Ok, this chapter took a LOT of time and planning. I had to bring out my white boards to type down the information to make it all make sense. That being said again we're stepping away from the relationship portion this chapter. But this chapter allows for the whole QP-7 case to be explained. Seeing as it will be brought up a lot now in the future chapters. In addition this chapter brings back two of my FAVORITE people in the entire Ace Attorney series. First up Franziska, LOVE her. I hope I can do her justice and I don't somehow get whipped in the end of all this. In addition the Skye sisters are together again! I hope I can add more to Lana's character since she's never talked about and I always saw her as a cool person. And again, yada yada yada reviews yada yada yada make me happy. Onto Chapter 11!


The next day Apollo headed down to the Criminal Affairs Department. He had his briefcase in his hand filled with many papers from the case of former Chief Gant, in addition to his own case against Vera Misham. He walked through the doors and saw no one there. 'Are all the detectives out working on cases right now?' Apollo proceeded to walk through the offices looking for any signs of life. All the computers were off and the desks were tidy with no papers on them. 'It's as if the precinct had been shut down or something.'

"Ah Apollo!"

Apollo jumped out of his skin. The voice was very loud and booming. He turned around to see Chief Gumshoe over by the elevator at the end of the office row.

"Glad to see you could make it."

Apollo was hunched over holding his knees trying to catch his breath. "Could you try not to give me a heart attack next time?"

Gumshoe scratched his head and smiled real big. "Sorry about that champ."

"Why are all the detectives out? It is Monday right?"

"Yup, all detectives were forced on vacation for this week."

"Is that safe for the city?!"

"Oh it's just the detectives there Apollo, not the police force itself. Any crimes that spawn during this time will be preserved and handled by yours truly."

"So what's the purpose of this?"

"Well the QP-7 Case took a turn for the worst this past week."

"What do you mean, and why has this case not been made known?"

"Privacy standards. Because of the amount of police members involved and the fact that someone within the Criminal Affairs team is a possible spy no one could really know about this. The only people that knew about it before I sent it out to everyone were Maggey, Franziska, and I. As for the turn for the worst, recently there have been several threats made on completely wiping out the detective team and destroying the court house while court was in session. This incident was supposed to happen sometime this week. In turn we halted our entire justice system for the safety of everyone. During this time though is when we need to strike and figure out who is making these threats and stop this underground organization."

"Alright, so where do we go from here?"

"Well we're all going to meet up in my office. I just brought Lana, Ema, and Franziska in. We're still waiting on Klavier and Miles. Maggey is up there preparing breakfast so you are welcome to help yourself when she's done. I'll just insert my key card into the elevator and you'll be on your way up to my office."

"Gumshoe before I go up can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing pal, what's up?"

"I was just wondering, why I am working with Miles Edgeworth."

Gumshoe crooked his head and looked at Apollo. He twisted his mouth up, "Well to be honest with you I wanted Phoenix at first but because of how highly classified this case is showing these files to a simple civilian would cause some murky waters for myself."

"But Phoenix isn't a simple civilian!"

"I know that, but according to the law he is. If he got his attorney's badge back it would mean something different, until then Miles will be your partner."

Apollo nearly vomited on the usage of the word. "But Miles isn't even a defense attorney. Why is he on my team?"

"He was on stand as a defense attorney for one case back in the day. He is well versed in most justice systems and that requires the knowledge of the defense. Bringing both these experiences to the table Miles is great with logically thinking and good at thinking as a defense attorney. I'm sure he will be a great asset to you."

Apollo bowed his head and slowly walked into the elevator. Gumshoe reached around and flicked the panel on the elevator to allow access to his office.

"Is there any way you can get Phoenix involved on this case Gumshoe?"

"Well, if he comes by tomorrow to take the BAR exam again, I guess I could rush results so he would be ready to help us out by the end of the week."

The doors to the elevator started closing and Apollo looked up to see Gumshoe smiling at him through the crack. "Thanks!" The elevator proceeded to bring Apollo up to the top floor of the precinct. Apollo held himself against the wall of the elevator trying to calm himself and collect his thoughts. 'This whole case is scary. Who targets the police?' Apollo opened up his briefcase and took out his paperwork and started shuffling through them. 'I hope I brought enough information for myself to help understand what's going on.' The elevator slowed to a halt and started to open the doors. Apollo put his paperwork back into his briefcase and walked into a large open room.

The room had a sword and shield in marble on the floor and a giant blue badger stood in the center of it all. All around the curtains were closed causing very little sunlight to enter in. There was a master chandelier hanging above the blue badger doing a good enough job to illuminate the entire room. There was a large mahogany desk to the right with papers all jumbled over it books opened everywhere and knick knacks scattered amongst the place. 'Must be Gumshoe's desk. Looks like he still is a messy guy.' To the left there was a set of ornate chairs around a very large circular table. In the center of the table was a blue marble tea set with some steam coming out the spout. In addition there were two girls that looked very similar to each other sitting next to each other talking. There was another person sitting across the table with their arms crossed. 'I hope that's a girl. She looks very scary.' Ema looked up from the table and noticed Apollo walking into the office.

Ema stood up and waved at Apollo, "Hey Apollo! Come on over here I want you to meet my sister!"

Apollo started walking over to the table and sat down next to Ema, he got a better look at the lady. She had an ornate black lacey blouse one emblazoned with a specific crest on her chest. Her hair was a silvery blue that was tied up in a bun and her eyes were completely closed. Her arms were crossed in front of her and she was wearing black leathery gloves, 'Is that a whip she's holding! This must be the famous Franziska Von Karma. She really is as scary as Phoenix described her.'

"So Apollo this is my sister Lana. She used to be head prosecutor in her time. Now she just hangs around the office and assists detectives and prosecutors on potential leads in their cases. They call her the 'oracle of the office.' Cause she knows everything!"

"Now now Ema, I don't know everything. I have just seen a lot in my days so I know how some things potentially work."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Lana Skye." Apollo held out his hand to shake Lana's.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Justice. I have seen many of your cases. You are a wonderful defense attorney. I am pleased that we have such a wonderful competent defense attorney again."

"Again?"

"I mean Phoenix. He was my defense attorney long ago when I was convicted of murder."

"I remember that, actually I have all the files pertaining to that case with me today."

"Oh, you do? Why is that?"

"Well it was the last time of corruption in the police department and potential under dealings."

"You really do take a lot after Phoenix there don't you Mr. Justice."

"You can just call me Apollo Miss Skye."

"Likewise, you can call me Lana."

Maggey came from around the corner from the back of the office with a platter of fruit, toast, and cereal. "Here you are everyone, sorry it's nothing special but it's the only thing I can't burn for breakfast."

Ema leans over to Apollo and whispers into his ear, "The sad thing is that's probably true." Apollo offered a laugh.

"Please help yourself to tea, Dick just called up to me and said Klavier and Miles had just entered the building. We should be ready to get started in a few minutes." Maggey sat herself on the other side of Lana.

Franziska at that time decided to pipe up, "Figures we'd be waiting for Mr. Edgeworth last, he always made me wait." She tightened her grip around her whip. "He's going to have a lot of explaining to do when he gets here."

"Oh come off it Franny, he was coming from Asia to specifically help us out on this case, of course he was going to be the last one here."

Franziska threw a glare to Ema, "My name is Franziska Von Karma, Miss Von Karma if you please little detective."

Ema grimaced and Lana put her hand on her shoulder, "Franziska, a little kinder if you would please. There's no need for hostility, we're all going to be working together."

Franziska just closed her eyes and loosened her grip on her whip, "Sorry, I'm just not much of a morning person."

The elevator bell ringed and the doors opened up to reveal Gumshoe leading Klavier and Miles in behind him. Apollo noticed Miles first however. He was wearing a burgundy suit with a black shirt underneath and a purple tie. 'Funny, Phoenix always made fun of all the ruffles he used to wear, what happened to those?' The three of them came over to the table and sat down, Gumshoe in between Maggey and Franziska, Klavier to the other side of Franziska, and Miles in between Klavier and Apollo. Apollo tried not to make eye contact with Miles and proceeded to look down at his notes.

"Alright, glad everyone could make it safely. Help yourself to breakfast while I debrief you all. I know some of you had to make big arrangements to make it here and take a lot of time out of your busy schedules, but you all are the only ones I can trust with this case. I know none of you have any ill-wills to the police department. Now then that being said, recently we have had a lot of mysterious deaths and employees being laid off. These layoffs are not being run by me first however after reviewing them they are perfectly legal standing and I have no jurisdiction to bring the police officers back. Now then, the list of the personnel affected has been written down for you all. It includes the department and position the person worked in. In addition it also includes if the person was murdered or laid off. At the moment we only have 4 victims."

Chief Gumshoe proceeded to pass out a list and bios of all the people affected to everyone around the table. Apollo picked up the list and quickly read through it. The list went as follows:

- District 2 Police Captain Phil Hamlin (DECEASED)

- District 2 Criminal Affairs Detective Sara Lonk (DECEASED)

- Special Task Force Officer Joy Declasse (DECEASED)

- Evidence Security Detail Kirk Bolin (DECEASED)

- District 3 Police Officer Flor Wallaway (FIRED)

- District 3 Police Officer Zach Yore (FIRED)

- District 1 Criminal Affairs Head Detective Mike Meekins (FIRED)

- District 1 Criminal Affairs Detective Glen Palir (FIRED)

- District 1 Criminal Affairs Detective Jessica Clark (FIRED)

"Now then, most of these events happened within the past three weeks. However about a week ago we received the video threat about the big hit on the Criminal Affairs department and courthouse. I conferred with my Special Task Force Captain to see if it was a legitimate threat and if we should take any action. He told me that the threat was tested as legitimate and to act accordingly for the safety of the police force."

"Well then Chief Gumshoe," Miles piped up, "Are you going to provide us this footage of the threat?"

"Well if you feel it would help with the investigation then sure, I can show it to you." Gumshoe reached into his pocket and pulled out a little clicker and pressed a couple of buttons. A giant screen came down from the ceiling behind the table. Everyone turned around to look at the projection screen. A darkened room showed up on the screen. It was difficult to make anything out except for outlines. It seemed the person making the threat was sitting at a giant desk. A justice scale was to his right except the scale was dented. A voice modifier was used over the person's voice.

"To the wonderful Chief Gumshoe, the time has now come for action. The Red Kakumei have decided that you as the leader of this new justice system should be punished for your wrongdoings to the justice system. With the introduction of the Jurist System in the case of People vs. Vera Misham the public is now no longer safe. There have been and will be convictions of innocent people primarily because you as a justice system paint all potential criminals as bad people. The public will now wrongfully convict all possible persons and it is your justice systems fault. Since the public is not safe from you the police and your wrongful convictions, you are now no longer safe from the public. We convict you for the murder of justice. The justice system will soon fall.

There have been nothing but petty deaths and layoffs these past couple of days but it seems like it is not enough to make you want to act upon these weird circumstances. That being the case we feel it is time to take further action. Sometime within the next week prepare for a major attack on the justice system. There will be no courthouse, all judges will be gone. All detectives shall perish, and all officers of the law will be thrown to the people. With no more judges there are no more rulings, with no more detectives there are no wrongful arrests, no more officers there are no more bad people. Without them all there is no more justice system. The people will rise. The Red Kakumei have warned you. Consider yourself lucky."

The video cuts out and the screen went back up. Everyone around the table was furiously writing notes down in their notebooks. Meanwhile Apollo sat there and watched Gumshoe's expressions. He seemed extremely troubled and saddened. Gumshoe turned and saw Apollo looking at him and tried to show him a grin but didn't have the strength to complete one.

"So, now that you are all caught up on the situation I leave it up to you all to decide how to go about this."

"Well first things first," Lana piped up, "We need to figure out who a potential suspect is. Going out there and grasping for straws will yield no results."

"And how do you propose we go about this Fraulein Skye?"

"Simple, we know that there has been an infiltration within the Criminal Affairs department right?"

"Yes…"

"Well there's a starting list right there."

"I never thought I would ever say this…but Chief Gumshoe d-"

"Rolls right of the tongue doesn't it Franziska?" *SNAP!* "Ow! Hey you can't do that to me anymore now that I'm the chief!" *SNAP SNAP SNAP!* "Ok, ok! Proceed!" Gumshoe hid under the table and barely showed his eyes over the edge.

"Now then, as I was saying… do you have a chart of who oversees who in this entire department? In addition can you please list the people that can fire people."

"Well the chart I have, but it is hard to give you the people that can fire others. We can also fire on anonymous reports so if a fellow officer sees you doing something illegal and after an investigation happens it's a proven allegation then just someone above them can put the paperwork in for the layoff."

Gumshoe flipped through his folder file and tossed a sheet of the Criminal Affairs department chart of who to report to into the center of the table. It was marked with notes of who had been killed and who was laid off. It read as follows:

Chief of Police directly oversees:
- Chief of Investigators
- Police Force Captain

Chief of Investigators oversees:
- Evidence Specialist
- Detective Captain
- Office Supervisor

Evidence Specialist oversees:
- Evidence Captain (in charge of 5 now 4 Security Officers)
- Forensics Team Captain

Detective Captain oversees:
- District 1 Head Detective (in charge of 5 now 3 Detectives DECEASED)
- District 2 Head Detective (in charge of 8 now 7 Detectives)
- District 3 Head Detective (in charge of 9 Detectives)

Police Force General oversees:
- Police Sergeant
- Special Task Force Captain (in charge of 10 now 9 Officers)
- Interpol Ambassador

Police Sergeant oversees:
- District 1 Captain (in charge of 15 Officers)
- District 2 Captain (in charge of 24 Officers DECEASED)
- District 3 Captain (in charge of 27 now 25 Officers)

"So what inferences can you all make from this?"

'That I can't believe you were once a clumsy detective and here you sit before us as the head person of 120 employees…' Apollo thought to himself.

Franziska closed her eyes again, "Well simply enough seeing as most of the victims in this case are on the lowest two levels of this chart we can assume that the potential suspects are the Chief of Investigators, Police Force General, Evidence Specialist, Detective Captain, Office Supervisor, Police Sergeant, Special Task Force Captain, and the Interpol Ambassador."

Miles started waving his finger at Franziska, "Ah but you forget that anyone on your level can report you to get you fired."

"Well then Mr. Edgeworth that actually means we can still narrow it down slightly, there is no chance for a lesser officer to be the spy because there have been higher up officers involved in this as well." Lana offered.

"Ah but Fraulein Prosecutor, those two higher officers were murdered and not fired so it is still possible for our spy to be a lesser officer."

Apollo just sat there getting dizzy turning his head back and forth. He held his head in his hands on the table. 'I shouldn't be involved in this. I have so much going on and I can't even keep up. First these people are suspects, then they aren't, then they are, and what's the purpose of this anyways. Why isn't the public safe with the new jurist system? Doesn't that make them safer?' Apollo jumped after feeling a tap on his right shoulder. It was Miles's hand.

"Everything alright there Mr. Justice?"

Apollo blushed and shook off Miles's hand, "Fine, it's just there is a lot of information to take in."

"Perhaps going for a walk to absorb it all might be needed."

"Yea, I think that would be good." Apollo turned to Gumshoe. "Hey Chief, would you mind if I stepped out and went for a quick walk to collect my thoughts?"

"Yea, in fact I think we should all take a bit of a break to start thinking."

Apollo stood up and walked over to the elevator and stepped in. As the doors were closing Apollo saw a hand come in between the doors causing them to open back up revealing Miles.

"You wouldn't mind if I joined you, would you?"

"Uh, er…"

"We are going to be working together on this case and it would be better for me as well as the overall outcome of this case if I could learn a bit more about my new 'boss.'"

"Sure I guess…" Miles stepped into the elevator and pushed a button to a lower floor. 'Crap.'