"Take me with you!"
Havoc stared at the young blond before him with surprise. The look of determination in his eyes was slightly unnerving, and the Lieutenant didn't really know how to respond to the boy's sudden request. Of course it was a completely stupid and dangerous thing to ask. Even he didn't want to go in to the city, so why someone would forcefully go was a mystery.
"W-what? I can't do that kid!" Havoc said, scratching the back of his head. "It's dangerous and way too risky. Plus I'm sure the Chief would be against it," He hated to put Ed down, but it was completely illogical.
"But you have to!" Ed said with a gleam of determination in his eyes as he balled his fists. "I promised! I promised her I'd find her!"
Havoc paused for a moment, not really knowing with to make of the situation. Sighing, he looked over to where Mustang and the others were preparing the Honda for their trip in to the city before he turned back to Ed.
"Look, kid, I can't allow you to go, no matter what the reason is. It'll be way too dangerous and not to mention you've only just gotten out of there..."
"But you don't understand! My friend is still in there," Ed said, his voice becoming dry and rushed. "I promised I'd go find her once we reached safety!"
The taller male was taken by surprise at this. More survivors? Well that changed the situation somewhat. Although he knew it'd be impossible to bring Ed along with them. "Well..." He began, a guilty expression plastered on his face. "I'll have a talk with the Chief and we'll see what we can do... but I'm not guaranteeing you'll be coming along with us!"
"Thank you Havoc, really!" Ed said, turning around and rushing off back to wherever he had come from.
Havoc looked after the boy and sighed again, scratching his neck before he turned and approached the truck. "Er... Chief? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Havoc asked, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the truck as Mustang loaded a duffle bag on to the truck, probably full of ammo for their weapons. Mustang looked up from his work and frowned somewhat before following Havoc off to the side.
"What is it?" He asked, tapping his foot in an impatient manner that made Havoc a little uneasy.
"Well, I just had that Edward kid come up to me... he asked if he could come with us," Havoc admitted.
"What?! That's stupid! Why would he ask such a thing like that?" Mustang burst out suddenly, causing Havoc to flinch.
"Well, sir. It seems like there might be more survivors... I didn't get the full story but it seems like Ed and his brother weren't alone when they were hiding out," Havoc said, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "I know we can't take him with us... but I thought we could check it out, you know? If there's any chance of other survivors then we need to do our duty and-"
"Yes yes I know full well what our duty is Havoc," Mustang said, huffing somewhat at the predicament and running his fingers through his raven black hair. "And if there is any chance that there are more survivors... it'll be dangerous but we should at least try,"
Havoc smiled happily. "Alright, well I can talk to Ed about where the survivors are," He offered.
Mustang shook his head. "No, it's best if I do it, go and get ready. We're leaving soon," He said, brushing past the taller male and heading off to find the young teenager.
Havoc watched after his superior and tutted somewhat before he headed off to help.
--
"So you'll help us?!" Ed asked, jumping up from the bed in the room that he and Al had been assigned to. "You'll help us find her?"
Mustang nodded his head a little. "But you're not to come with us, it's dangerous out there and we have no idea how many of those things are in there. For all we know your friend might not have-" He cut himself off before he finished his sentence, biting his lip before he turned away. "However, we don't know where we're going, so..."
"So we can come with you right?" Al asked.
"No, I didn't say that," Mustang sighed. "Will you be able to draw a map?"
"But it's in a really difficult place! You won't be able to find it without our help," Argued Ed.
"I can't do that Edward! Not only would I put my men at risk, it would put you in risk too, and I can't do that," Mustang retorted. "You know how dangerous it is out there, you know what we're up against. Why are you so determined to go back in there?"
"Because I made a promise! I made a promise that I would go and find her and I intend on keeping that promise!" Ed barked, determination flaring in his golden eyes. "Please, sir. Just let me go with you! I promise I won't get in the way, I just need to see her face again,"
"You know there's a possibility she might not have survived-"
"I don't care! Even if she's... one of them. I need to see her,"
Mustang took in a deep breath. There was no use arguing with the blond. There was a danger he would run off and try to find his friend anyway, and he would feel horrible if something like that were to happen. Feeling a tug at his sleeve, he looked down to the younger brother, who looked almost in tears.
"Please let him go with you, I can stay here but... please?" He begged, wiping his eyes with his arm before letting go. "She's our best friend..."
Mustang felt like he'd been put between a rock and a hard place. Both boys seemed so distraught; who knows what would happen if he said. Closing his eyes and letting out a defeated breath, he relaxed his shoulders. "Fine, you can come with us," He said, offering the boy a light smile. "Under the condition you do exactly as I say and don't disobey my orders. You're putting us at a lot of risk here. Now go get ready, we'll be leaving soon,"
Ed grinned and turned to Al, giving him a high five before hugging his brother. "Thank you, Mr. Mustang," He said, rushing out of the room. He stopped and then peered around the door at Al, flashing him another grin. "I'll be back Al, don't worry," He said, dashing off again. Al nodded his head and waved slightly before he turned to Mustang. "Thank you a lot sir... this means a lot to us," He said, bowing gently.
"Well... it's not like I could say no," Mustang said with another smile before he nodded and turned away to leave.
--
"Here," Havoc said, turning to Ed and offering him a small pistol. "You might need this, just in case," He said, smiling reassuringly as the boy eyed the gun.
Swallowing, Ed took the gun and looked at it in his hands.
"The safety is on," Havoc explained, pointing to the gun. "Flick this to turn it off. Now remember, it only has ten shots so use it only if you need to. Aim for the head and squeeze the trigger. One bullet through the skull should do it, so try and savour the bullets,"
Ed nodded as he processed the information, feeling the weight in his hands, fingers tracing the outline of the gun before he pointed it and closed one eye to aim. "Easy," He said.
Havoc laughed, strapping himself in to the truck. He, Ed and Breda were in the back with Hawkeye and Mustang in the front. Farman was stood in the back with a sniper rifle and silencer, to pick off any zombies they spotted.
"You ready?" Mustang asked as he climbed in, looking back at Ed.
Ed took in a deep breath and nodded his head, his heart pounding quickly with excitement and almost dread.
"Alright then. Hawkeye," He nodded to the woman, who returned the gesture and started the truck, kicking it in to gear before she drove off out of the entrance, down the dirt track and towards the city.
--
Authors Note: Again, another short chapter. But who is Ed talking about? =o Find out next chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fullmetal Alchemist characters used in this story.
