Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter for you all. To be perfectly honest, this chapter was supposed to be a part of the last one, but I decided to separate it into two components, one in investigative form and the other in argument forming. I found that putting them together not only made it unnecessarily long, but it also did not really flow well with the overall story.
Anyway, this explains why this chapter came so unusually quickly this time around. It was already written and just needed to be tweaked here and there for better reading purposes. I hope that you all end up enjoying this chapter as much as you have with the other previous ones.
Oh, and just as a little side note, I'll be starting college again tomorrow. As such, this story along with my others will be delayed in their overall speed of updating. Just throwing out that friendly warning for those of you who will be most likely waiting for that next update.
Don't forget to leave a review before you move onto your next story. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!
Evidence:
Newspaper Article: A clipping talking about Ms. Kuro Rose, a woman running for the position of senator in her district. It talks about how she served her country in the military's Special Forces team before being forced out because of a battle injury rendering her incapable of conducting anything overly stressful or strenuous. She promises to try and reduce the crime rate in her represented district if elected.
Silver's Shoe: The mark underneath the detective's shoe was made when it stepped the front of Sonic's Attorney's Badge. It shows that the badge was not fully drenched in blood sometime during the scuffle in the office.
Attorney's Badge: Sonic lost it during the party earlier that evening. It was found underneath Silver's desk and drenched in blood. However, Silver's Shoe proved that it was not bloodied on both sides at some point during the murder.
Knife: The weapon that was used in the murder of Ms. Rose. The evidence found at the scene suggests that it was used on the woman twice; It was also probably used on the fight against Silver since the blade was found underneath the door rather than on her body. Sonic's fingerprints are on the wooden handle due to a rookie mistake on his part when he first discovered the scene.
White Fragment: A small white piece found underneath Silver's desk. It is smooth with rough and jagged edges, almost as if it were broken off of some kind of clay figure. It is unclear as to where it originally came from.
Silver's Assault Report: The detective was beaten into unconsciousness due to heavy blows, although the marks on his fists show that he did fight back. Besides the bruises from said punches, there are no other wounds present on his body and the blood on his fur is most likely from Ms. Rose's wounds. He's expected to wake up in a couple of hours, but Vector, the detective who doesn't have much doctor skills, isn't completely sure.
Ms. Rose's Autopsy Report: She was murdered between midnight and one in the morning on 5/7. The cause of death was from two stab wounds, the first one suspected to be the abdomen and the second close to her heart. As such, she's suspected to have survived the first attack. Death was immediate on the second blow.
Bloody Hand Print: A print formed by blood that was found on one of the racks on the currently empty bookshelf. It's suspected to belong to Ms. Rose since she was the only two in the room to have lost blood. When compared to the distance from where it was found to where her body was, it's reasonable to believe that she was alive and moved around a bit before being killed.
Profiles:
Sonic Hedgehog: A seventeen year old blue furred male hedgehog. He and Tails were the first to discover Kuro Rose and Silver in his office, one dead and the other unconscious. He was considered to be the prime suspect by Espio, but has since been downgraded to person of interest with the help of his little brother.
Miles Prower: Best known by his nickname Tails. He's a twelve-year-old orange furred fox with two tails. He and Sonic were the first to discover Kuro Rose and Silver in his office. He helped his older brother escape grave suspicion under Espio's eyes.
Knuckles Echidna: He is an eighteen-year-old red furred echidna detective who works at the local precinct and is good friends with Sonic and Tails. He paid attention to the exchange between Tails and Espio regarding Sonic's innocence and sides with the two's side of events. He plans to take over the initial investigation.
Silver Hedgehog: An eighteen year old senior detective who worked hard for his current position. He was found in his office severely beaten up with bruises all over him. It is currently unclear as to who it was that caused his extensive injuries.
Kuro Rose: A woman of Japanese decent who speaks very fluent English. She was a running candidate for her district's senatorial race and a former Special Forces member in the army. She was found stabbed to death in Silver's office. It is unclear as to who it was that murdered her.
Espio: He's a purple chameleon with a white horn on his forehead. He's skilled in Japanese ninja arts and has his own dojo for teaching others said techniques. He was the first to appear on the scene after Sonic and Tails discovered it and considers himself to be an eyewitness to the whole ordeal.
Vector Crocodile: A twenty-year-old crocodile prosecutor. He loves the gold chain necklace that rests against his neck along with listening to music through his headset, including during his time in the courtroom. He can sometimes be a bit rash in making decisions and has a sort of stubborn side, but he always strives for the truth within the heart of any matter.
Charmy Bee: A hyper little bee who's attitude sometimes surpasses his eight-year-old body. He works alongside Prosecutor Vector as a sort of small rag-tag group of detectives that work apart from the local precinct detectives.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik: A fifty-three year old defense attorney of some renown. He owns his own law firm, albeit a small business version, and hired Sonic to be his understudy. He's usually too busy working on some kind of case to be seen in the office much. He allows Tails to hang out in the office regardless if he does any work in there or not. He's currently out of town on business and entrusted the upkeep of the office to Sonic and Tails.
Shadow Hedgehog: A seventeen-year-old hedgehog prosecutor who studied abroad to earn his Prosecutor's Badge. His office is located on the upper floors of the local Precinct. As such, he just happened upon the scene while making his way up to his office. He is currently accusing Knuckles of misconduct on his part and requesting he forfeit his control on the investigation and subject himself to an internal conduct investigation.
Chapter 11: Dangerous Twists and Turns Pt. 5
"What the hell are you talking about, Shadow?" Sonic exclaimed loudly as he barely managed to keep his voice just below a shout. He saw within the corner of his eyes Knuckles looking rather stoic despite being accused of conducting misconduct in how he was handling the case. "That's just a bunch of nonsense! What do you mean Knuckles needs to undergo some department investigation?"
"I mean exactly what I said," Shadow simply replied calmly as he lightly cracked his knuckles. "Being that I'm higher up in the social ladder than him, I can order him to drop his hold on the investigation and be put under an internal investigation. And that's exactly what I'm doing right now."
"I meant why are you forcing him to give up the investigation and be placed under suspicion for wrongdoing?" the cobalt hedgehog clarified through gritted teeth, his annoyance clearly being projected in his voice as he stared hard at the other. "Just what exactly is it did he do wrong that you would even consider doing something like that, especially since he's your friend and all that?"
"When it comes to the matter of the law, there's no such thing as best friends or family," the ebon furred hedgehog responded in the same calm tone as he crossed his arms once more. "There are only those who break the law and those who enforce it. People like me and you are only mediators to see if the accused has broken any laws or rules made by high officials and lead things down the right path, although I am allowed to accuse a detective being that I'm above them in the chain of command. And to answer your main question, I believe Tails has already made it known as to why I made such a move."
"Wh-what are you talking about, Shadow?" Tails asked with a small stutter in his tone at being so suddenly dragged into the mini argument that was quickly unfolding in front of him. "What exactly did I say to make you think Knuckles did something wrong?"
"Well, I'm sure you said something about the detective calling the police department and asking that they hold back on sending their full power here at a crime scene. As it is apparent by just looking in here, he only asked for just a few officers to come and collect evidence and preserve the scene. And you said that he did it so that he could buy both you and Sonic some time to do some investigating of your own so as to prevent a media storm of potential rumors. Do you deny ever saying something along the lines of that?"
"N-no, I-I remember saying something like that," the two tailed fox admitted, his stomach starting to churn with uneasiness as he started to realize where this was leading up to. "I-I'm guessing that I told you something that Knuckles shouldn't have done."
"Oh, you couldn't be more right on that, Tails. It's because of what you said that I have reason to believe that the detective had went beyond his powers in requesting that the police send only a small number of officers to investigate the scene. That isn't something that he's allowed to do since his status within the Precinct doesn't give him the right."
"Oh, now that's just a bunch of crazy talk!" Sonic exclaimed, his voice slightly higher from when he had first exclaimed earlier and now gaining the attention of both the officers and Vector. They quickly went back to what they were doing when they saw it was just the attorney talking with the prosecutor. "There's no way that Knuckles would've done something that would be out of his powers and practically illegal. You haven't even given him a chance to defend himself against your accusation."
"I think that's a bit of a redundant point, Sonic," Shadow stated as he stole a glance at Knuckles who had stood silent ever since the accusation was made. "I'm sure he knows full well how wrong he was in doing this."
"Well, I'm not satisfied until I hear it straight out of his mouth," the cobalt hedgehog countered stubbornly as he turned his gaze at the echidna. "Come on Knuckles; go ahead and tell Shadow how badly wrong he is here."
For a couple of seconds, the detective simply stood silent with eyes that were unreadable. After letting out a heavy sigh that he seemed to have been keeping in, he said, "…Shadow's right here, Sonic. I…I wasn't supposed to have asked the police to send only a few men here. I don't have any right to normally do that."
"Are you satisfied now?" the prosecutor asked as he looked at the shocked face of the teen defense attorney. "You heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Now before we get anymore sidetracked, let me go ahead and escort Detective Knuckles down to the first floor where I'll have to request the chief to suspend him pending an investigation."
"B-but I did it under extenuating circumstances!" the detective quickly countered as the prosecutor began to walk towards the door while beckoning for him to follow suit. "The situation that I knew of when I made the call made it that I had to pull off something like that."
"Yeah, you just go ahead and tell that story to the chief when I bring you to him. We'll see if he believes your story. I sure don't."
Still shocked at hearing the red furred echidna doing something beyond his powers as a detective and being punished for it, all Sonic could do was watch as Shadow quickly walked back into the office and took a hold of Knuckles' arm with the intent of dragging him out. Before they could even set foot for the door, however, Tails quickly raised an objection and thus stopped them in their tracks.
"Hold on a moment!" he exclaimed as a thought suddenly came to him. "Knuckles just said that what he did was under extenuating circumstances. Don't you think that alone merits some amount of scrutiny before you go and take him to the chief?"
"I hardly see how a statement like that would hold any kind of importance to you, Tails," the ebon furred hedgehog responded with an eyebrow raised in confusion. At this time, Vector and the officers had moved outside to the hallway so they could continue their discussion in relative peace. "You don't have any business having to protect him from trouble that he had wrought upon himself."
"But aren't I allowed to substantiate his innocence to you?" the two tailed fox questioned. "After all, I happened to be here since this whole thing began, so I'm more than qualified to try and validate his overall innocence."
"Hmm, I suppose you're right on that accord. As a witness, you can argue to a certain extent for one's innocence on scene for something they're wrongly accused for. Do you really want to pursue that path though? It's not easy to defend one on something that you have no knowledge of, you know?"
"That doesn't mean that I can't try. And if you're so worried about me now knowing enough about the circumstances surrounding Knuckles' potential suspension, then perhaps you'll be able to shed some light on the situation for me. That way, I'll be on even fighting ground with you and your argument."
"You're really dead set on protecting him from me, aren't you?" Shadow mused quietly as his eyes shown with a bit of thoughtfulness. After pausing for a couple of seconds, he responded, "Alright, I'll go ahead and indulge you on your little challenge. You, the witness, will be trying to prove to me, the accuser, as to why Knuckles, the accused, was in the right and shouldn't be punished with relinquishment of the investigation and suspension pending an official conduct investigation. Is that clear?"
"Clear as crystal," Tails stated with a quick nod of his head that showed he understood what was going on. He then added as he stole a quick glance at Sonic, "And don't try to bug me while I'm doing this Sonic. I'll probably need all the concentration I can get for this if I want to help Knuckles out of this."
"As if I was even thinking of bothering you with this," the cobalt hedgehog responded with a shrug of his shoulders as he took a step backwards. "After all, you are the expert in making reasonable arguments outside of the courtroom, so the stage is yours. Go and get that brain of yours to work its magic!"
"Tails…," Knuckles murmured under his breath, his mind right now in a state of amazement at how the young fox was so eager to defend him despite the fact he had no idea about the rules regarding the Precinct detectives. He did not think that the boy would be so eager to protect him from trouble despite being at a severe disadvantage.
"So, how would you like us to start off this little mock imitation of a mini-court proceeding?" the ebon furred hedgehog asked as he crossed his arms and prepared himself for a questioning session. "We don't really know how or where to start without an opening question of sorts. I know that you know about this little technicality since you've been in court before and seen how things work."
"Well, how about we start with you telling me a bit about the legal powers that the Precinct detectives have at their disposal?" the two tailed fox asked without thinking twice about it. "I don't know anything about it, and I want to be on even ground when I'm defending Knuckles here."
Argument: A Detective's Legal Powers
Well, let me try to explain this in as simple a way as possible for the sake of time. The one key thing that dictates which detective has usage of certain legal powers is their promotional status. Senior detectives can reserve the right to prevent the details of a murder from being made public for a certain amount of time if the situation calls for it. Regular detectives, however, are not allowed to exercise such power. The only time the rules can be bent is when extenuating circumstances arise and they are the first detective on scene.
End Argument
"Did you really try to jump through such a small loophole in the law just so that you would be able to protect me from any further trouble?" Sonic asked with raised eyebrows as he understood most of what Shadow had explained to them. "I really appreciate it that you went out of your way just so that you could give me any help you can afford, but I'm not worth risking your entire job over."
"And what was it that you needed help on, Sonic?" Shadow asked as he also raised his eyebrows at this statement. "In all my years that I've known you, you never struck me as the type of person to go about asking for help what with your independent stubborn side always taking center stage."
"Sonic had managed to get himself into the role of prime suspect for the murder of Ms. Rose," Knuckles explained as he rubbed the back of his neck a bit in nervousness. "However, that's not the reason why I had requested only the smallest amount of police presence possible at this scene."
"Really?" the ebon furred hedgehog replied with raised eyebrows. He then said in a tone that reflected his skepticism on the subject, "Forgive me for saying this, but I find that hard to believe. I know that you and Sonic are good friends and would do anything to ensure that the other is safe and well protected."
"If you don't mind Shadow, can I ask you a couple of questions regarding what you told us a few seconds ago?" Tails asked before his brother and the detective had a chance to argue against what the other had just said. "There are a couple of things that I'm confused about and want clarified."
"Go ahead and ask away, Tails," the prosecutor stated with a nod of his head that signified he was ready to answer what the young fox had to ask him. "I am curious to see how well you can mince words and create logical counterarguments."
Begin Rebuttal
"I would suppose that the higher up in the chain of command you are in terms of this job, the more advantages you'll receive to have at your disposal in terms of what the law can allow you to do," Tails said as he tried to summarize Shadow's explanation. "As such, you've already described the differences that a regular detective and a senior detective have apart from their promotional status."
"I wouldn't go so far as to say that you'll acquire more advantages as you climb up this social working ladder," Shadow rephrased with a shake of his head in disagreement to the two tailed fox's version of thoughts. "Rather, it's more like you gain new tricks that you can employ to your benefit provided that the situation fits the timing of when you exercised usage of it. Think of it as debating whether or not an officer's usage of a gun is justified except without those immediate deadly consequences that can't be undone."
"And what does this have to do with those legal limits that you were talking about earlier, Shadow?" Sonic asked as he quickly grew impatient with the entire thing and wanted to know why the other thought what Knuckles did in an attempt to help him was borderline illegal. "I want to know why you're trying to botch up Knuckles' efforts here."
"Sonic, you're not helping," Knuckles hissed out through his teeth as he stood back and allowed the young fox to do his side of the work. After all, he had already witnessed how well his interrogation and inquisition skills were, so he bore high faith in that he would be able to at least mitigate the damage being dealt to him.
"You really have to learn to be a bit more patient outside of the courtroom, Sonic," the ebon furred hedgehog replied with a clearing of his throat as an indicator of his irritation at being interrupted. He then continued on while ignoring the cobalt hedgehog's question, "I think I can see why now that Tails is taking over the role as inquisitor. He has more patience than you do, regardless whether or not he's bound by the rules of a courtroom setting."
"Well, I'm sorry to be bursting your image of me being a patient inquisitorial guy here Shadow, but could we please hurry this up and get back to the main topic?" the fox asked as he tried to get back to their original line of conversation. "I think you've told us earlier that a senior detective has both the ability and right to withhold the disclosure of a murder required by them from their higher-ups and other law officials save a choice few that they want to inform if they feel it necessary. On the other hand, regular detectives cannot exercise that right unless certain circumstances and requirements deem it necessary for them to do so. Do you mind telling me what these special requirements and circumstances are in the eyes of the law?"
"I think I'll explain the process of the senior detective's ability before I go onto those special circumstances," the prosecutor stated as he loosely crossed his arms and stood silent for a second. Seeing this, the cobalt hedgehog suddenly became impatient and let out a rather rude sigh in signal for the other to hurry up, despite Tails's clear expressions of annoyance at the action. "You see, they can't just go about withholding every single report of a murder whenever they feel like it. They have the right to do so whenever they want, but then they are subject to a minor investigation to see if their actions were founded if they exercise that right. If they are unfounded, then they are punished by the Precinct by means of suspension or working without pay for at most two months. You can see how they take their investigations seriously and don't play around with actions such as this."
"It's because of these high stakes that regular detectives like myself aren't allowed to have the option of exercising said technique," the echidna explained with a small sigh as he also crossed his arms. "It requires a great judge of character and the ability to read the situation surrounding the murder both quickly and efficiently, something that we don't tend to have for a while until ample practice and time on the force. So being that I'm a regular detective, I wasn't supposed to have withholding the official reporting of this murder."
"And that is the main difference between both the senior and regular detectives," the defense attorney stated more than asked as he tried to surmise the small explanation of the powers certain detectives have. "I think I can see now why the exercising of these powers isn't something to be taken lightly, regardless of the promotional level that a detective has inside this Precinct. I can't believe that you actually did that despite knowing how much potential trouble you could get yourself in for it. But Shadow, why would they even allow such a move to be made if they're just going to put such heavy restrictions?"
"Because there are times when making such a move is the only option a detective can make. While they will be subjected to a temporary conduct investigation, it's the only way to see and prove whether or not they were right in trying to keep knowledge of a crime to only a choice few. Doing so at the wrong time would then make it seem like the detective was trying to hide things from a scene of a crime. That's why there's such a strong offensive stance on the move; it's to defer them from even thinking of committing such an action unless they feel it absolutely necessary to do so."
End Rebuttal
"Wow, I never thought that detectives had such tricks at their disposal," Tails responded with a low whistle as he tried to digest all of the information he had just learned in the past few minutes. "It's even more amazing at how the people who came up with this idea formatted it so that they won't go about haphazardly exercising it at every chance they get. It's almost like a kamikaze kind of method if you think about it."
"I suppose you could call it that," Shadow agreed with a quick nod of his head as he chose to lean against the wall. "However, even the most likely to be suicidal of techniques are the only course of action. You see, there are times when the situations surrounding a murder or any other scene are just too extreme or suspicious to immediately have them passed on to the police for their full investigation. As such, if a regular detective were to stumble upon a murder scene and see or hear something completely off, they can then go ahead and withhold from telling the proper investigative forces about it. Of course, they would then face an even harsher investigation on their actions."
"And just what is the penalty for regular detectives if the investigation finds that they have exercised poor judgment on this accord?" Sonic asked as he felt like he knew what the answer was going to be. "I doubt that it'll be a temporary pay suspension that senior detectives would suffer as punishment."
"Immediate termination from their position as detective and a permanent mark on their personal record that goes against them should they want to work in upholding the law again. After all, usage of a right not accessible to you is a breach of rules which then reflects on the lack of following laws that they swore to uphold. However, some exceptions can be made if the circumstances find them to be sound. I'm sure you already know what those circumstances are since I've already explained them to you."
"And that's the reason why you feel that Knuckles was in the wrong here?" the two tailed fox asked as he tried to think of another form of attack. "Do you think you can explain it in a little more detail for us why you felt you were right?"
Argument: Reason for Halting the Investigation
As I said earlier, the power to withhold information of a crime from officers isn't something to be considered lightly. I'm sure it's clear to you as it is to me that Knuckles has exercised this power that's not even available to him. That's not what's in dispute here. What is being argued is whether or not the circumstances surrounding his decision was enough to grant him special permission to do so. Being that there hasn't been anything substantiating to me his acceptable special circumstances, I'm afraid that I have to go by the law and subject him to an internal conduct investigation.
End Argument
"And you say that you can't find any kind of special circumstances that would give Knuckles the legal right to pull off such a gutsy move," Tails surmised as he rolled the information around in his head and quickly straightened them out. "That's why you said earlier that his actions were practically just past the legal boundary into the illegal should there be nothing that could support his actions. Now I understand your reasoning for wanting to get him into trouble. At least it's good to know you didn't have a bone to pick with him or any other petty reason like that."
"I assure you Tails; everything that I do along the lines of the law is not driven by any of my petty thoughts or desires," Shadow responded with a huff of his breath at the young teen's comment. "If I happened to have any bone to pick with anybody, I would always do so within the rightful boundaries of the law. Thankfully, there's rarely a time when I do have a grudge against a particular somebody, so I rarely do that."
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but how is this supposed to be showing whether or not I'm right in what I did?" Knuckles butted in as he started to sound a bit impatient. "I'm starting to get tired of being put under the eyes of suspicion. I've already had to go through that once from being accused of murder; I would like to get out of this quicker than that time."
"You really got to learn how to relax a bit, Knux," Sonic stated as he tried to calm the short-tempered echidna. "It's all a part of how Tails works here. He asks questions, even the ones that seemingly have no importance, in order to get the answers he needs. You do want him to help you get out of this mess, don't you?"
Instead of supplying the cobalt hedgehog with an answer, the detective simply let a sigh escape his lips. He knew that Tails was trying to help him out here, but he was still getting tired at being under suspicion for doing something wrong. Being accused of murder two weeks ago almost cost him his job; he would be damned if he lost it over this.
"Anyway, why don't we go ahead and continue on with this question and answer session?" the ebon furred hedgehog asked as he tried to steer their attention back to the main point at hand. "Like in court, I hate it when we end up getting sidetracked onto something else that holds no importance to the current issue."
"Alright, there's no need to start getting testy about this, Shadow," the two tailed fox responded as he waved his hand in a form of dismissal. "The way you're going on, it's like you have something important to do later. I doubt that's the case since you can't possibly have anything so desperately important at almost two in the morning."
Begin Rebuttal
"You said something earlier about requiring special circumstances in order for a regular detective to be able to request that only a small amount of officers to be allowed to a crime scene," Tails recapped as he went back to what Shadow had previously said and tried to find something that could prove to be a useful defensive front. "Do you think you can describe for us what these special circumstances might be?"
"Unfortunately, this is one of those things that's pretty hard to explain in suitable detail," Shadow responded with a shrug of his shoulders as he peeled himself from the wall and stood up straight. "For lack of a better explanation, these kinds of circumstances are something that need to be carefully reviewed by senior detectives or, in rare instances, prosecutors before they can be considered special or not. Of course, I just happened to stumble upon this ever-so-wonderful murder scene, so I'm just reviewing this being that I don't want to waste time looking for another detective to look over this. Overall, it depends on the things that caused the detective to make the decision that causes it to be considered special or not."
"So what you're getting at here is that unless you know exactly what it was that made Knuckles ask for only a limited amount of officers to come here, you can't really determine if he was in the right," Sonic responded as he crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "That is what you're saying here, right?"
"That's basically it in a nutshell, Sonic," the ebon furred hedgehog confirmed with a nod of his head. "If you want me to determine right here and now if the detective's actions were correct, you'll have to tell me the circumstances when he had first discovered the scene. And I want to hear it from you before I hear it from the detective's mouth. If you can't do that for me, then I'm afraid I'm forced to believe that he had did this illegally. This isn't something that's to be taken lightly like some kind of innocent mistake, so it's best to think of the person who enacted the ability as guilty of wrongfully doing so until a proper investigation. That's how the Precinct wants to handle situations like this."
"Ha, that sounds like a pretty stupid way for Precinct officials to be taking care a possible ethics problem if you ask me," the cobalt hedgehog responded with a huff of his breath that reflected both his annoyance and disbelief. His little brother gave off a small sigh along with a light shake of his head at his lack of professionalism at the situation. "And regardless whether or not you're right, why are you trying to pick on Knuckles here? Isn't he your friend just as much as Tails and I are?"
"Friendship shouldn't play any kind of role in lieu of an investigation regardless if it's on murder or work ethic," the ebon furred hedgehog stated as he walked over to the chair behind the desk and took a seat on it after quickly checking that it was clean of blood or anything else that could be used for evidence. "You should already know that basic rule since you're a defense attorney who's represented two different people for murder. Don't forget that I've worked against you on the second case of your career; I've also seen the footage of your very first case. Amazingly enough, the defendants on both of those cases just so happened to be people you consider to be your good friends; both of them also happen to be in here with us right now. I've seen how you've managed to keep things on a professional level when in the courtroom. Why should this be any exception for you?"
"That's a fundamental rule in terms of the law, Sonic," Knuckles added as he shook his head at how the blue furred hedgehog seemed oblivious to simple court ethics. "The law and court isn't something that can play favorites. As such, upholders of the law like you and me shouldn't have our decisions made simply because the person we know is our friend and we believe that they are innocent. That just isn't how things work here. I'm sure they taught you that when you took the class to obtain your Attorney's Badge, or did you just happen to not be listening on that particular part?"
"If I weren't listening in my classes, then I wouldn't have been able to pass the bar exam with flying colors, Knux," the defense attorney countered as he started to sound a bit childish with his argument. "Did that thought manage to pass through your head? I trained myself to keep my emotions in check when inside a courtroom. I don't think I really need to show off that much restraint when I'm outside in the field."
"Wow, that's probably the most childish answer I've ever heard you come up with," Tails stated as he decided to put his two cents on the topic. "This is exactly the reason why I decided to become the inquisitor when asking people outside of court questions. I know you well enough to know that you have little to no control over a good portion of your emotions. You need to learn some out-of-court restraint!"
"As interesting as this all sounds, I hardly think this is really all that important for me to listen," Shadow butted in with a small chuckle at the childish display unfolding before him. This did, however, earn him back the attention of the three. "Let's just get back to the main problem at hand here and deal with personal arguments later.
"As an upholder of the law who is also higher up in the chain of command, I'm afraid I'll have to subject Detective Knuckles to an ethics investigation since there isn't any evidence that says he was within his legal right to withhold the revelation of this murder to higher authorities," he continued on once he felt that he had their attention once again. "It's not like you'll be able to continue on with your investigation anyway since the officer is still taking photos of the spot you want to check out. Not like that will make any difference since what you're probably looking for doesn't have anything to do with his questionable conduct."
End Rebuttal
"True, we can't really do much with our intended investigative spot still being occupied by the officer," Tails admitted with a sigh as he mentally wondered how much longer they were going to have to wait for it. "In that case Shadow, I'll just continue whittling away the time by trying to prove to you that Knuckles didn't do anything illegal when he requested that there be very minimal police presence here."
"And how do you propose to do that, Tails?" Shadow asked, his voice reflecting intrigue at the young fox's determination as he uncrossed his arms and messed with the ends of his gloves a bit. "It's one thing to be showing off great inquisitive skills and proving your mettle through the creation of legit and logical arguments; it's another to be trying to prove a veteran of the law wrong when you barely know anything about it yourself. While I do admire and admit that your skills could rival that of even the most seasoned of detectives here, your lack of overall knowledge on the law shall be your downfall here. After all, arguments regarding the law aren't easily won when the arguer himself lacks knowledge of it."
"Just because I'm not that well educated in the way of the law doesn't mean that I can't produce theories that pertain to the main argument here," the two tailed fox countered as he crossed his arms a bit in a defiant manner. "And before you say anything, allow me the chance to present my theory to you on why I believe Knuckles' usage of the abilities reserved only for senior detectives was well within his legal limits. It's only fair after all before you go about disregarding my side of things."
"Alright, I'll let you humor me for a moment," the ebon furred hedgehog stated with a sigh and a shake of his head, a clear indication that he thought this was going to be nothing but a waste of time. "I could use a good laugh right now to offset my ever mounting piles of stress anyway. So what is this theory that you say will help show that Detective Knuckles acted within the boundaries of his legal powers?"
"Well, you weren't here when we first discovered this horrible murder, so let me give you a quick brush-up on it. Sonic and I were the first to discover it, but we wouldn't have if he didn't go and forget something here in this office in the first place," he added with an annoyed look at Sonic before continuing on. "Anyway, we were the only two in here at the time, so I ran to get help while Sonic stayed behind and tried to see how Silver was doing. Needless to say, he got caught examining the scene by a certain somebody and was put under citizen's arrest until I came back with Knuckles in tow."
"And since Sonic was no doubt considered to be the only suspect in this tragedy, the detective called the police and asked that they send only the bare minimum and keep quiet about the incident in order to buy time to clear his name," the prosecutor finished off as he felt he had a reasonable understanding of the theory. "That and the traffic gridlock because of that senatorial candidate's fundraiser party helped with the stall tactics. It's clear that Knuckles managed to at least somewhat clear his name regarding this case since the good attorney is still standing here and chatting away with us."
"And that's why we're saying you're wrong in that Knux never did anything illegal," Sonic concluded with a triumphant nod of his head. "He knew that I was the wrong person being detained for this murder and wanted to prevent my arrest by the cops while we searched this place for solid evidence proving my innocence. In essence, he kept the higher authorities from arresting me by giving me some time to obtain some solid evidence."
"Hmm, I suppose that's something that could be considered as a special circumstance if the detective knows the person initially detained is innocent of a heinous crime such as murder. It is a stretch to be thinking that, but if you three continue on with your investigation at this pace and manage to dig up something worthwhile, then I would say that Knuckles' actions are just barely within legal boundaries."
"I suppose then that you'll be accepting nothing but solid evidence, right?" Tails asked as he felt that he already knew what the answer was. "No conjectures or any of my other theories regardless if they make sense or not."
"That's what I naturally want here. I can't let possible wrongdoers off the hook that easily without first being adequately proven wrong. Then again, you did prove to me something that I didn't previously know about being that I wasn't here from the moment this whole thing started. This just tells me how uninformed I am with the pertinent information regarding this incident that's already at hand for you all. As such, I'm willing to give you three the benefit of the doubt in that you're being honest with me. Just don't go botching it up and make me look like an idiot for doing so."
"Wow, it sounds like you managed to mellow up a bit from the last time we met," the cobalt hedgehog stated with a smirk coming onto his face. "I guess you only play the tough guy when you're busy prosecuting cases in court. Nice to see that you actually have a reasonable side to you that's easy to approach and talk to. Thanks for finally backing off from you attack against Knuckles here."
"However, I'll be overseeing you three's actions while you perform your investigation," Shadow quickly added before the attorney's smirk could get any bigger. "If you want me to keep my accusations in check until the rest of the police decide to come here later, then I suggest you allow me to watch over you."
"…You know, I take back all that crap I said a few seconds ago about you being mellower and a more reasonable person," the attorney grumbled with a pout as he crossed his arms tightly to signify his annoyance at the prosecutor's attitude. "You're still just as testy and moody outside of the courtroom as you are in it."
"I figured your trust for something as delicate as this would come with something attached to it," Knuckles stated as he did not sound as surprised as the other two looked. "If that's your only condition for keeping me off the hook until either we find concrete evidence or the rest of the police arrive, then I say that's a pretty fair trade. And don't you two even think about saying anything against it Sonic and Tails," he added as he shot them both a sharp look as their mouths were slightly open at the beginning of their protest. "I'm more than capable to be making these decisions for myself."
"Hey, I wasn't going to say that you needed to be kept on a leash like a little puppy, Knux. I don't know what Tails was planning to say, but I was actually going to agree with you before you went ahead and cut us off."
"I was actually going to say the same thing, believe it or not," the two tailed fox admitted with a quick nod of his head. "After all, we can't really continue on with our investigation if we don't agree with Shadow's condition and respect your decisions."
"Speaking of investigations, I suggest that you continue on with what you were previously thinking of doing," the ebon furred hedgehog responded as he pointed towards the empty bookshelf where the officer was just finished with his photo taking of the area. "It looks like the photographer's done taking pictures of the crime scene. I'm sure you already know this, but you have until sometime early in the morning before people start to get suspicious about Ms. Rose missing from her current residency. If you need me, I'll be standing in the corner behind the desk watching over you three."
"Gee, thanks for saying that you're going to have your damn eagle eyes pinned on us, Shadow," Sonic stated sarcastically with a heavy sigh as the prosecutor made his way to his designated corner. "It just really helps not make us feel so pressured into finding the real culprit of this crime before time runs out."
Hey everybody. Just here to tell you that this is one of those very rare chapters where there isn't anything new to put down here. No new evidence or anything that needs to be updated. I couldn't find any way to incorporate new things into this chapter, yet I also wanted this to be more of a chance to prove Knuckles' innocence in his choices. Just a little note here in case you all thing there was a huge typo and I forgot or something like that.