Themis, The Flower of Justice
Chapter 5 — Hard decision
[London City, apartment building somewhere]
In the pitch-black night as usual, with the sound of rain still pouring down heavily soaked the entire city. In a tall apartment building with many floors that look quite expensive to live in, and there are a pair of pairs of windows in each apartment unit. From outside the apartment, the windows have been closed curtains and the room is already pitch dark indicating that the residents of the apartment are asleep.
But from the windows that look dark from the outside because it has turned off the lights, there are a pair of windows covered in curtains in the apartment that from outside the room looks bright.
Inside the room was a black-haired man with glasses sitting at his desk. The man is James Nielson or commonly called Mr. Nielson.
With a lot of documents piled up on his desk, there was also a warm tea on the desk next to Nielson's desk, he meticulously checked and sorted out the documents on his desk.
Even though the clock was showing at 3am and everyone was asleep, Nielson stayed awake and seemed to be working on something with a pile of files on his desk. Although tired from being outside all day and not resting, he showed no signs of fatigue or sleepiness due to lack of sleep. Nielson's eyes still showed tremendous focus and he meticulously examined the documents that seemed to be related to his work.
When he was focusing on his work, suddenly there was a knock on the door from outside his room. Nielson wondered who was knocking on his door early in the morning. He felt that no one had contacted him lately to visit his residence. It is impossible for someone to meet at 3 am without contacting or informing the host.
Especially outside the acid rain is quite heavy, also when at night the air condition of the city is getting worse. Because it is now imposed curfew because the night air in the city is quite dangerous if inhaling it directly without wearing a gas mask with air filtration technology that is able to match the level of air pollution.
After Nielson opened the door, a teenage boy was seen wearing a hat with Nielson's height. He wears a baseball jacket on his left chest that says ‘Menma Kanazaki’, and he wears shorts on his knees.
Nielson looked at the teenager. He looked at his face intently to recognize who the boy in front of him was. His eyes continued to scan the boy and identify his identity. Despite being keenly noticed by an adult man of high stature, the boy was undaunted, and he instead looked at Nielson back and smiled.
Nielson felt something strange about the boy, the boy's gaze was not like the gaze of a child who was in his teens, but a gaze that had a lot of experience as well as a broad way of thinking was drawn in his eyes. Inside his gaze also had pride and pride over himself like a person who had overcome many problems and resolved them. But on the other hand, there is also a visible childish side, making Nielson confused about the identity of the person in front of him.
“Who ka—“
“Dad!”
“!!”
The boy suddenly hugged Nielson and called him a father. Nielson was surprised by the actions of the boy who was so sudden, after all he was not married let alone have children.
“Hey, what do you mean?”
Nielson pushed the boy's shoulders away from him, putting a sharp look at the boy.
“I've been looking for you for a long time since Dad! Why do you even ask me this thing—HIIII!!! Please, don't look at me like that dad,”
The boy became frightened with a piercing gaze from Nielson. He who had voiced with confidence now his voice became trembling and shaky.
“Hiks, have the heart of you dad. After leaving me and your mother, you will live in a new land with prosperity. Even now you no longer recognize me and mother as your family,”
The boy said it while sobbing. The boy's eyes glazed over and tears trickled down his face. Seeing the boy cry, Nielson actually looked indifferent and did not feel pity at all, even his face even tended to demean the matter and hinted that the boy would immediately stop
“Hey, stop that. What if someone hears that? My reputation here will be destroyed, my identity may be revealed, and again you are still at the door so reduce your voice so as not to wake the neighbors around. Aren't you smart ‘Zeta-003’?”
Nielson looked at the boy with a condescending look. In such a gaze by Nielson, instead of being afraid he smiled.
“Wah-wah, weren't your words to the teenage boy? Of course I expected that, I'm just kidding you know? By the way, I didn't put an identifier on my jacket, and we're outside, so call me by my pseudonym”
The boy pressed a button on his watch. The boy's existence became blurred, leaving only translucent blue shadows and looking like a hologram. Behind the blue shadow appeared a silhouette of an adult man with a tall stature but shorter than Nielson. When the hologram-like blue shadow disappears, the boy's existence is eliminated and replaced by an adult male with an Asian-like face.
“You're.... How do I know your pseudonym if you keep changing identities?! Plus you used a tool to turn your entire appearance into a boy!”
Nielson snapped at the Asian man in front of him. But the man was not angry and only responded by shaking his head at the snaps from Nielson
“Ckck, it is not the duty of someone who works in the shadow of the world to always keep his identity secret. Isn't that something that everyone knows that one must always keep his identity a secret? Aren't you smart? How can you not know with that basic thing, James Nielson, or should I call ‘Delta-001’?”
The man said it with an insulting tone and gaze. Nielson was not offended and gave no response, even his facial expression remained flat as usual. He immediately told her to enter but the man's face became lethargic and seemed uninspired because his ridicule was not effective against Nielson.
“Already, finish this conversation. Quickly go into”
“Boo, you are not exciting like people say. That's why you don't have friends in organization~ . Listen to this, even though the organization is a gloomy and colorless organization, we must still look friendly to everyone so that the atmosphere here becomes alive and looks not too ma— AGHHH!”
Nielson pulled the man's arm tightly before he could finish his sentence. He continued by kicking the man until he fell to the floor. Hearing this, Nielson's face twitched and his expression showed an impression of displeasure and offence.
“Wah-wah, apparently your mouth has no brakes huh? Doesn't our organization insist that we always keep our mouths shut? Didn't you learn that? Or do you want to learn it from me again?”
Nielson showed a smiling expression, but the look on his face still showed a cold expression and the corner of his face twitched, and showed a very concentrated killing intent to make the aura around Nielson become gripping
“HIIII!! I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!”
.....
“So, you're here because you want to give me the item I ordered?”
Nielson pulled out a chair and sat down while crossing his arms. He looked at the man kneeling on the floor at Nielson's command.
“Of course, haven't we agreed I'll ship the goods today? Or maybe you forgot?”
The man nodded and crossed his hands while kneeling. His voice sounded reassuring and he looked nothing wrong at all.
“You.... Wasn't the day of the covenant 3 days ago?! Why have you just arrived now?! And again do not talk as if you did not make a mistake!”
“Akh—“
Nielson flicked the man's forehead, his flick so strong that he was unable to hold his position and rolled back.
“Hehe, I'm sorry. The stuff turned out to be harder than I thought. After all it was very difficult to move without being caught by them, so I made a new identity and changed my appearance to be able to come here from Japan!”
“You are sure the goods are difficult to make? Isn't it because you messed up by spilling coffee onto a tablet that contains a newly created blueprint?!”
Nielson became increasingly irritated, he kept yelling at the man.
“He? Do you know where that thing came from? Did Gamma tell you? Fucking gamma, just watch out for you, I'll be happy—“
Nielson clutched his head tightly before he finished his sentence. He brought his mouth close to the man's ear and spoke in a frightening tone.
“Hey hey, don't take your mistakes out on someone else. You're the guilty one, don't try to blame it on Gamma,”
“HIIII!”
The man shuddered at Nielson's words. He felt that behind him was a murderous aura so powerful that he did not dare to turn his face back.
“Just mess with it. So, Menma? Now, quickly give me that stuff
“Ah well. Hehe, now get ready~ as this item will surprise you. Because this is an item made by Zeta-003 which is the third greatest person in the field of technology in the organization~”
The man called Menma unpacked his bag and looked for something. After a while, he took out a small pendant and also a remote that seemed to be the controller.
“Watch, my great stuff. Here comes the appearance-changing pendant!”
“A locket? Didn't you just use a clock?”
“Khu Khu, pendants are just a medium so that this tool does not look suspicious. The real tool is a microchip that is inside this pendant, and it is very small in size so no one will be able to see and think that this is a tool to change the appearance,”
“Can it really be used anywhere? What if we enter a security system that requires an iris or fingerprint?”
“Of course, this tool is very small and also flexible so it can be used anywhere. This tool not only changes its outer appearance, even if your eyes are scanned or you are told to use a fingerprint, the machine will not be able to identify your true identity! Do not be surprised, this item is very practical use, because it is in the form of a pendant, you just have to tie it in a part of his body and press the button on this remote! Know it? Making technology of this level with a small form is very difficult, I really try hard~. Blablabla—“
Nielson picked up a pendant proffered by Menma. He ignored Menma who continued to babble because he must only boast and Nielson was lazy to respond.
Although it looks ordinary, he seemed amazed by Menma's work. However, of course he does not show his admiration because if he shows it then Menma will be more boasting of himself.
‘Truly a very great item. Being able to change the appearance completely can even fool the identity scanner machine. As expected of the third greatest of the Zetas alphabet,'
‘Zeta’, is one of the group devoted in the field of technology in the project ‘The Alphabet’.
The vacancy of position in the Third World War, that was their goal of igniting the flames of war that destroyed most of the human population on earth. Then the vacant roles on a world scale are filled by specially created people according to their roles so that the world can run well and they control the world from behind the scenes.
Alphabet projects are created from people who have no identity and no place to live. They gathered them together and trained them, searched for their abilities, and refined them to become the only people with great abilities left.
They gathered together people from those who lost their identities as a result of the war. Because of the war, many children have lost their parents and their homes and become unidentifiable vagabonds. People will not notice homeless people without dead or missing identities so as to gather people for the sake of this project can run smoothly without being discovered.
The project was able to create 2400 people with 100 people in each alphabet. Each alphabet has different skills such as Delta which has the ability in the field of government and they have the task of becoming constitutional officials around the world, or Zeta who have the ability in the field of technology and they are in charge of developing technology that will only be used by organizations or who are ready to be introduced to the world.
“By the way Nielson, what is this stuff for? Do you want to change your appearance and infiltrate somewhere?”
Menma who had finished bragging suddenly asked Nielson for the purpose of creating the object.
“Ah this? This is for preparation at the time of the Delta court. I think it's time we did it blatantly,”
“Preparation for Delta court? I'm warning you not to do anything stupid or to do harm to yourself. Because I or our allies can't help you,”
Hearing Nielson's words, Menma's face became serious and looked at Nielson sharply.
“Just calm down, I will not harm myself nor our allies. It's just preparation, but I have a feeling something will happen tomorrow. So at least prepare yourself,”
Looking at Nielson who ignored his warning, Menma looked at Nielson for a bit and sighed. He found it pointless to argue with the stubborn Nielson. But because of the words of Nielson, Menma felt that tomorrow something would really happen and she had to help him.
“....Sure, I'll be ready,”
.....
.....
[London High Court, 30 October 2097]
In the cafeteria in a crowded court, Nielson is seen examining and tidying up his files. He's getting ready for a Delta court that's about to start in a minute. His expression was heavy, as he was tired of everything related to his secret organization and the court.
“Mr Nielson?”
Suddenly Nielson heard a woman calling him. Nielson looked at her and saw the woman with brown shoulder-length hair, she was Gressia Gretta or commonly called Miss Gretta by him standing behind her while carrying a tray filled with food.
“Ah Miss Gretta? What is it gonna take with me?”
“Ah, I'm looking for a seat. I saw the person I knew and the seat in front of him was empty so I approached you,”
“Ah, you want to sit here? Of course go ahead, you don't have to be too shy with me,”
Nielson smiled at Gretta. Looking at Nielson's smile he became a little nervous and his face looked slightly flushed. He felt that Nielson would think that he was strange because there were still many empty seats around and that Nielson was not his only acquaintance, so there was no reason to sit with him. He was afraid that Nielson would think that he was trying to get close to him even if it was the right thing.
‘Gretta, calm down. Quiet...’
Gretta exhaled, she pulled up the chair in front of Nielson and placed a tray filled with food. He glanced towards the pile of papers on the table by Nielson's side. He wondered if he was not tired or hungry after work, he was just accompanied by his tea as usual.
“Mr Nielson, aren't you hungry? You have worked hard all day, filling the stomach is important to restore energy. Stop working and eat for a while, drinking tea alone will not meet the nutrition of your body,”
“Ah, thanks for your attention. But soon I have a job, so I have to prepare as best I can,”
Hearing Nielson's words, Gretta became even more worried. Since he was always watching himself, he knew that Nielson rarely ate properly, he just kept working and drinking tea all the time. Gretta is very worried about Nielson's health.
‘Master Nielson is an amazing person.’.
Gretta was amazed by Nielson's dedication to her work. He also heard that the trial that will be conducted by Nielson next is one of the important trials that will be held in court. Although Nielson was young, but he was already the one to preside over the trial, it made Gretta greatly admire Nielson. He felt that Nielson was worthy of what he achieved because of his dedication and perseverance in work.
Seeing the attention from Gretta, Nielson smiled sincerely. He appreciates the attention of Gretta, as she is never given any attention by anyone other than Gretta.
Nielson actually knows if Gretta has feelings for him. But he deliberately ignores her because Gretta is a valuable person to him and he does not want Gretta to get into trouble because of her. If only Nielson was a commoner, maybe he also had the same feelings as Gretta and married her.
‘I'm sorry Miss Gretta. You really are a very good person, therefore you better not get involved with me.’
*pipe
A ringing sound rang out from Nielson's watch. The hour hand has pointed to the exact number eight. Nielson immediately tidied up the documents that were on his desk and stuffed them into a suitcase.
“Ah I'm sorry Miss Gretta, I have to leave you and go first because it seems my work has already started,”
“Ah sure. Hope your work goes well, Mr. Nielson,”
“Alright, I'll go first. See you,”
“Oh yes sir Nielson,”
Hearing Gretta's call, Nielson stopped and looked back.
“What's Miss Gretta?,”
“Because we've been close for so long, why don't you stop calling me by my last name?”
Gretta seemed shy about saying that. Nielson, who was surprised by Gretta's sudden statement, involuntarily laughed.
“Pft, okay. But shouldn't you also stop calling me by my last name? Anyway our age is not far adrift, there is no need to be too polite with me,”
Nielson smiled and placed his hand over Gretta's head.
“Stop that, don't treat me like a kid! I've touched the number 3 know!”
Gretta snorted, she brushed off Nielson's hand that was on her head. He dismissed it not because he did not like Nielson's treatment, but he was afraid that his heartbeat would get louder until it could be heard by Nielson.
“Hahahaha! All right, then see you later, Gressia,”
Nielson smiled and turned around as he waved towards Gretta.
Gretta's face became more red and hot, she felt that she would explode at any moment looking at the smiling Nielson calling her first name. Her heart was pounding, and Gretta was clenched in her feelings. But shaking his head to wake up to his feelings, he had to say good-bye to Nielson.
“See you later too, James!”
Nielson looked briefly at Gretta who mentioned her first name. Subconsciously he became smiling, his heart was pounding, and his face was slightly reddened. But he immediately turns his face away from Gretta, because if he gets caught up in his feelings then Gretta will get more involved with him. The deeper the feelings you have in your relationship, the more painful it is when you have a breakup. Nielson did not want Gretta to be sad when she left him.
Nielson left Gretta and waved his hand. Seeing Nielson move away from the view, Gretta's heart became claustrophobic. He felt something strange about his feelings, like he didn't want Nielson to leave him right now.
‘My heart is congested, somehow it sounds like Mr. Nielson won't come back to me and leave me forever. Mr. Nielson, please.... Don't leave me’
.....
A Delta Court is a court that seeks to prosecute a person deemed to be a danger to an organization. Delta Court, although the name sounds unusual, is actually a court that goes through ordinary court proceedings and in the same place, he said, what is different is only the purpose of the trial and also the people who fill it. The trial was conducted in order to maintain the confidentiality of the organization overshadowing Nielson.
Unlike the other courts, the atmosphere in this court was very calm. The only thing that was tense was Nielson himself. Although Nielson felt tense, but his expression was still the same as before. Silence enveloped the entire court, with no one even talking or looking at it in the slightest, as if they were all mere puppets made to fill the room or watch over Nielson running the court.
Nielson sat in the middle seat as the presiding judge of the trial, and there were people sitting to the left and right of Nielson. All who are in the trial are in charge of watching him if he makes a mistake or is negligent in carrying out his duties.
“Defendant, Alice Malten and Prosecutor, Richard Desmond entered the hall”
The defendant along with the prosecution entered the room, but the defendant was not accompanied by a defense attorney and only the prosecution brought a lawyer. Nielson read the file, he saw that the defendant and the prosecution were students. Nielson became tense, but he had to keep his composure, he tried to keep his tension invisible to others and not make the surrounding people suspicious.
Nielson was originally only going to follow this court calmly and convict the defendant according to the scenario created. But hearing what happened to the girl made Nielson's lost feelings about justice reappear.
Nielson must now choose whether to follow his common sense - punish him as they see fit and live quietly, or follow his conscience and idealism that goes against their will but must lose his life. It is the most important decision that determines his life and the fate of the girl.