Fullmetal Alchemist: The Way To The Top

Chapter 35: New Orders

Roy sat in front of President Grumman's desk. "I am glad you came so soon, Brigadier General." Roy smiled a bit. "You told me you had some work for me, Sir. I was expected you would give me orders any time. I have been ready to come since I arrived to Central." Grumman smiled, too. "You are a great subordinate. How are you and the rest of your team?" Roy knew lying had no sense. Grumman had known him for a long time; Roy joined the Military as his subordinate. "Honestly, we are looking forward to get something to do. The last couple of days were difficult for us. But, of course, we are ready to give our full performance. Captain Hawkeye and Lieutenant Havoc have recovered completely after their injuries from Ishval." Grumman nodded; he expected nothing less.

"What is the job you told me you have for my team, Sir?" Grumman was still watching Roy very carefully. "Amestris is in a difficult situation, Brigadier General. We are in a fight in the North, where Major General Armstrong fights against groups from Drachma on daily basis. The groups are getting bigger every day. Based on her words, the situation is not going to be any better. Though she can work with only small loses, I have to send her some backup. I am expecting a war to come at any time. We are lucky enough to have peace with Xin. Thanks to your friends, they are our allies now. But there are problems with Creta now. Our spies report a plan to attack Amestris. In this situation, we cannot afford to get attacked by a country as strong as Creta. We don't have enough men to face the attack. We even don't have enough men to surprise them with our attack, either. I have thought a lot about the situation. There is only one possible solution. Not long ago, I said you are the elite team of the military. I am going to use your qualities now. It will take a great team work to have this job done. The solution I have found is to first get much information about Creta and second to kill their president. According to the information we have, the idea came directly from him. There is a large campaign running there right now about making Amestris a province of Creta." Roy started thinking immediately. "But Sir, if we kill their president, you will be killed, too." Grumman smiled. "That's why I will build a team of elite snipers around me. The snipers have a very rare ability to observe the environment very carefully." Roy nodded slowly. "You will probably want to have Captain Hawkeye in that team." Grumman shook his head. "I have to admit that she is the very best sniper in the military. But I have a different role for her. After a long consideration, I concluded that she is the best qualified candidate to be our agent in Creta." Roy gasped. "But..." "Just think about it from my point of view, Brigadier General. Captain Hawkeye is the best sniper in the military. When it comes to the attempt on Creta's president, she can shoot from a distance long enough not to get killed right away. She is very reliable. I know I can trust her. You have a great communication methods, too. There is no better candidate." Roy was starring at Grumman in disbelief. Grumman gave him a kind smile. "When you joined the military, you said that you want to do whatever it takes to protect the people in this country. You know as well as I do that there is no better possibility in this case." Roy nodded. He had no arguments in the moment. The thought of sending Riza to a danger like that was devastating. But Grumman was right. When he joined the military, he was ready to do anything for this country. "Yes, Sir. But I cannot promise you I will stay in the military if anything happens to her." Grumman nodded. "Yes, I know. I am playing a risky game now. I know very well both her and your lives are in that game. I don't like it, either. But it is the best possibility. You are not only the most likely to get the mission done, but you are also the most likely to survive it. And one more thing. After the Creta's president will be killed, you will be in a danger, too. I recommend you to keep some of your subordinates by your side." Roy nodded. He stood up and saluted. "I will not disappoint you, Sir."

When Roy reached the front office, he only said: "Captain Hawkeye, Lieutenant Havoc, come to my office." Riza and Havoc followed him confused. His voice was hard as a stone. His eyes were cold. Both Riza and Havoc knew very well, that Roy learned something, what hit him hard and he stayed cool only on the outside. "Did you get the orders from the President, Sir?" Riza asked. "Yes, I did." Roy watched the two carefully. "The President informed me about a plan of Creta to attack Amestris. We don't have enough men to face the attack, for many are in the North, which faces attacks from Drachma. The plan is to send an agent to Creta, who will collect information and then kill their president." Then he looked at Riza. "Captain Hawkeye, you will be our agent." Riza showed no surprise. She only saluted with determination. "Yes, Sir." Havoc was surprised also for her. He stood speechless.

Riza only asked with a conversation tone: "What will we use as an official reason for my way to Creta?" After a short silence, Havoc said: "What if you act as if you had an argument? The Captain could act as if she wants to support the plan to attack Amestris. If you act so, you may infiltrate in Creta's military better." Roy nodded. "That's a great idea." Riza asked: "Aren't you going to inform the rest of the team?" Roy shook his head. "The less they know, the better for them. Though I trust everyone of my team, I trust you two the most. This mission is also very dangerous. Not only to perform it, but also to know about it is very dangerous. But I don't want to let them to have no clue about all of this. I will have to think about what I will tell them." Riza and Havoc nodded.

Havoc asked: "What will be my job in this case, General?" Roy smiled. "It would be very risky if I would communicate with the Captain directly. You will be the one, who will make our communication possible. And you use to have amazing ideas. I think about giving you Second Lieutenant Ross. Maybe her help will be useful to you. The more hands the letters go through, the better." Havoc nodded. "Thank you. I am sure it is possible for two people to stay unnoticed."

Roy sat quietly for a few moments, lost in his thoughts. "Do you remember the little apartment, which we used in the Barry the Chopper case?" Both Riza and Havoc nodded. "I think it is time for Jacqueline to move in again." Havoc smiled. "You may call this sick, but I am starting to like this, General." Riza nodded. "Yes, I like it, too. I think we need something like this. Something, what needs our full concentration. We may say we hate it, but despite everything we are still soldiers. We are used to run around exploding bombs."

There were stil a few things they had to talk about. In the end, they spent a few hours planning everything to the details.

Then Riza turned to Havoc. "I can't take Black Hayate with me. Since he has nowhere to stay... Would you take care of him, please?" Havoc smiled. "It will be my pleasure." Riza nodded. "I have just one more question. Should I try to hide the letters I will send you?" Roy shook his head. "No. Use the post office in Creta. It will be our job to hide its way in Amestris. If they would find out you were sending secret letters to Amestris, they would lose their trust to you." Riza nodded slowly. "Alright. I think I will go and prepare myself for the journey." Havoc came to her. "Have a safe journey. If you will need anything, do not hesitate and ask." Riza gave him a friendly hug. "Thank you, Jean." Then she came to Roy. He closed her in a hug. "Have a safe journey. And please, whatever happens, come back to me." Riza hugged him more tightly. "I promise you I will do my best. I am sure it will be enough." Then Roy kissed her on her lips. They stood there in a hug for a few minutes, not wanting to let go.

Before she left the office, Riza stood in front of the door. She gave them a short nod and then she stormed out from the office. Falman and Breda in the front office were looking confused on her. Then Havoc came to the front office. "Get Second Lieutenant Ross and then come to the General's office." Falman and Breda didn't hesitate and ran to the office of Major Armstrong, where Maria Ross had her working space. After a few minutes, all three of them entered Roy's office. "What happened?" Breda asked, when he saw Roy's face, "Did something happen between you and the Captain? She looked pretty mad, when she left." Roy shook his head. "It was only acted. She got a special job. I am not telling you any detailed information. As long as you don't have to know, it is for your own safety to stay out of this. But it is important for the whole military to think that we had an argument. Tell it also to the Major and the Sergeant. I am sure about the four of you, but I am not sure if they can keep their mouths shut." Havoc, Breda, Falman and Maria Ross saluted. "Yes, Sir." Roy released them with a gesture.

"Second Lieutenant Ross, may you stay here for a moment." Maria Ross returned to Roy's desk. Roy watched her carefully. "Second Lieutenant, are you still so sure of your loyalty to me?" Maria Ross nodded determinedly. "Yes, Sir. I will never forget that I thank you for my life. You have absolutely no reason to doubt my loyalty." Roy nodded. He still scanned her with his look. "After the work today, you will go with Lieutenant Havoc. He will show you an apartment, which we will use to send and receive mail from the Captain. Before the Promised Day, we learned that the best way to confuse the enemy is to let it go through many hands. You will be a part of that machinery. We have to find a new way for each letter. I am sure they will watch all of us. We have to act very natural. The good thing is that we haven't been watched before, which means that they don't know our habits. And one more thing," Roy added, "from this moment on until the end of the mission, you are directly under my command. As Brigadier General, I order you not to tell a word to any lower rank than me." Maria Ross saluted. "Yes, Sir." Roy smiled. "Alright," he said then, "That's all for now. I will let you know when I'll have some work for you."