*Heckyl approached, dropping and crushing his cigarette about two yards away. Interestingly, the scent of the cigar was nowhere to be found on him, whatsoever. Both his hands were in his pockets.*

"Excuse me. Is something wrong?"

Aiden: *follows Heckyl while holding on to Sophiea*

*They soon notice someone following at a distance. Heckyl took several turns, and the stranger still followed.*

Sophiea: *holds a gun out for defence*

"Put that away, if he knows we're onto him he'll get away. I need ti question him."

Sophiea: them follow me

Aiden: *grabs the gun off of Sophiea*

"Look, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but I'm a State Alchemist. I didn't say because lots of people don't like us. 'Dogs of the military,' they call us. If people knew you were travelling with a State Alchemist, you might be in more danger. Tell no one. Now follow me."

Sophiea: f**king ‘ell

"Calm down. I'll protect you. Come here."

*He led them down a dead-end alley.*

(Trust the process, he has a plan)

(Bet)

Sophiea: aw f**k nah I’m out

Aiden: oh no no no he’s safe

Sophiea: yeah sure sure

"Please, trust me. That man is going to come around the corner. When he does, I need you to pretend I'm mugging you. With luck, he'll intervene, giving me my chance. I can't keep you sage if you don't trust me. If you need proof, here."

*He pulled out a pocketwatch with a strange crest on the cover.*

"This is my only identification as a State Alchemist. It's also always an hour off. It is my most prized possession. Take it."

*Olly wins*
Aiden: GET IN OLLY!

Sophiea: yay

*Heckyl is still focused on his writing.*

Aiden: ads? Ugh

*Heckyl stood up and went to a side room.*

*both are still watching*

*There was an "Ah-ha!" from the room.*

"Aiden, Sophiea, come in here! I have a lead!"

Aiden: *goes off* cmon Soph
Sophiea: bet *follows Aiden*

*He was dancing, saying "I got a lead!"*

(I have made Heckyl a bit more ridiculous for this RP. Normally he's stoic, emotionless, calm, and collected. I just needed a change of pace)

Aiden: stop acting like a mf doing that goofy kick in the air

*He calmed.*

"Sorry - I have a lead! Look!"

*He pointed to a board like a conspiracy theorist would have.*

*both eats them happily*

*He ate as well. He turned on the TV.*

"Anything you wanna watch?"

Aiden: yea

Sophiea: 👍

"What do you want to watch?"

Aiden: Watch whatever

*He put on a British game show.*

Aiden: GET IN LOVE

*He pulled out a notebook and began writing.*

Sophiea: who’s winning?
Aiden: it’s either the chaser or Olly

*He kept writing. He didn't seem all that focused on the show.*

Sophiea: *screams and hides behind Aiden*
Aiden: oh uh I’m sorry from her, she’s developed a big anxiety disorder recently after what happened

"I saw on the news. I am called Raleigh Heckyl. I would like to offer my services."

*He held out a hand. It was (presently) covered in s dark grey glove that matched his coat, hair, pants, tie, etc.*

(Ignore the image, it's a little outdated. Recent lore means Heckyl lost both his arms, which will be explained later)

Aiden: *shakes hand* it’s an honour to meet you

"I can protect you, if you wish, free of charge."

Aiden: oh thanks for the offer, but if you can could you tell me a tip to fix her anxiety disorder

"Yes, of course. Something that worked for me is-"

*His eyes suddenly narrowed. His voice lowered.*

"We are bing watched."

Sophiea: whu…

*He motioned with his head for them to follow.*

"Act natural. If anyone asks, I'm John, and I'm a friend who's visiting."

Sophiea: he?

*He nodded.*

"Follow. This way."

*both agrees*

*He led them back to his bike, then got them both on. Surprisingly, they all fit without need for a sidecar. He drove out of town and then a few miles north before taking a sharp turn off the road to a cabin near a lake. That's where he stopped.*

*both puts on motorbike helmets for identification safety*

"Relax, no surveillance out here. We're on our own. Come on in, I'll get something to eat."

Aiden: eh, I like wearing it anyways, makes me look so cool

Sophiea: inni

*both enters the cabin*

(What's with Speheia's speech all of a sudden?)

*He led them inside and sat them down, then went to the lake to get fish to cook.*

(Innit- British slang for saying “I know right”)

Aiden: make sure there’s some salmon for me

Sophiea: I will have sardines

(Ah, just checking. I'm familiar with Brit slang)

"Got it."

*He fished for an hour, and came back with the stuff requested.*

"Coincidentally, this is the only stuff out here. You can check if you like - chances are you'll smell it in every corner if you sniff hard enough."

*He began preparing the food.*

*both excited*

*He brought out three plates. Two for them, with their requested fish, and one for him, with a single salmon fillet and two sardines.*

Sophiea: *screams out and shoots the absolute shit out of the man*

*He dropped the corpse.*

"Dammit..."

*He slid the gun into his jacket, then walked over. He placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.*

Aiden: that was the guy

"Got it. I need my watch back. Someone's no doubt reported shots fired. Means the police are probably on their way. I can get us out of trouble, but they'll have to confiscate Sophiea's gun, unless I have it on my person. If I take it, it'll be considered my sidearm. If she keeps it, it'll be taken. My crest will get us out of immediate trouble, but if they have the gun, we'll run into more later. Say what you want - the system works."

Sophiea: *gets out a wet wipe and covers her hand in one side. Then cleans the prints off on the other side*

*Once she was done, he took the gun and put it into his jacket with the other.*

Sopheia: I feel much better now, I love murder!

Aiden: *to Heckyl* that’s my partner

"Nope, don't say that, that's suspicious. Now, let's go. I'll need to stay with you - gives you diplomatic immunity."

Aiden: bet
Sophiea: aigaha

"I don't think it would be wise to go back to your place. I have a bike back in the park. I'll drive you to my cabin."

(He lives in an isolated cabin in the woods not far outside of the city limits. He loves near the city because the military complex is there and that's where all his alchemical research and funding is, but he loves alone to avoid stalking, capture, etc. since he's one of the more important State Alchemists)

Sophiea: *runs off*
Aiden: ah shit

"Go after her. I'll deal with out man. Please, take the pocketwatch. Use it to get help if you need it. I will ask for it back."

Aiden: wuh- ok *takes the pocket watch and goes after Sopheia

*He waits for the person who was following.*

Aiden: *grabs Sophiea* it’s trustworthy

*Meanwhile, back in the alley...*

*The man came round the corner. Heckyl tackled hi.m.*

Aiden: *returns*

*When they got back, they found Heckyl pinning the man to the ground with his arm twisted, holding a gun to the man's head that he didn't have before.*

"Talk, dammit! What do you want from them?!"

Aiden: hi there I got her back

"Good, that's good. Do you recognize him?"

*He held the man up so Aiden could see his face. He was middle-aged, maybe in his late thirties (and that's being generous). He had a buzz cut, light stubble, and a small scar under his lip. His eyes were colbat.*

Aiden: ok

*He pointed at one strand.*

"Look - there's been a series of robberies at the Military Complex Archives. Thousands of dollars worth of Alchemical research was stolen, including my notes on weapon transmutation - my specialty - for the past three years. All of them were carried out in the same way: The perp got in quietly, tipped off the guards, turned off the cameras. He appears to only be going after my research, and the Fullmetal Alchemist's research. That means he knew specifically where that research would be, meaning he had a contact on the inside. I ran a scan through the complex personel database and found someone who matched the appearance of the man from earlier - the one that Sophiea shot. He was the informant: All the info leaks concerning mine and Fullmetal's research. If he also targeted you, that means something bigger is going on. I need to run a scan of your faces through a few systems to confirm a link. Mond taking pictures of yourselves? I need two separate images with good lighting."

Sophiea: *grabs out 2 different images with good lighting*

(Can we go to a memechat?)

Ok