tampered | Log // Complete

Log // Complete

When; 29th December // 3pm @ a cafe near the Florists.
Rating; PG-13?
Characters; Roy Mustang -

flameroy // Riza Hawkeye -

guardianed // Heinkel Wolfe

priestlynun
Summary; Heinkel has been making enquiries, and Roy thinks that it would be best for him to meet up to discuss whatever needs discussing.
Log;

Being early wasn't something he was particularly familiar with - but due to the nature of the meeting, and his intuition - he imagined Hawkeye would be along a little earlier than he had prescribed, and perhaps they'd be able to have a small chat before his guest arrived. The cafe he'd chosen was a small one with only a few tables in it, and he'd chosen the one at the very back, away from any obvious distractions, and also away from the prying ears of the waitress at the bar.

The military uniform had been exchanged for a plain blue t-shirt with a black jacket and black pants to match. He could dress down, but always had to dress to impress. It was compelling. He mused whilst he sat without anything to drink that whether Hawkeye arrived earlier or later, it wouldn't particularly matter.

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His eyes were closed by the time he'd finished listening to the conversation, it was most frustrating to have to listen to someone try and tell him that his ideas might have been worthless when the woman couldn't even come up with her own plan. To stop someone doing something without being able to kill them would seem ridiculous to pretty much anyone he would be stupid enough to ask.

Rather than take a deep breath of irritation, he settled for a soft sigh, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest - his eyes opened and fixed on Hawkeye. "You're suggesting we go and request aid from Bradley?" He replied, with a most irregular tone that he knew the Lieutenant didn't deserve. "He's a Homunculus, of course he could capture him." He gestured with his hands his frustration - at being placed in this inquisition - allowing himself to be brought down the few pegs that this Heinkel had seen fit to expel.

Another, control sigh escaped him, and he shook his head, folding his arms once more. His left leg moved ontop of his right and he studied Heinkel for seconds, until he shook his head.

"The only pathway I can see if catching Greed unawares and attempt to knock him out every time he gets up again." He muttered, shaking his head and staring down at his lap. "If you're prepared to give up your time to keep watch over him, I'm sure Alphonse and I can give our best attempt to capture him for you. Although, quite frankly I don't think it's very..." he waved his hand for the word, before dropping it to his knee. "I don't see how it can work."

"Of course it won't work," Heinkel said with sharply. "If you don't have any faith that it will."

This man was really beginning to annoy her. Perhaps "Lyra" had been right about his usefulness, but not his prowess. His actions suggested boredom and frustration, a lack of engagement rather than intelligence. Heinkel just needed to figure out a way to poke the former, if she really wanted his help at all ...

"And this Bradley person, if he did capture Greed, we could at least ask him how he managed the feat." Now they were getting somewhere. Heinkel had been getting hints of this, and found an odd curse day post on the Network, but no reply when she commented. Which was odd, since monsters generally love to boast.

Hawkeye had simply maintained eye contact with the Colonel after his slightly snippish question.

The other two people at the table were beginning to snipe at each other, and to mediate between the two would require more energy than she had, if this kept up for any long period of time. The blonde closed her eyes momentarily. The issue of faith was not one she wanted to get into.

"I in no way suggested that we seek his aid. It was merely a statement of the closest lead we have. You know as well as I do that some leads are not worth following."

Hawkeye reached for her coffee, pulling it towards her, and rotating the glass slightly. If anyone were going to talk to Bradley, it would probably wind up being her, and she'd been more than content to leave that thread of her former life behind.

"I cannot say how willing he would be to provide that information to us, in any case."

The last thing he wanted was to cross any avenue that might involve harm being brought upon his Lieutenant. Bradley wasn't stupid at all, and the minute he saw through whatever plan they were concocting the man would probably change his mind about having Hawkeye as his aide and it would make things oh so difficult for him - it had become so that he was beginning to forget that in the City, his Lieutenant could be taken from his side at any moment. It was a thought he didn't like lingering on.

"I'm sorry, Heinkel - but unless you wish to confront Bradley yourself, I'm afraid that's not something I'm willing to risk. Of course, if you wish to follow that path, by all means feel free. If he does give you information and a surefire way to capture Greed - depending on the method I will see what I can do for you then?"

That was fair enough, right? The ring of the word cowardardice swum about in his head - but he'd dealt with the man once in his life already - this time round it was about protection.

"Heh," the Iscariot huffed dryly. She wanted to call the man on his cowardice, but decided against it. "Like I said, I think I have, and the monster is ignoring me. I'll do my best, but if I don't get the information we need, will one of you be willing to give it a try as well?"

These heathens were beginning to annoy her. Did everyone is this damn city have their heads firmly planted in the sand? Even her own Iscariot were playing parish while demons and monsters wandered about.

"It's not like this is some type of grudge." Heinkel sighed out more smoke. "Yes, I did fornicate with Greed, but as part of a deal which I hoped, at the time, would lead to me being able to mitigate some of the harm he causes." She gestured after taking another tense drag from her dwindling cigarette. "An arrangement I thought might work since it was more akin to the demon's nature. However, it didn't, so I escalated the issue. I'm not asking anyone to make sacrifices to this cause that I wouldn't be willing to make myself. For the good of everyone in this city, something needs to be done."

Hawkeye was mildly surprised at the Colonel's outright refusal to talk to the President King. Grateful, certainly, as she'd no desire to do return to the homunculus' side as his aide, but it had been necessary before, and if necessary, she'd do it again. It was what she had to look forward to upon her return to Amestris- she couldn't let the idea of it become more anathema to her than it had to.

But she wasn't willing to commit to this woman, wouldn't make that decision. "Ultimately, the Colonel has final say in that matter."

There- the second time she'd mentioned it, Hawkeye couldn't even imagine making such a deal. Couldn't have even thought to change his behaviour like that.

The sacrifices you make are not ones that jeapordize your life. Hawkeye knew how very perilous her standing at home was; she couldn't afford to antagonize any more of the homunculi than they already had. Couldn't afford to make her life useless to them.

Hawkeye took a sip of her coffee. She needed something black, to jolt her into clearer thought, this was absurd- but the act of drinking from the glass concealed her expression, and would have to do. She had to allow the Colonel to use her once more as a pawn in his power game- if he so chose.

Roy had to force himself not to pull a face when Heinkel mentioned that she had fornicated with Greed, but managed it well, not even a twitch of muscle in his face. Another sigh escaped him, and he pulled his drink up, taking a sip and letting out a more contented breath.

"I would be willing, the four of us?" He paused, looking at the Lieutenant with a nod before continuing. "To attempt to capture and control Greed. I will not allow either my Lieutenant or Alphonse to make sacrifices detrimental to their life - I am sure you understand that - but with our force we should be able to at least manage the situation - of course it will require planning of some sort, and if we do that I want Alphonse to be involved too." He fell back into his chair then, looking a little satisfied with his final say on the matter. One arm wrapped around his waist, as the other held his drink against his chest.

Heinkel finally looked at the coffee. Things appeared to be going her way, so she was willing to relax a little. With a dwindling cigarette still pinched between two fingers, she brought the glass to her lips. Out of politeness, the Iscariot managed to squelch a grimace. She preferred espresso, but since matters seemed to be going well, it seemed prudent to bite her tongue.

She studied the man across from her briefly as she drank. This Colonel was very different from the leaders she knew on her world. If anything, his calm collectedness reminded her of that Hellsing women. But Father Anderson had respected said protestant whore, so Heinkel guessed she needed to give this man some deference as well.

"Alphonse is already involved." She exclaimed while replacing her glass on the table and leaning back. "He has agreed to help me. And don't worry, I don't like to see children harmed any more than you probably do." She wanted to add "even if they are witches", but decided against it. The Colonel was a witch himself, after all.

"So ..." Heinkel removed her sunglasses, stashing them within her cassock, and in the same gesture twisted the cigarette butt into a nearby ashtray. She then glanced up, gloved fingers sifting blond hair away from her face, and flashed her newest acquaintances a blue-eyed smile that sparkled with more glee than it probably should have.

" ... when should we begin this planning?"

Heinkel may have decided it was time to relax- not so for Hawkeye.

This was her job; to remain alert and thinking while the Colonel appeared relaxed and nonchalant. It was a good system- it allowed them to collect two different sets of information on the same situation, and gave more depth to their knowledge.

The blonde filed the need to speak to Alphonse- mentioned by the Colonel even before the meeting- as ever more crucial. If this woman had managed to convince Alphonse to help her without alerting either the Colonel or herself...there was a breach in security, in information. And it needed to be patched.

Heinkel's smile- the first time it had been seen since her arrival - seemed omnious somehow, and Hawkeye realized the alacrity with which this woman had worked her way into the intricacies of Amestris. Almost disturbingly quickly. And who knew who else she had been speaking to. Or where this information would go, for all her claims of confidentiality.

Planning already. Not her call. She would voice her concerns to the Colonel later. Face impassive once more, Hawkeye looked to the Colonel. This was again a discussion between conspirators. She was mere backup.

If he had been many years younger, seeing the sudden smile on Heinkel's face would have made him recoil a few meters - now he saw right through it, and almost even managed to ignore it. A slight cough escaped him, and in a very telling gesture he lifted his cup and finished his latte in momnts, setting the glass down and turning it so the handle faced him...

"There can be no planning until we see how far you get with Bradley - and I think I'll require some time to think about how we approach this if he gives you no information." Of course, Roy definately felt that she would not be able to squeeze any info from the man. Roy had been working under him for years and still, even after he'd killed him - couldn't work him out.

"I will contact you privately over the network when I am ready to meet with you to discuss this. Curses aside, of course." He added, slowly standing to his feet and giving a clear nod at the Lieutenant to do the same - although she would have been assured of his actions when he'd finished his Latte he imagined.

"Well then. I'm sure we'll see each other soon." He said with a smile, which unlike Heinkel's was not unbecoming of him. His hand moved in an offer of handshake.

"I look forward to it, Colonel."

Heinkel saw right through Mustang's smile. She realized now that everything about the man was a carefully constructed mask. But he was the sort who kept the letter of his word. And whose actions, beyond body language and any political maneuvering, could be ultimately trusted.

The Iscariot accepted the hand with her own gloved one, giving the Colonel a firm handshake.

Unlike some of her fellow clergy, Heinkel didn't feel all heathens deserved to be exterminated. Even back in her world, Catholics were a minority. If a righteous gentile maintained a healthy respect for the Church, she saw no reason to mount a crusade. Sadly, the man was a witch, yet she had promised Alphonse she would keep an open mind about that.

After the handshake, Heinkel turned her attention to Hawkeye, and offered the blonde her hand as well.

"Lieutenant ..."

Heinkel wasn't stupid. Though she knew that many thought the highly religious were, and often used that to her advantage. The Iscariot didn't want to cause a diplomatic situation along fresh alliances, but also knew it unlikely she out-ranked Hawkeye, so ignoring her would be equally rude ...

... Which brought to mind that eventually her chief would have to be informed. However, she'd learned long ago that with Maxwell, it was better to make penance than ask permission.

Edited 2008-01-04 05:30 (UTC)

Hawkeye had risen at the Colonel's signal, purse looped easily over her shoulder and skirt smoothed automatically as she stood. It was fortunate, perhaps, that politeness did not require her to finish her own drink, and she left it, three quarters full, immediately forgotten as she rose, taking up her role of bodyguard once more.

She had been half expecting to be passed over by the other woman, but covered her surprise well, and returned the woman's handshake firmly and silently, inclining her head in lieu of a reply.

Now it would be time to confer with the Colonel. And discuss, perhaps without Alphonse, and perhaps with, what they planned to do.

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