Background: This story takes place during the third game, after Mask Demasque's case.

Summary: Maya was kidnapped, again. But this time, Phoenix was also in for the ride.

Rating: T

Prologue

[December 21, 5:16 PM]

[Wright & Co. Law Offices]

'Nick, it's your turn,' Maya urged.

Phoenix, head rested on one hand, picked a card lazily. He didn't even give it so much as a casual glance. 'Pass.'

'You know, you could be a bit more enthusiastic…' Maya said, her tone mildly accusing.

Phoenix yawned, causing Maya to roll her eyes.

'Okay, my turn. Let's see… nope,' Maya said after briefly examining her card. 'Argh. I'm so close!'

'You do know this is a game of pure luck?' Phoenix asked while picking another card halfheartedly. 'Real trials hardly work like this.'

'I know that. I'm right next to you in almost every trial. Still, that doesn't mean this isn't fun,' Maya countered before adding, 'And you exaggerate. It's not really pure luck. At least not when you reach the end of the game, anyway.'

Phoenix sighed and silently questioned the need to continue. Apparently, someone had considered it possible to create a card game based on court trials. You pick a victim and a scenario at the start of the game. Then you collect the necessary evidence cards, and you reconstruct the whole scene at the end. There had been some major court cases in town recently, and Phoenix suspected this game was nothing more than the market's attempt to catch on with the trend. And a pretty laughable attempt, really. But it seemed to be keeping Maya happy.

Phoenix looked out the window. It was dark for an afternoon, and the gloomy skies above threatened to rain at any moment. He would humor Maya for one or two more games, tops. Then it was time for a nap. He really was tired.

'Aha! I win,' Maya exclaimed, capturing Phoenix's attention. 'I have everything I need to make sense of the crime.'

Without waiting for Phoenix to reply, Maya cleared her throat and began, her excitement captured in a sudden glimmer in her eyes, 'First, let's review everything we know. The victim,' – she pointed at the 'victim' card placed in the middle – 'had a single wound in her chest caused by a sharp object. Her body was found locked in her bathroom. She lived alone in her apartment. Time of death: 12:00 a.m.'

Phoenix nodded. 'That's the scenario we picked.'

'Regarding the wound,' – Maya laid a card down, which showed the picture of a big chopping knife – 'obviously, a knife would more than do the job. So this would be the murder weapon.'

'Interesting weapon of choice,' Phoenix said. 'A chopping knife.'

'It's what the cards give me.' Maya shrugged and continued, 'A chopping knife would be too clumsy for a clean murder, and hiding it would be extremely difficult. It's hardly the best weapon for a premeditated murder. It follows that the murder couldn't have been planned.'

Phoenix shook his head. 'Your argument is not solid. You can't rule out the possibility.'

'Come on, Nick. If you're planning to kill someone, would you seriously bring a chopping knife with you?'

'Maya, I'm an attorney, not a murderer.'

Maya had lost count of how many times Phoenix had made her roll her eyes.

Phoenix added, 'I'm just reminding you not to be too assertive. That's detrimental to finding out the truth.'

Maya paused and compromised. 'Okay. It's unlikely that the murder was planned. If that's the case, then we have to explain how and where the killer got the weapon.' She laid down a card with a picture of a kitchen. 'From the victim's kitchen, obviously.'

'Objection. There are plenty of things in a kitchen to choose from that serve as a better weapon than a chopping knife. You said it yourself, Maya. It's not easy to maneuver a huge weapon like that.'

Over time, the favorite court word 'objection' had held a certain authority. And Phoenix's argument was not unjustified either.

Maya pressed a curled finger on her lips, lost in thought. 'Maybe the poor woman didn't have money for other kitchenware –'

'- but somehow found a chopping knife necessary?' Phoenix caught on immediately. Quick logic was one skill he had had the opportunity to hone in his little-over-two-years as a defense attorney. 'You need to come up with a better explanation than that, Maya.'

'Hmm…' Maya mused quietly.

Phoenix waited. There were many possibilities, of course. There was hardly enough information to make a definite judgment – no doubt one of the many flaws of this 'Game of Trial'.

'Maybe…' Maya said. 'The killer didn't have a choice? Maybe he had to use that knife.'

'And why is that?'

'He didn't have time to react. He just grabbed whatever was easiest to grab.'

'Are you suggesting the victim attacked first? And that the killer grabbed the knife in defense?'

Maya cocked her head slightly to one side. 'Maybe I should summon the victim so you could ask her.'

Phoenix's brow arched up in amusement. Maya laughed.

'How about this?' Phoenix offered. 'The knife was never intended for murder to begin with.'

'Huh?' Maya said skeptically. 'Then what was it for? Pork?'

The sudden reference to food left Phoenix momentarily speechless. Does this girl think about nothing else besides food? 'Of course not. Sometimes, to get to the truth, you need to think out of the box.'

'Oh, speaking of pork, I'm getting really hungry. I could really go for a good burger right now.'

Noticing Phoenix's quizzical expression, Maya laughed again. 'I was just pulling your leg, Nick. We just had tea, don't you remember?'

'Well, it is you we're talking about…' Phoenix muttered.

Maya's face suddenly shone with pride. Phoenix sighed and shook his head.

'Okay, back to the topic at hand,' Maya said. 'If the knife wasn't for pork, what was it intended for?'

'Dramatic effects.' Phoenix paused and let that idea sink in. 'You have to admit, a chopping knife may not be an efficient weapon, but it makes for a pretty intimidating one. The killer had an argument with the victim in the kitchen, but it wasn't cause for murder. He got angry and pulled out the most intimidating weapon he could locate. The matter then got out of hand. Don't you think that's a feasible explanation?'

Maya thought for a moment, then nodded. 'Perhaps.'

'But we still haven't answered the crucial question: the victim's body was located in a locked bathroom. Whether or not we can explain this depends on the cards you picked, Maya.'

'Let's see… I have a bucket of water, a screwdriver, a fire extinguisher,' Maya listed as she laid down her cards one by one. 'A cell phone. Ooh, a burger. And a ladder.'

A step-ladder. Phoenix quietly noted, but spared himself another fruitless argument.

'Nothing really useful,' Maya decided. 'But there's an easy explanation without the need for further evidence.'

'Oh?' Phoenix was intrigued.

'True, the victim's body was found in the bathroom, but that doesn't necessarily mean she was attacked there. The knife the killer got was from the kitchen, which was also the likely scene of the crime. One possibility would be, the wound the killer dealt on the victim was mortal, but she didn't die immediately. She escaped, and locked herself in the bathroom away from the killer. She waited for help, but couldn't hold on. That's when she died.'

Phoenix thought for a moment. Maya's argument seemed to make sense, but he had to test it out to see if it really held water.

'Hold it! Maya, let me ask you a question. If someone were to attack you right now, right here in the office, where would you go to escape?'

Maya gave a sudden, unexpected twitch, and the look on her face was suddenly indecipherable. Phoenix thought she was just getting too engaged in the game to realize this was hypothetical. He had no way of knowing that she was reminded of her sister's death.

'Toward the exit, I guess…' Maya said quietly. Like my sister did. She mentally added sadly.

'Most likely.' Phoenix nodded, oblivious to Maya's sudden reaction. 'That's where you'd get help most readily, after all.'

'What if the killer blocked the exit?' Maya insisted.

Phoenix shook his head. 'That still doesn't explain why the victim went into the bathroom. Unless she hid a phone in there which she could use to call for help, it doesn't make sense.'

'Maybe she went in there to clean her wounds.'

'That's not even remotely convincing.'

'Maybe she wanted to jump out the bathroom window and escape.'

'Nope.'

'Maybe she was playing hide-and-seek.'

'No.'

'Maybe she was waiting for the Steel Samurai to rescue her.'

Maya was going on her own tangent again. Phoenix decided to stay silent.

Then Maya stretched, collapsed onto the floor they were sitting on behind her and breathed a huge sigh. 'This is impossible to figure out…'

Realizing the game was over, Phoenix tossed his own cards down. He had a key, a rope and a cloth – the missing pieces of a possible explanation. Then he said, 'Well, this game can't really be considered well-designed in the first place.'

'It's no fair. You get to act all cool in the courtroom, and I can't even win a card game!' Maya groaned, still not willing to get off the floor. 'Maybe I should stick to my day job…'

'What's that?' Phoenix said absentmindedly as he took it upon himself to clean up all the cards scattered on the floor.

'Training to be the world's best spirit medium, of course.'

Phoenix eyed Maya once, still sprawled lazily on the floor. 'Yeah… Well, I'm going for a nap.'

Outside, rain had started to fall. Today, as with any other for the past two months, had been pretty uneventful in the office. Phoenix wondered how he was going to pay for the rent this month.

Inside his bedroom, he heard the TV outside flicker on. Then he slowly drifted to sleep.

Thanks. R&R!