AN: this turned into a full blown 7k word fic so i've decided to split it into three parts

it was my first idea for camp nano and I actually adore it i've been wanting to write a kidnapped fic for YEARS so i've finally went and done it

i took some liberties with how a police case works. i'm no detective and don't have the time to sit and investigate how police cases work right down the last detail. it's camp nano after all, ain't nobody got time for that this month! ; )

a flame that still burns

"Got a new case for you Mustang," Grumman announced, tossing a manila folder on his desk. Roy looked up from his paperwork, his pen smudging as the folder hit it. He frowned.

"Can I ask what this one is about?" he asked, trying to keep the sour tone out of his voice. He had spent all morning on that report and now it was ruined. However, it wasn't like Grumman to drop a case on him. The man was eccentric in general, not just as a boss, but this was unusual.

"A personal request." His voice was hard, face pulled tight. That explained it.

"Okay, I'll take a look."

"I love these guys, but this is time sensitive and you're my best detective."

He would have smirked at the praise bulking up his ego, but Roy's attention was diverted by the picture and the name on the file.

Riza Hawkeye. Kidnapped 24/03/19. Missing for two days.

Riza Hawkeye… He hadn't heard or thought about that name in, what, twelve, thirteen years? They had gone to school together. Kidnapped… Roy swallowed. He didn't want to think about the kind, quiet girl he had shared a class with for four years before his parents moved away from East City to Central being kidnapped.

From what he remembered she had been one of the rich kids. Most of the class had been, however Riza had never been one to rub it in his face. Roy had come from a considerably poorer background. His parents had worked their fingers to the bone to get him into that school. With the help of his Aunt they had done it though, something he was grateful for every day.

"What do I need to know?" Roy asked, settling back in his chair as his eyes skimmed over the rest of her file.

"Taken from her apartment in Central. From what we determine it was about two days ago," Grumman began. "No signs of forced entry, but there was a struggle." Roy swallowed, but nodded. Glancing up when Grumman's paused, he noticed his boss was having a difficult time with this. "Blood in the carpet. DNA match showed it was Riza's."

Shit. "Sir –"

"Another set of prints left on the bedroom and front door," Grumman forged ahead. He knew for Roy to do his job effectively, Roy would need to know everything about her background and her living situation before she was kidnapped. "We're running them to find a match as we speak. There are photos in the file, towards the back. If you'd like to see the scene, I can have that arranged."

"Any suspects so far?" Roy asked, clinically analysing every little detail laid out in front of him. "Any jilted lovers? Someone who would seek revenge on her?"

Grumman shook his head. "I don't know. I'm… not in contact with that side of the family. Riza only sought me out a few months ago, and it was her alone. My daughter died when Riza was only a child." Roy was surprised to learn that. In the four years they had been in each other's company she had never mentioned not having a mother. "Father moved away to East City after Teresa passed away and never told me where he went."

"I went to school with her," Roy murmured, looking at the pictures of Riza's apartment.

"Riza?" Grumman sounded incredibly surprised.

"Yeah. We were in the same class. Then my parents moved to Central."

"Can you help her?" Roy met Grumman's desperate gaze. "Riza's very private and never mentioned her personal life to me, which I understand. However, we're all each other have left. I won't lose her."

"Of course, sir. I'll do everything I can."

Roy meant it. That girl was the only decent girl in that school, the only one who hadn't made fun on him because of his background. Plus, she was the Captain's granddaughter, apparently. He would make sure he brought her back safe and sound. Riza deserved that much.

"Mustang, over here." Roy looked up from studying the carpet of Riza Hawkeye's apartment. Jean Havoc called him over to the bedroom and Roy's stomach sank, mind automatically arriving at the worst connection between that room and the other signs of struggle they had seen throughout the apartment. "See this?" Havoc asked, pointing towards the door frame. There were two sets of bloody fingerprints on the white surround.

"Have these been processed?" Roy asked, swallowing roughly. In his mind all he could picture was the young girl he once knew being hurt and dragged, hands bloody, from her bedroom by a stranger with the intent to harm. It made him feel sick.

The officer Roy directed his question to nodded. "They're being processed as we speak. One set is the victim's and we're running scans on the other."

"Okay, good. Are these the only ones?"

The officer shook his head. "No. There's another at the front door." Roy nodded, asking the officer to show him them too.

"It doesn't look great," Havoc stated grimly, looking around the living area. There was a smear of blood on the carpet leading towards the door.

"I know," Roy muttered. "What are you thinking?"

Havoc took another scan before launching into his proposed series of events. He strode back to her bedroom, looking at the rumpled duvet cover on the bed. "She was either asleep or in bed when her attacker made their presence known. There is no sign of forced entry into the apartment, either from the window or the door. No locks are broken so I'm certain Riza welcomed the person in, presumably someone who was friend or an acquaintance."

Roy nodded. "I agree."

"From there she was either chased through to this room, knocking this lamp over," Havoc continued, gesturing towards the lamp lying on the floor. "Or the attack happened after they had sex."

"Has anyone checked the sheets for evidence?" Roy asked, eyeing the bed. It felt odd to be doing such an act in Riza's apartment. They had known each other as kids. It felt like an invasion of her privacy.

They both turned expectantly to the officer with the notepad who was furiously noting down Havoc's monologue. "Yes, no evidence to support that in here or anywhere else in the apartment."

"Okay, good." That ruled out rape as well, for which Roy was thankful. The knot in his stomach relaxed slightly. It didn't mean it hadn't happened elsewhere, as much as he didn't want to entertain the thought, however he was glad it hadn't happened in her own home.

"So, I think this is where the struggle began," Havoc stated. "Judging by the fingerprints on the door frame and the smear on the carpet, Riza was injured in some way, possibly to the point where she couldn't walk properly, which was why she was dragged. There's more blood out in the hall, but just drops, suggesting she was on her feet. Hand prints on the wall too, which match her DNA and the unknown assailant's."

"Okay. Nice work, Havoc." He nodded but didn't smile. Roy understood why, he wouldn't exactly want to be praised on how he had figured out a young woman had been abducted from her home either. They would both rather it didn't happen all together.

"Time to interview the neighbours?" Roy suggested, taking one last look around the apartment, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his Central PD tactical jacket. It was an attempt to try and hide how they had been balled into fists, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands.

"Let's do it."

In this job, a detective sees everything. Most are harrowing and stay with someone for years, others are not so bad. However, seeing all these atrocities, one becomes complacent, never expecting that it will happen to someone they know. That's what happened to Roy. Of course, these unfortunate events could happen to anyone, no one was invincible. He had always wondered if the day would some that someone he knew would be murdered or kidnapped, however he didn't really expect it to happen. Even though Riza wasn't exactly someone he knew, it was still a shock to discover that an old childhood friend had been kidnapped. He wouldn't have wished that on her, she had been such a good person as a kid.

All he could do now was do his job to the best of his ability, like he always did, and hope that was enough to bring an old friend and the Captain's granddaughter home.