We now begin the second half of this story. Here the plot really flies off in ways it has not before. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Tick…Tick…Tick…

Ed moved his hand in concert with the staccato beat of the clock, his wedding band clacking against the wooden counter. Roy's drink was left abandoned, its condensation pooling around the glass' base. As Roy heaved in a breath, Ed's eyes flitted over to the clock, noting the obscenely late hour that they were still here.

"That was two years ago…and to this day, I still haven't fulfilled that promise," Roy told him, turning away from the counter with his hands folded on his lap. His gaze suddenly became intense and Ed stopped his moving hand. "But when I do, that is when this story will finally have an ending…the right ending."

Ed said nothing. What could he say? Roy had essentially just poured his entire past onto the young man. Nevertheless, Ed focused his mind inward, sifting through the wide breadth of information he had just received. Ironically, only one inane question tumbled from his mouth.

"So, that's why you don't drink?" Roy's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Really? I tell you all that, and that's the only question you have?"

"What? ! It was a lot of information!" Ed defended himself, and Roy pursed his lips but seemed to make up his mind to answer the question anyway.

"Yeah, that's the reason. I only drink on the anniversary of his death to remind myself he's not here to stop me…" Ed made a small humming noise and turned towards his thoughts again.

Maes Hughes…the goal of commissioner…Kimblee…Ishval…Head Detective Raven…Gracia and Elicia…Shou Tucker…the unused cell phone…a promise. Tucker, Shou Tucker…Tucker…

"Did Shou Tucker have a daughter?" Ed knew his question was sudden, and his brief glance to Roy's face told him that it was such an extraneous question that the detail wasn't readily available.

"I think…maybe a name might've come up into our investigation. If he did, she was long dead, so she wouldn't have exactly been privy to our investigation." Roy quit the stroking of his non-existent beard and looked at Ed, the corners of his lips turning down. "Why do you ask?"

"I knew a little girl once, about five years younger, named Nina Tucker. She was a patient in the hospital where the Rockbells worked. My brother, Al, and I would often visit her and play games whenever we came by to see Winry's parents."

"I'm guessing she died in the bombings as well?"

"Yeah…but the weird part was, she shouldn't have even been there. By all rights, she was healed and given a clean bill of health, but not a single one of her parents ever stopped by to pick her up. Al and I were devastated, and it was only compounded by the death of the Rockbells and soon after, our mother's."

"Huh…" Roy breathed, and the both of them sat silent for a moment. "Do you think the two cases have something to do with one another?"

"Hell if I know. I was just a kid when it happened!" Ed protested, resting his chin on his palm defiantly. "I went into Forensics because it put me closest to the situation while still utilizing my specific expertise. After that, I spent the next two or three years just chasing after Scar's shadow. I, obviously, never caught up to it."

"Tucker and Scar…can't say I knew either well." A scraping of the barstool was heard and Ed noticed the older man walking around the counter. "What I can say about Tucker is that he was sick and twisted. As harsh as it sounds, it may have been a blessing for that little girl to have died in that explosion. Quick and painless. Hughes…didn't quite have that luxury. It was almost like his killer took great pride and satisfaction in their work and wanted to derive the maximum pain from him."

"I thought they sounded sadistic the moment you told me they hung up the phone," Ed commented. "They had to have gotten close to the body." Another beat of the clock. "So, Hughes was working the Tucker case?"

"So far as I understood it, two weeks after Tucker cut a deal with the district attorney's office, he was found murdered in his own home, a shot to the head."

"He knew his killer."

"Likely," Roy responded with a nod of his own head as he cleared his glass off the counter and dumped its contents down the drain. "Grumman put Armstrong and Hughes on the case, so I didn't even know about it. After Hughes died, I naturally asked Armstrong for everything they had found."

"Then what was the lead he was following?" Roy frowned and Ed leaned inward, his body slightly slipping from the barstool.

"A witness. I think they checked the phone records and found he had called a Charlene McDougal about five times in those last few weeks. I went to go speak to her myself, but she was dead by the time I went to speak to her; hanged herself."

"She killed Tucker?"

"Who could ever say? There was a note indicating that she'd done as much, and we found the weapon in her house…but she didn't have any close friends to verify the handwriting. We ended up having to rule it a suicide." A slow tapping of the foot emanated from behind the counter, still in beat with the ever-ticking timepiece. "Looking back on it now, that may have been Homunculus Corp as well. Hired as official private investigators when the case went south, but really sent in to clean up the work."

"They didn't seem to do so very neatly," Ed scoffed. "I'm just surprised you didn't look into all of this stuff sooner."

"I told you before that I couldn't. Everything I tried to look into turned into an enormous stone wall, and then, a few months down the line, Central came in and took over the entire case. After that, I couldn't catch another whiff or sight of the case."

"Hmm, I must've been able to because my pass code was still coded that I was at Central, so I could access that info…but it still registered that I was looking through the East database," Ed mused, his eyes narrowing towards the row of bottles sitting behind the head detective. Too many thoughts were in his head about this whole case, and while the story about Ishval helped to clarify some things, on most other things he was still woefully ignorant. Questions would be answered only to come up with more questions, and the truth of the matter was still eluding them both. "Damn it! Why does this have to be so complicated?"

Roy laughed at his reaction before the lines of laughter shifted off his face and back into a frown. Ed turned, once again, to look at him as the older man sighed. "Look at us…we're a bunch of fools."

"I don't quite get your meaning."

Roy breathed in before stating outright, "Why are we really here? We're just two fools who can't seem to let go of the past. We're both trying to catch people who killed someone that matters to us, and it's just a hopeless chase."

"Don't say that!" Ed snapped, feeling himself fully sliding off the stool now to stand stock still in front of the head detective, his fists clenched. "I'm not giving up! Not until I catch Scar!"

"Why are you trying so hard to catch him, Ed? So he killed your wife's parents…is that any reason to throw your own life away?" Ed slammed his hands down on the bar counter angrily. He wasn't about to be belittled into giving up by this man. Especially not this man.

"And who are you to talk about throwing your life away? !" Ed screamed. He didn't care how loud he was being, or how Mustang's eyes flinched for just the briefest moment. "I'm chasing after Scar because I was given a life to do so by the very person he hurt the most: Winry. I'm not doing it to throw my life away! I'm doing it because I want to! I didn't make stupid promises to people who couldn't hear them."

"Watch it!" Roy barked, but Ed didn't back down. He simply stared into Roy's eyes, his own fire creating a reflection within the man's black pupils. After a heated pause, Roy shook his head with a scoff. "Fine, then we're just hopeless."

"That doesn't sound any better than calling us fools."

"We are though. Ed, we're both chasing after cases that have been cold for years. Do you know what the chances are of solving a case after the forty-eight hour window? I'll tell you, it's less than one percent."

"Then screw the odds!" Roy finally snapped up when Ed yelled those words, and the forensics specialist knew that he had grabbed him. "So what if it's only one percent or .01 percent, let's be a part of it then. If there's an enormous stone wall, we break through it. Let's beat the odds! We'll catch Hughes' killer and Scar, and there is nothing stopping us. I've given up on only one thing in life, and after that I made a promise to never give up again!"

"You're one stubborn brat, you know that?" Roy told him with a smirk, causing Ed to slam his hands on the counter once again.

"Well, at least I'm not giving up!" Ed knew he must have looked and sounded manic, but by this point he was beyond caring. His fists tightened as he cast his sight downward, watching his limbs shaking. "Look, I don't care if you want to give up now, but I'll be damned if I let her cry again."

"Who said anything about giving up?" Roy questioned him sternly and Ed's head snapped up to see the burgeoning fire behind the head detective's eyes. A small chuckle rose to Ed's mouth, and then it was like a cavalcade of laughter erupting from him as he tossed his head back.

"So that's what it is, huh?" Ed stopped laughing and slammed his fist on the counter again, this time out of determination instead of anger. "Maybe I was wrong. You don't need me to solve your case. We need one another to solve the cases that aren't ours."

"And you're sure about that?" Roy's eyebrow was raised and Ed responded to his skeptic question with his own smirk.

"Hell yeah, I am. I don't know why the two of us were thrown together on the Chopper case, 'cause it sure wasn't fate. But there was some reason the two of us came to know each other, and maybe this was it." Ed relaxed his posture before speaking again. "What was it your friend Hughes said? 'Trust your partner'? Well, I'm your partner now, whether you like it or not, so it's high time we trusted one another." Roy seemed to consider his words for a moment before stretching his hand forward.

"All right then, partner." After another quick smirk, Ed took his hand and the two shook on it. "Well then, I guess we should get you back to the hotel, huh? I'm sure your wife is worried about you."

"I wasn't exactly planning on listening to that boring story of yours 'til who-knows-what time," Ed said to him jocularly. Roy punched him lightly on the shoulder, making Ed glare at him as the two of them exited the bar, the older man locking up.

"Just because we're partners does not mean you can insult me." Ed just waved his hand nonchalantly as the two began walking back to their hotel. As expected, the streets were practically empty, save for a few people stumbling home from the bars they had likely been stationed at all evening. It didn't take long for them to reach Hotel Amestria and enter the somewhat ritzy lobby. "You know, Fullmetal, I'm not asking you to get involved in all this, so I have to wonder why you care so much."

Ed turned around and cheekily replied, "Let's put it this way, Mustang: if I help you catch Hughes' killer, you'll help me catch Scar. If I help you become chief, you'll owe me a favor. If I help you become commissioner, you'll owe me another favor. After that, I'll just think of other things I can help you with. I like having friends in high places."

"In other words, you're not letting me off the hook for a very long time." Ed didn't say anything as he began to walk towards the ascending steps. "Hey, Fullmetal! You going to answer me?"

"I'm not letting you off the hook for the rest of your life! Someone's gotta keep you on the straight and narrow, and Detective Hawkeye can't do everything on her own." Roy made a small sound that expressed annoyance, but Ed kept walking.

"Anybody tell you you're an insufferable brat?"

"Yeah? Well you're an arrogant asshole!"

"Whatever, short stuff."

"I'm not tiny, you belligerent bastard!" Roy could only laugh before bidding the incensed man good night. Ed considered flicking him off as he walked away, but decided against it as he walked up the stairs. Finally feeling that he could relax, Ed loosened his tie and took off his jacket before finding his room and granting himself access.

"Where have you been, brother?"

"Holy crap, Al!" Ed yelped with a slightly startled jump. Al was sitting in a chair just a few feet away, the dim lighting in the room barely outlining his body. "Way to act like a serial killer."

Al didn't laugh, and Ed hung his jacket up in silence. A brief look into the further interior of the hotel room revealed that Winry was asleep on one of the beds; Mei was on the other. Meanwhile, the couch seemed to have been set up as a makeshift bed, likely for Al. "She just went to sleep half an hour ago, after she was too tired from waiting for you."

"I'll apologize to her in the morning," Ed told him, attempting to dismiss the subject. Al sighed behind him and Ed knew his younger brother was not going to let the issue go that easily. "It wasn't like I expected to be kidnapped by Detective Dumbass."

"Is that where you were then?" Al sounded miffed, and Ed collapsed in the chair opposite him with a groan.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" His tone was defensive in preparation for Al's verbal lashing. Al leaned forward in his chair, the pale light in the room finally revealing his brother's face. Al's face was set in a frown and his usually soft eyes were hardened into a glare.

"You tell me. You disappeared as soon as we got to the hotel; Winry was worried something had happened to you!" Al snapped at him and Ed's lips titled down in frustration.

"Listen, Al-"

"No, brother," Al hissed, his voice carrying over in a harsh whisper, "you listen! This is your family we're talking about here. Winry's not just your childhood friend anymore; you can't treat her with disrespect."

"Don't lecture me, Al." His voice was filled with warning now, but Al didn't seem to get the message as he continued in his berating of his older brother.

"She's your wife, Ed! Didn't you even consider that she'd be worried when you vanished? I mean, Mei was already beyond upset over what happened, and then Winry was getting upset! Is it that hard to think about things once in a while?"

"Al…I'm going to say this in the most polite way possible: shut up!" Al did. Ed wasn't sure if it was the words he had said, the tone in which he said them, or the harsh glare he was giving his brother that had done it, but he was grateful either way. "If you think I haven't been thinking about Winry tonight, then your head is too far up your ass."

"Now, what's that mean?" he asked in response, his face flushed with embarrassment. Ed groaned as he sat back again, undoing the first few buttons on his shirt.

"I found him, Al…" His brother's face was nothing but confusion, and Ed decided to elaborate. "The guy who killed Winry's parents. After years of next to no leads, I found him again."

"You mean…you've been looking all this time?" Al's voice was horrified as Ed nodded. "He was there tonight?"

To this, Ed only shrugged his shoulders before replying, "I think so. The description over the radio matched his from the reports. I couldn't get any closer to the case to verify whether it was really him."

"Do you think he was the one that killed Claudio?" Al voiced, his volume dropping once again to a whisper.

"I'm not so sure about that. Scar was all about blowing things up; leaving no evidence behind to be traced. This would be an extremely isolated incident. It was way too clean." Ed and Al both sighed out at the same time, as Ed slammed his hand on the chair. "Damn it! I was so close."

"Can't you still investigate?" Ed shook his head and Al just chuckled under his breath. "That's not like you."

"I can't help it. Central took the case from me."

"So? You were never one to really follow the rules, anyway," Al told him and Ed looked at his brother in shock. Was Al actually encouraging him to break the rules? "This is the Rockbell's killer, right? There are no lengths you wouldn't go to in order to catch him. It's what you've been searching for all these years."

Ed had to concede that his brother did have a point. "You're right. I can't just stop my investigation. I might be off the case, but I still have a job to do, and that's making sure that Winry doesn't cry again." His voice lowered as he placed his hands on his lap. "I know she won't say it, but she'll always miss them. It's the whole reason I went into Forensics anyway. I just…want to give her some closure."

"I'll help." Al had said it so casually that it forced him to do a double take. Surely his brother had not just offered to throw himself into the line of fire.

"No way! Too dangerous!"

"So what? Can't be more dangerous than what Teacher put us through all those summers." Ed only paled at the thought, and the slight shuddering of Al's body indicated that he was thinking the same exact thing. "Ed, I know you're super stubborn. Especially so, when you consider that it took Winry getting mad, me actually yelling, and Teacher beating you senseless for you to finally admit your feelings to Winry. But you don't have to do everything alone. I was there the day mom died, and I was there the day Winry got the news. So, let me help you."

"Fine!" Ed relented and Al did a small fist pump. "None of the dangerous stuff, though. You can look at files and draw conclusions, but I don't want to see you at crime scenes or the station."

"Good deal!" Al exclaimed triumphantly. "Hey, maybe we can get Teacher to help us?"

"Sure, if you don't mind getting killed!" Ed answered with a grin, though the thought of seeing Izumi again only a few days after he had last seen her was terrifying, to say the least. "Let's just…try to keep it between us for now, okay?"

"All right," Al agreed and Ed breathed out in elation. He wouldn't admit it, but he was grateful that his brother wanted to help him so much. It reduced the burdens he felt he was carrying. That sole thought gave a speck of brightness to his dark wonderings; he would catch Scar, and then he could finally tell Winry that he had been searching all this time. "Ed, sorry about yelling at you earlier."

"Nah, it's fine. Sometimes I need my brother to yell at me and remind me of the important things." Ed stood up and stretched. "Like right now, the important thing is going to bed with my hot, beautiful, and sexy wife."

"You're so shallow, brother," Al chuckled out, but Ed brushed the matter aside, stripping himself of his dress shirt. Ed quickly slid onto the bed next to Winry and put his arm around her. For a moment he thought she had mumbled something that sounded like "you're an idiot, Ed," but he didn't care as his eyes closed and he held her tighter.

"We're just fine, Hohenheim!" Ed yelled into the phone as he paced around the kitchen.

"I'm glad to hear that, Edward, but do you need to yell at me when you say it?" Ed's veins twitched as he heard his father's voice on the other end. He hated how the man was so calm whenever he spoke.

"Yes, I do. I never gave you permission to call this number."

"Now, you're just being ridiculous," Hohenheim stated plainly and Ed became even more incensed at the revelation of that truth. "I just wanted to know you were okay after last night. It wasn't like I spoke to you or your brother after the shot was fired."

"Well, we are! You happy?" Ed wasn't exactly willing to carry on a conversation with the man.

"I'd be happier if you were consistent. You're angry when I'm not around; you're angry when I decide to call and see if you're okay." Ed scowled as his father kept speaking, clearly not liking where the conversation was going.

"What was that? Can't hear you! There must be some interference in the area! You're breaking up, Hohenheim." And Ed ended the call, grinning to himself despite how childish his actions seemed.

"Was that dad?" Ed jumped slightly as he placed the phone back into its cradle. Al grabbed a popsicle from the freezer as he looked over at his brother for a response.

"Yeah, it was the bastard. I told him we were all back home safely." Al grunted as the two left the kitchen, Ed's scowl still present.

"You could stand to be nicer to him."

"I will, when he stops being a bastard." Al just shrugged at him. The two entered the living room and quickly threw themselves on the couch. Winry and Mei were on the floor, numerous pieces of paper strewn across the coffee table next to them. Ed snatched up the remote and quickly clicked the television on.

"Oh, news on the treaty. Turn it up, brother." Ed did as his younger brother asked him and the news reporter's words filled the room.

"In the wake of last night's assassination, the question has been raised about what will happen to the Xing-Aerugo Treaty," the reporter announced. "President Dante has held the position that if the two countries are willing to still reconcile, she will be more than willing to keep Amestris as a mediator. Earlier this morning, we also spoke with President Ling Yao of Xing, to confirm his stance after last night's events."

"Xing is still a nation striving for peace," Ling proclaimed, his face appearing on the screen. "We offer our most sincere condolences to all Aerugonians at the loss of their prince and can only pray that their royal family will continue to show the same zeal for peace that Prince Claudio did in his lifetime." Ling's face was quickly replaced with the reporter's once again.

"It would appear President Yao's wish may be fulfilled, as we were informed this morning that Princess Elena of Aerugo intends to conclude the negotiations for peace. The formal treaty signing will take place ten days from now, next Thursday." Ed frowned. Announcing the time of the treaty signing would only encourage the shooter to come back for round two. "When it comes to the whereabouts of the shooter, the Central police are continuing their investigation, but the assassin remains at large." Ed quickly shut the TV off.

Winry kept staring at the screen a moment longer, before turning to Mei excitedly. "So, I was thinking we should use soft colors, since I think it would complement the both of you well."

Ed suppressed a groan. This was the reason he had taken the call from that bastard father of his. "I agree. Thanks so much for helping with this. I would ask Lan Fan but she's busy with presidential things and is hardly the type to plan a wedding."

"Well, I do have experience, after all." Ed chuckled under his breath as Al elbowed him with a grin. "But thank you for asking me to be a bridesmaid. Are you sure holding the wedding in Amestris is what you want?"

"Of course it is!" Al told her brightly. "After all, Winry, Ed's my best man and we don't want to have to fly you all the way into Xing."

"Funny," Ed commented, "I don't remember ever being asked to be your best man." Al turned to him with a mixture of shock and horror on his face that Ed could only laugh at. "Oh, you know I'll do it! When will the wedding be anyway?"

"We were thinking in about eight months," Mei chirped out. "I'll be done with my Master's and Al will have defended his dissertation."

"And Jerso and Zampano will be free. I asked them to be my other groomsmen this morning." Ed nodded in understanding of the situation, though he had never met Jerso or Zampano, and sat back on the couch. His gaze fell upon his wife to see her knotting her skirt in her hands.

"Eight months? That's late winter, right? Are you sure you don't want a spring wedding?" Winry squeaked out, and Ed frowned at his wife's strange behavior.

"Coming from you, Winry?" he asked, and she swiveled her head to glare at him. "We married only five months after I proposed to you. This is what they want, so let them have it." The phone in the kitchen suddenly started to ring again, and this time Ed groaned loudly. "It's probably Hohenheim; just let it ring."

"No, I'll get it. That way your dad will feel like at least someone likes him in this family," Winry scolded him as she stood and ran to the kitchen. Ed closed his eyes in an attempt to rest when suddenly, not even a minute later, he felt the phone hit him in the chest with full force. "Any reason why a woman named Martel is calling our house asking for you, Ed?"

"Martel? Ed, you're not-" Al began, but Ed cut him off as he stood.

"Don't worry about it, Al! No, Winry, I'm not cheating on you; she's just a…colleague," Ed attempted to explain, but Winry folded her arms with a huff.

"Says the guy who disappeared last night," she countered and Ed grimaced.

"I told you, I was with Mustang. Back me up here, Al."

"Oh, I'm not getting involved with this."

"Traitor," Ed spat at him, but Al shrugged with a smile as Ed stalked off to the kitchen. "Why the hell are you calling my home phone? !"

"Safer," responded the cool, female voice on the other end of the line. "Greed wants to meet. Are you free?"

"I have off work today, so yeah."

"Good. Youswell, Halling's Café and Inn. Five o'clock. Don't be late." There was an audible click as she ended the call, and Ed frowned liberally. He wasn't expecting Greed to get back to him within the week, but he knew that now it couldn't be helped. Ed put the phone back as he glanced at the clock in the kitchen which displayed that it was currently three o'clock. Ed sighed and went to pop his head into the living room.

"I'm going out to meet with a friend. Don't bother with dinner for me," he announced and all the heads in the room turned to look at him.

"Not cheating, huh?" Winry said with a smirk and a sparkle in her eye.

"Love you too, Winry." With that, he was gone. As he got into his car, he debated about calling Mustang, but very quickly decided against it. For one thing, he still wasn't even sure if the information that he would receive would be of any use. Of course, the largest deterrent was that they hadn't asked him to bring the surly detective along. Having him show up at the meeting would therefore not be a good thing.

Ed pondered all this until, roughly an hour and forty-five minutes later, he arrived in the town of Youswell. Knowing the layout of the town somewhat, Ed headed straight for the largest building in the town, known as Halling's Café and Inn. Sure enough, he saw a table set for two, the person sitting at the table having a newspaper propped up. The biggest giveaway, though, was the beefy Roa standing behind him. Ed quickly stomped over and sat in the chair opposite.

"I hope you don't mind, I ordered orange tea," Greed said, his voice as level as always. A second later, he lowered the newspaper. "You're alone, right? Weren't followed?"

"I see no reason why I would be," Ed answered him and Greed nodded, removing his sunglasses.

"Can't be too careful, especially given what happened last night. Did you hear?"

"I was there. And why should last night have to do with anything?" Greed flashed him a toothy grin before extending his hand out. Roa stretched forward and placed a file in the man's outstretched palm.

"It was Homunculus, obviously. Or at least, that's my educated hunch. I could be wrong," Greed explained before placing the file on the table. "You hit the nail on the head, Edward. When you uncovered that Homunculus had something to do with this Hughes' death, you dug into something that hadn't been unearthed in years."

"I'm guessing it's all in that file?" Greed slid the file across the table and Ed caught it, quickly opening it to a picture of a man he didn't recognize. His informant leaned forward in his chair and laced his fingers together.

"The work it took to find this stuff was almost not worth it. But this investigation hit pay dirt, so it's no wonder that someone tried to cover it up." Ed flicked through to the next page and yet another unrecognizable photo. His confused look must have been seen by Greed, who cleared his throat before speaking again. "It's all part of little tale that begins with a man named Shou Tucker."

"Tucker? !" Now, Greed held his full attention.

"Shou Tucker was the best scientist that Homunculus Corporation ever employed. I would know; I worked with the man myself." Greed was now absentmindedly fiddling with his sunglasses. "Some time after I left, the man made a mistake and was forced to cut ties with the organization except for one itsy bitsy link called Charlene McDougal."

"That's the witness Hughes went to visit the night he was killed!"

"But why would he be killed after visiting a woman with miniscule ties to the organization? The answer is simple: she was the beginning of a trail of bread crumbs. Now here's where the story gets twisty. Charlene McDougal was only a contact with Shou Tucker for one reason, which is money. McDougal was being paid off to keep silence about both the death and prior existence of her brother, one Isaac McDougal, the first man in that file."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Maes Hughes, Greed?"

"Patience, Edward, I'm getting to that part," Greed reprimanded him. "Isaac McDougal was the detective in charge of a certain case: the murder of a young psychologist with the Ishval Police Department. Now, Isaac got close, real close to narrowing down who the killer was until he disappeared. Two days later his body turned up in the Central City river, but was classified as a John Doe. What does this tell you?"

"He found something out he shouldn't have."

"Exactly! He was about to oust someone who worked in the police department, and Homunculus sent a man to kill him in order to keep that asset safe…or should I say assets? After that, they had to go to great lengths to keep the whole issue quiet and prevent people from investigating further. Isaac McDougal just became a name on a piece of paper, and Charlene McDougal got filthy rich in a payoff.

"Fast forward to two years ago when an up and coming head detective named Roy Mustang arrests Shou Tucker on multiple counts. Not too bad for Homunculus to get rid of its screw-up-scientist…until a little birdie named Charlene McDougal reaches their ears with news that Tucker's made a deal. What's Homunculus Corp to do now that their perfect cover-up is falling apart? They kill him. Now we get to Hughes' investigation where he finds the important call to good ol' Charlene and goes to question her only to realize something horrific."

"She knew all about the case…"

"Yep, she knew about the case in details only a cop should know. She realizes her mistake, they pop him, and then kill her to make it look like a suicide and save themselves the trouble. Everything is right again when the Hughes' murder case is moved to Central…at least until you started digging into it. Moral of the story: the police department reeks of Homunculus."

"So, it's not just one or two cops, but a whole network of them?" The realization was suddenly dawning on Ed that this situation went a lot deeper than he had originally warranted.

"They're playing this one for keeps. All I can really say for sure is that they had a man at Ishval who was able to tell them McDougal's progress. They had a man who knew about Tucker's deal, and they moved it to Central because there they could make sure the case was never figured out."

"Who had the case in Central?" Greed's mouth was formed into a thin line.

"I believe that at first it was a Detective Storch before it was transferred to a Detective Raven, but that's as far as I know." Greed stood up and dusted his suit off. "If the cover-ups are starting all over again, it means they're desperate to keep it under wraps. If I were you, I'd get out of this country. That's what I plan to do."

"I don't think that's happening."

"Suit yourself," he said, snapping his sunglasses back on. "Oh, if you see Ling, give him a message for me. Tell him I have a sword I'd like to return to him."

"How do you know Ling?" Ed snapped out and Greed smiled at him again.

"I may have saved his life once, it's not important. Just give him that message. He'll understand it." Greed gave another simple nod to him and began to walk away, pausing only for an instant. "Be careful, Edward."

And he disappeared.

Ed sat there, ruminating over his recent discovery. There was a network of police officers all working for Homunculus Corporation. Thanks to that they were able to assassinate anyone who got too close to the truth. Not to mention that it all started in Ishval with Isaac McDougal and the department psychologist.

Ishval. Where Scar began his work was in Ishval. Where the trail began that lead to Hughes' death was in Ishval.

Ed reached down to grab his cell phone, but stopped, remembering Mustang's words from the night before.

"Excuse me!" Ed called, getting up and walking over to the bearded owner. "Can I use your phone?"

"Sure." Ed thanked him as the man led the forensics specialist to the hotel phone.

"Roy Mustang," answered the clearly exhausted head detective.

"It's Ed. I just met with Greed." All the fatigue vanished from Mustang's voice as he asked his next question.

"What did he find out?"

"A lot, but I'm still not sure how much of it is valid. I have a hunch, but I'd need to run an investigation of my own." Mustang sighed in response.

"How much time do you need?"

"With luck, I can let you know everything by tomorrow evening." The head detective gave him a quick noise of affirmation before the two hung up. Ed thanked the owner again before starting on his way home.

Ishval was very clearly the start of everything going wrong for Homunculus Corp. So that was where he'd start this investigation. He had some other clean contacts that would help him look into things, and he always had Al, if worse came to worst. Still, the situation is looking up, Ed thought as he stifled a yawn, stepping into his darkened house. The rest of his family had clearly gone out.

Ed's keys, however, merely slipped from his grasp as he glanced into the kitchen, where a lone figure was sitting; their eyes gleaming in the darkness. A cracking of knuckles was heard as the figure stood and uttered two words. "Hello, Edward."

Yep…he had been right. He was definitely going to be killed.

Author's Note: Another long chapter complete. School naturally delayed this chapter but that's okay, since by the time I post Chapter 13, I will have graduated and moved on to the adult world! Anyway, I hope this chapter is not too confusing and that you understand the overall plot so far. If you don't shoot me a PM (or leave your question in a review). Also, what do you think of the new summary? Is it better/more eye-catching than the old one? Let me know that. And a last note, as I've stated the last two chapters, I need someone to draw an image cover for me. I've had numerous offers but no submissions, so you still have time. Well, I've talked your ear off enough. Make sure to leave me a review and Dare to Be Silly.