For the first time…I actually can't think of anything to say here. Well…here's Chapter 19, I truly hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 19
"You can't kill me," Lust stated defiantly.
"Try me." And Mustang fired. The shot barely missed her ear, thudding into the hard packed dirt she was lying on. Lust's eyes grew wide from the close call as Mustang stood back up, cocking his gun for another round just in case. "You're right; I won't kill you, because the information you're going to give me is so much more valuable than your dead body."
"I'm not going to tell you anything," she responded teasingly. Roy chuckled mirthlessly.
"Oh, I think you will," he responded with a smirk. "You see, Lust, you've injured one of my friends. I would think it's only fitting I do the same to you. You're completely correct in thinking I won't kill you…but that doesn't mean that I won't shoot you until you bleed. It would be extremely painful, especially since I'll make sure that you don't bleed out…and you won't get any proper attention until you talk to me.
"So, what will it be, Lust?" His threat was strong, he knew that. Regardless, Lust's dark eyes flitted around the area, searching for any means of escape possible. However, she quickly ascertained that there was no way out of this situation.
She breathed in deeply before answering, "Fine. I'll talk."
"Good choice," Mustang responded, still keeping his gun trained on her.
"But not here," she quickly amended. Mustang shrugged. It made no difference to him whether it was here or elsewhere. Before she got another word out, he clocked her on the head with his gun. She was out almost instantly. He didn't want to waste another moment. With three quick strides, he walked to the van and knocked on it thrice. Breda opened the door and stepped out.
"Havoc needs help, he's bleeding," Mustang relayed to him and Breda moved toward the blonde-haired man, crouched on the ground. "Once you've done that, help me grab Lust here, we're taking her to Hawkeye's place."
"You got it, boss." It was a testament to how well-trained these detectives were, as well as how loyal, that they moved without saying a single thing. Within five minutes, Havoc was seated in the back, his leg bandaged in a tourniquet by Hawkeye, Lust was thrown in a corner, still unconscious, and the white van was on its way to Riza's place.
He knew that they were being watched, but more likely than not, he hoped that the events of tonight would allow them to escape detection. After all, the van they were riding in was actually taken from evidence. It wasn't directly linked to any of them or the cases they worked and by the time anyone figured it out, it would be too late. Furthermore, they most likely assumed that Lust had completed her job and so they wouldn't need any surveillance on him tonight. The time frame was nonetheless a small one. He had to get that information from Lust as quickly as possible.
Breda soon pulled the van into the parking garage of Hawkeye's apartment building and parked in front of the stairwell. All too quickly, they had grabbed Lust and stealthily dragged her up the stairs to Hawkeye's apartment. Hawkeye herself placed Havoc on her couch, where he sat regaining his breath. His tourniquet wasn't quite soaked through, so the graze couldn't have been that bad, but he'd at least need to see a doctor to get himself patched up. Mustang wrenched his attention away from his subordinate and instead aided Breda in tying Lust to a sturdy chair and cuffing her as well, for good measure. It was mere moments later that she woke up.
"Time to talk," he commanded as the murderous woman regained control of her senses.
"I want immunity," she finally said after a moment. Mustang's eyes narrowed in on her.
"I don't think so," Mustang responded angrily. "You pulled a gun on a cop."
"Then what are you going to do, detective?" she asked coldly. "Forgive me if talking doesn't completely suit my best interests. Not shooting me will only take you so far." Mustang tilted his head, considering her for a moment.
"All right, I'll take attempted murder off the table, and if you agree to confess in open court should we catch Bradley, I'll have the DA take off some years." Now it was Lust's turn to survey him with mild interest.
"I suppose that's the most generosity I'll get from a cop. Your pockets aren't very big. What do you want to know?"
"Commissioner Bradley, is he the head of Homunculus Corporation?" Mustang asked pointedly.
"You know that he is, but good luck proving it," Lust chuckled out. "Bradley's smart; he's not stupid enough to leave evidence lying around. I don't think anyone in the company knows where he gets his funding from…then again, it's not like I'm in Finance."
"Then what do you do?"
Lust sighed, as though she was tired of these proceedings. "I told you, my job is to get close to potential threats and find out how much they know. On the side, I usually do weapons deals but ever since you became a thorn in our side, I haven't exactly had time off." She glared at him, like it was all his fault that her life sucked right now. Well, he wasn't going to deny that.
"You said you didn't kill Maes Hughes," he stated vehemently, "then who did?"
"I'm not quite sure I can answer that," she said, and for the first time she looked a little nervous. "I know who did it, but I'm not about to rat him out. If he found out, he'd probably cut out my tongue, and then kill me. He likes doing sadistic things like that."
"So it's a he?" Lust's lips twitched into a smirk.
"Yes, a he…though let's face it, that's not very useful, is it? Besides, Bradley may not have pulled the trigger, but he did pull the strings," Lust stated confidently. "That's all you're getting from me about Hughes' murder. I don't really know much more than that. We people in Homunculus Corp tend to keep our business to ourselves so nothing slips through the cracks."
"Then what can you tell me?" Mustang asked, his temper starting to rise.
"I can tell you names…" she admitted. "Names that might be valuable to your investigation."
"Names like Raven?" Lust's smirk didn't falter.
"Raven's one, though at first he wanted nothing to do with us. But what with his wife's hospital bills, he came to see the light. After a while, he became less useful to us at East PD but still useful in general. He's been Bradley's inside man for many years, keeping tabs on all our operatives inside the department."
"So if one of the other corrupt cops was caught or found out, Raven would be the one sent to clean up the mess?" Mustang could feel his heart racing. He was getting close to the truth now.
"More or less. He'd probably even be a reliable source on Bradley," Lust confirmed. A plan was starting to form in Mustang's head, but he needed just a little more information to firmly cement it.
"What other names can you tell me?"
"I only ever dealt with Raven from time to time, so beyond him, I don't know our operatives," Lust said coolly. "However, I do know one other name…a name that I think you'll know quite well. My partner, and yours as well: Vorac, or Gluttony as we know him."
Mustang sat back. It all made sense now. Vorac had never seemed like the sharpest tool in the shed, and the head detective had repeatedly wondered how such a man had made detective over at Central. Now it was obvious: the man never was a detective. He was just a plant by Bradley to observe and report on Mustang. He started smiling, but Lust was still talking and he made sure to focus on her.
"I'll tell you one more thing before I'm out of useful information," Lust stated airily. "Gluttony is indeed one of your corrupt cops, but if you want to out him, you'll have to use me as bait. After all, the only thing Gluttony loves more than food is me. If he believes I'm in danger, then he'll show himself. He's not known for his intelligence." Mustang glanced her over before he stood.
"All right, then," he said, "that'll be enough to work with."
"And you'll take that into consideration for me?" Lust asked.
"We'll see," he stated with his own smirk as hers dropped off. "Havoc, how long do you think you can last without a hospital?"
"How long do you need?" Havoc asked and Mustang was pleased to hear that the words weren't forced. "The pain's gone down, so if you need something done, I can handle it."
"Good," he responded, "stay here, then. Hawkeye, watch after our friend here. Breda, you and I are going to make a stop." A quick "Yes, sir!" later, and both the head detective and Breda were striding from the apartment, Hawkeye's keys jangling in Mustang's hand.
"Do you have some kind of plan, sir?" Breda asked, keeping stride with him.
"It's in progress. I'd need to set a few more pieces first," he muttered distinctly. In truth, Mustang had the plan almost fully formed as soon as Lust had mentioned that Vorac was Gluttony. The other information she gave just made it easier to solidify said plan. Of course, it was going to be a lot more complicated than tonight's plan and would require everyone acting as he hoped they would act. Most of all, however, it was going to require the cooperation of two very key people. As he pulled up to the Elric residence in Resembool, he only hoped they'd be willing.
"Detective Mustang?" came Winry's voice as she opened the door to let them in. "Can I ask why you're here? Did something happen to Ed?"
"Ed should be fine," he assured her, even if he wasn't quite sure himself. Either way, he had to work fast. "Is Alphonse here?"
"Uh…yeah," Winry mumbled distractedly. "I'll go get him for you." Mustang thanked her and she quickly left the foyer. Breda's ringtone went off almost as soon as she was out of earshot.
"Feury's almost in East City, he's wondering what to do," Breda relayed to the head detective.
"Tell him to go to the police station and wait there for further instructions."
"What about your plan?" Breda asked as he continued texting Feury.
"It won't even get off the ground without these two." Thankfully, not a moment more passed before both Alphonse and Winry showed up. Before Al could even utter a word of greeting, Mustang had launched into action. "I need help from the both of you, but I need to know if you're willing to deceive Ed."
"Deceive Ed? !" Winry cried out, the confusion in her voice displaying on Al's face.
"What's going on, detective?" Al asked with a crinkle of his forehead and a narrowing of his eyes. "I thought Ed was with you tonight, but now you're asking us to deceive him."
"Circumstances changed and we received intel that we need to act on immediately. Your brother is the only one that doesn't know this, so if my plan is going to work I'll need your cooperation in deceiving Ed," Mustang explained hurriedly. They really couldn't waste any more time. There was no doubt that Ed was in no mortal danger, but everything hinged on just when Bradley was going to let the forensics specialist go free. "Are you in or out?"
A tiny beat passed between Al and Winry before they both nodded. "What do you need?"
"If something were to happen to you, Alphonse, am I correct in thinking that your brother would do anything and everything to save you as quickly as possible?"
"Yeah…Ed's always been hotheaded like that," Al responded.
"Good, then that'll work," Mustang mused. "As of this moment, Alphonse, you're kidnapped by a woman named Lust, understood?"
"Wait, kidnapped?" Winry questioned. "If Al is kidnapped, then what am I supposed to do?"
"Look, this is how the plan will go," Mustang began to explain, "Alphonse will come with us. We're going to need visual proof that Alphonse has been 'kidnapped'. Meanwhile, Ed will be completely oblivious to this. However, once Ed's with me, you'll receive a text from me. At that point, you'll call my cell phone and ask to speak to Ed. You'll tell him that Alphonse is missing and that there was a note. If I know Fullmetal, he'll instantly set me on looking for his brother."
"But how does that fit into your overall plan?" Breda asked. Mustang smirked and tapped his head.
"I'm keeping that in here for now," he said. "If something does go horribly wrong, I don't want Mrs. Elric's life in danger. So, can the both of you do your parts?"
"Of course."
"Yeah!" Mustang nodded at them in thanks.
"Alphonse, with me. Ms. Winry, if you'll wait for my call." Winry gave him a thumbs up and the three men quickly left the house. It was only when they were well on their way back to East City that Mustang finally spoke again. "Breda, tell Feury to hack into the parking garage at Hawkeye's place."
"Remotely?" Breda questioned skeptically.
"This is Feury we're talking about. He's going to be recording Alphonse held hostage." Breda did as his boss commanded but not without a voiced complaint.
"Sir, why do I get the feeling your plans are getting more complex by the day?"
"That's a good thing," Mustang answered. "The more complex the gambit is, the harder it is for the enemy to figure it out."
"Doesn't help if it's too complex for everybody else partaking in the plan."
"That's why I'm keeping your parts simple," he told him.
"If you say so." But though Breda's tone was skeptical, he said no more complaints as they pulled up to Hawkeye's apartment once again. Thankfully the scene inside the apartment was no different than when they had left. As soon as everybody had settled in, the head detective immediately went to work with his plan.
"Ed is currently at the Bradley residence, we know this for a fact," he began and all four of his companions and his captive had their eyes locked on him. "Likelihood is that Ed will be released because his death or confinement will raise too many questions. Also likely, is that he'll go to the police station right away to report to me or one of you. We can use his ignorance of the situation to our advantage. Thanks to the intel from Lust we know that Vorac, codename Gluttony, is one of the people working for Homunculus Corp. We also know that if Lust was in danger of being captured, he would show himself. If he's captured as well, we'll also be able to lure Raven out and that should give us all the dirt we need on Bradley."
"So what's the plan, sir?" Hawkeye asked as the head detective continued to pace up and down the room.
"It's simple," he said while Breda scoffed. "We are going to trick Ed into thinking that Lust has kidnapped Alphonse. By now, Feury has hacked into the parking garage security feed. We'll give him visual proof so that he doesn't doubt it. At the same time, I'll take Havoc to the hospital. Breda, I want you to wait at the police station until Fullmetal shows up, then bring him to the hospital."
"What should I tell him?" Breda asked.
"Tell him that Lust got away due to Havoc's injury," Mustang replied. "We'll play up Havoc's injury to everyone, but the reality will be that as soon as Ed gets the call that Alphonse has been kidnapped, we'll make our move. Breda, you and I will return to the station with Fullmetal where Feury will tell us he's found Lust."
"Where?"
"Charlene McDougal's old place," Mustang answered with a widened-eye look from Lust. "It's been empty since her death, and is the perfect place for an ambush. Havoc, you'll be behind the door and hopefully, if everything goes well, Gluttony will turn on the rest before they reach the door. We'll use the element of surprise to capture Gluttony!"
"Will you be joining us on this sting, boss?" Havoc inquired.
"Not in the physical sense. I'll pretend that Hawkeye has given me a call and set myself up at the Xenotime Mall. It's not too far and should serve well for meeting Raven. As soon as you've gotten Gluttony, call me and I'll tell you what to do."
"What about myself, sir?" Hawkeye asked.
"I need someone here to keep an eye on Lust," he told her. "Also, call Armstrong and have him sit on the East Grand Hotel; Raven's staying there. If all goes well, we'll have Raven and maybe even Bradley in custody by this afternoon. Any questions?" The silence was his answer. "Good. Hawkeye, get that footage of Alphonse and Lust. Havoc, let's get you to the hospital. Breda, go to Feury and tell him everything. Call me as soon as you and Ed are at the hospital and then hang up."
"Yes, sir!" The affirmation was like music to his ears. Mustang quickly grabbed Havoc, whose leg was thankfully able to sustain his weight, and the two left the others quickly. It didn't take long for them to reach the hospital and soon after Havoc was checked in. Mustang briefly left him after that, returning home to change his clothes to his usual detective ensemble, but making sure to keep himself armed. He returned within the hour.
Now we wait…And wait they did. It was already midmorning by the time that Mustang had rejoined Havoc, who was looking much better. Soon after that, the call came from Breda. It was showtime. As fast as he could, Mustang sent a text off to Winry, outlining what she should say before turning to Havoc. "Argue with me."
"About what?" Havoc asked, confusion spreading rapidly across his face.
"The fact that we let Lust escape. We need to convince Ed that you're stuck here."
"Oh…right," Havoc took a deep breath as the footsteps that no doubt belonged to Ed and Breda came closer. Then Havoc put on his best face of anger and yelled, "You let her go! You don't have time!" Mustang smirked a moment; Havoc's acting skills were better than he thought. Now he just had to play his part.
His smirk dropped off and he responded in kind. "So what do you want me to do? Abandon you?"
"If that's what it takes, then yes!" Havoc screamed. The door opened behind him, but Mustang pretended to not notice, so did Havoc. "You don't have time to waste protecting me. You let this chance slip away, and you'll never get another chance!"
"Havoc…" he growled angrily.
"No! Track down that bitch and get everything you need. I can take care of myself, but you need to catch Hughes' killer and put him behind bars!"
Knowing that Ed was watching, Mustang pretended to consider the fact for a moment before answering, "All right, but you better not drag too far behind."
"I won't," came the defiant and utterly true response. Realizing that their fake argument was now finished, Mustang frowned as he thought of what to do next. Of course, he quickly came to the conclusion that he had to acknowledge Ed's presence…and so he did.
"Fullmetal, you're all right!" he exclaimed loudly.
"Looks that way," Ed breathed out. Mustang noticed that he looked more than exhausted. Of course, being held hostage for a few hours would have probably done that to anyone. "Sorry to hear about your leg, detective."
"It's all right," Havoc responded. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. I have the absolute worst luck with women."
"We all tried to tell you she was bad news, Hav," Breda scolded him. Mustang's eyes darted around the room as the others spoke. It was certainly easier to keep the charade if there was a kernel of truth to everything they were saying. As he went to put his eyes back on Breda and Havoc he heard movement outside and frowned, but when his eyes moved back he saw the figure outside wasn't tense in the slightest. That severely narrowed down who it could possibly be.
"Yeah, I'll make sure to listen next time," Havoc conceded.
"It wasn't like you guys had anything beyond a physical connection, right?" Breda asked.
"Hello! Cold bitch she might be, but did you see the boobs on her?"
"They were only all too noticeable," Mustang remarked irritably, just as he figured out who was lurking behind the door. "You know, Rebecca, we're not stopping you from coming inside." There was a sound outside and Rebecca walked in the room with a scowl on her face.
"I figured that I'd wait until your discussion about female anatomy was finished," she snarled and Mustang frowned at her. "Riza called me to tell me that you were injured, so I came to bring a get well present."
"Thanks, Rebecca, you're the best! I think I might love you!" Havoc said in delight as he took the pack of cigarettes she had brought. Mustang, on the other hand, wasn't quite so pleased. Rebecca shouldn't have even been there to begin with.
"Uh-huh," Rebecca murmured, "I figured you needed a pick-me-up after I heard you dropped the skank."
"You were right…" Havoc mumbled as he kissed his cigarette box. It took only a few more seconds for Rebecca to explode, drawing the head detective's thoughts away from his own gripes to that of his assaulted subordinate. "Ow! What the hell was that for, Becca? !"
"You are such an idiot, Jean Havoc!" she screeched, slapping him on the shoulder. "You're an oblivious, chain-smoking, womanizing, idiotic asshole!" Havoc was at an obvious loss for words, but Mustang merely quirked an eyebrow. After all of her machinations, Rebecca was very much disregarding everything she had tried to do. It made Roy chuckle inside. Then she kissed Havoc and even the stoic head detective couldn't stop his jaw from dropping a little, completely forgetting his previous annoyance. "I have been trying to catch your eye for over a year, but you've been so concerned with Big-Breasted Babes A, B, and C that you just pass completely over me."
"I-I…" Havoc stammered out in response to Rebecca's declaration. Rebecca stood back proudly.
"Jean Havoc, I like you and I'm willing to go out with you if you'd just notice me. So pull your head out from under your ass and do so!" There was a small moment where Havoc merely gazed at her open-mouthed before she added, "But not until I've gotten that rule repealed."
"They'll work it out…" Mustang whispered to Ed who was still staring at the scene with a dumbfounded expression. Mustang's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. The game was on. "Excuse me a moment."
"Detective Mustang? It's Winry," answered the female voice of Ed's wife.
"Uh-huh, yeah…" Mustang spoke into the phone with tension, filling the space to make it seem like a normal conversation. "He's right here, actually. Hey, Fullmetal, call's for you."
Ed took the phone reluctantly as Mustang turned his thoughts away. So far the plan was fine and he could only hope that Winry was as good an actress as Havoc. Of course, there was still the problem of Rebecca. There was no doubt in his mind that Rebecca had been the one to call Riza, though she would never admit it. Truthfully, Rebecca's presence would probably help to sell the deception, but mostly he was hoping that Rebecca wouldn't hamper Havoc down in his movements. Mustang stole a quick and inquiring glance at Ed who was lowering the phone with wide eyes.
"Al's been kidnapped by Lust," he said and Mustang focused, as though those had been the magic words. In a way, they were.
"Time to go, Breda," he snapped and he whipped out of the room with purpose, Ed and Breda behind him. "You're sure it was Lust, Fullmetal?"
"The note Winry mentioned didn't exactly name names, but she wanted to 'finish her job' on you and the others, so that obviously means she wants to kill you. It's the only thing that makes sense!"
"Right," Mustang quickly agreed. The plan was already going better than anticipated. "Breda, call Feury and tell him we're on our way to the station now. And tell him that he better have results by the time we get there or there'll be hell to pay! You ride with me, Fullmetal." Thankfully, Ed agreed and soon the two of them were on their way. Breda would no doubt have told Feury to bring up the fake footage by the time they got there, so everything would work out. Ed, clearly, wasn't so sure.
"This is your fault, Mustang! You had Lust pinned but you just had to let her escape. Now, she's taken my brother hostage in exchange for you!"
"I did the best I could!" Mustang retorted, not really looking for an argument. "I had an injured detective and I needed information. I didn't exactly think she was a threat, but I underestimated her."
"Now Al's paying the price…" Ed muttered out.
"I seriously doubt you'd have done anything different under the circumstances." Ed refused to say anything more and that suited the head detective. Soon after, they arrived at the station and bounded out. As soon as they were inside, Breda began the next part of the plan.
"We got a lead, boss!"
"You've found Lust, then?" Mustang asked loudly, hoping to draw as much attention as possible. Feury turned around to answer him.
"I was having trouble locating her until Detective Breda called," Feury told them. "Once he told me that Alphonse was taken hostage I started tracking his cellphone. Your brother's pretty smart, Ed, he must've hidden his phone so she wouldn't find it."
"So you found him through his phone?" Ed asked eagerly, his eyes focused on Feury. Mustang reached surreptitiously into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, pretending to answer a call.
"Well, after a minute or two, the signal cut off so I figured that they entered a parking garage. I started scanning security cameras and found this." Feury then showed the footage they had managed to record at Hawkeye's parking garage. "That was underneath an apartment at 3rd and Elton about three minutes ago."
"3rd and Elton?" Mustang said, lowering his phone. "That's Charlene McDougal's old place…it's been abandoned since her death. Never thought she'd use such an old location. Breda, I want you to take Feury and Fullmetal there and take her out."
"What about you, sir?" Breda asked, prompting Mustang to hold up his phone.
"Hawkeye called. Something happened and I need to find out what."
"With all respect, sir, I don't think three people will be enough, especially when one is completely untrained." Mustang pretended to think about this before glancing over at his desk. Vorac-Gluttony was sitting at his desk, looking greedily at a plate of donuts. Well, it was a good thing he was the man's boss.
"Hey, Vorac!" Gluttony looked up and saw him, waddling over seconds later. "I need you to go with Breda and the others here."
"Why?" he asked irritably.
"Havoc's out of commission and we need a fourth man to take Lust down." It was like magic. Gluttony's nose crinkled and his eyes widened. He was scared. "Remember, Lust is considered armed and dangerous and must be taken with extreme caution. Your first priority is to make sure that Alphonse Elric is safe, however. Call me when it's done." As soon as the words left his mouth, Mustang was gone. He knew that if he stayed there any longer, there was a chance either Ed or Vorac could unveil the possibility of a sting.
Of course, moving at the speed that he did, he had soon cleared the station itself and was in his car. The Xenotime Mall was only twenty minutes away by car and it would take them roughly half an hour to get up to Charlene McDougal's old place while being fully equipped. Either way, he had to hurry. He had chosen the Xenotime Mall because it was far enough away from East City but there were enough people to guarantee his safety there. Now he just hoped everything else went according to plan.
Twenty minutes later, the head detective had arrived and quickly made his way to the food court, the most populated location in the mall, particularly for a late Sunday morning. He checked his watch as he sat an unoccupied table. There were numerous people at the fast-food joints, a group of teenagers giggling as they weaved through the tables, families enjoying their meals with one another, and a man silently unfolding his newspaper as he sat down two tables away, his face covered by the voluminous paper. It seemed like a perfect situation for the head detective.
Moments later his phone rang and he answered it, hearing the words he wanted to hear. "Boss, we got him. Are you in position?"
"I'm set up here," Mustang confirmed. "All right, here's what you should do. Gluttony should have a phone on him somewhere. Pick it up and call the first number on speed dial, likely Raven in the case of emergencies. Tell them 'We have both Lust and Gluttony. If you don't meet Roy Mustang at the Xenotime Mall in twenty minutes we will book them on attempted murder of a police officer.' After that, hang up and tell me what they said." Breda quickly gave his acknowledgement and Mustang sat back to wait.
A phone rang loudly across the food court and Mustang saw the newspaper-reading man reach into his pocket to answer the call. His voice was just as loud as his call. "I guess it's time for me to do some cleaning up then." Mustang had no further time to dwell on it since Breda was back on the line.
"He said, 'I guess it's time for me to do some cleaning up then'."
Roy Mustang's heart stopped. His phone tumbled from his grasp, hitting the floor with a practically inaudible clatter. The man who had taken the phone call was tucking his phone away, placing the newspaper neatly onto the table, next to a magazine. Mustang knew him. He had seen him before, the very day that Kimblee had come to East. Mustang stood, almost unaware of his own actions as he floated over to the table where the man sat, pleasantly humming.
"Excuse me," Mustang said forcefully and the man looked at him inquisitively. "Who were you on the phone with just now?"
"I don't think that's any of your business," the man replied.
"Just tell me," he ordered.
"Look do I have to call security?" Mustang's eyes narrowed and suddenly the man laughed. "I'm just kidding Head Detective Mustang. You're such a stick in the mud! Please, take a seat. The name's Envy, though I would suppose you know me as Detective Jealot, right? Yeah, I followed you from the police station…figured you were up to something."
Mustang took a seat warily, eyeing Envy the whole time. "I was expecting Raven."
"Raven?" Envy cajoled. "That old man's barely worth the time it would take to crap on him. He's pathetic. Besides, you and your marry little band have moved far beyond the need for a slap on the wrist. They don't call me in for negotiation."
"So you are a part of Homunculus Corp?" Mustang asked, his hand sliding stealthily towards his gun.
"Naturally…" Envy admitted, a leering smile beaming off his face. "Ah ah, gun on the table, unless you want me to use my own to plaster some of these civilian's brains to the wall. Wouldn't that be fun?" Mustang glanced down and saw the gun hidden beneath the magazine, the newspaper now covering it as well. Scowling to himself, he grabbed his own weapon and slid it across the table. "I've been waiting to meet you, you know."
"We've met before," Mustang growled in response.
"As Detective Jealot. That was just a cover. I've always wanted to meet you as Envy."
"And why would that be?" Envy cocked an eyebrow and laughed maliciously.
"Because it's you: the great Roy Mustang, hero of the police force in Ishval, youngest head detective on a search for vengeance for his best friend Hughes. Bradley tells me you're on quite the crusade." Envy crossed his legs as he leaned back to survey the head detective. "Not that you were a problem until the pipsqueak came to East."
"What's Fullmetal got to do with this?"
"You weren't a problem until he started helping you," Envy remarked with a scowl. "We thought you'd all but given up on the case. Hah, guess we shouldn't underestimate vengeance as a motive. Didn't help that the pipsqueak's target was connected to yours, though you didn't notice it until late in the game."
"And now I'm too much of a threat, aren't I?" Mustang asked Envy who leaned forward with a gleam in his eye.
"Threat? You're nothing more than an ant to us."
"Really? Then why are they sending you to talk with me?"
"Like I said, I'm not here for negotiation. I'm here for threats," Envy said, slamming his hand on his gun for emphasis. "I usually make good on my threats."
"I thought I wasn't enough of a problem," Mustang said smugly.
"We don't care if you keep running after a man you're never going to catch, but if you expose half of our operatives, then we have a problem." Envy sighed theatrically. "So, here's the deal. You're going to back off or you might find some poison in your drink."
"I highly doubt you'd be smart enough to get away with killing a cop," Mustang scoffed.
"Really? 'Cause I've been getting away with it for two years!" Now his stomach fell out. There was something in the gleeful tone of Envy's voice and the leering smile on his face that said his words contained a terrible truth. Fear replaced calm and a desperation suddenly entered Mustang's mind. "That's right…I killed Maes Hughes."
"Hughes was a skilled detective. He wouldn't have been killed by the likes of you," Mustang contested.
"Maybe so, but then again," Envy said with a shrug before his voice changed, "I don't think he'd expect a trick like this." Mustang's eyes widened. Envy's voice had unmistakably turned into that of Gracia Hughes.
"N-not possible…" Envy laughed with unsuppressed glee.
"Ohhh….you should see your face! That's exactly how Hughes looked. I've always been good with disguises but the look on his face was just priceless! He thought his wife was right there, before I shot him! Three times! In the chest!" Envy's face was maniacal now and Mustang could only stare at him with horror. "You don't know the rush it gave me! And when I bent down to put the bloody phone back on the hook, I could smell the cinnamon and apple pie. Too ironic that it was the same thing you had on the day I met you!
"It brought back such wonderful memories of that night! The second I smelled it, I knew just what it was. It was…ahhh…exhilarating!"
"You killed Hughes?" Mustang growled, his brain finally catching up to what was going on.
"Yes, I did. Never have I seen such an enjoyable death, before or since," Envy remarked, glancing down at his watch. "Well, I'm afraid that's all the time I have to talk. Be sure to keep this conversation in mind." Envy gathered up his things from the table, including Mustang's gun, and stood, beginning to walk away. Mustang himself stood before he got too far.
"Envy, wait!" he cried, a pleading, almost desperate tone that almost sickened him to hear. Envy turned back, the wicked smile still on his face.
"What is it? You want to know more about how Hughes died? Because I remember it all. Every. Single. Second." Mustang only stared at him a moment, the blood pounding in his ears. Then he plunged his hand into his coat pocket, and before Envy could react-
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Envy staggered for a moment, glancing at the three holes in his chest. He looked shocked as he glanced at Mustang. "Three times, wasn't it, Envy? You talk too much."
Envy's body fell, hitting the cold floor as screams pierced the air around it. The guns in his possession tumbled out into plain view and his eyes stared upward, unblinking and unseeing. Envy, the man who had shot Hughes, was dead. Calmness filling him again, Roy sat back down at the table, placing his hidden gun on it, and breathed deeply as he waited for the cops who would come to the scene.
Author's Note: BAM! I've been waiting to write this part since word 1! Yes, Roy has shot Envy, so what's going to happen now? Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter. By the way, the inspiration for this scene was taken from a popular TV Show. Bonus points to anyone who can guess which one. Now, a quick note on Lust in case anyone wants to call me out on it: Lust in this story is a hybrid of both the manga and first anime. She is just as cold and vicious as the manga but is also very self-serving like her anime counterpart. This is the reason she helps Mustang so willingly. Anyway, I hope that the excitement of this chapter garners me a review…we're almost at 200! Well, Chapter 20 will come soon, so be patient, review, and Dare to Be Silly.