Al sat next to the Fuhrer on their way to the crime scene. He felt uncomfortable, being around someone with such power, even if they had known Roy Mustang for six years now. Al wasn't even a state alchemist yet, but he was training hard and Fuhrer Mustang wanted him in this case because it involved the philosopher's stone and Ed. Al was determined to rescue his brother alive. He felt like he owed Ed and apology too, because if Al had been there with Ed, maybe they would have had a better chance of taking down the person behind the kidnappings. That stuff is gonna have to wait until after we rescue Ed, Al thought as the Mustang's car pulled up to the alley where Second Lieutenant Ross and Ed were ambushed. Mustang had brought a small team of people to examine the alley from top to bottom, every nook and cranny, to find any piece of evidence that could help in the investigation. Hawkeye, of course, was loyally by Mustang's side, pointing out things he missed. Havoc was there too, examining for any tracks the person may have left behind. Second Lieutenant Ross had come as well, even though the Fuhrer himself had suggested she stay back and rest, and was leading everyone there through the events of last night. Al scrutinized every inch of the alley.
"Hey! Second Lieutenant Ross, I think I found something!" Ross came over to inspect what AL had found, and when she caught sight of what it was she gasped, her eyes misty.
"That's... those are the sandwiches Ed and I went to buy at the cafe. He... he said he was buying two because he knew that even though you had said you weren't hungry, you would want to eat once you smelled the aroma of food." Al felt his eyes sting with tears. He hunched forward, not wanting Ross to see. He blinked fast, trying to stop himself from crying. Now is not the time to cry, Al thought to himself. I need to be tough, Ed needs me.
The search team returned back to Central Command, after having collected little to nothing of evidence. Fuhrer Mustang rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. They had gone over everything collected from the alley four times now, trying to form connections to figure out who the kidnapper was. So far they had a rag doused with chloroform, probably what the kidnapper had used to knock out Ed, Ross's gun which had been knocked out of her hand that night, and the order of sandwiches Ed had bought at the cafe. None of these pieces seemed to fit, and Mustang seriously doubted if the sandwiches and gun should even be considered as evidence.
"This is absolutely POINTLESS! How are we supposed to figure out who the criminal is when all we have is a rag and sandwiches?" Al looked up from his notes with a grimace.
"There has to be something! We have to find out where Ed is and rescue him," Al declared with determination. Mustang knew he was right. There had to be something they could use, some connection they could make, that would lead them to Ed.
"You're right, Al. We have to keep looking. Why don't you bring over that map of Central so we can mark where all the kidnappings have occurred, along with where we found the bodies. Maybe there's something there that we're missing."
Al felt exhausted. He had reviewed every little piece of information of the case with Mustang and his subordinates. There were so many empty spaces, unanswered questions that had them stumped. Al slowly climbed into bed. He missed hearing Ed's snore coming from the couch, or seeing the arrogant glint in his golden eyes. Al sighed. It felt good to feel the mattress underneath him. It seemed to soak up his worries, leaving him feeling light. It was all just an illusion, because no matter how many times he buried his face into his pillow, Ed was still out there, somewhere, in danger of losing his life to become part of a philosopher's stone. Al felt the tears he had been holding back all day overflow, marking a path down his cheeks. He felt lost. He wanted comfort, but all he managed to find in the adults at Central was pity. Pity that he may not be able to rescue his brother, that they'll have to recover another body. Al didn't know what he would do if he had to pick flowers for his brother's grave. Al lay there, crying himself to sleep, where he could fall into oblivion, not having to worry about anyone or anything because in his mind, everything could be perfect.