Flame and Fullmetal 300 km/h

A/N: To reviewers: Blissful Ignorance, thank you for pointing out my errors. My eyes grew wide when I realized I had mixed up the pronouns. That won’t happen again! Sam goes for Silver4HENTAI, thank you. Your reviews make me happy and laugh. And I know, I was mean by getting Roy shot, but now Ed owes him. kiki - can I call you kiki? -, you were my first reviewer and therefore your reviews mean a lot to me, thank you. nastyscarythingunderthebed, was it you who was under my bed keeping me awake all night? Hehe, thanks anyway, I thought I was going to have a hard time because of my English. FullInuAlchemist, your timing was perfect since the answer to your question is in this very chapter.
Wow, so many reviews. Thank you, all of you. As thanks, here’s a new chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 8; The Ouroboros

Not even a week had passed since Ed came to Central and already he had been through much. he had gotten a job, lost a race after avoiding being hit by a train, running from the cops more times in one night than in the entire year prior, sexually harassed by his employer, getting into a gang fight, and lastly had a gun pointed to his head. Not that he complained about everything. The job was fine and the money good, and what came to his employer…

Ed shook his head, throwing his car keys on a small table in the foyer, leaving his jacket in a pile on the floor. He didn’t know hat to do about him and Roy, if there even was such a thing as ’him and Roy’. But he couldn’t avoid the fact that Roy had saved him the night before and been hit while shielding Ed. You would think Ed had volunteered to do an extra shift at the garage or stay a few hours longer today. Or at least stayed until Roy would come to work later that day and thank the older man properly. Instead he left four hours early without even asking Roy for permission. Ed was sure he wouldn’t hear the end of it. But he didn’t come to Central to work at Roy’s garage. He had something to do and it was more important than a job.

Sitting down in the designer couch, Ed picked up the letter he’d left on the coffee table. The black envelope didn’t have an address on it which meant it hadn’t been the mailman who slipped the letter in his mailbox. Inside was a folded, expensive black paper, just like the other letters Ed found in his father’s study back in Risembool. Nearly a month ago, a similar letter had been sent to his family’s house. Strangely, it was sent to his father, who had disappeared over 15 years earlier. Ed had snatched the letter before his mother saw it and read it. That letter changed his life.

While his mother and brother were out shopping groceries for dinner, Ed unlocked the door to his father’s study and went through his shelves and his desk. It was in the back of a drawer his fingers touched the familiar type of paper and found a few more letters with the same black envelopes.
Ed had always known that his father, Hohenheim Elric, had had another family before he married Ed’s mom, Trisha. He even knew he and Al had a half-brother, having met the boy when they ere still small children. At first he had actually hoped the letters were from his ex-wife or another woman. He still wished that had been the case, but his bastard for a father wasn’t finished with destroying their lives.

”Dear Hohenheim of Light,” the letter said. ”It has been too long since you honoured us with your presence. We hope you will not be absent at the next meeting, only a month away. Your voice is needed if we are to continue our work here in Central. Farther more, isn’t it high time you introduced your sons to our world? All sons of the man who built this empire will be welcomed into our family with open arms as the princes their are. We will be waiting for your return to Central.”

The letter had been signed with a dragon forming a circle as it ate its own tail. He recognized it as the Ouroboros. After reading the letters his father had hidden, Ed learned things about his father that made the man he thought he knew look like a saint. Ed understood the trips his father made to Central really were ’work related’, only not in the way you would think. The dragon eating its tail was the mark of the group called Ouroboros. An underground mafia in Central. And according to the letters, his father was their leader and founder, and they knew about Ed and his brother Al.

It was then Ed made the hardest decision in his life and three weeks later packed most of his stuff and was on the road towards Central. He had never told his mother about the letter, knowing it would have broken her heart. He didn’t even tell his younger brother the real reason why he suddenly decided to move to Central. His mother had always known Risembool was too small of a town for Ed and gave him the spare keys she had to an apartment his father had in Central. Ed didn’t like the idea but the house would do fine until he could afford one of his own. It was a nice, modern house at the edge of a nice, rich-people neighbourhood. There was a pool in the back, a large garage that fitted at least five cars, a small gym and the house was filled with designer furniture.
The only bad thing was that Ed’s father’s scent still lingered there. He hated it.

Ed took a sip of his soda and read the invitation printed with golden letters. ”Dear Edward Elric,” it said. ”We want to invite you to join us this Tuesday for dinner and drinks….” bla bla bla… It didn’t need to say it was a black-suit-required kind of party, the fancy letter said so by itself. Ed looked at the box on the large coffee table. The tailor had fitted him with an entire nice, black suit the day before. He had never worn such a thing before in his life. He wondered if he would be able to pull this off.

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Ed decided to drive there himself in his own car. He pulled over at the address given in the invitation and stepped out of his car. He wasn’t that surprised to find it was a huge mansion or that two men dressed in black were guarding the gate. He needed only to show them his invitation and they let him pass. He knew he was late and that it was inappropriate, but he really didn’t care. He was on a mission. Get in, understand what the hell he had gotten himself into, and get out.

Even though it was a big house with wide rooms, it still felt crowded. There was a live band somewhere on the same floor, playing dinner music, and waiters were walking around, carrying trays filled with drinks or appetizers. It seemed pointless to have come, walking around, not knowing anybody and nobody paying him any attention. It was actually frustrating.

In theses kinds of situations Ed felt the urge to smoke, and tonight was no different. He saw how rich and powerful looking men talked in groups of three or five, at least one of them smoking an expensive cigar indoors. Ed just couldn’t brink himself to smoke in the house or inside a car. Luckily he felt a breeze to his left and made his way through the crowd, finding two French doors left open, leading to a balcony. He walked outside and inhaled the night air, enjoying the scent from the roses growing up the walls over the smell of cigar smoke and whisky.

Ed didn’t feel as uncomfortable in the suit as he had expected, maybe because he wasn’t wearing it like a gentleman should. He had left the jacket and the top buttons of his shirt open, not bothering with something as constricting as a tie. He didn’t even know how to tie one properly anyway.
In his pockets he had his wallet, his cell-phone, keys and a pack of cigarettes. Taking one between his lips he went through the contents of his pockets. Wallet, cell-phone, key and a pack of cigarettes. No lighter.

”Shit!” Ed hissed. He would really have to learn to keep a lighter with him at all times.

”Need a light?” Came a deep, seductive voice. Ed turned to find a sight beyond a man’s wildest imagination. From the shadows stepped a woman with skin as luminous as pearl, her thick hair black as ebony, and eyes that tore your very soul out. She was wearing a long, black strapless dress, black high heel boots and long black gloves. In one of her sensual hands she had a black cigarette holder, making her look all the more elegant. She walked up to him and offered him her lighter.
At first Ed was too dazzled by the angel of seduction to even notice he was gawking at her in the most inappropriate manner. She looked amused and lighted his cigarette for him. Ed grew the most brilliant shade of red and looked away. She chuckled lightly.

”Don’t worry, sweetheart. It is hardly the first or the last time a man looks at me like you just did.”
Ed was still too embarrassed to look her in the face, trying to calm down by taking a few extra deep puffs of smoke. When he finally turned to face her their eyes met.

”Hey,” he finally managed to say, wanting to slap himself right after. ’Hey? You couldn’t think of anything better than a wimpy hey?’ A bemused smile formed on those dark coloured lips. ”My…My name is Ed…I mean Elric. I mean my name is Edward Elric.” He mentally kicked himself. He was making a fool of himself before this sophisticated woman. Well, making a fool out of himself seemed to be more natural for him ever since he moved into Central.

”Glad to make you acquaintance, Edward Elric.” She said in her deep, sensual voice. ”They call me Lust.” Those four words seemed to slip past her lips like rich honey. She reached out her hand and Ed took it, placing a light kiss on the back of her hand without even thinking.

”Nice to meet you too, Lust.” He was almost bout to ask ’what a girl like her was doing at a place like this’, but was spared from using the old line, movement from inside the mansion catching his attention. Two men dressed in black, just like the men at the gate, ceremoniously pulled two doors open. Few people reacted to this and Ed didn’t see anyone go through the doors guarded by two men. Lust put out her cigarette but didn’t go inside. She was waiting for him.

”Come Edward, our own private party is about to begin. And you are the guest of honour tonight.”

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Ed followed Lust into another living room and the doors were shut behind them. Ed wasn’t sure of what was going on until he saw the crest above the fireplace, a golden dragon trying to eat its own tail. He felt a hand touch his back and looked up at Lust who was ushering him to take a seat. Ed remained standing when she took a seat in a couch, crossing her legs and looking sexy as hell. It wasn’t until then Ed noticed the unusual tattoo on her chest, a red dragon symbolising the ouroboros. ’Great, you were too modest to check out her cleavage and she could have been a sexy assassin.’

”Welcome, Edward. It is good to finally meet you,” a woman said, walking up to him. ”My name is Dante; I was a close friend of your father.” Ed wondered why she used the past tense, following her every move. ”Come, the rest of the family wants to get to know you.”

”I have a family, I don’t need another.” Ed stated rudely, reminding himself why he was there in the first place. To protect his family. The woman looked surprised at first, her expression however quickly smoothing out, having expected him to react in a similar way.

”Now Edward,” she tried using a very maternal tone of voice, irritating Ed even more. His irate must have been obvious since a man broke in.

”No use trying to smother him with love and care, Dante. That kid is a real bad-ass. The street racers call him Fullmetal and he has been the talk on the streets.”

”You!” Ed yelled, balding his fists at the man who was sitting in an armchair with his boots on the coffee table. ”You son of a bastard! You and your fuckers almost had me killed last night!”

”Hey, chill kid!” Greed raised his hands in his defence. ”I didn’t know it was you. Well, not in the beginning. And what do you mean, almost got you killed? You were doing just fine!”
Ed lowered his fists and took a less threatening stance, but he was still angry as hell. Greed grinned at him and pulled of his leather gloves, revealing on the back of his hand the same tattoo Lust had.

”Yes, I heard from Kimblee that you had some fun last night.” A young man with long, green hair walked up to Greed, hands on his hips. He looked up at Ed with a mischievous glint in his eyes. ”Your not even in the city for a week and already you make yourself known well enough for someone to want to kill you. Well, I would expect nothing less from my half-brother.”

”Envy?” Ed asked. It had been so many years since he had met his half-sibling that he could not possibly have recognized him.

”Shall we get to business? I have better places to be, people to meet, drinks to drink and women to score.”

”Shut it Greed,” Envy snapped, sitting down next to Lust. ”You didn’t bother with dinner, or grooming yourself for the occasion, so why did you even bother to show up?”

Greed, the only one not dressed in formal clothes, shifted to sit properly in the armchair but his attitude seemed to scream: You’ve got a problem with me, punk?!

”Because God himself gave me the gift to annoy you the day my whoring mother delivered me into this world. What do you think, pretty boy? You owe me money.” It was obvious Greed didn’t get along with Envy, the air between them growing thicker and thicker until Dante’s sharp voice cut through the tension building.

”I thought I told you both not to get involved with street racers and stay within your own fields. It makes my work so much easier.”

”And more difficult for the government,” said a man with black hair and an eye patch over his left eye. To his utter shock Ed recognized the man from the newspapers as Senator ’Pride’ Bradley.

”Everything’s going according to plan, I hope?” Lust spoke up for the first time since they entered the room. Pride glared at her disapprovingly.

”Do you think it is wise to speak so openly in front of young mister Elric?”

”Don’t worry Pride,” Dante ensured, placing her hands on Ed’s shoulders, lightly squeezing. ”Edward is family now. He knows what that means. Don’t you dear?”

Ed had seen enough mafia movies to know he was in too deep, beyond help.

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On his drive home Ed thought about what he had learned that night and had to face some facts. He was a son of a mafia boss, he and his brothers heirs to the underground empire their father had built in Central. To sit in that room with the golden Ouroboros crest had been one of the most frightening experiences in his life. Like living cattle inside a butcher shop.

The Ouroboros was a brotherhood, the members recruited by Hohenheim Elric himself. Greed, the employer of the Alchemists, was in charge of smuggling illegal weaponry into the country. Lust, the angel of desire, oversaw the colourful prostitution in all of Central. Envy had started an early career and was already now the one who oversaw all drugs trafficking in the city. What had shocked Ed the most was that the group had infiltrated the Parliament. Senator Bradley was known for having things done his way and moving mountains in the world of politics.

Then there was Dante. Next to his father, no one outranked her and in Hohenheim’s absence, she had become a maternal, leader figure. Something about her just made Ed feel uneasy.
Why didn’t he just turn them in to the cops? Now that was not an idea he had not explored. Yeah right. Even in the movies, good guys got shot, killed, or worse, when they ratted out the guys in black suits. This was a real mafia, and the bullets were very real.

And they knew about Ed’s mother and brother. He didn’t care if his father would be locked up in jail for the rest of his life, but he would not see his mother’s heart broken again because of that bastard. When his father left, Ed had decided to become the man of the house, and he had sworn that he would protect his mother and brother. He just needed time to figure out what he was going to do.

Ed pulled over and took of his seatbelt. He leaned forward, his forehead touching the steering wheel. He needed to think.

He snapped to when someone knocked on the car window. Looking up he saw a familiar face and rolled down the window.

”Winry? What are you diong here?”

”Just chilling. I wanted to go get a drink, and now I am, with you.” She said and opened his door, Ed almost falling out of the car. Winry gave a low whistle when she saw his tailored suit. ”Oh, Ed, you didn’t need to get all dressed up just for me!”

”Winry…”

”The Silver Rose is closed tonight but there’s a place a few blocks down, and they have the best—”

”Winry!” Ed raised his voice, getting her attention. ”I don’t feel like going out on the town tonight. I’m on my way home. Sorry, but not tonight.”

She was quiet for a while before her normally cheery expression turned scary. ”Fine!” She exclaimed and slammed the car door shut, Ed’s arm almost caught in-between. He held his arm, checking that all the bones were still intact, sighing with relief. He looked at her and his eyes grew wide. Where was she thinking she was going with a skirt that short?!
His instincts as an older sibling kicked in and he wasn’t going to let her take another step down the street wearing nothing but that flimsy piece of clothing on her hips.

”Winry? You live a few streets away from my place. Want a ride home?”
She didn’t say anything, standing still on the street. Winry turned and glared at him for the longest time, making Ed squirm in his seat. Without saying a word she walked around the front of the car, Ed leaning to his side and opening the door for her. She sat down on the passenger side and took his discarded jacket in her lap. He knew she was still angry, but he was glad she decided to let him drive her home. His hand grabbed the steering wheel tighter thinking about all the sleazy perverts who would honk their horn and roll down the windows, offering her a ride home. Ed knew she wasn’t that stupid, but in his head he could only imagine the worst.

”Is this a Giorgio Armani suit?”

Ed looked at her, surprised how soon she decided to talk to him again. After scanning the road, making sure there was no traffic, he leaned over and checked the back of the collar.

”It says Giorgio Armani, so I guess it’s an Armani.”

Winry laughed softly at him. ”It looks good on you.”

”Thanks.”

”You look like a good bad-guy straight from a mafia movie.”

”…Thanks.”

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It was easier to drive along Ed’s street than circle the neighbourhood to get to the part of town Winry lived in.

”In which one do you live?”

”You see the yellow one on the left side down the street?”

”That one? It’s lovely!”

”No, not that one.”

”Hate the colour, and what’s the deal with the dog-statue? Do they want everybody to know they love dogs?”

Ed chuckled. ”I live in the one opposite. Third house to the right.”
Winry saw the house and gave a low whistle.

”Looks expensive. You live there all by yourself?”

”Yeah, there are more rooms in the damn place than I can find use for. I only need one bedroom and bathroom, not three of each!”

”I wouldn’t complain if I were you. And you have people bringing pizza to your door. Or Chinese?”

”No I don’t.”

”Then….what is that guy doing on your front yard?”

Ed hit the breaks and both were lunged forward in their seats. ”Shit,” Ed cursed under his breath, seeing the person trespassing on his property. ”What the hell is he doing here?”

”You know him?”
Ed didn’t answer, quickly parking his car in front of the house. He stepped out of the car, Winry following him. She could see it was a young man with brown eyes and short, goldish brown hair.

”What ever happens next, don’t get involved.” Ed warned.

”I ain’t in it,” she assured, holding his jacket for him. “Just don’t get stabbed or anything!” She watched concerned how Ed walked up to the young man, stopping a few feet away.

”What are you doing here?” Ed asked, hands on his hips.

”I’m here to settle a score,” the other one stated.

”Oh yeah?”

”Yeah.”
Ed chuckled, jerking his head, signalling the other one to go on. Winry saw how the other guy looked another way, distracting Ed while the guy balled his hand into a fist.

”Ed, watch out!” She yelled but the other guy’s fist already collided with Ed’s face, making Ed fall on his hands and knees. The brunette lost his balance, falling down on all fours as well. Both quickly got up on their feet, Ed backing away as the brunette tried to deliver another punch. Ed avoided it, ducking low and circling his assaulter, grabbing him by his belt and the collar of his shirt, throwing him down on the lawn. The brunette kicked and groaned, his legs tangling with Ed’s and pulling Ed down.

The two rolled around like lovers in a bed, the other guy halting when he was on top, positioned in-between Ed’s thighs. Ed held his arms up to shield his face from the blows, wrapping his legs around the brunette’s waist to keep him away. Fullmetal desperately tried to turn the tables, only managing to roll them to their sides for a moment before the other guy had him lying on his back again.

”You still fight like shit!” Ed grunted, slapping the brunette on the top of his head. ”I’m going to kick the hell out of you!”

”What the hell is the matter with you?!” The other one yelled, still trying to punch Ed. Ed turned them to the side and had the brunette’s head in an arm lock. The brunette tried to get lose by hitting Ed in the back, Fullmetal’s face only flinching briefly with each blow before his expression turned to the same angry one. The guy finally tore himself free and stood on his knees, looking down at Ed lying on his back. He fell down on his back, Ed supporting himself on his arms, the other one doing the same, both glaring at each other, panting.

”Why are you in Central?” Ed asked the boy.

”I came here to bring you back to Risembool.”

”No chance in hell.”

”Then I’m moving in with you.”

”No chance in hell,” Ed repeated himself. He tore a handful of grass and threw it at the brunette. ”You still fight like shit.” They smirked, then grinned, and burst into laughter. Ed felt something touch his shoulder, seeing Winry’s shoe at his side, looking up to see a very confused expression on the girl’s face. ”Hey Winry.”

”Don’t you ’hey Winry’ me, Edward. What the hell was that about and who the hell is the kid.”

Ed grinned. ”Al, this is Winry. Winry, this is my younger brother Al.”

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