AN: hey everyone! this is a new multi-chapter fic that i've had in my hea and it's about time i got it out there

updates will be once a week, every tuesday and i've no idea how many chapters there will be yet i'm just rolling with what i've got atm!

man, does it feel good to be back in the multi-chapter fic game! it's been too long! i hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!

the title is the song "hit and run" by lolo (it's badass af and definitely a riza anthem for this fic!)

Riza grunted as someone tackled her to the ground. Using her weight, she twisted, applying her momentum so she rolled onto her side, giving her a better chance to break free from their hold. When she spotted who had tackled her, though, she was surprised. It was the handsome noble man from the party.

The man she had stolen from.

He grunted when she landed a knee to his stomach, springing to her feet like a cat and taking off down the alleyway.

"Stop!" he wheezed angrily, his pride probably hurt more than anything. Riza smirked. As if that was going to happen. "Give me my watch back."

"If you want it, you'll have to come and get it," she grinned, turning to leave. Before she could take a step, she was tackled once more. He was fast, Riza would give him that. However, she hadn't survived this long in life without being able to fight. Her knee bent underneath him, her heel rising, striking the back of his thigh, eliciting another grunt. His body jerked upwards, loosening the pressure on her body and she slid from out under his weight. His hands reached out, grabbing for her shoulders, but Riza shifted out of range and with the elbow she dug it into his ribs, incapacitating him further as she got to her feet.

"Come back here!" he wheezed.

"Enjoy your night, Mr. Mustang." Not taking any chances this time, Riza was already running, motioning a tipping of her hat in farewell. A few blocks, a shimmy up a drain pipe, and a drop into an alleyway later, and Riza was out of sight and no longer being pursued.

She sauntered towards the slums before a thought hit her. If the man pursued her, he obviously cared enough about what she'd stolen. That brought her to a short stop. He saw her face when he tackled her. What if he went to the police?

"Ah, shit."

A moment of indecision hit her because she had two kids waiting back home who were depending on her. She could risk it and ensure the man didn't go to the police – given her special talents at negotiating, she could easily convince the man not to tell on her. Or, she could return home to Edward and Alphonse and lay low for a week or two. The trouble with that was they would be out of money and would have no way to buy food.

She groaned but turned on her heel and kept to the shadows, retracing her steps.

Riza followed him back to his home. Not taking any chances and ensuring he didn't go to the police, she kept tabs on him, ending up at a bar near where the incident happened.

She felt slightly bad about his limp, bloody nose, and lip, but there was nothing to be done now. While admiring his will to fight for his belongings, Riza frowned. Why did he follow her, and for a watch, no less? Riza's victims never saw her coming, and none ever tracked her down to retrieve what she'd taken. They were rich enough they could replace whatever had been taken or were so unconcerned with money and what they had, they never even noticed what was gone.

"Roy?" a concerned voice suddenly called out to him. A woman ran from the door of the bar to greet him. "Madame! Roy's back and he needs some help."

Riza watched as a larger woman exited the bar. Her presence seemed to take up the whole street. One look at her and Riza thought she wouldn't want to cross her in a dark alley. Three other women followed behind, dresses swishing as they moved. Their faces were painted in makeup, the corsets of their dresses much more revealing than that of a typical lady's –

Oh. Oh.

"Did you find out what we needed?" this "Madame" asked him by way of greeting. Roy's reaction was to cringe and looked around the courtyard in front of the bar.

"Not here," he hissed.

"This place is secure, Roy boy. Nobody listening except the woman that beat you up tonight."

Riza's eyes widened, but not before two hands grabbed both her arms from behind. As she struggled, desperately trying to break from the hold, a hand dipped into her pocket to retrieve Roy's watch. Damnit.

"Let me go," she growled.

"Not so fun to be on the other side, is it?" a woman crooned. Something hit the back of her head and as pain blossomed there, Riza's world went dark.

Riza came to, finding herself tied to a wooden chair in an empty room. It looked like a cellar, the walls lined with casks and wine bottles. Crates lay around the room, their marking indicating there were foodstuffs held inside.

Trying to break the ties, Riza discovered they were tight, cutting into her flesh. Damn. She needed to get out of here. She needed to get home. Ed and Al would be waiting on her to show. If she didn't return, they would no doubt venture out to find her and get into trouble. Panic begun to rise within her at the thought.

As the door opened, she schooled her features and emotions, expression turning hard and cold as the man, Roy, walked into the room.

"Good evening," he greeted coolly.

"Mr. Mustang," she replied, not giving him an inch.

"Thank you for returning the watch. And to my home, no less. Very kind of you."

"It was my pleasure." Her icy tone told him exactly how she felt about her current situation.

She was pissed.

She'd never been caught before. She was too good for that. So how did this man and his team end up taking her down so easily? Doubt pooled in her gut as Riza thought she might not be as good as she thought –

No, she was the best damn thief in this shithole city. There was no one who could compete with the likes of her. She just needed to be patient and bide her time. Her worry for Edward and Alphonse was tucked in a compartment at the back of her brain for a time when she wasn't being held captive by a rich man.

"Can I help you?" she asked, letting her irritation show. "Or do you often take women captive in your cellars?"

"Only those who break the law," he retorted angrily.

Was he –?

"What are you, a fucking cop?" She spat on the floor.

Mustang sniffed in response but didn't answer her. She scoffed quietly, taking his silence for an answer. Before their conversation could continue, the door opened again and the "Madame" from earlier entered the room. Riza straightened her back as the woman eyed her. What Riza didn't appreciate was the way she was being eyed as if she was a piece of dirt underneath the woman's shoe. The man, Roy, folded his arms and never took his eyes off Riza, opting to stare her out just like the Madame.

"Miss Riza," the older woman greeted, removing her cigarette from her mouth and blowing smoke into the room. It coiled in the air, drifting towards Riza. She resisted the urge to flinch away from it. She'd never gotten on well with smoke and fire in her life. "Thank you for returning my son's watch to him."

So, Roy was this woman's son? They looked nothing alike, so Riza was having a hard time trying to figure out the true relationship there. His Xingese features were a far cry from her Amestrian ones, however, some might say Ed and Al were Riza's "kids". Despite the fact it would be impossible – that would mean Riza was ten when she had Edward – family didn't end with blood. Riza knew that better than anyone.

It also explained the ridiculous nickname, "Roy boy".

"How do you know my name?" Riza asked, narrowing her eyes at the Madame, who chuckled in response.

"This is my city, darling. I know every rat that runs through its streets."

"I'm not a rat," Riza snapped.

The Madame snorted. "We all are, Miss Riza. Don't kid yourself." She pushed off the wooden support beam she'd been leaning on, approaching Riza further, taking another drag of her cigarette. "The sooner you stop, the better your life will be.

"Your little stunt tonight almost butchered one of my operations," the Madame revealed, blowing smoke directly into Riza's face. A power play, one Riza decidedly did not appreciate. She didn't even try to hide the disgusted look on her face. "Roy boy here was close to sealing the deal and your restless little fingers just couldn't keep still, could they? What's your reasonings, girl?"

"I don't need to tell you shit," Riza replied defiantly meeting the Madame's gaze.

"True," she replied conversationally. "However, if you don't, it might lead to some unfortunate circumstances for yourself," she threatened. The Madame straightened her arm, inspecting her fingernails. "I don't think you would enjoy that, given your current living situation." Upon the last sentence, the Madame's eyes flashed and met Riza's head on, unflinching.

She would kill Riza just because she wouldn't reveal her reasons? That look, and the comment about Central being "her city", told Riza that this woman knew exactly who she was and who she looked after.

Shit.

"All I want to know is why you felt the need choose my Roy boy tonight and almost blow months of work for me."

At the mention of the nickname, "Roy boy" shifted in place, but his obsidian eyes never moved from Riza. The arms folded across his chest spoke of power and strength. The blood on his face had been wiped away, but his lip was still red and swollen. His nose looked alright and he stood tall, his stance even, seemingly without discomfort from the limp Riza had seen earlier on. Come to think of it, she didn't remember noticing it when he entered the room.

But this could all be a ploy not to show her weakness.

"Well, with a threat like that," Riza replied, eyeing both her captors. "And given my current situation, I see that I don't have much of a choice."

"You're a smart girl," the Madame snorted.

Riza grit her teeth. "He was an easy target," she revealed. It was true, Roy was an easy target at that ball, but that didn't mean Riza liked to reveal her reasons, especially not to someone she now considered the enemy. So, at the ball, Riza took her chance to try and put food on her table for another day.

Roy frowned, his shoulders sagging. Riza had to hide her amusement.

"I picked Roy boy," she mocked. "Because out of that whole room he was the easiest person to pickpocket. I just don't see why he was so damn protective over a rusty old watch."

"And you need to keep your nose out of my business," Roy snapped, speaking for the first time since the Madame had entered the room.

"A rusty old watch, huh?" the Madame chuckled. "If it was rusty and old, why did you steal it?"

"Even something shitty like that has to have value if you're running in the circles you were tonight."

Riza didn't expect Roy to stride forward, face like thunder, but he did. "That's none of your business," he growled, getting right in her face.

Okay, watch is a touchy subject. Noted.

His dark eyes seemed to swim with his rage, the emotion palpable in the air around them. It rolled off him in waves – a reaction Riza would never have expected from something like stealing a watch. Clearly, it had sentimental value.

Well, she did want to know why he'd chased her down after discovering his personal belongings had been stolen. Perhaps he was different from the other noblemen at the ball. He obviously cared about that damned watch while the others would have scoffed and bought another. Given his outburst, he cared about it very much. Also, with the set up this little shindig and his relationship with the Madame, Riza discovered that she may have read Roy wrong all along.

Well, except from the part regarding him being on the opposite side to Riza. That was still very much true, given her capture.

"Roy," the Madame barked suddenly. "Go out front and calm down."

Surprisingly, he stormed out the room without looking back and slammed the door – hard – behind him.

"It would do you well to remember your place, girl," the Madame sniffed.

Riza barked a laugh. "Remember my place?" she echoed. "I'm tied to a fucking chair and being held captive. I'm severely outnumbered, but I know my goddamn place. If I'm just a waste of space to you, then why am I still here? Your threats have implied you'll kill me if I don't cooperate, so why don't you do it already?"

"It's not my intention to kill you, no. Those poor boys don't deserve that." Dread pooled in Riza's stomach. "No, you have a specific set of skills that would be useful to me. I'm not one to throw away a perfectly good thing just on principle, Miss Riza. If you can help me, then I will utilise your skills."

"And who says I will help you?"

The Madame smirked. "You're tied up in my basement. You ruined a deal for me tonight. Call helping me your repayment for that mistake. Besides, you don't really have much choice if you want to leave here. If I remember correctly, you have people depending on you, and you wouldn't want to leave them on their own too long, would you?"

Riza stiffened in her chair. She was well and truly stuck.

The Madame smirked, sensing Riza had finally come to her conclusion.

"So, how about we talk terms?"