Sorry again for the wait, my apologies! A little bad language in this one
Edward clawed at the man's hand wrapped tightly around his throat, gritting his teeth and growling angrily. His arms were beginning to feel heavy, falling limply to his sides in exhaustion. Roy took a step forward; the long needle inched closer to the teen's throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" the prisoner sneered, light green eyes locked with the Colonels. "I might just... slip" the needle suddenly lunged towards the blonde, grinding to a halt and resting against his pale skin. The man looked back to the Colonel, smiling at the worrying look of concern etched across his features.
His dark onyx eyes darted nervously, despite the brave front he was displaying, gloved hand raised to snap if necessary. He was only going to fire if he had to. He didn't plan on injuring Ed in the process. "What do you want?" Roy called, a slight twinge of hesitation in his voice.
"What is it that I want...?" the man paused, drumming his fingers against the syringe, deep in thought. "I'm not sure..." he laughed, the instrument shaking in his hand dangerously with each shake of his chest. The blonde at his mercy widened his golden orbs with fear, gaze fixed on the glistening silver close to piercing his skin.
It was the first time Ed had seriously doubted his own survival. Sure he'd been in worse scrapes before- much worse. This was just a scratch compared to losing a limb, without a doubt it could be far worse. So why did he have a bad feeling about this?
"Let him go" the Colonel commanded, "Let him go and I'll forget I ever saw you"
"You must think I'm missing a few brain cells Colonel" he narrowed his eyes viscously, "You have no reason to bargain with a rat like me, you could dispose of me in seconds... doubting our own abilities are we?"
"You have one of my most valued subordinates"
"Nice to know where we stand..." Jean muttered, nursing the back of his sore head tiredly.
"That's-very-flattering-and-everything-but.....I-CANT-BREATHE!" Ed gasped between attempted breaths. His brain screamed for oxygen, making him painfully aware of each passing second, like being afraid of the dark with your eyes pinned open. The teen's body craved sleep. He'd barely slept all week. It was highly tempting to fall into a deep slumber.... an easy way out. But Edward knew if he slept know, there was a high chance he wouldn't be waking up again. He thought hard, picturing the different possible scenarios in his head, the only thing that seemed to function right now. Supposing the madman let go of his throat, he was likely to get injected with the pretty red liquid. Either way, he was screwed.
For the first time in years, Roy Mustang was unsure of what to do. There were many things he could do to the man, burn, shoot, beat, but they wouldn't do his subordinate any favours. Trying to bargain with a criminal was useless. He was wasting time, and every passing second digging himself into a deeper hole. He could see the teen was in pain, pinned to the wall with a tight hand clamped around his neck, wide eyed and limp. Roy couldn't stand by and watch him suffer any longer than he had to, he didn't believe in miracles. He took a brave step forward, locking determined eyes with Edward.
"D-Don't" the teen wheezed, urging the man not to fight a losing battle, looking him in the eyes pleadingly. His heart pounded against his ribs sorely, thumping hard with each desperate beat. His eyes began to cloud, the room and its contents mere blobs of colour on a wet canvas, dripping and smearing together. He glared at the man through half lidded eyes.
"It'll-take-more-than-that-to-finish-me" he spat, clamping a metallic hand around the offending wrist and squeezed as tightly as he could. The man cried out in pain as his bones began to crack under the inhuman pressure, crunching together one by one. He dropped his broken hand limply to his side and snarled angrily at the teenager, lunging for his throat with the needle in his hand. The blonde threw himself aside desperately, kicking the man in the shin with a hard kick before he was politely doused in flames.
The team spent no time in hesitating, running straight to Ed's side. The teen was laying on his right side, chest rising and falling deeply, eyes tightly clamped shut in pain. The air was a blessing in disguise, despite the stinging of his sinuses and the dull throbbing of his head. Bruised fingerprints were already beginning to appear around his throat, each finger clearly printed with a purple mark. The blonde could hear a buzz of worried conversation around him, the words passing through his ear drums without recognition. Then, a familiar gloved hand moved to check his pulse, teasing his skin lightly in hesitation. Roy pulled his hand away and fixed his black gaze to the pale, marked flesh on his young subordinate. Silence.
Ed shakily raised a hand, running his gloved fingers across the side of his neck nervously. Biting his lip he cracked open his eyes, squinting through the darkness. Pulling back the hand his orbs lingered on the crimson stain marking his crisp white gloves.
"Fuck" he cursed, the urge to panic growing stronger after each passing second. Clamping his hand back onto the small wound, he took a series of deep breaths, fighting the swell of panic rising inside him. The syringe hadn't punctured his skin, but grazed it, a long scratch running down the side of his neck, bleeding ever so slightly. Roy moved a hand to the teens shoulder, giving it a weak, reassuring squeeze.
"I'm so screwed" the blonde said, sitting up and leaning his weight against the wall, a thump as his automail collided with the brick. The scratch began to sting, a warm sensation digging deeper into his skin. At first, Ed was unsure whether it was just his mind messing with it. It was just a scratch... right? He hissed as the heat became more intense, a harsh reminder than a small injury could be deceiving, the surrounding skin becoming a darker shade of pink against his porcelain skin.
"Edward, I need you to tell me what you're feeling" Roy commanded calmly, tightening his grip on Ed's quivering shoulder.
"It doesn't matter" he replied, "We can't do anything, we don't know what was in the-" before he could finish, Ed muffled a cry of pain, the heat digging deeper and deeper into his system. He clawed at his neck, the pressure relieving the stinging slightly.
"Edward?" the blonde took a quick gasps of air through his mouth, his chest rising and falling quickly, the cold air stinging his dry throat. "Ed, I need you to calm down" despite Roy's words, the teen continued his panicking breaths, hand tightly clamped to the side of his neck.
"That's and order FullMetal" getting to his feet, he looked out into the dark hallway, switching his gaze to Jean and Risa, "We should get going, some could have heard us. Can you stand?" he asked the injured blonde, who merely replied by pulling himself to his feet, leaning against the filing cabinet for support. Roy looked to Jean, who gave a silent nod of understanding. Havoc latched an arm around the teen's waist in support and looked back to his silent superior stood in the dark doorway.
"Risa? Bring that syringe, we might need it later" soon, the Colonel disappeared into the black hallway, the ringing echo of his footsteps trailing behind him.
"Fucking idiot..." Ed called back with a low whisper, "You don't know what's out there..."
Cautiously, Risa, Jean and Edward followed, senses on overdrive, picking up on each breath and footstep that graced their hearing. They paced through the empty corridor in silence, listening to the faint sound of whizzing bullets and ticking of the clock. Ed hoped the night wouldn't drag on much longer. His body demanded sleep, limbs sluggishly responding, and peering through half lidded eyes. It was at times like this he was grateful his legs didn't ache like everyone else's, but it took more energy to heave his heavy prosthetics across the floor, especially when he was barely awake.
There was a faint click of a door. Jean stopped in his tracks, turning to Edward.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered, the teen nodded, biting his lip. Roy turned, noticing the decrease in footsteps, continuing to walk beside Risa.
"What is it?" he asked with a sigh, raking a gloved hand through his choppy raven locks. Ed raised a finger to his lips, motioning for the Colonel to be silent, listening to the sound of approaching rushed footsteps. "Edward, don't be stupid, there's no one-"
The doors opened with a slam, the team jumped, startled by the panting man nursing a stitch in his side, saluting in his navy uniform. "Colonel-Mustang-Sir!"
Ed and Jean sighed with relief, a great weight lifted from their minds. The soldier reached out an arm to Roy, holding a stamped envelope addressed to the Colonel. Roy took the letter, turning back to his subordinates with a smirk, clearly reading 'I told you so'.
Ed held his chest that slammed vigorously against his ribs, narrowing his gold eyes at the soldier. "Seriously.... don't scare us like tha-"
Bang.
A bullet embedded itself it the back of the man's head, sending him crashing head first into the tiled floor, a spray of crimson staining Roy and the creamy parchment in his hand. The panelled glass shattered, a series of bullets firing and dropping with a ping to the floor, skimming the Colonel. Edward unlatched himself from Jean and ran into the side of his superior, knocking them from a path of bullets and into a nearby office, breaking the lock and splintering the wood. The blonde's ribs and injured shoulder protested sorely at his reckless choice of landing, sprawled across the floor beside Roy who was busy taking refuge behind the large desk, signalling for Ed to do the same.
Peering through the doorway, Ed could see Havoc crouched behind a water dispenser across the hall, Risa pressed flatly against a wall. Jean prayed silently to the God he'd never believed in. Anything was trying to save his own ass, even if it meant he had to turn to religion. Locking eyes with his superior, he gave a quick nod, grabbing the barrel of the dispenser and hauling it at the figure standing at the end of the corridor, a clatter as his gun fell to the floor.
Jean and Risa dived into the office, perching behind the furniture nervously, aiming their pistols towards the doorway, listening to the sound of footsteps crunching on glass inching closer and closer.
I admit there wasn't much progression, but... what will happen to Ed? : D
What does the note say?
I'll see you next chapter, thank you for all your reviews and subscriptions : )