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Author's note: I'm re-writing this and the next chapter completely. Somehow I was never quite happy with it from the beginning. Hope you like the changes.

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A Small Piece of Heaven - Part 9

A white town-car picked up the duke and his slave at the airfield and dropped them off at the entrance of the registration building at the brand new equestrian center just outside of Vienna.

A cute little, redhead smiled at the two men, from behind the counter in the lobby. "How may I help you, Sir?" she asked

"I made reservations," the duke answered, as he handed her his registration number. "The name is Khushrenada, Treize Khushrenada."

"Oh yes, your Excellency. I have your information right here. Just a moment please." While the computer finalized the registration process she handed the ex-colonel a couple of items.

"These are your show IDs. You will need them to get through the security gates. Make sure you have them with you at all times. And here you have your stable assignments and event calendar."

"Thank you," Treize replied. "And please let me know when my horses get here."

She nodded. "Of course, your Excellency. We will call you as soon as the transport has landed. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know." And with a smile in Milliardo's direction she added. "My name is Katherine."

He answered with a polite smile of his own, before he followed his master to the limousine. It was only a short drive to the house that Treize had rented. When the equestrian center was developed, some smart investor had bought the adjacent land and built a few dozen small, but luxurious houses.

***

Officer Carter had parked his patrol-jeep near the stables. He was talking to his rookie partner when their commanding officer pulled up across the street. The dark-haired man climbed out of his own vehicle and walked over to the two security guards.

"Hansen and Schwartzberger have started their shift, so you guys can go hit the shower," he told them.

"Good," McKenzie, the younger of the two officers answered. "I can't wait to get home. This has been one crazy day."

"Crazy?" Carter laughed. "You have seen nothing yet, kid. Wait until tomorrow. It's going to be a madhouse."

His partner shrugged. "I don't get it anyway," he admitted. "The people who are allowed to get near the stables have already been through a security check. So why do we have to patrol this area? Isn't that overkill?"

"Not if consider that some of the horses in those stables are worth more than the three of us together make in a year," the Lieutenant replied. He turned toward the older officer and asked. "Hey Carter, somebody who has been working here as long as you have probably knows many of the horse owners by name."

"Just those who come regularly."

"What about that guy over there, the one with the tawny hair?" The Lieutenant gestured toward the stables. "He looks somewhat familiar."

"That's Treize Khushrenada."
"Colonel Treize Khushrenada?" McKenzie exclaimed. "I imagined him to be a lot older. My brother in law served under him during the war."

"Yep, that's him," the older man confirmed. "He is here for every show. I've heard he donated half a million credits to the war orphan fund at last year's fundraising event."

"Geez, must be nice to have that kind of change to spare," McKenzie snorted. "If I had that much money I would buy a nice house and finally get married."

"Are you nuts?" Carter laughed. "If I had that kind of money I would leave my wife and go on a long vacation somewhere in the pacific."

The Lieutenant was barely listening. His eyes never left the duke and the longhaired blond slave next to him. "Well," Carter finally said. "We will be heading back to the station. Are you coming, Lieutenant?"

The other man shook his head. "Müller called in sick; I'm doing a double shift. See you guys tomorrow morning."

***

Across the square, near the entrance to the stables Treize, with Milliardo by his side, was talking to his stable master. The three men had just finished unloading the horses and moving them into their assigned stalls.

"It seems like Noble is getting used to flying. He looks a lot calmer than he did on his first few trips." Milliardo remarked.
"Yes, I thought so too." Treize nodded, before he turned to his stable master. "Let Napoleon rest for today, but I think you should take him out tomorrow and Thursday morning before the judges see him." Treize told Martin.

"Definitely a good idea," Martin nodded in agreement. "He is full of energy. I had trouble getting him into onto the transport."

Treize shook his head. "No, I think

"What about Diablo?" Milliardo asked. "It looked like he was limping slightly on his left hind leg when I got him off the shuttle, but he seemed to walk it off."

"I'll keep an eye on him." the stable master answered.

The duke nodded. He knew the mounts were in able hands. Like Evans, Martin had been working for the Khushrenada family since long before Treize was born. He knew more about horses than anybody else Treize knew.

"If there is any sign of an injury we will pull him out of the competition. I'll check on him tomorrow evening and make my final decision."

As usual Treize had arrived early for the Royal International Horse Show in Austria. The two extra days not only allowed the horses to recover from the stress of traveling and get accustomed to their unfamiliar surroundings before the show started, but it also gave the duke some well deserved leisure time. Although there were a couple of social events he needed to attend, all in all Treize intended to spend a lot of quality time with Milliardo. He had managed to reserve tickets to the Vienna Opernhouse, and was looking forward to visit the Imperial Gala night, at the Spanish Riding School, where some of the world's finest Lipizzaner Stallions were kept and trained.

***

As his two colleague drove off, the Lieutenant walked back to his jeep and climbed behind the wheel.
From inside the patrol car the Lieutenant watched as the duke and Milliardo left the stables. He turned on his two-way radio and called the dispatcher.

"Lilly, I need some information on one of the guests. The name is Treize Khushrenada."

"Just a moment, Lieutenant," a female voice came back over the speaker. "Is there a problem?"

"There was a little mess up with the ID numbers." The Lieutenant lied. "I just want to crosscheck them to make sure everything is okay, that's all."

***

After their return from the stables Milliardo had made tea for his master and him. Then the two men settled down in the living room; Milliardo with a book, the duke with the newspaper.
Treize looked up to check the clock on the wall, and folder up his paper.

"I have to get ready. I have a business luncheon to attend in an hour."

Milliardo frowned. "A luncheon? At almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon."

"Alright, so it is a late luncheon," The duke laughed, as he rose from his chair.
He went upstairs to shower and change. When he came back came down the stairs about twenty minutes later, Milliardo still was curled up in one of the velvet chairs in the living room, reading. The young man was so absorbed in his book he didn't even notice his master approaching. Treize smirked as he stopped behind the blond, dipped his head and nuzzled the young man's neck.

The unexpected assault startled Milliardo. He almost jumped and dropped his book. "Don't do that, Master. You almost gave me a heart attack."

His protest was cut short when his master claimed his mouth in a searing kiss. The blond moaned softly and he parted his lips to allow the ex-colonel access.

Treize smiled, as he finally broke their kiss. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist. It's not my fault that you look so utterly delicious. So, what are you going to do while I'm gone?"

The blond slave shrugged. "I think I'll go and see if Martin needs some help, perhaps take Noble out for a little while."

The duke nodded in agreement. "Make sure to be back by six. We are going to go out tonight. I'll call you later."

"Where are we going?"

"That, my fair-haired angel is a surprise."

"I love surprises." The blond slave smiled.
"I know you do." Treize claimed Milliardo's mouth once more for a final affectionate kiss. "Now behave while I'm gone."

"Don't worry," Milliardo replied dryly. "If I get bored I can always call up the little redhead, you know the one that winked at me earlier in the registration lobby. Maybe she can come over and keep me some company."

"Milliardo," he ex-colonel warned with a low growl. "Keep it up and I'll put you over my knee."

"Promise?" The blond asked with an innocent smile.
You really know which buttons to push, don't you? Treize thought. Luckily at that moment his Limousine pulled up, and allowed him to make a tactical retreat.

Milliardo was still smiling when the door closed behind his master. He picked up his book, gazed at the clock and curled up in his chair again.

***

Noble was nibbling peacefully on his hay when Milliardo entered the stable. He lifted his head and walked over to the door to greet the young man. Milliardo offered him a carrot treat.
The colt was nearly a year now. Six month ago he had entered his first national horseshow. He had only won third place, because the judges found that his back was a little too extended and his neck not quite long enough.

Milliardo would be lying if he said that he wasn't disappointed. To him Nobel was the most beautiful horse in the world. He felt better thought, after his master had told him that Napoleon didn't even win as much as a ribbon until he was almost two years old. It wasn't until he started to compete as a jumper that he got the attention he deserved, and now he was the uncontested king in dressage and English riding disciplines. Napoleon was born to be a show horse; it just took the judges a little longer to see that. And perhaps the same was true for Noble. What he lacked in appearance he made more than up for in grace and temperament. Already now, he was prancing more than he was walking, moving his legs like an invisible rider was guiding him.

Although Noble didn't win gold in the national show, his third place qualified him to enter this international competition.

And this time, Milliardo thought, we are going to make sure that the judges will see you from your best side.

He gave the colt another treat before he reached for the bridle that was hanging on the wall. The moment Milliardo opened the stall door Nobel nudged him impatiently.

"Easy now." The young man laughed. "I know you want to run, and you will, but first things first."
Milliardo slipped the track over the colt's head, and led him outside the stall. Many of the corrals behind the stable buildings were empty, since most of the horses wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. The blond let Noble to one of the enclosures and let him free. As the mount galloped off he bucked and jumped like a playful foal.

Milliardo allowed him to run for a good half an hour before he called him back.

***

Milliardo had no idea that he was being followed as he walked home from the stable; that in fact he had been watched and followed all afternoon.

The blond slave ran his keycard through the lock and entered the house. It was only a quarter to six, but he checked the answer machine anyway, in case his master had called earlier and he had missed that call. He was jus about to go upstairs to take a shower when somebody knocked at the door. Milliardo frowned as he turned around. From where he was standing he could see through the window on top of the door, and he noticed a patrol car parked in the driveway. It wasn't a police car, but the one of the grey and blue jeeps the security guards at the equestrian center were driving.

The young man walked to the door and opened. His eyes went wide and he paled as he recognized the uniformed visitor.

"Hello, Milliardo, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Commander Phillips, what are you doing here?!"

"Now, is that a way to greet an old friend?" Phillips mocked. "You and I used to be so close. Don't you remember?"

Milliardo flushed in humiliation. How could he not remember? Phillips had made his life a living nightmare for many months. Milliardo had hoped that he would never see the man again. "What are you doing here?" he repeated, warily.

"You and I will be taking a little drive," Phillips told him in a voice that turned the blood in his veins to ice.

The blond slave swallowed and instinctively took a step backward, as the lieutenant directed a stun gun at his head.

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T.B.C.

Author's Note:

Feedback is greatly appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome :-)