Sorry its late : )

A little Roy bashing, DONT BITE MY HEAD OFF! Please... :3

"Chief?"

Edward groaned, burying himself deeper into his arms that were folded on the table.

"Chief." a hand shook him gently by the shoulder, rocking his head as it moved. He furrowed his brows and cracked open an eye, glaring at Jean Havoc who stood towering over him.

"What..." the blonde yawned, squinting as his golden orbs adjusted to the light, or lack of it.

"Time to go Chief"

"Go?" the teen eyed the library clock that was bathed in the faint glow of the lamp light leaking from the small window. The lamps could be seen lighting the dark pathways outside the path that lead to freedom. There was a car waiting. A familiar black military vehicle.

"You better hurry. The Colonel isn't in the best of moods tonight..." Jean yawned, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"Aren't we all..." Ed peeled himself from the table and the pile of open text books littering its surface. Sheets of lined paper were scattered messily, rushed notes sprawled across the pages. Edward began to gather them together, stacking the books and pages neatly in order, carefully ordering them.

"Ed?"

"I spent ten hours in here. I'm not messing anything up" he replied, gathering the thick pile in his arms. He sighed. "Let's just get this over with"

"Mind telling me why you dragged me out here at one in the morning?" Ed rubbed his eyes tiredly, far too exhausted to make any form of cocky remark. His blonde hair was loose, hanging limply over his shoulders. He never did find that band...

The Colonel emerged from inside the warehouse, his dark raven hair blending with the black shadows. His thick military boots dragged across the concrete floor, the sound echoed from the walls. The steps ceased. Ed found the strength to smirk. His superior was glaring through half lidded eyes, which appeared to be sunken into the back of his skull. The navy uniform was roughly assembled, several buttons in the wrong places, the white collar sticking at a slight angle. The dark hair Roy was always so fond of was tousled in all directions, flattened on one side.

Of course it wasn't exactly a walk in the park for the young alchemist being deprived or even more sleep, but seeing the man in such a reckless state made each passing second more and more worthwhile.

"Wipe that smirk off your face FullMetal"

"Did anyone tell you how dashing you look tonight?"

The man glared daggers, and raised a gloved hand, gesturing the wall behind him. "Take a look. There's nothing more I can do. I'm not an expert in cases like this. That's why I called you."

The blonde rolled his eyes at the Colonels pitiful attempt at a slight 'complement'. Roy could have been nicer if he wanted too. Ed was certain of it. The man had no problems dropping complements to potential dates around central. But his subordinates? His pride wouldn't allow him to.

The teen hesitantly disappeared into the blackness. He was going to get this over with quickly. There was still enough time to catch up on a few hours of sleep before starting work. Squinting, he tried to adjust his eyes to the nonexistent light, carefully treading to avoid any trips or falls.

"Could you give me some light?"

There was a small flicker of light. The flame grew brighter, as did the sound of clanking boots being hauled across the floor. Both stopped behind the blonde.

"What do you think?" a voice loomed over his shoulder. Usually, Ed would have scolded the man for being rude, sparking a petty fight regardless of the time or place. Tonight however, was different. His mind buzzed with thoughts, his golden orbs scanned the neatly drawn array etched into the floor. His eyes lingered on every detail, following the intricate lines and curves linking together like a puzzle piece.

"Whoever did this, certainly knew their stuff..." Ed replied, "And certainly had a lot of time on their hands..."

The concrete was marked simply with white chalk. Ed wondered why the suspect hadn't destroyed the evidence. They could have simply rubbed it out, unless they wanted it to be found.... There was a large smudge in the centre. The blonde was sure somethi- someone had been placed there. Whoever it was had managed to leave unscathed. A trail of faint prints disappeared into the darkness, vanishing into the unlit doorway.

"Well?" a voice snapped tiredly, and rather impatiently. The man hadn't meant for it to sound that way, but was far too exhausted to apologise. He really was in no such mood.

"Well for a start, if you want any help from me, I suggest you don't speak to me that way and let me think in peace. If I'm right..." Edward took the photographs from his pocket, lining them up in order and comparing each carefully.

"The first few were identical, but as time goes on, they change" Roy gave him a look of confusion, urging the teen to continue. "You see this line here?" A gloved finger traced the line carefully. "It starts to curve more and more in each picture"

"And this means?" Ed sighed.

"Didn't you study anything other than your own alchemy? The arrays might look the same, but they're not. Even the slightest change can have a huge impact on the result." He placed the picture back into his pocket and took another look down to the array at his feet. "They might be a bit of an expert, but by the look of things, its taking a while for them to perfect it. It means we still have time before they can do any real damage."

"This is all very interesting FullMetal, but do you know what it is?"

"A rough idea..." Ed walked over to the door, his face masked by a shadow. He looked out to the awaiting car down the far end of the street, his back to the Colonel. "Is that all?"

"You are dismissed. Be sure you're not late tomorrow. Make sure you sleep. You're useless to me if you can't function"

"I never knew you cared" the blonde smiled. Perhaps Roy did worry about him sometimes, even if it was just slightly. Maybe he wasn't such a bastard after all. Without a single look back, Ed's footsteps grew fainter and fainter as he disappeared down the abandoned street, his long hair flowing in the gentle breeze behind him.

"Something wrong Ed?"

Ed looked over to Jean, who was sat comfortably behind his small desk, feet propped up on the wood as his eyes scanned a small handful of documents. "You've been spacing out like that since you came in"

"I... I've seen it before..." he trailed off, gaze shifting back to the pile of scattered documents. Several annotated copies of the photographed arrays lay neatly side by side amongst the mess. "I just can't put my finger on it..." the blonde reached out for another text book without shifting his gaze.

"I'm sorry Colonel, but I can't let you through. You're not leaving this room until lunch." Risa said sternly, blocking Roy's exit from his enclosed office. "You'll only disrupt him."

"Hawkeye, I have to-"

"Stay put! He's been working hard for the past few days, you're moaning and complaining isn't going to help him. Now..." a hand hovered over the holster at her hip. "Don't you have work to be getting on with? I have another pile still to come..."

The Colonel returned to his delightful paperwork, muttering curses under his breath like a school child. Risa smiled triumphantly as the sound of pen gliding angrily across paper filled her ears like music... Perhaps she should have.... heard him out. Looking back at the large pile of paper covering his desk, she quickly dismissed the thought. Perhaps not.

Edward sighed with frustration, groaning loudly as his head collided with the table. He closed his eyes tiredly, ignoring the irritating feeling of paper clinging to his cheek. He wondered. Was it worth getting so worked up over this? It could be nothing. If he got to the end of the matter and discovered it wasn't any threat at all, Ed was going to be angry, more than angry. But he couldn't risk it. The chances were, it was something much deeper. Much deeper than anything he had ever encountered before. He wasn't going to risk the safety of others. The teen vowed he would stay up several nights if he had too. Ed wasn't sleeping until he found a leed.

Edward began to think hard, scanning his memory for any passage he might have read before. The blonde had visited many libraries in his lifetime. It wasn't easy to single out a page as he wished; it took a lot of time. Opening his eyes, he looked again. The curving lines.... the neat triangle etched in the centre...

Bingo.

Sorry again about the wait. Thanks you for reading reviewing and subscribing : )

I think I finally know where this story is going now : D

See you next chappy.