From the News desk of Kyle Pietrowski, reporter at The Dakota Star

Nemo Is Back At It Again!

It was only yesterday that he was seen in Miami, and today he was seen in San Francisco! We have reports from a witness that was down at the scene, let’s read her gripping account. “We we’re having a relaxing family day at the beach, when suddenly, out of nowhere, The Garbage Man arrived and started polluting the water! We thought the day, as well as the future of the beach, was lost. But just as we were giving up hope, Nemo came up out of the ocean! He landed on the beach and started sucking up all the polluted garbage and water. We thought the day was saved, but The Garbage Man was being suspiciously calm. All of a sudden, The Garbage Man laughed and shouted, “I have got you! I have poisoned the water so that it will take away your power instead of strengthening it! It locks you into using your power, so you cannot escape! Within minutes you will be dead!” Nemo’s face began to whiten. He seemed to age in front of my very eyes!” Just when everyone thought he was gone, he suddenly straightened up again! He started to glow with the power he was absorbing from the trash. He turned to The Garbage Man, and shot him with a giant beam of water! The Garbage Man Flew back into his truck, and took off into the night. Nemo stood by the water, sagging with exhaustion. The crowd rushed to them. There were many voices, but the one thing said by all was “How did he survive the poison?” Nemo smiled weakly, and said, “There was an invasive species of mollusks that was introduced here recently that The Garbage Man hadn’t accounted for. They fed on the poison, which was actually a form of algae, and sucked up all the particles. After they had finished, I treated them like the garbage they were. I fed off of them, and together, we were able to stop The Garbage Man from ruining the day for everyone. He then turned to the crowd and said. “Remember, folks. Invasive species may have saved the day here, but most of them kill off the ecosystem they are introduced to very quickly. So remember, Always check your boat after, and before, you put it in the water for a good day of lake fun!”

Oil Leak Threatens the Water Life

Nemo was relaxing on the couch one day after a long day at work, he turned the television onto the news channel and noticed that the topic for the day was the river nearby. There was a big oil leak from one of the main energy supply centers downtown, which spewed all of the oil into the river.  he oil was sitting on top of the water which brought a lot of garbage from the floor of the river up to the top. Many birds and fish were struggling to survive after the event occurred. Nemo jumped up and threw on his superhero outfit and ran out the door, he rushed to the river  as fast as he could so he could. He decided that first he would try his best to remove all the garbage. Nemo  knew that  if he started by removing the oil, the garbage would just float back down to the bottom. He took care of the garbage, making sure nothing was left of it in the river. Next, he filtered out the oil from the water and sent the now clean water back into the main body of water which was now safe for the inhabitants that live in it. After he had done this he jumped into the water and tried to bring the fish back to life by filtering out the oil from their gills so they could take in water again like they should be able to do. He spoke to the fish and asked them to move further down the river so he could proceed to make sure that all of the pollution was out of the water. He made his way up the stream and found more garbage that he properly disposed of, all the fish started to come back up the river and thanked him for cleaning their environment. Nemo assured them that he will keep their home clean, Nemo made sure to check the river routinely whenever he had the day off. After the news caught on that the river was clean again, many people respected the river and realized that they needed it to survive too, so the pollution level decreased drastically compared to what it used to be.  Nemo went home and fell asleep on the couch after a long day of saving the fish and the river.

Trail Part 2: Becoming Nemo

In the months following his first trial, Nemo stayed working tirelessly at the firm trying to fight pollution, but in spite of that, he kept what had happened in the back of his mind. Whenever he would finish another trial, he would go looking for more information on the person truly behind it all, Robert Nelson. He had found little information on him so far, as he seemed to have vanished into thin air after the plant pollution happened. Nemo had gone to public libraries, different police stations, even hospitals trying to find out more information about him. He had even paid one of his hacker friends to try to find an IP address for him, but to no luck.

Nemo had just finished a case about proving the innocence of a farmer who mistakenly leaked the plant runoff into a neighbor’s yard, as well as causing soil erosion to his field. He went back to his apartment, and checked his email and found an email from his hacker friend. He had found an online user that used the name Robert Nelson, who frequented the sites he previously had, as well as logging in on his known email address. Nemo looked up the address, and immediately booked a plane ticket to the location. He was heading to Montana in pursuit of Robert Nelson. When he got to Ronald Reagan National Airport, he nervously waited in the terminal for the plane, as he realized he had no concrete evidence that the man he was going after was even the same person. He quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he boarded the plane.

A few hours later, he arrived in Bozeman, Montana with one problem. He needed to be in Billings. He quickly ran to get a rental car, only to find out that he would need to take another plane if he wished to get to Bozeman. Frustrated, he turned back around and got another plane ticket, and sat down in the terminal to once again wait for a plane.

While he was waiting in the nearly empty terminal, he saw a man who was on his previous flight from D.C., was also on his way to Billings. He thought that it was strange, what are the chances of another person not knowing how to get where they need to go? He let the thought go as he started working on some new cases from the firm on his laptop.

There was still a  couple hours until his plane left, so he began wandering around the airport to stretch his legs. While walking through the newsstand, he noticed the same man hovering some odd feet behind him. He was now becoming worried, and as he walked back to the terminal, realized where he had seen the man before. He was the man who had been in the file vault at the police station.

He was being followed.

Instead of going back to the terminal, he hung a quick right into a crowded restaurant, choosing a place at the bar facing the only door. He pulled out a ball cap from his bag, as well as some sunglasses he had purchased when he landed in Bozeman to try to disguise himself. He ordered a drink, and then waited for his follower to enter. Sure enough, after a few minutes he noticed the man lurking outside the restaurant, unsure if he was going to go in. He must have been worried that he would lose Nemo, because within 5 minutes he was inside and wandering around.

While this was going on, Nemo heard the final boarding call for his plane. He had less than 5 minutes to get halfway across the airport and onto his plane, all while trying to ditch his follower. The man sat down at the bar across from him, clearly scanning the room for Nemo. He also ordered a drink, and then began to make small talk with the people around him. Nemo knew he couldn’t wait any longer to leave for his plane, so he did the logical thing to delay his follower. When walking out, Nemo knocked a waitress and her tray of food and drinks over, resulting in spilling all of the items on the tray all over his follower. He darted out of the restaurant, as the waitress and manager were copiously apologizing and trying to keep the follower from leaving. He ran onto his plane at the last possible second, settling into his seat with the peace of knowing he was alone.

His plane finally touched down in Billings, and he left the airport, set on finding the address that would reveal Robert Nelson. His taxi pulled up to an old, dilapidated house on the outskirts of town. He tipped the driver enough to stay while he went in, and grabbed his briefcase and headed up the crumbling concrete stairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, his heart beat quickened upon realizing that the door was cracked open, and the deadbolt was smashed in. He cautiously pushed open the door with a slight creak, and looked into the entryway. The inside of this house looked exactly like his apartment looked after being ransacked. Furniture was flipped over, drawers and cabinets emptied, even pictures flung off the wall. Continuing into the house, he came across what used to be an office and was astonished at the damage. The computer and laptop were both smashed, routers were ripped out of the wall, cords and glass scattered everywhere. Apparently someone else was also after Robert Nelson. He heard a commotion outside and sprinted out of the house just in time to see his cab driver being shoved into the passenger seat, and a man getting in and driving away. He had either missed the man who was searching for him, or he had just missed the man he was looking for.

Now stranded without transportation, or any of his luggage, on the outskirts of an unfamiliar town as the sun was starting to go down, worry began to set in. He started walking the direction the cab went, and hoped to be able to hitch a ride to town. He ended up walking the 15 miles back to his hotel in the dark. Stumbling into his hotel room, he was shocked to find his luggage from the stolen taxi set neatly on the floor. Nervously he searched the room for any signs of the cab thief. The only trace he found was a note, scrawled messily on the back of a receipt. “You’re not alone”. He flipped the receipt over to see that it was from a local internet cafe and coffee shop, only a few blocks away. Nemo decided that he would check in out first thing in the morning, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Nemo was off to investigate the coffee shop. Walking in, purchasing a latte, and taking a seat at a corner table to start his stakeout. He flipped through several case files over the time of the 8 hours he stayed there that day. Going up to the counter for refills of coffee and snacks various times throughout the day. Turning up empty handed, he headed back to his room to rest up for the next day’s stakeout. This continued for the rest of the week, to the point that he had racked up around 300 dollars worth of lattes at this tiny coffee shop. The last day he was there, all of the hours spent waiting and watching paid off. Robert Nelson himself had just walked into the shop, and logged onto a computer. Nemo pulled up the mugshot he had saved, did a quick comparison, and packed up his things to make sure he could follow easily. Robert spent 10 minutes on the computer, then bolted out the door onto the street. Nemo sprung into action, and sprinted after him outside. He followed him down the street, and into a storage warehouse building. Nemo slowed his pace, cautious of his surroundings. He say a light and a flurry of activity farther into the warehouse, and assumed this was where Robert Nelson had gone. Stepping lightly and quickly, he advanced on the light and what he now noticed as a group of people bustling around tables and test tubes and lab equipment. He suddenly was grabbed from behind, and a bag yanked over his head.

Nemo came to his senses in a plush office, one that looked very much like his law office at home. Sitting across a massive oak desk, was Robert Nelson himself. Instead of looking like the scruffy man he ran into at the office, Robert was now wearing a white button up and khaki pants, he had lost his ragged beard, and had neatly combed hair. Robert got out of his chair and walked over and untied Nemo. He assured Nemo that he was in no harm, and that the group he worked for greatly needed his help. As Nemo sat and listened, he found out more. The water sources were all being destroyed, polluted, or covered by buildings. This lab had figured out a way to turn a human being into a living water purifier, and they wanted him to do it. Since Nemo had gotten involved in environmental law, they had been watching him, planning on what they wanted him to do and finalizing the formula. Nemo listened silently, part excited part scared out of his mind. He had so many questions, and not enough answers. After Robert had explained the rest of the procedures and the risks. Nemo’s mind was set. He was in. He would become their science project to try to insure the survival of the planet’s water supply.

The Trail

Nemo, aka Adam Anderson,  had just graduated from law school, and had been hired at his first real job as a lawyer. As the new guy at the firm, he mostly shadowed the partners and filed papers. It was coming up to the end of his first month, when the head partner approached him about a case. “Adam, I have this case, and I think it would be perfect for your first court case.” The partner handed Nemo the thick manila file that had a small white label on the front right corner. “POTATO PLANT POLLUTION”. The case was about the local towns potato plant, which had had a pipe oil spill into the nearby river. The oil pipes, which went from the potato plant to a waste dumpage tank, laid underneath the river’s surface. There had been an illegal boater on the river, which had caused the original damage to the pipes. His boat’s rudder had struck the top of the old pipes, cracking one, and tearing several open. In the police’s hurry to apprehend the man’s illegal activities, they had forgotten to have the pipes inspected. The oil had slowly been leaking into the river over the course of a week, and by the time the leak was discovered, the pipes were wide open and emptying directly into the river, which was also the town’s water supply. The town and several surrounding areas were cut off from their tap water, creating  an outrage toward the potato plant. This had been a very highly publicised issue so far, and had been so controversial that the previous lawyer had quit his job as a result. Not only was this Nemo’s chance to prove himself to the firm, he also had to try to catch up on a case that had already gone to trial. He spent the next 3 days and nights holed up in his tiny office, fueled by energy drinks and coffee, and eating random bits of takeout whenever he got the chance. The more he read up on the file, the more that he realized that the town’s people were suing the wrong person. The illegal boater was responsible for the oil spill, not the potato plant. He looked further into the boaters history, and saw that he had a past criminal record. He went to his online resource to find the arrest records, but the files had been sealed.  Neo was unable to find out anything more than the man’s name and the case number. He scribbled down the name on scrap paper, then went to the police station to hunt down the original file. He walked down a deserted, dimly lit hallway toward the file room. Upon entering the room, he felt uneasy about the people in the room. He had been here many times before in errands from the law firm, and the middle aged woman who managed the file room had been replaced with a troublesome looking young man, who had several gang related tattoos peeking out of his shirt collar. Putting his concern aside, he walked up to the desk and handed the young man the scrap of paper with the offender's name written on it. “Robert Nelson” was hurriedly scribbled on the now crumpled paper. The clerk looked up from the paper slowly and pointed behind him and gruffly mumbled about where the ladder was located. Nemo took his paper back, and went looking for the case box. He reached the far back corner of the warehouse, and quickly realized why he had been told the location of the ladder. The box, dusty and decrepit, was on the very top shelf. He retrieved the ladder and was on his way up to get it, when he heard quickly moving footsteps coming closer. Before he could head down the ladder with the box, someone or something shoved the ladder forcefully, causing it, and Nemo to fall with it. He landed on his feet with only a stumble to regain his balance, but the box had fallen to the ground and scattered papers all over the aisle. He heard the footsteps again, in time to catch a glimpse of a tall, lanky man duck around the corner in a red windbreaker. He bolted after him, but when he came around the corner, all he could see was an empty, dank, row of boxes. He gathered his composure again, and went to retrieve the box and papers. When he came up to the box, he quickly became extremely concerned, because all of the papers were gone, and the box was left open and empty. He did a fast scan of the floor, and noticed a paper’s corner sticking out from under the shelves. Neo pulled it out, and looked at the paper. It was an arrest record from 1995, complete with a mug shot. After a quick scan of the document, he realized that this was no boating accident. Robert Nelson had been arrested for trespassing and defacing the property of a recycling plant in  the next state over. He shoved the paper in his pocket, and hurried out of the file warehouse, noticing that the desk clerk was now gone. Back in the familiarity of his office at the firm, he sent several emails to the partners and one to the police chief, explaining his theories. The next day, he finally left his office to go home and prepare for the trial the next day. Upon getting home, he realized something was wrong when there were police cars outside of his apartment building. He walked past them and towards his apartment, and realized that the police were there in his apartment. He rushed in, and saw his apartment had been tossed, and everything was in disarray. Tables turned upside down, drawers and cabinets all open, broken items littered everywhere. After a conversation with the lead detective, he found out that one of his neighbors had spotted a couple of people picking the lock on the door, and called the police. The police responded quickly but not quick enough. they had missed the perpetrators. Shaken, Nemo grabbed the things he needed, and left to go back to the firm to get ready.

The day of the trial had arrived, and Nemo was ready to prove his case. He walked into the courtroom past photographers and news stations, who were all clamoring for bits of information. He placed his briefcase on the oak desk, and adjusted his tie. The seats were already filling with people ranging from protesters of the plant, to several plant employees. The judge entered and the trial began. Nemo waited for his turn to prove his case, eager for the chance to ease the blame of the potato plant. This proved to be impossible, as the potato plant pleaded guilty to the charge of public endangerment and natural resource pollution. He tried to plead the case to blame Robert Nelson, but to no avail, since he was representing the people who were suing the potato plant. The trial ended, and without solid proof about Robert Nelson, he had no choice but to agree to the court settlement and fines the previous lawyer had decided on.

He left the courtroom feeling defeated and unsuccessful, in spite of the fact that he won the case for his firm. He knew the truth, and he felt so guilty for not fighting for what he knew was right harder. He went back to his firm to go to bed, and after 4 days with almost no sleep, finally was able to pass out on the couch in his office, dreaming of finally revealing the truth.