May 12, 5:30 A.M. Amtrak Station, Main Terminal
Detective Gumshoe followed several men into the terminal. They wore black trenchcoats with "NTSB" on the back in bold, yellow letters. The men were searching the tracks for possible tampering.
Gumshoe sighed, "There sure is a lot of people here for 5:30..."
Although the area they were in was marked off with INVESTIGATION IN PROGRESS: DO NOT CROSS tape, many passengers were passing by them for other terminals. There were so many people, in fact, that it almost felt like the bombing had never happened.
One of the investigators asked, "Ted, don't you get a... sort of... ominous feeling whenever you're investigating areas like this?"
Another man replied, "I sure do. It feels like there's something here that we don't know about."
One of the men took out a device similar to a multimeter and began searching the ground for loose wires.
He said, "These bullet trains are electric, and the cables run through the ground. A fault in the electrics may have caused the crash."
And yet another investigator was using a notepad to take notes on what the others were finding at the scene.
Gumshoe suggested, "Well, don't you think that it is a little odd that we are in the terminal, when the crash occurred about 45 miles away at the District Court?"
The man who has been called "Ted" about 30 seconds prior spoke up. "We've gotta eliminate all possibilities, no matter how unlikely."
"The crash could've been caused by error on part of the engineer, a terrorist bomb, or even a mechanical failure. We've just have to figure out what to rule out first, and that's hard enough, my friend. We can't jump to conclusions, pal."
Gumshoe gasped, "Hey! That was my line!"
At that point, Detective Gumshoe began wondering if the NTSB investigators were sane. He decided to figure out what other events might be going on around the station.
He asked, "I'm gonna go search the rest of the building for any possible leads." The other men granted his request.
Gumshoe walked near the escalators when he heard a scream from behind him.
"Detective Dick!"
His head turned, and he found Pearl was standing there next to Iris.
He asked, "Pearl, what are you doing with... her?"
She answered, "Where do you think I'm going?! I'm going to Hazakura Temple, Detective Dick!"
Iris groaned, "Can't we just get going? That train leaves in 23 minutes!"
Pearl sighed, "Fine! Let's go then!"
They walked away, almost with slight hesitation, and got on the escalator to the secondary terminal. He looked at the escalators briefly, and saw a large number of people on it.
He thought, "I wonder what's up there. There may be some clues up in the secondary terminal."
Gumshoe got on the escalator, and stood there. About halfway, he felt the stairs vibrate a little underneath his feet. He thought, "This escalator needs a little oil."
It wasn't even 3 seconds later that the stairs began to rumble and shake violently. He held onto the handrails and hoped that it would soon end. But it would only get worse. He looked up, and found that the other escalator was fine. He thought, "Something's up."
That instant, the escalator underneath him violently exploded. A fireball erupted from underneath him, and threw him into the air. Gumshoe was hurled down to the floor, and passed out. Meanwhile, the explosion wreaked havoc on the terminal. The fireball expanded rapidly and raced up the escalator and into the terminal, where thousands of people were standing.
When Gumshoe came to, he was stuck to the floor. He tried to get up, but he realized he couldn't when be saw the floor. It had been shattered and had buckled due to the detonation, and he knew that he had been effectively stabbed by the floor when he hit it.
He looked to an Amtrak sign above the escalator, and it was covered with blood. To his right, he saw a few people lying there, not moving. He thought, "They're dead!"
He reached for his radio, and coughed, "You guys... could you please get to the escalators, stat?" He breathed in deeply as he felt his eyelids close tightly.
May 12, 6:34 A.M. Wright and Co. Law Offices
Phoenix was awoken by a scream. "NIIIIICK!"
He jolted out of bed and rocketed into the lobby, where Maya was standing. Her eyes were red and she was breathing heavily.
He, at first, was in shock because she wasn't dressed. Maya didn't even have her yukata on. All she had on was underwear and a bedsheet, which had been wrapped haphazardly around her chest and stomach.
Phoenix asked, "Maya! Do you have rabies?"
She barked, "Hell no!"
Phoenix asked, "What is it, then?"
"Listen, Nick... There's been a bombing at Amtrak Station!"
He yelled, "There was?!"
She yelled, "Yes, and Pearly and Sister Iris were in the terminal when the bomb went off!"
The attorney screamed, "W-What?!"
She covered her eyes. "Yes, unfortunately. They could be lying there... not moving... dead!"
Phoenix grabbed her right arm and pulled it towards him. He sighed, "Maya, we can't control when things like this happen. Iris and Pearls are all right... I think. Just calm down, and wait for the casualties count."
She said, "All right, Nicky poo..."
She had a little uncertainty in her voice.
Phoenix guessed, "They probably weren't even injured, Maya. If they got hurt, we'll find that out. If they do, then we'll go out for burgers."
She yelled, "Burgers?!" Her cheeks turned red.
He repeated, "Yes, of course!" A smile popped onto her face.
She yelled, "Okay! L-Let's just hope that you're right..."