run, i'm a natural disaster
12. Puzzle
"DAMN!" yells Darius, still trying to push his way out of the cage that surrounded him. "What sort of bitch uses a lock like that one?"
With his free hand, he gestures towards the box that is the source of their worries. Instead of a normal tumbler-pin system, or even a combination lock, it's a puzzle-based one that changes every hour. A new craze in Amestris, only the rich and scholarly have it as a security feature, and it is a secondary measure to protect the most valuable items from thieves. It's easy to pick a lock and get through alarm systems, but puzzles take time and brains.
"Evidently, a paranoid old bird with some really, really expensive stuff." Greed deadpans, while seeing if his ultimate shield did any damage to the bars surrounding the rest of his team. It breaks one, but an electrical charge pulses between each, rendering a death trap. "Jeeze. How much money can one lady have?"
"If she's spent so much on this security system and still has money left over, she's probably very, very, very rich. Close to Royalty, I'd expect." Heinkel says matter-of-factly. "Hey, Darius, what family would have become royals if we weren't under military rule?"
"Umm, the Havingtons, I guess." Darius says, after a minute. "They're the closest to the main branch of the royals, which the previous Fuhrer slaughtered so that there was no contest for his power."
"Who knew that you were such a culture geek?" Greed says, teasing the large chimera. At the same time, he's calculating how best to put the information to use, as the man could probably state the richest people, the kind with surplus wealth not to know that it's gone. Also, the blush on the man's cheeks is too funny to pass up on.
"Oh, for the love of…" Ed's voice trails off, after looking at the way Heinkel's going about trying to solve the box. "Give it here." The tone brokers no argument, and Heinkel looks at her curiously.
"No offence, Kitten, but do you really think if Heinkel couldn't solve it, you can?" Greed says. Darius is beginning to think his job is to stand there and insult people.
Ed snorts. "Hey, I'm classed as a genius and a prodigy." She twists and types and fiddles for a few seconds, before the tray slides open and the pulsing stops. She looks up at them smugly, all the precious things inside placed in her alchemised satchel.
"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Darius demands. His animal instincts were protesting about being enclosed very, very loudly. It was making him desperate.
Ed shrugged. "Wondering if any of you were as smart as me, I guess." A self-assured smirk appears on her face.
"My arrogant little kitty," Greed grins, ruffling her hair, before commanding them to get the hell out of dodge before the old biddy comes back.
A.N: Aww, Darius is a culture geek in secret! :D See, don't judge by appearances!
This is an apology for having left 'run' for a while. I need to keep updating so I don't lose motivation and get writers block, as is my norm.
Thank you all for reading, and I'm so glad you liked the Greed!Ling/Ed shipping stuff that seems to slip through. ~3
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
-Tom
[Thanks go to Moonlit Water Sunny River, Fluehatraya, Hyper V and Mini Hayden for reviewing - they should get like, medals or something.]