Descent
Lies
xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
Descent
Chapter Thirteen
Lies
Russell turned in his sleeping roll and threw a stick into
the small fire, idly watching it burn.
The last few days had been lonely ones without Fletcher to keep him
company. He hated leaving his brother in
the middle of a war zone. But even if
there was fighting, Fletcher shouldn’t see much of it anyway.
were facing alchemists and that probably wouldn’t be for a while.
brother fighting in a battle against State Alchemists…
It was hard... but he wouldn’t allow it if he didn’t truly
believe what they were fighting for was the right thing.
The tall sixteen year-old frowned.
South.
They sent him south to spread the word of the People’s
Government, and they had denied his request to take his brother with him.
What was surprising was how well Fletcher had taken the
news. The boy had seemed slightly
disappointed, but other than that you’d never know the kid was being left by
himself in the middle of a war zone.
Russell shook his head.
His brother was growing up fast.
Sometimes he thought the boy was more mature than he.
The sound of a twig being broken sounded beyond the fire and
Russel sat up quickly. “Who’s there?” he
called.
There was a moment of silence before he repeated the call.
When he saw who it was, Russell sighed and mentally took
back everything he had just thought about Fletcher being so mature.
The short blond boy, who was now coming out of the darkness,
grinned in unashamed delight. “I was
wondering when you’d notice I was there.”
“Well you were making so much noise, how could
I not?” he grunted in feigned irritation.
“I’ve been following you since the day you left,” the boy
pointed out.
Russell shook his head.
“There are going to be some very unhappy people when they find out
you’re missing.”
Fletcher shrugged and knelt down by his brother’s
bedroll. Russell looked him over and
said in concern, “Where are your supplies?”
The boy fished some dried biscuits and jerky from his
pockets. “I had more, but I ate it.
Russell nodded, remembering, then said, “What?
The small alchemist rolled his eyes and said, “I didn’t want
to attract attention.”
When the tall teen nodded and lifted one side of his
blanket, Fletcher kicked his shoes off and scooted next to his brother.
pulling the small, warm body against his own.
;-;-;-;-;-;-;
looked up when a stack of folders, thick with paper, were dropped gracelessly
down on his desk. He had been so
engrossed in what he was reading that he hadn’t even noticed Ed entering his
office. The short blond, looking bored
beyond belief, gazed down at
with a flat expression.
“General Hakuro
eyes went to the pile, then back at Ed.
“And…?”
Ed sighed. “And, he
said he wanted files 465, 763, and 884 back by Monday.”
The dark haired man grunted.
“And?”
“And he said he’ll
be thinking of you this weekend and how you’re such a hard worker, while he’s
out on the lake,” Ed said flatly.
glared at the folders, then looked back up at the
short alchemist. “
Ed muttered something that
repeat himself.
“AND,” Ed growled
angrily, “He said, ‘You’re such a great little helper, Fullmetal, when you
aren’t running around the country like a lost puppy.
finally getting you house broken.’ Oh!!
I am so going to kick his uppity
watched in amusement as the young alchemist raised a fist and shook it.
his fucking life! If I hadn’t been on
that damn train…(2)”
Sitting back in his chair, the colonel watched the young
alchemist continue with his rant. It had
been one week since he’d found Ed wandering the streets of Central.
routine of sorts. Generally they woke up
together, rushed out the door together, then spent the
rest of the day at headquarters.
In the evenings Ed would leave by himself while
getting home around midnight. By that
time the young alchemist would already be asleep.
would go to bed, then the same thing would happen the
next day.
Despite living together under the same roof and seeing each
other frequently during the day, they didn’t speak to each other much.
knew Ed was avoiding any sort of conversation that could lead to questions he
didn’t want to answer. Unfortunately,
most of their waking hours together were spent at headquarters.
non-verbal way of getting Ed to open up to him.
He had been hoping they would have a chance to get intimate
again over the upcoming weekend. It
wasn’t just conversation Ed had been avoiding.
Most nights when he returned home,
found the blond sleeping on the couch; however, come morning Ed was usually
snuggled up to him like a defenseless kitten.
would hold the boy in his arms, enjoying the feel of the young alchemist under
his touch. He would breathe in Ed’s scent
and sometimes plant feather soft kisses on the blond’s skin.
because when Ed woke, he would move away from
as his legs would carry him.
wasn’t sure what had happed the night he had come home to find Ed asleep and
the telephone lying on the floor, but he was sure that it was influencing the
boy’s current behavior toward him.
“…can’t believe
that son of a bitch compared me to a little
puppy!” Ed shouted then looked behind him as the door opened and a man with
short red hair poked his head through the opening.
“So, uh, is it safe to come in?”
“GRRrrrrr” Ed growled, but
motioned with his hand.
The door opened the rest of the way and Heymans Breda walked
in carrying a box of doughnuts, followed by Jean Havoc and Vato Falman.
of the two couches in the office,
turned to Ed and said, “Well Fullmetal, as much as I’ve enjoyed this
have to save it for another time.”
Ed glared at him before turning his angry stare on Havoc,
who had started snickering. The short
alchemist stalked across the room and threw himself onto one of the couches,
where he folded his arms and tried to ignore everyone.
shook his head, then asked, “Where are Fuery and
Hawkeye?”
“Jus’ saw Fuery a bit ago, ‘e said ‘e was
said around a mouthful of doughnut.
After a few minutes, Lieutenant Hawkeye let herself into the
office. She was wearing a men’s three
piece suit and her hair was tucked under a cap(3).
“You’re late,”
said simply.
She nodded, looking weary and irritable.
“It’s not a problem.
We’re just waiting for Fuery now.”
She sat on the couch next to
box.
up and down then said, “What’s with the clothes?”
It took her a moment to answer, having just bitten into a
doughnut. “It is part of an assignment.”
“Oh I see. You almost
look like a guy.”
The blonde woman looked over at the short alchemist and said
blandly, “I often think the same thing about you too, Edward.”
Ed’s mouth fell open as Havoc,
Falman and
all started laughing.
“She got you on that one, boss,” Havoc chortled.
The teenager folded his arms again and stared at them with a
disgruntled look on his face.
“Here, have a doughnut,”
but the boy shook his head stubbornly and looked away.
Hawkeye opened her mouth to say something; she seemed to
regret her previous words, but stopped when the door opened and Fuery walked
into the room carrying a thin folder.
His face held a serious look on it and the jovial mood evaporated
instantly.
“I’m sorry I’m late…”
The short master sergeant said solemnly as he made his way across the
room and handed the folder to
The colonel took it, and without another word, Fuery sat on
the couch between Falman and Ed.
began to quickly scan the contents. With
each paragraph, his heart seemed to sink lower in his chest.
He looked up to make sure the door was closed, then said,
“Someone lock that door.” He looked back
down at the paperwork, not caring who carried out the order.
took another five minutes to go over the information, then closed the folder
and laid it down. Sitting back in his
chair,
pressed his fingers together in a steepled position
and stared at the soldiers in front of him.
Fuery had done some excellent information gathering; almost
highly classified; for how long was another matter, but at the moment it
was. If they were caught with this …
well… they just wouldn’t be.
“The Organization has formed a governing body in the east,”
towns have joined this rebel government and come out in open opposition to the
military. What troops remain in the
outlying settlements are being recalled to
in order to defend the military’s position there.
has plans to send his army, what they are calling ‘The People’s Army’, against
the city to drive the military out of the east completely.”
paused for a brief moment, letting his subordinates absorb what he’d just said,
then continued.
“There are also reports of runners being sent to the north
and south, spreading the news of the new government.
a few of these, but most go undetected.
The Fuhrer will be deploying troops to the east in an attempt to quell
the eastern rebellion. He is also
sending troops north and south; to every town, village and city to enforce martial
law. Any person found making
declarations about The People’s Government will be publicly executed to make an
example.”
“Colonel…” Havoc interrupted with a worried look on his
face. “What about the people in the
happen to them?”
looked seriously at the second lieutenant.
Havoc’s family owned a general store in the east(3)
and would most likely get caught up in all that was happening, if they weren’t
already. “There were no contingencies
for innocent civilians made in this report,”
finger. “However, I’m sure that oversight
will be taken care of.”
The tall second lieutenant seemed to consider this for a moment,
then said hesitantly, “What if sending troops to the
east fails?”
turned his gaze to Fuery, who hung his head, then looked at Ed.
with the other alchemist’s, then said gravely, “At that time, preparations will
be made to deploy the State Alchemists to annihilate the resistance.”
He frowned and continued.
“This makes it all the more imperative that we discover who in the
military is connected with Kagegkuski.
Those soldiers who will be sent out on the battlefield, they won’t have
any idea that the person ordering them to risk their lives could be a
traitor.”
wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was deployed before they found the
traitors. Unlike the uninformed soldiers
that made up of most the military, he knew
there were people in the military who would sell out the lives of others just
to stay in power of some sort. If it
seemed the current government was losing, well then they had connections to the
opposition to save their worthless asses…
The silence in the room was heavy and oppressive, each
person lost in their own thoughts.
Suddenly the phone rang, startling a few of them.
picked it up, and said simply, “Mustang.”
“Colonel Mustang?”
immediately. “It’s Alphonse Elric.”
Every person in the room was watching him, listening to his
side of the conversation.
“Alphonse,”
said flatly, and watched as Ed’s eyes widened.
The voice on the other line began to sound a little
nervous. “I’m sorry to bother you.
I can call back.”
“No this is fine,” he said, trying to sound
can I do for you?”
Ed began to fidget nervously and a few of the other officers
cast curious glances his way.
“Well… I was wondering if you’ve seen my brother,” the boy
asked in a worried voice.
“Fullmetal?” he questioned, his voice once again taking on a
flat tone. He watched as the young
alchemist became panicked and shook his head vigorously; a pleading look
filling his eyes.
“Colonel?”
“Yes. Sorry.”
paused. He was beginning to feel
angry. He didn’t like the idea of lying
to Alphonse, especially when he didn’t have a good reason to.
I’m sorry. I haven’t seen him.”
“Oh.” The
disappointment came clearly over the phone.
“I’m sorry,”
repeated. He really was sorry, but more
than that, he was angry; angry with Ed for not telling him what the hell was
going on; angry for being caught up in a situation he had no control over.
on, but he didn’t want to hear it second hand.
Perhaps it was childish, but he wanted to hear it from Ed.
“Okay… well… If you see him….”
“I’ll tell him to call you,”
“Right… well… thanks…”
hung up the phone and stared hard at the short blond.
He wanted answers, and he was going to get them.
;-;-;-;-;-;-;
Al hung up the phone and stared at it, one thought filling
his mind.
He lied...
----------------------
1) You’ll remember this guy from the series.
ones, but, haha, I’m just too lazy to look them up.
2) Episode 5
3) Got this look from episode 49. (although
she isn’t exactly wearing a three piece in that episode…)
4) I’ve taken this from the manga.
---
Since aff.net doesn’t
have a story alert system, I would be happy to email anyone who wants to know
when this story is updated. Just let me
know. And of course leave me an email
address. ^__^
---
Please Review