One door, no windows, one table, two chairs, this room was maddening. Kimball sat alone awaiting whatever the Military Police were going to do to him. He was just mad that that stupid girl had managed to get the better of him. What the hell was she anyway? He’d never seen an alchemic reaction like what she had done though he had to admit, he’d never really seen much alchemy period and it wasn’t like he really had any ability to do it himself. It still didn’t add up though. His employer never told him that Nina Elric would put up such a fight. He surely had to know about how gifted she was or else he wouldn’t have wanted her in the first place but why didn’t he say anything? He’d actually made it sound like this was going to be easy when he’d called about the job earlier in the night. Wait; maybe this had been some kind of test. Maybe his employer wanted to see how she’d handle herself if confronted but why not tell him about that up front?
Kimball was lost in his own thoughts when the door opened. The person who entered wasn’t an MP but a member of the actual military. The guy was tall, and had blond, slightly spiked hair and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He tossed a folder down on the table and sat in the chair opposite Kimball. He didn’t look very intimidating but Kimball thought it best not under estimate him. It was always the unimposing ones that caused the most problems.
Lieutenant Colonel Havoc took a pen out of his pocket and opened the folder in front of him. “Alright, now start from the beginning and I suggest you don’t leave anything out.” Kimball just looked at him remaining silent. Havoc sighed. “Come on, this will go a lot faster if you just cooperate.”
Kimball just scoffed. “And what makes you think I’m going to be a rat and just give you everything you want? I do have my reputation to consider, plus how do I know that once I’ve talked you won’t execute me? If I do decide to spill my guts to you, what’s in it for me?”
Havoc leaned back in the chair and took a drag from his cigarette. “Well for starters; these charges won’t get you executed, though if a certain someone were to get his hands on you for laying a hand on his daughter I couldn’t guarantee anything. But let’s not worry about that for now.”
Kimball looked away from Havoc. He knew who that certain someone was and if the rumors were true, Kimball knew he had a pretty hot temper. Probably better not to think about that one right now. “Fine, keep that hot headed pain in the ass away from me indefinitely and I’ll give you the information worth the price.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem. OK then, let’s start with something easy, how many other girls has your boss asked you to kidnap?”
Kimball looked back at him and grinned. “Nina was the fifth, well for me anyway.”
“For you? What do you mean?”
“Do you honestly think my boss only has one person working for him? Please, you’re dumber than you look if you think that.”
“OK, so how many of you are there?”
Kimball sat back in his chair, crossed his arms and shrugged. “No idea, it’s not like we have monthly meetings or anything. All I know is that I get a phone call with a where, a when, how much I’ll be paid and any special instructions. I don’t really talk to him much other than that.”
Havoc looked at him knowing there was more that he wasn’t telling him. “And you expect me to believe you don’t talk to him for anything other than that? Come on, now who’s the dumb one?”
“It’s the truth, whether you believe it or not, well that’s completely up to you.”
“So why do you skulk around outside Dr. Rothstein’s classroom at the Academy in the evenings?”
“I worked maintenance at the Academy, I had duties you know. My section assignment was that area of that building nothing else.”
“You weren’t scoping out the Doctor’s students?”
Kimball sighed. “I told you, I didn’t pick them, I just picked up the ones I was asked to.”
“And you weren’t getting intel on the people in Rothstein’s classes for your boss?”
“No. Look, my boss knows who he wants and who he doesn’t want. It’s just a coincidence that they all come from Rothstein’s classes.”
Havoc grinned at him and leaned over the table. “I didn’t tell you that we suspected all of the missing girls came from Rothstein’s classes but thanks for confirming that for me.”
Kimball scowled. This military monkey had tricked him into giving up more information than he wanted to, even if it was rather minor.
“So what else can you tell me? Why did your boss want Nina?”
Kimball got tight lipped again. “No way, you already got the price of admission out of me…”
Havoc shook his head. “Too bad. You know I hear that a certain someone is due for a visit to Central and he is a buddy of mine so maybe I’ll…”
“No! Come on man! That’s not fair!”
“Then keep talking,” Havoc said now glaring a bit at Kimball.
“Fine, fine have it your way. Honestly? Who WOULDN’T want Nina? Shit, look at who her family is if nothing else. Plus you have the added bonus of her being the brightest and most gifted person in all of Amestris at the moment. If it were up to me to pick a mark, I’d pick her too. The ransom alone you could get for her would be sky high.”
“But is that the actual reason?”
Kimball shrugged. “I don’t know, I don’t ask because frankly I don’t care. My boss has a thing for intelligent, teen-age girls, that’s all I know. But I do know this is the first time I’ve been asked to go after one that had alchemic talent. I can’t speak for any of the other girls the boss may have asked others to get though.”
Havoc didn’t say anything as he flipped through a couple of the pages in his folder. He quickly scanned over the profiles of each girl that had been abducted and it would seem that he was right; Nina was the first with known talent in alchemy. “Talk about starting big,” he thought to himself. It didn’t explain the child chimeras that were usually found awhile after at the abduction sights though. Was that just a coincidence?
“And how many other ‘employees’ do you think he has? I know you said you didn’t exactly know but give me a guess.”
Kimball thought about it for a few minutes then sighed. “I don’t know if I can even do that but if I have to give it a guess I’d say there’s at least two more besides me.”
Havoc did the math and to have three people abducting girls on and off made sense given the number of girls taken, especially over the last year or two. It didn’t give him any more clues as to who the mastermind was but at least he had more to go on.
“So, had you been successful, where do you take the girls once you have them?”
“It depends.”
“On what?”
“Well usually where I’m told to pick up the girl determines where I drop her off. It always changes and it’s rare that I have to use the same place twice.”
“So where were you supposed to bring Nina?”
Kimball shook his head and laughed. “Do you think you can honestly figure anything out from that? There’s not usually anyone there when I make the drop off and I’m pretty sure that the person who was going to make the pickup already knows I wasn’t successful so there’s no way he’s going to show now.”
“Humor me then,” Havoc said sounding clearly less than amused.
Kimball just shrugged. “Fine, I was supposed to drop Nina at an abandoned shed just outside of Central near the railroad tracks that lead out to the East.”
Havoc thought about this for a bit. He actually thought he knew exactly where this place was but he wanted to make sure. He pushed a piece of paper and a pen to Kimball and made him draw a map. He resisted a bit but Havoc just reminded him one more time what would happen if he didn’t cooperate and Kimball did just as he was told.
“Alright, sit tight for now. One of the MPs will be in eventually to bring you to a holding cell,” he said as he gathered up the papers into the folder and left the room with it.
Fuhrer Mustang was waiting outside when Havoc came out. “Did he give you anything useful?”
Havoc shrugged. “Useful? Maybe, maybe not but he at least confirmed that whoever the mastermind behind this is, he’s definitely taking his targets from Dr. Rothstein’s classes. He also mentioned that he was supposed to drop off Nina in an old shed out at the edge of the city. Kimball was kind enough to draw me a map out there but I was pretty sure I already knew where he was talking about anyway. I was planning to take a few men and go out there to check it out; hopefully there’ll be something there that will give us a few more clues. It’s a long shot but I think it’s worth it.”
“Did he mention anything about the chimeras?”
Havoc sighed and shook his head. “No but then he seems to only be involved in the snatch and grab part of the operation. Once he makes a drop off that’s it, he starts the process over.”
Mustang thought about the newest information that Havoc had given him. “Right now I think you should check out that shed but I also think Rothstein needs to be watched.”
“Sir? You don’t think the Doctor is involved do you?”
“I don’t know but I can’t ignore that it’s his students being taken. IF nothing else we might get other clues from watching him. I’m also putting a protection detail on Nina Elric because I’m sure this won’t be the only attempt made on her. I also want Amy under watch too just in case. She’s not one of Rothstein’s students but because of who she is, she may be targeted as well.”
“You know the girls aren’t going to take that well.”
Mustang chuckled. “That’s why I’ve planned for the detail to be less than obvious but you know that if I did nothing, Fullmetal would never let me hear the end of it.”
“Has he been told about what happened?”
Mustang sighed. “Yeah, but I didn’t want to tell him just because you know how insufferable he can be, especially when it comes to his kids. That’s part of the reason I have no choice but to have the protection detail on them. It’s not only for their safety but also for my sanity. If I hadn’t, he would have come charging out here and gotten in my hair. I swear, I miss the days when he actually avoided my office at all cost. Besides, I need him out in the East right now anyway; he’s my eyes and ears in the Eastern branch, even if he doesn’t exactly know it.”
“You’re plotting something aren’t you sir?”
“Of course Havoc, when am I not?” Mustang asked with a grin.
Havoc could only laugh as they walked down the hall. He had an investigation to get back to.
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