Confrontation (Part 5 - Dining Hall)

[Central Command, Amestris]

Riza was sitting outside the conference room where the meeting between the representatives of Amestris and Xing was taking place. Representatives of Amestris included all the five Generals and the Fuehrer, but the General of West Area, General Volkmar and General Armstrong were absent due to some reasons. On the other side, Ling and his political advisor, Hu Zemin represented Xing.

After some time the meeting ended and one by one the leaders of both the countries came out. Riza and some other soldiers who were waiting outside the conference room, stood up to honor the guests and their higher-ups. And Riza didn't have to wait long because Roy was the second person to come through the door. It was not difficult for him to find Riza because she was standing right before the door. But, when he was about to go to Riza, he heard someone say, "General Mustang," from behind.

He turned around and found Ling was the person who called him. He looked at Ling and responded, "Yes Prince Ling?"

"Sorry to hear about your loss. I came to know about it just now when Hu told me," Ling replied.

"Thank you, prince," Roy said.

Roy didn't want to create a fuss by spreading the news that Oliver was alive, so it was only Riza, Colonel Armstrong and he who knew the truth, and everyone else was still shrouded by the false information. Meanwhile, Ling continued with a heavy voice, "I can't believe that he is dead. I met him only a few weeks back. He was taking some lessons of alkahestry from Mei."

"I know, he told me about it," Roy smirked faintly.

"How about you take us somewhere where we can talk like friends?" Ling proposed.

Roy narrowed his eyes and replied, "You sound totally different from the person I used to know."

"Diplomacy my friend," Ling sighed and continued, "I had to take some lessons back at my country."

Roy smiled and said, "Fine. I will arrange a private meeting at Central Park tomorrow evening. Is it good enough?"

"Great," Ling replied and continued, "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go for the lunch. I am really hungry after that exhausting meeting," and he smiled.

Then he left for the dining hall along with Hu Zemin, and Roy walked toward Riza, who was waiting for him. Both of them then together moved toward Roy's office. While walking, Roy enquired, "Any update?"

"Search operation has been started at East city, and for the smaller regions, the operation will take 4-5 days to start. Soldiers have been informed to report to central command if they find any one of them, and they have been strictly ordered, not to indulge in any kind of conflict or even a simple conversation with the target. Oli's identity has also been kept a secret from the soldiers in order to avoid any uncertainty," Riza informed.

"Hmmm, it's faster than what I expected," Roy said. Meanwhile, Riza called Roy before he could ask her anything else by saying, "General," with a lowered voice.

"Yes?" Roy responded very casually.

"One of the smaller regions include my hometown. Do you think…Oli might be there?" Riza asked.

Roy stopped walking, soon after which Riza stopped. He then looked at Riza and replied politely, "He can be anywhere, but the only way to increase our chances to find him is to search the bigger areas first."

In the meantime, Ling and Hu Zemin had reached the dining hall which was an inside-outside hall, whose one part was part building with costly marbles and glasses, while the other part was a garden with beautifully maintained trees and plants. At the gate of the dining hall, Ling saw many higher-ups in the military, were waiting to meet him. And beyond the crowd waiting for him, he saw Lan Fan, Mei, Yin and even Xiao-Mei were enjoying the delicious looking food. He couldn't resist it anymore and whispered to Hu, "Take care of the mob. I don't have any patience to talk to them."

Listening to Ling's request, Hu walked forward and prevented the crowd from disturbing Ling. He used his usual fake smile and took them with him. Ling could now freely eat the Amestrian dishes, whose presentation was mesmerizing. He fit many dishes on a single plate and walked to Mei and Yin. He looked around to search for one more person, but he couldn't find him. So, he asked while his mouth was full, "Where is Yang?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him from an hour," Yin answered.

Ling then continued having his food while looking at the flowers blossomed on some plants. And suddenly, Alex, aka Colonel Armstrong came flying from one side of the garden and fell at the center. Everyone who was enjoying the food were distracted by the incident. They were not only surprised because someone hit an Amestrian soldier in Central Command, but also because the soldier was the Strong Arm Alchemist. Quickly, many soldiers gathered near Alex, and within a few moments, all the Xingese present at the dining hall and the Fuehrer went to find out the reason.

Upon reaching there, they saw Yang was standing at a distance with his covered sword in his hand. In a few moments, both Yang and Alex stood before Ling and the Fuehrer to explain. "Please forgive me for my irresponsible behavior. When I was coming out of the toilet, I suddenly saw this huge man right in front of me. And the next second, he was leaping on me. So, I acted on my instinct and pushed him," Yang said.

After listening to Yang's explanation, Fuehrer Grumman's eyes were widened. "You pushed him!" He exclaimed.

"It was definitely my mistake, Sir. I shouldn't have startled him. It was a bad time to welcome our guest with a hug," Alex sounded embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Grumman was more focused on the murmuring going on in the crowd. Many soldiers were talking about how strong Yang was, because he was able to push Alex so hard that he flew and fell on the garden. Grumman didn't want to show that the Amestrian military was weaker than the Xingese. He believed in Alex, because he was among the top state alchemists, and he was sure that Alex was definitely not ready when Yang attacked. So, to boost the morale of the soldiers, he said, "Why don't we have alchemy vs alkahestry exhibition fight to show the combat abilities of both of our countries?"

Everyone looked at the Fuehrer with widened eyes, while Ling spoke with an excited tone, "That sounds great."

"Alright then Mr. Yang Gong and Colonel Alex Armstrong. After one hour you will showcase your combat abilities at the combat training ground," Grumman declared.

"Hmmm," Yang nodded and Alex replied with a "Yes Sir."

Meanwhile, both Ling and Grumman were having an evil laugh from inside. "Yang will decimate your weak state alchemist, Grumman," Ling thought as he smiled while looking at Grumman.

"Now you will see the true strength of our country," Grumman thought as he smiled while looking at Ling.