Fullmetal Alchemist: The Way To The Top

Chapter 38: Proof

Riza woke up before sunrise. She looked on the clock. It was five o'clock. She sighed and fell back to the bed. It was very uncomfortable, but it wasn't the main problem. Riza was afraid to fall asleep. She had been through a lot in the last few days. She was afraid of dreams. There was a possibility she would speak in sleep, which could cost her life and success in the mission. There were always men from the military in front of her apartment. They tried to stay unnoticed. Riza was too experienced not to see them. But she decided to play their game. If she would let them know, that she knew about them, it would be the same as saying: 'I am very dangerous. You should watch me more carefully.' Therefore she went everywhere with about five men behind her knowing that every suspicious movement could be her last one. Not long ago, she said they were playing with dynamite. On that time, she didn't know, how accurate that was. They were really playing the most dangerous game in their lives. Roy gave the fate of Amestris in Riza's hands. Only she, Roy and Havoc were responsible for this mission. Only they could save Amestris. Or bury it.

Riza laid in the bed lost in unpleasant thoughts. She had to pretend she was asleep. Her apartment was in the base floor. There were no curtain on her window, so she could see men dressed in black clothes standing not far away from the window. She watched the ceiling. With the first light ray, she stood up and went to the bathroom.

After taking a shower, she made some coffee. She was sitting on the chair with a cup in front of her, when she heard light knocking on the door. Riza opened it to see Kate standing in front of it. When she saw she didn't wake Riza, she gave her a bright smile. "Good morning, Riza. I see you wake up early, too. I hope you slept well." Riza forced herself to a smile, too. "Good morning, Kate. Yes, I slept well, thank you. Come in." Kate entered the apartment. "Would you like some coffee?" Kate nodded. "That would be nice, thank you." Riza made the coffee and sat down on a chair next to Kate. "What is the plan for today?" Kate drank a little bit of the coffee. "I think you will do some practice today. Either shooting, or running, eventually fighting. Maybe everything. Our higher-ups want to know, how well trained you are." Riza nodded slowly. "That's wise. They will be able to give me some job according to my abilities, when they will know them." Kate wavered for a minute. "Actually, they still don't trust you very much. I told them you were reliable, but they think you are a spy. That's why they watch you. There are always a few men near you." Kate gave Riza a scared look, "But you are not supposed to know that. Please, don't tell them I told you." Riza smiled. Kate was too nice. Her kindness was obviously honest. But still, Riza was sure Kate was there to watch her, too. Maybe Kate didn't know it, though. It was difficult to say, what they have told her to make her to get information from Riza. Though Riza was sure Kate wanted to be a good friend to her. "You don't have to fear. I won't tell anyone. I appreciate it very much." Kate smiled.

When they arrived to the military headquarters, they went straight to the Colonel's office. He looked at Riza and Kate. His face was like a stone mask. Riza realized, that she has never seen an emotion in his face, not even in his eyes. There were just a few other persons like that. The homunculi. Riza pulled the thought away. She saluted.

"You can leave now, Warrant Officer." Kate saluted. "Yes, Sir." Then the Colonel turned to Riza. "Today, you will show us your abilities. We will start with shooting. You were an elite sniper in Amstris." Then he added with mocking tone: "I am looking forward to find out if there are ay good snipers in Amestris." Riza's face remained straight. "Yes, Sir."

In the shooting room, Riza took a gun from a table in front of her. It was a small and light gun. The training system in Creta was obviously the same as in Amestris. They always started with the smaller and lighter guns, which were easier to use in stand. There were many men around her, watching each one of her movements. The Colonel gave her instructions: "I want you to lower the gun after each shot. Fire ten shots. And shoot as fast as you can." Riza looked around. Everyone watched her with a look of triumph in their faces. They expected to see some average shooting and they were looking forward to laugh on Riza. She turned to the target. She smiled a bit. She was looking forward, too. First, she controlled, how many shots she had in her gun. There were enough. Then she aimed and shot. She lowered the gun and then shot again. And again. She didn't need time to aim. She just lifted the gun and shot. On the end, ten shots were right in the middle of the target, not more than one centimeter away from another. Riza turned around to see the officers. Everyone, including the Colonel, was watching her with surprise. They weren't able to say a word.

Riza took a bit larger gun. She repeated the situation. The Colonel decided to abase her with the largest gun. They walked outside to the garden, because there were not that large rooms in the building. 'Is he naïve, or are there none good snipers in Creta?' Riza wondered, 'As a sniper, I use this gun the most. He has to know that it would be my strongest discipline.' Riza was becoming unsure. Maybe there will be some surprise. Sure not a nice one.

They reached a huge building. Based on the wire fence, Riza realized it was a prison. The building had a square shape with a huge atrium in the middle. They went to the rooftop. The Colonel pointed on seven men, who were in the atrium. "I thought it would be better to give to your shooting some movement," he said with amusement in his voice, "There are your seven targets. They are spies from Amestris. Shoot them."

Riza looked at the men. They were calm, not knowing, what was coming. There was one half of her mind saying: 'I can't kill the officers. They are my colleagues.' The other half said: 'I have to fulfill my role here. I can't end here. That would be the same as sending Creta's military to Amestris.' She kept her face straight. She couldn't let the people standing around her know, what she was thinking about. 'If I don't kill them, they will die anyway. Creta's military is not going to let them live. The only thing I can do for them is to give them a fast death without much pain.' She remembered Fuery. He was dead before he could fall to the ground. 'They will die as he did. As soldiers, who sacrificed their lives for their country. This is still better than Ishval. At least I hope so.'

Riza lifted the gun. It felt heavier than usual. The Colonel said: "You have got seven shots and seven targets. I want to see them dead right away. It's your turn. Now, prove your ability and your loyalty." Riza watched the men on the atrium through the pointer of her gun. The Colonel stepped in front of her and screamed: "Hey, you! You are going to die now! You will burn in the hell with the hands of your idol!" Then he stepped to the side. The men looked at Riza. "That's Captain Hawkeye!" Riza closed her eyes for a moment to clear her head. She has to do this. Then she aimed and shot the first one right into his heart. The others started to panic. Riza shot quickly and accurately. The men ran all around the atrium. Riza shot all of them. Then she lowered the gun. She looked at the men behind her. She wanted to show them that this didn't break her. But even more than that, she just didn't want to look on what she had caused.

The Colonel looked satisfied. He smiled cruelly. "Very well. Welcome to Creta's military." Riza nodded. She couldn't say anything, but it seemed that she could keep her face straight. "Now, we will continue with some physical tests."

Riza spent the rest of the day on the stadium, running around. There were some officers, who measured the time. Though they seemed to be impressed, Riza was cursing in her thoughts. She couldn't ran as fast as she used to. She hasn't been through physical training for a long time, but she thought her condition would be kept straight thanks to the many missions she had been at lately. At least it used to be so. She never needed the training on busy times. Maybe she had been injured too many times and her body stopped to get over injuries as fast as it used to. Though she wasn't that old, she had to admit that she has always pushed her body to its limits. After she finished the training, she went to the officers. One of them watched her carefully. "The Colonel is not going to like this. She is better than most officers in our military." The other one shook his head. "I think so. But we can still say she was in the elite part of the Amestris military. We can only hope that there will not be many men like her."

They stopped talking, when they saw Riza walking towards them. "Good job, Hawkeye," one of them said, "I can tell the Colonel you are in amazing form." Riza smiled kindly. "Thank you very much."

Late in the afternoon, she arrived to the Colonel's office. "To be honest, I am surprised. Your shooting and also your form is much better than I expected. You can join our snipers. You were on the same position in Amestris, so I think you are the best there." Riza saluted. "Thank you, Sir." The Colonel waved his hand. "You can go home now. I don't need you anymore today."

Riza arrived to her apartment. She looked out to see a few men standing about twenty meters away. They tried not to look suspicious, but Riza knew, what they were there for. Riza entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. It was the only one room in her apartment, where no one could find her. Actually, it was the only place in Creta, where she got privacy. She investigated the walls on the first evening in the apartment. She found nothing suspicious.

Riza leaned against the wall. The scenes from the day played in front of her eyes. There were those men from Amestris she had killed. This time, she didn't kill her enemies. This time, she killed her allies. Riza fell slowly to the ground. She laid her head on her knees and let the tears fall to her lap.