“Winry, what’s wrong?” asked Lettie, who had come in a little later with Garfiel, and noticed the heavy air in the shop. She looked uneasily at all the grown-ups.
“It’s nothing.” Winry quickly put on a fake smile and picked up Lettie. Until her mother was back, all Lettie had was Darish. Winry hadn’t wanted to upset the young girl by letting her hear what they had just spoken about. The other clients, who didn’t know much about the siblings, nevertheless picked up on the situation and kept quiet.
“That’s right, we need to clean your knee,” Winry said, feigning serenity. She led Lettie into the small back room and had the girl sit on a crate. She kept control of her own racing mind and pulled out a first aid kit from a shelf next to the stairs. She pulled off the bloody bandage and carefully applied some antiseptic, trying to avoid making it sting. To finish things off, she applied a new bandage and smiled for Lettie, who still seemed worried.
“I’m going to clean up the studio for a little, so could you wait for me here?” Winry said.
“Okay, I can.” Lettie gave her a nod. Winry handed Lettie some white paper and a pencil that had been on the shelf to keep Lettie occupied with drawing, then immediately headed back to the studio.
“This isn’t good.” Garfiel had just hung up the phone in the studio.
“Mr. Garfiel, is Darish okay?” Winry asked, after firmly closing the door connecting the small room to the studio. She quickly made her way over to Garfiel. While taking care of Lettie’s knee, she had been praying that the situation would take a turn for the better or that Darish hadn’t been caught up in trouble to start with, but the atmosphere in the studio was unchanged. It was just as heavy as before.
“In all likelihood, one of those shady businesses got ahold of him. I just told the military police, but I’m not sure that they’ll send someone to look, considering the circumstances.” Garfiel patted his cheek and sighed. Unless a law was actually being broken, the public institutions generally wouldn’t lift a finger.
If they couldn’t rely on the military police, then the only option left was for her to do something herself.
“Then I’ll go,” Winry said without a moment’s hesitation. As she turned on her heels, Henrik swiftly caught her by the arm.
“Stop right there!” he said. “You don’t know what guys like that might do. You’re better off not getting involved.”
Winry whirled around in surprise. She hadn’t expected anyone to stop her, but Henrik, who was normally a pleasant young man, looked stern. He continued, “He’s not your client anymore, right? Sure, you could tell them off if they were trying to steal your clientele, but as things stand, they might claim that you, and Atelier Garfiel, are obstructing their business.”
Several of the regulars still at the shop agreed with Henrik’s levelheaded advice and chimed in.
“You can’t be sure it’ll just be one person you’re dealing with. It’s too risky.”
“Even if he was forced into it, those kinds of places find ways around the law, so there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s just how things are.”
Unlike Winry, who had just come to Rush Valley, the regulars and Henrik knew how terrifying the crooked businesspeople were and how much trouble getting involved with them could be. They looked pained to do it, but they meant to stop Winry from going to Darish’s aid.
“But!” Winry looked up at Garfiel, imploring him while Henrik kept ahold of her arm. Though he looked incredibly reluctant himself, Garfiel shook his head and agreed with the others about not wanting Winry to go.
“I want to help him, but I can’t let you charge into danger. We should at least go meet with the military police directly and ask them to look around the western district. I think that might work better than a phone call,” he advised.
“But what if they force Darish into a prosthesis-manufacturing contract before anyone can get to him?!” Winry became more distressed imagining what would happen if that actually were the case. Darish had already been manipulated into getting a prosthetic leg that didn’t fit him once and had suffered for years from it. If he was entangled with another substandard business, he might end up hurt in a way he wouldn’t be able to recover from—physically or mentally.
However, Henrik pulled on Winry’s arm as though to keep her from arguing more. “Why are you trying to take all the responsibility for him on yourself?” he said pointedly, staring into her eyes. He kept a firm, almost painful grip on her arm as he spoke. “What are you going to do if you fail or get hurt?”
His words agitated Winry, instantly making her consider all the successive mistakes she had just made earlier.
“Winry?”
She suddenly heard a tiny voice. When she looked over in surprise, Lettie was peeking out of the door.
“Um, where’s Darish?”
It seemed she had more or less sensed that Darish was in some sort of trouble. She hadn’t been able to entertain herself with drawing. The paper in Lettie’s hand remained blank.
Henrik, seeming uneasy, let go of Winry’s arm. Winry went over to the anxious little girl.
Lettie’s father was working in order to buy automail and her mother was making long trips between their home and Rush Valley. Lettie was determined to stay with her brother, regardless of whether it made him angry at her. They were all waiting for the day when Darish would be able to run around with a giant smile on his face.
“It’s all right. I’m going to go get him right now, so just wait here,” Winry whispered and turned back to the studio. Garfiel had picked up the phone again and was talking to the military police. Henrik watched her with worry.
Winry understood that their warnings had been for her own sake. But she just couldn’t abandon Darish.
“I won’t mention anything about the shop, but if anyone who seems like trouble comes looking for me, please tell them you don’t have anything to do with me,” Winry told Henrik and Garfiel in anticipation of things potentially going south. She was willing to take on a certain amount of personal risk, but she couldn’t bear the idea of making trouble for Atelier Garfiel, especially when she was acting of her own volition. She passed between the two of them and ran outside.
“I’m sorry! I’m going!” Winry shouted.
“Winry!” Henrik called as she left.
“Winry, dear!” Garfiel said.
She heard Garfiel and the others call to her as she rushed out, but she didn’t turn back.