Test The Waters

Chapter 1: Confrontation

Riza sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall behind her. 1:45. Even with hours left, she could hear the men jabbering about their weekend plans; which bars they would visit, which restaurants they would eat at, and a few hints of maybe stopping in at the strip club to ease the tension of the work week. She clenched her teeth at the latter. She knew she would probably never tag along with the guys anyways but still, it would be nice to be considered into the plans but because she herself was a woman, and a stern one at that, there was no way she was going to be figured into the equation of this weekend's events. She really needed to find a hobby and if she were being honest with herself, it was getting a bit pathetic that she regularly sat at her desk hoping for an invitation to go out with them.

"So what are your plans this weekend Hawkeye?" Riza had been so lost in thought she hadn't realized that Havoc was slouched against the side of her desk, his cigarette bobbing up and down in his mouth as he spoke.

"I suppose I don't have anything planned as of yet", she silently prayed her voice hadn't sounded half as desperate as she felt. To her surprise, and reluctantly to her dismay, it hadn't because Havoc merely shrugged before suggesting she be on call in case they needed a ride from the bar. She agreed then pushed him off her desk as she finished filing the last of her paperwork. It wasn't exactly the participation she had wished for, but it was better than nothing and she would most likely have some interesting stories to share with them come the following Monday.

After what seemed like an eternity 5:00 finally rolled around and everyone gathered their things up to leave. As usual, she was the last out the door as well as being the first one in. She pulled off her military jacket and hung it over her arm as she piled her paperwork into her free hand and headed out the door. Since the windows in the office had to remain closed, she had forgotten how nice mid-summer was in Amestris. It was the type of summer where the sun was just enough to keep your skin warm and the breeze was enough to keep your skin dry despite the temperature. Downtown always had its own smell; fresh bread, the flowers from the vendor that surprisingly wafted from 2 blocks away, and even a hint of car oil from a nearby mechanic shop…but now that summer had rolled around, the air was also filled with the scent of fresh cut grass. It was an odd smell to her, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She was glad she had walked today instead of driving; she needed the exercise anyways and it gave her a chance to clear her head completely before she got home.

So there she was, lost in the beautiful chaos of the aroma of the air and the feeling on her skin, she almost hadn't noticed that creeping feeling of eyes on her. Now on full alert she snapped her head straight and all the euphoria she had been surrounded by dissipated. She scanned her surroundings of anything suspicious; she had always felt safe in this area of her neighborhood and it gave her an unsettling feeling in her stomach that trouble could lurk so close to her home. After studying the environment for several minutes, she failed to find anything out of the ordinary and decided she should retire to her upstairs apartment.

The steps felt as a mountain, each step took newfound strength and she hadn't realized how exhausted the week had made her. She fumbled the keys to her door and silently cursed as she dropped them at her feet. Heaving a sigh she slung her jacket onto her paperwork and bent down to scoop her keys up but before she could an unfamiliar hand snatched them away before she could even react.

"I believe you've dropped something…", a male voice said from above her.