"Hey Nova," Anri spoke into his communicator.
Nova's voice answered and she sounded a little raspy. "Anri? Sorry I was asleep. Give me a second."
Anri could hear her moving around and pouring herself a glass of water.
"Hey, I'm back. How did the er- interview go?"
"It ended early," Anri replied. "I told them I'm willing to do a lie detection test. That's why I called."
The line was quiet for a few seconds. "Are you sure?" She asked him.
"Yeah. I'll need a lawyer. Can you help me look for one?" He was aware Nova already had a lawyer ready for them but Anri had to pretend for the sake of the listening devices that he suspected were in the vehicle.
"Alright. Can I give him your comm ID?"
"Please do, and thank you, Nova. I owe you one."
"Thank me after proving your innocence. And keep me updated, Anri."
Anri cut the call and looked out the window of his vehicle. There was a long jet vapour trail that cut across the sky. The sorcerer hadn't kept count of the days since his arrival to this dimension. He'd familiarised himself with the technology and way of life here, but sometimes, he still caught himself sighing in awe at what humanity had achieved without access to magic. Anri had a lot of respect for the pioneers of science who had dedicated their lifetimes to discovering the laws of physics and science in general.
He still hadn't quite found a dream or an idea he wanted to pursue but Anri was getting there. Space was endless and so was his hunger for discovery. He was stuck in the solar system for now but the teenager wanted to get to the edge of the discovered and known universe. Maybe even further.
"Passenger Anri, we've arrived." The vehicle's AI interrupted his thoughts.
____
"Good evening, Anri. I'm Cole Hartman," the lawyer who had given him a call had finally arrived. He was a sharply dressed and smart-looking fellow in his thirties.
"Mister Hartman," Anri shook his hand.
"Just Cole will do. Hartman makes me feel old."
Anri smiled at the lawyer. He was getting more natural at communicating and being pleasant towards people.
"Alright, just Cole," as lame as it was, the sorcerer wasn't able to resist it.
"I guessed I set myself up for that one," Cole said with a bark of laughter. "Now let's get started, Anri. We don't have a lot of time. They're demanding we send in the contract before eight-thirty on the pm. It's a dirty tactic but I'd do the same."
Anri sat down with the lawyer. He already had an idea of what the contract should stipulate. Since they wanted the truth, they'd get it.
_____
"Are you nervous?" Cole asked him the next day as they were heading off together.
"Not since you're with me," Anri truthfully replied. Cole had gone above and beyond his expectations. The man was friendly and down to earth but his lawyer persona had sharp teeth, nay, fangs that revealed themselves when Cole went into law mode.
"Well then, let's get them, Anri."
When the duo arrived, they were ushered to a room where a female specialist was seated and waiting. Anri and Cole were made to wait for nearly an hour before the five men arrived. It was an obvious power play to undermine Anri's control of the situation.
"It's a good day to catch a liar, isn't it?" Fosen loudly announced the moment they arrived.
"A good day to prove a man innocent," Cole shot back naturally. "Gentlemen, you're late. it's quite the unexpected and unprofessional conduct. I'll be sending a bill to the director for the time you've wasted keeping me here."
Fosen's arrogant smile froze on his face. Money wasn't an issue but the tone of the bill would be causing them problems since it was coming from the most successful mega-firm on the planet. How Anri had managed to acquire a lawyer of that calibre so quickly was startling to them; a major thorn in their plans.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused," another man spoke. "We'll reimburse you for your wasted time, Mister Hartman. I'm Toya Laffarn, head of the SIT cell that was created to investigate the allegations of cheating and rampart corruption in Starfield's annual admission exams. I hope we can work together and co-operate to ensure that the truth is uncovered."
The real leader of the group had come out. It was the oldest one amongst the five.
"Uncovering the truth is exactly what my client and I desire," Cole answered. "Mister Laffarn, shall we begin?"
_____
The contract had been long and precise about what they were allowed to ask from Anri. There were rules for the conduct of a lie detection test but they didn't protect him the way the rules of court would do so. Knowing this, the sorcerer had insisted on a contract and a lawyer.
He was now connected to a computer that monitored his every biological response to the environment. Metal electrodes attached to his scalp would scan his brain activity and feed it to a neural convolution network. The test was guaranteed to give a 95 percentage accurate truth or lie result, but for ethical reasons, it wasn't employed in court proceedings unless asked for by a suspect.
Cole knew the details of this situation like the back of his hand. He wasn't here to judge Anri but even the lawyer had his doubts about the veracity of the teenager's testimony of not cheating. The lawyer had reached out to the firm's expert on the matters of engineering and had been told that there was no way Anri had managed to randomly stumble upon a fusion reactor that was conveniently lying around the boneyard. Those things are expensive and well monitored - he had been told. Regardless of the facts, it was his job to protect the interests of his client even if he was defending the devil himself. Cole straightened his necktie and looked at the screen that showed Anri's steady heart rhythm. It was a good start to what he knew was going to be a short but stressful time with Toya and his men.