June 19th, City Streets, 3:17 PM

Apollos cell phone began to ring.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hello Apollo." It was Phoenix.

"Oh, Mister Wright! I'm glad to speak with you. Are you doing alright?"

"Yes, I'm doing better now. I can't deny I shed a few tears, but I'm okay. Listen Apollo: This case? I want in."

"…What?"

"I said I want in, Apollo. The victim was an innocent man, who was my good friend. If not anything else, Please let me investigate."

"Alright, Mister Wright. I suppose I owe you that much. I've got a few leads for you to follow."

"I'm listening."

"Have you ever heard of Bioware, Mister Wright?"

"Yeah, Bioware are those guys that recently joined forces with Caduceus USA, right?"

"I didn't hear that part…" Apollo thought. "Yeah, I guess. You're reasonably on the up and up on medical knowledge, Mister Wright.

"Yes. I once encountered an... Established pink haired gentleman who was a great help to me back in the day. He was a doctor, or so he claimed. Plus, the union between Bioware and Caduceus USA was only plastered all over the news over the past few weeks."

"I… I had no idea." Apollo said, shocked.

"Me on the up and up? Rarely. Seems you're on the low and low... But I called to help you, Not insult you. What about Bioware?"

"Well, I have questions on my mind about the establishment. Plus, I wanted to get the side of the story on The Half Life Prosecutor. I figured out his name, by the way."

"What is it?"

"Asmodeus Ex Machina. I learned more about him from my new client. She's a very… commanding woman, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but at the same time, I'm pleased to see that part of her hasn't changed. A lot of people I once knew have changed drastically over the past seven years."

"Are you really an exception?"

"…!!"

"Ack! I'm sorry Mister Wright! I didn't mean it like that!" Apollo said, worried about being offensive.

"No. It's fine. You're only telling the truth. Anyway… So, can I take this to mean that I'm going to further investigate this guy Ex Machina?"

"Yes. Are you okay with that?"

"Certainly. Just give me the names of the people you want, and I'll try my best to talk it out of them."

"Alright. I suppose the big benefactor here would be Doctor Derek Stiles. Not only can he educate on the operation, but he can also redirect us to the Bioware Technician that assisted the operation. Please ask him about that."

"…What's going on here?"

-Apollo told Phoenix the story of Asmodeus Ex Machina to the extent of his memory-

"I see… Tough break... So, you want me to talk to the good Doctor, get the details of the Op out of him, get the name of the Technician, and talk to the Technician?"

"Please and thank you."

"Very well. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you so much, Mister Wright.

"No problem. It's been too long since I wore that suit anyway. Right-o! I'm out."

Apollo hung up as Phoenix did.

***

"Was that Dad?" Trucy asked, perceptive as usual.

"Yeah. He wanted to help with the case, and… who am I to decline Mister Wrights wishes?"

Trucy smiled. "You know he's always looking out for you, right?"

"Well, I like to think so… But I want to be a good attorney, which means that sometimes you have to be independent." Apollo said.

"And, well, I always look out for you too…"

Apollo seemed to ignore Trucy's statement as he pointed out the address to the crime scene. Trucy sniffed a bit before catching up to him.