The last judgment

      “Hold it! The defense doesn’t agree with the prosecutor’s accusation — this murder could have been committed by one more another person!” I blurted out in one breath, confidently hitting the table with my palm. “Mr. Keller, you directly contradict yourself. Why do you suddenly know in such detail what a bottle of poison looks like? Answer the question!”       The witness shuddered, and silence reigned in the hall. His legs were noticeably trembling, and an expression of concern appeared on his face, with noticeable stubble. After a few seconds, he looked up at the prosecutor.       “Objection! Defense, how dare you put pressure on my witness?!” the prosecutor stood up, looking at me indignantly, “your dirty tricks are completely inappropriate, I will not allow you to cling to the words of the witness.”       “Mr. Edgeworth… The objection is rejected,” the judge intervened, shrugging his shoulders, and continued to appeal directly to the witness, “answer the defense’s question, Mr. Keller.”       “Your Honor, let me explain,” Miles began, interrupting the witness with a smug smile, shaking his head and spreading his hands to the sides, “I admit that the words of the defense aren’t without meaning, but you missed something, Mr. lawyer. It is possible, that the witness saw this bottle at the last court session.”       No, I can’t back down! This case has already dragged on too long, today we need to put an end to this process and protect the reputation of my client. Moreover, today is the last day when I have to pay for the rent of the law firm “Wright & Co.”, which seemed to me such a native haven and replaced my home. And if everything goes wrong now… As by itself, my hand moved to the lectern with lightning speed and tore out one of the papers lying there, which I hid at the bottom of it, just in case. I knew this was the last chance… It seemed to me that my heart stopped. I looked straight into Miles’s eyes and saw how he understood me from half a glance. He understood and covered his mouth with his palm, trying to hide a nervous laugh. But I managed to read in his look the answer: “Don’t overplay it, buddy…”. And I have made my mind.       “Objection, Mr. Prosecutor! Firstly, I specifically checked the lists of jurors at yesterday’s meeting, his name was not found on the list… Secondly, such an extremely dangerous poison as cyanide is not sold in stores, its vial is not seen among household chemicals. This begs the question, how was Mr. Keller able to recognize the appearance of the bottle? His ex-wife, as far as I know,” I began to knock on the list, while I was holding it, to prove my words, “works in a chemical laboratory. That’s how he was able to get this substance!       The courtroom buzzed. Apparently, my argument sounded convincing, because while the prosecutor was looking at me condescendingly, he nodded. The judge hitted his gavel on the table. There was silence. Edgeworth cleared his throat and turned to the witness, who was keeping silence all this time.       “What do you say to that, Mr. Keller? It seems that the defense is confident in his rightness. If this judgment is fair, then you are perjuring yourself. However, tell me, Mr. Wright, how then could a bottle of cyanide was lying in the defendant’s pocket? Aren’t you going to claim that it was thrown there? What is the basis of such confidence?”“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” I knew that Edgeworth would find something to cling to and would not give a single chance for the prosecution to make a mistake. “Exactly that. The witness brought a bottle with poison to his room…”       “Shut up! You… you… nasty little lawyer! Shut your mouth!” finally, Keller showed the voice and his real face, becoming like a terrier driven to frenzy. But at the same moment, he seems to have realized his mistake and bit his tongue.       After waiting for the crowd to calm down, the judge struck with a hammer and spoke: “Witness, you will be fined for contempt of court. Tell the truth, why are you falsifying the facts? This is a serious violation.”       “I… I… well, you see…” hesitated Keller, lowering his head and putting his hands in his pockets. “Yes, I killed Mr. Bickford. Mr. Bickford threatened me many times, so I…”       It was a victory. Having achieved recognition, I sighed noisily. The judge nodded with satisfaction, made an entry in the log and announced the verdict: “Greg Keller will be charged with the murder of Norman Bickford and sentenced to the highest penalty — execution by firing squad. The defendant, I ask you to stand up.” The judge looked at his watch, turned to the audience and looked up at me.       “Mr. Wright, your defense was incredible — in three days you managed to successfully prove it. As for the defendant, I have no doubt that he did not kill Bickford. The Court declares that the defendant, Mr. Mayson Fein, has been justly found not guilty of the crime charged against him. The verdict is final and cannot be appealed,” after these words, the judge hit the table with a hammer. “Gentlemen, I declare the meeting closed. Thank you all for your cooperation and… it was nice to talk.”       When the defendant heard the cherished “innocent”, he shone with happiness, it seemed that he became now like twenty years younger. I’m taking papers from the pulpit, couldn’t hide my smile, looking at how Mayson was literally overflowed with pride that he was justified, so to speak, in everything. Still, I felt a little embarrassed when I met Edgeworth’s eyes with my view. Those eyes had been looking at me with an attentive squint throughout the whole process, and now, meeting my view, they expressed some kind of predatory triumph, as if their owner also thought that this case was his triumph. When I have finished collecting everything necessary and putting the papers into my briefcase, I went to the prosecution’s lectern and stood next to the one who had made my heart shrink for so many years. The prosecutor looked tired, but somehow even victorious. His gait was confident, his shoulders were straightened, and only the bags under his eyes betrayed the inner feelings that had possessed him in recent days.       “Well done, Wright,” he said softly, looking into my eyes, which made my skin crawl. “I didn’t doubt your victory. I’m proud of you. You turned the court session into a circus, as you always do.”       “Uh, well, yes, I’m glad to try. Why did you take up this case, initially knowing that you will lose?” without hesitating for a second, I extended my hand to the prosecutor. He shook it firmly, something in his face subtly changed, and then he continued:       “When I saw who will act as a lawyer in this case, I thought: “How lucky, really, is it Phoenix Wright himself? It would be a sin to miss such a thing.” And I was not mistaken. Without any exaggeration, I will say that our joint duel was exciting. I’ve missed you, Wright.”       These words made me feel warm. Some long-forgotten feeling suddenly surged over me, filling the entire space of my soul. This has not happened since our last debate, which took place three months ago. During these three months, Edgeworth and I did not really see each other: he was always on the road on business, and could not attend court sessions, while I was constantly working in the agency, conducting all kinds of legal consultations. So now I really understood how hard it was for me to be separated from him. He, too, apparently felt something similar.       “I missed you t…” and at that moment I felt tremors right under my feet, as if the earth became alive, and after them came a distant rumble, from which the walls trembled. The trembling of the earth intensified. The concussion was so strong that the floor was shaking under my feet. People who were still in the hall were rushing around the room. Panicked screams rang out from all sides. The lights went out in the hall.       Because of the tremors, people fell to the floor and tried to get up. Some of them were shouting something inaudible. The judge and the bailiffs, who tried to calm the rest of the excited audience, urged its not to worry, but no one paid attention to them anymore. Miles, pale as a sheet, sat on the floor and clutched his head in his hands. I was seized with horror, mixed with fear, about him. I knew about his fear of earthquakes, and now, it seems, there is an opportunity to test with my own experience, is it so great. Gritting my teeth, I resolutely walked towards him. Miles was still shaking, his eyes were closed. Before touching his shoulder, I had to contain a deep sigh, which made my knees weak. I squatted down next to him. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and stared at me in shock.       “Miles, you understand,” I said it, trying to speak as gently and convincingly as possible so that he would realize the reality of what was happening. “We need to move to the exit. All you have to do is get up and go. It’s not safe to stay in the building. Come on, get up. Simply… Overcome yourself… Come on… or not, better hold my hand. It’ll make you feel better.”       But he just shook his head. After looking at his trembling face once more, I gave up with a sigh and stood up. Now it was necessary to move forward. Even though I knew what I was going for, my legs were already leading me there. If you’re going to stay in the building, then you’re relatively safe. Gathering my courage, without giving myself a second to doubt, in one decisive movement I grabbed Miles by the arms and helped him to his feet. But as soon as I stepped forward, he stumbled and almost fell. As soon as I picked him up, he literally hung on to me. I could feel how difficult it was for him to keep his balance, although the tremors under his feet were getting weaker and weaker. It seems that my cheeks turned pink from such proximity. It was a good thing that the lights in the building were turned off, and only a few windows dimly lighted our journey. I had to carry him practically on myself. And when we finally reached the dark corner of the hall, I felt how hard it was for me. When I stepped forward, Edgeworth suddenly fell back and slid down the wall, dragging me with him. And although we barely managed to keep our balance, the next moment I realized how nightmarish this scene was. We both slid to the floor, tried to catch our breath.       Meanwhile, there was no one in the courtroom. The hall was empty, the bailiff and the judge disappeared, leaving us alone. Silence fell down to the room like a huge black blanket. Goosebumps ran down my back, and my heart shrunken.       “I never thought that I’ll find the courtroom like this» I caught myself on thinking about it, and looked up at Edgeworth. With a trembling hand, he moved a strand of gray hair from his forehead and froze, staring at something in front of him, as if trying to see the truth or see anything but the reality around him.       “Seventeen years…” he whispered, closing his eyes. “So much has passed since then…”       “Edgeworth… the DL-6 case has been permanently closed. I personally put your father’s killer behind bars. You were acquitted. Try to forget this epi…”       “And just recently I had to take a seat in this hall… like the prosecutor. I remember the first time I stood at that damn table thinking about who I am…”       “Exactly, you’re the prosecutor. The most attentive, brave and even merciful. Your father, I’m sure, is proud of you now.”       “God, what am I talking about? I’m speaking exactly like Mia did!”       “But fear… He hasn’t gone anywhere — it still lives in my soul, Wright,” Miles finally looked up at me, and then I noticed some strange half—smile.       “Mr. EDGEWORTH! Sir! Are you here?!” it was suddenly heard from the other side of the hall.       Miles and I both turned our heads toward the doorway at the same time. The voice was familiar—it could not be confused with anyone. I, holding on to the wall, straightened up. Inspector Gumshoe rushed into the hall, looking extremely confused. He looked at us, and froze, as if not knowing what to say. But then the inspector quickly pulled himself together and cheerfully, without any bravery, went to meet me.       “Hey, pal!” he spoke cheerfully, coming up. “How did you get here? The bailiffs should have taken you out when… In short, how are you, Mr. Edgeworth?”       The inspector extended his hand to the prosecutor, took him by the elbow, helping him to stand up. Miles, as if nothing had happened, looked calm and indifferent. He quickly looked around the room, fixing his view on me, frowned his brows, thought for a few seconds, as for trying to figure out what he wanted from him.       “I’m perfectly fine, Inspector.”       “Oh, yes, of course, I’m completely sure of it, sir.” Gumshoe winked conspiratorially, at the same time looking from me to Edgeworth and back again.       “Miles, you’d better go home now, rest, have a drink, come to your senses, put your thoughts to the order,” I said it with trying to choose my words carefully.       “Defense, keep your advice to yourself,” he answered icily. His gray eyes flashed darkly, and he came closer to me. “Wright, do me a favor: don’t catch my eye anymore.”       With these words, he walked away, was not looking at anyone else, with a stony face and clenched teeth. It became unbearably painful for me, he definitely left a bleeding wound in my soul. It really bothered me that he was behaving this way with me, but I wasn’t going to show it in front of the others. No, he didn’t get better — he just got mad at me because I touched his feelings, and at that moment the inspector appeared. By the way, inspector!       “And, inspector Gumshoe, what have you forgotten there?”       “Pal, I was in a hurry to help Mr. Edgeworth — he’s afraid of earthquakes, and then it shook be healthy! Well, at least it ended quickly, right? So I went to check if he was all right.”       “Hold it! And how long do you think the tremors were?”       “Oh, I don’t know, maybe a couple of minutes or a little bit more… No more than five minutes, anyway.”       “What?! Five minutes?!” I couldn’t believe my ears and, pressing my hand to my mouth, stared at the inspector. For me, it lasted forever — probably why I had a suspicion that I had been tricked. But the inspector only guiltily shook his head and smiled. So, that’s it, the conversation had to end. I’ve had enough. “As you can see, Mr. Edgeworth is fine. Please take him out and make sure he’s not worried. We need Mr. Edgeworth in good health.       “That’s right, pal!” Gumshoe nodded cheerfully, saluted and left the hall.       Now, all that I had to do, was go back to my job at the office and not think about the prosecutors and their stupid games anymore.