Levi woke up from the cold cement with a groan. Absolutely filthy. As he assessed his current habitat- the cleanest cardboard box he could find placed on a tunnel wall somewhere in the New York subway system- he wondered what deity he had pissed off to land himself in that situation. One moment he was a big shot prosecutor awaiting a promotion, the next he was jailed on charges of corruption. He had lost everything back then, his wife, penthouse, job, dignity; the list just went on forever. Three years had passed since then and Levi had been proven innocent for his charges but no reimbursement had been made. Levi was left to rot and freeze and thaw and rot all over again on the streets, and occasionally subway tunnels, in the shit city of New York. And since nobody bothered enough to pick Levi back up, he didn't bother himself either.
Growing up with no parents wasn't as bad as some people might've imagined. His childhood home was a small orphanage-esque institution run by an old priest in upstate New York. Though the priest was a genuinely kind-hearted man, his age prevented him from getting too involved with the kids. He placed a roof over the kids' heads and food on the table, and everybody was content with that.
Levi, ever since those orphanage days, was accompanied by two little brats. Okay they weren't little, they were taller than Levi, and they weren't much younger than Levi, but he just called them little. The brats, Farlan and Isabel, were spunky kids that Levi treated as his younger siblings. Sure they got annoying and sure they were a pain sometimes, but Levi loved them as his own. And Levi was determined to get them a better life. His teenage years were spent cooped up with piles of books, and with each stacking book, the more Isabel and Farlan faded into the background. Levi managed to get into a college in New York City on a seven year program for his law degree. As Levi left, he made a promise to his orphanage family to return successful and with an actual home for himself and his two siblings. He never looked back as he got in the cab and started his journey into the big city.
Sometime after graduating with his degree, Levi had been taken under the wing of a prosecutor, Kenny Ackerman. Noticing that Levi was an orphan with no real last name, he gave Levi his last name and began grooming the young adult as his partner. Levi adored Kenny, thinking him as his mentor/ father figure. Under his guidance, Levi started gaining reputation as a nasty, but just prosecutor. Days passed, and thoughts of Farlan and Isabel evaded his mind though they plagued his dreams, and thoughts of his work flooded him.
During his life as a prosecutor, Levi was assigned to train two new incoming prosecutors, Petra and Oluo. Oluo and Petra were ambitious kids and Levi sometimes wished he could be like them. Working case after case with them, he and Petra developed a bond, and they got married. Petra eventually left the district office to work for The Garrison, the largest law firm in the state.
On what seemed like another work day, Levi was greeted in front of the district office by Farlan and Isabel. The two were smiling bright as they stuck out a box to Levi. They explained that it was a box of food that they had made themselves with the priest to give to Levi because they thought he'd be too immersed with work to eat. They were still living with the priest because they couldn't afford anything. Levi just shoved a few hundred dollars in each of their hands and told them he'd play with them later. Isabel and Farlan threw the bills at Levi's face. And they stomped off without saying anything else than "You've changed Levi". Frustrated and stunned, Levi picked up the bills and, when he stood back up, saw that Kenny had seen the whole ordeal.
One day, Kenny told Levi that he had set up a special meeting, one that would make Levi incredibly rich. Remembering his promise to Isabel and Farlan, Levi went. He was greeted by none other than Rod Reiss, owner of Titans Inc. Titans Inc. was a large company, encompassing everything from construction to food manufacturing, and one of the richest too. Reiss needed some insiders in law enforcement on his side, for both personal and business reasons. He explained that having someone as high profile as Kenny Ackerman as his right hand man would make the public very suspicious. But a young, talented prosecutor such as Levi would be perfect for the job. Levi didn't know what to expect, after all, Reiss was one of the most publicized CEOs ever, he wouldn't do anything too bad right? Levi mustered a smile and shook Reiss's hand.
The next day, Kenny showed up with a file of papers. Just a simple hit-and-run, accidentally killing a man, and arson to cover up the crime done by a couple of young adults, he explained briefly and left. Levi leafed through the case file, until he noticed the names of the supposed criminals: Isabel and Farlan. He refused to believe it. Sure, back when they were teens, they might've pick-pocketed a person or two, but murder and arson? That just wasn't the kids Levi grew up with. No, Levi had to thoroughly investigate the case.
So investigate he did, and what he found didn't match his case file. There was no way it could have been Farlan and Isabel, the crime had taken place on a Sunday. The priest never let anybody out on a Sunday. There were also tire trails that belonged to a sports car all over the crime scene. With more digging, Levi found that all signs pointed to Frieda Reiss, Rod Reiss's daughter, as the actual perpetrator. Deciding to get to the bottom of everything, he interrogated Farlan and Isabel himself. They eventually confessed that they were paid to incriminate themselves.
Levi went to Kenny's office and told him of everything he had found during his investigation. He promised Kenny to just cover up the entire case and shred all documents involved. Kenny agreed to let Levi erase the case. And since the abandoned building belonged to The Titans and the man who died was a homeless John Doe, it just never happened.
A few weeks later, Levi found himself in the court room again, and the defendant was Rod Reiss himself. He was being charged with fraud involving one of his construction projects. Reiss had shown up in a wheelchair to gain some sympathy points, Levi supposed. Everybody was buying it, but not Levi. When it was his turn to cross examine Reiss, Levi approached the stand with a smile on his face. Reiss took that as a sign of alliance and was reassured. Levi, taking the opportunity, threw a fake rubber spider that he had prepared at Reiss, who jumped from his wheelchair. Levi's laughter filled the court room, and everyone inside looked mortified.
The next day was spent in court again. But something was off. The defendant's lawyer began to say something about admitting to his crimes. Levi was caught off guard when Reiss admitted to bribing a prosecutor. But nothing threw Levi off more than when Reiss pointed at him when asked who that prosecutor was. Reiss's lawyer pressed his clicker and suddenly pictures of Levi and Reiss shaking hands was on the monitor. Another click, and a picture of a bank account with millions of dollars was projected. This account, the lawyer claimed, belonged to Levi, and the millions inside were given by Reiss. The courtroom was flooded with prosecutors, led by Kenny, and Levi was handcuffed and taken away.
When Levi came back to consciousness, he found himself in a jail cell. Petra came to visit him. She demanded that he sign over all his possessions with the divorce papers and she would bail him out. Levi had no choice but to agree, no one would defend him in court. He signed away everything he had built up for the past ten years, his dreams of living with Farlan and Isabel crumbling with his dignity.