The Devil's Turnabout

Chapter 5

big thank you to stalemate from the death note musical, couldn't have finished this without ya

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January 23rd, 2027

"Polly! Why didn't you tell us Prosecutor Gavin was in jail?!"

It was the first time Apollo had been to the Wright Anything Agency since that fateful call from Klavier, and it was already just as chaotic as he could have expected. Trucy vaulted over the couch towards Apollo as she shouted, and he stepped back in alarm.

"You break it you buy it, Truce," Mr. Wright recited dully, though presumably in defense of the poor sofa and not Apollo. Apollo wondered if one day he would get used to the chaos like that too. He hoped it wouldn't make him as weird as Mr. Wright.

Looking down into Trucy's wide, unblinking eyes, Apollo realized he still hadn't answered her question. Right.

"It wasn't my first priority," he choked out. "Sorry, Truce."

Her hands balled into fists, held in front of her. "Daddy and I had to learn about it from the news!"

Apollo sighed. So... like everyone else?

Still, Apollo figured he might as well explain. "He called me late at night... I barely had enough time to investigate before the trial started."

"Wow!" Trucy bounced up and down, enthralled. "It's like a TV drama!"

For once, Apollo agreed with her. He just wished it wasn't that melodramatic.

"I'll make it up to you now." He negotiated. "If you come with me, you'll get to see Prosecutor Gavin's house."

"The dream of any Gavinners fan!" Trucy said in wonder. She made for the door immediately, leaving Apollo firmly in her dust.

"Wh- hey!" Apollo yelped. He was suddenly struck with the possibility that Trucy might treat Klavier's house like an amusement park. "We can't touch anything!"

He was going to go ahead and guess that Klavier didn't own anything that wasn't worth several years of his paychecks. He was not about to risk breaking any of it, even if he didn't just respect the man's much-needed privacy.

Mr. Wright chuckled. "A little birdie told me Franziska von Karma is prosecuting."

"Was that birdie your TV?"

"Yes." Mr. Wright leveled a triumphant look at Apollo, as though being weird was some kind of competition. He was certainly winning, if it was. "I hope she isn't giving you too much trouble."

Concern? From Mr. Wright? Maybe these past few days were a dream after all.

"She's not like the stories. She hasn't whipped me or falsified evidence or... any of it." Apollo said. Mr. Wright leveled his smile downwards. It looked almost sincere.

"That's good." He said. "I'm glad to hear it."

Apollo went ahead and assumed that was what Mr. Wright wanted to talk about. He turned for the door, hoping he could catch up with a racing Trucy.

"Oh, and Apollo?"

He turned around.

"She'll be very upset when you beat her." Mr. Wright said with a wry smile. Apollo felt something cold creep down his back. If he could beat her.

He shook his head. He had to believe in himself, in his own skill, and in his client. Klavier was innocent, Apollo was certain of that. It was just a matter of proving it.