The Man in the Shadows

by Dragneel777

After another failed attempt to get a Philosopher's stone Ed returns to East city- not realizing the man that seems to be watching his every move, and may be after his very life.

4. Chapter 4

Finally Chapter four!

I'm really sorry that it took so long- worse case of writer's block, it sucked... I had where I wanted to go but had no idea how to get there.

I finally have a full plot for this story so I hope to be able to update this story more often- with that in mind I am in college and I'm working on my own book series so I'll do what I can.

Thank you for your patience!

Thanks for the review from

-TransformingTurtle

-I Had A Dream

-Attackoneverything

-Gena408

I hope you all enjoy this!

As always no flames!

I do not own FMA, probably a good thing- all rights go to Hiromu Arakawa!

...FMA...

Ed scowled as he was helped into the hospital wheelchair. The nurse didn't seem too happy about the idea of Ed being released from the hospital early.

Ed normally would've been thrilled- except for the fact that he was being sent to the Eastern Command barracks with Colonel Mustang. He scowled even deeper- not to mention the fact that he hated being an invalid that couldn't even walk that far. The Colonel peeked over at Ed and smirked, "What's the matter Fullmetal- I thought you'd be happy about leaving the hospital."

"Being stuck with you isn't much better." Ed piped up and Mustang held a chuckle and started pushing the boy out of the room. The sooner he could get Fullmetal out of the hospital the better he would feel. He pushed Edward down the hall and outside where Hawkeye was waiting for them with a car.

"Sir." She said then she smiled down at Ed, "I'm glad to see that you're doing better Edward." The Lieutenant said and Ed nodded. Then she turned to Mustang, "Sir- the Fuhrer has asked for us to take Major Elric to the office for now. He wants to do a final sweep of the dorms where you two will be staying." She said then opened the back seat door.

Ed grumbled as the Colonel picked him up- helping him into the back seat. Ed hid his face- not wanting to show his embarrassment. Mustang sat him down in the seat and Hawkeye put the wheelchair in the trunk of the car. "Buckle yourself in." Mustang ordered.

"I know." Ed grumbled as he grabbed the seat belt. Mustang quickly closed the car door and got in the passenger's seat as Hawkeye had already claimed the driver's seat and he didn't dare deny what she wanted.

Ed sighed and leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes.

Mustang peeked into the rear view mirror and chuckled- seeing that the young Alchemist had already fallen asleep. Hawkeye peeked back- also noticing that he was asleep. "Is he healed enough to be out of the hospital?"

"We don't have a choice." Mustang mumbled. "That bastard was in arm's length of Fullmetal- we're lucky he didn't try to finish him off." He peeked back at the sleeping Ed- glad to see that he wasn't listening to their conversation.

Hawkeye slowly nodded, "Have you told Edward what the last photos were of?"

The Flame Alchemist sighed, "No." He looked out the window, "I promised that I would find that bastard- he was in feet of me and I didn't even notice." He growled.

Hawkeye peeked over at her superior, then she looked away, "We're getting close, are you going to wake Edward up?"

Mustang peeked back at the still sleeping Fullmetal Alchemist.

...FMA...

The first thing that Ed noticed as he started to drift back into the real world was that he had something soft and warm draped over him. Then he heard the whispering voices of Mustang's crew. It was nice enough for them to keep their voices down while he was sleeping- he was pretty sure it was because of the threat of Hawkeye looming over their heads though. "Colonel- I think he's waking up." Said the voice of Fury- who was much closer to him than the others.

He heard movement and someone's hand touch his shoulder, "Fullmetal are you coming to?" Asked the annoying voice of the Colonel.

Ed grumbled something that sounded mildly like an insult and opened his eyes. He looked around- realizing that he was in Mustang's office. He didn't remember waking up- Ed quickly hid his face to hide the embarrassment. "You alright Chief?" Havoc asked- amazingly not having a cigarette in his mouth- but yet again, probably due to Hawkeye.

"I'm fine." Ed sat up and took the glass of water as Fury handed over at him. He took a sip then asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours." Breda answered, "Hughes is in town asking some of the civilians if they have seen that doctor you used to have."

Ed frowned and looked up, "The doctor?"

Mustang nodded, "He disappeared right after we found that envelope in your room."

"So you think that he's connected with those photos- or-"

"He was the only person in your room when Al had left. Breda asked the guards and they said that they saw him enter when Al had left."

"Nobody would even think of stopping him because he was a doctor." Havoc said.

"Then why didn't he kill me?" Ed pointed out bluntly, "He had plenty of chances to do so." Mustang felt a little pang- mostly because he knew that Fullmetal was right. After he promised that he wouldn't let this guy touch him- if the bastard wanted to he could have killed him so many times. Mustang mentally cursed himself.

Ed looked around, "Where's Al?"

"He's with Hughes." Mustang quickly answered, knowing that if he didn't Ed would be bolting out of the room- screw the injury. Ed nodded- seemingly satisfied with the answers, or at least he wasn't trying to bolt out of the room.

Ed looked over at the window- frowning when he saw the closed window. That told him that the man was still out there. He scowled- of course he had to the bad luck.

Ed looked over at Mustang who had returned to looking at photos on the table. Ed tapped Havoc's arm. "What's up chief?"

"Let me borrow your arm." Ed said and Havoc frowned, but obliged- he held up his arm, tensing it so Ed wouldn't fall. Ed used his arm to stand up and sit down in the wheelchair Fury quickly set up for him. Then he nodded to the two of them.

"Where you trying to go Chief?" Havoc asked and Ed pointed at Mustang. Havoc nodded and pushed the boy over to the Colonel.

Ed tapped the Colonel's shoulder and the man looked back at him. "Yes Fullmetal?"

"I'm incredibly bored-" Ed whined.

Mustang scoffed at his sudden childness. He rolled his eyes and turned, "Are you doing this just 'cause you can?"

"Normally when I get out of the hospital I head to the library to find some more clues." Ed said, "Or I'm sent on one of your stupid quests." He looked over at the photos, "Were those the recent photos?"

Mustang hesitated, then nodded.

Ed picked up the last photo and shivered, "Well- I guess this is reason number two for you guys to get me out of the hospital."

"I also got you out of the hospital under the promise that you'd be in bed rest." Mustang said and looked over at him, "Go back and get some more sleep, you look like you're about to pass out anyway."

Ed frowned- he was tired, which was annoying- he had just woken up. Ed sighed, "Fine." He mumbled and Havoc wheeled him over to the couch and helped him lay down. Mustang watched as Fullmetal got settled then looked back at the pictures.

Each time this man is getting closer and closer to him. Mustang frowned- suddenly there was a knock at the door, which was quickly answered by Hawkeye- revealing a frowning Hughes with a towering Alphonse behind him. "Is my brother alright?"

"He's resting." Hawkeye answered then let the two of them in.

Hughes immediately laundered over to Mustang dropping an envelope on the table. Mustang looked up at him, "Another one?"

"Found it in my car." Hughes said, "Good news is that this bastard is still in town."

Mustang nodded and opened the envelope- nearly gagging. In the photo Ed was still sleeping and he could see the man's hand touching Ed's hair. He cursed and turned the photo over where only one word was written.

Soon.

...FMA...

Mustang held a sigh as he wheeled Fullmetal through the door of the military dorms. He looked around and frowned, the last time he had lived in the dorms was his first few years after the training camp.

Ed was clearly not impressed with the idea either. He normally did sleep in the dorms but that was with Al- and he was free to do what he wanted. Now he couldn't not stuck in a wheelchair with the Colonel for a body guard.

The Colonel wheeled over to the bed, "Get some rest Fullmetal, Hawkeye will be here soon with some dinner." He said and helped the young Alchemist into the bed.

"This is annoying." Ed whined, "I can't even stand on my own."

"Well you were shot in the chest not too long ago, so until you're fully healed walking around wouldn't be a good idea." Mustang said and sat down in a chair not too far away.

Ed scowled, "It was my back." He said and laid down- staring up at the ceiling. After a moment he sighed, "Right. And what about Al?"

"He's with Hughes now- he'll be by later." Mustang said and sat back, debating on whether or not he should tell the young Alchemist about the previous photo he had gotten.

He frowned and looked over at the lamp, no he couldn't. Then he peeked over at the blonde as Ed sighed in annoyance. "I'm not happy with this either- but it's the Fuhrer's orders, so you're just going to have to put up with this." Mustang stated with a frown.

"It's not that- although it does suck that it has to be you Bastard that is watching over me." Ed said and looked over at the wall. "I guess you could say that I wondering why I seem to attract so much trouble."

"In all due fairness you do tend to go looking for it." Mustang said and Ed scowled in his direction. "You have a talent for pissing off people Fullmetal." He finished with a smirk.

"I don't remember pissing anybody off recently-"

"What about your last assignment?"

Ed scowled then looked away, "Not nearly enough for someone to want to kill me."

Mustang smirked and looked away, "Maybe we shouldn't trust you on how much you piss off other people. It must be hard seeing how-"

"Don't you dare say it." Ed growled and Mustang laughed.

Then there was a knock on the door and Mustang watched as the young alchemist tensed up. He frowned and stood up, slipping on his gloves as he walked over to the door, and opening it- no farther than the chain would allow, he sighed as it was only Hawkeye standing in the doorway, "Sir, I brought dinner."

Mustang nodded and opened the door, letting his Lieutenant in. She looked over at Ed with a warm smile, "How are you feeling Edward?"

"I've been worse." Ed answered and relaxed. Mustang quietly closed the door behind her- locking it then walked into the kitchen that they had set up (which wasn't much mind you.) "We really need to come up with a key word." Mustang said as he pulled out three plates.

"I'm fairly sure that you can recognize my voice sir." Hawkeye pointed out as she sat down on the sofa in the room. Mustang gave her the three plates then walked over and picked up Fullmetal- and idea that the pre-teen was not overly fond of.

"Hey!"

"You're not eating in bed and the doctor said that you shouldn't be walking for a bit." The Colonel said calmly as he set the sm-l alchemist on the couch next to Hawkeye. Then he sat across from the two as they dug in, "Any new leads?"

"None so far," Hawkeye said with a sigh, "We have the entire city looking for Doctor Perez- nothing has turned up so far."

"What about his background?" The Colonel asked then took another bite.

"Nothing that stands out- he was a small town medic then he left to go to a bigger medical school- he did some work in the South for a bit before transferring to Eastern Command." Hawkeye said with a sigh. "From the outside this guy seems completely normal."

"You might want to look into his past when he was in the small town." Ed spoke up, peeking up to see that both adults were looking over at him. "What? I've meet all sorts of small town weirdos- they can get away with more in a small town."

"Do you speak from experience?" Mustang teased and Fullmetal looked away quickly, "Although that would be a good place to look." He turned back to Hawkeye and Ed sat back, "Also cross check any places where he has gone recently with Fullmetal's."

"Yes sir. Do you want me to do the same with the previous victim?" She asked and Ed frowned.

"It can't hurt, it will at least give the family closure." Mustang said and sat back as Hawkeye stood up, already finished with her meal. Ed stared in shock at how fast the adults were able to eat. Mustang stood up and followed Hawkeye out, opening the door for her.

"I will get to work on that right away sir."

"Right."

She was about to leave when she looked back, "Keep him safe."

Mustang smirked, "I'm under orders to, and it would look bad on my reputation if I failed." He said with a smirk. She looked at him with eyes that said- we all know what you really mean- then left, closing the door behind her.

Mustang locked the door then peeked back at Ed who sat on the couch with a scowl, "Bastard."

He smirked in response as he walked over, "Finish eating Fullmetal- you still need plenty of rest."

Ed scowled and took another bite of his food.

...FMA...

Mustang sat at the desk in the dorm and sighed as he flipped another page in Doctor Perez's background. He frowned staring the photo of the dark haired clean shaven man- hardly the type you'd imagine as a serial killer. He was a star student- so why is he a killer now? He sat back and looked over at Fullmetal- who was practically engulfed in the bed and blankets. Why is he after Fullmetal?

Mustang raised an eyebrow as the young alchemist groaned and mumbled something in his sleep, shifting ever so slightly. He waited for a moment to see if the blonde was having another nightmare- which, according to Al- he had frequently. After a moment Ed's shifting stopped and he relaxed- Mustang nodded and sat back in his chair- he was about to return to his reading when he heard a small voice speak up.

"What time is it?"

"Almost five in the morning- go back to sleep Fullmetal."

He peeked over seeing Ed's tired gold eyes looking at him, "Have you been up all night?"

"Sergeant Fury stopped by earlier and I was able to take a nap, go back to sleep- you need to be resting." The Colonel said then returned to reading- missing the confused look in Fullmetal's eyes.

"Colonel-"

"Go back to sleep Fullmetal, that's an order."

"Colonel."

Mustang frowned, his tone changed- he looked up and his frowned deepened when the young alchemist reached out and pointed at the window curtain next to the Colonel. He looked at the curtain and his eyes widened as he was the red dot shining on the curtain- like a laser.

As quickly as he could he threw himself to the ground as the window shattered by a bullet passing through.

"Colonel!"

"Stay where you are!" Mustang yelled and slipped on his glove and snapped- the explosion out the window giving him enough cover to run over to where the young alchemist was and pick him up, grunting to the sudden weight. Then he threw the door open and ran out into the hall- slamming the door behind him.

The Colonel quickly turned and ran down the hall to the exit stairwell and stopped- the young alchemist in his arms tensed up, "How the hell did you get in here?" Mustang snarled at Doctor Perez- who stood in front of the exit.

The man smiled, "I'm a doctor- anybody would let me in if I told them that I have a patient here."

"Like hell! All of Eastern Command is on the lookout for you!" Mustang snapped as he set Fullmetal on the ground. "Although you did save me the trouble of looking for you." Mustang stepped in front his charge. "However, challenging me one on one is a huge mistake on your part."

The doctor smirked and rolled up his sleeve- showing a transmutation circle, "Oh really?"

"Careful." Ed spoke up, "He's an alchemist-"

"So I've noticed." Mustang responded and as the doctor moved he snapped- the area where the doctor stood exploding- and a column of water shot up. "Shit!" The Colonel snapped as the column of water slammed into him- throwing him back.

"Colonel!" Ed shouted then turned back and clapped his hands together- but was too slow as the doctor grabbed his wrists and pulled him up- slamming him against the wall with his hands apart. Earning a small yelp from the young alchemist.

"I am already aware that all you have to do is clap your hands together to transmute." The doctor said as Ed struggled under his grip. "To bad for you- because I already have my transmutation circle ready to go. My alchemy focuses with water- humans have average sixty percent of water in them-" HIs transmutation circle glowed and Ed struggled harder as a choking feeling came to him, the doctor watched- almost amused as the young alchemist in his grip struggled for air. Then he spoke calmly, "All I have to do is raise the percentage of water in your body high enough for long enough and you'll drown from the inside out-"

Then there was a gunshot and the bullet hit the doctor's arm- destroying the transmutation circle and Ed gasped and coughed as the air returned to him. "Now you can't." Mustang snarled as he aimed his gun- not appearing to be someone that one would want to make any angrier- despite being soaking wet.

"Freeze!" A guard yelled as he ran up- followed by the rest of Mustang's team and Alphonse.

"Brother!" Al yelled as he spotted his older brother in the doctor's grasp. He tried to run forward but was stopped by Hawkeye. "But-"

"Stay back." Hawkeye said, her voice calm and firm.

After a moment the suit of armor nodded and looked back over to his brother- who hadn't taken his eyes off the doctor for a moment.

The doctor scowled as he looked at all the guns trained on him, then in one fluid motion he threw Ed in front of him before taking out a canister and threw it to the floor- where everything exploded in smoke.

The smoke cleared and the doctor had already passed them, heading down the stairwell. Havoc ran up next to Fullmetal and knelt down, "You alright chief?" He asked and the young alchemist nodded as he continued coughing.

"Stay with him." Mustang ordered and ran past them, throwing his wet gloves to the ground and grabbed another set from the case Hawkeye already had opened for him. Then he ran down the hall- throwing the stairwell door open and running down as fast as he could.

Mustang looked down the stairwell and caught a glimpse of the doctor's jacket disappearing out of view and he ran down the steps as fast as he could and out the doors on the bottom floor. "Hold it!" Mustang yelled as he spotted the doctor run around the corner and he slipped on one of his gloves and ran after him.

He ran around the corner and stopped as the doctor tipped over a large canister filled with what smelled like oil. The Colonel held up his hand ready to snap and the doctor laughed. "Are you really planning on doing that?"

Mustang frowned, spotting a huge stack of containers next to them- just like the one the doctor spilled over earlier- some of the oil had seeped under the other canisters and the Colonel cursed before looking back at the doctor.

"Go ahead Flame Alchemist!" The doctor taunted. "Snap! Only a spark has to hit this oil and we'll both be blown sky high!"

"You must have some kind of death wish." Mustang growled, but held his ground.

The doctor grinned- making him look less like the calm doctor that Ed had in the hospital and more like the crazy murderer that they were looking for. "We won't be the only ones getting blown sky high of course."

The Flame Alchemist scowled and looked up, recognizing the broken window to the dorm where he and Ed had been staying- and he somehow kept his face straight as realization struck him- Ed would still be with the rest of his team out in the hall. He looked back at the man, if there's a blast- they'll be caught in it as well. "Was this your plan?" He growled, "Have me get all of us killed?"

Perez chuckled and held out his arms, "I have all sorts of traps set up for you Colonel Roy Mustang, the mighty Flame Alchemist-"

"Then I doubt you have too many set up for me!" A deep voice yelled as the ground was blown to bits underneath the two of them- throwing them back.

Mustang hit the ground and grunted before pushing himself up as he heard the familiar chant, "Allow me to show you the alchemy passed down the Armstrong Family for generations!" The huge man (without a shirt, instead having sparkles for no reason that anybody could figure out.) stomped forward as he picked up a rock the size of Mustang's head. Then he threw it and punched it- transforming it into a statue of the Major's head and shooting it at the doctor, who somehow managed to dodge.

"Impressive." Alex Louis Armstrong said then picked up another rock, "Now let's try this!" He yelled and attacked again.

Mustang looked over as Hughes stepped up next to him, "When did Major Armstrong get here?

"This afternoon." Hughes knelt down, "Is Edo okay?"

"He's with the rest of my team- he'll be fine." Mustang answered then looked over to where Armstrong was fighting, he frowned as the doctor used another water transmutation. I'm sure I got his transmutation circle- which means he had more than one. His frown deepened and Hughes took notice of this. So why didn't he use the other one against Fullmetal?

Suddenly the doctor did another Transmutation and the entire alley was filled with steam, Armstrong stepped back and glared into the steam to try and see anything- he was able to catch a silhouette moving into another alley, "He's escaping!"

The doctor snickered, "Too late-" Then he looked back and his eyes widened in shock as a woman with short hair and a military uniform stepped in his way- fist raised.

Armstrong, Mustang, and Hughes jumped as they heard what sounded like a punch and stared in shock as the doctor came flying out of the back alley- crashing into the wall and slumped to the ground.

Then the three of them watched as Second Lieutenant Maria Ross stepped out of the back alley and saluted. "Sorry about that, he put me in a bad mood- it won't happen again sir!" She said- Sergeant Brosh standing behind her with tears running down his face for whatever reason.

Hughes let out a little snicker before standing up, "No need to apologize Second Lieutenant." He said as he walked over to the doctor and pulled him up- putting handcuffs on him.

Mustang stood up and walked over to where the doctor was and knelt in front of him as the man started to wake up. "Why Fullmetal?" He asked, "Most of your traps were made for me- I have plenty of subordinates, so why did you go after Fullmetal?"

The doctor laughed and glared into his eyes, "Doesn't matter- I can't wait until you and your military burn in hell."

"We'll get more information out of him." Mustang peeked back as the Fuhrer walked up, "Well done all of you." He said and looked down at the doctor, "We finally have got another dangerous criminal off the streets."

Mustang nodded and stood up, looking back at the doctor, "You lose." He said and walked away- a frown still on his face-

Something isn't right.

.

.

.

.

There's Chapter four!

Not as long as I hoped it would be, but I didn't want to put too much in one chapter and this was a good place to stop for now.

I hope to be able to work on this one more often, and now that I have a plot- it'll be much easier!

'Til next time!