After leaving Riza at her apartment with Hayate, Roy went to the Ishvalan War Memorial which was inaugurated 1 month ago at the central park. Roy was without any security at the park in such a late hour that there was no one there. But after some time, an Ishvalan man joined him who was wearing kurta, pajama, and a shawl. When Roy allowed him to sit beside him, he calmly sat there and looked at the memorial where Roy was looking. "What an unexpected sight to see…A military General sitting all alone without any security," the man said.
Roy already had his gloves on. So he responded calmly, "If you think I am vulnerable, then I may surprise you."
"I am here only to talk. And it was pretty hard to find some lone time with you, General Mustang," the man informed.
"Who are you?" Roy asked.
"It doesn't matter who I am. The only thing that matter is how we can benefit each other," The man replied.
Roy confusingly looked at the man who was still looking at the memorial. Meanwhile, the man continued, "Tell me Mustang…is this pillar enough to atone for all the terrible things you committed in Ishval?"
Roy looked toward the memorial and replied, "No, nothing is enough for that."
"Tell me one more thing…You kill the whole family of a man and then ask him to forget all those things and live peacefully with you. Do you expect that a man can ever do that?" The man questioned.
Roy was speechless. And when the man received no reply, he said, "I take it as no then…You must have figured out by now that I am from the Ishvalan Freedom Front."
"Yes," Roy answered.
"Then you also know that we want to be separated from Amestris and be a free country…We don't want blood but, we won't hesitate if we are not given what we deserve," The man said with authority.
Roy looked at the man and said, "Do you really think you represent every Ishvalan? The only thing you are doing is provoking the innocents with your radical thoughts."
"I am only telling the truth to my people, and I don't really care what you think about us…but, you will help us in achieving our goal," the man replied.
"And why would I do that?" Roy asked.
The man finally looked at Roy with a grin on his face. "Look behind Mustang," the man instructed.
The smile on that man's face made Roy a bit uneasy for a moment. Roy gulped and slowly turned around, and what he saw was enough to shock him to the core. He saw Oliver standing with a big Ishvalan man (Rolan) who was holding him on gunpoint and Oliver's mouth was covered with a piece of cloth.
While Roy was looking at Oliver with widened eyes, the man said, "Don't try to do anything stupid." Then he continued after a small pause, "Everyone thinks that your son is dead but actually, he isn't. Now you have to decide whether you want to help Ishval become an independent state or you want to see your son die for real this time?"
"YOU BASTARD," Roy yelled and clenched his fist out of anger. He wanted to burn them with a snap, but that was never an option.
The man stood up and asked very calmly, "So, are you helping us now?"
Roy replied slowly in an enraged tone, "I am never going to help-"
And suddenly he was interrupted. It was not by the man, but by the sound of the gunshot. And the next thing he saw was Oliver falling on the ground. Oliver's head was covered in blood. Upon watching that, Roy's mind went numb, and he acted on impulse by running toward his son. He fell on his knees and picked Oliver, but he couldn't feel the pulse. He felt the despair of losing his son once again. He was full of hatred at that moment. But, before he could do something terrible, the man said while walking close to him, "What if I tell you that your son is alive."
Oliver's dead body was resting on Roy's arm, but still, he wanted to believe what the man was saying. "What do you mean?" Roy asked curiously.
The man stood right in front of Roy. "Do you know about the chimera experiments in Ishval?" The man questioned.
"Yes," Roy replied with a bit of calmness in his voice.
The man then explained, "Before experimenting on humans, the military did some experiments with only animals. The results were not so good but, they made some chimeras which were quite useful. These chimeras were called as Imitators. Imitators were kept in pitch black area because whenever they saw the first living thing, they physically transformed themselves into that living thing. They could not copy the intellect, attributes or emotions but, their body was a perfect replica of that living thing. However, they could transform only once in their lifetime. These creatures were used in the Ishvalan war as fuel to the war, and no one ever found out. Fortunately, we found some of these creatures at one of the abandoned labs near Ishval…The dead body you saw at the alley was of an Imitator and the body you are holding right now is also of an Imitator… Your son is still alive Mustang, and we are giving you two days to reconsider the offer we are suggesting."
The man then started walking away from Roy. "Don't tell anyone about our meeting… And by the way, my name is Thomas Maxwell."
Rolan, the big Ishvalan man who shot the Imitator, took the dead body from Roy's arm, and said, "Don't worry Mustang, your son is safe and unharmed. And please get rid of your coat, it is covered with blood. People may ask questions if they see you like this." Rolan removed his coat and offered it to Roy. "Here, take mine," he said.
Roy stood up and took the coat from Rolan's hand. He wore it very calmly and then glared into Rolan's eye. "If anything happens to my son, I will personally bring hell into your lives…Remember that," Roy threatened.
"Goodnight, Mustang," Rolan greeted very calmly and walked away safely from the infamous flame alchemist.