The Twelve Tables

Authors Note: Thank you to everyone left comments or sent me feedback about previous chapters of this story. Thank you to Margaret who proofread for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. ~ellie

*****

"For fucks sake," Nik raged at the constables who approached her cell. "If my Uncle is here to bail me out, he is in no danger from me."

"Stand against the back wall please, Miss Donati," the constable repeated respectfully.

"I've done nothing wrong," she screeched at him. She couldn't believe her family had left her here over night, and she desperately needed Charles to get her out of here. She stepped back against the wall unhappily. She had learned last night that it was pointless to fight these fuckers. She just had to be patient. Donati's didn't go to jail. She would be out of here within hours, she reassured herself.

Nik complained bitterly as she was handcuffed and guided out of her cell into an interrogation room and sat opposite a middle aged gentleman who sat looking through a file.

"Would you like me to stay?" The constable asked the man who looked up from his reading and assessed the woman in front of him.

"Perhaps if you could stand outside the door while I get to know my client and lay down some ground rules," the man said looking back down at the evidence he had received via courier that morning ignoring Nik for the moment.

"Where is my Uncle," Nik demanded through gritted teeth her temper flaring at the disrespect of the man who called her a client.

"He isn't coming. None of your family have consented to be here with you. My name is Lawrence Kerrigan. Your family have engaged me as your lawyer," he said.

"You're not my lawyer," Nik spat, "Where is Jules?"

"Both Jules and Romeo have disqualified themselves from this case due to conflict of interest. I am happy to proceed, however, if you would like to engage a lawyer yourself, you would be well within your rights. I would caution you, though, that you are being charged with some very serious offences, and it would be unwise to attempt to defend yourself or engage a law student," Lawrence said in a short, clipped voice. "You may also want to consider that your family is prepared to pay my fees and on your own you would not have access to the documentation that portrays you as Nikita Mariskov, and therefore, you have no access to funds of any significance.

"Fine, just tell them to bail me out already," she huffed fidgeting uncomfortably and twisting her wrists within the cuffs. They may not want to be here in the watch-house with her, but they would post her bail and then she would make her overtures to her family until they made this all go away. Then once things had calmed down she could make good on her escape.

"Let's start with the charges then shall we," he placed a photo of the dead guard before her followed by a photo of Peri.

"Oh my God, what happened to them?" Nik said in feigned shock. "I didn't kill them if that's what you think!"

"Giorgio Antony," he pointed at the photo of the guard, "Was strangled and found dead in his office," Lawrence said unemotionally watching her reaction carefully.

"Poor Giorgio, he was my guard at the rehab facility," she said sadly. "It's awful," she said in a sad voice shaking her head.

"Perinique Andrea Wells," he pointed to the other photo and stopped talking as Nik snickered under her breath. "Are you finding this amusing, Miss Maris?"

"Her name is Perinique?" she laughed again. "I'm sorry I only ever knew her as Peri. She was dating my brother. How did she die?" she asked the laughter subsiding but the smile still playing around her lips and eyes.

"She's not dead," he announced. She was close to death when they found her and had she not been wearing a thick leather band around her neck at the time she would have been strangled too."

"She not dead?" Nik asked in genuine confusion.

"They found her below a window outside of the library, with numerous serious injuries, she is in intensive care but expected to make a full recovery." He informed her.

"No. She's dead," Nik argued. "Anna, another girl at rehab, was so desperate for drugs she killed Giorgio and then hid in the library and killed Peri when she saw her trying to escape out of the window." She rattled off her carefully prepared cover story in a rush, her mind not accepting that Peri was alive.

"She's very much alive and has made a statement to the Canberra police late last night implicating you as the person who tried to kill her," Lawrence said coldly

"She's obviously delusional then," Nik said. "I wouldn't do that to Peri. Look at her! I couldn't possibly have done that. I'm just a girl." She said meekly blinking her eyes as if she might cry. Her mind though was raging at the stupid, fat cow who couldn't even die like she was supposed to. She was a useless waste of space that existed just to annoy her.

"Gerald Carson and Gordon Baxter are also pressing assault charges against you," Lawrence continued.

"It was a simple misunderstanding at the bank. I was distraught, and there was no harm done, he is just a big sook," she dismissed the bank manager. "I am sorry about Gordon, he was kind to me, and I had thought at the time that he had called my brother and told him where I was. I was a little upset with him. I meant no harm. I am sure I couldn't possibly have hurt him," she smiled sweetly.

"On the contrary, both men claim you were not acting rationally at the time, and both have quite extensive injuries. I feel that the charges will be taken to trial for all four victims, three of which have implicated you as their attacker," Lawrence checked his watch. "In addition, to these charges, there is also the matter of falsifying legal documents, including the passport you used to open a bank account and book airline tickets."

"Your arraignment will be at ten thirty this morning. You will be required to enter a plea on all charges, and then the judge will decide if there is enough evidence to take this to trial and if you are to be given a bail bond," he instructed her further. "I take it you are planning on pleading not guilty to all charges?"

"Of course, I'm not guilty. I didn't do anything wrong!" Nik said as if he was stupid. "This is all a storm in a teacup. I won't spend one more night in jail. My family will not let this happen to me!"

"Perhaps, but their agreement to pay my fees was that alone. They have said they would not be involved any further in your case," He explained unemotionally. "I will see you in the courtroom, Miss Maris."

*****

Peri closed her eyes in relief as the Angel Flight plane taxied down the runway for take-off. She had steadfastly refused to see Josh or any of his family except Pete, who would need to accompany her on the flight. She gripped her mother's hand and cried silently reliving the nightmare her life had become since waking in that hospital bed. The sedatives and pain medication once again allowed the blackness of nothing to fill her brain and she fought to remember more about her time in the library with Nik.

She had spoken with police officers late last night, giving them an account of her movements leading up to entering the library to meet Nik. That account matched the reports they had from the video evidence presented by the owners of the facility. She hadn't denied the information given that she was there to research their family history with the view to compiling a biography for them and that she was a guest there rather than undergoing one of the rehabilitation programmes offered there.

She remembered entering the library and seeing Nik disappear between two bookshelves. She had followed her there and had been grabbed and pushed up against the window her mouth covered. She had tried to fight back, but she had hit her head and face against the brick window edge and fallen to the floor feeling dizzy. She vaguely remembered struggling to breathe after that before losing consciousness. Try as she might, she had no memory of how the other injuries she had sustained or if she had broken her arm in the fight with Nik.

The darkness finally claimed her as she felt the plane lift off and it was only as the plane touched down jolting the stretcher she lay on that she swam through the heavy blanket of blackness back up toward the light. She kept her eyes closed and listened to the engines sing and eventually wind down as the small plane came to a complete stop.

"Andie," she called in panic as they began to load her into a waiting ambulance.

"I'm here, I'm here," Andie climbed in after the paramedic and took her hand. "We're going to the hospital. You need more time to recover, and I can't look after you properly at home. Just one or two more days I promise," Andie said her eyes welling with tears. "We're home though and I can get you all of your favourite things and bring them to you," she said softly.

"Just want to go home," Peri said softly.

"I know darling, I know, but we need to make sure it is safe to do so first," Andie's voice took on a pleading tone willing her daughter to understand the decision. "We have to listen to Pete, he's the reason we got you this close to home, and he will make sure you get all the way home as soon as possible."

"I will get you home as soon as I can," Pete reiterated what Andie was saying. "Dr Atkinson is going to meet us at the hospital and examine you. He is the foremost neurologist available to us. If he says you can go home, then I will drive you there myself."

"I don't want to see Josh or his brother's," she said quietly closing her eyes.

"They are all very worried about you. They just want to see that you are recovering," he said reasonably.

"I can't face them. I don't want to see them. Please Pete," she began to cry. "I just can't!" she became agitated and lifted her hand to her face. "I see the way they look at me. I can't bear it!"

"It's okay, Josh is still in Canberra," Pete said trying to calm her. "We will keep you safe here. Relax Peri, your safe with me." He said assuming she was worried about Nik returning to finish the job.

Peri lay back and let her tears flow. They didn't understand, and she wasn't sure she could make them understand why she couldn't face the family. She knew that it was her arrival at the facility, and having to see her every day that must have made Nik do these horrible things. She could see the blame in their eyes when Josh and his family looked at her, and she bore that guilt even more so because she wasn't going to sweep it under the carpet like they always did for Nik. She had told the police that it was Nik who had tried to kill her and that she wanted to press charges.

The family constantly forgave Nik for the way she treated other people, including themselves, but she shouldn't have to. Not this time. The next time Nik came after her, she may not be so lucky. She realised now she should have walked away from Josh when she lost her job due to Nik's machinations, but she had loved him blindly and believed they could overcome anything. Now she knew that wasn't true. He and his family would never forgive her for bringing disgrace to the family name as the media became aware of what had happened at the rehabilitation facility. Still, even though she had been hurt badly, she was grateful for Josh's sake that Nik would not be branded a killer.

The thought gnawed at her. She knew that something had also happened to Nik's guard but every time she tried to ask about it, they had deflected her questions. Once she was home, she would hire a lawyer and find out exactly what happened before Nik left the facility. She just needed to go home and be allowed to look after herself the way she always had and find the answers she needed to make sense of this whole mess. She was so tired of people making decisions for her. She'd had no freedoms at all since she had gone to the farm for Christmas.

"I just want to go home," she whispered impotently and squeezed Andie's hand weakly. She was truly grateful that her mother had been there for her this time.

*****

Joseph had stood with his sons on the tarmac as the plane carrying Peri home took off. His guilt and regret held deeply inside. No one could have predicted what had occurred. The Battaglia also shouldered some of the blame for not heeding his warnings about his daughter's power of seduction and ruthlessness. He too had wanted to believe that she had been reformed by her time at the facility and the lack of any narcotics or alcohol, but he had remained wary. It was a tragic event for both families, and it would take a united front to get them through what lay ahead.

"Ben, Lucia and Dino will be arriving shortly, then you can fly home and ensure her safety," Joseph said to Josh. "Emily and the children will be going home to the farm. She and Antonia will be good for each other during this time.

"It doesn't matter, Peri won't see me or talk to me now," Josh said trying to keep the bitterness from his voice.

"She's in shock. She will recover, and things will return to normal," Emilio said gently." She loved you so much that she came here for you. That kind of love doesn't just disappear."

"It doesn't matter how much she loves me if she no longer trusts me," Josh said turning and walking back to the car. "He finally understood Peri's need for solitude and wished his brothers would stop talking and just leave him alone with his thoughts.

Josh was thankful that he travelled back to the facility with his father, the twins riding in a separate car. His father left him to his thoughts and Josh knew he was deep in his own. Nik had committed the worst crime imaginable, and there was no way to escape the fact that they had all missed what was happening to her. Her bitchy antics had always caused unrest within the family. It had been that way since they were small children. She had been a princess from the time she could talk, ordering her siblings around in the same way she ordered the household staff. Josh had begun to cover for her, apologise for her and give in to her demands from an early age, helping to create the nightmare that Nik was now.

They went back to the small townhouse where Joseph had been staying. Josh was exhausted. Since being picked up yesterday by his brothers for the flight to Canberra he hadn't slept and had barely eaten enough to stave away the hungry pangs. He needed a shower before anything else, though and went upstairs without a word to his father or the young woman who obviously was there to tend to his needs. Locating the bathroom, he stepped inside and turned the shower on stripping quickly and stepping under the rush of steaming hot water.

Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander through all of the emotions he felt. Overriding everything else was anger at everyone and everything that conspired to create this hellish situation. He was angry at his father, angry at the Battaglia, angry at Nik but most of all angry at himself. He should have stopped her from coming to this place. He should have said no at the airstrip on New Year's Eve, but she had gone so willingly, and his head was still full of the ambition his Uncle had encouraged. He had believed, as his Uncle had pointed out, that with Peri at his side he could become the leader of the family and take a chair at the table of twelve. At this moment though he wanted nothing to do with the families that made up the twelve including his own.

Josh felt the slight breeze of the door opening and willed whoever it was to go away. He closed his eyes and said nothing as he stood to let the hot water soothe the tense muscles in his shoulders and back. The door closed again with a loud click, and he opened his eyes, seeing that he was once again alone. He splashed more water on the glass screen and peered through the steam. A pair of Jeans and clean shirt had been left for him by whoever had entered. He got out of the shower feeling better than when he had entered and towelled off. The clothes left for him were new, and he ripped off the tags trying them on and finding them a good fit. There was a soft knock on the door, and he opened it to find the young woman he saw on arrival.

"My apologies, Sir. Your father thought that perhaps you would like to shave," she handed him a small kit and left quietly.

"Thank you," Josh said knowing she would not hear him but appreciative of the clothes and kit. He took his time cleaning away the beard growth and feeling more like his old self with each stroke of the razor. His head cleared, and his anger dissipated into rational thought. The only person at fault here was Nik he told his mirrored reflection. It wasn't his fault or his family or even the Battaglia. Only one person had done this purposefully, Nik.

His responsibility now lay with helping Peri recover and forgive him and his family for their part in her injuries. He understood her to need to escape into solitude and heal, and he would allow her that space for a short time, but he would not give up what they had, and he would make sure she understood the depth of his guilt and regret for his role in her injuries.

When he finally went downstairs feeling more like himself and deciding to start taking back control of his life and the situation he found himself in, he found his father and brothers sitting in the small living room talking in hushed voices.

"I need food," he announced as they looked up at his arrival.

"The kitchen is well stocked, just tell Gail what you want," his father said carefully appraising his son's change of clothes and attitude.

"I just need food and some sleep on the flight home," Josh said in answer to looks he was receiving and went into the kitchen.

"Maybe we should give him a choice," Emilio said softly as the door closed behind Josh. "We owe him the choice to let them express themselves. He seems better than he did earlier."

"Smoke and mirrors," Dante said shaking his head. "It's a brave front so we will all stop trying to explain the unexplainable to him."

"He and they deserve the chance to know each other's views. It will help them all to move past this," Joseph said as Josh re-entered the room with a large bowl of muesli.

"Who and who," Josh mumbled around a large mouthful of milk and muesli.

"The men who oversaw Peri's trial would like to speak with you," Joseph said weighing his words and Josh's reaction.

"What do you think, Lio? Is it a way to build bridges on both sides?" Josh turned to his brother.

"Could be an ambush," Dante said with concern.

"That's why I asked the nice one," Josh chuckled, but it sounded hollow even to his own ears, and he looked at Lio again.

"It can't hurt," Lio said thoughtfully. "It will go a long way to show that this is a tragic event caused by one person and not worthy of a rift between the families. The other ten families will be watching and preparing to choose sides in what could become a dreadful affair for everyone. Nik is certainly to blame and will be tried for her crimes, but they let it happen on their watch. There can be no good or easy end to this unless we make it that way."

"Papa, you feel the same?" Josh asked still eating. The thing was that he had never wanted to know the details of her trial. He had made that clear to Peri from the beginning. He didn't like asking her to do it, and he didn't like what it entailed. If they wanted to discuss the details of her trial, he doubted that he could listen to them.

"Veronica is guilty of murder. They have every right to demand justice from us. They may have been lax in their security and planning here, but the damage was done by a Donati," he said simply shouldering the responsibility for his daughter's actions. "Emilio is correct that both families have much to lose if we battle each other. If we can bring peace between us before you leave, when they have lost one of their own forever, then it would be wise to accept their request."