Bit of a longer chapter this time, I think. Who knows? A bit of a scene change.
Again, the cliché disclaimer, although effectively needed...I-DO-NOT-OWWWWN!!!
Not that hard to believe, right?
Well, carry on then
Afey Stryke walked the streets of Central with a familiarity that most could not boast to possess.
Her stride was confident and she walked as if she had a purpose in mind.
She did. That shiny pocket watch in the pocket of a military officer who was out doing his daily courtship rituals.
Stryke had been watching the officer for some time now, observing his habits. He did almost the same thing every day. Went out to lunch with a woman, wooing her until she gave him his phone number, then they split and he returned to Central H.Q.
Except for the fact that the women changed daily.
Today was the day that she would grab that pocket watch and sell it somewhere. Dirty merchants always did have a thing for shiny stuff.
Stryke tailed the man until he reached the casual café that he met the women at for lunch.
They sat down on the terrace at an outdoor table with a quaint lunch and began chatting amiably.
Stryke slowly but surely made her way over to the café , proceeding to roughly bump into the officer, thereby knocking over his drink.
Feigning an apologetic expression, she gasped in surprise.
"I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you with that!" She exclaimed, snatching napkins up off the table to dab at the spilled iced tea.
As she bent over to pick up the plastic cup she went for the watch, but the military officer had been onto her.
He caught her wrist firmly, pulling her to her feet as he stood himself.
"You've been tailing me for days now. I was wondering what you were up to."
Stryke grinned nervously. "Up to what? I'm not up to anything!" She said in a slightly defensive tone.
The man raised an eyebrow then smirked.
The smirk caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up, a shiver running down her spine. Creepy.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I have military matters to attend to. Perhaps I could get a rain check…?" The man asked, his voice smooth and his lines well rehearsed .
The woman was literally swooning at the man's cool voice and manner, and she was all too happy to give her phone number to him.
As he bid the woman good day, Stryke went to move away but found that while she had been pondering her escape she'd been cuffed to a chair.
"My name is Colonel Roy Mustang. You are now officially under arrest for attempted theft of my State Alchemist's pocket watch. And as a waste of my time , I now have to take you back to my office."
Stryke stuck her tongue out at him as he unhooked one of the handcuffs from the chair and turned his back to lead her through the crowds and back to the military H.Q.
They arrived at a spacious office that was sparsely furnished with the exception of a huge desk near the window on the far side of the room.
Stryke was instructed to stand outside the office until Mustang had called a lower ranked officer take care of her.
Stryke worked at the cuffs angrily, biting her bottom lip in concentration. No use. The cuffs were strong, and she wasn't going to be able to break through with just pure strength.
But she couldn't risk using alchemy…the flash would be too bright and the Colonel guy would catch her.
Leaning against the wall, Stryke slid into a sitting position , yawning widely.
But wait…if they found out her name…no. He wouldn't still be looking for her anyways…
Stryke yawned again, shrugging off the thought. The bigger problem at hand was going to be trying to keep out of trouble.
Mustang burst out of his office then stomped down the hallway, muttering as he turned the corner.
Stryke snickered a bit.
Suddenly a large white German shepherd entered the hallway, its nose to the ground.
It looked up, its tail wagging excitedly when it spotted Stryke.
"Rory!" Stryke exclaimed in surprise.
The dog gave a soft woof before putting its nose to the floor once more, sniffing its way down the hallway to Mustang's office.
Pushing the door open with his nose, Rory entered Mustang's office.
A series of crashes followed, and Stryke bolted down the hallway to look at the damage her dog had caused.
In a matter of seconds the shepherd had tipped over the large desk and had scattered and ripped various documents everywhere.
Stryke petted Rory , awkwardly though due to the handcuffs.
She clumsily rummaged around in her right pocket, groping for the piece of chalk she knew to be in there.
Finding it, she sloppily drew a transmutation circle on the cuffs.
Pressing her first three fingers on her left hand to the circle, a bright white light flashed and the cuffs had melted.
Stryke clapped loudly to get Rory's attention then went to bolt out the door and out of the corridor.
As she rounded the corner she ran smack into a large metal suit of armor.
Whoa! Wonder who that was?! (All sarcasm intended) Yeah...R&R, and again, be gentle with your scorn.