Soldier Keep On Marching On

Who Are You?

Murphey's Law states: "Things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance," or more commonly, "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

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The days following the encounter with Barry were relatively normal. Everyone in Mustang's unit took turns bringing food to Falman, although most of the time it was Aiden or Jean.

Walking down the road on her way to work, Aiden paused to stare at a small crowd. She stepped closer and people moved to get out of her way, recognizing she was military. There were plenty of things to expect on a road. Puppies and kittens for sale, concerned adults looking over a hurt child, hell there was even that time a small girl played the violin in the middle of the street for money. What she didn't expect however was a man collapsed on the road.

Aiden immediately pointed at a man to her left. "You! Get the military police down here!"

The man looked startled but nodded and went to leave. A voice called out in response. "We're already here." Two MP's walked through the crowd and quickly saluted. "Ma'am!"

Aiden gave a thumbs up and kneeled next to the figure in yellow. He looked dead but a slight movement told her he was breathing at least. "Hey, you okay there?" she asked.

"Food," the person wheezed.

"You say he was collapsed by the side of the road?" the second MP asked the crowd. They all nodded in unison.

"Where are you from?" the first MP questioned the man.

Aiden leaned down to hear the answer better and sighed. Of course she would end up finding the only person capable of collapsing by the road and saying he was from Xing. It was only her luck that she would run into Ling Yao. And if Ling was in Central then that meant the brothers and Katy were back as well.

"If you're from Xing then I assume you have your passport or entry Visa?" she asked.

"He's a long way from home," the second MP commented.

Ling grimaced and Aiden sighed again. She grabbed him by the back of his collar and held him out to the two MP's. "Illegal alien, let's go."

The two men took hold of Ling's arms and began to drag him toward the prison. It was along the way to work so Aiden followed the three, occasionally asking Ling about his country. They split at the prison and Aiden continued on her way. She passed a lieutenant on the way to her office and looked in the room left open. Sheska opened storeroom number three and she watched as Sheska tried to wake Roy.

"That's not going to work," Aiden said before promptly grabbing two books and slamming the covers together to create a loud sound. Roy startled and sat up, the book on his face fell into his lap.

"The hell? Oh, Sheska, Aiden. How long was I out?" He yawned and stood up, scratching at the stubble he was beginning to grow. Sheska answered him with a guess of about ten minutes. He flipped open his pocket watch. "The council meeting's about to start."

"Coffee?" Aiden offered as she held up the cup. She wasn't needed at the meeting but she had nowhere else to be at the present moment. Any investigations on her end always finished quickly and the Maes Hughes case was progressing at a snail's pace.

Roy nodded and sipped at the hot liquid. He nodded in thanks and left the room, Aiden following close behind.

"Uh, Colonel, sir," Sheska called as they left. "It's none of my business but maybe you should get a little more rest?"

"Uh-huh," he waved goodbye.

They were silent as they walked down the halls of Central Command. From the corner of her eye, she noticed how he'd started growing a bit of scruffiness on his chin and how his shirt was just ever so baggy on his frame. Trying to find Maes' killer and the corruption in the military was draining him. She sighed and shook her head. "It's been a week, Roy. You need to take better care of yourself."