Apollo was at the cafe. He had stumbled here automatically. The courthouse had been closed down, so for the time being, there was no trial to partake in. Clay Terran was back in the Detention Center, and Prosecutor Blackquill had seen to it that he was kept under twenty-four surveliliance, and that he would be denied any requests for visits.
Probably to grill him, Apollo's stomach turned.
On paper, he was supposed to be back at the Wright Anything Agency, filing out reports. But Phoenix and Franziska had respected his wish to have time for himself to process what had happened. Besides, they themselves could not do much work themselves. The media was all over the bombing, and reporters had flocked to the agency. The staff was in the limelight, and that was the last place Apollo wanted to be now.
Apollo took a sip from his coffee cup, and winced. Sugar packets. He had ordered it plain. Normally he would complain to the barista, but...
"Hey, there."
Apollo looked up. It was Reina. She took the seat across from him. She looked...not worried, but shaken.
"I saw the news, and all the photos they took at the courthouse and your firm. Are you...doing okay?"
Apollo could do nothing but shrug. "I'm doing as well as I can." He tried to smile.
"Did you want to get something?"
"Actually, no. I just thought that if I'd find you anywhere, it'd be here." She pointed at the cup of coffee near Apollo. "But I see you have your pick-me up."
"The barrister...I mean, the barrista put a lot of sugar in this." Apollo said ruefully.
"You won't drink it?"
"One sip was enough for me."
Reina hesitated, then grinned. "May I?"
Apollo nodded as Reina took the cup and nodded satisfactorily.
And the young lawyer allowed himself his first genuine smile of the day.
Athena Cykes sat on the weatherbeaten wooden bench on the street across from the Space Center. She felt...she shook her head. There were too many emotions, and variants thereof, flowing through her heart. But...but she had some good memories of this place. Smiling through Captain Cosmos' self-aggrandizement, helping out Solomon Starbuck with his personal rocket designs, sharing her life goals with Clay Terran...
Athena gulped. She had almost been on the cusp of a good mood.
It was dreadful to remember the bombing of the courthouse, but Athena could never forget that Clay had moved to save her and Apollo before anything else, as soon as he realized what was happening. Everyone was so sure about him being responsible for Cosmos' death. Even she could find no other answer to the question of the grisly murder.
She had testified against him, and he had nonetheless moved to save her. Maybe...
"Hello, Athena."
The voice belonged to an older woman. Athena turned her head. It was Aura Blackquill. Of course.
Her fellow employee was still wearing a kimono, one with an uncomfortably familiar design. Aura wore a smile, but her eyes were flinty.
"Good morning, Mrs. Blackquill..."
"I hope you're doing better than my brother is."
Athena sighed. "Since we're not in a courtroom anymore, or in the station, I guess you came here to talk plainly."
"Exactly."
Athena gestured. "Do you want to sit down with me?"
"I'll stand."
Athena sighed. This was going to be difficult.
"Please don't think I don't appreciate the pain that you went through...or you're going through now. We both lost someone precious when my mother was murdered. I knew that you worked well together and you really valued her..."
"You know exactly how I felt about her!" Aura thundered. "Her respect as a co-worker wasn't all that I wanted!"
"What you wanted from her wasn't hers to give..."
Aura squinted. "I'm sorry, what?" For a minute, Athena said nothing. At length, the older woman scowled. Her eyes were cold. "Oh, I see. Still playing the princess, aren't you?"
"I'm not playing anything. I'm telling you the truth." Athena threw up her hands. "My mother could be stern or kind, but she was around me whenever she wasn't at work. "Mrs. Blackquill, I'm not saying I don't understand how you feel. For all you did for my mother, you were never going to be her first priority. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I can't."
She hesitated. "Please. Your loss is my loss, too. I'm not sure about staying after this case is over. You could reconsider, too. You could leave the Space Center...I know what that...that day seven years ago brings out in you. You could find a new place, start over. You...you could find another woman, make a new life for yourself."
Aura turned on her heel. "Things are not over until I say they are over."
-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 44; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.