Behind Closed Doors

Summary: Children have been disappearing all of Central City for the past few months. When Roy is put on the case, his worst nightmare becomes a reality he'd rather not live... especially when Edward disappears. (Parental Relationship)

Warnings: Torture, pain, possibly gruesome descriptions and lots of angst… and slight possibility of Male x Male implications…

Authors Note: I'm sorry; this is a short chapter but an imperative one if the story is to move forward… And yes, my plot bunny has been busy. I now have five other ideas for five other fictions all of which belong to different Anime's and I still have to finish the 13 odd that I've already posted on here.

-.-'

Well looks like I'm not gonna be seeing my bed for a while.

Ch5; Of Heartbreaks and Sorrows…

Riza kept herself hidden. She was on the other side of the van, watching the wing mirror incase someone spotted her from inside. She had to get this right. If she didn't, well she'd never see poor Edward again. And that was unacceptable.

"You know Colonel whoever you are, you have no chance against me. I've been to places you wouldn't even dream about, I've learned things your brain could never imagine… you might as well give up now." Cocky bastard… No! Focus! You have to help Edward!

"Oh and how would you know? You've never fought me before and you certainly don't know where I've been or what I've learned." Good come back Sir! Her eyes stayed focussed on the wing mirror, she could see into the cabin now. A dark haired little girl sat in the passenger's seat while in the back a red head was holding on to Edward as though he were her last hope of survival. The boy however made no movements to indicate that he was even conscious. Her brow furrowed. They'd drugged him just like the other kids. How cowardly!

"Hm we'll soon see… heeyah!" The sounds of a battle broke out loudly and Riza took that as her cue. She reached the passenger door and tugged it open aiming her gun at the red head while keeping an eye on the little girl too. Shocked crimson eyes locked fearfully on the gun and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Don't shoot! Please!" Her cries were loud but quiet enough that no one else could hear her. Riza frowned, could this woman also be a victim? Then that girl was too? She made a decision; they were harmless.

"Are either of you hurt?" The woman shook her head. The girl made no response. Probably scared stiff. Riza's eyes fell down to Edward's prone form splayed over the woman's lap; he was still sleeping.

"Let me check him…" The woman hesitated as though unsure if she should trust the blonde militant but she relinquished her hold somewhat, acting as though trying to keep the boy as comfortable as possible. Riza reached over to check his pulse and make sure he was unharmed. There was a nasty bump on the back of his head but other than that he seemed relatively unharmed. Riza turned to speak again but a sharp horrid spike of pain suddenly gripped her head. She looked up just in time to see the girl's hands glowing slightly before she fell forward into the waiting arms of unconsciousness.

She never saw Edward stir.

Block, kick, kick, block, block, block…Damn this guy was fast. It was all Roy could do to keep from being hit. The guy was keeping close to him, not giving him a chance to back away and use his preferred form of alchemy. He growled in frustration. This guy was smarter than he looked; he'd underestimated him. A fatal mistake but not one that wasn't rectifiable. He just had to think quickly. Tch, but that was Edward's high ground. Sure the blonde twit was cocky and abrasive but he wasn't called a child genius for nothing.

What would Edward do? A smirk; he'd probably transmute the ground into a cage but Roy couldn't do that without a transmutation circle.

A slight pause in the rain of blows had him glancing at the floor; scuff marks of where they had been fighting stuck out like a sore thumb.

Then an idea hit him.

A soft warm wind found his face in short bursts. Dull nullified sounds make its way to his awareness. Slowly feeling came back to him but it felt strange, like he wasn't upright anymore but rather, upside down or laid on his side? He couldn't move much, his muscles still ridden with the sedative in his system but his mind was fighting back. Something familiar had found his unconscious mind and his body was trying to respond.

Garbled voices were talking in hushed tones nearby. He concentrated on them trying to will his mind to wake up some more. But the first things he could make out sent chills down his spine…

"Shall I kill her Kaa-san?" Such a young voice saying such horrible words. His mind must be fuzzier than he thought. It wasn't until the second voice found his befuddled brain that he suddenly realised he wasn't dreaming. His stomach turned.

"No! We don't kill people. We use them." Gods it was that woman…why did the Gods curse him with her?! What had he done to deserve this sort of punishment? He paused, his sarcasm finally kicking in – yeah ok, he'd done some pretty stupid things to warrant a holy punishment but come on! This was just too much!

"Will Dou-san let her come with us to Pei-Ling?" Pei-Ling? That's where they were taking him? Hmm, maybe he wasn't so screwed after all. If he could just get a message to the Colonel then he'd be found within days, then he could go home and give his brother a talking to about baby names and the evil sin of naming your son after your badly named brother who doesn't like his own name anyway.

"I don't think so. Just shove her outside and lock the doors." Damnit who on earth were they talking about anyway?! He struggled to find the muscles to his eyes; they were weak but still functional… of a sort. He struggled a little more before the hazy world of light filled his bleary sight. He blinked tiredly a few times to clear his vision, his body still completely numb. The peaceful face of Riza Hawkeye met his gaze. She was out for the count. Great no help there, but then a thought struck him.

His eyes fell closed again, the sedatives in his system finding new power over him. He struggled to stay awake…

'I've got… to leave a… clue… but how…'

Derry knew exactly what Roy was up to the minute the dark haired man had decided it, but he let the man think he had the upper hand anyway; watching the confident faces of those who thought they had him in a corner turn suddenly sour as they realise they were the ones cornered were always so exciting. And this was no exception. The man was drawing a transmutation circle in the dirt in order to trap him without letting on at all.

Hn, the guy was good, he'd give him that.

The circle was almost complete, just one more line to make. That was when Derry jumped up high and landed outside the circle right next to the passenger side door and opened it.

"Lavender dear go close the back doors for me." The purple eyed little girl moved obediently, climbing over the backs of the seats to get to the rear of the vehicle. The slamming of van doors echoed loudly in the cavern. She then found her seat again and sat quietly.

Roy stood up from his crouched finished position and moved to charge forward but Derry reached into the cabin and dragged Riza's prone form out of the van. Roy froze.

"I wouldn't if I were you." The man didn't even sound out of breath where as Roy was completely exhausted.

"I won't hesitate in killing her…"

The screech of tyres echoed loudly in the cavern and the smell of burning rubber filled every nook and cranny. Several pairs of eyes looked up from their respective battles and watched as the van they'd been loading or trying to stop careened out of the cave and down a tunnel nobody had noticed before.

Then someone turned the lights back on…

Completely abandoned now, the thugs gave up, some more quietly than others. And it was then that his team found him, cradling Riza's unconscious form on the floor, berating himself for letting them get away… and taking Edward with them.

"Sir…" Coal black eyes opened darkly. A deep anger swelled from inside. Derry had just made himself Enemy No. 1 on The Flame Alchemist's 'To Kill' list.

"Pei… ling? Pei-ling? Sir is that where they're taking him? To Pei-Ling?" His eye's snapped up to Fuery who was reading a piece of paper. The small man glanced over at his CO before answering the unasked question. "It was in Lt Hawkeye's hand." He handed the note over to Roy who grudgingly relinquished his hold on Riza. Medical uniforms lunged into action as his attention glued itself to the note in his hands. It was humming with alchemical energy.

Edward had left a breadcrumb.