Bonds (Part 5 - Northerners)

[Present Day, Central Command]

After sending Oliver with Fuery to let him have a tour of Central Command, Roy indulged himself in a heated conversation with Falman and Breda for a certain book they lost in a bar. The book was very valuable to Roy for some reason and losing it made him a bit upset. Fortunately, Roy had a meeting due to which Breda and Falman were saved from their superior's wrath. While going to the meeting room through the hallway with Riza, Roy was still upset about the book he lost. He kept on complaining to Riza about Breda and Falman like a child,

"Those idiots, how could they be so irresponsible?" Roy expressed his anger

"Why are you so worried about some books?" Riza asked

"Because one of those books was Master's" Roy sounded upset

Riza then understood why he was so worried, and she empathized with him. It was the final gift from her father to Roy after all. But, Berthold didn't give the book to Roy directly, instead, he requested Riza to give it to Roy after his death. Once Roy joined the military, Berthold stopped talking to Roy like he used to. But, during his last moments, he opened up to Roy in order to express himself as much as he could.

The meeting room was still some distance away, and the hallway was almost vacant. So, Riza asked the question which was bugging her from a long time,

"Why didn't you tell me Oli was in Central?" She asked politely

When Roy heard Riza's question, he got out of the thought of losing his Master's book. His all focus was now on avoiding a mad Riza,

"We were having fun till the evening and by the time we returned home, he was very tired so, I thought of informing you later" Roy replied

"So, that is your excuse?" Riza sounded angry

Roy understood that he should have said her sorry, before giving her an explanation so casually. But, it was not too late to say sorry. So, he stopped walking and looked toward Riza. Riza had to stop because of her superior, and looked toward him,

"Sorry, I should have let you know" Roy apologized genuinely

Riza calmed down after listening to his apology. She didn't say anything, and resumed walking toward the meet room, followed by Roy. While walking she again said something related Oliver,

"Anyways, now that Oli will be staying at Central, I think you should homeschool him"

Riza was homeschooled throughout her life, so she was biased toward homeschooling. But, Roy had a different view, he put the most obvious alternative,

"He needs to make friends and he cannot do it until he joins a school. You are being overprotective you know?"

"What's wrong with that?" Riza said

Meanwhile, they had reached the meeting room and were standing before the entry door. Riza opened the door for Roy to enter, and followed him after his entrance. When they entered inside, they saw General Olivier Mira Armstrong and Major Miles were already waiting for them. They were sitting on one side of the oval table present there.

When Roy and Riza took their seat opposite to the Northerners, Olivier looked at Roy with an annoyed face and said,

"I can't believe you became a General" Her voice was full of displease

But, Roy was well prepared to counter comments like that. He said,

"I guess there was no one else better than me to fill the shoes"

Olivier was impressed by Roy's answer and his composure. So, she smiled and said,

"Well said, Mustang"

Roy then took the discussion to the main issue, and asked,

"So, why did you bother to come here?"

"You must be aware that after Bradley died, our neighboring countries are thinking we are vulnerable" Olivier replied

"Yes, I talked to the Fuehrer about this. He is going to increase forces at East, West and South and at least one state alchemist is going to be appointed at each command" Roy said

"What about North? Isn't he going to increase forces in the north?" Olivier asked curiously when she didn't hear North in his reply

"Food supply is a problem at north. So your forces will be provided with the best ammunition and better state alchemists instead of soldiers"

Meanwhile, Miles entered the discussion,

"There is one other issue in North according to our sources. Drachma has some secret weapon which they are going to use against Amestris. We don't know what kind of weapon it is or how does it work. We would like to request the Fuehrer to initiate a covert mission to Drachma and get information as soon as possible"

"How much time do we have?" Roy asked

"Approximately 1 month" Miles answered

"I see" Roy showed his concern

Meanwhile, Riza reminded every one of the upcoming plans. She said with a potential proposition,

"Next week, some people from the Xingese royal family are coming for an official meet. Shall we call off the visit?"

"No, we don't need to cancel that. This is a very important meeting and they are going to stay for 3 days, so I don't think we will have a problem" Roy replied

"I agree, all we need is a covert operation and, if we cancel some major event like this, Drachma might take a notice and change their plan" Olivier put her opinion

The meeting lasted for more than 2 hours, where they discussed every potential alternatives and issue. After the exhausting meeting, everyone relaxed for a moment on their chair. Roy then asked,

"Are we done then?"

"Yes, but It would have been better if Fuehrer had been here. Where is he?" Olivier said

"He has gone to visit Ms. Bradley" Riza answered

Riza then lifted the glass of water to quench her thirst. She was slowly drinking some water when Miles asked Roy politely,

"General Mustang if you won't mind, can you please tell us if it's true that you have a son?"

Roy smiled and answered him with a "Yes"

Like everyone else, Olivier also perceived Roy as a person who indulges himself with multiple women. So, when she found out that he was a father, and he proudly admitted it, she couldn't wait, but to ask a cruel question,

"I didn't know you will be a man to settle down. Who is the unlucky woman?" She asked very casually

But, instead of damaging Roy, it seemed like Riza was affected more. On hearing Olivier's question, Riza coughed and sprinkled the water she was drinking on the table. Because of her reaction, everyone's attention was now toward Riza. But, Riza maintained her composure and put the glass of water on the table. She then pulled out a napkin from her coat pocket, wiped her lips and the region close to her lips. Then she said very calmly,

"Sorry for that"

"It's alright Major. I know you are way too smart to be that unlucky woman" Olivier said with the intention of mocking Roy

Olivier then stood up and continued while looking toward Roy,

"I don't have an interest in your personal life, Mustang. You don't have to answer me" She said in a stoic tone

Olivier and Miles then left the meeting room. Roy took a sigh of relief while relaxing on the chair he was sitting, and spoke to show all his frustration before Riza,

"Man, that woman is such a pain. I guess, you two will get along pretty well, Major"

After saying that, when he looked toward Riza, he saw Riza's face, which was screaming at him, "Gunshots". He realized what did he just say, and gulped out of fear.