It takes time by Larissa

For Roy and Riza, well, I guess you could say there were signs.

Liar

noun

a person who tells lies: the man was a notorious liar

"Chaos to Hawk. Do you copy, Hawk?"

Riza shudders internally at the codenames the others have decided on, being suddenly reminded of childhood friends and playing spy in the backyard of old Barnaby. However, there is a man trying to grab for her throat and this mission is very much real, so there isn't much time for reminiscing.

She knees his stomach before striking at his neck and the man falls to the ground, unconscious.

"I copy, Chaos. What's your status?" The woman exhales through her mouth loudly, activating her microphone as she takes in her own situation.

There are a lot of guns but whomever they belong to is not here and the lieutenant takes this as an opportunity to restock; she had to shoot her way in and the pistol in her hand is almost empty.

"Not good." Hawkeye hears Havoc sigh on the other side of the line. "We are cornered, but holding up. Rage is trying to keep the line on, but I'm not sure we will last. We need reinforcements."

Worry stirs in the woman's chest, because Havoc is pretty well trained, but Fuery is still too young, too inexperienced, and they hadn't been prepared for this sort of counter attack.

The tip was a bust, they knew that from the beginning. The source was to meet them in an abandoned industrial park on the other side of Central and the whole thing smelled of ambush, but they couldn't let the opportunity pass.

They had been after these weapon smugglers for months and this was their first real clue of their movements. The colonel had been wise in taking the whole team, instead of just his adjutant; it was a preventive action, in case things went wrong.

Things had gone worse than expected, though.

The smugglers were prepared for them, having filled the industrial park with men armed to their teeth.

Riza is getting the details of their position when she hears the sound of footsteps above her. She stares at the rifle in front of her for a second that lasts almost a lifetime, before attaching it to her back. The weapon feels familiar, but uncomfortable, a reminder of what the military has turned her into, of the things she has done.

It feels like carrying the weight of the world.

"Give me a minute."

Someone bursts into the room as Hawkeye grabs a gun. She shoots the weapon out of their hands, making time in order to get to the window. There are clothes hanging on a line outside; she doesn't take long wondering what happened to their owners, though, for other gunmen have arrived and the woman only has time to fire a round before doing a backflip onto the fire escape behind her.

In the light of the room, she can see the silhouette of a black cape hanging near and Riza launches herself at it. Her calculations were correct, because she's suddenly sliding down in the direction of the adjacent building, which the lieutenant hopes to be empty.

She lands in a roll, but her arms feel sore and the woman is pretty sure her leg is bleeding.

"Chaos, have you found any sign of Flame?"

The question is made as she lies on the ground, rifle in hand, after making sure she is alone. There is no one out there and Riza is very glad that she won't be forced to kill. Not yet, at least.

"No smoke in sight. We lost contact with WO and Chill." Havoc's tone grows malicious as he speaks. The woman knows he means well but it's hardly the time for him to be making implications about her and the colonel.

As she makes her way to their hide out – just one or two buildings away from where she is now –, Hawkeye can't help but feel dread sinking into her stomach. Questions of where the others might be and of how they are going to contact help appear in her mind; running is all she can do to stop herself from panicking.

"Chaos?" Her voice is loud in the empty corridor. She knows something is wrong, because there should be gunmen here.

The woman tries her earpiece but the line is dead.

"They are not going to answer you, girly."

They appear from thin air, or that's what it seems. Two men, both with weapons that look way too big for close range, but they are the kind of guys that wouldn't know how to distinguish a Colt from a Webley, so Riza doesn't think much of it.

They are close in the constricted space of the hallways. She has her gun drawn, but the men seem to think she's not a threat.

Hawkeye knows there is only one bullet for her to use but that is all she needs. She fires.

The shot goes straight through the first man's shoulder and into the second's arm. They wobble on their feet, too surprised and in pain to react.

"You little bitch!" One of them shouts, trying to aim at her. However, he stumbles backwards, falling to the ground with a hollow thump.

"What you're feeling is a neurotoxin in which I coat all of my bullets. It paralyzes my target, giving me enough time to get away." She explains in a stern tone. "Or kill them."

The laughter she hears in the next moment has nothing to do with the two men in front of her, alerting Riza to the presence of another person in the corridor.

A woman in her late thirties shakes her head at the lieutenant, as if she disapproves of the other's ways. The smile in her tanned face is disturbing, in a mix of amused and sarcastic that reminds Riza of Solf Kimbley. The comparison is anything but comforting.

"The famous Hawk's eye." The stranger chuckles softly, scratching the side of her neck with her gun. "It's such an honor to meet you. Those two soldiers that we found earlier were calling for you quite desperately. In the delirious state my venom put them, I almost didn't understand who they were talking about." She snaps her tongue as if incredulous that she would make such a mistake. "They were making so much noise, though… We had to shut them up."

The anger that rises with the implicit meaning of her words is something that is expected, but it overwhelms the lieutenant to a degree she couldn't have imagined.

Riza grabs one of the guns she borrowed from the storage room, trying to take advantage of the other's apparent ease, but the woman is just as fast and the weapon glides across the corridor, disappearing in the darkness of the night.

They collide into a mess of punches and kicks.

"We could make a deal. All I want is to finish that little Colonel of yours." The woman hisses as they fight. Her exclamation is met with a fist to her jaw.

"You'll have to go through me first, Zathlyn." The use of her name makes the brunette stagger and Hawkeye is able to strike once again, pushing the woman against the wall with her shoulder.

The satisfaction in her eyes doesn't seem to faze the other woman, because Zathlyn smiles. A knife slides from up her sleeve and she presses it to the lieutenant's neck in a movement that is too quick to be stopped. It takes a second for Riza to realize her mistake.

"You underestimated me, Hawk's eye." Her tone is sickeningly sweet, in the way adults talk to children that are being especially difficult. "Don't worry, though, I won't make your mistakes when I'm taking care of the rest of your team; those two on the other room, the colonel and the ones that stood guard. I'll be particularly careful with the Flame Alchemist, as he seems so important to you."

Riza feels herself being forced into the opposite wall, the blade against her skin as a reminder of what will happen if she tries to free herself.

"The colonel will find you." The blonde snaps back with gritted teeth.

This seems to catch the woman's attention, because she leans forward, her brown creased in curiosity.

"Really? Why would he go through such trouble over the death of a mere subordinate?" Zathlyn replies petulantly. Then, as if something occurs to her, the woman's expression melts into wide eyes and a twisted smirk. "Unless… Unless you're in love!"

The manner she proclaims it is so victorious that Riza almost rolls her eyes. Instead, she glares.

In her mind, memories start coming to life.

They dance in front of her eyes and she watches as Roy Mustang appears and fades from her everyday in intervals. She remembers quiet nights on her father's house, the funeral, and more quiet nights as she lets him learn flame alchemy, a secret that is more hers than his, even if no one else will ever understand that. She sees herself joining the army, both because she wants to protect their country and because she wants to protect him, and, then, time after time when she has risked everything for his safety.

The answer is there, somewhere. There is a reason for why she does all of it, but it was never something Riza wanted to be aware of, choosing to ignore it. The woman knows the realization is within her reach, but she is still unable to grasp it.

Hawkeye chokes as the knife presses into her skin, drawing blood.

"Love is for children, he owes me a debt."

Her words are defensive but it doesn't matter at this point; Riza wonders if it is clear that she's just buying time. Zathlyn hovers over her with a condescending expression that annoys and frightens her, for that twisted smile is yet to leave her lips.

"Liar," is what the woman whispers before moving to slash her throat.

Riza closes her eyes, expecting fear. All she finds is relief that somewhere in the building, Havoc and Fuery are still alive, and a strange kind of awareness that is less painful than it is tragic.

I'm going to die, she thinks. How sad.

What comes next is unexpected; flames and shouts and a body that is familiar in ways it shouldn't.

Riza opens her eyes and stares at him, grateful and trembling, taking in the expression of worry Roy wears. She does it out of denial, much more than out of necessity, letting the Colonel know that she is fine, as the man gestures for Falman and Breda to find Havoc and Fuery.

The woman lies to herself, because she refuses to acknowledge that his was the last face to appear in her mind as she thought she was going to die.

Yes, that reply was based on a quote from Avengers. I feel like Riza was kind of ooc, but I was trying to show her badassery. Anyway... Reviews?