The title of this chapter means 'the die is cast'. It's what Julius Caesar said when crossing the Rubicon River into Rome with his army. Basically it means 'what has happened has happened'.
The next morning, when the sun broke over Central, Al sat up groggily. Havoc was in the kitchen heating up leftovers. As Al struggled to stand and overcome his tiredness, he heard the newspaper being slipped under the door. He trudged over to retrieve it before joining Havoc in the kitchen.
"Morning, Al. Sleep well?" Havoc smiled at him as he took a large bite of a roll. Al smiled and handed him the paper.
"As a matter of fact, I did sleep rather well. Thank you for letting us stay here, Havoc." He sat down across from Havoc and sighed. "Any interesting headlines today?"
Havoc nodded. "Yes. Apparently a guard to Laboratory 4 was killed last night. The only thing missing from his person was his gun, and there was no sign that the perpetrator even entered the laboratory. I bet Mustang'll have you two check it out." He eyed Al over the paper and grinned.
Al sighed. "Of course. Well I suppose I'll go wake up Brother." He stood and walked into the living room and prodded Ed in the side. Al's hand was slapped away by Ed's flesh one. Al sighed and rolled his eyes, jabbing Ed's stomach with one icy finger. Ed yelped and fell to the floor.
"Al," he moaned, "what's the big idea?" He rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, one eye closed as he groaned in pain. His shirt was half-off his stomach, and one pant leg was rolled up while the blanket was wrapped around his waist.
Al rolled his eyes and offered his hand to help Ed stand. Ed walked to the kitchen table and sat down with a 'thunk', stealing Havoc's second helping. He gobbled it up while glaring at the headlines. "Great, yet another assignment…"
Havoc laughed."Well you two better get down to HQ and see what Mustang wants from you." He stood and put his coat on as he lit up a cigarette. "I'll see you guys later. I'm heading down South with Fuery today. I'll be gone a while so just behave." He winked and walked out the door.
Ed grumbled as he put his jacket on and slipped his gloves over his fingers. Al smiled a little as he slipped his shoes on and headed out the door, Ed following.
In a few moments, they reached HQ. Mustang was actually waiting for them in the lobby. "I suppose you two know of what happened last night?" He didn't wait for an answer before pressing ahead. "And you probably already figured we wanted to reach the bottom of the case. So you two know what to do. Report back here tonight regardless of your findings." He walked away, not waiting for a reply or an acknowledgement.
Ed blinked once and shook his head. "Bastard. Doesn't give us any chance to ask anything or even speak!" Al rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Come on, Brother. The quicker we start the quicker we finish!"
The boys headed out to Laboratory 4 and found the front entrance marked by crime scene tape. A cloth laid on the ground, a mound rising in the middle and red stains everywhere. Major Armstrong was there waiting for them. "Greetings, Elric brothers. I see Mustang sent you out here. This guard was stabbed twice, once in the heart and once in the side. His gun was taken and no one entered the laboratory." His voice was low and serious.
Ed nodded as he knelt down and pulled the large cloth back, revealing the body beneath. He grimaced slightly but took in every detail: the size of the knife, the apparent depths of the wounds. "We'll get started right away, Major," he said as he stood. He turned to Al and nodded. His younger brother nodded and together they took off for the slums on the southern side of the city.
Armstrong called after them, "How do you know the assailant fled that way?"
Ed looked back and grinned. "We just do, Major! Trust us!" He waved and turned around, picking up the speed, Al matching his pace flawlessly.
When they reached the edge of the city, Ed stopped. "The slum is a little ways further, but let's check around here first." Ed walked towards an alleyway.
Al turned and walked to check a nearby abandoned shop. Ed turned back to Al and met him in the middle of the street. "Well, I didn't see anything. Let's check the slum."
"Alright Brother!" Al had barely taken a step when a shot rang out.