April 24th, 1996
When he had been told to move quickly, Jean took the statement as an order, even if the Assembly technically did not give orders to ranking military officers. Without Anastas physically capable of doing his work at the moment, his office was handling all the standard paperwork matters, but the longer the office sat empty, and there were questions about where guilt lay in the events that had unfolded that Friday evening, things could not move forward, and there would only continue to be more skepticism and further doubts about the strength and integrity of the military, and the government as a whole would feel the effects.
Which meant that waiting longer worked entirely in Arsenic's favor. Fortunately, thanks to Volkhart's very clearly contradictory statements during her debriefing, and her shock at finding out that Anastas was alive—he still hadn't told her that Tore was—he had most of the evidence necessary in short order. What took the longest over the next few days was having James and the team go through everything in Volkhart's office—and a warrant to search her home issued, and the search completed—looking for further incriminating evidence.
Jean had to admit, she was thorough. Volkhart lived alone, and apparently kept no official records of anything in her house. There were no obvious records of anything in her office as well. At least, nothing conveniently laying around screaming terrorist conspiracy. Like what Tore had discovered, it was in patterns of misinformation, and subtle changes in reports. Little things, most of which might be considered typographical errors or honest mistakes, except that they were too consistent, and only in certain directions.
Phone records were also not incredibly helpful. While there were still switchboards at Headquarters, for security reasons, apparently Volkhart had at least one friend who worked on phones, because it took him forever to track down any of her phone records, and even then, it was just a list of who she had been connected to, and all of them were perfectly reasonable. So, she wasn't making any illicit calls from headquarters either. Which meant, that there was no record of calls that could incriminate her either.
All of which was to be expected, and would not hurt their case given her own testimony so far, but it would have been really helpful for wrapping it up quickly. Volkhart had a spotless military record. Of course, Anastas was just as commended, if not more so, and Closson… well, his official record was somehow shockingly clear. Of course, there were a lot of things soldiers could do that wouldn't get them in trouble from a military standpoint. From what Jean had learned of his friend and colleague over the years, was that most of Tore's indiscretions and less desirable behaviors had been before he joined the state, or things that wouldn't have gotten him in trouble because they weren't on duty, or issues of honesty. Really, it was ridiculous to think that it was the three of them involved in something of this level.
Yet, here he was.
And now here they all were, sitting in the room the military used for Courts Martial. Attending were not only the military officers assigned as judges for the case, but a matching number of ranking members of the Assembly.
There was only a very small number of others, and they were still all members of the military or assembly. That was how Charisa came to be sitting there in the tiered wooden pews, looking anxious.
The three officers would be brought in one at a time, and asked to testify again without hearing who came before them, or after. Not even Anastas, who had insisted that was precisely correct that he, being part of the question, should not be permitted any exception.
Though in deference to rank, they did start with Anastas who arrived, as he had threatened, in a wheelchair. While he was definitely on the mend, he had not been fully discharged from the hospital, and Jean had heard talk already that Anastas had asked the Assembly to consider his list of names provided for a probable successor.
Jean couldn't blame the man for wanting to retire after this, or at least step out of the office, though he was highly curious as to who was on that list.
Once again, Anastas' portion went without incident, or any real surprises. They grilled him for half an hour, but everything he had to say checked out with all the information they had. He also didn't seem nervous at all, which made sense as he had no reason to be. He wasn't involved in anything treasonous, had clearly had no idea about Volkhart's shifting loyalties, and he was the victim in this case.
They brought Closson in next and went through the same series of questions about events, though they spent more time on how he had come to suspect Volkhart enough to show up at the office to listen in. That was the sticking point. If he had been wrong… but he hadn't been. He made it clear that if he had been wrong, he would have just gone his way and let it go. As it was, he hadn't been about to leave Anastas to die, and Volkhart to get away with murder and treason against the state, only to be put in power. The Assembly members involved really had not liked that part of the recording, when Jean had played that tape.
In the end, Jean was fairly sure Closson was off the hook for any concern of charges of treason. He was a General, who had acted on information of a possible threat, investigated it, and ended up saving the day. The fact that he had hit Volkhart with precisely enough electricity to knock her out, but not kill her, meant a lot. Killing her had not been his intent.
Jean would have been quite happy if Volkhart had not discovered that Closson had also survived before she got into the room, but it had been inevitable that with all of them in the same hospital, and even with limited outside interactions beforehand, she would have found out. Still, they had the recordings of what she had claimed, both the actual events, and then what she had said in the hospital.
Still, she had to know that they had told a much more detailed and realistic recounting of the events, including the poison, and what she had let slip about the plans.
How was she going to play this?
Volkhart walked in under her own power. Like the others she was in uniform, and thanks to the alchemists who worked in the hospitals, she looked little the worse for wear. Her testimony started out as factual and straightforward as the others, as they took her from the scheduling of the meeting through the events. When they got to the part where she went to set down the report, it was all Jean could do not to hold his breath.
They did not give her the option of open questions that would permit her to fudge around the poison.
The Senior Chairman of the Assembly looked her dead in the eyes as he asked, "For what purpose did you attempt the murder of President Anastas with the poison you injected into his body?" The injector weapon had been laying there on the floor when Jean had arrived. They had all seen it, and had the remnants analyzed by civilian and military alkahestrists. The purer form of what had been purged from their systems had made Ethan Elric, and the Live Wire Alchemist, both cringe.
Volkhart stared at the Chairman hard for several seconds, clearly considering her words. "What evidence do you have that I did any such thing?" she asked finally.
"We have the projectile weapon you used to administer it, the samples from it, and both of you potential victims, and the testimony of both of the men you injected it into," the Chairman replied calmly. "That, and we have this." With that, and a nod to the Sergeant sitting by the recording equipment, the recording played for everyone in the room.
The majority of them had already heard it, possibly several times, but it was telling how the several people in the room responded who had not heard it before. Jean watched Charisa's face turn from distrust, and anger, to a subtle but sizzling fury behind her eyes.
It was clearly the first time Volkhart had heard the recording as well, though she hid most of any reaction well. Still, there was a little wildness in her eyes at the realization that it had been all clearly caught on tape. "Where did you get that?"
"A mistake to presume that conversations held in the President's office are entirely private," one of the Generals commented instead. "The tape was retrieved from Anastas' office when the three of you were removed to the hospital. Following military procedures, it was immediately brought to communications where it was played and recorded multiple times to be kept by members of this investigation to maintain its veracity."
"So, I ask you again," the Chairman continued, "for what purpose did you attempt the murder of President Anastas?"
They had all heard it just now, on the recording: a promise that she would be the next President, as part of whatever this mission was that Arsenic had. Jean didn't believe it was all to put her in power. That had to be a single piece of the puzzle.
Volkhart swallowed, then seemed to steal herself as she realized what had to be done. "I was under orders, from a different superior," she spoke clearly, without fear. "But I would have done it anyway. For the good of Amestris… though it wasn't supposed to have to come to this. If the plan had worked, Anastas should never have been in the way."
Which meant that the attempt to remove Heimler early was supposed to end with her in charge. Or at least, that was what Jean inferred from it.
"Who gave you these orders?"
"I literally cannot say, Sir. I have never been given a name. Not a real name that I can verify."
Naturally they were not using their real names in communications. Jean wondered if anything they had collected so far might not be more useful if he started looking for those code names. If they could get any of them from her. That wasn't for this trial, however. There would be a much more thorough questioning section in the hands of trustworthy Investigations officers.
"Was it this person, or entity, that gave you the poison?"
"That's correct. It was developed recently, but it was not developed in one of the military's labs."
An important note, and Jean wondered her reasons for making it. Did she want them to know there were capable alchemists outside their control? Or was she trying to throw them off allies she still had within the government?
The questioning continued, and Jean noticed that Volkhart had clearly dropped the pretense she had briefly attempted in the hospital. She would not provide information that might divulge who her partners—or employers, depending—might be, but she wasn't going to go on pretending there wasn't a plot, and that at least part of it had involved taking control of the military, with support from members of the Assembly.
The end was almost anticlimactic, in ways that relieved Jean. Anastas and Closson were cleared of any wrong-doing, and Volkhart was convicted of treason and crimes against Amestris due to her almost-successful attempt to murder both men; one of them heavily premeditated. She was court martialed then and there, stripped of her rank and medals, and sentenced to a lifetime term in a high security prison, with no options for parole. Jean wasn't sure if it was lenience or not that they hadn't sentenced her to execution. It was still an option on the books, though it rarely happened anymore. But then, treason rarely happened anymore.
When it was over, Jean heaved a sigh, and retreated to his office to finish up the final report on the investigation. As soon as it was done, the faster he could put it behind him and focus, in the short term, on the priority he really cared about most: his daughter's wedding.
Tore could not have been more relieved and pleased at the outcome of the entire hearing. After all, it had turned out the way it should, with the guilty party locked up for life, and the hero thanked for his part in saving the life of the leader of the military. Or at least, not found guilty of treason himself for spying on a private meeting between the President of the Military and another supposedly trustworthy officer.
If he hadn't had the rank he did, he would have been in huge trouble. Not that it would have kept Tore from doing what he had done.
Charisa had hugged him tight enough after that he wasn't entirely certain she hadn't popped a few of his joints. Tore would have left with her, except that immediately after they were all dismissed, he was summoned to a meeting with the President in his office, with no further word as to exactly what it was about. Tore's first guess was a private thank you, given they hadn't actually spoken to each other since before the incident. Charisa insisted on following him up to the office, and waiting outside.
Tore was reassured as he walked down the long rows of desks, that all of the President's staff were in evidence, including James Heimler, who grinned at him.
Anastas sat behind his desk, alone, though he was notably still in the wheelchair. Tore wondered how he had managed to delay his return to the hospital, because while Tore had been released a couple of days before, he knew that Anastas had not. The two nurses standing outside the door seemed as much guards to make sure he was returned to the hospital immediately after they finished, as being there to take care of him.
Tore closed the door behind him, and for a moment he stood there, shocked that the room looked entirely… normal. He had no idea how much work some poor cleaning crew had done to get the scorch marks off of everything, and the vomit off the floor. The room smelled freshly cleaned and oiled. Then he caught the smell of fresh paint, and varnish, and realized that a good portion of the cleaning had been repainting the walls entirely, and refinishing a lot of wood in a few short days.
"Have a seat, Tore." Anastas startled him by addressing him by his first name, and gesturing to the thickly upholstered chair in front of his desk. "Drink? I've got the finest vintage in filtered water."
Tore cracked a smile. "I'll take that drink, Sir." He eased into the chair, and took the offered glass of water when it was poured. Anastas poured one for himself as well. Tore knew the President's system had to be feeling even more delicate than his, and he felt as if he had been electrocuted, run over by a bus, and suffered a week of flu and food poisoning together, and that was after healing. While he was feeling less delicate than he had at first, his digestive system was still tender, and there was residual damage and discomfort he was still having treated. Anastas definitely still looked the worse for wear. "What did you want to speak with me about?"
Anastas saluted him and took a drink of water. "First, the obvious. Thank you for saving my life, and probably countless others. If you hadn't figured out what the rest of us missed—because of Marjorie's deceptions—I would be dead, and we would be looking at an Arsenic backed President running rampant over the military and the rest of the country. I only heard this afternoon exactly how you figured it out. Heimler filled me in. So simple, and yet utterly unnoticed for so long." He paused to drink again. "I owe you my life."
"I'd really rather you didn't, Sir," Tore admitted, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Life debts don't tend to sit well, and I'd like to hope you'd never have to cash in on that."
"Please, just call me Jerome. I've tendered my resignation… fully. As soon as a new President is approved, I will be retiring to the life of luxury my wife has been badgering me about for years."
"She doesn't like being married to the most powerful man in Amestris?" Tore smirked. First names? Well, why not?
Anastas shook his head. "Not in the slightest. And, based on what I've seen the last few days, most powerful man in Amestris definitely isn't a title I would ever apply to myself, no matter what chair I'm sitting in." He set down his glass. "That said, I also don't plan to leave a debt, even though what I'm about to tell you isn't just because you saved me. That said, I'm not entirely sure what I'm offering you would qualify as a reward, given what I know of you." He took a moment.
Tore waited. What the hell was the man about to say?
"I've recommended to the Assembly that you succeed me as President of the Military."
Tore was glad he wasn't drinking at that moment, or he would have choked on it. He still stared at the man across the desk for several long seconds as his brain processed what had been said, and that Anastas was dead serious. "You're right," he said at last. "It's not a reward. I'm not even sure it's a sane decision, to be honest. Why the hell would you recommend me?" The more pressing question was why the heck would the assembly ever agree?
Anastas smiled, as if that was the reaction he had been expecting. "That reaction, for one thing. I know you've never had aspirations to the office. Anyone who knows you knows it. You've been nothing but an exemplary officer in every job you've been given since you joined the military. Your loyalty to the country you serve, your colleagues, and your friends has never once been a subject of question, not even from people who don't particularly like you."
All true, though Tore wondered who Anastas had specifically talked to who didn't like him. He nodded warily.
"Your combat record is distinctive; the Drachman War, the counter-coup in Xing, political security in previous dealings with Drachma, and countless standard missions as a State Alchemist. You are a reliable commanding officer who doesn't risk his people needlessly, and a sound strategist. And, clearly, undervalued as an investigator. On top of all that, you've proven that despite being relegated primarily to a desk position for the past several years, you were still able to take out an enemy with a pinpoint precise use of alchemical power that was exactly what the situation called for. No one died, and the truth came out."
"So, on paper, I'm a model officer."
"On paper and on the battlefield, wherever that might be," Anastas replied with a firm tone. "If we counted what we all did as foolish recruits and green officers against us forever, not a one of us would ever have made rank enough to take on any sort of authority." He smiled briefly, and Tore wondered precisely what lay in the early annals of the life of Jerome Anastas that he didn't know about. "It also comes down to the fact that I trust you, Tore. Most officers do. They know where you stand, and that your primary loyalty is to Amestris itself, and not necessarily the person sitting in this chair. I have little doubt that if you had heard us both plotting in this room, you'd have turned me over and outed me right along with Marjorie."
"I would," Tore admitted without hesitation. "Though I would have been very disappointed to have to."
"Which I appreciate. It's nice to know someone believes in my integrity." Anastas picked up his glass again, though for the moment he simply held it. "So, will you do it?"
He wanted an answer right now? Well, Tore supposed that made sense. Anastas was in no position to return to active duty fully, and wanted to get his replacement in place as fast as possible. Arsenic, and any other factions emboldened by this, or panicked, would be scrambling to take advantage of the situation if they could.
Tore still had concerns. "There hasn't been an Alchemist in the office since Mustang, and none before." Given the current complicated feelings about State Alchemists, he wasn't sure that would be a benefit.
"Then maybe it's time we had one back in office." Anastas coughed. "It would be…the ultimate vote of confidence….in the State Alchemists, to put you in charge."
A fair point. "And the Assembly didn't laugh your suggestion out of the room when they looked at my name?"
"There are a few detractors, but the majority of the appointment approval committee was all for it. And no, your wife is not on the committee."
Tore knew that. At least Anastas wasn't trying to sell him on universal approval he knew he didn't have.
What shocked him more, was the realization that he had already begun considering it the moment he didn't flat out tell Anastas no. He really never had given it any serious thought before, except to chuckle when Cal had playfully suggested it years ago when he was brash, young, and unsure he'd ever make a rank above major at all. And State Alchemists didn't all climb the ranks. Promotion up rank was only for the ones who went far above and beyond their Research and work as State Alchemists, taking on authority for others, and serving in a more traditional officer capacity on top of keeping their alchemist certifications. The rest were more like military contractors. The title was almost honorary. Combat alchemists, the ones who worked their way up… were a different breed. Tore had, somehow, never put much conscious thought into the fact that he was one of those.
"Can I have some time to consider?" he asked, finally. "I need to talk it over with my wife before I say anything." Charisa, who had grown up with a father who was, for most of her childhood, the President of the Military himself. He could never accept or turn it down without her thoughts on the matter. Especially since it would put her in the position of suddenly being the wife of the President of the Military, which would heavily impact her work in the Assembly. "Surely you had better options?"
Anastas shrugged. "Safer, more conservative ones, but that doesn't feel like what Amestris needs right now. We don't need a standard administrator, or a neutral party. Safe leadership, and even our attempts to take apart dissention from the inside, hasn't gotten us very far. What's brewing has the possibility of tearing Amestris apart, and creating a government that will run counter to everything we've spent decades building. Isolationist, militant… State Alchemists as the military's dogs and human weapons again, if not so tightly controlled that they can do nothing. With the current ranking generals available who even qualify for consideration, several of them I am not entirely convinced—even without evidence—that we wouldn't be handing the military over to Arsenic either in their policies, or their incompetence. I don't trust them. Others, just don't have the mindset for it. This job… well, you've known enough former Presidents of the Military personally… it takes a certain type of man to succeed in certain situations."
"The fact that you feel that person is me honestly terrifies me." Tore sighed, and drained his water glass like a shot. "Still, when you lay it all out, I can't really disagree." He could think of people who would be better administrators than he was and certainly had the spotless record and integrity for it—Jean Stevens came to mind immediately—but his appointment would definitely catch people off guard, and given how quietly he had been lying low politically for the past several years, no one would expect anything bold or cunning out of him. Most of the military still thought he had gotten lucky, showing up with his report at a fortunate moment. Or at least, that was what the official story was going to say, according to Jean.
"Talk to your wife, think it over, and let me know." Anastas nodded in understanding. "If she's not on board, I wouldn't expect you to take it."
Given what the man had just said about his own wife, Tore could believe that. Still, he really wasn't sure what Charisa would say. Either she would hate the idea, or she'd love it, and he considered it an even toss-up which way that was going to fall at the moment. They had never seriously discussed the possibility that he would ever promote past where he was now before retirement. Sitting comfy at the top of the Alchemist chain for another fifteen years or so, then getting out of the military had sounded like a perfectly good way to spend the rest of his career. "I will. Though I warn you now, if I take it, you don't get to complain to me later about how I choose to lead."
Anastas surprised him by chuckling. "I'm rather hoping you'll shake things up."
"How long can I have to think this through?" Tore asked. The Assembly would want a deadline, and he couldn't imagine it would be long.
"How's two days? Unless you come to a decision sooner. I'll probably still be in the hospital in two days, since they're waiting out there like vultures to drag me back."
Two days to make one of the biggest decisions he had ever made in his life. "I'll give you my answer by the end of the day in two days," he promised, before standing. "Anything else you need from me right now?"
Anastas shook his head. "No. You've done more than enough already."
Tore left, and the moment he stepped out of the room the two nurses who looked more like security guards—followed by actual military security—swarmed into the room again.
Charisa was still waiting, looking both worried and desperately curious. "What did he want?" she asked as they started walking towards the doors.
"To thank me," Tore replied calmly, without getting too specific.
Charisa almost looked disappointed. "Good. I hope you had a nice talk. Is there anything else you need to do here, or are we free to go?"
"I'm done for today," Tore assured her. While he was out of the hospital, he hadn't been asked to go back to active duty until today's hearing was over. Seeing as it was done, he had no intention of doing anything else at Headquarters today. Especially not now, when he had something far heavier to think about. When they hit the hallway he dared a quiet additional comment. "There is something he asked me to think about, but it's something you and I need to discuss in private."
"Can it wait until we get home private, or we need to go to your office private?"
"I'd rather not discuss it here."
Charisa looked like she might die of curiosity by the time they got there, but she nodded. "All right, then home it is."
If not for the slightly stunned and deeply contemplative look on her husband's face all the way home, Charisa would never have believed the words that came out of his mouth as they sat on the couch in their own living room half an hour later. She didn't question the validity of the statement that Anastas had asked him to be his replacement as President of the Military. If he hadn't, Tore wouldn't have said it. The fact that the members of the Assembly committee assigned to approve suggested applications had agreed with Anastas, and so quickly, was the bigger shock. The committee changed every time a new President was chosen, mostly because they were far enough apart that the members of the Assembly would have changed due to new members, and old members not being retained, or retiring. This second change so quickly was unprecedented. Charisa knew the Senior Chairman, who had just presided over the hearings that day as well, was always on the committee of nine. She wondered who else had been selected. It made sense that she would not have been, given Tore's name on the proposed list.
Tore wanted her thoughts, that much was clear. He was in shock. Or at least, he had clearly been when it was asked. If he had been sure either way, he would have given Anastas an answer already.
Which meant he was considering it.
She waited while Tore summarized what Anastas had said about him, and his reasons for putting Tore at the top of the list.
"Well, he makes some excellent points," Charisa replied when he finished. "You are one of the most loyal and reliable officers he could have picked. You are a good leader, and a good strategist. You've known several former Presidents and had the benefit of spending time around some of the greatest minds in Amestris… my father included." At that, she smiled a little. She wondered what her father would have to say if he were here to hear someone suggest that Tore of all people should be President of the Military. "You solved a puzzle most of the military didn't even realize was there, saved the President's life, and proven you're still combat ready in one single incident. Also, thankfully, that your knowledge of alchemy is good enough to identify and remove poison from your body while you're actively reacting to it." She twined her left arm in his right, giving it a squeeze. "They're just acknowledging what I've known for a very long time."
"That I'm talented and a little insane?"
"I can't deny either of those," Charisa conceded. "But I meant that you're exceptional in most ways."
"But do you think I should say yes?" Tore asked her anxiously. "If I say yes, it puts us both in a spotlight. We were targets before; we'd be double so now."
"They already failed to kill me once," Charisa pointed out, trying to smile more confidently than she felt thinking of that moment. She had never been more terrified and helpless feeling than those few days injured in the mountains. "We would have the best security in Amestris if you became President, so I don't see that as any more of a risk than it was before, or than it really was for us when my father sat in the office." She shrugged, then tried to lighten the mood with a nudge in his side. "My biggest concern should be the fact that sitting in that big chair seems to be fattening."
Tore snorted. "That is one concern you don't need to have, 'Risa. If I take the job, I have no intention of spending all day, every day, in that damned office."
Now they were getting somewhere. "What would you do? That's the real question. Do you want the job, and if so, why?"
Tore ran one hand through his hair. "Anastas is right that things can't continue the way they have been. Playing it safe, close politics… it's gotten us into this mess. Amestris needs a strong hand, and Arsenic clearly thinks they have the upper hand if they're acting openly on an international scale. We need to be bold, and we need to root out the weeds growing in the cracks in the military itself, and apparently the Assembly too." At that, he frowned. The President of the Military really had no control over the Assembly. That was part of the balance Mustang had reestablished. The Military did not intercede in civilian matters, and the Assembly kept the military in check when needed. "Amestris needs get behind the idea that our government and military are stronger the way things are than they were before, and that a return to that would be the biggest mistake possible. Take popular opinion back, and Arsenic loses momentum and any possibility of swaying the support of the nation. We need to hamstring them before they pull what we just saw almost destroy Drachma."
All points on which they agreed. "Do you think you can do that? Do you want to?"
"I think it's insane that anyone sees me that way, but… I'm also crazy enough to think that maybe I could." Tore shook his head. "But I've been keeping my head down for so long, keeping my mouth shut, trying not to be a target and get caught up in the mess, that the idea of stepping up and changing tactics now… can I do that?"
Charisa couldn't help the smug smile that crept across her face. "That just means they won't be expecting the real Tore Closson, Shock Alchemist; the boy who lived on the streets and tried to pick Fullmetal's pocket while trying to track down his mother by himself. Who fought side by side with legends in Drachma as a boy, and spent months traveling Amestris and learning about the people in it—helping those people—before he was even grown. You've been a model officer and father for so long, because you learned those lessons, but what Amestris needs now is someone with the charisma and power to step up, speak his mind, and force the enemy out into the open. Someone the opposition will be afraid to challenge, or learn quickly that it was a huge mistake."
A look of bemused wonderment had crept over Tore's features. "And you really think that's me?"
"I think you could be brilliant at it, yes," Charisa nodded. "If you're not afraid to step into that job and be you. Forget everyone else's expectations. The greatest leaders do things their own way. By logic and law, Roy Mustang should have been imprisoned and executed for a coup against the state, but he ended up running the country, and as much as people didn't always like him, they respected the hell out of him, and feared him a little too. Fire… lightning. You just declared war on the enemy when you derailed a coup in progress. No one really knows what you're capable of, except you, and me." She kissed his cheek. "So, if you decide to do this, I'm behind you all the way. Though I have no intention of stepping down as a senior member of the Assembly."
"I would never expect you to," Tore assured her. "I couldn't do this without you. You know that."
"You could, but you'll be better at it if we do this together." Tact and subtlety, knowledge of the inner workings of the assembly, international diplomacy…. Together they would make an incredible team. The job would be his, and the majority of the work, but he always came to her when he needed advising, and she would always give him what she could.
"There's a couple of other people whose advice I'd like before I make a decision. Franz, for one."
"You should definitely talk to him," Charisa agreed. Franz would give him his own honest opinions, and insights into the office. "And soon, if you promise Anastas a response in two days."
One of Tore's hands came up, settling across hers on his arm. "I'll see if he's available this evening."
His actions were those of distraction, and anxiousness. Not that Charisa could blame him for either. Tore had never had aspirations beyond where he was now. There wasn't really any higher to go besides the step he had just been offered. Not without a major war to be a General over, which was the last thing he wanted. Tore hated war, but he wasn't afraid of it. If he took the office, he would lead by his convictions.
But right now, he looked conflicted…and a little green. "Can I get you anything?" she asked calmly. He was still recovering. She couldn't imagine that feeling as he did made this easier.
"Tea?" Tore asked after a few seconds. "That herbal stuff you got last week. And… what's for dinner?"
"Whatever you want. Brandon's busy with wedding preparations tonight, so it's just us."
"Soup…and toast. From anywhere is fine really, as long as it's not spicy."
"On the way," Charisa promised him. She hoped he felt better soon. It was concerning to see him eat so little. While she had teased him earlier, in all the years she had known him, Tore had never been in anything but peak condition for a State Alchemist outside of illness or injury. She stood, releasing his arm, though she did give him one last squeeze of comfort before she moved away. "Love you."
Tore smiled tiredly. "Love you, too. You're the best."
If it weren't for the fact that it would have left him in agonizing pain for hours, if not days, Tore would really have liked a beer about now. Nothing stronger. He needed his wits about him to make this decision. But he could have used something to take the edge off.
The questions he had for Franz, and the information he had for Tore, was not centered on Tore's fitness for the position, but the job itself, and the various ways in which it had been managed. What were the actual expectations, and where could someone stretch tradition, break it entirely, or get away with whatever they wanted without getting themselves ousted. Franz had learned a lot watching Mustang, Breda, and Rehnquist in the office before he took the job himself, and he had learned a lot from holding it that he hadn't even realized working there for almost his entire career.
It was eye-opening, and useful, and still somehow encouraging. They had all approached the way they handled the duties of President of the Military differently, even if the paperwork and day-to-day necessities never wavered, except in times of war.
Tore would have preferred considering leading in peaceful time, but it sounded like what the country needed to return to peace, was a massive shake-up. Could he be that person?
His chat with Franz after dinner had been over at the Heimler house, and by the time Tore arrived home, he knew there was just one more person he needed to talk to, and he was just lucky the Elrics weren't leaving on the train to come up to Central until tomorrow morning, because otherwise Edward would have arrived too late to give him his thoughts, and if there was anyone that he could trust to give him a straight answer, it was Edward.
His call caught his foster-father and mentor still awake, and other than a startled laugh when Tore told him about Anastas' question, Edward listened intently and took the whole thing seriously. "So," Tore asked when he finished, "What do you think? Should I do this? Can I do this?"
"I think you can do anything you set your mind to. You're one of the most talented, determined, and honorable alchemists I've ever trained… and a man I had the honor of helping raise," Edward replied with, was that emotion in his voice? He sounded a little choked up.
"I… wow." Edward thought that way about him? Tore wasn't sure how far honorable went. He could think of a few people who would definitely not have agreed. Still, as much of a mess as he had been as a kid, and a teenager, it meant a lot to know Edward thought that highly of him.
Edward chuckled. "Give them as much hell and grief as you used to give me, kid. You've got the brains, talent, and experience to be the worst nightmare these Arsenic guys could have imagined, and a force the brass with their heads up their asses need to whip them into shape. And you know, for whatever it's worth these days, I've always got your back."
"I'll remember that when I face down my first assassination attempt," Tore quipped. "Assuming I take it, of course."
"You sound like you're still not sure," Edward noted pointedly.
"I guess it's just weirding me out that everyone I've talked to seems to think I'd be great at this, when it's never come up before."
"Have you ever brought it up before?"
"Well… no. It never really occurred to me as a serious possibility, and I guess I just assumed no one else would ever consider me for that kind of role."
"You're a decorated general who survived to middle age without a public scandal or a major embarrassment to the military. Your loyalty is well known. You said yourself you've never abused your authority and you've been keeping your opinions to yourself for years. Why would they have any reason to doubt you?"
"It's not the Assembly and Anastas that surprise me," Tore admitted. "It's everyone who actually knows me."
Edward paused for a moment. "Tore, you haven't been a screw up since you were a kid younger than your own are now. There's a lifetime of experience and growing up between then, and the man you've become. No one active in the military now ever knew that boy, and those of us who did know that you take your lumps and learn from them. If anyone knows how hard you've worked, and what you've overcome, it's us. If perfection, or being a perfect officer, were criteria for President, none of the greatest would ever have made it there."
A fair point. "Are you saying Mustang and Breda weren't perfect officers?" he chuckled.
That got the belly-laugh from Edward Tore had expected. "Mustang and perfection never existed in the same county, let alone the same sentence. He was a smart ass and a master manipulator. Breda was a tactical genius, but he wasn't afraid to play under the table when he needed to either. He just didn't do it often, and only when absolutely necessary. Model officers still take orders. Presidents only give them. As long as you remember why you take the job, and who you're really working for, as an Alchemist, you'll do okay."
Alchemist, be thou for the people. A guiding principle that Tore could rely on. He wouldn't stop being an alchemist, or even a State Alchemist. He could put someone he trusted in his place, and he would still have all of the might and loyalty of the State Alchemists at hand.
"One other thing to consider, when you're deciding," Edward added after a moment. "You said you don't know who else Anastas had on the list, but you said the Assembly agreed with him that you were their first choice. Without knowing who else is on there, would you trust the military, the country, in the state things are in right now, to someone else? If you did, could you live with the results if you were wrong?"
Edward would answer him with further questions, but that was what it really came down to, even in his own heart. Would he rather try and fail, or pass this opportunity by knowing they would never offer it again, and the results might just be more death… more destruction?
"It's your decision," Edward finished. "If you have a couple of days, make sure you really think it through, and I'll see you when we get to Central in a few days for the wedding."
Right. Because before he possibly took on the biggest job of his life, Tore had to see his second son married first. Life never could spread things out, could it?
