(AN) Hello and welcome to the next chapter of Aftermath; hope you all enjoy.

In this chapter, the police question David and Amy about that night's events, we get a little surprise and David recives a bombshell.

Disclaimer: I don't own Straw Dogs; all characters and locations are owned by their respective owners.

Chapter Two

David was currently sitting in a dimly lit interrogation room, waiting for whoever would be questioning him. Before arriving at the station, he'd been taken to the local hospital to have his injuries seen to, but aside from the cuts to his face and a few bruises, David had come out of the home invasion ordeal quite well, though now all he could think about was how Amy was doing.

The door opened and a middle-aged man with messy grey hair and a moustache entered. He was wearing the uniform of a detective inspector. The man sat down in front of David before taking out a tape recorder and switching it on.

"Ah, so you must be Mr Sumner: I'm Detective Inspector Neil Evans, and I'll be conducting this interview; is that acceptable?"

"Yes, that's fine." replied David.

"Right, let's get started, shall we," began Neil in a calm manner, "What is your connection to Henry Niles?"

"Well, none really," answered David, "I know he's from the village and that some have said he's a predator, but that's all I know."

"An accusation against Mr Niles was made years ago, alleging that he had touched a child in an indecent manner," informed the DI in a serious tone of voice, "However, it was found that this incident had not occurred. The allegations were made because Mr Niles likes playing with the children, possibly due to his disability. Sadly, some of the villagers still believe Mr Niles to be a threat, even his own brother."

"So I noticed," remarked David, "My wife isn't too fond of him either."

"Henry Niles was last seen leaving a social event at the church with Janice Hedden, who is now deceased," continued the DI, "Were you aware of this when you came into contact with Mr Niles?"

"Not at all," answered the young man earnestly, "Me and my wife left shortly before; don't think she was keen on the magic act. Anyway, we were driving back to Trencher's Farm when the fog started rolling in, and I accidentally knocked Henry over: he just came out of nowhere. Anyway, I decided to take him back to ours so that I could call for help, though my wife wasn't thrilled at the idea."

"Ah, you wouldn't have been able to get through as the lines were being flooded with calls about Janice; most of them prank calls or people wanting attention." informed Neil in realisation.

"I then decided to call the pub and got through to Harry," continued David, who shuddered as he thought about the chaos that had ensued because of that call, "Unfortunately, Tom Hedden oveeheard the call, and so he, Charlie Venner, Chris Cawsey, Phil Riddaway and Norman Scutt went up to the farm to get answers out of Henry via beating him."

"That does not surprise me," sighed Neil, "All five of them have records for physical assault and drink driving. Scutt and Cawsey also have records for sexual harassment, and Scutt has been accused of rape, though that's never been proven."

"Yeah, Amy mentioned that they were doing that," commented David before noting the look of confusion on Neil's face, "When we first moved to the village, I hired Venner, Cawsey, Riddaway and Scutt to fix the hole in our garage roof. Unfortunately, they spent most of their time bullying me, and Venner, Cawsey and Scutt were hitting on my wife, but I didn't want to cause any trouble and they didn't escalate things, so I didn't initially fire them. I did eventually fire them after they pretended to befriend me, took me on my first hunting trip and abandoned me in a field; but it was mainly for them taking too long with the roof repairs."

"Venner was hitting on your wife?" said a surprised Neil.

"They used to be in a relationship years ago," explained David before clearing his throat, "Anyway, I wouldn't let them hurt Henry because I realised that they wanted to lynch him, so I threw them out, though Amy wanted me to hand him over. This made them angry, so they started s-shouting and throwing things. Major Scott arrived and attempted to defuse the situation, but Tom got angry and accidentally shot him."

David got a lump in his throat: the image of Scott, one of the few people who'd actually been nice to him, falling to the ground, was burned into his mind.

"M-Major Scott's dead?" uttered Neil in shock.

"Yes," muttered David shakily, "Me and Amy saw it happen and they knew we'd seen, so they decided to try and break in and kill us, as well as Henry."

"And what happened next?" asked the DI, who was struggling to process this wave of information.

"I-I was terrified, and so went into self-defence mode," replied David in a horrified whisper, "Now, I am not normally a violent person: up to that point, I'd never hurt a fellow human being, but as said, I was scared for me and my wife's safety, so I felt that I had no choice. Charlie nearly convinced Amy to open the door because he said he wouldn't hurt her, but I stopped her. Me and Amy set up a few traps and weapons to keep Tom and his friends out, but eventually, they weren't enough, so I put on music to lure them into the living room."

Flashback

David had put on some bagpipe music in order to lure Tom and the others into the house. He currently had his back pressed against the wall beside the living room window, was armed with a poker and was watching as Tom climbed through, armed with a shotgun. As Tom continued to move across the windowsill, the maths expert suddenly whacked the gun with the poker, causing it to aim more towards Tom's foot. The local drunk, startled by this, pulled the trigger and shot himself in the foot. Tom yelled out in pain as he looked down at his injured foot.

"I've got ya, Tom!" came Phil's voice as he came over and grabbed Tom, who quickly fell backwards and winded himself as he hit the ground.

"What's the matter, Tom?" asked Phil as he looked down at his friend.

Tom didn't answer due to being winded.

Inside the living room, David quickly grabbed Tom's gun, dropped the poker and backed up to the far end of the living room. Hands shaking, the young man raised the gun as Phil began breaking his way through the window; a murderous look in his eyes. "You're dead!" he snarled, "I'll kill you!"

"Don't come in!" warned David in a voice quivering with fear, keeping the gun trained on Phil, "I said don't come in here."

David pulled the trigger a couple of times and was thankful when nothing came out. Phil laughed as he finally entered the living room, while David dropped the gun and grabbed the poker. The young man charged towards Phil and whacked him over the head, knocking the drunk to the floor, he then struck him again when he tried to get back up. David bent down and felt for a pulse; heaving a sigh of relief when he did feel one.

David turned his head as he heard the living room light being switched on.

David whirled around and saw Chris standing there, grinning wickedly. Chris was armed with a poker dart, wielding it like a sword. David held the poker up as he and Chris slowly edged closer to each other. Chris threw the dart at David, who quickly ducked, causing the dart to become lodged into the wall. David charged at Chris, who quickly backed away before pulling out a small dagger.

"Come on!" taunted Chris as he continued to back away from an advancing David; both briefly lunging out at each other, "Come on!"

Suddenly, David swung his poker and knocked the dagger out of Chris' hand, he then swung the weapon at the rat catcher, who fell to the floor, he tried to get back up, but David struck him again, flooring him completely. The maths professor seemed to briefly loose himself to adrenaline as he struck the man three more times. David snapped out of his trance and looked down in shock at Chris' lifeless body.

David looked up as the music suddenly stopped, he then turned to see Charlie standing in the doorway. Charlie picked up Tom's gun and aimed it at the young man.

"Gun's empty." informed David as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Is it now?" said Charlie darkly, not believing a word David said.

"Why don't you pull it and show me." suggested David, who now sounded exhausted.

"I've got plenty of time, Mr Sumner." retorted Charlie.

End Flashback

Neil looked at David in astonishment. "Are Mr Cawsey and Hedden dead?" he asked.

"I don't know about Tom, but … yes, Chris is dead," muttered David guiltily, "But I swear, I-I just lost control, I didn't want anyone to die."

"So, what happened next?" asked the DI.

"Well, before Charlie could try and shoot me, we heard breaking glass and Amy screaming for both of us," continued David, "We raced upstairs and found Scutt trying to rape her, so I pulled him off. Charlie was aiming a gun at Scutt and he was aiming a knife at him: Scutt wanted Charlie to take Amy downstairs and kill her, but I don't think Charlie wanted that, so he shot Scutt dead. Me and Charlie got into a scuffle, and eventually, we rolled down the stairs. I-I grabbed the first thing I could … which happened to be a bear trap that me and Amy had set up earlier, and as Charlie was getting back up, I slammed it on to his head."

"Bloody Hell!" exclaimed a horrified Neil.

"After that, I went to go and review the damage, but Phil had recovered, and he attacked me," continued David in a quiet whisper, "I … I tried to run up the stairs and told Amy to get Tom's gun, but Phil started dragging me back downstairs. Amy eventually got the gun and she hesitated for a few seconds, but then she shot Phil dead."

"Hesitated?" questioned the DI.

"Yeah," muttered David, "Amy didn't want to hurt anybody just as much as me … but we both felt that we had no choice, believe me, I've never hurt a fellow human being before tonight; neither has Amy."

"Okay, thank you, Mr Sumner," thanked Neil as he stopped the tape and stood up, "We're also going to have to speak with Mrs Sumner in order to verify this story."

"C-can't it wait till tomorrow?" asked David, "I think Amy's been put through enough tonight already."

"We need to verify your story, Mr Sumner," informed Neil, "So that means conducting separate interviews, and if there are bodies on the property, then it can't wait."

David nodded in understanding.

Neil then escorted David out of the room.

Over at Trencher's Farm, Amy had finally gotten over the shock of what had happened. The blonde was currently wandering around the house, observing the aftermath of the carnage that had unfolded, but she didn't touch a thing as she had a feeling that the police might show up.

Amy entered the living room and looked down at Cawsey's dead body. The blonde didn't have much sympathy for the man, especially if he had been responsible for Philip's murder; same with Scutt. Then there was Charlie, who made Amy's skin crawl after his earlier betrayal, but at the same time, she wondered if there had been some good still left in him.

There was suddenly a light knock at the front door, which made the blonde tense up, so she picked up the discarded poker and slowly edged her way towards the door, the young woman then swung the door open and heaved a sigh of relief as she saw a policeman standing there. She could also see other policemen exiting their cars.

"Mrs Sumner, I'm DI Neil Evans, may I come in?" asked Neil politely.

"Yes, come in." said Amy before letting the DI in and closing the door, she then threw the poker to the floor.

Neil observed the mess in the living room: the shattered window; the dart in the wall; the discarded knife and Cawsey's dead body. "So, Mrs Sumner, I've just had a little chat with your husband and he told me about what happened," said the DI as he sat down on the sofa, "but I'd now like to hear your side of the story if you don't mind."

"N-no, I don't mind," replied the young woman as she sat down, "Is David okay?"

"Yes, he's fine," answered Neil, "He's sitting outside and I think he's just as shaken up about this as you are."

Amy nodded in agreement: she remembered how shook up David had sounded when he realised that he'd taken down all the intruders; she'd then felt the same after being forced to shoot Phil. Amy went on to explain everything that had happened from her point of view, adding the part in which Cawsey had tormented her by throwing a rat through the window. Amy choked back a sob as she finished.

"You did great, Mrs Sumner." assured Neil gently.

The two jumped up at a loud bang coming from the kitchen. After a few moments, Tom suddenly limped through to the living room; his face screwed up in pain.

"Mr Hedden!" cried Amy in surprise.

"Look what your stupid husband did to me!" snapped Tom furiously as he pointed to his foot and face before tripping over and falling on his face.

"You and your friends tried to kill us!" retorted Amy hotly, "I don't agree with wanting to protect Niles or what David and me ended up doing, but you left us with no choice!"

Amy went over to the phone in order to call an ambulance, while Tom went into a sitting position. "D-Did you find Janice?" he asked Neil impatiently, "C'mon, you're a policeman, you should know!"

"Mr Hedden, I regret to inform you that your daughter was found dead inside a wood shed," informed Neil solemnly, "It appears that Mr Niles accidentally smothered her to death: he was likely startled by hearing half the village looking for her."

Tom just stared at the policeman in complete shock, he then unleashed a howl of despair and fury. Amy decided to go and check on David.

David was currently sitting on the bonnet of his car, thinking about what would happen next: would Amy still want to be with him after this? Would she even want to speak to him? David looked up as he heard approaching feet and was surprised to see his wife standing a few feet away from him. "Amy," he said in surprise, "Look, I know what I did was shocking and awful, but I swear, I never wanted to hurt anybody, but I was scared and I felt I had no-

David was interrupted as Amy suddenly walked over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which he returned.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," said Amy, "I never thought I'd see you act like that."

"I'm shocked at myself," muttered the young man, "I-I'm sorry for snapping at you and slapping you."

"I forgive you," assured the blonde, "You might be pleased to know that Hedden is still alive, though he's quite bitter."

"Oh thank God." sighed David in relief.

"He's also heard about Janice," said Amy.

David gave a sad nod. "Thought I heard somebody crying." he muttered.

David and Amy went up to the hospital, where it was discovered that Amy had only suffered some minor bruising.

Barney and Louise decided to allow the young couple to stay at their place while the farm was a crime scene. All four were sat in the Hood's living room. Barney and Louise listened as David and Amy told them about what had happened. The other couple were left completely shocked.

"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed a shocked Louise after David and Amy had finished.

"What an appalling story," remarked a horrified Barney, "I knew Tom and the others were quite rowdy, but I never imagined that they'd resort to such barbarism."

"Nor did I." said David.

"But isn't what we did considered barbaric?" questioned Amy.

"Well, yes, you did indeed take drastic actions, but you were scared for your lives and felt that there were no other options." said Barney.

"And why are you so sure that Henry Niles is dangerous, Amy?" asked Louise curiously.

"Well, he was accused of touching a child," explained the blonde as if it were obvious, "Charlie, Tom and John believe the allegations, and Henry was always playing with young children."

"You seem to be following the herd a bit," remarked Louise, "The charges against Henry were dropped because it was proven to be untrue. Henry has the mind of a child, I think you might be bias."

Amy was stunned: she'd never thought of it like that.

A bit later on, David and Amy had gotten settled into the spare bedroom. They were cuddled up next to each other.

"What was it with you and Charlie?" asked David curiously.

"What do you mean?" asked Amy curiously.

"Well, you almost opened the door for him when he said he wouldn't let the others hurt you, you called out for him and me when Scutt was trying to rape you," pointed out the young man, "I just figured that after everything, you'd have lost trust in him."

Amy simply sighed. "I believed that there still might be good in him," she informed, "And I didn't want Scutt or Charlie to die because … I thought they'd admit it."

"To killing the cat?" asked David, "I thought you were convinced that either Cawsey or Scutt did it?"

Amy's skin crawled as she thought about having to tell David the truth. After tonight, she decided that there would be no more secrets. "N-no, not the cat." she said in a terrified whisper.

"Okay, now you're starting to scare me." said David, who was giving his wife a concerned look.

"David … Charlie and S-Scutt, they … they raped me." said Amy as tears welled up in her eyes.

David felt as if he'd just had a car hit him.

(AN) And that's the end of this chapter; hope you all enjoyed.

Regarding the Henry stuff: m take is that Henry isn't actually a pedophile: the only people that say he is are Amy, John Niles and the bad guys; nobody else is uncomfortable with him and I feel that there's some ableism going on, given that this film is set in the early 70s.

In the next chapter, Amy fully opens up to David about her ordeal.

Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.