Chapter 2—How to Dethrone a Tyrant

Thursday, May 1, 2015

Of all the people on the case, it had to be Miles. Lana would have felt guilty giving that report to anyone, but it really hurt that she was giving him reason to distrust her. If Miles lost the case with such evidence, he would be crushed. If he was found out for using fabricated evidence, he would probably never trust her again. Until SL-9 was closed, though, Lana had no choice but to do whatever foul deed Gant requested of her. So far, he had only asked for evidence to be forged twice—once in SL-9, and once in the current case.

The case involved a raid on a warehouse. Thanks to an informant, the police found out that the warehouse was a front for a drug smuggling operation. The SWAT team raided the warehouse and confiscated all the drugs. However, one of the troopers had been killed during the raid. Two smugglers had been arrested, and the rest of them either fled or were killed in the fight. Naturally, the department wanted revenge. However, these smugglers were professionals; neither one was willing to accuse the other of anything. Gant chose a smuggler to target and created evidence to incriminate him. He could indeed have been guilty, but that did not justify the forgery. The killer could just as easily have been one of the smugglers who died in the fight, or one of the survivors who avoided capture.

Thanks to the SL-9 Incident, Lana had lost almost everything she cared about. When she saw Ema's name on the jar fragments, as well as Marshall's body skewered on Gant's suit of armor, she panicked. With that scene, her sister would have easily been suspected. Desperate, she sought Gant's help in rearranging the scene. He agreed to help, but for a price, one that became obvious with her promotion to Chief Prosecutor. Thanks to Gant, Joe Darke was convicted and executed. He was by all means the serial killer the force had been tracking, but that last murder might not have been his.

When Lana had been promoted to Chief Prosecutor, Gant sprung his trap. As Chief Prosecutor, she had authority over all cases that went to court. Gant wanted her to forge evidence and testimonies whenever he wanted her to. If she ever disobeyed, Gant would prove Ema's guilt.

To deal with herself, Lana had to build a wall around herself. She became cold enough to freeze the sun. No one was her friend anymore. If anyone got close to her, her secret might slip. She had to forget about her relation to Ema. From then on, Ema was just a girl that she was raising—nothing more. She had even broken off her engagement to Miles Edgeworth, who had proposed to her around two weeks before SL-9. If she and Miles had gotten married, he would have had little trouble finding out the truth about Lana.

The one silver lining was that the case would be permanently closed in two years. When that day came, she would be free. She could be warm and kind again, she could treat her sister as family, and possibly even Miles.

"Skye!" a familiar voice called from beyond the doors to Lana's office.

"Come in," Lana answered, trying to contain her spite. Police Chief Gant entered the office.

Gant was an imposing figure. His personality was jolly enough to catch anyone off guard, his threatening frame enough to make even professional thugs scared. Behind that smiling mask of his, though, was a beast as horrible as Redd White. Thanks to the Chief's ties to White, it was almost guaranteed that the slimeball would never get in trouble with the law. Whether Gant let White break the law due to blackmail or friendship was beyond her, but Lana knew that crime would always exist as long as Gant was there. Despite that, she was helpless. If she did anything to Gant, her sister would ultimately pay the price.

"What do you want?" Lana asked, her disdain evident enough for even Judge Clous to notice.

"Has the report been handed over?" the Chief asked.

"Yes."

"And it was the right one?"

"No, I gave Mr. Edgeworth the forged one."

Gant let out a loud laugh.

"Good one!" he managed to say between laughs. After that, he calmed down, waiting for all attention to be directly on him. Lana never understood why he would wait like that before speaking. "Now, Ms. Skye, you know we can't just let the death of an officer go unsolved," he finally said, his voice now devoid of jollity. "The department wants revenge."

"Accusing someone who may be innocent is hardly what I'd call revenge," Lana said dryly. "We attacked an innocent country twelve years ago, claiming it to be revenge for a terrorist attack two years earlier, and now half of the Middle East wants us all dead. Is that what you want, Chief? Do you want an entire mafia after our department?"

"What happened to you, Ms. Skye? You weren't always this cold. I'd go for a swim with you if I wasn't worried about you freezing all the water!" The chief laughed at his own joke until he saw that Lana did not care.

"What happened? You happened, Chief. You blackmailed me, and now I'm forced to do your bidding. If I had stayed the way I was, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself for playing a part in your actions."

"So it's my fault? I'm not the one who rearranged a crime scene to save a relative."

"The crime scene has nothing to do with it; it's your blackmail. Had you left me alone after that, I could have avoided this change. I could be living a wonderful life with Mr. Edgeworth right now, but thanks to you, I broke two hearts."

"I really don't care about your life. I only care about three people: me, myself, and I. Everyone else is just a tool to me. Even you, Ms. Skye. Besides, you know that you'll never have another chance with Worthy if you give me any trouble."

"You have to die eventually. When that happens, I'll be free."

"You really think Worthy's that patient?" Gant had started circling around Lana's desk.

"We'll just have to find out."

"Now THAT'S loyalty!" Gant bellowed with a hearty laugh. "If only my own ex-wife was like that! It sure isn't easy for a guy like me to find a wife!" He chuckled. Lana knew a joke was coming. "Maybe you'll get attached to me someday!" He then laughed hard enough to be heard in the other offices.

In a very swift motion, Lana spun around in her chair, her legs extended, sending the dirtbag flying off his feet and onto his previously laughing stomach. She stood up, her feet a few inches from his head.

"Let me make something very clear to you, Chief," she said, glaring daggers down at him. "I hate you. What you've done to me, my sister, my fiancée, and the entire system of justice for this district, is something I cannot forgive. To make things even worse, you make light of your heinous actions. When you die, the whole city will learn about your misdeeds, and you'll be spoken of in the same breath as Redd White."

Gant got up and dusted himself off—not that the floor had much dust on it to begin with. "I guess I'll have to be more careful, then," he said. "You're too precious a tool for me to lose so soon."

"Get out of my office."

"Now that's not very nice, Ms. Skye."

"I said get out. Go butcher some scale on that organ of yours."

As Gant left, it occurred to Lana that she would actually be trapped for more than just two years. Any case she forged evidence for would be a threat to her. Until Gant died, she would be trapped. Even then, she would be stuck until after the last case she ruined was permanently closed. All she could do was hope that Gant pushed his luck too far or got killed in an accident. It was odd. For the first time, Lana actually wished death upon someone.

There's really only two ways I can get out of this mess, she thought. Either I die or he dies. If I kill Gant, he can't force me to keep forging evidence, but I'd risk the death penalty, which would strip me of everything I want to see once this is over. If I die, it will be the same: Ema would be alone, Miles would be heartbroken… All I can do is wait for Gant to die on his own.

She almost cried. There was no way out. Gant was only 63; he still had at least ten years left. Given his health, it was probably closer to twenty. There was no way Miles would wait that long. That thought drove the tears out. Miles hated crime; even if Lana married him, confessing to him meant he would probably do everything in his power to incriminate her or Ema.

If she believed in an afterlife, she might have killed herself right then and there. Was there any way out? In her sadness, had she overlooked anything? Was there any way to rid herself of Gant's control without killing anyone?

What if I got Gant dismissed? she asked herself. If he lost his position as Chief, he would no longer have anything to gain from my forging of evidence. That was it. That was how to free herself. The problem was how. How could she get the Chief, a man who used to be a legendary detective, dismissed? The only way was to make the commissioners doubt him. However, the only way to do that would be to expose the truth about SL-9, which would in turn expose her. The only other way was to make him a criminal. If he looked like a criminal, his credibility would sink, making any of his accusations unlikely to be believed. If Gant was incriminated, his hold over Lana would end. It was only a faint light of hope, but it was still hope.

When Lana got back to her condo, she was greeted by a familiar "Rahr." A familiar dark Burmese cat rubbed up against Lana's legs. She responded by bending down to pet her. Lana and Ema had two cats: the dark one was Barbara, who was a few years older than Ema. Lana had inherited Barbara after their parents died. The other, Katara, was three at the time. Ema had named that one after a character from an old show that she got interested in. Katara was also a Burmese, but she was smaller, in addition to having lighter fur. Ever since SL-9, those two cats had become Lana's confidants—not that they understood what she was going through. Still, it helped to have someone to talk to, even if they weren't listening.

Ema must have still been at her friend's house. That allowed Lana to talk to the cats without anyone overhearing. She sat down in the armchair next to the bookcase. Barbara hopped up onto her lap and curled up. Lana started to pet her, looking toward the bookcase that lined the wall. All manner of things were there, ranging from the storybooks from when Ema was still very young, to history books, to knick-knacks and memories, to books on science, to books on law. A number of pictures were in the middle section, right above the atlases. Most were family photos from various points in time, or photos of the cats. One photo of a date with Miles was also there.

"What do you think, Barb?" she asked. "Do I stand a chance? Can I somehow defeat Gant before Miles gets tired of waiting? The fastest way to break his grip is confessing, but he might just deny his involvement in it."

Katara wandered in.

"You're right, Katara. I've stopped Gant from using fake evidence before." She sighed. "If only I could produce evidence that he was breaking the law. Nothing gets you out of the Chief's office like breaking the law."

The phone on the end table next to Lana rang.

"Lana Skye," she said into the receiver.

"Lana, it's Mia. Do you mind if I come over?"

"Why?"

"There are some things I need to ask you."

"Namely…?"

"It's a sensitive issue; I can't talk about it over the phone."

Lana sighed. "I suppose you can come. Ema's not going to be back for a while, so it'll just be you, me, and the cats."

"Actually, there will be another person coming."

"Who?"

"Mr. Edgeworth."

Lana felt her eyes widen.

"Why him?"

"I told you, it's a sensitive issue. Anyway, we'll see you there in a bit."

Mia hung up before Lana could respond. Miles was coming. Even Judge Clous could figure out why. Miles probably planned on confronting her about her secret.

"If I leave, they'll know I'm hiding something," Lana said to the cats (more so to herself). "But if I stay and talk to them, they're bound to ask, which means Miles will get me arrested."

The doorbell rang.

"That was too fast," Lana said to Katara. "Mia must have called from her car."

She went to the door and opened it. Mia was standing there, but Miles was nowhere to be seen.

"Mia…" Lana greeted, fearful of what was coming.

"Mr. Edgeworth will be here in a few minutes. He always goes the speed limit, so it's only natural that I got here first."

"This is about…"

"It could be about nothing. While we're waiting for Mr. Edgeworth, though, can I ask you a few things?"

"I suppose…"

Lana led Mia to the living room.

"You're really worried, aren't you?" Mia asked.

"Well, Miles is coming, so I know this can't be just a social call."

"So you know him personally?"

"I love him," Lana said, knowing there was no hiding anything from Mia. Mia just laughed.

"So he wasn't lying!" she said between laughs. "And you were engaged to him?"

"Only briefly. I… had to break it off pretty soon afterwards."

Mia was serious now. "Engaged to Edgeworth…" she said to no one. "I can't see why. Sure, he's handsome, but he's not exactly the friendly type."

"Maybe not to you, but he was very kind to me and Ema. He didn't have any friends on the force other than Gumshoe, and I sympathized with him. I lent him an ear, and we became friends. He may be harsh on the outside, but given what happened to him and who raised him, that's no surprise."

"Wasn't his father his hero?"

"Yes, but after his father died, Manfred von Karma took him in and raised him along with his own daughters. Franziska was a harsh perfectionist like her father, and Therese was only the slightest bit better. When he returned to America, he was practically a von Karma in his own right."

"No wonder he has so few friends…"

"Which is why I want to get to the truth behind this whole disaster," a somewhat intimidating male voice said from the doorway. Lana turned and saw Miles, holding Katara in his arms.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Mia said in a scolding voice. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Not at all," he answered, the bluntness in his voice proving that he was not lying. "I happened to see a certain someone wandering around in the parking lot when I arrived, and when I saw the door to Lana's condominium open, I just decided to walk in, since I saw your car already in the lot."

Lana felt her heart beating faster. Miles sat down on the sofa on the end opposite Mia, letting Katara go. However, Katara was more than content just curling up on his lap.

"So, Ms. Fey, would you like to hear more about how our lives became a romantic tragedy, or are you ready to get to the point?" Miles asked. Were Lana not so worried, she would have laughed. Mia sighed.

"I would like to learn more," she said.

"To put it simply, I gained a lot of naysayers. You should remember, but I was only twenty when I first became a prosecutor. Age alone seems enough for people to distrust me. Of course, when I turned out to be one of the police department's most powerful weapons, that made even more people resent me. Even though I did nothing illegal, almost no one in the police department trusted me. Lana tried to befriend me, and succeeded. Before long, we fell in love and started dating. After about six months, I proposed to her. It goes without saying that I was surprised when I found Lana's ring in a letter she had left on my desk."

Mia sighed again.

"You don't believe us?" Lana asked.

"No, I believe it," Mia replied. "I just have a little trouble accepting it. Imagine—a friend of mine getting engaged to Miles Edgeworth. If I wasn't seeing proof right before my eyes, I wouldn't believe it."

"Anyway, the engagement ring alone is not what led to this, Lana," Miles said. "It was your letter that made me suspicious. First, you said that if you had any say in the matter, you would never have broken off your engagement to me. You also mentioned that it was 'because of events you cannot speak of.' Naturally, my conclusion was that something had gone terribly wrong in your life. My first conclusion was that you were being blackmailed."

"Please don't ask me for the answers," Lana said.

"I came here for that specific reason. Ms. Fey said she could help get the answers out of you, so she asked that I come along."

"I'll say only one thing. I am being blackmailed. If I told you anything more, I'd be putting myself and Ema in danger."

"Ema's involved?"

"Yes. I can't tell you about this, though. If you knew the details, even the identity of my blackmailer, you'd start looking for clues, right?"

"Of course we would."

"But my blackmailer's too cautious. If he gets even the slightest hint that I'm trying to break free, he might strike. If you're going to hunt him, you'll have to do it without any help from me."

"How can we hunt him without your help?" Mia cut in.

"Ms. Fey, you've been hunting White for years, correct?" Miles countered. "Detectives find clues without searching for a specific person. The task before us, though tedious, is quite simple: Lana is our only lead, so we search for anything connected to her. If we trace the clues to the right person, we will have our answer. As long as we don't know who the blackmailer is, we can't search for any specific person."

"In the meantime," Lana started, "I'll be obeying my blackmailer's every order. If I give any hint that I have the two of you hunting him, he might strike. I'll be colder than the South Pole in July. I've given you a start. From here on out, though, you're on your own."