Chapter Text
Chapter 35 — Maneuvers
The envelope was heavier than usual.
Roy broke the seal, eyes flicking over the neat, clipped language.
Formal Recommendation: Reassignment of Lieutenant R. Hawkeye. Justification: Compromised chain of command, excessive dependence, risk to Colonel Mustang’s candidacy for higher office.
His smirk thinned into something brittle. He dropped the paper onto the desk. “So it’s official. They want you gone.”
The office froze.
Breda’s jaw dropped. “Gone? As in… transferred?”
“Not a transfer,” Falman corrected grimly. “A reassignment. Permanent.”
Havoc swore under his breath, cigarette dangling precariously. “That’s their big move? Cut the Colonel off at the knees by stealing his right hand?”
Fuery looked between them all, pale. “But… they can’t do that, can they? She’s essential.”
Roy’s smirk sharpened dangerously. “That’s what they’re counting on.”
Riza stood behind him, posture iron. “Then I’ll comply.”
The words cut sharper than the letter.
Roy turned on her instantly. “The hell you will.”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “It’s an order, sir.”
He stepped closer, voice low, dangerous. “It’s an attack. And I don’t follow orders designed to weaken me.”
“Sir—”
The door swung open without a knock.
General Grumman strolled in, cane tapping lightly, his sly smile carved deep. “Well, well. Family squabbles already?”
“General,” Roy drawled, eyes narrowing. “Convenient timing.”
Grumman plucked the letter off the desk, skimming it with one raised brow. “Ah. So they finally made it official. Took them long enough.”
Riza stiffened. “Sir—”
He waved her off, settling into a chair uninvited. “Don’t look so grim, my dear. You think I didn’t see this coming? The Council would have been fools not to try. They’ve been sharpening their knives against Mustang for years. Cutting you out is the quickest way to see him bleed.”
Roy folded his arms, smirk thin. “You sound remarkably unconcerned.”
“Because I’m not,” Grumman said cheerfully. “This little stunt plays right into my hands.”
Breda frowned. “How’s that?”
Grumman leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “You all assume the anti-fraternization policy is about morality. Discipline. Appearances. In truth? It’s a lever. A tool the brass uses to yank promising officers back in line. Remove it, and suddenly their best weapon against you vanishes.”
Falman’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been planning to remove the policy.”
Grumman smiled, foxlike. “Oh, I’ve been planting seeds for years. Whispers in the right ears, scandals redirected, precedents shifted. And now? With this charming little stalker incident plastered across the press? With the Council painting your loyalty as liability? Perfect timing. I can sell the repeal as ‘strengthening the chain of command’ rather than compromising it.”
Riza’s voice was sharp. “You would use us as political cover.”
“Of course I would,” Grumman said without shame. “It benefits everyone. The Council loses their favorite leash, Mustang gets his lieutenant without whispers of impropriety, and I get to play the benevolent reformer who modernized military law. Everybody wins.”
Roy smirked faintly, though his eyes burned. “Except the Council.”
“Exactly,” Grumman purred. “And nothing pleases me more than watching those fossils choke on their own hypocrisy.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
Finally, Riza spoke, voice quiet but firm. “And if we refuse to play along?”
Grumman chuckled. “Oh, my dear, you don’t have to play. Just keep doing what you’re doing — standing too close, covering his blind side, saving his reckless hide. They’ll build the story for you. All I need is the right moment to cut the knot.”
He tapped the letter once, then rose. “For now, ignore this. Let them think they’ve unsettled you. And when the time comes—well, let’s just say the rules will no longer be their shield.”
With that, he swept out, cane clicking against the marble, leaving the office in stunned silence.
“Is it just me,” Havoc muttered finally, “or did he basically say he’s been matchmaking this whole time?”
Breda groaned. “Don’t put that image in my head.”
Fuery blinked. “Wait… so if the rule goes, then—”
“Then nothing,” Riza cut in sharply, her voice iron again.
But Roy, smirking faintly behind her, looked like he’d just been handed the most dangerous weapon of all.