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A Small Piece of Heaven

Part 28

"Sir?!"

Treize, who was waiting for Milliardo and Wufei to join him at the breakfast table, looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Yes Evans?"

"There is something you need to see, your Excellency."

"What is it?" The duke put down the paper and rose form his chair. He followed the butler through the living room onto the patio.

"I was going to feed the birds when I found this…" Evans gestured toward the birdcage that was standing on a low table.

It was a large, spacious cage, in which Treize kept his canaries. As long as the weather permitted it he left the birds outside during the day as well as the night. They seemed to like the sun and fresh air.

The duke frowned as he stepped closer. His lips turned to a thin line. Every one of the small, yellow and green feathered birds was lying on the bottom of the cage, motionless and stiff. Treize remembered that he had covered the cage last night before he went to bed, just as he always did. Everything seemed fine then.

"Could it be something they ate?" Evans asked quietly.

Treize shook his head, as he opened the latch at the cage's door. "No, I don't think so." He reached out to pick up one of the dead birds. Its tiny head was hanging limply in an odd angle; a drop of blood had dried on its beak. "It looks like their necks were broken."

The gray-haired man gasped. "Who would do something like that?"

"Do something like what?" Milliardo voice came from behind them.

Treize put the bird down and wiped his hands on the cloth that he used to cover the cage with, before he turned around. "Somebody killed my canaries."

"Somebody?" Wufei's echoed. "How do you know it wasn't some kind of predator; a wild cat or raccoon maybe?"

"I have never come across a predator that closes the cage door behind itself. Besides a wild animal would have eaten the birds and not just killed them."

"What are you suggesting then, Master?" Milliardo asked.

"I can't be sure, but it looks to me like somebody is trying to send me a message; a warning of some sort."

"Should I call the police, your Excellency?" Evans asked.

The duke shook his head. "I don't think there is anything the police can do. We should not waste their time over a few dead birds. Evans, please have somebody remove them and clean the cage." He turned toward his slaves. "Let's go inside and have breakfast, shall we?"

Milliardo and Wufei exchanged a long look before they followed their master inside. Treize excused himself and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

*****

After breakfast Milliardo went to the stable to take Noble to the jumping range, like he did every day. When he got back a good hour later, Wufei was waiting for him.

"Milliardo, do you have any money? I need to borrow some."

The blond slave frowned. "How can you be broke already, the master gave us our allowances only two days ago."

"I bought some books. They are not cheap you know," Wufei replied defensively.

"Hmmm…How much do you need?"

"I'm not sure," the younger slave shrugged. "How much do you think a pair of canaries would cost?"

Milliardo looked at Wufei with a mixture of surprise ad curiosity in his eyes. The youth blushed slightly. "I thought…I just…Well, for some reason that is beyond my understanding, the master loved those birds. He might not show it, but I'm sure he is upset about their death. I thought that it might make him feel better if he gets some new ones."

Milliardo couldn't help but smile. It was such a sweet gesture. Even if Wufei seemed embarrassed to admit it, he did care for Treize. "I'm not sure either how much birds cost. But why don't we go and find out? Let me ask the master if he needs us this morning."

The blond walked upstairs to Treize's study and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The duke was sitting behind his desk as Milliardo entered.

"You are already back?"

"Yes," the blond slave nodded. "Noble didn't look very enthusiastic, so I decided to cut training short today. I was wondering if you need me this morning. Otherwise I would like to take Wufei into town."

"That will be fine. How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not sure yet," Milliardo shrugged. "A few hours perhaps. I'll take the Ferrari."

"No!"

The blond frowned. "Why not?"

"Because, every time that you are behind the wheel of that car you developed a sudden case of lead foot," Treize replied.

"That's not true," Milliardo objected.

"Milliardo," his master gave him a stern look. "I just paid for three tickets that you got last month. So don't tell me you are not speeding."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have paid for them myself."

"That's not the point. Take the Mercedes."

"Yes, Master." The young man replied obediently, as he turned to leave. "We will see you later then."

Treize nodded. "Have fun, but be careful."

***

The duke stared at the door long after it had closed behind Milliardo.
He was more concerned about the incident with his birds than he cared to admit. He had made many enemies in his lifetime. If one of them was out to hurt him, there was no easier way to do that than by harming Milliardo or Wufei.

The phone on the desk ripped Treize from his thoughts. He reached out and pushed the receiver button. The video display flickered to life and Captain Kurama's face appeared on the screen. "Captain, what a surprise."

Rashid gave the duke a curt nod. "Colonel, I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

"Of course not, don't be silly." Treize made a dismissive gesture, as he leaned back in his high-backed leather chair. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering… The last time we talked, when you visited me at my office, you mentioned that you were looking to hire an accountant or assistant. Have you found one already?"

Treize grimaced. "To tell the truth, I really haven't had much time to look yet. Why do you ask?"

"Because I might have exactly what you are looking for."

"A slave?" the duke asked skeptically. "Captain, please don't get me wrong, but I wasn't really thinking of buying another slave. I'm looking for somebody who has certain skills and expertise."

"I assure you, Treize that the young man is more than qualified to do the job. Until recently he has been working as the personal assistant for Mr. Winner of Winner Enterprises. He is intelligent and highly educated. He is also extremely well trained and cultured. You could be sure that he would not embarrass you in public."

"So what's the catch?" Treize asked suspiciously.

"No catch at all."

The duke snorted. "Come on, Captain. I wasn't born yesterday. You just painted the picture of the ideal slave, so why can't you find somebody to buy him."

"Who said that can't sell him?" Rashid replied. "The truth is that I don't want to sell him to just anybody. I want to make sure that he gets a master who treats him well; somebody like you."

Treize frowned. Why do I have the feeling there is more to this young man than you are telling me? "And why is that?"

The captain hesitated for a moment before he sighed. "Can we meet somewhere over lunch and talk in person? My treat."

"Only if I can chose where we eat." Treize smirked. "The last time you invited me for lunch I almost killed my taste buds."

Rashid laughed. "It wasn't that spicy."

"Perhaps not for you," the duke retorted. "It took me almost a full day before I was able to taste anything again."

"Fine, where do we meet?"

"There is a little French Bistro at the D'Armes Plaza. Let's meet there at half past twelve."

"I know where that is." The captain nodded, as he glanced at his watch. "I'll see you in two hours then."

*****

Treize was nothing if not curious. He had always know Rashid to take his job very serious, but usually the captain didn't allow himself to become personal involved in the cases. Somehow the duke had the feeling that there was more to this story than he had heard so far.

Rashid had mentioned the name Winner when he spoke about the young slave; a name associated with wealth, influence and power. The Winner family not only owned Winner Enterprises, one of the largest businesses in outer space, but also called an entire colony at L4 their own. Winner was known as a devoted pacifist, and if Treize remembered correctly he had even considered a political carrier at one point. His name was mentioned frequently on the news, but never had there been as big of a story as last week, when the report came in that his private shuttle had crushed, killing everybody aboard. There were plenty of rumors and speculations as to the cause of the crash, but officially it was still under investigation.

"Am I late?"

The duke looked up and gave his friend a polite smile. "No, I was a little early."

Rashid took a seat across from Treize. The two men ordered their lunch and spent the time until the food came with small talk. After the waiter had left Rashid pulled a photograph from his pocket and handed it to his old friend.

"Is that him?" Treize asked, as he scrutinized the picture of a young man, seventeen or eighteen years of age, with golden blond hair and blue eyes.

The captain nodded. "His name is Quatre."

"So, what is his story? You said he worked for the Winner family?"

Rashid gave another nod. "For Mister Winner more precisely. It's a rather long story that goes back almost twenty years to when his wife died. Back then he purchased a female house slave to look after his daughters. About a year later she became pregnant with Quatre. Unfortunately she died shortly after his birth…"

"Is he his son?"

"Well, Winner never acknowledged publicly or officially that Quatre was his son, but the way how he raised him, and had him educated says enough. It looks to me like he was grooming him to take over the company some day."

"So, why is he being sold now?" Treize wanted to know.

"Apparently Winners daughters, or at least some of them, resented the fact that their father found comfort with another woman, so shortly after their mother's dead. That resentment seems to extent to their half-brother..."

The duke snorted. "And I always thought my family was bad. Evidently blood isn't thicker than water after all."

"Especially if this kind of money and power is involved," Rashid replied bitter.

*****

Evans was just coming down the stairs when Milliardo and Wufei walked through the front door. The younger slave was carrying a small cardboard box in his hand. He was holding it carefully and tried not to shake it too much as he was walking.

"Evans, was the birdcage already brought up into the attic?" Milliardo wanted to know.

"No, I had it cleaned and it is standing outside to dry right now," the old man explained.

"Excellent. I think we still need it." The blond gestured at the package in Wufei hands. "Is the master home?"

The butler nodded. "He is sitting in the drawing room. I was just getting ready to serve his afternoon tea, would you like me to add two additional cups?"

"Yes. Thank you, Evans."

The door to the drawing room was open. The duke was sitting by the window, reading the paper. Milliardo cleared his throat as he entered the room, as to not to started him. "Master."

"Ah, Milliardo, Wufei," Treize smiled at them. "Did you have a nice day?"

"Yes," Wufei nodded, as he walked over to where his master was sitting. "We brought you something."

The duke looked at the box in the young man's hand, then up into Wufei's face. "That's for me?" he asked surprised.

The dark-haired slave gave another nod. "It's from both of us."

"What is it?" Treize took the package. He could feel something move in it, then a quiet chirping sound. At that moment he also noticed that there were small holes in the top of box. He opened the lid carefully and smiled at the sight of two delicate little canaries. One of them was yellow the other green. Treize closed the lid again and looked up at his slaves. "They are beautiful. Thank you so much."

"It really was Wufei's idea." Milliardo said. "I just went along for the ride."

The younger slave flushed slightly, and stared at his shoes.

Treize smiled softly. That was just like his little Dragon, to be embarrassed for being thoughtful. "Let's go and put them into their cage," he suggested. "This time we will keep them inside or on the upstairs veranda where they are safe."

"How was your day, Master?" Milliardo asked as they left the drawing room together.

"Very nice, actually," his master replied. "I had lunch with Rashid. Which reminds me…? There is something I need to talk to the two of you about."

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T.B.C.

Author's Note: As you noticed in this fic Quatre and his (half) sisters don't have the same mother.

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