Chapter 18 – Too Late

Adele glanced up from the book on her lap when the door to her bedroom opened and her friend walked in. Elmina turned swiftly and shut the door behind her. When she remained facing the door, not turning to face her, it became clear to Adele that something was very wrong.

"Mina, what happened?" She asked, setting the book aside and rising to her feet. When she received no response she swiftly crossed the room to her friend's side. Elmina had a hand over her mouth and her eyes were shut. Adele rested a hand on the dark haired girl's shoulder. Her eyes snapped open and she glanced at Adele, lowering her hand as she let out a shaky breath.

"Today has been a very bad day," she whispered, eyes filled with a pained humiliation. Adele's eyes widened. She couldn't imagine what could have happened over the course of the morning to put her friend into such a state.

"What happened?" she demanded, frowning deeply in concern. Elmina swallowed, seeming extremely reluctant to answer. There was silence for a moment before she managed to force the words out.

"I… blew up at Titus and then I…kind of made out with your brother," she whispered, burying her face in her hands. Adele stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. The first part of the sentence wasn't terribly surprising, but the second part….was shocking to say the least.

"Uh…" she was trying to figure out how to respond. Then finally something occurred to her. "Was it because of Mania?" she asked uncertainly. Elmina nodded, still hiding her face. Adele sighed softly, reaching out and gently grasping her friend's wrists, pulling her hands away so she could see her expression. The dark haired girl was red with embarrassment and there was an obvious guilt in her eyes. Adele slid an arm around her shoulders and walked her over to her bed, sitting them both down.

"Oh man…I can't keep doing this. I don't think I'll ever be able to face either of them again," Elmina whimpered covering her eyes with a hand again.

"Titus will have to suck it up and get over it. But I'm certain AJ will forgive you. Give him a little credit," Adele's expression was bemused, "There are worse things you could have done than kiss him," she pointed out. Unlike the dark haired girl, Adele had long been aware of her brother's feelings. She would be somewhat amused by the situation if Elmina wasn't so distraught by it.

"Oh Adele…you don't get it. I practically admitted to Titus that I like him. And then…" she trailed off, thinking about the scene that had just taken place in the shop. She didn't have a clue how she was supposed to feel about it. Her emotions were too muddled to make sense of any of it. "I just…I can't believe I did that. I mean, AJ—"

"Elmina," Adele's tone was blunt enough to get her friends attention, "You really don't need to worry about it. AJ likes you," she informed her slowly, realizing her friendly likely wasn't going to catch on to her meaning. Elmina stared at her.

"But…" she was a somewhat at a loss for words, "I mean…I kind of crossed a line. Friends just don't do that," she still sounded mortified. Adele rested her face in her hand, shaking her head.

"You really are as blind as Titus," she muttered. At this Elmina blinked.

'Now, if my memory serves me correctly, you accused Lover Boy of being blind. But you, my dear, are just as blind as he is. Allow me to…open your eyes a little,'

Mania's words from earlier echoed through her mind. Realization finally began to dawn on her.

'I just wanted you two to have some fun. Honestly, I don't understand your problem. I know exactly how you feel about her,'

She only remembered fragmented pieces of the conversation that had taken place between AJ and Mania after she'd practically jumped her unsuspecting friend, but for some reason that sentence stuck in her mind.

"Wait…" she stared into space for a moment. The idea had simply never entered her mind before. They'd been friends since they were little kids and she'd been too fixated on Titus for years to really think of anyone else in that light. But when she thought about it…it explained a few things… His behavior on the roof back at the Mustangs' home…She hadn't been sure what to make of it at the time. She'd just figured he'd been scared for her.…but… Did he seriously like her? Man… she really was as blind as Titus. Adele recognized the look of realization passing across her friend's face.

"I never told you because he didn't want me to. He's resigned to the fact that you like Titus and just don't see him as anything other than a friend," Adele explained.

"But…" Elmina blinked and then abruptly turned red all over again, "Oh…and I kissed him. And…then I basically just ran away," she covered her face with her hands again. "I'm an idiot," she moaned. Adele chuckled softly.

"Yes, but a lovable idiot," she replied amusedly. Elmina peaked through her fingers to glare at the blonde. Then Adele's expression sobered. "Listen; don't tell AJ I told you about this. He's not going to expect your feelings to change because of something Mania made you do. Please don't start treating him differently. It would hurt him if you suddenly starting acting awkward," concern had entered the blonde's voice. Elmina stared at her friend for a moment, a little startled by her comment.

"I…" she trailed off momentarily. She could see Adele's point but… how could she not feel a little awkward after what had taken place? Setting AJ's feelings aside, she'd shoved him up against a wall and kissed him…that was embarrassing all on its own.

"Look, AJ cares a lot about you. Just don't start pushing him away," Adele said.

"Why on earth do you think I'd push him away? I care about him too you know," Elmina's tone grew slightly defensive. Adele smiled slightly.

"I'm just making sure. He is my brother after all. I don't want him to get hurt," she replied simply. Elmina raked her bangs back from her face with a sigh.

"Life was so much simpler a week ago," she said regretfully.

"Very little in life is simple. If you think it is then you probably aren't seeing the whole picture," Adele's tone was faintly amused. Elmina snorted.

"Alright, wise old sage," she muttered. Then she hesitated a moment. "Could you umm… maybe go talk to AJ?" the dark haired girl's expression grew sheepish, "I don't want him to get the wrong idea because I ran and hid…but…"

"But you don't want to face him just yet," Adele finished her sentence dryly. Elmina nodded, turning slightly red again in embarrassment. "Alright, I'll be back in a bit." The blonde said, rising to her feet. "But you aren't allowed to hide in my room forever," she warned.

"I know," the dark haired girl mumbled.

One week later…

The afternoon sun shone down on the large public park across the from the military's intelligence headquarters. Elycia Hughes sat on a bench next to a dark haired man with tanned skin, black eyes and a dusting of five o-clock shadow. He was rather attractive and was clearly of Aerugan ethnicity. The only thing marring his aquiline features was a jagged scar above his left eyebrow. He was a member of the New Amestrian Council and went by the name of Dominic Angioli.

"You seem a little distracted today. Is everything alright?" the dark haired man's voice was low and melodic. Elycia glanced at him and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. I guess I'm just a bit tired," she replied.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" he inquired.

"Nah, I just got caught up in a good book," she lied, expression sheepish. The reality was that she'd been up well into the night trying to piece together the clues she'd gathered over the last few weeks. At this point she was fairly certain the South had sent an assassin to Central take care of the Council members still loyal to Amestris. The only remaining questions were who the assassin was and when they were planning to carry out their mission. Unfortunately she still had no answers to these key questions. Her main source of information was the man seated next to her, her boyfriend. But since he was unaware that she was using him as a source she couldn't ask him outright about any of her questions. It required a delicate sort of prompting, especially at this stage in their relationship. She was still gaining his trust and he hadn't been making her job terribly easy.

"What's on your mind?" Dominic asked softly. Elycia let out a rueful sigh.

"I don't know…I'm just having mixed feelings," she replied evasively.

"About what?" he asked. Elycia chewed her lip for a moment, as if not quite sure how to respond.

"About our country I guess," She stated tentatively. "Working in the military has given me a different perspective on things. I'm not terribly fond of how our government is conducting its internal affairs… I just don't know where the things are headed," she admitted reluctantly, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "No offense. I suppose you're one of the people running things," her tone was amused. At this he smiled.

"No, I agree with you. A number of our government policies are terribly outdated and in need of revision. But our current Council doesn't want to risk disrupting the peace they've managed to establish by changing things up. We won't see any useful revisions being made under our current administration," his tone was resigned. Then his expression grew somewhat calculating as he stared at her thoughtfully. "Although, between you and me, I have good reason to believe change is coming soon," he informed her. She cocked her head.

"What makes you say that?" she asked curiously.

"A little bird told me," he replied evasively. Elycia raised an eyebrow, a sly smile playing across her lips.

"Really? I love birds," she informed him. At this he chuckled, eyes crinkling in amusement. The blonde woman held back a wistful expression. It was really too bad he was a spy. She liked him. Not as much as she'd lead him to believe of course, but he was still a nice guy. As she watched him, something seemed to catch his attention. She turned to follow his gaze and was a little surprised to see Wrath strolling towards them down the sidewalk. She hadn't expected to see him until the next day. He was likely headed to meet with someone.

"Hey Wrath!" she called cheerfully. She'd been growing quite fond of her serious co-worker. He was extremely amusing to torment. Though, his cold demeanor could be exasperating at times. He really needed to loosen up. She had a suspicion as to why he kept such a distance between himself and everyone else, but she didn't thinking calling him on it would be appropriate just yet. Wrath glanced at her, clearly a little startled to see her there. Then his gaze landed on the man seated next to her and he actually froze momentarily. Elycia blinked, a little surprised by the guardedness that had entered his expression. She glanced at her boyfriend and found the same guardedness was mirrored on his features. She frowned thoughtfully. Did they know each other somehow?

Wrath approached them slowly.

"Elycia. I didn't expect to see you here. Aren't you working today?" he asked, coming to a stop by their bench. From his tone and expression it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Yep, I'm just on a lunch break at the moment. How about you?" she asked.

"I'm just passing through. My hotel isn't far from here," he replied, "Who's this?" he nodded at the dark haired man sitting next to her.

"Oh! This is my boyfriend Dominic. Dominic, this is Wrath," she said, smiling at the man seated next to her. Dominic rose, extending a hand to shake. Wrath took it, not overly surprised to discover the other man's grip was a little firmer than necessary.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" Dominic told him, smiling politely.

"Likewise," Wrath replied, tone neutral.

"Pardon my asking, but how do you know Elycia? I don't believe I've seen you around these parts before," the other man's tone was friendly but there was a weight in his gaze.

"I'm a friend of Brigadier General Mustang. We've run into each other a time or two when I've stopped by his office," Wrath replied. Dominic nodded slowly, appearing guardedly satisfied with his answer. Elycia watched their exchange with a slight frown. They both seemed unusually tense. They must have recognized each other from somewhere... She would have to track down Wrath later on and talk to him about it. She couldn't afford to be in the dark on things in her current situation.

"It was nice seeing the two of you but I should really be going. I have an appointment to get to," Wrath told them. Elycia nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you around," she replied amiably. Wrath strolled away without another word. Dominic stared after him for a moment, a frown creasing his brow. Finally he shook his head, turning back to Elycia.

"Well, I suppose we should both be getting back to work," he said with a regretful smile. The blonde sighed.

"I suppose you're right," she replied ruefully. Her dark haired companion offered her a hand, which she took, rising to her feet. "Hey, do you want to go out for supper this evening?" she asked out of the blue. Dominic blinked in surprise.

"Oh…Actually, there's something I need to take care of tonight. How about tomorrow night?" he suggested, his smile a little more tense than before. Elycia smiled cheerfully in response and nodded.

"Tomorrow it is then," she replied, linking arms with him as they walked back towards the intelligence headquarters. The gears were turning in the back of her mind. Something was definitely up. Dominic had never put off an opportunity to go out with her before. And his sudden tension after meeting Wrath was intriguing. She'd have to do some looking into things this evening.

Wrath made his way down a narrow street. The sun had set, plunging the city into shadows. The streetlights in this area of town were poorly maintained. Those that weren't burnt out entirely were dim and flickering. It was a small residential area on the outskirts of the Old District. A number of the houses were empty, boarded up and listed for sale. In those still in use the lights were out. It was nearing midnight so it wasn't surprising. He was headed to the home of one of Roy's agents who had connections in the South. Because of the man's work hours they had to meet late at night. Unfortunately, the meeting was going to have to wait. Wrath appeared to have picked up a follower along the way.

He turned down an alley, coming to a halt. He wasn't sure who would be following him, but he needed to sort the person out before he continued any further. He crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, hands within easy reach of the knives he kept sheathed inside his open jacket. He never usually carried a gun. They were loud and drew too much attention when one was trying to remain unnoticed. On top of which, policies about ordinary citizens carrying guns were stricter than they used to be, meaning getting your hands on one if you weren't in the military tended to be a hassle. In many cases they'd become more trouble than they were worth.

He waited, senses on high alert for any sound. He somewhat doubted whoever his follower was would approach him directly. Several moments passed. It was possible that they were simply tailing him to find out where he was going. In which case they would likely turn back once they realized he'd caught on to them. But one could never be too careful…

As it turned out, his caution was wise. A moment later a sound came from above him. He whirled, knives already drawn and glinting in the flickering streetlight as the attacker leapt down from the low roof. The figure was clothed entirely in black, a dark scarf covering their face. They paused a moment in the shadow of the building, appearing to assess the situation.

"I must be getting rusty for you to pick up on me so quickly," the figure's voice was male and slightly familiar. Wrath's eyes narrowed. Where had he heard it before? The man wasn't carrying any visible weapons, but small knives or other devices could easily be hidden beneath his clothing. Wrath saw him shift his weight and a moment later he sprang from the shadows. The light which spilled across the man's visible features revealed a jagged scar over his left eye.

Wrath dodged out of the way, letting out a low curse. He should have been expecting this. After meeting the man earlier in the day he'd known he would have to keep an eye out for him. But he hadn't expected him to make a move so quickly. They'd only stumbled across each other briefly on a few occasions in the South. Then again, considering Wrath's own involvement in Aerugan affairs, being discovered to be on good terms with the Brigadier General of Amestris had likely put all his actions into a very suspicious light as far as this man was concerned. Regardless, his attacker had at one time been numbered among Aerugo's most respected assassins. This was not a fight he was looking forward to.

Elycia strode quietly down the old, cracked sidewalk. Every nerve in her body was on edge. When she'd decided to discretely follow her boyfriend this evening she hadn't expected it to be such a challenge. She'd barely been able to recognize him and discern where he was headed in the dark outfit he had on. At this point she had a strong feeling that following him hadn't been the safest choice on her part. She was fairly skilled at moving stealthily and keeping a low profile, but she was by no means a proficient fighter. If he found her out and turned on her she'd be in trouble. She did have a small hand gun in the pocket of her jacket. But killing him would cause more problems than it would solve. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. She couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip through her fingers. This was the first time he'd done anything so overtly suspicious. She needed to find out what he was up to.

She paused uncertainly when she turned a corner and found he'd disappeared. Had he ducked down an alley? Then she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and caught a glimpse of him darting swiftly across a rooftop. She frowned. What on earth was he up to? It couldn't be anything good. She sped up her pace, moving faster now that he was less likely to notice her. A moment later he dropped out of her sight off the roof he'd been on. She broke into a quiet sprint down the street. Her stomach dropped as the sound of a scuffle could be heard from the alley just ahead of her. She slowed, creeping up to the corner and peering around it cautiously. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of the two figures locked in combat.

"Wrath," she gasped involuntarily. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth, mentally kicking herself. She was such an idiot. Her dark haired co-worker glanced at her in alarm, leaving him open to the blow to the chin from his opponent which caused him to stagger. Taking immediate advantage of the situation the attacker continued his assault with a kick which doubled the dark haired man over. Elycia's eyes widened as she saw the metallic gleam of a small canister which slipped into her boyfriend's hand from his sleeve. As Wrath recovered from the effects of the kick he straightened up just in time to be sprayed in the face with some sort of liquid from the can. Judging by the pained exclamation and the way he staggered backwards, hands covering his face, Elycia suspected the liquid had likely been pepper spray. And if that was the case, Wrath was going to be completely incapacitated for the next little bit. She was surprised he hadn't collapsed already. The only option she had now was to intervene and bail him out since it was her fault he'd been distracted in the first place.

Before she had time to consider what she was doing, her gun was in her hand and she'd darted into the mouth of the alley.

"Touch him and I'll shoot," she warned, voice ringing commandingly as she pointed the small gun at the dark clothed figure. She was grateful that it was too dark for anyone to see her hand shaking with tension. She'd never actually shot anyone before, but she would if she had to. At the sight of her Dominic let out a low curse. Then to her surprise he turned and sprinted away down the alley, disappearing into the gloom. She stared after him for a moment, heart pounding from adrenalin. Had he really run off, or would he regroup and come after them again? Well… he might not want to risk it if a gun was involved. Her gaze moved down to the weapon in her still trembling hand. Her eyes widened slightly as she came to a startling realization. She'd never bothered to turn off the safety on the gun. She wouldn't have been able to kill him if she'd tried. With a sound of exasperation she slipped the gun back into her pocket. She really wasn't cut out for this sort of thing.

At that moment Wrath's legs gave out and he hit the pavement. She jumped slightly in surprise, before hastily crouching down next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. She could hear him attempting to gasp in air and winced in sympathy. Using pepper spray on an opponent to disable them before finishing them off seemed awfully low. Then again, it was probably a pretty effective strategy. Her poor co-worker likely wouldn't be able to move for a little while yet. Even once he was back on his feet he'd be feeling the effects of the spray for a while. And it was her fault he'd been ambushed with it… She cringed internally. He was not going to be happy with her when he finally recovered.

Sometime later Wrath stood in a small washroom, wringing the excess water from his hair with a towel. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and wasn't terribly surprised to see how reddened his eyes were. They were still burning uncomfortably but a shower had certainly helped. At least now he could think straight. His gaze fell to the sink and he noted absent mindedly the hairbrush with strands of golden hair woven into its bristles and the single toothbrush with a tube of toothpaste. He hadn't been in any condition to take notice of where Elycia had taken him too when they'd arrived in the quaint apartment earlier. He raised an eyebrow skeptically as he reached for his shirt. Slipping it on over his shoulders, he began buttoning it up as he exited the washroom and strolled down an unfamiliar hallway. It led into a small living room. Elycia was sitting curled up on the couch with a book. The golden glow from the lamp on the small table next to her was the only thing lighting the room. She glanced up at him, taking in his partially unbuttoned shirt and damp hair spilling over his shoulders with an expression of amusement.

"You should really dress like that more often," She told him, raising an eyebrow suggestively. He blinked, slightly taken off guard by the offhand compliment. When his brain registered the teasing note in her tone his eye twitched, expression growing utterly unenthused. He was not in the mood for her silliness.

"Why did we come back to your apartment instead of the hotel?" he demanded flatly.

"Because it was closer," she replied, unconcerned by the irritation in his expression. Wrath let out a resigned sigh, sinking into a chair across from her. He studied her for a moment.

"So," he broke the silence, "I never realized you were dating a professional assassin. That's one of those details I would have liked to know in advance." His tone was dry. Elycia's eyes widened slightly.

"Dominic is a professional assassin?" she asked incredulously.

"I see. You didn't know then. Well I guess it really isn't a surprise. As far as I know he's been retired for a while now," he replied tiredly, rubbing one of his stinging eyes.

"How do you know him?" Elycia demanded, a puzzled frown on her features.

"I saw him once or twice when I was in Aerugo. He went by a different name there. I had no idea he was actually a member of our government… We've never actually spoken with each other, though I suspect he's heard of me from other sources just as I learned about him," Wrath replied. Elycia grimaced.

"Wonderful…Well I suppose that makes it terribly inconvenient that I've gone and blown my cover by intervening in that fight," she tone was resigned. Wrath's expression hardened slightly. The fact that she'd given herself away was more than just inconvenient. They had a grave situation on their hands. But despite this, there was something else burning in the back of his mind that bothered him. The thrill of horrified shock that he'd felt at the sound of her voice back in that alley made him uneasy. It had been more than just surprise. He'd been genuinely alarmed to realize she was in harm's way. He hadn't realized he'd formed any sort of emotional attachment to his exasperating co-worker. It posed a definite problem.

"I think it's safe to assume that your boyfriend is the assassin we've been looking for. If he believes he's been discovered then he's likely going to make his move as soon as possible," he said finally.

"We need to contact Roy," Elycia's tone was brisk. She rose to her feet and headed across the room to the phone on the wall. Wrath watched her lift it up and rapidly dial a number, finger tapping absently on the back of the phone as she waited. It was somewhat fascinating the way her persona could shift from childish and playful to serious and focused so swiftly. It was almost like dealing with two different people. Or perhaps the cheerful front served the same purpose as his completely opposite cold demeanor. It effectively covered up the true personality hidden beneath it, only showing that side when necessary.

He'd never really thought about it before, but one could hold a person at arms distance with playful banter as easily as with a stone cold wall. Though, the playful banter was definitely more effective when trying to garner information from the people around you. Of course, that was assuming you weren't stonewalled by the person, as he himself had been doing with her. Was she so hell bent determined to get to know him better because she saw him as a person in a similar boat to her own? Well…that was likely jumping to conclusions. More puzzling was what could have caused her to put up a wall in the first place. He doubted her cheerful persona was entirely faked. She was far too sincere at times for that. But how much was genuine and how much was a means of keeping control of who got close to her on an emotional level?

"Hello, Riza?" her voice jarred him out of his thoughts. He shook his head. Why was he bothering to ponder this? "This is Elycia," the blonde's cheerful tone was a little more strained than usual. "Is Roy there?" she asked. There was silence as she waited for a response. A frown creased her brow. "Oh…I see," she replied. There was another silence. "Yeah, don't worry; I'll just drop by and see him. Thank you," she said, and then hung up the phone. Wrath raised his eyebrows at her. Elycia turned to him with a concerned expression. "He got called back into the office. Apparently an emergency Council meeting has been called," she told him. Wrath frowned slightly.

"He's not part of the Council," he pointed out.

"No, but apparently whatever triggered the need for a meeting is something that he needs to deal with as well," she replied.

"An emergency Council meeting in the middle of the night… considering how fond the Council members are of their sleep and leisure hours, whatever it is must be serious. I'll bet Drachma has finally invaded," he speculated grimly.

"I'm going to see Roy. He needs to know about Dominic as soon as possible. We've got to try and get our hands on him before he does anything," Elycia said, walking over to snatch her coat off the back of a chair, pulling it on. Wrath rose to his feet, feeling a prick of unease.

"I'll go with you," he said, but she shook her head.

"We need solid proof of what he is. It doesn't matter what charges we lay against him if we have no evidence to back it up. We can't even get the military to search his home without giving them some solid reason to suspect him," she replied, expression flat.

"What are you proposing?" Wrath demanded.

"I know it's risky, but I need you to check out his house. See if he's there or not. If he isn't then you need to break in and search for evidence. We've been dating for about a month now and I still haven't managed to get inside the place. We always go out somewhere before he escorts me back here," she explained, grabbing a piece of scrap paper from the coffee table and scribbling something on it with a pen from her pocket, "Clearly there's a reason for his caution," she finished what she was writing before handing the scrap of paper to him. Wrath glanced at it skeptically and found an address written on it. He frowned.

"He might just be waiting outside for a chance to take you out now that he knows you're on to him," he pointed out.

"I'll take a cab. And I still have my gun. I'll be fine," she told him firmly. Wrath's expression remained unconvinced. He could see her point, but he had a bad feeling about sending her off by herself. She let out a sigh. "Look, now isn't the time to start worrying about me. We need to get moving," her tone was urgent. Wrath grimaced. She was right.

"Alright. I suppose I'll need to take a cab as well," his tone was resigned. Elycia nodded, relieved at his agreement.

"Oh, hang on a sec. I have something you'll need," she told him, turning and swiftly departing the room. He stared after her in puzzlement. What could he possibly need? When she returned a moment later he was taken off guard as she handed him a pistol.

"How many guns do you have?" he raised an eyebrow as he took it. As a member of the military her access to them probably wasn't terribly restricted, but she was only a secretary…

"A few," she replied evasively.

"I don't need this," he informed her bluntly.

"Yes you do," her tone was flat. He shook his head.

"It'll only draw attention. I have knives that I'm quite comfortable with," he replied with a frown. She rested a hand on her hip, fixing him with an exasperated look.

"Who cares if it draws attention? My father was quite comfortable just carrying knives and now he's dead," there was an edge to her voice. Wrath blinked in surprise, utterly taken off guard. Her father was the last thing he'd expected her to bring up. He hadn't realized she had any knowledge revolving around the specifics of his death... Where on earth would she have gotten the information from? He somehow doubted Roy would have sat down and discussed it with her. Noting the unexpected determination in her lively green eyes he sighed, slipping the gun into his pocket.

"Alright," he replied resignedly.

Just over half an hour later Wrath was striding silently down the sidewalk. His senses were on high alert. There were few people around at 2am in this particular neighborhood. Still, the situation was by no means ideal. Between the time it had taken to recover from the ambush earlier, come up with a short term plan, and then take a cab across the city to the place where Dominic lived, enough time had passed for the man to be anywhere in the city by now. Wrath doubted he would hang around at his home, but he could have already gone back to the place and destroyed any evidence there. He could have set any number of traps for whoever was foolish enough to try searching the place. Then again, doing that would simply give confirmation to their accusations against him. Dominic's best bet would be to lay low and act normal. Since an emergency Council meeting had been called, he'd likely headed there already to avoid suspicion.

Wrath came to a halt in front of the house Elycia had described to him. The address she'd given him matched up. The windows were dark and there was no sign of anyone awake or at home. His gaze landed on the door and he was startled to see it slightly open. His hand slipped into his pocket to rest on the gun there. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea for Elycia to have given it to him after all. He made his way up the sidewalk cautiously. He was quite certain no one was following him, but it was whatever was waiting inside the house that had him on edge. He hesitated when he reached the front porch. As far as he knew, Dominic wasn't an alchemist. But there were numerous traps that could be easily set without any alchemical help. Still…someone would have to go in eventually. It was probably better for the person to be himself rather than some soldier with a wife and kids.

He drew the small hand gun out of his pocket, glancing at it briefly with a grimace. If he had to carry a gun, something bigger would have been nice. He reached out and cautiously tapped the door open further. Inside was dark and silent. He tightened his grip on the gun, his other hand moving to rest on the hilt of the knife at his belt. Bracing himself, he stepped over the threshold, gaze darting between the floor and the rest of the hall way, looking for any signs of trip wires or other potential hazards. He made his way slowly down the hall. The only sounds he could hear were his soft footsteps and forcefully controlled breathing. As he crept farther into the house a feeling of puzzlement began to grow in him. He should have set something off by now…

Upon reaching the end of the hall his gaze roamed over what appeared to be the living room. It was lit dimly by the streetlights outside the window. There appeared to be a number of objects scattered across the floor in the shadows. Then he spotted a light switch on the wall next to him. With a final wary look around, he reluctantly reached out and flipped it on. Golden light flooded the room, unveiling its contents. His hand slipped from the wall to rest limply at his side as he took in the sight before him in shock. Before him was spread what he recognized immediately as the materials and tools necessary for the construction of a bomb, and not a petty smoke bomb at that. Dominic had probably been working on this for a while.

Horror flooded through him. He never would have expected a stealthy assassin to make use of such a blatantly flashy means of dispatching the Council members. Had he been constructing it as a failsafe in case things didn't go according to plan? It was certainly a possibility. In any case, there was no sign of the actual bomb anywhere. Had Dominic really gone as far as to take it to the Council meeting? How on earth would he be able to set it up without anyone noticing and get out in time before it went off? Unless of course he intended to blow himself up…it was certainly an extreme measure, but if he failed such a critical mission he likely wouldn't be received warmly back in Aerugo. Then Wrath's eyes widened in alarm. Elycia had been headed to Central Headquarters. Had Roy been in his usual office, or had he been summoned to the Council's meeting room? Would Elycia have gone there in search of him after failing to find him in his office? There was every chance she would have.

He turned and bolted out of the room, racing down the hall and out the front door. He wasn't entirely sure what he planned to do. He'd never get there in time to warn anyone if Dominic had already gotten there ahead of him. Perhaps the man wasn't intending to set off the bomb immediately in the first place. There was every chance he was just using the meeting as an opportunity to set it up for use at a later date. Of course, the longer Dominic waited to complete his mission the more danger he was in of failing it at this point.

Wrath was halfway down the front walk when the sound of an enormous explosion seemed to rock the entire city. He staggered to a halt, eyes widening in shock. Across town flames had shot up into the sky in a giant plume of black smoke, visible even against the night sky. His heart came to a standstill, unable to even breathe as he stared across the city at the fire which was now casting a glow brighter than the streetlights. Disbelief paralyzed him on the spot. It had happened so quickly. How had it come to this? All the weeks, months and years of work and effort attempting to stay one step ahead of the enemy…the last two weeks working tirelessly to discover the assassin in their midst and lay bare Aerugo's plans before they could make their move…. In the end it had all been for nothing. They had failed. Past the shocked horror which had frozen him on the spot, a single thought rose up in his mind.

"Elycia," he whispered. Then he broke into a full out sprint towards the fiery wreckage of what had only moments ago been Central Headquarters.

-Author's Note-

Bumbumbuhhh!

Oh my goodness, Wrath/Elycia overdose! This has been the most screen time they've had for the whole story so far lol. It seems Elycia might have a secret she's hiding. Wrath's curiosity appears to be pricked in spite of himself. I wonder how she knows details about how her father died?

More importantly, I wonder if she's still alive? XD

I wish I'd had more time to build on Dominic's character, but I have waaaaay too many OCs on the go already. If I go into extensive detail on many more of them I'll lose my remaining sanity, which would not be conducive to getting this book finished for you lol.

Well they're in a royal mess now, aren't they? Next chapter will be….short but emphatic…x'D

nettlesnitch92: I'm glad you liked that scene! For some reason I find the Wrath/Elycia end of things to be the hardest part of this story to write. I love them, I just find them challenging. I'm trying to bring them more into the thick of things as we draw towards the end of the story.

In the Forest: *chuckles* I want to make a comment but I can't without spoiling stuff later unfortunately. x'D And yeah, it seems the more instruments one plays the harder it is to keep all of them up to speed.