Joy & Sorrow (Part 4 - The Alley)

[Present day]

Like every working day, Roy and his team were busy doing some paperwork. Now that Roy was a General, the amount of paperwork had increased significantly, and like always he procrastinated, but Riza was always present there to make sure he finishes his work.

Roy was in his chamber, signing some papers which Riza brought. He was sitting on his chair and signing the papers as fast as possible with his head down. Riza was standing in front of the desk, waiting for Roy to complete the work. As there was no one in the room, Roy asked something personal while signing, "Have you decided, when you are going to tell him?"

The question was clear as crystal to Riza. Roy asked about the secret that Riza hid from Oliver from a long time.

"Today evening," Riza replied.

A grin appeared on Roy's face when he heard the answer, and Riza also noticed that. Roy then continued, "You do know, what does that mean, right?"

"Yes," Riza sighed.

Roy stopped signing and excitedly looked at Riza with a grin and starry eyes. "So, what have you thought?" He asked curiously.

Riza was startled for a moment by his action. And after hearing the question, her eyebrows started twitching. "FINISH YOUR WORK. THE FUEHRER IS WAITING," She yelled.

Roy instantly lowered his head and resumed his paperwork at double the speed. And in a few minutes, he finished his work and relaxed on his chair, taking a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Riza picked up the papers and left the chamber without speaking a word.

After Riza left, Roy went out of his chamber and relaxed on the sofa in his office hall, where his team was busy with paperwork. As everyone was busy, Roy simply sat on the sofa, watching his team work. Suddenly a young soldier opened the door and ran toward Roy. Everyone was curiously looking at the soldier.

The soldier stood in front of Roy and saluted him. "Major General Mustang," he panted.

"What's the matter, soldier?" Roy asked.

The soldier calmed down before speaking.

"Sir, we have found a badly burnt body in an alley," the soldier answered.

"Why are you telling me this?" Roy exasperated, "I have some urgent work right now. Take Captain Falman with you if you need some assistance"

"Sir, the dead body is of a boy who looks like your son," the soldier informed.

Everybody got shocked when they heard that. Roy's heart started beating very fast at that moment. Without wasting any time he stood up and walked toward the door. "Let's go," said Roy.

Roy and his team member followed the soldier, who guided them to an alley, 3 miles away from the Central Headquarters. As soon as they reached there, Roy got out of the car and rushed toward the crime scene. Indeed he saw a dead body lying there covered with a white cloth. Roy's heartbeat rose as he walked closer to the covered corpse. By the size, it was certainly looking like a child's corpse.

When he reached near the body, he didn't have the courage to remove the cloth but, he was also curious about what was underneath that cloth. He was hoping it not to be his son like the soldier told him. And to know the truth, he bent down and moved his trembling hand toward the body. His heart was pounding like an engine and his forehead was covered with beads of sweats. Still, he gathered courage and removed the cloth.

When he looked at the body, his eyes were widened, he felt like his heart suddenly stopped beating. The body was indeed of his son. Oliver's body was partially burnt. One could see his face which was barely burnt, might be for the identification. There was a stab wound in his chest, which could have been the act of mercy by the killer for the child. But, Oliver's face was clearly implying that the child was very scared before his death.

It was very hard for Roy to look at his child's mutilated body. So, he averted his eyes from the corpse to look at the floor. He was in shock, he couldn't speak or act, he was on his knees in front of his son's dead body, continuously thinking about what could be the reason for his son's death.