Heart of a SIN - FMA Envy Fanfic [Edited]

9 - Scar

Arisa pov:

"Of all the places, why a drinking joint?" I muttered to myself as I entered the bar. The stench of alcohol was strong and made my eyes sting. With a click of my tongue, I walked past the people there to take a seat at one of the tables right next to a rather suspicious group of men.

My baggy clothes were rather uncomfortable though were the best disguise for me to pretend to be a boy – that and concealing my hair in my cap. This was one of my many missions within East City under the orders of Col. Mustang, only for secret investigation and evidence collection. The group I was tiling today were mercenaries tormenting families of military soldiers – mostly women and children – though had already done away with three families.

"What can I get for you today, um, sir?" a waitress asked me, eyeing my short form rather strangely.

"A shot of whiskey," I ordered at random without taking my eyes off the men at the adjacent table. They spoke loudly, their voices heard by my keen ears despite the loud chattering in the room.

While the waitress walked away with narrow eyes, I narrowed my eyes at the sight of guns at the men's waists. The seemed to be having a good time, laughing loudly while sharing big mugs of beer.

My gaze steered away from them a moment when the waitress returned with a glass cup of brown liquid. I thanked her, paying the bill with a big tip – she was happy for that and walked away without bothering me with even a narrow stare anymore. Even at this distance, the pungent smell of the whiskey burned my nose. Nonetheless, I merely held the cup and looked back at the men who finally began to talk of something useful to me.

"Cheers to getting another one of those military dogs!"

"That woman was so annoying! She wouldn't stop screaming so I had to slice her throat!"

"Heh! At least you weren't stuck with bratty kids!"

"The military is having a hard time catching us! We're really good!"

Their overconfidence had me rolling my eyes.

"That's true. They're all so useless!"

They showed no signs of wanting to discuss anything about their plans and it made me wonder if following them was going to be useful at all. I prepared to leave but paused a moment when they finally gave me the information I was waiting for.

"So, where are we going to stay tonight?"

"Hmmm, I was thinking we can stay in one of the run down houses near the underground water channel. It's near a meat shop – Paul's meat, I think."

"That's a good place. I doubt the military would look near the waterways since they just had that place inspected."

I couldn't believe that I had waited half an hour in this alcohol-stinking place to get this information. With a relieved smile, I stood and left the bar, leaving behind my untouched whiskey. Ugh, I wondered how people even drank such pungent drinks – my eyes and nose were still burning.

The streets I took to the military headquarters were rather deserted though I regarded the few I passed with smiles and chaste bows of greeting. We didn't know each other but had seen each other in passing a few times so we spared basic gestures of courtesy. It was a kind thing to do, as I had come to realize during my time socializing here.

I soon slipped into the darker alleyways to take the shortcut to the headquarters – the roofs. It was just a moment before I began to climb the piping of the nearest building that I heard hurried footsteps coming my way. Turning my head, I gazed in the direction of the sound.