Al returned home and tiredly dumped a large pile of papers to correct onto his desk. The last of the tests had been conducted, now all he had to do was grade. He was looking forward to the summer and was anxious to get everything done that night. Fortunately it was a half day of class so he would have the rest of the afternoon and evening to get the grading done. With the kids were outside playing in the back he wouldn't be disturbed for a while.
As he settled down at his desk in his study he heard the phone ring. He was the only one in the house so sighing, he got up to answer.
"Al," a distraught, panicked voice said over the line.
"Yes, who is this?" Al asked nervously, feeling the anxiety emanating through the phone.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him…"
Al didn't need to be told who it was now. It had been a week since Fletcher had been by for the confusing late night visit. He was surprised by the unexpected call and disturbed by the sound of Fletcher's worried voice. "Fletcher, what are you talking about?"
"I managed to slip away to warn you so you can contact, Ed..."
"Okay, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's going on."
"I'm so sorry, Al. I'm so, so sorry. I should have done something sooner, when I first noticed the change..."
"Fletcher!" Al said a little louder than usual, starting to lose his patience. "Tell me..."
"You have to stop him, he has your brother's wife but it's worse than that, he's..." the line went dead and Al stared at the receiver in disbelief.
He has your brother's wife...
Al was still trying to register those five words before he realized the phone had cut out.
"Hello," Al said regaining his composure, hoping he had just imagined what he just heard. "Hello, Fletcher!"
He was met with silence. But it wasn't long before another voice got on the line.
"Hey, Al!"
Al was taken aback by the sudden switch. The voice didn't sound like a frightened Fletcher. "Who is this?"
"It's Russell," the new voice said sounding a little too calm and natural. "I'm sorry about Fletcher. He hasn't been himself lately."
"He's said the same about you," Al said, his tone taking on a dark edge.
Russell chuckled. "I've never been better. Would you do me a favor and pass a message on to Ed?"
"What's the message?"
"Go to Briggs. I'll contact him when I know he's there."
"What's this about?"
Al could almost see the grin. "He'll see. Come along if you'd like. The more the merrier. You might not want to let him go alone like you did before."
Al gripped the receiver tight, his hand starting to ache but he hardly noticed it. He didn't' know how long he stood there, frozen stiff, unaware the line had gone dead. Then he slammed the receiver down on the cradle, breaking it.
"Dad!"
Al spun around and found Little Ed looking at him wide eyed with shock. "Is something wrong?" His son asked.
Al took a second to compose himself before answering. He was a little embarrassed that he got caught being so violent. "Where's your mother?" He asked instead, not wanting - or ready - to explain; he had no idea how.
"She took everyone to Grandma's and told me to let you know. Why? You haven't answered my question."
"I'm not exactly sure…" Al said feeling unsure of himself, almost feeling the whole conversation hadn't happened. "I just got a very disturbing phone call..." he added quietly.
"From who?" Little Ed asked curiously.
"I need to make sure," Al said quickly, turning back around he clapped his hands together and with a flash of blue light, fixed the phone.
"Dad," Little Ed said, "I don't understand…"
"I'm sorry, son, but I can't explain right now," Al said, dialing furiously.
"Okay," his son said nodding, understanding that he would be more helpful if he didn't disturb his father.
Al tried to get a hold of Edward at headquarters. The Captain said the General was out of his office; that he had left earlier for a meeting with the Fuhrer. He tried Havoc's office. He was out as well. If Edward had a meeting with Roy... Al thought as he began to dial vigorously again and waited.
He continued dialing, over and over again, always met with a busy signal. He dialed again but this time for the main switchboard and had the operator patch him through but it was still the same. He had the operator try Edward and Havoc several times. He'd never had to call Central headquarters much over the years but the times he had he was never met with such difficulty just to talk to his brother. He didn't want to be paranoid but it was too much of a coincidence.
Choking back tears and ignoring the iron grip of fear that seized him, Edward channeled it elsewhere and lashed out in anger, knocking over the easel with the tainted canvas.
"Elysia!" Edward yelled out, looking around. "Elysia!"
He felt Erika grip his neck tighter with her little arms. He felt her anxiety which he knew he was causing. He turned in circles not knowing where to go, where to look but he knew it was pointless. Who knew how long ago Elysia had been taken? Whoever... no, he knew who did it and he also knew they could be miles away by now. He had to think but he couldn't. He bumped into a tree but it did nothing to knock his mind into action. He slid down it and sat on the ground, still holding tight to Erika who had started to cry quietly.
Havoc was too stunned by the sight of the Ouroboros. He had nightmares of the mark; of long, sharp lances coming out of the ground... the sharp pain… then nothing. He would wake up, drenched in sweat, immediately feeling for his legs, making sure they still worked, even years after he had recovered the use of them.
It took him a minute to clear away the fog of horrible memories and another to add everything together. He looked back at his friend, slumped against the tree on the verge of tears, looking helpless. This wasn't the first time he had seen Edward like that. It was during the war, when a seventeen year old Edward was faced with the harsh realities of battle. Havoc could never stand to see his friend like that and knew Edward would need him to take charge for the moment.
"Ed," Havoc said quietly as he went to Edward and kneeled in front of him. "Let's go back to headquarters..."
"No!" Edward said turning angry eyes upon his friend. "I'm never going there again."
"I don't want you going home right now; headquarters is the safest place..."
"Sure it is," Edward scoffed.
"We're going to need the military to help find Elysia."
"I can't go back in there." Edward said through gritted teeth.
"General!"
Havoc turned to see several guards led by an officer running up to them. He stood to face them.
"Sir," the officer said saluting. "The Fuhrer has requested that neither of you leave headquarters. If you would please follow us..."
"Did he say why?" Havoc asked impatiently, thinking he could probably guess.
"Only for safety reasons."
"I'm not ...," Edward began but stopped, looking at Erika. He wanted to go home. He was hoping that maybe Elysia was there; that whoever made the mark on the canvas had left her alone or she had been able to get away. But she wasn't likely to run home. She would have run to him and told him but what if she didn't know... Shit! I don't know what to do, where to look, he thought miserably. He looked back again at his daughter. He knew he couldn't go running around, putting Erika in harms way. But he couldn't let her go; he didn't trust anyone else to protect her. He was the only one who should ... but Elysia. What the fuck do I do?!
"Get another group of guards over to the General's townhouse," Havoc instructed. "Then I want another team to search the park for Mrs. Elric."
"Yes, sir," the officer said saluting looking a little confused but knowing better than to question a Brigadier General.
Havoc walked over to Edward and put a hand under his arm, gently urging him to stand. Edward stood mechanically.
"We'll go back to headquarters," Havoc said quietly, "and I'll send out more search teams for Elysia." Edward nodded. "Let me take Erika for now..."
"No!" Edward said clutching his daughter tight against his chest. Then easing his grip, "No, I've got her."
"Edward! Jean!"
Both men looked in the direction of the voice and saw Gracia approaching, the guards allowing her through. She looked worried and at a loss of words. Armed soldiers surrounding Edward looking pale and frightened at the very spot she knew Elysia was supposed to be at but who was nowhere in sight...
"What's going on?" She asked not sure she wanted to know. "I was to have lunch with Elysia and Erika..."
Edward looked away, unable to face her. This is my fault, he thought. If I wasn't married to Elysia, this wouldn't be happening...
"Gracia," Havoc said, speaking up, approaching her. He didn't want to be the one to tell her but who would. Not Edward in his present condition. "We suspect Elysia has been abducted."
Gracia gasped and wobbled on her feet. Havoc reached out to help steady her.
"No," Gracia shook her head. "No, that can't possibly happen... how do you know? Who would do such a thing?"
"We can't talk about that out here," Havoc warned. "A search party is being arranged. We need to get back to headquarters."
Gracia was looking at Edward now. Havoc couldn't read what she was thinking. He watched as she slowly composed herself. Stepping away from Havoc, she walked over to Edward and faced him.
"Edward," she said softly placing her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered miserably.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry for," she reassured as she pulled him close and hugged him.
The walk back to headquarters was uneventful and silent. Edward walked along automatically, almost having to be led by Havoc and Gracia.
When Havoc steered Edward into his office, one of his officers was in the middle of apologizing to a woman who looked to be in her late thirties, early forties. She turned to look as the officer stood to salute Havoc and Edward. She seemed anxious to ask Havoc something but froze when she spotted Edward.
"What's going on, Captain?" Havoc asked, pausing by the desk, looking back and forth between the Captain and the woman. Edward continued on to Havoc's office with Erika and Gracia following, closing the door behind them.
"Sir," the officer began explaining. "Mrs. Latour here has been very adamant about seeing you or General Elric."
"General Elric is indisposed right now," Havoc said with a frown as he looked down at the lady in front him thinking she looked familiar. "What do you need Mrs. Latour?"
Mrs. Latour looked at Havoc, the officer, then back to Havoc again. "If possible, I'd rather speak in private."
Instinct told Havoc to grant her wish. "Captain, step outside for a moment and shut the door."
"Yes, sir."
Once the room was quiet Mrs. Latour wasted no time getting to the point of her visit. "Brigadier General, you may not remember me but I knew General Elric a long time ago. We met during the war..."
Recognition dawned on Havoc. "Erika!"
"Yes," she sighed and for a moment looked relieved that he remembered her but it didn't last long. Tears filled her eyes and she looked scared. "I know it's not right for me to be here but I had nobody else to turn to. The local authorities tried but they said there was nothing they could do without enough evidence, not even the note helped... and... I hate to come here now, after all these years… but I really need Edward's help..."
"Wait," Havoc said feeling lost and confused. "What's going on?"
"I should really be telling Edward this first," she said looking unsure and a little frightened.
"This is really bad timing for him," Havoc explained. "His wife, Elysia, has possibly been abducted."
Erika's hand went to her mouth in shock. Seeming to have regained some sense, she pulled her hand bag forward that was draped over her shoulder and began digging around in it. She produced a folded piece of paper and handed it to Havoc. He looked at.
"Please," Erika prodded quietly. "Read it."
He took the letter, unfolded and read it. As he read through it a second time it still wasn't clear but he seemed to have a sense of what was going on. He carefully looked away from the note and back at Erika. "Where did you get this?"
Erika seemed to brace herself. "It was found in my son's room."
"Your son and..."
Erika nodded, unable to hold back tears any longer. "Yes… Edward's son too."