June 23

Courtroom No. 5

11:30 AM

Cotoli Morix

Mr. Middleton cleared his throat as he glanced out to the occupants of the courtroom, and he began to turn his body in the direction of the door. "As riveting as this entire exchange was, I believe it's time for me to take my leave. I shouldn't have been dragged into something like this from the beginning, and it bothers me that you continue to accuse me to such a degree when I know I did not kill the victim," he announced. "Perhaps this is a sign that we should be ending things off here, hm?"

My eyes went wide. I was desperate to say something, anything, that might be able to stop him from leaving, but truth be told... I didn't think there was anything I could say. Where would I even start when it came to trying to get him to stick around? He had already decided that he wasn't going to be talking, and even after all this time spent talking, we still didn't seem to be any closer to figuring out what happened on the night of the murder. No matter how hard I tried to speak up and get him to stay where he was, I just couldn't get the words to form, and my fingers clenched into a tight fist.

"Cotoli..." Chrysalis murmured, examining me for any signs that I would be able to push back against Mr. Middleton. When she realized that I didn't have any ideas, her expression twisted into a snarl. "You can't possibly mean..."

"But we know that he must have..." Venus began to say, her voice trailing off a moment later on account of her previous uncertainty. "Unless... You don't think we were wrong in assuming all of this, do you? We know that Chief Prosecutor Cristopher didn't do it, but..."

"I don't know," I eventually forced myself to say because truth be told, it was the only thing I could say. "I don't know what we're supposed to do now." There were a thousand other ways I could have ended the first part of that sentence, but I couldn't bring myself to continue speaking no matter how hard I tried. My hands were still growing tense, and I stared down at the bench in front of me like I thought it would reveal all the answers I had been searching for throughout this trial. I wasn't going to let the culprit get away so easily, but where was I supposed to start when it came to breaking through all of the deception?

"I suppose I might as well go on and take my leave then," Mr. Middleton announced with a light smile on his face. "You've come to understand that you bit off more than you could chew, and it's high time too. I think you've been trying to overextend for a while now, and it's best that you understand the truth after all this time. It's a shame all it took was pestering me for such a long time in the courtroom, but... I suppose life has a strange way of working out that way, hm?"

I looked over to Ghastly, desperate for him to say something that would keep the trial going, but it felt as if we had exhausted all our avenues of investigation already. This trial had started too soon after the murder was discovered, and there simply wasn't enough proof for us to use to find the truth behind what happened. I knew Mr. Middleton had to be the one responsible, but if that was the case, why were we still at a loss for the truth? It was just getting more frustrating as time went on, and I found myself tapping my foot against the ground in agitation to try and see if that would do something to bring the answers to light. I knew it wasn't going to be that simple, but I was so desperate that I was willing to try anything.

Judge Diaphan opened her mouth to say something, but she was ultimately cut off by the doors to the courtroom being thrown open. I could tell Judge Diaphan was on the verge of saying something stern to the new arrivals, but she decided to not speak up when she realized who the people standing in the entryway were. "D and Q," she muttered quietly. "I thought you decided you were going to conduct your own investigation away from the courtroom."

"We did, and it came back with the results I was hoping for," D announced. "Thanks to Q here, we were able to enhance a certain piece of video footage used as evidence in a past trial. All other copies of the evidence may have been destroyed, but Interpol was able to keep its proof from the trial about evidence forgery not long ago, and that was all we needed."

Ghastly blinked in surprise before he held up one hand. "Wait, hold on a moment. Go back. What do you mean you were able to enhance a piece of video footage? I was under the impression that the police already tried that when the trial for the back alley deal when to court the first time," he announced.

"They did try it, but they weren't able to make much progress because they're nowhere near as technologically advanced as a few others," D responded as she glanced over to Q casually. "If anyone is able to find answers behind a mysterious subject, it would be Q, and he was more than able to find the truth behind this case as well. In fact, I believe that the enhanced version of the video footage will be all we need to discover who killed the victim. Q's increased skills with technology truly are incredible, hm?"

I wanted to ask a thousand more questions about how Q was able to pull all of this off, but I could already tell that I wasn't going to fully understand anything he or D said to me in response. Instead, I simply allowed myself to go silent as Judge Diaphan nodded to them both. "Then go right ahead, witnesses," she announced.

Mr. Middleton raised one hand to get attention on himself before he spoke up. "Surely this should not be allowed. They said they were going to leave the courtroom to focus on their own investigation, and that means they should be occupied with other matters rather than wanting to be here talking to the rest of us," he announced. "It doesn't make sense that they would turn around and return so soon. Surely someone must take an issue with this."

"I don't," Ghastly told him bluntly. "And judging by the fact that she just confirmed the idea of letting them talk about what they found, I would say Your Honor doesn't have any issues with it either."

"I want to find out what happened on the night of the crime," Judge Diaphan told Mr. Middleton simply. "That's all there is to it. For now, I think the best way to reach that goal would be to have the two Interpol agents show what they were able to find during their brief period of investigation... Unless, of course, you're afraid of what they might be able to show."

Mr. Middleton's posture grew tense for a brief moment before he shook his head. "Of course not," he murmured, but I could already tell he was more than just afraid of it. He was terrified of what he might find at the end of this path, and I found myself smiling as I looked down at the bench in front of me. It wasn't anything concrete yet, but I felt like we were going to start making some real progress at long last as long as we were able to follow this piece of evidence to the end.

It didn't take too long for the bailiffs to roll out a television screen at Judge Diaphan's direction, and D and Q immediately took to tinkering around with it. Q set up a small device to the television with a single wire, and I was left to wonder how they were able to do something like that. Perhaps Interpol truly was the most advanced group when it came to technology like this. I wouldn't know for sure given my lack of experience with the group, but this was probably my best chance of figuring it out, and all I could do was stare. I hadn't ever been good with something like this, but I was glad D and Q knew what they were doing even if Q seemed to be doing most of the work.

When the screen was finally set up properly, Q pressed a button on the side to start up the screen's power. "This is something everyone should see," Q announced. He gestured to the picture that showed the familiar image of the two people at the end of the alleyway. "This is the piece of video evidence that has come up so many times throughout this trial. This is what was taken on video by the victim of a past case... And if we enhance the image..."

Q began to press a few buttons on the small device connected to the screen, and the picture zoomed in and grew higher in quality. From there, I was able to pick out the familiar face of Eris Rowland as she spoke with an unknown figure. I knew what I was going to find when I shifted my attention over to the other person, but I still found myself biting down on my lip from anxiety as I stared down at the culprit of this case.

Mr. Middleton was standing there clear as day. He was wearing darker clothing to try and hide himself among the shadows, but I could still recognize him based on stature and the clothing he chose to wear. My eyes narrowed as I shifted my attention back to the witness stand, and I could see that he was looking at the television screen with wide eyes, almost as if he was surprised D and Q had actually been able to pull all of this off. He seemed to freeze for a long moment, simply trying to process everything that he was seeing even though he didn't seem to know what to do in response to it.

Ghastly was the first one to break through the quiet. "Well, witness?" he asked. "I think it's high time you chose to confess to your crimes. The only way you're going to be leaving this courtroom is in handcuffs."

Mr. Middleton's eyes turned into a hardened glare before he looked over to where I was standing. He was completely ignoring Chrysalis and Venus to instead make perfect eye contact with me. I was frozen on the spot, feeling as if all I could do was return the favor. "You should have joined my agency when you had the chance," Mr. Middleton snarled. "I could have made you into something great, but instead, all you want to do is mess around on your own. You act as if you'll be able to do anything by yourself. It's tragic that you're willing to waste so much talent in a place where it'll never truly be displayed. You should have come along with me and sided with my agency as soon as the offer was given to you... You're a fool, and it's time you recognize it."

"I will never regret not siding with a murderer," I told him evenly, doing my best to keep my voice even despite the way it was trying to shake at the edges. "I made my choice, and I don't regret what I had to do in order to keep the people I care about safe. That much I can promise you."

Mr. Middleton raised one hand above his head before he clenched it into a fist and slammed it down on the witness stand. A small indent appeared in the podium, and I flinched at the echoing sound of his skin making contact with the wood. He stared down at the blood dripping from his hand before he started to chuckle under his breath, though it didn't take long for the laughter to start growing louder. "This was your mistake. Remember that you were the one who made this choice," he announced. "There's never a way to undo the decisions that have already been made, and this... This is the end for you. Even though you may not realize it, this is where it all falls apart for you, Cotoli Morix. That much I promise you."

Before Mr. Middleton could say anything else, a few bailiffs came in around him to grab him by the arms and escort him out of the courtroom. I watched him go, doing my best to process the words he had spoken even though I knew it wasn't going to be that simple. My throat felt like it was closing up on me, and a comforting hand came down on my arm to try and soothe my fears. It was Chrysalis, but I could tell uneasiness was manifesting behind her gaze as well.

Judge Diaphan waited until Mr. Middleton was gone before she cleared her throat in an attempt to get the trial back on course once again. "It seems as if we have discovered the truth behind this case at long last," she announced, doing her best to keep her words even in the face of all that had taken place. "I believe it's time for me to render my verdict against the defendant."

Chief Prosecutor Cristopher arrived at the stand soon afterward, and he shot me a brief smile. Perhaps it was because I was paranoid given what had just taken place, but my mind only seemed to notice the ways in which his grin was similar to Mr. Middleton's smile. I shuddered and looked away, knowing I wouldn't be able to stand to stare for any longer than I already had.

"Thanks to the quick work of a few Interpol agents, we were able to discover the truth behind this case," Judge Diaphan announced, shifting her attention down to where Q and D were standing on either side of the television screen.

"We did what we thought would be best to reveal the truth," D said simply, seemingly not at all minding the many eyes that were locked on her. Q was faring much worse though, and he raised one hand to rub at the base of his neck anxiously. He laughed nervously under his breath, doing his best to remain composed and utterly failing at the first hurdle. I couldn't blame him; I wouldn't have been much better if I was placed in that situation.

"Well, I would say it all worked out for the best," Judge Diaphan declared. "Do the defense and prosecution have any objections?" I barely noticed myself and Ghastly responding in the negatory, but Judge Diaphan continued regardless of my silent uncertainty. "In that case, this court hereby finds the defendant, Hans Cristopher, not guilty. Court is adjourned!"

Even as the gavel was brought down and the trial was officially brought to a close, I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. There was more wrong with this case than anybody could even hope to understand, and it felt like we had only scratched the surface when it came to truly finding out what happened on the night of the murder. I was desperate to find out more though, so I retreated to the defendant's lobby with determination in my heart and passion on my mind.

June 23

Courtroom No. 5

12:00 PM

Chrysalis Starr

When we got out into the defendant lobby, D and Q were already there waiting for us, seemingly having darted out in the moments just after the verdict was declared. I wasn't exactly that enthused about approaching them, but I knew it would probably be best if I said at least something, so I walked up to them both carefully. They were so caught up in murmuring something to one another that they did't even notice I was there until after Cotoli had cleared his throat from his place behind me.

When D and Q glanced up, Cotoli spoke. "Thank you for everything you did in there. I don't think we would have been able to win the case without you," he said with a light smile. Even though he was out of sight, I could heard the anxious grin in his voice, and I could already tell this was going to be one of many things we talked about after this discussion drew to a close.

"We did what we had to in order to find the truth behind the case," D said simply. "We wanted to see who was responsible for the evidence forgeries at every level, and if there's one thing Q is good at, it's using technology in a meaningful way. I had a feeling we could analyze the video more than what others had done if we pushed hard enough."

"In other words, that was your plan from the start," Venus concluded. "That was the reason you requested to leave the courtroom; you already knew you were going to be able to do something important by looking at the evidence in more detail, and you were right."

"We did what we had to in order to show what really happened," Q replied with a smile. "That's all you need to know. Given the fact that Mr. Middleton finally confessed, I would say that our mission was a success... Though I wish we had been able to find out that he was responsible for so much before he was able to kill the victim of this case."

I nodded my agreement at that, wishing there was something more we could have done to catch him in his act sooner. Looking back, it seemed all too obvious, but it still made me feel sick to my stomach that he had done so much in the name of his forgeries. Mr. Middleton had likely used evidence forgeries as a way of winning his past trials too, and that could have very easily been where his incredible win record came from. We may not have known which cases he forged evidence on, but I knew there had to be at least some where he did get illegal activity involved. That just seemed like an inevitability at this point.

"I suppose we should get back to Interpol and do what we can to report this," D said as she glanced over to Q, though I got the feeling she was getting tired of having to put up with the various aspects of this case. Q nodded his response, and she offered a curt nod to us. "It was nice meeting you." She said nothing else as she turned on her heel and retreated from the room, vanishing around the corner into the hallway. I watched her go carefully, my eyes narrowing at the spot where she once stood.

"I would say that went rather well."

The voice of Ghastly pulled me out of my trance, and I glanced up to see him and Cassidy standing in front of me. "You could say that," Venus muttered under her breath in response to him. "I would personally say that trial was a disaster. We came so close to losing everything, and if not for D and Q swooping in at the last minute, we may not have been able to figure out what actually happened."

"It seems like there's still so much about this case we don't understand," Cassidy chimed in. "Who wrote the letters accusing D and Q on the ground? How was Mr. Middleton able to clean up the crime scene to the point that it seemed like we may not ever find him? It seems like there's a lot more going on here than we originally thought, and... I don't like it."

"When it comes to talking about the letters on the ground, I get the feeling we're going to figure that out soon enough," I murmured. I looked up and saw that Chief Prosecutor Cristopher was walking out into the lobby, and I resisted the urge to snarl under my breath. "We have to talk to him about what happened. If anybody's going to know, I'm sure it's going to be him."

Cotoli nodded his agreement, and he gave Ghastly a brief glance filled to the brim with concern. Ghastly just waved it off. "Don't worry about us. We'll still be here when you get back. Go talk to Chief Prosecutor Cristopher," he instructed of us. Cassidy nodded her agreement from her place at his side.

That was all I needed in terms of a clue to go and talk to him, so I turned on my heel and started off in the direction of the chief prosecutor. He smiled when he saw us, but there was something more at the edge of his grin that left me feeling sick. "It's nice to see you three are doing well," he greeted simply. "I was hoping you would succeed in the trial, and look at that? You were able to pull it off... Though I have to admit that I still don't entirely understand your course of action. Why didn't you use the letters on the ground to say that D and Q did it? They certainly seemed suspicious throughout this case, didn't they? You shouldn't have trusted them over somebody you already knew."

"We were just about to ask you about the letters on the ground, if you don't mind," Cotoli commented, his hands finding a place in his pockets as he tried to seem as casual as possible during the confrontation. "You've been pushing pretty hard for us to use the writing in blood as evidence during this case even though I said from the start I had a bad feeling about it. If you don't mind my asking... Why is that?" I figured he was going to address Chief Prosecutor Cristopher's recklessness when it came to D and Q in a moment, and my fingers began to clench into a fist. I already had an awful feeling about this conversation.

"I figured it would be the fastest way to get a not guilty verdict. That's what you want, isn't it? You want your client to be declared not guilty so that you can go on with your lives like nothing ever happened in the first place. You give your clients the chance to be free once again, and that's something important... You should do what you can to help it happen as quickly as possible," Chief Prosecutor Cristopher said in response. "That's the way of a defense attorney, is it not?"

"We want to find the truth, not simply prove our client innocent. If the defendant was the one responsible for a crime, then we aren't going to say that they didn't do it just so we can keep a perfect record intact. We want to help people and discover what actually happened when these people were killed. They deserve justice for their deaths, and this is the least we can do to help them reach that point," Cotoli countered.

"It would have been so much faster and easier if you simply allowed yourselves to use the writing in blood, you know," Chief Prosecutor Cristopher frowned. "That would have ended the trial in the blink of an eye and told everyone that D and Q did it. They could have easily been accomplices."

"But they didn't do it. We just proved that Mr. Middleton was the one responsible for killing the victim," Venus fired back. "What are you trying to get at here? If I didn't know better, I would say you were trying to tell us something with all your talking around the question."

"Perhaps I simply wanted to be declared innocent as soon as possible," Chief Prosecutor Cristopher replied with a loose shrug. "I told you that your job is to get the defendant a not guilty verdict, and even if you have your own philosophies, that's the description of the job for a defense attorney. It's a shame it took you so much longer to get there compared to other lawyers..."

My eyes went wide as the pieces started to come together in full. "You did this," I realized in a whisper under my breath. "You were the one who wrote the letters in blood on the ground. When D and Q were starting the investigation, you took advantage of them being distracted to try and accuse them. You didn't care who took the fall for you as long as you were declared not guilty. You knew you were going to be arrested, and you planned this out by writing the letters in blood to make it seem like someone else did it."

"That's why you wanted us to defend you too," Cotoli murmured, his eyes going wide as well. "You wanted someone new to the legal world who wouldn't question the writing in blood on the ground. You thought we would go along with it because we're so new to the courtroom, and you were banking on us falsely accusing D and Q of the crime. That was the reason you wanted us to defend you to begin with, wasn't it?"

Chief Prosecutor Cristopher chuckled and shook his head. "I have to admit that you're sharper than you look. I never thought you would pick up on everything quite so easily... But it's too late now, isn't it? You were able to get me a not guilty verdict regardless of if you think I deserve it or not. You have to deal with that, and for now, you're out of the playing field when it comes to the legal world. You're still new to everything, and if you try to tell anyone about this, it's your word against mine. Who are they going to believe? It's either a trio of rookie lawyers-two of whom don't even have law degrees-or the chief prosecutor who has done so much over the last few years since reaching this position of office. I think we all know how that's going to end before it can even begin."

I glared up at him, unable to stop the way my fingernails dug relentlessly into my palms inside my closed fists. "You're disgusting," I snarled. "All of this was a setup because you didn't have faith the lawyer assigned to your case would be able to prove you were innocent. You were willing to let other people who weren't responsible for this case take the fall as long as you would be given the chance to walk free. You're awful. Every part of you disgusts me."

"Those are fierce words there, but I can assure you that this has nothing to do with any of you. It isn't personal in the slightest. I know how good the legal system is at getting guilty verdicts. I'm the chief prosecutor, after all; how could I not be aware?" Chief Prosecutor Cristopher asked. "I simply figured it would be best if you had a bit of a push in the right direction... The direction that would show I wasn't the one who killed the victim."

Cotoli was quiet for a long moment before his eyes went wide. "I get it now," he murmured. "The reason you were in the area of the crime scene the night of the murder... You were going to talk with the evidence forgers too, weren't you? You were in on this from the start, and you were going to pick up some false evidence to use in your own trials. That's where your extensive record in the courtroom comes from, doesn't it?"

"You're a sharp one, but once again, you'll never be able to prove it. I think we both know who's going to win when it comes to a battle of authority under these circumstances, and you three are destined to fail. You were set up from the instant you took on this case, and you played right into my hands. You may have avoided proving me not guilty at the beginning, but at least you were able to pull it off eventually. I'll consider that a victory for now, though you should perhaps think about indulging the evidence forgery ring every once in a while. I'm sure it would help you," Chief Prosecutor Cristopher continued with a smile that made me want to punch him in he face.

"How did you not know Mr. Middleton was the culprit?" Venus asked. "If you've been involved with the ring for as long as you're making it seem like you have been, you should have known it was him."

"The entire operation was anonymous," Chief Prosecutor Cristopher replied simply. "I'm sure you'll discover that soon enough. After all, if you want to stand on your own two feet in times like these, you're going to have to do something to set yourself apart from the rest. I'm sure the group will more than welcome you after all that's happened. Until then... I'm looking forward to seeing what you do in the courtroom from now on. I'm sure your record will only grow from here."

I could do nothing but stand there shaking with anger as he walked away. This entire case had been a disaster from start to finish, and even if we were able to find the truth, it didn't feel as if we had won. Chief Prosecutor Cristopher had played us for fools the entire time, and even if we were able to escape his game in the end, we were still under his thumb. He was the only one who won in this case, and I hated that more than words could ever describe.

"Dammit," I whispered as my hands came up to cradle my face. Angry hot tears were starting to stream down my cheeks. "Dammit."

TURNABOUT UNDER PRESSURE

END

Man this case,,, man

-Digital