X13 – PART 8
Hilde couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wanted to run screaming from the room but wasn’t able to make her feet move as she listened to the man in the interrogation room. “My employer told me to do it,” Jeff Buckner repeated for the third time, arms crossed stubbornly over his chest.
“So you admit to drugging Agent Maxwell,” Une said clearly, waiting for confirmation. When Buckner nodded she made a note on one of the files she was carrying, a stack that had grown since the interview with Heero. “I assume you did something to Agent Renner to make her unable to carry out her normal duties.”
“A simple laxative in her food, nothing serious.”
“Was it an order from your…employer to get fired as a security member at WEI?”
“Not an order, but a suggestion. Having a job here would provide more opportunities to be close to Maxwell while he was in the building. For me it was a pleasure to see Winner’s sister get hurt. The whole family deserves to die. The only good one was their father.”
“If you have a grudge against the Winner family, why did you target Maxwell?”
A smirk grew on Buckner’s face as he leaned forward, “The best way to hurt Quatre Winner is through his family. Maxwell is the closest thing he has to a brother, anyone can see that.”
Une leaned forward as well. “You said Maxwell is. Don’t you mean was?”
“What’re you talking about?” Buckner’s smile faded instantly. “I didn’t hurt him. That drug was supposed to make him act like a fool, embarrass him out of the agency and away from Earth and his friends.”
“You administered the drug in his coffee, did you not?”
“Yes, but-”
“The amount he ingested was a lethal dose. Agent Maxwell is dead as a side effect of that drug. You have been arrested and charged with murder in the first degree, along with possession of an illegal substance. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
“That bitch told me how much to put in his coffee. She said he needed the entire contents of the vial for it to be effective.”
“And who would you be referring to? Who was your employer in this crime?”
“Hilde. Hilde Scheibecker.”
Hilde’s eyes went round with shock. When Wufei turned to stare at her accusingly she shook her head. “I’ve never seen this man before, I swear. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Duo. You know that.”
Pulling out his handcuffs, he bound her arms behind her back. “How did he know your name?” he asked after reading her the revised Miranda.
“I don’t know. I didn’t do this. I didn’t do this.” She insisted as he led her to an interrogation room that had already been set up for her.
From his position at the back of the room, where Hilde hadn’t even glanced at him, Zechs waited a moment then tapped three times on the glass, a pre-arranged signal for Une. Hearing it, she took two photos from one of the files and put them on the table. “Can you point out the woman that hired you to do this, Buckner? Things will be easier if you cooperate; I’ll be able to tell the judge you did your best to help us,” she added when he hesitated.
His shoulders slumped in defeat as he tapped a picture with a thick finger, “That’s her.”
“Are you certain?”
“I met her a few times. Two days ago, I went to her house to pick up the vial. Big fucking house, too. She could afford to pay me what she did. I needed the money so I could start over,” he explained in a defeated tone, all of his previous defiance gone.
Making sure her recorder was on, Une settled back in her chair. “Tell me everything about your meetings with her. I want to know specifics, what orders she gave you down to the last detail. I want to know what she was wearing each time you spoke to her; do you understand?”
“Yeah, all right. We first met at a charity ball at the Winner Estate,” he began, glancing down at the picture with undisguised hatred for Hilde.
Seeing the anger focused on Relena’s photo, Une continued to ask questions, getting all the information she needed.
Duo and Trowa were given access to the usually closed back door of the Preventers building as an addtional precaution. Holding the door open, Zechs arched one eyebrow. “You’re alone?”
“There was no point in bringing her in,” Duo shrugged. “Sam told us everything she knew and let us record it. She also gave us her numbers and said to call if we need her for anything. She wasn’t happy when she discovered what your sister had done with her serum.”
“She’s no sister of mine,” the blonde man hastened to say. Receiving looks of disbelief he explained, “If we had grown up together I might feel differently, but I don’t identify with her at all. Treize wasn’t as cold and calculating as she is. She’s taken advantage of her position and of our family name. All of that is going to end tonight.”
“What about Noin? She used to have faith in Relena,” Trowa noted softly, having to keep his mind on his job rather than worry about his lover being in the same building with the woman that had coldly planned his murder. There was no way to predict how Relena would react once she realized her plans had been thwarted.
Leading them down a darkened hallway, Zechs took them to the office he shared with his wife. “She didn’t want to believe it at first. She had no choice when she began to look at everything together. The evidence, even circumstantially, would be quite damning. With the statement supplied by Buckner, Relena will be going away for a very long time.”
“How is Hilde?”
Zechs looked surprised at the query. “I find it amazing you can even care, knowing what she was trying to do.”
“She was my friend,” Duo replied softly, revealing his sadness. “She was one of my only friends before the war. I can’t be indifferent about this. I’m not made that way.”
“Zechs, can you give us a moment?”
The blonde gave Trowa an odd look before nodding. Alone with Duo, Trowa did what he had been wanting to do for hours, pulling the other man close and rubbing his back. “You know this has to be done, Duo.”
Letting his head rest against Trowa’s chest, Duo heaved a sigh. “I know, but I can’t be happy about it.”
“She hurt you.”
It wasn’t a question, but Duo nodded. “I hoped one day she would understand how I felt. I wanted the old Hilde back, the one I used to depend on.”
“She never wanted you hurt. She was manipulated into doing what she thought she had to do.”
“That doesn’t make what she did any better.”
“She’ll get the help she needs, love. She won’t go to prison.”
Duo tilted his head up to stare at the other man with wide eyes. “What did you just call me?”
Mouth quirking in a half smile, the tall man replied, “You heard me.”
Soothed by the endearment when nothing else had worked, Duo smiled. “Sure you don’t mind changing rooms for me?”
“I’d change houses if that’s what you wanted.”
“I don’t care where we live as long as we’re together; it’s something I’ve wanted for too long to let go of without a fight. Let’s get Zechs so we can finish this up.” When Trowa began to move away, Duo put a hand on the other man’s arm. “Think we can talk Quatre into going somewhere nice after this? I’m in need of a vacation.”
Relena was surprised how quiet the building was and commented on it as she was escorted to where Heero was being held. The agent with her shook his head ruefully, “Most people were sent home to mourn the loss of an agent.”
Giving the man an appraising glance, she noticed the deep frown. “You don’t seem pleased to be here.”
“I didn’t like the man. He embarrassed the hell out of me at a briefing recently. Can’t help being a little glad I won’t have to put up with his attitude anymore.”
Although she kept fought to keep her expression neutral, Relena was dancing inside. Here was someone else that hadn’t been fooled by Duo’s charm. As always, the mere thought of the man brought a scowl to her face. Seeing it, the older agent cleared his throat. “I’m mighty sorry, Ms. Dorlian. He was a friend of yours, wasn’t he?”
“Certainly not. I never saw him as more than a common thief.”
“I guess you were right. Even dead, the man still seems to be stealing things from others. Mr. Yuy is inside. I’ll wait here until you’re done.”
“Mr. Yuy? Don’t you mean Agent Yuy?”
“No ma’am. He’s been stripped of his rank. He’s no longer under the protection of the Preventers.”
Realizing she was going to have to do more work than she had bargained for, Relena stepped inside the room and froze as she stared at the man huddled in the corner of the room, sobbing into his folded arms. Assuming the agent had taken her to the wrong room she whirled back to the door, stopping as her name was spoken in a broken voice. “Relena?”
Eyes wide, she blinked as Heero unfolded himself slowly, like an old man. His shoulders were slumped and his body was curved into itself. Heero’s handsome face was splotchy and tears poured from his eyes as he rubbed them with his hands in a futile effort to stem the flow. “Heero?”
“Oh, Relena, it is you.” The man, she couldn’t think of this gibbering mess as Heero, lurched forward and grasped her forearms, wiping what she suspected was snot and tears all over her. “I’m so glad you came. I didn’t mean to do it. You believe me, don’t you? I would never do that to Duo; I loved him.”
Disgusted by the display of emotion and the things Heero said, Relena jerked her arms away and dug in her purse for a tissue, determined to wipe the slimy moisture from her arms. Annoyed at the way the man she loved was acting, she snapped, “Pull yourself together. Goodness, you act like you actually cared for that idiot.”
“I loved him. I never meant to hurt him.” Heero reached out and snagged her sleeve. “Everyone else has abandoned me. They think I did it on purpose.”
Not wanting him any more agitated and thoroughly irritated her clear-headed Heero had apparently snapped, Relena ran a hand over his hair, ensuring her hands came nowhere close to his face, still wet with tears. “You caught him with Trowa, didn’t you?”
Heero jerked back as if he’d been slapped. “How-how did you know?”
Seeing an opportunity to cause discontent between Trowa and Quatre, she shook her head sadly. “I’m surprised no one found them together before this. They weren’t discreet about the affair.”
“What are you talking about? Duo loved me.”
“Then why was he with someone else?” Perfectly calm, Relena sat on one of the uncomfortable chairs, wrinkling her nose as Heero stared at her, obviously shocked by her statement. “You don’t believe this was the first time, do you? I can promise it wasn’t.”
His face set, Heero crossed his arms, “No, I don’t believe you.”
Calculating the best way to make him believe what she wanted him to, she gave him a sympathetic expression, “I’m very sorry, Heero, but it’s true. I was…suspicious of Duo and hired a private investigator to follow him. He and Trowa spoke several times on the phone and even met a few times off-planet. I know of once when Trowa took Quatre’s personal shuttle to L2, just to see Duo.” She was tempted to smirk at the story she had just concocted, but managed not to, too close to victory to lose now because of her own strong emotions for the man in front of her.
“That’s not true,” Heero insisted, tears flowing freely again as he scrubbed at his eyes. “Duo loved me. He was going to move here so we could get married. He was only with Trowa because of the drug.”
Relena had practiced looking shocked in the mirror for this very moment. “Duo was taking drugs?”
“No, he was given a drug. Hilde’s apparently lost her mind. Duo wouldn’t do that to me, Relena. I don’t believe you.”
“I have recordings of their…encounters at home, locked in the safe in my office.” It was another lie, but one that supported her story.
“Bring them here. Let me see them.”
Tapping her fingers on her leg, she shook her head. “That’s not a good idea, Heero. Right now the most they can charge you with is manslaughter.”
“Une said first-degree murder.”
Giving him a look that revealed how stupid he was being, she shook her head again, “No one would convict you of murder. You’re a war hero.”
“So was Duo.”
Letting out a huff, she stood and paced, “Duo was caught with another man. It was a crime of passion. Manslaughter,” she tossed a hand in dismissal. “You didn’t know of the affair, so the murder couldn’t be premeditated. If I brought those discs here, someone could ask to see them. With all of your friends mad at you, will they believe you didn’t already know about the affair after seeing what is on them?”
Heero frowned at her, “I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right,” she hissed, showing her anger. After taking a deep breath, she went on calmly, “With your history, I’m sure a jury will be lenient. If I pull some strings and call in a few favors, I promise you will never see the inside of a cell. I can convince the judge you should be put on house arrest, with supervision of course.”
“Supervision?”
“You could stay with me,” she mused, as if she had just thought of it. “It would be perfect,” Relena added, pleased at the idea she had thought of on the ride to the Preventers.
“I deserve to go to prison for what I’ve done,” Heero stated flatly, staring at his hands. “I killed the only person I’ve ever loved. And he loved me back just as much; I don’t care what you say. We even talked about getting a house one day, somewhere secluded.” Heero’s eyes grew distant as Relena watched in revulsion. “Duo wanted kids and we talked about adopting. He would’ve been a great father, he was so full of energy and life and love. Love for me. He loved me in a way no one else ever has. He was the only person I’ve ever had sex with. I didn’t even know what he was doing the first time he seduced me during the war, in one of those little rooms at the school –”
“Enough!” Relena shouted, marching over to slap Heero across his cheek. “I don’t want to hear another word about that godless bastard. Duo Maxwell was nothing, less than nothing. After everything I’ve done you have the nerve to go on about how wonderful he was, even after you found him screwing someone else?”
Holding the cheek she had struck, Heero stared at her with wounded eyes. “You sound like you’re glad Duo’s dead. Don’t you understand I killed him?”
“I am glad he’s dead. The only thing that could’ve made it better was if I had been there to see it myself. What you need to understand is that if you want my help you better do as I say from now on.” She turned her back to him and marched to the table to dig through her bag for another tissue. “I’m going to find a way to make Buckner pay for his mistake. Obviously he didn’t give Duo the full vial. If he had done like I told him to, all of this could have been avoided.”
Heero staggered to the table and sat heavily in the chair Une had used earlier, gaping at Relena from across the table. “How did you know Buckner was the one that drugged him?”
“Because I’m the one that gave Buckner the drug in the first place and told him what to do with it and when. I didn’t tell him who I was. When that dumb son of a bitch didn’t recognize me, I told him that I was Hilde. He didn’t even blink when I stumbled over that whore’s last name.” His expression had her waving a hand in the air in dismissal. “Duo deserved it, honestly. He’s been between us for too long. It was time for him to get out of the way and let us be together.”
“You wanted him to sleep with Trowa?”
“No. I wanted him dead. Sleeping with Trowa was a bonus. Now Quatre won’t ever trust him again. If I could have hurt Wufei somehow I would have,” she admitted with a smug smile. His blank expression had her huffing again, stomping her foot. “If you were thinking clearly you would have figured all of this out already. I did this for us. Do you have any idea how much time and money I put into this?”
“You wanted to kill Duo and planned all of this? Buckner and Hilde and the drug…everything?”
“I wanted him dead and out of the way. Really, Heero, this bumbling whiny fool isn’t acceptable behavior.”
“Is this better?” Heero’s tone became normal and deadly, eyes sheeting over with a glaze of ice.
Relena was still baffled by the abrupt change when the door behind her opened and several agents came inside. When her hands were yanked behind her back she shrieked in outrage. “Get your hands off me. Do you have any idea who I am?”
“A murderer. Or an attempted murderer, I should say,” Duo announced as he walked into the room beside Trowa.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“You’re supposed to be a pacifist. Looks like neither of us is doing what they’re supposed to. I owe my thanks to Trowa, who helped me work the drug out of my system with sex, Relena. Lots and lots of sex. The funniest thing is that Heero didn’t mind at all. Neither did Quatre. If I remember, they were quite grateful…and impressed.”
Jerking her arms ineffectually, she gave Heero a disbelieving glare. “Hearing this doesn’t make you mad enough to kill him?”
“It might, if we were lovers. We never were.”
“That’s a lie. I’ve seen the way you look at him and how he looks at you. He’s in love with you.”
“My brother,” Duo stated fiercely. “My family.”
Spotting Quatre as he moved to stand behind Heero, Relena sneered, “You’re so pathetic you can’t keep your boyfriend from straying with a feral dog.”
“I would be the feral dog,” chirped Duo as he lifted a hand.
Quatre rolled his eyes at the long-haired man’s antics. “I don’t have a boyfriend. If I did and he wanted to sleep with Duo, I hope I’d be invited to at least watch.”
Stunned shock had everyone in the room falling silent for several seconds until Relena hissed, “You’re all sick.”
“Look who’s talking, lady.” Duo stepped away from the door and let Une pass him, followed by Zechs and Noin.
Seeing Zechs, Relena began to wail plaintively, “Milliardo, tell them to leave me alone. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Stuff it, Relena. We have all the evidence we need, including a taped confession.” After reading her the revised Miranda, he repeated carefully, “If you cannot afford an attorney, the government will provide one for you. Do you understand that?”
“I don’t need an attorney. I’ll hire the best in the solar system and by the time he’s finished with you, with all of you, I’ll own the Preventers.”
“How do you plan to hire an attorney; whose money do you plan to use?”
Zechs soft question had Relena sputtering, “My money.”
“You don’t have any money, Relena. You’ve had access to the Cinq Kingdom finances, but as the eldest surviving member of the royal family, I hereby denounce you as an heir.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I just did. It is within my rights as long as I’m able to prove you are unfit as a leader or representative of the Cinq kingdom, something you have made very easy by planning the murder of a federal agent,” Zechs was rather calm about the whole thing as his wife looked on. “I only needed to have my attorney draw up the papers, which I need to sign in front of witnesses. Noin, my love?”
“Boys, if you could sign this for us, we would be grateful. Une, we would be grateful if you could sign as a witness as well, it would make things a lot easier if this every goes to court, which I doubt will happen, but it’s best to take precautions where Relena is concerned.”
Relena narrowed her eyes at her brother, “It doesn’t matter. I still have the inheritance from my father.”
“You should have paid more attention to your expenses, Relena,” Noin commented as she placed the signed papers in her briefcase. “You don’t even have enough money left from your inheritance to make a long distance phone call. I’m sure after your house is sold we’ll have enough to cover some of the debts you’ve incurred over the last year.”
Une waited until Noin was done and nodded at Warren, who was waiting in the doorway. He led Relena out, wincing as she screamed. Just outside the door he stopped and winked at Duo, “Just so you know, I think you’re a hell of an agent and a good man.”
Wufei and Sally came in moments later, nodding to the room in general. “Hilde’s told us all she knows. We would like to take her to Bridgeman Mental Facility. They’re already waiting for the transfer,” Wufei said softly, looking not to Une but Duo for approval.
“Go ahead. I can’t talk to her,” the long-haired man replied sadly, forcing a smile when Trowa grasped his hand. “Tell her I said this isn’t her fault and I hope she gets the help she needs.” Leaning tiredly against a wall after the couple had left, Duo glanced around at everyone. “It’s gonna take days to get all the evidence together.”
“Then waiting a day or two won’t hurt,” Une announced. “We’ve all run ourselves ragged to put this together in such a short time and there’s more work to be done, but I don’t want to see any of you again until Wednesday at the earliest. When this gets out, and I’m certain it won’t take long for someone to leak to the press that Relena Dorlian was arrested for attempted murder and conspiracy, you’re all going to be stalked by the press.”
“I suggest we all stay at my house. We have a better chance of privacy there. You and Noin are welcome to stay there, as well,” Quatre offered Zechs.
“I think it will be better if we stay at Relena’s home so we can begin taking an inventory of the items she has.”
“Won’t that be seen as a conflict?”
The tall blonde shook his head, “Relena purchased the entire estate with money from our shared account, so legally it’s my property.”
“It’s a bit larger than we’re used to, but we’ll make sure to get any of the artifacts Relena has taken from Cinq before we put the house on the market,” Noin added with a smile.
“Too bad it’s so big,” Duo mused suddenly. “It would be nice to have a place here and it’s practically next door to Quatre’s,” he explained when Trowa gave him a worried look. “It’d be big enough for the entire circus and Sweepers crew if they got an invitation.”
Realizing Duo hadn’t decided to leave him, Trowa shook his head, “Not at the same time, I hope. We couldn’t afford it, Duo. Not even with both of us putting all we have into it.”
Noin and Zechs exchanged a look of their own. With a smile, Zechs tossed his arm over his wife’s shoulders, “I think we could work out a good deal, if you’re serious.”
Relaxing against Trowa’s chest, Duo cupped water in his hands and let it run down the knees bracketing his body. Hearing a sigh behind him, he leaned his head back and looked up at the other man, still in awe that Trowa was his lover. “I really shouldn’t have said anything about that house. What was I thinking?”
“The same thing I was. That it’s nice to have some space, but we are still essentially sharing a house with someone else. More privacy is a good thing.” Trowa rubbed a sponge over Duo’s chest with a smile, even though the other man couldn’t see it. “It will be nice to invite Catherine and the others without having to make arrangements with Quatre about accommodations.”
“But it’s so…decadent. What are we going to do with a mansion, Trowa?”
“Attempt to have sex in each room,” Trowa deadpanned, rewarded with the rich laughter from his lover. “After that, we’ll figure something out. There’s no rule saying we can’t rent out part of the house to someone else or use it to host charity functions.”
At this, Duo sat up and turned around, “Charity functions?”
“To raise money for a chosen charity, such as drug rehab patients trying to start a new life or orphanages that don’t get enough funds. Burn victims, cancer patients, the old and invalid, the young and abandoned; they all need help.”
“Something like that could take up a lot of time.”
“We can discuss it later, once the sale is final,” suggested Trowa as he pulled Duo back to him. “For now, just relax.”
The silence lasted for ten minutes, eight minutes longer than Trowa assumed it would. His lover was not a quiet person by nature or a boring one. “I asked Sam how she found out about the adverse effects of her stud serum on humans.”
His face hidden in the back of Duo’s head, Trowa allowed the smirk, “Yes?”
“It seems one of her associates managed to inject himself with a dose when a horse shifted abruptly. I asked how she dealt with it, you know, out of curiosity.”
“What did she do?”
“Made him do a strenuous cardio workout for over an hour. Apparently, any activity that gets the blood pumping and the sweat running will work the drug out.” Duo fell silent for a moment. When Trowa said nothing, he smiled, “You already knew that, didn’t you?”
“It honestly didn’t occur to me at first; I was more worried about helping you. When I realized later that there were other ways to work the drug out of your system, I was already too far gone, Duo. Besides, my way was more satisfying, and worked much faster. I doubt sparring would have helped you as quickly.”
“That’s a good argument,” Duo conceded. “We probably would have ended up doing the same thing even if we had tried sparring. I wanted you so damn bad.”
“Wanted? You don’t want me anymore?” Pretending hurt, Trowa let the sponge trail down Duo’s body, rubbing it on the erection under the surface of the water.
“I wanted you before then. I wanted you then. I want you now.”
“So what do you plan to do with me?”
Turning around fully, Duo sat in Trowa’s lap with a wicked grin. “Ever sparred in the water?”
“You know we might end up doing other things that have nothing to do with fighting.”
“Yeah, I figured that out already. I’m okay with that. How about you?”
“I think I can live with it.”
THE END
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