Chapter Text
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
“This is Phoenix Wright of the Wright and Co. Law Offices. I’m sorry I’m not available to take your call right now. Please leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible! Remember - when you work with us, you’re always in the Wright place!”
Click.
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
“This is Phoenix Wright of the Wright and Co. Law Offices -”
Click.
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
“This is Phoenix Wright -”
Click.
Ring ring ring.
“This is-”
“Wright,” Miles croaked into the receiver after the seemingly never-ending voicemail message concluded. “I need you to call me as soon as possible. There’s been an incident.”
Groaning, he used his free hand to massage his left temple, trying in vain to soothe the massive headache that was brewing. He shook his head, which made his vision temporarily blur. The light illuminating down from the streetlight in front of him twisted and morphed into several yellow-orange streaks. Fantastic.
Miles closed his eyes and counted to ten, then took a shaky breath before opening them once more. The world still felt like it was spinning, but at least objects looked tangible again. He shakily navigated through the contacts menu on his phone - though the letters blurred and merged together he could still read the names with some sense of semblance. He kept scrolling until a familiar five letter name appeared at the bottom of the screen.
If Wright wasn’t going to answer the phone, then desperate times called for desperate measures.
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
“Yo! What’s up, Edgey? Why are you calling me so late? Did you have too much booze again?” Larry Butz’s voice rang out cheerfully on the other end of the phone. It was much too energetic for this time of night.
“Larry,” Miles breathed into the phone’s receiver. Even just speaking a name was hard for him at this point. “I need your help.”
Larry let out a low whistle. “Damn dude, I can already tell that you’re shit-faced! Tell me about your wild night on the town - I’m jealous! And invite me next time, ya hear?!”
Miles groaned. Why couldn’t Wright have picked up the phone?
“Larry, listen to me. I don’t know how much time I have left to speak with you. Something happened.”
“Shit, did you and Nick get into a fight? You sound so serious.”
“Stop interrupting and listen to me,” Miles pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, which was a mistake. Stars exploded into little clusters that dotted his vision and the streetlights blurred again. He felt a trickle of blood drip down from his left nostril. “I need you to go to my office.”
“Me? Go to the fancy-shmancy Prosector’s building in the middle of the night?” Larry asked. “Are you trying to set me up or something? Why can’t you go yourself?”
“Because I’m in no condition to do such a thing. So I need you to -”
“I knew it! I knew you’ve been drinking!”
“Larry ,” Miles growled.
“Eep!” Larry squeaked. “S-sorry Edgey! I’m listening, I’m listening! Don’t put on your scary court voice! I hate it when you do that!”
Scary court voice? Larry’s ramblings were already hard enough to listen to when it didn’t feel like his head was about to explode. “I need you to go to my office and retrieve some evidence from my wall safe,” His entire body felt like it was on fire and it was hard to concentrate. He focused his line of sight onto a trash can about twenty feet in front of him to ground himself. “Once you acquire it, bring it to the police precinct and hand it over to Detective Gumshoe. He’ll know what to do with it.”
“Uh, and the reason you can’t do this yourself is because…?”
“Because,” Miles coughed violently into his arm. “I’ve been attacked.”
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring -
“This better be good,” Phoenix said, rubbing his eyes. According to his call history, Larry had called him about 20 times in the past 5 minutes. “I don’t want to hear about your latest breakup at two in the morning.”
“H-how did you…?” Larry asked incredulously. “Wait, nevermind, that’s not important! Nick, it's Edgey! He’s in serious trouble!”
Phoenix’s stomach dropped. Edgeworth, in trouble? Wouldn’t he have called if that were the case?
Frantically he scrolled back past the record of Larry’s calls. The drop in his stomach bottomed out when he saw several missed calls from Edgeworth and a voicemail notification from his phone number.
“Larry, give me a second. There’s a message. I’ll call you right back.” Before Larry could respond, Phoenix hung up and opened his inbox.
“Wright, I need you to call me as soon as possible. There’s been an incident.” Edgeworth’s compressed voice played into his ear. There were long pauses between his words and he seemed to be out of breath. Phoenix felt like he was about to throw up.
Larry picked up immediately when Phoenix called him back.
“What the hell is going on?!” Phoenix yelled into the phone, not giving Larry a chance to speak. “Why does Edgeworth sound like he’s dying?!”
“I don’t know, don’t yell at me!” Larry whined back. “I’m just as worried as you are, you know! Edgey wouldn’t give me any details, he just told me he was attacked on the way to his office and he needed me to get something from his safe -”
“He was attacked ?!”
“Yeah that’s what I -”
Click.
Phoenix hung up on Larry and immediately dialed Edgeworth.
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring…
Please please please. Please please please. Please please please… Phoenix thought as each ring sounded. Please pick up.
Ring ring ri-
“Ah, Wright. So you have the capability of answering the phone after all.” Miles said. His voice was raspy and he paused between phrases of words to cough. Acidic bile burned in the back of Phoenix’s throat, and his hands began to shake.
“Why did Larry call and tell me some crazy story about you being attacked?!” Phoenix yelled as soon as Miles finished talking.
“Hello to you too,” Miles said. “Please try to keep your voice down. My head is throbbing.”
“This isn’t funny, Edgeworth!” Phoenix snapped. “Where are you? What happened?”
“I was attacked on the way back to my office. I didn’t get a good look at the assailants - they had masks on. There were three of them. Tall and lean with slightly muscular arms. I’d put their heights between 6’0” and 6’3”. They wore dark jackets and gloves,” Miles rattled off. “One of them had a baseball bat - a Louisville Slugger. Made a tremendous crack as it hit my stomach.”
“A baseball bat? Oh my god , Edgeworth -”
“Yes, the cowards. It was already three against one. A bat was most unnecessary,” Miles spat out a glob of phlegm that was mixed with blood onto the sidewalk. “They ripped my cravat.”
“But why?”
“Yes, why indeed? I’ve already been beaten enough. That just adds insult to injury.”
“What? No, forget the cravat,” Phoenix said. “Why did they attack you?”
“Why? I’m a prosecutor, Wright,” Miles said. “Do you know how many enemies this line of work creates?”
“I…Well, I guess I never thought about that one,” Phoenix nervously ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been attacked on investigations before, but never to the extent of -”
“Being jumped by three men, beaten with a bat, kicked, and thrown against the sidewalk in the middle of the night?” Miles said.
“Christ, Edgeworth. It’s a wonder you can still talk…”
“I’m barely holding it together if I’m being honest,” Phoenix noted that Miles’s voice seemed to grow more weary as the conversation progressed. “But it was important for me to have someone go to my office in my stead. These men…these assailants, they stole some evidence for a case I’m building.”
“So that’s what provoked the attack?”
“Yes, that’s my theory. But they messed up,” An air of confidence brimmed in Miles’s voice, and Phoenix imagined him smirking on the other end of the line. “The most crucial pieces are in a safe in my office. If you or Larry would be so kind as to go over there and retrieve them, I would be most thankful.”
“Sure, I can do that for you…” Phoenix said. His hair was getting more and more messy by the minute as he frantically ran his hand back and forth through it. “After I get you to a hospital.”
“That won’t be necessary. Please go to my office as soon as you possibly can.”
“What do you mean ‘that won’t be necessary?!’” Phoenix suddenly yelled.
“Please control your volume, Wright. My ears are still ringing from my head being slammed onto the concrete.”
“No, I don’t think I will!” Phoenix said. “What the hell did you mean by that?!”
“I meant what I said, naturally. It won’t be necessary. I fear it’s too late.”
“ What?! ”
“Wright, please. I’m trying to die in peace,” Miles groaned. “…It’s too late. I’ve been laying here for far too long. I’ll be gone before help arrives.”
“Don’t talk like that!” Phoenix nearly smashed the phone up against his mouth. “Where are you?!”
“I-I…I don’t know. It’s hard to focus. My head hurts and my vision is blurry and I…” Miles trailed off. Phoenix heard him violently coughing, and then the sound of something hitting the ground. “Ugh, that was a lot of blood…”
“Stay on the line,” Phoenix rolled out of bed. He frantically ran to his closet and pulled out the closest pair of shoes - big fluffy slippers that Maya had gotten for him as a Christmas present with the shape of two cartoon phoenixes on the front. “I’m coming to find you.”
“No, don’t waste your time,” Miles said. “It is imperative that you go to my office. My assailants might think to head there next.”
“ I said I’m coming to find you,” Phoenix huffed.
“Stubborn as ever I see. Good luck in that regard,” Miles said. “I must request that if you insist on going on this wild goose chase, at least send Larry to my office. I need to make sure that evidence gets into the right hands.”
“Will you shut up about the evidence!?” Phoenix ran out of his bedroom and raced towards the front door of his apartment. “Just stay on the phone with me and talk. I don’t care about what, but I need you to stay awake.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Miles said. “But thank you for trying…Phoenix.”
The line suddenly went dead.
“W-what the hell?!” Phoenix stared at the phone in his hand. He frantically jammed the redial button over and over again to no avail. “Goddammit - MILES! ”
Phoenix raced out the door into the cold California night, tears streaking down his face.