Third Person
Paris, France: Jardin d'Eden
8:03 A.M.
At last, they are here facing each other. The blonde male put back his hood over his head and walked past her. He looked like he was waiting for someone to walk through the door. Weirded out by his behavior, Raine walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
Her eyes widened when she witnessed a black metal emerging from the front pocket of his black jacket. She started thinking about why these guys have a fetish for pulling out guns and pointing them. Having no idea how to confront him, Raine planned on grabbing his hands, but before she could execute Phoenix already got it back inside.
He turned to her and said monotonously, "You didn't bring your assistance." - then looked back at the door.
Raine instantly thought of Dione when he referred to him as assistance. The girl kept a serious face and answered with the same level of neutrality, "You said, you're going alone. I don't see the reason why I can't do the same..."
"Spending days with Dione changed you," Phoenix stated and sighed, eyeing the girl from her furrowed eyebrows, sharp eyes, flustered cheeks, then ending to her pursed lips.
Raine crossed her arms and said, "Let's stop beating around the bush, please," she strived for the tree and sat under it, giving a clue to the boy to follow her, "Why did you call me here?" she finally asked when the two of them finally settled down the shady part.
The boy tucked both his hands inside his pockets so, the girl anticipated another letter.
...
"I came to offer help," he answered.
The girl tried to rewind to see the reasons wat did she do to earn his help. Raine raised her eyebrow before asking, "Why?"
One thing that he noticed about the boy is that he wants a visual aid when making his point. If he could only have a laptop with him, he'll show her a PowerPoint. Phoenix took out his phone and showed the girl the highlight of the news, "Today is Saccharide's Arraignment Hearing," he said while the girl scanned the text with widened eyes, "It will be filmed and broadcasted around the nation later. All eyes on him..."
Raine looked dazed and confused, her hands trembling while she nibbled her lower lip. Phoenix retrieved his phone from her and explained, "In an Arraignment, they will be discussing the happenings in the crime, the history that may have caused his actions, and his answers to the queries made by his new psychiatrist," he paused and searched for Saccharide's new Psychiatrist before saving a picture inn side the file folder, "His lawyer will also be there to take notes and find dents to defend his crimes. With the papers indicating his disorders in hand, the persecution side whatever they may state can be taken just lightly by the court."
"I'm working on the suspect," Raine mumbled and fidgeted with her fingers, "I'm still not sure-"
She was cut off when the male stood up and stated, "I didn't say the problem with that yet, Aksenov..."
"What?" she asked and remained seated.
"He doesn't have a lawyer..."
...
Everything stopped and it made the girl stand up and face the boy, "How?" Raine asked.
Phoenix looked down on her and briefly reasoned, "The Government didn't give him a lawyer and no one wants to take his case."
"That's not fair! It's the government's responsibility to give him a lawyer if he can't afford one. The crowd will go crazy about this injustice," Raine frustratingly declared.
"That's another problem - The crowd thinks it's fair for a heartless serial killer like him," Phoenix said and showed the girl various comments from an article.
'How could I miss that while rampaging through the river of webs and newspaper last night with Dione?' she said to herself and stomped her way to sit under the shade again with her hands caressing her aching head. While thinking of Saccharide's state, the general's image popped inside her mind, Raine immediately called Phoenix's.
Phoenix faced her as she asked, "What about his father? His father is a public figure -"
The male sighed and "The general refused to take his son's side. He said to the media that the law is the law and he won't tolerate a person, whoever they may be, for their crimes," "He added, 'Saccharide will face the consequences without his assistance and connections to the authorities. Justice is served, even to the people associated with a god such as himself..."
"There are so many lies in that statement. I'd like to scream," Raine bit her lip, pulled her hair so hard that they can be detached from their roots.
"Because of his statement, the public loved him even more. Bunking his schemes will be useless," the male walked past her and it was his turn to sit back under the shade, "And it's impossible..."
He was right.
"At least for a mediocre girl like you," he smirked at the end.
He was right again...
The girl was determined to gather all the help she can get so, without giving it much consideration, Raine gulped before accepting, "There's no time. I'd take your offer," The feeling inside her chest was unsettling so, she took a step first and kneeled in front of the boy, "But first -"
...
"Why are you helping me? I thought you're on the general's side?" Raine asked seriously.
The boy's eyes were widened for a bit, but they got back as he adjusted his position with his feet crossed instead of the right leg up and the other one was resting straight. He prepared for this query and he proceeded to unbutton his shirt while the girl stood up abruptly and took a few steps back. Phoenix rolled his eyes before showing her his chest.
"Saccharide's still my liege," he said as the girl gasped at the sight of his scarred body. Raine reminisced the moment where she had first seen Saccharide's scars. They had the same intensity and lashes. The girl couldn't help but to put her palm over her shirt and feel the same scars on her chest.
In some way, they are connected.
These initiations meant nothing at the start, but she was starting to think there is more than the reason for hurting.
"I pledge by these scars to advantage his own goods..." Phoenix smiled and let his shirt be controlled by the wind to reveal more of his scars, "Even if it means helping you..."
Raine released a big sigh in relief, her tensed shoulder relaxed, her hands fell limply on her sides, and her smile was back on. She spoke and tapped Phoenix on the shoulder, "I'm glad..."
The male coughed to clear his throat and distanced himself from the female while grooming his shirt after buttoning it from top to bottom, "I'll give you your suspect," Phoenix said, "And your witnesses. All we need to do is gather them and-"
"Hold up!" Raine protested and looked at him with questioning eyes. The boy stopped halfway in his statement and glared at the girl.
He could tell that she was very nervous about the word, 'suspect' because she started a series of nagging like, "What suspect?" followed by, "Who?" with a marinate of, "Have you considered this suspect?" and "Are you really sure with this?"
His eye twitched as he became tired of the girl invading her personal space. Holding his palm up in front of her, she stopped and zipped her mouth close before toning down. Raine looked down and walked two feet apart from him and blushed in embarrassment. She realized her annoyance will not be helpful with his formed strategy.
"You already know the only reasonable suspect we can give," he started and stared at the girl's orbs.
She already knows the name that will be registered from his lips, but she's trying her best to find reasons to take the blame on that person.
"Edward Broshe."
"No..." she whimpered.
Seeing her eyes watery made him furious. But he had to keep calm and get her to a calm state, "I know what he did. And why you don't want him to be a part of this case even after knowing he's one of the imposters. You don't have to see him as your fatherly figure anymore," he said with ease as his voice trailed off on the last part, "It disgusts me..."
"Why don't you just say the real suspect and surrender them to the authorities?" Raine strike with another question again. Her question made him lost hope in the decision which took him an all-nighter to plan and consider. If he would describe her acts, they were irrational and rushed, she was not thinking of the consequences.
Phoenix took a big sniff of the air before saying, "It's not that easy," - then he explained, "Exposing that person will expose our gang activities for the past years. Instead of getting Saccharide out of the prison, you'll just send him companions."
"I'm so-" she stopped herself from apologizing and just took off to another sentence, "Then just tell me who they are please."
"Hey! Your task was to choose a suspect. It means the General wouldn't like you to know the real command dog. It will be meaningless if I say who they are," the boy lectured with a different tone of voice.
'We spent less than an hour inside her garden and his face was already getting restless,' Raine thought to herself when Phoenix's face became more serious.
"I suppose..." she agreed, but can't help to ask one more question, "But, why did you call me here? It seemed pretty random..."
"The staff doesn't have a duplicate key of your garden door," the blonde boy pointed to the key she hid inside her bra pocket, "This part of this place is new so, no one will bother us while I help you gather evidence to present to the court. And no one will think of this as our place to go..."
Raine blushed more and thought of hiding her things in her purse from now on. She was beginning to feel the malice whenever boys notice the bra pockets she made in all of her brassieres.
"We'll watch the broadcast here," Phoenix pointed at the small flat screen television hiding up on the tree.
Raine was amazed by how fast he explored the garden. Although she might have given him a lot of time. After all, she had to find and dig a hole at the cemetery to give Walter's head a proper burial. A normal person like her would need extra time to get it done.
"It starts in the afternoon. For now, we have to find him a lawyer," he stood up and hurled the female's up with him.
Phoenix showed him a list of names and profiles of potential criminal lawyers that can handle Saccharide's case on his phone, but the girl noticed the big red X's on the upper left of their profiles, "Here's a list of them, but I already came to all of them and they denied," said Phoenix.
With hopelessness in her voice, she whispered to him, "What do we do?"
"We're going to leave for a while," He said as he tucked his phone back, not letting the girl finish all the forms, "Come along..." He walked towards the exit and the girl followed obediently while getting the keys out of her bra. She sighed and decided to just store her things inside her bag.
After catching up to the male, she asked, "I thought they all denied?"
"That's why I asked for you - One lawyer is your friend's father," Phoenix smiled and looked at the girl as she unlocks the gate, "You could talk to him about the case if you may..."
Once the lock clicks and fell to the floor. Raine raised her eyebrow and pondered.
"Friend?"