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The time had come to employ the tactics of psychological warfare. Athena opened up her list of contacts and dialed Apollo’s number.
“Hello…” he greeted her, in a tone that suggested he knew exactly why she was calling.
“Hey, Apollo?” Athena kicked off from her desk to make her chair swivel around. “Have you thought any more about my offer?”
“I thought I made it pretty clear that I am not running a marathon with you.”
Athena snorted. “Who said anything about a marathon? You’re not even at 5K level yet.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I speak the truth. You need training before you can try something like that. All I’m asking is that you and Prosecutor Gavin join me for some runs. You guys can not have a repeat performance like today’s, or you’re never going to catch any criminals.”
Apollo sighed on the other end of the phone. They’d been out on one of their investigations on behalf of a client, and an attempt to grill one of the suspects led to said suspect fleeing through an open window. Apollo and Athena climbed right out after him and gave chase. Prosecutor Gavin happened to be investigating the store from the outside, but as soon as he saw what was happening, he’d dropped everything to help.
And the truth was, he hadn’t been much help at all. Neither had Apollo. They both fell behind long before Athena caught up to Dylan Quint and flipped him over onto his back. She found them both gasping for breath a block away from the crime scene and had to cuff Quint herself.
“Look, Athena, that was just one time.”
“Right.” Athena struck her fist against the palm of her other hand, while keeping the phone tucked under her ear. “And we’re going to make sure it’s only one time. So meet me outside the office at 10:00 on Sunday.”
“But that’s my day off!” he whined.
“What, you want to go on a day when we’re supposed to be working?” Sheesh, and here I thought I was letting him off easy. Apollo ought to be grateful that she’d made this suggestion in early November, when the weather had cooled down. She could imagine his reaction if she’d come up with the idea in the middle of the summer and forced him to meet her at sunrise.
“Are you just ignoring the part where I keep saying I don’t want to go at all…?”
Athena stretched all the way out across her chair. “You know, Apollo, you’re missing out on a big opportunity here.”
“I’ll survive.”
“I mean…” She flicked at her crescent moon earring. “…You saw what Prosecutor Gavin was like at the crime scene. He’s going to be terrible at this. Are you really going to deny yourself the chance to see your perfect courtroom rival being terrible at something for a change?”
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Athena smirked. “He’s going to be really bad at it, Apollo. You might actually be able to beat him at something for once.”
“Hey, I’ve beaten him at court cases!” Apollo protested.
There was no mistaking the underlying jealousy in his voice. He really needed to get over it, but for now, Athena had no intention of dispensing with a tool that could help her. “Yeah, but does that really count? You guys aren’t actually competing there; you’re just trying to find the truth, so...”
“…10:00, right?”
“10:00. See you Sunday!” Athena hung up before Apollo could second-guess himself, then scrolled down her list of contacts until she found Prosecutor Gavin’s number. It rang for half a minute before going to voicemail. “Really, Prosecutor Gavin? You’re ghosting me? Well, I know where you work, so you can’t hide from me…”
Just then, the screen lit up to report an incoming call – from Klavier. “Sorry, Fraulein. I was just wrapping up the interrogation with our mutual friend, Herr Quint. He’s swearing it’s all a misunderstanding, but he’s willing to testify tomorrow.”
“Excellent. And speaking of Herr Quint…”
“Oh no.”
“Oh, ja. 10:00, Sunday morning. Make sure you pull your hair up.”
Klavier sighed. “It’s very kind of you to offer, Fraulein, but I simply have too much on my plate at the moment.”
“All the more reason why you should come run with us,” argued Athena. “Exercise is good for stress relief.” Her eyes wandered toward the calendar mounted against her wall, and she forced herself to swivel her chair away from it.
“Nein, I’m fine.”
Apollo’s favorite catchphrase. Athena shook her head. They all liked to insist they were fine: Apollo, Mr. Wright, Trucy, Klavier, Simon- she couldn’t think of a group of people who were less fine. “You know, Prosecutor Gavin, you’re missing out on a big opportunity here.”
“Oh?” He sounded amused, not annoyed like Apollo.
“You love competing against Apollo, right? And he’s always beating you in court. Well, here’s your chance to beat him at something. Besides, it’s just a few runs. It’s not going to be that hard for you.”
She fully expected him to cave, just as Apollo had. So why was he laughing on the other end of the phone? “Fraulein, are you trying to use those psychological tactics of yours?”
Athena almost dropped her phone. “Me? Psychological tactics? No!”
"Sorry, Athena, but I’m not one of your hapless witnesses. You used the same argument with Herr Forehead, didn’t you? Did you tell him that I’d be terrible at something for a change?”
“Seriously?!” Widget cried out. Athena stuffed him under her shirt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Prosecutor Gavin.”
“No?” He was still chuckling, the jerk. “Well, it wouldn’t have worked anyway. I don’t see myself as someone who needs to compete with either of you. But if you want me to come that badly, I suppose I can find a way to work it into my schedule. 10:00, you say? Sunday morning?”
Even though she was technically getting what she wanted, Athena wasn’t pleased. “10:00,” she grumbled. “Meet us outside the Wright Anything Agency.” Stupid, smart rock star prosecutor. She hadn’t realized he could be as infuriating as Simon.
- WEEK 1 -
Sunday morning provided perfect weather for running. The morning chill had dissipated, with just the occasional soft breeze. No rain, no humidity.
With Widget safely locked up inside her desk at the agency, Athena did some stretches while waiting for her friends to show up. She could feel her heart rate increasing, but it would settle down once she hit the pavement. Breathe, she told herself, taking in the salty-fried smell of Eldoon’s Noodles across the street, mixed with the fresh air after an overnight storm. Breathe. Apollo and Klavier would arrive soon. Then they could get started.
She heard the hum of Klavier’s motorcycle coming around the corner first. He’d pulled his hair up, just as she’d suggested, and ditched the flashy suit for comfortable running attire – though still with the Gavinners’ signature logo. “Oh, did I beat Herr Forehead here?” he asked, grinning.
Athena suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Nooooo, you don’t care about competition at all, Prosecutor Gavin. Right. “He should be here soon. Oh, and while we’re waiting…” She pointed to the chain he always wore around his neck. “Lose the necklace. You don’t that constantly smacking you while you’re jogging.”
“Ach, you’re right. Can I put it upstairs in your office with my wallet?”
“Sure thing!” Athena unlocked the door for him. By the time he’d returned, Apollo arrived on his bike. At least he’d realized beforehand that he needed to leave his bracelet behind, and he too had ditched his suit for running clothes.
“I probably don’t need this, do I?” he asked her, gesturing to the light red jacket he currently wore.
Athena shrugged. “It’s up to you. I’m not going to overwork you guys today. The best way to get into running is to start slow and work your way up.”
“So, how far do you plan to have us run today, Fraulein?” asked Klavier.
“Just to People Park and back.”
Her friends exchanged a look with each other. “What part of that isn’t ‘overworking’ us?” demanded Apollo.
This time, Athena did roll her eyes. Who knew that a couple of top-notch lawyers could be such wimps? “First of all, it’s right down the street. You can even see it from here. Second, I’m not making you run all the way there. We’re going to walk most of the way and break it up with a few light jogs. Think you can handle that?”
Apollo frowned. “I guess so…?”
“Lead the way, Fraulein,” said Klavier, with much less enthusiasm than he normally showed.
Athena smacked her fist against her palm. “Auf gehts! Let’s do this!” The enthusiasm and the passion for running would come with time; she felt certain of it. There really was nothing like connecting one’s feet to solid pavement, tuning out everything except what she could see and hear in the present moment, all while feeling her muscles burn and sweat running down her face. Knowing all the while that she was moving forward, leaving all of her negative emotions behind.
When she ran, no matter where she chose to run, everything felt right. The problems that gnawed at her heart didn’t seem unsolvable.
For now, she kept at a brisk walk, which Apollo and Klavier seemed to find manageable. “And to think,” said Apollo, “We could have avoided all of this if Quint had just answered our questions in the first place.”
“I knew something wasn’t right with him. There was plenty of discord in his heart, but it didn’t feel like guilt over a murder.” Athena exhaled. “Definitely didn’t guess that he was the intended victim all along, though.”
“No? I saw it coming as soon as we started investigating,” said Klavier.
He got hit by loud protests from the other two. “You did not! You kept hitting the wall behind your desk when I tried to bring it up!” Apollo cried.
“Lies, Prosecutor Gavin, all lies! I heard the shock in your voice loud and clear!”
“Well, I knew he wasn’t the killer!” Klavier argued. “You didn’t figure that out until halfway through the second day of the trial.”
“That’s not the same thing, and you know it!” retorted Athena, giving him a quick dig with her elbow.
Klavier laughed. “Ah well, I should know better than to exaggerate around a couple of human lie detectors.”
“Please, I didn’t need my bracelet to see through that one,” Apollo snorted. “I’ll admit though, it was a nice change of pace to go through a trial without having to dodge someone’s pet hawk.”
Athena tripped over a gap in the pavement. The other two didn’t notice, as she quickly straightened herself out.
Her thoughts drifted back towards the Wright Anything Agency, where a stack of notes lay on her desk, all about a trial that took place seven years prior. And an execution that would take place in a matter of weeks if she didn’t find any new information.
“…Okay, I’ll admit, this isn’t as painful as I thought it was going to be,” Apollo was saying. They’d just reached the entrance to People Park.
Athena hitched up a smile. “Told you so. Want to keep doing this once a week? It gets a little easier each time, I promise.”
Apollo sighed. “I guess I can make it work. For now.”
“Like I said, as long as I can fit it into my schedule. But I should be able to meet you both next week,” added Klavier.
“Okay! Back to the Agency! And this time, we’re going to mix a little more jogging into it. Try keeping pace with me and remember to keep breathing.” Athena kicked off from the pavement, the guys following behind her.
Back to the Agency, and back to the case notes stacked on her desk.
- WEEK 2 -
To Apollo and Klavier’s credit, they actually came back on the following Sunday. Just as she had done before, Athena led them down the street to People Park. This time, they went inside and did a short loop before coming back out again. She continued to increase the number of times they needed to break into a jog. They groaned about it, but neither was going to be the first to give up on her.
“Hey,” Apollo realized, as they exited the park. “Thanksgiving’s coming up soon.”
“Oh yeah. I almost forgot about it until Trucy brought it up the other day. Guess that’s what happens when you live in Europe for seven years,” said Athena.
“I can relate, Fraulein. I don’t think I’ve celebrated a holiday properly since I went on tour with the Gavinners.” There was some faint discord in Klavier’s voice as he spoke, but not enough for Athena to place the emotions.
“Hey, that’s right – we’re Europe buddies!” she chirped, slapping him a high-five over Apollo’s head.
“Well, that’s great for the Europe buddies,” Apollo snarked. “But we’re going to take a break that weekend, right?”
“Why? Are you going out of town?” asked Athena.
“No, I’m spending it with my roommate…” Apollo’s voice trailed off as he realized the trap that he’d just fallen into. “But I’m still going to be busy, so…”
Athena poked him in the forehead. “Is Thanksgiving on a Sunday?”
“No,” he grumbled.
“Prosecutor Gavin, are you going out of town that weekend?”
“Nein.”
Athena clapped her hands together. “Then it sounds like you know the answer to your own question, Mr. Justice. Besides, you’ll need to work off that Thanksgiving dinner.” Apollo’s complaints went ignored. Underneath the surface, she sensed he wasn’t as annoyed as he claimed to be.
Even if they’d refused to meet her that week, she would’ve gone running anyway. She couldn’t afford to stop now. Just keep breathing, she told herself, Just keep moving forward.
They passed a man wearing a black-and-white checkered shirt, making Athena do a double-take.
He’s going to be okay. It’s not too late. Just keep breathing.
They slowed down to a brisk walk as they reached the Agency. “Well, Fraulein, that was fun as always. I’ll see you both next week?” said Klavier. He reached into his pocket for the keys to his motorcycle – and froze. Athena watched as his easygoing smile transitioned into a frown, then a scowl. He muttered something rapidly under his breath that sounded like “verdamnt” over and over again.
“Klavier? Everything okay?”
He kept patting himself down and turned out both of his pockets. “This is not happening. Not. Happening.”
“Oh no. I’m not dealing with this again,” Apollo groaned.
“Dealing with what?” asked Athena. “Did you lose your keys, Klavier?”
“They were here! They were right here!” Klavier slammed his fist into the nearest lamppost, in lieu of the courtroom wall.
Apollo went right to his bike. “Nope. Not dealing with this again. Good luck, guys.”
“Apollo!” Athena scolded. “Klavier lost his keys! We should help him find them. C’mon, Klavier, we’ll just retrace our steps.” She grabbed Apollo by the hood of his jacket and dragged him back down the street.
The discord in Klavier’s voice had gone off the charts. He kept muttering German swears under his breath and saying to himself, “We’re never going to find them. Someone probably took them already. How could they have fallen out of my pocket?! How?!” All the while, his head whipped from one end of the sidewalk to the other before he could really determine if he’d seen his keys or not. “…won’t be able to get home…someone’s probably going to break into my house…”
Athena instinctively reached for Widget. But he was still locked in her office; she would have to utilize her own abilities rather than the Mood Matrix. “I don’t think anyone took them, Klavier. They must’ve just fallen out of your pocket when we were jogging. It happens to me all the time. And we didn’t go far, so we shouldn’t have to look too long. You’re going to be just fine.”
At least this prosecutor friend had a problem that she knew how to resolve.
“If I can’t find my keys, then I can’t get my hog to work. And if I can’t get my hog to work…”
Athena clasped her hands together. “Aww, you have a pet hog? That’s so sweet! What’s its name?”
Klavier stopped muttering to himself and looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed, as if he thought she might be making fun of him.
“Athena. He’s talking about his motorcycle,” said Apollo.
“Um, no? He said he wants to take his hog to work with him. Weren’t you listening?”
Klavier stopped scowling; his shoulders shook from trying not to laugh. “That’s a nickname that people use for their motorcycles, Fraulein. Didn’t you know?”
Athena blinked. “…I…huh? No, it isn’t!”
“It is. Give me a chance to get my phone and I’ll prove it,” said Apollo.
“…I…okay, but who would ever think that’s what it means? Nobody! That’s a stupid name for a motorcycle!” she insisted. Klavier couldn’t hold it in anymore, he and Apollo both snorted with laughter. “Now you guys sound like hogs.”
“Ah, that was almost worth losing my keys,” Klavier snickered.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, geniuses. Next week I’ll have you doing sprints!”
They stopped laughing immediately.
- WEEK 3 -
They’d said they’d come back. They’d promised they’d come back.
And yet, it was 10:15, and Athena waited outside the agency alone. She checked her phone for the tenth time in the past three minutes. No missed texts, no voicemails. Nothing. They were dead men, both of them.
As always, she dialed Apollo’s number first. It rang for a full minute before he picked up. “Athena, why?”
Athena put her free hand on her hip. “I’m the one who should be asking questions here, Mr. Justice. Where are you?! It’s Sunday!”
“…Yeah? And it’s raining…?”
She scoffed. I knew it. “It’s only a light drizzle. Get over here.”
“Can’t you just cancel for one week? I’m not running in the rain, and I doubt Mr. Rock Star Prosecutor wants to either.”
Athena leaned against the doorway of the Wright Anything Agency. "What are you talking about? He's already here."
"No, he's not. You're making it up so I'll come over."
"He is too! He's just putting his keys away!" Good thing that bracelet didn't work over the phone. "But that's fine. When he comes back down, I’ll let him know that you chickened out and we’re canceling for the day…”
"...Give me a chance to find my sneakers."
Athena waited until after they’d hung up with each other before she started cackling to herself. Professional rivalries could be such a beautiful thing sometimes. But now it was Prosecutor Gavin’s turn, and he’d be harder to fool. She skipped up to the office and fired up her laptop before she dialed his number.
“Fraulein, I sincerely hope you’re calling to confirm that our jogging plans are canceled.”
“You’re seriously afraid of a few raindrops, Klavier? And here I thought Herr Forehead would be the one to chicken out.”
“Nice try. I know he’s not there.”
Athena ran a quick search on her laptop before finding the correct audio file. “Oh yes, he is. He’s just gearing himself up in our office.” She turned the volume up to full blast, put her phone on speaker, and pressed “play” on a file labeled “ChordsOfSteel2.mp3.”
“APOLLO JUSTICE IS DOING FINE! APOLLO JUSTICE IS DOING FINE! APOLLO JUSTICE IS DOING FINE…”
“Alright then,” Athena continued, putting the phone back up to her ear, “I’ll just let him know that we have to cancel because you chickened out.”
"Oh, fine. I'll be over in a minute."
“Trés bien, mon ami!”
Athena had not taken into account that at least one of them would need to show up first and realize what she’d done. As soon as Apollo pulled up on his bike and realized who was missing, he spun the wheels around in the opposite direction.
“Oh no, you don’t, buster!” Athena sprinted ahead of him and planted her feet in front of the bike. “Look, there’s a chance you’ll have to chase down a suspect in any kind of weather, so it’s good to be prepared. Think of this as some extra-special training!”
“First of all, we’re lawyers. We almost never have to do any actual chasing. Second of all, I barely agreed to training, so what makes you think I’d want to do ‘extra-special’ training?”
Athena didn’t need to answer the question, as they both heard Klavier’s motorcycle coming around the corner. She grabbed the handle of the bike and said, in a loud voice, “See, Apollo, I said he was coming! So we don’t have to cancel after all! Isn’t that just GREAT?”
Apollo pressed his hand against his forehead. “You pulled the same trick on him, didn’t you?”
Athena grinned. “I sure did!” she whispered. “And he fell for it hook, line, and sinker!”
Klavier pulled up next to them. “I’d say ‘guten morgen’ to you both, but it’s not even close to that. Can we at least keep this workout short and sweet, Fraulein?”
“Short and sweet? In my workout routine? Nein, Herr Prosecutor. We’re going a little farther into People Park today and you two are going to build that stamina!”
“Oh joy,” Apollo grumbled.
Klavier sighed as well. “I suppose we don’t have a choice, do we? Well, come on then, Herr Forehead. Let’s get this over with.” And as they got themselves ready, he leaned over to Athena and added, “Nice recording, by the way. I almost fell for it.”
Athena jumped. “Prosecutor Gavin, are you slandering this defense attorney’s good name with no evidence?”
“I’d say that guilty expression on your face is evidence enough. Ah well, I thought it was funny, so I decided to come anyway.”
Athena growled. “I’ll assert my right not to testify, thank you very much. Now, vámanos! To People Park!”
They’d been able to have that entire conversation outside the Agency without getting hopelessly drenched. The level of rain was enough to be slightly uncomfortable, but Athena had run through worse. After reaching the end of the block, she made her friends switch from a comfortable walk to a light jog. Soon they’d be good enough to jog the whole length of the run, but they weren’t quite there yet. A few more weeks ought to do the trick.
“Okay, let’s slow down,” said Athena, as she reached the gates of People Park. “See? Already here. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
They didn’t answer.
Athena turned around. The street was empty – but two pairs of footprints had broken away from hers and entered the mini mart a few yards away from the park.
“Oh. You two are dead men. Dead. Men.”
They weren’t immediately visible when she marched into the store, but it didn’t take too long to hear their voices in the snack aisle. “…I’m not saying this wasn’t a good idea. I just feel guilty about ditching Athena like that.”
“Yes, but she tried to trick us into coming here. Fair is fair, Herr Forehead.”
“Eh, true. This was a good idea.”
Athena stomped over to the entrance of the snack aisle, inhaled, and pointed her finger at her friends with all of the gusto that she typically saved for the courtroom. “HOLD IT!”
Apollo’s eyes bugged out of his head; Klavier dropped the bag of chips he was holding. “Run for it, Forehead!”
“You’re dead, both of you! You hear me? Dead men!” Athena shouted, as they fled down the aisle with her in hot pursuit. They split up as soon as they reached the end of the aisle – Apollo diving into the international foods section, while Klavier fled through the health care products. Athena simply doubled back to catch them as they emerged on the other side. No matter what aisle they’d picked, there was only one way in and one way out.
Klavier came out first, spotted Athena, and took off running towards the produce. Ignoring the shouts from annoyed customers that she pushed aside, Athena chased him down first. They went up, down, and around the fruits and vegetables, with her driving him constantly back the way he’d come, back towards Apollo on the other side of the store.
A clerk came over the loudspeaker: “Will the young lady and gentleman in the produce section please stop running and disrupting the other customers? That also applies to the young man running through the baking aisle.”
“Hear that, Fraulein? You have to stop running!” Klavier called over his shoulder, as he sprinted out of produce towards the store entrance.
“Oh, I’ll stop running once I get my hands on you slackers!” she declared.
Apollo came barreling out of the bakery aisle and crashed directly into Klavier. They tried getting up, but they were completely out of breath. Athena took her good, sweet time approaching them and gave them a thumbs-up. “Nice work, boys. I wasn’t planning to start you on sprints so soon, but you really got into it!”
“…I…I…hate you so much…” Apollo gasped – but all three of them were laughing.
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea to go through the mini mart. That’s all on you,” she replied, as she helped them back on their feet. “Alright, I think you’ve had your workout for the day. Whaddya say we cut this one early and go back to the office?”
“Many thanks, Fraulein,” said Klavier, still doubled over and trying to catch his breath.
Athena steered them back outside, past the other glaring customers and the exasperated cashiers, past the magazine rack with Simon Blackquill’s mugshot…
She stopped. The headline declared: GYAXA: TAKE TWO? And underneath: With the killer of the UR-1 Incident safely behind bars, will the next attempt at a space launch succeed?
“Athena…? You coming?” Apollo called from the doorway.
Athena hefted her shoulders. “Yep! Coming!”
And of course, the rain stopped and the clouds lifted as soon as they walked out of the store.
- WEEK 4 -
“So,” Apollo asked, as they jogged past Eldoon’s traveling noodle stand, “How was everyone’s Thanksgiving?”
“Eh, not very exciting.” Klavier flicked some stray hairs behind his ear. “Though I did get to catch up with some old friends from Themis Academy. What about you two?”
“Great!” Athena chirped. “Mr. Wright and Trucy invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them in Kurain Village with Pearly and her big sister! I ate a ton of food.”
It wasn’t true. She’d picked at her dinner all evening and tried not to think about what Simon might be eating in prison. As far as Mr. Wright and Trucy knew, she’d been so tired out from the trip that she’d lost her appetite.
Sometimes Athena wished that her friends shared her gift for hearing people’s true emotions. Mr. Wright had his magatama, Apollo had his bracelet, and Trucy had perceptive abilities of her own, but it wasn’t quite the same. They couldn’t hear her screaming inside as December got closer and closer. Nor could she find the words to tell them about it.
“Clay and I ordered out and watched some of his favorite movies. It’s his last Thanksgiving for a while, so he got to call out of the shots,” Apollo was telling them.
“Clay’s your roommate, ja?” asked Klavier.
Apollo grinned. “Yeah, and he’s finally about to achieve his dream of going up into space.”
“What?! He’s the one going on the rocket launch? You must be excited for him!” said Klavier.
Athena said nothing. A certain headline flashed across her mind: With the killer of the UR-1 Incident safely behind bars, will the next attempt at a space launch succeed?
Except they hadn’t caught the killer.
“…So he’s been yelling, ‘I’m fine!’ every morning before he goes to work…”
They hadn’t caught the killer and neither had Athena. She’d studied every day until she got her lawyer’s badge and she’d searched for evidence that proved Simon’s innocence, and still came up short.
“…He’s bummed about missing Christmas, but we’re going to exchange gifts early. I figured I’d get him something that he can take with him in case he ever gets bored…”
Running always improved Athena’s mood, no matter what the circumstances. It made her heart feel as light as her feet and gave her the sense that she could solve any problem that came her way. But with each week, it was feeling more and more like a distraction that she couldn’t afford to pursue.
“…I’ll have to get his autograph when he gets back,” Klavier was saying.
“Knowing Clay, he’s going to want yours too,” Apollo chuckled.
When Apollo’s friend got back from space, would Simon be around to see it?
“Hey, Athena?” Apollo looked over at her. “Are you okay? You’ve been pretty quiet today.”
I still haven’t investigated the space center yet. I know I should, but…
“Fraulein?”
Athena stumbled – Apollo and Klavier had forced her to stop jogging on the trail. “Are you okay?” Apollo repeated. “You don’t look so good.”
“Sorry, guys.” Athena flashed a smile at them. “Just tired out from the trip to Kurain, y’know?”
“Then maybe we’d better cut our workout short and head back to your office?” suggested Klavier.
For once, that sounded like a good idea to Athena. They looped around the park and alternated between walking and jogging the rest of the way. “You guys are getting better each week,” she noted. “I’m really proud of you.”
“I’ll admit, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be,” said Apollo.
“Sorry, could you say that a little louder?” she teased.
“I thought you had sensitive hearing,” he retorted, as she jabbed him with her elbow.
When they got back to the office, Athena expected them to say their goodbyes, fetch their keys from Mr. Wright’s office, and hop on their respective bikes, as they usually did. But Apollo sat down on one of the couches and beckoned the other two to join him. “What’s up?” asked Athena.
Apollo rested his forehead against his arm. “I don’t have your special hearing ability, but I can tell something’s bothering you. You’re always giving other people therapy sessions. Do you want to talk to us now?”
“Ja, this seemed like a better place for a heart-to-heart than a public park,” added Klavier.
Athena gripped her left arm. She could feel her heart rate going up, faster than it did during a sprint. “Um…” Her mind went to Simon’s mugshot, and the GYAXA Space Center, and the case notes that she’d read over and over again until they burned her eyes, and the picture of her mother’s body lying on the table. She couldn’t formulate any of it into words. Maybe she shouldn’t have agreed to end the workout so soon.
“It’s okay, Athena. We’ll listen when you’re ready,” Apollo told her.
Athena sighed. This was what she’d been hoping for, and now she wished they hadn’t noticed. Klavier sat down on her other side. They didn’t say anything else. They just waited for her to speak.
She thought of Simon’s mugshot again. Simon – she could talk about him. It didn’t have to be the full story. “You know about Prosecutor Blackquill, right? His execution date’s coming up.”
“What?!” Apollo fell back against the couch. “That soon?!”
Klavier nodded. “I heard about that. I’m surprised he’s still prosecuting cases, even now.”
“I became a defense attorney to save him,” she said quietly. “We knew each other before he got arrested and I know he didn’t kill anyone. But I couldn’t do anything the first time. I went to court to testify and nobody believed me. So I’ve been trying to make up for it, but I can’t find any new evidence.”
“Wait, you and Prosecutor Blackquill are friends? How come I’m only hearing about this now?” asked Apollo.
Athena only shrugged.
“It’s alright for someone to have personal issues, Herr Forehead. Although, given the timing of things, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for extra help,” Klavier pointed out.
Athena sighed. “I know. It’s just…the last time I tried, nobody believed me. I couldn’t make anyone listen.”
“Nobody?” Klavier looked pensive. “That might have been true seven years ago, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. I know the Chief Prosecutor. He wouldn’t allow a convicted murderer to continue his prosecuting career if he thought the man was guilty. I wouldn’t be surprised if Herr Edgeworth has been conducting his own investigation behind the scenes.”
“Don’t forget about us,” added Apollo. “Me, Mr. Wright, Trucy – we all trust you. You’ve only been with us for half a year, but you’ve helped us out with so many cases already. If you think something’s not right with Prosecutor Blackquill’s sentence, we can help you too.”
“And I can certainly pull up records from Blackquill’s case at the Prosecutors’ Office for you, Fraulein. If they can’t be removed, I’m certain I could arrange to get you special permission to view them.”
They weren’t moving from the couch, and yet Athena felt the same way that she felt when she went for a run: light on her feet, with a sense that everything would be okay. Whatever happened, day in and day out, she would be okay, and so would Simon. “You guys…you’re gonna make me cry…”
“Ah, we can’t have that,” Klavier teased.
“You’re right! We’ve got a case to crack!” said Athena, jumping back to her feet.
“One question. Does this mean we don’t have to run anymore?” asked Apollo.
Athena shook her head. “Are you kidding? Running with you guys is the only thing that’s been keeping me sane lately. Besides, you still haven’t reached 5K level yet.”
“Nein, we can’t have that either,” said Klavier. “Alright. I’ll let you know what I find at the Prosecutor’s Office.” He got to his feet and reached for his keys. “See you two next Sunday?”
"Yep! See you next Sunday!"
Her friends might not be at 5K level yet, but Athena left the office feeling like she could run a whole marathon.