I believe that when a writer takes a long time to write a chapter it either turns out really good, really bad, or really fluffy. I hope this one's good but I'll leave you to make the judgment. So let me know.
Chapter 17
"Are you sure this is the best thing to do, Roy?" The head detective swiveled his eyes toward his companion. "Sending Edward and Feury into such a dangerous situation isn't exactly the best way to go about this."
"Don't worry about it, Riza," Roy answered her, fixing his tie as he did so. "Besides, Fullmetal used me for bait once. I consider this a form of payback."
"Payback? I never thought you so petty," Riza mocked. "You're quite a bad liar, sir." Roy looked at his date incredulously.
"I thought I was a pretty good one, actually." Riza laughed and moved over to him, fiddling with his tie as he continued onward. "Judging from Bradley's reaction, I was pretty sure I had fooled him and Homunculus Corp about how much progress I made into Hughes' murder."
"Then, I suppose I just know your tells," she informed him, patting his now fixed tie and moving over to her dresser. "Either way, I think it's too dangerous…for the both of you."
"Is that why you're bringing a gun?" he asked, catching sight of the weapon she was affixing to her thigh. Riza gave him a pointed look before answering.
"I like guns." Didn't he know it? "Besides, you're not bringing one."
"Maybe that's because my lovely partner promised to watch my back," he told her smugly. She didn't smile at his jest.
"In this case, I'm a little more worried about your front."
"That's why we made back-up plans…which does involve me getting a gun, I'll remind you." Riza sniffed indifferently. "Let me guess: you don't approve of that either."
"I am withholding my judgments until everything is said and done…Though, why you split up all of our different plans without telling everybody is beyond me." Roy slipped his suit coat on and started for the door as he answered her.
"Simple. If one part of the plan goes awry, the other parts won't be jeopardized." All Riza could do was shake her head noncommittally. Roy sighed as he stepped through the portal of the door to Riza's bedroom and angled himself toward the front door. It was true, he hadn't informed Ed or Feury that he had made arrangements with his other men to get more information, just in case their part didn't go as planned. Hawkeye's disapproval was enough to prove that, but he knew that if there were to be a small modicum of success he was going to have to appear non-threatening and keep it under wraps until the time came. A small noise behind him indicated that Riza had finished putting on her earrings and was clomping along behind him in her high heels. "Okay, I get it."
"Get what, sir?" Riza questioned as Roy opened the door for her to pass through.
"I know you're not happy with the plan, but both Ed and Feury volunteered. They'll be fine, and if anything goes wrong, we'll be the first to know."
"It's fine," said Riza. "I just hope you have a good reason when Ms. Winry calls you, asking why her husband isn't home tonight."
"Really? I thought she'd be okay with it. You know, part of the job."
"When he's suspended…"
"All right, already," Roy said exasperatedly as he opened his passenger's door to let Riza inside. "There's no need to scold me, detective." And he slammed her door shut.
"Someone has to keep you in line, sir," she told him once he had entered the car himself. Roy snuck a glance at her person. We're his mind not so focused on the important and upcoming events of the night, he might have marveled at how beautiful she looked tonight. The usually stiff detective could certainly pull off a form-fitting black dress better than most women. Of course, what really caught his attention was the beaded purse she was rummaging through. Seeing the contents of that purse made him all the more certain that his ex-partner, part-time lover was more than capable of keeping him in line if she needed to. Of course she's going to bring a second gun…why wouldn't she?
Chuckling to himself as Riza snapped her bag shut, he started the car without any further preamble. Then, without so much as a glance back at Riza's apartment, he tore away from the building and toward the Armstrong Estate.
The Armstrong family was one of the richest, and oldest, families not only in the country of Amestris itself, but also in the confines of Amestrian history. Rumor had it that the first Armstrong family patriarch, Thomas Armstrong, had been a general for the loyalists during the bloody Amestrian Civil War nearly four hundred years ago. He had led those loyalists to numerous victories and was the man who secured the country's future. Soon after the war concluded, he returned to one of his battlefields and there discovered a massive pile of gold. Thus it was what the Armstrong family name was carried to even the farthest corners of the country.
From then on, that family name was synonymous with wealth, power, and all the things that came in between. If the Armstrongs wanted a law passed, it would be passed. Which meant that if you were a lobbyist, you wouldn't waste your time schmoozing up to senators; you'd go straight to the Armstrongs and hope they were sympathetic to your cause. It helped that just about every generation of the family was in the military. It was only when the military seemed to be superfluous that the Armstrongs changed their family legacy. Alex's father, Phillip Gargantos Armstrong, had been the first patriarch to instead join the police force: a legacy that was then followed by Alex and his older sister, Olivier. To that point, it made their family even more important, influential, and best of all, innocuous. And that led Roy to why he had chosen to do the plan tonight.
For the most part, the Armstrongs resided on a massive estate near the heart of Central City. The place was positively littered with servants, fine furniture, and one of the most boasted about gardens in the country. In a few words, the Armstrong Estate was the gem of the upper crust of society. However, as was the usual case when the previous generations had not squandered the family's legacy, one estate was not enough to tout the grandness of the Armstrong's wealth. So it was that the Armstrong family had numerous estates, one for each part of the country, which they inhabited on a whim, whenever it took their fancy to do so.
It just so happened that it was their Eastern Estate that they had chosen to inhabit this summer. According to Alex, it was because Catherine was now the age of twenty and the family was desperately hoping to find her a husband. In either case, it worked well for Roy and his plan. If Bradley and his family were invited to an Armstrong soiree, they would have no choice but to attend. To not do so would be spitting in the face of the country's most powerful family. The fact that said party was to be held at their Eastern Estate simply meant that the Bradley family would be nowhere near their own estate when Ed was breaking in.
The Armstrong Eastern Estate was, as its name suggested, located in the confines of East City. Since East City was made up mostly of business moguls and industrial facilities, it meant that their manor was amidst all that filth and grime (though admittedly of two different kinds). In order to offset this, the Eastern Estate was a thing of beauty, stretching almost five hundred square acres. Surrounding it were various industrial parks that had been bought by the self-same family. They were abandoned now, but their deteriorating visage served only to enhance the beauteous one of the Armstrong Estate. It was here that both Roy and Riza arrived in the early hours of the evening.
Already the place seemed to be in the swing of things. Droves of upper class people were pouring inside the halls of the manor that could put any house in East City to shame. Roy pulled up next to a valet who offered to take his car. Roy obliged the man, taking the valet ticket, and hooking his arm with Riza, proceeded to the entrance, where a gruff looking security guard was patting down guests. A small, fleeting panic rose inside of Roy, but his face refused to betray his impulse. Riza tensed slightly next to him as they drew closer. Getting her guns past security was going to be tricky.
This, however, was resolved not even a moment later. "Oh, Head Detective Mustang! Detective Hawkeye! How wonderful that the both of you could make it!"
"Looks like there's our ticket in," muttered Roy to his companion. She gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head as Alex Louis Armstrong approached them.
"No problems getting here, I expect?" he boomed toward them, causing many a head to turn in their direction. Neither had the opportunity to answer before Armstrong spoke again. "Oh, let's not stand on ceremony. Come with me."
The two of them walked with the hulking detective in front of them. The security guard moved as if he were going to check them, but Alex held up a hand. As if it were a prearranged signal to say "They're with me," the security guard stepped aside, nodding silently at Alex. Roy flashed him a smile as the three of them entered.
Instantly, Roy's sight darted around the room, looking for possible signs of danger. The entrance hall of the manor was packed with guests discarding their coats with the various servants milling around. As neither of them had coats, however, Armstrong led them through the entrance hall to the sweeping ballroom, where even more guests were enjoying the spread placed before them. The ballroom itself was huge, with gleaming floors and pillars that dotted the side of it, giving the room an elegant feel. The ceiling was arched, all of its supports stretching from the side walls into a single point at the very top. From that point hung a chandelier that gave off enough light to illuminate the entire room profusely. The room was also lined with windows that looked out onto the backyard filled with topiary and fountains.
Roy caught sight of Breda in his scan. Breda seemed to not notice his own boss as he chatted quite amicably with both Catherine and her mother; but at one point, his head turned a fraction of an inch to the side before nodding. Roy acted like he didn't see it, but was glad to know that at least one of his men was in place. Now where was Havoc? Without him-
"Good to see you again, dumbass," said a biting voice and the head detective wrenched himself away from his surveying. "Although I'd be lying if I said I meant it."
"Ah, Olivier, I knew you'd eventually not think of me as a dumbass," Roy responded with cheek. Olivier just snorted, folding her arms across herself. "You clean up nicely if I do say so myself, Olivier."
"That's Chief Armstrong to you, you little pissant," she snapped. "Still whiling away your days as Head Detective, are you?"
"Not as glamorous a job as chief, likely, but a necessary one all the same." Olivier simply cocked an eyebrow, tossing her blonde tresses over her right shoulder to show her porcelain shoulder.
"So I gather," Olivier drawled, "Alex tells me you have a plan in motion for tonight. He asked me to invite the Bradleys?"
Roy took a quick look around before answering her, making sure that no one was listening in; he saw Riza doing the same. Then he quickly said, "We think Bradley is the one behind the corrupt cops. We have an operation tonight to try and prove it."
"And I suspect it's something perfectly legal?" He didn't miss the sarcastic tone. "You couldn't confide this in me before now, could you?"
"Things have been moving rather quickly," he said. "We had to act fast before our window of opportunity closed."
"I'll bet," she scoffed out. "And where's Elric? Last I heard, he's working with you. Or are the rumors around the water cooler losing their touch?"
"He's been helping us," Roy confessed, "but right now he has some personal issues to take care of. His wife's pregnant."
"If by 'personal issues', you mean that he's infiltrating the Bradley residence as we speak, that I suppose I have no choice but to believe you. Either way, Winry's a good woman…certainly kept Fullmetal in line. Give them my congratulations. I trust you won't bungle so simple a task."
Roy placed his hand over his heart in mocked hurt. "Come now, Olivier, surely you can put more faith in me than that." Olivier didn't really hear him.
"Bradley…" she snarled out. "What is he planning?"
"I'm more interested in catching him out before he can plan anything." Olivier finally turned back to him with a hard look on her face.
"Well, I'll trust you to tell me whatever you learn," she snapped at him.
"Of course, if I have the time that is." She scowled back at him. "Don't scowl now; it might ruin your beautiful features. Then I may be the only one who wishes to dance with you."
"I wouldn't be sure if your date would allow it." She finally acknowledged Riza by turning to her. "Good to see you, Hawkeye…and I mean it too."
Riza tore her own attention away from watching the room to give a simple, "And you as well." Olivier seemed to think that meant the conversation was finished as she spun around, her black dress sashaying with her.
"Come, Alex," she barked, "We have guests to entertain!" When she was gone, Riza turned to look at Roy.
"Any reason you didn't tell her the full plan?"
"No need for her to know," he answered with a smug smile. "Oh, look, Havoc's finally here…with that viper on his arm." Riza laughed gaily.
"You're starting to sound like Rebecca," she chuckled out. "What do you have against the woman anyway?"
"Mostly it's the fact that she practically has Havoc wrapped around her finger." Riza didn't respond as the two of them were fast approaching the subjects of their conversation.
"Heya, boss!" Havoc called out jovially. "Almost thought we wouldn't make it. Solaris can be quite distracting when she wants to be."
"Now, now, Jean, don't go telling them all about our little escapades," Solaris chided sultrily. Solaris ran her fingers through her hair as she looked around the hall. "I think I'll go get us some refreshments, Jean. Wait here, will you?" Havoc wasn't exactly given the time to answer as she pulled him forward by his tie and kissed him fiercely. When she stopped, Havoc looked completely punch-drunk and could only ogle her as she sauntered away.
"Isn't she great?" he sighed out.
"Yeah, 'grate' is one word I'd use to describe her," Roy growled out. "What took you so long to get here? I almost thought you weren't coming."
"Well, sorry," Havoc grumbled. "Some of us have these things called relationships."
"Some of us also can jeopardize an entire operation!"
"Oh, keep your pants on, Mustang. The Bradleys only just got here," Havoc informed him.
"What? They're here? !"
"Yeah, they were right behind us." Roy wasn't even listening anymore. He snapped his gaze over to Breda, who quickly got the message.
"Next time, tell me the important information first." Havoc was about to retort angrily when Solaris reappeared and the couple took their leave. "Maybe we should get refreshments," Roy said after a moment of thought. Riza, however, squeezed his arm.
"I wouldn't. The Bradleys are here." Sure enough, as Roy glanced toward the entrance he saw both Commissioner Bradley and his wife enter the ballroom. The reaction was almost magnetic. Bradley's head swiftly turned toward the waiting couple and he nudged his wife, the two of them strolling over to greet them.
"Mustang, what a surprise to see you here!" he clapped out. "And with the lovely Detective Hawkeye on your arm, no less. I hope we haven't been breaking any anti-fraternization rules, although I hear your friend over at Internal Affairs is working to see that remedied."
"She is quite the determined one, sir," Riza said politely. "And how have you been?"
"Oh, you know, same old, same old," Bradley answered genially. "Running the entire department isn't quite what it was when I was in my forties."
"I've always said you should have retired early, dear," Mrs. Bradley said concernedly. "I don't know why you insist on taking on one challenge after another…it's foolish." The commissioner laughed loudly.
"You know why, dear. I can't leave the position in the hands of some upstart politician. You know that's what'll probably happen if I drop out now." Mrs. Bradley only continued to look at him with concern. "Oh, enough of this talk of politics, it's all quite stuffy. Dear, would you mind getting me some appetizers, especially those tiny shrimp I like so much?"
"Of course, I'll be right back." Mrs. Bradley flashed them all a quick smile before walking away to get her husband's request.
Bradley continued looking jovial for a moment before his face suddenly hardened. "So, Mustang, I hope you're not still obsessed with this idea that I'm the killer you've been looking for the last two years."
"Can I say that I haven't ruled it out yet, sir?" Mustang answered and Bradley frowned, causing the lines on his forehead to deepen their creases. "After all, no suspect should be above suspicion."
"Of course not," Bradley responded. "You have every right to investigate me as long as I remain a suspect in your mind. I would just hope you'd find the evidence to exonerate me soon."
"I guess you could say we're working on it," Mustang said.
"That's good to hear. Wouldn't want to arrest the wrong man, especially on the basis of a criminal's confession. Certainly wouldn't look good if we did that!" Neither Roy nor Riza said anything. "Where's Fullmetal, by the way? I would have thought he'd be here, considering how you two have seemed joined at the hip lately."
"He's home," Mustang told him nonchalantly. "He just found out that his wife's pregnant, so he's spending the evening with her."
"That's wonderful to hear. I suppose I'll just have to be one in a long line of people offering my congratulations," Bradley said kindly, although Mustang suspected it was just a farce. "Well, either way, I'm glad to know he's doing well. We wouldn't want anything to happen to him with a child on the way."
He knows…came the panicked thought. He all but confirmed it. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren't. Mustang simply screwed his face into a smile before saying, "I'd certainly hope not." It was at this moment that Mrs. Bradley chose to reappear.
"Oh, thank you, dear," the commissioner said as he took his plate. "I really do love these tiny shrimp…never now just how they'll surprise you, but you can devour them all the same. Well, have a good evening, Mustang, Hawkeye." With that veiled threat hanging in the air, both Bradley and his wife strode away.
"I knew this was a bad idea…" Hawkeye whispered subtly, and at this point, Mustang was inclined to agree, but knew it was too late to back out now. Whether Bradley truly knew that they were up to something or not was, at this moment, inconsequential. In fact, no matter what happened, they all had to move on with their part of the plan. Roy tousled his hair and resolved to think no more on the "ifs" of their operation. Suddenly he was grasped from behind.
"Roy Mustang! Been a while, hasn't it?" came a gruff, yet kindly voice. Roy broke free of his would-be captor's grasp and turned to see the tanned and bearded visage of Detective Raven.
"Head Detective Raven, sir!" Mustang hastily held out his hand, which Raven clasped tightly.
"It's Captain Raven now, of Homicide. Storch gave me the word yesterday," Raven said excitedly. "I start Monday. Detective Hawkeye, how marvelous to see you as well!"
"Hello, sir," Hawkeye greeted him curtly. Raven threw back his head and laughed loudly.
"Still stuck with this stick in the mud, eh? Ah, well, I guess that like likes like."
"What are you doing here, sir?" Mustang asked and Raven responded by scratching his beard.
"You know how it is, having to hobnob with these socialites. Armstrong's well respected, and given my new position, I'd be a fool and a half to not pay the old goat a visit," Raven explained with a gleaming smile. Suddenly, an unwanted thought entered into Mustang's head. All the evidence in their investigation thus far pointed to Raven having been the dirty cop at East. While Mustang had no solid evidence linking him, he still thought it prudent to zip his lips regarding his investigation. "Speaking of animals, how's that old fox Grumman?"
"As sprightly as ever, sir," Mustang answered and Raven gazed at him curiously.
"No doubt. Even when I was head detective, I knew that the stories out of East always turned a few heads."
"Yes, the commissioner has said so himself." Raven acknowledged this with a nod.
"Lots of stories these days. Especially about you, Roy," Raven told them, shaking his head as if disappointed. "There are many rumors about your activities as of late. I'd be sorry to believe even half of them."
"Well, we have our fair share of rumors, too." Raven's eyebrows arched, as if to ask just what kind of rumors he heard. "You know, stupid things like the Ishvalan Bomber is connected to a cop killer, or that Grumman's dolls are actually spies from Drachma…or that Commissioner Bradley is the head of Homunculus Corporation."
Raven laughed loudly again. "Bradley, the head of a corporation? That's quite droll, Mustang." But Roy could see the new agitation to his movements and the sheen of sweat on his forehead. Was Raven really tipping his hand so early? "You never were very good at making jokes."
"Just rumors, sir," Mustang said calmly. "How's your wife?"
"B-better," Raven replied shakily, and the head detective could see that he had gotten to the older man. "Anyway…I wanted to see if the rumors were true myself. Word has it you reopened the Hughes case."
"Reopened? I wasn't aware it had been closed."
"Oh…er, no…it never was," Raven stammered out. "No one regrets that more than I, I assure you."
"You worked the case after Detective Storch…I'm sorry, Chief Storch, didn't you?"
"After six months!" Raven said more confidently. "Cases go cold after that long."
"He was a fellow police officer," Roy said heatedly.
"If you have any complaints, I would take it up with Storch," defended Raven. "I tried my best with what I had."
"I'm sure you did, sir," Roy assured him airily. He could tell that his former partner and mentor was beginning to panic. "Can I ask one thing, Captain? Why were you working the case in Narcotics? For that matter, why did Storch promote you to captain of Homicide? I thought you worked in Narcotics longer than Homicide."
"H-he saw my skills and promoted me," Raven snapped out, dodging the detective's first question. "It's not that surprising. I was Head Detective once, you know…"
"Yeah, I just never could figure out why they transferred you so readily to Central, even with your wife's failing health." Raven didn't have an immediate retort for that and his smile faltered for an instant. Part of Roy was crushed…but the other was soaring with hope. After all this time, he had found the cop that had been instrumental in bringing about not only Hughes' death, but the death of many other cops and Winry's parents as well. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but seeing Raven now confirmed it. All he had to do now was smoke him out and force his old mentor to admit it. Before he could say another word, though, his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Excuse me."
The words he saw on his screen were not the ones he wanted.
Ed captured by S.B. Sent person named Lust to kill you right now!
Mustang could only suppose that S.B. meant Selim Bradley and he cursed himself. He would have never suspected the commissioner's son to be a part of this. Now, his name was on a hit list, too. A second text from Feury suddenly appeared.
GET OUT! ! !
Mustang didn't need telling twice. "Excuse me, sir, but a problem seems to have come up at the station and I need to get going. We should meet for drinks sometime."
"Of course, Mustang," cried Raven, regaining his jovial manner. "I'm staying in East City until tomorrow evening at the East Grand Hotel. You know, just checking up on things." Roy just nodded at him and once more excused himself.
"Checking up on me, no doubt," he muttered under his breath before quickly sending a single message to Breda and Havoc: Begin Phase 2. "Ed's captured."
"Told you…" Riza breathed to him, but he ignored her.
There had always been the possibility that Ed's part of the plan would go awry. There were too many variables contributing towards its success: number of guards, security system effectiveness, and of course, whether or not the documents would be there themselves. So, Roy had to take alternative measures to ensure this whole operation wasn't a waste. Thankfully for him, their enemy behaved exactly the way he hoped they would and were now sending someone after him. Roy quickly took Riza's arm once again and the two of them wheeled toward the front entrance.
As they stepped into the cool night air, a valet quickly approached them. Not even hesitating in his step, Roy pulled out his valet ticket and a small wad of cash. The valet reached for it and Mustang leaned in to whisper, "Check on my car and come to tell me that it didn't start. Understand?" The valet nodded and scampered off. The two remained there, waiting for the valet to return. Both of them were on high alert, Riza scanning for any signs of danger. Less than two minutes later, the valet reappeared.
"I'm sorry, sir," he said breathlessly, "it appears there's a problem with your vehicle. It won't start. Should I call a cab for you?"
Roy quickly put on his best show of bravado and said, "Ugh, this is an emergency and my car chooses now to break down! It was a newer model, too." Riza grasped his arm comfortingly.
"It's all right, Roy. We'll just catch the bus; it's cheaper. Thank you," she indicated to the valet and both she and Roy left the Armstrong Estate, turning onto the abandoned road. "I think they bought it."
"Good. Now, let's keep our eyes open," he instructed and they continued walking, arm-in-arm. They turned another corner near one of the abandoned industrial parks and kept going until Riza squeezed his arm.
"I've got someone on our tail," whispered Riza. Roy grunted his acknowledgement.
"You know what to do." Without any indication of having heard him, Riza gasped dramatically. "What's wrong?"
"I left something important in the car!" she moaned out and Roy sighed. "I'm just going to go back and get it. Wait up for me." She gave him a light peck on the cheek and doubled back. Roy shrugged his shoulders and continued his stroll. It wasn't long before he noticed the same tail that Riza had mentioned. In the dark, it was hard to discern the features of his supposed assassin, but he could tell it was a woman. He measured his paces and saw the chained entrance to the industrial park approaching. He knew that once he started running, she would give pursuit.
Just a little further, he coaxed in his mind. When he was finally within a stone's throw of the entrance, he drastically increased his pace to a run. He sharply turned and in one fluid motion, leapt over the chain and tore into the park. Roy flew past the mounds of unused materials and storage containers, turning around one of them for a hiding place. There was barely a chance to stop before he heard a familiar voice call to him.
"Stop right there, Detective Mustang! Hands up! Turn around!" Mustang obliged the woman and turned around to come face to face with…
"Solaris." It had been a statement said with much venom. "Or should I call you Lust?"
Solaris…no, Lust, laughed mirthlessly, the gun in her hand wobbling slightly. "You've caused us quite a bit of trouble, detective. Why couldn't you just lay the Hughes case to rest?"
"Were you the one that killed him?" questioned Mustang.
"I was not, I'm sorry to say," Lust announced with a wicked smile. "My only job was to find out just how much you knew, not that Jean told me anything." Roy would have to thank Havoc for his discretion later.
"So, Solaris was an alias, just like Lust?" Lust nodded her head in confirmation. "I'll have to screen Havoc's girlfriends more thoroughly from now on."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. You won't be doing much of anything from now on." She cocked the gun she was holding and smiled wider. "It's such a shame, too. You were such a good looking man."
"I wouldn't be too sure if I were you." For the briefest moment, confusion crossed over Lust's face.
"It'll take more than empty threats to bring me to my-"
BANG!
Lust recoiled instantly, the fired shot having just missed her hand. Roy took the momentary lapse of attention and took off running, darting around another corner. Well, at least Hawkeye had managed to get into position. A brief look ahead told him that Havoc was too. He only said one word with which Mustang complied, "Duck!"
Mustang sunk to his knees and slid along the dirt ground. A round of shots was fired from Havoc's gun, but the lack of any other sound indicated that he had failed to hit his target. Without pausing for breath, the head detective sprung back up and took the gun that Havoc threw to him. He whipped around and started retreating backward with the blonde haired detective.
"Breda's in place?" he asked, keeping one eye trained on the space in front of him, the other on Havoc.
"Yeah, everything's set," answered Havoc.
"Then let's hurry." Mustang turned around and pelted down the corridor of containers. A bullet struck the container next to him and Mustang flinched. Havoc threw his gaze backward and stopped. "Keep moving."
"That's Solaris!" Havoc breathed in shock.
"Yeah, your girlfriend's a homicidal maniac. Now dump her and let's move!" Before he could get the man to move, however, another shot was fired and Havoc screamed. The shot had grazed his left thigh. "Damn it, Havoc! Hawkeye, keep her occupied!"
The next shot that was fired proved that she had heard him. Mustang stooped low and hoisted Havoc around his shoulders as the injured man muttered, "Man, I have the worst luck with women."
"It's just a graze! Man up and move it!" Havoc finally seemed to pull it together and helped Mustang move out of the corridor and into an open area that led out of the park. A white van was blocking the exit, and the two moved towards it. More shots were fired in the distance as the two blew past an oil drum and came to rest near the van, turning to face where they had just come from. Moments later, Lust appeared, but both men had their guns aimed at her.
"Really, Jean, a gun?" she simpered.
"You used me," he said with gritted teeth. Mustang could tell the pain of keeping upright was getting to him.
"Of course I used you!" Lust screeched out. "What do you think this body is for? Besides, what woman would want you? You're hardly good looking and your brains are nothing special either."
"Shut up!"
"Did that hurt you?" Lust asked him, taking pleasure in the pain she was causing him. "I never mentioned I could be quite callous."
"I said shut up, you cold bitch!" Havoc yelled, trying to steady his hands.
"Well," she drawled, lazily pointing her gun at him, "I think it's safe to say that we're over."
"Damn it…" Havoc grunted and Mustang saw his legs starting to give out.
"Next time, Havoc, don't bring your personal problems to work," chastised Mustang. "For now, though, I'm ending this."
Lust barely had a chance to blink before Roy fired his gun at the oil drum behind her. It only took a second as Lust turned to look that Mustang grabbed Havoc and threw them both to the ground. The small explosion ripped through the area and Lust was thrown forward, landing on the ground in a heaving heap. Mustang sprang up and kicked the gun from her hands, turning her over.
"Who killed Maes Hughes? ! Tell me!" he screamed at her. She seemed to understand what he was shouting, but merely began laughing. Mustang cocked his gun and aimed it at her head. "Tell me who killed him or so help me, I will blow your brains out!"
"You won't shoot me," she challenged him. "You don't have the guts."
"I have the guts."
"Either way, you need me for your information," chuckled Lust. "You can't kill me." Mustang glanced at her defiant face, and in that moment he made a split decision.
"Try me."
And he fired.
Author's Note: Yes, after three months, I have returned. This chapter eluded me for a very long time, but now I'm back in the swing of things. In fact, I've been so looking forward to the next two chapters, they'll probably come rather quickly. Anyway, I've left you with another cliffhanger, so you'll have to read on to see where the story goes. Nothing much else to say other than I hope I haven't lost my reviewership. On that note, please give a nice big heap of reviews and Dare to Be Silly.