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How beneficial that the lady at the desk assumed Franz was the prosecution. Maintaining that assumption could help him gather more needed details. However, it was imperative not to explicitly state he was the prosection. Telling a blatant lie was sure to backfire and harm him in the long run.

[b][color=a2d39c]“It is an unenviable position to be sure, defending someone whom common sense would dictate is guilty. To do such a thing requires great respect for the law. Even if every piece of information is screaming at guilt, you have to stand and give them a fair shot like everyone else. Like fighting a losing battle for someone you don’t believe in. It’s not for the sake of who you defend, but for the sake of the battle itself.”[/color][/b] Realising that his eyes were trailing away in his self-aggrandising speech, Franz turned his sight back to eye contact. [b][color=a2d39c]“I find such a thing to be strangely respectable. But here I am rambling myself as well.”[/color][/b] Franz reciprocated a smile back.

[b][color=a2d39c]“Nevertheless, I appreciate all your help. I imagine I will need it if I am to oppose Robespierre in an effective manner. Evening delivery to my dorm room would be excellent, having two or three copies of the records would be ideal. Thank you for your work.”[/color][/b] Franz began leaving the desk but turned back for a final statement. [b][color=a2d39c]“Who knows, maybe after all this is done the craziness will subside for a while. I’ll be sure to send you a bottle of wine or something celebratory in thanks should I be successful at the trial.”[/color][/b]

How troublesome that people are so against the idea of defending Jeanne. It is to be expected given her reputation. But Franz will need to put in excessive work to win this trial once word got out that he was the defendant. He didn’t exactly need to win this case. But his ego would not allow him to lose either. He had his work cut out for him and it, unfortunately, would harm his time to study. 

High risk, high reward. Something deep in Franz’ psyche liked that idea.

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Once out of the building, Franz pulled out the clockwork sparrow. He spent little time admiring the intricacies of it because he wouldn’t be able to grasp the finer details without considerable time. From the looks of it though, it didn’t look as though Franz would be able to follow it effectively. So instead he settled on writing a letter to send back to Nazca and the group.

[i][color=a2d39c]Dear Nazca,

I have acquired access to a registry of students in Bermuda, and I am expecting it to be delivered this evening. This should prove valuable in the investigation but will require time to read through. Inform the group that I wish to continue my studies for the rest of the day, but will rejoin you all once the documents have come in.

Regards,
Franz[/color][/i]

With some awkward fiddling, Franz managed to get the small message onto the bird and send it into flight. Presumably, it would return to Nazca.

Franz began the walk back to the dorms. Hopefully, his pets were not too off-put by the smells of this morning, or the cleaning crew that, hopefully, came in and cleaned the place. He had a long day of study and note-taking ahead of him, a dirty room would disturb that.

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