Chapter Text
It was always cold in the detention center. No matter when you came here, it always felt as if the air were frozen by callous hearts of criminals lurking around. Klavier shivered, in spite of the fact that he was used to going down there and questioning suspects since he was seventeen with no remorse. However, now it was different. He didn’t want to press the handle, he didn’t want to be the first to come in, he didn’t want to face what he had to. But he understood: no one but him could help it. He looked around once more before heading for the meeting.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Apollo asked upon noticing Klavier’s hesitation.
“Yes. I just… never visited him before, since…”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m asking,” he embraced Klavier from behind.
“I’m fine. No need to worry,” Gavin turned around, left a light kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead and made a step back. “Okay, it’s now or never. Or… wait, by the way,” he stopped, his hand on the handle, “where’s Herr Wright? Isn’t it he who needs me to talk to my brother?”
“He said he had to prepare something for the meeting. Sometimes I hate him when he’s being all mysterious. Knowing him, he’ll be here soon, cool as a cucumber, having pulled off something crazy and showy.”
“I wonder how he manages to get away with it all.”
“Well, I guess being under the district’s chief prosecutor’s wing must have its perks, if you know what I mean,” both men chuckled. “Alright. Good luck there, Klavier.”
“Danke, Apollo.”
On entering, Klavier realized he was still alone. He shoved his cold hands into his pockets while swaying toward the chair. Suddenly, the door beyond the glass opened, letting in a guard and a man, slowly and arrogantly following him. His arms crossed, his platinum hair longer than Klavier remembered, a bit messy, but arranged in a braid-like style. He had no glasses anymore, so he acquired a habit of squinting, which was making his evil grin even more sublime.
Klavier felt small under his gaze. His shoulders sagged, as if pulling him down onto the chair. Klavier felt guilty under his gaze. Guilty for not seeing him all this time, for rifling through his cases without his permission, like a naughty child. Klavier knew he shouldn’t have felt this way. He knew he was doing a right thing, but now, seeing his face again, this pressure of his past respect bordering on veneration, or even awe, was making him feel…
“Pathetic.” Kristoph’s smirk disappeared. “It hasn’t even been two years since. I thought you’d make it longer. Well, you disappointed me again, brother.”
“Hello, Kristoph.”
“Well, Klavier, what made you remember having a family?”
“Oh, don’t you dare tell me about family. I only need you to-”
“Do you, Klavier?” Kristoph snapped in a raised voice. “But I am not needed anymore. Have you forgotten?”
Klavier opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped short of making a sound.
“Guard!” Kristoph called. “My guest is wishing to leave. Help him out of the room lest he gets lost.”
“Oh, Kristoph, how rude of you!” a mocking tone, a slam of the door and a sequence of rhythmic footsteps contributed to the dominating tension. “You haven’t even offered a drink to your guest. Where are your manners? Watch and learn.”
“Wright,” Kristoph sputtered. In a second, a glass of grape juice was brought in and put in front of him on his table. “You came here to laugh at me, didn’t you?”
So, Klavier thought, startled, Herr Wright was late only to serve his brother a glass of grape juice? What on earth was going on in that head of his?
“No, my friend,” Phoenix smiled. “I came here to talk with you. Just as your brother did.”
“Is this poisoned?” Kristoph pointed at the glass with disgust.
“I thought it was your area of expertise, not mine.”
Kristoph snorted. “Well, even with this ‘witty’ bribe, I refuse to talk. Guard!”
“You will not leave this room until you have told us what we need. I’ve made some arrangements, you know,” Wright took another chair, placed it next to Klavier’s and sat down, his legs crossed. “Shall we start? Or you want to stay here for a little longer, in our humble company?”
Kristoph growled and put the glass aside.
“I hope you do understand that you are literally holding me hostage.”
“Yet again, Kristoph, we are merely having a friendly chat here, so…”
“Stop, you two!” Klavier’s voice barely managed not to betray him. “Let’s keep it civil, ja?” he smiled away the whirlwind of feelings overwhelming him. He was angry, he was scared, he was hurt, but he seemed to be the only one actually ready to talk.
“So, Klavier. I never thought I would see you consorting with this excuse for a lawyer one day, but nonetheless… Why am I needed all of a sudden, I wonder?”
“I’ve been checking your cases recently,” Klavier frowned unwillingly, ignoring what he’d just heard.
“Ah, how comes? Don’t you trust me anymore?”
Prosecutor sighed through his nose. “I have to admit, though, that finding flaws in your work is like finding a needle in a haystack. And once we do that…”
“Is he helping you?” Kristoph gave Phoenix a crooked smile.
His brother cleared his throat, his cheeks ruddy. “Once I do that, cleaning up your mess is sure an undertaking. But the result is worth it.”
“Hmph. You want to sue me with another couple of forgeries? Oh, please do. Maybe then they will finally decide on my execution date,” he was habitually studying his still manicured nails.
Klavier shut his eyes, feeling stabbed right in the heart by his brother’s unconcern.
“I-I thought I was through with all of it, when suddenly I… remembered something. I am sure you keep some records about it, but don’t know where they are and how you could have named them.”
“So you think I have an intention of helping you?”
“It’s not about your intention, Gavin,” Phoenix clenched his fists. “You will give us all the necessary information.”
“And what, I dare ask, do you find so ‘necessary’?”
“Your scar,” Klavier glanced at his brother with mistrust.
“My scar,” he ricocheted.
“Genau.”
“Well, you are well aware of its origin, Klavier. I was assaulted on my way back from the office, went to the nearest hospital to have my hand stitched in and bandaged and was at home later at night.”
Klavier shook his head. “You can’t fool me again, now that I know my nightmare was real.”
“Oh, that’s rich. But we discussed it then, and I shall repeat it now: you have always had an active imagination, Klavier.”
“So you say your bleeding hand in the middle of the night was nothing but my fiction?”
“Indeed. It is impossible, for I-”
“Gott sei Dank I have co-authors.”
“In other, fortunately English, words, we’ve got evidence,” Phoenix smirked and fished some documents out of his briefcase. “We managed to find your medical card from the Hotti Clinic.”
“It says you appealed to them only in the morning, Kristoph. That means I couldn’t have seen you after that at night. And you did injure yourself at home, during some… breakdown.”
Kristoph made an unclear gurgling sound. He narrowed his eyes in order to make sure the record was genuine and Phoenix slammed it against the glass — both brothers jolted.
“Here you are. Read to your heart’s content.”
“Mister Wright!” Klavier felt humiliated, so did Kristoph.
“What? I was just trying to help,” Phoenix’s passive-aggressive tone and a soft smile were making him look menacing.
“Don’t waste your breath on denying the obvious, Kristoph,” Klavier’s voice did betray him and sounded like begging.
“Fine. I cut myself. On a shatter of a vase. Are you satisfied?” Kristoph’s eyes darkened.
“No, we aren’t, Kristoph. We wonder as to why,” Wright put his hand into his pocket and stared at the man beyond the glass. Then he added, almost in whisper: “I will never get used to seeing those.”
Psyche-Locks, Klavier thought. It was a good decision not to let him use magatama himself. Firstly, because Phoenix knew how to deal with the locks. And secondly, because Klavier was not ready to see whatever he had to. If Herr Wright looked so überrascht, Gavin kept on pondering, there must have been something he surely wouldn’t like to be a witness to.
“Did you cut yourself intentionally?” Wright started interrogating.
“Do I look like a suicidal to you?” Kristoph smiled, his eyes closed.
“It’s not an answer. Need I repeat my-”
“It was an accident.”
“And the cause of this accident? Did you really have a breakdown?”
“I guess we all do sometimes,” his attempt to act evasive was cut off by Phoenix’s glare, and he adjusted his hair and shook his head. “Yes, I did.”
“Does that have anything to do with the name Dahlia?” Phoenix fidgeted on his chair.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Aww, not even one? But the thing is, you don’t usually write random names in your own blood, as far as I know. Are you sure you don’t know who she is?”
“Unfortunately for you,” Kristoph said through his teeth, “I fail to see what you are driving at.”
“Why, I’m driving at your important client. Am I right, Prosecutor Gavin?”
Klavier nodded and gave Phoenix a stack of documents from his brother’s first case before meeting with Kristoph’s eyes. The word traitor was burning in them — or so it seemed. It was hard to say for sure since they were dim and peering deep inside Klavier’s, too deep to comprehend with sight, not soul.
“Well, Kristoph? Do you remember now? I’ve always thought a lawyer can’t forget their first client, but in your case… look at it yourself,” Phoenix pressed Kristoph’s client’s profile to the glass. “Dahlia Hawthorne. A case of poisoning of a lawyer, Diego Armando. Evidently, there was no trial back then — the police couldn’t find any decisive evidence during their investigation. But the point is, you were ready to defend her.”
“So what of it?”
Wright tapped a file with his fingernails. “You were only 19 then. Impressive, I must admit. Even though you were still under your mentor, this case was actually yours — really impressive. So how did you chance to be on the verge of representing her in court?”
“Because she asked me to defend her, obviously. She needed a lawyer — I was one. She asked me personally to investigate. It was up to me to do everything possible and impossible for her case not to get to trial.”
“Did you know she was guilty?” Phoenix put his elbows on the table, entwined his fingers, and let his head rest on them, trying to feign indifference, though his shoulders heaved fiercely.
“Yes and no. Of course no sane client would come to a legal attorney with a full confession. It would be akin to suicide. But something in her attitude spoke for itself that she was no mere sweet girl. Like a sparkle, deep in the dark of her eyes, which could grow into flame once you let it.”
Wright chuckled and shoved his hand in his pocket again as he leaned back in his chair. “Sentimental, are you? As if a person like her would ever deserve any sentiment.”
“Don’t you dare say that, Wright. You know nothing about her.”
“Do I? That’s funny actually, since she was supposed to be my girlfriend.”
Kristoph slammed the table with his palms, so that the purple liquid nearly spilled over the glass rims. “Apparently, she was not. She was mine!” oblivious, he stared at Dahlia’s picture behind the glass. Then, realizing what he’d done, recoiled and went paler than he’d been before, with his white icy fingers covering his mouth. “Damn…”
“Whoa! That was fast.” Phoenix’s hand twitched in his pocket and he whispered: “One finally gone. Unbelievable. But why…”
His muttering turned into something totally incomprehensible, and Klavier hesitated before daring to speak.
“K-Kristoph,” he noticed his brother’s eyes dropped and it struck him as odd, at the very least, “what did they do to you?”
“Let’s say they have their ways of making people talk.”
“What do you mean?” Klavier felt dizzy with guilt. Even a criminal, Kristoph was still his brother. “What can I do for you?”
“Don’t worry, Klavier,” Kristoph crossed his arms. “I am not that desperate to accept your help. They merely keep me on some medicine, along with some other, uh… patients. It is supposed to retain our current mental state more or less stable, with only rare exceptions. I should have watched my tongue.”
Wright smirked. “But you didn’t anyway, so now tell me about Dahlia and you.”
“I refuse,” Kristoph left his seat and came up to the barred window.
“You must have memorized by now that you can’t, Gavin,” Phoenix side-eyed Klavier, who had closed his eyes and seemed to be struggling to keep his temper.
He sighed. “Kristoph, that’s enough. You’ve already told us the main point. Come on, add some detail, would you?”
“Why should I?” Kristoph didn’t move a muscle.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Wright growled through his gritted teeth. “Because-”
“Herr Wright,” Klavier felt the urge to get up from his place, attracting Kristoph’s attention. “Because there’s no use defending her now. She’s dead.”
“So will be I. And so will you two, sooner or later. Nonetheless, besides being mortal, as a human I have the right to keep my personal life private.”
“But what you mean… it is not about anything personal, is it?”
Kristoph flashed a quick smirk, as if approving of his brother’s deduction, then grew serious again.
“Jawohl. I see. I promise you, Kristoph, no one of us will sue you anymore.”
“Say for yourself,” Phoenix murmured.
“I promise. Just… tell us what that Dahlia and you had been up to.”
“If it only were so easy, Klavier. And you won’t believe me anyway.”
“Try me then.”
“I am talking not about you, but about him,” Kristoph’s brow darkened as he glanced at Wright.
“Don’t make me laugh, Kristoph. As if you were ever concerned about my opinion. Why start now?” automatically, Phoenix adjusted his badge, like he needed to check whether it was still shining on his lapel.
“And, Klavier,” Kristoph turned back at his brother, “spare me your pity. I don’t care about my charges as well as about this attorney’s approval,” he eyed at Phoenix and took his seat again. “Fine. You want to hear about Dahlia and me? You will get what you want — you can have my word. It all began while my first case investigation — that is true. She had me come to her every day until the trial was cancelled and discuss my findings and our strategy. At first she used that veneer of hers, that image of a maiden in distress, but… little by little she started to show her true colors. Partly because her acting would not work on me, partly because somehow she trusted me. And maybe, just maybe…” Kristoph looked away and a trace of smile appeared on his lips, “I was the only one who knew the real Dahlia.”
Phoenix could not but laugh — Klavier nudged him with his elbow and turned to Kristoph.
“By the end of our work, we both felt it couldn’t be over like that. She was really good at making plans, finding ways out, and I thought her skill might have been useful in my work — that is, in getting acquittals for my future clients. So, having her phone number and her address, I decided to keep in touch with her. It looked like she didn’t mind, but with a girl like her you can never say for certain if she is playing with you or being sincere.
“However, I remember that as if it were only yesterday, a few days passed, and I thought I had to see her again. When we finally met, she said she had to lie low because of her mistake. I promised to help her deal with this mistake unless her current plan succeeded and suggested her assisting me in my legal work in the way only she could, just for the time being. I had never expected that, I was sure she would reject me, but she didn’t. I was about to leave then, but she offered to stay at hers for awhile and get to know each other before starting to work together.
“It turned out we had a lot of things in common and a lot of issues to discuss. It was after that afternoon with her that I felt it: mere partnership would not suffice anymore. To put it bluntly, I thought I liked her. At the end of the week since we’d made acquainted, I invited her to my place to discuss what exactly we were going to do for my practice. But we lost track of our business conversation rather soon and ended up kissing for the first time. We were in my study and she-”
“Do we really need to know all that?” Phoenix groaned rolling his eyes.
“Don’t you anymore? Well, if it is enough for you, I shall gladly cease. For I have fulfilled my promise,” Kristoph reached out for the juice, but stopped short of doing so. “I told you about Dahlia and me — that was our deal. Can I go now?” an innocent smile beamed his features.
“Kristoph, be serious,” Klavier said. “You know what we need. Tell us about your ‘work’ with her.”
“You should have been more specific from the very beginning then. Alright. Sure. I asked her to help me to get on my feet in the beginning of my career. Thanks to her I had a reputation of a quite skilled lawyer by my 20. Are you satisfied now?”
“But where did all of your eloquence disappear, Kristoph? Was I getting ready for another cool story in vain? Come on, teach me how to be a lawyer — I need reputation. And maybe I’ll even share your secret with Apollo, too. You remember him, don’t you?”
Wright’s pressure couldn’t help unnerving Kristoph, and he narrowed his eyes, focusing on his opponent’s taunting smirk. It seemed to fuel Kristoph’s anger, and he leaned his head forward. He was ready to answer, but suddenly was interrupted by his brother.
“Herr Wright, please, don’t get him involved in all that any further. He’s already done enough for both of us to be here now.”
“Ah, so it is Justice who assists you,” Kristoph’s dark, evil, predatory grin, sharp like a blade, appeared on his face. “I have never thought he is your type, Klavier, really,” he attacked. “And especially that you are his one, to be honest. I hoped he was smarter than that — to be used by a man like you for your selfish satisfaction and your excessive sense of justice… Oh, you know how he will feel once he is of no use anymore, don’t you? I suppose I needn’t remind you of Mr. Crescend. Your sniveling naïveté and your simplicity create a fruitful ground for you to become somebody else’s puppet, but I have never ever expected you to try pulling the strings yourself for a change…”
“Don’t listen to him, Prosecutor Gavin,” Phoenix shook Klavier’s shoulder, dragging him back to reality. “I heard such words coming from her. They don’t mean anything, let’s just…”
“I even feel pity, Klavier,” Kristoph continued, his voice so hypnotic in Klavier’s mind. “I would love to see him realizing the truth. And leaving you alone again. Just because… look at yourself — everybody does.”
Klavier, who had been holding his breath all the time, exhaled quickly and helplessly hit the glass between him and his brother with his fist. “I am not using anyone. Unlike you.”
“So you, too, have no doubt that he will abandon you, after all?” Kristoph gave a gloomy laugh.
“He will not, Kristoph!” Klavier shouted, and Phoenix had to hold him not to let him do anything stupid. A sudden touch drew a quick gasp from the prosecutor and he clenched his jaw. “We are here not to talk about me and my work relationship. Tell us, how exactly you used Dahlia.”
The phrase seemed to amuse Kristoph, but finally he was in the mood to speak.
“I didn’t use her. It was mutually beneficial partnership. Well, I wasn’t practicing when we first met. Obviously, I didn’t have any clients. But as I have said earlier, Dahlia was incredibly good at tactics and strategy. So she suggested staging some civil cases for me to deal with. This was our opening act.
“As the time passed, our cases were becoming more and more complicated and, I dare say, intricate. Each one was a piece of art. Besides helping me achieve my aim of gaining experience and fame, she had her own plans to fulfil, and my legal assistance was at her disposal. Later on, we started dealing with criminal affairs — and don’t think I’m telling you that because I want to help you; I’ve merely got nothing to lose. That was risky, but running like clockwork. We always managed to get away with all our plans, leaving no trace behind, and apparently we got closer to each other. Sometimes we didn’t even need to talk, as if we merged into a single unity. A brilliant criminal and a brilliant lawyer rolled into one,” Kristoph chuckled, and only his shaking hand getting hold of the glass with grape juice gave away his anxiety.
“However,” he continued, scrutinizing the contents of the glass, “we could not but face some problems. For instance, having a body double walking freely, trying to eliminate her mistake, Dahlia was forced to use fake personalities. Although that wasn’t something new for her, we needed to create a system of names, like a code of sorts. The idea was to use flowers, herbs or weeds names — we considered her previous attempt at calling herself Melissa Foster as a first draft…”
Code names of plants and flowers might be a clue, Klavier thought, making a mental note to himself.
“Na gut. I think we can wrap up this farce, ja?” he forced a smile and was about to collect his documents and leave.
“I am not finished yet, Klavier. Didn’t I teach you not to interrupt the ones who are currently speaking? I still have something to say to our good fellow in that gaudy suit of his,” Kristoph was looking at Phoenix through the purple liquid, squinting and smiling at the man’s image warped like in a funhouse mirror.
“Okay, what do you want to tell me, mon ami?” Wright crossed his legs, his hand in his pocket, clutching the shining magatama.
“It is all because of you, Wright. Everything had been nigh on perfect until she decided to correct her mistake. I tried to stop her, I told her to wait just a little longer, but she was determined. And that mistake proved to be irreparable one, fatal one,” Kristoph swallowed through the dryness in his throat, bolted down the whole glass and sighed. “You, Wright, are the mistake. It’s you whose pathetic foolishness and infantile demeanor destroyed everything Dahlia and I had built up. You deprived me of my most important client and of love of my life at the same time, leaving her case totally hopeless.
“After that trial, I came to visit her at the detention center. We talked. For hours, maybe. Thinking her case through, trying to figure out something. Anything. But our search was futile. We both realized that much. I… I had to reject her, Wright! I had to turn my back on her and say no, as if she meant nothing to me! I just… couldn’t afford to jeopardize my reputation we both had created, and I knew she herself wouldn’t let me. But when… when I looked in her eyes, I saw that. She had often told me that it was better for her to keep her feelings at bay, and I hadn’t demanded of her any of the sorts. But then her eyes were wet and looked deeper than ever — I understood that she didn’t manage. Dahlia… she felt something. She was in pain, she was heartbroken, and still… she accepted my choice and let me go. She wasn’t angry or disappointed, she was only… hurt.”
With his eyebrows raised, Phoenix was looking at Kristoph, who was holding his right hand in his left one, looking blankly at the scar, as if he were going insane. Phoenix questioned himself, why he kept on listening to this nonsense, why he was still sitting here and watching this delusional show, and only magatama in his pocket was making him stay.
“I don’t remember when or how I got home. I was devastated. Like something vital was ripped out of me. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I had that breakdown and injured myself — you already know that far. Since that day I knew that her mistake was still to be eliminated. Since that day I hated you before even knowing you.
“The last time I saw Dahlia was on her execution day. Constantly planning her revenge, I hoped she would be finally free. But you… you managed to get her even from the afterlife, like a parasite unable to stop even after she was gone. That’s when I decided to do something! That’s when I decided to find you… and destroy you! And just in several months you yourself got right into my hands. Yes, you did take my client, but I did take my opportunity to eliminate you! You, an irreparable mistake, an excuse for a lawyer. You, whose pathetic faith in other people made you fall into my trap! Ooh, I longed to make you suffer the same pain and humiliation she’d been through. But disbarring you was not enough, no! I wanted to make you hate being alive!”
“That’s why you wanted to frame me when you killed Zack…” Phoenix squeezed magatama and felt his fingernails dig in his palm, his eyes dark and peering into Kristoph’s. The man behind the glass grinned and shook his head, and Klavier saw Herr Wright’s eyes twitching, glancing at different spots around his brother. Then Phoenix exhaled, feeling a surge of relief, and pulled his hand out of his pocket. It was finally over, the both men thought.
“H-However! The fact that you’re still here… it’s another mistake! Why, Wright? Why do you always have to be so-” suddenly, Kristoph felt his energy leave his body, as if he were unplugged. His shoulders sagged, he sloped down in his chair and was now leaning on the table. “You…”
“Kristoph, are you okay?” Klavier panicked.
“What was in there?” breathing heavily, Kristoph pointed at the empty glass.
“A very strong sedative. It would have worked faster, had it been an I.V., but it is how it is. We don’t want you to have another attack, do we?”
“I… I loathe you, Phoenix Wright,” Kristoph said with his fading strength. “I despise your very being.”
Phoenix gathered all the papers back into his briefcase and called the guards before responding. “You know, Kristoph,” he said, “that feeling is mutual. But the thing is that I can learn from my mistakes, for now I know that such a trivial motive as revenge won’t bring you any further. You brother was right, my friend. You aren’t changing. You’ve stopped.”
“Klavier…” Kristoph was now being held under his arms by the guards, too weak to stand straight. “Remember my words, Klavier. Justice is better than that. You will understand it one day, when he finally leaves you, too.”
“Good bye, Kristoph.” Klavier smiled without looking into his brother’s face and left the room, following Herr Wright.
Apollo was pacing the hall as he noticed the two men coming. He ran up to them, trying to read how it all went, but looking at them, it was hard to tell whether they got what they wanted or not. Their eyes were down, their faces grim. Then he felt Klavier get hold of his hand.
“Names of plants,” Gavin said breaking the silence.
“Names of plants?” Apollo hesitated.
“Ja, names of plants. He used them as a code for Dahlia Hawthorne. Do you remember him having something like that in his office library, Herr Forehead?”
Justice knit his brows. “Names of plants,” he repeated as if reading a mantra while tapping his forehead with his index finger.
“Well, at least we now know why he hated me so much,” Phoenix forced a laugh. “Alright. If you need anything I can help you with, Prosecutor Gavin, feel free to come. See you later in the office, Apollo.”
“Got it, boss,” Justice said, struggling to recall anything botanical in his former mentor’s office.
“Thank you, Herr Wright,” his hand still holding Apollo’s, Klavier waved Phoenix goodbye.
“I think there was something, after all,” Apollo murmured thoughtfully.
“Good to hear. Suppose you would come to me tomorrow? Will you help me with those papers? Bitte, Herr Forehead…” Gavin pleaded, his eyes sly.
“Sure,” Apollo seemed to ignore the show and let go of his boyfriend’s hand. “See you tomorrow then, okay? I don’t want to keep Mr. Wright waiting,” he stood on tiptoe to kiss Klavier on the lips.
“Tschüss, Schatzi,” Klavier stood smiling till his attorney left and after a span of time turned back to the prosecutor’s office.
It was far later in the evening that he fully processed what he’d heard and seen in the detention center. Until that realization it all seemed surreal, so distant from reality, much further than his childhood nightmare, much blurrier in his mind. But now Klavier was battling an urge to drop his work and head to Wright Anything Agency. He wanted to make sure. He needed to make sure. He had to make sure that these words weren’t true. Finally, he started his bike and in the sound of the engine he heard his brother’s voice. Justice is better than that. While driving all the way to the agency, in every snatch of conversation he heard his brother’s voice. You will understand it, when he leaves you, too. But he needed some proof. Evidence is everything, right?
Klavier was all twitchy and fidgety as he was pressing the handle and freezing in the doorway of the office. “Hello, Herr Wright,” he gave his perfect rock-diva smile.
“Yeah, long time no see,” Phoenix said without looking at him. “You’re late, Apollo left about twenty minutes ago. You may still meet him at the bus stop, though, if he-”
“Nein, nein, Herr Wright. Actually, I’ve come to you,” Gavin was twirling a strand of hair with his finger.
Phoenix stopped dusting the shelves (the sight really unexpected, according to Herr Forehead’s stories) to finally turn at him. Then he glanced at the clock. “Alright, how can I help you?”
“Is it true? What Kristoph told me, I mean. About Apollo. That he will leave and…” Klavier bit his lip. Wasn’t that too personal to chat about like that? Maybe, but he needed the answer right there and then.
“I-I’m sorry, I’d put away magatama by then, when he said that…”
“It’s not about magatama, Herr Wright.”
“Why do you ask me then?” Wright tilted his head to the side.
“Because I know you’ve been through many things and because Apollo trusts you. I thought I could trust you and your experience, too. So what do you think, Herr Wright?”
“Well… If you want to know what I think, it’s not me who you should trust, but Apollo. He is a good man, I’m sure you know that. So even if he has to leave one day, he must have his reason. A good one, actually.” Phoenix picked up his things and motioned to go to the door.
“Like when he left because of what had happened to Clay?” Klavier recalled, going after Herr Wright.
“Yeah, something like that. Of course, we’ll hope he’ll never have to go through this again, but you get my drift,” Wright locked the door and looked at Klavier nodding to his words. “And all you’ll have to do is to put up with it and accept his decision, whatever it takes,” he kept on speaking while going downstairs and outside his office, with Gavin treading a couple of steps behind him, looking deep in thought. “Because you should trust him, Prosecutor Gavin. That’s how all kinds of relationship work. And I know that it can hurt sometimes, just as I know that you’ve felt this way, too. But sooner or later…” Phoenix fell silent for a moment, watching a red sports car drive up, “it is sure to pay off.” He smiled slightly, plunged into the car and in a second faded away in the distance.
“Trust and hope for a ‘good reason’ not to fall out of the sky, huh? That’s okay with me, I guess,” Klavier answered to the nowhere where Herr Wright’d just disappeared. “But first things first…”
He thought of the important client again, took out his phone and made a call.
“Herr Forehead? Listen, why not start looking for the files tonight instead of tomorrow?” for some reason he could not but blush.
Apollo sighed on the other end of the phone. “Okay, as you wish. But if you don’t let me eat first, trust me I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Klavier chuckled. “I’ll be at yours in a flash.” Trust me. If that’s what Herr Wright meant, he now had nothing to worry about.