Chapter Text
Ludwig sat calmly in the chair; his wrists were manacled to the table, and the air smelled like metal and cheap aftershave. Two Alpha police were on the other side of the table; one he recognized as the chief interrogator, Charlotte Jones. She was known best for once beating a suspect with a baseball bat, and getting away with it scot-free. She kept reapplying lip gloss as she watched her partner try to draw out answers from Ludwig.
“What were you doing, April 11th of this year?” Arthur Kirkland repeated, a characteristic scowl on his face. He was a tad small for an Alpha, but his scent was quite clear. He was most known for being the one who stripped down a fifteen year old boy (Raivis, he was on Ludwig's side) and tazed him repeatedly. The boy still carried scars from the ordeal.
“I have told you. I was at a birthday party all evening,” Ludwig said evenly. He didn't doubt that eventually both would lose their temper, that he would be at their mercy. It didn't scare him; he could take anything they could dish out, and if they killed him? Well, they didn't dare. They would be on probation for months, at the very least, half-pay and half-dignity.
Ludwig knew the system fairly well by now. He watched as Arthur's face screwed up a bit in irritation.
“Fuck that. What kind of 'resistance fighter' goes to birthday parties? Tell me where you really were.”
Ludwig was actually telling the truth. It was his Omega's brother's party, a dear friend of his who had introduced them. Feliciano liked parties and fancy clothes and all kinds of frivolous things like that; considering his status as a great artist, he could afford it.
“I'm only going to continue to tell you the same thing, as it is the truth. I had nothing to do with the beating of Francis Bonnefoy.”
Francis Bonnefoy was a police member also. He was best known for his flirtation with any and every Omega, mated or not. There were a few times he had gone beyond flirtation, and that, Ludwig was pretty sure, was what had lead to the beatdown, rather than some conspiracy against the force.
However, that was not the way that the police force saw it. With the civil unrest plaguing the country, a push for change against a corrupt system, they saw everything through suspicious eyes. There was no chance that Francis putting his paws on a mated Omega's ass had brought a well-deserved beating in their minds. Instead, it was clearly the ones pushing for a change in government.
“You resistance nuts are all the same,” Arthur sneered, “You honestly think you can beat a well-trained force. How stupid you must feel now, so easily captured and brought in.”
“I am neither a terrorist nor a criminal,” Ludwig said evenly, “I am merely working for change. We have done nothing wrong as a group.”
Charlotte laughed. “Try telling that to the senator you mobbed.”
“That was not us,” Ludwig said, keeping his tone calm. “We are working peacefully.”
“Peacefully?” Arthur pushed the photographs in front of Ludwig; Francis's injuries were clear, from the blacked eyes to the X-ray of his broken pelvis to the handfuls of missing hair. “You call this peaceful?”
Ludwig sealed his lips. He had told them time and again already that they had nothing to do with this. He had nothing more to say.
“Gonna clam up, huh?” Charlotte said, a smirk across her face. “Oh, we know how you work, Mr. Beilschmidt; you've been in here so often. Tell me, did your nose heal right since last time?”
He just looked across at her with a serious look.
She giggled a little. “Yeah, I know, tough and silent.” She looked towards the door of the interrogation room, saying with a smirk, “I think we've found a way around it, finally.”
This concerned Ludwig. He hoped it wasn't some severe torture, though he knew they had never gotten all that elaborate or clever at this place. Pure pain, he could handle. He could take any of it.
The door opened, and two people came in—one in the uniform, the other stumbling along in pajamas.
Ludwig's heart stopped, as he stared and fought to keep the emotion off of his face: Lovino, his mate, was brought stumblingly along in his bare feet and a pair of boxers plus the tanktop he wore for bed.
“Fuck you, let me go!” Lovino snapped, surely roused out of a sound sleep earlier that evening. He was looking around, that light in the back of his eyes that signified fear, and he spotted Ludwig. “Ludwig!” No more words came after that, a sort of mute anger and fear in his face. It was as though he had realized that he was to be used against Ludwig.
Ludwig's teeth clenched together, and he ground out, “Leave Lovino out of this. He hasn't broken any laws, and in any case, the fines would fall to me, as his Alpha.”
Charlotte stood, and, in inappropriately high heels for a policewoman, flounced over to Lovino. She stood a head taller than him, and took his face in her brown hand. “Hm. He is a looker, I will admit that much. I'm surprised a fucktard like you was able to snatch him up, Ludwig.”
Lovino tried to pull his face out of her grip, but she was obviously too strong. “Fuck you, lady, let me--”
He cut it off with a cry when she slapped him.
Ludwig's blood was pulsing angrily, and it was all he could do not to roar at her. “Charlotte--”
“That's Chief Interrogator Jones to you,” she said haughtily, still gripping Lovino tightly. The policeman with him, one Yao Wang, winced a little at the way her manicured fingernails were clearly breaking the skin on Lovino's face.
It was like a fire in Ludwig's chest, and he said lowly, “Leave him out of this, or you will regret it.”
“I really don't think I will,” Charlotte said, grinning at Ludwig. She pulled Lovino away from Officer Wang, and brought him to the table. She didn't bother handcuffing or manacling him; she simply slammed him down in a metal chair next to hers.
Arthur, something of a smirk in the corners of his lips, said, “Now, what were you doing and where were you on April 11th this year?”
“I was at a birthday party,” Ludwig ground out, “for Lovino's brother, Feliciano. We got him a beach umbrella that Lovino thought was hideous.”
“Very hideous,” Lovino muttered, his eyes turned down towards his hands.
Arthur looked exasperated. He glanced over at Charlotte, and she said, “I'm sure you can do better than that.” Her fingers traced Lovino's face, as though she would claw him any second now. “Tell us the truth.”
Ludwig snapped, “I am telling you the truth! I had nothing to do with the beating of Officer Bonnefoy!”
She raked her long nails across Lovino's face, as he screamed and nearly fell out of the chair trying to get away. But she caught him by the front of his tank top, and he sat there trying not to cry as the lines slowly filled with blood.
Ludwig's head pounded with rage. Lovino was his to protect, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. He twisted in the manacles, but it only bruised his wrists. “Stop it! Leave him out of this!”
Charlotte grinned, turning Lovino's face to get a good look at the scratches. “Yeah, he looks good like this. I can see why you like him so much.”
Arthur droned, “April 11th of this year. You're going to want to answer honestly this time.”
“I didn't do it! I know who did it: Sadik Adnan, when Francis groped his Omega, Gupta Mohammed Hassan. It was a simple reaction to an assault on his property.” Ludwig could imagine his fists battering Charlotte's face, perhaps even kicking her and shattering ribs. All he knew was, the need to hurt (and more importantly, protect) was raging within him.
Charlotte shook her head, mock pity on her face. Wordlessly, she punched Lovino in the jaw, and his lip began to bleed. He was gasping in pain, and he tried to turn to look at Ludwig, but Charlotte grabbed his face again, forcing him to look her. “No, no, that won't work. Ludwig's not going to save you, poor baby.”
“I'm not a fucking baby!” Lovino snapped, though he cringed when she raised her other hand.
She just laughed, however. “Even my Omega isn't that skittish. Whatever do you do to him, Ludwig?”
Ludwig growled, “I do not do anything to him. Leave him out of this or you will regret it, I promise you.”
“April 11th of this year,” Arthur said, tone bored.
“I didn't do it!” Ludwig roared helplessly, “I was at a birthday party, I was not anywhere near that damn fucking bastard! Leave Lovino alone!”
Lovino cringed, sure he would feel more pain.
Charlotte began to trace his face, as if taking it in. “You're a pretty one, you know that?” Her eyes darted over to Ludwig, making sure he heard it. “So pretty.”
That set Lovino trembling. His face had gone pale, and abruptly, he made a break for the door.
That was not a smart move. Charlotte was faster and stronger, and she dragged him back. “Not very polite, are you? But like I said, a real looker.”
“Keep your hands off him!” Ludwig shouted, and if the table hadn't been bolted to the floor, he was sure he would have upended it with his struggles against the manacles.
Arthur kept a bored expression on his face, like this was normal. “Charlotte, at least do it quickly instead of playing with him.”
Charlotte ignored Arthur. She trailed her hand along Lovino's jaw, touching his lips. He was clearly shaking, terrified. She laughed. “I haven't even done anything yet, and look at him; he's crying and shaking like a leaf!”
Arthur harrumphed. “Charlotte. We have another case after this one.”
Ludwig's mind was a boiling rage. He swore loudly, shouting at her, “Leave him the hell alone or I will kill you, do you understand, I will pull your lungs out of your mouth and watch you suffocate!”
“Aw, I think he likes you,” Charlotte said to Lovino. She abruptly turned him against the wall, hands going for his tightly-tied drawstring when she realized she couldn't just yank down his boxers. She was clearly about to do something that could never be taken back; Lovino screamed, a desperate cry of, “Ludwig!”
“I did it! I beat him! Now leave my mate alone!” Ludwig roared, a lot more fear in his voice than he would have liked there to be.
“We have a confession,” Arthur said with a smirk.
Charlotte let Lovino go, and he slumped against the wall, sobbing. “Thank you, Ludwig,” she said, adding, with a mocking look on her face, “Was that so hard?”
Ludwig could only think of Lovino's past. He could only think of the great trauma that his mate was experiencing right now, bringing him back to those horrible memories. He said, ignoring Charlotte and Arthur, “It'll be all right, Lovino, I won't let anyone harm you.”
“Ha, I'd like to see how you do that from inside jail,” Charlotte smirked, and she nodded to Officer Wang. “Please take Mr. Beilschmidt to his cell.”
Ludwig knew he had to talk to Lovino quickly; there was no time to comfort him, only to protect him. “Lovino—go to Gilbert. He'll take care of you. If you don't remember where he lives, Elisaveta knows, you just need to visit my workplace to find her. I promise he will keep you safe, like I would.”
Lovino stood against the wall, eyes red-rimmed but nodding. His drawstring was undone, but he didn't seem to notice. His limbs still shook, and he said, “But what if I can't get there from here? What if someone stops me?”
Ludwig was already being wrestled away from the table, hands cuffed behind his back as Officer Wang and Arthur led him away. “Call my workplace—Elisaveta will come for you! Be safe, promise me!”
“I will!” Lovino looked like he would crumple back into tears, as he said, “Just, just please come back.”
“I swear I will,” Ludwig managed, and he was out of the room.
It was to jail for him. He had no doubt he would be fine; his gut seemed to worry itself into knots over Lovino, however.