A/N: 'Morning! Long chapter ahead of us, with some more development for Roy's plan to overtake the country and turn it into a democracy. As per warning - swearing, mild violence and things that could have turned into something graphic, but that's going to be for the next chapter. As for now, thank you very much for reading!
Don't forget to review/follow/favourite! I'm waiting for your thoughts!
Alright now, on with the slaughter...
Chapter 22 – Foreign affairs
The phone rang loudly on Jean Havoc's desk. He raised his eyes and looked over the newspaper he had been reading for the third time that evening. He eyed the ringing device, but didn't move to answer. The receiver was vibrating so heavily he could bet it was going to fall of the phone's body.
He didn't make any bets, though. He took pity on the poor old phone and picked up the receiver, blowing a cloud of smoke to free his mouth. He cleared his throat and placed the device to his ear. "Yes?" he replied, chewing slowly on the cigarette's filter.
A female chuckled over the line. "Jean, sweetie? I've heard there's a party at Roy-Roy's, everyone's going!"
'A what?' Jean thought, almost chocking on the cigarette. His former commanding officer instructed him he might have to get Edward and his brother out of the city, then Lieutenant Hawkeye told him that he went missing and that she also didn't know where Fullmetal was, and now the nice and lovely Miss Carol from the Telephonic Central was telling him the boss was gathering everyone at his house.
He wondered what happened to make the man who loathed having anyone over at his house have such a change of heart.
He talked for a bit with the blonde aid and then hung up. He crushed the cigarette bud, his eyes wandering to the world outside his window. He did what he always did when the boss had someone call in his stead, and that was assessing the situation outside.
He couldn't see anything burning, that was good. There was no smoke, that was good as well.
But he could smell something burning, instead.
"Oh, shit!" he exclaimed. "Not again!" he groaned, patting a burn hole in his polished desk. He missed the ashtray by mere centimetres and extinguished the cigarette right on his wonderfully shining desk. He had just polished it for the same reason the previous week.
He grunted at the newfound hole in the protective coat. It was identical to another at least a dozen other holes, made in the same circumstances. Some associates of his boss called, they said something surprising, and he crushed his cigarette in the wood.
He should ask Mustang for a new desk, he decided. It was his fault that his black oak one was ruined.
He groaned some more and opened the door to the vast storage of ammunition and guns. He wanted to light another cigarette, but he remembered what Ed advised him.
Yes, he knew he wasn't supposed to smoke in a place where everything could ignite, but that was the thrill of the job, right?
He sheathed his black turtleneck sweater and looked down at his heavy black boots. He despised unlacing them, they had too many loops and were too hard to pull out from his large feet. He tugged at them, barely freeing half of his foot when his sister came to his rescue.
"When will you learn to unlace your shoes, Jean?" she asked, giggling like she did when they were children and her older brother still couldn't get off his shoes. He might have been older, but that didn't mean he was defter when it came to little things like laces.
"Shut up, Marie, and help me out" he said, pointing at his boot. "You were the one who said I should wear these cursed things, which look good on me, alright, but I can't possibly take them off"
"Weren't you supposed to wait for the Elrics?" she asked as she helped Jean with his laces. He never admitted it, but he still had a little difficulty in properly bending his knees, so she didn't complain when he needed a hand with his shoes. She might have been his younger sister, but she had to look after her charge. She always had.
"No longer, apparently. Riza told me the boss went missing like three hours ago, but now Miss Carol called and said I have to go to his place"
"His place?" Marie made. "I thought he never asked for anyone there. Do you know where to go?"
"Evidently, I used to drive him around, remember? Had to drag his ass out of bed a few times, you know" Jean retorted chuckling. "Thanks, Sis" he said when Marie finished with his boots. "I don't know what I would do without you"
"Get a wife, Jean, one that knows how to take shoes off" she jested and patted Jean on the knee. "Then you won't need me anymore"
"Ha, ha, get lost, Sis" he ushered the woman who was now bending over in a fit of laughter. He pulled up some street pants and a knitted sweater and slipped his feet in some well-worn shiny shoes, far more comfortable that the assault boots. He loved them very much, they had been his constant companion over the years of military covert missions, but they were a pain when he had to sit down and wait.
Deeming himself ready for a walk out in the city, he pulled a strand of golden hair behind his ear and went to salute his sister. "Marie! I'm going out!" he yelled after her. She must have been reading the stock reports from their family store, she took the papers with her to look over them as she kept Jean company.
"Sure, Jean!" she yelled back. She ran to him, smiling toothily. "Do you think Riza will be there too?" she asked innocently.
"Most likely. Why?"
Marie gripped the door frame with a sly smile on her face. "She's a nice girl, Jean. You should bring her over, Mamma will love her"
"Get out of here, Marie!" he called after the fleeing woman, giggling as she ran away from him. If he had his heavy boots at hand, he would have thrown them after her.
He snorted at his sister's antics. She was going to marry soon with that doctor of hers, Harold, and now the whole family wanted him married too. Even their sweet mother who never pushed his buttons started nagging him with ideas of marriage. He was getting sick and tired of them.
He couldn't keep one single girlfriend, how could he possibly get married? Maybe if he paid them, one poor soul would accept him, but he wasn't sure that's how things worked.
He got out of the deposit his boss sometimes used as a safe house and lit a cigarette. He pushed his hands deep in his pockets and reflected. What could possibly make his former commanding officer request a meeting at his own house? He never did such things, they had a million other places to gather at besides his home.
He kicked a pebble out of his way, sending it flying under the wheels of an incoming car. He looked at the vehicle, a big great beast with little flags at its rear windows.
Flags... Amestris' flag...
He smiled. It was the first time he ever missed the annual gathering of troops. Even when he was still sentenced to a life in the wheelchair, he still went to that damned parade.
Only this year, he had not.
He had to understand he was no longer an officer. He knew it, but he didn't fully come to terms with it. He was the man from the shadows now, not someone from the front lines. He no longer needed to go to those events.
But thanks to Mustang, he had something better to do.
He hoped that whatever awaited him at the man's residence was good enough to compensate for his boredom in the storage.
Jean had to walk a considerable distance, but the tone in Miss Carol's voice told him he didn't have to rush. He looked up at the moon, clouded by the slight smoke coming from the fireworks from that night's show. He had always liked fireworks, they were so bright and beautiful.
He smiled when he saw Mustang's car, neatly parked in his vast garden. He didn't bother calling at the front doorbell, instead he followed the long fence to the back yard. He entered the narrow alley behind the big manse and knocked shortly.
He didn't have to wait long for someone to answer him.
"Havoc, so good that you've came" Hawkeye greeted him, her eyes weary.
"Howdy, Hawkeye" he saluted as he crushed his cigarette in his sole. "What's going on?" he asked.
The woman shrugged and looked down. "Believe me when I say I'm not quite sure"
"How so? Thought you were the only one of us to know what is going on. The world is getting queerer by the day, Hawk" he teased.
She had to snort at that. "I know, I know! Anyway, what I do know is that we have a drenched General and an Edward covered in blood in the living room, along with the whole team and some more"
"Um, alright... that should be interesting enough" he said and patted the Lieutenant on the shoulder with a smile.
Damn, he liked that woman a bit too much, he mused as he entered the living room.
What hit him first was the stale smell of mud and rot. Next, he saw his former colleagues from work on the couch, talking and laughing together. Breda was the loudest, who was apparently telling a joke when he had interrupted them. He could see Major Armstrong with his sister and her loyal subordinate on the other side of the couch, engaged in a conversation with a girl... Winry, if he remembered her name right. He didn't know how she landed there, but there she was.
He noticed the youngest of the Elric brothers talking with Falman, and next to him was a sight to behold, staring an Edward with blood in his hair and a Mustang rubbing mud off his own, his clothes caked with dirt and torn around the middle. He had a small pond under his feet, but he seemed positively cheerful.
And next to him, there was Crendell. Didn't the boss tell him the man was undesirable? What was he doing in Mustang's living room, sitting on his armchair?
He looked at Hawkeye in disbelief. "Excuse me, boss, you know I'm not one to comment on your decisions, but what the fuck is going on? Why are you filthy and why's the chief covered in blood? And what's this guy doing here?" he pointed to Crendell. "'course, if you don't mind me askin', boss"
Roy lifted his eyes from Edward, to whom he was previously talking. "Ah, good that you're here, Havoc. If everyone's seated, please pardon me, I will go change into something that doesn't have grime leaking out of it"
"That'd be the time, you've made a mess out of the floor with that filth! You've ruined the carpet, dammit!" Edward exclaimed, pushing Roy out of the room.
"Chief, you are dirty too" Havoc noticed as he took Roy's place beside him.
"Yeah, but I don't stink"
"Yes, you do, Fullmetal" Olivier Armstrong noticed from her chair. "Go wash off that thing, I don't want mushrooms growing out of your hair. It's enough Mustang cut out our air supply with that stench of his. We won't be stealing anything, we've got your precious Hawk's eyes on us" she tilted her head to Mustang's secretary.
Edward shrugged and followed the muddy trail Roy left behind him.
Havoc shifted from a leg to another, looking around in the room. That was the old team, with a few additions, but damn his life, he couldn't feel at ease. He saw them talking to each other, laughing and commenting at various things, but he could notice they were as confused as him.
"Now, seriously, I want to know what is going on" he said, taking another cigarette and putting it behind his ear for later. If he remembered well, the General let him smoke in the kitchen from time to time.
"Calm down, blondie" the female General said, "we know as much as you do as to why we are here"
"I think it has something to do with what happened at the exercise. We've had some really interesting events today" Crendell trailed.
"No shit, what are you doing here, again?" Breda asked, folding his arms over his belly.
"That's the same thing I was asking!" Jean pouted, pointing at the green eyed General. "What's he doing here?"
Crendell sighed and shook his head. "I feel so much love coming from anyone associated with Mustang, I think I might choke on it"
"Aren't we a loving bunch?" Roy asked as he came back inside the living room. He had a mop in his hands, which he leaned on the wall. He cracked open one of the windows, smelling the fresh air outside. "Much better" he deemed with a smirk.
He ran a hand through his damp hair, yet very much cleaner than before. He had a rather difficult time taking off all the things that caught in his hair from when he helped Jansen, but he managed it quite alright.
He silently took the mop from where he put it and cleaned the patch of murky water he left in the room. After he wiped it clean, he dropped the mop on the floor and patted his hands on his clean black trousers.
"Havoc, you can smoke, you know" he said with a little smile. Havoc nodded cheerfully and took the crystal ashtray Roy had kept for special occasions.
Edward came in not too long after, his hair shining in the electric light and pulled up in a high pony tail. He had a towel on his shoulders and another in his hand, which he threw at Roy. He caught it with deft moves born out of the necessity to catch whatever his blond lover threw at him.
"Havoc, to the window! Now!" Ed jerked his hand to emphasize what he said, frowning at Jean's cigarette.
"Aye, chief!" Havoc replied, chuckling. He had always loved Ed's face when he sent him to smoke at the window, he looked like a child dismissing a playful fluffy dog. He grabbed a chair, put it in front of the opened window and took a seat on it. "Happy, now?" he mocked.
"You can stomp that cigar of yours anytime now, Havoc" Ed retorted.
The older Elric frowned and wanted to say something, but his brother cut him sharply. "Brother, don't be rude!"
"Nah, don't mind him, Al" Jean said, taking another drag. "We all know how short his-" he paused, looking evilly at the young state alchemist "-temper is" he finished with a daring grin.
Ed had to bite his cheek not to make a scene. Olivier started laughing. "What on Earth have you done to the poor kid, Mustang? He should have been on the ceiling from being called a midget with an attitude!"
Roy shrugged. "Puberty" he deadpanned.
"Don't get me started, bastard..." Ed sneered.
"What, you haven't reached it yet? Oh, my bad!" Mustang said nonchalantly.
Edward's eyes narrowed dangerously. He rolled the towel around his shoulders and hit Roy's hip with it. The man jumped like he was on fire and lifted his own towel up. "White towel! See, I surrender"
"Sir, that's not how it works" Hawkeye sighed disapprovingly, putting a hand to her forehead.
"No?"
"No. There has to be a flag"
"Damn" Roy made. "Well, sorry Fullmetal, I think I'm starting to confound a towel with a flag. I guess that's what happens when you stay all day with small people, you can't tell sizes anymore"
Ed snorted. That was lame even for Roy, he had to admit. "I think you should check your eyes, Mustang, you start seeing things again"
"Hey, boss, don't joke about the chief's height!" Breda defended. "He's like a little brother to us, we don't mock family. A very little brother, but still, he's ours"
"Well, at least he's my big brother, let's give him at least that. Let him be big at least to me" Alphonse said, shifting in his chair. Realising what he had said, he hastily added "Funny how they've always thought I was the older one"
"Inside a two meters tall armour, I would have said the same, if I didn't know the truth" Miles said honestly. Everyone looked at the Ishbalan like they have seen him for the first time. "What? I first didn't notice Fullmetal next to his brother, don't look at me like that. It's good his hair stood out, or I wouldn't have seen him"
"Couldn't see him from your height, huh?" Roy asked. "I know what you mean! He's so hard to see sometimes"
"Let's drink to Fullmetal's height, I say!" Olivier toasted with her water glass. "And we would be toasting with wine if Mustang wasn't such a cheapskate and kept us on dry. Or on water, as a matter of fact"
"I would be toasting to that if I had a glass" Roy agreed and put his empty hands in front of him. "But it's hard to get to them, Fullmetal put them on the lowest shelf so he could reach them"
"And your old bones start cracking when you bend, we know" Ed jumped.
"Hey, Elric, don't call Mustang old! He's younger than me" the Armstrong General heard herself say. Miles quirked his eyebrows. "That makes you ancient, Sir" he said testily.
Olivier turned her head to her former subordinate, eyes boring daggers. "Remind me again, whom are you working for?"
"For me, Major General, not you, remember? Or is the old age not treating you gently?" Roy asked, clapping his hands to gather all eyes on him. "However pleasant it might be discussing Fullmetal's unimpressive height and Armstrong's venerable age, it isn't the reason for which I've gathered you all here"
"I hope it wasn't, boss" Breda commented. "We all agree on these aspects, right?"
"For the sake of feminine pride, I'm not gonna say anything about the Lady General, but I agree on Ed's height. Ain't he small, this runt?" Winry interrupted, sipping on her glass of water.
"Ain't this runt gonna stop using your maintenance services for his automail? Two automail limbs, mind you!" Edward defended himself, dangling his metallic leg in the air.
"Brother, you've just called yourself a runt"
Ed blushed. He did call himself that, didn't he? He hurriedly added "Let's hear what Mustang has to say, shall we?"
"Am I hearing right, Ed, or did you ask the boss to start talking?" Havoc asked from his place in front of the window. He rolled the bud of the lit cigarette, watching how clouds of smoke danced in front of his eyes. "You were right, Crendell, some really interesting things are going on today"
At that, all eyes turned to Crendell. He took a defensive position. "Don't look at me like that, I haven't done anything"
"But you will" Roy started. He walked to one of the many cabinets in the living room. He got out a few bottles of liquor and gave them to Hawkeye, and pulled a few glasses out. "Anyone wishes for some coffee or tea?" he asked, ducking his head under the many lower shelves to look for teacups.
A few hands raised. "Coffee, Sir, I think it will splendidly do" Falman talked in everyone's name, followed by an approving hum.
Hawkeye felt herself needed for the task of brewing the said beverage. She was however stopped by Ed, who lifted his flesh hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I'll make it. Mustang, make sure you talk loud enough so I can hear you from the kitchen, alright?" he commanded, leaving the room with his hands in his pockets.
Roy nodded and turned his attention to his audience. "Alright, everyone help themselves to whatever you want. Now that we've managed the pleasantries, I will get to the point of our meeting. As you all know, today has happened a very interesting thing. If some of us may recall, some good years ago, when we were stationed in the East, we had a mission to capture a certain retired Mirror Alchemist"
"The one with the bullets shooting back at us, is that it?" Havoc asked from his little cloud of smoke.
"Yes, that one" Roy agreed. "Today I had the pleasure of reencountering him, and unfortunately he is no longer with us to stand for trial. You all have noticed my previous attire, I must admit it was a very exciting affair. Nevertheless, this good fellow proved himself rather useful on the last part of our meeting, drawing my attention to a very interesting phenomenon. It seems like more and more governments want me shorted by the head, and this time I have some names attached to the respective countries. What I mean to is that we, at last, have the needed material to incriminate some of the more difficult politicians from around our borders"
"Blackmail, Sir? Isn't that a bit far from how we are normally working?" Fuery perked up.
"No, of course not! I don't like the idea of blackmail, but we can use the fact that I apparently have a price on my head to ask them to let us continue our projects in peace. It won't be blackmailing them with some dirty secrets, but reminding them that killing me won't solve much. Call it... a business proposal"
"Making deals with those who want you dead, Roy? Stupid move, maybe bold, but stupid" Edward commented as he came back with a steaming pot of coffee. Those around the low table poured themselves some in their awaiting cups, some spiking it with brandy or scotch.
Ed poured himself some of the dark liquid in his fiery red mug and handed Roy his own blue one. He then put some sugar cubes in another and stirred the brew until the sugar dissolved. He took it to Havoc. "There you go" he offered to the smoking man, who in turned nodded his thanks.
"Not at all, actually" Roy said, nursing to his steaming coffee. "I think it is high time we changed our foreign policy. We are fighting for installing a true democracy, yet we have a very poor relationship with the outer states. So here is what I suggest doing. We will very boldly declare we know about the attempts at my life and come up with deals that will help our countries cross some bridges. I mean to develop our state by the help of the others, and in turn aid to their own modernisation. I do not need to blackmail some dignitaries and make them dig our own mess from under the carpet. We have enough as it is, we don't need any more"
"And those who don't agree or like your terms?" Hawkeye brought up, earning a smile from Roy.
"Why, we make them like my terms"
XXXXX
Two hours ago, at the military parade grounds
Roy smiled sweetly at his blond lover, who in turn frowned. It took him a while to notice they had company around them, friendly faces, alright, but still company. They were supposed to minimalize their intimacy in front of anybody else, but here they were, completely carried away in the spur of the moment.
Now, with both their feet on the ground, they've realised their slip.
Or at the very least Edward did. He wasn't that sure about the older alchemist, who preferred to watch him sheepishly. "I think we kind of screwed up" he said, and Roy agreed. "Probably"
He shook some of the water off his hair and advanced to the little group that was staring at them. He practically dragged Ed after him. He stopped for a moment to look at them all.
The two Northmen were absolutely passive to their little show, their faces blank with only a little trace of understanding. Winry beamed, happy in her own selfless way. She tightly held on Alphonse's forearm, who in his stead looked a little out of place. He didn't know what to make at the display, still having problems with picturing his brother with the older man.
But Crendell's face was the most story-telling. He had so many emotions shifting on his face, it was hard to put a finger on the most evident one.
But Roy didn't have to think too much on it, as the man himself verbalised his most intense feeling. "What is the meaning of this?"
Roy dismissed the elder with the back of his hand, and instead turned his attention to the other four people. "Is anyone from my team alerted?"
"Yes, we've spoken to Lieutenant Hawkeye, and she must have told the others, as far as I am aware" Armstrong replied and patted her subordinate's shoulder. "Let's go and tell her we've found our missing stallion" she said and started walking away.
"Major, tell them to go to my house" Roy then turned to Al and his wife. "You know my telephonist, Al? The lady with blond hair and red lips?"
Al looked down, trying to remember who that was. "Err, I think I know her, she's the one who was telling you to stop flirting over the president's line!"
"That's her. She lives on the third floor of the big red bricks house on Imperial Street, at number twelve. Go to her place, she has a yellow door, the only one on the floor, tell her you are Fullmetal's brother and that I've sent you to announce Havoc to come to my house. To tell him Roy is having a party, yes? I know for a fact her place isn't under anyone's surveillance, so you can go at leisure"
"Alright, we can do that" Winry said and caught her husband's hand and fled the scene before he could protest.
Crendell watched the young couple go and then turned his attention back to his cadet. "May I know what is the meaning of this, Mustang? I knew you've always had a great love for your subordinates, but I wasn't aware it went that far"
"How's so, General, are your sources failing you?" Roy retorted. "You should change them"
"Are you implying I have someone following you? Oh, please, Mustang, I'm not as interested in your life as you think I am. I merely don't want you especially dead, but that doesn't mean it would terribly trouble me"
"And here I was thinking how nice of you it was that you cared. Or you were just saying it for the show that you followed me to... how did you put it... oh, protect me?"
"I have admitted I don't want you dead, but my reasons aren't awfully noble or altruistic"
"That I know, don't worry. I have an intriguing file, right? Very interesting how I have no family records, even though you know I had lived with my parents for a while, no? I happen to know when someone is trying to sniff into my personal affairs. Call it intuition"
Crendell's jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything. "Funny how you've just happened to know that my parents were killed, don't you think? There's no need to lie, you've been trying to figure me out from the moment we've met, when I was just a trainee. I was interested in you, myself, so why not be honest?"
"You know it can cast a very dark shadow upon your carefully built image if anyone were to find you were sleeping with your subordinate, not to mention a man" Crendell pointed out.
"Wow, now, who said he was?" Edward protested.
"You just did, with your flaming up. Mustang, you understand the consequences"
"Oh, very well I do, but you must also understand the consequences of your betrayal of the state, don't you, Crendell? Don't blush here, pal, you know what I'm talking about"
"You wouldn't" the General said.
"I would, don't you worry. I'm not that honourable, as you've very well said, I'm sleeping with my subordinate. Why should I care about you? I've been asking the Fuhrer for a while why you aren't facing the firing squad, and he has been asking himself the same thing. He told me to announce him when I'm becoming tired of you. A certain state alchemist that I've met many years ago in Ishbal told me the gunshots sound magnificent in autumn, they go splendidly with the falling leaves"
"Are you threatening me?" Green eyes stared into coal ones.
Edward snorted loudly. "Yes, for the Truth's name, he is threatening you. Can you two at least try to cut each other somewhere more privately, eventually closer to home? Your blood is fucking sticky, Mustang, I'd kill you with my own hands right now for a shower. Stop giving me more reason to want you dead"
"Blood is sticky, Fullmetal" Roy said, looking at his dirty nails. "If you kill me, you would be even stickier"
"Reason enough to get your shit together and take our leave. You two can threaten each other on the way home" the blond scolded and took his own advice of leaving.
Crendell measured up Edward's retreating form. "He doesn't mess around"
"No, not really" Roy stated proudly. "Come on, I know for a fact he doesn't usually go back from his words, and I still value my life" he said and pushed the man with his finger. "Let's go. We'll talk as we walk. You just make sure nobody sees us, clothes torn and all, and you're in the game"
XXXXX
"I understand your desire for peaceful negotiation, General, but I don't see how it will play out" Miles pointed out. He lifted his dark glasses to the top of his head, and rubbed his tired red eyes. "There has to be someone to make the proposals, you going in person is dangerous. Also, we can't know yet if the source is reliable, and we need to properly asses the damages that might be caused to the state and to your image if the negotiations go wrong. I'm right behind you, Roy, but this is a bit half-baked, if you ask me"
Roy nodded, thoughtfully. "It's a bit rushed, I understand, but we have someone who will help us and who will make sure the threats won't be affecting me or the state"
"Who?"
He grinned. "Why, our friend here"
"This traitor?" Olivier Armstrong exploded. "I'm starting to give reason to Fullmetal, that's madness!"
"I rarely agree with my sister, but she's right" Alex's head popped up from behind the blond General. "We can't trust someone who has sold the state's secrets to the enemies"
Some others agreed with the burly alchemist, but Roy motioned his hands for them to settle down.
"Good point, Major, but who is to know about treasons and other underhanded actions besides someone who had been doing them for years?"
"So you practically say we let a man with shit for spine to talk in your name? Mustang, I'm asking you again, are you sure those medical reports were right?" Ed questioned, blowing some steam that was flushing his cheeks. "I'm just saying"
"Well, the doctor that made them was easy to buy" Roy jested. "But really, are you seeing what I'm trying to do?"
"Me, I don't fully understand" Crendell rose to his feet for the others to see him better. "The General and I had a long talk on our way here, and I must admit I see some reason in his proposal, but I don't totally comprehend what you want me to do. I will share what I know, not freely, of course, but it has been brought to my attention that I have a death sentence. I like money, but I like being alive a bit more. The state will pay me and keep me alive, that's my price, and I can provide you with all the information that you want. But in all honesty, I don't see how I will make a good face for promoting your interests"
"Nobody expects you to be working for us, for a change" Havoc said smartly from his spot in front of the window. "Boss, I think I understand what you're saying"
Roy nodded. "That's good. I know it's a bit rough around the edges, but this plan might work. So, are you standing behind me?"
The whole room filled with a roaring 'Yes'. "Of course we do, boss" Breda spoke first, and both Fuery and Falman nodded. "We don't trust this guy, but we will follow you anywhere"
"You have Brigg's support, as much as it can be given" Olivier agreed. Miles, who was seated next to her, added "And of the Ishbalans and the Eastern border"
The Strong Arm Alchemist soon followed. "I will make sure your collaboration with fellow alchemists goes well and have full informational support from the archives"
"We will help however we can" Al said, looking at Winry. "We are civilians, but we can spread rumours and take a vibe from the people, if you need"
"You have all the supplies you need from me and my family, boss" Havoc hurried to say. He blew some smoke to prove his pledge.
"And we have your back, Sir, from up above to the ground support" Hawkeye said in the name of the Central team.
The raven haired alchemist smiled at the friendly faces he saw in the room. They never let him down. He turned his gaze to his lover, who was looking impressed. Ed realised he hadn't said anything. "You know you have my full support, Roy. Took back these shitty limbs for you, you shouldn't be asking" he made and took another sip from his sweetened coffee. Winry exclaimed at the mention of her automail, but she went unnoticed.
"I will help however I can, then" Crendell said and went to the window to light a cigarette. He took a drag and then blew the grey smoke out in the night's crisp air.
"One question, though" Breda raised. "What of our makeshift ally, if he dares betray us?"
"Why, we shoot him" Havoc answered and crushed the cigarette in the ashtray.
XXXXX
Less than two hours ago
Crendell took another cigarette from his pocket. He didn't know the reason why he kept on smoking that day, he rarely did, but he couldn't find any other way to cope with what he was hearing and seeing. He was tired of looking behind his back, he had been doing it for too long now. Sometimes he wondered how many lost their lives due to the information he had been selling for years, how many lost their business or loved ones. He would have liked to know, he though he deserved as much.
To know whom he hurt, so he would know whom to ask for forgiveness before he went to sleep.
He knew he had to survive, and he did anything he could. He never had a family to support him, he had to get by some way. He was a rat who kept on living no matter what, he did anything for anyone as long as money came his way. There could have been millions of contradictions, conflicts of interests alike, he didn't care. All he ever did was to survive.
So he had to ask himself, how will he outlive this? What was the price this time?
Roy Mustang walked alongside him, a protective hand resting on Fullmetal's shoulder. The younger man wasn't protesting anymore, he simply followed the pace his commanding officer has set. Or lover, as he had just gathered.
It was a strange notion, that. Crendell had been infatuated with the idea of the Flame Alchemist, he had tried to learn everything about him. Call it obsession, but he made it his life's purpose to know more. He heard Roy was a man who never turned down on the extraordinary, but he didn't suspect he would be dating a man ten years younger, not to mention one that was under his direct command and sometimes saw him as a father of sorts. Or at least a mentor.
Seeing the two alchemists, so broken yet still leaning on each other, made him realise he knew nothing about the teenager he had met all those years in the Eastern Trainee Camp, the teenager he saw trespassing as many military rules as he could to help his fellow trainees.
The one for whom he had signed the decree for becoming what he was now, right in front of his eyes.
"Your thoughts are loud, General" Roy spoke lowly.
"They are, aren't they?" he replied and looked again at the drenched alchemist. "What really happened to you while you were gone? I've never experienced something like what I've seen while I walked with you, I can't begin to imagine what happened after I left"
"Let me take a guess!" Edward exclaimed. "Bet he will say he had fallen from the sky and went through fire to salvage us, mortals, from straying from our righteous path. Make it grand, Mustang, don't disappoint us" he mocked and elbowed Roy in the stomach, whom in turn laughed with little force. "Believe it or not, you're not that far off, Fullmetal"
Ed stopped walking to look Roy in the eye. "No shit?"
"None"
"Oh my, our saviour!" Ed laughed, clutching his stomach.
"Don't start laughing yet, Fullmetal, I still haven't signed your reports on the last mission and graded you. Watch what you're saying, we're even having a military police officer here"
The blond rolled his eyes. "In the past year, you've said you would sentence me in front of the Court Martial about what, twenty times? Start doing what you say or shut up. The man has asked you a question, and I'm curious about this, too"
Roy hummed in approval "Fair point. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure I know what happened myself, besides that I indeed fell off some sort of sky, a very watery one, as you can see, and then I had to burn the ground and walk through a fire that didn't burn me. It felt really prophetical"
"Did alchemy do it all?" Crendell interest picked.
"Most likely. It is very interesting what one can do with alchemy. You must have heard about what happened at the Promised Day" he said, looking for a reaction on Crendell's face at the notion of the name that only passed between those who were present at the terrible confrontation with Father and the Homunculi.
That shut the older General up. They walked out of the parade grounds in silence, hearing only the sounds of the far away crowd. The fireworks show finished and the air was heavy with smoke.
Crendell drag the last fumes from his cigarette and stomped it with his shoe. The burning cigarette hissed lowly in the moist grass. "I know who is behind the attacks" he stated.
Roy tilted his head in acknowledgement, but looked forward. It wasn't the moment to say anything.
"I must admit, you have always fascinated me, Mustang" Green eyes looked up at the starry sky. "You have a certain fight in you that makes me wonder what made you this way. I've wished I knew more about you, I craved it even, and my fairly comprehensive research has revealed far less than expected. I didn't expect to find you like... like this"
"Like this? Please, elaborate, if you would"
"I'm not sure how... just different" the reply came, far more truthful than intended.
"You didn't expect me to be having such loyal subordinates, you didn't expect me to be such an idealistic fool that did so many terrible things for his dreams, you didn't expect me to have so many secrets and so little trust in those like you, you didn't expect me to live with the kid I've mentored. Should I continue?" Roy took his hand from where it rested on Ed's shoulder and brought it in front of his eyes. He looked carefully at each of his fingers. He used to look at them with awe when he was young, those were the hands that gave him alchemy, the power to help others. Now, he wasn't that sure.
But he knew he would rule with them.
"I can't say I've imagined things to run that deep, no" Crendell admitted. "You were an odd young man, so selfless and fiery, it's a wonder how your eyes have changed" Roy turned his onyx eyes to look straight into his opponent's core. "Trust me, Mustang-" he continued "- I've seen you growing, from when you were a fresh trainee full of hope to the adult who shoulders the pains of the world without being aware. I can see you have some great baggage, I wish I knew what. You look the same, but your eyes don't"
Funny, Roy thought. That was the same thing his good friend Hughes had told him, when the war was finished.
It was only the eyes that betrayed him, always.
"You have the same eyes like you did when I've first met you in the Trainee Camp, General" Roy reasoned. "But you've seen the horrors of people before I did"
"I did most of the horrors that I've seen. Eyes of a sinner never change"
Edward chuckled and turned to look at Crendell. "You speak like someone who has many regrets. You don't exactly pass like one"
"Don't you also have some? Your brother, what a nice lad, you've put him into an armour, I've heard. You got his body back, but didn't you keep your famous automail? Don't you wish you had all your limbs intact? Don't talk to me about regrets, boy"
"Don't talk to me about regrets" Ed scowled. "You know nothing of them. You really feel regret when those you love the most waste in front of your eyes. But I have coped with my failures, I did, and found reasons to live. To go forward. I've always been on my own feet without stomping the others. Don't compare me to you, and don't judge me, Crendell. You have no right"
Crendell snorted and patted Roy on the shoulder. "I see how you've ended with the blondie, he's got a harsh spoken mouth, but truthful"
The Flame alchemist waved the hand off his shoulder. "I've always tried to find loyalty in those I've entrusted my back to. Today, you had my life in your hands. You wanted to say it was your job, when the bullet passed through your body. Why was that?"
"I will tell you a nice little secret. I've known your father, and it pained me dearly to hear he died. He was a nice kid, older than me I think, but very kind. I grew up in the East, myself, though I was born in the West, or that's what they said. He used to share his toys with me when I sometimes escaped the orphanage in which I grew up, you see. Only many years later did I find out he had a son, and I turned you into my priority research. Into a job, really. I don't know how to explain it, but I find a strange fascination in you, I want to get closer to you, somehow. Don't get me wrong, it is entirely platonic"
Mustang rolled his eyes at that. Crendell hurried to add not to make himself a fool for implying that Roy would go after any man just because he was dating one. "Seeing how we are going to your home, I think you are in need of my services"
"Ah, well done, at last" Roy appraised. "Yes, I want your services, though not for free. I'm not accepting charity"
"How are you willing to pay?"
"With your own head. You will not be executed and you will maintain your position in the military, but you will share everything that you know"
Crendell was taken aback by the boldness of the proposal. "Heh, not the most equivalent exchange, if you get my drift. Don't you alchemists pride yourselves with that saying? Equivalent exchange?"
"But it is fairly equivalent. Aren't you a survivor, dear Albert? For your survival, you have to pay the price"
"How well you speak, Mustang. Let me propose you a better deal. Information for survival and a place in your team. I will keep my rank and position, but I will partake in your private missions. This way, I won't need to chase for you"
"Wait, are you really considering this?" Edward asked shocked. "Don't you have some nerve on you?"
"In fact I do consider this. What am I saying, this is the reason why I'm taking you to my most humble establishment" Roy explained.
"Well, then" Crendell started. "I might have compiled an extensive list of names for you in advance. Take it as an offer of fair collaboration, from now on" he said and extended his hand to the alchemist.
Roy looked at the offered hand. It sounded like he had been waiting for an opening such as this for a long time. He wondered if it was a good idea after all.
He continued walking by the man's side, but stopped him as he caught his hand in a firm shake. "I agree. But help me, Crendell, if you by one single thought do me any wrong, no matter how small, I am burning you myself"
XXXXX
Aerugo was a beautiful nation in autumn. The sun wasn't as bright as it was in summer, only its sweetest touch remained. The winds were soft and caressing against the pedestrian's cheeks, so unlike the harsh ones that sometimes enveloped Amestris' cities. Leaves were falling off the exotic trees, dancing in the light breeze until they fell to the warm ground.
'I wonder if I've ever seen something so beautiful' Crendell asked himself. It was perchance even more beautiful than any of the sights he had ever seen in his many travels, maybe more than the eyes of the women he loved, or whom he pretended to. It was soothing and somehow humbling.
He stretched his feet and arms as soon as he descended from the train. They, him and Major Alex Louis Armstrong, had to travel a long distance to Aerugo's capital, but it was so much faster than anything that might have gotten them there. He actually asked himself if that's how it would be to travel to Xing, which was even further away, across the Great Desert, when the men finished the railways. If Mustang succeeded to accomplish that, it might be considered one of the most daring projects ever undertaken by Amestris, even greater than the Grand Wall of Briggs. To connect such a vast empire to their own country would mean a veritable economical boom and a real opportunity for development outside the domain of weapons that Amestris was so fond of.
"Say, Major, do you think we would get this fast to Xing's capital, when the rail is done?" he voiced his thoughts to the bald giant.
Alex looked down at the much shorter officer, his solitary blond curl bobbling as he did so. "Faster, as far as I know"
"Really?" Crendell made impressed. "This is amazing! I will be able to go to Xing, at last! I've never been there, can you imagine? I've travelled a lot, but I've never ventured to Xing. I'm not that fond of the weather of the desert, it's too hot for any lesser human being"
"This is why you preferred to sell Amestris to Drachma? It was easier to go through the deadly winds than the scorching heat?" Armstrong deadpanned as he lifted the little luggage he had.
The other officer clicked his tongue. "You're not one to hide behind the bushes, are you, Major?" He picked up his suitcase and nodded to the personnel that took it out of the train for him. It was heavy and filled with papers and strange looking devices he hoped he wouldn't need.
The taller alchemist noticed the heaviness of the suitcase and offered to carry it. He exchange luggage with his charge and replied to the man's rhetorical question with a little proud smile. "I'm a man too big to hide behind the bushes, my oldest sister used to say when we were younger and still in our parent's home. We don't always get along, but I've always took her advice. I speak true, as much as I can"
"No wonder you are never promoted, Armstrong. Honesty doesn't take you very far in our line of business" he noted.
"Promotion is not something I desire" he admitted. "It is my sister's greatest wish, being promoted, but not mine. If I could, I would give her some of my rank and title, if it would help her. I only want to help others. I'm not one to lead"
Crendell chuckled good natured. "You are an honest man, I very much respect that"
"I don't need your respect" Alex said harshly. He didn't like the man all that much, he couldn't possibly understand why Mustang made him take that traitor all the way to Aerugo. He of course accepted his superior's demand, he never declined anything coming from him, but he didn't sign up for chit-chatting with the man. He only had to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.
The said man placed one hand over his heart. "You Mustang men really hate me. I'm glad I wasn't partnered with someone else from your lines, I think they would have gaggled me"
"Talk more and I might, Sir"
Crendell couldn't help but shut up.
However, that urge to keep talking didn't leave him for long. They were barely in front of their hotel, when he commented "It was rather surprising to find out Mustang skipped a rank to become a General. I asked myself if Grumman forgot the chain of command, but he also become Fuhrer without being a full General first"
"I'm not one to be impolite, but I will gaggle you if you don't stop talking, Sir" Alex said and glanced down at him. Crendell took a good step aside him. He enjoyed talking, alright, but he didn't like it when a man at least three heads taller threatened him. Might he be one of the most gentle giants he had ever met, but he couldn't remember he was brother to one of the most aggressive women he knew.
It must have run in the family, somehow.
They checked in the hotel Roy told them to go to. It was beforehand decided to share a room, so that the Major could watch his steps.
He was fascinated by the meticulous mannerism the grand blond showed to his clothes and other things he brought with him. He gingerly pulled out a clean shirt to change the dusty one he had worn in the train, and then gave to Crendell the suitcase so he could change as well. He couldn't possibly carry all the things he needed to take with him for this trip along with clothes and other necessities, so his personal items were all tucked inside the Major's bag. The man didn't seem to mind having to carry someone else's clothes in his own luggage, he had done that many times in his previous escort missions.
Crendell felt his tongue itch from the lack of conversation and the many things he wanted to say. He tried his luck after they both changed into clean clothes. "I noticed Mustang saying you are the usual escort, when it comes to long distances. I wonder why"
Alex sat down on one of the chairs and started dissembling his gun to clean it, all the time pointing it dangerously in Crendell's direction. The dark haired officer felt the need to move a little to the side.
"I enjoy traveling by train" he said. "I used to go with my sisters everywhere, being the second youngest and having no one to leave me at home with. Mother never believed in nannies and governesses, so we sort of helped each other in the process of growing up. Father was busy in the military, and Mother looked over the family's business, they were very busy when we were young. When Olivier left to enlist as a trainee, I was just a boy who barely reached her hip, but she took me with her everywhere she had to go to show me the countryside. She said I have to see what is outside the neighbourhood so I don't become some gullible city boy. When she no longer could take me with her because she wasn't permitted to leave her post, I travelled with my other two sisters, until they too left to start their own families. I wanted to do the same with Cathy, my youngest sister, but the war started and I had to leave Central City. When I returned, she was already a respectable lady, she had no need of my help"
"Oh..." Crendell sighed. It was nice hearing someone talk so fondly about family, he liked this kind of stories. He always wanted to listen to them. "I didn't know you were this close to your family"
"Why not? We don't always get along, but it's what I have. So tell me, General, do you have a family?"
Crendell looked at the Major's hands working the barrel of the gun clean. He remembered he should too clean the guns he brought with him, and the other leather appendages he took in case his negotiations didn't work as planned.
"I don't" he replied with half his mouth shut.
"I'm sorry. It's nice to have someone to go and spend the holidays with" Alex remarked.
"It didn't seem like your older sister was that eager to spend time with you, when we were at Mustang's. I heard you had some problems with your family's house back when he was just a Colonel"
"You hear too many things, Sir" Armstrong remarked and put the clean gun down on the table in front of him. "I admit, we aren't on the best terms, but I know she loves me dearly, as I do her"
"Lovely" he retorted. Armstrong took the gun he was working on from his hands. "I'm cleaning that" he said in a voice that didn't leave room to argue.
Crendell laid on one of the beds and lifted his arms up in the air. "We need to think how to approach this Aerugo bastards" he said, trying to find something to do.
"You have previously worked with this fellow Ermacora, didn't you say so?"
"Over the phone, it is hardly working. He requested petty information from me, and paid an even pettier price. I don't really know how to make this meeting more realistic. I can't possibly tell him I want to talk to him because the man he ordered dead sent me" he mused.
"But you can anytime look for him in other ways than by requesting an audience" the blond suggested as he played with a moustache.
Crendell's green eyes widened. "I thought you Mustang men walked through the front door"
"I walk through the front door because I'm hardly invisible, but everyone is small enough to enter through a window"
"Are you suggesting we broke into the man's house? How can we possibly get both him and his pet advisor? Or... you want us to kidnap them?! I don't know what to say... I'm not a man for action"
"You have more leather bounds in your suitcase than I have shirts in my dresser at home. I'm strong enough to knock everyone out, if you are fast enough to tie them all"
"Would you really do anything like that?"
"Why do you think I'm usually the escorting person?" Alex said and looked from where he was standing on the chair too small for his size.
Crendell grinned mischievously. "My, my, Major, I didn't take you for such a man"
XXXXX
Water hissed loudly in the sink, but Roy couldn't hear it. He was so anxious about what he was about to do, it made him hardly aware of what was going on around him.
He had returned to work the second day after the troops exercise, and paper work had been unmerciful with him. Hawkeye treated him like a man fresh from a long vacation, but he was not. His wrist ached from the numbers of reports he had to sign, even washing a mug had proved to be a feat. He never had such problems, but nor did he ever have so many papers to sign in just three days.
Three days of work, and he was drained. The Lieutenant never gave him so much work in so little time, he had to ask himself if it had anything to do with the decision he had made about the alliances with the foreign countries. It was a daring project, he knew, but he needed to start making such compromises in order to fully attain his goals. All his team had regarded him strangely when he proposed to send both Crendell and Major Armstrong to Aerugo, to deal with the men who ordered his assassination that weekend. Crendell provided the list he had mentioned at their meeting, and some of the names he too extracted from the mercenaries Havoc had been tying up in the safe houses, proving the truth behind the man's words.
He wished he knew if he made the right decision. He might either built the greatest alliances, or start wars bigger than in Ishbal.
It was a dangerous gamble, really.
He told Crendell what he wanted from Aerugo. He wanted them to stop their weaponry production and wanted a real armistice for the South. They had been at war for many years, it was getting troublesome for both countries, always searching for a leak in their fragile peace. He wanted free exchange between their nations, he wanted to import their products that were needed in Amestris. They had the largest industry of natural oils and marble, where Amestris had the poorest. But they in change had fuel and easily exportable energy, something that was so hard to obtain in Aerugo. They might have had the riches of the sea, but it was a country of stones and grapes, lacking the energetic potential Amestris had.
He wanted fair exchanges, not blackmail and other underhanded gestures, no. He wanted support in the other countries' governments, he wanted to be seen like a man of the people and a raiser of the nations. He knew that he could help his own country by helping others, because this kind of affairs uplifted their land, so heavily tried by the wars.
He could only hope others seen his idea as good as he did.
He leaned over the sink, still not hearing the water falling off it. It was starting to overflow when Ed jumped behind him and stopped it. "Are you out of your mind? Do you want have water infiltrating through the floor?"
Roy's eyes finally focused. "Oh, I didn't notice it overflowed"
"No shit" Ed grunted. "It can't stay clean in this kitchen for one lousy day, can it? I've just washed everything up, dammit"
"I'm sorry..." Roy apologised sheepishly. He was very tired, it was so dark outside one could stab his eyes out to see, yet he was still up. He didn't understand what was keeping him up that he couldn't sleep.
"Let me wash those, and go to bed, Roy" The Flame wanted to protest, but Ed pointed his finger in the bedroom's direction. "Go up this instant or help me, I'm dragging you upstairs by the hair"
"Alright, alright, you really want me so badly in bed? I could-"
"Get the hell up to bed and sleep, you look like a shadow. You have been sleeping badly since the Major left the country, you need to rest already! Don't make me beat your ass till you fall unconscious"
Roy started his leave, knowing his lover wouldn't abstain from doing so.
When his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep in a troubled sleep. He didn't wake up even when Ed pulled the blanket over him and laid next to him. He didn't notice the blond hugging him from behind and burying his nose in the crook of his neck.
But he did notice that, when he finally opened his eyes in the morning, the clock showed it was almost noon.
"Fuck!" he made and darted out of the bed, dragging Edward with him. The younger man had his limbs entangled with his.
"What the fuck are you doing, Roy?! Do you want us both to break our necks?" Ed yelled when he woke on the floor. "Why do you keep throwing us on the fucking floor, dammit!"
Roy rapidly pushed him off him and rose to his feet. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up, but I'm like five hours late for work!" he yelled as he climbed down the stairs, three at a time.
Ed sighed exasperated and climbed back in the bed. He should have told the man that he asked Hawkeye to let him work from home that day, so he could get some more sleep. The nice Lieutenant even came over and had her breakfast with him, and left just a few of the more urgent paperwork.
He perhaps should have told Roy that, now that he saw him running back into their shared room, dressing while he chewed on something that looked like a slice of bread that had been dipped in jam and coffee at the same time, by the smell.
Roy darted for a shirt and pulled it over his head, not even bothering to properly fix the buttons. He zipped his pants and brushed his teeth at the same time, almost chocking on the tooth paste when he tried to reach for one of his boots.
Edward looked at the clock besides their bed and noticed the man had been up for about five minutes, and he was all ready to go. It was only then he decided to tell him he didn't need to go to work. "Um, Roy? You know you are on leave today, right?"
The man's head turned so fast, he could swear he heard some tendons crack. "WHAT?! Why didn't you say so?"
Ed grinned. "It was too amusing to see you running around, but I took pity on you"
"Some pity that was" Roy said and collapsed on the bed. He ungraciously threw the tooth brush on the low table beside his side of the bed. "You could have said something before I started dressing up"
"You've woken me up by throwing me to the floor, how is that for a reason?"
"Understandable" Roy said and started unbuttoning his shirt. He noticed he only had four buttons that were fastened, he wondered how he would have looked when he entered the office in that state.
Ed smiled and untangled some black strands with his flesh hand. Roy pulled himself higher on the bed, to rest his head on his lover's lap.
"Did you talk with the Lieutenant to let me be for the day?" he asked as he slowly caressed his little lover's uncovered flesh leg. Funny, he remembered Ed was wearing long pants when he woke up. "That's very thoughtful of you" he said, trying to solve the mystery of his lover's legs.
Edward slapped his hand away. "Neah, didn't get to. She suggested it herself, but I also intended to ask her to do the same. She came by to leave some papers, but they're not that many. An hour of work and they're done"
"An hour? Really?" Roy gasped. "How nice of her"
Edward drew circles on Roy's temples with the tips of his fingers. "Major Armstrong called, too, he said they arrived in Aerugo and are now making plans how take care of the assignment"
"What is this, the day of good news?" the raven haired alchemist asked dreamily. "Did he say anything about the said 'plans'?"
"No, but Crendell took the receiver and told me you will be surprised"
"Oh, so exciting" Roy yawned and covered his mouth with a hand. "I can only hope they don't do something stupid" He put his hands back on Ed's flesh leg.
Ed waved at his hand again. "Don't worry. The Major won't let things go to hell, he is more level headed than most of us. He might love ripping his shirts off, but he's polite and he doesn't mess things when he speaks. I'm worried about your pocket-General, but in rest, it should be fine"
"Frankly? Me too..."
"Then why did you send him? I don't even understand why you've told him about us, you've even taken him to our house. Don't you think we have too many people knowing that we live together?"
"He knows how to treat with these things" he said, momentarily ignoring the accusation. "He would have found out on his own about us, he already knew I asked for Alphonse here, how much do you think it would have taken him to figure us out?"
"Longer than stating it out loud! We are supposed to be a secret, you know it can do you so much harm. About secrets, you still haven't told me what my brother was doing here and why you've sent him in full speed back to Resembool"
Roy smiled sweetly at his little blond. He was so worried about him, it was endearing. He took his hand in his and kissed it gently, finger after finger. "He didn't plan to take such a long leave from Resembool, so he had to leave faster than expected"
"Didn't answer me"
Roy looked up. "I was worried something might happen to you, Edward. You're too precious to have you caught in the fires. He came to make sure you could escape if something went wrong"
Ed hummed in apprehension. "I'm always caught in the fires, but I keep surviving. You won't get rid of me that easily, sweetling. Yet all this nice sugary talk doesn't explain me why you had to drag Al all the way here, besides that you were being paranoid, nor why you were so honest with Crendell. You said he wanted you harmed, you've been saying so since the month started. Why the hell did you allow him so much knowledge?"
"He is a professional spy, one that had been on my tail for too long. What could I do besides contact him? He won't harm me, I'm too much of an amusement to him, you've heard the man talk. I never put much faith in anyone's words, but he had never did something that put me in a dangerous situation, why should he now?"
"That's why you've sent him to Aerugo, then? Because he has never did you any faults?"
"No. Aerugo isn't a greatest threat, it was just a little assassination attempt. This is merely a test for him. Drachma is what I'm aiming for"
Edward pushed Roy's head off his lap. "Are you stupid? You plan to send Drachma's dog to Drachma?! Like the country he had been working for in the past? That huge-ass country in North? Are you an idiot or something?"
Roy rolled his eyes. "You don't need to yell, I can hear you just fine. I sent him because I have a good feeling about him. He will be more helpful alive than dead, so shooting him isn't a solution. Don't forget Drachma doesn't know we have him in our custody, too"
"Had him, Roy, had him. He is thousands of miles away now"
"He's with Armstrong, and he won't be doing anything. I've sent some of Havoc's men to tail them, did you really think I've let such a precious asset unsupervised?"
That was a nice touch to the matter, Ed thought. "My, my, smart. But didn't you say you will tell me the whole plan, about anything you do? You didn't tell me shit about the man who almost killed you, you refuse to tell me what happened while you went missing, then you tell me I should trust the one that you've been telling me very specifically that I should avoid at all costs. You even dragged Al and Winry here and then flew them back East. How is our deal about honesty going, Roy?"
Mustang gulped. He had forgotten about that promise. More like overlooked it. "Surprise?"
"Surprise, huh? Alright, let me show you a surprise of my own" The blond grinned evilly and left the bed, the cover slipping off him to expose his naked body. He let his loosely braided hair fall on his shoulders in gracious waves, waking goose bumps in its wake.
Roy's eyes darkened. When did he take his clothes off? He was in such a hurry to leave, he didn't even notice that there was a pile of clothes next to the bed.
So that's where the long pants went, he thought.
He frowned. "You know I didn't mean it that way..." he tried, seeing the boy bending to pick up some street clothes. He rose up so slowly it was painful to watch.
"And how did you mean it, Roy-Roy?" he mocked. "Here I was thinking about rewarding this hard working General with a nice day spent in bed, minimum work required, and I mean really minimum, and he deems it appropriate to go over his promises. Not nice played, dear"
"Oh, come on, it was just a slip" Roy defended himself and watched Ed accidentally drop his black shirt on the floor. The blond lasciviously kneeled, exposing his arse to the raven alchemist, who took a sharp intake of air. He looked over his shoulder with a little smirk before he rose. "That was a slip, sunny boy" he said and left the room grinning. He shut the bedroom door loudly behind himself.
Roy practically flew over the bed and started running to the door. He pressed the handle, but it didn't move. "Really, Fullmetal, you had to transmute the door to the wall?" What a child, he cried inside of him.
He could hear the front door close with a thud. He ran back to the window to look at the walking blond that was already descending the stairs to the front gate. "Fullmetal!" he called after him.
Ed turned on his heels and looked up at his lover. "Yeah?"
"Where are you going?"
"Library" he deadpanned and started walking away, hands in his pockets.
"Are you for real?" Roy groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
The blond only waved his hand goodbye, not turning to look at the house he was leaving behind.
Roy deemed the day not to be as good as he had previously thought. He plopped on the bed and sighed frustrated. "Just see when you get back home, Fullmetal, you won't be walking away for a week, damn you" he vowed and shifted to sit up.
Before he could make his words true, however, he needed to unlock the door. Or separate it from the wall, as a matter of fact.
XXXXX
The night was creeping over the sunny capital of Aerugo. Crendell and his newfound crime partner (as he had dubbed him), Major Armstrong, ducked behind a garbage can.
"Are you sure we will find all three in here?" Alex asked, his voice low. "It sounds improbable"
"Trust me, Major" Crendell assured him. "My sources never fail me. This bitch Ermacora is working with Garfagnini, and I know for a fact they are at his residence, talking about why Mustang's still alive. I've seen today one of the men I've met in Drachma, his name is Polzin. He works for the secret services, he will think I'm with them, if your part doesn't go well. But it will. He must arrive here any minute. If we get him, we're all good"
"Won't he alert Drachma afterwards? When we let him go? Won't Drachma suspect you are working with us?"
"I'll make them believe I'm actually infiltrated. Don't worry about this part, though, that's for later. The plan is, we make him disappear, and then make a move on them"
"The General said to try not to kill anyone" Armstrong reminded him.
"We aren't killing anyone, we are just having a talk with him. Anyway, there he is" Crendell pointed his finger to a dark silhouette. "Do you think you can knock him down?"
"Alright" the Major replied and started walking to the man. "Excuse me" he said. Polzin turned his head to look at the one who was talking to him.
"I'm not giving directions" he growled with heavy accent and made a move to avoid the other.
"I don't need any" Alex said and punched him hard. The man twisted and fell on the ground.
Crendell ran to the alchemist and the fallen Drachmann. "Remind me not to make you push your buttons too far, Major. Come on, he seems to be alone, let's go pay a visit to these Aerugo dignitaries" he said as he was tying Polzin's hands to his back. "Can you carry him?"
Armstrong nodded and lifted the unconscious man up.
They walked to the big mansion in front of them. At the front door, there were two men standing. They seemed to be some guards. Crendell took out two rocks and his wooden sling. He pointed them to the guard's heads and waited for a bit, then shot both rocks.
They hit both men, who fell like dead weight on the stairs. "Impressive" the Major commented.
"Why, thank you" he said and hurried to tie the guards. They entered quietly, looking if there was anyone else in the mansion. There had to be someone else. The Major made sure they were all laid to sleep after a blow to the head. He didn't hurt them too bad, but all the staff they encountered in the mansion was likely to wake up with a headache and their hands tied.
They finally got to the part of the house in which Crendell supposed the library had to be. There was a distinct noise of angry voices, so he believed they had found whom they were looking for. A boy was coming their way with a tray and a pot of coffee, and froze when he saw the two men in front of the tall doors.
He wanted to yell, but the Strong Arm Alchemist rotated the body on his back and hit the poor house boy with the unconscious man's head. He fell, the tray slipping from his hands. Crendell threw himself in front of the boy and caught the pot and the tray before they made a mess.
"Close one" he said silently and put the things down. He hurried to look through the door's key hole. He only saw Ermacora and Garfagnini talking fervently. "Seems like they are alone" He patted his clothes to make sure he looked presentable, then turned his gaze to Armstrong. "Ready, Major?"
The big man nodded. He put down the sleeping Drachmann and pulled up his heavy metal gloves. He pressed them together, then punched the door with them. It burst open, the shards transforming into lances.
Both politicians gasped, Ermacora even jumping to his feet. "What is the meaning of this?!" he exclaimed, and then he paled when he saw the big iron gloves and the man who wore them. The Major pulled the Drachmann after him, and Crendell kicked what remained of the door to enter as well.
"Why, hello gentlemen!" he greeted with open arms. "I think we need to have a talk"
He looked over at the two foreigners, both scared out of their skins due to the sudden intrusion. He had to laugh a bit inside, seeing them struggling to compose themselves. It was amusing.
It was so good to be back in business.
A/N: That's it for now, I hope you've enjoyed. There will be a continuation pretty soon. Please, don't forget to leave a review/follow/favourite, and thank you very much for the support.
Till the next time, bye bye!