October 14, 09:00 AM

Wright Anything Agency

"Nick, come on, you deserve a break. Let's go somewhere nice. I'm sure taking a day off won't hurt you." A woman dressed in purple robes was standing with her cheeks puffed out, looking angrily at a tall man dressed in a dark blue suit, who was engrossed in the paperwork that lay on his desk.

"Look, I'm sorry Maya, but you know we're both older now, and I have more responsibilities. Beside, now I've got a kid and an employee to pay, so I can't exactly shirk this off anymore. I shouldn't need more than a week to finish this up." He said as he patted the large pile of papers beside him. "We'll go out then, promise."

"Ugh, Nick, you're such a spoilsport!"

As she said this, the door to the office opened, and a young woman dressed in a bright yellow jacket and skirt entered. "Maya, what are you pestering Boss about this time?"

"He's being an old fuddy-duddy! He's been working for two weeks straight and he's refusing to take even a day off!"

The young woman sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes his work comes before his social life. C'est la vie." She said, shrugging.

A small voice chirped up. "Booooring!"

The young woman panicked and grabbed the pendant like object that hung around her neck. "Widget, be quiet! We've been over this!"

The man at the desk chuckled. "Oh, Athena. You can't hide your true feelings with that guy around your neck."

Athena sighed. "Sorry, Boss. But it has been a bit dull around here for the past few weeks."

"See, Nick?" Maya said. "Even your employees are getting tired of this!"

"Technically, right now it's only one employee, but I get what you're saying." Phoenix turned to face Athena. "Look, I promise that as soon as any even remotely interesting work show up, I'll let you take care of it. Until then, Charley still needs watering." He said, pointing to the large plant which sat in the corner of the room. "Okay, Athena?"

"Sí señor, yo comprendo." Athena said as she trudged over to the small watering can laying on top of a small cabinet and lightly sprinkled the contents over the plant. "It's just that after everything that's happened this year, everyday life just seems so… mundane."

"I know that, Athena." Phoenix replied. "But I also understand that someone has to do this paperwork. Do you really think I enjoy this?"

"If you don't enjoy it, then why don't you just pay someone else to do it?" Maya questioned.

"I do pay someone, but right now they're busy watering plants."

"Hey!" Athena chimed in, "You asked me to do this, and besides, I'm better at watering plants than I am at filing paperwork anyway."

Maya frowned. "That must really put your client's minds at ease." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, I don't need paperwork when I can just point and shout a lot!" Athena replied.

As she placed the watering can back on its ledge, there was a knock at the office door. "I got it." Athena said as she rushed towards it. She straightened her tie slightly and checked her long, orange hair using the door's glass as a mirror before opening it. A young woman, about her age with long blonde hair, dressed in a black suit stood before her. "Hey there." Athena said with a smile.

The woman at the door looked slightly nervous as she spoke. "Yes, is this the…" she paused to look at a small slip of paper in her hand. "…the Wright Anything Agency?"

Athena nodded. "It sure is!" She took a step to the side and opened the door wide. "Come on in." She said, pointing to Phoenix's desk with her arm. The young woman nodded a polite 'thank you' before awkwardly stepping inside. "Oh and before I forget, our resident magician is currently performing elsewhere, so only our legal services are available"

The woman looked perplexed for a moment before relying. "Thanks?" She said, clearly taken aback by the statement. She continued to walk towards the desk, her high-heels softly making a tapping with each step she took. She spoke as she reached Phoenix. "Are you Mr Wright?" She asked with a newfound confidence.

"Indeed I am. And you are?" Phoenix said as he stood and reached out for a handshake.

The woman reached out and shook Mr Wright's hand. "Lora Biding, Di Nero Law Offices." She said firmly.

"Well then, please take a seat." Phoenix said, motioning to the empty seats across the desk from him. Lora sat down with her legs together and her hands folded neatly on her lap. "So what can we do for you?" Phoenix enquired.

"Well, it's my girlfriend." Lora began, "She's been arrested for murder."

"Another one!?" Phoenix thought to himself.

"The company's cleaning lady was found dead yesterday, and they arrested her."

"Why exactly was your girlfriend arrested?" Phoenix asked as he began to jot down notes in his notebook.

"Because the body was found in her office." Lora said sadly. "There almost surely more than that, but we haven't been told any more details. But I know she's innocent, she could never take someone's life!"

"And I assume that you'd like me to take the case." Phoenix said, briefly looking up from his note."

"Indeed I would." Lora said with a nod.

"Excuse the intrusion," Athena said as she stepped behind the desk to join Phoenix. "But if you work in a law firm, why didn't you get one of your coworkers to defend her?"

"No one will. Everybody loved the cleaning lady, she was a wonderful person. Defending her murderer would make them a pariah in the offices."

"But if you care so much about her, why don't you defend her?" Athena asked while fiddling with her hair.

Lora looked down shamefully. "In all honesty, I'm still a trainee. I haven't even gotten my attorney's badge yet."

"Why don't you just make a fake one out of cardboard or something?" Maya joined the conversation and stood behind her.

"That would never work." Lora said as she shook her head dismissively.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Phoenix added, scratching his chin. "Anyway, you want us to represent her?"

"Yes, please. I've heard wonderful things about you, so I'm sure you can do it."

"Don't worry Ms Biding, if your girlfriend is innocent, we'll get her an acquittal for sure."

"Thank you so much, Mr Wright, you're the only one I can count on right now."

"Well," Phoenix said slightly nervously, "I won't be the one taking your case."

Lora looked concerned. "What do you mean?"

"I'll be having Athena here take the case." He said gesturing towards her. "She proved herself to be more than trustworthy. She'll take care of this case for you."

Athena stepped forward. "Don't worry Ms Biding, I'll get a not guilty verdict, that's a promise." She said, punching her fist into her palm. "So where's your girlfriend now?"

"She's being held at the detention centre. If you hurry you should be able to speak to her before her questioning starts."

"Great, so we'll head out right away!"

Lora looked confused. "We?"

"Oh, us lawyers never work alone, so Maya's coming with us." She turned towards Maya. "Right?"

"Of course, anything's better than hanging around with this old fogey."

Phoenix looked offended. "Less insulting, more investigation, please."

"Yes sir!" Athena said cheerfully as her group began to make for the door.

"Oh!" Lora gasped as they reached the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Asked Maya.

"I should probably tell you, my girlfriend's not the most… stable." Her face changed to an expression of concern. "She lets her emotions control her. It's probably best that I stay outside while you two talk to her."

"Sure. Don't worry, dealing with out-of-control emotions is my forte!" Athena said with a wink as they walked down the hallway, leaving the office behind them.

October 14, 09:45 AM

Detention Centre

Visitor's Room

Athena and Maya sat in front of the large glass divider, waiting anxiously for their newest client.

"This place brings back some memories." Maya said, trying to lighten the mood slightly.

"I suppose you visited this place a lot back when you and Boss were a team."

"Yeah, I practically lived here. Well… a few times I actually did end up living here." Maya said with a smile.

"That's really not something to sound so proud about."

"Hey, how many people do you know who escaped from jail…" Maya paused and began to count on her fingers. "…four times, if you count Khura'in."

"Wait, why haven't I heard any of these stories before now?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll tell you them all eventually, I'll even tell you about that one time when Nick was in here…" She was cut short by the sound of the door on the other side of the glass opening. A young woman emerged from it, around the same age as Lora. Like Lora, she also wore a suit, but this one was grey. She had her long, brunette hair tied in a ponytail with a bright red hair tie. She looked towards Maya and Athena, adjusted her glasses and walked swiftly over to them. She sat at the chair behind the glass and looked at them without speaking.

"Um… Hi!" Athena tried to start a conversation.

"Hello." She replied in a quiet, calm voice.

"I'm Athena and this is Maya, Lora asked us to defend you."

The woman perked up at the mention of Lora. "Lora? She went out to find me an attorney. That's so thoughtful of her." She began to tear up, and her lips began to quiver.

"We've come here to discuss the details of the case and your defence Miss… Miss…?" Athena looked puzzled for a second. "I'm sorry, but I forgot to ask your name."

"My name?" The woman said as she wiped away the few tears that had escaped her eyes. "My name's Lauren Order." She averted her gaze to the floor. "As for the details of the case, well…"

"Well what?" Asked Maya.

"Our cleaning lady, Janet Tore was murdered. I went into my office yesterday morning and found her lying dead in a pool of her own blood." She began to become visibly distressed. "The police arrested me a few hours after they arrived." She began to tear up once again.

"Don't worry, Lauren, if you really didn't do it, I'll prove your innocence." Athena said reassuringly.

"T-thank you." Lauren said through her tears.

"Do you know why they arrested you?" Maya asked.

"No. I have no idea." Lauren was getting more upset. "Now I'm locked in here, no way out, no one to talk to." Tears began streaming down her face. "What did I do to deserve this?!"

"She's losing it." Athena thought. She could sense that her emotions were beginning to swell. "Don't worry, Ms Order, I promise that I'll get you out of this." She said, trying to calm down the woman.

"What good will that do?" Lauren said, tears beginning to stream down her face. "I'm already in here! What if I'm found guilty?" She began to wail. "I don't want to die! Help me, please!"

Athena was taken aback by the sudden change in Lauren's demeanour. "Lauren, please, you have to calm down if we're going to…"

"No! I can't talk! I'll only make it worst! I'll probably mess up and confess!" She began gasping for air. "I need to get out of here!" She covered her face and began to run for the door.

"Ms Order, wait!" Maya shouted, her faced pressed up against the glass. "…She's gone."

"Lora wasn't kidding when she said she lets her emotions control her. I could hear her. She's really messed up inside."

"We can help her, right?" Maya asked Athena. "We need to get her out of here soon. If she broke down like that after three minutes of talking to us, the police interrogation going to be hell for her."

Athena looked at the door sadly. "She reminds me of Juni."

"Who?"

"She's a friend of mine. She was in that situation once. Falsely accused, and all alone." Athena looked determined. "We have to help her. I can still hear her pain, even from out here."

"So what are we gonna do?" Maya asked as they walked to the door.

"What we always do." Athena said cheerfully. "Point, shout, and get a not guilty verdict. That's all we can do, really."

The pair walked out of the door, closing it gently behind them.