I'm rather enjoying this although writing stage magic is hard haha hope you enjoy :D
"Now if you blow on the top card here," Roy Mustang told the simpering brunette in front of him. The girl giggled before leaning over and blowing on the top card of the pile in Mustang's hand. Mustang flicked the card before he turned it over, presenting it to her. "Is this your card?"
"No," the girl said, her face falling as she had clearly gotten excited over nothing. Mustang slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead and groaned.
"I'm so sorry," he said, "this normally works. Maybe if you blow on it again, a little harder." The girl looked sceptical as Mustang put the card back on top of the pile and presented it to her again.
"Okay..." she said and blew on the card a second time. Mustang flicked the card and presented it to her.
"Is this your card?" he asked.
"Oh my god, yes!" the girl squealed, her eyes lighting up. Taking the card from him and turning it over she let out a gasp as she read the writing on the back of it. "That's my phone number!"
"Thought you might be interested in giving it to me after I take you out to dinner tonight," Mustang said with a grin. The girl looked up at him, biting her lip seductively.
"If you play your cards right," she said.
"I always do," Mustang replied.
The girl took the tie Mustang was wearing between her fingers and began to play with it and at that point Winry had seen enough. The display was starting to make her feel a little sick and she desperately wanted to put an end to it.
"Excuse me," she said stepping forward. "Are you Roy Mustang?" Both Mustang and the girl turned to look at her. Mustang looked as if his luck had just come in while the girl looked irritated by the sudden interruption.
"Perhaps," Mustang said, "that all depends on who's looking for him."
"My name is Winry Rockbell," she said holding out her hand. Don't drop the 'Agent' in yet, save that for if he starts getting fresh. "I'd like a quick word if I may?"
The brunette took the card with her phone number on it and slipped it into Mustang's jacket pocket, pressing a kiss to his cheek and her body up against his as she did.
"Call me," she told him and sauntered away. Mustang watched as she walked away, his eyes focused on her backside. Winry rolled her eyes in irritation.
"Hello," she said clicking her fingers in front of his face until he turned to look at her. "Can I have your attention for a second?"
"Sure what can I do for you?"
"I have a proposition for you."
"Do you really?" Mustang smirked. "By all means go ahead"
"Have you heard of 'The Dwarf In The Flask' Theatre?" Winry asked.
"Owned by Father?" Mustang asked. "I have, why?"
"How would you like to perform there?" Winry asked.
"I can do crowds," Mustang replied, "but you won't catch me anywhere near Father."
"Not even for the fame and prestige that will bring?"
"Sorry," he said, "I can't be bought."
"Any man can be bought, Mr Mustang," Winry told him, "I just need to find your price."
"Let me ask you something Pretty Eyes..."
"Winry Rockbell," she corrected.
"Why are you so interested in me?" Mustang continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Is it my good looks or my charm?"
"I can assure you it's neither," Winry said flatly, "my interest in you if purely for your magical talents."
"So you like to play with fire?" Mustang asked smirking. He clicked his fingers and a stream of liquid coated the front of Winry's jacket.
"Was that lighter fluid?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Ah but where did the lighter fluid come from?" he asked, grinning. Winry rolled her eyes. This guy was starting to get on her nerves so maybe a change of tactic was in order.
"Mr Mustang do you have a tattoo like this?" she asked holding up the picture Olivier had given her of the tattoo every member of The Brotherhood was supposed to have.
"You're not going to like where it is?" Mustang smirked.
"If you show me your penis or shower me in any more lighter fluid I'm going to take it away from you," Winry said firmly.
"The penis or the lighter fluid?"
"Take your pick, either suits me," Winry replied.
"There's no need to resort to that Miss Rockbell," Mustang said putting his hands up in defence.
"Actually it's Agent Rockbell," Winry told him, flashing her badge from her inside jacket pocket. Mustang chuckled and shook his head.
"Didn't realise I was talking to the Feds," he said.
"Yes well maybe you should watch who you try to seduce next time," Winry stated as she put her badge away.
"Duly noted," Mustang said. "So what is it you want me for Agent Rockbell?"
"You are aware of Father and the associations that he has, aren't you Mr Mustang?" Winry asked. "I assume that's why you tend to keep your distance from him."
"I am, it is and please call me Roy," Mustang said.
"Seriously?" Winry asked raising her eyebrow at him.
"Force of habit," Mustang shrugged.
"So you understand that this criminal needs to be brought to justice?" Winry asked hoping that she wasn't reading Mustang completely wrong.
"And how could I possibly help you with that?" he asked.
"Father is very interested in having 'The Brotherhood Of Travelling Alchemists' up on his stage," Winry said. "Once you're up there we can infiltrate his organisation, expose his crimes and arrest him."
"Sorry sweetheart," Mustang said. "Brotherhood's disbanded."
"What if I told you I can get you all up on that stage so that you can perform to thousands, bring down Father and then go back to using your magic to charm defenceless women," Winry told him.
"That sounds like a reasonable deal," Mustang said. "Anything else in it for me?"
"I don't bring you in for trying to seduce a Federal Agent on duty," Winry told him.
"That'll do it," Mustang grinned.
"You're incorrigible," Winry said.
"So I'm told." he said smirking. "So I'll need some way of contacting you to find out when you want me, will a phone number do?" He flicked the pile of cards still in his hand and presented the top one to Winry.
"That's my personal phone number," she said levelling him with a glare.
"Would work be better?" he asked. He placed the card back on the top of the pile, flicked it again and presented it to her. Sure enough the phone number on the front had changed to her direct dial for work. He placed the card on top of the pile, flicked it a third time and presented a Queen of Hearts with nothing written on it.
"On second thoughts I'll contact you," Winry stated.
"No problem," Mustang said. He placed the card on the top of the pile for the final time, flicked it and handed Winry the card with his phone number written across it. "That's my personal number if you ever want to get personal."
"I can assure you I don't," Winry said slipping the card into her pocket. "I do, however want to know how you did that."
"Sorry love," Mustang grinned, "no dice."
"I thought as much," Winry said. "I'll be in touch."
"I look forward to it." Mustang said and winked at her. Winry smiled politely, hoping to god that the rest of them weren't as bad as he was.
Dubleth, Winry decided was a lovely place; one she might like to either retire to or settle down in with a family. It seemed very much a local place where everybody knew everybody and there was no such thing as privacy. After years of secrecy with the Bureau, that sounded like heaven.
Because everyone knew everyone she only had to ask the first person she saw where she could find Sig's butchers and was pointed in the right direction without any resistance or having to flash her badge. Sig was a huge bear-like man; all muscle with a cuddly side that reminded Winry very much of Olivier's brother Alex. He had been very helpful when Winry asked him where Izumi was likely to be and pointed her towards the huge warehouse that held the meat lockets out the back, allowing Winry to go through unsupervised. So far this was turning out to be a very easy recruitment.
"Izumi Curtis?" Winry called, her voice echoing around the huge room. "My name is Winry Rockbell I was wondering if I could have a quick word," she continued when nobody answered. A clinking of chains caught her attention.
"Just a second," came a voice from the same direction as the clinking. Winry followed the sound until she came across a woman suspended from the ceiling, wrapped in the chains and struggling to get free.
"Oh my god!" Winry cried when she saw her and ran towards her, wondering what the hell was going on. "Hold on, I'll get you down."
"It's okay," the woman, who Winry assumed was Izumi, said, "I've nearly got this."
"How are you going to get down when you get out?" Winry asked.
"Oh..." Izumi said and suddenly stopped struggling. "I didn't think of that..."
"I can get a ladder or something," Winry said.
"If you could be quick," Izumi said. "I think I'm going to..."
Before Izumi could finish her sentence the chains slipped loose and Izumi fell from the high ceiling with a scream. A scream of her own left Winry's lips as Izumi plummeted into a huge metal skip with a crash that echoed around the room. Winry ran to the skip and tried to heave herself over the side so that she could inspect the damage. Best case scenario she was administering first aid, worst case she was calling a coroner. When she finally managed to heave herself up enough to see inside she found it empty.
"What the..."
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" a voice asked from behind her. Winry spun round to see Izumi standing behind her, grinning and completely unscathed.
"How did you...?" Winry looked from Izumi to the skip and back again a few times before she shook herself. "Of course, now are you Izumi Curtis the escape artist? Although I realise that question may be a little redundant."
"I'm Izumi Curtis, yes," Izumi nodded, "but I'm just a simple housewife."
"But you are Izumi Curtis of 'The Brotherhood Of Travelling Alchemists', correct?" Winry asked nodding to the tattoo just above Izumi's left breast.
"I don't do much of the travelling these days," Izumi said.
"But you still do the magic, yes?"
"What do you think?" Izumi asked as she climbed into a metal locker and closed the door behind her.
"Excuse me," Winry said going over to the locker and opening the door. Her jaw dropped as she found it empty. "What the..."
"Over here," Izumi's voice said from the other side of the room.
"How...?" Winry looked from the locker to Izumi and back again. She shook herself. Stick to topic. "You know what, it doesn't matter. I need to talk to you about something."
"So talk," Izumi said as she made her way back over to Winry.
"You know anything about a man named Father?" Winry asked slipping her hand into her pocket to clasp her handcuffs. If Izumi was going to try to keep escaping while she was talking then Winry was going to make sure she was pinned in one place long enough for her to finish her proposal.
"Enough," Izumi said. "Why?"
"Then you know what kind of activities he is involved in," Winry said.
"Enough to know that I'm not interested in getting involved with him," Izumi said. She opened the door to another locker and Winry darted over to it, slamming it closed with her hand before Izumi had the chance to slip away again.
"Look," she said smiling, "I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I'm Agent Winry Rockbell." She held her hand out to Izumi.
"Izumi Curtis," she said taking Winry's hand and shaking it. Quick as a flash Winry pulled her handcuffs out of her pocket, snapped one around the hand that Izumi had out and grabbed the other, cuffing her to the handle of the locker door in the process.
"Haha!" she exclaimed when she had Izumi trapped in one place.
"Very good Agent Rockbell," Izumi said with a smirk, looking at the handcuffs and then at Winry. "So now that you have me what are you going to do with me?"
"I'd like to make a proposition," Winry said.
"Agent Rockbell please," Izumi snorted, "I am a married woman you know." Winry groaned and slapped the palm of her hand to her face.
"Not that kind of proposition," she clarified.
"I thought as much," Izumi stated. "You don't look like that kind of girl."
"Back to the subject at hand," Winry said trying to reign the conversation back on track before she lost it completely. "You know who Father is and what he does, how willing would you be to perform on his stage so that we can infiltrate his organisation?"
"Why?" Izumi asked. "He a big fan of stage magic?"
"Apparently so," Winry replied ignoring Izumi's hint of sarcasm. "I am trying to get 'The Brotherhood' back together so that they can perform on his stage and we can expose him for his crimes and arrest him."
"And what's in it for me?" Izumi asked.
"Fame, prestige, to perform again."
"I gave all that up when I settled down with Sig," Izumi stated.
"I'll let you out of those handcuffs," Winry stated.
"Oh you mean these handcuffs?" Izumi asked. She gave the cuffs a shake and before Winry knew what had happened they had left Izumi's wrists and were snapped around hers. She presented her free wrists to Winry and smirked. "First rule of magic Agent Rockbell; always be the smartest person in the room."
"Wait!" Winry called as Izumi walked away. "What about my proposal?"
"Tell you what," Izumi said turning back to smirk at her, "if you can get out of those cuffs in ten minutes then I'll do it. If not you're on your own."
She turned round and began to walk away but the clinking of metal against metal made her stop and turn back to see Winry free and standing a few feet away from the locker, the handcuffs dangling from the tip of her index finger. She sauntered towards Izumi and deposited the handcuffs into the open hand she raised.
"First rule of being a Federal Agent Mrs Curtis," she said as she continued walking out of the warehouse and back to the butchers, "always be the most prepared person in the room."
"Well then I guess you have my service," Izumi said smirking and catching up to her.
"Good, I'll get your number from your husband and I'll be in touch," Winry told her, feeling rather proud of herself.
"I look forward to it," Izumi said.
"By the way," Winry said turning to study her with narrowed eyes, "how did you do that? With the handcuffs and the chains and the locker?"
"If I told you that I'd have to kill you," Izumi replied.
"I could have you arrested for talk like that," Winry pointed out.
"I'd like to see you try," Izumi smirked.