Chapter 23: Perception
Notes:
Some spoilers to investigations 1. A certain culprit during one of the chapters is named.
Friday August 12th 2016 – 1:29 PM
"Father," Miles called, waiting to check in with their current errand and request lunch.
"Miles. Hey, before you say anything, I want to inform you that Ray and I found ourselves in a spot."
"What happened? Are you okay?" Miles said in a worry, getting Ruby's attention as well.
"Yes. Yes, we're fine. However, a couple of detectives are also here with us. I do not want to be an alarmist, but Ray and I are watching them so they do not try to plant evidence. He is chatting them up right now."
"So, you cannot leave until they do. Marvelous." Miles sighed. Even without that recording, they should have enough evidence to place White at the crime. It would do them even less justice to have those detectives tamper with the crime scene, so Raymond and Gregory keeping them honest was a stroke of luck. "We have an extension on the trial. It will resume and White will take the stand, so to keep them from manipulating the scene, you might just have to wait it out."
Gregory laughed in a way that sounded both proud and impressed, "That was quick, Miles. You are doing well. Good, very good."
Miles blushed at the praise. "I would not have done so well without Phoenix here."
Gregory went quiet for a moment, then said, "It does seem as though I misjudged him at the beginning. Who would have guessed that the actions of an undercover detective would mirror a criminal's activities so perfectly?"
That reminded Miles that he needed to discuss that with Phoenix when a more opportune time arose. For now, he said, "Yes. Phoenix is rather unorthodox, is he not?"
"That is not a bad thing. I do have questions yet remaining." Gregory said, "But that can wait."
"Agreed." Miles nodded, though the action went unseen to his father.
Gregory said, "I may be able to leave this in Raymond's capable hands so I can return that piece of evidence to you."
Miles blinked and asked, "Will Ray be safe on his own?"
"Ray can handle himself."
"We must assume that it is White's men employed. We need to be careful." Miles corrected, "You said it yourself, before this all began."
"I did, didn't I? Ray and I will discuss our next move and then I will let you know what we decide."
"Okay. Thank you, Father." Ruby still had her eyes trained on Miles when he hung up his phone.
"Everythin' good, Red?" She asked. "Your pops and friend are good?"
"Yes. And may they stay that way." He answered. She chuckled a little bit, forgetting her situation for a moment.
"What? The things you say are funny."
Miles ignored her and watched for Phoenix to regroup. Miles lost count of how many different phone calls and emails he sent in the span of a few minutes, but that was okay. Miles trusted that whatever it was that Phoenix prepared them for would be beneficial.
Right. Phoenix was dependable in a way that he only expected from his father.
"What's the word?" Phoenix asked as he entered the group with a smile.
"Confident." Miles said in observation of Phoenix, though he meant to keep that internal. "Hm. Anyway, Father and Ray are stuck at your apartment. White's men are acting suspicious and Father suspects they mean to manipulate the crime scene to their benefit."
"Ah." Phoenix nodded with his hand on his chin, "Sounds about right. Will they be alright on their own?"
"Father seems to think they will be, so I will have to trust them."
Phoenix's smile left and worry took over his eyes. "I can request backup for them if you think they're in danger."
"Oh." That was an option, wasn't it?
"I am on good terms with Lang again, so he'll be happy to do me a favor – ah, well, not happy, but still. He'll assist."
"Okay. If you can, I would appreciate it." Miles said. He already felt relief from agents discouraging any chance of foul play.
"No problem. Give me a sec." Phoenix was on his phone again, "Yo, it's me. Yeah, so soon. Hey, can you do me a favor? . . . I know, I know! You won't regret it, though. I got some lead on good old Traffy. Yeah, give me like, a couple of hours and I'll squeeze the info out of my lead. . . . Technically, but jeez, let me work and I'll get those results. Uh-huh. You know my apartment? Yeah, that one. Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Shields could use your protection again. I know you're not, but again, it's worth your time. Yeah, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Thanks! You're a real life saver, you know that?" And the phone call ended.
"'Traffy'?" Miles asked, "Is that not what you discerned Purohit's true target is, merely moments ago? Is it presumptuous to promise those results? From Purohit no less, who has made it clear that he wanted Interpol removed from that investigation?"
"Strike while the iron's hot, Miles. I'm gonna have a chat with him real soon. Unfortunately, he's with White, but I think I can convince him after this trial's over." Miles folded his arms. He did not necessarily disapprove, but Wright's methods were pushing that line of acceptability again. Phoenix smiled, unphased, and said, "You're really pretty when you do that. Once Lang knows who I am talking about, that information's coming out, regardless. I'm much gentler about it."
"So that is why you were lenient with him." Miles felt his pointer finger tap against his arm as he purposefully disregarded Phoenix's 'pretty' comment.
"Opportunity and confidentiality. If Traf is actually selling people Stateside, he's not getting away with this a second time. I can promise you that."
Depravity. The thought of it made Miles ill, but he kept up appearances. "And you believe Purohit will simply tell you all that he supposedly knows?" Miles argued, starting to feel more stern as Phoenix's plan came to light.
"Not without a lil teeth pulling. It'll be alright, either way. You see, Purohit may have his badge and can legally prosecute in this country, but his rights here can be denied. Lang has a . . . special way stripping people of their perceived power. If Purohit's mission is at stake, he will abandon his old plans for new ones. He will cooperate, in the end."
"Well, if you insist that it will play out as such, I will leave it alone." Miles left out his mixed thoughts on the moral standing of how that sounded. Purohit was not a saint, either, so Interpol must combat that with their own methods.
"Thanks." Phoenix's smile returned in a softer way, "You don't have to worry about that. It's on me if Lang's mad about it."
Ruby added to the conversation, "You're forgetting that slime ball prosecutor set someone else to take the murder rap. You tryna tell us he's a good man at heart? I don't buy it."
"I am in agreement with our client." Miles said.
"Who knows more than she should. Oh well." Phoenix shrugged, "I never said that Purohit was a good man."
"Do you trust him?" Miles asked, looking for more of a clarification on Phoenix's thoughts.
"Not in the least." Phoenix assured. "But, I do know what he's after. Everything else is secondary to him."
"And you plan on using that against him. That is your business, then." Miles said in finality.
"Hm. Unfortunately, it is. Maybe you can cross train into an Interpol agent, and I can share all of those details with you."
"I think I will pass on that." Miles said. He had no interest in branching out to something that was not the Edgeworth's Law Offices.
"Well, you know where to find me if you decide otherwise." Phoenix said. "For now, I think I will settle with seeing you in court."
"And by that, you mean . . .?" Miles inquired. Phoenix chuckled, giving no indication of a real response. Miles scoffed, then changed his question, "How many current cases does that make for you now?"
"I dunno. Lost count." Phoenix shrugged. As far as Miles could tell, that was not a lie.
"How do you possibly keep all of that organized?"
"Surprisingly easily." Phoenix pursed his lips. "I guess it helps that I relay it to my team lead until I'm called for court. Then I have my notes."
"Called for court as a prosecutor?" Miles asked.
"Or the lead detective, but yeah, pretty much. This is the first time I've been on the defense's side. Well, technically considered on the defense's side. I like being your aid, though."
"What do you mean by 'technically considered'?"
"Oh. That. Were you expecting me to at one point dole out a pitch about some perfect court record?" Phoenix winked. "That's not the truth of it. Sometimes the defense is in the right. Sometimes they're doing what they can to acquit a scumbag. In any case, there's only so much evidence can do before a person looks less and less guilty."
"So, you have purposefully lost your cases before?" Miles raised an eyebrow.
"Not purposefully in the sense that I laid down and abandoned my duties. My job is to pitch the perfect scenario with the evidence at hand. If the evidence doesn't match, I'm not going to make up things just to get a win."
That is reasonable. I suppose I should not be so surprised, though. Miles thought and nodded.
Phoenix said after Miles nonverbally approved, "At the end of the day, it's not my life that is ruined by a wrong guilty verdict."
"And what about the opposite? What about a wrong not guilty verdict?" Miles asked in test of what Phoenix's own experiences were.
"There's a saying, 'better a guilty man go free than an innocent man left to rot' . . . or something like that."
"Not quite. You're referring to Blackstone's ratio: 'It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer'."
"Eh. Close enough." Phoenix said. Miles studied him closely, but could not find a trace of him obscuring his beliefs behind a front. For all that Phoenix went through, he genuinely believed in that statement. "Why did you choose to be a prosecutor, then? Your belief aligns more with a defense attorney."
"Not necessarily. We can never truly know one way or the other who is guilty and who is innocent. Sometimes it's blurred behind circumstantial 'evidence', and we have to make do. But, to answer your question, I enjoy the chase. Unfortunately, being a defense attorney is more of a passive role."
"Hmph. That is not necessarily true, either, Phoenix." Miles recounted the number of times his job put him in a perilous situation.
As if Miles telepathically shared that information with Phoenix, he said, "That's not quite the same thing. Reactive in the event of a cornered suspect, but it wasn't your intended end goal; but a person suddenly waving a gun at you in a way to escape is tangible proof, so long as you survive the encounter."
Miles shuddered. Not only did he picture Calisto Yew aiming a gun at him, pulling the trigger without remorse, and marginally missing him, Miles pictured it just before Phoenix described a similar hypothetical event. The timing was uncanny. Miles did not address it, though, leaving it as just another strange coincidence.
Phoenix had a neutral expression, but his eyes were ever fixed on being warm and inviting, while holding concern. He voiced the reason for it, though, and suggested, "You should call your father back. Let him know about Lang and make sure he's still okay."
"Oh." Miles looked at his phone and realized his father never called back. "Right. Thank you."
"Anytime." Phoenix assured, then checked his own devices for who knows what. Miles redialed Gregory and felt his stomach rumbled in the same second. The body had many needs and it began to vocalize one of them. They needed to use that last thirty minutes to eat something before it became a hindrance.
#
Friday August 12th 2016 – 1:36 PM
Ruby and Miles waited in a lobby, while Phoenix picked up sub sandwiches for lunch. Gregory would return on his own while Raymond and Lang kept the detectives under White's payroll from tampering with the crime scene.
"You tolerate him well." Ruby said.
"Who, Wright?" Miles sat down, neatly smoothing out his pants before descending.
"Yeah. Relentless flirt that he is."
"Hm." She must be referring to that 'pretty' comment from before.
"You said you were 'friends' right?" She pried.
"We are. I suppose he slipped one comment through by mistake."
"Ah." Ruby took to looking out the window. The view would have been nicer if there were not bars in the way. "He learned real quick not to say anythin' stupid around me."
"He said that your relationship is a professional one. Or did he lie?" Miles asked.
"He flirts, but I don't think he really means anything by it." She shrugged, "I think he just enjoys banter more than anything. Still, I'm not a person to play that with."
He enjoys banter? Well, he is certainly in the correct field for that, then. With that realization, Miles now knew why Phoenix would look forward to 'seeing' him in court. Miles smiled. If it was a game he was after, then Miles would play along.
Phoenix returned moments later. He passed along food and bottled drinks, all in a bag wrapped around his strong, unbroken wrist. Before too long, they were sharing a quick meal together.
"I don't get it," Ruby said, mulling about something after taking a bite of her own food, "Why can't they Houdini a weapon and claim that they found it at the scene?"
"Pics or it didn't happen." Phoenix explained.
"What?" Miles asked.
"If they don't take a picture of where they allegedly found it, their word amounts to garbage. If they're gonna fabricate, they're gonna need to take some extra steps."
"Like planting it in that dumpster behind the building and documenting it?" Ruby caught on.
"Exactly like that. Grab some of the victim's hair, skin, or blood from a lab sample and slap it on like a sticker. Oh. Sorry." Phoenix realized that image might have been horrifying to hear, especially if Ruby pictured Fiona's body being violated further to cover up her own murderer's involvement.
Because the rod had blood on it, White had to have rolled it in her wound to make it more believable. Miles closed his eyes, revolted by the imagery.
"It's alright. Very informative. Strange how much you know about forging evidence, though." Ruby took a slurp of her coke to hide a sly smile.
"I have never forged any evidence." Phoenix took that accusation seriously, "I just know what to look for."
"Suure." She winked. Phoenix rolled his eyes, but a smile of his own emerged. They were fine after all, thankfully. Ruby neglected to show her own suffering while the trial continued, but Miles was sure she would feel it later, if her regret and second guessing had anything to say about it.
The officer let himself in and said, "Miss Frost, it is time for you to come back."
"Yeah, yeah." She stood up and smiled at the two boys.
"This will be over soon, Ruby." Phoenix promised.
"I know." She seemed a lot calmer now than she was before. She and the officer left, leaving Miles and Phoenix to discuss any last-minute thoughts.
"He's gonna be pissed to see me." Phoenix chuckled.
"White?" Miles guessed.
"Oh, you know it." Phoenix stood up first and took care of the trash. "He might be expecting it. If he's not, make sure to watch his face. It's the best part."
"And why is that?"
"It's like they've seen a ghost. They go pale and wide-eyed. It's the most glorious thing in the world. Well. Second to you."
"Wright." Miles frowned, "I thought we agreed to no more flirting."
"Oh, did we? My mistake. I will keep those thoughts to myself, then." Phoenix said and left it at that.
"Thank you. And about this strange obsession with petrifying your indicted . . . can you please dial it back?"
Phoenix exhaled, "Fine. Just this once." He seemed greatly disappointed, like Miles quelled his enthusiasm; however, Miles needed to adhere to his own sense of professionalism. There was a question that Miles had, though, in regards of Phoenix's phrasing. I will keep those thoughts to myself, he said.
So, you will still have them even if they are not voiced?
Phoenix met Miles' gaze and said, "Yes."
I did not say that aloud. How is he doing that? It was becoming harder for Miles to ignore it. A coincidence was one thing – Phoenix answering an internal thought was completely another. They walked together in a hushed silence before Miles inquired, "Why do you even have those thoughts to begin with?"
"Hmm? What thoughts?"
"Do not play innocent, Wright. You know which ones. Those flirtatious ones."
"Do you want an honest answer to that?" Phoenix asked. "I'm not sure you'd like it."
"Well, it would be hard to maintain a friendship if I am constantly concerned with what goes on behind the scenes." Miles argued, though he started to waver in his own confidence. Maybe this is one of those instances where I should not question it too much.
It was too late for Miles to take back, though. Phoenix responded, "Good point. It's because you are attractive and I like you more than I probably should. Anything else?"
"How do you say that with a straight face and then go on pretending like nothing of importance was said?"
"Because if I acted like it was something, it would make you uncomfortable?" Phoenix batted his eyes innocently, but Miles was onto him.
"I thought you enjoyed mindless banter?" Miles asserted, trying to sum up what he and Ruby discussed earlier.
"I like mindful banter more than mindless. What's your point?"
"So, you flirt just for that purpose – to banter."
Phoenix laughed. "Sometimes."
"I do not wish to participate in this." Miles made himself clear.
"And I agreed to stop." Phoenix replied.
"I would like for those thoughts to end as well." Miles added one more stipulation.
"I can't just switch it off." Phoenix and Miles saw their door. More foot traffic prevented them from speaking in a normal tone, but luckily hushed whispers were normal for lawyers, so they didn't stand out. "I can keep it to myself, but I can't stop those thoughts from happening."
Miles squinted, as if he caught Phoenix in a lie. "Why not?"
"I am guessing you weren't taking me seriously the last few times I spelled it out. It's fine. I'll say it again." Phoenix stretched his back and arms before he explained concisely, "I am in love with you and always have been."
Miles took a step back. He then said once he caught his breath, "That's not a very clever joke, Wright."
"It isn't a joke." Phoenix responded. "Well. Time for our guest of honor to arrive." And Phoenix sauntered off into their courtroom, leaving Miles to collect his shattered perceptions.
"What?" Miles called moments later, long after his voice could reach Phoenix's ears. Returning to reality, Miles hurried into the courtroom before he was penalized for being late.
Notes:
If it wasn't clear, Miles half expected Phoenix's flirts to be more games. He wasn't connecting the dots at all lol.