Despite the rocky start, Athena was settling into the office better than she'd expected. It was hard to believe that she'd had any qualms about it just two days ago. Though most of her fear had come from how surprising the whole thing was, it took almost no time to realize how convenient it would be to stay at the office. Not only would she never have to worry about being late but, since she would always be here, she would be available to work at any time. She couldn't think of a better way to be there for Apollo as a lawyer.

Her only concern when she arrived was how upset Apollo still seemed to be. The peaks in his emotions weren't as high as the day she left for the hotel, but they were still high enough that she was concerned. And then when he apologized for not telling her about the office right away, she realized where his anxiety was coming from. He thought his actions had trapped her here, and he felt guilty for it. Seeing him be so aware of his actions and how apologetic he was for them meant a lot to her. But she wasn't going to let him beat himself up over it, especially when she understood how he felt and didn't blame him for being torn in how to handle the situation. After all, she knew she hadn't handled it as well as she could have, so their shared apology put them right back on even ground. They were able to get through it, just as they always had.

The only thing left was to get a routine going. She wasn't used to having roommates, so it would take her a little while to figure out how to work her schedule around theirs. Her first hurdle was when she'd woken up this morning to go for a jog. As far as she could tell, no one else was awake and she had to be sure not to wake anyone up as she got ready. When she left for her jog and then came back to a still quiet house, she assumed she succeeded in not disturbing anyone. She was just glad she thought to ask Apollo for a key to the office so she could let herself in without making any noise. She could have left the door unlocked while she was gone, but preferred not to and was glad she didn't have to consider it at all.

Since no one was awake yet, she was free to use the shower and get ready for work, dressing in her usual yellow suit. Because she'd so far managed to get her morning tasks done without disturbing anyone, she hoped she could count on this as a daily schedule. It would take time before she would know if she could count on this on a daily basis, but she would continue with it for now.

After she made a pot of coffee, she settled in at her desk to prepare for the day. Apollo didn't mention what kind of work he would have her do today, so she just familiarized herself with the computer and settled into her new workspace while she waited for him to wake up.

She didn't have to wait long for the door to his bedroom to open. He was already dressed in his snappy red suit, adjusting his tie as he stepped out of the room. He stopped midway to closing the door behind him when he saw Athena sitting at her desk.

"Morning, Apollo!" Athena greeted him, smiling brightly and waving. He looked at her like he was surprised to see her, then he closed the door the rest of the way and walked towards her desk. "Morning," he offered back. He stopped in front of her desk but stood a little ways away, like he wanted to give her space. "You're up early."

"Yep! I'm always up this early. Wouldn't have time for a jog if I wasn't up bright and early!"

Apollo's eyes widened and he stared at her in surprise. Athena could only guess that he hadn't been aware that she'd been awake for that long, leading her to believe that she had indeed been successful in not disturbing anyone this morning. This made her more confident that she could count on having similar mornings from now on. Apollo watched her for a minute, looking like he was trying to think of something to say. Then his expression smoothed back out, going back to looking like he was still waking up. "I… uh… need just a minute."

Athena put her hands on her knees and straightened up in her chair, smiling widely at him. "Sure thing, boss!"

He narrowed his eyes at her but didn't respond, instead turning and going towards the bathroom. There was something about teasing him so soon after he woke up that had her feeling more mischievous than usual. Maybe it was because he had yet to shake the sleep away so he wasn't quite as ready to respond to her antics, which made his reactions different. It was like she had a whole new set of reactions and faces to discover. But no matter how much fun she was having, she reigned herself in. She already spent enough time teasing him during the day so the least she could do was give him a peaceful morning. So, even after he left the bathroom and went to the kitchen, she busied herself at her desk and vowed to remain quiet until he was ready to give her something to do.

Apollo came out of the kitchen after a few minutes, heading towards his desk with a mug of coffee and a plate of toast. Athena watched him as he set them down and leaned down to turn his computer on. After he stood back up, he glanced her way. She smiled at him but didn't say anything. He suddenly looked away, like he was embarrassed after being caught doing something he shouldn't be and quickly sat down, turning his attention to his computer. They spent the next few minutes silently working at their desks.

Athena had mostly familiarized herself with her workspace by now, not having much else to do while she waited for Apollo to wake up earlier. Now she was just getting comfortable with the computer while she waited for him to give her a task. It seemed to be a new desktop with a fresh install, not leaving much to explore before there was nothing left to check out. Even after there was nothing left to see, she remained quiet, already deciding she was going to let Apollo have a peaceful morning.

Not long after she was done looking at the computer, she suddenly got the sensation that she was being watched. She turned to look for the source and found Apollo looking her way. His eyes widened slightly when she looked at him but he didn't look away. Athena had known Apollo long enough to know that this meant he wanted to say something but was having trouble thinking of how to bring it up. He'd had this habit in the entire time she knew him. Sometimes when he wanted to say something to someone but wasn't sure how to bring it up, he would just watch the person while he thought about it and end up appearing like he was just candidly watching them. She teased him the first time she caught him doing this to her. He was thoroughly embarrassed, apologizing profusely as he rushed to do something else. It was one of the strongest reactions she'd seen from him by that point and she couldn't help but laugh at his expense. She eventually got used to it and would just help him out of his unsure behavior by asking him what he wanted to talk about. Since he seemed to be having a hard time saying what was on his mind at the moment, she decided to help him along like usual.

"What's up, boss?" She didn't mean to start teasing him already after giving him such a short break, but the longer she waited the harder it was to resist. At the very least, it seemed to break him away from whatever was causing him to hesitate. He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before he opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to change his mind. Instead, he got out of his chair and headed towards the tall file cabinets to the right of his desk. Athena watched him as he fished for something in one of the top drawers. He pulled out a folder before he closed the drawer, turning and walking towards her desk. He stopped in front of her and laid the folder on her desk, sliding it over to her. "I've been entering all the files into the computer for a digital backup. You can start with that."

"You got it, boss!" she said as she pulled the folder towards her, smiling brightly at him. He pressed his lips together and straightened up, like he suddenly felt awkward. Instead of saying anything else, he walked briskly back to his seat. Athena immediately got to work, happy to finally have something to do. She didn't even have to ask how to get started; when she was checking the computer earlier, she saw a digital case file program on the computer. It was one of the few icons on the desktop so she saw it almost right away. Since it was the same program they used when they worked at the agency, she already knew exactly how to use it. So she settled in to her desk, sifting through the papers and entering them into the program. At some point while she worked, she saw Apollo go get a folder for himself and he also settled in, entering the information into his own computer.

When Athena was almost done with the first file, she checked to make sure the computer's wifi was connected. If this program worked just like the one at the agency, the files were all entered into a shared network. Not only did it make it easy for anyone to look up anything they needed at any time, but it also wouldn't matter which computer was used to enter the information. It made it possible to enter two separate files at two computers at the same time, just as they were doing now. But if the connection failed for any reason, the information wouldn't store properly, so she would periodically check to make sure it was working. It made her realize that she didn't have the password, something she would need if the connection ever went down.

"Hey, Apollo," she said, looking his way. He suddenly stiffened and straightened up in his chair, looking her way with wide, confused eyes. "Y-yes?"

His tense reaction to her speaking to him would have been enough to raise her concerns, but since that could be chalked up to him being startled by a sudden voice in the currently quiet office, she didn't think a lot of it. But when she heard him speak, she worried there might be more bothering him than that. There was fear in his voice that was tilted towards anxiety, the peak seeming a little higher than it should have been. Since she didn't know what might have been bothering him, she just kept smiling at him, trying to ease his nerves and asking her question like she didn't notice. "What's the wifi password?"

Instead of easing his fears, this seemed to worry him more. "Why? Did the network stop working?" he asked, looking like he was about to get out of his seat.

If his behavior didn't concern her before, it certainly did now. The peak of anxiety in his voice was even higher now and, in spite of her trying to ease him with her good mood, her smile faded as she watched him with a confused frown. "No… just for future reference."

This seemed to calm him down, and he sat back down in his chair. "Oh. Um…" He just watched her for a few moments before he answered her. "I didn't change the stock password. It's on the back of the… router." He suddenly slumped back in his chair, turning his eyes to stare at the top of his desk, suddenly appearing exhausted.

Now she was certain that there was something on his mind. She just watched him for a few moments, trying to imagine what he could be thinking. It didn't make sense for these little things to get him so worked up. At first, she thought she could just chalk it up to 'first day of work' jitters, considering that this was their first day working together in the new office. That could still be the case, but she doubted it; the peaks in his voice were too high for it to be something as small as that. It felt more like there was something else bothering him, which made the smaller things bother him more than they normally would. And there was no shortage of things it could be, considering everything he'd been through in the last few months.

The main reason she accepted this job was to be there for him. Not just as a lawyer, but as a friend. She knew he wasn't taking the time he needed to come to terms with all that happened, and she hoped she could somehow help him through it. But it would be up to him to decide if he was ever ready to talk about it. She couldn't push him; all she could do was wait till he was ready and raise his spirits the same way she always had. Whatever was bothering him now might not have anything to do with all of that but, no matter what it was, she wanted him to know that she would be there if he needed to talk about it. So, she decided she would stop acting like she didn't notice something was going on, but she would respect his boundaries if he didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you okay, Apollo?"

He raised his head to look at her. He watched her with a confused frown for a few moments, like he wasn't sure what to do, then his expression smoothed out and he suddenly looked apologetic. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry. I guess..." Athena waited patiently as he thought of what he wanted to say. "… I'm just not used to being in charge. It feels a little weird telling people what to do. Especially… you."

So something else was bothering him after all. Though it had nothing to do with the last few months like she originally thought, it explained why he was getting so worked up over the little things. He just wasn't used to being in charge and must have felt like he wasn't doing a very good job being her boss. He'd never been in a leadership position before, so she understood that it would take time for him to find the right ways to handle it and start getting used to it. What she didn't understand was why he was having an especially hard time telling her what to do. In the whole time they'd known each other, he'd been her senior. True that he never really told her what to do; the most he ever did was guide her along the way when they first started working together. Sure, being boss and employee wasn't the same as coworkers but, at the end of the day, they weren't going about their work much differently than they ever had. Other than the role changes, Athena didn't feel like this was any different than it ever was before. Maybe since he was the one in charge now he thought he needed to behave differently. But she didn't want it that way. And she knew based on his behavior that he didn't want it that way either.

So she was more than happy to let him know that different titles didn't mean they had to treat each other any differently than they ever had.

She straightened up and smiled brightly at him, wanting him to know that his fears were for nothing. "What are you worried about? That doesn't change anything."

Her response seemed to surprise him. "...Huh?"

"Sure, you're in charge now. But that's the only difference. There's no reason we have to be any different than we were before, right?"

He just blinked and stared at her. It was like what she said made him suddenly realize something obvious, something that hadn't occurred to him until just then. He paused, his expression calming down and his demeanor seeming more relaxed. "Yeah. You're right."

Her smile widened and she raised two fingers in a V. "Then no more frowning, Mr. Worrywart! Let's get these files registered!"

And when his frown disappeared and he smiled, she knew she'd succeeded in making him feel better. It was the first genuine smile she'd seen on his face since she arrived here, and it made her heart race. Knowing that she could still ease his fears and make him feel better when he was down, it meant everything to her. And it made her more ready to face the day than anything else could.

They continued their work, and a comfortable silence fell over them. They just worked at their desks, periodically getting out of their seats for a new file. The location may have been different and the circumstances might not have been the same, but they'd already fallen into the same comfortable routine they'd shared back at the agency.

After a little while, Athena started the process of entering the new file she'd just grabbed out of the file cabinet. When she started typing in the information, it showed that this file was already in the network. It surprised her for a moment, then she realized that this made sense. Since she and Apollo were both working on entering the files at the same time, they'd lost track of which ones were already done. When she'd gone to get a new folder, she'd grabbed the one that came after the one she'd just done, not realizing that Apollo must have just finished this one and had already put it back.

"Whoops. Looks like this one's already done." This got Apollo's attention, and he stopped what he was doing to look at her. "What?" he asked.

She lifted the file up for him to see. "This one's already in the system."

Apollo was quiet for a moment, looking like he didn't understand. Then a sudden look of realization appeared on his face as he seemed to come to the same conclusion that she had. "Oh, uh...

I didn't think of that. I was doing this by myself before so I was just kind of memorizing where I left off."

"No problem," Athena said as she laid the folder back down on her desk. "That's an easy one to fix." She opened the top desk drawer, already knowing what was there since she'd checked all of the drawers earlier. She pulled out a small stack of yellow sticky notes and a pen and held them up for him to see. "We can use these." When he frowned like he didn't understand, she removed the cap from the pen and started writing on the sticky note. "Just put one of these on the folder when you're done…" she said as she pulled the note from the pad and placed it on the folder. She lifted the folder up so he could clearly see the yellow note with the word 'Done!' written on it. "That way we won't lose track of which ones are already done!"

"Oh. Good idea," he said, then opened the drawer of his desk to get his own notes and pen.

This made it more clear that she'd succeeded in making him stop worrying about the little things. Instead of letting it get to him like he did earlier, he just took it in stride, which was more like his normal demeanor. This was just one of the small things that didn't work quite the same as it did at the agency, and they could easily adjust as the issues came up.

She got out of her seat and went to return the folder to the cabinet, bringing the notepad and pen with her. She left the cabinet drawer open after she returned the file, placing the notepad and pen on top of the file cabinet as she grabbed the first file in the drawer. Now that she knew where the folders had left off, she figured it would be best to put notes on all of the previous folders, just to be sure there were no future mix-ups. She would know she was done when she reached the folder she'd just returned. So she stood next to the cabinet, methodically removing a folder, writing out a sticky note, placing it on the folder then returning it to the drawer.

After a little while, she saw Apollo approach her out of the corner of her eye. She turned to him with a smile, finding him standing there awkwardly with a folder in his hand. "Um…" he started, looking like he wasn't sure what to say. "I… need another file."

"Sure thing!" Athena said, taking the file he was holding and returning it to the drawer. She refrained from calling him 'boss' this time since he looked like he was feeling awkward enough. She pulled the next file and handed it out for him to take. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly accepted it while he mumbled a 'Thanks.'

Instead of going back to his desk, he just stood there, watching her and looking like he was unsure about something. She figured he was in another one of his modes where he didn't know what to say, but she gave him a minute to think and bring it up on his own. When some time passed and he had yet to say whatever was on his mind, she decided to give him a little push. "Whatcha need, boss?" As usual, it pulled him out of whatever cloud he was in, and he opened his mouth to say something.

But he never got the chance when they were both distracted by a loud sound on the other side of the room.

Athena turned to find the source of the sound. Datz was at the front of the office, standing in the doorway with his hand still in the air after he'd thrown the door open with force. He was smiling at them and carrying a large bag over his shoulder. "I'm back!" he exclaimed, walking into the room as he shut the door behind him.

Before she could react, Athena heard a shuffling of papers behind her, making her turn back around. The papers in the folder Apollo was holding were half spilling out, and he was holding the folder tightly to his chest with both hands as he tried not to let any of the papers fall to the floor, as if he'd been startled so much that he almost dropped the folder.

Athena couldn't help but look at him with a concerned frown. Apollo had always been a little jumpy, especially when he was under a lot of stress. And with everything that had happened recently, she knew he had no shortage of things on his mind. Even with her easing his fears earlier, she knew it would take some time to get used to everything. She was still concerned, knowing that being this high strung was bad for his health, but she tried not to worry about it for now. She was already doing what she could to help him stay calm and hoped some of his stress might settle on its own as he adjusted to everything.

"Got some stuff from the courthouse," Datz said as he walked up to them and stopped in front of Apollo. He brought the bag he was carrying around and let it fall heavily on the floor in front of him. "And more apples!" He immediately started opening the bag and reaching into it before anyone could say anything. "Don't worry, I got the apples first this time," he said as he straightened up, looking at Apollo with a big smile as he held out a small stack of files for him to take. Athena just watched as Apollo stared at the files, then he started awkwardly trying to put the papers he was holding back in the folder without dropping them. Athena wanted to help him but was worried she might make it worse and cause him to drop something, so she instead took the folders from Datz, giving him a smile. "Thanks Datz."

He raised two thumbs her way. "You bet!" He turned his attention to Apollo, who had just finished gathering the papers back into the folder. "One of them has the rest of the stuff from one of the cases you worked on last week. The other two are new cases."

'New cases?' Athena couldn't help but feel excited by the prospect of working on a case. Not only was she excited to start helping Apollo take on cases, but she had yet to work on a case in Khura'in. Last time she was here, she helped with the investigation of the case Apollo was working on, but she never got a chance to stand in court. The circumstances at the time were anything but normal, but she wasn't given a choice; Mr. Wright told her to stay put and let him and Apollo handle it. She didn't like it at all, and she even argued against it at first. She knew they were just concerned for her safety and doing what they thought was right, but she still couldn't stand the thought of them putting their lives on the line while she stood safely behind. But in the end, there was nothing she could do. Her boss had ordered her to stay out of it, so she had no choice but to stand down.

But that was no longer a problem. Not only had the Khura'in legal reform removed the danger, but she was specifically here to work with Apollo as a lawyer. There was nothing left to stop her from standing in court with him, and she was more ready than ever to get started.

"Thanks," Apollo said, adjusting the folder he was holding. Datz grabbed the bag of apples and swung it back over his shoulder. "Would stay and chat but I got stuff to fix. See ya!" he said, then headed off to the kitchen. They both watched him go before Apollo turned to look at Athena. She lifted the folders she was holding for him to see, smiling at him. "Our first cases! Let's get started!"

"Uh… sure," Apollo said. He glanced around like he wasn't sure where to go, then he stiffened and started walking towards his desk. Athena followed him, feeling more excited than she had in a while.

Apollo sat in his chair and put the folder he was holding off to the side. Athena placed the pile of folders on his desk in front of him then walked around to stand next to him, leaning one arm on the top of his chair and leaning her other hand onto the top of the desk. He started by opening the folder on the top, then set it aside after he looked at the first paper. She assumed that was the one from last week's case that he didn't need at the moment. He opened the next folder and started reading the top page. When he didn't set it aside, Athena figured this was one of the new cases, so she leaned in a bit to read it with him.

"This one's a larceny charge," Apollo said. Athena scanned the page and listened to him as he recounted what he read. One of the first things she noticed was the defendant's mugshot that was held to the top right corner of the page with a paperclip. He seemed to be middle-aged with a round face and bags under his eyes. But the thing that stood out the most was how terrified he seemed to be. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

The second thing she noticed was the picture Apollo was holding in his other hand. It had been laying on the top of the case summary page, and he'd moved it out of the way in order to read the paper. It was a photo of a gold, intricately carved statue with swirling shapes that gave detail to the animal-like features. It reminded her of a garden lion, the marble ones people usually used to decorate their yards. The size reference written on the side of the picture said it was about ten inches tall, so though it looked like a garden lion, it was smaller than the ones she'd seen before. She turned her attention to the case summary when Apollo set the picture aside.

"There was a break-in at a resale shop last night," Apollo continued. "The store owner reported a valuable statue as stolen. The defendant, Mr. Taim Idly, was placed at the scene by a security camera and later arrested for the theft."

"Security camera, huh?" Athena said. Every piece of evidence had a tendency to be a double-edged sword, but security camera footage had a history of making things messier than anything else did. "I guess that means it's gonna get complicated, like usual."

"Yeah," Apollo agreed as he continued to read the paper. "Apparently, there's also footage of him visiting the store earlier in the day before the theft. Their claiming that he was there to case the store for valuables and learned about the statue at that time, then came back later after hours to steal it."

Like most of their cases, it just sounded like a lot of speculation. Until they had a better picture of what was going on, it would be hard to start making a case for their defense.

Feeling that the next best step would be to see the footage in question, Athena looked at the folder on the desk. There wasn't much in the folder, which was no surprise. They weren't normally given much to go on when a case was brought to them. They usually received a folder with a case summary and small bits of evidence of varying types, leaving the rest of the information left to them to gather for themselves. Of the few items in the folder was a paper sleeve with a disc inside laying on top of the small pile. "Maybe this is the footage," she said as she reached into the folder and picked it up. Apollo looked away from the paper and saw as she picked it up, which was why they both saw that it revealed a second disc sleeve that had been underneath it. This wasn't strange, considering that the case summary Apollo was reading mentioned that there were two separate sets of footage. But it was a bit surprising that they were just given this footage rather than having to get it for themselves. It was a welcome change since it would save them a lot of time they would rather use to build their case. Apollo reached into the folder and picked up the second disc, bringing it closer to his face so he could read the small bit of writing in the corner of the sleeve. "It says 'On the scene at 4 PM.'"

Athena saw writing in the corner of the one she was holding. "This one says 'Footage of Theft.'" They exchanged a glance then, without saying a word, Apollo removed the disc he was holding from the sleeve and put it into his computer while Athena went to get her chair and pushed it over to Apollo's desk. Apollo looked at the monitor and started opening a media program while Athena placed her chair right next to his and sat down. When they were settled and could both see the screen, Apollo started playing the footage.

The video started by showing the inside of a small shop. The walls were covered with display shelves and there were item racks lining the floor. Each one held a mix of different items, each one of a different type and size, really giving off the impression of a resale shop that bought and resold just about anything you could think of. The shop's front door was visible on the left wall, directly next to a large display window. There was an overhead light brightening the room, but most of the illuminating light came in through the window. There were a few customers wandering around, periodically stopping to look at one of the displayed items. In the bottom left corner of the footage was a timestamp, showing the time and date to be yesterday, just after 4 PM. Athena and Apollo just watched in silence as they waited for something to happen.

About thirty seconds into the footage, the front door to the shop opened and a man walked in. He was of short stature, wearing a long coat, a scarf around his neck, knitted gloves and a hat with ear flaps. He had his arms wrapped around himself as if he were cold, turning his head back and forth as he looked around the shop with a puzzled expression.

"Hey, that's the client!" Athena said as she recognized his face from the case file. Apollo must have recognized him as well, agreeing and they both continued to watch. Mr. Idly entered the shop, walking around slowly as he looked around at the items on the shelves. He eventually made his way to the front counter where he stopped and seemed to be having a conversation with the cashier. After a minute of this, the defendant turned and slowly walked out of the shop, still looking around at the shelves as he left. The footage ended a few moments after the door closed.

They both sat in silence for a moment before turning to look at each other. Athena was glad to see that Apollo appeared to be feeling just as confused as she was. "So that was supposed to be footage of him casing the store?" Athena started.

"Apparently."

"I mean…" Athena continued, trying to think it through before she gave her opinion. "I guess I see why they might think that. But... he looked more like he was just browsing to me."

"Yeah," Apollo agreed, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. "The way he kept looking around gave me more of the impression that he was lost."

"Yeah," Athena agreed, recalling the confused expression on Mr. Idly's face. An idea suddenly occurred to her. "Do you think maybe he was asking the cashier for directions?"

"Maybe. It's hard to say when the sound is too quiet to hear what they were saying." Though there was sound in the video, it was impossible to make out what either the defendant or the cashier were saying. This was understandable, considering that the security camera was recording from the other side of the room, but it still made it harder to know exactly what was going on. "I guess we won't know more till we talk to the defendant."

"Yeah," Athena agreed. She picked up the other disc that was sitting on the desk, holding it up for him to see. "Ready to watch this one?"

"Yeah," he agreed, and Athena slid her chair back so she could reach the computer that was under the desk. Since it was on the side she was currently sitting at, she removed the other disc herself and put in the second one. She put the first disc back in the folder and slid her chair back next to Apollo's while he opened the next piece of footage.

When the footage started, Athena put her arm on the desk and leaned forward more to see the screen better. She wanted to concentrate as much as possible, determined not to miss anything that could be a valuable clue. Pictures and video footage could be tricky when used as evidence in court, so she wanted to make sure she was as prepared as possible. She assumed Apollo felt the same way when she felt him stiffen next to her.

The video started from the same angle as the last, appearing to have been taken from the same camera. The main room of the resale shop was darker now thanks to the later hour, the only lights illuminating the footage being a small ceiling lamp on the opposite side of the room and the moonlight that came in from the window. There was no one in the room, not even the cashier, giving the impression that the store was closed. This lined up with the case summary that claimed the defendant returned to the store after hours. The timestamp showed that it was the same day as the last piece of footage, but it was now 10:37 PM.

A few moments after the video started, the front door to the shop opened. The first thing Athena noticed was that, though it currently appeared to be after hours, the door didn't seem like it was locked. There were no obvious signs in the footage that it had been broken or forced; it just appeared to swing open with no resistance. The second thing she noticed was the person that walked in; though the footage was a bit dark, it was very clearly the defendant, wearing the same large coat and scarf, looking around the dark shop with his arms wrapped around himself. He slowly walked in, stopping periodically as he seemed hesitant to go forward. He eventually made his way to the front counter, turning to the right and walking out of the camera's view. Because of the position of the camera, the right back corner of the room wasn't visible, so Athena just sat and watched, waiting for him to appear back on the screen. There were no sounds of any kind that could indicate what he was doing, and she just kept an eye on the time stamp to get an idea of how long he was off camera.

Right after she noted that the defendant had so far been off camera for one and a half minutes, a sudden high pitched sound started playing out of the computer's speakers. It only took her a moment to realize that it sounded like a security alarm. It was a little louder than she expected, but she just kept concentrating because she didn't want to miss what happened next.

At least, that was what she planned. It didn't happen when her concentration was broken when Apollo let out a loud yelp next to her.

When she turned to look at him, she saw his eyes bugging out like he'd just been electrocuted. He was halfway to getting out of his chair when his foot caught on the chair leg, causing him to fall back into his seat. Because he'd been trying to keep his balance, he landed in the chair sideways, causing it to slide along its wheels and away from the desk. It slid a few feet away, only coming to a stop when it bumped into the tall cabinets to the right. He just sat there, slouched down and gripping the arms of the chair.

At first, all she could do was stare at him. It happened so suddenly that she was having trouble figuring out exactly what happened. Then when she had a moment to think on it, she realized that the sound of the alarm had startled him. She wouldn't deny that the sound had been fairly loud; the computer's volume must have been turned up higher than she expected. Despite that, the fact that it startled him enough to make him almost fall out of his seat had her highly concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked, watching him carefully as he continued to slouch in his seat. She was so worried about him at the moment that she feared just the sound of her voice might startle him again. Thankfully, it didn't. Instead, he turned his eyes to look at her, staring for just a moment before he seemed to start calming down. "Uh… yeah," he said as he straightened up in his seat. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Athena hesitated, watching him carefully. His reassurance did nothing to lower her concern for him; the fear and shock in his voice was still highly peaked, not much lower than it had been when he was first startled. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Apollo said, clearing his throat and getting out of his seat. He pushed his chair back over to the desk next to her and sat back down. He looked at the computer screen for a few moments before he looked back at her, probably sensing that she was still watching him. He must have felt guilty seeing her watch him with such a deeply concerned frown, because his embarrassment faded away and he let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," he said as he looked at her apologetically. "I just wasn't expecting the sound to be… that loud."

Now Athena was certain she wasn't imagining things. When the door startled him earlier, she decided to let it go, accepting that he would be a little more stressed than usual while he adjusted to everything that was going on. But now, seeing him almost fall out of his seat over something that didn't even make her flinch, it all but confirmed her suspicions that he'd been doing nothing but work and wasn't giving himself any time to unwind. It was leaving all of his stress to pile up and make him a nervous wreck. No matter how jumpy his personality was, being this high strung wasn't normal, and she was even more worried about him than she was before. It wasn't just bad for his mental health; stress like this could affect physical health as well. She'd already suspected this before she even moved here, which was one of the main reasons she'd invited him to show her around the park yesterday; not only did she just like the idea of taking one of their casual strolls for the first time in a while, but she knew he needed some time to be away from work and unwind, even if it wasn't for long. Their walks had always relaxed him in the past, so she was glad he agreed to go with her. Now she was more determined than ever to keep doing what she could to raise his spirits and encourage him to take the time he clearly needed to relax. She worried he might have a breakdown if he didn't start taking better care of himself.

"Okay," she started, still looking at him like she was worried he might fall over. "We can take a break if you want."

"No, it's fine," Apollo said, straightening up in his char. "We just got started. Let's watch the footage again."

Athena hesitated. "Okay…" she said, not sure what else she could say. She couldn't really make him take a break, and there was no denying that they needed to keep going. In addition to everything she read on the case summary earlier, one of the things she noticed was that the court date was scheduled for tomorrow, leaving them with only so much time to get ready. There wasn't much she could do right now except trust that he was ready to keep going.

When Apollo seemed satisfied with her answer, he started reaching for the computer to play the video again since it had finished playing during his little outburst. Athena reached over to the computer's speaker and turned the volume knob down, still watching him carefully. He would surely not react as strongly this time now that he knew about the alarm sound ahead of time, but she thought it was best to turn the volume down anyway, just in case. When the video started to play again, she decided to put her worries aside for now and focus on the case.

Athena put her focus on the video as it played. She didn't see anything that she hadn't already noticed the first time it played, so she just waited to see what happened after the alarm went off. Thankfully, when the alarm sounded again, not only was it quieter because she'd turned the volume down, but Apollo had no reaction at all. She was relieved for now, but she couldn't think about it more than that when she saw what happened next in the video.

Only a few seconds after the alarm started, the defendant reappeared on the screen, running towards the front door of the shop, hugging himself and looking completely terrified. He opened the door and ran out, the footage ending soon after.

Athena just sat there and stared at the computer screen, feeling confused. She wasn't sure why, but something about the footage felt wrong. Like there was something missing, but she wasn't sure what.

"Where's the statue?"

Athena turned to Apollo when he spoke, finding that he was looking at her with a confused frown. "Huh?" she asked.

"The statue," Apollo repeated, looking more focused than he did before. "I didn't see it. Did you?"

And that was when Athena realized what was strange about the footage. This was supposed to be evidence of the defendant stealing a statue. But when he was fleeing the scene, his hands were empty.

"You're right!" Athena exclaimed. "This is supposed to be the moment he committed the theft, but his hands were empty when he left. The statue wasn't in the footage at all!"

"Yeah," Apollo said as he leaned his arm against the desk. "Why would they claim this is proof that he stole it when it's not even there?"

They both looked at each other for a minute as they both tried to think of an explanation. When neither of them said anything, they realized they didn't have enough to go on yet.

"I guess that means it's time to talk to the client," Athena said. With so little evidence provided and questions already arising, they didn't have much left to do but start their investigation so they could build a case.

"Yeah," Apollo said, raising his hand to rub his fingers against the top of his head like he was getting a headache. "Before that, we should at least see what this other case is about." He closed the folder they were looking at and reached for the second case file that was underneath it. "Depending on when this one is scheduled, we might have to talk to both defendants while we're there."

"Okay," Athena agreed as she leaned over to read the case summary with him. Working on more than one case at a time wasn't unusual, but when there were multiple cases to work on back at the agency, there had been three lawyers to share the work. She couldn't imagine how difficult it had been for Apollo to do all of this on his own the last few months. No wonder he wasn't taking any time to unwind; with everything he had to do, taking personal time just wasn't possible. It made her even more glad that she decided not to postpone her move so she could start helping him with the workload right away. With how much there was to do, he needed all the help he could get.

When Apollo opened the folder and they both looked at the case summary page, Athena froze. Her eyes widened when she saw what was on the page, unable to feel anything but surprised. In particular, it was the mugshot of the client that had her taken so off guard. Looking back at her with the same terrified look was the same round face that she saw in the last folder.

The client in both cases was the same.

"Hey, isn't that Mr. Idly?" Athena asked, wondering if maybe she was mistaken. But she knew it wasn't a mistake when Apollo answered her, sounding just as surprised as she did. "Yeah. The accused in both cases is the same."

But the surprises didn't end there. As Athena read the case summary, she saw that both of the crimes happened on the same night.

Except that the charge in this case was murder.