Part two: Starting a Fire
Pairing: Royai
Rating: T as of now. Rating will change.
Summary: Roy and Riza goes to the bar were the disappearance occurred. But everything doesn't go like they thought…
Roy had put on his best suit to look the part. It was dark, just like his pulled back hair and his eyes, giving him a classy yet dangerous look. Riza on her part was wearing a silky ivory dress that was very close to her body, flattering her womanly curves. Her hair was down this time, flowing in angelic curls on her shoulder.
Riza had arrived earlier at the jazz bar and was sitting at a table in the back of the room, waiting for her date to join her. When Roy finally entered, all heads turned to look at him. Women were in aw in front of his handsomeness and men were jealous of his confidence and popularity. But the women were disappointed when he sat in front of Riza, who was herself very enviable. Together, they made a stunning couple, or at least, that was what they looked like to the public eye. The reality was something else. They were both there for business and were far from a couple.
Roy sat down in front of Riza and put his hat on the table, slicking his hair back.
"Good evening, Miss Hawkeye. You look lovely tonight" he complimented.
"Thank you Mister Mustang. You don't look half bad either" she replied.
Roy made a sign to a waiter and ordered a glass of scotch. Riza didn't order anything, because she already had a martini in front of her. She also had a cigarette holder in her hand. He took out a cigarette of his own and she offered him a light.
"I've brought some pictures of the suspects that the police had. I haven't seen any of them yet but maybe we'll have more luck later. One of them owns this place so we're almost sure to see him tonight" she said, holding out a bunch of pictures.
Roy looked through them and scanned the room to look for any of them, but as she said, none of them were there yet. But since they were usual customers, it was more than probable that they would come, especially since it was a Saturday night.
"I was wondering, why did you become a private detective?" she asked.
"Ah, well…I don't really know. It just kinda happened I guess" he answered, taken aback.
Riza laughed, amused by his baffled look. Her laugh was clear and engaging.
"So do you do something else besides investigation?" she asked.
"What about you? What do you do for a living?" he replied, avoiding the question.
"Not answering are you? You're quite the mysterious man, Mister Mustang" she mocked.
"I could say the same about you, Miss Hawkeye" he refuted.
On the stage in front of the room, the musicians began playing, cutting short their conversation. But they didn't mind. It seemed they both weren't willing to talk much about themselves, so they just enjoyed the music while drinking and looking around the room for any suspicious people.
After a moment, Riza excused herself to the bathroom. Not long after she had left him, three men entered the bar. Roy instantly recognized them from the pictures Riza had shown him earlier. They crossed the room and went through a back door. The last man looked back then closed the door behind him. Roy thought they looked a bit suspicious. He decided to wait for Riza's return to do anything, but it was taking a while.
About five minutes later, one of the men came out and went to the bar. He gave something that Roy couldn't see to the barman and got out of the bar. Then, the musicians stopped playing and went backstage. Roy had a strange feeling. The actions of the three men and the atmosphere of the bar was weird. Also, Riza still wasn't back from the bathroom after fifteen minutes. Roy thought that everything was a bit too shady, so he went to check on Riza. However, Roy didn't have to time to make more than a few paces before something exploded behind the bar counter. Roy was thrown a few feet back into one of the table. He was out of breath because of the shock, but he only had minor injuries. He stood up slowly and looked around the room. He was a bit dizzy and his ears were buzzing because of the explosion. But he could still hear the gunshot coming from the opposite side of the room. And surprisingly, they were going toward him. Roy quickly duck behind a column and took out his gun. He took quick peeks and when he finally spotted the guy who was shooting, he shot him back. He aimed for non-lethal places and succeeded in shooting his arm, making the guy scream and drop his gun.
Roy then ran to the bathroom and entered to check on Riza, not caring that it was the woman's bathroom. He found her lying on the floor, unconscious. She was bleeding from her head and her leg was stuck under the sink that fell because of the explosion. The bathroom was a wreck and Roy could see that the fire caused by the explosion was spreading quickly toward their position. He removed the sink from Riza and took her bridal style carefully. He decided that it would be a better decision to not cross the room, since it was on fire and he was shot. So, he walked carefully from the bathroom to the back door, which was not too far away.
Since Riza was still unconscious and hurt, he put her in his car and drove back to his apartment. Roy knew, mostly from experience, that what happened that night was highly illegal business and that laying low for a couple of days would be the best idea, either for him than for her. He didn't knew who or why, but it seemed that someone was targeting him. It was true that he was working on a case that might get him into trouble, but he only got the contract the day before, so it was improbable that someone already knew about this. But still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Once he got home, he placed Riza carefully on his own bed and hurried to his bathroom to take some disinfectant and bandages. Roy cleaned Riza's wounds and tucked her up. He let her in her evening gown, thinking it might be a little too much to go as far as taking the clothes off an unconscious woman. Roy on his part got change and laid down on his couch. He was still a bit confused about the night's events, but, exhausted, fell asleep quickly.
When Riza woke up, her head was throbbing and she didn't recognize the bedroom she was in. She sat in the bed, her head in her hands, trying to remember what about the night before. She was at the bar with the detective she hired and she had gone to the bathroom. And then…and then there was the explosion. After that, she didn't remember anything.
Riza stood up, realizing that she was still in her evening dress, but her wounds have been cleaned and bandaged. She noticed some clothes on the end table beside the bed, with a note on it. It read "Feel free to change into these clothes". She didn't like the thought of changing into someone else's clothes, but her dress was dirty and ripped at several places after all. So she changed and got out of the room.
She walked across a corridor that led to the living room, from which the kitchen could be seen. There was a man in the kitchen making coffee. She recognized Roy, deducing that he brought her here after the explosion. He heard her and turned around, holding two cups of coffee.
"You're up just in time, I made some coffee. Oh, I also have some food if you're hungry" Roy told her.
"Coffee's fine" she answered hoarsely.
They both sat at the dining room table and she sipped her coffee eye's closed, her headache only getting worse. Roy noticed that she seemed to be in bad shape, so he went to the bathroom and brought back painkillers.
"Thank you" she smiled.
They remained silent for a while. They were both embarrassed by the intimacy of the situation, her being in his clothes although they only knew each other for two days. Roy wanted to relax the atmosphere, so he decided to talk about the night before.
"Right before the explosion yesterday I saw three of the guys from the pictures you showed me. I even saw one of them give something to the barman two minutes before it came off" he said.
Riza looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
"But, the bar is owned by one of them, why would they blow it off?" she wondered.
"I don't know. But the thing is they did, and now they're prime suspects" he added, letting out the fact that he was attacked on purpose.
The silence fell onto the room once again.
"Are you wounds alright?" he inquired.
"Yes, don't worry about it. I think I bump my head when the explosion came off but other than that, I'm fine" she answered with a smile.
Roy couldn't find anything else to talk about. He noticed Riza seemed cold with only a t-shirt on, so he grab a sweater and put it on her shoulders. She looked up to him and smiled thankfully.
"I used to be in the police force before becoming a private" Roy confessed.
Riza looked at him confused by the sudden confession.
"Yesterday you asked me if I was doing something besides investigation, well I don't. But I used to be a policeman" he explained.
"Really? Sorry I kinda bashed the police force when we met the first time…" she apologized.
"Don't worry about it. I left because I didn't like the way they handled things. I guess this kind of life suits me more" he reassured her.
She nodded in agreement and passed her arms through the sleeves of the sweater.
"What about you Miss Hawkeye?" he asked.
"Please, call me Riza" she told him.
"Then please call me Roy" he replied.
"Well then Roy, I am a waitress and I also sing in cabarets" she answered.
"You do? Then I guess I'll have to go to one of your shows" he said surprised.
"You're very welcome to do so."
Riza gulped down the rest of her coffee and looked at Roy.
"Thank you for saving me yesterday Roy" she said softly.
"Don't mention it."
The tension between had gone down, and they were now conversing happily. They talked about themselves and about other meaningless things. There was definitely chemistry between the two and Roy would've lied if he said he wasn't attracted by her. But Riza wasn't the type of girl he usually took home. She was much classier; she wasn't the type of girl you took home for a one night stand. Riza on her part was on her guard. He was indeed a gentleman, but she knew he had the reputation a womanizer. But still, he was a handsome and charismatic man. And Riza was weak against that kind of confident man.
So just like that, another kind of fire started.