( No Title )
In Justice We Trust (12326 words) by thesavagesabretooth
December 21, 2:00 pm
Simon arrived precisely on time for his meeting with the Chief Prosecutor and slid his way into the room with the approval of his secretary.
The office was a bright and spacious affair, tastefully decorated for the most part, with a few personal flourishes– mainly a Victorian style maroon coat with gold trim hung high on one wall, and on a side table a large and expensive statuette of the character of the Steel Samurai.
Simon smiled, seeing it. The Steel Samurai was hardly his favorite film samurai– too fanciful for his tastes– but seeing it in the prosecutor’s office gave him confidence of their common ground.
The chief prosecutor was at his desk sipping a hot drink from a steaming mug and he nodded as Simon entered.
“Thank you for coming,” Edgeworth said, putting his drink down and lacing his fingers over the desk. “Please have a seat. I see you and Taka have been reunited.”
Simon took a seat at the chair in front of Edgeworth’s desk.
“Thank to you, chief prosecutor,” he nodded. “I appreciate you arranging things for me with the prison director.”
“It was no trouble,” he nodded graciously. “And I have more than that to arrange. Your backpay, for instance. The first portion of which I will furnish you with at the end of this meeting.”
“Backpay, Edgeworth-dono?” Simon leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. On his shoulder, Taka gave the man a curious look as well.
“For your work on behalf of the prosecutorial office while incarcerated,” he explained. “Additionally, I’d like to formally extend an invitation to work for the department in official prosecutorial capacity.”
So he was right– Edgeworth was offering him a job. At least that, of all things, Simon hardly even had to think about. He’d never considered doing anything but being a prosecutor. And if for some reason he found it not to his liking this time, he could simply quit.
“Impressed with my work, despite so many losses recently?” he teased the man. “Or are you just that hard up for prosecutorial staff?”
The chief prosector chuckled appreciatively.
“A little of both,” he said. “Firstly, we’re working on this new idea where the goal of a trial isn’t to win the case– it’s to make sure our understanding of the crime and the criminal are correct. And secondly, Blackquill– it’s because you are an honorable man, and I trust you implicitly.”
Simon bowed his head, surprised.
“You do me a great honor, Edgeworth-dono. With that in mind, I will happily enter your service as you have invited.”
“Excellent. I’ll have the paperwork taken care of today, and we’ll see about assigning you some cases as they come in, and an office, of course. Can I offer you something to drink?” He picked up his own cup again.
“If that’s coffee, I wouldn’t say no to a cup,” Simon admitted. “Has this meeting turned into a social call with the business out of the way?”
Edgeworth sighed and shook his head.
“I’m afraid the business isn’t quite concluded, much as I’d prefer if it were a social call at this point. Let me get you your coffee, and then we can attend to the business.”
Edgeworth seemed, for lack of a better word, quite on edge. Simon noticed his nervous body language and the way his rather pleasant if smug demeanor shifted to one of concern. Simon felt his own shoulders tense in response.
“I see,” he nodded. On his shoulder, Taka’s pin feathers rustled. “Well, color me curious.”
Edgeworth put in a call to his secretary, and he and Simon chatted about Taka while they waited for her to bring in some coffee.
Simon smiled and thanked her. He sipped it. It was good coffee.
A moment later, they were alone in the office. Edgeworth and Simon eyed each other. It was beginning to feel like a tense standoff, and Simon’s fingers itched for his blade.
“I’m sorry to keep you in suspense,” Edgeworth said earnestly. “It’s a difficult topic to broach. I wouldn’t even dare to if I didn’t, as I said before, trust you implicitly.”
“You’re winding me up, Edgeworth-dono,” he drawled. Simon rubbed the still-chafed edge of his wrist nervously.
“Ah, my apologies. Please understand, we are about to speak on a matter of strictest confidence. I need your word of honor that no matter how you feel about it, you will not breathe a word of it to anyone uninvolved.”
Simon lifted his chin and regarded Edgeworth coolly. He wondered what heavy topic could affect the chief prosecutor this way. What could need such secrecy.
Unless…
“You have my word,” he hissed, and meant it. “Now what is this all about?”
“The Phantom survived his wounds and is recovering under guard in the hospital as we speak.”
Simon couldn’t help it. He seized forward and grabbed his chest as if struck.
“I’m sorry what? What kind of idiot sniper doesn’t aim for the head, in any case?”
Edgeworth winced at Simon’s snarl, and shook his head.
“They were aiming for his heart. His badge interrupted the bullet and slowed it enough to stop the wound from being deadly.”
Simon felt the bile rise in his stomach, and he slammed his fists down on Edgeworth’s table. Taka chittered and flapped off of his shoulder to go perch on top of Edgeworth’s coat.
“You’re joking!” Simon snarled– mindful even in his anger to at least keep his voice low. Horror rang through him, like an ice cold bath. “This is a farce! His life was saved by the stolen badge of the man he impersonated?”
“So it would seem,” Edgeworth sighed. “Your anger is more than justified. I’m aware that you and Fulbright were… close. Or believed you were.”
Simon felt all of the blood drain from his face at once, the stone of horror in the pit of his stomach growing. How much did the chief prosecutor know, or suspect, about the… situation?
He searched for words, and didn’t find any. He found the memory of stolen kisses, camera ‘glitches’, and the insides of bathroom stalls instead.
“Calm yourself,” Edgeworth murmured, as Simon failed to come up with anything to say. “I only meant that I understand your feelings in the matter. And that’s why it makes it so difficult to ask you this favor.”
Simon grabbed his coffee, and drank deep, desperate sips of the still a bit too hot liquid to sooth himself. It didn’t much work.
“Favor?” he rasped, staring at his cup instead of the chief prosecutor. “I’m afraid whatever information you think I have, I do not,”
“What? No, nothing like that at all,” Edgeworth shook his.“I’m very aware that you’re the victim in this, Simon. Your mentor. Seven years of your life. Your trust. This man has taken an incalculable amount from you. But even so, I have to ask for this favor.”
“What favor then?” Simon demanded. If his eyes could bore holes in flesh, Edgeworth would have fallen.
“I need you and Athena to help rehabilitate him– to whatever degree that might be possible.”
It was a good thing Simon hadn’t taken another sip of coffee– he would have choked on it.
“What?”
“Simon, I know this is difficult to consider, but he’s the only one with information that could lead us up the chain to the the people in charge. The ones who are responsible for your mentor’s death– even if they didn’t pull the trigger.” He laced his fingers together. “We’ve had fragments for a while now, but not enough to create a picture. There’s some organization out there– government or otherwise– moving pieces on the chessboard, taking what they want and ending any lives they please.”
“Obviously,” Simon hissed. “But why the hell does that require–hah– ‘rehabilitating’ this devil in human skin?”
“Because we need leverage of some kind in order to get any information from him at all,” Edgeworth sighed. “He needs protection, which, in this case, regrettably, involves a new identity, and the understanding that the so called ‘phantom’ is dead. You’re a savvy man, Simon. You know that if we put him in prison he’s a dead man.”
Simon grimaced, and crossed his arms tightly over himself.
“Of course I know that. It’s– it’s what he deserves.”
“Perhaps.” Edgeworth turned his chair and gazed out of the great window behind him. “But is it what the world deserves? Should we spend our time spilling blood in vengeance and calling it justice when the person could– by extending his life– prevent further bloodshed? Consider the lives that could be saved if this man were able to help us shut down his entire organization.”
Simon scoffed. “As if he’d do such a thing.”
“Certainly not without convincing,” Edgeworth said. “That’s why I need you and Athena to act as his therapists. I need you to make him want to save those lives– or at least to recognize that it’s in his own interest to do so. I need you to keep him from being a danger to others, so that we can save those lives.”
“Is this your vision for the end of the dark age of the law?” Simon asked blandly. He couldn’t keep up with his own emotions. “What will you do if I refuse?”
“Then I’ll have to find a less talented psychologist whom I have less trust in.” Edgeworth sighed and continued to stare out the window. “He’s a master manipulator. But you and Athena– with the combination of your talent and your history with him– I know that you won’t be manipulated into believing lies.”
“Oh no,” Simon agreed coldly. “Never again.”
Edgeworth glanced over his shoulder.
“So that’s my plea to you. The gist of it, in any case.”
Simon looked down at the desk.
“I see why you swore me to silence first. Have no fear, I will keep honor that promise.”
“I had no doubt of it.”
There was a moment of silence. High above on his perch, Taka scratched himself and ruffled his feathers.
“So no matter what I say, this man lives. In freedom, no less.”
“I’m afraid so,” Edgeworth nodded. “If you were to agree, you could consider yourself his– parol officer, of sorts.”
That got a nasty laugh out of Simon, and he slapped the table again.
Absurd.
An absolutely absurd turnabout.
“You know, he said back when we met that he swore to reform me.” Simon tapped his knuckle to his lip and smiled a bitter smile. “It’s only right that I give him a taste of the medicine he brought.”
“You agree to it, then?”
“What else can I do?” Simon asked. He spread his hands. “It seems our fates are chained together.”
December 21, 4:15 pm
Athena had been prepared for the chief prosecutor’s proposal, but she still felt dazed and off balance as she walked out of his office after their meeting. As she turned her phone off silent in the lobby, it buzzed. She had a text waiting for her.
Get dinner with me?
It was from Simon’s number. She’d added it to her phone at dinner with everyone the night before.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly typed out an answer on the keyboard.
Absolutely, just name the place!! :-)!
While she waited for a reply, she found her way to the wall to lean against it for support as the skipped beat passed and her heart returned to racing.
The gravity of just what she agreed to felt like a heavy chain wrapped around her throat, her disordered breath coming in quiet gasps.
The Chief Prosecutor was counting on her to rehabilitate the man who killed her mother. She wouldn’t be working alone. She’d already begun the day before.
With each mental affirmation and orderly mental note of the situation, she breathed in and out to steady herself.
And she had a dinner date with Simon. If nothing else…she could count on seeing him. She could already feel the patter of excitement in her heart at the very idea. If anything would lift her mood, it’d be this.
December 21, 5:00pm
Simon lingered over a cappuccino at the table of a small Italian style cafe and restaurant while he waited for Athena to arrive. Once, when Simon had been a student, the spot had been occupied by a supremely unpopular french cafe, but it seemed that ownership had changed hands while he was incarcerated.
He definitely didn’t miss the old spot. This new one actually had good coffee.
He didn’t have to wait long…he could see the bus stopping out the window , and a figure practically running towards the door the moment the bus allowed her out.
It wasn’t a surprise at all when the door flung open and Athena Cykes hurried in with a bow of apology to the startled waitress.
“Athena Cykes, party of two?” she announced, her smile playfully lopsided.
A smile even tugged at Simon’s troubled face as he heard her voice, and he waved to her even as the waiter led her to the table.
“Glad that you could join me, Cykes-dono.”
“Of course!” Even with her massive smile, he could see Widget glowing with a trace of anxiety as she settled down into the chair opposite him. She must be just as twisted up inside about this as he was.
“I wouldn’t miss dinner with you for the world, Simon,” with a flush, she ducked her head. “honestly…It’s been a crazy day, the moment I got your text I ran right over.” .
“I appreciate it. I’ve had a hell of a day myself.” He laughed roughly, and passed a tidbit from his pocket to Taka on his shoulder, which the bird happily gulped down. The waiter gave them another dubious look, but Blackquill’s glare silenced him. He took their drink orders and left them in peace a moment later.
Setting down his menu, Simon asked, “tell me, just how crazy has your day been?”
Widget glowed a bright blue of anxiety as she waved her hand.
“…mostly just fallout from yesterday, you know? Things aren’t quite normal at the office yet…even if Apollo’s already back to cleaning the bathroom at Trucy’s beck and call.”
“I have to wonder if things are ever normal at that office,” Simon said. “But there’s something else on your mind, I’d wager. A certain meeting, perhaps.”
Miles had, after all, told him that he was meeting with Athea right after their own meeting was finished– but he wasn’t going to discuss the delicate and disgusting matter at hand without confirming it.
The look of shock that crossed her face was reflected in the little robot around her neck.
“….” Her lips tightened and she nodded nervously in response “so you’ve already heard, good. The boss said I h-had to keep it quiet. So I didn’t want to say more than I was supposed to until you were told..”
“Very honorable of you, Cykes-dono,” he murmured. “Yes, Mr. Edgeworth informed me that he’d be meeting with you after our own meeting. I took that time to… compose myself.”
He didn’t feel composed and he was sure that Athena knew it. Every possible nerve in his was jangling and screaming out of harmony. The last two of his hours had been spent at a newly rented hotel room, splashing water on his face and trying to figure out what the hell he was doing.
He didn’t need her hyper empathy to see she felt the same. With the way Widget kept flashing her true emotions in a chaotic frenzy, her attempts to compose herself went just about as well as his.
“Luckily I’d been given a little heads up by Phoenix before I got called in.” she laughed without feeling. “…but I still had to…to spend some time composing myself before I could make the bus here.”
“The bulk of our discussion should probably be in private,” Simon said, glancing around at the other diners. “Not that I expect anyone to eavesdrop, but it’s best to be cautious. Still– i figured if we didn’t have dinner first neither of us would eat at all.”
Athena nodded seriously, grabbing her coffee and raising it to her lips “You’re not wrong about that, Simon. Believe it or not, even my appetite’s been mostly kil—….gone today.”
She quickly took a long sip of her coffee.
“I’m not shocked,” he laughed bitterly and looked down into the dregs of his own coffee cup, seeing himself reflected up in the dark liquid. “Tell me about your silly office drama while we eat. we can talk about the real matter afterward. If nothing else, Taka loves to hear gossip.”
The bird fluttered, his feathers pinning.
Athena looked up with a broad smile “well I do love to entertain Taka!”
She clapped her hands together after putting down her half drunk cappuccino.
“So…Trucy’s apparently working poor Apollo like a dog after yesterday as a kinda punishment for doubting me in court. Of course, she didn’t ask me, but that’s because I think she was looking for ANY excuse to make Apollo take up her chores for her.”
December 21, 6:15pm
They took a cab back to Athena’s apartment after dinner, and Simon paid with some of the backpay that the chief prosecutor had furnished him with during their meeting. Despite the light chatter through the meal, the mood in the car was tense and silent.
It was a silence that neither of them broke until they were safely in Athena’s small home. The Christmas lights that were strung through the hall were meant to make it feel cheery, but that night they seemed to lend the place an eerie and ethereal mood.
Bathed in the pale yellow light of the dangling lights, Athena finally sighed deeply.
“Can I get you a drink, Simon,” she asked him quietly, “to help you get comfortable?”
“Just some water perhaps,” Simon said as he settled himself on her couch. “Maybe a dish for Taka as well. If I have any more coffee tonight I’ll never sleep again. Well. Maybe I won’t anyway.”
“Me neither…” She said with a nervous laugh. She hurried to the fridge to bustle around getting them both a cup of water…and a dish for Taka. “I might not sleep for a while.”
“I think either of us would be well within our right to.” Simon shifted uncomfortably. “The chief prosecutor asks much from us.”
Athena balanced the glasses in the crook of her arm, and the dish in her hand as she nudged the fridge door shut with her hip.
Maybe too much. She couldn’t help but think as she slowly sidled her way over to offer the dish to Simon first.
“He does…He’s put a massive secret on us, Simon. A massive, personally painful secret that’s important not just to us, but to the whole country as well.” Her voice hiccuped softly “I…ah..”
Simon took the dish from her and set it down on the coffee table, setting Taka down beside it.
Then he put his hand on Athena’s shoulder.
He didn’t interrupt her, he just let her speak, if she would.
“I said I’d do it.” she gave him a weak smile “even if I’m terrified…but it still hurts.” Her fingers flexed around the glasses and she leaned against his touch.
Her eyes flicked down, thoughts of her mother’s corpse fresh in her mind from their unearthing during the trial. Thoughts of the cold cell at the detention center mingled with memories of that final confrontation at the stand for everyone’s freedom and the truth. Widget flashed anger for a moment, though it didn’t show on her face. “It doesn’t feel like the end of the dark age of the law, does it? After that trial, I really thought things would get better.”
Simon’s fingers tensed around Athena’s shoulder, squeezing her. She could feel his anger answer her own, even without him speaking.
Finally he did speak.
“I agreed as well,” he said. “I do not know if there is honor in this course of action. But I suppose my thinking is that if it brings the lords responsible for your mothers’s death to justice, then perhaps that is worth the cost.”
“Yeah,” Athena nodded slowly, her voice tight with emotion as she rested her head against him. “It’s true…if we do this the people who ordered him to steal my mom’s moonrock will have to answer for it. That….that’s worth a little concession of honor, I suppose.” ” she swallowed and hesitated before she said what else was on her mind, having to force it out. “b-besides. I’m a therapist…and the Phantom, whoever he is under that mask, needs it. Badly. And I can’t say no to a person in need no matter how much it hurts me, or how angry I am.”
Simon studied her face as she spoke. His own was an icy mask that covered the turmoil of emotions that he felt.
“You would have compassion even for him?”
Athena’s eyes flicked away.
“I know what it’s like to struggle with your emotions, Simon. Whatever’s going on in the Phantom’s head is very different from mine, but I can say that much.”
Her expression was muted– but she knew Simon could see the way her lips shook and her eyes,already red and sore from crying, were tearing up again.
“….I’m hurt, Simon.” Her voice quivered. “I’m scared, I feel betrayed by a friend who wasn’t even real. He smiled in my face as he tried to damn me to a life in prison for murder and sabotage, years after he started everything…everything by killing my mother and getting you sent to jail trying to cover for me, when neither of us did anything.” she hissed softly to keep from crying, thunking her head against his shoulder.
“But I still feel compassion…because there’s something more to the Phantom than I know, and whatever it is must have hurt him deeply. His heart’s in pain, even if the emotions are muted and strange. He’s scared. I don’t trust anyone else to help but us…I won’t be manipulated again, but I…I can’t stop feeling compassion, even now. S-sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize, Athena,” he murmured. He touched her chin with his gloved fingers. “You have a beautiful heart. The Phantom isn’t worthy of your compassion– perhaps no one is. If this is the path that you’ll walk, then I will walk it beside you. And may your mother forgive us both.”
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