Diell Breaker (LGBT- Sci-Fi - Romance)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30 

Shehu was feeling relaxed and energised at the same time. He stretched luxuriously, still on his stomach, naked on the bed and looked sideways at Petrov who was staring down at him, breathing harder than usual after his exertions. He saw the heat in his eyes, he wasn't the only one who had enjoyed that massage and wondered if he could tempt him to change his mind. 

"I think I should make a start on my apologies. Five you said?" Shehu smiled, lazily provocative. 

He watched as the tip of Petrov's tongue came out to touch his bottom lip for a second. "We shouldn't, you're supposed to rest." He protested half heartedly. 

"Is there one which is not too ... strenuous?" asked Shehu persuasively. "What's the first one?" 

Petrov gave a slightly self-conscious laugh, "Fairly predictable I think. It starts with you, naked on your knees in front of me." 

"Mm," Shehu rather liked the sound of that, but Petrov was still considering.  

Suddenly his lips curved in a wicked smile, "But I think we should go with number five. You are in exactly the right position for that one, don't move a centimetre. I'll do all the work for both of us!" 

He started unfastening his pants. 

XXX 

Lieutenant Cheung sent messages to both Shehu and Petrov but they were apparently off duty for the moment, and neither responded. He sent a second message, asking them to contact him about making a statement when they could and then called Rhys. He had already heard his version of events at the time of his rescue but now he needed to get all the details properly recorded. 

Rhys was working in the kitchen but was able to arrange a time to meet with Cheung in an hour. He was still debating exactly how much to tell him, when he arrived outside the room Cheung had commandeered for his investigations. 

"Come in Owen," Cheung invited. "The Captain has put me in charge of gathering the evidence for your kidnapping. I know we talked about what happened at the time, but now I need to take down your statement officially." He gestured for Rhys to take a seat in front of the console unit, next to him. "Now the way this works is simple, I'll ask you a question and you answer it as best you can. If you don't know the answer, just say so. This will be a live continual recording so once we start, we don't stop until the end." Rhys looked nervously at the console unit, as if it was going to bite him. 

"Don't be too concerned," Cheung continued reassuringly, "If either of us makes a really big mistake we can stop and start again from the beginning. Alright? Any questions?" 

Rhys shook his head. 

"It's best if you answer verbally," Cheung gently corrected. "The console unit is recording you of course, but the courts seem to prefer verbal responses." 

"Right," Rhys answered, clearing his throat. "Um, no. No questions, that is." 

"Okay then," Cheung started the interview again. "I am Lei Cheung, First Lieutenant on the passenger ship Voyager and I am interviewing Rhys Owen, currently employed as a steward on the same ship, the Voyager." 

He then proceeded through a series of questions identifying Rhys and his previous connection to Petersen before leading him through the events of the night he was kidnapped. 

"So, you were having a drink in the Three Suns. What caused you to leave and go outside? What happened?" 

"I received a message on my wristcom from a friend, asking me to meet him outside, behind the building, we'd met there before." Rhys had got used now to the rather stilted format of giving evidence. "I went into the restroom to freshen up, then I went outside to meet my friend. It would have been around 21:15 because while I was waiting I tried to call Alexei, Lieutenant Petrov I mean, and that was at 21:20. I wanted to tell him that I thought I'd seen Sam Petersen in the town, but he hid from me when I turned around to get a better look. It freaked me out rather, but I couldn't get through, he was blocking my calls," did that sound too pathetic? 

He took a sip of water from the glass on the table. "My friend turned up then and we had a conversation, maybe five minutes and then he left. I was standing there, thinking about things when I heard a noise. I thought it was J- my friend returning, but it wasn't, it was Sam." He swallowed, the memory of his ex-lover looming up out of the darkness was still enough to bring back the fear. He looked at Cheung. "I don't remember anything else until I woke up in that hole." 

He expected Cheung to question him further about his friend and their meeting, but the other man continued with what had happened next, following the chronology of the imprisonment and subsequent rescue. Only when he reached the point where Rhys had been taken to the medical clinic did he go back to clarify a few points. He asked for more details about the time Rhys had seen Sam in the town, or thought he had, and then he asked him straight out. 

"Who is the man you met behind the Three Suns? Apart from corroborating your evidence, he may have seen something relevant." 

Rhys hesitated for a moment. "I can't tell you, it's private."  

Cheung let that go for the moment. "What did he want to see you about?" 

"I thought it was a date, but it wasn't." He stopped, twisting his hands in his lap. 

"What was it then?" Cheung asked patiently. 

"He wanted to break up with me!" Rhys blurted. 

"He was your lover?" the Lieutenant was not surprised, it had seemed obvious to him the moment he heard the waiter's evidence that Rhys had gone into the restroom 'to spruce himself up'. 

"Well, we ...yes, we were lovers, for a short time" Rhys answered, stretching the truth somewhat. "He's an om, but he doesn't acknowledge it, no-one knows." 

"I think it would be best if you gave me his name," Cheung felt obliged to ask. "I can turn off the console recording if you prefer. Then I can talk to him in private first, explain the need for his evidence."  

Cheung waited for a minute to see if Rhys would answer, then opened his mouth to end the recording. 

"It was Jake Farrell, Captain Farrell of the Diell," Rhys took the plunge. They needed Jake's testimony he told himself, it was his duty to give Cheung the information. Jake would just have to take his chances.