Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gallows Eve ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

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GALLOWS EVE (Part 7)by DRLHeero and Trowa were not only permitted entry to the room where James Shadwell was being interviewed, but highly irregular as it was, they were allowed to participate in his interrogation. Having been instrumental in bringing the crime home to the real perpetrator, Trowa was glad to also be 'in at the kill' (although given James Shadwell's likely sentence if convicted, he was sensible of the irony of this particular phrase). Trowa knew that Heero's sphere of influence was wide indeed, but he was surprised that his friend had been able to arrange this - even to the extent of actually conducting the interview himself. He took up a position in a darkened corner of the interview room, hoping to make himself inconspicuous, although for a man of his stature and bearing, this was no mean undertaking. Heero was seated at the only table in the cell-like room, and James Shadwell sat directly opposite.
 
 
The young man looked exactly as he had when he had given Trowa the keys to Duo Maxwell's flat, some three weeks ago now, dapper, ruggedly handsome and a trifle aloof. He had recovered his composure following his impassioned outburst in the court, but if he now repented of his action, he gave no sign. He had immediately been arrested and charged, and having spent some hours in a cell, was now being questioned. He had insisted upon making a statement immediately and the officer in charge of the case was inclined to let him. He had waived his right to a lawyer, even though Treize Khushrenada had sent his own legal representative to protect the interests of his employee, but Shadwell refused to see him. "I just want to make a statement and get it over with,” The young man urged, “I don't need a lawyer, they only complicate things.” The police secretly agreed with him, but they wanted to do everything by the book lest some small oversight allow their man to escape justice on a technicality. Eventually though, they let him have his way and now he sat across the table from Heero, his hands clasped nervously on the table before him, a plastic beaker full of weak tea within reach - untasted and now quite cold. Heero smiled at the young man. He had inveigled his way into the position of interviewer by insisting that Shadwell might well respond better and talk more freely to someone who was not a member of the establishment. He didn't believe it for one second, but he felt he deserved the concession, so he flexed all the muscle he had until he got his way, with the proviso that if the prisoner showed the slightest reluctance to speak to Heero, he would be replaced by the Chief Inspector."My name is Heero Yuy," Heero began, "I'm not with the police, but I wondered whether you would mind speaking to me about what happened." He asked. Shadwell's eyes narrowed suspiciously."You're not with the police?” Heero shook his head. "Then who are you?" James Shadwell asked brusquely. Patiently Heero explained that he was not with the police, but that he had independently helped them with their enquiries on the case. When he had finished James Shadwell shrugged. "Okay, I'll talk to you. Is that tape recorder rolling?" This he asked of the Chief Inspector, who stood beside the instrument. The officer responded in the affirmative and the young man turned his attention back to Heero. He leaned across the Formica-topped table towards the Japanese man, his eyes wide and earnest."First tell me, have they let that poor Duo Maxwell go?” He asked fervently. Heero nodded slowly.“Yes. Duo Maxwell walked free from the court earlier today, following your arrest.” Shadwell sat back with a heavy sigh.“Good,” He nodded, visibly relieved. “Good. Well, I did it, Mr Yuy. I shot Zechs Merquise,” He began with controlled vehemence, displaying the first passion he had shown since that of his outburst in court, "And I'm not in the least bit sorry about it. In fact, if he were in this room now, I'd kill him all over again in a heartbeat.”
The Chief Inspector stirred restlessly, as the policeman in him urged him to react to such an admission, but Heero shot him a warning glare, and he reluctantly held his peace."Zechs Merquise was a brat, a bully and a slut,” Shadwell continued, “But sometimes, in unguarded moments, he could also be the nicest person I have ever met. You have to understand people like Zechs and Treize, and the rest of their set. These people are rich - they have had a life of wealth, luxury and privilege. Throughout their lives they have received everything they have ever wanted. They are not accustomed to the word 'no', and they don't take too kindly to hearing it. Treize is not too bad, all things considered. He is a kind and generous employer, but he can be as bad as the worst of them when he wants to be."
 
 
The young man smiled wanly and Heero smiled back sympathetically, as if he understood only too well although in truth, he was one of the breed Shadwell had just been speaking of in rather less than complimentary terms."I first encountered Zechs when I came to work for Treize. He was at the Khushrenada mansion when I arrived on my first day. Treize - He asked me to call him Treize from the word go, so you can see how down-to-earth he was...” Heero had already received a full and detailed account of exactly how 'down-to-earth' Treize Khushrenada was from Trowa, but he nodded and smiled encouragingly. "…Treize showed me to his study and when we got there, Zechs was already there, seated behind the desk - Treize's desk. He was sprawled carelessly on a chair, one heel resting on the edge of the table, no matter that he was rumpling the papers beneath. He looked at me, his eyes following the trajectory of my gaze to where his foot rested on the table. He must have sensed my disapproval, because he fixed me with a hard, challenging stare, as if defying me to make something of it. I looked back at him, holding his gaze, and I thought, 'that young man is trouble'. "Treize introduced him to me as 'Zechs Merquise, an old friend'. The name was familiar to me from his books, of course, not to mention the reports of his exploits in the newspapers. His books were not exactly best sellers, but they were reasonably popular. I have never read one myself so I cannot vouch for them, although I hear that his popularity has soared following his sensational death.
 
 
“Having performed the introductions, Treize then balanced himself on the arm of Zechs' chair and placed an arm around his friend's shoulders. Zechs shifted in his chair and leaned heavily against Treize. He laid a hand on Treize's knee and began to caress it lovingly. Treize proceeded to instruct me in my new duties as if nothing untoward was occurring and indeed, it soon became abundantly clear to me that nothing untoward was. Although I had first wondered whether this little display was for my benefit only, I soon came to realise that this was the norm for the two of them. They never could seem to keep their hands off each other.”"Although Treize introduced Zechs as an old friend, they were much more than that to each other. They were friends and lovers, but their relationship was far from exclusive - at least on Zechs' side. He was what is euphemistically called an adventurer and he tended to spread his favours very thinly. He even scattered a few crumbs in my direction and I, fool that I was, I gathered them in gratefully. You see, although I knew Zechs Merquise for the spoilt, unprincipled, hedonistic young lordling that he was, I was not immune to his undeniable power of attraction. There was something about him - an air of... of danger, as if one always expected something dramatic to happen whenever he was around. He was beautiful, graceful, intelligent and witty, and when he was ready he could charm the birds out of the trees, but the minute things didn't go his way, he could turn into a devil at the drop of a hat. "He ran round with that Bloomsbury set, you know, that Bohemian group of writers, artists and 'thinkers'. They all considered themselves free spirits, unfettered by the petty rules of propriety and convention, and not a one of them with an allowance of less than a hundred thousand a year. It's easy to flout the rules of society when you have an independent income and expectations of inheriting the family fortune. Those of us with a living to earn have to be a bit more circumspect; we have to toe the line or risk losing our jobs by gaining a reputation as a troublemaker."I didn't get a reputation as a troublemaker, but I did put my job at risk by getting involved with Zechs. While I admit that I was attracted to both Zechs and Treize, my dealings with Treize were always strictly professional and above reproach. He never made any advances towards me and I never got the impression that he ever thought of me as anything other than an efficient employee. Zechs, on the other hand, tried to seduce me the first chance he got. I resisted his advances at first because I knew how Treize would react if he ever found out. However innocent or unwilling my part in the affair, I would be the one blamed, not Zechs. But my resolve didn't last long. Zechs was used to getting what he wanted and if he wanted me, try as I might to resist, it was only a matter of time before he had his way. “Truth to tell, I wasn't exactly unwilling. As I said, Zechs was beautiful and alluring, and I was very much attracted to him. I was also wary of him though, and I was right to be. The fact of our affair, plus our relative social positions put me in his power, and he wasted no time in exploiting his ascendancy. I soon repented of my weakness in submitting to Zechs, not only because I feared for my job but also because I liked Treize and I hated deceiving him. As I said, his relationship with Zechs may not have been exclusive, but I don't think Treize would have appreciated sharing his lover with the help overmuch. He trusted us both, and neither of us deserved his faith. That didn't sit well with me at all.
"Of course, Zechs couldn't see a problem at all.'But why does it matter?' He would say irritably, 'Granted, Treize would get a little hot under the collar if he found out, but what of it? Just relax; I know how to handle him.'
"When I tried to tell him that it was not only Treize's feelings I was worried about but also my job, once again he dismissed my fears out of hand as he did with everything that didn't concern him directly.'Your job? You're worried about your job? Oh, for heavens sake man! If he fires you, just get another job. Why make such a fuss about it?'"I just couldn't get him to see the thing from my point of view, but as a man who has never done a hand's turn in his life, I suppose his attitude was understandable. However, I insisted that I could no longer continue our affair and that was when I discovered just how dangerous Zechs Merquise could be.'Okay, run away scared if you want to,' He told me, 'But think on this - I have absolutely nothing to lose if Treize does find out. In fact, it might be rather amusing. Unless, of course, you don't feel quite so conscious-stricken after all?'I was confused for a moment or two, then his meaning became clear - abundantly so. He was threatening me, threatening to tell Treize himself if I ended things between us. “I was alarmed and annoyed, but not greatly surprised. I had always known what Zechs was, what wickedness and cruelty he was capable of. I had never actually seen nor indeed experienced it myself, but I knew it was there. The fact that he could treat his best friend and lover so - betraying him with his own servant - shows the kind of man he was. Once I saw which way the wind was blowing I drew myself up. If Zechs thought he was going to blackmail me into continuing our affair, he had quite another thing coming. I demanded that he speak plainly. Was he or was he not threatening to confess all to Treize.'You know that I could,' He replied, 'You know that all I have to do is open my mouth and you would be out of your precious job like that.' And he snapped his fingers before my face. 'In fact,' He added with a spiteful gleam in his eye, `I ought to make you beg me to keep my mouth shut. On your bended knees too. That'd be a laugh, eh?'“I should have killed him then.” James Shadwell murmured. “If I had, it would have saved a lot of trouble.
“We were in bed in my house. I live in a small, self-contained guest-house in the grounds of the main house. The house comes with the job. It's quite private and has it's own entrance, so I can come and go as I please with no-one to mark my movements. That is how Zechs and I managed to conduct our affair. He would come to me whenever he felt like it, late at night usually, when all at the main house had gone to bed. I was ever mindful that someone might see, that we might be discovered, but he was absolutely fearless. We had just made love and were lying together, enjoying quite a tender moment really, when the conversation turned to my uneasiness about our affair, as it so often did. As soon as he said that about telling Treize, something snapped inside of me, and any feeling I had for him drained immediately away. In a flash I saw how foolish I had been in having so completely placed myself in the power of a man who was totally amoral and completely without scruple. ”I threw him out of my house. I practically picked him up and physically threw him out. I was so angry, and outraged, that I didn't even stop to think about what I was doing. I was naked, and so was he. I didn't even give him the opportunity to get dressed. I dragged him bodily down the stairs and pitched him out onto the lawn. I then went back up to the bedroom and I tossed his clothes out of the window to him. I was so angry that I seemed to have the strength of ten men, and Zechs was so taken aback by my vehemence that he offered me no real resistance, despite the fact that he was a match for me in terms of weight and build. It was then that I noticed something. Zechs' real strength lay in his ability to intimidate by means of his acerbic tongue and his privileged position. In the face of sheer brute strength and physical power, he was as corn before my sickle. "He scrabbled around on the ground for his clothes, glaring up at me as he did so, as I looked down on him from an upper storey window. I had humiliated him and he was furious. I had never seen him so angry. If he hadn't intended to tell Treize about us before, he would certainly do so now. I realised that my actions had probably cost me my job, my home, everything - but not my dignity. Beg him? I would rather die."I watched as he awkwardly pulled on his trousers and thrust his bare feet into his shoes. The rest of his clothes he carried bundled up in his arms. He stood on the lawn looking up at me, and then he smiled, the coldest, most mirthless smile I have ever seen. Then he turned on his heel and stalked off into the darkness. That smile spoke volumes and I knew for certain I was undone. For some reason that cold smile and silent departure put more fear into me than if he had vented his anger verbally which, I have to say, is what I had expected."As it turned out, I wasn't undone after all. Three or four tense days of waiting for the hammer-blow to fall passed, but nothing happened. Everything proceeded as usual, the only difference being that Zechs ceased to visit the house. At first I was suspicious, thinking this silence was merely a ploy by Zechs to lull me into a false sense of security, prior to a strike when I least expected it. However, when time passed and no strike came, I eventually relaxed, forgot about it and got on with my life. Zechs stayed away and one day I made so bold as to ask Treize what had become of his erstwhile lover.'Oh, our Zechs is walking out with a new companion.' He said. 'By all accounts he's' fallen madly in love'. He spoke affably but I knew Treize quite well by this time, and I was able to discern the subtle hint of sorrow and regret in his voice. Zechs' new love was Duo Maxwell. The next time I saw him was after the much-publicised contretemps with his father. He came to us looking for a cheap place for him and Maxwell to move into, since his father had stopped his allowance, and those mediocre books he wrote didn't bring in enough to keep him in the grand style he was accustomed to. From what I heard, it was Maxwell keeping them both, but that might just have been idle gossip. Anyway, they definitely came cap-in-hand looking for cheap accommodation, so things must have been somewhat tight.”As his Private Secretary, I dealt with all of Treize's business affairs, so after the three of them had had lunch together, Treize turned them over to me, having privately briefed me to give them the best apartment available in the block he kept for renting out to family members, friends, etc. This gave me quite a jolt because I had already given away the best apartment - to my own father, Joe Knight. ”My mother and father never married. I was the result of a brief moment of passion when my father, a jobbing tradesman, and my mother, a bored and neglected housewife, found a brief respite from the drudgery of their respective lives in each other's arms. It was impossible for them to be together, but although she was forced to pass me off as the legitimate issue of her husband, for as long as I can remember I have been fully aware of my true parentage and I have always felt a deep affection for my father - my real father. My mother died when I was eighteen and my stepfather, prostrate with grief, followed her a year later. I was left with Joe as my only parent, and I was able to become a real son to him, at last.”Some time after I began to work for Treize, Joe lost his home when his landlord sold his house and the land it was built on to property developers. He was compensated adequately - quite handsomely, in fact, but rents and mortgages were high and he a retired pensioner, and I didn't want him to be subject to crippling living costs. In what I suppose was an abuse of my position, since I omitted to tell Treize about it, I let Joe have the best of Treize's grace and favour apartments. He was paying the going rent, but as Treize kept these apartments for bestowing at his own discretion, the rents were very modest in comparison with the standard of the accommodation, and Joe did extremely well, for a relatively small monthly outlay. All he knew was that his son had secured a luxury flat for him at a very reasonable rent. Joe wasn't stupid though, and he had assumed that I was subsidising his rent from my own pocket. I didn't disabuse him.
 
 
“I didn't tell Joe about what I had done, nor did I tell Treize. There was no harm done, and ne'er would the twain ever meet, so everything was okay - until the day Treize asked me to give the very same apartment to Zechs and Duo. Treize left all his business dealings in my hands, but that didn't mean that he wasn't completely au-fait with his assets. He knew exactly what he had and how much it all brought in, but the day-to-day dealings were left to me. He definitely knew which the best apartment in the block was, and it was this one that he asked me to let to the couple. I say let, but he actually asked me to let them have it rent-free. I had to think on my feet, so I retrieved the keys from the second-best apartment, took a deep breath and hoped for the best. ”Zechs and Duo had both been present when Treize had mentioned the apartment, and they both noticed when I led them to a different flat. I mumbled some excuse; I hardly knew what I said, but amazingly they didn't question me any further. They were both perfectly happy with the apartment I showed them to and that was that - for a while, at least. Joe lived on the floor below Zechs and Duo, and unless they ran into each other in the lift, there was no real reason why they ought to meet each other, let alone speak to each other. The two flats were one directly below the other, and Joe's was considered the better of the two because the living room opened onto a balcony overlooking the formal gardens below.
“Then Zechs and Duo split up, and although Zechs had ostensibly moved in with his sister, Relena, he was at the house quite often, crying on Treize's shoulder. Treize had a cosy little study-cum-library where he and Zechs used to sit and talk whenever Zechs came round. My office was situated in the next room to this one, and there was a communicating door through which, if one held one's ear to the keyhole just so, one could clearly hear what was being said on the other side. Unbeknown to the both of them, I used to listen to their conversations in this way. In fact, I used to listen to all of Treize's `private' conferences in this room. I may have been his man of business, but he by no means told me everything, although I deemed it in my best interests to know everything. This way, I learned quite a lot about the break-up, and Zech's delicate state of mind at the time. In spite of everything, I felt quite sorry for him because he really had been in love with Maxwell, even thought that hadn't been enough to prevent him from putting his foot in his mouth and blowing everything.”I said that Zechs' state of mind at that time was delicate, as it seemed from his conversations with Treize, but that didn't mean that his old antipathy towards me had cooled any. Ever since the end of our own affair he had been cold and aloof towards me, and I had been the same towards him. He never did tell Treize about us, and I could only assume that he had withheld from doing so for some devious reasons of his own, so I didn't feel that I owed him any gratitude for that - no, not at all. I had always felt that he was just biding his time - and so it proved. One day I went down to the apartment to take a look at a stairwell door that some of the tenants had complained was not closing properly and kept banging and disturbing them. While I was there I took the opportunity to pay Joe a quick visit. I stayed with him for an hour or so, then took my leave. Joe saw me to the door, gave me a big hug in the open doorway as he always did, then I left and he closed the door. Imagine my surprise and utter consternation when, before I had taken two steps along the corridor towards the lift, I saw Zechs Merquise leaning insouciantly against the wall, a few feet away from Joe's door.`Well, well, well, what have we here?' He said, and the lascivious smirk on his face told me that he had put two and two together, and come up with five. `I would have said that he was a little old for you James, or have you found yourself a sugar-daddy?' `Don't be disgusting,' I spat, `That's my father!' As soon as the worlds left my mouth, I realised that I had made a grave error. I had opened my mouth before engaging my brain, and that was my undoing. A momentary frown of confusion was immediately replaced by the glow of comprehension, and Zechs' expression became one that I knew of old - and feared, that of cold, pitiless superiority. `Your father, is it?' He said airily. `And in the best apartment, too.' He then gave me a smile that I had last seen as he stood on the lawn outside my house, clad only in trousers and shoes, with his clothes bundled up in his arms. `You know, they say that payback's a bitch.' He said calmly. `I wouldn't know whether that's true, but I guess you're about to find out.' With that, he turned and exited through the fire escape.
”I just stood there, frozen into immobility by shock as I listened to the ring of his shoes on the concrete steps as he descended the stairs, until the fire door closed on its hydraulic hinges, cutting the sound dead. Then my mind began to race and my body to move. I followed Zechs through the fire escape, but I went upstairs to the floor above. Treize was out of town, and would not be back until late, so at least I had some time. At all costs, I had to prevent Zechs from speaking to Treize, and although I probably knew right then exactly how I was going to achieve this, I didn't stop to dwell upon it, lest my nerve fail me. I just moved automatically.
 
 
“As I ascended I felt in my pockets for my skeleton keys. I always carried them when visiting any of Treize's properties for maintenance purposes. When I reached the floor above I walked to the apartment that Duo Maxwell now occupied alone. I knocked on the door, then ran quickly back and stood in the stairwell, out of sight. A full minute passed and no-one answered the door. To be sure, I went through the same procedure again, with the same result. Duo Maxwell was not at home. I had expected as much. Zechs had probably been up to the apartment and had discovered the same as I just had, though why he had been lurking in the corridor of the floor below was more of a mystery.I had no leisure to ponder such questions. I felt in my overcoat pockets and pulled out a pair of soft leather gloves. Pulling them on, I let myself into the apartment. I had heard Zechs mention the place where the gun was kept a day or so ago when he was in Treize's study, wallowing in self-pity as usual.'I should just charge round there, grab that gun from the desk drawer and put a bullet through my brain.' "I very much doubt whether he would ever have had the balls to do it, but thanks to this piece of melodrama, I knew exactly where to get hold of a gun, and I would be happy to oblige.”I pulled open the drawer of the desk and there it was, complete with a box of ammunition, pushed to the back, as if the items were unimportant, in comparison to the profusion of drawing pins, rubber bands, paper clips and pencil sharpeners that filled the rest of the drawer space. I removed the gun, took a handful of bullets, closed the drawer and left the apartment. I dropped both gun and ammunition in to the pocket of my overcoat, then I went down to my car... and waited. ”I knew Duo Maxwell would be back by 9.00 that evening, because Zechs had arranged to see him at that time. Again, I had my trusty keyhole to thank for my information. I know that you only hear of people listening at keyholes in pulp detective fiction, but I can tell you, it really works! My plan was to lie in wait in the corridor until he came out again, always assuming that he did. The last thing I needed was a reconciliation between the two of them and for Zechs not to come out. It was him or me, and I had no qualms - no qualms at all."I felt like a tv detective on a stakeout, sitting in my car watching the flat. I had to stay there though. I couldn't go home, then come back later. I was afraid that I might come to my senses and reason myself out of this drastic course. This was also why I didn't go up to Joes and wait there. I wanted to. My god, I was desperate to, but I knew what would happen. He would notice my agitation, and with concern in his mild, caring eyes, he would beg me to tell him what was bothering me. I would eventually capitulate, not being able to stand his pain at the fact that I was in any way troubled. And then would begin his desperate attempt to talk me round. No, I couldn't risk going up to Joe's flat.
 
 
“As predicted, Maxwell came home at around 6.00pm, struggling with shopping bags from the local food market. Zechs arrived at 9.00pm exactly. I gave him five minutes to get up to the apartment, then I followed him up. I waited in the stairwell for around 10 minutes, until I heard the sound of raised voices. I then approached the door to the apartment, stood outside, and listened. From what I could hear the thing was going badly. This was excellent news from my point of view. Full of cold, desperate resolve, I removed the gun from my pocket, loaded every chamber, then replaced it. Zechs Merquise would receive no mercy from me.
 
 
“I had intended to step out of the stairwell and shoot him as he made his way back to the lift, but he took me unawares. While I was still standing outside the door it opened suddenly and Zechs emerged, slamming it shut behind him. I quickly stepped to one side and flattened myself against the wall, but I was lucky he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts, or else he would have seen me, I'm sure of it. I stepped away from the wall and called Zechs' name. He stopped and turned around… to find the muzzle of the gun pointed directly at his chest. I fired a shot, but inexplicably he remained standing, so I fired another. He fell to earth after the second shot.
 
 
“In reality the shots were probably fired in very quick succession but to me there seemed an age in between. I remember wondering why he was still standing after the first shot. I almost laughed with the ridiculousness of it. I had just shot him at virtually point blank range, and he just stood there looking at me. Actually no - he wasn't looking at me at all. He was looking at the gun. I called his name, he turned round… and looked at the gun in my hand, not at me. Do you know, I don't even think he saw who it was that shot him?”
 
 
At this point, the young man, whose face had been wet with silent tears for the last five minutes of his compelling narrative, broke down, his body convulsed with deep, wracking sobs of a remorse that he had convinced himself he would never feel. Heero Yuy, his heart inexplicably heavy, rose and indicated to the Chief inspector that the interview was over.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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