The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 24: The Hearing of Lock

Paul could almost feel the wind itself pushing Paul along with each step he took as he woke up in the morning. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so confident in a case. He was genuinely thrilled to go into the court room for the trial. He loved his job, but it had been a while since he was itching to step into the ring. He felt as if no power in the known world could cast him down.

Paul spent the morning conducting a few of his now popular legal consultations, whilst using the downtime in between clients to get more of the looming pile of paperwork done and dusted. No matter how hard he worked, it seemed the pile never grew any shorter. However, as the day passed by, Paul realised that he had far fewer customers coming to see him compared to the days and weeks prior. As Paul finished one of his consultations and was confronted by a quiet waiting room, he picked up on the signs of a commotion occurring further down the road. Paul was quite surprised by the sight he saw. Just down the path on the bridge, he could see an unruly rabble fighting and clawing against the rows of armed enforcers, who sat behind a recently erected blockade. It wasn't a small-time operation, as it seemed like the entire department was out in full force, with Paul swearing he could make out the shape of Sheriff Marcus overlooking the affair.

The lawyers mind went to Caitlyn at the chaotic sight on the bridge. Despite his best efforts, it seemed she was hell bent on pursuing her leads. Paul wondered if she was in the midst of the undercity, living through a similar level of pain and suffering that Paul endured. The lawyer pushed those thoughts out of his mind, as he knew they would serve him no good for what was to come. He had a trial to focus on; a trial he knew he could win with flying colours.

As he approached the city centre, Paul noticed a much smaller commotion, as a small gathering of enforcers marched through the streets. It was when Paul looked closer was when he noticed who they were escorting.

Councillor Jayce Tallis.

Seeing the man in his regal and refined clothing, shining brighter than the moon itself, knowing that he had risen up to the top of Piltovian government did niggle away at Paul. As he had acknowledged before, it made sense why he had been given a prominent role in the Piltovian government. However, seeing with his own eyes and inexperienced wealthy Piltovian figure marching down to the scenes of a crimson shrouded bridge forced Paul's mind to flash back to his parents. With the stern look on his face, Paul wouldn't be surprised if he found out that Jayce made the call to erect the blockade. He wouldn't put it past the others on the council, Hoskel included due to his recent comments to Paul, but none of them made any drastic moves such as blockading the undercity. The blockade in question occurred within days of Jayce's appointment, which was a coincidence that could not be ignored. The lawyer couldn't help but wonder what Mallister would think of the situation, that is if the situation would have escalated to such a degree if Raymond Mallister still wore the badge.

Upon his arrival at the courthouse, the pre-hearing briefing was called. At the briefing, Paul did his best to dismiss the testimony of the dock worker. He cited various reasons why it should not be included, with the main reason being that the stress and trauma of the situation would have influenced the ability of the witness to recollect information correctly. As much as he tried, the judge would not recede from the stance that his testimony was needed, mainly due to the fact that it was the only witness testimony they had on hand, so his words were needed. However, fortunately for Paul, it was already quite vague, with the dock worker not even entirely sure how many people were present at the scene. At the very least, it seemed that he did not forget his duty as a 'Friend of Zaun'. Paul was also able to have several psychological studies submitted into evidence that Paul knew he could rely on later.

The audience in attendance slowly filtered in after Paul moved to his defendant's desk and begun preparing his things. The rows of seats behind Paul had the occasional splattering of attendees, with the trial regarding someone who was supposedly present as a fight at the docks on Progress Day, which did draw some interest from the citizens of Piltover. It was by no means the biggest crowd Paul had worked in front of, but it was far from the smallest, though it may have felt smaller due to the trial taking place in one of the larger court rooms. As he scanned around the room, he spotted a red haired woman with short cropped hair and a small toddler in her arms, who also shared her mother's fiery head.