Apollo knew his nerves shouldn't be as high as they were right now. Though he hadn't been in Khura'in for very long, he'd already defended in court more times than he could count, so he should be used to it by now. But with the legal reform still in progress, rules were still being rewritten and re-applied all the time as they tried to adjust to having defense attorneys as part of the proceedings. Because of this, each trial was almost like an isolated incident, making them less predictable than he would have liked. The people in charge of the reform were using the trials as a learning experience and using what they saw to re-adjust as they saw fit. It was in progress for the better, but right now it just felt like an organized mess.
That would have made him nervous enough as he stood in the defendant's lobby waiting for the trial to start. But in addition to all of that, he had to consider that this was Athena's first trial in Khura'in. Last time she was here, she watched the trial from the gallery, per Mr. Wright's orders, so this would be the first time she acted as a lawyer during one of the trials. Apollo wasn't doubting her abilities; he already knew she was a great lawyer and would do just fine. But it reminded him that she was now just as much of a part of the legal reform as he was. He was still hesitant to burden her with so much responsibility. But he reminded himself that it was her choice, and he had no doubts that she was capable of taking on the task. Instead, all he could do was guide her along the way. He already gave her a rundown of the court proceedings and warned her of the unpredictable state the trial would most likely be in, so all he could do now was have faith in her and help her as the trial went on.
When the time finally came, the door to the courtroom opened and the bailiff ushered them inside.
The amount of cases Apollo took on lately was so high that he couldn't even hope to keep track of a number anymore. When he first came to Khura'in, it felt like every waking minute was spent in the courtroom, seeing as he was the only defense attorney in the country for a short while. It wasn't until the people in charge of the reform managed to get a few lawyers from an allied country to temporarily help retry the old cases that his workload reduced enough for him to do anything else. Even so, he still spent so much of his time working on cases that he rarely bothered finding out who the prosecutor would be. He'd faced a few different ones by this point, and was used to not having any idea who he would be up against. At the end of the day, who it was only made so much difference, so he rarely bothered to find out before the trial started.
Despite this, he still felt a bit surprised when he saw Nahyuta Sahdmadhi standing behind the prosecutor's bench.
Seeing Nahyuta act as the prosecutor wasn't strange; Apollo had already faced him in court many times since he first arrived here. What surprised him was how Nahyuta still had time to prosecute at all. After the DC Act was removed from the legal system, a lot of other changes had to be made. Apparently, whoever was chief prosecutor at the time wasn't happy with these changes and quit before leaving the country. And the one who ultimately took over the role of chief prosecutor after that was Nahyuta. In addition to all the responsibilities that title would bring, Nahyuta was also one of the people in charge of the reform. Whenever the people in charge of the reform decided on a change that needed to be made or a law that needed to be rewritten, it was brought to Nahyuta afterwards for review. As chief prosecutor, it was his responsibility to ultimately decide whether the change should or shouldn't be made. Apollo could only imagine what other responsibilities being chief prosecutor would bring, but he just assumed having that much responsibility would leave no time to stand in court. But in the end, Apollo saw Nahyuta in court fairly often, leaving him to wonder how he had time to do it all.
Then, when Athena came to help him, Apollo started to understand. The answer was obvious, but for some reason it didn't occur to him until Athena started helping him with his own workload. Though Nahyuta's responsibilities were high, he had many people behind the scenes helping him. He wasn't alone in his responsibilities, which was why he still had time to act as a prosecutor in the courtroom.
Even so, he still found it a strange coincidence that Nahyuta just happened to be the prosecutor in Athena's first case.
After Apollo and Athena took their places behind the defense's bench, the judge entered the room and took his seat. Without pause, he lowered the gavel and started the proceedings.
"Let the trial of Taim Idly begin," the judge started, watching the courtroom with a serious expression.
Apollo closed one of his hands into a fist and laid it on the desk in front of him, letting his other arm hang at his side. "The defense is ready, your Magistry." Since this was Athena's first case in Khura'in, they'd already agreed before the trial started that Apollo would be the acting attorney while she helped from the side.
Nahyuta stood with his eyes closed, appearing as if he were meditating. "The prosecution is ready." He opened his eyes and looked toward the defense bench. Nahyuta would sometimes make a comment before the trial started, so Apollo wasn't surprised by this. But what did surprise him was when he only looked at him for a brief moment before he turned his eyes to Athena. "Miss Athena Cykes."
Apollo turned to look at Athena. She was standing with her hands on her hips, her face straight and serious, just as she always did when court began. It further reminded him that, no matter how much she seemed to treat life like a game, she knew when it was time to be serious and was just as professional as everyone else. "Yes, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi?"
Nahyuta's expression didn't change, continuing to look calm and collected. "I must admit, it was a surprise to see your name as one of the acting defense for this case." He paused for just a moment. "I was unaware you were visiting Khura'in."
"I'm not here for a visit," Athena said, her expression unchanging. "I'm officially under employ at the Justice Law Offices. You can expect to see my name as one of the active defense from now on."
It wasn't until then that Apollo realized he still had a fear in the back of his mind that Athena might, for one reason or another, eventually decide to go back home. But now, hearing her say out loud that she would be here from now on, gave him a relief he didn't know he needed. She didn't see this as a temporary position; she was going to stay. It made him realize just how much it would have affected him if she decided to leave. Though he would never try to stop her if that was what she wanted, he was glad that he would never have to face the emptiness he would feel if she was no longer around.
"I see," Nahyuta said as he closed his eyes. "I have not forgotten the last time we met in court." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I look forward to facing off against you in the future."
"Thank you, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. I look forward to it as well."
Back when Apollo and Athena both still worked at the agency, they'd taken on a case together and faced Nahyuta in court, so it was no surprise that they were at least acquainted. But Apollo was still a little surprised that Nahyuta was addressing her with so much respect. That was, until he remembered that they'd faced each other in court more than once, but during the second time, she'd taken the case on by herself. Back when they both still worked at the agency, there was a day where Apollo and Mr. Wright were both taking care of other obligations, which left Athena as the only available defense attorney. Because of that, she ended up taking on a case by herself. True that she had some help from an old friend, but it was the first trial she won without help from either Apollo or Mr. Wright. She recounted the whole trial to Apollo later, and that was when he learned that Nahyuta had acted as the prosecutor once again. Apparently, Nahyuta didn't take her seriously at the beginning of the trial, but by the end of it, she'd earned his respect.
All he could hope now was that it was enough to keep the prosecution from trying to run them down.
"Would the prosecution like to give his opening statement?" the judge asked.
"Yes, your Magistry," Nahyuta said. He rolled out a scroll in front of him and began to read. "The incident took place the day before last, at a local resale shop. The accused, one Taim Idly, was caught on security camera entering the store just after four PM. He was later caught on security camera again, but this time he was visiting to commit a theft." He closed the scroll and picked up a picture from his desk, holding it up for all to see. It was an exact copy of the statue photo that Apollo had in his own folder. "The stolen item was a gold-plated lion statue." He put the picture down and lifted a document. "According to the owner of the resale shop, this statue is valued at three hundred thousand dahmas."
In spite of himself, Apollo's eyes widened. How much the statue was worth was something they were never able to learn before the trial started, so he couldn't help but be surprised.
"Isn't that…" Apollo turned to Athena when she started talking to him. He found her looking just as surprised as him. "...the equivalent of one hundred thousand dollars?"
"Yeah," Apollo agreed, trying to relax his expression. "I can't believe that little thing is worth that much." The more the stolen object was worth, the longer the sentence would be on a guilty verdict. The prosecution would most likely put more effort into convicting the defendant as well, so they had to do everything they could to make sure that didn't happen.
"My, quite the valuable little statue!" the judge said, his eyebrows raised.
"Indeed," Nahyuta said, looking down at his desk and closing his eyes. "We believe the statue's value is why the defendant chose it as his target for theft." He opened his eyes. "The prosecution is ready to call its first witness."
"Yes, let us get on with the first testimony," the judge said. "Bailiff, bring in the first witness."
Apollo watched as the first witness walked up to the stand. Because the first testimony was often given by the leading detective working on the case, he already had an idea of who it would be. He'd met a number of police officers and detectives in the many trials that he took part in, so he wasn't surprised to see that he recognized the man that walked into the room.
The sound of leather boots echoed in the room as he walked methodically towards the stand. The black pants and brown, button-up, long sleeve shirt he wore were crisp and wrinkle free, not even bending as he walked. He stood straight as an arrow, his arms clasped behind his back as his black, wispy hair seemed to resist the air around him. When he came to a stop at the witness stand, he stood straight with his boots together, staring forward with an expression that was somewhere between focused and bored.
"Witness, state your name and occupation," Nahyuta started.
"Cornelius Charts," the witness said. His voice was fairly deep and his tone was even, giving off no readable emotion. He moved one of his hands to his chest and closed his eyes, half bending in a slight bow before he went back to the same standing position. "Detective of Division C of the KPD."
"Whoa." Apollo turned to Athena when she started talking to him, finding her looking at him with surprise. "And I thought you were too stiff. This might be the starchiest guy I've ever seen."
Though he could have done without the comment that he was too stiff, Apollo nodded in agreement. He had run into Detective Charts on numerous occasions, so he was already used to his stiff and serious demeanor, so Athena's assumption was spot on. The detective rarely showed emotion of any kind, and Apollo couldn't recall ever seeing him make a different expression than the one he was making right now.
"Please share the findings of your investigation to the court," Nahyuta said to the detective.
Detective Charts went on to describe his version of the events, starting from the moment the defendant walked into the shop and ending after Mr. Idly ran out of the shop upon hearing the security alarm. There were several points in the testimony that Apollo wanted to discuss, but he saw no better place to start than to begin by weakening the accusation that theft was the goal in the first place.
"The defense may start their cross-examination," the judge said.
"Yes, your Magistry," Apollo started. Though the legal system had made noticeable progress as they continued to change for the better, the first few trials Apollo participated in were rocky at best. It took a while before the courts started getting used to working the trials around having a defense attorney present. At the very least, he decided to at least be grateful that he no longer had to remind them of his right to a cross-examination. "Detective Charts," Apollo started, keeping his expression calm. "Your current claim is that the defendant entered the store just after four PM to find valuables to steal at a later time. Is this correct?"
"Yes, that is correct," Charts said, not even blinking as he spoke.
"I see," Apollo started. "What if I were to tell you…" he folded his arms and smiled. "I have evidence that proves otherwise." He knew their evidence wasn't strong and the point wouldn't have as much impact as he would have liked, but he chose to appear confident regardless. In order for him to keep his own mind at ease, show Athena that she didn't need to worry about him or think she had to carry him through the trial, and in order to keep the client calm, he chose to go forward with a smile on his face.
"Interesting," Nahyuta said, opening his eyes and looking at Apollo. "Please elaborate, defense."
Apollo opened the folder in front of him and picked up two copies of the paper Athena had printed the night before, the one that showed the word mix-up regarding the client's native language. "The defendant, Mr. Taim Idly, is currently in Khura'in on vacation from his home country of Gridorla. As you can see here..." he started as he held up the paper. "… the spoken language in Gridorla is not English." Apollo handed the papers to the bailiff and continued to make his point as each one was handed to the prosecution and the judge. "Because Mr. Idly is currently learning English, there are still words he cannot translate from his own language. As you can see, the word 'resale' in English is very similar to the Gridorlian word for 'grocery.'" Apollo paused for a moment to gauge the reactions of the prosecution and judge as they read the papers. "The defense argues that, when Mr. Idly entered the resale shop on the day of the theft, he was not there to find valuables to steal. When he walked into the shop, he believed he was entering a grocery store. Therefore, the accusation that his goal was to steal valuables in the first place is nothing but an incorrect assumption."
"Why, yes!" the judge said as he read the paper. "The words are indeed very similar."
"Way to go, Apollo!" He looked at Athena, finding her looking at him with a proud smile. He knew she was just as aware as he was that this wasn't the strongest point to make, but seeing that he had her support gave him more confidence than he had before.
"The prosecution…" Nahyuta started, and Apollo turned his attention away from Athena to see Nahyuta's face was unchanged. "...Has no objections."
Apollo frowned and clenched his hand tighter. A less experienced defense attorney would think that this meant they were getting somewhere, but Apollo knew better. He was sure he knew where this was going, but all he could do was wait and hope his assumption was wrong.
"Is that so?" the judge asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Nahyuta closed his eyes after he looked down at his desk. "The prosecution has no issue with the idea that the defendant was unaware of the type of store he was visiting. However…" He raised his head and looked at Apollo. "...What does that change?"
Apollo frowned, fearing that what he expected was about to happen. 'Here it comes…'
"Please do explain, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi," the judge said.
"Whether the accused entered the store believing it to be a resale store or grocery store…" Nahyuta started, then smiled, like he felt nothing but confident in his words. "… makes no difference. Entering the store at all gave him opportunity to learn of the statue. Even if it wasn't his intention at first, this still gave him reason to return at a later time and commit the theft later on."
And just like that, their only foundation for defense had been taken down. Apollo already thought of this as one of the outcomes, but he still hoped it wouldn't turn out like this.
"So much for that," Athena said, and Apollo looked at her. She didn't look surprised, as if she'd already predicted this outcome as well.
"Sorry," Apollo said. "I was really hoping we could get somewhere with this." It was already bad enough that the best point they'd come to court with was so quickly thrown away, but he felt even worse because Athena had worked hard to find this point in the first place.
"It's okay," Athena said, reassuring him with a smile. She turned her attention back to the court with a serious expression. "Besides, we're not quite done with this point just yet."
"Yeah, you're right," he agreed, also looking back at the proceedings. She'd obviously come to the same line of thinking as he had, so he didn't even need to ask what she meant. Though it wasn't much, they had to continue arguing this point until they were certain that it couldn't help their case.
"Objection!" Apollo shouted. "If simply entering the store is enough to accuse my client of finding valuables to steal…" He slammed his fists against the desk. "… then the same can be said for every person that entered the store that day!"
It took no time for Nahyuta to counter back with his own objection. "That may be so… but of everyone who entered the store that day, the only one to return to the scene later that night was the accused." He smiled, as if he thought he already won. "Therefore, your objection is little more than a desperate attempt to deflect the defendant's guilt elsewhere."
'I knew that would be his response,' thought Apollo. Though he knew this would be the outcome from the start, he knew they had to at least try. But that made it no less disheartening that they were essentially back at square one.
But he tried not to let it get to him. Though this point had proven to be less than helpful, Apollo tried to hold out hope. During the testimony, he'd heard something that he believed could be the next point to make, something that they hadn't had before the trial began.
"If neither side has any more objections..." the judge started. "...the defense may continue their cross-examination."
"Regardless…" Apollo started, trying to remain calm so he could think clearly. "… the 'who' only has so much relevance when the 'how' and 'when' have yet to be established." Apollo went on to explain the new point that he noticed during the testimony. Because they hadn't known the value of the statue before the trial started, it didn't seem like as much of a relevant point until now. When they first saw both pieces of footage, they noticed that the statue wasn't visible anywhere. But since not every part of the shop was visible within the given camera angle, they didn't think much of it. But now, the statue's value showed a new possible contradiction with the given facts.
When Apollo and Athena were visiting the resale store during their investigation, one of the things they noticed was that the items for sale seemed to be sorted by size and value. As far as they could tell, as long as the item wasn't too large or heavy to sit on a wall shelf, items of greater value were displayed on the wall, while items of lesser value were in the racks on the floor. It wasn't an exact system, but that seemed to be the rule of thumb. But the one thing that seemed to be consistent, regardless of the item's type or size, was that the most valuable of the merchandise was kept behind the counter. They both confirmed this while they were reviewing the footage later that evening. But since they had no idea how much the statue was worth, it didn't mean much to them. But now that they'd been told how much the statue was being sold for, it brought new meaning to the security footage. Apollo relayed all of this information to the court, before he finally brought up his point.
"Therefore, the statue being of high value, should be displayed behind the counter." He paused to gauge the reactions before he finished making his point. "However… the statue isn't visible on the counter wall in either piece of footage. How could my client, or anyone else for that matter…" He slammed his fists against the desk before pointing to the prosecution. "...decide to come back and steal an item that was nowhere in sight?"
There was a small commotion, and the judge called for order. Apollo leaned against the desk with both hands clenched into fists as he waited, hoping that this point would finally get them somewhere. Even after all of this, they still had no idea why the client was being accused of stealing an item that was never seen in either piece of footage at any time.
"What does the prosecution have to say to this?" the judge asked after the gallery calmed down.
Nahyuta was silent for a moment, his head turned down toward his desk with his eyes closed. "Storage."
This time, Apollo hadn't predicted where this would go, so he had no idea what Nahyuta was talking about. "What?"
Nahyuta opened his eyes and looked at Apollo and Athena. "Just out of the camera's view is a storage room." He lifted a picture of the inside of the resale shop, one that showed the back wall, including the right corner that wasn't visible in the footage. "Any products not currently on display are stored in this room." He lowered the picture and closed his eyes. "If the door was open during the defendant's first visit to the store…" He smiled confidently. "…he could have easily learned of the statue, even if it were not on display."
Apollo paused, then his hands relaxed as his confidence faded, and he looked at the prosecution with disbelief on his face. 'You gotta be kidding me…'
"Yes! That makes sense!" the judge said with raised eyebrows. "That way, there would be no problem with the statue not being visible in the security footage."
Apollo knew he should have been used to trials taking turns like this by now. And yet, he still could never believe how the prosecution always had a way to break down his argument, no matter how circumstantial. But he couldn't give up. Not when he had full confidence in the client's innocence.
"Objection!" Apollo shouted, slamming his fists against the desk. "Where is your proof that the door was open during the defendant's visit?" So far, he'd only heard ideas from the prosecution; there had been no real proof that any of this took place. But with the judge looking more and more like this circumstantial evidence was enough, Apollo had to say whatever came to mind, even if he thought it was feudal.
Nahyuta didn't miss a beat when he answered, looking as calm as ever. "Where is your proof that it wasn't open?"
Apollo clenched his jaw. They wouldn't get anywhere if they kept arriving at stalemates. He needed to think of something more concrete, or the judge was liable to pass judgment based on circumstantial evidence. "Whether or not the client saw the statue at all is irrelevant." Apollo straightened up, placing one fist back on the desk and trying to appear calm and confident. "The fact still remains…" He crossed his arms. "...that you still have no proof that the defendant stole anything at all."
When the judge asked him to elaborate, Apollo put his hand back on the desk and relaxed his expression. He went on to explain how none of the evidence showed the client coming in contact with the statute at all. Even the second piece of footage, that supposedly showed the moment of the theft, was no proof at all, since the defendant's hands were empty as he fled the scene.
As expected, Nahyuta didn't hesitate to come back with an argument of his own. "Notice the defendant's attire." Everyone looked to the defendant's chair where Mr. Idly sat. He was watching the proceedings with wide, terrified eyes, slouching down and shivering with his hands tightly gripping the flaps of his hat. "Even now, he is dressed the same as he was in the security footage." Everyone turned their attention back to Nahyuta when he picked up a picture of the security footage, in particular, a snapshot of Mr. Idly fleeing the scene. "I would like to draw the court's attention to the defendant's winter coat. In particular, the rather large pockets." He lowered the picture and looked at the court confidently. "Certainly large enough to hide a small statue from the camera's view."
Apollo just stared, at a loss for words. No matter how many times his argument was overturned, he could never stop being amazed by how easy it seemed to be for the prosecution to have a rebuttal for everything he said. 'You can't be serious…'
"Objection!" Apollo shouted as he slammed his fists against the desk. "If the defendant had put the statue in his pocket…" He straightened up. "… then it would have been found during his arrest. But, even after a search was conducted of the defendant's belongings, nothing was found. At this point in time…" He pointed toward the prosecution. "...the statue is still missing!" The lack of actual proof of the defendant stealing the statue wasn't the only reason that Apollo couldn't understand why he was being accused in the first place. There was also nothing in the evidence they were given or anything they found during their investigation that showed where the statue was now. As far as they had been made aware, it was still missing. And if the defendant didn't even have the statue on him when he was searched, why was he arrested in the first place?
There was another small commotion and the judge called order before he asked the prosecution to respond to the defense.
As usual, Nahyuta had an immediate response. "If the defense can provide another possible reason other than theft for the defendant to visit a store after hours…" He looked towards the defense and smiled. "…the prosecution is ready to hear it."
"Now's your chance, Apollo!" Athena said, and Apollo looked at her. Her hands were clenched into fists and she was watching him with a determined frown. "Bring up the possibility that Mr. Idly was just there to get his missing wallet!"
Apollo blinked at her, not sure why he hadn't thought of that himself. "Oh yeah," he said. "Thanks for the reminder." They both turned back to the court proceedings, and Apollo explained how the defendant lost his wallet during his first visit, and how he came back after hours to pick it up per the store owner's request. Even if there was no proof of this other than the defendant's claim, it was still another possibility that the prosecution had to consider.
But the response was something that Apollo was in no way prepared to hear.
Nahyuta stood with his eyes closed for a moment, then looked at the defense with a smile. "Is this…" he said as he picked up a plastic bag from his desk, holding it up for all to see. "...the wallet you are referring to?"
Apollo was stunned. All he could do was stare at the bag, unable to believe how this could have happened. Even from here, he could see the defendant's picture ID, confirming that it was indeed the missing wallet.
"Where…" Apollo started, slouching down slightly as what little confidence he had started melting away. "...did you get that?"
Nahyuta lowered the bag and picked up a picture, holding it up for all to see. "In the same place that this was found." Apollo looked at the picture and immediately recognized the missing gold statue. It was a different picture than the one they had in their own evidence, clearly taken from a different angle and in a different location.
But what stood out the most was the stain that blemished the side of the otherwise clean statue.
"Is that…" Apollo started, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest. "...blood?"
"After the accused left the scene of the theft…" Nahyuta started as he handed copies of papers and pictures to the bailiff. The bailiff handed the copies out to the defense and the judge as he continued his argument. "...he visited the home of one Louis Basking. While the reason for this visit has yet to be determined…" He smiled. "… we have confirmed that Mr. Basking was murdered during this time."
In a state of disbelief, all Apollo could do was stare at the evidence that was placed on the desk in front of him as the sinking feeling in his chest grew deeper. Among the copies of the evidence that Nahyuta had already presented, what stood out was a photo of the scene of the murder. There was no shortage of things to note in the picture, like how the victim was lying on the floor underneath a large cabinet. But the things that stood out to Apollo the most were the two items on the floor near the body; the defendant's wallet and the stolen statue, stained down the side with blood.
"As you can see in the evidence provided…" Nahyuta said after he paused to let the defense and judge start looking through the papers. "...the defendant's wallet as well as the missing statue were both found at the scene. The prosecution argues that, after the theft of the golden statue, the defendant murdered the victim in his home with the statue, where he dropped his wallet."
Apollo stared at the evidence with a bugged out expression, suddenly feeling dazed as he tried to wrap his head around the sudden turn of events. This had to be Nahyuta's plan from the beginning. Why else would he hold off on mentioning the wallet until Apollo brought it up himself? It must have been a trap; he baited Apollo into talking about the wallet so he could try and use it to place Mr. Idly at the scene of the murder. It also explained why the murder case had no scheduled date. Even with cases sometimes being given more time to be investigated before they were brought to court, it was rare for Apollo to receive a file for a case that had no trial date set. But now, it made sense. There was no scheduled time because Nahyuta was planning to convict Mr. Idly of both crimes in this one trial.
And Apollo had no idea how he was supposed to stop that from happening. He was barely prepared for the larceny charge. There was no way he was ready to keep a level head while he tried to defend the client from two charges at the same time.
"I see!" the judge started, looking like he understood. "The wallet not only places the accused at the scene of the crime, but it also explains the location of the missing statue!"
Nahyuta smiled confidently. "I'm glad you understand, your Magistry." He closed his eyes. "Not only is this proof that the accused committed the theft of the golden statue…" He raised his hand to his chest. "...but it is also proof that he committed this murder." He paused for a moment. "Perhaps you are now ready to pass your judgment… so we may give the victim his last rites."
The judge didn't answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes and appeared deep in thought. The fact that the judge was hesitating should have been reassuring to Apollo; but it wasn't. Not only did that mean there was still a chance that the judge would decide to convict Mr. Idly of both crimes, but Apollo had no idea how he was suppose to stop that from happening. He was still in shock over the murder case being brought into the proceedings, and he had no idea where to go from here. He tried to search his mind for anything he could say, any objection he could bring up. But his mind was drawing a blank.
"Hold it!"
Apollo was pulled from his daze as he turned to look at Athena when he heard her speak. He was at a complete loss of what to do, so he couldn't even imagine what she was planning to do. And yet, when he looked at her, he was surprised to see that she didn't seem to be sharing the same hopelessness he was feeling right now. While he stared at her with a bugged out, helpless expression, she just watched the proceedings with a calm, serious expression, like nothing was wrong at all.
"Hmm?" the judge said, opening his eyes and looking at Athena. "Does the defense have something to say?"
Athena didn't miss a beat when she answered, still watching with a calm expression. "Prosecutor Sahdmadhi."
Nahyuta opened his eyes and looked at her.
"You've presented quite the theory to the court. But that's all it is." She crossed her arms and smiled. "A theory."
'...Huh?' Apollo's jaw dropped as he watched her. There was no way she came up with something. He couldn't even begin to guess what it could be.
Nahyuta lowered his hand and watched her with a calm expression, like he didn't find her interruption amusing. "Do explain, defense."
Athena put her hands back on her hips and looked at the court with a calm expression. "So far, you have presented the possibility that the defendant stole the statue and hid it in his pocket before fleeing the scene. However…" She paused. "…you have yet to present evidence of this actually taking place."
Nahyuta paused, closing his eyes as he appeared to be thinking. "The statue, as well as the defendant's wallet, were both found at the scene of the murder." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "This is evidence that connects the accused to the theft as well as the murder."
"Maybe," Athena started, seeming unfazed. "But that doesn't prove how either of these items arrived on the scene." She paused for a moment. "You say the accused was present at the time of the murder. Do you have evidence of the accused entering the victim's home?"
Nahyuta was quiet as he closed his eyes. "...We have no such evidence at this time."
"So, you have no evidence of the defendant actually entering the scene of the murder."
Nahyuta kept his head turned toward his desk with his eyes closed, staying silent.
"Admit it, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi," Athena started after a minute of silence. "You have no real proof that the defendant committed either of these crimes. Everything you've presented up to this point…" She paused, then pointed toward the prosecution. "...has been nothing but circumstantial!"
Apollo couldn't believe that it took him so long to realize this. Athena saw it right away, but he'd been in such a daze that he didn't notice until she said it out loud. Nahyuta was acting like he had proof of the defendant's guilt, but so far he'd done nothing but spin a tale of his own making from the evidence provided. The actual timeline of events wasn't clear enough to make a conviction yet. True that the defendant's wallet at the scene of the murder would be a difficult thing to defend, and he could only start guessing how it had gotten there. But Athena was right; though Nahyuta was trying to sound confident, like he had the entire case figured out, he was presenting nothing but a theory that wasn't much stronger than theirs.
Nahyuta opened his eyes and looked at Athena, immediately starting his objections. "The defendant's wallet is enough to place him at the scene of the crime. Dropping it while he was in the victim's home is the only way the wallet could have ended up at the scene."
"Objection!" Athena started without missing a beat. "According to the defendant's own testimony, he lost his wallet during his first visit to the resale shop. Even if he did visit the victim's home, he would have had no wallet to lose!"
Nahyuta objected again. "You have no proof that such a thing took place."
Athena threw back another objection. "You have just as much proof that he entered the victim's home at all!"
Nahyuta was quiet for a moment before he smiled. "Very well, defense. If you have another explanation for how the wallet ended up next to the victim's body… the prosecution is prepared to hear it."
The sinking feeling in Apollo's chest grew. If Nahyuta looked this confident, he feared Athena might be walking into another trap. But since he had no idea what he could do to stop it, all he could do was remain silent and have faith that Athena could handle this.
And then, as if she had something in mind the entire time, Athena answered without missing a beat. "Who's to say it wasn't planted?"
Apollo had no idea how she could say that so calmly. Where in the world was she going with this?
Nahyuta was silent for a moment, his eyes still closed. "Interesting. Perhaps the defense would like to share a theory on who might have planted evidence?"
"Why not the store owner?"
Nahyuta opened his eyes and looked at her. "Are you accusing the store owner of a crime?"
Athena continued on, not seeming bothered by his glare. "I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I'm just doing the same thing you are… presenting an idea."
Nahyuta was quiet for a moment. "Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?"
"No, I don't." She paused, meeting his stare without any hesitation. "But neither do you. Admit it. Without evidence of what actually happened in between these two crimes…" She pointed toward the prosecution. "...your theory has no more proof than mine!"
Nahyuta was quiet, then he grit his teeth and clenched his fist.
Apollo stared at Athena as she lowered her hand back to her hip, his eyes wide and his jaw open. Did she really just get them through that? On one hand, he couldn't come up with any good excuse why he hadn't come up with the same line of reasoning that she did. His mind may have been in a daze, but there was still no reason he should have taken so long to come up with the same idea. On the other hand, he didn't know what he would have done if she hadn't interjected. Even after all this time, she never ceased to amaze him.
"The court has come to a decision," the judge started, and everyone turned their attention to him. "Based on everything that has been presented in today's trial… it is my belief that there isn't enough to reach a verdict at this time. Therefore…" He looked at the prosecution and defense with a stern expression. "Both sides will continue their investigations and the trial will continue at a later date.
Nahyuta straightened up and closed his eyes. "Yes, your Magistry."
After a moment of silence, Apollo felt something touch his foot. He glanced over to see Athena still standing there with her hands on her hips, but she was looking at him like she was waiting for something. It was then that he realized that she'd nudged his foot to get his attention. She'd done such a good job taking over the trial that he'd momentarily forgotten that he was still the acting attorney. He cleared his throat and straightened up, trying to smooth out his expression. "Yes, your Magistry."
"Very well. If that is all…" the judge said as he raised his gavel. "Court is adjourned!" He lowered the gavel, and the sound ended the proceedings for the day.
Athena raised her arms in the air in a long stretch, letting out a quick yawn before she slumped back against the couch, suddenly feeling exhausted. After the trial had ended earlier that morning, Athena and Apollo had no shortage of things to investigate before the next trial began. Before, nothing they saw in the files nor anything they found during their investigation gave them any reason to believe that the theft and murder were connected, so they started off believing they could focus on one at a time. True that both crimes had happened on the same night which might have suggested they were connected, but nothing in their initial investigation suggested that they were anything other than two separate crimes. But, after the turn the trial took earlier in the day, it not only connected the two cases together, but also required that they investigate the cases at the same time. After everything that was revealed in the trial, the court decided that the two cases be treated as one, which left Apollo and Athena no shortage of work ahead of them.
And since they were informed right before they left the courthouse that the next trial was scheduled for tomorrow morning, they had precious little time to investigate.
They spent the remainder of their day working on the case, investigating everything they could think of in order to try and cover everything they possibly could. They started by visiting the scene of the murder, since it was the part of the case they knew about the least. They spent as much time there as they were allowed, examining the crime scene and taking down testimonies from the officers that were still there investigating. By the end of it, they ended up with so much new information that they were almost having a hard time keeping track of it all.
After that, they went to the detention center to interview Mr. Idly, wanting to speak with him before visiting hours were over for the day. When they asked him if he knew how his wallet ended up in the victim's house, he said he had no idea. In addition to that, he said he'd never met the victim before, nor had he ever been anywhere near his house. Since Apollo's bracelet had no reaction to anything the client said, they knew all of his claims were the truth. This proved that the client had not dropped his wallet on the scene like the prosecution claimed. But it had gotten there somehow, and they felt no closer to knowing how than they had been before. Before they ended the interview, they wanted to see if they could get the client to talk about his second visit to the resale store. Last time they asked, he'd gone into a panic and was called away for questioning before he could give them any details. But the results this time ended up being about the same. Even after Athena calmed him down after he started to go into another panic, he just kept insisting that he saw a sign of death. They couldn't get him to say anything else, and they had no choice but to leave it at that when visiting hours ended.
After that, they revisited the resale shop, hoping the store owner would be willing to speak to them this time. During the trial when Athena brought up the idea that he planted the evidence, she hadn't meant it. She'd only brought it up as a possibility to try and show that the client wasn't the only one who had an opportunity to move the evidence. Mr. Idly was telling the truth when he said the store owner called him about his missing wallet, so that proved that the store owner had come in contact with the statue and the wallet at one point, which actually did give him the same opportunity as the client. But she never actually believed he was guilty.
That was, until they spoke to him again. He was still very irate, insisting that he didn't want to talk about the case anymore. But they were out of time and needed all the information they could get, so they went ahead with the interview anyway. Though he did eventually lose his patience and throw them out of his store, they did manage to get him to answer some of their questions first. One of the most important was if he found Mr. Idly's wallet and called him later that night to come and get it after store hours. He told them that never happened and that the defendant must have made it up. While the question was being answered, Athena saw Apollo grab at his own wrist just above his bracelet, something he sometimes did when he felt his bracelet react. That left no doubt that the store owner was lying.
But that left them the task of finding out what he was trying to hide.
Once they'd investigated everything they could, they came back to the office and settled in at Apollo's desk. They looked through the evidence, discussed every theory they could think of and started building a case for their defense. It should have been easier this time, considering they had substantially more evidence to work with this time. But the fact that they were essentially defending the client against two different crimes made it feel much more difficult than it did before. Because the cases had been proven to be connected, it was more likely that being found guilty of one of the crimes would get him convicted of both at the same time. They were being as careful as possible as they built their defense, trying to be prepared for whichever conviction was used against them first. Even after they took a dinner break and moved their investigation to the living room, sitting side by side on one of the couches as they hunched over the evidence that was laid out on the coffee table, they continued to build their case until neither of them had any ideas left. By the end of it, Athena was feeling more exhausted than she had in a while.
And with the way Apollo was now slouched back against the couch, rubbing his hand over his face as he yawned, she assumed he shared her feelings.
"Why did they treat this like two cases in the first place?" Athena said, stretching her legs out in front of her and leaning against the arm of the couch. She frowned and tapped her finger against her leg, feeling a little bit frustrated by the whole ordeal. When Apollo said the trial might be a bit unpredictable, she had no idea how right he would be. It wasn't like the trials they worked on back at the agency were problem free; they often found themselves in less than desirable situations more often than they could count. But trying to convict the client of two crimes based on the circumstantial evidence of just one? It just felt like an organized mess, just like Apollo said. "It would have saved us a lot of trouble if we could have treated this like one case from the start."
She wasn't expecting him to answer her. She was mostly just venting her frustrations and wasn't looking for him to say anything. But normally, even when she wasn't saying anything important, he almost always acknowledged that he'd heard her, even if it was just with a small, subconscious grunt. He so rarely didn't respond to her that his silence suddenly had her concerned.
When she turned to look at him, she saw him sitting there, half slouched down with his folded hands on his waist. He was staring at the table before them without really seeing it, his mouth turned down in a frown while the V that rarely left his face creased his brow.
For a while, she just watched him. Other than the frown, he probably would have appeared fairly comfortable to anyone who saw the way he was leaning against the couch. But she knew better. His shoulders were squared and tensed, the muscles in his forearms were clenched as he tightly held his folded hands together. The line under his jaw showed that he was clenching his teeth, and she was able to better see the faint shadows under his eyes, as if he'd been having trouble sleeping. He wasn't relaxed at all; he was carrying the world on his shoulders again.
And for the first time, she found herself at a loss of what to say to him.
She wasn't sure if he finally realized that she'd been speaking to him or if he just felt her staring at him, but he finally turned his eyes to look at her. He watched her for a moment, then his frown smoothed away and he took a deep breath. He turned to look back at the table in front of him, suddenly appearing tired. "Might as well try to get used to it. Trials with Nahyuta are always like that."
Athena raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" She was already having a hard enough time believing that one trial could go the way that one had, but every trial? Even now that she had first hand experience with how rocky the current legal system was, she still had a hard time believing that. "I thought he would have lightened up by now." Maybe it was her imagination; after all, she barely knew Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. But at the very least, she knew the main reason he'd been so uptight before, why he'd worked so hard to find every defendant guilty, was because he had no choice. Among the many problems and messes caused by the DC Act, a lot of strings were being pulled behind the scenes to keep even the prosecutors under control. There was no better example of that than Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. Whether he thought the accused was guilty or not made no difference; not when the people pulling the strings had his family's lives in their hands. But when everything came out in the open and the people responsible were stopped, it removed everyone involved from all the danger they were in. She just assumed that, with his family out of harm's way, he would have stopped being so insistent on finding the defendants guilty. But since he still seemed pretty adamant about it, she could only guess that it was because of the pressures in the legal reform that she would never understand.
"Nope," Apollo said, still staring at the table. "He's just as stubborn as ever."
"Really?" Athena asked, surprised. "Even when he's not in court?"
And when Apollo went quiet, she momentarily worried that she said something she shouldn't have. When he answered her, his tired look faded and he frowned deeply, still staring at nothing. "I don't know. We don't really talk outside of the courtroom."
Even with how much Athena knew of the hardships Apollo was facing, she knew there was still only so much she could do to understand what he was going through. Whenever she thought of the trauma he'd faced, her mind always first thought of the people he'd lost. Even though he'd already known that his father had passed a long time ago, he was still forced to face it in a way he never had to before. He wasn't even given any time to come to terms with that when he was suddenly forced to accept the sudden passing of his foster father at the same time. That was already more than one person could handle on their own. But, on top of all of that, he'd also essentially lost the only brother he'd ever known. It didn't matter that they weren't actually related; Nahyuta had been around as long as Apollo could remember. As far as Apollo was concerned, he never knew Nahyuta as anything less than his real brother. She assumed that, now that the courts were being reformed for the better, they were at least getting reacquainted. But now she saw her assumption was wrong. It was easy to see the reason why, so she wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of it until now. With both of them carrying so many responsibilities and each of them playing such important roles in the reform, it only made sense that they would have no time to talk outside of court. Just as Apollo had been too busy to talk to anyone back at the agency outside of their scheduled group calls, he didn't have time to talk to anyone else outside of work either. It didn't matter if it was only temporary; she could only imagine how much it was affecting him to be unable to talk with what was essentially the only family he had left. So now, on top of everything else Apollo had to face, he had to accept the reality that there was simply no time to reconnect with the only brother he'd ever known.
And still, even when Apollo needed help the most, he tried to carry it all on his own.
The hardest part for Athena to accept was that it wasn't possible for her to make his pain instantly disappear. No matter how hard she was trying to help him through everything, she knew there was still only so much she could do. Even with how well she knew him, even with how easy it was for her to read his emotions, even though he meant more to her than anything else in the world, at the end of the day, it was up to him to decide when he was ready to start coming to terms with it all. Even by this point in their friendship, where they knew they could confide in each other about anything, Apollo had barely spoken of anything that happened. Even after it all first happened and she asked him about it, he assured her that he was fine and just needed some time. But she heard the sorrow in his voice; he was anything but fine. But there was nothing she could do if he wasn't ready to talk about it, so she respected his boundaries and didn't bring it up again, deciding it would be best to wait for him to bring it up on his own. But no matter how much time passed, he never did. And that did nothing but concern her. Not because she was impatient or was vain enough to believe that she had any right to hear anything he had to say. Rather, because she knew him; she knew he wanted to talk about it, but was choosing to carry it by himself. It wasn't the first time he tried to work through his personal trauma on his own. Even with how strong their friendship had become since then, he still sometimes felt the need to carry those things on his own. But, no matter how much she knew that he didn't really want it that way, that didn't change the fact that she couldn't push him; no matter how much she knew from experience that he was better off not continuing to keep it bottled up inside anymore, she could only wait until he was ready.
And in the meantime, all she could do was remind him that she would be there to listen whenever he was ready.
She slowly straightened up in her seat, leaning forward a bit as she turned toward him. Her movement got his attention and he turned his head to look at her. They silently looked each other in the eyes for a moment before she reached out her hand and laid it on his forearm. He tensed slightly, but didn't break eye contact with her. She gave his arm a gentle squeeze to reassure him and help him stay calm. "You know I'm here when you're ready to talk. Right?" It was the first time she brought it up since he first said he needed time so many months ago. She would continue to wait as long as it took for him to be ready, but at the very least, she wanted to remind him that she would be there when he was.
It was only a few moments before she saw his expression smooth out, the tension in his arm relaxing underneath her hand. His eyes softened and he gave her an appreciative smile. It was small, but it was there. "Yeah. Thanks."
Chapter Song – 'Monsters' – Katie Sky