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Equus	By : Deb Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2855 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, it belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. I do own the equines though, please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

Chapter List
- 53
- 54
- 55
Chapter 54
“Miss. Archer, or should I call you Miss. Love?” Williams said as he stared at the woman sitting opposite him in the room they used to question suspects and witnesses. They had brought her in from the court house and read her her rights before taking her through to the cells for a short while to speak with her lawyer and think about what lay ahead. It also gave the police a little more time to compile their case against her. Determining that she had had long enough to sit and stew as Williams had put it, she was brought back out to be interviewed.
The woman scowled and fiddled with her watch. “Call me Marion,” she growled, keeping her eyes lowered.
Williams smirked. “Okay. Marion, we have done a little investigating into your background and I have to say you've been a very busy woman.”
“So what. I'm clean now, you ain't got nothin' on me.”
“You are correct in saying you have paid for your previous crimes against society, however, we have a strong reason to believe that you are not Mr. Graves' fianceé, that you are simply playing that role in order to provide Mr. Graves with an alibi of sorts and pervert the course of justice. Those are very serious crimes, Miss. Archer. You could be looking at some lengthy jail time for that.”
“I haven't done anything wrong,” Marion protested again, although her plea was a little weaker this time.
“What sort of evidence do you have to back up these claims against my client?” Bremner demanded.
“Actually, quite a bit,” Henry enlightened the lawyer. Unbeknown to Stefan, Marion or Bremner, Henry, along with Morris' assistance had dug deeper after they had found the criminal file on Marion and Henry had unearthed some interesting things. While Williams had brought the woman in and gone through the legal side of things, Henry had been busy speaking with a few people.
“Miss. Archer, I suggest you start telling us the truth about your relationship with Mr. Graves,” Williams pressed.
“You don't have to answer anything,” Bremner said.
Marion sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, her mouth stubbornly closed.
Unfazed by the reaction as Williams had fully expected the woman not to cooperate, the sergeant continued on. “In the court, under oath I may remind you, you said you had known Mr. Graves for about three years and been engaged to Mr. Graves for six months. That isn't true, is it,” Williams stated.
“Of course it is,” Marion huffed, but her eyes looked wary.
“You're lying and you know it. I have spoken with several people, some of them work colleagues of yours and they all say the same thing. You only met Mr. Graves recently.”
“You don't have to answer,” Bremner protested.
Marion ignored the lawyer. “That's bullshit!”
“In fact, according to your flat mate, you were bragging about earning quite a large amount of money for doing nothing other than showing up on some guy's arm to keep him out of trouble.” Williams leaned a little closer, he could sense he was getting close.
“I never said that!”
“You told her that you had to pose as his fianceé and for that you would be paid five thousand dollars...”
“No!”
“Where is the engagement ring?”
“I – Stefan hasn't bought it yet.”
“He hasn't bought it yet because you're not engaged!”
“No, he hasn't got the money right now.”
“That's because he paid you to act as his fianceé,” Williams pushed again.
“No. We haven't found one I like.“
“Why haven't you ever gone with him to see his horse, support him at shows?”
“I - I don't like horses...”
Williams moved in for the kill. “You don't like horses, you haven't got an engagement ring but your bank balance swelled by five thousand just last week. You're a liar, Miss Archer! You were paid to pose as that man's fianceé to prevent him from being charged with rape of another man! Tell me; what color is Mr. Graves' horse? What sex is it? How long did he keep it at Mr. Yuy's property?”
“I - I-...”
“You don't know because you've only just met the man. You saw an easy way to make a few quick bucks and to hell with the consequences. You didn't care to find out why he wanted you to pose as his fianceé, you didn't care that he has raped another man, that he's ruined a perfectly respectable man's life. No, all you cared about was the cash!”
“I - I didn't know!” Marion broke down sobbing. “When I did find out some of it, it was too late, I couldn't get out of it.”
Bremner looked totally shell shocked.
Morris looked like the cat that had gotten the cream - and the cow to go with it.
Williams sat back in his chair, a satisfied smile on his face. “I think you should start at the beginning...”
* * *
Stefan sat out in the waiting area of the police station, nervously fiddling with his hands. He had no idea what was going on in the interview room but he trusted Bremner to look out for Marion. That was what he was paying the lawyer for after all.
After what seemed like an eternity had passed, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and looked up. Spotting Constable Henry entering the reception area, he stood up and approached the desk. “What's going on?” he demanded. “Where is my fianceé? You can't keep her here without charging her with something, I know my rights!”
Henry ignored the man in favor of passing over some paperwork to another officer. Once he was done with his task, he turned to speak to the frustrated man. “Mr. Graves, would you come with me, please? We have some questions we'd like to ask you.” Reaching for the swinging half door, Henry pushed it open to allow Stefan to pass through.
Frowning, Stefan did as requested, his mind racing. “What's going on?” he tried again, “Where is Marion?”
“All in good time, Mr. Graves.” Henry was having a hard time keeping the grin from his face.
Realizing he wasn't going to get anything from the officer, Stefan scowled and followed along and into the interview room where Williams, Morris and Bremner waited. Of Marion there was no sign.
“What's going on?” Stefan asked for the third time and it seemed that this third time was lucky.
“Take a seat, Mr. Graves,” Williams said. Once the man was seated, Williams began to talk. “It seems your so called fianceé at least has a conscience...”
Stefan sat in stunned shock as Williams informed him of Marion's confession. The blood began to drain from his face as the reality of what was going on sank in. He turned to Bremner. “Where were you during all of this? What the fuck am I paying you for? This is all bullshit.”
Bremner gave his client a hard stare. “Mr. Graves, I did try several times to prevent Miss Archer from talking, but she didn't want to listen to me. I'm afraid she has made her own bed now and must lie in it. However, I will need to speak with both of you privately, in my office once we have finished here.”
“Mr. Graves,” Williams began and leaned across the table. “Why don't you tell us what really happened?”
A look from Bremner was all it took for Stefan to close his mouth.
“Fine,” Williams said, a look of indifference on his face. “It makes no difference to me. Make sure you stick around, the re-trial is coming up and I'm looking forward to hearing your so called fiancee's confession on the witness stand.” Pushing his chair back, Williams was satisfied to note that Stefan didn't look half so cocky now. “You are free to go.”
“Miss Archer?” Bremner asked.
“Henry will bring her out.” With a nod, Williams gathered up his paperwork, turned to the recording device and removed the disc. “Good evening,” he said as he departed.
“I'll fetch Miss Archer,” Henry stated and also left.
Morris stood up from his chair in the corner and walked past Stefan. He paused for a moment by the man and in a low tone, addressed him with an evil smirk on his face. “Gotcha, you bastard. You're going down, Graves.”
Stefan made to lunge at the DA, Morris managing to side step as Bremner grabbed his client.
“I'll see you in court,” Morris said as a parting promise.
Silence fell over the interview room for a couple of seconds, before Bremner broke it. “Come on, I need both of you to come back to my offices and see what we can do about this mess.”
With a sullen look on his face, Stefan followed his lawyer from the room.
* * *
Several hours later Stefan stepped out of Bremner's office and into the evening. He wore a look of thunder on his face and shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he strode towards his parked car. Marion Archer also stepped out of the office and followed behind.
“Wait up,” she called. “Aren't you going to give me a lift home?”
Turning around slowly, Stefan fixed the woman with a hateful glare. “No, you can fucking walk! Thanks to you I'm certain to be found guilty at this re-trial.”
“It wasn't my fault!” Marion snapped back. “If you wanna blame anyone, blame that fricken' DA, he's the one who got the coppers to dig into my background. I didn't tip them off or anythin'. I only did what you paid me to do!”
“You didn't have to open your mouth and fucking well confess to everything. You should of kept your trap shut and listened to Bremner; because you didn't, Bremner's going to have a really hard time getting me off the hook,” Stefan snarled.
“Maybe you shoulda thought about that before lying your ass off. If you're as innocent as you claim to be, then it shouldn't make any difference,” Marion fired back. “I'm starting to think you did rape that guy.”
Stefan narrowed his eyes. “So what if I did? He wanted it, he was the one who kept flaunting himself in front of me.”
Marion took a step back at the venom in which the words were said.
“You're fucking crazy.” Turning, Marion walked off as fast as she dared.
Stefan watched her go, a smirk on his face. Turning back, he unlocked his car and got in. Starting the vehicle up, he drove off in search of the nearest pub – he needed a beer or ten and to think about how he could get himself out of this mess.
* * *
“I really wish we didn't have to go back,” Duo murmured around a mouthful of toast.
“It would be nice to stay for a while longer; unfortunately, we can't. But we can always come back again in the future for another vacation,” Heero replied.
“Yeah, I know.” Duo lost himself in his thoughts for a moment before speaking again. “This was a great idea, Heero. Thanks for dragging me away. I really needed this break.”
The sincerity in Duo's tone was not lost on Heero and he gave his partner a loving smile. “No thanks needed. It was a nice break for me too. And...” Heero took Duo's hand in his own and rubbed his thumb over the vet's knuckles, “It gave us both some much needed time alone to reconnect.”
“Amen to that.” Duo leaned over and pressed a kiss to Heero's lips. “I feel more able to face this re-trial now.”
“Good. I'll be with you all the way. This time we will nail Stefan, just you wait and see.”
“I hope so, Heero. I really hope so.”
* * *
Nursing his sixth beer, Stefan was starting to feel a little numb. His mind had been tossing around the turn of events and the more he thought, the angrier he became and even more determined to have revenge. As the ale slipped down his throat so his mind started to think of ways in which he could get even with Yuy and his long haired boyfriend.
Then, out of the blue a thought came to him.
What better way to get back at Yuy than to take something he truly loved? Something that was precious to Heero.
And not the vet.
No. He'd already had a taste of that sweet ass and look where that got him. No, he really wanted to drive home to Yuy that he, Stefan wasn't someone you fucked with and got away with it. He'd show that stuck up ass and his lover.
Stefan decided he'd go after Yuy's horse.
Swallowing the last of his beer, Stefan grabbed his keys and headed back out to his car. He had a few plans to lay.
* * *
“That's all of it,” Duo said as he handed Heero the large duffel bag.
“Thanks.” Heero placed the bag with the others in the back of Henrietta and closed the tailgate. “Just one last check around to make sure we haven't left anything behind and then all we have to do is drop off the key.”
Whilst Heero checked the cabin for anything forgotten, Duo fetched his camera out and took a few more shots. He wanted to remember these past few days.”All checked?” he asked as Heero reappeared.
“Hai. Come on, we'd better get moving, it will be just about dark by the time we get home as it is.”
With one last look around the cabin and surrounding bush, Duo climbed into the car and fastened his seat-belt.
Heero stopped at the reception area and handed over the key. After exchanging a few words with Danny and promising that they would most definitely be returning for another vacation, Heero bid the man goodbye and went back to the car. Settling into his seat, he drove Henrietta back along the gravel track towards the road that would take them home.
* * *
A throbbing headache greeted Stefan when he awoke. Blearily he rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself and find some painkillers. Groping around in the cabinet, he found the little white pills and took two. Washing his face helped a little too, but coffee was more what he needed.
Ten minutes later and with a steaming cup of strong, black coffee in his hand, Stefan began to feel a little more human. At least the fuzz appeared to be leaving his tongue. The pills began to kick in and by the time he was on his third cup of the liquid, his head was a lot clearer and he was able to think back to the previous day.
Those thoughts caused his anger and irritation to also return. Then his mind switched gears as he thought about what he planned to do.
“I'll get you, Yuy,” he whispered to the kitchen walls. “You'll rue the day you ever crossed me, you prick.”
Finishing his coffee, Stefan took his shower and dressed. Pocketing his car keys and wallet, he set off to purchase a few things he would need in order to pull off his plan.
* * *
“Hey June,” Carl greeted as he walked into the stable block.
“Hi, Carl,” June replied. “Oh, hello, Marie, I didn’t see you behind Carl.”
“Hi June, nice to see you again too,” Marie, Carl's girlfriend replied.
“What's left to do?” Carl asked, aiming for the wheelbarrow and the poop scoop.
“Just the stables to be cleaned. I've made up the feeds and cleaned the water buckets out. Once the stables are done I'll put the feeds in and fill up the waters. Then it's just a case of bringing in the horses, changing rugs and locking up.”
“You know you really shouldn't be doing so much,” Marie chastised gently.
“I'm fine,” June replied. “I don't do anything I'm not comfortable with or that would put any stress on me or the baby.”
“How is the pregnancy coming along?”
Carl smiled to himself as he entered Wing's stable to start cleaning. Those two would be chattering away for hours. What was it with women, babies and shopping? Shaking his head he guessed he'd never figure it out, but he was pleased that Marie and June got along so well. Continuing to ponder the mysteries of the female species, Carl immersed himself in the stable work.
Once the stables were clean, Carl started to sweep the breezeway whilst Marie gave June a hand to put in the night feeds and fill the water buckets. With the stable block looking ship shape, there only remained the horses to bring in. The three set off towards the paddocks, Carl and June discussing which shows they thought Heero would probably be taking their horses to over the next few months.
“Here, you take Luna for me please,” Carl said and passed the lead rope over to Marie. The woman petted the mare's muzzle. She hadn't had a lot to do with horses, but she was eager to learn and wasn't afraid of them. Carl was patient with her and taught her the basics.
“Come on, girl,” Marie said softly and began to lead the chestnut back to her stable. Luna happily followed at the woman's side.
June smiled. “She's getting a lot more confident in handling the horses,” she said to Carl.
“Yeah, she is,” Carl responded, his eyes following his girlfriend with adoration in them.
Chuckling, June gave him a nudge in the ribs. “You really ought to pop the question you know. She won't wait forever and she's a nice girl.”
“What!?” Carl looked a little stunned.
June grinned, unrepentant. “Ask her to marry you before she gets tired of waiting or someone else comes along and sweeps her off her feet.”
“June!” Carl exclaimed, shocked. Then he continued in a worried tone, “She wouldn't leave me for someone else; would she?”
Laughing, June led Nataku from her paddock. “No, she's totally besotted with you, but she won't wait forever you know.” Still laughing, June began to follow behind where Luna and Marie had gone.
Bringing Wing out of his paddock, Carl thought on June's words and decided he really needed to think this through properly – either that or change his friends.
“Now what?” asked Marie, exiting Angel's stable and hanging up the lead rope.
“Now we need to change their rugs and that's it for the night,” June replied. “I'll show you how on Orion first, then you can do Luna and Angel's rugs if you wish. I'll do Orion, Wing and Nataku, Carl can do Shini, Jester and Zero.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Half an hour later saw all the horses rugged up and eating happily in their stables. Carl double checked the bolts on Wing's stable door before joining the two women outside and pulling the sliding door across to keep out the evening chill.
“I'll see you tomorrow, June,” Carl said as the trio walked towards their cars.
“I'll be here,” June replied. “Heero and Duo are due back this evening, although I'm not sure exactly what time they will get back. Heero called me earlier to say they would be home tonight so we don't have to worry about putting the horses out in the morning.”
“Great. I hope they had a good time, they really needed the break.”
“That they did. Oh well, I'm off. Drive carefully.”
“We will. See you tomorrow.”
“See you, Carl. Take care, Marie.”
“Bye, June.” Marie got into the passenger seat of Carl's car and the pair drove away. June climbed into her car and set off in the opposite direction.
An hour later, Zechs walked down the track between the paddocks towards the farm house. The evening consults had gone well, busy but not rushed. He'd looked to see if Heero's car was behind the cottage when he'd left the surgery and noting that it was yet to appear, he stopped off and fed Smokey. Now he was looking forward to a hot dinner and a little snuggle time with Treize.
His eyes warmed at the thought of his boyfriend. Zechs had the next two days off and was going to stay at Treize's. Treize had secured tickets to see a show in Baxendale and Zechs was looking forward to it. Reaching the stables at the back of the farm house, Zechs paused to check on the horses. Rolling the door back a touch he stepped inside and moved down the line of stable doors. His eye roved over each animal and double checked the bolts on the doors. Satisfied that all was well, he exited, pulled the door closed and aimed for the house and a hot shower.
* * *
“Damn!” Duo said and fished around in his pockets, trying to locate his cell phone that was ringing.
Heero raised an eyebrow, wondering who could be calling the vet. His blood began to run cold in his veins. They had both let people know they were going away for a few days and were not to be disturbed unless it was an emergency. Being way out in the bush too had meant that neither cell phone had reception, something else Heero had been grateful for and anticipated. Knowing that was quite possible, he had made certain to leave the contact phone number of the cabin reception should anyone need to get hold of them in a hurry. Their weekend had been blessedly quiet, so much so that Heero had completely forgotten about their phones.
Duo managed to get his phone out of his pocket and frowned at the unfamiliar number displayed. “Doctor Maxwell speaking.”
Unable to hear the conversation other than his partner's words, Heero's mind began to travel in circles, trying to figure out just who would be calling them and hoping it wasn't anything to do with the horses. Although if there was something wrong with the equines, surely it would be his cell that would be ringing.
After a couple of minutes, Duo closed the call and put the cell back in his pocket. Heero glanced across and couldn't help but notice the small smile on his lover's face. Curiosity completely aroused, Heero couldn't contain himself any longer.
“Anything wrong?” he asked.
Duo turned to look at Heero. “No, nothing wrong. Actually, that was some good news for a change.”
“Care to share or do I have to pull the car over and tickle you until you tell me?” Heero said with a raise of his eyebrow.
Duo snickered. “Nah, you don't have to go that far. I'll tell you. That was Morris, the DA.”
“I know who Morris is, Duo.”
“Yeah, well,” Duo said with a wave of his hand. “After the trial finished the other day and they took that woman away...”
“Hai?”
“Apparently Williams and Henry really gave her a grilling. Turns out that Morris' hunch was right. She was a ring in. After Williams put the pressure on her she caved and spilled the whole story.” Duo's voice began to rise in his excitement. “Turns out that the asshole paid her five grand to pose as his fianceé and help to get him off the hook.”
“I'll bet Stefan was pissed when she spilled the beans,” Heero commented with a grin.
“Oh god, I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall when they told him she'd confessed.”
“That is wonderful news, Duo.” Heero couldn't help himself, he took one hand off the wheel and reached for Duo's, entwining their fingers and squeezing. “I promised you we would get him this time around.”
“Yeah, that you did, Heero. Morris is completely convinced that no matter what Bremner tries to come up with to refute her confession, all the facts are there and once the judge hears it there's no question that the dickhead will be found guilty and with any luck, cop a prison sentence.”
“This calls for a celebration. I know we were going to drive straight home and have dinner once we're there, but how about we stop at a cafe somewhere on the way home instead? Another hour added to the trip won't matter. June and Carl will have done the horses for me and I'm sure that Zechs will have fed Smokey so we don't have to rush.”
A broad grin lit Duo's face. “That sounds perfect, Heero.” Reclining back in his seat, Duo let his mind wander over the information Morris had delivered. There was no way that Stefan would be able to get out of this now; with Marion's confession all that remained was for the judge to hear the confession and ink to dry on the paperwork for the sentence. For the first time in weeks Duo actually began to feel like his old self.
* * *
Stefan pulled the car over to the side of the road and cut the engine. Up ahead he could see the pale light shining through the kitchen window of the farm house. Grabbing a small pack, he slipped from the car and silently made his way further up the road and then off to the side. Slinking through the bushes he passed by the farm house, grateful that Zechs didn't have a dog.
He flitted in the shadows towards the stables, his feet silent on the ground. He paused by the large barn and waited for the moon to slip behind the clouds before making his way towards the closed door of the stables. Reaching it, he started to push it slightly open and froze when it made a squeaking sound. In the stillness of the evening the sound seemed a lot louder than it actually was. The sweat began to run down his back, eyes roving around to see if anyone had heard anything. There wasn't any movement from the farm house so Stefan took that as a good sign and tried again with the door. Slowly but steadily he managed to inch it open enough to allow him to slip through.
The scent of horses and hay hit his nose.
With his eyes adjusting to the dark, Stefan made his way down the breezeway to where he knew the feed shed was located. Passing by the stables, the horses hung their heads over the stable doors, curiously wondering what this human was doing. Zero gave a low wuffle, something he could scent on the air not sitting right with him.
Ignoring the equines, Stefan aimed for the feed shed and slipped inside. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, zip-lock plastic bag. Opening the bag, Stefan searched around the feed buckets for the one with Shinigami's name on it. With it being dark, he had a lot of difficulty trying to locate the right bucket. Not wanting to turn the light on and attract attention, Stefan pulled a box of matches from his other pocket and lit one up.
The light flared bright and Stefan brought the flame down to the level of the buckets where he was able to start making out the names written on them. “Ow,” he yelped as the match burnt down to the end and touched his fingers. He dropped it to the ground and lit another one. This time he managed to find the right bucket and blew the match out.
Opening the bag, Stefan quickly shook the dried contents into Shini's feed, replacing the empty bag into his pocket and lighting another match to make sure he'd poured it all in. The dried leaves stood out from the chaff on the top of the bucket so he quickly stuck his hand in and swished the food around. The leaves soon mixed in and once he was done you couldn't tell that the deadly plant was a part of Shini's breakfast.
Satisfied with his work, Stefan tossed the match to the side and made his exit, carefully sliding the door across as he left. Back in the safety of his car, Stefan snickered to himself. “Let's see if your lover boy can save that horse now, Yuy. Patersons Curse is deadly, you know.” With another laugh to himself, Stefan drove off into the night.
Zero paced around his stable, the uneasy feeling settling stronger and stronger into his gut. He scented the air again, knowing something was desperately wrong; but what?
Nataku shifted in her stable, she could also sense something wrong. Shinigami gave a few low wuffles, Wing joined in with a worried neigh. Luna and Angel stood side by side on opposite sides of their stable partitions, the cold sweat of fear breaking out in their coats. Jester grunted softly and Orion gave a few snorts.
Suddenly Zero gave a loud scream of terror.
Smoke began to filter out from under the closed door of the feed shed.
~ * ~
tbc...
*Ducks for cover and points to Fred* Blame him – he's the one with the plot twist.
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Equus