Witness Protection Part 58
Trial--and Error
The next morning found us once again in the courtroom, with Duo looking calm and composed as he took the witness stand.
He hadn't been nearly as composed an hour earlier, when he was practically puking in the bathroom from nerves.
Well, it wasn't as bad as all that. It was just that when he first woke up and realized where he was, and what the day had in store for him, he had a little trouble finding his balance.
Chang was the one who forced him to sit and slowly sip a cup of tea, while practicing breathing exercises he'd taught him back at the lake house.
And I was the one who fastened his tie, when his hands were shaking too badly to do it himself.
Noventa simply breezed in a half an hour before we were due in the courtroom and asked if Duo had any last-minute questions.
When Duo asked if he could fake a case of laryngitis, I don't think Noventa was remotely amused. He told us to get our asses into his office--pronto--and stalked back out.
Seizing the opportunity, I dragged Duo into the bathroom for a quick pep talk--taking my folded-up fortune that said "You should be able to undertake and complete anything" and tucking it into his breast pocket.
"There," I said with a reassuring smile. "You can borrow my fortune for today--to help you get through this."
He managed to dredge up a weak smile. "Not sure they're transferable, Yuy."
"Doesn't matter," I insisted. "I loaned it to you; therefore, it's yours for the day."
His smile got a little more confident, and so I leaned in to kiss it right off his face, taking my time and savoring the moan that escaped as I pulled him close.
"Now," I whispered, sliding my cheek along his. "You get out there and show those bastards you can take anything they dish out--okay? And we'll pick this up where we left off later."
"Promise?"
"The very minute you're finished, I'll make an excuse to get you alone," I assured him. "Hell, I think even Chang might help me with that--act as a diversion or something."
"He has mellowed a lot, hasn't he?" smirked my lover.
"Unbelievably," I agreed.
A sharp rap on the door interrupted our speculation. "If you two are done making out, I'm quite sure Noventa's pacing a hole in his carpet by now," came a snide voice.
"Okay, maybe not 'unbelievably'," I conceded.
Duo chuckled, regaining his color, and yanked open the door. "Admit it, Chang," he teased. "You're just jealous. Ever since you saw me in that dress--"
Yes, Duo Maxwell was back with a vengeance, and kept his upbeat and cocky attitude throughout the all too short meeting with Noventa. He even managed to carry it into the courtroom with him--and ended up looking very calm and very relaxed as he took the stand, and the defense team prepared to pick him apart.
I, on the other hand, was not so relaxed. It was as if Duo's nervousness had relocated into my stomach. Maybe it was just that I'd seen Tsubarov in action before--but I couldn't help feeling that we'd led Duo like a lamb to the slaughter.
From my seat between Wufei and Quatre, I watched Khushrenada's team conferring, crossing my fingers and hoping maybe Septum or Catalonia would carry on the cross-examination. But it was Tsubarov who stood and gathered his notes.
"Mister Maxwell," the defense attorney began, putting a snide emphasis on the first word that instantly raised my hackles. I was impressed when Duo's face showed not a flicker of emotion. "At which of his establishments were you working when you met Zechs Merquise?"
"The Jungle."
"And what sort of club is that?"
"It's a gay bar," Duo said calmly.
"And would you be so kind as to tell the jury exactly what your job was at that 'gay bar'?"
"I was an exotic dancer."
The lawyer chuckled patronizingly. "You mean a stripper?"
Duo gave him an equally patronizing smile. "We prefer to be called exotic dancers--but yes, I suppose if you wanted to be crude, you could say I was a stripper."
Oh--point for Duo! I was proud of him for getting in the first dig.
"Speaking of crude, what was your job before you went to work at The Jungle?"
"I didn't have one."
"Ever?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I didn't need one," Duo shrugged.
"You didn't? How did you eat? Where did you live?"
"I grew up in an orphanage."
"--not a foster family?"
"Actually, several--but none that lasted."
"Why not?"
At this point Noventa objected, asking how Duo's childhood was relevant to the case. Of course the defense attorney insisted that it pertained to "character", and that since the State's case hinged on Duo's testimony, his character was of utmost importance. And, as I expected, the judge allowed it.
"Answer his question, Mister Maxwell."
"I was a--difficult child, I guess," Duo shrugged.
"Very," agreed the attorney, glancing down at his clipboard. "Your first arrest was at age seven...for shoplifting. And then at eight, you beat up a classmate and...stole his lunch? At nine, you--"
"We'll stipulate to Mister Maxwell's criminal record," the District Attorney said quickly.
The judge eyed the defense attorney. "You've covered enough of that subject. Move on," she ordered curtly.
He nodded politely, giving an oily smile. "So, you were a troubled child, Mister Maxwell. What happened when you turned eighteen and left the orphanage?"
"I left when I was twelve," Duo admitted.
"And how did you survive then?" asked the lawyer, with feigned dismay.
"I lived with--friends."
"You mean the gang called--" The man shuffled through papers as if he didn't know exactly where he was going with this, and I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to go up there and throttle him. "Ah--the 'Reapers'?"
"Yes," Duo said simply, a brief flash of pain crossing his face at the mention of his dead friends.
"And weren't the Reapers used to move drugs for the syndicate?"
"Sometimes," Duo shrugged.
"So you helped transport illegal drugs."
"Sometimes."
"What else did you do?"
"Lots of stuff--a little breaking and entering--the occasional car theft--"
"I thought we agreed to stipulate to his criminal record!" the prosecutor said sharply, looking to the judge for support.
"Finish this line of questioning, Mister Tsubarov," warned the judge.
"Of course, Your Honor." He turned a sneering face towards Duo. "I'd just like to know why you participated in those crimes."
"It beat the heck out of whoring," Duo said flatly, glaring back.
Well, that made a few jaws drop. I splayed a hand discreetly over my face, beginning to get a very bad feeling about where this was all headed.
"So you had a basis for comparison, eh?" taunted the defense attorney.
I thought Duo would explode at that, but aside from a narrowing of the indigo eyes, he kept his composure remarkably well. Noventa, on the other hand, looked like he was about to blow a gasket.
"Not personally," Duo said coolly. "But I saw what it did to other kids, and I'd have done anything to avoid it."
"Anything, hm?" The attorney made a few notes on his clipboard. Then he looked at Duo with narrowed eyes. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"I asked if you'd do anything?"
"I already said I would," Duo replied, looking confused.
"Would you kill?"
Duo's jaw dropped, and the prosecutor jumped to his feet. "Your Honor! The defense is on a tangent here that has nothing to do with this case. And the question calls for speculation on the part of the witness--how could anyone know what they'd do or not do under the right circumstances?"
The defense attorney turned to the judge with an earnest expression on his face. "Your Honor--this does have a point, I assure you."
"You may continue--but you'd better get to that point fast."
"Mister Maxwell--you claim my client killed Zechs Merquise, and that you witnessed it. Isn't it just as possible that you were the one who killed him? That you did it because he was trying to recruit you to be a prostitute at one of the underground brothels he owned in the city?"
The indigo eyes were practically bugging out of Duo's head. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about," he snarled, losing the composure he'd been keeping so well. "Zechs didn't own any brothels--and he never, ever suggested I become a whore."
"No? Wasn't sleeping with the man who paid your wages pretty much the same thing?"
Duo was on his feet in a flash, and the judge was banging her gavel for order as two bailiffs hastily moved towards my braided lover. "Sit down, Mister Maxwell!"
How the hell did the defense attorney find out that Duo was touchy about being called a prostitute?
"Sit down!" thundered the judge again, and I caught Duo's eyes and gave him a small, tight smile and a nod. Just do as she says.
He slowly sank back into his seat as things settled down in the courtroom.
The judge eyed him dangerously. "Mister Maxwell, you will refrain from swearing in this courtroom, and you will remain in your seat! Do I make myself clear?"
Duo gave her a resentful scowl. "Yes, ma'am."
Then the judge glared at the defense attorney. "And you, Mister Tsubarov, will refrain from baiting the witness. You will keep your line of questioning on the testimony at hand, and not stray into irrelevant territory. Understood?"
"Certainly, Your Honor," he said with smug satisfaction. He'd gotten what he wanted anyway. Duo had been shaken--and he now sat rigidly tense in his seat, fiddling with the end of the braid in his lap, and occasionally glancing at me or the D.A. for reassurance.
Noventa looked a little sick, and I wanted to smack him a good one and tell him to stop showing the jury that he thought the defense had discredited Duo's testimony sufficiently.
Tsubarov approached Duo again, braving a perfectly vicious look from those narrowed indigo eyes. "Could you please answer that last question, Mister Maxwell?"
"If you answer one for me," Duo said icily. "If you're paid to make sure Khushrenada 'gets off,' doesn't that make you a whore too?"
Again there was an outburst of voices and the room erupted into chaos, the judge banging her gavel for order, and the spectators talking loudly among themselves. Khushrenada was actually laughing, giving Duo an almost appreciative look that made me want to put a bullet right between the crime lord's eyes. I don't know if he was amused by the comment, or by the fact that Duo's credibility with the jury was in serious jeopardy, and I didn't much care. He was a murderer--and that was all that mattered to me.
"Your Honor--if I could have a moment with the witness--?" the D.A. asked desperately.
She finally got control of the courtroom again, and gestured to both the prosecution and the defense. "I want you both in my chambers immediately."
I saw a hint of a smirk touch Duo's lips, and I knew he was biting his tongue to keep from making a suggestive comment about what might go on in the judge's chambers. But he ducked his head, staring fixedly at his shoes and clearly regaining control of his sense of humor.
"Mister Maxwell," the judge added, giving him a look that could have curdled milk.
He looked up from under his bangs--the very picture of a naughty child who's trying to make the stern adult think he's truly contrite, when he's not feeling contrite at all. I wondered if she'd see through the act, or fall for his charm. "Yes, Your Honor?"
Her expression softened just a fraction, and I scratched my nose to hide a grin. "You are the witness--not the attorney. He's to ask the questions, and you are to provide the answers, to the best of your ability. You are not to ask questions in return--nor should you take his questions personally. Keep your answers short and sweet, and refrain from further editorializing, or I'll have you removed from the stand. Am I clear?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry, Your Honor." He sounded genuine enough, though I had my doubts.
The judge called a short recess, and took the two attorneys to her chambers for a lecture. I'd hoped for a moment with Duo, but a bailiff escorted him to the witness room off to one side, and stood by the door to make sure he stayed put.
Quatre's face was a cross between amusement and concern, when he turned towards me. "Relax, Heero--it's not as bad as it looked."
"That fucking bastard Tsubarov got him swearing on the stand," I pointed out.
"Yes, but the jury could see that it was deliberate harassment. It made Tsubarov look just as bad."
"But he's not the one whose word they've got to believe."
"They'll believe Duo. His reactions are genuine and unaffected. He just exudes sincerity. And even his lapse in behavior was minor, and understandable under the circumstances. If anything, I think it humanized him for the jurors."
"I hope so," I said through gritted teeth. "Or I may have to show Tsubarov a genuine, unaffected reaction of my own!"
Quatre chuckled quietly. "Stay calm, Heero. You're Duo's anchor right now. Did you notice he looked at you whenever he was feeling pressured or distressed?"
"Yes--and it just about killed me not to be able to go up there and help him."
"You helped him just by being here--just by making eye contact. He trusts you and relies on you."
"I know. I just don't want to let him down."
"I don't think you could."
All too quickly the attorneys returned, and the bailiff led Duo back to the stand.
As soon as the judge came back in and order was called again, we all took our seats and Tsubarov made his slimy way up to the front of the room again, facing Duo with the same hostile expression as before.
"So--you'd like us to believe you saw my client kill Zechs Merquise," he continued. "But tell me, Mister Maxwell, did you make any attempt to stop the alleged crime?"
"Alleged--?" Duo started to ask, before glancing at the judge and realizing he wasn't supposed to counter a question with a question. "No, I didn't," he said, glaring at the lawyer. "There were four people out there with Zechs, and I saw at least two guns. I had nothing on me but a few knives. The odds were against me--so, no I did not make any attempt to stop the very real crime. All I could do was watch, and then run like he--heck."
I saw a faint twitch of the judge's lips, as if she was pleased by his careful attempt to obey her prior orders.
"Did you go to the police to report the 'very real crime' you say you witnessed?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't like cops," Duo said flatly. "They've never been particularly pleasant to me."
"So you didn't really care if your lover's murderer got away with it?"
"Sure I did. But Zechs always said that Khushrenada had cops on the payroll. I couldn't trust any of them."
The attorney sighed and turned a long-suffering look on the judge. "Your Honor--I move to strike that last comment. Hearsay. And Merquise isn't here to verify the claim that my client was bribing police officers."
The judge nodded. "The jury will disregard that last answer."
"So, am I correct in assuming that you had no intention of reporting the crime you witnessed?"
"Yes."
"Why did you?"
"Because the cops found me when I went to pick up my last paycheck," Duo admitted.
Tsubarov looked down at his notes and a slow, arrogant smirk spread across his lips. "Your paycheck from--The Sanc Palace?"
"Yes."
"And when the police found you there, what did you do?"
"I ran."
"Why?"
"Like I said, I don't like cops. And I wasn't sure whose side they were on."
Noventa seemed to be tiring of whatever game Tsubarov was playing. He called out yet another objection, citing the irrelevance of the questions being asked. "--and considering Mister Maxwell's prior experience with the police, it's natural that he'd avoid them."
But Tsubarov forestalled the judge's ruling by holding up a hand. "I'm finished with this line of questioning, Your Honor. I just want to ask Mister Maxwell a few more simple questions--that have nothing to do with his criminal record or his reasons for fleeing from the police."
She eyed him warily. "You may proceed, providing you limit your questions to those pertaining directly to the matter at hand."
"Absolutely." Tsubarov exchanged a glance with Khushrenada, who smirked knowingly, and then turned to face Duo. "Do you have a temper, Mister Maxwell?"
"Your Honor--!" Noventa yelped in outrage.
"Tsubarov!" the judge warned.
"Your Honor, I'm not trying to bait the witness, I promise. He displayed a certain volatility before that lends credence to a statement I was given by a co-worker...a Miss Hilde Schbeiker."
Her again! I clenched my fists at my sides, wishing I had her by the throat. Now I knew who was to blame for Tsubarov knowing Duo didn't like being called a whore. And I wondered what the hell else she might have told him.
"I'd like to enter her statement into evidence, with the Court's permission." He handed a document to the judge, who glanced over it with a raised eyebrow, before passing it to Noventa and nodding for Tsubarov to continue.
He fixed a piercing look on my lover. "Do you recall an altercation you had with Zechs Merquise about a week prior to his death, Mister Maxwell?"
Duo looked at him blankly for a moment, and then shrugged slightly. "Altercation?"
"According to Miss Schbeiker, you and Mister Merquise had a rather violent encounter in the hallway outside her dressing room at Sanc."
Duo's eyes widened in realization, and he opened his mouth to reply, but Tsubarov continued before he could.
"He came to the club and confronted you about a prior disagreement. Miss Schbeiker quoted you as saying he was a 'cheating, two-timing bastard,' and then shoving him. She furthermore said he shoved back, and then you punched him, slammed him against the wall and said 'if you don't stay the fuck away from me, I'll kill you.' Do you recall making that statement, Mister Maxwell?"
Holy fucking shit!
The courtroom burst into murmurs of surprise, and Duo's face drained of color as Noventa turned an accusing gaze on him.
"Order!" demanded the judge, banging her gavel hard. "Quiet down!"
Noventa was on his feet by then. "Your honor--if we could have a brief recess?"
The murmurs hadn't subsided, and the judge banged her gavel again. "Fifteen minute recess," she declared, standing and stalking off to her chambers.
~*~
Noventa didn't waste a moment, but turned on Duo, gesturing him to follow. I was about to join them uninvited, when the D.A. shot a scathing look at me and waved me along. Chang was right behind me, and I was grateful for his presence; he could have easily deserted the sinking ship, but instead chose to stand with me for the dressing down we were about to get.
We made record time down that hallway, and when we got there Noventa all but shoved Duo into the small office, and then pushed him into a chair, standing towering over him. "What the fuck was that, Maxwell?"
"What?" Duo demanded, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"That--debacle out there!" The DA's eyes were practically aflame with anger. "Did you not think it important to let me know you'd have a fight with Merquise a week before his death?"
"Well--no," Duo said in a small voice, looking uncomprehendingly at the irate man.
"No?" Noventa echoed.
Duo shook his head and shrugged.
Noventa rounded on me. "What's your excuse, Yuy--Chang? Or do you want to plead ignorance as well?"
At least I knew what he was talking about, though Duo remained clueless. "Look, counselor, Maxwell was a witness, not a suspect."
"And when did he make that transition? According to your Captain, she was prepared to have you book him when you first brought him in. He was a suspect then, wasn't he?"
"Briefly."
"And you didn't think to question his acquaintances--check for an alibi or motive?"
"We didn't really have time," Wufei piped up. "We'd barely gotten to interview Khushrenada before the attempt on Maxwell's life--and once that happened we knew for sure he was a witness rather than a suspect."
"You didn't know shit!" Noventa thundered.
Duo frowned, apparently not liking the verbal tongue-lashing Chang and I were receiving. "Hey, what's the big deal?" he cut in, leaning forward in his chair. "So Zechs and I had a little spat. So what? It has nothing to do with my witnessing his murder."
"No--but it has plenty to do with motive!"
Duo's jaw dropped. "What the fuck?" he blurted in outrage. "Are you saying you think I killed Zechs?"
"No--but the defense team is! And if they convince the jury it's even an outside possibility, we'll never get a conviction against Khushrenada."
"That's not true!" I interrupted; angered by the stricken look Noventa had put on Duo's face. "There's plenty of forensic evidence to support Duo's story."
"And just as much to place him at the scene of the crime! All we had going in his favor was a lack of motive--and that's gone now."
"What about means?" I demanded. "He doesn't own a gun."
"Not legally," Noventa retorted. "And since we never found the murder weapon at all, it's a moot point who it belonged to." He rubbed his face with both hands, muttering in frustration as he stalked to the other side of his desk. Then he pulled himself together and glared across at Duo. "Talk to me, Maxwell. Tell me about the fight with Merquise."
Duo hesitated, obviously angry at Noventa's accusing tone. His dark eyes slid my way, asking for--something.
"Go ahead, Duo," I urged gently, resisting the impulse to step up behind his chair and massage his shoulders soothingly. I had to let my voice do the job. "Just--explain it to Attorney Noventa, and we can clear it up for the jury when you're back on the stand."
Duo drew a deep breath, and visibly pulled himself together. "Okay." He cast a defiant look at the D.A. "About a week before the murder, I went to the penthouse to surprise Zechs. He'd been working long hours, and I was gonna cook him dinner." I found myself smiling at the image of him surprising the crime lord with a little home cooked meal. It was--sweet.
"Anyhow, when I got off the elevator, I saw him hugging some blonde chick outside the door of his apartment. I kinda went off on him--called him some names, cussed him out, and took off." He shook his head, smiling ruefully. "He called me all night, but I wouldn't answer, and then he showed up at Sanc the next evening wanting to talk. I told him off right there in the hallway--called him a fucking cheater and a few other choice things--and told him to leave me alone."
"Did you threaten to kill him?"
Duo shrugged, looking genuinely uncertain. "I might've. Honestly--I don't remember what I said to him. Maybe I said if he didn't stay the hell away from me, I'd kill him. But I just don't know."
"Well apparently witnesses at Sanc remembered what you said--and it did include a death threat."
"I didn't mean it," Duo said earnestly. "God, Noventa--I was hurt and pissed. I'd seen the guy I loved holding some woman in his arms. In that situation, wouldn't you say stupid shit you didn't mean?"
Noventa rolled his eyes. "Of course I might. Anyone might. But the point is, you didn't tell me about the argument, and now the defense can use that to tear down your story."
"I didn't tell you because you never asked me," Duo retorted, scowling. "And frankly, after Zechs got killed, it just slipped my mind altogether."
Noventa's baleful gaze turned to me. "You didn't do your homework, Yuy."
"I--guess not," I sighed, knowing that he was more or less right. When we first apprehended Duo at the Sanc Palace, we'd had every opportunity to look into a potential motive. But I'd already been convinced he was a witness.
I recalled Wufei wanting to consider him a suspect a lot longer than I had, and thought that if I'd given in, maybe we would have dug deeper and uncovered this land mine before Khushrenada's people did.
Then again, the longer we treated Duo as a suspect, the longer he'd have been at risk. And in all likelihood, Khushrenada's assassins would have succeeded in silencing him forever.
"In our defense," I said quietly, after exchanging a quick glance with my partner, "we had to move very fast in order to secure Duo's testimony, and his safety. While interviewing co-workers might have turned up this information, it would also have drawn Khushrenada's attention straight to Duo--and we wouldn't be here right now having this discussion. We'd be fishing Duo out of some river and writing Merquise's death off as a cold case."
Noventa perked up at that, and made a few notes on his blotter. "You make a good point," he conceded. "If I can sell that to the jury--make them focus on the urgency of safeguarding a potential witness--maybe they'll forget the sloppy police work and stay fixated on how lethal and ruthless Khushrenada is."
Duo smirked lopsidedly at me. "Good save, Yuy," he teased. He looked at Noventa with less venom. "Honestly, counselor, if it had occurred to me that anyone even remembered our silly little spat, I'd have explained it before." His face went a little pensive, and his eyes distant. "The night Zechs was murdered, we'd just gotten back together."
God, I wanted to go to him--but with the D.A. standing there making notes and half-listening, there was no way.
"Why did you take him back?" he asked absent-mindedly.
"He wore me down," Duo admitted. "He kept coming around until I had to listen, and then he explained that the girl was his long-lost sister...that she'd only found out about him when she turned eighteen, and had been trying to track him down and meet him ever since."
"And you believed him?" snorted Noventa.
Duo shrugged, looking down at the floor. "I s'pose you think he was lying," he said rather petulantly.
Noventa glanced up over his glasses. "Does it matter? The man's dead."
"It matters to me," Duo insisted. "I know Zechs is just a case to you--a chance to up your conviction rate and gain the prestige of putting away Treize Khushrenada. But he was my lover--and yeah, I'd like to think I knew him well enough to know when he was telling the truth."
His gaze slid towards me, and I could tell he wanted to tell Noventa that he'd been right to believe Zechs--that meeting Relena at the courthouse confirmed it.
I even started to open my mouth, but just then Noventa gave a curt nod, finishing up his notes, and gesturing to the door. "Now that I know the details of your altercation with Merquise, let's go back in there and explain it to the jury so that they can relegate it to irrelevant information, where it belongs, shall we?"
Duo got up, walking over and standing beside me--almost touching. I could feel a faint tremor in the hand that brushed across one of mine.
"So, you think you can still salvage his testimony?" I asked the D.A. frankly.
"If he tells it like he just did, I think so," came the rather weary reply. He glanced searchingly at Duo. "No more surprises?"
My lover appeared to seriously consider the question, biting his lip thoughtfully. "I don't think so. I mean, they know about my record--and what I did for work. There's nothing much else they can dig up."
Wufei cleared his throat uneasily. "Yuy--you'd better tell him about Relena's part in all this," he said quietly. "No more surprises."
Noventa shot me a suspicious glare. "Detective?"
"Uh--well, actually, there is a bit more to the story," I admitted. "The blonde that Duo saw in Merquise's arms was Relena Darlian."
Noventa's jaw dropped and his glare intensified. "Relena Darlian was Zechs Merquise's long-lost sister?"
I nodded. "Chang and I found out at the start of the investigation. We spoke to Chief Darlian about it, and at the time, he didn't know she'd ever made contact with Merquise. Supposedly her mother hadn't told her about her previous marriage or the fact that she had a half-brother. It was only yesterday that I found out she'd been to see him."
"Jesus fucking Christ! How much more are you people hiding from me?"
"We weren't hiding it, exactly," I told him. "You were so busy getting Duo ready to go on the stand, that there really was no time to discuss her involvement."
"Was that what the scene in the hallway yesterday was all about?" asked the D.A., looking at Duo.
My lover nodded. "I had a second of déjà vu is all--seein' her run up and hug Heero like that."
I crossed my fingers behind my back, hoping Noventa hadn't caught Duo's use of the word "boyfriend" during his rant. If he had, we were going to have a lot more explaining to do.
A sharp rap on the door broke into our conversation, and a court clerk stuck his head in. "The judge is waiting!"
"Fuck!" Noventa hissed. "Tell her we're on our way."
He rounded on Duo, Chang and me. "Look--we don't have time to finish this right now, but when we get a lunch break, I want the whole story. I want to know exactly how involved Miss Darlian is--where she is--"
"She's currently a fugitive," I admitted, watching him pale at the implications. "She was Captain Po's secretary--and she tampered with evidence to hide the fact that she'd been at Merquise's penthouse the week before his death."
I thought the man was going to spontaneously combust. Instead he shook a finger in front of my face. "You are so lucky we are out of time right now. But don't you dare disappear when the judge breaks for lunch. I'm not finished with the ass-reaming you deserve!"
"Whoa," Duo said, impressed by the attorney's crude threat. "An' I thought I was gay."
Noventa turned a livid look on him, and my lover smiled sweetly. "Jus' teasing," he assured the man. "You need to lighten up on 'Ro and 'Fei. They've had just as much shit dumped on them in the past twenty-four hours as you have. They didn't know about Relena, so they weren't trying to hide anything from you. Get it?"
Noventa caught Duo by the arm, ushering him ahead of Chang and me, back towards the courtroom. "Just promise me, Maxwell--when I get you back on that stand, do not give me anything other than yes or no answers. I will use questions to solicit the right response. Understand me?"
"Yessir," Duo quipped, glancing over his shoulder to wink at me.
I couldn't figure out how he managed to keep that smirk in place, even with an irate D.A. hauling him rapidly down the hall towards the courtroom, and Chang and me practically jogging to keep up.
And just as they reached the open doors, I saw Khushrenada's assistant, Une coming from the direction of the rest rooms, speeding her pace as if to duck in ahead of Duo and Noventa.
"Wufei--" I gasped, catching the hateful gleam in her eyes, and the fact that there was something clenched in her hand, just an instant too late. "Knife!"
My partner leapt forward almost as fast as I did--but Une was even faster, stepping in front of Duo and plunging the blade into his midsection.
"Duo!" I screamed, throwing myself on the woman and tackling her to the floor.
I'd probably have strangled her right there, except that someone pulled me off, and other hands grabbed hold of her, as people came rushing from the courtroom. The noise quickly escalated to screams and yells for someone to call paramedics.
The mention of an ambulance had me turning to see how badly Duo was hurt. He was sprawled face down, blood pooling rapidly under him as he tried feebly to push himself up.
"Lie still!" I warned, pushing past the gathering crowd and dropping to my knees beside him, pulling him onto his side and grimacing at the sight of the knife in his chest.
He coughed weakly, blood trickling from between pale lips. "--'Ro?"
"Shh--" I whispered, pulling him up against me. I didn't dare remove the knife, as it could make the bleeding worse. Nor could I lay him on his back, or he'd drown in his own blood. My educated guess was that he had a punctured lung.
"Fuck--" he rasped hoarsely, eyes squeezed shut and tears of pain trickling from the edges.
"Hush, love," I soothed in a whisper, brushing the bangs from his clammy forehead with a trembling hand. "The ambulance is coming." I could already hear the far-off sound of their sirens.
Faster, dammit--faster!
Duo moved convulsively, clutching at my hand. "Goddamn, it hurts!"
"I know...I know...just hang on. You hear me?" I clutched him tighter as he coughed and more blood ran down his chin. "Stay with me, Duo. Don't you dare give up on me now!"
"'M so fuckin' tired," he groaned.
"I don't care!" I blurted in panic. "You have to stay with me, Duo! Don't give up!"
"--love you," he choked out, giving my hand a weak squeeze before going completely limp in my arms.
"Duo? Duo! Breathe, goddamnit, breathe!" I couldn't see any movement at all--no reassuring rise and fall--no quiver of motion in the slack lips as blood dripped slowly down onto the ground. "Aw, fuck--Duo!"
I tightened my arms around him, burying my face against the chestnut hair, begging him to breathe until the sounds of sirens and pounding feet drowned out my voice.
Then strong hands gripped my shoulders, pulling me back as paramedics tugged Duo from my arms and began working.
"Stretcher!"
"Need a crash kit!"
"Fuck--no pulse!"
"Where's the goddamned stretcher?"
"Starting CPR--"
"C'mon, Yuy. Get a grip." Wufei's voice was stern, but not harsh, cutting through my panic as he hauled me away.
He pushed me up against the wall outside the courtroom and I watched numbly as the paramedics worked, barely able to draw breath myself for the tightness in my chest.
"They'll do all they can," my partner assured me, drawing my gaze away from the spectacle and towards his face. "Let them work."
The judge was trying to restore order, even with cops, paramedics and FBI agents crowded into the hallway along with the spectators from the courtroom. I dimly heard her calling for the jury to be sequestered, and the court recessed for the day.
Tsubarov said something about a mistrial and Judge Lake laughed in his face, assuring him that silencing witnesses didn't warrant throwing out a case. In fact, she ordered Khushrenada's bail revoked and that he be taken into custody for the duration.
In the midst of that, the emergency crew had hoisted Duo onto a gurney and, still in the same state of frantic activity, were rushing it through the crowd and off to the waiting ambulance. Catherine was holding Trowa back, keeping him from following the paramedics and telling him there was nothing he could do to help.
But all of that sort of slid across the surface of my consciousness, as I listened to my partner's quiet voice reminding me to breathe and try to calm myself.
It was working, somewhat, until I glanced over his shoulder to where the bailiff had taken Une into custody. Then I pulled myself free and stalked over, yanking her from the bailiff's grasp and literally throwing her against the wall. "Why?!" I demanded, ignoring Captain Po's order to stand down.
I'd be damned if I was going to let this go. My boss could suspend me or fire me--it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but Duo, and I needed to know why Khushrenada's bitch of an assistant felt that even at this late hour, he was worth killing.
"He already fucking testified!" I yelled into her face. "What was the point?"
She turned calm, totally guiltless eyes my way, smirking slightly. "I did it for Treize," she said clearly. Her dark eyes slid past me to her stunned employer, who was still there in the hallway with the rest of the crowd. "He had to be silenced."
Khushrenada gaped at her, and then narrowed his eyes viciously. "Stupid woman! I needed him alive!"
She turned towards her boss, shaking her head. "But he told them everything!" she blurted. "I couldn't let him get back on the stand and ruin you!"
The syndicate leader clenched his fists, glaring at the woman. "He was no threat. They'd never have taken his word over mine. He was nothing but a pretty little empty-headed hooker--"
Trowa's fist landed before either Khushrenada or his entourage could react. "Duo was not a hooker!" the green-eyed man snarled, backing away as bailiffs stepped up to intervene, and Quatre went to his side.
Khushrenada had staggered back from the blow, and put a hand to his jaw, but the look he gave Barton was a combination of amusement and respect. The man just couldn't be flustered.
Nonetheless, his lawyers could be, and were desperately trying to shush him, while gesturing madly for Une to be hauled away.
Meanwhile, Une still looked stung by her boss' reprimand, and she was struggling to escape my stranglehold. "Treize--I did it for you!"
"You did it out of spite!" he shot back. "Spite and jealousy!"
Jealousy? I turned a disbelieving look to the syndicate leader, even as the bailiff was slapping handcuffs on him in preparation for taking him into custody.
Khushrenada smirked nastily at me. "Yes, detective. Zechs wasn't the only one with an eye for pretty things. He just happened to get to the whore first."
I lunged towards him, but Wufei caught me and held me back. "Don't, Yuy!" he whispered in my ear. "He's just baiting you! Come--we need to get to the hospital."
His mention of the hospital dragged me out of my rage, and I slumped against him, letting him help support me as the weight of what had happened came crashing down on me.
"Let's go to Duo," he added, looping an arm around my shoulders and steering me away from the scene in the hallway.
Captain Po came storming over at that moment, demanding to know exactly what had happened, but Chang fended her off, telling her to talk to Noventa and that she could question us later at the hospital.
She started to say there was no need for us there--but Quatre stepped in and told her we were going and that's all there was to it.
At the same time, Agent Alexander collared my boss, leaning in to speak quietly, and she sighed, nodded, and then turned and left with him, allowing Winner the chance to grab my arm and usher me rapidly down the hall and outside to a waiting limo.
I slid into the back with my partner right behind me, and wasn't surprised to find Trowa and Catherine already waiting for us.
"What happened, Yuy?" came Trowa's quick demand.
"Leave him alone, Barton," Wufei ordered curtly.
"No--I want to know how that bitch got to Duo!"
"Shh--Trowa--not now!" Catherine urged, tugging at his arm.
Quatre sat on his other side, leaning close and whispering something that at least got Barton to back off for the moment.
Personally, I didn't care. I just buried my face in my hands, reliving the moment when Duo winked at me over Noventa's shoulder, and then Une came rushing up to attack.
God--he never had a chance! He didn't even see it coming.
TBC...
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