A/N
Hey everyone, I've been rushing to get this rather long chapter finished as it's unlikely that I'll be very active from now till the start of December due to exams. I'll try and get a chapter up every week if I can but I'm not 100% that I'll have the time.
Anyway, this chapter shows some moments of Nina in her very dangerous situation and some scenes with Miles and his friends - along with the brief introduction of a new OC who may end up being quite important later on (I haven't decided yet haha)
I also found out how to do the line break between different parts of the fanfiction (even if it took me till chapter 12 to work it out XD )
Anyhoo hopefully this chapter is entertaining and all. If you like it or have any suggestions please review if you have the time! :)
"Your father spoke very highly of you, Miss Forester. Although I am curious as to why…to be honest, I just don't see it. After all, what kind of foolish girl runs away to track down a murderer?!" von Karma laughed, getting ever closer to the chained up brunette. Nina continued to glare hard at her father's killer – her hatred undeniable.
"I hope you didn't come here to arrest me though. You're either very foolish or very misinformed if that was your intention." He laughed again and knelt down to Nina's level, his face inching closer to hers. "Or maybe you're here for much darker, more personal reasons?"
"Go to hell." Nina snarled, trying to keep her breathing under control. She couldn't afford to feel intimidated in her current situation. Even when the convict pulled out a gun.
"Such a pretty little thing you are. It really is a shame…" He reached out a hand but the brunette completely blanked this contact.
"If you're going to kill me…just do it." She spat back, feeling physically sick.
"Oh no dear, you've misunderstood me." Manfred put down the gun he was holding. "I intend to do far worse. Your sanity is already very fragile, your family torn apart. Who has actually realised that you've gone? Trust me, you'll be begging for death once I'm finished."
He picked up his gun and stood up, heading for the door with a cold smirk in place. "So make yourself comfortable, my dear. You're going to be here for a long time." And with that, von Karma headed up the basement stairs, chuckling to himself."von Karma!" She shouted after him, attempting to pull free from her shackles. "I swear I'll make you pay for this, you bastard!" Nina struggled and shouted for almost 20 minutes before she gave up and laid on the floor in defeat. It wasn't long before she drifted back off to sleep – it wasn't like she had anything else to do afterall.
Even after two days of investigating, the LAPD had no leads regarding Nina's current whereabouts. Sure, they'd done their fair share of interviewing and examining every place she may have disappeared to – but so far, their efforts had proved futile.
And as the hours passed by, Miles' hopes at seeing the woman he loved were slowly fading.
That was why he chose to step up the pace.
Chris Chambers being first on his hit-list.
"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" The detective smirked, taking a seat and removing his sunglasses.
"Yes, about Miss Forester." Miles replied, trying to maintain a calm demeanour around the egoistical blonde.
"Is Nina dead?" He asked with a snigger. "Because if she is, I'd like to take a look at her will. Although I'm not expecting her to have much money to leave Oliver."
The chief prosecutor knew he couldn't show Detective Chambers any sign of a reaction; Miles just needed to see if he knew anything about his ex-wife's disappearance. "When was the last time you spoke with Miss Forester?"
"Last week when she came to pick up Ollie for her monthly day out with him. Poor kid has no idea…he thinks his mom's an angel." He laughed, certainly not fazed by the fact that the mother of his son had been missing for several days. "Get this: she took him to Santa Monica beach. Like he hasn't been there loads of times before. Oh, and he got ice cream…as if he doesn't already eat it every day. Honestly I'm surprised she can even afford it."
Miles cleared his throat, clasping his hands together tightly whilst still feigning a polite manner towards the cruel detective. "So do you believe that there's a reason behind Miss Forester's disappearance?"
Chris simply shrugged, still smiling smugly.
"If you're withholding information…"
"I am not withholding anything. If you want to know a few secrets I suggest you find Nina." He snickered. "Such a shame that she's gone forever."
The detective was really testing Miles' patience now. And he knew it. "What makes you say that?"
"Didn't she tell you? Oh how odd…" The smug blonde pretended to be surprised then smirked. "Mark Baker for one seems to think that the two of you are close."
"…What has he said exactly?" Miles asked, now feeling both anxious and annoyed.
"That after Nina broke up with him she got into your car. You were hugging her and it was apparently really cosy." He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "You'll never guess what, Baker actually thinks Nina has a thing for you! It's enough to make anyone laugh…"
Miles, however, didn't laugh. He was thinking hard about what had just been said. Did Nina truly share his feelings? And if so, why hadn't she made them obvious to him – moreover, why hadn't she told him.
Well I suppose I never told her either.
"It must be true. After all, why else would Nina have ditched Baker after so little time? I know she was only using him but there must have been more to it."
"Wait…what do you mean by that?" He finally felt like the conversation was going somewhere.
"Didn't you know?" Chris grinned. "Nina was only dating Baker for information on that von Karma guy. Can't say I blame her really, Mark is pretty weedy and naïve – an easy target."
The realisation came crashing down on Miles. He may not have known where Nina was but he had a good idea as to who she was with. In fact, he couldn't speak; if she really was with Manfred von Karma, he may have already silenced her.
Even after several weeks of searching for the escaped convict, the LAPD had very few leads regarding where he could be hiding. Nina had clearly found out where and had gone to apprehend him single-handedly.
Miles stood up quickly; he had to find Detective Gumshoe and get the department looking again. If they found Manfred, they'd find Nina – and vice versa. But of course they'd require assistance in their search.
"Chambers, I want you to call Agent Lang at Interpol. If he has any available officers to aid our search we will need them." Miles said, throwing his jacket on.
Chris rolled his eyes, "all this fuss for Nina? You've got to be kidding me."
"We're also searching for Manfred von Karma now." Miles replied sternly. "Now make that phonecall Detective. That's an order." He had never once had to order a detective around like that but Chambers was way overdue for an arse-kicking. And what a sight it was when Chris actually picked up the phone and dialled for Agent Lang at Interpol!
Speaking of sights, Miles saw another one in the department's reception: Franziska von Karma storming her way through. As usual, she carried her trusty whip along with confident threats of violence via said trusty whip. And walking alongside her was Phoenix Wright. For once, he was pleased to see that infuriating man.
"Miles Edgeworth, why didn't you call me?!" Franziska exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "I'm insulted that you didn't even think to request my help. I had to hear all about this case from that Scruffy Detective."
Yes, some people never change…
"So, do you have any leads Edgeworth?" Phoenix asked, genuinely wanting to be helpful.
Well what could he have said to that? Chris Chambers of all people had just given them the first useful lead! But it involved Franziska's father.
"Not exactly, no." Miles replied quickly, not making eye contact with his 'sister'.
"Who is this woman anyway, Miles? That Scruffy Detective spoke very highly of her and you have practically sent out half of your officers looking for her – which has had no result by the way – so surely she must be a very significant person to receive all this attention."
The defence lawyer grinned as Miles began to blush. "Yeah Edgeworth, what is Nina like?"
"She's, ahem, highly intelligent, amusing, b-beautiful. She's…" Miles' words drifted away from him when he noticed the faces that Phoenix and Franziska were pulling. He turned around to see Detective Gumshoe stood beside a dark-haired man who didn't look pleased at all. In fact, he had a raised eyebrow on the chief prosecutor. "Good afternoon…how may I help you?"
"Sir, this is Nina's brother…" Detective Gumshoe said as Phoenix attempted to stifle a laugh.
The man reluctantly held out his hand to Miles. "Alex Murray." He remembered how Nina had introduced herself with a handshake too. Upon closer inspection, the resemblance between the two siblings more than apparent – they shared the same dark eyes and distinguishable English accent. However, Alex was quite tall and had allowed dark stubble to grow around his cheeks and slightly above his lip.
With a sweaty and shaky palm, Miles returned the introduction with an anxious smile: had Nina's brother heard everything he had just said?
"Nina has spoken very highly of you, Miles. Although I'd like to know if you actually have any leads regarding what happened to my sister. Moreover, have you actually been looking for her?" He certainly was the protective kind of brother.
"Of course, pal. Mr Edgeworth has had the LAPD running all over looking for Nina." Detective Gumshoe stepped in to defend his boss.
Alex turned back to the chief prosecutor. "But you don't have any leads? Surely you'd have found something by now."
Miles could feel his face flushing; he wanted to tell Alex what was going on and what he had just found out. But he equally didn't want to upset Franziska. Instead Miles shook his head, feeling guilty for lying to Nina's brother.
"So, let me get this straight, you've been searching for two days and you know nothing? You don't even know if she's alive…"
"No…but I certainly would appreciate it if you could aid our investigation, Mr Murray." Miles said, attempting to patch things up with the clearly concerned Englishman.
"Yeah, of course." Alex's expression was unreadable but Miles knew he had to work with this.
While Franziska helped to get the officers in order, Miles, Phoenix, Gumshoe and Alex headed back to Nina's apartment; knowing that if anyone could help find Nina that it would be her older brother.
They rifled through the same drawers, saw the same messy state that Nina's apartment had been in the day before when it had been searched. Miles knew it was fruitless but surely Alex knew something that could have helped them.
"I don't know why you've got me here, searching through my sister's old shirts and books. Shouldn't we be out there, actually looking for her?" Alex certainly seemed frustrated with the whole situation. Then Alex found a photo of him and Nina on her graduation day; he looked exactly the same, perhaps he currently had more of an unshaven face but the likeness was still uncanny, even after 9 or so years. Miles could sense the tension in the room, along with the obvious fact that Nina and Alex had drifted apart in recent years, after an upbringing of being close. After a moment or two of staring, the Englishman set down the album. "I can't just sit here knowing that my sister is out there; alone, scared. She might already be dead for crying out loud!"
"Mr Murray, you have to stay optimistic. We're doing all we can." Phoenix interjected, sensing that this situation was upsetting Miles.
"Forget it. I'm going to look for her myself." And Alex did exactly that – leaving the chief prosecutor alone with Phoenix and a sympathetic look.
"I know this is hard on him, but how are you doing?" Phoenix asked with complete sincerity. "Alex is Nina's brother so of course he'd be worried, but what about you?"
Miles thought for a moment: how was he doing? It was true that he hadn't slept or eaten properly since Nina was declared missing. He was worried and had been suffering from a constant migraine. And he now knew that he was in love with Nina – even though it may have been too late.
"I just want her to be found, Wright." Miles mumbled, staring out of the window. "In an ideal world, Nina would be here. She'd be her usual self and she'd be safe."
"…You really care about her, don't you." Phoenix said, feeling sorry for his childhood friend.
"You know I do, Wright. You've always known." Miles sighed, "…even when I didn't."
"Well…I'm sure that she's alright. Nina is a brave woman, you've said so yourself."
Now that Alex had gone, Miles knew that he was free to discuss Nina's probable captor. "Manfred von Karma has Nina. It's unlikely that she's alright, even if she is strong."
"What? Are you sure?"
Miles nodded, clearing his throat. "I think that she found out where von Karma's been hiding and went to confront him." He rubbed his temples, the thought very stressing indeed. How could she have been so stupid? In that moment, the men in the large poster above Nina's bed seemed to be staring at him and Miles couldn't help but stare back. He hated to admit it but he knew very little about Nina; he didn't even know the name of the band that hung above her bed.
And then a thought crossed his mind.
With shaking hands, Miles tore the poster off the wall and he almost felt the floor give way beneath his feet. There on Nina's wall hung a large wooden board full of newspaper clippings, accompanied by her own scribbled notes and a large map of the city that had been attacked by a red sharpie.
"Someone's been very busy," Phoenix said, watching as Miles carefully examined the board – particularly the map in the centre. Through all the red circles and crosses, one large indication was apparent: just on the outskirts, Nina had circled a large area of land. Clearly she knew this place more than the chief prosecutor. Even so, it was certain that this location was where Nina was – or at least, where she had driven to a few evenings ago.
Nina awoke suddenly to a sharp, continuous pain in her ribs that jolted her upright. She looked up weakly to find that von Karma was indeed kicking her awake, standing over her with a cruel grin. "What the hell do you want?" The brunette groaned with a glare, sitting up before the convict could kick her again.
"I brought you some water." He threw a bottle at her. She didn't touch it. "Fine, be ungrateful. Your father was exactly the same." Manfred grinned, waiting for a reaction. "That's why I had to murder him."
Nina flinched, his words clearly striking a chord. "You didn't have to do anything."
"Why do you even care? It's not like your father was a good man. After what he did, he deserved everything that he got." He pressed his cane firmly into Nina's hip. "Wasn't it here that your precious father shot you?"
She winced at the pain but refused to give the fugitive the satisfaction of knowing that he was truly hurting her.
"And your poor mother. I'm certain that she didn't deserve to die for her lies."
"You know nothing about my family." Nina glared harder. "My dad loved that conniving cow. We were happy enough."
"If he was so happy then why kill his wife? Bitch or not, your father murdered your mother in cold blood. Right over—"
Nina threw her bottle of water at her captor; she felt physically sick and her chest ever tightening.
"If anyone murdered your father it was you." Von Karma insisted with a twisted smirk. "You and he were in cahoots. I only really killed him because of his betrayal."
She didn't answer.
"I'd have thought that you'd have at least been a little grateful that I led you here. It holds some significance doesn't it? Wasn't it over there by the stairs that—"
"Shut the hell up! I swear you'll be locked up and on death row by the end of the week; I'll make sure of it!" Nina shouted, still struggling free with clenched fists. In that moment, if looks could have killed, Manfred von Karma would've been an instant dead man.
Von Karma, on the other hand, grinned as cruelly as ever; more than satisfied with Nina's rage. "Alright, I'll leave you to sulk some more on your own."
"Don't you dare walk out that bloody door. I still want some answers from you, you bastard!" She swore, ignoring the sharp pain in her chest and the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. "We're not done here!"
Without warning, the convict pulled out a stun gun from his jacket pocket. "Oh, I think we are."
And before Nina could argue, she found herself having high voltage race through her body – knocking her unconscious.
A/N
I hope this didn't feel too rushed or that I'd put too many ideas into one fanfiction; I'm just eager to get onto the Miles x Nina stuff. I also hope that Nina's bad language doesn't bother anyone too much! ^^;
Anyway, have a lovely week everyone!