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Now, this the second chapter (_ _)
Thank you for the grammar checks, this piece is full of errors because I write this while I was sick
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"You are late." Mamoru picked up his coffee from the fountain machine. He had been waiting on the blonde for an hour.
"Guess whose car broke down and needed help?" Haruka smirked, following Mamoru and putting her coins in the machine, receiving a glass of black coffee.
"Let me guess... Kim Kardashian?" Mamoru grinned, knowing that if it was someone special to the blonde, it must be a woman.
Haruka shot him a glare.
"Even better, it was the lawyer." Haruka sipped her coffee and cursed. The coffee was too hot.
"You got this happy look because of her? You said you don't like her even a bit." Mamoru frowned as he walked down the precinct and entered the homicide division.
"Am I happy? It was amusing, you know." Haruka entered first and sat down at her desk. She ignored the piles of papers that already formed a small mountain on top of it. They all needed to be done today, so Haruka was sure she would come home late.
"Her expression like I was her next threat to her day was very entertaining!" Haruka continued, pleased that at least one event in her day was surprisingly fun.
"You helped her?"
"Of course. I am a cop." Haruka shrugged. Helping her had been the reason why she was late to the precinct. Michiru's destination was farther away and in the complete opposite direction of her work place.
"You're not too bad," Mamoru chuckled.
"Tenoh!" A voice sounded from the lieutenant chamber like a sudden thunderclap.
"Oh yes. Forgot to tell you the lieutenant wants to see you." Mamoru grinned and gestured to the office.
"Oh yeah? How could you forget that? Shit! I have to face yet another problem..." Haruka stood and reluctantly approached her boss's room.
o
Michiru took out all the case files from her bag. She opened her laptop after running all the programs. Somehow her mind wandered to the blonde detective.
What was her name again? Oh, right. Detective Tenoh.
Michiru shook her head many times before she able to focus on her work. This afternoon she wanted to spend her time without put any thought into useless things. The case she was handling right now about the murder of 10-year-old kid was mind blowing. No wonder the detective was frustrated with this type heartbreaking case.
Her profession had a lot of risks. Michiru knew from the start that she must win no matter what. But, the trial earlier made her wanted to reconsider the case. What if her client really was guilty? Throughout her career she had successfully defended many people. The criminals, the innocents…although, because clients like that usually had a lot of money, perhaps the majority of them were criminals…
But this was a child-killer. Michiru had seized an opportunity to see the photos of crime scene and they were very heart-wrenching. A person who was capable of doing that was a beast and did not deserve any justice.
But she was a professional lawyer. No way could she retreat from this. She had to believe that her client was innocent and the detective had made a wrong accusation.
Did she? The blonde detective looked very capable at her job. Michiru investigated the detective's track record. She had a good reputation of locking up the true perpetrators.
Am I thinking this way because she helped me once? Great, way to be objective, Michiru.
Michiru then sorted her files and put them one by one in the corresponding facts and evidence folders. She was going to need some hard evidence to win against the detective and free her client. She was the best and always would be.
The longer she spent putting the facts together, the more she believed that the chance her client was guilty increased.
If the situation is like this, I can only make an offer to my client. Otherwise there's little I can do.
Michiru closed her laptop and noticed the sun sinking into the horizon.
The next day
The court would be held next week but Michiru decided to visit her client today. Her plan was to present some offers to her client and form deals with the blonde detective.
Which one should come first? I think my client. After all, he'd need to agree with the deals before anything else could happen. Michiru stepped up to the visitor room.
Her client appeared few minutes later with handcuffs on his wrist. Sometimes, Michiru was curious about what innocent really meant. Well, but here she is... she herself had started to hate her client's face. His face was so calm, the very definition of a sociopath that can kill anybody without guilt.
"Mr. Eric," Michiru took the phone and faced her client. They were separated by thick glass.
"Yes, have you found the way for me to get out of here? Miss Kaioh?" He grinned. There again, Michiru hate the way he was smiling at her, and the way he said her name. It just felt wrong somehow.
"Unfortunately not yet. I've come for another reason."
"I'm paying you a hell of a lot of money to free me from here." His grin disappeared, leaving only a cold expression.
"I know, Mr. Eric. But, consider that you are actually in a difficult situation. As a matter of fact, you are really in a bad spot. We successfully got through the trial yesterday by mere luck. After I re-read the case files... May I ask you a question? Please answer it honestly, or else I won't be able to help you," Michiru asked. When her situation grew difficult, sometimes the classic way would do.
"What question, Miss Kaioh?"
"Did you... No... Are you sure you did not kill the kid?" Michiru arranged the words carefully, unwilling to offend her client if she could avoid it.
Eric's lips drew back in a wide smile. To Michiru, it appeared creepy and dangerous.
"No, Miss Lawyer. I am innocent," he said, fully confident.
Michiru, as a law graduate, had taken classes in anthropology and psychology. Her mind knew, all of her senses knew, that her client was lying, and he really had killed the boy.
What do I do?
"Okay..." Michiru nodded, hiding her fear as she continued to her initial purpose.
"I have some offers for you. Of course, it's only a further precaution if things turn bad."
"Really? You think I will end up here anyway?"
"No, my job is to prevent that happening." Michiru gripped the phone nervously. She noticed that Eric was aware of her sudden anxiety.
"Okay, just tell me the offers."
Haruka's day was all right compared to the day before. She made sure all of the new evidence for the next court was ready. Now, even the best lawyer in the world could not escape this. Haruka would win absolutely.
"Detective Tenoh." Haruka turned when one of the uniforms called her name.
"There's someone who wants to speak with you. I think she's Michiru Kaioh, the famous lawyer." He winked at the blonde and ambled away.
Haruka sighed. Today was not all right after all. She strode to the room where Michiru waited.
"I'm sorry I was attending to some business," Haruka greeted Michiru as the aquanette woman stood at her entrance.
"It's okay; I've only just arrived myself." Michiru flashed a smile, neither cold nor warm.
Haruka observed that something or someone was bothering the lawyer.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about something important..." Michiru glanced around the area. This wasn't the right place to discuss her matter.
Catching Michiru's gesture, Haruka understood that the lawyer wanted to go elsewhere.
"I was planning to grab lunch after this. We can talk there." Haruka pointed to the cafe in front of precinct.
"Okay, I think that will do. Thanks," Michiru sighed with relief.
They both hit the street and walked to the cafe. After Haruka ordered for both of them, she turned back to the lawyer.
"What is it that you want to discuss with me?" Haruka was straight to the point. She had not finished the day's paperwork yet and wanted to avoid another late night.
"About the trial...the case…" Michiru hesitated.
"Let me guess... you want make a deal with me?"
Michiru nodded weakly. She explained her analysis and conclusion about the case. She told Haruka about her visit to Eric, which resulted in Michiru's certainty about her client's guilt.
"Damn, that bastard sure is a total creep... I said he was definitely guilty for those murderers!" Haruka cursed and Michiru winced a little.
"Murders? I thought he only killed one?"
"Our investigation has linked him to another murder case few years ago. He is totally nuts, I'm sure of that," Haruka replied. Their conversation paused momentarily when the waiter brought their order.
"What did you offer him?" Haruka asked. She concluded that the strange expression earlier was due to Michiru's encounter with Eric.
"Standard things that could lighten his punishment…" Michiru lost her appetite and drank only water.
"He will not like it if you fail him." Haruka easily read Michiru's mind.
"Yes, I know. But I don't like to defend a murderer."
"I thought you always do that in your job. Many criminals are still out there because of you and your friends," Haruka said calmly.
Michiru felt like she was just slapped in the face.
"That was very insulting, Detective."
"What? I'm only telling the truth! We detectives do our job well! Hell, we risk our life to catch them! And then you come along with some bullshit and free them again!"
Michiru filled with rage at Haruka's assertion. Her impression of the detective changed again. The detective was a complete jerk, totally a douchebag.
"I'm just doing my job, no different from you. What makes your job more righteous than mine? How dare you!" Michiru stood abruptly and stalked away from the cafe.
Haruka blinked and froze for a moment, thinking about what she'd said to Michiru.
Maybe that was really stupid.
Eric continued smiling in his cell. He loved art and continued painting with brush and canvas even in prison. What he did to the kid was neither a crime nor a murder. It was art, beautiful art. How could they treat an artist like him so in these cold cells! They didn't appreciate his artistry, and instead tried him as an insane criminal. It's hard to be an artist in such a world, he thought. Just as Galileo received a death sentence from the church, now he was forced to accept the same treatment.
It's not fair. The world needs to be taught some lessons.
Eric smiled, touching the brush to his canvas. A very beautiful lawyer that worked for him was now starting to doubt him.
She will need a lesson too. The world is full of injustice.
Eric hummed a song, his hands continuing to move the brush across the page while his mind was planning for the next step and appropriate lesson for the beautiful lawyer.
Credits goes to Lita of the Dancing Flamesfor checking and correcting the chapter.
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