Good Enough

(And another! Sorry for the wait; I've been busy lately. Enjoy!)

Chapter 9

Franziska walked with Phoenix to the door of the medical wing and then let the other woman go ahead as soon as they were out of sight of the doctors. She waited a few seconds until the redheaded agent disappeared around the corner, and then she heard her speaking through the earpiece she was wearing hidden under her hair.

"All right," came Phoenix's voice clearly through the device. "Head straight down this hall and turn right. You'll find a row of cubical-like offices. Ellis is the third one down."

"Got it," Franziska replied in an undertone, speaking into a small microphone clipped on the inside of her shirt collar. She began to move forward, keeping alert in case someone unexpected was to show up. She followed Tilea's instructions and soon came to a workstation where a man of about thirty years of age sat typing something on a black screen. He didn't seem to notice her come up behind him.

"Okay, now just say anything," Phoenix instructed. "He doesn't understand German at all, so he won't have any idea. He'll get up to come find me or Ares to translate for him."

"Mein Herr…?"

A bit startled, Ellis turned around with a questioning look. "Um, may I help you, Miss?"

Franziska stared at him for a moment, seeming uncertain. "Ich suche jemand der mizh helfen kann mein Vater zun finden. Konnen Sie mir helfen?"

Ellis simply stared at her, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Um… Pardon me. I… um… don't understand you."

Franziska just blinked at him, looking a bit uncomfortable and uncertain as well. She began to look around, as if searching for a way to help him understand.

"Um…" Ellis scratched his head. He then stood up. "Wait here," he said, pointing at his office chair. "I'll…" He pointed at himself. "…be right back." He pointed toward the hallway, and then toward his desk. Hoping she understood, he moved off quickly.

Franziska couldn't help but smirk as he practically dashed away. She took his seat and turned to face the computer. "It's clear," she muttered. "You're sure no one can see me?"

"His station isn't under surveillance, and I'll let you know if anyone is coming down the hall. Now…"

Franziska listened carefully and followed along as Phoenix talked her through the steps to navigate the system she was using in order to access the information they needed. They were both tense through the entire process, but finally Franziska found it.

"Okay, how do I get it to you?"

"Just send it to Ares' printer. It's labeled with a 42 at the end of the name. Ellis is coming down here so do it quickly."

"I sent it."

"Great! Close that window and pretend you've just been sitting there the whole time. I'll be by in a second."

Franziska did as she was instructed and turned the chair around to face the entrance, leaning back in it and proceeding to look impatient. After a few moments, Phoenix appeared following Ellis.

"She speaks German and I don't think she understands any English at all."

"Oh, yes," Phoenix said. "She's here with Ares and me." She looked over at Franziska. "Komm mit, bite."

Franziska stood up and followed Phoenix back down the way she had come. They proceeded all the way back to Medical, and Franziska took her original position, pretending to look tired until the doctors left them alone.

"So, what was it?" she asked, looking over at Phoenix.

Phoenix began to shake her head, but a voice came from the entrance to the little room to answer her question.

"They've apparently found your father." Ares stepped in holding a sheet of paper in-hand. He stepped over to stand beside Phoenix, showing her the information Franziska had just retrieved.

"So, we know where they are now?" She was getting excited, the prospect of rescuing Miles seeming more tangible.

"Don't get too enthused," Ares said, looking over at her. "Your father has been seen around the western part of Berlin, but no one has seen Miles. There's no guarantee that they'll be in the same place, and if they are, we don't know where Miles would be hidden."

Franziska lowered her head. "Oh…"

"We can find out though," Phoenix added, folding up the sheet of paper and slipping it in a pocket on the front of her black, sleeveless dress shirt. "That's the next thing we need to work out. We've got what we need from here, so we can head out on our own now."

Franziska glanced up at them with a questioning expression. "We're… going to Germany?"

"Well…" Ares paused. "Phoenix and I are, but it's up to you whether or not you come. Personally, I don't think it'd be the best of ideas, but because this is not an official FBI operation, we're under no authority to forbid you from going."

"We won't ask you to come," Tilea continued for him. "Knowing how much danger you could be in if you came, we can't do that. However, should you choose to come, then we will accept your company."

"I'm coming," Franziska responded immediately. "I don't care if it's dangerous; Miles didn't care that he could've been killed when coming to rescue me. I owe him the same effort."

Phoenix frowned a bit. "Throwing away regard for your own life isn't the best way to go about this," she said, choosing her words carefully. "He may have risked his life, but had he not survived as you did, that might not have settled well at all. You would have probably felt responsible, despite the fact that it would have been none of your doing. The same holds true here; should you throw your life away to save his, he won't want to go on."

There was a pause during which Franziska considered Tilea's words. "I don't plan to throw my life away," she finally said. "But… I'm not afraid of putting myself in danger for him. If there's a possibility that I can help, I want to be there."

Phoenix nodded. "Very well then. We might not be allowed to work on this case, but Ares and I still have a say in what happens to you. I'll get a statement for your release, and then we'll be on our way overseas."

"I'll work on some preparations," Ares stated. "In the meantime, we all need to be thinking of creative ways to go about this little investigation of ours." With that, he and Phoenix exited past the large blue curtain and vanished from sight.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nick! Nick! The phone's ringing! Nick! Phone, Nick! Nick!"

"Okay I got it!"

Looking a bit frazzled, Phoenix Wright picked his cell phone up off the table and answered the call to stop the MIDI version of The Steel Samurai theme song. "This is Phoenix Wright."

"Phoenix Wright, it's Franziska."

Wright gave a surprised gasp. "M-Miss von Karma!" His tone was both shocked and relieved. "I've been hoping to hear from you and Edgeworth for weeks! Is everything all right?"

There was a brief pause before she gave her response. "Not… exactly… No one knows where Miles is… He's been missing since the last time you spoke with him."

"How'd you know about that?" Phoenix asked, a little confused.

"You told Ares about it; he told me."

"Oh… Well… Are you okay at least?" He leaned against his desk, about a million questions and worries going through his head now.

"Thank you for asking, but I'm fine. I called to make a request of you actually." She sounded very business-like, unwilling to let her own fear become evident in her voice. "Phoenix Tilea, Ares Taylor, and I are heading to Germany to search for Miles. We could use all the help we can get."

Wright blinked, trying to let what she had just said register. "You… are asking me to go to Germany with you?"

"Look…" She paused. "I can't discuss it all over the phone. I can understand if you can't, but at least come meet with Ares and Tilea; let them explain it to you." She paused again, taking a deep breath and suddenly losing her professional tone. "It's… his only hope…"

The change in her voice startled him; it was odd to hear Franziska von Karma sound so… desperate. "All right," he finally replied. "Just tell me where to meet you guys. I'll… listen to what they have to say."

"Th-thank you… Phoenix Wright…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manfred reached the top landing and slammed the door shut behind him, locking it even though there was no chance of his captive even coming close to escaping. There were flecks of blood on his shirt and he held something very small concealed in his right hand.

"I will dispose of that for you, Sir," said another German man standing near the door, a shotgun at his side. He held out his left hand to take the hidden object from von Karma, but the older man did not hand it over.

"It still contains traces of the toxins," von Karma informed him. "I don't trust any of you to handle it."

The other man did all he could to repress a change in expression. "Oh… Y-yes, Sir. Of course."

"We'll be needing someone to start cleaning up that place," von Karma stated casually as he walked past his 'henchman'. "The smell of blood will soon reach this ground level and I don't want any of our visitors to get wind of anything."

The gunman now allowed a look of apprehension to cross his face. "Um… Sir, you aren't suggesting that-"

Von Karma laughed. "Do you really think I would be foolish enough to have my men walking around here smelling like blood? I'm sure you know what we need."

"Oh… Yes, of course…" The man watched his superior leave the room and sighed. He meant that they should find some orphan girl to do the job, someone they could take in who wouldn't be missed and whom they could manipulate into keeping her mouth shut about things that went on around the manor. This was a search and procedure he had no desire to take part in, but he dared not fail at a task assigned by Manfred von Karma. Reluctantly he moved off to go speak with some of the others about finding this new maid.