Chapter Text
May 23
9:00 AM
Courtroom No. 6
The clack of a gavel.
“Court is now in session for the trial of Jason Danziger.”
“The defense is ready, Your Honor.”
“The prosecution is ready to rock, Herr Judge.”
Klavier Gavin. Athena squinted her eyes. Uncharted territory. Trucy had told her that he was an ally, but she wasn’t so sure. She could hear his heart as clear as day: he was here to win.
“Very well. Your opening statement, if you would, Prosecutor Gavin.”
“Before that, I was thinking... Frau Cykes.”
“Eh?” Me? “Yes?”
“You’ve only three trials under your belt, yes?”
“And all three of them were victories!” Athena boasted. There was nothing wrong with a little pride. Prosecutor Gavin chuckled, hanging his head low before looking up at her. “And just so you know, Prosecutor Gavin? I studied in Germany, as well. I hope you’re ready!”
“Hah! I like your energy, Frau Cykes! Achtung, then!” Prosecutor Gavin snapped his fingers and pointed at the defense’s bench. His voice was laced with happiness: he was enjoying this! “Let’s get this show on the road! The victim’s name was Robert ‘Bertie’ Hastings, aged 52. Herr Hastings was an accountant and a member of the ‘Sigma Society’, a fraternal organization.”
“I can’t say I’m familiar,” His Honor said, stroking his beard.
“With no offense, Herr Judge, I’m not surprised. The Sigma Society is open to only the smartest individuals in the world: individuals within the 98th percentile of IQ scores. In layman’s terms, people with over 130 IQ. These people aren’t just smart, ja? They’re geniuses.
“Anyway: Herr Hastings was found shot to death on the second floor of the estate used by the Sigma Society. In this room with him was the defendant, Herr Danziger, who claimed to have discovered the body first.”
“That hardly seems like adequate grounds for an arrest,” His Honor said, apparently bringing his thinking cap for the day.
“Normally, I’d agree. Before the Court learns why he was arrested, however, I’d like to fill in the Court Record a bit. Here we go. Things were heating up. “This is the victim’s wallet, found in the defendant’s belongings and this is the pistol that was recovered at the scene of the crime—” Prosecutor Gavin placed a small snub-nosed revolver, fit with a tubular attachment on the barrel, on his bench, the court’s cameras giving the entire room an ample view of the weapon before a bailiff retrieved it “—alongside two bullets, recovered from the victim’s body.”
“I see. The court accepts these into evidence.”
Revolver added to Court Record. Wallet added to Court Record. Bullets added to Court Record.
“If that’s all, Prosecutor Gavin, you may call your first witness.”
“Right on, Herr Judge.” Prosecutor Gavin flipped his hair back, all cool and rocky. Athena squinted. She did not like the ego of this guy. “The prosecution calls Lieutenant Dick Gumshoe to the stand!”
Lieutenant Gumshoe hobbled to the stand, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and then running his hand over the front of his face. He took a deep breath, as if he was anxious behind the witness stand: this couldn’t have been his first time, could it?
“Your name and occupation?”
“Lieutenant Dick Gumshoe, sir! I’m the deputy head of the local precinct and in charge of this investigation.”
“Very well, Lieutenant. A brief overview of the crime, if you would?”
“Yes, sir!
“The crime occurred at roughly 6:00 in the evening last night. The Sigma Society was having one of their bi-weekly meetings in their local estate. A group of people was downstairs, talking after the meeting. All of a sudden, two gunshots rang out from upstairs! The party ran upstairs, and the defendant was found standing in front of the body. Furthermore, the victim’s wallet was found in the victim’s belongings.”
“Mm. Everybody else was downstairs, you say?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Well! I must say… I do not see how it could be anyone but the defendant.” His Honor was stroking his beard again. “Ms. Cykes? Your cross-examination, please.”
“Right.” Ahem. “Lieutenant, how big was this ‘group of people’?”
“We questioned about six people that night. Most of the Sigma Society had already gone home.”
“How many people does the Sigma Society have in general?”
“About 30 for this local chapter. It’s not very big.”
“Hm.” I wonder…
“Why was the victim’s wallet found in the defendant’s belongings?”
“Well, if you ask me? It seems like petty robbery to me.”
“Eh? I thought you ruled out robbery as a possibility.”
“Well, it’s the only thing that makes sense to me, pal! I didn’t—”
“Objection! Lieutenant, please keep your personal opinions out of this testimony.” Prosecutor Gavin pounded his fist on the wall. “Understand?”
“Yes, sir…”
“Objection!” Athena slammed her hands on her desk. Gavin’s eyebrows arched: surprise radiated from his side of the courtroom, a cheery yellow tone that Athena almost smiled at. “I think the reason the victim’s wallet was found with the defendant is vital to this case at hand! I would like Lieutenant Gumshoe’s statement added to his testimony!”
“Very well. Lieutenant?”
“Er… yes, sir.
"The most likely reason for the victim’s wallet being found in the defendant’s possession is robbery.”
There it was. Athena couldn’t stop the smile this time.
“Lieutenant Gumshoe… I have a question. It’s a little one.”
“Huh? What’s up, pal?”
“Do you really think the motive for this crime was robbery?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“As you told us yesterday, Lieutenant… nothing else from the room was taken! Furthermore, none of the drawers were opened! If nothing else from the room was stolen and none of the drawers were opened, then either the killer is a bad burglar or robbery wasn’t the motive!”
“Gah!”
“Objection! …You’re excused, Lieutenant.” Prosecutor Gavin had a downright scary smile on his own face, staring down Gumshoe on the stand. The Lieutenant, for his part, breathed a sigh of relief. “You have done your duty and explained the facts of this case . Have a good morning.”
What was he up to? Prosecutor Gavin seemed oddly calm for someone whose case was just hit with a broadside. He turned back to Athena, taking a deep breath before slamming his fist on the wall. Uh-oh. He was confident. There was no anxiety, no surprise, just unabashed confidence. Athena swallowed. Okay, no use panicking. Just press the advantage.
“As the defense has shown, the prosecution’s claim that robbery was a motive has little ground to stand on!”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. My claim, Frau Banana?”
...Frau Banana? Athena sighed and wiped a bead of sweat off her face. Swallow. Great. Wait ‘till Apollo hears about that one.
“Y-Yes, the prosecution’s claim!”
“ I didn’t claim anything, Frau Banana. The good Lieutenant did.”
“...Ah.” Stupid! How did she fall into something that simple?! “Well, erm… t-then why was the victim’s wallet found in the defendant’s belongings?!”
“I believe our next witness may be able to speak further on that matter. Herr Judge?”
“Very well, Prosecutor Gavin. Does the defense have any objections?”
Mgh. No. Athena was gritting her teeth now, clenching the defense’s bench. No, she didn’t. Dammit! She felt so close! Did she miss her chance?
“Chin up, Athena!” Athena looked over. Trucy was pumped up, clenching her fists and angry herself. “This trial’s just started!”
Right. Okay. Athena cleared her throat, straightening her back and lapel. Alright. TIme to get back on track!
“The defense has no objections, Your Honor.”
“Very well. Your next witness, Prosecutor Gavin.”
“Danke, Herr Judge. The prosecution calls Mr. Alvin Metzler to the stand!”
Alvin was nervously scratching at his neck. He wasn’t used to situations this formal, that much was obvious: he was radiating anxiety and a bit of fear, tones which liked to just annoy Athena. She held back the urge to squint this time as Prosecutor Gavin cleared his throat.
“Would the witness please state his name and profession for the court?”
“...Alvin Metzler. I’m a secretary at Brandt & Hastings.”
“Herr Metzler was at the party on the day of the murder. I believe he will be able to provide us with sufficient testimony as to what exactly occurred on that day, as well as why the victim’s wallet was found in Herr Danziger’s belongings.”
“Very well.” His Honor clacked his gavel on the bench. “Mr. Metzler, your testimony, please.”
“Got it.” Alvin scratched his neck again.
“It was just after the party ended. We had just come off of a discussion about burglar alarms when the last guest arrived. A few minutes after that, after Jason had left the room, we heard a gunshot. Then we heard another. After that, we ran upstairs. As for the wallet, I found it in Jason’s stuff.”
“...He’s being vague,” Trucy whispered to Athena. She nodded.
“Yeah. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Good thing Athena already figured out which part she wanted to press further on.
“Hmm. So you found the defendant’s wallet in his belongings?” asked His Honor.
“Yep.”
“Very well. Ms. Cykes, your cross-examination, please.”
“With pleasure.” Athena cleared her throat again.
“Mr. Metzler. You said the last guest was late to the party?”
“Yeah, but he usually is.” Metzler sighed. “Or, was, I guess.”
“Who was the last guest?”
“He was Bertie’s partner. Business partner, I mean. Oliver Brandt.”
There’s that name again. Oliver Brandt. If Athena had a pencil, she’d be tapping it against the bench.
“Moving on… about those gunshots: was there anything unusual about them?”
“You mean besides being gunshots? Not really.” Metzler looked up for a second. “Actually, there was something. Bertie’s body hit the ground before the second shot.”
“Hit the ground?”
“Likely from the first bullet. From the shock of being shot he perhaps fell on his stomach, ja?” Prosecutor Gavin wasn’t sure about that. Why wasn’t he sure about that? It made sense to Athena, but his voice was ringing with unease.
Unless… is there some kind of evidence that disproves that? Athena looked through the Court Record again. The three statements, the pistol, the bullets, the… autopsy report. The autopsy report, maybe it was in here. Cause of death, Athena read, two gunshots to the chest… she bit her lip. There it was! A contradiction, clear as day.
“I don’t think that’s possible, Prosecutor Gavin.”
“Oh?” There was still a cocky smirk on his face: was he intrigued or confident? “And why not, Frau Banana?”
“It’s rather simple. The bullets entered the victim’s body from the same angle!” That caught Alvin off-guard: Prosecutor Gavin simply stood there. “If the victim fell between both shots, then the bullets would logically enter his body from different angles!”
“Objection! The defendant could’ve simply shot the victim from the same angle while he was already on the floor!”
“Objection! I’m afraid that also isn’t possible, Prosecutor Gavin! The defendant is taller than Mr. Hastings was. If he shot the victim from the front, the bullet would enter from a downwards angle, yes. But if the victim was lying down when he was shot the second time, then the angle would be much sharper!”
The courtroom erupted into discussion. His Honor called for order, looking down at the defense’s bench. This meant something! Athena wasn’t sure what it was, but she was gonna keep grabbing at it until something popped out! The only thing she could really think of…
“Ms. Cykes. What exactly does this mean?”
“I can only think of one thing, Your Honor.” Athena swallowed. A turnabout, this early? It felt too easy. She pointed anyway: confidence, confidence, confidence! “The gunshots that the party heard… weren’t the real gunshots!”
“Objection! I like your moxie, Frau Banana. Unfortunately, only one set of gunshots was heard that night. How do you explain that?”
“Well… uh…” Crap. How did she explain that?! There had to be something here. What was it? “Perhaps the victim was killed earlier in the day?”
“That’s not possible either. Frau Banana, need I remind you that Herr Metzler saw Herr Hastings that evening, alongside 6 other witnesses?”
“Then…” Wait a second. Earlier in the day? No. What if it was earlier in the night…? Athena could damn near hear the light bulb click on in her head. “What if the victim was killed sooner than we thought?”
Prosecutor Gavin laughed. “Fascinating. I assume you have proof for this claim?”
Proof? Crap. She did need proof, didn’t she? Dammit. There had to be something there, though! Bertie had to be standing up when he was shot both times, but Alvin heard the body fall between the shots?
…Wait.
“I’ll admit that I don’t have proof for the victim dying earlier in the night.”
“As I suspected. Herr Judge, I request-”
“-Objection! I wasn’t finished, Prosecutor Gavin!” Pure surprise. Oh, that sounded good. “I may not have proof that the victim died earlier in the night, but I do have proof that the ‘body’ the witness heard fall wasn’t Bertie Hastings’s body at all!”
The look on Prosecutor Gavin’s face was a mix of surprise and curiosity; kind of like a cat not knowing whether to chase after a toy or not. Okay. Advantage, advantage, advantage, press it! Talk now, think later, Athena!
“Very well, Ms. Cykes.” His Honor looked down at her. “What’s your evidence?”
This was a crazy idea… but it’s all she had!
“Your Honor, I’d like to do a little experiment.” Athena picked up the dictionary from the Court Record, placing it on her bench. “Let’s say that you’re in another room. You’re not able to see me, but you’re able to hear me. When I fall on the ground..." Athena fell on the ground for emphasis, not realizing how much it would hurt until her back hit the ground with a thump. “...ow. Anyways, that’s a sound you can recognize. Now… when I push this dictionary on the ground…”
Athena got up, walked to her bench, and pushed the book on the ground. It hit the floor with a thump.
“...Well, they’re awfully similar sounds, aren’t they?”
“Objection! ‘Similar’ does not a fake body make, Frau Banana!”
“Why would it have to be exact?” Trucy asked, magic-making mind at work. “It just has to sound kind of like a body falling, right? I use a similar trick all the time!”
“Right!” Athena pointed at Trucy, picking up the dictionary and running back to her desk. “After all, it’s just something heavy hitting the floor. It sounds like the body, and an untrained ear wouldn’t be able to tell it was a book!”
“So you’re telling me,” His Honor said, “that the ‘body’ the witness heard was the dictionary falling on the ground?”
“Exactly. This also means, of course…” Athena pointed at Prosecutor Gavin, who was still very surprised. “...that the gunshots were also fake!”
The courtroom once again exploded into discussion. His Honor had to smack his gavel thrice to get the room to come to order. Prosecutor Gavin was… oddly calm for someone whose case just got blown wide open. Just standing there, cool as a cucumber, and snapping his fingers.
“This theory of yours is rather fascinating, Frau Banana. I’ll admit: it’s a strong one.” Here comes the ‘but’... “But… there is one loose thread I’d like to examine.”
“Eh.” Loose end…?
“If those were not the real gunshots, then what were?”
“Ah.” It clicked like a lightbulb in her head after a second. “A-Ah!”
“Exactly! Nothing was found at the crime scene that could make a sound similar to gunshots: and before you say anything, Fräulein Zauberer , no," he said with a light chuckle, "we did not find an igniter.”
“Aww! How’d he know what I was thinking?” Trucy pouted. Her face slowly changed, though, finger drifting to her chin.
“Unless… you don’t mean to say you can prove those weren’t the real gunshots, do you?”
Athena racked her brain for answers. No. No! There has to be proof! She barely recognized her knuckles growing whiter: and since when did it get so hot in here? Oh, God. Her eyes darted around the courtroom: Mr. Danziger on the witness stand, His Honor stroking his beard, Trucy very clearly putting something together in her head, the pistol on the desk—
Wait a second.
The revolver had a long, cylindrical attachment on the barrel. Athena blinked once or twice before recognizing it: that’s a suppressor! Okay. Athena racked her head for any gun tidbits she picked up while watching old true crime shows or some of the Boss’s old tapes: suppressors don’t just work, right? They need something else. Special bullets or something…?
Right. When bullets leave a normal gun, they break the sound barrier! This was part of a case that she followed back in 2025: for bullets not to break the sound barrier and for the suppressor to work well enough to actually mask the sound…
“Yes. I do.”
A bead of sweat trickled down Gavin’s temple.
“...Do you, now?” Despite his obvious surprise and discomfort he kept an awkward, nervous smile on his face. Yes! This had to be it! He waved his hand in the air, flamboyantly motioning in her direction and playing up his accent. “Tz’en, by all means, do so.”
Athena steeled her nerves, taking a deep breath and clenching one of her fists. Okay. She could do this. She walked over to the prosecution’s bench, trying to ignore her shoes clacking against the marble floor and through the tension in the air. She looked back at Trucy, gave her a thumbs up that she eagerly returned, and unclenched her fist.
“The... ahem. The revolver that Bertie was shot with was this revolver here. This long cylinder on the end of the barrel: that’s a suppressor. It makes gunshots quieter.”
“What about it, Frau Banana?”
“Simple, really. You see, that’s not the only thing a suppressor needs to… well, suppress a gun. When you shoot a gun, one of the reasons it’s so loud is because the bullet breaks the speed barrier when you shoot it." Athena started walking around in a circle, giving the entire courtroom an ample view of the baggied revolver in her hands. "The suppressor can suppress the sound of the gunpowder, but if you want it to be dead silent… you make the bullets slower. ”
“Make the bullets slower…?”
“And how would you make a bullet subsonic? It’s simple, once you think about it.” Athena power-walked back to her side of the courtroom and loosened up her shoulder. Okay. Time to send it home! Deep breath. Deep breath. Deep breath!
Slam.
“You make heavier bullets!”
“Objection! You can’t be serious!” Klavier laughed, wildly gesturing to Athena in disbelief.
“Objection! Oh, I am! Say the bullets would normally come out at 1,000 miles an hour. The sound barrier is only around 833 miles an hour! When something’s moving that fast, you only need to add more weight and it’ll move even slower! A heavier bullet could easily be going only 800 or 700 miles an hour!”
“Objection!” He was sweating now! “You said it yourself: if a suppressor doesn’t have subsonic ammunition, then it wouldn’t mask the noise at all!”
Athena crossed her arms.
“Exactly.”
“...Ah!” Was that a bit of joy she heard? Was he having fun? Athena couldn’t keep the smile off her face: oh, she didn’t blame him at all!
“It’s a zero-sum game, Prosecutor Gavin! All we need to do is find the same make and model of revolver. After that, we track what type of ammunition is used in that type of revolver and weigh the two bullets side-by-side!” Athena slammed her hand on the table again. “And then we’ll know for sure. If the bullets weigh the same, then there’s a high chance the gunshots that the witness heard were real even with the suppressor! However, if the bullets from the murder weapon weigh more than the bullets than the regular gun, then there’s no way those gunshots were real!”
His Honor smacked his gavel on his bench.
“Most intriguing, Ms. Cykes! Bailiff, take the pistol for testing immediately!” One of the bailiffs saluted His Honor and retrieved the pistol. “We shall take a brief recess for the test results to come back. Court is adjourned until then!”
Athena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She did it. She did it!
...Now to do it five more times. She followed Trucy out of the courtroom and flopped onto the sofa in the defendant's lobby.
"Want a drink?"
"Please."
Trucy walked over to a vending machine and Athena closed her eyes.