Things were starting to fall into place but Havoc was still confused and didn't know exactly what it all meant. There was Edward's erratic behavior, Elysia not where she should be, the sign of the Ouroboros, Edward's ex-girlfriend appearing with news of his long lost son... there was a piece missing that would help explain how all these events fit together.
Havoc braced himself for what he could already guess. "Your son is missing as well.
Erika nodded. "It's been over a week. Like I said the local authorities have been looking but there have been no leads. They thought he ran away but he would never do such a thing. When they searched his room they found the note but it gave them no clues and that's when I knew I had to come here."
"Was this all they found?" Havoc questioned, holding the note up.
"Yes," Erika confirmed.
Havoc wanted to be sure. He went to the Captain's desk, slid a sheet of paper towards him and turned it over. Then grabbing a pen he started to draw the Ouroboros as best as his limited artistic skills could muster. When he was done he showed it to Erika who looked at it curiously but there was no sign of recognition.
"You've never seen this before?"
"No," she said shaking her head.
Havoc wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Something was missing and he had a hunch Mustang would be the one to provide the answer. It was after his meeting with the Fuhrer that Edward's life had suddenly been turned upside down. Havoc knew he shouldn't be surprised with Mustang involved. But he didn't understand why the Ouroboros was left for Edward to find but not for Erika. His only conclusion was that Edward would know immediately what it meant and Erika would only be confused by it, the sign possibly dismissed as a random drawing whereas the note would lead Erika to Central...
Suddenly the door flew open and Lin walked in. "Is Ed here?"
Now a new piece to the puzzle was introduced but these just complicated matters that were complicated enough. What was the Emperor of Xing doing here in plain clothes?
"Yes, why?" Havoc asked harshly, not bothering with formalities.
"Oh, good," Lin sighed in relief, ignoring Havoc's suspicious glare. "I've been looking everywhere so Mustang had some guards look for him too."
"What the hell is going on?"
"What is going on here?" Lin countered, looking at Erika then back at Havoc.
"Mrs. Latour's son is missing and she came here for help," Havoc said. He didn't want to say anything else until after Edward was told. He handed the note to Lin for him to read hoping he might understand the situation.
"I don't get it," Lin said after he read through the note and gave it back. "Who is RT and what does it mean by hitting him in two weak points?"
It couldn't be helped; Havoc had to tell him, hoping he'd get more information out of the Emperor. "Elysia and his son."
Lin's mouth dropped, and then closed when he looked at Mrs. Latour finally understanding; Edward's former reputation hadn't skipped his ears. He swallowed. "I think I'm still missing something here."
"As are we," Havoc countered back. "Mrs. Latour's and Edward's son is missing. Elysia was not where she should be. The sign of the Ouroboros was painted onto one of her canvases…"
"The Ouroboros… oh shit," Lin said looking scared. "We're too late."
"Too late for what?" Havoc asked worriedly.
"Mustang wanted me to stick close to Ed, in case the homunculi found new bodies."
"Homunculi?!" Havoc exclaimed. "No, that's not possible. They were..." But he knew it to be true.
"It is, unfortunately," Lin confirmed, looking guilty. "Envy and Greed."
"Two of them!"
Erika looked confused. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, "but what is going on? What are homunculi? Are they the ones that took my son?"
"Russell..." Havoc whispered. He knew they couldn't keep this from Edward much longer. Now the pieces were in place.
Havoc opened the door to his office and called the Captain back. "Call for a squad of guards for the office," he instructed and the Captain gave him a startled look but kept his questions to himself and got on the phone to make the request. Havoc paced, trying to think straight. There was no time to physically interrogate Lin as to why homunculi were still in existence. Edward needed to be told about his son first... and quickly in order to widen the search for both his son and Elysia. The fastest way for that to happen was for Mustang to get things moving. It was obvious now that where Elysia and Edward's son were; the homunculi would be in order to finally destroy them… But first things first…
Havoc gave the note back to Erika and left her and Lin standing where they were, entering his office. He stepped inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. The room was silent. Gracia sat as still as a statue on a couch, her face streaked with tears. Edward sat next to her, his face blank, little Erika asleep in his arms, having cried herself to sleep.
Havoc cleared his throat but only Gracia looked at him. "Gracia, will you please take Erika and wait in the outer office?"
Gracia nodded stiffly and moved to take Erika but Edward held on tight.
Havoc walked forward, gently taking Erika from Edward he handed the little girl to her grandmother, who clutched the small child tightly against her body and left the room.
"Ed," Havoc said gently, sitting next to his friend.
"What the fuck has just happened?" Edward whispered as his face began to crumble.
Havoc knew Edward was in love with Elysia but hadn't realized the extent or how much he had come to rely on her so much. But Havoc understood. Edward had lost so much when he was young; it wasn't surprising that he would be reliving those horrors. The worst was supposed to be in the past though and it angered Havoc that his friend was being put through this. However, he didn't have time to be gentle to snap Edward out of this nightmare.
"So are you going to sit here and let someone run off with your wife?"
The Edward Havoc knew turned on him with blazing eyes. "Fuck you!"
"That's more like it," Havoc said looking relieved. "But before we extend the search for Elysia, there's someone here who needs to talk to you."
"If it's not Elysia then I don't have time," Edward growled as he stood up and headed for the door. "Where's Erika?"
"Speaking of Erika," Havoc said stepping in front of Edward to keep him from leaving, "she's the one who needs to speak to you."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Edward asked, staring at Havoc like he'd lost him mind and forgotten what they had just seen in the park.
"You wait here and I'll show her in," Havoc backed out and motioned for someone to come in. He stepped aside and a woman entered.
Edward recognized her immediately and his mouth dropped open. Havoc left quietly, closing the door and he was left alone with someone he thought he'd never see again.
"Hello, Edward," she said looking at him nervously.
Edward could only stare at her thinking this had to be a dream. There were questions running through his head but they swirled around in confused chaos. She looked as she did when he last saw her, though she had aged some what, the signs most visible around her eyes and she was dressed more conservatively. But she was still just as pretty as he remembered.
"What are you doing here?" He asked rudely. It was the first question he could grasp on to when he caught himself thinking she still looked good for her age. Since being with Elysia he never looked twice at another woman.
I'm not that person anymore, he thought but caught himself before he overreacted when he realized something. He didn't feel anything for her.
It was a shock to see her again, to have the memories of the many nights they shared together come unbidden; memories he had force himself to forget when he thought he'd never see her again. But despite the memories he felt nothing. That's all they were, visions of the past and whatever he had felt for her at the time faded away. It was all so long ago he had left it at that; the past was the past, it was over and done with. He moved on. He could see that she was thinking the same. She had moved on as well.
"I'm sorry, Edward," she said going by his initial reaction. "I know this is not the best time..."
"It's not," Edward said softening his tone, "but I shouldn't have been rude. How are you?"
"Not so good right now." Tears glistened in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" He was concerned now. The one thing he hated was seeing any woman cry. But his question just seemed to make it worse and the tears flowed freely. He guided her to the sofa and sat down next to her.
"I really need your help," she said miserably through her tears. "Our son is missing..."
"Your son..."
"No, our son," she corrected looking him in the eye.
Now Edward knew his brain had finally overloaded. He shook his head, "No, that's not possible..." but he knew it could be. All those times Elysia had teased him that he probably had a love child somewhere didn't seem so funny anymore.
His mouth went dry. It took him a minute to form a question that would be intelligible. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared when I found out I was pregnant. I had nowhere to go, nobody to turn to..."
"But I said you could always come to me," Edward pointed out, looking at her with hurt filled eyes.
"I know," Erika whispered guiltily.
"You didn't want him to know me," he accused. There was too much to think about; way too much in order for him to control his temper and remain calm.
"No, that's not it," Erika said horrified.
"Then why didn't you tell me?!" He demanded his voice rising.
"You were on the front lines during the war," her defense was going up on instinct, "what were you going to do?! Leave... settle down and marry me? You didn't love me..."
"Of course I would have come..."
"Don't be a fool, Edward. It wouldn't have worked. You wouldn't have been happy..."
"Don't tell me what I would or wouldn't have been! You could have at least given me the chance!" He stood up and began to pace, unable to look at her.
"You did have a chance," she said watching him walk back and forth. "We both did but we ignored it. We never really talked. I knew absolutely nothing about you... I didn't even know your brother's name was Alphonse until I read something about it in the paper. You never asked what my last name was."
Edward was drained of his anger, ashamed now. But that's still no excuse for hiding my son from me all these years!
"I was wrong, not telling you," Erika continued. "I've always been a selfish person, Edward. I couldn't have you but I had your son. I wanted him all to myself..."
"So the only time you come back is at the worst possible!" Edward yelled, his anger flaring up again as he stepped closer to Erika, looming over her, "because it wasn't worth letting me know him during happier times; when I could have seen him before he went missing!"
He was angry and hurt that he had been denied seeing his son grow up. Even if it didn't work out between him and Erika it didn't mean she had to keep his son away from him. All these years he had been going about his business, fooling around, putting himself in danger, eventually settling down... none of that was kept secret; most of it was well documented in the press and the whole time he had a son out there, reading about him, probably wondering...
Erika shrank back a bit but kept her back straight, meeting his eyes. "Edward, please, I'm sorry..."
"Stop! Just stop." He walked back and forth sorting through everything. There was so much to ask, so much he wanted to know about his son... and why Erika waited until the worst possible moment to tell him.
What if we can't find him? I'll never have the chance to explain… to get to know him…
"What's his name?" He asked when he calmed down a bit. He didn't want to scare Erika or make her feel threatened but he felt she did deserve it.
"Richard," Erika said quietly.
"That's a good name. Does he know I'm his...?" Edward couldn't say the word just yet. It seemed so surreal, like some play he was watching of someone else's life that had been overturned in an instant.
"Yes."
"Is that why you left?"
"No, I swear I didn't know at the time. I didn't think I could ever have children after getting rid of so many..." Erika explained, her voice trailing off.
"Is he really mine?" Edward felt like a jerk for asking but he had to, knowing Erika's past.
"Yes," Erika said. She perfectly understood why he would doubt her. She had never been completely open with him, just as he never shared much about his past. Their relationship had only been physical, both ignoring any true, deeper feelings they felt for each other at the time.
She dug into her handbag and pulled out a picture and handed it to Edward. He took it and froze.
It was of a boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen sitting on a porch step in front of a white house with green trim. He didn't know what was more shocking; seeing the Ouroboros or seeing his face looking up at him knowing it wasn't him. The boy in the picture was the very image of Edward; same golden eyes and hair… cocky grin.
He ran his hand across the photo, it was real but he still wondered if he was really seeing what he was seeing. But knowing what had already happened that day it wasn't so hard to believe. No, Erika wasn't lying. This was his son.
He couldn't stop looking at the picture; at the young boy's eyes especially. The eyes were so different... so full of laughter. No pain, no haunting memories of the past... just pure innocence and joy.
"The little girl outside looks just like Richard did when he was that age," Erika noted.
"That's my daughter. My father told me she looked just like me when I was a baby," Edward couldn't help but add.
"What's her name?" Erika asked.
Edward didn't say anything at first. But it wasn't like he'd be able to keep it a secret. "Erika," he said softly.
Erika looked like she was lost for words.
"How long has Richard been missing?" Edward finally asked after a minute of silence, the storm blowing through its course leaving behind a mess to clean up.
"A week."
"Any leads? What has been done to find him?"
"The local authorities have nothing to go on, there was this," she said handing him the note. "But it didn't help them."
Edward took it and began to read:
I only came to see an old friend and what a surprise I found. I really hit the jackpot with this one. Looks like I can hit you in two weak points. I'm sure the whore will know what to do with this. Let's meet for lunch sometime. It'll be a reunion of two old war buddies. RT
Edward reread the note several times, getting even angrier as he did so. Crumbling the note in his hand he punched the wall. Erika jumped.
"Edward," she said hesitantly. "Who is RT?"
"A fucking piece of shit that I'm going to kill," he growled as he opened the door, stalking out. There was no more time to waste.
"Havoc," he growled. "Get that bastard, Russell Tringum's description out along with Elysia and my..." He knew it was true but to say it out loud, in front of Gracia, he was suddenly embarrassed. Not that he had a son with another woman but that he had been so blind no not ever consider the possibility.
"Yes, sir," Havoc said fully understanding as he swatted the Captain's hand away from the phone to make the call himself.
Edward turned and seeing Lin for the first time, his eyes narrowed in on his former friend. "You stay here and if anything happens to my daughter or anyone in this room I'll bury you alive."
"Ed, where are you going?" Havoc asked, pausing from issuing orders.
"To talk to that ass hole who thinks he's Fuhrer," Edward said storming out of the office.