Avery's Desire Pt. 13

"That's bullshit." Trash frowned. "We all know who did this. What more do they need?"

Boomer looked at him and sighed. "Proof. A witness. So far only Avery can tell them exactly what happened but since he hasn't woken up yet all they can go by is the evidence. They'll know more once the lab comes back with the DNA but until then they really got nothing. Anything we tell them is just hearsay."

"What are the doctors saying?" Kat asked. "Is he likely to regain consciousness anytime soon?"

Boomer shrugged. "They don't really know. One has said he could wake up at any time, another said it could be weeks. At this point I think they're just guessing. Right now, all we can do is wait and see."

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Hanson walked in and sat down at the table across from Mikey. He sat a Styrofoam cup in front of him. The steam rising from the cup told Mikey that it was probably a cup of coffee. Hanson had offered him one but Mikey refused. What he could go for now though was a nice cold beer and a cigarette.

"How much longer are you planning to keep me here?" Mikey asked angrily. It had been hours since they'd picked him up; Hours and hours of questions, accusations, and bullshit tactics that the cops always used when trying to break suspects. Mikey wasn't falling for their tricks though. He knew the game and he wasn't about to crack. He just had to hold out a while longer and he was home free.

"Until I get some answers." Hanson eyed him coolly.

"I told you everything I know." Mikey sneered.

"Really?" Hanson raised an eyebrow as he starred at the young man. He didn't believe a word the punk told him but he couldn't go by his gut alone. He had to have proof before he could make an official arrest and so far that proof was so thin it was transparent.

Still, Hanson knew he had the right the man. The evidence was circumstantial at best but when he pieced together what had happened, it all pointed to Mikey. He had the motive and the opportunity and there were more than enough witnesses who had seen the deterioration of Mikey's relationship with Avery. Plus, Mikey had a tempter, a violent tempter at that. He fit the profile. The idea that Avery had been abducted and attacked by a stranger and then dumped off at the hospital just didn't hold water.

This type of crime was personal, not random. A stranger would have broken in and robbed him, though that seemed unlikely since neither Avery nor Rick really had anything of much value. It was obvious from the crime scene though that robbery was not the motive. The things that were of any value, like Avery's lap top, credit card, and bank card weren't even touched.

If it had been random, the perpetrator would have knocked Avery out, possibly killed him though that seemed unlikely as well. Why turn a misdemeanor into a felony? The fact that Avery had been taken from his home and assaulted so savagely suggested that he knew his attacker, and that the crime was a deliberate attempt to make Avery suffer.

There was no doubt in Hanson's mind that Mikey had done this to Avery to teach him a lesson, or at the very least to get back at Avery for rejecting him. In Mikey's mind his actions were justified by his own feelings of betrayal. He had loved Avery, Avery had dumped him, and so Mikey retaliated in the only way that he knew how. It didn't make it right, but it gave Hanson some insight into how Mikey worked. That in itself could be enough to give Hanson the upper hand, if he could appeal to the side of Mikey that still had feelings for Avery.

"Something tells me that you know more about Avery's disappearance than you've let on. So let me tell you what I know. The apartment that Avery and Rick share was broken into sometime around midnight. There was a fight which we believe resulted in Avery being seriously injured possibly knocked unconscious. He was then taken from the apartment and brought to an isolated area where he was beaten, sexually assaulted, and disfigured.

Afterwards he was taken to the local hospital and dumped off in front of the emergency room doors, which tells me that the assailant didn't want him dead, he just wanted him to suffer. To me, that sounds like it was someone that he knew, or someone that maybe started to feel some guilt over what he had done. Those are the facts. Now, let me tell you what I think.

I think that you and Avery were involved, you cared about him a great deal, and you felt betrayed when he ended things between you. To make matters worse, you were ejected from your band, and then you found out that Avery and your best friend had started a relationship. You were probably feeling pretty shitty. Rejected, used, cast aside and replaced by someone younger, better looking, more talented. That must have really stung."

Hanson leaned back in his chair and watched the expression on Mikey's face change from mild amusement, to shock, to total rage. He'd definitely struck a nerve, which was what he had been going for the whole time. It wouldn't be long before Mikey cracked. Hanson just had to keep chipping away at him a little longer.

Mikey rolled his eyes as he slouched down, crossing his arms over his chest. "You have your facts messed up, pig. I dumped Avery's ass. I'd gotten what I wanted out of him. He was damaged goods anyway, and as far as me being thrown out of the band, man I left their sorry asses! They were going nowhere. I was the only talent they had and without me they were sunk. Why the hell you think they called in Cole Rhoads?

So, if you're looking for motive, you're barking up the wrong tree. You think I'm pissed off that Rick picked up my sloppy seconds?" Mikey laughed. "Hell, I should thank him. He finally got that little shit off my back. Avery was doing nothing but stalking and harassing me, not the other way around! He couldn't deal with the fact that I was over him. Actually, maybe you should be looking at Rick."

"Rick?" Hanson raised an eyebrow. "I've already ruled him out as a suspect. Why do you think Rick would have done this?"

Mikey shrugged. "Anger, jealousy. Maybe Avery wasn't over me after all. Maybe he was planning to leave Rick and come crawling back to me. Not that it would have done him any good but maybe he told Rick that he was madly in love with me and just couldn't live without me so Rick beat the shit out of him to teach him a lesson. Hell, maybe Rick just had enough of his bullshit, who knows."

Hanson scratched his chin as he considered what Mikey was telling him. "See, the problem with that theory is that Rick doesn't look good for this. I've spoken with him, extensively. I've spoken with his friends and with the neighbors and there is just nothing that would lead me to believe that Rick would do anything to harm Avery.

You on the other hand have history with him. I have witnesses that can corroborate Rick's claims that you've been stalking Avery, and if you honestly think for one second that I believe you dumped Avery or that Avery is still hung up on you then you're a bigger idiot than I originally took you for. I know the kind of guy you are Mikey, I've seen your kind before, many many times.

Your angry, you have an inferiority complex so you try to compensate by pretending to be some big shot and throwing your weight around. You think people respect you but in reality they only fear you. You're a blow hard, a temperamental, spoiled brat and one of these days you're going to meet someone bigger and tougher than you, who you won't be able to push around and control. When that day comes, you're going to get your face smashed in, or worse!"

Mikey sneered at Hanson. He didn't like this guys attitude. He knew he was just trying to intimidate him, but it was more than just that. When Hanson looked at Mikey, Mikey felt like the guy was judging him. He looked at Mikey like he thought he was nothing more than a piece of shit that he'd scraped off the bottom of his shoe on the way into the station. He looked down on Mikey and Mikey hated that. This guy was no better than him. He wasn't anyone special. Cop or not, he was just some tired, old man with a chip on his shoulder and he was taking out his frustrations on Mikey.

'That's always the way it goes.' Mikey thought. 'I'm always being singled out, like I got some fucking target painted on my back. That's why I can't ever get ahead in this world. Everyone's against me. they're all trying to destroy me.' He glared at Hanson hard as he watched him from across the table. Hanson was silent for once. Mikey was thankful for that. The guys voice was starting to get on his nerves but most of all, he was sick of hearing about poor Avery. Why was everyone always worried about stupid Avery?

Hanson looked up once or twice as he shuffled through some papers that he had inside the manila folder he'd laid on the table earlier. The silence stretched out between them in an unsettling way. Hanson wasn't done with Mikey yet, but he was being too quiet. Mikey supposed that the old man was just letting Mikey stew. Hoping that his words had sunk in and made an impression. They hadn't, of course. Mikey brushed the words aside and dismissed them as quickly as he'd dismissed the pained look of horror on Avery's face, or the cries and pleas for mercy from the boy.

Maybe a part of him- a very small part- felt bad for Avery, but that part he dismissed as well. What good did feeling sorry for him do? What's done is done. Besides, in Mikey's mind, Avery got exactly what he deserved. It was justice in Mikey's mind, self-preservation. Avery had tried to hurt him, Mikey just made sure that he hurt Avery first.

Hanson had had enough of listening to this punk bitch and moan about how hard things were for him and how everyone was out to get him. It was pathetic. He took no responsibility for any of his actions and what was worse, he blamed his victims for his own actions against them. Victims, Hanson was sure there were more. Avery certainly wouldn't have been the first, but Hanson was going to make damn sure that he was the last.

Opening the folder, Hanson picked up a small stack of photographs that had been taken earlier. All of them were of Avery and his injuries. Each image showing a new level of cruelty as the story unfolded. It had started with a beating, but that wasn't enough for Mikey. Avery hadn't suffered near enough to satisfy Mikey's blood lust. After the initial beating Mikey took Avery to a secluded place where the boy had been strung up and used as a punching bag.

He was then thrown to the ground and kicked several times in the back and around the hips, chest and abdomen. Mikey wasn't finished there though. He'd decided to add insult to injury with a forced hair cut, something that had been a common punishment in the Victorian era, that was meant to shame or humiliate. It was a cruel means of asserting total control over a person, showing just how helpless they are against their attacker. The reasoning behind Mikey's actions was a very good indication of what he was attempting to do or "teach" Avery. Mikey wanted Avery to know that he was in control, and that there was nothing Avery could do about it.

After Avery had been beaten, broken, disfigured and shamed, Mikey further attempted to humiliate the boy by forcing himself on him. Hanson wasn't entirely sure, but he hoped that Avery had been unconscious by that time. Though even then, it would do little to ease the agony he was going to feel when he finally regained consciousness.

The images depicted in each photograph were hard to take in, but Hanson wanted Mikey to really see the aftermath of what he had done. He wasn't sure if seeing the pictures would affect Mikey in the way that he hoped, but if there was even one shred of humanity in the man, there would be no way that he could stare in the face of such cruelty and not feel something.

Hanson smoothed the pictures out in front of Mikey, lining them up one by one, each image a little more disturbing than the last. Mikey looked across the table at the older man and raised an eye-brow.

"What are those?" He asked him.

"Look at them." Hanson told him. "This is the result that you wanted isn't it? You wanted to destroy him, see him beaten and weak. You wanted to hurt him, well, you did. So take a good look at your handy work. This is what you did to someone that you claim to have loved. " Hanson slammed his hand down on the table in front of Mikey, causing Mikey to flinch. "I said look at the damn pictures!" He yelled.

Mikey narrowed his eyes and starred at Hanson hard. The cop leaned back in his seat, silently watching. If looks could kill Hanson would have been dead long ago but still, the look in Mikey's eyes at that moment sent chills down the man's spine. After a long, drawn out silence, Mikey finally diverted his gaze from the man before him to the pictures laid out on the table in front of him. He knew the boy in the pictures, he'd seen him many times, but looking at the photographs now, Avery was nearly unrecognizable.

It had been dark in the field. Even with the flash lights they had, it was dark. Mikey hadn't really seen the extent of the damage they had done to Avery, especially through the blood that had stained his face, but now it was too visible and staring him in the face. Avery had been beautiful, almost angelic in his appearance. An androgynous beauty that could stir up desires in men that they didn't even know existed. His soft, innocent and child like face had first captured Mikey's attention the first night he'd heard him sing and it was then that Mikey knew he wanted him.

He was always so proud to walk into a room with Avery on his arm. He was the envy of everyone in the room and he knew it. That was what Mikey craved the most, the attention that he got and the jealous stares of others who knew that Avery was his and was off limits. But, what he saw in the pictures now was not the same boy that he'd seen that night. What he was looking at now was something gruesome and distorted. The beauty he'd once been was replaced by something brutal and almost inhuman. Avery was unconscious in the pictures, but Mikey could still see the pain etched into his features. He remembered that look all to well. The pain and fear that Avery experienced that night was something neither he nor Mikey would soon forget.

Mikey wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling as he looked over the photographs. Anger maybe. Anger at his two idiot accomplices. If they had done their job correctly, Mikey would be looking at pictures of a corpse now and not a boy laying unconscious in a hospital room. He clenched his fists as he did his best to force back his emotions, but he was suddenly seething. Why did he leave it up to those morons to finish Avery off? He should have done it himself, then dumped the body someplace no one would find it. If he'd handled this himself, he wouldn't be sitting here now, answering this over inflated cops ridiculous questions.

He looked down at the pictures again and really studied them hard. He should be feeling some kind of relief shouldn't he? This was what he wanted. He had set out to hurt Avery, to teach him a lesson, and he had accomplished exactly that. So, why didn't he feel happy, or relieved? What was this nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that was slowly creeping its way up into his throat? This didn't make one bit of sense to Mikey. Avery had gotten what he deserved, so why did Mikey suddenly feel like shit about it?

He touched the photograph closest to him. The one that showed a close up of Avery's face. A sharp pang of guilt crashed through him suddenly, making his stomach turn. He quickly pushed the pictures away and glared at Hanson.

"You're an asshole." He hissed. "Put those things away. I don't want to look at them. I don't want to think about them, or him. Just...get them out of my sight."

Hanson quietly scooped the photographs up and slipped them back inside the folder. "It's not pretty is it?" He asked.

"I don't know what you're hoping to get out of me." Mikey folded his arms across his chest and stared at the cold, grey, wall to his left. "You looking for an admission of guilt?"

"That would be a good start."

"Forget it." Mikey growled. "I got no reason to feel guilty. I didn't do anything wrong. I might have gotten a little emotional looking at those pictures but so what? I was in love with him. Maybe there's still something there, some feelings for him left, but that don't mean shit. No normal person could look at those pictures and not feel something, especially after devoting almost a year of life to someone. I'm pissed off at him for what he did, how he used me and then tossed me aside, but I'm not cruel enough to do what you're accusing me of. I'm not your guy."

Hanson sighed. Either Mikey was a superb liar, or he actually believed what he was saying. Either way, Hanson knew that he didn't have squat on him and he needed his confession. He leaned across the table and looked Mikey in the eyes. His expression serious and cold.

"Look kid, you know that you attacked him, and I know that you attacked him. What I don't know are all the details, if you had help or if you acted alone, and what your motive was, though I have a pretty good theory about that one. The best thing that you can do for yourself now is to answer my questions and tell me what happened. That's the only way that I can help you. If you keep quiet it's just going to hurt you in the long run. As soon as the lab comes back with the DNA evidence, it's all over."

"What DNA?" Mikey smirked. "You don't have anything on me because I wasn't there. You ain't got shit!"

Hanson frowned. "Really? You honestly think we don't have anything on you? Michael, you didn't even bother to use a condom. You were careless. Whats more, when Avery wakes up, he'll be able to tell us who assaulted him. How long do you think you're going to get away with this? It's only a matter of time. Do yourself a favor and just tell me what happened. I'll do my best to help you out. It will go much smoother for you if you cooperate. Think about that."

Hanson looked up when he heard a knock at the door, startling Mikey. "Wait here." Hanson instructed.

The older man stood up and walked behind Mikey and opened the door. Another officer motioned him outside into the hallway, leaving Mikey sitting in the room by himself.

'I fucked up.' Mikey thought. 'Shit, how could I have fucked up this badly?' Avery wasn't even supposed to be alive. If those bozos had just done what they were told to do none of this would be happening right now. So far the police had no idea that Mikey hadn't acted alone. Well, that was about to change. There was no way in hell that he was going down for this alone. If it came to that, he was going to sing like a canary, and take both of those dumb fucks down with him!

Mikey stiffened as Hanson walked back into the interrogation room. The old man looked annoyed as he picked up the files from the table and tucked them under his arm. He scowled at Mikey and motioned for him to get up.

'What's going on?' Mikey wondered as he slowly rose from the table.

"Well kid, you lucked out. Your lawyer's here."

Mikey grinned suddenly. 'Thank you pops!' He smirked. "I guess this interview is over then?"

"Yeah, don't get cocky though." Hanson narrowed his eyes. "As soon as that DNA comes in you're going to be in a world of hurt. If I were you, I'd use this time to talk to your attorney and come up with a good defense, you're going to need it."

Hanson brushed past Mikey as he stormed out of the room. He was determined to nail that cocky bastard and when he did, he was going to knock that fucking smirk right off his ugly mug.

Rick didn't really want to leave Avery's side but he needed a break from the crowd that kept coming and going from the hospital room through the day. Avery still hadn't woken up yet, and that worried Rick. No one really knew what was going on inside his head, if he was aware of where he was or who was there, or if he even knew what had happened to him. Rick figured it was Avery's minds way of letting him heal from the trauma, both mentally and physically.