Chapter 4: An Innocent Man and a Sarcastic Lawyer
Adam Stiels was starting to feel like a parody of a private investigator. He was good at it, surprisingly so, but he wasn't doing it for the money or the thrill of the chase. He was doing it because it gave him a plausible excuse to be in the right place at the right time. He was a freelance journalist with a PI license. It was the perfect cover for a meta-knowledge-fueled chaos agent.
"I'm like the human version of a plot device. I just show up, say something a little too on-the-nose, and then the plot moves forward. It's a pretty sweet gig, actually. No risk, all the reward. I'm basically the guy who yells 'It's behind you!' in a horror movie, but I do it with a hint of dramatic flair and a witty quip."
[Mission: Assist Laurel Lance in her case.]
Adam smiled. This was his chance to get to know Laurel. She was a complicated character, but he respected her fierce sense of justice and her unwavering commitment to doing the right thing. He decided to approach her at her office. He would use his cover as a freelance journalist, a persona he was getting surprisingly good at.
He walked into her office, a small, unassuming space filled with towering stacks of legal documents. Laurel was at her desk, looking exhausted but determined. She looked up as he entered, her expression a mix of suspicion and annoyance.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice clipped.
"Hey, Laurel Lance, right? I'm Adam Stiels. Freelance journalist. Well, freelancer, really. I do a bit of everything. I heard you're taking on the case of the dude who got framed by a corrupt judge? Because I have a few notes from my 'Future Events' playbook, and let me tell you, that ending is a real tearjerker."
Laurel blinked, her brow furrowing. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Okay, so not the best opener. My bad," Adam said, holding up his hands. "Let's try again. I've been doing some digging, and I think I might have found something that could help your case. A little bird told me that the real killer isn't the guy you're defending. It's actually a guy named Victor Nocenti. He's been hiding in plain sight, you know? It's like one of those movies where the least likely person is the bad guy. Classic twist. He's a real estate developer who got in over his head, and the judge was in on it."
Laurel stared at him, her expression a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "How… how do you know this?"
"Let's just say I have a very reliable source. A little birdie, you know? A very, very well-informed little birdie. Anyway, I just thought you should know. It's not every day you get a chance to save a guy from a frame job. It's a good look for your career. And for justice, I guess. That too."
He handed her a business card with a fake name and a throwaway email address. He didn't wait for her to respond. He just turned and walked out, leaving her standing there, a bewildered look on her face.
A few days later, he saw on the news that Laurel had won the case. His information, as ridiculous as his delivery was, had been solid. She had found Victor Nocenti, and the judge had been exposed. Adam felt a small, satisfied smirk spread across his face.
[Mission Complete. Laurel Aided.]
[Reward: D-Rank Logic Gu and 100 Coins.]
[Gu Acquired: D-Rank Logic Gu.]
[Coins Acquired: 100.]
He felt a new, almost a tingly, sensation in his brain. The Logic Gu. It wasn't a sudden influx of genius, but a feeling of clarity, as if his thoughts were more organized, his reasoning more precise. He felt like he could process information faster, and connect the dots in a way he hadn't been able to before.
"A Logic Gu. I can think things better now. That's… really useful. Now I can not only make sarcastic comments, but I can make them logically sound. This is a game-changer. I'm basically the sarcastic, pop-culture-obsessed version of Spock now. Fascinating."
He checked his mental screen. Four Gu. A total of 1210 coins. He was growing in power, in influence, in his ability to cause a little chaos and a lot of good. And he was doing it all with a sarcastic quip and a a lot of meta-knowledge.