3 Aftershock

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where?
Who knows where?
But I’m strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear
We’ll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

If I’m laden at all
I’m laden with sadness
That everyone’s heart
Isn’t filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It’s a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we’re on the way to there
Why not share?
And the load
Doesn’t weigh me down at all
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

He’s my brother
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

Miles Edgeworth
High Prosecutor’s Office
April 20, 2019, 9:36 AM

Miles Edgeworth prided himself on forever remaining cool, calm, and collected both in the best of times and the worst. It took a lot to faze him, and even more to shake him out of the norm. It wasn’t because he was the cold-hearted automaton he’d often been accused of being. It was just that, at 28, he’d been through enough woes and hardships to last several lifetimes, the death of both his parents by the tender age of nine notwithstanding.

Thus far he’d been accused of murder, kidnapped, temporarily lost his prosecutor position, and, despite his skepticisms and misgivings about spirit mediums and the occult, had become familiar with the existence of both ghosts and demon possession; two things he never could have ever even fathomed had he not been friends with Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey.

Therefore, it would have been nearly comical to witness the normally austere High Prosecutor become so completely gobsmacked when he got the call from Detective Dick Gumshoe that he nearly fell off of his office chair.

Fortunately, there was nobody around at the time to see it.

Wright has been disbarred!? Miles stared, dumbfounded, at the phone on his desk long after he and the detective had rung off. I can’t believe it! Wright has always had extremely unconventional, sometimes questionable courtroom methods, but… forgery?! Gumshoe’s call offered few particulars other than to say that while the details of the murder trial were convoluted and multifaceted, ultimately, Phoenix had presented forged evidence and that the defendant, Zak Gramarye had vanished, so a retrial would not be possible.

Miles replayed the conversation he’d just had with his subordinate over and over again in his mind, wondering if this was all just a bad joke, or that he’d somehow misheard the story about the cruel misfortune his best friend had just endured. While he’d rather have heard the news straight from the horse’s mouth, he could certainly understand Phoenix wanting some sort of secluded quantum of solace in the aftermath. It would certainly explain why he’d been unable to reach his friend the night before when he’d rung to convey his own sudden bulletin.

But relaying his comparatively mediocre news wasn’t important right now. His mind still in a slight daze, he rose from his desk and headed to Franziska’s office. For the first time in his life, the workaholic attorney decreed that work could wait. This is far more important.

Miles knocked at the door of a certain whip-wielding enthusiast’s office before entering, noting the presence of former Officer, now turned Court Bailiff, Mike Meekins standing before her desk, and silently nodded a curt greeting in the other man’s direction.

“What do you want, fool?” Franziska asked sharply, not looking up from her paperwork. “I have work to do.”

Miles cleared his throat, and she finally raised her gaze, the annoyed expression rapidly disappearing from her face and being replaced by a polite but pleasant smile at the sight of him.

“Oh, it’s you. Good morning, Miles. I will be right with you.”

Miles smirked at the characteristic, but needless showmanship Franziska tended to put on whenever other subordinates or colleagues were around. In mixed company, he was Miles, rather Liebling, which had been her customary way of addressing him since they’d gotten together. She now kept such terms of endearment mostly in private, and he tended to follow suit, calling her meine Dame only when they were alone together.

While the two had never really talked about keeping their relationship a secret, they still kept themselves in a professional capacity for the most part. Neither of them would have lied if confronted by someone about their status, but keeping a low profile meant they were able to have more privacy, which they prized above all else. It was nice. Hell, nobody in their circle of friends, aside from Phoenix and his girlfriend, had even known the two were an item until this past weekend at Maya’s birthday party when they’d announced their formal engagement! Consequently, most of their coworkers were still unaware of this recent development; the two had only moved back to California from Germany a few days ago and they saw no need to broadcast things unnecessarily.

Clearly, Franziska didn’t feel that Meekins was a worthwhile contender to be privy to this information.

She turned her icy gray eyes back towards the timid court officer, replacing the friendly look in them with a ferocious glare as she barked at him.

“You are dismissed, for now, you foolish fool! We shall discuss the details of your demotion later!”

“Yes, sir! Right away, sir!” The overzealous young man gave his customary salute and hastily retreated towards the door, nearly clumsily tripping over his own feet in his haste to do so. “And a good day to you, Mr. Edgeworth sir!”

“Franziska – ”

She held up one black-gloved hand, the other one pinching the bridge of her nose as she did so. “Wait for it…”

Both prosecutors simultaneously flinched at the same time as they heard a resounding crash outside the office and an indignant shriek from one of the paralegals amid Meekins’ stammering apologies.

“You foolish fool of an idiot! You just knocked over the entire filing cabinet!”

“S-sorry, sir!”

The German woman let out a quiet groan, then placed her elbows on the desk, propping her chin onto her hands as she smiled wearily at her fiancé.

“Every. Single. Time.”

“Be nice, meine Dame,” the DA chastised mildly, amused despite himself. “I think you intimidated the poor man.”

“However so?” She demanded indignantly. “I didn’t even take out my whip this time, so devoted are my efforts to keep my promise to you to minimize its use.”

Miles chuckled and shook his head. “You are ever the imposing figure, Franziska Von Karma. No weaponry is required. And I am sure Meekins’ fall from grace, career-wise, is sufficient punishment enough. What did the poor man do to get demoted from being a police officer to a court bailiff?”

“That poor man? That foolish, fool of a Dummkopf, you mean.” She curled her lip in disgust. “Need I remind you, Liebling, that at some point after the incident at Gatewater Land, that dummkopf lost not only his case files four times in three days but also lost his badge?”

She had needed to remind him, he realized sheepishly. So much had occurred since the aforementioned incident he’d been in charge of investigating. From their engagement to playing co-cupids for their friends to this … sudden hammer that had fallen, anything relating to the admittedly imbecilic Meekins, along with any prior events, had completely slipped his mind.

“You got me,” the prosecutor admitted with a wry grin, bowing slightly.

“So to what do I attribute this surprise but welcome interruption?” The Wild Mare murmured sultrily. With a surreptitious glance to make sure that the door was closed and Meekins had truly made his exit she added, “After all, we are on the clock.” She walked up to her betrothed, wrapped her arms around his waist, and kissed him deeply.

He indulged in the pleasure of the ever-sweet sensation of her lips against his for a few glorious moments before regretfully pulling away. “Unfortunately, meine Dame, I’m not here for that.”

Franziska affected a fake pout, although they both knew an office liaison hadn’t been the reason for his impromptu visit. They had a strict not-while-at-work policy.

Well, mostly strict, at any rate.

“I’m here about Wright.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“What mess has that foolish man gotten himself into now?”

Miles sighed at the accuracy of the facetious query.

“He’s been disbarred.”

“What?” Her eyes widened in shock.

The chess lover nodded and walked over to sit on the black leather couch Franziska had in her office. She came and sat down beside him.

“The fool! What the hell did he do?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know exactly. Gumshoe just called me and said something about Wright presenting forged evidence.”

“What a foolish fool! How could he do such a foolish fool thing?”

“Well, maybe his newfound romance with Maya has made him a tad lax. But regardless, I refuse to judge him until I know the whole story. The man is my friend, meine Dame. Our friend. And he needs help.”

The tempestuous beauty fondled her whip. “I know just what kind of help he needs! Damn foolish fool!”

Despite the lofty words, the cravat wearer knew his swain was as shaken by the news as he was. They both sat there in stunned silence for a while. Phoenix Wright was the only defense attorney who’d taught them anything. The spiky-haired man had helped put them in their place by forcing them to reevaluate and discover what was truly important when it came to justice and the law. He also had been the one who had made them realize that the true mission of a prosecutor should be in pursuit of the truth, and not simply getting a guilty verdict at any cost.

Wright’s the one who instilled that value into both of us that we’re none of us, enemies, in or out of that courtroom, no matter which side we stand on. That we’re all on the same team, all seeking the truth in our quest for justice. That we should care and depend on each other and not hate one another.

She rested her silky silvery head on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine him forging evidence. Not after what Papa put him through.”

He nodded. Manfred Von Karma, her late father, and his mentor had gone to great lengths to exact revenge on Phoenix and himself with the use of falsified evidence.

“Perhaps he was framed. I don’t know. I don’t even know who the prosecutor on the case was.”

“Well, you’d better go clear up this foolishness, don’t you think?”

Miles had not expected her to suggest this. Going to see his friend was his desired intention, of course, but his betrothed didn’t necessarily share his exact sentiment for the other man.

She took his hand and gazed into his eyes. “You’re his friend…and I suppose…” she rolled her beautiful eyes and her lip twitched, as though resisting the urge to bare her teeth. “That I am too. You need to go see if you can help. Go to the foolish fool. I will take care of the preliminary details of the case files and keep things up to speed keep in the meantime if need be.”

She knows this is important; it’s important to Wright and it’s important to me.

While Franziska had mixed feelings about Phoenix, and at times appeared overly possessive about having to share her fiancé with his best friend as the one other person of any relevance in his life, she didn’t show it. Miles was loathed to leave her presence at that moment. As much as he enjoyed the fiery tigress side of her that the rest of the world was also well familiar with, on the rare occasions she let the softer, kittenish part of her show, he knew it was only meant for him, and he reveled in it all the more. He barely resisted the nearly irrepressible urge to fulfill the stereotypical fantasy of locking that office door, throwing his sexy fiancée onto her desk, and making wild, passionate love to her right there and then.

Miles reluctantly rose from the couch and smiled at her adoringly. He loved her so much.

“Thank you for your support on this, meine Dame.” His voice was filled with tenderness. “I love you.”

“Ich Liebe Dich auch, Liebling.”

The Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother