At one o'clock in the afternoon, in the underground cell of Ava's house, Hestad met for the first time the lawyer appointed for her by the AHgAs internal court--Campbell.
Like every Third District attorney, Campbell always wears a suit. He was wearing a felt hat, and when he took it off, he could see his sparse silver hair. Although he was over seventy years old, he was still in good spirits.
Before others arrived, Hestad had already heard Aya talk about his life: This old gentleman enjoyed a high reputation among the abolitionists in the Third District. He was a "gentleman who had been upright and brave throughout his life." ", so even at this age, he will still come forward to provide free defense for civilians from time to time.
Hesta was quite impressed by this name.
Starting last year, Campbell was invited to join the permanent legal team of the AHgAs internal court, which means that he will have a chip implanted in his body like all mercury needles, and will not be able to leave the habitable place for life. Not only that, he will be in the habitable place thereafter. Every time you travel to a different place, you must report to AHgAs, and you can only set off after approval.
The reason for all this is not difficult to understand - participating in the internal affairs of AHgAs means learning more about the mercury needles' combat mechanism. Once such a person is accidentally infected and becomes a chelate, the risk and difficulty of annihilation will be greatly increased, and AHgAs must strictly ensure their personal safety.
After signing countless confidentiality regulations, Campbell became one of the few ordinary people in the habitable place who understood the working mechanism of the mercury needle. However, a series of "truths" that followed made Campbell restless:
Bullet time, control time, Acharon time, signal tower, coordinate monitoring, internal torture... He never knew that the mercury needle would have such a distinct weakness, nor could he imagine that in today's highly developed civilization, AHgAs still has internal Enforcing such an inhumane iron law.
After participating in the AHgAs internal court last year, Campbell used his profound legal theory and eloquent eloquence to fight for the acquittal or reduced sentence of every mercury needle who stepped into the dock. After learning that the "Fernand case" was likely to appear " After the death sentence, he canceled all his vacation plans for the winter and asked to come to Hesta's defense.
However, what puzzled Campbell was that the child named Hesta in front of him never raised his eyes to look at him.
Perhaps the long days of imprisonment made the girl lose her trust in the outside world. He thought that he needed to build this trust first.
Because of the glass wall, Campbell couldn't step forward to pat Hestad on the shoulder - usually this comfort method is useful, but this time he could only watch from a distance and kept trying to initiate a conversation with Hestad. dialogue.
But all Campbell's efforts failed, and the meeting was almost over. He could only try his best to introduce the court process to Hestad in concise language, put the relevant documents into a drawer aside, and handed them to Hestad for signature.
Alja walked into the basement at this moment. She knocked on the wall, "Mr. Campbell, the time is almost up."
Campbell looked back at Alja and said he understood.
Alja nodded and left, and the basement returned to silence.
"Miss Hesta, maybe my self-introduction before was not sufficient. What I want to tell you is that I -"
"I know you." Hesta interrupted him suddenly.
The girl in front of him suddenly raised her head. Campbell couldn't tell the emotion contained in this gaze, but he was sure that there was no fear in it, and there was something more determined in it.
"You know me?"
"The Roger case," Hestad whispered, "lawyer Campbell, you are indispensable for arousing public sympathy for Roger himself."
Campbell breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, Roger..."
"Although you are not Roger's defense lawyer, you have watched the entire case hearing. During every adjournment, you will publish a commentary. The famous sentence, 'We should work together to eliminate this tragic fate, rather than obsessing to eliminate this person. 'It's your handwriting." Hesta said as if talking to himself, "I know, I remember, I will never forget."
"It's the same this time." Campbell looked at Hestad calmly, "I will do my best to get justice for you——"
"But you are not sure at all whether the murderer of Fernan is me," Hesta said coldly, "Even so, can you still seek justice for me?"
"So, is it you?"
Hesta fell into silence again, her eyes returned to their previous indifference, and she turned a deaf ear to all words.
"I have read your resume, Miss Hesta." Campbell whispered, "I am in awe of your efforts for the safety of the livable land, and I am honored to be able to play a role in your case. And feel honored.
“I have no intention of commenting on the legislative level within the Mercury Needle, but your laws and regulations often confuse me. Every time I read them, I feel as if I am not living in the present, but living in an era similar to or even worse than the Silver Age. A more barbaric era. No matter what, I will do my best to fight for you to get a not guilty verdict. At present, it seems that the hope is very high——"
Before he finished speaking, the basement door was pushed open again. This time Alja didn't urge her. She just stood at the door and stared at Campbell's face without saying a word.
Campbell had to stand up.
He put his business card in a drawer beside him, "I heard that you will soon be transferred to the independent prison in Niah Province. It is much more spacious than here. I believe you will live more comfortably... …This is my business card. If you have anything to say later or need any help, you can contact me.”
Seeing that Hesta was still silent, Campbell sighed softly, "I hope you won't hide anything from me, because the more things you tell me, the more room I can have for you to mediate. In the next two months, , we should be friends fighting side by side."
Campbell's footsteps gradually moved away, and Hesta was still sitting where she was. She stared at the empty space in front of her feet without glancing at Campbell's business card.
This night, when the night fell, Hesta heard the crying from the ground, and she knew that it was Ava saying goodbye to the girls here. During this period, Ava devoted almost all her energy to work and rarely talked about her illness with others, let alone set aside special "farewell time" for those around her.
However, for Alja and the others, this news was no less than a bolt from the blue. Although everyone had known for a long time that Ava had some health problems recently, no one could see that the old man's illness was serious enough to take a transfer to the core city for treatment. degree.
In the darkness, Hesta sat alone on the single bed in the cell. She listened to the hazy sounds on the ground and held her hands tightly together.
"Parting is...inevitable."
