A Victim for Six Years

Chapter twenty-four: The Final Interference

Phoenix, Maya and I met outside of the courtroom the next day for the final day of the trial. Phoenix had his briefcase with him this time, obviously having obtained new evidence. He looked confident.

"Today's the day, you two." He said with a smile. "We've got Vasquez right where we want her. And with this new evidence, there's no way anyone could even think that Franziska is guilty!!!"

Finally, this case would be coming to a close. So many things had interfered with this case that it had been going on for quite a few days, now. But now, we finally had our culprit. Dee Vasquez was going down.

All of a sudden, Phoenix looked around, smelling the air and looking confused.

"Phoenix?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"Do you..." he began. "Do you two smell smoke?"

Smelling the air myself, I realized that there was a faint smell of smoke. I nodded, becoming a bit concerned. Why would there be smoke in the courthouse?

Phoenix seemed to be thinking the same thing that I was, as he turned around and looked in the direction of the smell. Handing his briefcase to Maya, he told her, "Maya, stay here. Go into the courtroom when the judge is ready. We can't lose that evidence, it'll cost us the case." He then looked over at Von Karma, who was speaking to Vasquez. Von Karma saw Phoenix looking at him and mouthed the words, remember to watch your back, Wright. Phoenix looked uneasy, probably remembering the threat that Von Karma gave him yesterday.

"Piper," Phoenix said, "I want you to come with me. It's probably just some idiot who's smoking in the bathrooms. Let's not go crazy and jump to conclusions just yet." I nodded, and Phoenix and I walked off towards the smoke smell.

As we were walking, I asked him, "do you really think that it's some idiot smoking in the bathroom?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Maybe. The fire alarms aren't going off. And the smell is pretty faint."

"Yeah, but the direction we're going isn't the bathrooms. It's in the direction of a closet."

"Maybe some idiot's smoking in a closet, then." Phoenix suggested.

We followed the smell, which got stronger the closer we got, to a closet.

Thick dark smoke was seeping through the cracks of the door, and I looked at Phoenix.

"Still think that it's just some idiot smoking?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"Definitely not." Phoenix answered. "But we should open the door. If more smoke gets out of the room, it may trigger the fire alarm, letting everyone know that they need to get out."

I nodded. Taking my scarf off, I put it over my hand, and slowly turned the door handle. When I heard the 'click' of the door, I yanked it open, and sent thick black smoke barreling towards me and Phoenix. Coughing, I looked for Phoenix, realizing that I couldn't see him through the smoke.

"Phoenix?!" I called, the smoke making it hard to breathe. "Phoenix, where..." I broke into a fit of coughing, looking for Phoenix. The smoke stung my eyes, making them water. When the smoke began to settle, I turned around to run the other way, back towards the courtroom. But when I turned around, I was face-to-face with a tall man in a suit and dark sunglasses, a sort of earpiece on his right ear. He stood there, blocking my way, and we stood there staring at each other. Finally, I tried to move past him, and just as I moved around him, he swiftly took my right wrist, holding it so hard that it felt like he was crushing it. I screamed.

"Let me go!!!" I exclaimed. "Phoenix!! Help me!!!" The man drew me closer and clasped a hand over my mouth, muffling my cries.

"Piper!!!" I heard Phoenix's voice from somewhere in the smoke. "Where are you, what's going on?!" He yelled back. I couldn't answer. "Piper!!!" He called again, frantic. "Piper, answer m-" but he cut himself off, and screamed, "Vasquez!!!" Before he said something else, but all I heard were muffled yells.

The man that had ahold of me pulled me in front of him, walking closer to the fire. As he let go, he shoved me into the closet. The smoke was so thick that I couldn't even hear myself scream, my voice was so muffled by the smoke filling my lungs.

The fire alarm began to wail. I fell into the closet, everything so bright by the light of the fire. I landed on my chest, hitting my head against the floor in the process. I laid there, my head spinning and my lungs filling up with smoke. I heard Phoenix scream and then a loud thud against the floor close to me. I wanted to yell out to him, to ask if he was all right. But the last thing that I remember was the click of a lock, and the heat of the fire.

And I passed out for the second time in this case.