A/N: Let's do this! Thank you for the response you gave to the last chapter! Keep it up! Hey, if there's anything you want to see or don't want to see anymore, feel free to tell me. I'm still new to this stuff!
Facility Gamma
Drachma-Amestris Border Region
1900 Hours
"Hurk!" The woman grunted as Corporal Ivan slammed his rifle into her back.
"Move faster." She glared at him but picked up the pace, limping faster. Vikentiy, promoted to sergeant to fill the recently vacated position, adjusted his gun to better cover her. They walked in silence until their little group came to a sturdy metal door. Vikentiy slung his gun and stepped forward with a key ring while Ivan covered the woman. He fumbled with the keys some before choosing the right one. With a creak of protest from the hinges the door swung open. Inside, part of the room was taken up by a small cell. The rest was simply for observation. Ivan shoved the prisoner into the cell and Vikentiy locked it.
Behind them two more soldiers entered and took over guarding duties. Ivan and Vikentiy nodded to them and headed to the dining hall. After collecting their meals they went their separate ways, each going to eat with their own unit. Vikentiy walked in on the middle of a conversation.
"So, Borodin, how's the home life for you? Everything good with your girl?"
"No, it's not going too well. I mean, it's nothing between us. But you know how it is, ration lines getting longer, blackouts every other day, buildings falling apart underneath you. I should be there, but I'm stuck in this outpost staring across the border. Fuck this shit, you know."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Every day, more attacks, more crackdowns. I got a letter from home, and the parts that weren't blacked out still told me everything I need to know. I mean, we're black ops. We do some fucked up shit. But StateSec?" The man shivered for added effect.
"Snakes man. Plain and simple. That's what they are. You know, back home? The guy across the hall complained about something, I don't know what, it got blacked out. Guess what? Never got home from his trip to the ration line. That was, what three hours after he complained? They're listening." Vikentiy sat down with his sandwich and listened in.
"Careful what you say." The soldier looked around carefully then leaned in and whispered. "You know that newbie? What's his name, um…"
"Petrov?"
"Yeah, Petrov! He's got that look, you know, just a feeling around him. I think he's a spook." Everybody murmured in surprise.
"No way! That skinny little thing?"
"Now that you mention it, he's always looking at people, testing them almost." Vikentiy finished his sandwich and stood up. He needed to practice on the range. "Leaving so soon, Vikentiy?" He looked back. One of the soldiers had found a vodka bottle. "Come on, have a drink with us!" Vikentiy smiled and shook his head.
"Sorry, I've got to be sober. I'll be on the range if you need me." A thought occurred to him. "Where did you find that stuff? Alcohol isn't allowed here." The soldier grinned and motioned for him to lean in.
"Commandant has a stash in his quarters. I found it while I was on cleaning duty and snagged one of the bottles in the back." He showed Vikentiy the bottle. It was an insanely high proof, near enough to set on fire.
"Alright, I'm going to disappear now. See you." He walked off to the range, leaving the soldiers to their alcohol and conversation.
Central Headquarters
Central City
0800 Hours
"Good morning everyone." It was a fine day. The sun was shining through the windows, the birds were chirping. The temperature was fine; not too cold, not too warm. It was a day for vacations, for picnics, for just taking a nap on the lawn. In fact, it was almost lunch time. Why not-
"More paperwork, sir." Welp, shit. Never mind. Roy groaned and turned back from the window. That nap would have to wait.
"Put them here, private." The man laid the papers on the desk, saluted, then turned and left the office. Falman began to pass out the work. Those that the officers could do themselves they took care of. Those that needed Roy's signature they passed up the line. And there were a lot of forms that required his signature. Permits for leave, requests for funds, personnel transfers, blah, blah, blah. More than once he dozed off, only to jerk awake expecting Riza's patent death glare aimed at him. It only caused the wound to hurt anew when she wasn't there to encourage him.
Breda noticed him sneaking glances at her empty desk. When Roy met his gaze he quickly looked away, embarrassed. "Don't worry boss. I get it. It hurts for me too." Breda thought quickly, looking for something to change the subject. "Hey, everyone. What do you think's taking the replacement so long? It's been more than a month."
A rather tasteless way to change the subject, but Breda had never been one for tact and besides, it worked. Havoc replied. "Yeah, now that you mention it, command hasn't even given us profiles yet. It's as if they've lost them or something."
Fuery spoke up. "Do you really think they lost the paperwork? Maybe we should go check." This time Falman shook his head.
"It won't do any good. Personnel is where they stick all the incompetents they don't have time to discharge. Ask them a question, get an answer in a few months. If you get it at all."
Havoc snorted. "Tell me about it. Herschel runs Personnel, so it's no surprise it's so fucked up. With that man in charge, I'm surprised it's as good as it is." At this point Roy interrupted the conversation.
"As much fun as this conversation is, we all have work to do. I'm not disagreeing with you, but if Herschel ever hears about this, he could have you discharged just like that." He snapped his fingers, making sure his glove was off. "Now, get back to work before we all lose our jobs." They returned to signing papers, grumbling and groaning, but not before Roy caught Breda's eye and shot him a small, grateful smile.
Facility Gamma
Drachma-Amestris Border Region
0100 Hours
"Do we really have to do this? It's my sleep shift."
"Chernov, did intelligence put you through one of the most brutal training courses in the history of training? No? Then leave interrogation up to the professionals and do what they say."
"Yeah Chernov, quit your bitching before you get us all gulaged!" The unfortunate Chernov sputtered into silence. He contented himself with pinching the bridge of his nose and wiping his eyes in a valiant attempt to stay awake.
Riza was trying to sleep in her cell and ignore her stomach. It was hard with two soldiers constantly watching her every move. She couldn't even go to the toilet without them looking at her. As she tried to get comfortable for what seemed like the hundredth time, she heard soft voices outside the door. The weaker part of her immediately hoped that it was food. The stronger part was determined not to look weak. Riza braced herself as the door opened.
"Hello Miss lieutenant. How are we doing today?" Ah, so it was the old "good cop, bad cop" ploy. She still had bruises from the bad cop.
"Riza Hawkeye, 189902, Amestrian State Military." Nope, not going to give them anything. If Roy hadn't broken, then she wouldn't either.
The interrogator sighed, looking as if he dealt with this on a daily basis. "Lieutenant, my superiors have taken a great interest in you and your abilities. They believe you could be of great benefit. Just answer the questions. Again, how are we doing today?"
"Riza Hawkeye, 189902, Amestrian State Military." Whatever this guy could throw at her, she was ready for it.
"If you aren't feeling cooperative lieutenant, then we will have to resort to more extreme measures. I know that you did not make many friends with the little stunt you pulled a few weeks ago." The four soldiers surrounding the man leveled dark looks at her. "Let's start with some more simple questions. How many people are currently on colonel Roy Mustang's staff?"
"Riza Hawkeye, 189902, Amestrian State Military." So, they were trying to get to Roy, eh? Not on her watch. They probably knew already anyways. It wasn't exactly hard to figure out.
"I'll ask one last time. Remember, it's up to you how this is going to go. How many people are currently on colonel Roy Mustang's staff?"
"Riza Hawkeye, 189902, Amestrian State Military." Kiss. My. Ass.
"If you insist. Men? Go ahead. Remember lieutenant, you can end this at any time. Just answer our questions."
Like you'll actually let me go. Riza didn't believe him for one second. But she had no more time for thoughts. The guards were pulling open the cell door and the soldiers coming in did not have mercy on their minds.
Central Headquarters
Central City
1030 Hours
"Yes! Hell motherfucking yes! WHOOOO!" Breda threw his hands above his head and ran into the cafeteria, leaving behind an amused Havoc and Falman and a bewildered Fuery and Roy.
"Uh…is he alright?" Roy was almost afraid to ask. In fact, half the soldiers in the cafeteria seemed to be as excited, if not more so, than Breda.
Havoc replied simply. "It's Taco Day." Roy looked at him confused.
"Taco Day? I didn't know we had that." Havoc looked at him strangely. Then understanding dawned in his eyes and he looked at Roy sympathetically.
"Ah, yeah, they introduced it while you were… gone." Havoc tried to soften the statement, but it still hit Roy in the gut. Just another thing that had changed. Another reminder that he couldn't protect those he held dear. Noticing the looks the rest of his team were giving him he forced a smile.
"Well, if Taco Day is as popular as I think it is, then go ahead. It's lunch time." Havoc fist-pumped and ran to join the line. Fuery was close by, but Falman hung back to give Roy a little encouraging pat on the back. Then he was gone to stand in the line as well. Roy was left standing in the entrance, gazing into the cafeteria. Enlisted men, junior grade and midgrade officers mixed and mingled, chatting and laughing. His team sat down with a group of soldiers who worked down the hall and began swapping stories of operations gone wrong and conquests made in various bars around the city. Havoc spotted Roy and waved for him to join them. Roy smiled and shook his head politely. He then turned around and went back down the hall, leaning on his crutch.
Some ways down the hall he leaned against the wall and half-sunk to the floor. Normally he would have walked into the cafeteria without a second thought. But normally Riza would sit with him, ready with a small nudge or a meaningful glance to guide him through interactions with those way below his pay grade. Now, even though the junior grades still thought of him as one of their own, he found it hard to interact. Their concerns, their experiences, were different from his own. He sighed, shook his head, and continued on his way to the staff officers' dining hall.
Inside the various colonels and generals populating Central Headquarters dined. Roy paused as he opened the door. The only time he had set foot in here was for the welcoming meal, the second day after his reassignment here. From then on he made a point of eating with the lower ranks, getting to know them and their needs. The formal dining room felt foreign to him. He entered, found a table, and ordered his food. Even the ordering felt strange. Normally he stood in line and got food from the counter. Having his… whatever that piece of meat in front of him now was brought to him by a waiter seemed wrong, at least on a military base. "Hey bastard." Roy looked up startled from his musings.
"Fullmetal? What are you doing in here?"
"I was hoping you knew. Some guy came up to me in the hallway and told me to be here. Said something about 'orders'. I was hoping you knew what was happening." Edward looked closely at Roy. "This wasn't your doing, was it?" Roy shook his head.
"No. I didn't issue any orders regarding you. I've been a little busy." He gestured towards his crutch. Edward seemed confused and opened his mouth to ask another question. Before he could ask though someone came up to the table and sat down.
Roy looked over annoyed, then did a double take. "General Cortez, sir!" He nearly knocked over the table in his rush to stand and salute. The general replied by tossing a casual half-salute.
"Sit down, sit down. Ah, major Elric, good to see you too. I was just about to send a messenger after you colonel." He took the glass of wine sitting across the table for himself and swirled around the liquid. "Let's get down to business."
Roy and Edward shot strange looks at each other. "Sir?" Cortez smiled.
"Briggs is in need of reinforcements. In particular, they need alchemists." Cortez gave an apologetic smile that didn't seem apologetic at all. "I'm sorry to drag you away on such short notice, but insurgents blew up a train line and the last transport for a while is leaving for Briggs tomorrow. The request came yesterday." He downed the wine. "That will be all."
Cortez casually saluted the both of them, then turned and left the room with his staff.
A/N: Are you guys even reading these notes anymore? :) Anyways, drop me a review, a fave, a follow or even a pm! Just let me know how I'm doing: style, grammar, all that. Also, if you sense my quality decreasing, let me know so I can fix the problem! Thank you for sticking with this story! Mash those buttons!