ease."
General Dietrich gave a brief nod of greeting towards the other Generals before he nodded and took the seat across Olivier. As Roy, Olivier and Ed sat back down into their seats, Dietrich shot a questioning look at Ed.
"Is there a reason you're here with us, Lieutenant Colonel?" He demanded sharply.
"She's my new State Alchemist, General. The Fuhrer requested me to bring her so he could meet her." Olivier answered hastily when Ed had scowled angrily and looked as though she was going to blurt out something insubordinate. "I've believe you've heard of her before. This is Edeline Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."
"This little blip of a girl is actually the Fullmetal Alchemist?!" Dietrich's eyes widened at that and he glanced at Ed again, stroking his mustache and deliberately giving her a disbelieving, dubious look.
Roy stiffened and clenched his jaw when he noticed how Dietrich's hooded, disturbing gaze seemed to linger suspiciously over Ed's slender figure for longer than necessary. He knew for a fact that Dietrich had a reputation in the military for being a dirty old man, and in that moment, Roy swore that if the man wasn't a higher-ranking General, he would have loved to incinerate his mustache right off his face.
"HEY WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BLIP, YOU BAST—"
"She's actually quite a brilliant alchemist, General." Olivier interrupted, managing to cut off the rest of Ed's angry retort before she could say anything to offend the high-ranking General. "She also topped the alchemy exam this year."
"She did, did she?" Dietrich arched an eyebrow at that and this time, even Olivier looked annoyed by the creepy, perverted stare he kept casting on Edeline.
"Exactly how old are you anyway, Fullmetal?"
"I'm 19, Sir." Ed answered in a carefully controlled voice, and Roy hid a smirk when he noticed how obvious it was to him that she was gritting her teeth and trying very hard not to lose her temper.
"19, huh? Seriously?" Dietrich snorted loudly at that and shook his head in disbelief. "You're the same age as my youngest daughter! Are you sure you know how to handle a gun, little miss?"
From the corner of his eye, Roy watched as Ed's golden eyes flashed again and began to narrow very dangerously. Fortunately, however, just when it looked as though Ed was going to start shouting, the moment was interrupted when another gray-haired man, smaller in stature than Dietrich, suddenly walked into the conference room.
Ed made a face but reluctantly stood up after Roy and Olivier, grumbling as she imitated their salute.
"General Neumann."
"At ease, gentlemen. Ladies." Neumann greeted cheerfully as he finally took the last seat beside Dietrich and smiled cordially at the other Generals. Once Ed had settled back into her seat between Roy and Olivier, however, Neumann suddenly turned to her and gave her a warm, curious smile.
"Well now, I've heard stories about the Fullmetal Alchemist but I don't believe we've met before!" He chuckled and extended a hand towards her. "Karl Neumann. It's a pleasure to meet our youngest alchemist prodigy, at last! Welcome back to the military, Edeline!"
"I believe the pleasure is mine, Sir." Ed answered politely, her lips tugging upwards into a smile. "We've heard a lot of good things about you back in Resembool."
"Ah, I'll bet that what all you pretty young ladies say to old farts like me." Neumann kidded as he waved her comment aside and leaned back against his chair. "It's a shame Roy here wasn't able to recruit you back under his team. Though, I can't say I blame Olivier for stealing you for herself, huh?" He chuckled knowingly.
In spite of himself, Roy couldn't help scowling at Neumann's words but before he could say anything, they were interrupted when the doors of the conference room slid open again and this time, all the occupants of the table stood up and saluted as the Fuhrer entered and made his way towards them.
"Good morning." Fuhrer Grumman greeted, pausing briefly by the doorway to return their salutes before he made his way to his seat. "At ease, everyone. Sorry I'm late, my wife had a hard time letting me go this morning. Something about not seeing me for almost a month." He quipped jokingly, earning a few chuckles from some of the other Generals.
"Good morning, Sir." Olivier called his attention as they all sat back down. "I believe you wanted me to invite the Fullmetal Alchemist to our meeting this morning." She reminded him, gesturing to the blonde girl beside her.
"Ah yes! Fullmetal, welcome back! How are you?" Grumman smiled brightly as he turned his gaze towards Edeline, inadvertently causing the young teen to fidget uncomfortably when all the other generals also turned to look at her.
"I'm fine, Sir. It's an honor to be back." Ed answered him with a cordial smile.
"Sorry to disturb you from your duties so early in the morning, but I just wanted to greet you myself! You were such an indispensable part of our team three years ago. I never got to thank you for that, by the way. Without you and your brother, I don't know what would have happened to Amestris!" He chortled jovially as he reached out to take her hand.
"It was nothing, Sir." Ed answered, looking a little uncomfortable as she continued shaking the Fuhrer's hand. "We were just doing what any citizen would have done. Oh and thank you for welcoming me back despite my resignation three years ago."
"Nonsense, we're lucky to have you back! Congratulations on topping the alchemy exam again, by the way! Brilliant as always, aren't we?!" Grumman exclaimed cheerfully, causing Dietrich and some of the other Generals seated around the table to snort and roll their eyes.
"You were the one who agreed to let this…child back into the Military, Grumman?" Dietrich demanded.
"I'm not a child, General Dietrich." Ed answered carefully through clenched teeth, though from where he sat beside her, Roy could tell that she was furious from the way her hands had tightened into very angry fists.
"Yes, I was. And for good reason too." Grumman answered, choosing to ignore the derision in Dietrich's voice. "We need all the brilliant alchemists we can get, Dietrich. You said so yourself, Dietrich, they're an indispensable part of our force."
With that, the Fuhrer finally turned to address the rest of the Generals, the cordial smile fading slowly from his face.
"Which brings me to this morning's urgent announcement. I'm afraid, gentlemen, that there's been another alchemy attack in one of our facilities in Bethany. A few of our men stationed there were injured." He announced grimly.
"That old backwater town again?" Dietrich snorted, slamming his fist angrily against the table. "I knew we should have sent more men to that place, those uneducated people do nothing but cause skirmishes over the stupidest things! I say we send some of our alchemists down there and teach them a lesson."
"If we do that, then we'd only be reinforcing their fear of alchemists even more, Dietrich." Neumann countered, shaking his head and giving Dietrich an exasperated look. "We know these people are terrified of alchemists, their religion brands alchemists as devil worshippers or whatnot. The best way to calm them down is to show them that we're not the monsters they think we are." He told him.
"You're both partially correct." Grumman pointed out, causing both Neumann and Dietrich to give him a confused look. "I do plan on sending someone from Central down there, but I'm only sending one alchemist so as not to terrify the townsfolk. Lieutenant General Armstrong." He waited until he had both Olivier and Ed's full attention. "I want you to brief Fullmetal on this matter and then have her go down there to investigate. They may not be so fond of alchemists, but I need one of our own looking into those attacks so I can find out what's really going on."
They're sending Ed down to a place like Bethany?! Roy thought frantically to himself as he suddenly looked up and met the equally surprised expression on Ed's face.
They can't send her down there by herself, that town burns alchemists alive like witches on a stake, who knows what they'd do to her?!
"Yes, Sir."
Olivier nodded in understanding, oblivious to the frown that was forming on Roy's face. Fortunately, she seemed to share Roy's concerns on the matter because she frowned and turned to the Fuhrer in question.
"If I may, Sir, that town is known to be quite violent when it comes to dealing with military personnel, particularly State Alchemists. Perhaps I could send a few of my men down there as well to go with her?"
"That's fine, Olivier." Grumman nodded and gave her a distracted smile. "Send two or three of your men with her, if you think it's necessary. It's best to limit our numbers so as not to draw too much attention from the townsfolk. Now, if the Lieutenant Colonel wouldn't mind being dismissed—" He paused and cast a glance at Ed, waiting until the blonde saluted and began to rise from her seat. "—we can move on to more pressing, confidential matters—"
"Pardon me, Sir." Roy surprised himself when he suddenly spoke up, causing Ed to pause mid-way from getting out of her chair and the rest of the room's occupants to glance at him in question. "With your permission, I'd also like to look personally into this matter regarding the attacks in Bethany myself. If I could perhaps accompany Fullmetal—"
"Nonsense, Mustang." Grumman dismissed the suggestion with a shake of his head.
"I'm sure your concern is unnecessary. Lieutenant Colonel Elric is more than capable of dealing with Bethany. She has more than enough experience in dealing with matters like this on her own. Now, on to other more crucial concerns…"
Roy didn't bother listening to the rest of what the Fuhrer had to say as his eyes narrowed and followed Edeline out of the room. He watched as she paused by the doors and turned to give him a curious look. When he frowned warningly at her, she rolled her eyes and offered him a helpless shrug before she strode out the doors.
To Ed's dismay, she was scheduled to leave by train to Bethany the very next morning so instead of finishing up on her paperwork like Archer expected her to do, she managed to slip past him that morning after her meeting with the Fuhrer and decided to spend the rest of her day in the library instead.
She found Sheska there, buried underneath a stack of dusty piles of books as usual. When Ed had told her what she was looking for, the two of them spent the remainder of the afternoon searching through the old archives for the notebook that contained Ed and Al's old research notes.
After a few hours, Ed stole a glance at Sheska's watch and realized a bit too late that she should probably head back to her office before Olivier went looking for her. She reluctantly excused herself from Sheska, though not before telling the archivist to inform her right away the minute she found what they were looking for.
Fortunately, only Archer and Hanz seemed to be in the office that afternoon when Ed got back and she breathed a sigh of relief as she immediately headed straight for her room.
"I'm sorry but the Lieutenant General is out of her office at the moment – Ed, finally! There you are, we've been looking everywhere for you!" As she passed him, Hanz looked up from his telephone conversation and gestured madly with his hands to catch her attention.
"Hey, wait! Hold up a minute there, babe! The Lieutenant General asked me to give you a few things!"
"Hanz, if you call me babe again, you fucker, I am going to slit your scrawny little throat." Ed growled threateningly as she stopped in front of his desk and turned to give the redhead a dark, murderous glare, watching as he scrambled to hang up the phone and gathered a couple of papers from his desk.
To her annoyance, he ignored Ed's threat and gave her a cheerful smile instead, handing her a small train ticket and a few folders. "Here is your train ticket for tomorrow, as well as all available information we have on the incident that happened in our Bethany facility. You leave first thing 6am tomorrow morning. Oh and Major Brogan, Lieutenant Maddox and Captain Ridge will be the ones accompanying you to Bethany. You don't have to worry, Lieutenant Archer will handle all your paperwork until Friday when you get back."
"That's the best thing you've said all day." Ed immediately forgot what she was angry about and grinned at the thought of not having to deal with her paperwork, cheering up for the first time since that morning. "Anyway, if I'm not needed here, then I'll just grab a few stuff from my office and then I'll head on back to the library and get some research done—"
"Lieutenant Colonel." Frowning at having been cut off, Ed looked up and saw Archer sitting at his desk and giving her a nervous look. Rolling her eyes, she shot him a glare and raised an expectant eyebrow.
"What the hell is your problem, Archer?"
Her adjutant looked a little unsettled as he bit his lip and flicked his gaze uncertainly over to her office before swallowing and glancing at her again.
"Brigadier General Mustang is waiting for you in your office, Ma'am." He informed her.
"What?!" Her eyes blazed to life as she flicked her glare from Archer's wincing face to Hanz, snarling and baring her fangs at the nervously grinning Private. "Why the fuck would you let him into my office, Hanz?!" She growled.
"B—because he ordered us to, Ma'am—"
Ed ignored Hanz' stammered apologies and Archer's frantic explanations as she stormed into her office, glaring incredulously at the sight of a smirking Roy Mustang sitting very comfortably behind her desk. He was leaning her chair back and had his feet propped up onto her table – the same way she always liked to do to his. To her further annoyance, he was skimming through one of her precious alchemy books, which she guessed he had probably stolen from the shelves in the back of her office.
When he saw her gaping at him from the doorway, however, the smirk on his face widened and he set his feet back down noisily onto the floor.
"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to show up." He mused.
"Are you here to give me my watch back, Mustang?" Ed asked flatly as she stood in front of her table and glared down at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "And that's my desk, by the way. Can you get the fuck out?" She growled.
"I'm not giving you your watch back, Edeline." He answered, the smirk finally leaving his face as he frowned grimly at her and reluctantly set the book he held back down onto her table.
"I'm here to try and convince you not to go to Bethany."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ed arched an eyebrow and glared at him as though he was admitting to being a homunculi. "I can't not go to Bethany, you bastard! You were there, you heard the Fuhrer, I was ordered to go! Are you actually trying to get me to defy a direct order?!" She asked incredulously.
"Let my team handle it then. I'll talk to the Fuhrer."
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" She growled at him.
"It's a town that burns alchemists publicly like witches, Ed! You haven't seen the people there like I have!" Mustang persisted as he stood up from her desk and walked around the table to stand in front of her, making Ed scowl when she realized how much taller he was than her. Despite the fact that she had grown taller over the last three years, the top of her head only reached up to his mouth, and it irritated her to no end that she had to tilt her chin up whenever she wanted to meet his eyes.
"Mustang, in case you've forgotten, I have seen and lived through a hell of a lot worse than that. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself without your help." Ed snapped coldly at him, her golden eyes glinting with anger. "Besides, I'll have Brogan, Ridge and Maddox with me. They're all from Briggs so we'll be fine. Now, damn it, give me back my fucking watch—"
"No." He deadpanned.
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, ASSHOLE?!" Ed finally exploded, causing Archer to wince outside her room and rush towards them so he could hastily shut the door to her office, leaving her alone with Mustang. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT YOU ARE NOT MY COMMANDING OFFICER ANYMORE?!"
"Edeline." Mustang's voice sounded weary as he reached up and massaged his temples in frustration. "If the townspeople in Bethany see you wearing your watch, you'll be their prime target!" He argued.
"And you honestly think I'm so incompetent that I'll just waltz right in there with my fucking watch dangling from my hip?" Ed retorted, giving him a derisive sneer. "Mustang, I need that watch as identification! Otherwise, nobody in that military facility is going to believe me when I tell them that I'm a State Alchemist." She pointed out.
To her relief, Mustang must have realized the truth behind her words because he seemed to relent after she had said that and sighed, reaching into the pocket of his jacket. As soon as Ed recognized her silver watch in his hand, her eyes narrowed and snatched it from him, causing the Flame Alchemist to scowl and trap her smaller hand in his.
"HEY, DAMN IT! LET GO—"
"You have to keep it hidden at all times." He growled, his calloused fingers tightening around hers and causing Ed to squirm uncomfortably.
"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Ed blurted out as she managed to yank her hand free from his grasp.
"I'm just trying to protect you!"
"I am not fucking 12-years-old anymore, Roy!"
He froze at that, blinking and looking a little startled at her sudden use of his first name.
"I know that you're not a child anymore, Ed." He said calmly.
"So then drop your stupid little charade already and stop treating me like I'm your goddamn daughter! I don't know about you, Roy, but I never wanted you to be my father!" Ed blurted out, her cheeks flushed with anger.
Mustang paled at that and his onyx eyes widened in horrified realization at her words.
He blinked and took a couple of steps away from her, looking a little shaken by what she had said. Frowning to himself, he slowly opened his mouth as though to say something else but Ed had enough.
Shaking her head and giving the tall, stunned General another sneer, she walked around him as though he was nothing but an inanimate object, snatched a couple of folders from her desk and stormed out of her office, slamming the door shut noisily behind her.
Roy was still standing numbly in the middle of Ed's office and staring in dismay at the closed door, Ed's last words reverberating over and over again in his head.
It wasn't that she had sounded so angry when she had shouted them at him, he was pretty much used to Ed's anger by now. It was the fact that he realized her accusation was completely true.
He had been trying to hide his attraction to Edeline by treating her like a child.
Ever since Ed had joined the military back when she was 12 years old, Roy had tried to shove his growing attraction to her aside by unwittingly acting like her guardian. He always figured that it would be safer that way, and she wouldn't get any mixed ideas about their relationship. But seeing her now, all grown up and beautiful and so goddamn sexy and confident was throwing him completely off-balance that he wasn't sure exactly how to act around her anymore.
To say that he was disgusted with himself was an understatement.
He had always acted like her mentor and parental figure because it was what they were both used to.
Now, however, Roy realized he would never be satisifed with that kind of relationship when it came to Ed, and it made him feel like a complete moron because he should have realized it the day she had kissed him three years ago.
He wanted her.
In almost every conceivable way possible.
Physically. Romantically. Emotionally. Sexually.
Roy's cheeks flushed as those thoughts registered in his head and all of sudden, his mind cleared, and everything – all of his pent-up frustration, confusion and spontaneous reactions toward her back then and the way she always seemed to be the only one to make him lose his composure at her obnoxious antics suddenly began to make sense.
He was in love with Edeline.
Roy laughed humorlessly to himself as he let the words sink in.
He was in love with Edeline, and if she thought his overprotectiveness was unbearable before, then truth help her if she thought he'd ever let her out of his goddamn sight now.
With his newfound realization fueling his determination, Roy's eyes narrowed as he stalked over to Ed's desk and reached for her phone. After lifting the receiver, he dialed Riza's number and waited impatiently for her to pick up.
"Hawkeye."
He didn't even bother introducing himself.
"I have a special assignment for you, Major."
"Of course, Sir." Over the phone, he heard Hawkeye set down her pen and whatever document she had been reading. "Tell me what you need."
"Pack your bags. You're going to Bethany first thing tomorrow morning."
Roy's lips twitched slightly at the stunned, confused silence that met him on the other end of the line.
"The religious, anti-alchemist town, Sir? I'm afraid I don't understand—"
"Ed was assigned there by the Fuhrer this morning. She's never been there before, so I want you to go with her – discreetly – and make sure she doesn't get into trouble. She'll be with the rest of Olivier's team but I want someone I can trust to keep a close eye on her. You have permission to shoot down anyone who tries to attack her." He instructed.
"Consider it done, Sir."
"Oh and Major?" Roy waited until Hawkeye had fallen silent again before he continued.
"I cannot emphasize enough that you are to be completely discreet about this assignment. Do not, under any circumstances, let anyone – most especially Edeline – know that I sent you to spy on her. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
Notes: Apologies for the delay in the update, RL has kind of been getting in the way lately. I hope the long chapter made up for it though! Longest one so far!
Thanks to everyone who commented and continue to follow the story! Oh and yeah, sorry but I had to move the flashback scene with Maes to the next chapter (again). This one was getting too long lol.
The next update may take a bit longer than usual so please be patient with me, I've been pretty busy with work lately. I'll write it out as soon as I can! :D