Chapter Six :: Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day 2 :: Part 1
"Mr. Engarde." The woman strode into the Detention Center, heels clacking on the floor.
"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked dryly. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to get me off the hook?"
"Annabeth has worked it all out. You will receive a Not Guilty verdict by the end of the day. Ready to get out of here?"
He chuckled under his breath. "I've been in this godforsaken cell for two years now, and you ask if I'm ready to be out of here? I think it's pretty obvious."
"Indeed, I can guess." She slid into the seat across from him, petite hands clasped together. They were so delicate, thin appendages rounded out by shell pink nails. Just one good yank and they would break. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fine." He wasn't dumb. He knew she had come in here for a reason, even if she was determined to make small talk until that reason came out.
"Would you be willing to testify?"
Ah, there was the catch. The Defense needed his testimony. "Shouldn't be a problem as long as I know what I'm testifying to."
"You knew the ransom note was a fake the whole time."
"And how exactly does this help my case?"
The woman's mouth quirked up in a smirk. "Ah, isn't that the million dollar question. To make a long story very short, we figured out a way to work your case to fit out desires."
"What's the Nomura girl gonna have to do now?"
She shook her head. "Ah, it's not what she'll have to do. It's all about the things she wasn't strong enough to stop."
"What'd she do? Cause you to break a nail?"
She glared coldly. "She's become a nuisance. Nuisances have to be nipped from the bud before they become more than that. She made a few good guesses and managed to stab deeply enough already." There was a sadistic smile on her face as she looked to the right, eyes out of focus. "She'll soon find out that revenge is a bitch."
Engarde laughed, although the sound was devoid of humor. "Listen, lady. You're gonna fail. You wanna know why? Because while this Nomura chick is sitting pretty, totally relaxed, you're over here getting all worked up. There's a reason why they say revenge is best served cold."
"Perhaps." But it was obvious by the way she was still zoned out that she hadn't listened to a word he'd said.
"Day two. Let's make it the final day, shall we?"
"No need to get all passive-aggressive on me, Franziska. I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances."
Franziska chuckled. "If these are your circumstances, God help you when things actually get complicated." She cracked her whip, winding it in her hand and folding her arms over it.
"I didn't know you were religious."
"It's called an expression, Price. Don't push it."
Nathan laughed despite himself, pulling at his collar. He'd made the same mistake of wearing too many layers, again wearing a sweater over his suit combo. It had been freezing outside, which had made it nice, but inside of the courthouse, it was suddenly sweltering. "Am I committing a cardinal sin if I don't wear my suit jacket?"
"If you want to look like you're homeless, no. If you're planning on prosecuting like that, then yes," she said curtly. "Do you have no pride?" she asked when he took off the jacket.
"Are you telling me this isn't enough for the courtroom?" he asked, modeling the dark blue sweater over his white dress shirt and tie. "This is formal enough, isn't it?"
"This isn't your mock trial at university!" Franziska nearly shrieked.
"She's right, you know."
Nathan turned, flushing at the sight of Catherine and Annabeth Eldredge behind him. The younger one had spoken, arms crossed over her chest disapprovingly. Her glare wasn't as practiced as Franziska's, but that didn't make it any less frightening. "You look homeless," she explained.
"I was thinking more of a professor," Catherine said, offering up a smile.
"How do I look homeless?!" he protested.
Franziska waved her hand as if to say that it didn't matter how, just that he did. "Annabeth Eldredge. Catherine," she said as a means of greeting, although both were tense.
"Good morning, both of you." Catherine smiled warmly, despite the cold tone Franziska had just used.
"'Morning," Nathan said, trying to act as casual as possible after his whole clothing debacle. "Still no trials?"
She laughed. "You'd think that we were swamped with all of the cases everyone else is taking, but no, still no trial for me. I swear, the Chief Prosecutor just hates me."
"Their loss," Annabeth said, shrugging.
"But, on the other hand, I do get to see my little sister's trial." She slung her arm around her sister's shoulders, nudging her forward slightly. "So I can't complain too much."
"Even Lyn's here today," Annabeth complained.
"Lyn?" Nathan asked.
"Brooklyn. Our other sister," Catherine said.
"No pressure," Nathan joked, trying to defrost the younger woman, but she merely glowered at him.
"I need to meet with my client," she said, still aloof from his advances. "Good day to you all." They watched her walk off, meeting Matt Engarde halfway.
Catherine was the first to glance back, laughing, although it was self-conscious. "Sorry about that. She doesn't mean to be rude, it's just that sometimes Annabeth has the personality of a wet noodle. She was never one to socialize when she was younger either."
"She should be thinking of herself as the opposition at this point. Her demeanor was correct," Franziska corrected her.
Catherine made a face. "Can't the Prosecution and Defense be civil to one another? We're not sworn enemies forever, you know."
"Until the verdict has been made, the Defense is still the enemy."
"I think it depends on the Defense, personally," Nathan said after a beat too long of silence. "I mean, Kiria's part of the Defense, but we still act like we're friends."
"And it shows in your prosecuting. As long as you worry about being friends, you will never make the moves necessary to present decisive evidence early on. You will never have a ten-minute trial, and instead you'll waste everyone's time beating around the bush for an obvious conclusion." Franziska's glare, which had softened slightly as she had played the mentor, was back full force. "What is one trial in comparison to many? Miles Edgeworth has branched out after the trials, but never before. Timing is everything."
"You don't really branch out," Catherine pointed out.
Franziska ignores her. "Are you ready for today?" she asks, turning to Nathan.
"Absolutely. First ten minutes, hammer at the case, and if all else fails, call Adrian to the stand. I still remember. It's not like I can forget in ten minutes."
The elder prosecutor rolled her eyes and snorted. "I wouldn't put it past you. The trial is about to start; we should get in."
"Good luck!" Catherine said, and then did the strangest thing. She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Good luck," she repeated, whispering it breathily in his ear.
He could feel his head spinning as she walked away. It was like someone had put his head on a globe stand and given it a good whirl. "Nathan?" he could hear Franziska calling, but it was like she was far away. "Nathaniel Price?"
A sharp pain brought him out of the reverie, and he put his hand up to the injured shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?!"
"Do not get distracted!"
"I'm not distracted," he said weakly, but his mind was elsewhere. "I'm not distracted at all."
"Welcome back to the retrial of Engarde vs. State of California. I see both of our attorneys are looking rested. I trust your investigations went well yesterday?"
"Exceptionally, Your Honor," Annabeth said.
Nathan nodded. "Well enough, I'd say."
"Good. Shall we start the trial?"
"The Prosecution is ready, your Honor."
"The Defense is ready."
The Judge smiled at both of them and turned to Nathan. "If the Prosecution would please give its opening statement?"
"Certainly, your Honor." Nathan cleared his throat, readjusting his tie, which felt too tight around his neck. His mind was on Catherine's lips and the soft pressure he had felt against his cheek not five minutes before. He felt the ridiculous urge to rub that cheek, to make sure it was still real, but he refrained, instead trying to turn his mind to the trial. "The Prosecution alleges that Matt Engarde was still the one who ordered Juan Corrida's death, and his sentence should remain unchanged. Contrary to what the Defense attempted to say yesterday, there is no proof that Adrian Andrews was the culprit, and should the Defense continue to accuse her, we are prepared to present evidence as to the contrary."
"Excellent. Miss Eldredge, your opening statement?"
Annabeth drew herself up to her full height, squaring her shoulders. "Firstly, I must apologize to the court yesterday for being so unprepared. It will never happen again. The Defense has changed its focus; we agree with the Prosecution that Adrian Andrews could not have been the culprit."
Nathan rolled his eyes skyward, as if asking for divine intervention. "And who are you trying to throw under the bus now?"
"Objection!" Annabeth said, turning towards the Judge.
The Judge looked at Nathan over her glasses. "Sustained. Mr. Price, you will use respect when speaking with the Defense. Now, Miss Eldredge, please continue."
"Thank you, your Honor. As I was saying, Adrian Andrews could not have been the one who ordered Juan Corrida's death, but Maya Fey could have!"
Nathan could feel his heart sink. Had everything they'd done yesterday been for naught? Besides, talk about kicking someone when they were down. Maya's world had been turned upside down lately, and now she was being accused of this too? "Objection! This is preposterous!" he tried to shout, but was drowned out by the noise from the gallery as everyone talked.
"Maya Fey? Isn't she the one that killed her sister?"
"Yeah, that one who got Redd White to take the blame for it!"
"Someone else she killed? How many does she think she can get away with?!"
"Order! Order in the court!" The Judge shouted, but the crowd was still louder than she was. "Order!"
A/N: Okay, guys, new strategy! One, I'm going to stop saying, "This chapter should be up soon", because I think we're all realizing that it's secretly a curse. The other thing that I'm going to do is start posting shorter chapters more often. With my schoolwork, I'm having to sit down and write maybe 5-10 sentences at a time. This chapter took a month (blame the Creative Writing program; too much writing!). When breaks come around, I'm going to condense the chapters and edit them for clarity and such, but for now, you're kind of getting the unedited stuff. Again, I'm so sorry this is happening, and as soon as I can put out regular chapters again, I'll do it. Unfortunately, with 6 college classes and 20-hours of work a week, it's just not happening. So, we'll try this, and see how this works so that you guys aren't waiting forever for chapters.
Reviews:
Blaze: Unfortunately, it was as late, if not later than the last one. Again, I'm sorry and stick with me for a bit. I'm going to try to keep the quality up!
KnightofDestiny: Nate and Annabeth? Interesting request! We'll see what we can do. There's already a good conversation between the two going to happen at the end of the trial, but I'll try to put in some more during the trial too.
OddWriter12: Haha, the trial is finally here! D I'm glad you liked Franziska in the last chapter; I think it's one of my favorite things I've written her in. As for GS5 . . . you pretty much hit it on the head. I can get some nerves on Phoenix's side, but . . . I'm thinking it's going to be a trial (no pun intended) to keep it from being a disaster. But the crossover game? Now that one I'm excited about! With Takumi and Level 5 working on it, I have a feeling quality is on the top of their lists.
JackFalconer: I noticed that a lot of people tend to demonize Matt Engarde. It's not my intention to make him as bad as I've seen him written (he's not a demon; people like to exaggerate him like they like to exaggerate Kristoph Gavin). I'll clarify the Redd White situation in the next chapter if I get a chance (or in a few chapters, with the shorter ones; in any case, it'll be addressed. You're not the first one to ask). Haha, it's complicated if things get overturned? You're telling me! I've got to document them pretty meticulously in order to not contradict myself later. D: Yes, the conversation between Kiria and the psychologist was in Japanese (the next frame chapter will address that as well). Sorry that this isn't as good of a reply as my last one (I'll get to your PM sooner or later; I'm so sorry about the late reply), but morphology and syntax homework needs done and . . . too much! D:
Read and review! Especially tell me if this was enough substance to get you to read the next chapter!