I was going to make Olivier Armstrong (from the manga) Roy's boss, but I decided not to because a) this may be AU, but it is based off the anime, not the manga, and b) Olivier's not stupid enough- she'd have noticed Archer being bribed and fired him, and then I'd have no villain. So you get Hakuro instead. Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Roy knocked was having difficulty keeping his voice down as he talked to Hakuro's secretary.

"Yes, Miss Baker, I understand that he is very busy. Yes, Miss Baker, I realise that he cannot spare time for every petty issue. But this is a direct violation of everything the police force stands for and I insist that you let me see him!"

"Officer Mustang, I'm very sorry, but it simply isn't possible right at this moment. If you'd like to take a seat and I can pass your message on..." she said disinterestedly.

"Miss Baker! I have to-"

"What do you want, Mustang?" Commander Hakuro, just coming out of his office, interrupted their argument.

Roy jerked round to face him, surprise written across his face. "Sir!"

"Come in, Mustang." Hakuro held the door open for the younger officer and then sat down behind his desk. "Now, what is a 'direct violation of everything the police force stands for'?"

"I have a complaint about Officer Frank Archer, sir. Are you aware that he has imprisoned three suspects?"

"Yes, Mustang, I am. He informed me that he had three suspects in temporary custody, for their own protection and also because he believed that they were likely to run. It is unusual, but considering the circumstances, I have allowed-"

"Sir, forgive me for my interruption, but his suspects are three boys, two of them minors, who have almost no connection to the case, not to mention all three have alibis. They have almost no connection to this case whatsoever."

Hakuro raised an eyebrow. "He told me that you had had them in for questioning, too, Mustang. Are you sure they have no connection?"

"I brought them in for questioning, not as suspects, but as the family of the victim- the eldest boy is her son. There is no reason to believe they had anything to do with her death!"

"I see," said Hakuro with a frown. "Well, I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, but still, I am shocked to hear that such one of my officers has made such a grave mistake. I shall talk to Archer about his handling of the case immediately. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mustang- you can leave, I'll have this sorted out."

Mustang nodded, concealing his smile behind a blank mask. "Thank you, sir." he said as he left the room. He made his way back to his own office with a smirk on his face- the Elric brothers would be out of there in under an hour.

Envy awoke to a strange sense of déjà vu, lying on his side on top of the grey blanket. He sat up and gazed around the cell, feeling vaguely confused.

I must've fallen asleep, he thought. According to that clock, I've only been here a couple of hours... unless of course I slept longer than I thought and it's eight in the morning rather than the afternoon. Damn, how do you tell?

Getting to his feet, he discovered that a small parcel had been left on the table, containing a hairbrush and a toothbrush, a few toiletries, a flannel, and a shapeless jumpsuit.

I suppose they'd have woken me up for breakfast if it was morning, he thought, inspecting the toiletries. He hoped they were out of here before he needed to use them: they smelt clinical and reminded him of hospitals, and the toothpaste had an odd, gritty texture.

He was about to go in search of something to do when he heard footsteps and low conversation outside his cell, followed by the jingle of keys. Suddenly alert, he faced the door, and not long afterwards it was opened by Riza Hawkeye and Maes Hughes.

"Come on," said Maes, grinning. "Let's get you out of here already."