Flame and Fullmetal 300 km/h

A/N: I’m so sorry I haven’t updated in such a long time! This week has been just F****** G**Da** ?!*#%&! (holds hand over mouth)…oh yeah, this is not for kids so I can swear all I want. Well, in short, my week has been horrible. I come home from work/gym tired and grumpy, take a relaxing shower, eat something and go to sleep. Finally I found some time and decided screw my new manicure, I’ll write a chapter even if my fingers start to bleed. You guys deserve this, and I promise to try to continue updating regularly as I did before.

Now to reviewers:
Blissful Ignorance, you have to feel sorry for Ed, falling down and taking a tumble. Pip, Maybe you got some serious work done while waiting for the next chapter. mina, *hugs you*, I’m stunned by how much you like the story. It makes me very happy. Koneko, thank you for the notes. kiki used to check my language but I haven’t heard from her in a while. I’m glad I have you! I have never taken a single English class in my life, so writing is good practice for me. Oh, and did you like Tokyo Drift? milky, Thank you! Dae,*hands you a tissue* Pauline, sorry I let your hopes down and didn’t update sooner. KansouAme, I never get tired of hearing how much you love this fic. It’s a good boost to my ego. And I promise that Jenny is gonna pay her dues, and it isn’t cheap. Alien, that’s it! I won’t write another lemon ever since my readers die from massive bleeding through the nose. I don’t wanna be a murderer! And thank you for the review, when I saw it, it made me smile even though I have been soo angry grumpy and tired this whole week. *hugs you* Dragon_Girl, thank you for reading and reviewing. michelle, I’ve been thinking about maybe pairing Al up but the story is speeding toward its end and there is just one road left.

Well, again, sorry for the late update. Enjoy!

Chapter 27; Suspect

Roy pulled the car to a stop in front of Ed’s house and both climbed out of the car.

Ed stood on the sidewalk, shyly facing the ground. "Thanks for the ride home," he told the other man awkwardly, tugging at his torn jeans.

Roy nodded, not sure what to say himself.

"Speed’s going to hate me. And Jenny even more," the blond said, a hint of a smile in his voice.

"Archer doesn’t deserve someone like you."

Ed looked up at Roy and bit his lip. "You’re just full with the compliments tonight, aren’t you?"

Roy shrugged. "Just tellin’ you the truth."

Ed looked down again, feeling his stomach flutter at Roy’s words. "Thanks."

He felt Roy lift his chin up to face him, placing a soft kiss on Ed’s lips. ”You know, you could have spent the night at my place.”

”I know,” Ed smiled, kissing Roy again. ”But then I would get any sleep, now would I?”
The lead racer placed his hands on Ed’s hips and they stood there kissing. They didn’t notice how late it was until the host on the radio said that it was 02.00 am. Roy placed one last kiss on Ed’s forehead before stepping into his car.

"Don’t be late for work tomorrow," he said before leaving Ed alone on the sidewalk in front of his home. Ed shook his head and laughed out loud. Roy was the most confusing man he’d ever known.

And he loved it.

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’It’s already 02.30 am,’ Scar thought as he checked his watch. He was heading toward the meeting room, a mug with coffee in one hand, his weekly report fresh from the output in the other. In Central’s police headquarters there was no ’early’ or ’late’, just ’overtime’ and ’underpaid’. And bad coffee.

”Mr. Detective! Wait! Mr. Detective!” A young secretary called, running down the hall to catch up with him. It couldn’t be easy in those high heels the dress code required for all female none-officer employees.

”What is it Sheska?” He asked, turning around. The girl came to a sudden halt and almost spilled the contents of her cup on him. She quickly straightened herself, balancing a cup of coffee and open files.

”You forgot you coffee sir,” she said reaching him her cup. He quirked his brow and lifted his already filled mug.

”Sheska, you are a secretary in charge of files and reports, not bringing me coffee like a waitress.” He told her, thinking about his own waitress, Riza Hawkeye. He hoped she had gotten his message or else she would think he’d stood her up. ’An urgent meeting’ had been his excuse, that wasn’t a lie, and for all she knew he was a business man at some company. Not a FBI detective working undercover.

”Well, alright then.” Sheska said, still cheery. “But you also forgot this. It’s a report from the lab about the evidence collected from the last crime scene. They need your signature before they can be hand it over to the prosecutors.” Sheska handed him the file and Scar scanned through the paperwork.

He shook his head and handed her the file back. ”I’m not signing this bullshit.”

”What?! Why?” Sheska wondered.

”I believe that ’evidence’ is irrelevant to this case.” ’Or tampered with.’
Sheska still couldn’t believe the detective was dismissing evidence, but then again there had to be a reason why he was brought from Risembool to investigate crimes in Central. He had to be good. Scar handed her his report while he remembered and she took it with a curtsy, almost spilling the contents of her cup again.

"You are late," an officer greeted matter-of-factly as Scar stepped into the meeting room.

"Yeah, ten minutes," Scar replied. "And even then, so what?”
The officer sniggered. Scar had the right to be arrogant. He was after all FBI and the one undercover. The rest greeted him between yawns, others were too tired to notice him. Scar looked at the tired faces of the people working the same case as he did.

Two were in charge of investigating the crime scene and evidence. Scar had always been a lone wolf when handling cases, and having suspicions against his fellow officers wasn’t the ideal way to build a good team. This wasn’t the first time he doubted them and the evidence they provided.

The third was a young man named Lujon, and expert in cars and hijackings. The other two were the ones who always arrived first at a scene. They had it the worst. Always on duty and ready to rush to the scene at the first alarm.

Sheska was the secretary of this case, handling the files and paperwork. The man leading the investigations about the truck hijackings was the head of Central’s police forces, high officer Hakuro. He was an ambitious man and followed orders without any questions. Hakuro himself had asked Scar to be transferred to Central and work on the hijacking case.

But there was a new face in the room, sitting by the conference table in a formal blue uniform. ’Since when did this become a military issue?’ Scar wondered noticing the insignia of a Lieutenant Colonel.

Scar took his seat at the table and watched as Sheska handed Hakuro the updated reports and took a seat next to Scar, only the high officer remaining standing next to the board that occupied almost the entire wall, most space covered by crimescene photos and key words, names, dates and locations written with a blue marker. Hakuro read through most of the paperwork and with a sigh grabbed the eraser and erased a few names. A new dead end.

Tired just like the rest of them, Hakuro turned to his men. ”I won’t keep you long, but I need a summary of our work. This is Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer.” Hakuro introduced the stranger. The officers nodded but Scar leaned back in his chair. The name Archer was familiar to him, and not in a good way. ”The Lieutenant Colonel is head of the local precinct and is here to oversee and then report our progress, which I am sorry to say, has been minimal.”

“I am sure you do your very best, but I am here on behalf of Senator Bradley and he is quite concerned about how he gets reports about more hijackings, not to mention the victims.” Archer informed them, looking at each and every one, stopping to glance at Scar the longest.

”Well, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can all go home for the night,” Hakuro suggested and Archer nodded. ”Gentlemen, what do we have on the car parts sellers?” Hakuro asked, turning to the officer who seemed the most frustrated.

”We can erase Jefferson’s store and Big Joes’ Place from our list. They turned up clean. So did Shou Tucker, but he might be in league with our prime suspect. We could try to make Tucker sell the guy out. I mean, Tucker is really low. For the right price anything is possible.”

Scar almost laughed. "Tucker’s scared to death of him, from how he talks about his best customer. I’ve never seen them interact, though.”

”I see you have a prime suspect. Good,” Archer commented. ”Now, three trucks are coming in from Xenon tonight. Where is your suspect?”

An officer (Scar still hadn’t learned his name) shrugged. "Maybe he is dragging the streets. They just reported an illegal street race going on in the west part of town."

Scar shook his head. "No, not tonight. Everyone decided to stay in tonight and forgo that scene."

Another officer shook his head. "Geez, you’d think the friggin’ agency would have someone tailing him. I mean, the guy’s out all night and we have no idea where the hell he is. That’s just bad policing if you ask me."

”Now, I believe the detective is doing his very best. Speaking of which, your report?” Hakuro said turning to Scar.

Scar sighed before stating his conclusion after a month of working undercover. "I don’t think Roy Mustang and his crew are up to the hijackings."

Hakuro raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"No motive," Scar replied simply.

Frank Archer snorted from his spot at the conference table. "I’m pretty sure we all know that money is motive enough for anybody."

"Which means that anybody could be up to it," Scar countered logically.

"Which is why we have you, the expert, on the case.” Archer countered back. ”Let’s not kid ourselves, detective. We all know what kind of person Roy Mustang is."

The room’s occupants looked back and forth between the two men as they began to exchange heated words.

Scar glared at the man opposite him. “I don’t believe Mustang would be into hijacking cars. He’s too controlled for that."

Frank Archer snorted. "Not that I want to contradict your fine judge of character, but Roy Mustang did hard time for nearly beating a man to death."

"So we’re going to base this whole thing on the kind of person Roy is? Or, rather, was in the past?"

Frank Archer shook his head. "After reading you personal file, I should have known you’d be defending this guy. It really shouldn’t surprise me that you’re getting involved with this shady criminal again."

Many eyes widened. Mostly because of the unknown revelation, Scar’s because of Archer’s impudence to bring up the past. Hakuro knew about Scar and Roy’s past. It was one of the main reasons why he had wanted the detective on the case. It was never good that a detective had a criminal record, but Scar had turned it to his advantage, using knowledge you could only learn on the streets and solving cases by going undercover where any clean cop would get killed.

Sheska grabbed Scar’s arm, feeling his urge to slug the Lieutenant Colonel in his face. Apparently, Frank Archer had seen this action, saying: "I never thought you would attack a fellow officer, detective. Not with your résumé and all the recommendations. Now, the man who sold his criminal friends for a badge and a legal gun…well, that’s another story."

Sheska raised an eyebrow in confusion. What did he mean by that? Although she wanted to know what he meant, she quickly rummaged through her brain to find something that would ease the tightening of Scar’s angry muscles and would change the topic. It was never fun filling a report about officers beating up each other.

"The Alchemists!" she exclaimed.
Everyone looked at her, the previous dispute temporarily forgotten.

"Alchemists?" Hakuro asked, wanting her to clarify.

Sheska nodded. "Yes, I remember reading about them when researching the files and people connected to suspects. I think that maybe they had something to do with this."

Archer shrugged. "Do you have some kind of substantial evidence?"

"Well, it’s no secret that Roy Mustang used to ride with the Alchemists, and after going solo they don’t get along anymore." An officer stated.

"That’s an understatement," Scar acknowledged, thinking back on the night he and the crew had come to the rescue when Ed and Roy had been cornered and Kimblee was holding a gun to Ed’s head. "And, of course," he continued, "the whole hatred is based on the rivalry between Roy and the two leaders known as Greed and Envy. A kind of battle for the king of the streets type thing."

"Are you suggesting that the Alchemists are behind it?" Hakuro questioned.

"Let me finish," Scar slowed, as if he was telling a joke and the men were waiting for the punch line. "A few months ago, Roy Mustang had a run in with a gang woman."

"Figures," and officer said from the sidelines.

"Supposedly he doesn’t know she’s riding with his former comrades and they end up going back to her place. But before they can do anything, Greed barges in on them. Turns out she’s Greed’s woman. A month later she tells Mustang that she’s pregnant with his child. But according to Roy, he never slept with her."

"And of course, we all believe Mustang," Archer added with sarcasm.

"Look," Scar said defensively. "I’m only telling you what his best friend told me. And personally, I believe her." He added the last part, as if doing so would redeem himself from the guilt he felt in betraying Riza’s trust. At least he was doing it to protect her.

"So what is it you’re implying, detective?" Hakuro asked wanting him to get straight to the point.

"What I’m implying is that Greed, Envy and co. might be trying to pin this whole thing on Mustang and his crew." He waited for someone to respond.

"Well it does make sense," Lujon agreed, speaking up for the first time. In the beginning Scar had doubted why the man was assigned to the case but he seemed to know how the streets worked, from a professors’ I-saw-it-in-a-book kind of way of course. Not through experience, like Scar.

"Not only would Greed get back at Mustang for not accepting the unborn child as his own,” Scar explained. ”But he and his bandits on motorcycles would also get mad street cred, officially labeling their leaders kings of the streets. Not to mention Greed would be able to laugh in Roy’s face."

Lujon nodded giving his approval of Scar’s theory. He couldn’t have said it better himself.

"Sheska, pull up a profile on Envy and Greed," Hakuro ordered. Sheska moved her seat to face the one computer in the room. In a few seconds two profiles popped up with a picture of both men on the edge of each one.

"What’s it read?" Hakuro wanted to know.

"Greed has been in and out of prison since he was seventeen,” Sheska read aloud. ”He’s been convicted a few times for reckless driving and possession of drugs, but then soon after got himself a good lawyer or the evidence didn’t hold in court. Possibly a member of an unnamed underground crime organization. He is suspected for both smuggling weaponry and selling it underground, but there has never been enough evidence to convict him."

Officers nodded absently. The dangerous ones with the big guns were the ones running the town, smirking in the law’s face. It was easier convicting a kid for stealing candy than putting the big and bad ones away. They had friends in high places.

Both Envy and Greed were known by the police. They were two names often connected to organized criminality. Not only gangs but possibly also members, high ranking ones, in a brotherhood the police refereed to as the Snake-Circle.

”And Envy?” Hakuro asked, going against recommendations. One should never investigate the Snake-Circle. Many had vanished while going undercover underground. But he was old and Scar was fearless. Besides, they had to solve this case.

"Envy wasn’t born in Central. Mother and father moved to Central for business purposes and he was raised here. The father’s eventual riches, of course, gave him a proper education. As young his parents split up and the mother got a great deal of money after the divorce. He’s got a few minor blemishes on his record. A couple of misdemeanors. Nothing his mother and her money couldn’t get him out of."

"Is that it?" Scar asked.

"Pretty much," Sheska answered.

’Figures,’ Scar thought, knowing that the bigger the villain, the less the police knew about them. Especially if they were related to a mafia. "What’s the sibling count?" he asked, wanting to get anything he could on this guy.

"Two brothers. Both younger."

"Names?"

Sheska paused as she scanned the profile. "Neither is mentioned here."

Scar’s eyes furrowed. "Why not?"

"They are half-brothers from the father side. Another marriage and another family in another town after the divorce."

Something flickered in the back of Scar’s head, but then flickered off. He shook his head and dismissed the nagging feeling. He was probably just tired. They all were.

The meeting ended. They had only hit more dead ends and Archer had gotten his report that shamed the entire police department. They were dismissed and Scar was on his way home. Sitting in his car he pondered over what little new information they had gathered the past week.
Greed and Envy had become two interesting fellows. And this unspoken Snake-Circle was something worth checking into. Still…’I feel like I'm missing something, but it's probably not that important anyway’.

Scar checked his cell phone, noticing a message from Riza. She had gotten his message and said she understood. He still felt guilty. She had offered to cook for him and it wasn’t every day he got to enjoy a home cooked meal. He was about to dial her number but changed his mind before pressing the ’call’ button. He let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his messy hair. 'What the hell is your problem? Not just a few hours ago you were at a meeting involving putting her and her friends in the state pen, and now you want to call and suggest another date?' He shook his head. He was deeply and hopelessly confused with himself.

In his lap were the personal files of everyone who worked at the garage as well as the restaurant, a picture of each person attached on the cover. Riza’s was a picture from high school, Winry’s was from the girl’s graduation. He couldn’t think of them as criminals.

Seriously, he had to solve this case. It was too personal by now. Scar knew he had to move ahead of plan. The next step was the basement at the garage. Riza had let it slip that it was only on-limits for a few people. Why?

He wanted to check it out, but for him it was close to impossible. If Roy hid stolen goods down there then the crew knew about it and was in on it. But not everybody who worked at the garage were a part of the ’crew’.

Scar shook his head, trying to shake out the ridiculous idea that popped into his head. Sadly, it was his only shot. He dialed the all too familiar number agonizingly slow. While waiting for the other end to pick up, Scar checked his watch. 04.30 am. He was surprised at how perky Ed’s voice sounded when the blond answered the phone. Well, rather that than a grumpy Ed.

”Hello Edward. I’m sorry to bother you at this hour, but I need your help….” Scar swallowed the lump in his throat. ’God forgive me’, he thought. ”You know that there is a basement at the garage, right?”

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