Hiding in the dark tunnel, Havoc and the two squads waited for Edward to open it up. Fao and a group of men loyal to him should have overwhelmed the guards and released the Ishbalans, leading them near the tunnel entrance.
"When I give the signal, I want you men to run out and position yourselves as I instructed. I need eyes on the rooftops and plenty of cover for the Ishbalans. Watch their backs," Edward instructed as he prepared to break through the surface.
Edward had created the tunnel, hoping he had the calculations correct, so that it would open into an alleyway between two abandoned buildings. Fao, if all had gone as planned, would have the Ishbalans hiding in the building to their right when they came out of the tunnel. When Edward's men had themselves in position, the Ishbalans would rush out of the building and into the tunnel. Once all the Ishbalans were safe inside, Edward would call back his men; get them through the tunnel and stay back to seal the entrance. That was the plan. It was simple and had a chance of success but in an imperfect world not everything goes as planned.
Edward could usually work in any kind of situation. But he liked to be able to see things with his own eyes and analyze the situation himself. Having to depend on Fao, who then in turn gave instructions to Havoc, there was a lot of room for error. Edward was uneasy and felt his use of alchemy would have to be limited. He didn't know what the structural integrity was of the surrounding area and tunneling so close to two abandoned buildings made him fear that destabilizing the foundation would give cause for the buildings to collapse. He knew he was going to have to be careful and if necessary create the bare minimum of barriers that could give them any cover if needed.
Edward opened up the tunnel wide enough for one person to go through. Havoc squeezed by him and pulled himself out of the tunnel. Edward, peeking through the entrance, watched as Havoc crouched low and let his eyes adjust to the dark. Then he made his way down the alleyway to a door on the side of the abandoned building to his right. Knocking lightly the door opened a crack and Havoc had a whispered conversation with someone. When he was done, Havoc ran back and dropped low peering into the tunnel entrance.
"Ed!" He whispered urgently in the dark. "We have to hurry!"
"What's going on?" Edward asked worriedly forgetting to reprimand Havoc for not addressing him as General.
"They weren't able to get out as quietly as they would have liked. Guards are searching the buildings. They haven't reached this part of the town yet but it's just a matter of time."
"How many Ishbalans were able to get out?"
"Most of them. There was some heavy fire. Fao's men were able to hold the guards back long enough for them to escape and hide. Fortunately, not many in the city have been cooperating with the guards so they've been having a rough time with the search."
"Shit," Edward said upset that not all the Ishbalans had escaped and the thought of losing any more worried him. "Move back, I'm going to widen the tunnel now. After the men are in position, start moving the Ishbalans into the tunnel."
"Yes, sir!" Havoc said saluting as he got up and went back to the door of the abandoned building.
Edward clapped his hands together and placed them on the edge of the tunnel. Slowly, the tunnel widened, dirt falling into Edward's face as he used alchemy to displace the dirt and compact it hard enough to keep the edge of the tunnel from collapsing as his men and the Ishbalans made their way in and out. Once Edward was satisfied the tunnel entrance was solid enough he started ushering out the men. Eighteen soldiers, armed with rifles made their way out of the tunnel and lined up against each side of the narrow alley way. Edward had instructed six other soldiers to stay inside the tunnel. They pressed themselves against the sides of the tunnel to allow the Ishbalans through. They were there to assist the Ishbalans and to act as a backup if the situation got too intense.
Edward pulled himself out of the tunnel and went up the alleyway to make sure the men were in position. He made his way toward one end of the alleyway and peered around the corner looking up and down the street. The streets were deserted and Edward saw no indication the guards had made their way to their part of the town. The other end of the alleyway was blocked by a brick wall. Whether it was blocked or not, the alleyway was not a comforting position for Edward to have his men in. They could easily be surrounded and for all he knew there could be armed guards on the rooftops just waiting to fire down upon them or even drop explosives on them. But so far there were no signs of the Chenxing guards and Edward was glad that so far luck was on their side. He was still uneasy but he could feel the adrenaline kicking in which helped him to focus and think clearly. Edward knew what to do. He was a good General and he had confidence in his abilities. Moving away from the corner of the building, Edward made his way back to the tunnel entrance to assist the Ishbalans in.
He heard Havoc knock on the door once again and it slowly creaked open. He watched as an Ishbalan man looked out cautiously then peer up and down the alleyway. Havoc whispered urgently to the Ishbalan who nodded and rushed over to Edward. Edward helped the Ishbalan man into the tunnel and turned to see more Ishbalans rushing his way. Edward helped more Ishbalans into the tunnel but was interrupted by an urgent whisper to his right.
"Sir!" A young lieutenant hissed urgently as he saluted. "Up the street, two men, armed, coming this way!"
"Stay here!" Edward instructed and made his way to the end of the alleyway the lieutenant had been stationed at. Edward peered cautiously around the corner and saw the two guards walking down the street four blocks away. Edward thought about going up the street alone to take care of the guards but more guards came around another corner to join the two. Guessing there were about twelve guards now, too much for Edward to handle alone, he knew he had to think of something. Looking back, Edward spotted another lieutenant.
"Lieutenant Lee," Edward whispered urgently. The lieutenant rushed to his General's side quickly. "Keep an eye on those guards. If they get too close, within a block of here, you have permission to open fire."
"Yes, sir," the lieutenant said worriedly. Edward gripped the lieutenant's shoulder firmly and the lieutenant seemed to have soaked up some of his General's confidence. Edward then made his way back to Havoc.
"We have to hurry, there are a dozen guards up the street coming from the North," Edward whispered urgently into Havoc's ear. Havoc nodded and he and Edward began to hurry the Ishbalans into the tunnel but it wasn't long before all hell broke loose. As soon as the firing began the Ishbalans panicked and started screaming.
"Quiet!" Edward yelled pushing Ishbalans toward the tunnel roughly. "Hurry! Let's go!"
The Ishbalans seemed to sense Edward's confidence and quieted a bit and hurried to the tunnel. But it was short lived. Edward began to hear gun fire too close for comfort and was surprised to feel a bullet whiz by his ear. Looking up he saw shadows up on the rooftops. He looked back down at his men and saw that they had already begun to take aim at the rooftops. More gunfire and an Ishbalan scream. Edward turned to look at the tunnel entrance and saw an Ishbalan collapse and a soldier fall forward clutching his arm. Looking quickly at the outer walls that surrounded them on both sides, Edward assessed them and ran over to the wall on his right, clapping his hands together; he then pressed them against the wall. A bluish white light ran up the side of the wall and spread to the left and right. He was only able to create a two foot ledge from the wall without weakening it but it provided enough cover on one side to keep the guards on the roof from doing too much damage to the soldiers and Ishbalans below. Rushing over to the other wall, Edward repeated the maneuver and created another ledge above them as a precaution if any guards made their way to that rooftop.
Edward returned to help get the rest of the Ishbalans into the tunnel but it wasn't long before gunfire was being fired into the alleyway from the street. They were surrounded.
"How many more?!" Edward shouted toward Havoc. Havoc took a quick look in the door and turned to answer Edward.
"Twenty more!"
Edward nodded and looked up the alleyway at his men. They were holding their own but it wouldn't be long before they would have to break cover and run for the safety of the tunnel, giving the guards a chance to fire at their backs.
Edward had wanted to keep from changing the surrounding area as much as possible but he saw he had to do something to protect their backs. The gunfire at the opening of the alleyway was getting intense and stray shots were ricocheting off of the walls. Edward felt his neck get nicked by a piece of debris from one of those same shots that had gone astray and embedded itself into the wall. Leaving Havoc to usher the rest of the Ishbalans into the tunnel Edward ran to the entrance of the alleyway. He planned wanted to create a barrier, deciding it was best to provide them with some cover as they pulled back.
"General! They're all in!" Edward heard Havoc yell.
"Pull back!" Edward yelled as he felt a bullet ricochet off his left leg. He was pulling soldiers back and pushing them towards the tunnel entrance. Then, just as he clapped his hands together he felt a sharp, stinging pain erupt over his forehead. The pain was so intense he nearly blacked out and as he fell to the ground he heard someone shout to help the General. He felt hands pull him up roughly by his arms and the thought of being carried away from the fight woke him up enough so he could push the soldiers away and stand on his own.
"I'm fine!" He shouted blinking trying to see clearly. Something red and thick was obscuring his vision. Wiping his eyes he saw blood on his sleeve.
"Get back to the tunnel now!" Edward shouted at the remaining soldiers who were still returning fire. Those remaining, seeing that their General was alright got up and began running for the tunnel. Havoc ushered them in and looked over Edward before pushing him in then jumped down into the tunnel himself. Edward with one last glimpse of the guards rushing to the tunnel entrance clapped his hands together and closed up the tunnel hole. Edward sat down on the hard earth and breathed a sigh of relief.
"We should go Ed, before those guards try to re-open the tunnel and follow us," Havoc said bending down in front of Edward. Seeing the gunshot graze on Edward's forehead he started digging around in his pockets. Producing a handkerchief he held it to Edward's bleeding forehead.
"It'll be a while before anyone can break through," Edward said getting up taking over holding the handkerchief, his head throbbing madly. He swayed a bit and everything around him blurred but Edward forced himself to focus and not show how badly his head was hurting. "Let's get out of here," he said shaking off Havoc after he had gripped Edward's arm when he saw him sway.
"That's a nasty wound," Havoc said looking at Edward with concern in his eyes.
"It's nothing," Edward said unconcerned about himself. "Any casualties?"
"No. A few gunshot wounds, nothing fatal."
"Good," Edward said as he crouched through the tunnel and started walking along to assess their situation. "Those guards sure found us quickly. You think someone in Fao's group tipped them off."
"Don't know," Havoc sighed.
"I guess it doesn't matter now. We got the Ishbalans out," Edward said dismissing the possibility. The Ishbalans were out of Chenxing. That was all that mattered. "Let's get out of here quickly. Are the wounded capable of walking or do I need to make some stretchers?"
"We'll just carry them out," Havoc answered. "I don't want you to use too much energy. It's a long walk out of this tunnel and you're bleeding pretty badly."
Edward took down the handkerchief and looked at it. It was already soaked with blood and the more his head throbbed the more he bled.
"Sergeant," Havoc said turning on the grizzled old veteran who was kneeling down next to another soldier bandaging his wounded leg. "Do you have any more bandages?"
"Yes, sir," the Sergeant said digging through his pack. He produced a bandage and Havoc took it from him.
"Hold still, Ed," Havoc said as he wrapped it around Edward's forehead.
"General," Edward reminded him grumbling. "What are you? My mother," he said irritably as Havoc tied the bandage up.
"I won't have you bleeding to death on the walk back," Havoc said. "Roy would hang me if I let anything happen to you. But Elysia might kill me first. I remember the way she looked at the ball. I swear she could kill just looking at you."
"Tell me about it," Edward said remembering Elysia and her flashing green eyes. No, don't think about her now, he told himself. I need to get everyone as far from Chenxing as we can. I need to concentrate on that. "Let's move out as soon as everyone is ready."
"Yes, sir," Havoc said saluting Edward and leaving his side to check that everyone was ready to go.