Apollo, Blackquill, Clay, Athena, Fulbright, and the bailiff.
All of the necessary parties were gathered at the remains of the courthouse, but no one was ready.
Apollo stood at attention, keeping a respectable distance from Simon Blackquill. A subtle change had come over the prosecutor. His back was straight, his face was taut, and his eyes were blank. But even Apollo could see his tightened fist and the slight shake in his body. Dispute his outward pose, it was clear that the current situation was wearing down on him.
Apollo raised his arm slightly, letting the bracelet jingle. He tried to get a lock on Blackquill.
Nothing.
Presently, Fulbright put his phone away. He was still wearing his signature smile, but his eyes looked a little lost.
"We can go inside now."
Everyone was walking through the lobby, but Apollo began to drift back.
Clay Terran was moving steadily at the end of the line, handcuffs around his wrists. The tall bailiff was moviing his charge forward, but remained stone-faced as Apollo addressed his friend.
"So, uh, how are you doing?"
Clay shrugged. "I'm still breathing."
"Kind of a long shot, but do you know of any way that the bomb could have been put inside the Hope capsule?"
Clay grimaced. "No. It was brought straight to the Space Center, and then kept in custody after Director Cosmos was killed. Even if someone planted it in that gap of time, you'd also have to say that no one bothered to check it in police storage. All in all, I'd say it took a magician to pull that off."
The courtroom was expectedly desolate.
The ceiling was gone, allowing one to see the blue sky and feel the air and sunshine, but there was no pleasure to be found in it. Doing his best to quell his fear, Apollo let his eyes go from side to side. There was an empty bookshelf on one end of the room, and an old grandfather clock at the opposite. They were obviously temporary pastiches of the stands before the defense and prosecution.
Apollo stepped forward, stepping around the mounds of debris. His eyes had a new target ahead, beyond the bookshelf and clock.
The TV was a large one, seated upon a long plastic table beneath where the Judge's seat used to be. Wires coiled from behind the back, plugged into a large black cube, likely a generator.
Detective Fulbright walked over, letting his fingers move along the buttons until he finally found the one he was looking for.
In a second the screen flashed, revealing the Judge bound in his seat and Aura standing behind him once more.
The Judge did his best to clear his throat, eying everyone in the room with the vague and futile hope that someone had some plan to spring him.
"C-court is back in session for the trial of Mr. Clay Terran."
"That's right!" Aura beamed. "Find your places, lady and gentleman! Athena, lawyer boy, you go to the shelf. Simon, Detective, go to the clock. Mr. Bailiff, keep hold of Clay in the middle."
Everyone assumed their positions.
"The prosecution is ready." Simon's face was contemptuous.
"The defense is ready, Aura B...I mean, Your Honor." Apollo was sweating.
Simon tapped his forehead.
"You certainly believe in living dangerously, Aura." Blackquill tapped his forehead. "You are relentless, I'll give you that. But surely you know that none of this will end well for you."
"You think that's some kind of relevation?" Aura shook her head. "I know perfectly well that I will be found out eventually by the police. But one way or another, this trial is going to end."
"So be it." Blackquill coughed. "Fool Bright, full report."
"With pleasure, Prosector Blackquill!"
Fulbright stood at attention beside the TV, using it as a substitute for the witness stand.
"As everyone no doubt knows, this courtroom was blown up yesterday. An unknown party snuck a bomb into the Hope capsule. In a godsend to the world of science, however, shards of the moon rock inside were collected. I..."
"Yes, the moon rock was saved, at least somewhat." Athena Cykes spoke up. "And I think that it's in police custody..."
"Pardon me!" Fulbright wagged a finger. "
"After that, I followed Prosecutor Blackquill to the city airport. Our goal was to volunteer to help security if needed, check for suspicious people, and be prepared to read the charges if we managed to find the perpetrator trying to escape."
After a long silence, Blackquill shrugged.
Apollo focused on Fulbright, again raising his left arm. But...
Ugh...
The problem was not that he could not lock on to anything. In fact, there was too much. The swish of Fulbright's brow, the wave of his hand, the spring in his step...he was giving off too many tells for the bracelet to single out one or the other.
This was likely to be one of the most grueling challenges of his life...
-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 46; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.