Havoc shuffled uneasily, eyes darting between his superior officer and the slight strawberry blonde shifting nervously in her seat. He wasn't sure who she was or where the Colonel had found her, but he had the sneaking suspicion that if she didn't have a good reason for her declaration, Mustang was going to completely lose it. And if she did have a good reason to proclaim the Chief dead...well, things weren't looking good for her either way.

"Explain."

He winced in sympathy for the small woman. The colonel was without a doubt way beyond pissed.

"Roy...I know this is hard to accept, but...I don't think...it's just..."

She cut herself off, burying her fingers into her hair, exhaling shakily.

"I need to know. Who is she?"

The colonel's voice was hard, his question more of a command than anything else. The informant sat upright again, gesturing helplessly.

"I don't know her real name, but we called her Bee. She was...broken."

"So she's insane."

"No, not insane. Just...broken. Her soul was...splintered. Whenever she was afraid or upset, she could be violent and paranoid, but most of the time she was one of the gentlest people I've ever known. She's been that way as long as I can remember."

"I don't understand. What part of that explains why she kidnapped one of my officers?"

"Well, her father was a potential ally to the King. The Ace integrated himself into the family, and she was completely taken by him. In turn, her...oddities intrigued him enough to make her his favorite. But when the accident happened and the whole truth came out, she got much worse. Her soul fractured further from stress until no one was sure what facet was in control anymore. I don't think she knew herself, and as time passed each personality proved to have its own set of memories and emotions.

"The new King decided that she was too much trouble to keep around, but since her father still had great influence on the business, he simply had everyone cut all ties with her. I'm not sure how she manages to get by, but most days you can find her near the train station."

"The station. She must have mistaken him for..."

Havoc nervously fingered the cigarettes in his back pocket. He really, really didn't like where this was going. He jumped slightly when Mustang growled in frustration. He watched the colonel prowl the room, brows knit in agitation, muttering streams of indecipherable nonsense to himself.

Three. Two. One.

Mustang spun aggressively towards his silent crew, rattling orders off to Heymans who had been waiting patiently, pen and paper in hand since entering the interrogation room.

"I want soldiers monitoring every block within five miles of that station. Reports and tip-offs about crime in the area come directly to me. Buzz words 'Bee' and 'Ace' should be added to Fuery's list. New 'hot spot' locations: 'Resembool' and 'train station.'"

Heymans saluted and exited the room, not bothering to wait for a dismissal. The colonel turned back to face his informant.

"The train won't be running today. Do you know any other location where we can find this 'Bee'?"

"I think so. Last I heard, someone had spotted her hanging around Old Ava's place."

"Havoc. You and our birdie will be going undercover to retrieve the suspect. Use force if necessary, but remember that we need her alive. In the event that you find Fullmetal while undercover, contact us immediately and abandon your former objective. Get moving, soldier!"

He snapped off an affirmative and hustled his new partner back to the main office, planning alternate identities on the run. It occurred to him that he should be ecstatic about having a pretty lady like Mustang's birdie assigned as his partner. It also occurred to him that if there was any emotion he should be feeling right now, ecstatic was not one of them.

He burst into the office, slung the smaller woman towards Hawkeye's desk, and slammed the door behind them. He directed his new accomplice- he decided to name her Gretchen- to Hawkeye's secret stash of feminine clothing in the bottom of her filing cabinet, stripping out of his uniform as he spoke. Falman tossed him his emergency bag- filled with discrete weaponry, surveillance devices, civilian clothing, and a small first aid kit- and promptly began ridding the room of discarded clothing.

In record time, Havoc was changed and armed with an assortment of weaponry that was not-quite-lethal. At that point, Havoc turned his attention to Gretchen and took over for a heavily blushing Fuery. With a quick warning to hold still, Havoc applied a generous amount of some sort of white powder to her exposed skin and smeared a bit of powdered ink just below her eyes. Running his hands through his hair to give himself a hint of grey, he told her to throw her own locks up in a sloppy bun and proceeded to instruct her on their new persona.

Their names were Gretchen and Romy Kostya. They were going out for their daily stroll in hopes of curing Gretchen of her consumption. Her loving older brother was accompanying her in case the fresh city air became too much for her. They were only here for a week while their home was remolded in hopes of making it more comfortable for dear Gretchen. They were staying with their mother's much younger sister, Elizabeth.

Havoc made her repeat the story back to him until he was sure she had all the details down and after borrowing a pair of false spectacles from Fuery, they set off arm in arm.

For the most part of their journey, they kept to themselves, each playing through multiple scenarios in their minds- the best, the worst, and everything in between. They were only a few streets away from their destination when Havoc realized that he should probably try to prepare his partner for what may or may not happen in the next few minutes.

"Hey, Gretchen."

"Yes?"

"If someone tries to...surprise us, you should probably let me handle it."

"That's sweet of you, Romy, but you shouldn't worry about me so much. I'm feeling much stronger today. I think I can handle a little excitement."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to have a spell. Our brother might not let any of us out of his sight again if I bring you back less than perfect."

"I'm positive. You don't have to baby me so much. I'll be fine."

Havoc opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a tight squeeze on his arm.

"Oh Romy, look at that! What a charming cafe. We should get something hot while we're waiting for Miss Bee. I'm afraid I'll be frozen solid if we have to wait out here for her."

Havoc frowned briefly before his expression smoothed out into an indulgent smile.

"Of course, Gretchen. Anything for my sweet sister. Shall we?"

Havoc pulled the door open with a flourish and leaned forward into a slight bow, free arm inviting the delicate female to enter at her leisure. Laughing gaily, she curtsied in return and chose a small table near the large window at the front of the shop, settling herself with charming grace. Havoc followed her lead, positioning himself so he had a clear view of the building his partner had indicated with a vaguely exuberant gesture. Thus situated, Havoc waved the shopkeeper over and ordered a light lunch and coffee for them both.

While they waited for Bee to show her face, Gretchen kept up a companionable stream of inanities, humorous reports on the love lives of her many acquaintances, fanciful rumors about people he'd never heard of, and the occasional wistful reminisce of their time together as a family.

He had to admit, the colonel's birdie was good. Very good. But from all the tales she recounted about their 'dear brother,' he got the idea that her ability to make up wild stories on the spot was going to get her in serious trouble one day. Most likely with the colonel, should he ever actually hear the stories she was spreading. But the look on Mustang's face when he found out there was someone telling the world that he'd spent the majority of his childhood as a life-size doll would probably make it all worth it.

His musings were cut short when he caught a glimpse of movement on the streets. He whipped his head around and squinted hard at the distant figure, fiddling with his glasses in a show of disbelief.

"My word. Is that who I think it is?"

Gretchen gasped, pressing a hand against her mouth in feigned surprise.

"Why, I do believe it is! It looks like Missus Bee is in Central after all. We absolutely must pay her a visit!"

"I agree. Come along, Gretchen."

The two rushed out of the shop, bustling across the street, pale faces flushing in the cold air. They scaled the short flight of stairs, as quickly and as quietly as possible. When Havoc caught sight of an open door, he eased a small caliber pistol from its holster inside his suit coat. He clicked the safety off and crept into the apartment, finger a hairsbreadth away from trigger.

A loud crash led him to a small bedroom where the suspect was frantically separating fragments of porcelain from old coins on worn carpet. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the state she was in. Dried blood outlined fingernails and sank into the webbing between digits, her eyes were over-bright, almost fevered in appearance, shoulders shuddering with some barely-repressed emotion. He licked his lips nervously and gestured for his partner to stay back and keep quiet. He was going to take a gamble and if it didn't pay off, he really didn't want her to get caught in the crossfire.

Havoc lowered himself to her level and pasted a gentle smile on his face, keeping the gun behind the wall and out of Bee's line of sight.

"Hello."

He'd whispered the word to keep from startling her, but even so the obviously over-wrought woman had jumped and squeaked out a yelp of surprise.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I thought you looked upset, so I came over to see if I could help. Is there something I can do for you, young lady?"

She whimpered, rocking herself back and forth while tugging fretfully at a loose curl.

"Can't! Leave me alone, I have to...I have to help him. Go away! I can't talk, I have to help him!"

"Help who?"

"Eddie! Have to help him, save him! Leave us alone! You're in our way!"

Heart flying high in his throat, Havoc swallowed, tongue beginning to stick to the roof of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Who's Eddie? Is he in trouble?"

"Stupid old man, doesn't hear what he's told! And my Eddie needs help while a stupid man talks to us. Leave us alone!"

"I just want to help. Can you remember that for me? I want to help Eddie. Will you let me do that for you?"

"I can do it! Don't need help! I'm fixing him! I can take care of my own husband, you go take care of yours!"

Both of their eyes widened, equally surprised at what she'd let slip. Havoc's heart plunged to somewhere around his ankles, not even registering the unintentional insult. Bee spoke in a whisper now, unsteadily, hands cupped over her mouth.

"Bee wasn't supposed to tell. It was a secret. A secret! Forget us, leave us! We can fix him. Leave and don't come back!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. My friends and I just want to help Eddie. All you have to do is tell us where he is, and we'll put everything to rights. It will all be over before you know it. Help us help you."

Screeching a denial, she sprang towards him. He barely managed to get his fist up and clubbed her down with the butt of his gun. He scrambled back a few steps and cocked the pistol back, aiming at her right shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he saw that his partner was circling behind him, though what she was planning to do, he had no idea. Bee pushed herself up, snarling and spitting, but hesitated to attack when she saw his gun.

"Let's calm down for a second. We're just trying to talk. We want to help Eddie just as much as you do, but if you won't co-operate, I'm afraid we'll have to take more drastic measures."

Her eyes flickered over his shoulder and she licked her lips, fists clenching with nervous energy.

"You want to take him from me. You're going to ruin everything. I won't let you! I've worked too hard for this! He's mine now! If I can't have him, no one will! I'd rather us both die than let someone separate us!"

She bared her teeth in a feral smile and threw herself forward. Havoc swore and pulled the trigger once, twice, thrice. She collapsed and he moved in, calling for something, anything to restrain her with. He flipped her over and crouched on top of her, pulling her hands together, grimly watching her face for evidence of returning consciousness. Gretchen knelt next to him, and handed him the belt to a bathrobe. He looped it several times around Bee's wrists before tying a secure knot at the end and breathing a sigh of relief. He instructed Gretchen to find something else to secure their captive's feet with and began taking stock of the damage he'd done.

He fingered the deeply bruised areas and fished the compressed balls of wax from the shallow pits in her skin. None of them had broken skin, which he supposed might be a good thing. Her collarbone felt like it was fractured, which was probably the reason she'd lost consciousness. Her injuries were already swelling and she'd probably have quite a bit of pain to work through, but as long as she was breathing, Havoc couldn't really bring himself to care.

Gretchen reappeared with a strip of what he assumed to be a bed sheet in hand. He finished restraining his captive and heaved himself to his feet. He took stock of the apartment, engaging the safety on his gun and holstering it as he searched. It didn't take long. Edward wasn't here. He ran his hands roughly over his face, exhaling slowly. He hated this. Hate, hate, hated it.

He squatted next to the still limp Bee and rapped her forehead with his knuckles. When she made no motion indicating a return to consciousness, he slid his arms under her form and lifted her with a quiet grunt of effort. Eyes hard, he exited the apartment and began the trek back to headquarters.

"Our little charade is over. From this moment on, I'm a military officer, you're my witness, and this piece of trash is a criminal awaiting execution."

"She hasn't been tried yet."

"She doesn't have to be. She's kidnapped and assaulted a ranked officer, resisted arrest, and obstructed an investigation. And if the chief dies before we get to him, she'll be getting pegged with murder as well. The military is her judge, her jury, and her victim. She's not making it out of this alive."

And if by some colossal screw-up, she did manage to avoid the death penalty, she wouldn't survive for long. He would see to that, and he bet the colonel and the rest of the team would be just as eager to correct the court's mistake.

But for now...it was time to focus on the present. Time to deliver his captive to headquarters and extract all the answers to their questions from her. Time to find Ed and get him the help he needed. And then, once Edward was home, safe and sound...justice would be done.