Ashes Remain (A Man Named Terran #2)

Still Unsolved

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December 16th, 2027

10:05am

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Smoke rose over the ruins of Courtroom Number Four. The entire building was cleared while the police waited for the bomb squad to inspect for more explosives.

Phoenix had been in a meeting with Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, and was unable to attend the trial in person. However, when one of Edgeworth's personal detectives barged into their meeting, furiously scribbling on an e-notebook, and alerted to a bombing in the courthouse, his body felt fifteen years younger and he charged for the door.

One of Edgeworth's subordinates, a twenty-four year old prosecutor named Naia Graves, accompanied them to the scene. She was processing the charges for the Space Center bombings, and Edgeworth planned to put her in charge of investigating this bombing.

Without knowing anything of the other trials, Phoenix knew the bomb had gone off in the Space Center trial.

When they arrived, Graves and the bomb squad ran inside. Edgeworth met with Blackquill and Fulbright, while Phoenix scoured the area for Apollo and Athena. Being unsuccessful in finding them, Phoenix approached one of the ambulance crews arriving on scene and told them the defense attorneys in the courtroom where the bomb went off were missing. Amidst the chaos, Juniper stumbled out of the courthouse with an officer's help.

After securing Blackquill, Edgeworth went to comfort Phoenix. Graves' voice blasted over his walkie-talkie. "We've found bodies! At least one of 'em's got a pulse. First responders are bringing her out while we recover the other."

Almost immediately after she said so, paramedics rushed out of the building with a limp body in their arms.

Phoenix's heart plummeted through the ground when he caught a glimpse of orange hair and a yellow jacket through their arms. "Athena!!"

"Do what you need to, Wright." Shortly after one crew got Athena on a gurney and loaded her up, another crew brought out another figure, bleeding greatly, and one heavily burned figure. The burned figure was also loaded into an ambulance, but the bloodied figure was just laid on the ground and covered by a tarp.

"Incident report, Chief! Three bodies recovered, two female, one male. Identified as both members of the defense, and Detective Candice Arme. Arme was found dead."

"Thank you, Graves. I'll have the information sent to your partner to prepare charges." Edgeworth lowered the walkie-talkie. "I'll drop you off at the hospital, Wright. I hope to see your subordinates alive and well."

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December 16th, 2017

7:15pm

Wright Anything Agency

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Wright was sitting in his office, in the dark, when his phone rang. "Ah, Edgeworth. How are things going at the prosecutor's office?"

"We've got a suspect. Trial for the courtroom bombing begins tomorrow at nine a.m.. The suspect is being charged with terrorism, one count of murder for Detective Arme and two counts of attempted murder for your two subordinates."