Work Text:
"Hey there Apollo, you got a minute?" Apollo was barely awake, because it was four in the morning. He didn't even recognize the voice at first, holding the cell away from his ear and giving it an odd look. "Hello?" his caller yelled on the other end of the line. "Earth to Apollo, this is mission control!"
Apollo covered his eyes, bleary with sleep and aching from the bright light of his cell phone. That voice had finally sunk in. He knew who it was, but - "Bill," he said curtly, "How did you get my cell number?"
"Oh, that's not really important right now." My ass, it isn't. "Let's just say I got it from a friend of a friend, after a fashion."
But Apollo didn't really feel like arguing. He wasn't awake enough for that, he just wanted to get this damn phone call over with. "Alright," he groaned, mouth muffled by a pillow, "What is it, Bill?"
"I've got a case for you." Apollo sat up quickly. It wasn't a totally sobering realization, but he was a little more awake than earlier. A case was a case, no matter who it came from - something he'd had to learn after working with the Wrights for nearly two years... "That get your attention, short stuff?" Bill asked.
Apollo frowned and ground his teeth. There's no need to bring my height into this, he thought. But he took a deep breath to level himself and said, "Yep, sure did." He leaned over, turning the lamp next to his bed on and searching through the drawers for a legal pad and pen to write with. "So, what're the details?"
Apollo couldn't believe he got up early for this. Well, he supposes he could believe it, and that's what made it so goddamn ridiculous. Part of him thought Bill honestly believed he was being helpful to Apollo, and in a way he was, but nonetheless, absolutely no part of this case made sense.
"And the murders are all locked-room?" he asked for what must have been the fifth time this session alone.
His client looked more than a little agitated, but it was all in the eyes. He was giving Apollo a massively fake smile that made Apollo want to hit him. "Yes," his client said. "Like I said. All locked rooms and every fingerprint has been wiped."
"Most criminals do that," Apollo pointed out.
Light - that was seriously his client's name - rolled his eyes, as if Apollo was being purposefully obtuse, and it did nothing to help Apollo's aggravation. Apollo was overwhelmed, once again, with the urge to hit the young man. "Yes, Mr. Justice," he said, and his voice may not have been snide but he as a person was, "But even the lightbulb sockets were wiped. Would I really do something like that?"
Yes, Apollo thought, but he didn't say it. All he said was, "That does seem a bit excessive."
"Besides," he continued, as if Apollo hadn't said anything, "I have no motive for killing any of those people. I'd like to help catch him or her, if I can, but I can't do that until you get me off." What a vivid way of putting it. Light looked at him, expressionless. "So, can you do it?"
The absolute truth was that Apollo didn't know, but he was tired of the layers of scrutiny this kid was lodging at him. "Of course," he said, banging his hand down on the desk. Light followed the movement, suppressing a smirk, and Apollo suppressed the wince of pain. "Just leave it to me, Mr. Yagami."
For once, Apollo was actually looking forward to seeing Klavier. If nothing else, he knew Klavier would have some witty retorts for Apollo's client, and he was really not that bad a guy once you got to know him. Klavier, that is. Light, he wasn't so sure. He had a fake, charming facade, but it was easy to read through it and impossible for Apollo to just ignore. Not when he felt he was being judged for something he hadn't even done or said yet.
He felt nervous as he prepared for the trial. He was used to not having a lot to go on, but Phoenix couldn't be with him today and neither could Athena or Trucy. So he was alone in a courtroom with a client he didn't trust and evidence that he could only assume supported the prosecutor's case all too well.
Phoenix frowned mockingly, attempting to get Apollo to smile. He reached out, hands brushing against Apollo's chest to straighten his tie. "Smile, Apollo," he begged. "You'll be fine. I have faith in you."
Apollo huffed, hand sliding over his hair. "I'm not so sure about that," he grumbled. He'd never gone to court on his own. He felt a little childish, but he wanted to beg Phoenix to blow off the meeting and come join him, or for Athena to hold off on the investigation.
But he knew the bookstore where her case occurred was only open at particular times and she had to be there when Ema was in a good mood, or she'd be screwed. And Phoenix - well, the jurist system was his idea, he was the one who called the meeting, he could't exactly miss it or call it off at the last second just because Apollo was having a crisis of faith.
"Stop it," he said. "We'll be over as soon as court lets out, won't we, Athena?"
"Sure," she said, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her mind was on Widget, the application pulled up in front of her face.
Phoenix shook his head at her, turning back to Apollo. "Just go out there, and do your best," he said, giving his underling a winning smile.
When Apollo entered the courthouse, there was no Klavier in sight. Which was okay - he'd never been one for pre-court ribbings, especially when he already felt nervous about the case at hand. He took a few moments to talk things over with his client before they were called in. But when he actually entered the courtroom...well, there was no Klavier there either. No greeting of "Guten Morgen, Herr Forehead!", no fakeass air guitar, no swooning of women in the audience.
And the person at the prosecutor's bench was someone he had never before seen in his life, and by now he'd met most of the prosecutors at parties or office functions. Despite rivalries at work they were all generally on speaking terms outside of the halls - one of the Payne brothers had even given Apollo a ride to work one day when it had been pouring.
But this guy - he didn't look anything like any of the prosecutors Apollo had met. For one, he really wasn't dressed appropriately four court. Not that there was really anything wrong with the plain white shirt, except that it was at least half a size too big for him, and he was wearing jeans. And his hair wasn't combed. And he wasn't wearing shoes.
Alright, the rest might have been an overreaction on Apollo's part, but the shoes. That had to be some kind of health hazard, right? Maybe if he was lucky, he could get the case dismissed here and now due to incompetency on the part of the prosecutor. Although from the looks of things, today's prosecutor hadn't had a good night's sleep in at least a month. He supposes he wouldn't look presentable under such circumstances either, but a case was a case and a court date was a court date.
"Your Honor," Apollo started, head turned from his opponent to the Judge.
But his opponent spoke up, interrupting him. "Mr. Justice, I don't believe my manner of dress has anything to do with the case at hand." He was slouched, his hands in his pockets. Apollo was a little surprised he could even speak so loudly - he looked so pale, so fragile that Apollo was certain he'd be hard to hear if he deigned to speak at all. "I'm much more interested in the case at hand, if we could skip all the frivolous tedium and get straight to the point?"
"Erm," the Judge said. Apollo could see him judging the opponent as well, clearly not caring for his attitude but more concerned by the thumb between his lips. "Alright," he agreed, slamming the gavel. "Court is now in session for the trial of Light Yagami. Defense, how does your client plead?"
"Uh, not guilty," Apollo stated. He was trying not to look at the man across from him, but it was difficult not to. The other man's eyes hadn't left him, and Apollo had the distinct feeling he was being analyzed like a piece of evidence. "In fact, we move to have the case dismissed due to lack of evidence -"
"Objection," his opponent said. It lacked the usual bravado most lawyers Apollo knew used when declaring their objections, but it was an objection nonetheless. He could feel himself starting to sweat, cold beads of moisture running down the back of his neck. Something about this guy was strange, but he couldn't place why. His opponents eyes shifted from him to the Judge, and he mumbled, "There is at least an 82% chance that Light Yagami is the killer we are looking for."
"Ob-Objection!" Apollo stuttered. And then, not knowing where else to go with it, he spluttered, "What?"
His opponent smiled, pressing a finger to his lips. Apollo switched weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. Those dark-rimmed eyes made him feel his soul was being devoured.
"Oh, please forgive me," his opponent said in a bored tone. "I do believe I've forgotten to introduce myself. My name is L." If anything, Apollo felt more nervous now...and more confused. "I am the head investigator on this case and will be acting as the main prosecution as well. And if Light is to be found guilty, which he most likely is, he will fall under my care."
That's more than just a little weird. "Why would the world's most famous detective be interested in such a small case like this?"
L frowned at him. "This killer has eluded me for far too long already. Catching him will be immensely personal - nearly everything he's done seems to have been in a direct attempt to rile me, and I wish to see this come to an end for myself."
"Objection! Why would Light Yagami have reason to attempt to rile you up? He's the well-respected A student and son of a highly regarded police chief."
"So you believe the police are above corruption?" he retorted, tone blank.
"No," Apollo said. This guy, L, was starting to be as big a pain in the ass as his client. Not for the first time, he begged internally for a normal trial, a normal client, a normal situation. "Of course not, but Light is not a member of the police force. He is a college student. Murder sounds like a strange hobby for a college student to take up, wouldn't you agree?"
"Not really," L replied. Apollo wasn't sure what to make of that, other than it made him feel uncomfortable. "Murders are fascinating. I would assume everyone here agrees - why else would you be here right now if it weren't entertaining?"
Because this is my damn job, Apollo thought. "Be that as it may," he continued, "Do you really expect an A student to have the time to research these people, commit elaborate murders, and keep up his grade point average? It seems farfetched to me. And as I was saying earlier, there is no DNA evidence tying -"
"There is also no DNA evidence tying the two murder victims together," L shot him down. "But we know they were committed by the same person, and it is my belief that this person was Light Yagami."
"Object-" Apollo began, but he was interrupted once more by the sound of the gavel.
"If we are quite ready to begin the trial, gentlemen," the Judge said, voice and expression grave, "Then I believe we are past due a start. Clearly this case is not going to be resolved quickly, so let's start. Prosecution, if you please," he finished, nodding in L's direction.
"Of course, your honor," L mumbled. He rubbed a finger over his bottom lip as he thought of where to begin. "Well, to be honest, the defense is right. There is no direct evidence linking the defendant to the murder -"
"Then why in God's name are you accusing him?" the Judge asked.
"Your honor, please, I wasn't finished." L looked thoroughly unamused with the Judge's outburst - he even seemed to be glaring, underneath the mass of black hair in his face. The dark circles under his eyes only made the look more poignant, and Apollo could practically hear the insults the other man was thinking. He felt some resentment building up as he leaned on the desk in front of him. "The killer would need to have high intelligence and a flexible schedule. We were able to narrow down the population with a small experiment, which gave us a small pool of suspects to choose from."
"Yes," Apollo said, "But why my client?"
L raised a finger to indicate he needed a second. Apollo watched as he pulled something small out of his pocket, and popped it into his mouth. Was that...a sugar cube? Huh? "I admit, the probability that Light is our killer is relatively low."
"Earlier, you'd said 82%." Apollo crossed his arms over his chest, feeling more confused and aggravated than before. Something about this man rubbed him the wrong way, but he wasn't sure what it was. The cocky attitude? The sloppy appearance? The fake percentages? "Has that percentage gone down since we've been talking."
"...No," he hummed. "That's not it. I may have misspoken - He matches the profile by 82%. Outside of that, his actual probability is around 5%."
"What?" Apollo snapped, slamming his fist down.
"After examining Light in-depth, it appears he has a strong sense of justice and a desire to better society. While that doesn't immediately discount him as a possible murder suspect, these particular murders are too random to truly fit his personality. The deaths of these individuals does not service the community in any way."
"That's callous," Apollo commented, forgetting himself for a minute.
L looked amused by his outburst. It made Apollo fume more. "That may be, but it is not my job to be pleasant or to sugar-coat things. I am an investigator, a detective, not a flight stewardess." Fuck you too, buddy. "These are simply the facts. The murder of these three may be sad to their family and friends, but they have no effect - positive or detrimental - on society."
"It sounds to me," Apollo ground out, "Like your case stands on shaky grounds. All you've done is walk us around in circles. Do you or do you not have any evidence to suggest that my client is in any way related to these cases? And I mean any concrete evidence, not blind guesses."
L hummed to himself. "No," he muttered. "Not really. But he is, at this time, our most valuable suspect."
Everything he said made himself sound stranger, and like there was something else he was getting out of this trial. Apollo drew his face into a taught grimace, wishing one of his coworkers was available to help him out. Athena's Mood Matrix would have been of particular help... "I still don't understand your reasoning."
"No," L confirmed. "You wouldn't." Apollo could feel his fist shaking in frustration. What was the purpose of sending L in as a prosecutor to begin with? At this rate, things would have been left at a stalemate. L had nothing to prove, and he couldn't see the Judge ruling in his favor when there was no evidence suggesting Light Yagami had anything to do with the crime he was accused of committing. He didn't know the victims, the victims didn't even know each other - what was the point of the murders to begin with? "You're going to grind that desk into sawdust if you keep that up," L remarked. His eyes were concentrated on Apollo's shaking fist.
"Mr. Justice," the Judge spoke up. "Perhaps it would be best if we were to take a break around here, to allow you to calm down and for the prosecution to get their case in order."
"Yes," Apollo growled, "Please."
Out in the lobby, Apollo finally found Klavier. And he had half a mind to smack the other man for not being the day's prosecutor.
"Oh, Guten Tag, Herr Forehead," he greeted, and earned a glare from Apollo. And to Apollo's surprise, Klavier frowned in return. "Ja, I figured you would feel that way about him," he sighed. "There is a reason I did not take on this case."
"I can see why," Apollo groaned. "There's no evidence, no forensics, even L doesn't seem entirely sure of the case and he's the one who built it up!"
Klavier shook his head. "If you think going up against him in court is bad, you should attempt working alongside him." He frowned, one hand on his hip and the other at his side. "I would have thought he and Ema would have gotten along, but his methods are frequently unethical and he keeps stealing her snacks, or so she tells me."
Apollo remembered the sugar cube the other man had taken out of his pocket. "Yeah, what's with that anyway?"
"We're not sure," Klavier hummed. "But if he keeps going at this rate, he will die if diabetes within the next ten or fifteen years."
"I'll take your word for it," Apollo sighed. "So is there anything you can tell me?"
"I'm afraid not, and it's not for confidentiality reasons." Klavier sighed. "He doesn't share information with anybody else, so no one really knows what he's thinking. All I can tell you is that he once put surveillance cameras in Mr. Yagami's house, but I don't know what sort of results it yielded."
"What? Is that even legal?"
"Who knows?" Klavier shrugged. "He has a lot of pull with various police forces, so it honestly doesn't surprise me." He looked past Apollo for a minute, eyes flashing at something. "Your client is here to see you." He held out a hand for Apollo to shake, leaning over a little to better look Apollo in the face. "Good luck with this one, ja? I'll be watching."
Apollo shook his hand, muttering his thanks. He was unsure if he'd need it for the case or not.
Apollo made his way to his client, still mulling over what Klavier had said. When he reached his client, he decided to make things quick. "Are you aware that L placed surveillance cameras in your house?"
He'd expected, from his client's nature, for the other man to be furious, to demand he be let go immediately, that this was a misuse of justice and resources. Much to Apollo's surprise, Light only shrugged. "I kinda figured." He looked to the side, as if his mind was on something else entirely when he spoke. "To be honest, I'm not entirely innocent."
Apollo felt himself go pale. "Excuse me?"
Light waved a hand. "No, no, not like that. I just mean that have done some hacking. I was interested in the case, and as you pointed out earlier my father is the chief of police. I thought I could get some information from his computer easily. It wouldn't surprise me if L knew about that, and if that's part of the reason he's so convinced I'm involved some how." When Apollo's panicked look didn't subside, Light frowned and glared. "I'm not involved."
"Not with the murder, maybe," Apollo replied, crossing his arms. "But you'll have to explain yourself once we get back in the courtroom. He's smart, there's no way he won't bring that up as a point of suspicion."
Once again, Light wasn't looking at him. More along the lines of Klavier, he appeared to be looking past Apollo. "No," he said, voice almost bored, "I'm not sure that will really be necessary." He looked back to Apollo, fake smile in place. "But I'll keep it in mind. I have a few excuses I could make if it really comes to that, but you're doing well so far."
Okay, now Apollo had two people he wanted to hit, and one of them was paying him. He'd never experienced that before - well, okay, he had hit Mr. Wright a while ago, but he'd never wanted to hit a client before.
"Looks like they're ushering us back in now," Light commented. "Just play it by ear, okay? Follow my lead, and we'll see if you really need to do anything else."
Apollo walked back into the courtroom feeling more frustrated than he had when he'd left. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he begrudgingly admitted to himself that he probably was going to have to follow Light's lead. He seemed to have more of an idea about what was going on than Apollo himself did.
Apollo flipped through his court record as he waited for his opponent to re-enter. And when he did, Apollo tried his hardest not to send a glare his way. If the prosecutor notices, he doesn't show it. He merely walks up to the prosecutor's bench, hands shoved in his pockets, and says, "Your honor, I'd like to drop the trial now, if that's okay with you."
Apollo was stunned. Apollo was outraged. Apollo said - or rather, screamed - for the fourth time in the past hour and a half, "What?!"
"So after all of that," the Judge started, "All of those percentage things, you're saying you were wrong?"
"No," L said, almost sounding cheerful, "I'm not saying that at all."
"So what are you saying?" Apollo demanded.
"There's no point in continuing this trial. As you have pointed out, I have no concrete evidence." he reached into his pocket, drawing out another cube of sugar, and pushing it between his lips.
"So... So that's it? You're just gonna let him go?" Apollo was dumbfounded. He'd never won a trial so...well, was this even really winning?
"...No," L said, pursing his lips as he sucked on the sugar. "I'm not saying that either. In fact, I'm going to put more surveillance on Light Yagami. I'd like to track his whereabouts and actions. If my suspicions turn out to be unfounded, I'll let him go."
"What?" Apollo asked for a fifth time. "No! That is a gross invasion of his privacy -"
"Actually," Apollo jumped a little, startled by the sudden voice next to him. What the hell is he doing here? Light had managed to get past security, or maybe managed to convince the bailiff it was a good idea; whatever he did, he managed to to make it to Apollo's side behind the defense's bench. "I don't mind," he finished. Was he...smirking? Apollo looked between Light and L, both staring at each other, bizarre half-smiles on their faces. What the hell is with these two?
"Well, uh, if there are no objections," the Judge began, looking every bit as confused as Apollo felt, "Then I suppose this case is...closed?" He slammed the gavel down weakly, and dismissed them.
Apollo was still in a daze as he exited the courthouse, leaning against one of the columns and watching as the opposing prosecutor was handed a pair of long handcuffs and attached one to his wrist, the other attached to Light's wrist. And Light, for some godforsaken unknown reason, was actually smiling and laughing and appeared to be enjoying this.
"What does he think this is? Some sort of weird sex foreplay?" Apollo mumbled to himself.
"Probably." He looked up to see his boss walking up to him. "Who are we talking about?" he asked, extending a hand for Apollo to grab.
Apollo accepted the hand and stood, brushing his pants down. "Oh, uh -" He looked toward his now former client, who had gone from some weird semi-flirting stance to shoving his fist in L's face. And Apollo honestly just did not care. "You know what," he said, turning back to Phoenix. Phoenix had been looking in Light's direction as well, and turned back to Apollo with a raised eyebrow, urging him to continue. "I don't want to talk about it," Apollo said, brushing past Phoenix to get as far away from the courthouse as possible, leaving his boss to play catchup.