Schmoozing the nation's elite

[samuraiprosecutor]

Follow up to this thread.


Edgeworth longed for the day when his superiors would see that mandatory attendance at these charity events was entirely unnecessary. It wasn't as if the Prosecutors Office would not put up a showing without being forced to: many of his colleagues reveled in the chance to hobknob with politicians and local celebrities or pick up other people's vapid trophy wives. Edgeworth, on the other hand, would rather be working. In fact, he'd rather be anywhere but here, and he refused to pretend otherwise, regardless of who he spoke to that evening. It would be in the best interests of all concerned for him to be allowed to skip out on these things.

Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed that liberty. So for now he was stuck in a kind of limbo, watching the glitterati from his post on the sidelines and running over details of the work waiting for him at home to keep his mind from stagnating. He was the picture of boredom until a familiar suit suddenly appeared amidst the crowd. His eyes widened with interest, and he discreetly wended his way through the crowd to approach the man from behind.

"Captain Rogers?"

Comments

[samuraiprosecutor]

As if a switch was flicked, Edgeworth's entire demeanor changed. His grin fell and his shoulders tensed again. The hand which held his wine glass he drew back and held close against his side. A note of warning entered his shrewd gaze.

"You have found yourself on the wrong side of the law before?"

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve arched an eyebrow. "Seemed like a lot of people in Congress wanted to arrest me after I took down SHIELD. I guess that means I broke a law, somewhere. I don't think there's really a way that a single group of vigilantes can dismantle an entire arm of government and destroy government-owned property without running afoul of a law or two. But in the end, I suppose they decided that I did more good than harm."

[samuraiprosecutor]

Of course. Edgeworth remembered hearing about that incident--who hadn't?--but at the time it all went down he had been buried deep in a case. Details such as the possibility of charges being brought had managed to escape him.

Hearing about it now, the incident only highlighted the reasons for his unrest surrounding the so-called superheroes that seemed to be cropping up in ever greater numbers. At the core of the phenomenon, the heroes were vigilantes, considered by themselves, the public, or both to be above the law. They got the job done and the world loved them for it, but Edgeworth learned long ago that the ends can never be held as justification for the means. Those who advocated turning a blind eye to the lawless nature of the vigilante movement because they approved of the results may feel very differently about a group whose actions were equally destructive but whose cause wasn't so lauded. It was a dangerous double standard, and true justice left no room for double standards.

"And if they hadn't? What would you have done if charges were brought?" There was a trap in the question, as glaring as a glint of metal in forest brush. As far as Edgeworth was concerned there was only one right answer--the one he had been too afraid to choose for himself once he had reasons to keep on living his life.

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve spread his hands helplessly. Is this a test? "If my government feels that they need to put me in jail for what I did, then I'd serve my time."

[samuraiprosecutor]

It was indeed a test. Edgeworth couldn't be quite sure whether he was relieved or disappointed that Rogers had passed, but some of the wariness left his gaze and he relaxed his posture, just a bit.

"Hmph. As you should. Illegal activities are illegal for a reason."

[captain_asthmatic]

"I know," Steve said, offering Edgeworth a sheepish smile. "Though I don't think the law is infallible. Sometimes it doesn't cover every situation, and the right thing to do doesn't involve slavishly adhering to the law. But when it comes down to it, I serve at the pleasure of the President. And the President makes the law."