[November 7th, 8:41 am, Roncontra Hotel]

Robin put down his brief and saw Anna take another sip of her coffee. Morgan was scarfing down the remains of her complimentary breakfast. There was a newspaper lying on the table, mostly untouched. It showed a dramatic photo of the crime scene, focusing on Fado's arm hanging over the side of his chair. The card Robin had found was in the center of the frame, surrounded by Fado's hand.

"Still studying hard, I see," said Anna, "Got a plan for today?"

"Yeah. Who're we gonna talk to first?" asked Morgan, cheeks full of food.

"I'm still curious about Renault's behavior," Robin said, stroking his chin, "I don't know why he so adamantly refuses any of the defenses I'm willing to provide. He kept saying vague things about how I should stay out of all this and avoid what happened to Fado, but none of it really made any concrete sense."

"I wonder if he's protecting someone," Morgan hypothesized. "That's what made me turn around at first. When I learned Nino was going to get in trouble, I didn't think about what was happening, I just felt like I had to protect her."

"I suppose that's possible, but, in that case, who would he be protecting?"

"A family member, maybe?"

"Doubt it," said Anna. Robin and Morgan turned their attention to her. "I did a little looking around last night, and found some info on our client. Among other things, I know for a fact that he doesn't have any living family. He's never been married or had children, and his parents passed away several years ago. As far as I can tell, he was an only child, too."

"So much for that idea," said Robin. He let out a sigh. "Well, I didn't really expect the solution to be that simple, anyway. The premise remains the same: Renault is hiding something from us, something that he thinks is out of our reach, and since he refuses to tell us anything more about it, the only thing we can do is keep digging up evidence until we figure out what's really going on here."

Morgan nodded her head. "Spoken with conviction, Boss. So… uh, how are we gonna find more stuff out?"

"I think the best thing to do is to go off of yesterday's trial: we start by figuring out who rented the room before Fado and Renault. Once we know that, we should have some extra leads."

"Sounds like a plan! Let's do it!" Morgan pumped her fist.

"You guys go on ahead," Anna said, "I'm going to keep digging for now. I'm not exactly awake yet…"

"No problem," Robin said, "just let us know if you find anything important. Otherwise, I'll call you when we're coming back."

Anna gave him a nod, and Robin invited Morgan to step out of the hotel room with him.

[November 7th, 9:23 am, Blazing Stones Cantina]

The building looked every bit as dark and dingy as it had on the day Robin had first entered it. Because it was an active crime scene, the bar was eerily deserted. Chairs and stools sat empty, gathering dirt and dust as they were neglected. When Robin and Morgan approached the bar, they could hear shuffling in the back room. Robin decided to call out to alert the other person to their presence: "Hello? Is someone back there? We're with Renault Desombres's defense…"

The shuffling stopped, and, in a moment, they watched Shinon Tisamo emerge from the back room. "Oh, it's you guys," he said, acknowledging them both, "Back to have another look at the place?"

"Actually," said Robin, "we were hoping to get a look at that ledger you talked about in the trial. We'd like to see who rented the room before Renault and Fado."

"Ah, that's right. The angry prosecutor guy came in earlier askin' about the same thing."

So, Ephraim already beat us to the punch. No surprise there, I guess.

"See, problem is… there doesn't seem to be anythin' useful there."

"What do you mean?"

"Have a look for yourself." Shinon brought out his ledger and flipped to a page in the middle. He sat the book down flat on the bar for Robin and Morgan to see.

Robin could read two names: "Otto Feldspar and Callum Tigris."

"Ring any bells?" Shinon asked.

"Not even a little."

"Then there you go. They paid their deposit in cash, so I know exactly as much as you do."

"I guess it makes sense: someone pulling off a ruse as complex as this must've been pretty careful about how they did it."

"Pisses me off. Using my business for their little murder plot? I don't like it one bit. I ever get my hands on those guys, they'll wish they could go to jail instead."

Robin sighed. "Well, we appreciate your help anyway, Mr. Tisamo."

"You don't gotta call me that outside the court. Just 'Shinon' will do."

"Right, well, thanks, Shinon."

"Oh! That reminds me: I don't have no special evidence for you guys, but I did get a message for ya. Normally, I don't deal with passin' that kinda crap back and forth between people—it's how ya get yourself wrapped up in rackets, y'know—but I made an exception when this lady came by sayin' she wanted to send a message to Renault Desombres's defense attorney. Sounded interesting."

"A lady? Looking for me? What'd she have to say?"

"She said to meet her at Uhai Lowlands Market as soon as you can."

"Sorry… what market?"

"Leave the cantina and go right, follow the road until you get to Breguet Boulevard, hang a left, and then keep going for three lights. On the fourth light, turn right, and you'll end up at Uhai Lowlands. They have a bazaar there that lets in different vendors every week."

"I see. That's an interesting place to meet. I wonder who this lady is."

"That's what I was wonderin', too. She did give me a name, but it didn't mean much to me. Said I should tell you she was Leah Burg."

Robin's eyes flashed. "Oh! Leah Burg, huh? Well, that does make things a little clearer… though I'm still not sure what she'd have to say to me at this point."

Shinon nodded, then folded his arms. When no one said anything further, he leaned forward. "Well, you gonna let a guy in on anything? I kept that message 'cause I wanted to see where this was going."

"I don't think she'd like me sharing too much, but… Ms. Burg is a recent acquaintance of mine. We met while I was investigating an earlier case. I don't know exactly what her status is, but suffice it to say she seems… influential."

"That's what I like to hear," said Shinon, grinning. He surveyed the room conspiratorially. "So, tell me this: how 'well acquainted' are you two, huh? This a cat-and-mouse thing?"

"Uh, no." Robin's face fell. "Nothing like that. She's not really… er, I'm not really her type, if you catch my meaning."

"Oh, yeah…" Shinon nodded sagely, "professional lady, huh? More into the dumb muscle-heads she can boss around. Makes sense."

"That's not exactly what I—"

"Well, anywho, I shouldn't be pryin' too much. You go on and do your investigating. And you come back any time you need to. Just make sure you got some interesting info to share, and I'll be happy to give you what I can."

"Thanks, Shinon."

Robin took Morgan by the hand and led her out of the cantina. The pair hopped in Robin's car and set out for the market they'd been told to visit. Robin spent the whole drive wondering what his contact was planning to tell him.

[November 7th, 10:07 am, Uhai Lowlands Market]

Robin and Morgan entered the bazaar and walked slowly from stall to stall, not certain what they should be looking for. The sun had begun to rise higher into the sky and had already made the lit portions of the market sizzle with heat. The wandering shoppers kept to shady spots near the stalls as they bargained for an eclectic range of goods: fresh fruits, hand-made rugs and carpets, furniture, glassware, artwork, and, of course, the cheesy tourist memorabilia that seemed to somehow materialize at every remotely popular travel destination.

Robin searched in the gaps between the stalls to see if anyone might be waiting for him, trying to catch a glimpse of his face. He found no luck, however, and ended up admiring some of the paintings of a local artist. He gazed longingly into a piece that depicted the desert sands and sapphire skies meeting and intermingling, figures glimmering in the starlight on the horizon. It was a beautiful and strangely nostalgic painting, and he enjoyed looking at it immensely. So immensely, in fact, that it took him several minutes to realize Morgan had left his side. When he did realize as much, Robin jumped along with his heart, and he fitfully scanned the crowd for his departed employee.

He was greatly relieved when he spotted her harassing the fruit vendor over figs. He marched over to her side.

"Come on! Lemme sample one! How'm I gonna know if they're any good if I can't even taste 'em?"

"Get your fingers offa my fruit, or you're gonna lose 'em, girl!"

"Hey!" Robin shouted, yanking Morgan away from the stall, "Young lady, you should not be leaving my side in a crowded place like this! It's dangerous!"

She blew a raspberry. "I'm fine! I was only a few feet away."

"That brat's yours? I should charge you for driving away my customers!" hollered the fruit vendor.

"I'm not talking to you right now!" Robin barked back. The fruit vendor shriveled at his tone and decided to cut his losses.

"Morgan," Robin said intensely, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I know you don't think you need to worry, but you have to understand—"

"I know you're trying to help, Boss, but I'm fine on my own. I was before I met you, too. I don't need to be told what to do. I can figure things out for myself."

"I'm sure you probably can—"

"Probably? There's no two ways about it! I've got it covered!"

"Morgan," Robin said gravely, quieting her down, "I know you're very capable, but it has been a rough few days for me. I am very worried about things happening to people close to me. Do you understand?"

Quite suddenly, she did. "Oh."

"Yeah. So, I know you're a very smart girl, and you probably wouldn't have any problems on your own, so I'm asking you… please… be careful, and stay where I can see you, okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Uh… sorry."

"It's all right. Now, shall we get back to looking?"

"Who you lookin' for?"

Robin turned around. A figure in a black cloak was looming over them both. Robin eyed the figure suspiciously. "No one. We're looking for stuff to buy."

"But Boss—"

"Morgan." He glared at her.

"Oh. Um… yeah. Never mind."

"Didn't seem like it. I've seen you two wandering up and down this market for a while now, and you ain't bought nothin'. My guess is you're looking for someone."

"Well, you're wrong."

"Someone named Leah Burg."

"Never heard of her."

"Oh no? Then you're not Robin LeBlanc, huh?"

"Nope."

"Ah, that's a shame. Gonna be a real waste, then."

Robin looked around. "Waste? What are you talking about?"

"Well, if I've made a mistake, then it's too bad, but I can't have anyone knowing about this."

"Can't have anyone…" Suddenly, Robin's eyes narrowed. "Morgan, I want you to run back to the hotel as fast as you can."

"Wh-What?"

"Don't say anything, just go."

"I don't—"

Before she could finish her thought, Robin lunged at the figure and took them to the ground. They kicked and struggled, but were incapacitated by his sudden maneuver. Patrons of the bazaar turned to look at the scuffle.

"What are you doing, you idiot?!" the cloaked figure railed.

"Buying time. If I can't get away, she can. Then everyone will know what happened here. You've already lost, so just give it up! Tell me who sent you!"

"Robin!" the figure shouted, whipping off her hood, "It's me, you moron! Get off!"

"Heather?!" Robin started, "What the hell?"

"Not so loud, jackass!"

Morgan stood beside them both, watching carefully. "Um, should I still run away, or…?"

Robin got off Heather and helped her to her feet, brushing the sand from both of them. "What's going on here, Heather?"

"Do you mind not telling everyone in a two-mile radius who I am?" she growled at him, "I was trying to be somewhat inconspicuous, here."

"So what the hell was all that stuff about 'anyone knowing about this?'"

"It was supposed to be a test. Usually scares off pretenders."

"Well it was a shitty test! You already know what I look and sound like, why bother?"

"Plegian agents can be pretty tricky. You wouldn't know, but I have reasons to be careful."

Robin massaged his face. "Yeah, well, your caution damn near gave me a heart attack. Seeing as how you dug through my litigation history, I figured you'd know I have some hang-ups about people threatening me."

Heather Luxberg paused, cooling off. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it had shaken you up that bad."

"Whatever. I'm sick of thinking about it. Let's move on: I assume you had a good reason for telling us to come out here."

"I did. But we've got a few too many eyes on us now, so come with me."

Robin and Morgan followed Heather as she walked down a nearby alley and made several additional turns, looking over her shoulder every few seconds, until she finally came to a halt. "This'll do."

"Okay… so, what's going on?"

"I've been watching the trial. Well, not literally, but I've kept tabs on what's happened. Fado's death was bigger news than you might think, and I had a feeling you'd be involved when I learned about it."

"All right, and?"

"The stuff you pulled together at the end, about the killer renting a room? That was some good deduction. I've known a few Plegian agents who did stuff like that, waiting in rooms for hours or even days to get their targets alone."

"Plegian agents… like government agents? Spies? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about people who make things happen out of the public light."

"What is your job, anyway?"

"Robin. You're a smart guy. I think you've already pieced it together. Whatever you're imagining is probably as close to the truth as I'm willing to admit."

Why is it no one ever thinks it's valuable to actually explain things to me? "Fine, I won't ask any more. I'm still not sure what you wanted from me, though."

"Right. So, I assume you came here because you got my message from the owner of that cantina, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"He let me have a look at the names on that ledger of his. I'm sure they meant nothing to you, but I did some digging and found out that they're codenames for a pair of Plegian agents, just like I thought."

"Again with 'agents,' huh?"

"They used to work for the Plegian government officially. What they're up to now, I couldn't say, but they do still have active clearance for certain privileged information and buildings."

"All right… so we don't know exactly what they were up to… but you think this all has something to do with Fado?"

"No doubt about it. You proved in court that if things went down like you say, this murder could only have been premeditated. If I were a betting girl, I'd say those two were on someone's payroll, though I couldn't guess who right now."

"That makes sense. So… the names on the ledger were codenames, right? What are the agents' real names?"

"Valter Mani and Caellach Broduin. Never met 'em personally, but everything I've seen indicates they're bad news. While Caellach worked for Plegia's special police units, he had a dozen arrests thrown out due to their brutal nature. You have any idea how brutal you have to be to get an arrest thrown out as a member of the riot police in Plegia?"

"By your tone, I'm going to say it's a lot."

"Fractured ribs. Partial blindness. Collapsed lung. Paraplegia due to spinal cord injuries. That's just a few of 'em."

"That's bad."

"Yep."

"And they let him stay on?"

"Not for long. Not officially, anyway. The higher-ups liked his style. He was vicious, no doubt, but he got results, and he wasn't a total moron. He'd been a part of the Plegian military for years before he was dishonorably discharged under similar circumstances. He had a good tactical mind that made him useful for large-scale operations."

"You weren't kidding. He does sound like bad news." Robin heard his own voice quiver. "What about the other one?"

"Valter is one to be concerned about for a whole other reason. He made his living as a physician before he got his government job. He graduated med school with tons of honors and some of the highest grades awarded to any student at the school. He got a job with a big hospital right away, and when he made enough money, he moved to a smaller, private practice where he only attended to very wealthy patients."

"A doctor? There's got to be more to it than that."

"Boy, is there. See… after he'd been running his private practice for a few years, some pretty disturbing rumors got out about Valter. To say he wasn't up to ethical standards would be a massive understatement. Well, the police investigated and found out it was basically all true. They raided his place and put him behind bars. Then, they gave him an ultimatum: tell them everything he'd learned, or die in prison. You can guess which one he chose."

"'Everything he'd learned?' What do you mean by that?"

Heather turned her head down the alley. "Sometimes, when the Plegian special police arrest a suspect and interrogate them… if the suspect isn't cooperating, they'll inject them with a little syringe full of a red-purple liquid. Then they leave the room. The suspect won't feel anything abnormal for about twenty minutes, but then they'll feel an intense pressure on their sinuses. Suddenly, they'll feel short of breath, and their muscles will start spasming. The neurons in their brain fire endlessly, making them lose control of their motor functions. Some have broken bones swinging their limbs around wildly. Some have sustained brain contusions from banging their heads off of surfaces. Some have bitten of their own tongues."

Robin shrunk. "Y-You mean…?"

"This is why I wanted to tell you about these guys, Robin," Heather said, turning her head back to him.

"Y-Yeah… now that I'm hearing it… I can't thank you enough."

"Follow-up question, then: are you going to stick with this case?"

"Huh?"

"Your defense is going to go nowhere without a lead on possible alternate suspects. I just gave you two. But I also told you what you're up against if you decide to follow those leads."

"Oh. Right. Plus, how can I prove any of this? I doubt the court will accept hearsay from an anonymous foreign agent, and I'm sure you don't want to be named…"

"All true. That's why you'd need to arrest them on some other grounds. And then, once they're in police custody, perhaps someone will happen to notice the connection to your case with their codenames…"

Robin stared at her. "Can you really pull that off?"

"Not alone. And not without a good reason. So, I'm asking you again: are you committed to defending Renault Desombres?"

It only took Robin a moment to decide. "Yes. Yes, I am."

Heather nodded. "All right. Now, onto the next step of the plan. Since those two went into the place together, it means they're most likely working as a unit. With that in mind, if one of them gets in trouble, the other's going to know what's going on pretty quickly. That means we have to go after them at about the same time."

"How can we do that? Herd them into one place?"

"No. For one, they'd be even more dangerous together than alone, and for another, the nature of their work means that even if they were acting as partners, they'll keep their distance from one another to avoid suspicion."

"So, what, then?"

"We'll have to split up and trap them separately."

"Oh. Er… well… I don't know if—"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't send a civilian to do something like this by himself. I've got a friend in town who owes me a favor. He'll lend you a hand."

Robin looked at the ground, taking stock of everything he'd just been told. "And this is the only way, huh?"

"The only way if you want a chance at winning this game. Your opponent isn't playing fair."

"We can't do anything but cheat right back… All right, let's do it."

"I'll send you a text in a little while. Don't respond to it, just read it carefully. Do exactly what it says."

"Got it."

Heather smiled. "You've got some guts for a lawyer, kid. I'm sorry for ever thinking you weren't trying to do the right thing."

"You've more than made up for it, trust me."

She gave him another smile and a nod. Then held up her palm, signaling for Robin and Morgan to wait. She wrapped herself back up in her cloak and slowly plodded out of the alleyway. Robin stood still with Morgan until he couldn't see her anymore, and then waited a few extra minutes before leading his employee out of the alley as well.

When they were sure the coast was clear, Morgan looked up at her boss. "Are you really going to do that, Boss? Go after one of those scary Plegian agents?"

"It's like Heather said: I don't have a choice if I want to win this. And damn, do I ever want to win this."

"Still… going after people like the ones she was talking about… it seems really dangerous."

"Yeah. It does. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared as hell. But…" Robin thought back. He imagined his first trial again, and all the images associated with it. He felt his feet glued to the floor as Fado leapt in front of him, and he saw the blood spill out from Fado's shoulder. He felt the gun pressed to his temple. "But… even when it scares you, you have to be willing to do what's right. Nothing matters more than seeing justice done. A lawyer can't shy away from things that might frighten him if they mean a better chance of bringing the truth to light—of helping the client. Sometimes, you just have to take a risk to make sure things turn out the way you know they should."

Morgan nodded. "I haven't seen you this passionate since you told me about Mr. Verlaine and what he did for you. I think you're giving off a similar air right now."

"Heh. I hope so. For now, though, I need to stop with the speeches and get you back to the hotel."

"Hm? I'm going to the hotel?"

"You're not coming with me, that's for sure. Remember what I said earlier, at the bazaar?"

"Oh, right. I guess I understand, but… I want to help you, and I'd feel terrible just waiting around for you to come back from something so dangerous."

"Then don't just wait around. Help Anna with her research, okay? Figure out everything you can about all the names and places we've heard in this trial. Dig deep and pull out your own conclusions, that way, even if something goes wrong, this trial won't go away. Make sure people never hear the end of it. This case stinks, and we all know it."

"So, find enough information to be a nuisance?"

Robin nodded. "Another big part of being a lawyer is knowing exactly enough to be a pain in people's asses."

[November 7th, 5:22 pm, Nabata Desert Outskirts]

The sun was making its slow descent past the horizon. Purple eclipsed the blues and golds of the desert at sunlight, and the heat from said light also flew back into the retreating skyline. Robin looked down at his phone. First, he checked the time, then he re-checked Heather's text. He wasn't mistaken—whoever Heather's contact was should've been there seven minutes ago. He had traveled to a row of shabby-looking houses near the edge of the desert, leading up to the exact house number he was staring at now. He was couched on a dune far away from the road—if it could be called as such—that connected this forgotten little village with the rest of Plegia, just as Heather had instructed, and yet, the contact still hadn't appeared. Robin sighed. At first, it only annoyed him a little, but it slowly dawned on him that if his ally didn't appear, he'd be forced to either take on the Plegian agent himself, or risk said agent escaping while Heather performed her task. Neither sounded particularly appealing.

"I guess you're not in the information business?"

Robin yelped and, in his shock, rolled several feet down the side of the dune he'd been hiding upon. He shook the sand from his hair and face in time to see a figure sliding much more gracefully down the dune beside him. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

Robin studied the young man carefully, trying to discern his intentions. He was a little short, and very lithe. His muscles were defined, but overall, he was quite slim. He had short, light brown hair, not unlike the color of the sand around them, and he wore dark brown boots, slim brown pants, an army-green shirt, and a lime-colored sleeveless vest overtop. Above all that, he had a conspicuous red scarf tied around his neck, flowing around his right shoulder and over his back, not unlike a cape. His face was a mix of blithe and serious. He seemed to have been expecting someone a bit more… qualified.

The scarf gave him away as friendly, at least. Robin recalled Heather's text saying that her contact would be wearing such an article. He repeated the passphrase Heather had given him: "'What can defeat a thousand dragons led by one pegasus?'"

"'A thousand pegasi, led by one dragon.'"

"You're Heather's contact, then."

"In the flesh. You're Mr. Robin LeBlanc, then, huh?"

"That's right. And you are…?"

"Matthew Terras. But you didn't hear that."

"Didn't hear… so, can I take it you're involved in the same business as Heather?"

"More or less." Matthew chuckled. "There's considerable overlap. I gather information for a group in Ostia. That's the most you need to know."

"Ostia, hm?" Something about that sounds familiar. Did someone from Ostia come up in one of my cases?

"Now then," said Matthew, ascending the sand dune once more, "How shall we approach this?"

Robin followed him. "I don't know. As you guessed, I don't really have any experience with this sort of thing."

"All right, let's see… it's a two-story house with only a few windows. No garage. Only one door—no back. So, he's got a funnel. That means even with the element of surprise, the front door's no good. Windows are probably be locked, but we can get around that. That said, he might be anticipating that, so we'll have to be careful. How good are you at climbing, guy?"

"I've only fallen out of about a third of the trees I've climbed. Broke my arm twice. Not both arms—it was the same one both times."

"…Right. Just, er, follow my lead, okay?"

"I'll do what I can."

Silently, the pair both slid down the other side of the dune and began their slow approach to the house. Night crept in further and further around them, providing them the convenient disguise of darkness. They made it to the house without interruption: all the windows were shut, and no lights were on. They closed in, and Matthew jumped onto the side of the house, his fingers catching a ledge below one of the windows. He pulled himself up delicately. Robin looked at the wall and, shrugging, took a few running steps toward it before hearing a harsh hiss. He looked up and saw Matthew holding has palm out and shaking his head. Robin stepped away from the wall.

He watched Matthew's fingers fiddle around near the center of the window. In a moment, he heard a satisfying "click," and Matthew slid the window open. Robin looked up for approval, but Matthew shook his head again. He brought his legs up onto the open windowsill and reached into the building, and Robin watched his arms move around beyond the wall before his face reappeared. He tossed a wire and some kind of mechanism out of the building and into the sand below. Finally, Matthew waved for Robin to follow.

Robin did his best to copy Matthew's form, but obviously did not share his agility. He managed to barely grasp the same ledge Matthew had, and his companion pulled him up from there. They both set their feet down as quietly as possible inside the room.

At once, Robin noticed that there was nothing in the room but a single round table, and on that table, a shotgun had been propped up and pointed at the window at a considerable angle. It would have been completely unnoticeable looking in from the unopened window. Seeing Robin's interest, Matthew thumbed at the floor near the window, and Robin spotted another mechanism similar to the one Matthew had tossed out the window. Damn. It looks like these agents are really serious about not being found.

"All right," Matthew whispered, "Stay here, and don't move. I don't want you to alert him by accident, so just sit tight unless I need help."

"And how will I know if you need help?"

"You'll know."

Robin pouted, but decided against saying anything else as Matthew began to creep out of the room and down the hall.

Matthew stalked down the hallway, making each step as quiet as he possibly could. He glanced into two other bedrooms as he walked, but found nothing. Literally nothing. The home was clearly abandoned, and the agent inside was likely only using it as a temporary shelter. That reaffirmed the need to capture him tonight, or else they would lose track of him completely. As he neared the end of the hall, Matthew spotted a light flickering from behind that door. He brought himself up against the corner of the wall near the room and peeked inside: a tall, hulking, muscular figure lay spread out on a cot on the room's floor, and beside him sat a flickering lantern. Matthew took a few steps forward, scanning the floor and walls nearby for other potential traps, but didn't find anything. As he loomed over the figure, he saw the face, and knew it could be none other than Caellach Broduin. He took a few steps closer, and, suddenly, the figure sprang up from his cot and wrapped his arms around Matthew.

Cursing his luck, Matthew kicked and struggled, but it quickly became clear that he was no match for his opponent's strength. Next, he tried to cry out, but one of Caellach's massive arms left his body and closed itself around his neck, squeezing down his voice. Matthew tried again and again to shout, but all the noise was stifled into small choking and sputtering sounds. He lamented being so vague with Robin, but clung to some small hope that the attorney would figure out the situation.

For a moment, he felt himself grow light as he heard footsteps draw near, but then he realized that as soon as Robin walked in, he, too, would likely be rendered inactive by a man as powerful as Caellach. Matthew tried to squeak out a warning, but no meaningful sound could escape his throat. Following the sounds, Caellach raced out the door, still choking Matthew, and hoping to get the drop on the second intruder. When he emerged into the hallway, he looked toward the room with the open window, and found nothing but a single stone on the floor.

It only took Caellach a second to realize what had just happened, but by then, it was already too late. He felt a weight slam into his back, and his grip on Matthew loosened.

Grateful for the opportunity, Matthew rolled out from under the collapsing Caellach, and quickly delivered a boot to his head to stun him further. Robin collapsed with their enemy, falling onto his back, and quickly using his own arms to pin Caellach's down. Matthew joined him, producing a pair of handcuffs, and the pair each clasped one of their foe's massive arms into the cuffs before getting off him.

Once their target had been subdued, Matthew stomped on the back of his head. "That one's just for good measure," he said, voice raspy. He turned to face Robin. "Looks like I might have underestimated you a bit. That was a pretty good trick."

"I'm as surprised to see it work as you are," replied Robin. "Honestly, I think it was just good luck."

Muffled, from underneath Matthew's boot, the pair heard Caellach speak: "And just what do you two idiots think you're doing? What do you think you're gonna get from wrapping me up like this? Did someone put you up to this?"

"We're just a couple of concerned citizens stopping some dirty beggar from squatting on private property," Matthew answered. "We're going to turn you in to the proper authorities. And then… they might ask you some questions about the murder of Fado Verlaine."

Caellach went quiet.

Matthew removed his scarf and wrapped it around Caellach's eyes before helping him up. "To be clear, I'm not a cop," said Matthew, "which means I'm not concerned about procedure. You try to run away, and I'll shoot out both your kneecaps. Am I clear?"

Caellach said nothing. Robin glanced at Matthew, seeing no gun on his person. Matthew winked.

The pair escorted Caellach down the stairs and out of the abandoned house, and once they had gotten some distance from it, Matthew looked over at Robin. "All right, you'd best be on your way now."

"Huh? What about you? And him?"

"Don't worry," Matthew said, jostling Caellach's handcuffs, "I've done this plenty of times before. I can handle this guy now. Plus, he knows better than to try anything stupid at this point. You just run along. It'll be fine, I promise."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah, I'm sure. We're just gonna take a nice walk and chat. Maybe sing some folk songs."

"We movin' or not?" Caellach grumbled.

Matthew kicked one of his legs out from under him. "Oops. Looks like you tripped. Gotta watch yourself on these shifty sand pathways."

Robin looked down at their captive, and then nodded at Matthew. He took off in a separate direction, heading back toward his car, which he'd parked at a convenience store several blocks away.

Not long after, Robin spilled into his car, sweating and panting hard. His heart hadn't quite managed to settle itself, and his mind was still reeling, wondering what he was going to do. What would happen at the trial? Would Matthew be all right? What about Heather? Had she succeeded? He couldn't even begin to concentrate.

When he felt at least confident enough to reopen his eyes, Robin pulled out his phone and dialed Anna's number. He waited while it rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Anna."

"Hey. Everything all right? You sound like you can barely breathe."

"That's correct, but I'm okay. We did it. Heather's friend and I… we managed to get the agent. Caellach. We got him in handcuffs. The other guy is taking him to the police now."

The phone was silent for a few seconds. "Well, hot damn. That's great, Robin. I… have to admit, I wasn't quite sure about all this, but I'm really glad to hear you pulled it off."

"You… weren't sure?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you were the one who told me how dangerous all this was. After everything that's happened to you, I wasn't sure if you really knew what you were getting into."

"So why didn't you stop me?"

"It was a very Fado thing to do. Remember when that crazy lady tried to have me kidnapped? And you were all worried about me?"

"I do."

"Well, I told you that wasn't the first time something like that had happened, right? Fado had a way of sticking his nose into places that got him in trouble. But he never let anyone stop him from learning what he wanted to know. That's why, even though I had my reservations, I knew I couldn't stop you. Honestly, I didn't even want to stop you, despite my fears."

"I see… thanks, Anna."

"Don't thank me. You're the one who pulled that crazy nonsense off."

"Haha. I guess I did, didn't I?"

"You bet. Now, get your tail back here so we can celebrate with average-quality hotel snacks and drinks."

"I'll do that."

"Oh, but first, before you hang up, one more thing."

Robin listened and heard the phone scrape on something.

A different voice came through the phone. "I'm glad you're okay, Boss."

"Me too, Morgan. Me too. How'd your research go?"

"Pretty good. I researched as long as I could, but Ms. Anna told me to 'give it a rest before I burned out my retinas.' I told her I was fine, but then I realized I was addressing a coat-hanger with her blazer on it."

"Sounds like you've been working hard. Take a break, and we can all chat when I get back, okay?"

"You got it, Boss."

Robin hung up and started his car's ignition.

[Turnabout in the Tower ~ Investigation Day 2 – End]