[A/N: Revised ch 2! :D Anyone know how to keep page breaks? I had some in the first chapter, but they disappeared when I uploaded it…]
I wasted a few days roaming the city and mulling Mustang's offer over. I really need a job and this one could be fun…But if Fletch showed up and I had gotten involved with the military, I wouldn't be able to just up and leave…
I kept arguing with myself, only to end up back where I started. I needed a job.
As the days passed, fall rolled in and the air became cooler. The trees changed color in the park a few blocks away from my apartment and a light jacket was necessary now. I wonder if it snows here… I thought as I was slowly walking down Main Street; it was around seven in the morning so no one was really out. My hands were shoved in my jacket pockets and I was free to let my mind wander. I had finally gotten a letter from Fletch:
"Em, Tying up a few things back home then I'll meet you there, stay put. Don't get into trouble."
That was it. Months without contact and that was all the man had to say…I frowned, slightly frustrated, and focused on the ground, trying to keep my emotions in check. The more I thought about him, the more worried I became. There was no guarantee that anything was wrong, he would have hinted in the letter if there was. I just couldn't shake this feeling…All of a sudden I ran straight into someone. I quickly stepped back and looked up, the apology dying on my lips as my gray eyes met a pair of, now familiar, blue ones.
"Emory?" He was grinning, his customary cig hanging out of the side of his mouth. "Hey! What are you doing here? Are you taking up Mustang's offer?" He asked excitedly. I stared at him, the confusion evident on my face, what the hell was he talking about? My mind was still with Fletch. Blinking, trying to clear my thoughts I slowly came back to reality.
"Oh hey, Jean" Glancing around, I realized we were in front of central command. Shit. "Well actually, uh…I still haven't decided yet." I mumbled. I felt bad lying to him. I really wanted to trust him but every time I opened up to someone, they ended up dead or coming after my blood, I was hoping he'd just take the answer without too many questions…
"Oh" He looked disappointed, I studied his face, slightly confused as to why that would disappoint him when he smiled again, "Why don't you come inside? You can sit in and see if you're interested…kinda like a test run." Damn, I don't have an excuse not to, and any normal person would kill for the chance to work for Mustang. There was no credible way to say no and keep them from becoming involved….I sighed then smiled.
"That's a great idea, I'd love to." I responded, trying to sound cheery. He grinned.
"Good, follow me." He continued walking the direction he was headed before I ran into him, and waited for me to follow. How am I supposed to get out of this? I cursed my luck again and followed. We walked through the front gate and as we approached the building, I looked up and my pace slowed. Jeeze this building is huge…How do they get anything done? I would spend weeks on end just trying to find my way around… He realized I wasn't next to him anymore, slowed and turned,
"Is something wrong?" He asked, brow furrowed slightly in confusion. I blinked, trying to figure out why he sounded confused; I hadn't realized I'd stopped.
"No, I'm fine, this place is just…massive….." I looked away from the building and back at him; he laughed that warm laugh of his and agreed before walking again. I caught up just as we reached the huge wooden front door; he nodded to the guards and walked in.
Inside there was a huge room with a large greeting desk of sorts and four secretaries who greeted the tall blonde soldier beside me with giggles and flirtatious remarks. He grinned charmingly at them, which incited more giggles and I rolled my eyes, So you're one of those huh? We reached the elevator and he pushed the button, chewing on the unlit cig thoughtfully. We stood there and waited for the elevator to arrive, I studied him out of the corner of my eye. I was tall for a girl but he stood a good head taller than me. He was nicely built, with kind blue eyes and tousled blonde hair. I remembered what the girl at the market had said and thought back to Mustang. I really just didn't see what the other women saw in him. Sure he was the tall, dark and mysterious type…well at least he worked hard to project that image, but he just struck me as an asshole…The elevator arrived and he gestured for me to go first. I smiled and thanked him; he returned the smile, followed me in and pushed the button.
"So how do you like central so far?" I looked up to meet his gaze, momentarily lost in his kind eyes, and answered without thinking.
"I like it, it's a bit too crowded for my taste but it's better than some of the other places I've been to." He raised his eyebrow questioningly,
"I grew up in the east, so I get what you're saying about it being too crowded. It sounds like you travel a lot…" He said, watching me curiously. Shit. Why do you keep saying too much? The less he knew the better. People want me dead. I'm a cold blooded killer…
"Not a lot, but I've been to enough places to say that Central is nicer than most cities." I said, trying to cover my mistake, without making it obvious. He nodded in agreement,
"Yeah it's pretty nice" The elevator came to a stop and he once again waited for me to go first. I got off the elevator and waited for him to lead the way. He set off down the hallway and I followed closely as we turned down hallway after hallway. Damn…it's even more confusing than I was expecting…
"How do you not get lost?" I asked glancing in open doors and watching people salute as he passed. He chuckled before responding,
"I did, many times, but you learn fast." He flashed a quick smile at me and kept walking.
"I doubt I would ever learn to get around here…hell I need a map to find the front door to my apartment…" I muttered. He laughed and looked over at me.
"I doubt that." He said, voice amused. I gave him an "are you kidding?" look and replied,
"Just wait, if I end up taking this job you'll see." He grinned and stopped at a large wooden door.
"Here we are." He pushed the door open and walked in first, I followed and we walked into a large well-lit room with a few tables, some filing cabinets and a door at the opposite end. There were a few large windows, making it seem light and airy. I noticed the same men that were at the bar spread out at the tables in the middle of the room. Breda greeted Havoc, who sat down across from him.
"Long time no see eh? Not since you kicked ass at that bar." Breda said to me with an amused look. I wasn't sure if I should sit too, so I stood there and it took me a minute to realize he was talking to me, I looked at him and mumbled some sort of greeting. "So does this mean you're taking the job?" He asked, studying me. I shook my head and started to answer when Havoc interrupted.
"She hasn't decided yet. I ran into her on my way here and told her she could sit in for a day and see what she thinks." Havoc answered before I could.
"Really? Well when we're not on missions we sit around and do Mustang's paperwork, it's really exciting." Breda said. The sarcasm was hard to miss, I laughed. These guys reminded me of the soldiers I worked with back home, always cracking jokes…A feeling of homesickness washed over me before being drowned out by bitterness towards my father…my teeth clenched slightly and I tried to distract myself.
"Why are you guys doing his paperwork?" I asked Breda.
"Because he's a lazy ass." He and Jean laughed for a moment before Jean looked at me, amused.
"You can sit wherever you want." I nodded and pulled out the chair next to him and sat. The door opened and a blonde woman I didn't recognize walked in. She spotted me and walked over to the table and stood next to Breda.
"You must be Emory" She said. I guess my surprise was evident because she quickly explained "Mustang told me he offered you a job. I'm Lieutenant Hawkeye, by the way." I smiled and said it was nice to meet her. She doesn't seem like someone to mess with…Is she the only woman on the team? The door opened and Mustang strode in, interrupting my thoughts. He greeted the men and his eyes narrowed in on me.
"Nice to see you here today miss Alexander. Have you decided to join us?" He walked over and smiled.
"Just call me Emory, seriously, and I'm not sure yet." I responded, watching him.
"I ran into her this morning and told her she could sit in and see what we do" Havoc interjected. Mustang nodded and told me to follow him. I hesitated then stood. Why does he want me to join his team so badly? They seem to have the right balance as it is…he walked to the door on the opposite side of the room and opened it, waiting for me to go first. Obviously chivalry isn't dead here…I walked into a well-lit office with a sitting area and a large desk. He approached the desk, set down his coffee and the stack of papers he was carrying, took off his jacket and hung it up in silence.
"I guess you've been considering my offer then?" He sat in the chair behind the desk and gestured for me to sit in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the large oak desk.
"Well sort of, I think I'm going to have to decline though." I said, keeping my face open and honest. Ok, I've got to figure out what he wants…If I had to guess he's the manipulative type…He studied me.
"Forgive my prying, but why?" He asked as he leaned back and waited for me to answer. Bingo. This man is definitely a manipulator; he's trying to get me comfortable so he can squeeze the truth out of me. I met his gaze evenly, fighting back my irritation.
"I'm waiting for a friend and as soon as he gets here, we're leaving and I doubt the military will just let me go." I need to be honest…a little anyway…He nodded,
"That's where this is different; you seem like the kind of person who travels a lot, so this will be a temporary job." Dammit, he's trying to back me into a corner…there are a million reasons not to. I already had enough soldiers hunting me; I don't need to get involved with another military. Then there was Kurono, and I don't want to get innocent people involved in the demons of my past. Memories of my last assignment flooded my mind. Blocking the garish images, I turned my focus back to the dark haired man watching me. I could tell he would keep asking questions and would try to get more involved if I kept making up excuses not to, so I gave in with a sigh. He smirked, "So you'll join us?" he questioned, looking smug. I nodded.
"Good. Be here, tomorrow at 7. You have to take an entrance exam, but I have a feeling you'll pass it. Then we have to get you a uniform and a standard issue gun." He stood and held out his hand "Welcome to the team Sergeant Major Alexander." I shook his hand, frustrated at being backed into a corner.
Breda was right; their average day was rather boring. There was something about the atmosphere though. I'd heard about it from some of the men at the bar, mostly new recruits who wanted to join Mustang's team but had been declined; they all said Mustang cared for his men like they were flesh and blood not just pawns. Which was incredibly rare in any military. Looking around at their laughing faces as they joked and pretended to do paperwork, made me realize how lucky I was to have stumbled on them. Hawkeye dismissed us at around 6 and we left the building together. The men were headed to a local bar, what I guessed to be a routine of theirs. They invited me, but I told them maybe another time and goodnight before heading in the direction of my apartment. I walked down the quiet streets (most people got out of work around 5, so there was light military traffic but not really in this area), lost in thought. I walked through the front door and up the starts to my third floor apartment, greeting my neighbor before opening the door and walking in. I stood in the dark entryway a moment, taking in the emptiness of my temporary home. It's so quiet… It had never really bothered me before, being alone, but now that I had spent the whole day joking around with people, I realized how lonely I actually was…Fletch…My stomach clenched and I sighed heavily, kicking my shoes off and stalked to the bathroom to take a shower and go to bed. My hunger was drowned in my feeling of worry as the hot water ran down my lightly scarred back. The shower was doing nothing to relieve my tension so I gave up and got out, pulling on PJ's before crawling into bed. Sleep overtook me before my head even hit the pillow.
BEEP….BEEP…..BEEP.
My alarm went off at 5:30 and I grumbled angrily as I rolled over and hit it, silencing the obnoxious beeping. I sat up, rubbing my eyes sleepily. Why in the hell did I take this damn job again? I got out of bed and sleepily made my way to the kitchen in a foul mood. Throwing some cereal in a bowl with some milk and a glass of orange juice, I sat on the counter to eat. The first spoonful was halfway to my mouth when the phone rang.
"Why can't you people just leave me alone…" I muttered angrily setting my bowl down before sliding off the counter and stalking to the phone. I angrily grabbed the receiver and put it up to my ear. "What?" This had better be a wrong number. It's too damn early to be chit-chatting…I heard a familiar warm chuckle from the other end.
"Morning sunshine." I couldn't miss the teasing tone in the man's voice. It was Havoc…I sighed and ruffled my hair angrily.
"What do you want?" I demanded. Fletch always teased me about being an absolute bear before breakfast, but it was 5 fucking 30 in the morning and I was not about to jump through hoops to be nice to people.
"I just wanted to tell you a few things before you took your exam today." He said nonchalantly. I stifled a yawn
"Listen, I really appreciate it, but I'm sure I can pass it by myself." It came out harsher than I meant it, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I really didn't want to try and focus this early…I could hear laughing from the other end. I just bit the man's head off and he was laughing at me…
"Can you name the ranks in order from highest to lowest?" He asked. I couldn't miss the hint of smugness in his voice, I scowled.
"I'll be right back." I set the phone down, and walked over to grab my bowl and glass of orange juice, muttering angrily to myself the whole way there and back, sitting on the couch next to the table where the phone was. I set the glass on the table and picked the phone up again.
"Fine, but I'm going to eat while you enlighten me, so don't expect much of a response." He caught the sarcasm and chuckled before giving me a rundown of everything I would need to know. This man is too damn awake for this time of day…After about thirty minutes, he finished.
"Well I think that covers it…" He said. I sat in silence for a moment.
"Thank you." I was in a better mood now and I really meant it too; he was going out of his way to help me. I could practically hear the smile in his voice.
"It's no problem. Good luck!" With that he hung up. I returned the receiver and got ready for the day.
I arrived at Mustang's office right at 7. I was the fourth one there behind Hawkeye, Breda and Havoc. They greeted me and I opened my mouth to respond when Mustang walked in and everyone saluted.
"You ready Emory?" He asked, walking past me to his office.
"Yeah." I responded nonchalantly, following him. He opened the door and looked at me over his shoulder.
"You mean 'yes sir'." He said, amused.
"Yes sir." I repeated, slightly sarcastically. He smirked and led the way to his desk, asking me to close the door behind us. I did as I was told and approached his desk. He held up a rather thick stack of papers.
"This is the exam. You have 3 hours to complete it and you must score an 85% or higher to be admitted to the Amestrian military." I nodded and he handed me the stack, along with a pencil and told me to sit at the small table on the other side of his office from his desk. I walked over and sat down, and got to work. Shit this test is long… Mustang sat at his desk and did paperwork, but occasionally I could see him glance up and watch me work for a few minutes. As I got into the test I realized it wasn't as hard as I thought…and that one is…answer choice C…Jeeze, Havoc really knew what he was talking about. A lot of this stuff carries over from the Arvan Guard's basic training, but some of this I would have never gotten…About an hour later I circled the last answer and carried the test over to Mustang's desk with a slightly smug smile. He was asleep next to a stack of paperwork. I held the test about a foot off the desk and dropped it. It landed with a small thud, but the way Mustang's ear was pressed against the desk it would be a lot louder. He jumped and sat up in surprise.
"Emory…You need something…"He trailed off as he noticed the stack of paper, "You're done?" He glances at the clock, "It's only been an hour and a half!" He said, astonished. I smirked.
"Yeah, and?" I asked nonchalantly. His face was utterly shocked as he flipped through the test, making sure I actually did everything, once he was satisfied he stood and headed to the door, motioning for me to follow him. Take that you arrogant ass…I thought to myself. I really appreciated the job and everything, but with this man's ego…it was a miracle he could fit through doorways…He opened it and walked out; everyone looked up, their expressions quickly turning into confusion when they saw me.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, take Miss Emory to go get a physical exam and a uniform." Mustang said to the blond woman, she saluted with a quick 'yes sir' and told me to follow her. I flashed a quick smile at Havoc and he grinned back before I followed Hawkeye.
As we walked down the hallway, she studied me.
"That was impressive, Emory, I don't think I've ever seen anyone finish the test that quickly…"
"Thanks" I said, smiling. We walked down the hallway, stopping at a door with a glass window and walked inside. There were ten beds or so, each with a curtain that could divide it from the rest of the room. A few were occupied and two or three nurses wandered about. It was a well lit room and smelled faintly of antiseptic…
"Doctor Marcus, this is a new recruit of ours, Emory Alexander. She needs a physical exam." Hawkeye explained to the man. He eyed me for a moment
"Nice to meet you Emory," He offered his hand, "I'm Doctor Marcus." I shook it and smiled at him, he seemed pretty nice.
"I'm off to find you a uniform Emory; I'll meet you back in Mustang's office." Hawkeye said to me, I nodded and she left. He led me to a small examination room off to one side and closed the door behind us.
"Ok Emory, I'm going to need you to strip down to your underwear." I frowned slightly. I knew this was coming but it still bothered me, not so much that I was half naked in front of a strange man, it was more that I wasn't sure how I was going to explain the scars…I did as I was told and stood in front of him, Goosebumps covering my skin as it came into contact with the cold air.
"That's an interesting tattoo you've got there…" He commented while he made notes on a clipboard. I subconsciously raised my hand and rubbed the tattoo between the base of my neck and my collar bone, memories flooding my brain. He continued making notes for a moment before asking me to turn. I could hear the scratching of his pen falter as his eyes roamed my back. Shit….
"What are all these scars from?" I tensed slightly and quickly made up an excuse.
"Oh, I used to break horses and I was pretty good at it, so they always gave me the crazy ones" I laughed sheepishly, hoping he wouldn't know the difference. I heard the pen resume its scratching.
"Oh really? You know how to ride horses then?" He asked. He seemed to believe me, but he was a military doctor and would probably know what made scars like those…I nodded. He told me I could get dressed again and he checked all my reflexes, my teeth, my eyes, the whole nine yards. It took about fifteen minutes,
"Alright Emory…All finished." He put some papers into a file and gave it to me, "If you don't mind taking this to Mustang that would be great." I smiled and nodded.
"It was nice meeting you." He returned the smile and left the small room, effectively ending the conversation. I frowned slightly and got dressed before somehow finding my way back to Mustang's.