Chapter Text
He would have preferred if his original plan was executed as intended too
The plan was simple:
Take care of Gregson.
Pin the murder to Barok Van Zieks.
Get a guilty verdict against him.
And finally getting rid of everyone who knew too much for their own good about that dreaded case that occurred ten years ago.
This was the final hurdle he had to leap over in order to finally get position that will provide him with the necessary power to finally make tangible changes to the justice system and finally restore law and order in its full glory.
This was his one chance. and he watched it slip through his fingers all because of those meddling pair of Nipponese and that detective.
They’re the reason he’s in this mess.
Maybe if he didn’t lift the defence attorney’s ban
maybe if he didn’t accept the prosecutor’s request to continue representing even after he came to light he’s involved in the case
maybe if he carried out this whole ordeal at a different date
Maybe if had done something differently, he wouldn’t be in handcuffs being escorted to prison.
No need to dwell in what-ifs. Not now. He needs to put an alternative plan into action or else he’ll find himself in the gallows.
The thought of him being sent to the gallows almost made him laugh. Not that there was any humour in the thought rather the idea seems so implausible to him since he’s no criminal.
He’s justice in the flesh
And it’s not his fault others fail to get through their thick skulls that all that he did was for them and the nation.That what he did had to be done if any shred of law and order was to be upheld in the country.
Alas, it’s their loss. However, they will need to do more than simply cuffing his hands and place him in a jail cell if they intent to stop him. Metal bars are merely a physical inconvenience, an inevitable obstacle he has to hurdle through on his way to achieving his goal of restoring true order to a fractured society.
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Jigoku sat on the floor against the wall of the holding cell, his knees bent and drawn close to his chest. The cell’s wall was made up of bricks cut into rectangles of different sizes, each one more diverse than the last. The wall felt rough and bumpy as he laid against it with his back. Having said that, the texture of some wall could be the least of his worries.
Right now, he’s trying to cope with the fact his life could be very much be over.
He would be put on trial and found guilty for his crimes.
He would never step on Japanese soil again.
He would face capital punishment and die on foreign soil.
But then again, he does deserve everything that will happen to him since at the end of the day what he did ten years ago — the event that determined his life was over when he pulled the trigger — was done of his own volition. And as much as he can try to divert the blame to someone else, he’ll be the one to be tried.
Speaking of said someone, he wondering how he’s fairing in there.
There’s no doubt in his mind that they will pursue the truth behind the professor’s case. Despite this, Stronghart is a smart man and he’ll do anything in his power to hide the truth of that dreadful case. He most definitely came up with a conniving plan to hide the truth from revealing itself. Jigoku oddly enough wants whatever ploy Stronghart schemed to come up successful because as much as he doesn’t want to admit it—
He’s his only ticket to get out of this country alive.
Ironic really. His late friend and colleague, Genshin, was in this exact position he’s at right now and he got screwed over. What makes him think Stronghart of all people would help him out of this hellhole? And that if he doesn’t get exposed for being his counterpart in Britain for the assassin exchange and being the mastermind behind all of this.
A thought that has been pestering Jigoku since he was arrested seemingly became impossible to ignore.
Even if he does get out of prison and is able to go back to Japan, what does he have to live for?
He would still be a convict so he cannot go work at his old post, or anything to do with the government of Japan.
Losing his job would also meant losing companions and colleagues.
And to top it all off he didn’t have a family to go back too.
Sure, he would be a free man but at the cost of losing his friends and colleagues, work and any sort of community he had built. That does really beg the question if living past being convicted really is worth it.
Before his thoughts could spiral any further, he heard the heavy iron barred door of which was guarding the main entrance of the prison groan open, followed by three distinct pairs of footsteps overlapping each other. Each pairs grew louder as they made their way to Jigoku’s holding cell. That’s when he recalled when being ushered through the hallways of the prison, he noted that this particular building only had one cell.
He sighed. He could not catch a break in here.
That means he’ll have to share a cell with god knows who but who knows? Maybe whoever this person is will provide enough distraction and prevent him from drowning in his thoughts that he’ll rather not think about right now. As the footsteps echoed closer he could hear hushed whispers and he tried to make out them.
He noticed one of the voices sounded quite familiar but he didn’t make much of it. He could only make out the words ‘luggage’ and ‘will’ but the whispers came to a halt when they made they made the turn that lead to the cell.
And there he was. And in handcuffs.
Mael Stronghart and he looked horrible for lack of a better word.