Chapter 10

"It doesn't rain but it pours."

Miles glanced up from the delivery that had been brought in by courier barely half an hour ago. The unamused look in his eyes told his adjutant what he thought of his philosophical observations.

"Thanks, Benji," he muttered.

"No problem, sir. Will you be radioing the brigadier?" Benjamin asked.

"Not yet." Miles frowned at the paper on his desk. "I might say something I'll regret. Let's assess the situation first." He stood up, handing the envelope and its contents to the sergeant major. "Andakar said he was going out to meet with the circus people, so let's saddle up and track him down."

The clanging of metal against metal rang through the air as four roustabouts wielding four sledge hammers pounded a thick metal tent stake into the ground in an easy, practiced rhythm. The sound mixed with the calls of humans and the huffing, whinnying, and growling of animals.

Danika and Mika cautiously held their hands out and giggled as the baby elephant searched their palms with her small trunk. Scar hovered behind them, keeping one eye on the girls and the other on the baby's enormous mother. Darius assured him that Hyacinth was a sweetheart who loved showing off her baby, but Scar couldn't help feeling a little anxious. She was huge, and it was difficult to believe that the short, spare young man who stood at the elephant's shoulder could actually control her if she thought her baby was being threatened. After all, he knew how he would react. But neither Darius nor Heinkel, who were busy talking to Winry, were the least bit concerned. Winry was more interested in the capuchin monkey perched on Darius' shoulder, or rather the monkey was more interested in her. He kept doffing his tiny fedora to her. Scar had to smile to himself. The girl's list of admirers was still growing.

Mika looked up at the massive female. "Your baby is very beautiful, Miss Hyacinth."

Hyacinth let out a proud, satisfied snuff through her trunk.

"Yeah, Hyacinth is all about babies these days," Darius chuckled. The monkey looked away from Winry for a moment to let out a short peal of chatter. "Yes, Manfred," Darius replied with weary patience. "You're all about food. Let's get set up first."

Manfred grinned and chattered again, leering at Winry.

Darius rolled his eyes. "And you can keep your personal life to yourself."

"Can you tell what all the animals are saying?" Danika asked in wonder.

"Sure," Darius replied easily. "All us chimeras can. The ordinary folk sometimes think we're pulling their legs, but we know the score, don't we Manny?"

Manfred squawked sharply.

"The guy who used to own this circus abused the animals," said Todd, the elephants' caretaker, as he scratched Hyacinth's shoulder. "So us chimeras put all our government checks together and bought it from him."

"So now the animals are a lot happier," Heinkel joined in. "And we keep 'em that way. We've got plenty of other acts, but it's the animal performers who really steal the show. If they've got a problem or something they need, they can come to us and tell us what's on their minds."

"Take little Petal here," Darius said, gesturing toward the baby elephant. "Her ma told us she really wanted to have a baby before she got too much older, so once we had control of the circus, we made an arrangement with the Central City Zoo, who had a fine looking bull elephant."

"It was very romantic," Todd added as Hyacinth waggled her ears in agreement.

Manfred let out an angry screech and jumped up and down on Darius' shoulder. The other chimeras groaned.

"Get over it, Manny!" Darius growled. "The head of the monkey troupe said no. I know you like to butt in on other peoples' acts, but we gotta draw the line somewhere!" He gave Scar an apologetic look. "Then again, there are some who are just a little harder to please."

Manfred hopped from Darius' shoulder to Winry's and stuck his tongue out at the chimera.

"Aw, quit sulking!" Darius turned to Winry. "If he gets fresh, you let me know."

Winry giggled as the monkey wrapped his tail around her neck and settled himself comfortably. "Like I haven't heard that before!" she said, exchanging an amused glance at Scar.

Danika frowned and whispered to Mika, "Is that grown-up stuff they're talking about?"

Mika shrugged. "I think so."

Danika nodded solemnly, then let out a little gasp. "Oh, look!" she breathed, pointing past one of Hyacinth's broad legs. A short distance away, a very tall man plodded across the grounds with two gleaming white horses prancing beside him. Trotting along behind them were a half dozen miniature horses.

"How's it going, Rudy?" Heinkel called to the man. "You need anything?"

The large man raised a large hand and waved. "No, Mr. Heinkel. Everything's fine," he called back in a deep, slowly deliberate voice.

"You kids can go meet the horses if you like," Darius suggested.

Danika looked up pleadingly at Scar. "Can we, Papa?" she begged. "Please?"

"I'll go with them," Winry said.

"All right, but be careful," Scar replied. "Mind what Auntie Winry tells you."

The two younger girls were about to dart away, but Mika grabbed Danika's arm and gave Hyacinth a little bow. "It was very nice meeting you, Miss Hyacinth."

Danika bobbed her head as well. "Oh, yes!"

The elephant gave an indulgent shake of her head and the girls ran off to follow the horses. Then she turned a small brown eye to Scar and lifted her trunk toward him, rustling his hair with a quick puff of breath. Then she let out a low, rumbling sound, and Scar got the uncanny feeling that it contained a tone of approval.

Todd grinned. "She says you're doing a good job raising your children."

"Oh…thank you," Scar replied, eyeing the elephant's inquisitive trunk a little uncertainly. "Only one of them is mine, though. The dark-haired one."

Darius and Heinkel glanced at each other. "But…uh…she's not actually yours, is she?" Darius asked tentatively. "I wouldn't say that to just anybody," he added as Scar turned a level, red-eyed gaze at him. "But…" He nodded in the direction Danika had gone. "…you know what I'm saying?"

Scar nodded reluctantly. Someday he will have gone through all of Kimblee's former acquaintances and wouldn't have to go through this again. "Yes, I know," he replied. "It's a long story that's over now."

Darius held up his hands. "Hey, no problem. Anyhow, it looks like she turned out fine."

"You know," Heinkel ventured to say, "I sunk my teeth into that sonofabitch's neck. You okay with that?"

Scar gave him a slightly surprised, slightly grim look. "Perfectly."

"We'll be going on now," Todd said. "The other ladies are waiting for us and I don't want them to start fretting." He gave Hyacinth a pat on the neck and the elephant lowered her head. Todd stepped onto the bend of her trunk and Hyacinth lifted him effortlessly to her head, where he settled himself just behind her ears. Hyacinth moved slowly away with Petal trotting after her.

As Scar watched them amble away, Heinkel said, "They used a fox for him, in case you're wondering."

"That wasn't what I was wondering," Scar replied. "How many chimeras do you have in your circus?"

"There's twelve of us," Darius answered. "Most are ex-military, but not all of 'em. Some of 'em were just dirt poor and signed up for what they thought was a medical trial that they were gonna get paid for. Talk about a rude awakening." He shook his head. "Poor bastards."

"That fellow, Rudy, is part draft horse." Heinkel let out a quiet chuckle. "He and those little horses all sleep in the straw together."

"And to what extent are the chimeras involved in the performances?" Scar asked looking from the one to the other.

"You mean do we go into animal mode ourselves?" Darius asked with a lift of his eyebrow. "No, we don't. This may be a circus, but it ain't a freak show. We don't exploit the animals and we don't exploit ourselves, either."

Heinkel nodded. "We called it Circus Chimera 'cause it had a nice ring to it, but we want to show people that we're normal." He gave a slight shrug. "Mostly. We've got plenty of regular folk as well. Only one of the aerialists is a chimera. We got jugglers, acrobats—"

"Maaasterrrrrr!"

Darius sighed. "…clowns…"

Before Scar could react, he found his knees enveloped by a pair of skinny arms, and the air was rent with wailing.

"…not all of whom are funny…" Darius mumbled wearily.

"Master Scar!" Yoki sobbed, lifting a pale face and a slightly askew mustache. "I thought I would never see you again! You have no idea what I've been through!" He drew in a long wheezing breath. "While taken with delirium, I no longer know what it is that I say, or what it is that I am doing! And yet I must! Bah! I am not a man, but a clown! Put on the motley, they tell me, and paint your face! The people pay and laugh when they please. And if every shred of dignity you ever had has been stolen from you, you must laugh instead of weep! Turn the spasms and tears of pain into laughter! Laugh, clown! Laugh at the pain, even if your heart is broken!"

While Yoki sank into a puddle of misery at Scar's feet, Darius and Heinkel looked deeply embarrassed.

"I was kind of afraid this would happen," Heinkel muttered.

"Get up off the ground, Fuzzy Lip!" Darius growled. "We got you off the streets and gave you a job, didn't we?"

Yoki sat back on his heels and glared at them. "You call this a job?" he cried bitterly. "Shoveling elephant dung?"

Darius gave Heinkel a deadpan look. "He may have a point. Some of those turds are bigger than he is."

"I'm surprised anyone can tell the difference," Heinkel replied.

Yoki jabbed a finger in their direction and glared up at Scar. "Did you hear that? You see what I have to put up with?" He poked himself in the chest several times. "I used to be somebody!"

"You used to be wanted by the authorities," Scar told him, trying not to sound too indifferent. "It seems to me that you should count yourself fortunate."

Yoki stood up and dusted himself off indignantly. "Fortunate!" he mumbled.

The sound of hoofbeats made them turn to see Miles ride up and dismount his sorrel mare. "Andakar!" Sergeant Major Benjamin dismounted beside him, and the two led their horses forward. Darius stepped forward and extended his hand. "Colonel Miles!" he exclaimed. "Great to see you again!"

Miles shook his hand, then Heinkel's. "Likewise, gentlemen. How is the—"

"A-hem!" Yoki coughed loudly.

"I beg your pardon, uh…"

Yoki folded his arm and turned away. "Oh, never mind! Don't mind me!"

Miles took him at his word and turned back to the chimeras. "How is this location working out for you?"

"It's fine," Heinkel said, looking around appraisingly. "Nice and flat, not too far from town."

"We'll be giving our first show tomorrow evening," Darius added. "We have some posters we'd like to put up."

Miles nodded. "That'll be fine. Everybody's looking forward to it." He looked at Scar with a somber expression. "I need to talk to you. We may have a problem."

Scar frowned. "What is it?"

Miles hesitated, then turned to the chimeras. "Is there someplace private around here we can talk? I'd rather not take the time to go all the way back to the fort."

"Yeah, sure." Darius jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "You can use our office. If you like, Rudy can watch your horses for you."

Miles looked around for whoever Rudy was, but Darius went up to the horses' heads and made a few breathy sounds like he was clearing his throat, then he pointed off to his left, toward a group of tents. The two army horses gave a brief toss of their heads and trotted away in the indicated direction.

Miles stared after them but Darius waved his hand. "No worries," he said. "They'll find Rudy just fine. I told them he's got carrots."

The Ishvalan commander frowned slightly but nodded. "All right. So show me this office of yours."

They set off across the grounds to where a row of various vehicles stood, and Darius and Heinkel headed toward one of the larger trailers. Heinkel mounted a set of steps at the back end and opened the door.

"Come on in," he announced, stepping aside.

"Do you need us to make ourselves scarce?" Darius asked. "Is this top secret government stuff?"

Miles looked from one chimera to the other. "Not exactly." He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Considering you're in on this particular secret, I suppose your opinions could be useful."

Darius exchanged a somewhat surprised glance with Heinkel. "Nice!"

Once they were inside and the door was closed, Miles turned to his adjutant and and held out his hand. Benjamin promptly took a large manila envelope from under his arm and handed it to his commander. Miles took it over to a table that was bolted to the floor at the center of the trailer. Opening it, he pulled out a sheet of what looked like newsprint and laid it on the table. It was most of the page of a newspaper, at the top of which was printed two photographs. One was a clear picture of the "wanted" poster that had a pencil sketch of Scar. Alongside it was a very grainy shot of a broad shouldered man whose outline looked like Scar's. The figure in the picture was wearing pale clothing and he stood against a background of pale buildings that looked like Ishvalan architecture. The man's head was turned partly to one side, and a ponytail could just be seen at the nape of his neck. A caption in large, bold letters below the pictures asked IS THIS SCAR? Just beneath that was printed Is this notorious killer still alive and at large? What does the government know about this?

The brief article below went on to tout the courage of the intrepid photographer who ventured into Ishval, snapped the picture, then made a daring escape. The article was otherwise vague as far as actual evidence.

"This," Miles stated, "is our problem. It was brought in from East City Command by special courier. The date on it was two days ago."

Scar scowled at the picture and shook his head. "I have no recollection of this ever happening," he said. "If strangers ever come in on the train, I'm always informed."

"Which could mean," Miles went on, "that whoever took this shot could have driven here and parked his car far enough away to not be seen but close enough to walk."

Scar reached out and tapped some penned-in words at the top left corner of the clipping that demanded Where is your security? "Mustang?"

Miles' jaw tightened. "Yes," he replied tersely. "I have a few sentries who just might get their asses raked over the coals."

Darius leaned on the table and frowned at the clipping. "This has to have been taken from a long way off with one of those telephoto lenses and then blown up. The quality is terrible."

"That's what I said," Benjamin agreed. "And then there's this." He turned the paper over to reveal the front page of The Delver. "This is one of those god-awful scandal rags," he said. "I mean, look at this article! They'll print any bullshit they get their hands on, and if they can't get their hands on enough, they'll make stuff up. Crazy stuff, you know? Like Fuhrer Grumman is a closet cross dresser. That kind of thing." He tapped the paper. "Nobody really takes it seriously."

"I don't, Benji," Miles said in a tone that suggested they'd been through this already. "And you don't. But there are a lot of really stupid people out there." He gestured dismissively at the paper. "Otherwise these tabs wouldn't be making money hand over fist."

Heinkel picked the paper up and turned it over to examine the two pictures. "I dunno… somebody could've just touched this up to make it look like Scar—sorry—Andakar. Or they even got somebody who could pass for him in a crappy photo and took it their back yard."

"Take a closer look, gentlemen," Miles said. "And tell me one reason why this couldn't be someone else."

"Let me see that!" Yoki, whom nobody had even noticed had followed them in, snatched the paper from Heinkel's hand and peered at it carefully. He looked up at Scar, then back at the picture. After a few moments, he shook his head. "If this was a lookalike, how would anyone outside Ishval know he'd grown a ponytail?"

Darius and Heinkel bent down to squint over Yoki's shoulders. Darius clapped him on the back, causing him to stagger forward. "I'll be damned, Fuzzy Lip! You could be right!"

Yoki drew himself up haughtily. "I'm not the clown you think I am!"

"Ain't that the truth?" Heinkel muttered.

"We could stand here and speculate until the sun goes down for the last time," Scar said with gruff impatience. He gestured to the clipping. "If this paper has the reputation you say it has, then I don't intend to worry about it."

"Well, I can't afford to not worry about it," Miles replied curtly. "If you're going to officially come back to life, it would be better if it were under controlled circumstances. Like a formal pardon." Scar let out a derisive snort and Miles gave a slight, grim smile. "Yeah, I know. So while we're all growing old waiting for that to happen, I'm doubling sentries. Not just to protect you," he added.

"Which isn't necessary," Scar told him.

Miles waved away the comment. "I just don't like the idea of someone deliberately sneaking in and out of Ishval."

Scar shrugged. "Do what you need to do, Miles."

"If there's anything you need us to do," Darius said, "just let us know."

"Thank you, gentlemen," Miles replied, sliding the clipping back into the envelope. "For now, just keep an eye peeled for anybody with a camera."

"Don't you worry, Colonel." Heinkel tapped his nose. "I can smell a reporter a mile away."

Scar considered the anxious, dubious expressions on the faces of the women before him. To be more specific, Rada looked anxious, Winry was dubious.

"I'd have thought you'd be more concerned about keeping a low profile," she remarked. "You used to be pretty good at it." Her expression quickly turned rueful and she glanced at Rada. "Sorry! I mean—"

Rada smiled and patted her arm, although she looked a little distracted. "It's all right."

"What I was good at was not getting caught," Scar said. "I wasn't really concerned about how low or high my profile was."

Winry gave a little shrug. "I'm just saying…"

"I still don't like this, Andakar," Rada said. "I think we shouldn't go tomorrow. We can stay home and have a picnic in the garden. Or maybe we should just wait."

"For how long, my love?" Scar took her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "It's only one questionable photograph in a an even more questionable paper. I'm not going to let it unsettle my family. You've been looking forward to this all week, and so has Danika. We'll go down to the river tomorrow, have our picnic, then we'll go to the circus in the evening."

Both Rada and Winry opened their mouths to protest, but Scar held up his hand. "If it's any consolation, Miles is doubling his border guards." He looked solemnly from one woman to the other. "Just as I've said, I refuse to jump at shadows again, and I refuse to ever again live like I'm being hunted."

"This is a pleasant surprise, General!"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

Miles could hear the curl of General Armstrong's lip as she spoke. She would probably hear the apprehension in his voice. "Ma'am?"

"Something came across my desk just a little while ago," Olivier went on. "I don't expect this is your sort of reading material, but I was wondering if you've seen the latest issue of one of those stinking tabloids. What's this thing called?" she muttered.

Miles could hear the rustle of paper. He groaned quietly. "The Delver?"

"So it is. Someone around here saw fit to actually pay money for it, and it's been floating around the fort for a couple of days before it was brought to my attention. Personally, I wouldn't even use it for toilet paper."

"It was brought to my attention as well," Miles replied. "By special courier from General Mustang."

"Speaking of asswipes…" Olivier muttered.

Miles allowed himself a smile. "There's been some debate as to whether we should take it seriously. Mustang certainly seems to think so, but my adjutant doesn't."

"Well, this photo sure looks dicey." There was a momentary pause. "What's with the ponytail? Does he figure it looks so good on you?"

"There are some things he just doesn't explain to me. But if it wasn't for that, I would be inclined to dismiss the whole thing as a hoax."

"Mm…" In the radio room of her citadel, Olivier narrowed her eyes at the paper before her. "Then again, this is The Delver. It's the lowest of the low, journalisticly speaking. I got that straight from Karley, whose father runs one of the local newspapers. That, of course, is coming from someone who knows how to tie their own shoes and doesn't have to count on their fingers. I can't speak for the general public, many of whom are drooling morons."

"That's just it, General!" Miles replied, somewhat exasperated. "And on top of that, Andakar, of all people, is all for dismissing it."

"Being someone who can tie his own shoes and add in his head."

Miles let out a long, weary breath. "I daresay he can. I'm still doubling my sentries."

"Would you like me to send down a tank?" Olivier suggested.

"I appreciate the offer, ma'am, but I don't think it'll come to that. Besides, it wouldn't look good if we rolled over reporters with tanks."

"It would feel good. Oh, come on, Miles! It's been too quiet up here!"

"I take it Shua hasn't been up there for a while."

Olivier sighed, and Miles could hear a touch of wistfulness. "No, but he said he'd be up as soon as they got some bill through and stopped wasting taxpayers' money. But I'm serious, Miles! You just give the word and I'm there. I've got your back, come hell or high water. You know that."

"I do indeed, ma'am." Miles grinned. He felt better already.

Yoki's rant is a paraphrase of the aria Vesti la Giubba from I Pagliacci (That thing with the tenor in the clown suit weeping Ridi, Pagliaccio!). If you recognized it, good on you ;)