December 25, 10:15 am
“No can do, friend,” Kelso glanced towards Halblicht. “He knows that’s not an option.”
They stood only feet from her. Robert had been suspecting this. Had been suspecting her since they’d driven out here.
Had known for certain, since he’d seen the smooth, almost perfect ridge of the prosthetic along her jawline.
Robert, is she going to do what I–
Kelso raised her gun in a smooth motion to press it to her own temple.
We’re not going to let her.
Two sets of trained reflexes sprung into action at once– those of a detective, and those of a lifelong espionage asset. Their body was moving before the thought had finished flashing through their mind.
Halblicht’s thick body collided with the other asset’s from the side, and just behind– his arms slipped through hers, knocking her elbow and forearm where she held the gun, and throwing her down to the pavement with his weight.
The gun went off.
Three noises split the air at almost the same time. The cry of a man. The rapport of a gun. And the scream of a hawk.
They were on the wrong side of the shot.
It split their eardrums and sent their hearing ringing like the peel of a high pitched bell, cutting off the only other thing they heard.
Simon Blackquill, screaming out– “Bobby!!”
December 25, 10:15 am
Simon watched in slow motion horror as the woman– whoever she was– lifted the gun to her temple, and he felt his blood grow cold.
He should have expected this. There went their lead. He was about to say something– anything– to stop the woman.
But Halblicht acted first.
Halblicht, the idiot– who was standing on the side in the path of a potential shot– lunged forward to grab her.
Taka screamed at the same time Simon screamed, involuntary. Frightened.
“Bobby!!” His body was moving forward without any say from his mind. The scene was moving incredibly slow.
All he knew was there was a shot, and two bodies were falling to the pavement. And Taka had screamed and taken flight from his shoulder.
Athena had frozen, her hands over her ears and Widget gone dark, for only a second after the gunshot, before she rushed forward with an exclamation of worry…but she was a step behind.
The woman they’d been calling Agent Kelso hit the ground with the clatter of the spare bullets in her pocket.
Bobby was still moving– thank lady Justice, Bobby was still moving. The relief hit Simon like a punch to the chest and he stopped cold, feeling Athena collide suddenly with the back of him as he took a breath.
Bobby had grabbed the woman’s arms, and was pinning them back behind her as he lay bodily on top of her frame. Simon searched the ground for the gun.
The clack of Agent Ash’s footfalls against pavement rang closer as she pushed past Simon and Athena with handcuffs dangling from her hand and a snarl on her face. “You absolute fool, turning a gun on oneself! Detective! Hold her down for me.”
Athena leaned against Simon for a moment, her breath shuddering as she caught her breath.
“Is she alive?” she asked quietly as his eyes fell on the gun fallen a few inches from ‘Agent Kelso’s’ twitching hand.
“Understood!” Halblicht’s usually smooth voice was rough with exertion, and something else. “She’s alive.”
Simon breathed another sigh of relief as he spotted the gun on the ground, several feet away. He grabbed Athena’s hand and squeezed it for a moment, and then on shaking legs he went and scooped up the fallen weapon.
Agent Ash bent down by Halblicht, and first put her hand on his shoulder with a low hiss. “…thank you. I’d like to speak with you in private after.”
She then looked down at ‘Agent Kelso’ with a frown.
The girl’s breath was shaking, and even from a distance Simon could see part of some facial prosthetic mask had peeled up at the corner of her jaw…but she had an utterly placid expression on her face…
Even as she twisted against Halblicht and asked him something in a voice that sounded both more youthful and less alive than ‘Agent Kelso’s’ had in the time they’d known her.
“Why?” her fingers curled into her palm as she saw the gun was taken, “why did you stop me?”
“Tit for tat. You missed when you shot me, and I’m still here. So you have to be too.” Robert moved aside enough for Ash to cuff the woman. “I’ll happily have a chat with you, Agent Ash. I’d like to have a chat with her too if that’s alright.”
Simon looked on, his jaw clenched, the weapon in his hands. He looked from the scene on the pavement, over to Athena, and back again. HIs heart was still hammering in his chest, and Taka was circling overhead.
“Taka doesn’t like gunfire,” he said quietly.
Athena stammered “That…that makes sense, Simon. I…I’m not much a fan of it either.” She smiled weakly at him, before turning back to the scene with a shake of her shoulders “Justitia…”
Agent Ash straddled the woman as Robert moved, enough for her to snap the handcuffs on her wrists with a nod of her head.
“….I’ll allow it. After you talk to me, I’ll allow it.” She looked down at the young woman with her hand on the back of ‘Kelso’s’ head. “….I knew something was wrong with Agent Kelso from the moment she checked in. I just needed the proof enough to close the trap. Thank you all for your service.”
With a sharp laugh, she started hoisting the other woman to her feet “..be glad, young lady. It’s not every day a spy gets to survive being caught.”
“Just every few days, lately,” Simon murmured, barely loud enough to be heard. He walked over to where Bobby– Halblicht– was finally standing up. “Are you hurt, Half bright?”
Halblicht’s dark expression flickered for a moment, before he gave him what seemed to be an apologetic smile. “I don’t seem to be, sir. Would you mind checking me over?”
Simon found himself flustered. He had no idea what had been going through the man’s head when he tackled the agent, but in the moment it had seemed… heroic. Like the big, stupid detective he’d known for a year.
And he couldn’t deny there had been a sweet thrill working with him to corner the woman– Halblicht’s faux idiocy had masked a few interesting insights as they went along.
He grabbed the man’s chin, and glowered at him, turning his face this way and that.
“Well, while I’m sure you could operate without your brain, it doesn’t seem to be necessary,” he said with a smirk. I don’t see any injuries– unless you skinned your knee.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Maybe, sir. I might need a band-aid. And I definitely will need to check over my suit.”
“You big baby.” Simon’s fingers lingered on Bobby’s face. He couldn’t kiss him. He told himself that he didn’t want to. He certainly couldn’t kiss him with everyone looking.
But he did want to.
As he felt Athena’s gaze on them, he pulled his hand away. “Well. If you need bandaging up we’ll take care of it back at the hotel. Your injury isn’t affected?”
Halblicht touched his chest, over his heart. “It’s barely anything. Though it did hurt when Mr. Justice got me this morning.”
“Big baby,” Simon repeated.
Sheila led the handcuffed woman towards the SUV with a hum, already on the phone with one hand to report in to Lang– the asset had gone utterly silent and unresisting as she walked.
Though she was quiet through their conversation, Athena stood near Simon and Halblicht rubbing her arm.
“You did amazing , Mr. Halblicht…not only did we figure this out together, but you saved her life. W-Which means we can get the intel we need on that ‘Specs’ guy. “ She smiled brightly. “You were a real hero of Justice today. I’m genuinely impressed…and I’m sure your suit is fine.”
Halblicht smiled and snapped to a salute. “I’m happy to see justice done once more, Ms. Athena. And it was a real pleasure to work with you and Prosecutor Blackquill.”
“I have to agree,” Simon drawled. “We solved this little mystery together. Before Mr. Justice could even show up.”
“He missed out on one heck of a mystery, that’s for sure.” Athena rubbed her chin. “…I’d started noticing something was odd when we were talking in the car. Even if she kept acting all casual and playful , I couldn’t…hear…anything from her. It got worse when she was acting like she was upset…”
Halblicht nodded. “I imagined that you’d pick up on it, Ms. Athena. I tried to bait her out a bit for you, and it seems like it paid off.”
“That and the call from Edgeworth-dono cinched it,” Simon agreed. “Skye-dono told me about the blood in the car when I spoke to her. She overheard the conversation Agent Ash was having on the phone.”
“And then it all came together…” Athena looked at the car with a furrow of her brow. “…hey, Halblicht? Did you recognize her?”
“Eventually. Number 24,” he said, nodding and rubbing his chest again. “I was surprised to see it was her. I don’t know why she wouldn’t have gone for my head. Maybe it’s just because she’s young.”
“How young,” Simon asked darkly. Did he even want to know?
Halblicht shrugged. “Younger than me by a while.”
The look on Athena’s face was clear and easy to read as her expression fell. She looked downright sick.
“Oh I see….” her voice wavered. “m-maybe she didn’t really want to kill you?”
“It’s a nice thought,” Halblicht shrugged. “I hope Agent Ash will keep her safe. That probably won’t be the only attempt she makes.”
Simon felt the sickness in the pit of his belly. “We’re going to put a stop to this,” he said. “We’re going to climb up this chain and end it once and for all.”
Athena nodded, and reached her shaking hands out to touch each of them on the arm.
“We just need to convince her to speak to us…” her smile was unsure, but her voice was determined. “We will end it. All of us, no matter what.”
Halblicht nodded. “For the first time, I’m starting to believe that we might.”
December 25, 10:25 am
Gumshoe and Phoenix were still standing in the parking lot as the agents continued to go through Agent Kelso’s car. Miles came back smiling with relief, from his conversation with Lang.
“They secured the target,” Miles said. “It was Kelso, as we suspected. Lang’s sending backup now.”
“…A damn shame.” Gumshoe shook his head. “She’d been hidin’ in plain sight the whole time. Wonder when she got replaced.”
“Well, there’s only really one time she could have been, right?” Phoenix offered. “After she followed the other agents. We’ll never know why she didn’t report in, but she must have followed along, and been caught up in the situation out there.”
Miles nodded. “Perceptive, Wright. Unusual for you on the first try. Yes, if she’d been replaced on the plane, then there would not have been the photo of the target and the handler, Mr. Lovelace.”
Gumshoe laughed.
“….Good point, sirs!” …damn, guess I shoulda been able to figure that one out myself!” He tilted his head with a low ‘hmm’. “…ya think we’ll be able to get to Mr. Lovelace now that we got the target in custody?”
“I think there’s a much better chance than without her, Detective,” Miles said. “She’ll know at least something about where he disappeared to after the wreck.”
“I guess the question is if she’ll talk,” Phoenix considered.
“True…” Gumshoe crossed his arms “I mean…we got Halblicht to cooperate, right? Maybe she’ll come around too.”
“Hopefully,” Miles nodded, “if not, we’ll do what we can to pick up the trail. Interpol is combing Kelso’s car and hotel room right now for clues. The detective work isn’t done yet, my friends.”
Gumshoe snapped a cheerful salute.
“You got it sir. Just point me in the right direction and I’ll get this solved in a jiffy!”
Phoenix chuckled– but he was polite enough not to make a remark out loud.
December 25, 10:45 am
Backup had arrived in the form of Agent Badd and about 20 more interpol agents and they fully secured the suspect. Only then had Agent Sheila Ash driven them back to the hotel, where she’d promptly pulled Halblicht off into another room with Simon’s seemingly begrudging permission.
“I suppose it gives you and I a chance to talk,” Simon said as they slumped their way through the quiet lobby.
“I’d say it does.” Athena glanced over her shoulder with one last look at the door behind her before she hurried to fall into step with the taller Simon.
Her head was spinning, and it was only with distance from the scene that her emotions began to feel normal again. At least…as normal as they ever felt.
“I was hoping we’d get a chance.”
He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled tiredly at her, his emotions an almost unreadable mixture of happiness, anger, and worry. “Indeed. But before I forget– you did alright out there, Cykes-dono. Considering.”
He smiled teasingly at her despite his obvious exhaustion and distraction.
“Considering what? My ‘inexperience?’ Thanks Simon. That’s the closest thing to a compliment you’ve ever given me.” She stuck her tongue out before smiling with a quiet laugh. She knew the exhaustion, frustration, hurt, anger.. Was all clear on her own face…but she didn’t want to leave him the only one smiling in the face of it all. “We both did alright.”
“We did,” he said with a deep breath. “Given the circumstances. Alright– come up to my room with me, then?”
The teasing smile faded almost entirely, and she felt his nerves ratchet upward.
Athena put her hand against his arm, before she nodded. “Lead the way, Simon. Please.”
He was quiet as they made their way up to the room, though he glanced at her a few times and gave her a smile he probably hoped was reassuring. But he couldn’t hide the way he felt, not from her. Simon was a man who could choose how he showed and expressed his emotions, but he could never hide them.
He unlocked the room, and bowed before her, gesturing for her to enter. Polite and melodramatic as always.
Athena curtsied, polite and melodramatic in answer, as she knew he’d prefer. With a reassuring smile of her own, she slipped inside.
He closed the door behind them, and switched the message to ‘do not disturb’. He sagged, setting Taka in his cage, and shrugging off his jinbaori, before falling gracelessly into the chair by the desk.
“What a couple of days it has been, hasn’t it, Athena?”
“I think it’s officially become the craziest few days of my life, Simon. I never thought it’d happen but it…it eclipsed basically everything that came before.”
She stood for an awkward moment, before she plopped herself on the bed, letting herself fall onto her side facing him.
“It really has,” he said, sagging further in the chair. “And I’m about to burden you further. I wouldn’t do such a thing, but given your abilities, it will come out. Better that you hear it from my mouth.”
Athena bit her lip. She already had a pretty solid idea of exactly what Simon was about to say. It was exactly as he said…her abilities made secrets difficult to keep from her. Especially when it came to emotions.
“I’m ready.”
He steadied his breathing, and braced his hands on his knees. “While I was in jail, I had an- a-an intimate personal relationship with the man I knew as Bobby Fulbright, Athena.”
The anxiety came off of him in waves, eclipsing the sadness and pain that lingered there also.
Athena felt her face lightly heat as she sat up. She’d seen the signs…it was, as she suspected, exactly what she was sure this was about. But she still felt a little flustered to hear it…and not only that, but his anxiety relayed through her, pinging her own nerves in sympathetic reaction.
“An intimate personal relationship…” She ducked her head in a nod. “I admit, Simon…it does explain a few things. L-like the emotions I’ve been picking up between you for days now.”
“Yes, I thought you might have,” he said thickly. He stared stubbornly at the floor. “It was bad enough when I thought that it was all just a lie. Just a joke and a manipulation. Then I could just be angry about the whole thing. Furious.”
The anger was still there, in Simon’s roiling mixture of emotions, but it was hardly what was taking the forefront. She didn’t think that was all he’d felt at the time, either. By her best guess, he’d been sad. Devastated even.
Athena nodded. “…I understand that. It hurts when you think someone you love didn’t love you back. When you feel betrayed, it takes on a lot of shapes…anger, devastation, despair…” she bit her lip and leaned forward on the bed.
“But it wasn’t all a joke, was it? It’s obvious to me, Simon…and I think it’s obvious to you too. With everything going on in that man’s head, there was always something genuine.” She looked down at her knees, her hands shaking against the fabric. “So that makes it complicated. R-right?”
She watched the blood rushing to his cheeks as he nodded rather miserably. “Excessively complicated. Damnedably, wretchedly complicated. What an unnecessary feeling– what an unsavory feeling– to be beholden to the idea of affection from…”
He trailed off, unable to say it out loud.
Athena reached out to him with a shaky smile. “from the man who..who…killed my mother?”
Simon swallowed thickly again, and took her hand. His fingers were cold, and they were shaking.
“I didn’t know,” he croaked out. “If I had had any hint, any inkling– Athena I can hardly stomach the thought, but the fact is that what I did, I did, and what I felt, I felt. I don’t know how I feel now. It’s possible you know better than I.”
Athena squeezed his hand.
“What you did, you did…how you felt, you felt.” she agreed with a nod. “And I may…I’ve felt the sympathy you’ve felt , and the worry…and the strange, mixed up emotions too…I’d been expecting to hear this for …for hours now, more than hours. Emotions are complicated, you know I– I’ve struggled with them. But complicated as they are, you can’t help the way you feel and have felt.”
He squeezed her hand tightly, his voice low and thick with misery and shame. “You’re always so understanding, Athena. I don’t deserve that from you. I didn’t want to burden you with this. I would have borne it myself. But I knew that you would know. I’m sorry.”
“You do deserve it, Simon.” Athena said firmly as she met his eyes. “I didn’t study law, and push myself to stand in the courtroom that I hated to save you so I could judge you for things I can’t even blame you for.”
She shook her head. “…it’s not something I want you to bear yourself. You can talk to me, Simon. I want to be there for you. I’m sorry too. It’s not as if I’m not sympathizing with Halblicht. I don’t… know if you know how similar he and I actually are in s-some ways.”
She smiled tiredly and squeezed his hand again. “So if you find you still love him, you’ll still have my understanding. Even if things are complicated, and the past still hurts. Okay? I.– I like to think my mother would understand too.”
Simon made a choked noise and squeezed her hand all the tighter. He grabbed it again with his other hand, and the wave of emotion from him was almost paralyzing. Guilt, relief, anguish, affection, terror… It was staggering.
Tears like stars rolled down his cheeks, his eyes hidden by his hair.
“Athena,” he gasped out roughly.
Athena felt the hot sting of tears in her own eyes– she wasn’t sure if they were her own or his relayed through her– and they trailed down her face as her fingers clenched tight between his.
“Simon…”
He stood up suddenly and staggered over toward her, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I really don’t deserve your understanding, Athena, much less your forgiveness. But I’m relieved to have it. I’m relieved– not to be alone.”
Athena squeezed him tightly, sniffling softly against his shoulder “You’ll always have it, Simon.” she murmured. “You won’t be…none of us are going to have to be alone. I promise.”
He squeezed her back, and nodded with his chin on top of her head. “Thank you, Athena. I need… I need to sort out my feelings. I genuinely don’t know what I’ll do. How to proceed, or how to… disentangle. But knowing that I have your support, and forgiveness– it means everything to me.”
Athena rubbed his back as she closed her teary eyes.
“Being there for you means everything to me… I’ve been trying for over 7 years to be there for you, like you…you’d always been there for me. I dunno how you’ll sort it out, but if you need to talk it out, I’ll listen. I’ll do whatever it takes.”