Family of a Different Nature

Chapter 18 – Mustang's Big Plan

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Roy waited in his, dark, tiny office waiting for someone to report in. He drummed the fingers of his left hand on the desktop and flexed the muscles of his injured right arm as he did his best to keep his patience in check. He didn't have to outwardly look cool and calm. No one was around to see his wiggling.

He sighed and finally got up to dump out the cold cup of coffee and get a new one. It was going to be one of those – he glanced at the clock – mornings.

Breda and Havoc stood on a rooftop watching the get-away car. Dawn had just started lighting up the horizon but neither had time to look or enjoy. They had to rescue Fullmetal Shrimp and take down the terrorist's. Thankfully they had the full hand of the army behind them, but the plan had to be seen to by letter. Otherwise not only would mustang hang them on the flag pole by their balls but Armstrong as well.

"Have we got a location yet?" Breda asked Havoc who gazed down at their target with the binoculars.

"Not yet, they're slowing down and pulling into an alley way," Havoc muttered around a cigarette.

"Damn," Breda sighed, "that's gonna be hard to take,"

"Yeah, but we don't have too. Once we find out where they've taken the shrimp we can sneak in using the underground sewage system," Havoc replied. Breda nodded. He was thinking military, where Mustang liked to think in chess moves. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with the man.

"Okay, the car has stopped and people are getting out…ah! I see Edward!" Havoc cheered quietly.

"I'll report in the location," Breda said.

Hawkeye stood behind Olivia Armstrong checking over her rifle. They didn't have the location before Breda had called it in over the radio system and Armstrong had given her orders. Hawkeye was obliged to follow these orders but she had her own from Mustang. She hoped he confided these plans to Armstrong, otherwise the aftermath wasn't going to be very good for them. Major Alex Luis Armstrong was sparkling in all his glory as he buckled on his iron hand guard that held the array that made his alchemy work.

He turned to Hawkeye; "Let's go."

She nodded in return and slipped the clip of her gun home.

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Edward was hauled out of the trunk. He had a vague idea of where he was in Central; with all the time he had spent in the city – even including the past week looking for Kimblee – Edward had the idea he was in the warehouse district that was the center for all imports coming into the city to be sold. It smelt like grease, and motor vehicle exhaust. A garage was the most likely guess.

He was dragged across the wide expanse until he heard the sound of a door open. Still being dragged, he could only guess that he was being taken into another part of the garage, a storage room or a small office. It sounded smaller; at least, he really couldn't explain it to himself.

The big hands sat him in the chair and the blindfold came off.

"Finally," Kimblee was grinning from ear to ear.

Edward was elated. Yes, Finally, he agreed.

The guards hadn't kept a good eye on him; his hands were practically palm-to-palm. He could transmute the ropes and handcuffs off himself and onto the guards – two big, rough looking men he didn't recognize – and then take on Kimblee. He decided to wait. Kimblee could start monologueing, and though, quite cliché, there really wasn't any better way to get the bad guy to start talking.

One big guard took away the gag. Edward let out a wide yawn that wasn't faked at all; "So…how's it been?" Edward asked nonchalantly.

"I'm surprised Greed hasn't barged in here to take you back. The last time I saw you, you were armless, and legless, and dependent on him and Martel," Kimblee shrugged.

"Yeah, and you asked me the weird question about the Colonel that I didn't answer," Edward shrugged, "Alchemists play their hand close to their breast, you aught to have known I couldn't tell you how he does it. So, did you give up on that as a way to defeat Mustang? Or was it about Mustang at all?" Edward asked.

"Now we get down to the crux of it," Kimblee lent close to the desk that separated him from Edward. He propped his elbows on it and intertwined his fingers.

"If it really was about the Mustang you'd have done a better job of killing him. You gave him time. Time to warn his people, and to take cover before the bomb went off. Is this some weird plan of wooing him or something? Because whatever it is, isn't working," Edward sniffed; bored by the whole thing all ready.

"I am not in love with your Mustang," Kimblee rolled his eyes, "now, stop being childish,"

"Okay, Mr. I'm-smarter-than-everyone-in-the-world, you tell me what this is all about," Edward slumped in his chair. Trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. Kimblee looked far too elated and distracted with his plan to watch Edward too close.

"It's a better surprise," he said.

"Oh, I hate those," Edward rolled his eyes, "that also means it's lame,"

Kimblee didn't rise to the bait.

"And now, my young friend, the military should be here any second," Kimblee looked down at his wrist watch. That made Edward sit up and take notice.

"What?"

"Didn't you know?" Kimblee giggled, "oh, you didn't. Well, Mustang had a tracer sewn into one of the hems of your coat you always wear. He has known where you've been for the past five minutes and any moment now the Army is going to be busting in here…"

"And…?"

"Well, the Philosopher's stone takes a lot of people to make," Kimblee giggled insanely.

Edward cursed a blue streak.

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Riza Hawkeye wasn't an Alchemist. However, she'd seen enough alchemy to know when it was happening; she had glanced above quickly as they got to the garage, planning to bust through the floor, when the blue light started to glow.

She raised her gun just as Alex Luis Armstrong realized that the glow, too, was an alchemy of some sort. She shot at a line as his fist slammed into the stone; with the lines broken, the alchemy glow faded into the darkness that was now only lit by the lanterns the group had with them.

Alex kept smashing the ceiling. And soon he had a while large enough for them to climb up and out. The SWAT team was first. Their guns at the ready; Riza heard the sound of gunshots rattling above before the all clear was called out. She, Alex and Olivia were next up and out of the whole.

The garage was big. But at the end was a single door. The SWAT team had some the terrorists in cuffs. Others were dead or wounded. She was right behind Alex and Olivia – who'd made beeline for the door.

That was when the bright blue glow of Alchemy was back, for a moment she thought it was Edward, but the ceiling above them, again, was glowing.

And it was the most insanely complicated array she'd ever seen. Minus the one on her back.

She cried out a warning before the light got too much to bear and she had to shield her face.

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a/n - I just want to apologize for how long it's taken me to upload this. I promise a couple more chapters to complete. :)