DISCLAMER: I own nothing other than the fanfiction itself

WARNING: There's a good bit of swearing in this chapter. If you read it, you'll find out why.

A/N: Angry Roy is fun to write :) (God, I'm a sick person XD)

Chapter Three: Collateral Damage

Their mission was to eliminate as much of the Ishbalan threat as possible before the foot soldiers made their advance into the city. Destruction was encouraged and genocide was a necessity. They were to take as many lives as possible to reduce the threat – at least, those were the orders they were given. An elite squadron had been assembled precisely for this purpose: Roy Mustang – the Flame Alchemist, Solf J. Kimblee – the Crimson Alchemist, Riza Hawkeye – the Academy's best sharpshooter, and two other men Roy vaguely remembered from his days in the Academy. No one was to be left alive. While this alone placed an unsettling feeling in the pit of Roy's stomach, he still couldn't get rid of the memory of Kimblee's sadistic smile upon receiving their orders. He had known for a long time that the other alchemist was a sick man, but this solidified his suspicion.

His mind didn't have cause to linger on such trivialities as he snapped his fingers, sending a stream of fire through an open window of one of the homes. The occupants didn't even have time to scream before the flames expanded, engulfing the interior in a fiery explosion. Roy crinkled his nose at the familiar, rancid smell that streamed towards his nostrils; the burning fat left a sticky residue upon his upper lip as the bodies inside were reduced to charcoal. After hours of listening to gunfire and anguished cries, Roy was almost numb to the shots that rang out somewhere to his right. Three bodies fell in rapid succession, perfect shots ending their lives with as much mercy a murderer could possibly have. Their killer remained unseen, but Roy didn't need to look to know Riza had just taken three more lives.

By this point, the town was almost completely cleared out, and there really wasn't any need for further mass destruction. However, it seemed that Kimblee hadn't picked up on that particular fact. Roy had a strong feeling that the other alchemist was mentally disturbed – what other explanation was there for how he seemed to get off on indiscriminate killing? As if to reaffirm his thoughts, a loud explosion detonated several meters in front of him. Debris and splitting earth sped towards him, and Roy had to dive out of the way to avoid being swept up in the destruction. "What the hell, Kimblee?" He thundered, though he was sure his words were drowned out in the roar of the explosion. An ear-splitting crash resonated from behind him, and Roy's onyx eyes widened in horror as he turned to face the scene.

Kimblee's warpath had struck a solitary tower – an unimportant landmark, had Riza not been currently perched upon the top floor with her rifle. The sound of splintering wood and crashing rubble acted as a catalyst for Roy's adrenaline, letting him move with incredible speed over the dirt and sand. "Hawkeye! Cadet Hawkeye!" His own voice seemed to come from outside his body, sounding foreign in his moment of panic.

Riza sprinted down flight after flight of stairs, her heart racing within her chest. If she made it out of this alive, it would be a miracle. The tower was crumbling over her head and beneath her feet, and she knew she had to make a split-second decision. With only two floors left until she reached the bottom and almost no time left, Riza swung herself out of the second-story window, trying to angle her body to land where the sand seemed to be deepest. She hit the ground with a harsh thud and she felt a splintering pain in her left side, but she was alive.

A few moments after her body made contact with the ground, she felt herself being rolled over onto her back. She let out a hiss of pain as a hand made contact with her side, and her eyes squeezed shut even tighter.

"Hawkeye!"

Roy's voice was clear above her head, and she reluctantly opened her eyes to look up into his panicked face. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still conscious.

"Are you alright?"

"My side…" Riza complained, letting out another groan of protest as Roy tried to help her up.

"You!" Roy shouted, pointing at one of the two soldiers who had accompanied their group. "Go back and get Doctor Knox!"

"But Sir, Doctor Knox is the pathologist. He doesn't treat - "

"Damn it! Don't make me tell you again!" Roy barked, sending the other man running off in the direction of their camp. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Kimblee approaching them in the distance, his hands stuck in his pockets and a wry grin upon his lips. Roy scowled. "You." He said, pointing to the other soldier. "Stay with the Cadet until help arrives."

"Yes, Sir."

Roy hardly heard the young man's hasty reply as he got to his feet, stalking over towards Kimblee. He felt bile rise in the back of his throat as Kimblee arched one eyebrow at him, looking almost amused at the furious expression on his comrade's face.

"Can I help you?" Kimblee inquired in that aggravatingly calm voice of his.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Roy thundered, advancing aggressively towards the other man.

Kimblee looked taken aback at his question, and it seemed as though he genuinely had no idea what he had done wrong. "Excuse me?"

"You just blew up the tower Cadet Hawkeye was inside! She had to jump out of the window to keep you from killing her!"

Kimblee was silent for a long moment, looking Roy in the eye. The Flame Alchemist was livid, but, for the life of him, he couldn't quite figure out why. "What's your point?"

"You sick bastard." Roy snarled, but was cut off when Kimblee held up one of his hands.

"It's like I told you before. This is a war. People die. Sometimes people from our own side get in the way – it's called collateral damage. Why should I give a damn if she lives or dies? It's not like she's a State Alchemist. She's a sniper. The Academy is turning them out by the dozens. She's replaceable - "

Roy pulled back his fist and hit Kimblee with everything he had, punching the Crimson Alchemist square in the jaw. Kimblee didn't even flinch, and, when he looked back at Roy, his eyes were just as calm as ever. Yet, the other man wasn't about to take such actions lightly, and he made quick work of hitting Roy back.

Roy made a grab for the front of Kimblee's shirt, pulling him down as he thrust his knee up, landing a blow directly to the other alchemist's diaphragm. The most Kimblee let out was a cough, and he used his lower center of gravity to knock Roy off his feet. With a vicious grin, he stood over the Flame Alchemist, lunging down with both his palms facing outwards.

Not about to be made into a human bomb, Roy rolled away just in time, leaving Kimblee striking the ground and creating a gaping hole where he used to be. Now a safe distance away, Roy snapped his fingers, sending a stream of fire straight at Kimblee. The other alchemist was quick to avoid the attack – he wasn't too keen on getting burned alive. Roy watched confusedly as Kimblee appeared as if he were going to vomit, his chest and throat convulsing slightly.

Roy followed up his attack with several more rapid strikes, trying to anticipate where Kimblee was headed. A stream of fire hit the building beside Kimblee, causing the wall to crumble and debris to come falling down. Kimblee was able to avoid most of the rubble, but a small piece caught him above the eyebrow, giving him a moderately side gash.

Kimblee lifted his fingers to the cut, feeling blood dripping down his forehead. He pulled his hand back, taking a moment to study the red substance staining his fingertips. A sly smirk crossed his lips as he extended his tongue, lapping up his own blood. He turned his eyes back to Roy, grinning maniacally. "Is that all you've got?"

Roy fought back a grimace, unable to believe how sick and warped the Crimson Alchemist actually was. He didn't deal well with being mocked, and he was going to give everything he had to take down this disturbed man. However, before he could snap his fingers again, he felt someone come up and grab him from behind.

A quick look over his shoulder showed him Maes' frowning face as his friend pried the gloves off of his hands. "Roy, breathe." He said sternly, trying to get his best friend to calm down.

"God damn it, Maes! Let me go! I'll fucking kill him!" Roy thundered, struggling against his friend's grasp. He was perfectly aware that he was acting foolishly, but he was going to make Kimblee pay for what he did. Riza could have died!

"And you really think that's going to make me let you go?" Maes countered, his voice calm as he tried to compose Roy's temper.

Roy was about to retort when he saw another figure approaching, heading straight for Kimblee. Doctor Knox reached up and took his cigarette from between his lips as he exhaled. "Go back to camp, Kimblee. Marcoh wants to see you." He said flatly, obviously not caring if Kimblee left or stayed.

An eerie grin found its way across Kimblee's lips. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep them waiting, now, would I? Thanks, Doc." With that, he turned, heading away from the scene he had helped create.

Knox turned and looked at Roy, a frown upon his lips. "Calm yourself down. I don't have enough sedatives to spare one for your sorry ass."

Roy took a moment to breathe, trying to get his heart rate back down to normal. He could feel his blood boiling within his veins, but Riza's safety was more important to him than getting Kimblee back for what he had done. "I'm fine." He said after a minute or two. When Maes looked at him skeptically, Roy shook his head. "I'm fine, seriously. Now let me go – I have to talk to Knox."

"Roy Mustang! Get your ass in here!" Knox shouted, and Roy turned to see him sticking his head out of the door of one of the abandoned buildings. The look in the pathologist's eyes was accusing, and Roy knew exactly what the problem was.

"Shit." Roy hissed under his breath. This was exactly why he wanted to talk to Knox before he began to treat Riza. Without the proper explanation, the tattoo on her back looked severely incriminating.

"What is it?" Maes asked as he let his friend go.

"Don't worry about it, Maes." Roy said flatly, not wanting to have to let his best friend in on the secret as well. The fewer people who knew, the better. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he felt as though he were heading to trial as he walked reluctantly into what was sure to be an awkward situation.

A/N: Rate and review! :)

Up Next:

Chapter Four: Assumptions