I don't own FMA, but I do own the various original characters and story line.

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Kain, Heymans, Vato, and Julie snapped to attention and saluted Andrew as he escorted Roy into the office.

Heymans took note of the gloom that seemed to emanate from his superior officer.

"Good morning Sirs," Andrew boomed in a very Alex-esque manner. Everyone, except Roy, retuned the greeting. "Second Lieutenant Mrow, you will take First Lieutenant Hawkeye's shift. You will start every day at 1900 hours and end the next morning when I send over a replacement, at least until Second Lieutenant Havoc returns then you two will switch off. You will return to your usual shift when First Lieutenant Hawkeye has medical clearance to return."

"Yes Sir," Julie said with a sparkle in her eyes. Scar must have used her information-she knew he did. One obstacle was out of her way. She was a bit saddened that he hadn't killed her.

The three men were staring at Andrew with intense curiosity. Sierra turned to Kain and whistled. "Sergeant Fuery, you've been appointed the task of taking care of First Lieutenant Hawkeye's dog."

Hayate ambled over to his temporary master with his head hung low—his mistress needed him. A strange familiar scent had been in her apartment, but they had stopped him from investigating. He didn't like this man giving orders, he separated them.

Riza made a pot of tea and hobbled to her bed with a mug in her hand. She wouldn't have believed she had downed three glasses of vodka the night before if not for the headache that accompanied the throbbing in her leg. All she wanted to do was a quite sleep. As she lay down in her bed she decided that letting them take Hayate might have been a bad idea—at least her would have kept her company. She finished her tea, set the mug on her bedside table, and rested her head on a pillow. It took about an hour, but eventually she found the sleep she wanted.
Ken sat in the café re-reading his final manuscript for the third book. Jeff finished wiping down the tables. Afternoons were always slow. He took a seat across from Ken. "You main character was attacked last night."

"What?" Ken asked surprised at the news.

"You've read about that Scar guy, right? You know, the Ishbalan with a vendetta against all state alchemists." Ken nodded. "He attacked the Flame Alchemist last night, but his lieutenant is the one who got hurt. I saw the copy of the second book you gave her in his apartment," he stopped when Ken gave him a bewildered look. "I live two apartments down from him, heard the commotion, saw the man leaving, and called the doctor to Mustang's apartment."

"So, what happened?" Ken asked, all thoughts of his manuscript gone.

"She took a bullet to the leg. Doctor ordered her to a week of bed rest. Maybe you should drop that third one at her place. She's the type to go insane from lack of activity," Jeff finished with a nod towards the manuscript on the table.

Scar sat crouched in the tub rimmed with deep eggplant colored shower curtains. His limbs were stiff and his left shoulder hurt like hell. He hadn't heard anything since she walked sown the hall to her room hours ago. He slowly pulled the shower curtain aside wincing at the slight scraping noise the plastic rings made against the metal pole they were fastened round. He listened for her to come down the hall, but all he heard was silence. He crept into the hall and took a right to the main room of the apartment. It was just like the one he had been in the night before, but smaller. His eyes fell on the tea kettle atop the stove. He'd use the drug the infuriating woman had given him. When the raven-haired beauty had threatened to turn in his people if they didn't let her see him he'd hated her, but he was slowly starting to trust her. She hadn't betrayed their location, not like they'd stayed in the same spot afterwards. She's even given him a key to Mustang's apartment, and supplied him with a gun. He pulled a flask out of his coat pocket-a chemical compound she had supplied him with. She told him the military used it to drug their suspects during under-cover missions. He preferred using the arm God had seen fit to give him to win his battles, but the bullet buried in his left shoulder convinced him to add some to the stepped tea. He was putting the flask back into his coat pocket when a shout from the next apartment over startled him into dropping it. He fumbled with the canister until is finally clanked to the tiled floor.
Riza woke to a clattering sound in her kitchen. She jumped out of bed only to have her right leg crumple under her in pain. She slowly stood back up, put a minimal amount of weight on her right leg, and proceeded to hobble out of her room with one gun in hand, another in her thigh holster, and a third tucked into the back of her pants. Her view from the hall showed no one in the main room or kitchen, but someone could easily be lying in wait along one of the walls.
Scar pushed himself as flat as he could against the wall, waiting for her to emerge. The gun slowly poked into the room first. He took his change and kicked it out of her hands. The gun went flying and hit wall opposite him with a thud. Her gun was quickly replaced with another. This one was pointed at him, and the blonde was staring at him through narrowed eyes. His shock at her eye color did not show in his actions. His right hand was quick to grasp the barrel of the gun. He deconstructed it without a second thought. He was glad for the shouting match that was going on in the apartment next to her. The mini-explosion in her hand made her stumble backwards into the wall, but she didn't forget about her last gun. She dug it into his gut as he pinned her against the wall with his weight.

"Do you really think that piece of metal scares me?" he asked her.

"I could kill you in an instant," she said, pressing the gun harder against him.

"Yet you've hesitated, why? Is it because your eyes? Your skin is as pale as all the other officers you work with, but where did you get those eyes? Whose relatives did you kill during the war-your mother's or your father's?" Scar spit in her face at the question. She was worse then state alchemists. He stomped his foot on her wound.

Riza held back her scream of anguish-both mental and physical-but her grip on the gun slackened. She kept her face neutral to the sound of the metal pistol hitting her tiled floor, but she knew her hope of escaping him was gone. The only thing she could do now was convince him to keep her alive.

"Leverage," she gasped as his hand made its way towards her face. "You can use me as leverage—bait. Dead I will be of no use to you. Keep me alive and the Flame Alchemist will play right into your hands," she said when his hand paused inches from her face. "You could even get Fullmetal and Strongarm if you play your cards the right way," she grunted through gritted teeth.

His hand got closer—she could make out every wrinkle on his leathery palm. No, she wouldn't let herself become a black splash of blood on her apartment wall. She scolded herself into thinking. 'What else can I say? He seemed interested in my so called Ishbalan blood—am I Ishbalan? Back to the plan—Ishbalan, yes that's it, play on his desires.' "I want revenge on this country. They made me kill my own people, let me help you," she pleaded.

Scar considered what she said, and her earlier proposal. "Don't think I am going to let you know how to escape. Drink this," he said and shoved the flask into her hands. All the while he kept his right arm on her side and foot on her wound. He didn't bother warning her about the deadly effect the concoction could have if she drank too much.

Riza's eyes widened as she caught the sweet, familiar scent of the liquid drug. It was only used on the most important field missions, because it could be used to make a suspect unconscious, but the proper amount could kill the person who consumed it. No one under the rank of second lieutenant knew about it. Someone was already working with him. She had to find out, but not now. Now, she had to follow his directions. She took a small sip, gagging on the sickly sweet taste of it. It would take approximately three minutes before she passed out, without warning. That was why the military loved the drug the named the inhibitor. The suspect would have no clue that they had been drugged until they woke up in custody five to ten hours later—depending on their consumption and body weight. Her eyes traveled to the window above her sink—the small part in the curtains showed her the dark night sky.

Ken Pierce was about to knock on the door of her apartment when he heard a loud bang that was drowned out by the screaming coming from the apartment beside hers. He pushed his ear up against the door, hoping no one would walk into the hall and see him. He heard something hitting a wall, and then something falling, a man's deep voice, and a woman's jagged one, but the words were muffled.

After a few minutes of silence he heard a grunt and footsteps coming towards the door. He ran down the hall to another hall leading to more apartments, and he watched from the shadowed corner. A man with a bloodstained left shoulder carried the blonde over his shoulder.

Ken felt relieved when the man went the other way to the back exit of the building. Ken silently cursed who ever it was that came up with the saying 'The pen is mightier than the sword.' Hell, he didn't need a sword—he needed a gun and a troop of military officers. Instead he had to settle for following the man and hoping he wasn't discovered.

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A.N.-I keep forgetting to mention when this takes place in FMA. It happens after Roy's battle with Scar-in which Riza calls him useless. That happens in both anime and manga. It takes place after those incidents, Lab5 has happened, which is why Maria and Denny know what it's like to babysit Ed and Al. Uhm, I'm kind of going off the theory that Riza has Ishbalan blood. Okay The pen is mightier than the sword according to Trivia-Library was coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a play-wright. Thanks for reading!

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