The Gunslinger Alchemist (Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfiction)

Elias Miller nervously looked at the two military officers as they wordlessly entered the cell. One of the man's hands was handcuffed to the table, and he was forced to sit at an awkward angle due to this. The handcuffs and cell seemed largely unnecessary to Carlyle since he and Hotchkiss could easily subdue the man if he resisted. The man was certainly no soldier.

"Hey! Can we get an officer in here to uncuff him?" Carlyle shouted toward the cell's entrance. There were no officers nearby, but the cellblock they stood in had good acoustics. Carlyle's voice probably traveled quite far.

After several seconds passed with no response, Carlyle muttered, "I guess they're really not eavesdropping."

The local police passed the test. The conversation Carlyle was about to have with Elias Miller would involve matters of national security, and he could not afford to have the members of a provincial police force overhear their conversation.

After several seconds of silence passed, Elias Miller could no longer handle the pressure. Unbidden, he began to speak.

"I'll tell you everything I told the cops. I was hired by my usual handler in West City to transport an unmarked package to Lisberth. He told me to hand the package over to a red-haired woman named Miriam. That's all I know."

Annoyance darkening Carlyle's face, he said, "Yes, the female alchemist has appeared on our long list of problems to deal with, but she's not our primary concern. Right now, we just want to know about the events of April 4th."

Elias's mouth twitched as Carlyle spoke. "You mentioned that. Who do you work for?"

Lieutenant Hotchkiss violently slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "We're the ones asking the questions, here!"

Elias jumped back in fear, and the pair of handcuffs connecting him to the sturdy metal table was the only thing that stopped him from retreating all the way to the edge of the cell.

"Easy, Hotchkiss," Carlyle chided as he waved a hand in his partner's direction. "I work directly under Lieutenant General Schneider, the provincial commander of the West Area."

"Who does he report to?"

"Right now, nobody. Schneider worked directly under the Fuhrer."

"Will he give me immunity if I testify?"

"Yes, you have my word."

Elias Miller paused for a long moment before continuing. "Okay, I'll tell you everything I know."

Without missing a beat, Carlyle and Hotchkiss both produced notebooks from the pockets of their coats. They opened their notebooks to a clean page, and Carlyle gestured for Elias Miller to begin speaking.

After nearly ten minutes of testimony that Carlyle already knew, Elias said something immensely informative.

"I was standing near Central Command when I saw something amazing. Fuhrer King Bradley was there, and he walked right up to the front entrance of Central Command. Soldiers dressed in snow camouflage stood at the entrance as if they were guarding it, and they started shooting at Bradley."

Carlyle looked up from his notebook in shock. "The Briggs soldiers attacked Fuhrer King Bradley!?"

Miller frowned before saying, "It would be more accurate to say that Bradley attacked the Briggs soldiers."

"Wait, hold on," Carlyle said, holding up a hand to temporarily pause the man's testimony. "Let me get this straight. You're saying that soldiers from Fort Briggs to the north were occupying Central Command, and Fuhrer King Bradley ordered a group of soldiers to assault their position."

"No, no, you misunderstand. Bradley attacked the Briggs soldiers by himself armed with just a saber and a few grenades."

Lieutenant Hotchkiss's mouth twitched upward in a look of anger before he asked, "Are you lying? Don't screw with us?"

"No! No!" Elias Miller insisted. "That's the truth. I swear to God."

"Okay…" Carlyle said, doubtful of what he had heard. Why would the leader of the military assault a fortified position all by himself? It didn't make any sense. Carlyle didn't immediately challenge the testimony, however. He knew that the best way to find the truth was to hear the whole testimony and then find the contradictions that would inevitably appear in such a complicated lie. "What happened next?"

Miller continued speaking, and the next ten minutes of his testimony was largely unhelpful. He talked about frantic troop movement and periodic rumbling in the ground. In the hours leading up to the eclipse, Miller went into the campus of Central Command in order to deliver a package to an officer who had already been arrested by the military police.

"Everyone in Central Command collapsed at the height of the eclipse for about a minute."

"Just like everywhere else," Carlyle muttered.

"Yes. When I woke up, I was near a window looking out on the courtyard. What I saw there was even more unbelievable than the Fuhrer assaulting a fortified position with just a sword."

"Speak, then," Carlyle said, coaxing Miller forward.

"There was a man with long blond hair dressed in nothing but a loin cloth. A company of soldiers and about half a dozen alchemists attacked him. The man was clearly a powerful alchemist, and the fight was a close one. This strange man seemed completely unbothered when the soldiers hit him with a concentrated artillery barrage."

"He was attacked by alchemists? Which alchemists?"

"The ones I recognized were Major Armstrong, Colonel Mustang, and Edward Elric. The alchemists won eventually, and Edward Elric killed the strange alchemist. Later, I overheard one of the soldiers refer to the man as 'Father.'"

Carlyle was taken aback by that statement. He remembered his previous conversation with General Schneider and recalled that strange question about a man named 'Father.' This blond, unclothed alchemist must have been the man that the General was interested in.

Miller spoke for a bit longer, but none of it was of interest to Carlyle or Hotchkiss. Eventually, the two men flipped their notebooks closed and rose to their feet.

"Your testimony has been very helpful," Carlyle said, looking down at the handcuffed man. "I'll relay this information to General Schneider. He might want to hear your testimony in person in West City."

"Will you be able to get me out of here?" Miller asked, desperation obvious in his voice.

"We'll see."