story of a girl » hostage situation

On the same day Hawkeye receives the news of her new assigment, Edward pays her a visit to give her back the gun he borrowed from her earlier. Ed thought that, belonging to the military, he should have been ready to fire a gun if necessary. But he wasn't. Hawkeye thinks there's nothing shameful in that.

Edward: First Lieutenant... haven't you ever thought of it as a burden?
Hawkeye: I'm not qualified to say that it's heavy or that it's tough now.
Edward: Why?
Hawkeye: Because I've taken many people's lives in the past. And because I was the one who decided to go on this path. [v15 ch058]

Edward then asks her to tell him about Ishval. Roy always changes the subject and he'd like to understand the situation better. Hawkeye complies with his wish and speaks about what happened from her point of view.

After listening to her story, Edward is not convinced about Roy's goal. Even if he is to reach the top, for things to improve Amestris would have to stop being a military state. That would mean returning it to its appropriate form as a democracy. However, there's a dangerous consequence waiting for Hawkeye, Roy and everyone involved in the war.

Hawkeye: A hero in violent times will become only a mass murderer when placed in a peaceful world. Not only the Colonel, but Doctor Knox who was doing human experiments, and many others... Probably I will be tried as part of the injustice at Ishval as well. Being a soldier... just this one uniform is protecting us now. [v16 ch062]

Hawkeye and Roy are prepared to face the consequences of attaining their goal. It's not self-sacrifice, but a possibility that needs to be taken into account for the greater good. Even if they're not the direct responsibles for the Ishval War, they're still the ones who contributed to the massacre. It doesn't matter that they were following orders, they could be asked to answer for their crimes.

Before leaving, Hawkeye tells Ed he's got other things he should be worrying about, and to leave the matter of Amestris to them. Perhaps her new position near the Fuhrer will be useful, instead of a disadvantage. Hawkeye has grown into an optimist through the years, and she's not about to stop now.

The next day she makes one last stop at Roy's office before taking her new post.

Roy: I've put you through trouble.
Hawkeye: I might have made a mistake in who to follow.
Roy: If you think you made a mistake, shoot and kill me. It's the promise we made on that day.
Hawkeye: You're still at my tolerance level. [v16 ch062]

The both know it's not a goodbye, but a mere temporal separation. Still, having spent most of the past 6 years together on a daily basis, that kind of change is not easy to accept.

Hawkeye does her job as the Fuhrer's assistant as diligently as she would engage in any other job, but soon her new position is going to turn into an even more dangerous one. While leaving some documents at the Fuhrer's personal residence one night, her wife makes an offhand remark about their son, Selim Bradley. She tells the Lieutenant that, apart from being adopted, he's a distant relative of his father.

Hawkeye knows that's something that simply cannot be. Bradley has no relatives, close or distant, having been experimented on since early in his life to be a human-based homunculus. Hawkeye reaches the answer quickly. Right at that moment Selim Bradley, or rather Pride, unveils himself to her.

Hawkeye: Could you please stop your useless threats? There would be no advantage to your side if you kill me now.
Pride: You understand well. You know what will happen if you let this out. Your companions and Colonel Mustang will not come unscathed. I will always be watching you from the shadows. [v18 ch071]

Hawkeye's life is spared, for the time being. Despite the threats she just received, she can't keep this information to herself. Soon enough, she's able to inform Roy through a code shared between the two. Although she's afraid for her comrades' lives, what they're trying to do is important enough to overcome that fear. She's brave like that. In any case, the homunculi are sure that information won't change anything. Not this far into their plan.

The last bit of information Hawkeye relies on Roy before all hell breaks loose is about the so-called Promised Day. Grumman asks her friend Rebecca to carry the news, and she hands it to Roy (even if a bit indirectly). By the time we see Hawkeye again, she's already a deserter involved in a strategically planned coup d'état.