Tears of Themis Episode 5: Sins of Cynicism (III)

Part 3 of the 3-part episode debuted on 27 Aug 2021. There are 15 scenes in Episode 5(III) made up of 8 story scenes, 6 debate battles and 1 trial (recommended power level 41172 – 50962). The story continues from where we left off with Luke investigating the Heirson Lab in Opaline Village when it suddenly broke out in fire. Spoilers ahead!

It has been 10 hours since the fire broke out at the lab. You and Luke are safely back at the police station, both physically and mentally winded. The fire had destroyed all evidence of any wrongdoings that Heirson might have been involved in, much to your disappointment. Luke did manage to catch Hans at the scene of the fire and hauled him to the police station as well under suspicion of arson.

Separately while you were frantically trying to get in contact with Luke back at Yvonne’s house, you didn’t notice that an assailant had crept up behind you. When Irvin called out to stop him, you turned around swiftly using the lipstick stun gun to knock him out instead. Your would-be assailant turned out to be Han’s son who had returned from the city. Irvin volunteered to follow you to the police station to give his eye witness account as well.

After recounting this to Luke, he looked surprisingly calm but his voice did not veil his anger. You advised him not to do anything to Han’s son that would constitute as breaking the law. Luke assured you that he wouldn’t but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t give him a little payback. As you prepare to leave, Irvin appears and fussed over why you hadn’t interrogated him about what he knew about Jasmine. Since he’s finally willing to speak, you got down to asking him the questions about his whereabouts on the day of the accident and what he had seen.

After Irvin left, Luke shared his conjecture that Jasmine had probably rescued Hugh from Heirson Lab as he was likely one of their test subjects (I knew it!). Based on the observation that Hugh was smaller than other boys his age, it is possible that Heirson had tested NXX on him as well. Since there was no evidence left behind due to the fire, Luke surmised that the cryptex might be your only next clue. To unlock it, Hugh said that he wanted you to avenge his mum, which meant finding out the truth behind her death as well as clearing her name.

Meanwhile at the research institute, Vyn had been forced to wake up early to watch over Hugh, something he is not accustomed to. In exchange for making him wake up early, Vyn asked Hugh to chat with him. He added that based on his analysis over these few days, he is certain that Hugh does not have autism but is using it as a cover to avoid people and things he does not wish to interact with. Vyn then produces a letter from Jasmine addressed to you, entrusting you to take care of Hugh should something happen to her. Vyn told Hugh that this proved that Jasmine trusted you, hence Hugh should also trust you to do what’s best for him.

Hugh finally opens up and gives Vyn clues on how to open the cryptex which can be found in the Norse myth of Odin. Vyn reads the story to Hugh which recounts how Odin obtained infinite wisdom from the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, in exchange for his eye. However he never found the happiness because his wisdom revealed the impending end of the world known as Ragnorak.

Vyn contacts Luke to tell him the clues to unlock the cryptex and shares his opinion that it is unlikely to contain the key information to clear Jasmine’s name. Vyn tells Luke to break the news gently to you so as not to disappoint you but the latter found out that Vyn had already sent a separate text to you informing of the same. Luke grimaced at Vyn’s actions especially after you gushed over how Vyn manages to accomplish so much despite waking up later than others. Luke tells you to handle the interrogation of Ian and Hans by yourself as he needed to go pick up the cryptex and see if there were any leads from there.

You had your suspicion that both Hans and Ian were in cahoots to murder Jasmine since there was obvious motive for wanting to get rid of her. Hence you decided to employ the prison dilemma to get both of them to rat on each other. The tactic worked wonderfully but the truth you heard from both of them surpassed your original hypothesis. After handing them both to Captain Darius to prosecute them, you turned to leave with a heavy heart, exhausted from pulling an all-nighter. The world around you spun and you found yourself falling into the arms of Artem who had arrived at the station to submit your appointment as Jasmine’s attorney.

Meanwhile at Pax Group Head Office, Marius meets with Stellis News editor-in-chief, Herman Lang to suss out his possible involvement with Jasmine’s death. By feigning ignorance over the entire case, he led Herman into revealing information about his undertable dealings with Heirson’s CEO Tyson and the real reason Jasmine had been fired from the company. Marius was disgusted with Herman’s lack of morality when he chose to just stand by and let it happen so that he could reap the benefits from her death. With the evidence that Marius had gathered including Herman’s spending at Pax stores that far exceeded his salary, Marius was certain that Herman would be permanently put out of job.

Luke solves the cryptex puzzle under the watchful gaze of Vyn. The paper in the cryptex shows the address of a pet shop near Jasmine’s loft, thus confirming Vyn’s suspicion that the cryptex was not left behind by Hugh but rather a present that Jasmine had left for Hugh. Vyn shared that based on his observation and also testing Hugh with a ‘fake letter’ from Jasmine proved that Hugh couldn’t have been the one who hacked into the data lab and left the physical clues in the loft. This points to the existence of a mysterious friend or foe. After that Luke accompanies Hugh to the pet shop to pick up two kittens that Jasmine had imported for him. Hugh’s face finally broke into a smile.

When you gained consciousness, you were lying on your bed in your room. You guessed that Artem must have brought you home and could smell his cooking coming from your kitchen. You checked your phone and saw many missed calls from Luke so you quickly called him back so he wouldn’t be too worried. Luke told you he was aware that Artem is in your care. He also updated that he’s heading back to Opaline Village to get some documents from Irvin which Jasmine had left with him about Heirson Lab.

It seemed that you had won Irvin’s trust after he saw that the police had sealed off Han’s property. Luke also shared that Irvin’s son was also a journalist and had been killed when he tried to bust a human trafficking ring. He probably saw his son in Jasmine so had offered to help her. The documents showed detailed records of lab experiments on Hugh. However it seemed that the substance used on Hugh were different from the ones in Gordon Grant’s case as it did not adversely affect Hugh’s cognitive ability.

Two weeks before the defamation case by Heirson against Jasmine goes to trial, there is much tension at Baldr Legal Office. William Lewis serves as the legal representative for Tyson on a retainer had originally refused to pick up the case knowing that it was a lost cause. He was promptly put in place by Ingrid who hints at the dubious manner in which he had obtained his senior attorney badge. Lewis reluctantly agrees to sacrifice his reputation for the company.

After successfully winning the trial, Heirson issued a formal apology to Jasmine, clearing her name. Though Luke submitted the documents regarding experiments on Hugh to the authorities for further investigation, it didn’t last long as they didn’t find any illegal drugs.

On the day that Hugh left Stellis City for the capital, to be adopted by one of Luke’s friend in the IT field, the NXX team gathered to send him off. Though you were still feeling aggrieved that not all those who were involved in Jasmine’s death had been duly punished, Hugh brandished you a childlike smile and told you he was happy with the outcome and gave you a hug.

===================================================

You: Oh, you got heavier! Seems like you’ve been eating well with Dr. Richter.

Vyn: He is a well-mannered and compliant with therapy. His health will quickly recover.

Marius: That’s him, a child genius. No other kid could sit there and listen to more than a minute of your rambling every day.

Vyn: Marius, forget not that you are my student. By praising Hugh, are you commenting on your own intelligence?

Luke: I heard that Hugh went through your entire research center’s database. You need me to upgrade your facility’s security system? I assure that you’ll find my fees more favourable than Pax Tech’s.

Artem: Enough chatter, Hugh’s new parents are still wait… !!!

Hugh closes in on you and plants a sweet kiss on your cheek.

Artem: …

Vyn: …

Luke: …

Marius: My god, the kid’s a natural.

========================================================

With that, Hugh carries his backpack and takes up a cat carrier in each hand as he looks forward to his new life ahead. With this behind the team, Artem changes gear and proposes that the team meets back at the HQ to go through the unanswered questions. You took the opportunity to ask Vyn about the fake letter he had used and what would have happened if Hugh had found out about it. Vyn explained that it was part of his strategy to unveil the truth, besides the important thing wasn’t about whether the letter is fake but whether you could be trusted, which you have proven to be so.

Meanwhile Jerome updated his mentor about the investigation into Heirson. The latter commented that it was right for them to cast aside Tyson for not listening to their command. He however advised Jerome to pay Tyson a visit since he doesn’t have long to live, citing that opposition exists for a purpose, and that there was no need to remove them entirely, but they just needed to be more dominant. Jerome suggests leaking information about that person.

=========================================================

Though Jasmine’s death had been avenged and Hugh managed to find a new life, there wasn’t much of a closure to the case since there are still many unanswered questions.

Who is Jerome and his relationship with Heirson?

What is the nature of the drugs experimented on Hugh if it was not NXX?

Who is the mysterious person who left the clues at Jasmine’s loft?

The key issue highlighted in this case would be the sin of self-interest. Though none of the parties involved in the case had actually committed the act of murder, their collective self-interest, be it for power, money, jealousy or vengeance, had resulted in the death of Jasmine. Ironically, she was the one person who had fought for each of their well-being at the expense of her own life – the integrity of Herman’s news desk, the continued prosperity of Han’s Opaline Village, the safety of Yvonne’s daughter and the health of Ian’s mother. In our blindness, we don’t realise that the bitter pill is actually the penicillin for our problems instead of the sweet temptation of poisoned delicacies. It is also a reminder that turning a blind eye to crime is as good as committing the crime itself; as a bystander, we have the power to make things right when we see a wrong being done.

Once again, we see Marius being bullied by his seniors and I really feel for him. Though he is intelligent and quick with his words, he obviously lacks the sophistication of Vyn when it comes to verbal arguments. I also sense Vyn and Luke competing to be the alpha male as they pit their intelligence against each other and it is a bit unnerving to see Vyn being all passive-aggressive towards Luke. Thankfully, Artem is still able to keep a level head around you but perhaps it’s only because he hasn’t learnt how to be more expressive. Looking forward to see more interactions between these boys.