The Water Alchemist

Difficult Discoveries

Welcome back to The Water Alchemist. I don't own any of the intellectual property of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter Thirteen

Difficult Discoveries

*** 

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Colonel Mustang sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Oh, oh, and you have to see the new pictures I got for my wallet. Elicia looks absolutely adorable! I'll even let you have one, Roy."

"Hughes," he said more irritably into the speaker. When the man got like this, there was no stopping him.

"What?" Hughes drew out. "I already told you about updating the Elrics' security. Haven't I done enough work?"

"What about that other project I had for you?" Mustang asked, pushing back the curtain, and looking out his window. The breeze drifted through the trees in the courtyard beneath his office. He watched as they swayed methodically to an unheard rhythm. The line went quiet for a few seconds, and Mustang wondered if it had gone dead. "Hughes?"

"About that," Hughes said, turning completely away from the phone operator who sat at a nearby desk. "Rumor has it that he left Marcoh's research team to be with a woman."

"A State Alchemist of his caliber deserted for some woman?" Mustang raised an eyebrow. He had not pegged Wayde as the romantic type.

"Not just some woman, Colonel. An Ishvalen."

"What?" the Colonel said, sitting up suddenly. "You're kidding."

"It's just a rumor, though. I haven't been able to check the validity of anything yet. Seems that all his correspondences were lost in the shuffle. Any trace of him has been wiped clean; the same goes for our friend, the doctor."

Or intentionally eradicated, the Colonel thought to himself as he sat back in his chair with a huff. If word that a State Alchemist studying under Dr. Marcoh deserted the war for an Ishvalen woman got out, there was no telling the kind of scandal that would spark. Not to mention, if he had worked under Marcoh, it stood to reason that his link to him was also a liability.

"And you can confirm that there's no Amestrian citizen with the name Marina Wayde?"

"Not a single record. It's possible that if she's affiliated with him that she's undocumented, but it doesn't explain her sudden and peculiar appearance on our radar."

"Well, let me know if you find anything else," Mustang sighed. "And for now, let's keep Marina's citizenship status or possible lack thereof between us."

"Aye aye, Colonel. And one more thing," Hughes said. "With the Elrics' security being lifted soon, how exactly are we keeping tabs on her?" Mustang tapped his hand on his desk.

"For now, I'm trying to give her the benefit of a doubt. From Armstrong's statements so far, she seems harmless," he said, holding the latest report. It detailed their trip and time in Resembool; nothing of note took place other than an attack from that same masked man according to the Major. Edward hadn't reported anything peculiar either other than that, and Mustang already had men sweeping the area with nothing substantial to report. "We'll keep her at arm's length since she's still under Fullmetal's watch. But if she so much as sneezes wrong—"

"Got it, got it. You know, I went to go visit them when they were at the library a few days back, but the girl wasn't there. I was hoping to ask her more about the Tucker case, but the Elrics' testimonies were enough to file it away for now. They sure saved me a headache by giving me Sheska! Maybe I'll go visit them again! Then I can show them all these great new shots of my precious little Elicia," the Lieutenant Colonel gushed.