Rothstein stood in his lab, around him were jars of liquids and piles of books. His attention was focused on a picture hung from the wall.
“I’m sorry Gretchen, I couldn’t save you but I think I finally know what went wrong all those years ago. I haven’t given up my dream to help people like you and I, I just hope you can forgive my methods some day,” he said looking into the never blinking eyes of his wife.
Rothstein went over and picked up the picture, putting his fingers to the cold glass and remembering how warm her cheeks once were. His thoughts were broken when the phone rang. Setting the picture down, Rothstein then picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
As the person on the other end of the line spoke, Rothstein’s expression turned angry. “Don’t give me excuses! I’ve told you all that I want her here and if that means securing her while she’s in the East then so be it! Do whatever you can to secure Nina Elric, I must have her if my experiments are to succeed!”
The person on the other end replied to Rothstein which only angered him more. “I’ve already given you instructions on how best to deal with Edward Elric now stop making excuses. I don’t want to hear from you again until you have what I’ve ordered you to get. Oh, and if you or your men lay another hand on my son NO ONE will get paid, are we understood?”
Again the person replied to Rothstein. “Good, now good-bye,” he said as he hung up the phone. How could it really be so hard to capture one girl? Granted, it was Nina and she really was a brilliant alchemist but she was also only a teen-age girl.
To calm himself, Rothstein walked over to a small bar and took out a glass filling it with ice and then whiskey. He slowly sipped it as he walked from one large container to the next checking their contents. In each there were the beginnings of alchemically grown human organs. This was the research that the government was paying him to do and he couldn’t let it go to the wayside for his own personal ambitions. They wanted to find a way to create human parts to use for transplant when people’s original organs and limbs had been damaged beyond repair. Rothstein understood the organs but he didn’t understand the limbs. There was automail for such things, though he supposed that having automail took a heavy toll on the body and the more natural artificial recreations wouldn’t have that heavy toll. He didn’t care though, they paid him for this and it enabled him to conduct his research into human genetic alchemy on the side.
Once he had Nina he could easily get the blood he needed to prove if his theory was correct or not. It hadn’t been the avian genetics that had made Gretchen ill, at least that wasn’t the only thing. He thought that maybe the alchemically strengthened fluids that he had injected into her system had played a role as well. She had not been gifted with alchemic ability from birth so when it had been injected into her body, she had rejected it once she had given birth to Adrienne. It was only after so many trials with other regular girls that he’d figured it out.
Once he’d checked on the organs in the canisters he walked over to a door and unlocked it. When he stepped inside the noises of pained animals fell upon his ears. He took a bag off the hook on the wall and started to fill the dishes that were just outside each of the cages. As he went from cage to cage the glint of small eyes stared up at him, the many children he had managed to create using various methods of his genetic alchemy. All of them were deformed versions of different animals, some more blended with their humans than others. Rothstein couldn’t help but to sigh. Not once since Adrienne had he been successful in creating another incubated in the womb chimera. This was still a problem that plagued him greatly. He hadn’t done anything differently with the other woman than he’d done for Gretchen and Adrienne. What was different about them?
When he got to the last cage, the small rabbit girl lay on the floor unmoving. Rothstein reached into the cage to check on her. When he realized she didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing he sighed heavily. Yet another one had died. The next time he heard from Rogers he would have to tell him that he had another body to deal with. He just hoped that Rogers could handle this job without the troubles he’d had in just capturing Nina. The thought of Rogers right now only served to make him mad.
Finally Rothstein made his way into the last room. Inside were traditional cells, in each one was a girl, none older than twenty and each one very pregnant. He walked by each one making sure that they had been properly fed and that none appeared to be ill. For now they all looked to be doing well except for the broken and blank stares on their once pretty and lively faces. Rothstein was actually glad that none of them had managed to die but he knew it was a matter of time before they wouldn’t be viable anymore and would have to be taken away.
Having put everything in order, Rothstein left the back rooms making sure to lock the door once more. As he made his way back upstairs he saw Adrienne as he came in the door.
“Hello Adrienne,” he said with a smile.
“Hi Dad…” Adrienne replied clearly lost in thought and distracted.
“Is everything alright?” Rothstein said walking over to his son and putting his hand on his shoulder.
Adrienne sighed. He couldn’t tell his father what was on his mind. He was worried about Nina. If what she thought about those circles was true, Adrienne knew she could be in some real danger then especially if anyone found out. He didn’t like the idea of leaving her for the two weeks of break. He’d vowed to himself to protect her and with her being that far away he wouldn’t be able to do that unless he could find a way to go with her. “Yeah Dad, everything’s fine…”
“You and Nina didn’t have a falling out did you?”
Adrienne chuckled and shook his head. “No, nothing like that. Don’t worry, I’m fine, really. If it’s alright though I think I’ll take dinner in my room tonight, I need to do more studying before the exams start.”
Rothstein looked at his son but didn’t prod him any further. “Fine.”
Adrienne smiled warily and headed off to his room, he did have to study but he also needed to figure a few things out as well.
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