Mia Fey had been dead for two weeks when Phoenix received the first text message at two in the morning. At first, he thought it was a technical glitch, maybe even Maya going through her sister's things and accidentally setting something off. Whatever it was, Phoenix felt a sharp pain shoot through him as he saw Mia's number had sent him a message. It was only a repeat of the last text she had sent him, but it hit too close to home for him. "Please come over to the office at 9PM tonight. There's someone I want you to meet."
He now knew she had meant her younger sister, Maya, which made the message hurt that much more. Phoenix didn't want to keep crying over Mia's death, didn't want to dwell on the future he might have had with her. He had spent the past two weeks in abject misery, unable to stop his sulking over her murder. After he had made sure Redd White would remain behind bars for his crime, he had helped Maya with the funeral arrangements. He even gave the opening eulogy at the event. The whole ordeal finalised Mia's fate, which Maya and Phoenix were only too aware of.
With a tired groan, Phoenix disregarded the message and turned his phone off for the night. He still had five hours before he had to wake up for work and he'd be damned if he didn't use that time to catch up on some much needed sleep. He hadn't been sleeping well lately with everything that had been going on. Suddenly he was very much alone and in charge of his own law firm. He didn't want his own law firm. He just wanted Mia back. He rolled onto his stomach to get comfortable as he slowly fell into a dreamless sleep.
He was woken up the next morning by the Steel Samurai theme song. He fumbled to turn off his alarm, the previous night's occurrence completely forgotten. After pulling on his trademark suit and making himself coffee, Phoenix made his way to the office. He ambled down the street with sluggish footsteps, not properly awake. But the nice thing about being his own boss, he mused as he walked, was the ability to set his own hours. He didn't have to worry about being late ever again. This thought put an unexpected spring in his step as he bounded down the street to the Wright & Co. Law Offices.
As he walked through the door, he was greeted at once by the ever-cheerful Maya. "Good morning, Nick!" The teenager was sprawled out on the office couch and watching the early morning episode ofThe Steel Samurai with rapt attention. She arrived before he did so often that it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest to learn she lived in the office. Phoenix would have made a playful quip about her taste in television, but with his ringtone, he wasn't one to talk.
"Hey, Maya," he replied through a loud yawn, which he stifled with his hand. Unlike his new assistant, Phoenix couldn't even hope to pretend to be a morning person. But he had to admit there was a certain satisfaction in waking up early. "How're you today?" He took a seat next to Maya on the couch, still clutching his travel mug of coffee.
The girl continued to watch the screen as he sat down beside her; she didn't want to miss any of the fictional action. Her eyes flickered over to catch a glimpse of him before answering his question. For a brief moment, Phoenix fretted she had guessed how broken up he was over Mia's death still, but Maya offered him another sunny smile as she said, "I'm okay. What about you?"
"I'm good," was his answer before taking another swig of hot coffee. The bitter drink burned his throat on the way down, but he didn't mind. Maya glanced over at him, as if about to say something, but returned her gaze to the Steel Samurai. He rose a quizzical brow at this odd behaviour; Maya didn't seem like the type of girl to censor herself. "What's up?"
She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it with a small shake of her head. A few seconds passed before she finally spoke up. "Do you know where Mia's cell phone is?"
This question took Phoenix completely off guard. He was suddenly reminded of the text that had woken him up during the middle of the night. He had assumed it was a technical glitch, and still stood by that conclusion. He regained his composure—his mouth had fallen open in surprise—and shook his head. This question wasn't a well timed coincidence, and he was afraid she had received a text the night before, too. "No, I haven't seen it around. Why, uh, why do you ask, Maya?"
He might have imagined it, but the girl's eyes widened in surprise for a fraction of a second. She looked like she thinking her next words very carefully. Phoenix offered up an explanation for her. This odd incident was like broken glass to both of their emotions, but he was going to do what he could so she wouldn't get too cut up over it. "Did you also get a text last night from her phone?" He purposefully said 'her phone' instead of 'her' to show Maya that it was just a bug, nothing more.
"Y-Yeah." For the first time since he's known her, Maya Fey looked anxious. It was a disturbing expression on her, but he imagined his own features echoed hers. It was only one text, but it still rattled him more than he would like to admit. It probably scared Maya more, considering how much closer she was to Mia than he had been. She broke the tense silence that had fallen over to two by asking, "You don't know where it is? I'd like to shut it off for good, you know?"
He nodded in understanding; he felt much the same way. He would rather not get any more texts from Mia's phone. It hurt too much to see that notification appear on his phone. Even if it was just a one-off occurrence, he didn't want to risk it. For his or Maya's sake. "We could look for it in her apartment after closing today and get rid of it. How does that sound?"
For his suggestion, he was rewarded with a bright grin from Maya as she clapped her hands together. She cheered up instantaneously as he offered a game plan for their shared problem. "That sounds great! Thanks, Nick."
Thus pleased with their plans, the attorney and the spirit medium went about their daily routine. Phoenix filed old papers and tidied up Mia's things while Maya found ways to amuse herself. She would be helping Nick on this latest case, but business was slow; there were no new cases for the duo to work on. Instead, she caught up on the Steel Samurai and lost herself in the fictional world of Neo Olde Tokyo while Phoenix cleaned the office. They would occasionally call out to each other, but other than that, the office was quiet. Five o'clock would come soon enough, but for now, the two were content with just politely pretending nothing was wrong.