A/N: Lovely readers, thank you for your patience and all your comments! I'm sorry this has been on hiatus for so long. I got a case of writer's block on this story and couldn't figure out how to get out of it. But I'm out of it now and will try and update more regularly. Thank you to everyone for sticking with me and the comments really did help motivate me to come back to this fic.
The door opened with a creak and Miles snapped awake, adrenaline pumping. He'd not told anyone why he was staying with Wright all the time, letting them assume it was just concern for his friend. In truth, although that was certainly part of it, it was also because he was worried the bomber might show up here. But his fears were unfounded, at least this time, as he was enveloped in hair and robes.
"Maya," he said affectionately. "It's been too long."
"Well, who's fault's that?" she said tartly. "You travel too much."
"Guilty," he agreed.
Maya untangled herself and moved over to Wright's bed, her eyes shimmering. "Is he going to be OK?"
"The doctors say we just have to be patient," Miles told her. "Wright slammed his head pretty hard from the force of the blast and it cracked his skull. There was bleeding into his brain. They operated and kept him unconscious to let him heal."
"Are they still keeping him in the coma?" Maya asked.
"No, that's all his doing now. He'll wake up when his body is ready."
"Mr Miles?" a tentative voice came from behind him.
"Pearl," he said. "Come in, don't hover by the door."
"Mr Nick!" she wailed, pushing past him and flying to Wright's side. "Wake up, Mr Nick."
Maya touched his arm. "He's sleeping, Pearly. He needs rest to get better."
"Can't we do anything?" Pearl begged.
"No," Maya said sadly, shaking her head. "Nick has to do this by himself."
"That's not entirely true," Miles corrected. "Dr Park said that talking to him will help him find his way back."
"Really?" Maya said. "We can do that, can't we Pearly?" She eyed Miles critically. "When was the last time you went home?"
"I've not left since… the incident," Miles admitted. Maya put her hands on her hips. "Hey, I was looking out for Wright!"
"Well, I'm here now," Maya said. "Go home, get some food and some sleep."
"I can't," Miles said helplessly. "I can't leave him here like this."
Maya's face went soft. "I know. But you're not doing him any good in the state you're in."
There was a light tap at the door and Athena stuck her head in.
"Hey," she said. "Apollo and I are here. Can we come in?"
"It's getting a little crowded," Miles told her. "So let's keep it short."
Athena and Apollo squeezed into the room and gathered around the bed with Maya and Pearl.
After a few moments, Apollo stepped away and sidled up to Miles. "Has there been any change?"
"No," Miles said heavily.
"Your sister's here," Apollo told him. "Apparently she took Ema to dinner last night."
Miles stared at him, one eyebrow raised. "She texted me last night when she arrived. I thought she was going straight to the hotel."
"Not according to Ema," Apollo said. "Listen, there's something else you should know. Adrian Andrews name came up in the interrogation of Brandi Darke Snapps."
Miles's mouth dropped open in surprise and horror. "Oh no. Is Franziska…"
"Ema's interviewing her this morning. Athena's going with her. I don't think Prosecutor von Karma is planning to be there."
"Good," Miles said with relief. "I don't want Andrews and Franziska anywhere near each other."
"You know, I never did find out what happened between them," Apollo said, giving Miles a sidelong glance.
"Well, you're not going to hear it from me," Miles said stiffly.
Apollo backed off. "Sorry. You're right, I'm being rude. Look, Blackquill and Klavier are outside if you want to talk to them."
Miles watched the scene around Wright's bed for a moment. "Fine," he said finally. "I'll be back soon."
Outside Blackquill and Gavin were conversing in low tones and Ema was reading something on her phone.
"Blackquill," Miles said. "Gavin, Skye." Ema looked up. "I need updates."
Ema cast a look at the two prosecutors and then looked back at Miles. In short, clipped tones she related their lead on the getaway car from the Will Powers murder and the full story of Brandi Snapps's interrogation.
"And your sister wants to reinstate me," Blackquill added. "She called me this morning, says she's making a case to the judge."
"Oh?" Miles said, surprised.
"I'm getting a six week suspension and docked three months pay. The suspension will be itself suspended, until the current crisis is resolved."
"The current crisis?" Miles echoed.
"The serial killer," Blackquill said. "Which, by the way, von Karma-san does not believe in."
"Of course she doesn't," Miles said, half-smiling. "She no doubt thinks it is conjecture and overreaction."
"Quite," Blackquill agreed.
Klavier had been silent, studying him as Blackquill talked. But now he spoke up. "Can I have a private word, Chief Prosecutor?"
Miles blinked at the formality. "Of course. Blackquill, I'll speak with you again later." He headed down the hall and heard Gavin follow.
"I don't want to ask you this, but I have to know," Gavin said in a low, harsh voice. "Did you arrange to have my brother's execution date moved?"
"Yes," Miles admitted. He saw no reason to deny it. It wasn't like he was going to be able to keep this a secret, now that the papers would have been filed.
"I see," Gavin said icily. "And you did not think I would have wanted to know?"
"No," Miles said. "I'm certain you would have wanted to know. But this was a formal request from your brother to the Governor of California. He did not want you to attend. I made arrangements to petition Governor Kaling directly and she granted the request."
"Why?" Gavin demanded. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"He was threatening to sue over his solitary confinement on constitutional grounds. I thought that case might have legs. So did a good friend of mine, who's a constitutional scholar at Ivy University. It's an election year and Governor Kaling is not doing so well in the polls that she could afford the scandal," Miles explained.
Gavin was holding his head in his hands. "I don't understand," he said brokenly. "Why would Kristoph not want me there at the end?"
"I don't know," Miles confessed. "I can only speculate. Perhaps he didn't want that to be your strongest memory of him. Maybe he was trying to protect you, in his way."
Gavin looked at him, his face bitter. "It's unlikely. I think this was a final 'fuck you'. He would have known how much it would hurt when I found out. Bastard was twisting the knife!"
"Perhaps," Miles agreed. "But the law is clear. Once he petitioned for the date change, and the secrecy, I had an obligation."
"Obligations be damned!" Gavin exclaimed. "What about your obligations to me?"
"If it's any consolation, Wright disagreed with me on this. We argued quite fiercely about it."
Gavin stepped back in consternation. "Phoenix Wright knew? He knew and said nothing?"
"He wouldn't have dared," Miles said coolly. "I made the consequences quite clear."
"How did he even find out?"
"I took him to the meeting with Governor Kaling," Miles explained. "He was really very angry with me about it."
"Mein Gott," the blond said, visibly appalled. "What kind of cold-hearted thing is that to do to your best friend?"
"I needed his help," Miles retorted.
"Kristoph is the reason Phoenix was disbarred. With my unknowing assistance. But of course you didn't think about that, because where were you when your friend needed you? Thousands of miles away, and you didn't even come back to see him." Gavin shook his head. "Why he remains friends with you I'll never understand. You use people and then you toss them aside."
"I know you're grieving but you go too far," Miles barked. Several people in the corridor turned to look at them.
"Do I?" Gavin challenged. "Or do I not go far enough? Phoenix Wright has been unswervingly loyal to you, through events that would have destroyed a lesser man. They almost did destroy him. You didn't see him, after his license was revoked. I thought that first year he might drink himself to death. If it hadn't been for Trucy, I don't think he would have made it. He deserves better friends than you."
"Your hands aren't clean here," Miles retorted, his anger flaring.
"I haven't forgotten," Gavin said icily. "But I have done everything I could to make up for that. And for the gottverlassenen mess that mein bruder made of everything." He breathed in and out through his nose. "I'll be handing in my resignation."
"What? No!" Miles cried. "We're already short-handed. You can't."
"I can," Gavin replied. "I'm going to speak with von Karma. I'll finish up my extant cases and then I'm gone."
"Gavin, please," Miles begged. "Try and understand. I was trying to do the right thing."
"Really?" Gavin said. "Sounds to me like you were trying to protect yourself and damn anyone else who got hurt. This serial killer isn't after Phoenix Wright, is he? He's after you, just as we speculated a few nights ago. I think you've known this for a while and you're using the rest of us as a shield. Well, I for one am done." He turned on his heel and stalked away, leaving Miles to lean against the wall and let despair wash over him.
"You've pissed the fop off, good and proper," a voice observed sarcastically. "What can you have done to achieve that?"
"Detective Skye, I think you forget yourself," Miles snapped.
"Probably," she agreed. "But somebody's gotta speak truth to power. You fucked up. Bad. I mean, I'm not exactly the fop's biggest fan, but even I could tell that whatever it is you've done, you've hurt him. That's not easy to do. So is this about Apollo? Did you tell him to back off?"
"Apollo?" Miles said stupidly. "What?"
"Not Apollo then," Skye decided. "Which means this is about Kristoph Gavin's execution."
"When did you get so knowledgeable about human psychology," Miles said nastily.
He might as well have kept his mouth shut, Skye was unperturbed. "I'm a detective, remember?" She eyed him up and down. "I'm not your enemy here, but you're shedding friends like autumn leaves and you can't afford that right now."
Miles raked a hand through his hair and gave her an appraising look. "So what do I do?"
"You think I have the answers?" Skye said derisively. "Look, if you want insight, talk to Apollo. Maybe he can soothe the fop with some pillow talk." She laughed at the look on his face. "Of course, you don't know, you've been here the whole time. Yeah, they're banging."
"Detective Skye," Miles said, unable to restrain his distaste. "That's a vile accusation."
"Whatever," Skye said. "It's still true. Might be messy when Gavin gets bored. It's a pity really. I like Apollo, but I can't say I approve of his taste in men."
"Wright will kill me if anything happens with those two," Miles said, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
"Mr Wright knows?" Skye said in surprise. "How?"
"Wright's always had a nose for these things," Miles said. Except when it comes to you, his brain supplied helpfully. He ignored it. "He gave Gavin the 'don't hurt my kid' speech a few days ago." He frowned at the memory. "Although, he seemed to think that Gavin was the one whose heart was at risk, not Justice."
Skye's eyebrows soared. "Really?" she said, pulling a bag of Snackoos out of her pocket. "That is interesting."
Apollo yelped as Klavier strode angrily past him and headed for the parking lot. "Hey! Klavier!" The blond didn't stop and after a bitten off curse, Apollo ran after him, leaving a surprised Blackquill in his wake. "Klavier, wait!"
"What?" Klavier snapped, turning suddenly. His face was black and scowling, giving Blackquill's customary look a run for its money.
"Where are you going?" Apollo said breathlessly. "What's going on?"
"That… hurensohn… He did it, Apollo. He was the one who moved my brother's execution date!"
"Who? Mr Edgeworth?" Apollo exclaimed. "Why?"
"Mein bruder requested it, so that I couldn't attend. Because it was one last way to screw with me. Verdammt, Apollo. I needed closure. Edgeworth and Kristoph conspired to make sure I didn't get it. So, I'm done. I'm quitting."
Apollo stared at him for a long time. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Klavier admitted. "Maybe I should go back to music. My agent's been talking about a solo career. I thought I was done with performing, I wanted to go back to the law. But maybe this is the universe sending me a message."
"You have to do what's right for you, of course," Apollo said carefully. "But aren't you being a little… hasty?"
"Perhaps," Klavier said with a pained smile. "But it's done. I'm going to the office now, I need to meet with von Karma and do some paperwork. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah," Apollo said. "Sure." He watched Klavier walk away with a sinking feeling. They'd barely even started and now he felt like Klavier was slipping away from him.
Lordly Tailor was bustling with customers looking for Labor Day bargains. Even though the holiday was more than two weeks away. Apollo wondered viciously if one day stores would just run year round 'sales' and not bother with the holiday pretense at all. Ema elbowed him pointedly.
"Objection!" he cried. "Your elbows are sharp!"
"Stop daydreaming then," she told him. "What's the matter with you?"
Apollo shook his head. He did not want to get into his fears about his relationship with Klavier right now. "I'm fine."
"Sure you are," Ema drawled. "OK. Let's find the customer service desk."
The young woman at the desk wore an elegant name badge that said "Satomi".
"Hi uh, Satomi," Apollo said. Oh he was so smooth! Ugh. "We uh, need to speak with Adrian Andrews?"
"Do you have an appointment?" Satomi asked, tapping at her computer.
"No," Apollo admitted. "That is, uh, no. Do we need one?"
"Well, it is standard practice," the woman told him. "The PR office is very busy with the Labor Day promotions."
"I'm Detective Ema Skye, Criminal Affairs," Ema said, barging in. "My associates and I need to talk to Andrews about a possible connection to a murder."
"A murder!" Satomi said, her hand flying to her throat. "Oh! Let me buzz you through straight away. Oh my!" She pressed a button on an intercom panel and listened for a reply. "Leo?"
"What is it?"
"A Detective Skye to see Adrian about a murder!"
"A murder? Not again! OK, send them through."
"If you'd just walk through that door there," she said, pointing to a red door behind her. "Leo will take care of you."
Leo turned out to be a very attractive young man with a shock of navy blue hair and a knowing look on his face. He eyed Apollo up and down with blatant interest and Apollo flushed.
"Well," Leo said. "Adrian's expecting you. Come with me." He led them through to a large, well appointed office. In an oversized leather office chair, sat a petite woman with mousy brown hair to her shoulders and a pair of glasses perched on her nose.
"Well," she said. "Athena. Apollo. This is… unexpected. And you must be Detective Skye."
"We're here to speak to Adrian Andrews," Ema said impatiently. "Not wade through layers of assistants!"
"Uh oh!" Widget gasped.
The woman assessed her coolly. "I am Adrian Andrews," she said pointedly.
"Oh!" Ema said. "I thought you were a man!" She winced but Andrews did not look offended.
"It wouldn't be the first time," she said.
"But… weren't you engaged to Fr- uh, Prosecutor von Karma?" She could see Apollo's eyes widen and Athena was making some sort of gesture with her hands but for the life of her, Ema couldn't figure out what she was trying to say.
"Yes," Andrews said calmly. "Your point?"
"Well, uh…" Shit! She'd really stepped in it now, and no doubt this woman thought she was some sort of bigot. "I uh… I suppose I didn't know. I guess. Uh."
"What she means to say is, she was unaware of Prosecutor von Karma's orientation," Athena said after flashing an exasperated look at Ema.
"Uh, yeah," Ema agreed. Now she was starting this interview on the back foot. Awesome.
"So, what do you want to talk to me about? Not my love life, surely." Oh she was a cool customer, this one. Ema could see how the two women had been attracted to each other.
"It's a strange case, and your involvement is currently unclear," Ema said. "You're aware of the Silver Diner murders?"
"Of course," Andrews said. "That waitress, she turned out to be the sister of the serial killer, Joe Darke. Whole thing turned on its head. Reminds me of my trial, back in the day."
Although she was burning with curiosity, Ema suppressed it and focused on the matter in hand. "So that waitress, Brandi Darke Snapps, said that she delivered a parcel here to you, from an unknown third party," Ema continued. Andrews looked unconcerned. "Do you remember the incident?"
"No," Andrews said. "I receive many packages every week. You're going to have to be more specific."
"It was two weeks before the Silver Diner killings. We don't know the exact date, Brandi couldn't remember. She's petite, with short reddish-blonde hair."
"And she doesn't know what was in the parcel or who sent it?"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss any other details," Ema replied.
"Hold on," Andrews said and pulled up her calendar on her computer. "Oh, now I remember!"
"You do?"
"Yes, this was for a fourth of July promotion. The Return of the Steel Samurai! Global Studios agreed to lend us the official costume. We hired an actor, Antonio Salvatore, to play the Steel Samurai. It was a disaster, the man lied to our face about knowing the character. He bluffed his way through OK, but anyone who was a fan could see right through it. And he insisted on bringing his girlfriend around with him everywhere."
"Do you remember her name?"
"Hmm… Melanie? Melissa? Something like that."
"No last name?" Athena asked, sounding disappointed.
"No, sorry. I really wasn't interested in getting to know her. They were an odd couple, as I remember it. Despite going everywhere together, they weren't… close. Does that make sense?"
"I guess," Athena said. "Anything else you can tell us?"
"Well, Melissa or whatever her name was said she was a kindergarten teacher. And I'm the Queen of England. She was no school teacher. She drove a brand new Mercedes, for one thing. On the salaries we pay teachers? No way. And he's a struggling actor, no money there."
"Do you remember the color?"
"Dark blue," Andrews said confidently.
"What else made you think she wasn't who she said she was?" Apollo asked.
"I'm not sure," Andrews said, closing her eyes as she thought about it. "I guess it was her manner. She was cold, very analytical. More like a scientist or I don't know, a detective."
"Interesting," Ema said. "One more question and we'll get out of your hair. Do you have a photograph of Mr Salvatore? Or his girlfriend?"
"Salvatore, maybe. I think there was one attached to his resume. The girlfriend… I don't know. Probably not. And any security footage will have been wiped by now I would think."
"Pity. Still, even the photo of Mr Salvatore might help." Ema said.
"OK," she buzzed the intercom. "Leo? Can you bring in the Salvatore file from the entertainments and promotions section?"
"Sure."
"So," Athena said after a moment silence as they waited. "How have you been, Adrian?"
"OK, I guess," Andrews said. "I grew out my hair."
"I can see that," Athena said lamely. What on earth was this conversation about, Ema wondered.
"She's back, isn't she?" Andrews said.
"Yes," Athena replied. "Because of the bomb that injured Mr Wright and Mr Edgeworth."
"Oh, yes. I saw that on the news," Adrian said. "Dreadful business. Of course she would come, for him… Did she… mention me at all?"
"I haven't seen her," Athena told her. "She only just arrived."
"Oh, yes. Of course. And why would she… Yes. Well. Ah, Leo!"
The assistant came in with a slender manilla folder. "Will that be all?" he said, his eyes alight with curiosity.
"Yes, Leo," Andrews said firmly and he withdrew. She opened the file and withdrew a photograph of a man with dark brown hair was curiously styled into a peaks at the back of his head and he had a wicked smile.
"There's a face you wouldn't forget in a hurry," Ema remarked.
"Indeed," Athena said. "He's… very unusual looking."
"Oh, he was quite charming in real life, I suppose," Andrews said. "I mean, men don't do much for me personally, but a lot of the women here lost their heads over him."
"Can you describe his girlfriend?"
"Sure. African American. Maybe 5 feet 7 inches. Her hair was always neatly tied back, almost military neat. She was lovely looking, if a bit severe. Carried herself in a military way too. Maybe she was a veteran? I don't know."
"That's a bit vague," Ema complained.
"It was a while ago," Andrews said. "And I was more concerned with him, and his antics, you know?"
"Wait, his antics?" Ema said, her detective senses quivering.
"Oh, he would intersperse his official dialog with odd asides and he refused to tone down his accent even though I was pretty sure it was fake. Or at least exaggerated. He sounded like a bad extra from the Sopranos. And he borrowed the costume one time for a party. Came back with a red wine stain on it! Can you believe it?"
"Are you sure it was red wine?" Ema said sharply.
"Well, no," Andrews said. "I just sent it to the cleaners. They were able to get the mark off, thankfully."
"Did they say it was red wine?" Ema pressed. Andrews raised an eyebrow at her and then rifled through the file. "Here's the receipt."
Ema looked at it. "It's written in Chinese."
"Yes, the cleaning company we use is a family business. And they're from Shanghai, so…"
"I need to know what this says!" Ema interrupted. "Can I borrow this?"
"How about I make you a copy instead," Andrews said, her face wary.
"Fine," Ema agreed. "But make it quick."
