September 5th, 10:09 AM

Phoenix Wright's Apartment

Phoenix sat up, finally content with her extended rest. She glanced out the window adjacent to her bed. The city was, naturally, already beyond busy, the usual mass of vehicles trailing along in the street below. She slid out of bed, her feet fumbling on the floor in an effort to locate her slippers, before shuffling out of her bedroom. After a brief shower and breakfast, she left the apartment, heading for her car. Her cell phone rang as she reached her vehicle, and she glanced down at the screen.

-Micah Fey-

"Boss?"

"Morning, Phoenix. Sorry to call before you get in to work, but the plan's changed a bit." Micah's voice responded.

"What's up?" Phoenix asked.

"I need you to stop by the police station before you come here." Micah said.

"Sure thing," Phoenix said, starting the car. "What for?"

"I, uh..." Micah began distractedly, "I need you to pick up some documents."

"These'll be for your...what was it...? A blackmailing case?" Phoenix backed into the street, starting for the precinct.

"Yeah. I sent a message to the department already, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting it. Just tell them that you're there for me." Micah said, sounding as if he was a fair distance away from his phone.

"You do sound busy." Phoenix remarked.

"Yeah, I'm trying to find my tools-" he cut off for a moment, "They're not in the drawer, and I'm sure that I left them there last time..."

"Well, I'll get out of your way for now. I'll give you a call once I've got the files." Phoenix said.

"Right. Talk to you then, Phoenix." Micah said. A moment later, the call ended.

September 5th, 10:51 AM

Criminal Affairs Department

Phoenix left her car and started toward the front doors of the precinct. There were two detectives standing near the entrance, apparently deep in conversation. One gave a noncommittal jerk of the head as Phoenix passed, which she supposed was meant as a greeting. As she entered the building, a loud voice sounded from the other end of the room.

"-and if you've got a problem with that, Chief, there's nothin' I can do to help you!" the speaker was a tall, red-haired woman, who was crossing the room from the elevated desk of a man whom Phoenix surmised to be the Chief Detective. The tall woman stopped outside the door of another room, writing something in a book she had been carrying, and Phoenix approached.

"Excuse me," Phoenix said, and the woman looked up.

"Somethin' I can help you with?" she asked, glancing at Phoenix's clothing.

"Er, yes, I'm here to pick up some files for-"

"Micah Fey, right? Follow me." the woman abruptly cut in. At Phoenix's nod, she turned around and opened the door. "Yep, Mic's been pesterin' me to track down these files for ages."

"So, you know Micah, then." Phoenix said, following.

"Sure do. Guy's been a big help to the force in the past." the woman stopped suddenly and turned back to face Phoenix. "Say... you'll be that rookie defense attorney from last month, won't you? Micah's student?"

Phoenix nodded. "Phoenix Wright." she said, smiling and offering a hand. The woman briefly shook her hand before turning back to the large cabinets that lined the room's wall.

"Yeah, I read the report about your performance in your debut." she said, opening a drawer. "Heh, if I've ever seen a bigger load of bluffin'..." she began to thumb through the thick row of files tucked into the drawer.

"Er-" Phoenix wasn't sure how to respond, uncertain as to whether she had just been complimented or insulted.

"I'm just messin' with ya." the woman said with a laugh. "Ah, there it is." she closed the drawer, having extracted a folder from it. "Anyway," she turned back to Phoenix, offering her the folder, "Name's Debra Gumshoe. Homicide Detective."

"Thanks." Phoenix muttered, taking the file.

"Yeah, tell Micah he can finally get off my back about that one, would ya?" Gumshoe said, resuming her writing as Phoenix backed out of the room.

"Will do." Phoenix replied. As she walked back to the front doors, she looked down at the folder she had received. The cover read,

"DL-6 Comprehensive Invest. - Grossberg Incident"

Grossberg, the name stood out in Phoenix's mind. She vaguely recalled it from somewhere, but couldn't seem to remember the specifics. Remembering her promise from earlier, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and quickly dialed Micah's number, only to hear a busy tone.

(Guess I'll ask Micah when I give it to him.)

September 5th, 10:50 AM

Fey & Co. Law Offices

Micah cast one last look around the room. His tools were nowhere to be found, though he had no memory of having moved them anywhere. Frustrated, he sat down at his desk, glancing at the clock.

-10:50-

"Phoenix ought to be here pretty soon..." he mumbled, picking up his cell phone. He dialed a number, leaning back in his chair. After a few seconds of silence, the line picked up.

"Micah?" asked a familiar voice.

"Hey, Matty. How're things going?" he asked in response.

"Pretty well. I think I'll be able to strike a deal with the landlord by tomorrow, so I should be moved in within the next few days." Matty answered.

"That's great." Micah said, smiling, "You made any progress with those old letters I sent you?"

"One of 'em, yeah. It's a bit too much to talk about over the phone, though." Matty paused. After a moment, he continued, "Hey, why don't I come over to the office and show you what I've got personally?"

Micah glanced downward, thinking it over.

"Alright, sure. Come on over. You can finally meet my student, too." he said.

"That's... the Wright lady, right?" Matty inquired.

"Yep, the one I told you about. You should have seen her first trial; it was incredible, the way she caught on to the real criminal, and-"

"Save it 'til I get there, alright?" Matty cut in, sounding as if he was about to laugh. "I doubt Ms. Wright would mind hearing you talk about it like that herself."

"Alright, Matty. Talk to you when you get here." Micah said.

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye!" Matty answered, hanging up. Micah set the phone down, looking back at the clock. Just then, he heard a noise from the main room of the office.

"Phoenix?" he called. "Door's unlocked, Phoenix, I'll be there in a sec!"

There was no response. Micah leaned toward the door, confused.

"... Phoenix?" he called again.

"Thank you for the gracious welcome, Mr. Fey," a feminine voice answered, "I really do appreciate it." the voice was familiar, but it definitely wasn't Phoenix. Micah jumped to his feet, moving to the door. No sooner had he left his office than he suddenly felt a crushing blow strike his head. He gave a harsh yell of pain as he dropped to the floor. His vision immediately began to fade as the pain in his head worsened. He felt a steady stream of warm liquid beginning to flow through his hair. The attacker stepped over him. "Before I go, Mr. Fey, I feel I should let you know why I'm here: I need to collect that impressive file you've put together. Thank you for gathering everything up so nicely." Micah struggled to force himself off the ground.

"Oh, don't strain yourself, Mr. Fey. It's really not healthy." the attacker said, with a hint of a laugh. "I'll be going now, good afternoon, Mr. Fey." Micah heard the woman take half a step back, before she swung her arm downward at him again. Another heavy blow struck his head, and everything vanished.

Phoenix entered the building, taking a look at her watch.

-11:14-

She supposed that Micah would probably be off the phone by this point, but there wasn't much sense in calling him when she was less than a minute's walk from the office. When she was halfway up the stairs, something caught her attention. From the floor above, where Micah's office was, she heard an odd noise that was clearly being made by a person, but it wasn't loud enough to properly make out. She began to climb the stairs slightly faster, and the noise was punctuated by a loud thud.

She reached the landing, and looked over toward the office door. It was half opened, and she could now clearly tell that she was hearing the sound of someone crying.

"Micah?" she called out, approaching the door. Hearing no response, she pushed the door open, and gasped as she looked inside. There was a boy, looking to be in his late teens, slumped on the floor, one hand curled into a fist, hanging his head as tears fell steadily from his face. On the ground in front of him was a horribly familiar body, a large pool of blood formed around its head. She froze, staring at the scene uncomprehendingly.

"Boss...?" Phoenix whispered, her eyes widened. The younger boy looked up, his face streaked with tears. A second later, he dropped his head back down as another sob escaped him. "Micah...!" Phoenix choked, rushing to her mentor's side. She dropped the case file she had been carrying and placed a hand against Micah's pale neck. There was very little warmth left in him, and it continued to fade under her touch. As she struggled to avoid breaking into tears herself, the boy raised his hand off the floor and slammed it back down with a painful crunch. Instinctively, Phoenix reached her free hand over and placed it on the boy's arm. He looked up at her again.

"W-who are you?" he forced out.

"I'm...my name is Phoenix Wright." Phoenix said, her voice shaking as she felt tears beginning to sting her eyes. The boy seemed to acknowledge her response, but without warning, he suddenly dropped to his side, unconscious. Phoenix hesitated for a moment, before shifting over and placing her arms under the boy's body. Lifting him off the ground, she moved toward the couch and placed him down on it. As she did so, she finally had a moment to properly examine his appearance. He had black hair, much like her own, which was tied back into a small ponytail, near identical to Micah's. He wore a bizarre set of white and magenta robes, and around his neck hung a small charm in the shape of a nine, which Phoenix also recognized; Micah had one identical to it. Phoenix placed the back of her hand against the boy's forehead and he suddenly stirred. His eyes opened and locked on to hers.

"... I'm Matty Fey..." he said in a quiet and cracked voice, "M-Micah's brother." he sat up suddenly, staring toward the window. Phoenix turned and looked as well. Across the street stood the Gatewater Hotel, and in a window directly across from them was a man, staring intently toward them. As Phoenix looked at him in confusion, he reached a hand up to the window's curtains and pulled them shut. A second later, she caught the sound of police sirens approaching. She rushed to the window and saw a small squad of cars coming to a halt at the curb next to the office. A few seconds later, a rush of footsteps appeared from the hall.

"Freeze!" came a loud voice. Phoenix spun around, her hands in the air. In the doorway stood a detective and two police officers, their guns drawn. "Hang on," said the detective. "Ms. Wright? What happened here?" It was Detective Gumshoe, from the precinct. She looked at Micah's body, still lying on the floor. "Is that..." she mumbled, her arms drooping slightly.

"M-Micah's dead." Phoenix whispered, her tears starting to appear again. Gumshoe suddenly looked sternly up at Matty.

"Who're you?" she asked in an almost demanding tone.

"M-Matty Fey." he choked.

"Fey, huh?" Gumshoe said, still staring at him. "You're under arrest." she and the two officers moved forward. One grabbed Matty's wrists as the other clamped a set of handcuffs onto him. Phoenix stared in shock.

"What-"

"We just got a call back at the station from the hotel across the way. Fella said that he saw a young man attackin' an older one. Whackin' him over the head, he said." Gumshoe said sternly.

"But he's-" Phoenix said before being interrupted again.

"Related to Micah, I take it." Gumshoe said. One of the officers turned to Phoenix.

"We're going to have to bring you in for questioning as well, Miss." he said. The other was examining the folder that Phoenix had brought in.

"This is from the station." he said, looking up at Gumshoe.

"That's... the DL-6 file I just gave you back at the station, isn't it?" she asked. Phoenix nodded silently. She noticed that Matty hadn't made a noise since the police had arrived. He was hanging his head in complete silence as one of the officers led him out of the office.

"Deb?" said the other officer. Gumshoe turned to him. "I think we've got our murder weapon." Phoenix jerked her head toward him. The officer was examining a steel hammer, which was stained deeply red. "You recognize this, Ms. Wright?" the officer asked. Phoenix looked at it for a moment, unable to think clearly.

"Not immediately." she said, looking away. The officer watched her briefly, uncertain, but stood up and picked up his radio. As he began to rattle off a series of code words to the dispatcher, Gumshoe motioned for Phoenix to leave with her. They walked out of the office, Phoenix still trying to avoid breaking into tears.

September 6th, 9:07 AM

Detention Centre

Visitor's Room

Phoenix sat in silence, waiting for the guard to speak. She had spent about an hour in questioning the previous day before being released, but the results of the autopsy report, combined with Gumshoe's knowledge of her whereabouts at the time of Micah's murder had removed any suspicion from her. She had returned to her apartment for the remainder of the day afterward, and as the horrible realization that Micah was gone properly set in, she had finally broken down, spending much of the day lying down and openly sobbing. However, even through her own emotional struggles, one goal remained firm in her mind, and it was that goal that brought her here, to the dingy visitor's room of the detention centre.

"Ms. Wright, Mr. Fey can see you now." the guard in the back of the room said at last. Phoenix immediately moved to the chair in front of the window as the guard led Micah's brother into the room.

"It's you..." he said quietly as he sat down. "The lawyer..."

"That's right." Phoenix said, nodding. "Phoenix Wright."

"Mic told me about you..." Matty mumbled, hanging his head. Phoenix stared at him. If she felt as if she was going through a hard time with Micah's death, she couldn't imagine what his younger brother was feeling.

"Your name is Matty, right?" she asked gently. He nodded once, his eyes still downcast. Phoenix had checked in with the police and found that Matty would be put on trial for Micah's murder the following day, and she wasn't going to have many chances to make him an offer in the remaining time. Saying nothing, she detached her attorney's badge from her chest and placed it on the counter. Matty looked up and stared at it for several seconds. After a considerable silence, he began to quietly speak again.

"A long time ago, Mic told me about a famous defense attorney he used to know. He said that...that if I ever got into trouble, I could go there for help." as he stopped, he took a pen and a scrap of paper from a notepad on the counter and scribbled down an address. Holding it up to Phoenix, he said, "This is the address. Could you go there for me? I need you to ask for that lawyer." Phoenix nodded solemnly.

"I'll be back as soon as I see them." she said, standing up. The guard escorted Matty back out of the room as Phoenix turned to leave.

September 6th, 9:44 AM

Grossberg Law Offices

Phoenix read the nameplate on the wall of the stately office building.

-GROSSBERG LAW OFFICES-

Now she remembered where she had heard the name from: Grossberg was the name of Micah's mentor from his early days in law. She pushed the door open, looking around. A short woman at a desk smiled to her.

"How can I help you?" she asked. Phoenix paused. If she remembered correctly, there were quite a few attorneys in this office, but it seemed most likely that Grossberg was the one Matty was referring to.

"I need to see Attorney Grossberg." she answered slowly. The woman nodded.

"Certainly. I'll let her know you're coming right away. Just take the elevator up to the fourth floor, her office is at the end of the hall." said the secretary, motioning to the nearby elevator. Phoenix entered the small elevator, pushing the button for the fourth floor. As the lift began to move, she tried to remember what Micah had told her about his old boss. Nothing sprang to mind, and the doors opened again, leaving her to hope for the best. She knocked on the door at the end of the hall, and a moment later, it opened. Standing in the doorway was a much older woman, an inquisitive look on her lined face.

"Please, come in. How can I help you, dear?" she asked in a kindly voice. Phoenix entered the office and turned back to Mrs. Grossberg.

"Mrs. Grossberg, my name is Phoenix Wright. I'm a defense attorney from Fey and Co. Law Offices." Grossberg smiled.

"Micah said he had a student making her debut a short while ago. I suppose that's you, then?" she said approvingly. "What brings you here?" Phoenix glanced downward, unsure about how best to reply.

"Mrs. Grossberg, it's about Micah." she said shakily. A flicker of concern appeared on Grossberg's face. "He's..." Phoenix took a deep breath; her voice was threatening to break again, "Micah's... been murdered." Grossberg gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth.

"I... I need to sit down..." she shuddered, lowering herself into a chair and motioning for Phoenix to do the same. After a pause, she asked in a whisper, "When did it happen?"

"Yesterday. Just before noon." Phoenix said, dropping into another chair. "I... I found him in the office." Mrs. Grossberg was gently dabbing at her eyes, clearly still in shock. She didn't say anything. "There's... there's more." Phoenix said, her composure starting to slip. "Micah's brother has been arrested for the murder. That's why I'm here." Grossberg looked up at her. "He's asked me to request that you defend him." Grossberg opened her mouth, as if to agree, but something seemed to occur to her at the very same moment.

After a pause, she asked, "Ms. Wright, what was Micah doing before he was killed?" she had an odd look in her eye as she spoke.

"He was... investigating a blackmailing case." Phoenix answered. "I had just been picking up a case file from the police station for him, but when I went back to the office..." she trailed off. Grossberg had closed her eyes and hung her head sadly as she listened.

"I'm... afraid I can't help you, Ms. Wright." she said quietly. Phoenix blanched.

"But, Mrs. Grossberg-"

"I would like nothing more than to help you and Matty, but the circumstances are beyond my control. I'm truly sorry, Ms. Wright."

Phoenix stared. The old woman looked tired and deeply shaken.

"Please, go back to Matty. Do whatever you can, Ms. Wright." were the final words she uttered before lapsing into complete silence. Phoenix glanced toward the clock, and stood up.

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Grossberg." she said, walking to the door. As the door closed behind her, she heard a heaving sigh. She knew that she couldn't possibly understand Mrs. Grossberg's situation, but if there was something going on that was severe enough to prevent the veteran attorney from defending Matty, she was certain that it would be worth investigating.

So, there's another one. We're setting up plot threads all around, so the next chapter ought to be interesting.

As ever, feedback is appreciated. I'll have an important question for you fine folks quite soon, as well.