The Same Coin

If She Were In

Uvogin gave one glance at the bodies lined up inside the door as they walked into the house, looked back at her, and a toothy grin cut across his face. He knelt beside them, tilting the stiffening corpses this way and that as he surveyed their wounds. Shalnark's footsteps stuttered as he entered behind them.

"You did this?" Uvogin asked.

"Beer is in the kitchen," Winry answered instead, then touched Shalnark's forearm to draw his attention and pointed into a side room. "Computer is this way."

Uvogin stomped down the hall, and Shalnark let her lead the way to the computer. He sat at the desk, his posture already conveying his comfort, and pressed the button to turn the computer on. She'd learned to use computers while she was working at Heavens Arena, but she was well-aware her knowledge of them was still elementary at best. They weren't like automail — gears and levers that could be explained. Computers were wires and circuits that created something from...nothing. That's how she looked at cellphones and televisions. As much as she explored them, she couldn't seem to digest the how.

"Damn!" Uvogin shouted. "There are more in here!"

Shalnark peeked up at her with his deceptively innocent face, bright eyes sparkling and curious as though she'd left a pleasant surprise for them to find in the kitchen. Although, to them perhaps she had.

"Never would have guessed from looking at you," he commented, glancing away again, and the irony wasn't lost on her.

Winry watched in silence as Shalnark worked. He used a card to access a website with a bartender; she assumed it was his Hunter license. She'd never seen Hisoka's to know. In the kitchen she heard Uvogin cracking open can after can of beer, and the subsequent hollow clatter as he tossed them down on the floor.

"This is it!"

Another can fell to the floor and she heard Uvogin come up behind them.

"It says here that a dummy corporation for the Nostrade family owns that building you were in."

"Alright then. Do you think you can track down a list of all the buildings in this area the Nostrade family own?" Uvogin asked.

"Sure can. I can also see if anyone has checked into a hotel using the Nostrade name lately."

It was really that easy, she realized with some disbelief — disbelief that quickly eroded into abstract alarm. Hisoka had access to all that information as well. She wondered if she was in its database. She worried about what it said.

"Know what you need, Uvo? A Hunter license. As long as you have the money, you can dig up all kinds of information from their site."

So it was for Hunters.

"Unlike you guys, I don't like the idea of money. If I want something, I take it," Uvogin responded, cracking open another beer.

"Well said! You're an exemplary bandit. Here — they own two other buildings in Yorknew City, and there are three hotels where members are staying. Alright. This search shouldn't take too long," Shalnark said, writing the information down on a piece of scrap.

"Thanks, buddy. I owe you one."

Uvogin bent and laid a kiss on Shalnark's cheek, and the smaller man cringed and drew away with surprise and unhappiness. Winry said nothing as she watched the exchange. Uvo turned away after he let go to Shalnark, and pushed the window wide open. He set one foot on the sill, crouching low so he would fit to climb out.

"Well, I'm off."

"What about the beer?" Shalnark asked.

"You guys can finish it." He looked back at her as he drained the can in his hand and dropped it to the floor. "Good work, mechanic girl. You've got some chops. Later."

"Hey—Uvo!" The big man turned to look back at Shalnark, who suddenly looked so small and young in his suit sitting at the computer, with eyes too serious for his age. "Don't get careless out there."

"No prob."

Winry watched as Uvogin jumped from the window with ease; she didn't hear him land, a feat for a man his size. She waited a moment before crossing the room to shut and window behind him.

"You've grown a lot." Shalnark's comment caught her off-guard, and she hesitated, not certain how to respond. He didn't give her the opportunity. "I remember the first time we met you, on the airship. You surprised us even then — it's hard to surprise the Boss. The thing is, though, you keep surprising us."

She kept surprising herself as well.

He turned the computer off, and stood.

"You can head back to the other house; I think we are finished with our business here. I don't anticipate all this taking much longer. We can all head home soon."

Home.

The concept suddenly seemed so foreign. Could she go back to Heavens Arena and the life waiting for her there? Did she even want to? Winry's head spun as she picture trying to go back to working as Dr. Hirano's assistant after this. The image in her head was black-and-white, and grainy like an old photograph. Lackluster.

"See you, Winry," Shalnark called, snapping her from her unpleasant reverie. She hadn't even noticed him heading toward the door. "I'm sure you'll surprise us again soon."

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I appreciate everyone's readership even though my posting has slowed. For those who haven't already followed my Instagram and don't know, my son is special needs. We recently resumed therapy after our move, and I'm having new issues with an old arm injury that's made it difficult to sit and write for long periods.

This weekend, however, I plan on posting the cover for this story on my Instagram. I can't wait to share it with you all!

@ nutellaismymiddlename