HAVOC

Havoc was standing behind the Fuhrer's chair, quietly listening to the conversation. His heart was pounding and his hands were clammy. Are they really talking about our Riza Hawkeye? The story was surreal. He was ashamed to admit that the other men and himself had been on the edge of giving up. So much time had passed by and they had been searching for the perpetrators in such a frenzy that they had blocked the thought out of their minds to escape the idea of her possible death.

When he had accidentally found out about the recent activities in her account, he had been just as mad as Roy. The thought of someone else using her hard-earned money was sickening. Somehow, he already knew Roy was going to take things into his hands after he showed him the papers, but it still surprised him nonetheless. He found it hard to imagine the Fuhrer doing an investigation in person, but, really, he should've known him better. All of them knew that a matter involving Riza Hawkeye was a personal matter to the Fuhrer.

In the beginning, Dr Wilson seemed hesitant to share any information with them, but with Roy's insistence and surprising patience, he was able to convince the doctor to bring out her folder. Havoc couldn't help the twitch of his lips. Roy Mustang has always been cunning and a mastermind who knew how and when to play his cards to get what he wanted.

It took everything to stay calm and composed while they listened to Dr Wilson speak. There was a lot to take in and he saw just how tense and straight the Fuhrer sat. The waterfall, the healer, the journey to Central, the fight to keep her alive and stable, the coma and the list of injuries. His head was spinning, but he didn't dare move an inch. If the chief can do it, I have to too.

"What happened after? Where is she now?" Roy asked with a strained voice. Havoc could not see his expression, but knew he was restraining himself from asking a million questions at the same time.

Dr Wilson looked uncomfortable while he stared at the Fuhrer straight in the eyes.

"Please excuse me for asking Fuhrer Mustang, but..." he paused, watching Roy's behavior and quickly flicking his eyes in Havoc's direction, "might I ask what your relationship is with miss Hawkeye?"

Havoc's eyebrows flew up in surprise. Roy relaxed his shoulders slightly and leaned a bit closer. Does he think we're chasing after her? Is that why he's so suspicious?

"She's my direct subordinate, as well as my aide and my personal bodyguard. We've been working together for over ten years and she's a good friend of mine. She went missing a few months ago and we've been trying to find her and the people who took her."

Dr Wilson's features softened and he physically relaxed. "I see. I'm sorry for doubting you sir. I was afraid more harm would come her way."

"I understand Dr Wilson. I appreciate the fact that you are trying to protect her and I'm sorry for asking you to reveal her information," Roy said. "I assure you that we are just trying to find her quickly to make sure that she's alright and to protect her."

"Is she still in danger?" Dr Wilson asked with concern.

"We have yet to catch all the perpetrators and I'm just afraid they would try to harm her again if they find out that she's still alive. Is she still in the hospital?" Havoc knew by the tone of his voice that Roy already knew the answer to his question.

"I'm afraid she already left two weeks ago."

"Do you know where she went?" Roy asked more frantically.

"I heard she was planning to go to her hometown."

Havoc watched Roy slouch slightly, his arms coming down on top of the armrests, and clench his fists.

"Why didn't she come see me? Why didn't she contact me?" The Fuhrer was clearly perturbed. Havoc was thinking the exact same thing. It was extremely unusual for her not to contact them. It should've been the first thing she did after waking up. What exactly happened?

Havoc looked at the doctor's face and saw something flick in his gaze. He knows something.

"Are you keeping something from us Dr Wilson? I know her very well and it is impossible for her not to contact me. There must be something else." The Fuhrer was losing his patience very quickly. Havoc couldn't blame him. He himself wanted to shake the truth out of the doctor for being so slow.

"We didn't know who she was until she woke up and told us her name. However, we soon realized that her head injury had affected her memories. She only had the memories of her first eighteen years of life. She told us she had no living relatives or any friends to contact," Dr Wilson said carefully.

"Wait," Roy said after a few seconds. Havoc was still shocked and gaping at the doctor. "You're telling me she has memory loss and thinks she's eighteen again?" Dr Wilson nodded. "Why didn't you contact me? I'm sure I was in her list of emergency contacts."

Dr Wilson shook his head sadly. "We didn't have her medical folder and when we tried to get access to it, it was blocked. We had no additional information on her apart from what she had given us."

"What do you mean it was blocked?" Roy asked incredulously.

Before Dr Wilson could answer, Havoc said, "it's true sir. Every personnel working directly under the Fuhrer's medical and personal information are strictly confidential and are only accessible through the military's hospital or under special orders. Considering Hawkeye's position, all of her information are highly classified."

Just by the way he was wary of telling them too much, they both knew why the doctor didn't insist with the military for her folder. Damn, things are just not going our way. Havoc felt bad for Roy. His renewed hope was once again challenged with more obstacles. Did she even know him at eighteen? The chief did say they knew each other for over ten years.

The rest of the meeting didn't last very long after they got the exact date and time of her discharge. They thanked the doctor and left quickly with their disguises on. None of them talked on the way to the car. It was only until they were both sitting inside that Havoc sighed loudly and sunk into the driver's seat. Havoc stole a glimpse at the Fuhrer through the rearview mirror. He had a pensive look with a deep frown. He knew there was a lot to assimilate and he himself was in a panicked disorder on the inside. Havoc waited a few more seconds in complete silence before speaking.

"What should we do now sir? Do you think she went back to her hometown?"

Roy breathed out through his nose and said, "I don't think so. Her account was already blocked by the time she was discharged, so she couldn't have bought any tickets to go back home. And," he looked out the window sadly before saying, "she doesn't have a home to go back to. First, we'll have to unblock her account. She must be somewhere in Central, but without money, she can't do very much."

The way he said it lacked emotions and seemed very distant, but Havoc knew better. The fact that she was so close and possibly in trouble out there was killing him.

"Check every bank and see if she went to any of them. Get the others to help you out." Roy's eyes locked on Havoc's through the mirror. "Make sure no one finds out what you're doing. Everything must be kept secret."

"Yes sir!" Havoc started the engine before driving away with a new purpose. He dropped off the Fuhrer at his house before heading back to the office by himself. It was still mid-afternoon, but he knew Roy would want some time to himself, especially after they had just found out that Hawkeye was still alive.

I can't belive she was this close all along! No wonder we couldn't find her anywhere. When he arrive at the office, Falman and Brandt were sitting at their desks working.

"Oh you're back. Where is the Fuhrer?" Falman asked.

"He said he had some things to work on at home so I drove him there," Havoc said casually. He went to sit at his desk before asking Brandt, "where's Sakel?"

"She went to file some papers. She should be back soon. Is there something that the Fuhrer needs us to do?" Brandt asked.

"No, he just said that you two could leave earlier when you finished your work for the day."

"Really?" Brandt's eyes lit up and he quickly focused back on what he was working on.

Havoc looked back at his desk, but his eyes crossed Falman's and he saw the questioning look in them. He winked at him before taking his own pile of papers and started working on them. About forty five minutes later, Sakel and Brandt left for the day and Falman immediately questioned him the moment the door closed.

"So what's really going on?"

"Hawkeye's alive and possibly in Central," Havoc said straightforwardly. Falman's eyes widened and was clearly confused.

"What? How do you know?"

"There were some activities on her bank account so I investigated and found out that some payments were made out to the Central General Hospital. I told the Fuhrer and we went there. We met with the doctor who was in charge of her while she was there. That's the gist of it, but the main problem now is that she's somewhere out there with no money since her account had been frozen since we declared her MIA." Havoc said everything briskly, since he didn't really have the time to explain the whole story in details.

"Wait, wait, wait! So Hawkeye's alive? And she's in Central?" Falman asked quickly after he came out of his shock. Havoc was already standing up and gathering his things.

"Yes. I'll explain it to you in more details later, when the others are there too. Right now, we have to unblock her account, then we have to find out where she could be. We'll have to check the banks and see if she went to any of them. Where are Fuery and Breda?" Havoc asked as he put on his coat.

"They're at the Investigations Department. They're with three specialists analyzing the video as we speak. I'll take care of unblocking her account. You can go join the others and tell them about Hawkeye."

"Thanks Falman. Please do it as fast as possible. By the way, the fact that she's alive is a secret. Fuhrer's order." Havoc exchanged a smile of gratitude with him before dashing off toward the Investigations Department.

It was near the end of the workday when he arrived and some people were already preparing to leave. He walked through the usual hallways and found the door he was looking for. He knocked lightly and waited. He heard some feet shuffling before the door opened to reveal Fuery.

"Oh Captain Havoc! Where were you?" he asked while opening the door wider to let him in. Breda and three other men were sitting around a table with papers in front of them. A little further away was a television and a video player.

Havoc nodded a greeting to Breda and walked toward them. "I was finishing up some paperwork. It took longer than I thought it would. So, any progress?"

"Actually, we've already narrowed it down to six places that sell the type of camera that Marcus uses," Breda informed him.

"What? Already?" Havoc asked in surprise.

"Yes. Captain Jean Havoc, this is Robert Fraser, Jordan Colbert and Frank Den," Breda said, introducing the other men to Havoc and vice versa. "Apparently it was very easy to tell which kind of camera it was filmed with. There was a unanimous agreement."

"Wow, really?" Havoc asked.

"Yes, the quality of the video was undeniable. He used the newest kind of video camera that came out last year, which possesses a very good resolution and high sound quality. It's quite difficult to get one since it's not easy to fabricate and also very costly. There are only six places in Central that sell it," Robert Fraser answered him.

"That's only if he bought it in Central. What if he got it from somewhere else?" Havoc asked doubtfully.

"No, you can only get them here. The company is based in Central and they only make one if it's ordered. The technology is still very new, so I doubt anybody can make copies of it." The other men nodded in agreement. I guess that's set then.

"That's perfect then. We'll send people to investigate each place. They should have full records of the people who buy it if it's that hard to get."

The three experts left soon after so Havoc, Breda and Fuery could plan their next moves.

"We can all go visit these shops first thing tomorrow morning. There are only six, so if each one of us takes two, then we should be able to locate the right one pretty quick," Breda said.

"I have something to tell you guys," Havoc turned serious.

"Oh, what? What is it? You're scaring me," Fuery said with evident fright.

"Hawkeye's alive." Before the other two recovered from their shock, Havoc continues with the explanation. None of them said a word as they listened intently.

"W- w- wait. So she survived? She actually survived?" Breda asked in disbelief. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes and mouth still wide.

"Wait, wait, so where is she? Why didn't she come back?" Fuery asked impatiently. Havoc shifted nervously in his seat.

"Yeah, that's the thing. She had memory loss and thinks she's eighteen again. Technically, she doesn't know any of us yet. We don't know what she's thinking, but without any money, she can't do anything or go anywhere. That's why we think she's still in Central."

"But it's already been two weeks," Fuery said hesitantly. "Isn't there a high chance that she's already out of the city? Didn't you say she wanted to go back to her hometown?"

"Yeah I know," Havoc answered with frustration. "We have to be quick. I'll visit the banks first and find out if she's tried to access her account from any of them."

"Be careful though. If you do find her, god knows how she'll react if you suddenly throw yourself on her," Breda warned Havoc.

"Dammit Breda! I'm not an idiot! I know how to stay alive. Even if she doesn't kill me, I'll probably be burnt alive by the chief!"

"Should one of us come with you? It'll be faster that way and easier to spot her too if two of us are looking for her," Fuery suggested.

"That's true, but we can't neglect the search for Marcus either."

"That's alright. I'll bring First Lieutenant Dorse or Second Lieutenant Goldsby to accompany me. They're already involved in this case anyway, so it won't do any harm to have them directly investigating with us," Fuery said.

"Alright, then I'll go with Havoc. When Falman has time, we'll ask him to join you later," Breda said.

Ever since he found out about Riza, whenever he would walk down the streets he would stare at every woman walking past him and would pay even more attention to the blond ones. I have a legitimate reason to stare at them without having the others making fun of me now, he thought half-heartedly. What intrigued him the most was Riza's current state. How was she at eighteen? Was she still as scary as she is now? Havoc shuddered and wished that she didn't have a weapon on her at the moment. He wasn't exactly confident he could convince her they were friends. Please just be alive and well. Even if he was still afraid of her sometimes, he would gladly accept to be beaten up by her if it meant he could see her again.

Central avenue was extremely busy in the morning, with people and cars bustling everywhere. Breda and Havoc were presently headed to the main branch of the Amestris National Bank. He saw Breda stifling a yawn and taking another sip of his coffee.

"Didn't sleep too well last night?" Havoc asked lazily.

"Nope, too restless and too many things to think about." Havoc understood him. They had made two new discoveries yesterday and were all too eager to continue with the investigations. Havoc was especially excited and anxious to know that Hawkeye was alive. I think we're all hoping to find her and Marcus soon. We can't let him find her first. None of them knew where Marcus was, but it was understood by everyone that it would be disastrous if he or anyone else working with him found her first. We have to be quick.

The bank opened at seven in the morning and they were at the front door exactly at that time. With their black overcoats on, nobody noticed their military uniform and continued working or getting things ready. Both men walked up to the front desk where a lady was smiling warmly at them.

"Welcome sir, how can I help you?" she asked politely.

Havoc and Breda showed her their military badges, which made her smile falter and stare at them with more caution.

"We're investigating a case and we'd appreciate it if you could cooperate and provide us with the information we're looking for," Breda said. The lady looked back and forth between them nervously before speaking again.

"Of course sir. I'll go get the manager. He'll probably be able to better assist you with your questions." She left and shortly returned with a middle aged man.

"Hi, I'm the manager of this branch. My name is Greg Stevenson." He shook hands with both of them.

"I am Captain Jean Havoc and this is Captain Heymans Breda. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. If you'd like, I can lead you into an office so we can discuss in privacy." He led them into a side room and closed the door and the curtains. Breda and Havoc each took a seat in front of a office desk and Greg went sat on the other side. They showed him their badges again before speaking.

"We're investigating something for the military and everything that will be said in this room must stay in this room. If we find out that any information has been leaked, there will be severe consequences," Havoc warned him. He deliberately left out the part that it was a direct order from the Fuhrer, in order to prevent anyone from targeting him with the information they would find here. They always had to consider the risk that there were enemies whenever they did something directly for the Fuhrer.

"Of course sir. I'll keep everything to myself. I'll do my best to assist you in your investigation," Greg said earnestly.

"We'd like to know if someone under the name of Riza Hawkeye has tried to access their account in any kind of way in the past two weeks," Breda said. He wrote down her full name on a piece of paper and turned it to him.

"It'll be just a moment. I'll check in the system." He started typing things on his keyboard and stared at the screen with concentration. After a few seconds, his eyebrows shot up, "ah! Yes, she tried to access it exactly fifteen days ago."

"Where? Which branch?" Havoc asked eagerly.

"Here, the main branch," Greg answered.

"Really? Do you know what she wanted to do? Who was the one who helped her?"

"Well, it says here that her account was frozen at that time so she couldn't do anything. I'll just check to see who was the one who helped her." He typed and clicked some more before finding the person. "It was Sebastian Banes who tried to access her account."

"Is he here right now?" Breda asked.

"Uh, yes actually. Would you like to meet him?"

"Yes please." They waited quietly in the room while Greg when to get Sebastian. He came back with a tall, skinny man who looked at them nervously.

"Are you Sebastian Banes?" Havoc asked nicely. Jeez, he looks like he's going to pee in his pants.

"Yes sir," he said stiffly.

"Do you remember helping out a blond lady who came here fifteen days ago, but her account was blocked?"

Sebastian thought a bit before his face brightened up. "Yes, I do! I remember her because the blockage on her account was so strange. There was no explanation or reason."

"What did she come for? Do you remember?" Breda asked. They were both taking down notes and asking any question that they could think of.

"Um, I think she was here to get her credit card and debit card, but since I couldn't get access to her account on the system, I couldn't do anything for her," he said quietly.

"What happened after that? What did she look like? What was she wearing?"

"Well, she just left. She looked really devastated and a bit frightened I think. She had a black coat I think. Her hair was shoulder length and she was carrying a pretty big duffle bag. That's all I remember."

"Did you see where she went after that?"

"No, I didn't see where she went."

After they got everything they needed from them, they instructed them to keep everything confidential again. They gave them their contact information so they could contact them if ever they noticed that Riza tried to access her account from any bank branch. Havoc and Breda thanked them for their help and left.

Once outside, Breda sighed loudly. "I think it's going to be hard finding her."

"Well, we know she's wearing a black coat. Her hair grew to her shoulders. She has a duffle bag. She has no money, so she's probably still here," Havoc said pensively.

"Central is huge Havoc. We would need a lot more people if we wanted to find her quickly, but the fact that she's alive has to stay a secret because there's a mole somewhere in the military and we can't take that risk." Breda sighed again in frustration.

Havoc dug his hands deep into his pockets. All of the recent events had almost made him forget about the spy. It was someone close enough to be able to get all that information. Ever since they found out about it, they had been especially careful in what they said out loud at work. Damn, he's right. It's going to be hard.

"Well, think about it. She has no money and it's winter. It's too cold to sleep outside, so she'd have to find some shelter to sleep at night. We can start with that and at the same time, ask them where most homeless people stay in the city. We'll just have to look everywhere ourselves," Havoc said with determination.

"Don't get me wrong Havoc. My previous comment did not, by any way, mean that I was giving up. I'm as pumped up as you are. As long as we know she's alive, I won't give up. Let's get our queen back."

Havoc smirked at him. "Yeah, it's about time she came back. I'm sick of the Fuhrer sulking all the time. It's depressing."

A.N.: I'm back, yay! Things are going to start to unfold fast. Roy and Riza's fateful meeting is coming soon. Probably in the next 2 or 3 chapters. Epic, epic. Hopefully. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry for taking so long to update, but... what can I say, it's just like that, lol. The next chapters are going to be longer too :)

D