Sunday, June 1st

Wright Anything Agency

Phoenix had just finished consoling a very angry Athena when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. "Sorry, I have to take this."

Miraculously, Widget turned green. "Go ahead! I'm feeling a lot better; thanks."

He stepped into his office and opened the ancient flip phone. "Hey, Edgeworth. What's up?"

"I heard that your junior partner is going to be the attorney on the Marshall case. " No beating around the bush, huh?

"Yeah. I just heard all about the guy's kid from Athena."

"That's just what I was calling about. He's been getting threats, and we've decided he would be safer away from home and off the streets. Could you take him in for the time being, and let him stay at the office during the day?"

Well, then. This would be interesting. "You sure?"

"I would have him stay with the Gumshoes but their daughter contracted the flu. I'd like to keep him healthy, at least."

Phoenix grimaced. He supposed he could make it work if he sent Athena out during the day. "Alright then. I'll let Apollo know to bring him back here."

"Thank you, Wright."

"Sure thing." He just managed to squeeze in a, "See you," before the prosecutor hung up and he sighed. Maybe if he warned Athena she could stay away from this kid…

He shot a text to Apollo telling him to come back before going back into the other room.

"So what was that all about?" She had gotten up for a snack while he was gone, a few clementines she had peeled but not yet eaten.

"Edgeworth just wanted to talk with me." He paused, trying to think of how to word his plight, before sighing. "So, this kid is gonna have to stay here until the case is over." Widget flashed red again and Phoenix cringed. It's not like I'm happy about this either!

"Isn't there anywhere else?!" He felt bad for her, though he knew the answer was 'no'. Athena's soft spot had always been her age, and Apollo could testify to how quickly her temper flared when she was told she was too young to be a lawyer. She usually didn't throw police officers on people, after all.

"Gumshoe's daughter is sick and he might not be safe with any family. Plus, the public's gonna be angry with us no matter what because we're defending this guy. We're already likely to get threats, and we want to keep this away from anyone else if possible."

Her face had softened and Widget returned to normal. She sighed and muttered, "I suppose I can deal with it."

He gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. "Tell you what. If you do your best not to get into any more big arguments I'll see if I can have a little chat with him about doing the same."

"I'll try. Thanks, Mr. Wright." She gave him a quick grin and then bounced to her feet. "I'll tidy up a bit before he gets here."

By the time Phoenix stood up, she already had a small pile of stray papers in her hands. He smiled. "That's the spirit."

While they waited for Apollo to come back, the pair managed to get the office to an acceptable condition. The toilet, of course, was sparkling.

When the three walked in the door, Athena, who had been relaxing on the couch with her pokèmon game, promptly walked out of it. She had decided it was probably the best course of action, and he had agreed. At least until Phoenix had a chance to talk to the boy, they were better off not interacting.

As Apollo turned to watch her go with a frown, Trucy bounced over to give her father a hug. "Daddy! We got a case!"

"Ha ha ha. I heard." He added, “Edgeworth called," and a wink in response to his daughter's confused expression. He rubbed her shoulder affectionately and they sat down.

The other two joined them and the man looked to Chase, extending his hand. "Phoenix Wright. Nice to meet you."

The boy shook it somewhat firmly, saying, "Chase Key. You as well."

The was a moment of silence before the man said, "So, when Edgeworth called -- he's the chief prosecutor -- he said that there were a lot of threats being made towards you, Chase."

He paused, and in that moment something slowly clicked. Wait a second… He’s a boy. That’s Trucy’s age… What if he has a crush on her? I can’t let that happen! Ugh… think, Phoenix!

Well, when all else fails, there’s always the option of throwing your junior partner under the bus.

"For your own safety, it would be best if you stayed here during the day. At night, you can stay with Apollo."

"Wait, what?!" the poor attorney said. His Chords of Steel were clearly still undergoing regular training.

"Chase needs somewhere to stay, but he can't be here or at the Gumshoes'. You're the next logical choice."

Apollo flopped. "Why not here?"

Phoenix tried to continue as smoothly as possible. "Uh, because there's… an infestation in the guest room. A giant colony of baby spiders crawling all over."

Trucy recoiled and he winced. Not my best bluffing, eh?

His frowning coworker said, "Well, alright then. I'll make room some how." Apollo clearly didn't believe his boss, but he gave in anyway.

Phoenix let out a sigh of relief. "Now that that's settled, are you going to go investigate?"

Apollo nodded with a grin. "We should get started right away. I've gotta go find Athena, and then I'll be heading to the crime scene."

As he stood up and went to gather everything he would need, there was a puff of smoke in front of him and Trucy appeared, pouting. "But Polly, you promised!"

He inhaled sharply, then nodded. "Yeah, I did." He gave her a soft smile and said, "Are you ready to go?"

"The Ace Assistant is ready, Your Honor." She grinned back, waiting for him to grab his things and then dragging him, literally, out the door. Phoenix chuckled as the door shut behind them.

After a moment of awkward silence, the lawyer spoke up. "So, I heard about your run-in with Athena."

Chase didn't respond; he simply looked away.

"If you're going to stay here, I'll need you to try to get along with her. I don't know why you acted the way you did this morning, nor will I press about it, but only if you agree to not start arguments or randomly insult my partners." And stay away from my daughter!

The boy nodded almost imperceptibly and muttered, "I understand."

Phoenix sighed as he left the room. Crisis averted… for now.