Wolves among Sheep
Wolves among Sheep
Central Command
General Mustang's Office
1:00 pm
General Mustang was pointedly not taking calls or visitors this afternoon. He had both of his grandsons in the office with him, and he was not eager to introduce them to the other officers today. The last few days had been terrible and had taken their toll on his son. He, therefore, had insisted on the boys staying with him and Edward spending the day with Winry planning his wedding. Mei meanwhile had gone shopping, and Alphonse was working with his therapist. Rose had still refused to come out of her room this morning, and they all agreed to give her one more day before Ed went to talk to her.
Yuery was sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, coloring on a piece of scrap paper, while Roy held William in the crook of his arm as the baby slept when he heard a commotion in the outer office. A man was yelling loudly that he demanded to see Mustang right away, while Hawkeye was insisting that he was unavailable at the moment. Roy sighed heavily as the baby stirred. It wasn't time for him to wake up yet, and Roy had been doing so well not falling asleep with him too. Mostly because he couldn't leave Yuery unattended but still.
Mustang recognized Haralson's voice of course. The man had been a thorn in his side since the Academy and didn't seem to want to make peace now. Roy pretended not to hear the yelling as he continued to read and sign paperwork while humming to keep William from waking. Yuery had stopped drawing and was now staring at the door with a frown very reminiscent of his father's. Every time he got that look Roy was grateful it would be Edward, not Roy, who would have to deal with angry phone calls about the boy when he was a teenager.
The noise tempered down, and Roy assumed Riza had the situation handled. Yuery was still glaring at the door, but there was no further sign of trouble. Roy was about to encourage the boy to return to his coloring when the office door suddenly slammed open. Haralson stood on the other side breathing heavily, like he was either finishing a marathon or having a tantrum.
"I'm afraid I am not seeing visitors today Colonel. I am rather busy." Roy said, gesturing to the high stack of files in his inbox.
"I see you're still running a nursery out of your office. It seems to have doubled." Haralson replied. "One may wonder how it is you intend to fulfill the duties of your station while changing diapers."
"The same as any parent I imagine." Roy said. "Now please leave I have a lot to finish today and would like to get home on time."
"I need to speak to you about Colonel Archer." Haralson says instead of leaving. Roy frowns at him for a moment, eyes narrowed.
Finally, Roy slowly nods his head. "Very well, come the rest of the way in. Hawkeye would you mind watching the boys for a few minutes?"
"Not at all sir. Come Yuery." Hawkeye said as she reached for the boy, he happily took her hand and followed her out after she retrieved his brother.
Once the boys were gone and the door shut, Roy returned his attention to the other man. He waited expectantly, before asking Haralson to continue. "It's my understanding that Archer has been taken off of active duty until an investigation is completed."
"I would like you to site your sources, this level of breech is serious. It could potentially hinder the investigation." Roy responded instead of answering.
"It's a joke of an investigation, led by a short-tempered child, who managed to gain his reputation and rank through blatant nepotism."
"I'm sure that Colonel Armstrong would be pleased to hear he has retained his youthful appearance, but you will find he is not a child, nor did he gain his rank through such unsavory means. In fact, I can't think of a single officer in Central Headquarters that has, unless you know of someone?"
"I'm talking about your son, Edward Elric, as you damn well know. Very clever having the boy enlist under his mother's maiden name so he could end up in your command, but it will all come out eventually."
"Edward Elric is my adopted son. Adopted. Last year as a matter of fact, and at the time he was not technically under my command, nor anyone else for that matter. He has since been reinstated based on his performance on the battlefield and proven himself to be a competent and worthy commander." Roy said calmly. "As for the current ongoing investigation, yes, as part of his list of official duties he conducted an audit that led to several arrests. Since the arrests, however, the case had been turned over to Armstrong and Elric has continued on with duties."
"Really, because I stopped by his office before coming to yours and they said he was out of the office today."
"Fullmetal has many duties, some of which keep him from the office at times. He is still busy no matter where he has gone. Should you attempt to follow him yourself or order someone to do so, I will have you court marshalled. Now if there was nothing else, I am truly busy at this time. Do remember in the future to make an appoint me so that I can talk to me."
"Once Grumman's pet, always Grumman's pet. I heard Grumman even managed to get you marry his granddaughter, so now all we have to do is wait for you to cheat on the girl and you'll finally be out. Unless of course the poor thing is so ugly she'll put up with you to stay married."
"That is enough! Like it or not, I outrank you and if you continue to spew these nasty rumors, I will have you stripped of rank and sent to finish your contract in Briggs." Mustang said as he stood. "We'll see how well you fair with the mouth of yours under Armstrong."
"You can only get so far on luck Mustang. Just remember, some of us still remember the tiny useless boy who showed up to cause trouble in academy. Defending Ishbalans. Using your freak magic to jump ahead of us real soldiers, weaseling your way into high ranking idiots' pockets. I know the truth though, you and your bastard son are nothing more than traitors and scoundrels, and we will expose you eventually. Though how loyal the little bastard remains when he starts losing bits of himself is the question, isn't it?" Haralson then walked out of the office, ignoring a fuming Mustang. Mustang glared after him, already calculating the information Haralson let slip in his little rant.
"Hawkeye. I need you to take the boys back to my house and stay with them until I arrive." Mustang said in a deceptively calm voice. "Catalina, Falman, I want a complete list of visitors to the holding cells in the last forty-eight hours. Fuery, Heidrich with me. We need to look up some records."
Everyone was quick to follow his orders, and within moments the office was empty. Hawkeye had stopped by Colonel Elric's office to insist that Breda and Havoc join her so that the children were secure in the car. She also put Harris, Ross, and Broch in charge of locating their boss and strongly suggesting he join his sons at home.
Once they reached the car, Breda took the wheel while Riza and Havoc sat in the back each with a child in their arms and on alert. "What's the threat?" Havoc asked quietly as they carefully drove along.
"I don't know exactly, I wasn't in the room, and it may not have been clear had I been. Ro- Mustang knew the man back in Academy, and most of the man's previous statements to upset the General involved mentions of events from that time." Riza said, shaking her head. "whatever it was though, he wanted the boys immediately secured away from command, and since he is searching records, I assume the threat involves multiple parties. "
Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence
It was evident as soon as they arrived something was wrong. Franklin the Great was sitting on the front lawn, howling. She barely moved as they approached but showed no signs of injury. Havoc was given the task of watching both boys while Hawkeye and Breda cleared the house. Hawkeye had even insisted Havoc jump to the driver's seat when Breda climbed out. He then put Yuery in the passenger seat and William in his lap.
Hawkeye and Breda approached the front door with caution after adding Franklin to Havocs charges. Cobalt had not been outside, which was concerning in that the animals seemed to always be together. Hawkeye entered first, low to the ground in a near crouch allowing Breda a clear shot behind her. They made their way into the foyer before Hawkeye turned into the Living room and Breda the kitchen. Both rooms were empty, so they continued on, until they had cleared the floor entirely, Hawkeye had found Cobalt in the Library.
After meeting in the Foyer, they ascended the stairs with equal caution, before separating, Hawkeye clearing the Master Bedroom suite, and Guest room currently occupied by Mei Chang though she had not been home. Breda cleared Edward and Alphonse's (Currently Rose's) rooms, before the nursery and playroom. They again met at the top of the stairs and nodded before putting away their guns.
Every room in the house had been ransacked. Books had been thrown around and torn apart in every room, shelves and drawers emptied onto the floor. Yuery and William's toys were everywhere, a few of them torn apart. There was Ishbalan writing on the walls of every room, in what appeared to be blood. "We need to contact the General." Breda said in a tight voice. He wasn't fluent in Ishbalan like Havoc and Hawkeye, but he knew enough that what was written was terribly threatening.
"We do. Someone is trying to start a new conflict." Hawkeye said. "This was a good imitation, but this was not written by someone fluent in the language. There are several threats written here that need to be taken seriously."
"No one was in the house today correct?" Breda asked, concerned.
"As far as I know, they were all otherwise engaged. Excuse me I am going to borrow the phone for a few minutes."
She was able to catch Mustang before he left the records room. "Mustang. I believe you have completed all of your paperwork for the day and would find you should return home at this time."
"I believe that was my intention, yes." Mustang said stiffly after a brief pause. "Thank you for the reminder."
She hung up quickly, before looking at the list of contacts. If Ed and Al had decided to stop by Gracia's at some point, she would be able to leave a message for them to return home as well. She called Gracia'ss number before she could change her mind and asked if the other woman had seen either boy. As it turned out, Al and Mei had arrived a few minutes earlier to visit with Gracia and the children. Al was on the line quickly. "Alphonse, I believe you probably return home at this time, do you know if your brother intended to meet you at Gracia'?"
"He will be here any minute. Did something happen at home? Is Dad okay? The boys? Rose?"
"Your Father is on his way to the house now, and the boys are fine. Do you know where Rose went today?"
"Rose was staying home today. She didn't feel up to going out, she was a bit sad after the kids went home yesterday."
"She isn't here…" Riza said quietly as a terrible sinking hit her. "Wait for your brother before you come."
Riza hung up quickly, then rushed back up the stairs to the room she assumed belonged to Rose and William. Among the scattered and ripped articles of clothing and toys on the floor she found the short letter. She sank onto the bed as she read it quickly.
Flame,
You interfered for the last time.
Next time, this will be one of your sons.
This was going to tear them apart emotionally. If they didn't find her soon… it may already be too late, there was no ransom. This was revenge. Riza tried to think of a possible list of abductors. There shouldn't be too many people on that list that could write passible Ishbalan, but still make the grammatical errors on the walls consistently.
Once they took photos of the threats on the walls, they would need to erase them before calling in the military investigations department. Any rumor that this may have been done by the people of Ishval had to be taken care of, they could not allow this to restart the war. In the end, that was exactly what these people who did this were attempting and she knew Roy and Edward would agree with her on the matter.
With this in mind, she went to Roy's room and dug around until she found his camera. She checked the film and was pleased to find it was a new roll; Roy tended to change over quickly, but she would hate to have photos of this on the same roll as photos of the kids.
By the time Roy and the others arrived, she had photographed every room from every angle she could manage and had begun to fill a bucket with bleach and water to clean the walls. Ed and Roy walked into the kitchen and Roy turned off the water without a word.
"I had Havoc drive the kids over to Gracia's, Winry and Mei are still over there. He and Breda have been instructed to stay with them until I come for them." Ed said in a flat voice. "Al went with them; I don't want him to see this. Was there any evidence as to where Rose may be?"
Reluctantly, Riza pulled out the note and handed it over to the teen. He read it silently before cursing and passing it on to Roy. Roy read it twice, his expression turning dark and cold. "It's written in Amestrian. Everything else is written in Ishbalan. I don't think this part was preplanned. She must have interrupted them, and – "Riza said.
"If she isn't dead already, she will be before we can find her. I already have investigations out searching for her, and half of the privates stationed here in Central are doing a door to door canvas." Roy said. Ed hung his head and clinched his fists before walking out of the room without a word.
Roy followed his son, Riza trailing after. Ed stopped first in the living room and looked around before clapping his hands. "It's blood on the walls, for sure, but judging by the makeup it's animal blood... Cattle. Probably taken from a butcher with the amount used." Ed analyzed the room before the blood cleared from the walls and floor in a flash of blue light, gathering in the small waste basket by the couch. "We should get a bucket for the other rooms; they don't all have free baskets."
A second clap repaired the damage to the furniture and books, though they remained strewn around. He would have to clean the room later. With a grunt of satisfaction, he moved on to the next room. Roy had watched him work, and with a start realized he knew exactly what arrays Ed had preformed to clean the walls and make the repairs. He headed for the stairs, intent on finishing the top floor as Ed did the bottom.
They finished in this manner in under twenty minutes, just as Armstrong arrived with an investigation team. Roy and Riza silently agreed that they would inform only Armstrong of the cleaning they had done. He wanted another war even less than Roy did. He would see that it had been the intent though.
Roy went in search of his son, while Riza talked to Armstrong. He found Ed in the backyard with the dog and cat. Ed was sitting on one of the patio chairs, with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his chin resting on the left (metal) one. Roy sat next to him and waited for the blame to begin so he could redirect it.
They sat like that for a while, Roy watching Ed stare into space. Finally, very quietly, Ed said. "Rose is dead, isn't she?"
"I don't know, but it is likely." Roy said with a sigh, as Ed sniffled. "It was an attack on me Edward. You read the note. This is about me, it has nothing to do with any of you kids, you're just collateral damage to these people, a way to gain more leverage."
"I brought her here to keep her and her son safe. I brought them here and now he's another orphan." Ed said. "I was too heavy handed over the Chimera, that what started this. They may have come for you eventually, but the timing points to the lab investigations."
"It is possible they are hoping to distract from the labs; it's just as likely, and more probable that they are trying to derail the restoration of Ishval." Roy hugged Ed to his side as he talked. "Either way, this attack was about me, not you. If you need someone to blame, blame me. I should have anticipated the need for more security and arranged it. Instead I assumed any attacks would happen in or around the office and my family would be safe. I will be arranging more security from now on. William has you Ed. He has you, and Alphonse, and me, and Winry, and Riza. He's not all alone, even if… even if we can't get her back."
"Okay." Ed hugged Roy back, not really believing his Dad that he was blameless, but needing the conversation to be over as quickly as possible. "Wait. What time did the attack happen? Did anyone check to be sure they didn't hurt Ms. Bella? She was here this morning."
"I will send Fuery and Falman around to check on her." Roy said, not entirely sure what timeline they had just yet. "What time did you leave today?"
"We were out of here around eleven…I tried to talk Rose into coming with us. Al and Mei had already left about ten."
"Okay, so Ms. Bella is usually here until about noon… if this happened after she left, and for now I'm going to assume it did as there were no messages left about her, then they were here sometime between twelve, and half past one when Riza arrived."
"The walls were mostly dry, it was likely closer to noon, with the current temperatures, unless they have an alchemist with them…no they wouldn't, I didn't sense any residual energy. So closer to noon. That still… with this kind of damage, I'd guess they were in here at least thirty closer to forty minutes. Canvas the neighbors, the lady across the street is always home during the day."
"I'll put some people on it right away." Roy stood, already calculating.
"Good, I'll have them start looking into disgruntled workers from Three, see what they can dig up." Ed stood as well, headed toward the backdoor as he spoke.
"You don't need to do that; I can take care of it." Roy said as he reached out for the boy.
"I am not a child, Dad. I am a father, soon to be a husband, and most importantly to this I'm a colonel. You didn't leave it to others when it was Hughes…please try to understand. I HAVE to do this. If I'm going to sit here one day and explain to my sons that I failed their mothers…the least I can do is be able to honestly claim I did my best to avenge them. I- I can't do that for Yuery. The Bastard that killed his birth family took himself out at the same time, but I CAN find them for William."
"You have no idea how hard it is to gain a child who already doesn't need you." Roy said with a sigh. "I am sorry Edward; I will do everything I can to help you find the people who took her. We will find her dead or alive."
"I do need you. I DO. But I also need to do this." Ed said, as he turned back to hug his dad. "I need you Dad; I am sorry to make you feel like I didn't."
"No matter how hard you try, you can't push me away. You're stuck with me kiddo." Roy said hugging the boy back, he realized his misstep in his wording Ed was very insecure about parents and was constantly waiting for Roy to change his mind. "I will be your Dad even if you have a dozen kids of your own…please don't have a dozen kids of your own, I don't think my heart could handle the stress."
"I think we're sticking to half that actually." Ed sniffed and pulled away. "Thank you for understanding Dad. I love you."
"I love you too. Now let's go find these people. Together."