Chapter 13

Once Stoyan set it in motion, the news ran swiftly through the streets of Ishval. The blacksmith stepped across to the weaver and said a few words to her. The weaver went next door to the fruit seller and slipped it into her usual gossip. The fruit seller went over to flirt with the baker and whispered it in his ear. Stoyan went along from street to street, speaking to one or two people, and then moved on.

Bozidar, the chief cleric, watched Stoyan run back down the temple steps and head toward Kanda. The old man sighed deeply and turned to go back into the quiet dimness of the temple. Stepping up to the stone altar, he lifted his hands, closed his eyes, and prayed that someday, somehow, this sort of thing would no longer be necessary.

Atash trotted up to the entrance of Stanno's workshop just as his fellow puller Yoru came from the opposite end of the street.

"Hai! Zhaarad Stanno!" Atash called. "Have you heard the news?"

The carpenter glanced up briefly from a wooden chest to which he was applying a gouging tool. "What news would that be? And why is your 'shaw empty?"

"Oh, it won't be for long!" Atash assured him. "Haven't you heard? A bunch of newspaper reporters and photographers came in on the train!"

"And they're coming here!" Yoru added. "The whole trainload!"

Stanno looked back up at the boys with sharpened interest. "Reporters, eh?" He sat up and rested the heels of his hands on his knees. "Well, well," he mused. "I suppose they all want to see if they can catch a glimpse of our beloved khorovar."

Atash and Yoru glanced at each other. It was a little scary, but very exciting. "Do you want us to go out there and meet 'em?"

"All the way to the train station?" Stanno exclaimed indignantly. "I should say not!" He grinned. "Wait till they get to the edge of town, then show up. They'll be so damn footsore they'll be begging for you!"

"Um…what if they ask us about Zhaarad Andakar?" Yoru asked.

Stanno shrugged, unconcerned. "Play as dumb as you like. That shouldn't be too hard. Miles will make sure that Andakar is out of sight, I've no doubt." He held up his round mallet and pointed it at the boys. "But keep them away from the khorovar's family. Do you understand?"

The pullers nodded solemnly and Stanno gestured toward the street with his mallet. "Now go and tell the other pullers what I said. Wait for the reporters, treat 'em like gold, and milk them for every cenz they have."

With eager grins, the two pullers hurried away with their rickshaws. Stanno returned to his work, shaking his head and laughing quietly to himself. Playing along with Scar's game of hide and seek was not one of his favorite things to do. Squeezing money from unsuspecting Amestrians was.

"So now all three of us know!" Winry declared with satisfaction. "Alphonse, me, and now you."

"I still don't get why Al didn't let us know," Ed grumbled.

"I told you why! Because Andakar asked him not to," Winry replied.

Ed shrugged. "So? He didn't have to go along with it. He could have just told us anyway."

"Al's not like that, Ed," Winry said with a fond tone in her voice. "He's got too strong a sense of honor."

Ed shot her a look. "And I don't?"

Winry tilted her head thoughtfully. "No, you do. Just not quite the same kind."

"Like hell he does," Havoc cut in. "Ed's the type who jumps right in without thinking."

"Sometimes you have to," Ed argued. "Sometimes you can overthink stuff."

"Well, that's definitely not your problem," Havoc remarked with a grin.

Ed shook his head dismissively. "Whatever." He turned to search Winry's face. "And you're okay? You look okay, but are you really?"

Winry laughed. "What, did you think I'd be covered in bruises or something?"

"Well, no…I just…" Ed let out a slightly frustrated breath. "That is Scar back there, you know!" he said, jerking his thumb behind him."

"Wow, you're good!" Havoc said. He leaned over to look at Winry. "This one's a keeper!"

Ed glared at him. "Would you just watch the road?" He turned back to Winry. "So what happened? What did he say to you? What did you say to him?"

Winry let out a long sigh, sitting back and gazing out the windshield. "Not what I would have expected," she said after a few moments. "It was like I—"

"Silver Hawk One to Blondie! Silver Hawk One to Blondie! Do you copy?" A tinny voice emanated from the field radio on the floor.

"Oh…geez…" Havoc looked back and forth from the road ahead to the radio. "Quick! One of you pick that up!"

Ed and Winry both bent down, knocking their heads together. Winry impatiently pushed Ed out of the way. "I'll get it! I'm more flexible that you at the moment!"

With a grunt, she pulled the radio up onto her lap and Havoc reached over to grab the microphone, pulling the wire under Ed's nose. "This is Blondie. Go ahead, Silver Hawk One."

"State your location."

"Uh…" Havoc looked around. "I'm just coming up between Maazra and Kanda." He grinned. "I've got the rooster in the bag, along with all the little chicks. I'm just takin' 'em home to roost."

The sound of a brief snicker could be heard over the speaker. "Understood, Blondie. Rendezvous with Alpha Hawk at the Maazra-Kanda-Gunja junction."

"Wow, say that again, but faster."

"Just get there, Havoc!"

"Understood. Blondie out." Havoc handed the microphone to Winry. "You can go ahead and put that back on the floor." He shook his head. "I've gotta get one of those smaller models."

"What are you doing taking orders from the army?" Ed asked. "I thought you retired."

"I did, but I still work along with them." Havoc replied. He grinned. "It's all part of being a merchant-adventurer! Like I said," he added, "here in Ishval, we look after our own. That means Ishvalans and Amestrians alike."

Ed nodded and sat back. He still had a lot of questions, but he suddenly felt exhausted from having to wrap his mind around all these new circumstances. At the moment, though, there was one more thing he wanted to know. "Who's Alpha Hawk?"

"That'd be the colonel," Havoc explained.

"Miles?"

"That's the one. Commander of the Silver Hawks of Fort Ishval. He learned how to be a scary bastard from one of the best, Fullmetal, so don't give him any crap."

"I wasn't going to!"

"Oh, he's not scary!" Winry scoffed.

Havoc gave a short laugh. "Depends on who you ask. If you're a private soldier caught slacking on the job, he's your worst nightmare."

They drove on, heading north on the access road between the districts of Maazra and Kanda toward the center of Ishval. As they approached the southern edge of Gunja, and Ed could see the dome of the Great Temple rising up in the distance. Covered with glossy red tiles, it glittered in the sun.

"There they are!" Havoc slowed the truck and pulled to the side of the road.

Just ahead, two mounted soldiers were approaching from the other direction. They rode up to the truck and dismounted. Over their uniforms they wore the pale, sand-colored cloaks that reflected the sun's rays, so the ranks on their shoulders were hidden, but there was no mistaking the first soldier who stepped up to the passenger side of the truck.

Miles ducked his head a little to look through the window. "So where is—" He broke off in surprise at seeing Havoc's passenger. Lifting his dark glasses, he stared. "Fullmetal!" he exclaimed. "Holy shit!"

"Nice to see you, too, Colonel," Ed replied, a little sullenly.

"He came in on the train this morning," Havoc explained for him.

"Oh, I see." Miles grinned slightly. "So you're the one who brought all those newshounds here."

"Like hell!" Ed shot back angrily.

The other soldier joined Miles and peered into the cab. "Hey, Ed! How's it going?"

Ed gave a start. "Benji?"

Benjamin tapped his forehead with two fingers in a brief salute. "None other! Congratulations, by the way!"

Ed frowned blankly. "What for?"

"Huh?" Benji stared back at him for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you've got a short memory."

"Goes with the territory," Miles added.

Ed seethed. "I'm not—"

Winry rolled her eyes. "Shush, Ed!"

Miles turned back to Havoc. "So where is he?"

Havoc nodded to the back of the truck. "They're all back there, sitting on top of the pickles and the canned ham."

Miles nodded and leaned toward the canvas covering behind the cab. "Doing all right, red-eyed brother?"

"Well enough," came the slightly muffled replied.

"Uncle Miles, I wanna go home!" came Danika's voice, sounding a little tearful.

"We're working on it, sweetheart," Miles told her. "Just sit tight." He turned back to the window of the cab and regarded Havoc with a somber look. "This is a big problem. This isn't just one or two curiosity seekers casually nosing around. These people mean business. They're all in competition with each other to find Scar first and they're going to be crawling around the place like a bunch of starving ants."

Havoc nodded. "And the next train doesn't come in until the day after tomorrow." He lifted his hands in exasperation. "Where are we gonna put 'em all?"

Miles gave a derisive snort. "Don't look at me. I'm running a military installation, not a bed and breakfast. Do you want to let one of them sleep on your couch?"

"Fat chance."

"Exactly."

"Yeah, but we can't have 'em sleeping in alleyways like a bunch of hobos," Benji said.

Miles shrugged. "When Ishval gets to the point when we can promote tourism, somebody will open up an inn, but that's still down the road."

"So, in the meantime?" Havoc prompted him.

Miles frowned down at the door frame and drummed his fingers against it. Then he lifted his head with a half grin. "The caravanserai!"

Havoc gave a start, then let out a laugh. "Seriously?"

"The what?" Ed asked.

"The caravanserai. It's where the Xingese caravans stable their camels," Havoc explained. "We're not expecting any caravans for another few weeks yet, so there are plenty of vacancies. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, though."

"It has a well," Benji said, then added, "and maybe a couple of rats."

"There's no such thing as just a couple of rats," Havoc told him. "They breed like rats, you know."

Miles waved away the remark and turned to his adjutant. "Have the place tidied up a bit and throw in some fresh straw, Sergeant Major."

Benji snapped a salute. "Sir! It'll be like their home away from home!"

"Let's not get too carried away."

In the cargo area of the truck, one of the twins let out an unhappy wail. While Rada's voice could be heard trying to soothe the toddler, Scar growled, "Miles, I want to get my family home! We can have this discussion then!"

"How about we meet on the road behind my shop," Havoc suggested. "I can let everybody off there. It's the closest I can get to their place."

Miles nodded. "Right. Go on then. We'll meet you over there."

Miles and Benji mounted their horses as Havoc started up the truck. He made a "y" turn and drove back the other way. After a couple of turns along the network of access roads, Havoc pulled up at the base of a short flight of steps that led from the road up to the back end of a row of buildings. At the top of the steps stood an Ishvalan woman. As the truck came to a halt, the woman hurried down the stairs and up to the driver's side.

"Jean! Finally!" she cried. "I was getting so worried!"

Havoc opened the door and slid out of the driver's seat and into the woman's arms. "It's okay, Eyla," he assured her, giving her a tight hug. "Didn't Stoyan tell you I was going to go look for Andakar?"

"Yes, he did," Eyla replied. "That doesn't mean I can't worry about you!"

Havoc looked over his shoulder into the cab of the truck. "You hear that, Ed?" he called with a grin. "That's the kind of stuff you get to look forward to!" He stepped back so he wasn't blocking the view of his wife. "Eyla, that's Edward Elric. Ed, this is my wife, Eyla. Isn't she amazing?"

Ed knew that a question like that was pretty much rhetorical, so he didn't attempt to answer it. He slid across the seat and stepped down from the driver's door. "It's nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

Eyla smiled prettily and shook his hand. "Doishteve!" she replied. "Winry's told us nice things about you."

"Which took about five seconds," Havoc remarked.

Eyla smacked his arm. "Eh-h! Don't be mean, Jean!" She turned back to Ed. "Don't listen to him."

"Yeah, I've pretty much given up on that," Ed told her.

Winry hopped down from the passenger side and went around to the back of the truck. She started untying the canvas flaps. "We're here!" she announced. "You can come out now!"

Scar shrugged through the flaps and handed Little Winry down. "Would you take her?"

Winry held up her arms and gathered the little girl into them. "Ed!" she called sharply around the side of the truck. "Come and help!"

Ed joined her and was immediately presented with Mattas. He stared for moment into the small woebegone face until Scar growled at him. "Take him!"

"Huh? Oh…uh…sure…" Ed took the little boy and held him at arm's length. He had never held a child this small before, and Mattas could tell. His lower lip stuck out, two large tears spilled from his eyes, and he began to cry again.

Scar hopped down and gave Ed a despairing look. "You'd better get used to that, Fullmetal."

"Hold him close, Ed! Like this!" Winry turned toward him so he could see how she was holding her small charge against her shoulder. "He wants to be comforted!"

While Ed tried to quiet the little boy's cries, Scar shook his head and turned back to the truck to help Rada step down. She held her arms out for her son and Ed gladly handed him over. She said something soothing to Mattas in Ishvalan, although she didn't look too happy herself. She rocked back and forth gently and kissed his silvery hair. "Mama's got you."

Scar lifted Danika out of the truck and set her on her feet. Her features were still pinched with anxiety, and she promptly gripped a handful of his tunic. Scar reached into the truck one more time and pulled out the two baskets they had taken on their picnic. He held them out to Ed. "Take these."

As Ed grasped the basket handles, wondering why Scar couldn't carry his own stuff, the Ishvalan fixed him with a steady look.

"Get my family home for me, Fullmetal."

Danika gave his tunic a tug. "Papa!" she whimpered softly.

Ed gave Scar a questioning look and opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by the sound of hooves ringing loudly against stone as Miles and Benjamin rode up and dismounted. Miles tossed his reins to his adjutant and joined the small crowd behind the truck.

"You probably want to hurry," he said to Scar. "They'll be here before long, and we still have to figure out what to do with you."

"It's already in hand, Miles," Scar replied. "If these people are going to be spending the next two days searching Ishval as hard as you say, it's best that I'm not here. I'm tired of making my people lie for me."

Miles met his gaze. "I don't think they mind all that much."

"That doesn't make it right," Scar replied firmly. "If I'm forced to hide somewhere, the fort would be the best place."

Miles frowned and shook his head. "I was planning on opening up the fort to them if they wanted to poke around there and ask questions, just to prove that you're not there, either." He shrugged. "Unless you want me to lock you up in the stockade so I can tell everyone I caught you."

"No!" Rada cried indignantly. "I'd rather lie until my tongue swells up and falls out! Why can't you just come home?"

"Rada," Scar said with thin patience, "we talked about this."

"You talked about it!" Rada held her crying son tighter. "I said I didn't want to do this!"

Miles spread his arms helplessly. "Well, then, if anybody has a better idea, I'm open to suggestions!"

There were a few beats of silence, during which Ed seriously considered suggesting that Scar just make an appearance and get it over with, but Winry suddenly spoke up.

"The circus!" she cried. Everyone turned to stare at her and she went on excitedly. "He can stay there! In one of the tents! I mean, not where they do the shows, but where they…uh…store stuff. You know, backstage!"

Scar gave the girl a doubtful look, Miles considered her with a nod. "That's not a bad idea. They're a private enterprise. They don't have to grant access to anybody, particularly not where they keep dangerous wild animals."

Winry scoffed. "They're not dangerous or wild! They're sweet! We got to meet them."

"Yes, but the reporters don't have to know that," Miles replied.

Winry grinned mischievously. "Exactly!"

Miles looked back at Scar. "That sounds like a workable solution to me," he said. "The chimeras already offered to help, and it would only be for a couple of days."

While Scar considered the idea with obvious reluctance, Danika gazed up at him with a forlorn, worried look. "Papa! I wanna go with you!"

Scar sighed deeply and rested his hand on top of her head. "No, little blackbird. You need to stay home and be a help to your mother."

Danika's face crumpled up and she buried it in his tunic, crying. With Mattas still whimpering, Rada stepped over to her daughter. "Danika, sweetheart, you heard Uncle Miles. It won't be for long," she told her, despite her own apparent unhappiness. "Come along now!"

The little girl only tightened her grip and shook her head emphatically. "No no no no!"

Ed watched the girl for a moment, then set the baskets on the ground. Little girls and their fathers had become something of a painful issue with him, something to which he no longer wanted to be just a bystander. He knelt down so his face was at her level. "Hey, Danika?"

Gulping down a sob, the little girl peered at him woefully around a fistful of Scar's tunic. Her blue eyes struck him as uncannily familiar, stirring something that wasn't entirely pleasant, but they were still the eyes of a sad little girl. "Your dad's gonna be okay, honest," he told her. "He's had to do stuff that was way scarier than this, and he came out of it just fine." Ed grinned at her. "And you will, too, because I bet your dad taught you how to be brave, right?"

The resentment in her look faded a little and Danika considered the young man for a few moments. Then she looked back up at Scar, hope and despair struggling in her eyes.

"Is it gonna be okay, really, Papa?" she asked in a small voice.

Scar stroked her hair. "Yes, of course it will, my little one."

Danika didn't seem entirely convinced, but she loosened her grip on Scar's tunic. He knelt down to hug her, and as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, he looked past her shoulder at Ed, crimson eyes gazing steadily into gold.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Ed shrugged it off and he smiled a wry half-grin. "Yeah, well, if you've got a whole province going to this much trouble on your behalf, you must be doing something right."

Scar shook his head. "From your mouth to God's ears, Fullmetal."