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.
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