A/N: So you know how there's always those little aside scenes in the Layton games where the antagonist is introduced or the plot really thickens? Well, this chapter is my attempt at one of those. As such, it's a lot shorter but you get a little more of an insight of just what's going on outside the main storyline. Enjoy!

Meanwhile...

The room echoed painfully with way the officer was rapping his fingers on the desk, but the dial tone on the phone line was just about the worst suspense he could have imagined. Every beep only amplified the throbbing of his heart in his throat and served to remind him of the gravity of the number he'd dialed. If he so much as said one thing wrong…he'd be finished.

Finally, a voice answered, "Headquarters. Call code?"

He gulped, praying his number would be valid. "L-14-B."

"One moment please."

There was a dull click as the line was transferred before someone else answered.

"Report." A mechanically distorted voice called from the other end.

The distortion gave the officer goosebumps. He knew it was company policy for advisors to use encrypted voice keys when making calls outside of headquarters itself, but it still made him uneasy all the same. He thanked God that the other person on the line couldn't see the way his hands shook when he spoke. "The boy just came by. Are we proceeding with phase two?"

"Mm...has he shown interest?" The question was dragged out to the fullest. Every single letter was enunciated ominously.

"Yes, very much so," the officer answered quickly.

"Good. Then direct him according to phase two. What of the girl?"

"No sign of her yet. Only the boy has shown."

"I need the girl more than the boy."

"Yes, but from what the boy said, we can assume she is not far removed."

"If anything changes, report immediately."

"Ah, sir, one more item of interest has appeared."

"Speak."

"Well, um, I've been being harassed lately by my superiors for taking calls from encrypted numbers. I'm concerned I'm being observed. Is there a way for me to further mask my dealings?"

There was a lengthy pause. "…my most sincere apologies for the discomfort. Someone will be out shortly to take care of you."

"What shall I do until then?"

"Wait. You will receive new orders soon."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Maybe the company wasn't that bad after all…

There was a small click and a mechanized monotone voice began to speak from the other end. "The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service. Please redial. The number you are—" Gently, he laid the receiver down and made to look busy with something in case someone entered. He had to play his part.

He started fiddling with the papers that lay strewn across his desk, and he found the file he had asked to be pulled. The name at the top read: Luke Triton. The man ran a thumb over the pasted on photo of the boy and inwardly cursed.

"The hell's a nice kid like you doing wrapped up in something like this?" he whispered to the photo, sighing as he skimmed the file. There was nothing significant written there, just that the boy had a bit of a history sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but such a trait was common in any investigator—hobbyist or professional.

He knew that much. It wasn't like what Layton and the boy were doing was even that far removed from police work.

In a way, it almost felt like he was betraying their trust by giving out info like this, but he was under orders from headquarters. His position at the Yard was just a cover, one that had taken years to build safely. Only now was he highly ranked enough to pursue actual missions without arousing suspicion. And now that Layton was out of the picture, there was no one who could stop them. He'd only have to wait a few weeks before Layton's secret Enigma case file went cold before he could go in and fully ice it.

There was a knock at his door and he called them in, but by the time he looked up it was too late. Standing in the doorway to his office was a figure clad solely in black, someone he recognized to be an Enigma agent, and not the benign footman kind either.

The man sauntered in to the room and clicked the door shut behind him. "Are you Agent Colby?"

Colby was trained well enough to know this situation was extremely volatile, and as such, he dropped a hand to his hip, where his gun was holstered. "Can I help you?"

"I have orders to give you a new assignment," the strange man answered sarcastically.

And the next second was nothing but a blur. Before Colby could even open his mouth to reply, both of their guns had already been drawn and fired.

But it wasn't Colby's bullet that fatally landed its target.