Chapter 7

A Deeper Meaning

Edward and Alphonse were exiting the building quietly, leaving Winry in Riza and Roy's capable hands. Alphonse was still ticked about Edward's carelessness.

"Edward, you don't make this kind of money! Who do you think is going to pay for this?" Alphonse was yelling at Edward. "You should be more careful and think things over, why do you have to be so rash?" Edward scoffed. Alphonse was naive in his thinking; he just didn't get the bigger picture sometimes. A hit man (Edward wondered if this was a pun) hit Edward and hit men did not have car insurance information that they would like to loan their victims, when they were trying to kill said victims. For now, Edward just had to tolerate Alphonse's attitude.

"Yeah, I know Al." Edward said, walking to Alphonse's car and getting in the passenger seat. Winry and Riza were at the door, waving goodbye. As Alphonse got into the driver's seat and pulled away, Winry locked eyes with Edward. He smiled at her, and held up a hand in farewell. She smiled and returned the gesture. She watched the taillights as the drove down the street.

Riza gave Winry a look but did not say anything regarding the gesture. Instead, she put her arm around Winry and led her back inside. "This has been an exciting day, hasn't it Winry?" Riza asked her. Winry looked at Riza, who was hiding a hidden smile.

Winry looked down. "Yes. It has." Winry fiddled with the bags that Alphonse had brought all the sudden it occurred to her that she needed to find somewhere to sleep.

"Winry?" Roy poked his head out of a hallway. Winry looked at him. "Sorry," he said smiling at the surprised look, she gave him. "Riza says that your room is ready." AS he disappeared around the hallway corner, motioning to her with his hand.

Winry followed Roy down the hallway to a room that adjoined the main bathroom. It was a room with white curtains, a small TV, and a double bed. Everything was white except for the wood floor, which was the flooring for the rest of the house as well. Winry ran her hand over the white bedspread as Riza came into the room.

"I put some extra pillows there. The TV is hooked up to a DVD player if you wanted to watch some movies. I know you've had a stressful day, and it might be hard to sleep. The DVD's are in the cabinet in the other room if you want to pick something out. If you need anything, our room is down the hall at the end." Riza smiled again, and Winry noted that she had an air of happiness.

"Okay, that's great." Winry said. After picking out a few DVD's from their cabinet, Winry went to the bathroom to prepare for bed. As she combed through her long, thick, blond locks, she thought about Roy and Riza, how perfect they were for each other. Riza was disciplined and strong, while Roy was a bit unfocused at times. They seemed to have an air about them that just fit. As Winry spit toothpaste from her mouth, she wondered if she would ever find anyone like that. She hoped she did.

After putting a DVD in the player and turning the TV on low volume, Winry crawled into her bed. The cushions were comfortable, and she sank into them. Heaven was the only word to describe how it felt. She thought it would feel so much better if only a certain man with blond hair was with her.

Yes, she admitted to herself, she was in love with him. The year they had spent together felt like a lifetime. She felt so complete when she was around Edward; it was as if he had a missing part of her that she did not even know about. As she curled up under the covers, she thought of Edwards face, and she smiled. He was handsome, strong, and smart. He was perfect for her, and she could not help but love him.

He was her light. Simple as that.

-----

Edward sneezed. Since Alphonse was now looking for any reason to snap at Edward, he quickly retorted, "What? Do you now have a cold that you want me to pay for?" Alphonse turned away from the dishes in the sink that he was washing.

Edward rubbed his nose. "No Alphonse, but thanks." Edward nearly missed the first dishrag that Alphonse aimed for him. When Edward smirked at Alphonse's first failed attempt, he was not prepared for the second dishrag that hit him square in the face. He scowled at Alphonse's triumphant expression.

"You shouldn't pick on crippled people you know." Edward pointed out.

"And you shouldn't put yourself in danger by crashing your car and making me pays for it." Alphonse quickly retorted. Edward gave it up. He was fighting a losing battle, and he just decided to go to bed.

"Good night Alphonse. I'll figure out a way to pay you back, okay?" Edward called over his shoulder. Edward heard Alphonse sigh in relief. Relief from what, Edward would never know.

"Good night Edward."

Lying awake for hours on end had its advantages. Edward concluded this after sitting in bed for 3 hours. He was used to this. Or, at least he used to be. When he was on active duty, he had often stayed awake mulling over the case's facts repeatedly in his head, trying to make sense of them. However, tonight Edward wasn't mulling over a murder mystery. He was pondering a woman mystery.

Winry Rockbell. Something had been stirring in his heart for a while now, and he wanted to know what it was. It was a feeling that scared him, for he had never felt it this strongly. Sure, there had been other women that had caught his eye, and, sure, he liked them enough to date them. However, in the end, it never had gone anywhere. The woman would eventually grow bored, or she would be upset if Edward had put his work before her.

However, Winry had been around Edward for a little over a year now. She had seen him at his best, and, unfortunately, his worst. He ran his left hand across his face. What a mess. Edward sighed and rolled over. Tonight, he could only think of one fact about Winry Rockbell.

She was a good shot. And in Edward's eyes, that told all he needed to know about her.

----

Mustang was sitting up in bed when Riza came in. He was watching the nightly news, and he motioned to her to tell her he was trying to watch this. Riza nodded and listened to what the TV reporter had to say…

"We're here on the Brooklyn bridge, where yet another shooting has taken place. The man has been indentified of various felonies and is reported to be part of a large gang..."

"Organized crime, what a pain in my ass." Roy said. "This is Edward's territory. I better call him."

"At this late hour?" Riza asked. She slid under the covers, which were warm thanks to her husband.

"Yeah, better now so he has a heads up. He's used to dealing with these thugs. I'm more used to the more everyday stuff."

Riza reached over and started rubbing Roy's back, turning him so that his back faced her. His head rolled back as he continued. "Sometimes I really hate my job. But, if I wasn't a cop, would I have met you?"

Riza smiled kindly and kissed Roy on the forehead. "Probably not." She murmured. She saw Roy's lips go into a slightly smirk grin. All the sudden, Roy turned around and grabbed around the waist and snuggled his head into her neck.

Riza was surprised, but not thrown off. She gently wrapped her arms and legs around Roy.

"AH, SHIT!!!! THAT'S COLD!!!!" Roy yelped in surprised from Riza's cold feet.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Riza quickly unwrapped her legs from around Roy's waist. She had forgotten her cold feet in the midst of the closeness to him.

Roy smiled at her though, and she felt relieved. "It's okay." He murmured against her lips as he started to kiss her. Riza wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders to deepen the kiss that made her feel like she could fly. She was actually surprised that she had not sprouted wings.

All the sudden, the superman theme rang in the room. Roy looked up, searching for his phone. It was on the nightstand playing the superman theme and vibrating at full force. As he reached over to pick it up he whispered, "Sorry" into Riza's ear.

"Mustang here." Roy said as he settled back into his pillows and pressed mute to turn off the television. Riza grabbed a book from her nightstand and started reading.

"Hey, this is Maes, did you see the news."

"Yeah, I saw it. Jeez maes, could you have picked a worse time to call?" Mustang groaned into the mobile device. Riza smiled slightly and Roy smiled apologetically again.

"Why? I knew you would be awake. Anyways, did you call Edward yet?" Hughes chirped happily on the other end. Mustang simply scowled.

"Not yet. I was in the middle of something else." Mustang growled through his teeth.

"Well, make sure you call him right away. I'm sure he's still up." Mustang glanced at the bedside clock. 11:30, Edward might still be up.

"Okay, I'll do that."

"Tell Riza I said hi!" Hughes said.

"Alright, I will." Mustang replied and then hung up. He leaned over to put the phone back so he and Riza could pick back up where they left off, but Riza handed him back his phone with a serious look on her face.

"Call Edward now, then you can have your fun." Riza smiled and raised her eyebrows in a sexy way. Mustang smirked as he called Edward's number.

-----

Edward had just finished his contemplation of Winry when his phone on the nightstand started ringing. He sat up and grabbed it, quickly glancing at the ID.

"Geez Mustang, what do you want at this late hour?" Edward said, fully sitting up and rubbing the back of his head.

"I know you were laying awake Edward, so don't give me that attitude. There's some organized crime around Brooklyn that I need you to look into tomorrow."

Edward's eyes widened. "Does this mean I'm on the active list again?"

"Yeah, and you better be grateful. I could have kept on the medical leave for another year if I wanted to."

"But you know I'm ready for this."

"Yeah, I know. Don't screw up."

"I won't."

-----

The next day was Sunday. In the large Catholic Church, the choir was singing like a choir of angels and the early morning sunlight was filtering through the stained glass windows. The priest was performing the rites over the communion and wine. The large man in a black suit closed his eyes to take in this feeling.

He had red eyes and a very tan body. His hair was short and gray. He was the leader of the largest mob ring in New York City.

Moreover, he hated his horrible reputation as a rapist. That girl, Winry, she would not live for long. He had not been stalking her apartment for a little fun; he had a wife for that. Maria Ross had been in debt to his group for springing her out of a prostitution ring in Nevada. They had promised Maria 10 years for her to collect her debt, $10,000. She had not paid up and she had holed herself up in that apartment. When one of Scar's men came to collect her dues, she had struggled.

After getting a hold of the police report against his thugs, he had quickly made the men drop of the planet. They had violated Scar's rules by trying to rape Maria. Scar had no tolerance for traitors. The police had been out of the loop. They thought that the men were committing random acts of violence. The police had not known that the thugs were part of the large organized crime ring.

Now they did. The police report from the night before revealed that.

Scar opened his eyes as he stood up to receive his communion. When the priest saw him, he smiled kindly. The priest knew everything, and the priest was committed to silence. Scar's secrets were safe with a holy man. Scar is bloody, hate filled crimes were safe with a man of god. How ironic.

Anyone he killed, anyone at all, they deserved it. They deserved their divine punishment.

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Okay, so I have been sick for the past two days, and this is the result. Hope you enjoy.