Chapter 6: Inquiries and Satisfaction
"It wasn't like Bald and I were having a friendly chat, Mustang," Ed said exasperatedly and shot a glare at said dark haired man, as he set aside his now empty container of noodles on the recently regenerated surface of the coffee table before him and relaxed back into the comfortable leather couch that he and Al were sitting on. "He got as far as calling me a brat, before Al and I tagged teamed him."
"What about the others?" Lieutenant Colonel Hughes asked, looking up from his own container of noodles to the Elric brothers, who were seated on the couch opposite him and Mustang. "Did they say anything about future plans that the Eastern Liberation Front might have or perhaps mention other organizations that they are working with?"
"Incapacitate and ask questions later, Lieutenant Colonel." Al shrugged apologetically with his elbows resting forward on his knees and a container of sweet, sticky chicken in one hand and chopsticks in the other. "We didn't exactly give them time to say much of anything. If we had, we probably wouldn't have ended up with only a few bruises and a couple of scrapes for our trouble. They weren't messing around. They would have shot us, Halcrow, and the other passengers with zero regard for the lives that they'd be taking."
"I guess that we'll just have to wait and see what the interrogations turn up." Hughes frowned. "If they uphold to the same code as Petro, though, we probably won't get much of anything out of them."
"It doesn't really matter if we do or not. It's not like shutting down the Eastern Liberation Front would do any good," Mustang said, as he stood up from where he had been sitting beside Hughes and stretched. Picking up his jacket from the back of the couch, where he had set it before sitting down to eat, he continued, "The Eastern Liberation Front is only one faction among the many factions that are stirring the unrest in the East. Shutting them down would only cause a new faction with a new base and figurehead that we know nothing about to rally in its place. The Brass will just be happy that we've captured a handful of the extremists."
"Is the East really that unstable?" Ed asked, his brow furrowing with concern and confusion. He and Al hadn't heard about any unrest within their home province, at least not since Ishval. As far as they were aware there were border skirmishes with Aerugo and Creta, but the main threat to Amestris came from Drachma, despite them having a peace treaty with the Drachmans and the Briggs mountains making invasion difficult.
"The war might be over, Ed," Mustang said seriously, while putting on his jacket and buttoning it closed over the white button-up shirt that he wore underneath, "but the people of the East have not yet forgotten the blood that soaked their fields and the streets of their villages. There is still a very strong opposition to the Military throughout the region. While the southern lands of the East District are more subdued, having been closest to the extermination of Ishval, the rest of the East is not as settled. We've not yet had any uprisings or anything else to that extreme, but there have been minor attacks on government facilities and military officials by factions like the Eastern Liberation Front. It's more bothersome in that it's annoying to have to keep security so tight in the East than it is truly concerning that the region might break out into war once more."
"Don't you have a meeting to be getting to?" Hughes asked pointedly.
From the look that Hughes was shooting at Mustang, Ed got the impression that the man didn't approve of Mustang being so candid with him and Al, or perhaps it was just an extension of the man's disapproval of him and Al coming to Central to become State Alchemists at what he was fairly certain the man believed to be on purely Mustang's behest. He had noticed that, when the lieutenant colonel wasn't fawning over his photos of his wife and daughter or wasn't otherwise distracted with his duties as a military officer, the man was either scowling or glaring at Mustang as a parent might scowl or glare at a child who was doing something that they ought not be doing and knew that they shouldn't be doing it. Mustang – in pure Mustang fashion, all aloof and arrogant – pretended not to notice the looks and carried on, as if Hughes wasn't sending silent accusations at him at every given opportunity.
"We do," Mustang said smoothly, meeting Hughes's narrowed eyes with a dispassionate stare. "If you'd have a copy of Ed and Al's witness statements brought to Hawkeye before you head home for the night, I'd appreciate it."
Hughes set his finished container of noodles on the coffee table and stood. "Once I have it typed, I'll see to it that your office ends up with a copy."
Mustang stared at Hughes a moment longer, as if daring the man to say what was really on his mind, before turning to Ed and Al. "We better get going."
By mutual consensus, the two military officers and Ed and Al all left Mustang's office together after having quickly cleaned up their mess from the takeout. Out in the hall, Hughes went one way, while Ed and Al followed Mustang in the opposite direction.
–
2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc sat up straight from his previous hunched over position and rubbed the back of his neck, while glowering around the unlit cigarette in his mouth and down at the fifth file of barely legible hospital forms requesting approval and acknowledgment of treatment for State Prisoner [X] that he had been forced to read over and sign off on within the last half hour.
"This situation with Halcrow and the Eastern Liberation Front sure has caused a lot of paperwork," he grumbled and looked up and across his desk to 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye, who was buried in a pile of paperwork at her own desk. While he silently hoped that she might take pity on them both and let them go home, he knew it wasn't likely. The colonel had been insistent that they wrap things up regarding Petro's capture and the hostage situation on the LE 04840 as quickly and efficiently as possible now that they had returned to Central Command.
Hawkeye looked up from the file she was reading and glared at the blond haired man, her narrowed eyes clearly showing what she thought about the interruption. "You should be thankful, Lieutenant, that only Halcrow and one of the officers on security detail were shot, or we'd have even more paperwork to deal with."
Havoc groaned at the thought. "You know, this is why I don't have a girlfriend. If the colonel would stop making us do his paperwork for him and work overtime whenever it suits him, I might actually be able to keep a woman interested. If he hadn't made us pull all those late nights just to capture Petro, Cynthia and I would still be dating. In fact, we might have even had a date set for tonight … a nice romantic dinner, perhaps we'd go to a show afterwards, and then back to h–"
"I thought her name was Kathrine," Hawkeye said offhandedly, as she returned her attention to the form in front of her. "Cynthia was the one who broke up with you because you accidentally stepped on her cat and fractured its paw."
Havoc scowled, trying to remember if it was a girl named Kathrine or a girl named Cynthia that he had recently gotten dumped by.
"Or was Sophia the one with the cat and Cynthia the one that broke up with you for sneezing in her face after you went through the trouble of bringing her flowers?" Hawkeye continued, her eyes scanning avidly over the report that she was reading.
Before Havoc could sputter an indignant response to the 1st lieutenant's inquiry, he was saved from having to embarrass himself, as well as having to further endure his dismal love life being dragged through the mud, by the office door opening rather unceremoniously.
"Lieutenants!" Lieutenant Colonel Hughes greeted jovially, as he crossed the office over to where Hawkeye and Havoc were buried beneath paperwork.
"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Hawkeye acknowledged the bespectacled man upon signing off on the report that she had been looking over. "Is there something we can do for you, sir?"
"Yes, actually, there is." Hughes held up a stack of hand written notes on restaurant napkins. "I need these typed. They're the Elric brothers' witness statements."
"Sir?" Havoc goggled. The man couldn't be serious. He wasn't even their commanding officer! Not to mention, Mustang had already stuck them with enough work to last them the week and demanded that it be done by the morning.
"Might I ask why you do not ask one of the members of your staff in the Intelligence Division to type them up for you, sir?" Hawkeye eyed the napkins with thin lipped displeasure.
"Well, you see," Hughes began with a huff, "Roy requested that I give you a copy of these before I went home. I'd have given them to my own staff to type up, but I sent all my guys home before leaving the train station. So, it's either I type them up myself, make a copy of them, and then deliver the copy to you, which you then have to go over and sign off on anyways … or I just give you these and you can type them up for Roy. Of course," he added hastily, as Hawkeye's eyes narrowed in annoyance, "you wouldn't have to worry about typing up a copy for my office. I can have one of my staff type up a clean copy for our records tomorrow morning."
"I'll see to it that the colonel gets a typed copy of these, sir," Hawkeye relented with a sigh and added the scribbled on napkins to her pile of paperwork.
"Great!" Hughes smiled brightly. Looking back and forth between the two lieutenants, however, his smile slid off his face and he abruptly became very serious. "In the interest of Roy's best interests … before today, did Roy mention the Elrics to either of you?"
"No, sir," Havoc answered when Hawkeye didn't say anything. He'd been just as surprised as everyone else to learn that Mustang was planning to trust two preteens to save Halcrow and counter whatever plans the Blue Squad might have had for the train. At first he had been certain that his CO had been joking, but when Mustang had confirmed that he was indeed being serious, he hadn't really known what to think. He still didn't know what to think, even with the knowledge that the brothers had successfully saved the train and having witnessed the boys' alchemy. He could understand Mustang's interest in the two, but he couldn't help but question their age and, in turn, question just where exactly Mustang had found the two, how much contact Mustang had actually had with them, and what exactly Mustang thought he was doing bring them into the Military to become State Alchemist when they were, for all intents and purposes, nothing but a couple of kids. "The first time that I know of him even mentioning them or having any sort of contact with them was today. Though, it seems he knows them well. The one with the braid called him a bastard, after all, and he didn't even react."
"I noticed." Hughes grimaced pensively and stroked his beard. "I imagine you heard them in the car as well. He's told me that he's known them for a year, yet I cannot find a single record of contact between them, let alone determine how or where they met."
"Sir," Hawkeye said stiffly, drawing the attention of both Havoc and Hughes. Looking directly up at Hughes, her voice took on a stern note that was grave and unyielding, "Sir, the Elrics' past is not a past that ought to be explored. I suggest you look no further into their lives prior to today."
"What do you know?" Hughes asked, now eying the woman lieutenant suspiciously.
"Stop looking, sir," Hawkeye said firmly, her amber gaze unwavering from Hughes's suspicious, hazel one. "That is what I know."
Hughes returned Hawkeye's gaze for an extended moment before he sighed and let his eyes fall closed. "Just tell me one thing, Lieutenant," he said, as he opened his eyes once more and looked down at Hawkeye. "Is Roy capable of handling whatever this is that he has got going on with the Elrics? While those two boys are clearly bright, we both know Roy well enough to know that their intellect would not be enough of a reason for him bring them into the Military so young. He's taking a huge risk."
"All three are alchemist, sir," Hawkeye said hesitantly. "We cannot understand their reasoning in this. The only guarantee that we have is that what is given by one side will be returned in full by the other. It is their way of life. We must trust that they know what they are doing, even if we do not like the idea of those boys becoming State Alchemists."
Havoc shook his head. It was too easy to think of the colonel as just a regular guy when the man wasn't using his flames. It was easy to forget that beneath the front of laziness and nonchalance that Mustang presented to the world was a highly skilled alchemist. It wasn't until the man got around other alchemists and weird shit was said and done that they were ever reminded that there was a part of Mustang that they, as normal human beings, would never have a hope of understanding. If the Elric brothers really did become State Alchemists and were placed under the colonel's command, normalcy was soon to become a rare commodity.
–
Ed forced himself to breathe calmly, as Mustang brought him and Al to a stop outside an oak door that bore the name plate: Major General Halcrow below the room number. It was not that he was nervous. No, he most definitely wasn't nervous. His left palm was not sweaty and his heart was not beating irregularly, definitely not. He was fine, everything was fine. General Halcrow would speak with them, they'd tell the man what he wanted to here, the man would agree to let him and Al take the State Alchemist Certification Exam, and this tiresome day would finally be over. Piece of cake!
"Enter," was the response from behind the door, upon Mustang giving the wood two decisive raps.
As he followed Mustang into Halcrow's office, Ed took note of how the atmosphere differed from Mustang's office. Mustang's office had been rather laid-back. The man's desk had rested at the far end near the windows with the two facing couches and the coffee table between it and the door of his office. There had also been a few bookcases and a couple filing cabinets lined against the walls, but they had hardly demanded a person's attention and hadn't been at all imposing. Halcrow's office on the other hand was the complete opposite of Mustang's office. It was uptight. The general had his desk sitting roughly in the center of the room and was currently sitting in a rather ostentatious chair behind it. There were two other armchairs in the room, which were angled towards each other with an end table in between them along the left wall and positioned close to the door. The rest of the walls were lined with shelves (some filled with books, others filled with awards and souvenirs from one place or another) and massive filing cabinets. It was a work space, where Mustang's office seemed more like a place to go to retreat from work. Knowing Mustang, though, that was probably exactly what the bastard used his office for. Ed could just picture Mustang napping on one of those couches of his when the man should actually be doing his work.
Upon Mustang drawing up a few steps away Halcrow's desk and snapping a salute, Ed hung back a few paces with Al and attempted his best to look respectful. They weren't State Alchemists yet, so it wasn't required for them to present themselves as if they were and would probably be seen as presumptuous if they did.
"Colonel Mustang reporting in," Mustang said, not letting his salute or stance waiver even the slightest bit, as Halcrow's eyes slid over him with unmasked disdain. "As requested, I have brought Edward and Alphonse Elric with me, sir."
"At ease," Halcrow said to Mustang, as he leaned back in his chair. Motioning for Ed and Al to step forward, he asked, "Do you boys understand why you are here?"
"Yes, sir," Ed said, meeting Halcrow's hard gaze without blinking. "We are here to confirm that our desire to become State Alchemists is not a byproduct of coercion and that we fully understand the undertaking of becoming State Alchemists."
"Roy Mustang recruited you." Halcrow shot a brief look at Mustang before he returned his focus to the brothers. "Yes or no?"
"Yes, sir," Ed and Al answered together.
"How did you view the State Alchemists prior to Colonel Mustang's attempt to recruit you?" Halcrow asked, looking as if he already knew what their answer would be and planned to make short work of their meeting by pounce on their words the moment that they spoke them.
"We viewed them with indifference, sir," Ed lied, knowing that the truth would only give Halcrow what the man metaphorically needed to hang them, yet saying that he and Al had always dreamt of becoming State Alchemists would be an all too obvious lie, especially considering that they came from the East District.
"Please elaborate," Halcrow request, no longer looking so sure of himself and instead appearing a bit miffed.
"As alchemist ourselves, sir, we understand what alchemy is and how it can be used," Al said promptly, before Ed could elaborate on the statement of their indifference and no doubt botch the lie. "We've known from the time that we were small that State Alchemists are alchemists commissioned by the Military. We've also known from the time that we were small that men of the Military are given their orders and must follow through with their orders for the betterment of the State of Amestris. While we are hardly reverent of what the State Alchemists did in Ishval, we've not held their actions against them, nor will we ever fear alchemy, like many in our district now do. The best way to describe our view of State Alchemists prior to Colonel Mustang speaking with us about becoming State Alchemists ourselves is indifference."
"You never considered becoming State Alchemist prior to Colonel Mustang speaking with you?" Halcrow asked, once more looking as if he had found something that he might be able to use.
"No, sir," Ed and Al answered truthfully.
"What did Colonel Mustang say to you to make you want to become State Alchemists?" Halcrow raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
Ed smirked at the question. The word make stood out to him with clear intent to trip him and Al up. While it had been voiced casually, it implied force or coercion on Mustang's part. "Al and I have decided to become State Alchemists for the research benefits, sir, as well as for the chance to travel and meet new people, as we carry out the duties to the State. It isn't so much what Colonel Mustang has said to us that has brought about our decision, as it is the fact that becoming State Alchemists aligns with what we want for ourselves, now and in our future."
–
Mustang slowly let out the breath that he had been holding. Ed's answer was good, surprising good. From the look on Halcrow's face, the general found it to be just as good as he did. There was nothing that implicated him in coercing, let alone forcing the Elrics into wanting to become State Alchemists. The way Ed talked, it was as if the idea to become State Alchemists had been the brothers' idea from the very start and that he just so happened to have been the one to provide them with the information on State Alchemists that allowed them to realize that becoming State Alchemists was exactly what they wanted.
So far, so good, Mustang thought to himself, feeling some of the worry that he had felt about the meeting begin to leave him.
As long as Ed and Al remained sharp and didn't allow Halcrow to catch them out, he was confident that he would be able outmaneuver Halcrow and force the man into compliance within the hour.
Just keep it up, boys, Mustang encouraged silently, as Halcrow barked off his next question, while looking exceedingly frustrated that he wasn't getting what he needed from the two blond haired youths.
–
"So war and bloodshed are part of what you want for yourselves, now and in your future?"
Al nearly started at the harshness of the question, but held strong. He and Ed had suffered worse treatment during their time with Teacher, after all.
"It is equivalent exchange, sir," Al heard Ed say in a forced tone of respect from where his brother stood straight-backed and proper beside him. "We accept that to obtain the privileges granted to State Alchemists, we must also fulfill certain duties that we may not like. We do not want war and bloodshed as part of lives, not now or in the future, but we will allow it to become a part of our lives regardless. We will do what our obligation to the Military dictates."
"You're prepared kill?" Halcrow demanded, looking from one Elric to the other with doubt.
"When ordered to, or when it is required to fulfill an order, or when it is necessary to save innocent lives, I will kill," Ed said firmly. The resolve in his words was palpable and incontestable. "I'll give you my word on that, sir."
"As will I, sir," Al said, conjuring a resolve to match his brother's resolve. He and Ed had already talked about killing. In fact, they had discussed it many times, between themselves and with Mustang. Killing was not something that they wanted to do, but when the time came and they were forced into a situation that left them no other option, they would kill. They would have to.
"Sometimes, the death of the enemy is required before you can save the lives of those you've dedicated yourself to protecting," Mustang had explained detachedly over the phone. "Then there are other times, when the choice to kill is completely taken out of your hands and it becomes an instinctual response to the kill or be killed scenario that you've suddenly found yourself in. I won't lie. It's never a pleasant thing to do, but there is no doubt that sometimes it is necessary and unavoidable. It's an eventuality that you need to prepare yourselves for."
They would do what had to be done, what was necessary. There would be no avoiding it with the path that they had chosen for their future. Try as they might to never take a life, the day would one day come. Neither he nor Ed looked forward to it, but they had accepted its inevitability.
"You understand that as State Alchemists, you'll be granted the rank of major?" Halcrow's question brought Al back out of his thoughts.
"Yes, sir," Al answered along with Ed. This too was something that he and Ed had discussed.
–
Mustang stood still and silent, as Halcrow continued to question the Elrics. More than once, Halcrow reverted back to questioning the brothers' reasoning for wanting to become State Alchemist. At least on three separate occasions, the general asked the two about the lengths of which they were willing to go to in their duties to the State of Amestris as State Alchemists. Question after question about the responsibilities and behavioral conduct of State Alchemists within the Military were inserted in between. As the questions got deeper into military ranks and procedure, Mustang was glad to have sent the boys the information that they had requested, as Ed and Al answered each question sufficiently and without falter.
By the time Halcrow finally told the brothers to wait out in the hall, forty stressful, tension filled minutes had passed.
"You've been prepping them," Halcrow observed with displeasure, as his chestnut eyes latched onto Mustang.
"They've been prepping themselves, sir," Mustang answered truthfully, as he steadily met Halcrow's accusatory glare. "I did nothing but provide the information that they requested."
Halcrow regarded Mustang a moment longer, before grunting. "What do you want, Mustang?"
"I want for them to be allowed to sit the upcoming State A–" Mustang began, but was cut off by Halcrow.
"No, that is what those boys want and what they intend to receive in return for risking their lives for my family and the passengers on that train." Halcrow growled. "Now, what is it that you want, Colonel Roy Mustang?" At Mustang's startled look in response to being called out on his intentions, Halcrow gritted his teeth. "Don't look so surprised. I've had the unfortunate pleasure of having you under my command for a year and half now. I know how you operate."
"You will allow them to sit the Exam?" Mustang asked, seeking confirmation, before he pressed towards his own objective. He wanted Halcrow's guarantee, as everything would be for not, if the boys didn't even get to sit the State Alchemist Certification Exam.
"You're not one to bet on a losing horse, and they've made it quite clear that they know and understand what it is that they want." Halcrow's brow furrowed with consternation. "Yet they're children, Mustang. How can children speak and act as they do? How can children incapacitate a dozen grown men with guns and come out of it with nothing but a few bruises and a couple of flesh wounds? How can they stand in this office without an ounce of visible hesitation or fear and ask to be allowed to become State Alchemists when it is plain to see that they do in fact comprehend all that the position entails? It isn't right. It isn't normal. Do they not have parents to wonder where they are?"
"No, sir, they don't," Mustang answered, his dark eyes scanning over Halcrow's pensive form with uncertainty. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Halcrow's conflict. He had never seen the man behave in such a manner. "The Elrics' mother died many years ago, and their father left them long before then. They've been on their own for quite some time."
"I'll put their names down for the Exam," Halcrow confirmed, while still looking troubled by the decision.
"They'll be grateful, sir," Mustang assured.
"And you?" Halcrow asked brusquely, looking up at Mustang warily. "What is your silence now going to cost me?"
"Your own silence." Mustang smirked at Halcrow's understanding of the true terms that were on the table. He had thought for certain that he'd have to spell it out for the man. It was good that he didn't have to, as he hadn't been looking forward to a repeat of the last time that he and Halcrow had engaged in conversation behind the closed door of the man's office. "I want both Elrics under my direct command. I expect that you'll not protest this when the time comes."
"You'd have to blackmail every general in the Military for that to happen!" Halcrow snapped off angrily, while once more glaring at Mustang, no doubt upset about the rehashing of their previous terms, as well as pissed off about being denied the opportunity to covet one of the brothers for himself.
Mustang said nothing to the accusation, not confirming or denying the extent of his machinations. In reality, though, the only generals that he had to worry about were the ones interested in the State Alchemists. The rest couldn't care less whose command the newest State Alchemists ended up under, as long as none ended up under their command. Though it had taken him the last twelve months, he now had every general who would bid for one of the brothers firmly in his debt.
"Like I said, Mustang, you're a real piece of work," Halcrow said with contempt for the man standing before him, not needing a verbal answer from Mustang to confirm his suspicions. "You better hope that your ambitions don't get you killed one of these days."
"Noted, sir," Mustang said blandly. The warning was nothing new between them. In fact, some days, he was certain that Halcrow would kill him himself, if the man thought that he could get away with it.
"I suggest you get out my sight, Mustang," Halcrow narrowed his eyes threatening, "before I do find a way to write you up for insubordination."
Not one to refuse a general's dismissal, especially a dismissal coming from Halcrow, Mustang snapped off a salute and silently retreated from the man's office. Though Halcrow hadn't outright said that he wouldn't oppose his claim to the Elric brothers, the man hadn't truly needed to say that he wouldn't. It was a given with what was at stake for Halcrow if the man did not comply. Satisfaction washed through Mustang upon him stepping out into the hall outside Halcrow's office and finding both Elrics waiting anxiously. He had what they needed and now all he had to do was not let Halcrow get the upper hand before the boys were officially placed under his command.