Chapter 9. Absurd

Lyle woke up and immediately found something off about his body. His neck was aching and his head throbbed. The bed was too soft; the pillow was uncomfortable and heck, the room was different from the one he remembered sleeping in.

This room had a golden hue. It was bigger, cozy and had many items. Like the flower vase beside his bed, a painting on the wall, a carpet on the floor. But Lyle's point of interest was a note beside the porcelain vase.

Lyle let out a long sigh when he remembered why this room felt a little familiar. He had been in this exact same place almost 7 years ago. But why am I here again, he pondered.

The note on the table only said to drink the medicinal water. He lifted the wooden lid covering the glass and chugged down the medicine. The next thing that interested him was the window. He closed in and drew the curtains.

The view bended the city which stretched into the distance. The small buildings seemed to portray themselves like worshipers. A few tall skyscrapers stood boldly in the distance, but none could put the height of this view to shame.

Lyle smiled as what he felt was exactly like the past. All those years ago, he wanted to escape from this window. The only difference was that he knew what would happen now. An old butler greeted him just as he opened the door. There was no surprise on Lyle's face as he returned the greetings.

"Sir, the bath is ready, along with a change of clothes." The butler showed the way back into the room. "Young master is expecting you."

Lyle sighed and walked back into the room. This was new, and he didn't mind it at all. The butler closed the door behind him.

***

Comet Vega was busy with a book when the door was knocked. He didn't notice at all until the old butler, Elliot, entered the room. This room had bookshelves for walls and a huge brown table in the middle.

"He is here," Elliot said, and stepped aside for Lyle to enter.

"Lyle!" Comet stood up from his seat. "I see you have been doing fine, except the police mistook you for the dead." He smiled and closed in for a handshake.

Lyle was wearing a black suit with no vest. The white shirt enhanced the continental cross tie on his neck. But the long hair that fell randomly with no style felt off in the look.

"Let's sue them. I warmed them and yet this is how they act. How dare they visit you in the daytime despite my warning!" Comet nagged.

"I am a little busy, an appointment with a person from Wayward & Archer Group. They want me to accompany someone to Nestkept, today."

"And you are going?" Comet frowned. "Nestkept is awful, just reject their offer."

"Well, they threatened to kill me if I don't"

"Why?" The frown on Comet's face only increased.

"It is complicated," Lyle sighed. "Someone named Blaine Wayward got in an incident with one of the thieves from the bank and a guy I know is involved in the heist."

"What is it about?" Comet immediately turned to his butler.

Elliot looked at Lyle before moving by Comet's side. He whispered something into his master's ears and stepped away respectfully. Comet's expression turned from that of confusion to calmness, and ultimately he couldn't help but laugh.

"Lyle, you don't have to accompany anyone from the Wayward." Comet said. "I will see to that," he signaled Elliot, but the butler closed in to whisper something again.

"What they expect from my friend Lyle is absurd. I will talk to father. What does Lyle know?" Comet said to Elliot, then turned towards Lyle. "Have you ever been to Nestkept?" he waited for Lyle to shake his head. "See, he hasn't. This is madness, threatening Lyle is threatening the Vegas. I will inform father about it."

The mood slowed down soon. Elliot left the room and brought tea and cookies. Lyle and Comet questioned each other about everyday life. But as soon as Lyle emptied his cup, Comet stood up and said.

"Shall we go?"

"Where?" Lyle looked at Comet in confusion.

"To the court, we already have a jury." He looked at his wristwatch and smiled. "But before that, we have to get you ready. This will be spectacular."

***

Charm and Cherish were sitting side by side in the courtroom. This place was small and only had the capacity of 40 people or so. Inspector Flake was sitting in front of them, alongside a female attorney.

Four chandeliers hung on the high painted ceiling. Below them were leather seats separated into two sections. The police officials were on the right side, whereas only one person was sitting on the left side. By his seat you could determine that he was the attorney of the suing party.

Christopher Morgan was sitting with his eyes closed. He was 42 years old and colored his hair before every case. The color of the tie he wore depended on what he believed was the possibility of winning a case. Today, he was wearing a line tie with white stripes.

There weren't many police officials present on the other side. Most of them looked at the attorney with disdain. They heard this attorney specialized in wacky cases and was a tremendous headache to innocent defendant parties.

Charm looked at their attorney. It was only three hours ago when she met this lady for the first time, but it already left an impression on her. She was thankful that such a capable and independent woman was helping them.

But everything had happened so suddenly. They found Lyle dead and inspected the room. What they found was the broken glass table and the presence of two men.

After taking Lyle to the hospital, they sent him for an autopsy and were waiting for results. But then suddenly Inspector Flake reported that the Police Department was being sued for a billion dollars. And here they were, waiting for the person who sued them.

Inspector Flake was very annoyed because of the situation. He wanted to avoid court cases at all costs. But today he was leading the defence for the police alongside attorney Lyra Lou Clark. She was a very promising choice, as the Chief put it.

There was no police official ranked higher than Flake in the courtroom. This made him very nervous. The Chief made a plan and assured him that losing was impossible. Despite that, a billion dollars was too absurd of an amount.