November 23
Courtroom No. 6
11:15 AM
Victoria von Graye
"Collack Strann..." I murmured to myself as I desperately attempted to figure out where I had heard this name from. It took me longer than expected to find an answer, but when I did, I let out a gasp. "Wasn't that the defendant of a case that Mr. Morix and Chrysalis worked on earlier in the year? That was from when Prosecutor Burke was attacked, right?"
"That would be correct," Prosecutor Burke said from across the courtroom, her eyes set in a scowl. "I thought all this time that he wasn't related to what happened, but it seems that I was wrong. I was too hopeful to say that he wasn't at all connected with the case. He was proven innocent, but I don't think that this fact isn't going to remain true in my eyes for much longer."
"He was the one who hired the culprit," Detective Umber explained. "He told us that it was a security precaution in case things got heated. The one who he hired was loyal to him because of everything that he had done in past times as an agent of Interpol. That was the real reason that you were attacked. It was a way for him to get away with the information that he needed without at all fearing your further interference. At the time, he told us that it was all about self-defense and that this was something necessary in order for him to stay safe, but... I don't think that's the case anymore."
"No, it wasn't true," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke remarked with an intense frowned. "It was never honest. Instead, it was something that he said as a way of keeping himself from getting into trouble over everything that he had done. It's nice to have the truth out at long last, but... I must say that I didn't like that in the slightest."
"I guess that I should tell you about what happened with the recent case at the high school next," Detective Umber said. She took in a heavy breath before shaking her head. "The culprit was hired in that case as well... You see, he thought that if he could get somebody crucial to the agency in his grasp, then he could blackmail the people involved to not keep on with their work. He wanted the agency to crumble, and he wasn't afraid to go really far in order to accomplish such an ambition."
"Chrysalis was caught in the crossfire, but Nevada wound up interfering before anything could get to be too bad," I realized. "She was going to be the pawn that undid the agency if the culprit got his hands on her. Even though harm likely wouldn't have come to her at the time, it... It still wasn't a good thing. Nevada didn't know this at the time, but she did a lot to make sure that the plan of the mastermind didn't play out the way that he had been hoping."
"Yeah," Detective Umber nodded. "It... It was difficult, to say the least. When he realized that everything wasn't working, he started to act different. I think that he was seeing that his plans were falling apart, and I realized that there was something more to it than met the eye. He had originally been telling me and my brother that we had to keep on helping him for the sake of avenging the people who had been lost. He said that we had lost two younger sisters that we were never given the chance to know, and then our mother was killed. He was desperate to get rid of the agency because of their involvement with Oracle."
"How ironic it is that he went this far," Deirdre murmured. "We were the ones who solved the truth behind the case where his previous lover was killed, and yet, he still insisted on doing more harm to the agency. In fact, I doubt that he even noticed everything that he was doing. He was too caught up in his revenge to give us a second glance unless it was convenient for him. If he had to acknowledge that we had helped him to find some important information, then that would mean that his plans were destined to fall apart."
"Yeah... It's not exactly a good thing," Detective Umber commented with a nervous laugh, though that felt obvious. "I didn't want to see all of this happen. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't find a way to make all of this logical somehow. It was wrong regardless of how I looked at it, and I hated the idea of having to continue with something that was so blatantly harming other people. In fact, it made me feel sick to my stomach. The guilt started to eat me alive. He had manipulated us."
"You were his children, but he was never given the chance to raise you. That was something that he used to his advantage to make sure that you stayed under his thumb," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke frowned. "He used your wish to get to know him against you, saying that this was the only way that you could stay together as a family."
Detective Umber nodded. "Yeah... That sounds about right," she confessed as she shook her head. "I feel ridiculous looking back on it. I feel like there was always a sensation that there was something wrong, but... I was too afraid to say something about it. I guess that I thought something bad would happen if I did speak out. I didn't think that it would ever come to this."
"Can you tell us more about what happened at the time of the crime?" I asked next. "If you have any details, we'd be more than happy to hear them. You briefly touched on what happened at the time of the attack, but if you have anything else, we need to hear it as soon as possible. Your testimony is important, but other proof would still be helpful."
"Yeah, I can go into more detail there," Detective Umber assured me. "He said that he was tired of everything not working out and that he wanted to take matters into his own hands. He left behind the office that we've been using as our base, and I watched him go without knowing what was coming next. I started to get a bad feeling about him after the previous case where the person he hired at the high school was killed. He claimed that this was the best way to save lives, but... How can it really be considered the lesser of two evils when it still traumatizes somebody?"
"He took matters into his own hands by going to the agency and executing the attack," Yuri sighed as she shook her head. My heart broke when I heard the bitterness to her voice, and I wished that there was more I could do to help her. I doubted that anybody would be able to fully cure her of what had happened during this case. It had all been an intense storm that caught her by surprise, and she was simply going to need a lot of time to think about it.
"Exactly," Detective Umber confirmed. "I suspect that he was planning on using the victim's key to sneak into the agency. He attacked her and was probably planning on hiding within the building until others arrived so that he could deal damage to them as well. He wasn't going to leave you be any longer than he already had, so he decided to just take care of everything himself."
"I don't know how he could live with himself as long as he had a plan like that," Deirdre murmured with a shake of her head. "Then again, he lost track of his humanity a long time ago due to his desire for revenge... But there is one thing that I don't understand. Venus and Cassidy... They've been dead for quite some time now. Why would he wait until now to start trying to break up the agency? Was there something that spurred him into acting now of all times?"
"As far as I can tell, yes," Detective Umber replied. "It had something to do with the betrayal within the agency from last year. He decided that it wasn't worth the risk to leave everything on its own any longer, so he took matters into his own hands. He didn't think that he was going to have to get involved directly, but here we are. He was trying to learn more about Oracle so that he could use it to get rid of them if his attempts to destroy the agency failed. He didn't wind up finding anything though, and... He left the scene of the crime. I suspect that he realized he was short on time to fully take care of the matters that he was planning on involving himself with, so he simply left the victim there without checking that she was dead."
I glanced over to Deirdre with concern in my eyes. It was beyond ironic how he had spent so much time trying to defeat the agency and Oracle only to wind up striking gold in a way that he never could have expected. The person that he ultimately struck down was Oracle, though he had no way of knowing this at the time. It was pure luck that he wound up attacking Chrysalis of all people while she was under an alias. In fact, it would have likely happened with any of us if we had been in her position of entering the agency early in the morning. I shuddered at the thought of what could have been if Chrysalis hadn't been the victim. For all we knew, that would have really caused the agency to fall apart. If we hadn't done something similar to what she attempted, then the outcome of this case certainly would have been different.
"I believe that it is crucial that we hear the testimony of this man who you claim to have been responsible for this case," Judge Diaphan cut in, her eyes narrowed from behind her mask. "Is there a way for us to summon him to the witness stand so that we can speak with him?"
Detective Umber nodded. "I believe so. In fact, I would wager a guess that he's up in the gallery right now watching over the trial. He didn't openly return to the scene of the crime because he was still trying to cover for a significant crime, and he thought that he would have been able to act through both myself and my brother. Of course, that didn't wind up working out, but... He did say that he was going to come to the trial. He didn't know that I would be testifying though," she announced.
I let out a gasp, and I found myself biting down on my lip nervously. If he was in the gallery, then that meant that we weren't going to have to wait a long time to hear his testimony. If everything that Detective Umber had said was to be believed as truth, then that meant that he had a lot to explain. He wouldn't be able to get away after all that had already been shared, and that made my stomach twist into a knot. I couldn't tell if I was terrified or looking forward to it.
Still, I doubted that there was a way for me to back down after how far we had come. I glanced up to Judge Diaphan, feeling as if my tongue was suddenly too large for my mouth. "The court will take a short recess as the prosecution prepares the coming witness," she declared. "Court is adjourned." She slammed her gavel down against the podium before her, and her voice made it clear that she wasn't allowing for any objections. I nodded to myself, understanding what had to be done, before making my way out to the lobby.
November 23
Defendant Lobby No. 6
11:35 AM
Victoria von Graye
When we arrived in the lobby, the first thing I did was look over to Yuri. Her eyes were wide, and she hadn't fully snapped back to reality ever since Detective Umber began her explanation of everything that had happened. I placed one hand on her shoulder, concern reflecting in my gaze. "Yuri... Are you okay?" I questioned softly.
Yuri jumped as she snapped back to reality, and she glanced around before her eyes settled squarely on me once again. "Oh... Um... Yeah," she began. When Deirdre and I gave her an inquisitive glance, she sighed and shook her head. "Okay, you got me! No, I'm not fine! I don't know what I'm supposed to think about all of this. What can I even say that hasn't already been said? I mean, I'm learning that my father, someone who I was never given the chance to know, has been trying to destroy the agency because of what happened two years ago. He's been blaming both the agency and Oracle for what happened to them, and he's been using two other siblings-who I didn't even know that I had until the trial got up and running today-to do all of this. He's been manipulating everybody around him for the sake of coming out on top. No, I'm not fine, and I don't know if I will be until I can get some damn answers out of him. Why is this happening?"
Mr. Morix approached carefully in the moments to follow, and I saw that Ms. Lesa was with him. "What happened?" he asked when he noticed how flustered and upset Yuri was. His eyes were sapphires full of fear and concern.
"The culprit is... Well..." I began, swallowing dryly. Yuri looked down at the ground, and Deirdre nodded, showing that she wanted me to continue with my explanation.
That was when it all came out. It was like a storm had burst free from my lips, and I couldn't stop talking until after it had all been released into the air. Mr. Morix and Ms. Lesa listened silently, their eyes wide from surprise. I let out a sigh when I was finished, and I found myself shifting nervously on the spot as I tried to get rid of the lingering traces of anxiety that were quickly mounting in the back of my mind.
"Wow," Mr. Morix finally said with a sigh. "I had no idea that the man behind all of this was Collack Strann of all people. We were so convinced that he was innocent back then... In a way, he was innocent because he paid someone else to carry out this deed. On the other hand, he was guilty in the way that he did just that. It wasn't him who swung the weapon, but he was responsible for what happened to lead to such an event. It's ridiculous to imagine that he did this, but... I know that it's true. I somehow doubt that Detective Umber would lie about this if she was really as guilty over it as you're making it sound."
"And on top of that, Collack Strann was also the infamous Cade Green that we've been hearing so much about," Ms. Lesa murmured. "It seems like every new case presents us with new information about him, and at long last, we're being given the chance to see his face up close and personal."
"And he's apparently my father!" Yuri declared, throwing her hands above her head dramatically. "How in the world am I supposed to respond to this? Nothing makes any sense at this point! I mean, I'm glad to be able to have access to information like this, but at the same time, how do I deal with something like this? It came so out of left field, and it isn't as if there were any clues in the past to show that this was the case." She looked to Mr. Morix and Ms. Lesa, and her eyes hardened into a glare. "Did you two know about this?"
"We heard a few things about Cade Green during the case where we were defending Collack Strann, and one of those things was that the man in question took on an alias of Carson Rinko to keep himself safe from the rest of the world," Mr. Morix replied. "But we didn't have any evidence beyond surname to connect the two of you, and we didn't want to jump to conclusions in case it wound up being a dead end for you."
"I mean, if you will recall from the case at the theater, there was a case of us seeing people who share a surname but aren't related," Deirdre pointed out carefully. "Felicity and Sky have the surname of Amaya, and the same applied to Satoki. However, there was no major connection between them, as I'm sure you all remember. The same is likely the case here."
"I guess that we've got a lot to think about with this case," I murmured with a shake of my head. "I'm glad to know that we're going to be able to hear from the person who Detective Umber claims is the culprit, but... It still does concern me. I hope that he doesn't have a way of worming out of this."
"In any case, everything makes a lot more sense now," Deirdre remarked. "Regarding her strange behavior during the previous case, that is. If you will recall, she started acting oddly during the case at the high school. In my opinion, I would say that this is because she knew that this was wrong. She mentioned that much during the trial, but I would like to say that there's probably another layer of depth to it. If you want me to be more specific, it has everything to do with the anonymous tip that led to Mukuro being suspected in the first place."
"In that case, Cade Green was behind it," I agreed with a nod. "He was probably applying pressure from his place in hiding to make sure that the truth wasn't revealed. After all, if somebody realized that the victim was somebody hired to attack another person, then it was only a matter of time before people started asking questions about who the client was. If his true identity was discovered, then everything was bound to fall apart from there. He sent in the tip to make it seem as if he had evidence that Mukuro was guilty despite that not being the case, allowing her to be arrested while nobody looked at him in such a way."
"In other words, he abused his authority," Ms. Lesa concluded as she narrowed her eyes. "That's the only explanation for this. He decided that he wanted to make sure the truth was kept quiet, and his solution was to make sure that we didn't have a way to prove that he was involved despite the tip he sent in. That would keep him out of trouble while also diverting the attention in a direction that he could agree with."
"I bet that he's the reason that Lily's arrest was so rushed too," Mr. Morix chimed in. "It's strange how early she was arrested for this case, and when you look at it that way... Well, the pieces certainly do start to fit together with a stunning amount of clarity when you view it from this new perspective."
As if on cue, Lily approached us with Felicity and Sky in the moments that followed. Lily looked up to Mr. Morix with anxiety in her gaze. "Collack Strann... I don't like that, I have to say," she confessed with a nervous laugh.
"Me neither," Mr. Morix muttered. He glanced over to Ms. Lesa, and I noticed that she had started shaking her head. If I had to guess, then I would have assumed that she was starting to criticize herself for not recognizing his face sooner. In all fairness, it wasn't as if she was given much time to think about who her assailant was, and since Mr. Strann had only crossed paths with her once a few months prior, it made sense that she didn't remember him. The name was familiar to her, but the face had eluded her grasp until then.
"We've got to be ready for what he throws at us," I declared as I glanced over to Lily. "I'm sure that we're going to be able to end the case now though. Detective Umber's testimony is important, and I'm sure that her brother will be able to back up her story if we absolutely need another piece of proof for all of this."
"I'm glad that you're so confident that the case is going to be solved," Lily confessed with a light smile. "It truly is relieving that you know what you're doing. I mean, I always had confidence in you, but hearing about it like this is a different feeling from just thinking about it, you know? It feels like we're finally about to be done with all of this. After all that we've put up with, that's more than enough for me. I could use the freedom from the detention center too."
"It sounds to me like we're going to have a lot of evidence to use against Mr. Strann too," Deirdre pointed out. "He's been involved with a few cases in the past. For example, he's pushed for unlawful arrest on multiple occasions. To date, it's happened three times. He ordered the assault on Prosecutor Burke in case she stepped out of line during their original meeting. He also sent somebody after Chrysalis to try and blackmail the agency into dispersing. Even if he's been a target for countless others in the past, it's no excuse after what he's done to make the lives of others miserable."
"No objection here," Felicity chimed in. "I'm sure that you'll be able to do this! Besides, we have our own little trump card here, don't we? I'm sure that our witness can confirm if the culprit is the one that she saw." She glanced over to Ms. Lesa, and I realized that recognition was blooming in her eyes. She didn't seem to fully put the pieces together about who she was, and I sighed internally with relief when Felicity gave up on her endeavors to figure out where she had seen the other woman before. This was not the place to be explaining matters related to Oracle, to say the least, especially not given the situation we were in.
"Um... Hello."
I turned upon hearing Detective Umber's voice, and I could see her approaching us with her brother. Her guilt was blatant in her eyes, and I could tell that Prosecutor Umber felt the same way even if he was doing a better job of hiding it. "I... I just wanted to apologize for everything that we've put your agency through. I know that we were being manipulated into following a specific line of reasoning against you, but I don't think that it's a complete excuse for what's happened," she said.
Before any of us could say anything to her, she turned her attention to Ms. Lesa. "I want to apologize to you most of all. If I had known that it was all going to come to this, then... I never would have agreed to work with him. He made it sound like we were doing things for the greater good, but I know that isn't the case now. I wish that I could have done something to stop him, but I didn't know about what happened until after he had already come after you. I'm sorry," she continued, her words starting to speed up in her anxiety.
Ms. Lesa's expression was unreadable as she shook her head. "Don't apologize," she replied. "I already forgive you for what happened. You want to get better, and that's what matters most. I trust that you aren't going to betray that trust now. You've made mistakes, but that doesn't mean that you can't go back on them and change the world for the better. I'm confident that you'll follow through with both."
I smiled to myself at her words, and I felt the tension in my shoulders release. It was nice to hear that she was willing to leave this in the past. I doubted that she would ever fully forget about what had happened, but it was still an important step for her to take. In my eyes, it was the start of us moving away from the recent events of the past few cases, and as far as I could tell, that was exactly what we needed. We deserved to kick back and get rid of all the pent-up stress that had been building in the moments where we weren't paying attention.
"Our ignorance does little to excuse what has happened, but we appreciate your faith in us regardless," Prosecutor Umber said next as he closed his eyes in silent contemplation. "We trust that you'll do what you can to stay out of trouble in the future as well... Though I somehow doubt that we'll be hearing much of anything from Eileen Liyle or Razi Lesa anytime soon."
Ms. Lesa shook her head and shrugged. "We'll simply have to see how it all unfolds," she replied instead, though I knew exactly what this meant. This would be the last time that Eileen Liyle or Razi Lesa saw use as an alias. After this case was over, they were going to be shelved and tucked away far from the prying eyes of the public. It was doubtful that she would get a moment of peace while working under those names in the future given what had taken place during this case, so I certainly understood her decision. It would be for the best to leave them in the past before anyone could decide that they wanted to learn more about a pair of women who never existed in the first place.
A cry from the bailiff pulled me out of my thoughts, and I realized that it was time for us to go back into the courtroom. "Well, I guess this is it," I commented simply, feeling the nervous smile on my face before I could notice that it was there. I looked in the direction of the Umber twins. "Thanks for everything, you two. We're going to make sure that this isn't a wasted opportunity. He's done all sorts of bad things, but we'll do what we can to make sure that this doesn't ever happen again."
"Thank you," Detective Umber smiled. She gave us a brief wave before turning on her heel and walking away. Prosecutor Umber trailed after her, but only after he left us with an empty gaze that truly showed how awful he felt about all of this. I felt my stomach twist in concern. I had no idea what was waiting for those two, and coming forward couldn't have been easy. In the end, they had chosen morality over their own security, and while I appreciated the choice, it didn't stop me from feeling bad for them.
"Good luck in there," Felicity told us. Sky nodded and followed her into the courtroom next. Lily flashed us a wave before walking in for herself, leaving only the defense team in the lobby alongside Mr. Morix and Ms. Lesa.
"I'll see if I recognize him in the courtroom, though I feel like we both know where this is going to go," Ms. Lesa said simply. "I trust that you'll be able to take care of the case from here. We have nothing but full confidence in you. Make sure to catch him. Everyone is counting on you, but... I don't think that's going to be an issue at all." She smiled sincerely for what felt like the first time since this case had started, and she walked into the courtroom a moment later.
"You can do this," Mr. Morix agreed with a nod as he trailed after her. His eyes lingered on Yuri briefly, but he chose to not say anything. She had been uncomfortably quiet ever since the conversation shifted topics away from the matter of the culprit being her father, and I couldn't blame her for needing time to think in the slightest.
I initially wasn't sure about if it would be a good idea to probe her on this subject, but after a few seconds of contemplation, I wound up giving in. "Yuri, we're going to make sure that everything is alright," I told her. "I know that it isn't going to be easy, but... We've got you covered. If you want to talk about what's happened after the case has ended, all you have to do is say so. We're going to be here for you no matter what happens in there."
Yuri looked up at me in shock for a moment before she nodded. "Thanks," she forced herself to say, though she didn't go any further beyond that. I didn't think that she had to though, so I chose to not push it. Instead, I followed her into the courtroom in preparation for what was to come.
The pieces of this case had finally come together, and I knew that we were going to bring this nightmare to an end soon. We had determined who the culprit was, and all we had to do was put it into motion. Lily was going to be freed from suspicion soon enough, and we would be able to allow Chrysalis to break free of her previous confines as well. I was sure that we were going to be able to succeed in this case soon enough. The culprit wasn't going to know what hit him until well after it was already too late for him.
Case is almost over oh boy
-Digital