Pairing: Royai

Rated: K+ for this chapter, T for the fic as of now

Notes: Did I just end this with a cliff hanger! Oh yes I did!

It has already been a week since the explosion incident and Roy still couldn't find the suspects. He even reported what he had saw that evening with the pictures of the men to his contacts at the police station, but even they couldn't find anything. Roy eventually gave up that trail, especially when Hughes told him they found evidences on the crime scene that the explosion was a settling of scores between gang members. That brought Roy back at the start.

But Riza hadn't given up and prepared a meeting place for them to discuss their next action. The place was a small cabaret that had just opened. When he came in at the scheduled hour, a man came to him and brought him at reserved table right in front of the stage. Roy couldn't see Riza in the crowd, but decided to sit back and enjoy the show that was about to begin while waiting for her. His eyes widen in utter surprise when the curtains opened, because Riza was standing in the middle of the stage, a microphone in front of her. The music started slowly and Riza started to sing smoothly. Her voice was so captivating that everyone in the audience stopped talk to listen. After a few measures, the rhythm picked up, the musicians playing louder and faster. Riza took off her shawl and threw it on the side, uncovering a sleek red dress, opened in the back and with a neckline low enough for Roy to admire her wonderful cleavage. He smiled to himself, enjoying the song and the beautiful woman in front of him.

Once it was over, the audience acclaimed her and she went backstage. A few minutes later, she came out and joined him at his table.

"That was quite a pleasant surprise" he complimented.

"You did tell me you'd like to see one of my shows" she replied.

"Well it was worth it. You're a great entertainer."

"Thank you Roy" she smiled.

"So now, let's talk business."

Riza straightened herself and put on a serious face.

"As you know, I have some contacts within the police force. I know you don't trust them but hear me out. They agreed to meet us and give us some secret information. Meaning information that you didn't get" he said in a low voice.

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to meet them" she agreed.

A swing song came on and Riza's face lit up. She grabbed Roy by the hand and took him on the dance floor.

"C'mon, dance with me!" she requested.

He laughed but complied and they both danced until their feet hurt. The next song was slower, so Roy took her by the waist with one hand and took hers with the other. They smiled at each other, enjoying the moment. And Riza had to admit that he wasn't a bad dancer. In fact, he was really good. He swept her around like she they were floating and at the end, he even leaned her all the way back, holding her with one hand on her back and one on her waist, making her blush. Then he put her back on her feet, escorted back at their table and gave her a peck on the hand. She let out a small laugh, definitely charmed.

The rest of evening went smoothly and when it was time to call it a night, Roy walked her home. They stood on her porch facing each other. It felt so much like a date that they almost forgot they were together for business. Roy took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Riza.

"Here. My phone number, just in case and the meeting point with my contacts" he told her.

"Oh, right. Shall I give you mine, in case you find something?" she asked, taking the paper.

"I already have it" he smirked.

She was shocked at first, but then remembered he was a private detective after all.

"Of course, Mister Detective. What was I thinking?" she laughed.

She placed a hand on his arm and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Well good night, then. Thanks for coming tonight, it was nice" she said with a smile.

"Good night Riza" he smiled back.

He then left and Riza entered her house, both smiling.

Three days later, Riza went to the meeting place, just as planned. It was an apartment in an old apartment complex, which was located in a lower-class district. She knocked on the door and a voice answered to come in. The apartment was empty, except for a few chairs and a table. Roy was sitting with two men, whom he introduced as Maes Hughes and Jean Havoc.

"So you're the mysterious lady Roy been talking about. Nice to meet you" greeted Hughes.

Havoc smiled at her and greeted her too, a cigarette in his hands.

"Thank you for coming. I really appreciate" she thanked them.

"It's nothing really. Anything to make our job more entertaining. So, Roy told us a bit about your case. And we have some good news, and some bad news" Hughes said.

"Good news is we used to have a suspect with solid evidences on the disappearance you're investigating on. Bad news is we USED to" continued Havoc.

"Meaning?" Roy asked.

"The guy changed names and cities one day and we haven't been able to find him since then. But if we catch him, there's a good chance that it's your guy" Hughes finished.

"Damn. What evidence did you have?" Roy inquired.

"He was seen by several witnesses at the bar where the disappearance occurred. He was well known within the police force because of his minor offenses and it was also a known fact that he had some huge debts. Also…" Hughes began.

"Wait, are you talking about Alfred Pearce?" Riza blurted out.

The three men looked at her, shocked and surprised at the same time.

"How do you know about him?" Havoc wondered.

"You mean you don't know? He's dead!" Riza announced.

"WHAT!?" they all said in unison.

"He never changed cities, he was killed and burned in a back alley here, in Central" she explained.

"But how come you know that?" Roy asked, suspicious.

Riza looked at the three men and realized that it was in fact strange that she, a civilian, would know about something like this. She moved uncomfortably on her chair.

"My…my father used to be in suspicious business and left me with some debts. I had to deal with him at some point that's why I knew he was dead" she confessed.

"I see. I can't believe it. It seems every lead we have ends up being a dead end" Roy sighed.

"And what about the place he used to hide? Did you find anything there?" Riza asked.

They all looked at each other embarrassed, then back at Riza.

"You don't know about the hiding place…" Riza presumed.

Hughes took a paper and a pen and slipped it in front of Riza. She wrote the address down and gave it back to him.

"And it was right under our nose too…alright. Let's meet up here tomorrow at 6PM and we'll go there" Hughes proposed.

They all agreed and stood to leave.

"Oh and boss? Don't act reckless and bring this girl there without back up, got it?" Havoc added.

Roy gave him a guilty smile and replied "Got it."

When they got out, Riza gave Roy a glare.

"Boss, huh?"

He didn't add anything and shrugged his shoulders with a smirk.

They met as promised in the same apartment the day after. They all took one gun, just in case something went wrong, even Riza. The hiding place Riza mentioned was a rundown apartment complex, which was probably used to deal drugs now. But as of now, it looked empty. They walked slowly through the entrance hall, but suddenly five men came out of nowhere and pointed guns at them. Being outnumbered and because they didn't have their gun in hands, they raised their hands in rendition. They knocked them out with the butt of their guns and the last thing Roy could see was Riza being taken away by one of the men.