Somewhere on the Shuto Expressway...
Of the three Bradley brothers, Joshua was perhaps the most ordinary of them all. Whereas Jeffrey had ascended to high office, and while James had gone on from his troubled past and criminal tendencies to forge his own law firm and grow reasonably wealthy off it, Joshua had stayed thoroughly ordinary.
Joshua Bradley did not really care for uniqueness. Actually, he found that he despised it.
And yet he had been special enough to make his way into Rainier & Landon's corporate offices. He had been special enough to get dragged along for the magical mystery ride of the trial against devils. And now he was being scrutinized by political analysts and gossiped about in the tabloids. Not as much as Gerald or James, but still, he was being dragged along.
It bothered him greatly.
As he drove along the freeway- which for once wasn't congested- Joshua thought to consider everything that had happened over the course of the past few days. He was the least noticeable of the three attorneys who represented the Japanese government's interests at this trial, and yet he was still being noticed. He hated it.
Corporate attorneys like him did not go to courtrooms. They sat in cubicles and negotiated deals between major companies or governments- often both. His direct superior in this case, Gerald, was something out of the olden days- a superb plaintiff's lawyer, yet one that worked for corporations. So was Heather; the woman had six years' of trial experience, and relished brawling in the courtrooms, if workplace gossip could be believed.
Joshua did not despise his job, unlike some of his coworkers. Hours were long, coffee needed to be consumed- especially on graveyard shifts- and the competition was intense. Everyone wanted to make partner, and they were willing to backstab and connive and deceive in order to get there.
It was common practice to begin vetting out associates after their third year in most corporate firms. That was why so many wanted to make partner, to keep their six-figure jobs and their benefits.
He had only been working at Rainier & Landon for a year now, and he saw the fierceness between associates. There were no friends in the offices of Rainier & Landon- only enemies.
He, Joshua, was unique. He had thought that the corporate paymasters of Rainier & Landon would not care about who he was related to, but they did, and they cared greatly. It was such that he never received too much of a heavy workload, and most of his fellow associates either gave him a wide berth or tried to befriend him, to no avail. It would suffice to say that Joshua did not refuse their advances. After all, he was looking for friends, even if they sought to use him to advance up the corporate ladder. Joshua didn't care about going up there. He was content with his one-hundred-and-ten-thousand-a-year salary, plus three weeks' worth of paid time off. Joshua had never used his PTO, but he had a stinking suspicion that if he overstayed his vacation, his employers wouldn't fire him, despite the fact that he would be breaking those otherwise-rigid corporate rules.
After all, everyone feared the wrath of Jeffrey Bradley, the forty-forth President of the United States.
That made him decide to call his eldest brother, since he was currently headed towards the devils' mansion that James was staying at.
"What's up?" Jeffrey grunted. Joshua had heard that Presidents usually did not spare time for frivolous phone calls- even from their siblings- but Jeffrey had never been there for James or Joshua, and the youngest Bradley supposed that this was his way of paying back his younger siblings for his lost time.
"Hey, Jeff," Joshua said. Unlike James, the eldest and youngest Bradley siblings were on rather amicable terms, since they had actually taken time to talk, unlike James, who shouted and ranted at pretty much everything they did... scratch that. At anything anyone did.
"How's the case?" the President asked. Joshua heard papers being shifted over the phone, heard coffee being set on a table. "Anything much happen there, Joshua?"
"Eh, nothing much. We haven't even set a trial date yet, so yeah..."
Before Jeffrey had gone into politics, he had worked in Wall Street's corporate firms before, and, as Jeffrey was always apt to point out, 'never once in my time there did I go to court.'
"Trial date, huh? Seems the new generation of corporate attorneys are finally waking up to the courtroom."
"Yeah," Joshua said, swerving to avoid a madly honking Toyota, "it's a bummer, alright. Though Gerald's done extensive courtroom work before, so it should be fine. Heather, too."
"Give Gerald my regards," Jeffrey said, "but I believe that it's time for my morning walk."
Joshua rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Jeff, it's literally been, what, three minutes, and you're hanging up on me now? What's up with you?"
He heard heavy sighing. "You know how it is, Joshua. Being President is really tough. You have to wake up at six in the morning to get some dumbass CIA report on what Putin's up to in the Kremlin, or whatever brushfire war that just sprung up in Central Asia, or how many Africans have keeled over because of some famine that their corrupt government caused. Not only that, but then you've got countless reports from all over the bloody country, too. Jesus. Sometimes I wish I should just let Romney take the Oval Office, instead of doing all this hard-ass campaigning to get me another four years..."
Jeffrey grunted over the phone again. "But I can't do that, however much I want to do that. Fuck it, I won't be known as the President who purposely left office because Hell scared me off."
"No one would ever know," Joshua tried to counter, but to no avail.
"No one would know, but people would be guessing. And I won't let Romney undo what I've been trying to do all over this country. Fucking Obamacare and withdrawing out of Iraq, and now this goddamned devil problem, I swear, Romney's probably make Satan so mad he busts a vein or two. Or fucking five thousand. All I know is that this is already a hard job, and then fucking devils and angels and shit go crawling out of the woodwork..."
Joshua blinked. "Well, who said withdrawing out of Iraq was a bad thing? That was Bush's fault, not ours. And the whole Obamacare thing, well, Senator Obama simply proposed a better version of your planned healthcare thing. It's not perfect- far from it, but it's all we Americans have."
"True, true, but what do you know?"
He really couldn't answer that.
"I can't believe this."
Such were the words spoken by a certain red-headed devil heiress to address a certain black-haired and very ill-tempered American attorney.
"Yeah, me neither. But it's fucking happening."
They stood on the staircase which spilled into the large living room of the mansion, concealed partially by the shadows. Neither had deigned to make their presence known, but if she was correct in her assumptions, the Fallen would have already sensed their presence there and made note of it.
Rias Gremory sighed. It was a given fact that the Fallen's presence in the mansion was already a massive safety hazard. Even if she couldn't manifest her accursed spears of light, nothing could stop her from trying to kill any of her peerage members- or Irina, Xenovia, and Willis for the matter. Not to mention that the tax attorney had his arm casually slung around the Fallen's shoulder….
"You lawyers and you pacifist ways," she growled, "Is everything you do regulated by some antiquated instructions written down long ago?"
"Like I said yesterday," James Bradley replied, "it was your failure to follow those antiquated instructions that led to your arrest and this trial. So I would be more careful if I were you to follow those rules."
"Rules, rules, rules! How is anything done in this world?" Rias cried out in exasperation.
It seemed that way to her, at least. She had woken up early today just to peruse some of the expansive legal text that the Japanese government called a "constitution." In the Underworld, laws did exist, and although they were indeed exhaustive and annoying at times, they didn't matter if you were part of a noble family, whether you were descended from some minor clan or the surviving Great Houses. Rias supposed that was rather unfair to an average devil- while they were subject to the Underworld's laws, the nobles could do pretty much everything they wanted- which wasn't much, since etiquette constrained them from acting out. But nobility had its own flair, despite its constraints… unlike in this world, where the power that kings and queens once held were gone! Utterly stamped out and replaced by the horrifying thing that they called 'rule of the people'. Democracy. A most disgusting concept.
Rias shuddered at the thought of democracy in the Underworld.
Of course, she made sure not to mention that to James Bradley. The attorney was extremely prideful about being born in the so-called 'land of the free,' and any thoughts about nobility were sure to be received poorly.
James grunted… and then smiled.
"You're right, Rias," the lawyer said. "Nothing is done in this world because of the law. Which is why when shit does hit the fan, well… that's why we lawyers exist."
Silence.
"You want to go greet the fallen angel?" the American asked.
There was really nothing else to do at this point other than gaze over the living room like the watchdogs they thought themselves to be, so down the stairs they went, like two imperious nobles about to demand everything of their subjects. That comparison was not entirely untrue- Rias herself was obviously a noblewoman, and the lawyer might as well have been part of the American high class.
"Well, well, well," said the fallen angel as soon as she caught sight of Rias and James descending, "it's the Lady Gremory, and the lawyer who fancies himself a lord! What have you got in store for me today? The Five-Pointed Torture? Or some legal trick up your half-assed mortal ass?"
"Silence, Fallen," Akeno said rather calmly, but it was obvious that Rias' Queen was visibly struggling to contain her hate.
But Akeno was only a typical example. The one who had the greatest bone to pick with Raynare was of course, her Pawn, and why wouldn't he? She had killed him, and killed Asia, too, and it was now no secret that Issei had affectations for Asia, and she for him. Of course, there was the matter of Rias' own feelings towards her own Pawn, but that could be disregarded for now.
"Hey, James," Willis Japhon said, waving a hand at his colleague's direction.
James responded in likewise, before settling onto an available cushion that just happened to be situated near Issei and Asia. Rias took her own seat by Akeno, and waited.
It was a long while before James began to speak again.
"We all know what happened last night."
Akeno giggled. "Don't tell me you and Rias slept together."
James arched an eyebrow at Rias, who sighed.
Sometimes Akeno went too far with her attitude.
"No, we did not sleep together," Rias grunted, "and whoever thinks so will get a good spanking. Understood?"
Silence. A very awkward silence as most of the people present tried to stifle giggles. Predictably, Kiba and Xenovia stood stoic throughout the rounds of laughter, while Willis, not being able to understand Japanese, looked at everyone with a gaping mouth and arched eyebrow.
Akeno giggled again. "So," she said in perfect English, "what is this whole meeting for? Something important? Something trivial? You're the lawyer, Mr. Bradley, so tell us devils what you want? I'm all ears..."
James grunted. "Raynare."
The Fallen looked at them all, violet eyes playful yet dangerous all the same. She grinned at Willis, before turning her head to address everyone else.
"Lawyer," Raynare said in a smug tone, "what would you want of me?"
"We will be having a guest," the attorney said somberly.
"A guest? When? Where?" Asia piped up. "A guest... would be a welcome change..."
"It would... but the only problem is that said guest is on the government's side."
Rias hissed. She had thought that the Japanese government and its underlings would keep to their abodes, and that the only time that they would rear their ugly heads was when Rias and her associates emerged for trial. But not here, not now. Not ever.
"As master of this mansion, I will not tolerate one of those stinking government officials. If he is already on his way here, then we will meet him with fire and blood."
James was instantly at his feet. "Are you that jumpy around Tokyo's lackeys?! Even if someone from Tokyo was to come here, you would be required to maintain the utmost respect. You know why? Because y'all are under fucking trial. If any of you so much as lift a fucking finger, well, that's going to be put under absolute scrutiny. And said scrutiny will make this dumbass case a living hell. So I'd best make sure that y'all are on your best behavior."
"So is it one of Tokyo's administrators?" Irina questioned, swinging her large pigtails back and forth.
"No, Irina. It's one of the lawyers-"
"Which one?" Akeno asked, smiling seductively the entire time.
James sighed. "I was just about to answer that." Then he noticed the smile on her face. "You think you can bed Gerald Graham? Please. The man would rather bury himself in treatises than even feel any desire towards you. As for Heather, while... I dunno. But it's not Gerald or Heather. It's my brother, Joshua Bradley."
Rias remembered him. He was the quiet one that took notes while Gerald and James pontificated their cases and Heather glared daggers at her peerage.
"Your brother, huh?" Rias remarked. "Well, as befitting my status as a noblewoman, I will make sure that Joshua Bradley is given the proper welcome."
James grunted. "See that your proper welcome stays decent."
And so the preparations started.
Half an hour later, Rias was reasonably sure that the mansion was presentable. She had assigned Kiba and Koneko to cleaning the mansion's living and dining rooms, removing dust and excess items. Akeno, Irina, and Xenovia helped cook some meals- not too many, but still enough for a small feast. Asia and Issei set up decorations- again, not too many, but enough to liven up the mansion's previously gloomy outlook. Rias watched over the simultaneous operations, both to lend a hand when needed, and also to watch the Fallen, who had not moved from her seat since. Willis and James were busy fetching their legal paraphernalia and sorting through papers to help, but that was a necessary evil- they were lawyers, after all, and despite what Rias was doing, the essence of what she was preparing was still a legal meeting.
Everyone had just finished when James rushed out to open the mansion's gates and welcome in his brother.
Joshua Bradley soon entered the mansion, and Rias bowed slightly.
"Mr. Bradley," she said, shaking the younger Bradley's hand firmly, "my household receives you with a warm welcome."
The lawyer's face held disbelief for a second, before giving way to easygoingness. "Likewise, Lady Gremory. I hope this morning finds you well?"
Such courteousness.
Nevertheless, Rias still had to answer.
"It is," the heiress finally replied, "and I hope that you are well?"
"Yes. It is."
As Joshua greeted the rest of her peerage and sat down, Rias had to note how full Joshua seemed. She had found in real life how siblings tended to be described as lesser versions of their elder counterparts- prominently, her and Sirzechs. It was obvious that they both possessed the fiery crimson hair and sky-blue eyes of House Gremory. They did not have any lesser amount of those two qualities- both Sirzechs and Rias held the noble airs and regal dispositions that signified them as nobles, but Sirzechs, as the future heir, had always displayed a greater amount- perhaps to show confidence to her father's bannermen. But then that was before he had become a Great Satan. These days, although her brother seemed rather burdened by leadership, he still maintained that greatness, that noble quality. Rias kept that, too, but one could always say that Sirzechs always looked more dignified that Rias, however hard she tried to keep that evident on her face.
However, when looking at James and Joshua Bradley, it was rather easy to tell who was more the vibrant of the two.
The younger Bradley's confident smile and fuller face distinguished him from his older brother, who could be spotted perpetually wearing a grim scowl and distinguished by his sallow, somewhat unhealthy-looking sallow face. Joshua's posture was relaxed and casual, while James tended to be rigid, as if he expected harm in every step. His gleaming and rather clean-looking brown hair contrasted sharply against his sibling's oily black locks. Joshua's eyes held a twinkle in them, while James had a sharp, dissecting look about them. He looked more like a James in the prime of his youth, easygoing and exuberant- if James had ever been that. The snappy way that James tend to speak in and his behavior suggested that he had never been like his younger brother. And the accent, too. At least Joshua spoke normal American English, unlike that strange British-American monstrosity that spewed forth from James' lips...
There were a few things that linked them as brothers, however. They had the same eyes- soft brown, and the shape of their faces were essentially identical. And then there was the fact that both of them had their hair worn the same way- long-haired, all the way to the beginnings of their neck, and rather like a big messy mop. To top it all off, their suits were exactly the same color.
All this Rias noticed as she tried to gauge his reaction to her.
Observing was one of the things that she had been taught at an early age. She had been taught to nitpick at other nobles' mannerisms and wear, to gauge what they were thinking. No doubt the other heirs of the Underworld had been taught the same thing. It wasn't a life-or-death thing, but the skills of observation and deduction was a useful one indeed, something that she was sure that James and Joshua both possessed. Willis... not so much. The tax attorney didn't look like he cared for anything other than what he was currently focused on.
With a sigh, Rias turned her attention to making sure that everything was in motion, right where she wanted it.
And so the pursuit of perfection went on.
"James," Joshua said with a smile.
James scowled. His younger brother had always been one to smile and act like a dumbass. Rather like a certain tax attorney James knew...
"Josh," James said, embracing his sibling, "how's it been?"
"Eh, could be better. The JST, though... thirteen hours ahead of New York! How are you even alive, James?"
That was a question that had its own merits, given everything that had just happened last night.
"It's hard to say," he replied at last, sighing. "JST feels like a cock stuck up my fucking ass."
"Yeah, you could say that," Joshua agreed heartily, "Life in itself is a pain in the ass."
They sat down. Akeno came up with a tray of tea and cookies, and served them with a smile.
"If there is anything you require, just ask," the Queen said. "Your wish is my command."
"Oh, I'm good, Miss Himejima," his brother remarked, taking some of the tea. "You want some?"
James grunted, like he had been doing for the past hour or so. "If I wanted tea, I would have gotten some. Coffee, please- black, as strong as you can fucking make it!"
The coffee arrived, and every devil and Church exorcist soon started slowly shuffling back into the living room to meet with the new arrival. James caught glares of hostility, which was something he couldn't blame them for- after all, Joshua was currently being employed by the Japanese government, and the government was the one that wanted to murder every devil and Church exorcist in this room.
Awkward silence ensued.
James sipped his coffee. His order for strong coffee had not gone unfulfilled, and boy, was it strong!
Hateful silence, now.
James quaffed half his mug.
"Erm..." Joshua muttered, "there's got to be a reason why I'm here, right?"
A laugh, hateful and bitter. It came from Xenovia.
"If we had such a reason, you would be dead, already, traitor."
"Traitor? I am no traitor. You're the traitor, serving and protecting monsters."
"Monsters?" Irina rose from her seat, crisp British accent showing through with each and every sound that emitted from the girl's mouth. "Monsters? We're agents of the Catholic Church, sworn to defend Heaven's interests. You and your ilk are the traitors, helping the Japanese government to stop-"
"No, Gerald was hired, and I got dragged along, what're-"
"Shut up, all of you," James grunted, setting his coffee mug on the glass table that was situated between the four couches that everyone was sitting on. He rose. "Shut the hell up."
Irina and Xenovia looked at him with anger in their eyes, hands reaching for blades that could be pulled out of thin air in milliseconds.
"He's here because I asked him to be here," James said, sighing. "You should stop threatening government workers like that. The last time such threats were made, y'all got your sorry asses landed in jail."
He looked around the room to let the effect of what he had just said sink in.
"Okay, okay," Joshua said, raising his two hands in surrender. "That's good and all, but why am I here?"
James sighed, and explained. He explained the events of last night. He gave a quick backstory on Raynare, based on the evidence that Rias and her peers had given him before the attack. He described the attack and its casualties, noting the fortune of Asia's Sacred Gear in treating the injuries. He retold his own assault on the fallen angel, sending both of them plummeting to the mansion's lawn. He explained Rias' last charge against the Fallen, and was just about to explain the fact that the Fallen had gone a date with Willis before the tax attorney shook his head.
For once, Willis had shown some sense.
It was something that had to be either explained or gleaned over at some point, but could be left out for now.
"So what does this have to do with me?" Joshua said at last. "If you didn't notice, I don't really matter on the scale of doing things. Gerald, obviously, would make sense as someone to tell this to, and Heather, too, since she commands some authority. The court is to be notified, of course, but come on, man, why me?"
James looked at him, and sighed. Sometimes the man was really slow to understand things.
"You're my little brother, and I trust you."
The attorney's face widened, then contorted in hate. James arched an eyebrow in curious surprise.
"Josh, what's-"
"You bastard," Joshua muttered. "You sorry bastard."
"I am not a bastard!" James retorted hotly. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You, obviously," Joshua growled. "You think that because I'm your little brother that you can awe and impress me? You sonofabitch, you're just scared to go up against Gerald and Heather, aren't you? You're scared of Gerald Graham, courtroom legend and giant, and you're scared of Heather, who'll slap your face off for siding with these here devils in the first place! So what's the only option, huh? You resort to me. Your little brother. Sure, you raised me, and you made sure I did everything right, but that does not mean you keep that hold on me forever and ever! I'm a grown man now, twenty-five, able to make a difference in this world! Goddamn it, James, I'm not your baby brother anymore!"
James was positively incensed. He had called his brother over because he trusted him, and would have rather told him confidential information than either of the other two lawyers that represented the government's interests. And besides, anything he could say to Joshua was sure to be relayed to Gerald or Heather. In that case, it would've been the same as if Gerald and Heather had roused their asses to the mansion all along.
What Joshua was doing was being a little bitch, and James intended to tell him that.
Rias stood up suddenly and snapped her fingers.
"For lawyers and adults," the redhead remarked, "you two are remarkably immature."
"Me? Immature?" Joshua exclaimed, "It's my brother who's being immature! He thinks he can control me because we were close as kids! Goddamn it, devil, why can't things be easy for once?"
"Easy?" Rias responded, arching an eyebrow. "Easy? I'm the one under trial courtesy of your client, and you seek to ask me on my opinion of easy?"
A single laugh from the couch cut through the heated arguments like a knife through butter. James looked to see the source of the laugh, and it came from Raynare, the person who had driven this entire meeting into existence.
"That," said Raynare, pointing towards James and Joshua, "is why humans can't get anything done. Mortals, always fighting each other over the stupidest things..."
She laughed again.
"Us? Fighting each other over the stupidest things? What about your Great War?" Joshua retorted, shaking an angry fist in the air.
"Now that's a conflict on a different scale," the Fallen responded, the tone of her voice becoming dangerous now as she rose from her seat, "and one thing you shouldn't disturb, mortal! You little slime-sucking wretch, I was high and mighty long before Adam was made in Heaven's image!"
"And yet," Xenovia quipped, "you fell from High Heaven, and you are here today."
Raynare rounded on the exorcist, claws bared as she fixed the Italian girl in her apoplectic gaze. "How dare you-"
The room erupted into a cacophony as weapons were picked up and swords drawn. Instantly Raynare found herself with two blades at her throat, and half a dozen random implements like flower vases and fireplace shovels being raised against her.
Amidst the chaos, a certain tax attorney stood up. He stood up and looked around before coughing his throat and speaking in English.
"M80s," said Willis, "stop noscoping each other. In case you haven't notice, we swag lawyers have to go read some pretty lit papers and quickscope them. Besides, I'm getting tired of people trying to roast each other, so let's sanik this meeting. We all have to go fast, mah dudes. Don't let me use my banhammer..."
The room fell silent as those who could speak English tried to comprehend just exactly what Willis Japhon had just said.
Except James. Two years' worth of being subjected to dank memes had expanded his knowledge and vocabulary of the dank community.
"What he means is that we lawyers have some important business to take care of," James replied, grabbing Joshua by the shoulders and motioning for Willis to come over.
Up the stairs they went, dress shoes making sharp clicks on the marble floor as they marched by like soldiers on a death march. They turned corners and hallways, until they came upon James' simple room, replete with all the proper materials for a lawyer's convenience- desk, pencil, briefcase, and a legal pad.
Joshua looked around, before scoffing.
"The devils keep a posh mansion like this, and yet they give you a simple bedroom to sleep in."
"For your information," James responded, sighing, "I chose this particular room. You may know I don't like sleeping like a king."
Willis sighed. "Mah dudes, can you stop trying to roast each other? Otherwise it's you guys who are gonna get rekt."
"Why am I here?" Joshua protested, again, sitting on the bed. "You're just a little pussy, aren't you?"
James sighed. Joshua could be a stubborn little bitch sometimes.
"Joshua, have you ever heard of wiretapping?"
His brother's reaction was instantaneous. "You're not suggesting that the company phones aren't safe?"
"Aren't safe? Josh, they're company phones. The government took your company phones when you got here, eh?"
Joshua fished out his phone, a BlackBerry. "Are you crazy, James? You're saying every call I made in this country with this phone is being listened to by the Japs?"
It was a suspicion that James had at first, and it was not necessarily true, but it served two purposes. One, it could be true. Two, it put fear into Joshua, and helped bind them together, despite the fact that they were on different sides.
But for all he knew, the Japanese government could be doing this legally, in what was known as lawful interception. The only problem with that was that you needed a court order to do so, and the High Court wasn't giving out any of those anytime soon. Not that Judge Yamamoto or any of his comrades couldn't be doing that- it just seemed to James that they wouldn't.
If there was wiretapping, it would have to be the Supreme Court. Either that, or the wiretapping would be illegal.
"That's all," James said at last. "Go."
"That's it?" his younger brother said, looking at him in disbelief. "You wasted two hours of my life just so you could tell me that you suspect that the Japanese government is wiretapping our corporate phones? You piece of shit. You're going crazy. In fact, you shouldn't even be competent to stand-"
"Guys," Willis interjected, waving his hands around to garner attention. "This wasn't useless after all, because we got papers to give you. Tons of papers. An awesome amount of papers, if you will."
"Willis," Joshua muttered, "shut the hell up. You don't even have any papers on you-"
"Yes, we do!" the tax attorney whined, "We have interrogatories for your client to answer!"
Willis wasn't lying, for James and Willis had indeed come up with a set of interrogatories for the government to answer late last night. It was a terrible job- while Rias and the rest got to sleep in their soft beds, they, the lawyers, had to stay up until three in the morning creating-and then crossing off- questions for the Japs. What was worse was that this trial had started with them- the defendants- being severely disadvantaged.
Why was this a thing? Because no one could doubt the fact that Rias Gremory and her associates had ended the lives of two hundred and fifty-seven Japanese soldiers. Proof? The bodies were in the morgue, and in terrible condition, to boot. James had yet to receive their autopsies, but he knew that they were going to be absolutely dismal. And what was he to do about it? Nothing. It wasn't even as bad as OJ. At least the ADA's actually had a strong case against OJ until Cochran and the Dream Team turned the tide. People called OJ's trial the 'trial of the century.' But James had a stinking feeling that this would be the trial of the century- and it would be called that because of how fast James would lose against the government when trial started, wiretapping or no wiretapping.
But he had a duty to Rias- he was her attorney, and by the oaths that he had taken when graduating out of law school, he would fulfill his role as the devil's legal advocate to the best of his ability.
"Interrogatories, huh?" Joshua said, taking the paper. "Well, this'll be interesting."
He turned to leave.
"And James?" Joshua said from over his shoulder as he turned to leave, "try not to be a jerkass every time you actually have something to say, eh?"
"Fuck you," James called after him.
To James' own surprise, he found that for the first time in his life, he really meant it.
Long after Joshua Bradley had left, Rias Gremory sat back on a comfortable chair and tried to assess the situation at hand.
Nothing much had been done- leastways, that was what James had said. They had, however, began retaliating against the Japanese government, which came in the form of producing an interrogatory for the government. It was a very small step, but it was still a step.
At James' suggestion, Rias had begun to read over the trial of O.J. Simpson, a former American football player, NBC broadcaster- and accused murderer, among other things. Here was a trial that had been famously declared the 'trial of the century' for its media coverage, and the influential attorneys representing the defendants. It had grown so famous that many casual television viewers of the trial had been transformed into 'trial junkies', and at one point, Russian President Boris Yeltsin had actually asked then-President Bill Clinton if 'OJ did it.'
Giving Rias the OJ trial's basics was good and all, but the devil heiress had one important question- how did OJ relate to her own trial?
James chuckled.
"This isn't an open trial. It's not a secret trial either, and you should thank your Great Satans for that- secret trials are something usually used by dictatorships when they want to preserve their so-called national security. This trial is something that threatens Japanese national security- and the world by extension- but I guess the government's under pressure- from Jeffrey and the rest of the West, most likely- for a fair trial. Nevertheless, it's still closed, and you heard Yamamoto's gag order. At least you get a lawyer."
"True, true," Xenovia muttered in response, "but when the government of Japan has a strong case against you... well, tell me, lawyer, how do you win?"
The attorney scowled. "You're right, exorcist. I'm pretty sure Johnnie fucking Cochran couldn't save y'all now."
He turned to the staircase.
"If you are so confident that we are going to lose," said Rias, incensed, "then why do I have to pay you? I should've spent the money funding an escape attempt and retreating to the Underworld, where human laws do not apply."
James stopped, and turned slowly like someone whose name has been called but fears the speaker. But when his face came into view, it seemed as if he was having a shaking fit. With his teeth buried into his lip and his eyelids twitching, James Bradley looked almost apoplectic.
"Because," the lawyer growled, "I have a plan. The government may have a good case, but they just don't have it all."
"And?" Rias inquired, arching one of her eyebrows.
"That problem with not having it all is something I plan to exploit. Good day to you, Rias."
And then he marched up the staircase and out of Rias' view.
Rias sighed, and looked over at her peerage, the exorcists, and Raynare. She felt responsible, somehow, for all of them, even Raynare, and the truth of that made her put her head in her hands. For it was true- as the so-called 'leader' of the defendants, her peerage and the exorcists would be judged based upon how she acted. Any small slip-up in public would be pounced upon by Gerald Graham and his fellows, and as the American police liked to say, "anything that can be used against you will be used against you in court."
It was so, so tough, and Rias hated it.
"Sucks, doesn't it?" Willis Japhon said out of the blue, sitting down beside her.
"It does," said Rias. "The situation at hand is awful."
"Yeah, the situation does suck, but what sucks even more is that this chapter is filler material."
"Excuse me?" the devil heiress replied, somewhat confused as to what Willis was implying.
"Like, normally, life isn't all that exciting, but even a novice could tell this is filler. But don't worry. It gets better. There'll be more fights to come, and more revelations to be made, and more character development to be expressed. It's all good, Rias."
"What?!" Rias exclaimed, thoroughly confused now. Apparently the tax attorney was comparing everything they had just gone through to a story. But if it was a story, then the author- whether it was God or whoever else happened to be writing this cosmic tale- had to be a cruel one. A very cruel one, considering all the atrocious acts that they had committed and in turn had been forced to endure. It would be like the ultimate cruel joke- that the terrible world that they were living in was revealed to be the brainchild of some fool with a word processor.
"Seriously, though," said the tax attorney, shaking his head, "it will get better. That's how life works. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a fallen angel to go chase down and depose on paper."
Up on the stairs, Raynare gave Willis a lecherous smile, though said smile faded when the fallen angel's gaze passed over Rias.
"Gotta go fast," said Willis, patting her shoulder lightly as he stood up to leave and chase down. "Be well, Rias Gremory."
Rias only sighed in response, for she was thinking that Willis Japhon was right- it did suck, and as a certain foul-mouthed lawyer that she knew said once, it sucked the big one.