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[ he knows exactly who's to blame for this. ]

That's an oddly specific question.

With an oddly evasive answer. When?

It's just an embarrassing story, Chief. But if you insist...

It was when Maya dragged me out to one of those spiritual training places and clumsy me, I slipped while crossing the bridge and fell into the river right after I insisted I wouldn't. Go ahead, laugh. She certainly did.

[ He is so glad this is over text, because he can practically hear his own psychelocks. ]

[Can you hear the gears in your ex-boss's head turning, Phoenix?]

If that's all there is to it why wouldn't Edgeworth come out and say so when I asked him about it?

[ He can and it's making him antsy. But he also knows who he's throwing under the bus. ]

Who knows why Edgeworth does anything he does? He probably thought it was below him to spread embarrassing stories like common gossip or something equally as ridiculous.

If he wanted to avoid the ridiculous, he failed spectacularly. From his reaction you would have thought I was asking him to wine and dine the Oldbag. You and Maya weren't hurt, were you?

I ended up with a cold for a few days but that's about it.

[ That much is the truth, at least. He takes a few moments to think about what he could do next, to get her to drop this line of questioning. ]

It's fine, Chief. Really. But there IS something I should've told you about earlier... Maybe this is just Edgeworth's way of forcing my hand. Are you at home?

Oh I hate to think that I've stumbled blindly into an elaborate ploy of Edgeworth's. I think this might call for a spot of good spirited pay-back wouldn't you say? I can be home in about twenty minutes. What's up?

It might be better in person. I'll be waiting at home.

[ When she gets there, he'll be sitting in the living room, shuffling a deck of cards just to keep his hands busy and his nerves under control. This isn't exactly the way he would've chosen to tell her, but... it was about time. ]

[Mia comes back about twenty minutes later, as promised, carrying a big bunch of yellow and blue irises wrapped in newspaper and a couple of shopping bags. She seems upbeat and cheerful.]

Hi. Give me two seconds to get these in some water and I'm all yours.

Edited 2014-04-13 14:54 (UTC)

Sure thing. You seem like you're in a good mood.

[ Could he feel any more guilty about telling her now? ]

That's because I've been having a great day, strange conversations with Miles Edgeworth not withstanding of course.

[She heads into the kitchen with her flowers and calls through to him:]

You want anything from the kitchen while I'm in here?

[ Yeah, he'll bet it was a strange conversation. ]

I'm good.

[ All this anticipation is making him even more antsy, so he puts the deck of cards carefully on the table before getting up to walk into the kitchen. ]

What've you been up to all day? Strange conversations with Edgeworth aside.

Well, I managed to show up my boss. That's always fun.

[She unwraps a glass vase and takes it over to the faucet to fill it.]

The professor seems to think that I have a diminished understanding of the law just because I'm an assistant with no teaching experience before I came here, and yet I'm the one who's able to teach evidence law to the freshmen without making it sound like it's Greek. The man reminds me of that prosecutor... you know. What's his name. His objections sound like nails on a chalkboard.

[She sighs as she starts to cut down the stalks on the irises and begins to put them into water.]

You know, it's great that I've got a job and I can be useful to the kids, but I still wish I was behind a bench.

He sounds like a Payne. [ Pun totally intended. ]

Actually... [ That reminds him of another thing he'd been meaning to bring up with her. ]

Maybe you should be behind a bench. I've been thinking... It's been a long time since we practiced together, officially, but what do you think of bringing 'Fey and Wright Law Offices' to Heropa?

Payne! That was his name, thanks Phoenix.

[And then what he said afterwards registers and she smiles at him as she puts the last of the irises into the vase.]

Fey and Wright, huh? I can think of nothing I'd like better. We never did get the chance to truly work together after all.

[ That earns a chuckle. ] Yeah... I don't think being channeled quite counts.

[ He takes a seat at the kitchen counter as he watches her finish up with the flowers. ]

It's still a work in progress, but as long as we're both here, might as well make the most of it. Although... [ Moment of truth. ] I might be a little rusty.

What are you talking about? You didn't get forced into early retirement like me. You'll be fine, I'm probably going to wind up getting tips from you now.

[Flowers done, she moves the vase over to the counter and leans against it opposite him.]

How about making it "Fey and Wright and Co?" We can't rule out expansion this early in the game.

I thought it might be a little ambitious for a two-lawyer start up, but who knows, maybe it's just what we need to get someone interested.

[ Much as he'd like to go along with the conversation, and kind of just let this whole confession thing slide back away, he really does need to tell her. And if not now, Phoenix doesn't know when he'd be able to bring it back up again. ]

It wasn't so much early retirement as... early disbarment.

[ He can't quite look her in the eye as he says it, his gaze fixing itself on the flowers instead. A slightly involuntary smile plays on his lips, partly out of nerves. ]

Disbarment?

[Mia's eyes are wide as she looks at him, certain that she must have misheard as she looks at him, even though he's avoiding eye contact with her. It has to be a joke, and not one she finds particularly funny at that, but looking at him it dawns on him that he's not making a joke. And she's momentarily speechless.]

How? What happened?

It's a long story.

[ That he's still working himself up to tell. It's been a long time since he's had to explain the specifics of what happened... at least, truthfully. He'd only just put things into motion to unravel it at home, after all those years of searching for the truth. Nothing has been proven in court yet, but... he has a pretty clear picture of what happened.

Phoenix takes a second to think about where to even begin. ]

As always... it began with a defense attorney and a client. I'd taken on a case from a client who'd switched from his previous lawyer for reasons unknown to me. It was a very high profile case. Enough so that when I was caught presenting forged evidence halfway through the trial, it caused quite a stir.

You did what?

[Mia looks absolutely horrified and stunned. She searches his face for any indication that this could all be some horrible joke or untrue in any way, shape or form, but the longer she looks the more apparent it becomes that he's being deadly serious.

It's a good thing she put down the vase.]

Why? Why would you do something like that Phoenix? I don't understand.

[ Quietly: ] I didn't know.

[ Phoenix exhales and splays his fingers across the counter. It's his own fault for presenting the information like that, but her reaction is pretty much something right out of his worst imaginations of how this would go down. ]

My client's previous lawyer was a man by the name of Kristoph Gavin. He's... a very proud man. When his client decided to switch to me instead, he wasn't happy. [ To say the least. ] When my client's daughter came to me with evidence during a recess that someone told her to give to me, I didn't think anything of it. Until I presented it, and it turned out to be forged.

[Mia's eyes don't leave Phoenix for a second while he explains, all the while trying to keep her expression neutral as he explains.

Is she disappointed by what she's hearing? Of course. Disappointed and confused and sad. Phoenix is her legacy; it's maybe a sentimental thought and not one she's ever told anyone else, but she's so proud of the lawyer that Phoenix was shaping out to be. She has always seen so much potential in him, in the way he embodies all her beliefs and follows her footsteps (albeit sometimes a little more haphazardly than she would like), but he has never let her down. Not once.

Not until now.

She wants to open her mouth to chastise him, to berate him for being so stupid as to take something at face value and assume he can just present it in court like some wet behind the ears lawyer. The thing is though... as he continues something sits wrongly with her. He mentions the previous lawyer, the daughter giving him a piece of convenient evidence... it twists her gut with anxiety and leaves her feeling queasy.]

Then you were found out and punished.

[She keeps her voice as balanced as she can before she exhales heavily.]

And you think you were set up?

[ A slight pause before he nods. ]

I'm certain of it. It was Kristoph.

[ Once, he might've said 'almost'. Almost certain, because even if he gathered all the evidence in the world, until it was proven, it didn't mean a thing. But he's spoken to Edgeworth. While he refused to say exactly what happens, Phoenix can read between the lines enough to figure it out. ]

It's been seven years since I was disbarred, but I didn't waste any of it. I investigated, and collected evidence, to find out the truth behind that case... and mine. Just before I came here, I set a series of events into motion that would bring all of it to light in court.

[ But it doesn't change what happened. His own part in the matter, and the reason why he still can't meet Mia's eyes now that the story is out. ] I know. I should've known better. [ She taught him better than that, and they both know it. ]

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chiefdefense - 2014-06-03 10:22 (UTC) - Expand

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mightiswright - 2014-06-14 21:44 (UTC) - Expand