Ace Attorney: Council of Crime

Part 1 (Buddy)

//February 21, 2030. Interpol Headquarters, 6:29 AM//

I stared at my computer screen and clicked as many keys as my nimble fingers would let me. Apparently, a few other agents on this investigation had updated the file on the criminal gang last night. I had to check it out before I could get the team together.

This could end up as my big breakthrough. M and N (you know, head honcho people) were leaving me in charge of this investigation since D and her partner, I think his name is Griffin or something like that, were off doing something else. Same with Q. It may not seem like a big ting, but I've never lead any investigations or anything like that! It was huge in every aspect!

I watched the loading bar impatiently, staring back at my reflection in the computer screen. My blonde hair was spiked, which was usual (before you ask, no, it was not bed head). I stared into my own brown eyes, through the glasses that framed them. I sunk into my white scarf tiredly, not ready for the trials and tribulations that my occupation brought about. I looked over myself, wearing all black other than a white shirt and my gray laptop bad, currently empty.

The computer emitted a tiny beep when it finished loading, causing me to look up from my moping. I gasped and read the screen the best that my tired mind could:

Name: Kuranin (possibly has alternate meaning)

Victims: June August, Arthur Lawton, Timothy Lane, Mario Tsumi, Carla Quell, Tori Self, Carlos Self

Investigators: Buddy Bradshaw

I sighed. Seven people. All in just the one week that had flown by since the Kuranin (assuming I spelled that right) had appeared to the media, threatening a death everyday that they were left uncaught. Were they trying to reach the top of Interpol's 'catch list', even more so than Genocide Jack and her-erm, his, partner in crime?

I supposed so, as they most certainly had. I gulped down my fear before continuing to read down the information, this time on the victims:

Name: June August
Age: 19
Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to head with concrete slab. Death was instant.
Date of Death: February 13
Other: 'Kuranin' was found written near the crime scene in victim's blood.

I gulped. What exactly were these guys planning? It didn't make any sense. The victims had no link at all... I'd looked into it all to impress M. That was the only way I was going to rise up the Interpol ranks: getting in good with the high ups. Griffin did it, so I can, too!

I heard trudging footsteps come from outside my office. I turned to see N walking by. His dark brown hair was disheveled, his chocolate eyes downcast. The blue t-shirt he wore under the typical black and gray jacket didn't seem as brightly colored today. His jeans seemed to have lost their brightness, too.

Hearing a gentle sob come from N's direction, I stood and walked closer to him. "A-are you okay...?" I asked, already knowing that the answer was negative.

N nodded miserably, still not looking up from the apparently enticing ground. "I'm fine..." he mumbled. I prepared to call him out on it, but N had already walked away sadly before I could even think of uttering some sort of refutation. I began to give chase, but he entered the room he shared with M, which wasn't usually accessed by regular agents. D, often known as the best in the business other than the head honchos, didn't even get in unless she was invited in for a briefing. I frowned. What could be so wrong?

I turned back to the screen. Maybe it had something to do with the Kuranin murder that took place last night. Around 9:30 or so, a teenage girl found a body. It was all over the news that a man had been killed in his own home, the 'Kuranin' message being left behind once again. What was his name again?

I scrolled as far down as the file went, reading a little closer on the final victim's autopsy:

Name: Carlos Self
Age: 47
Cause of Death: Stab wound to chest by kitchen knife. Death was instantaneous.
Date of Death: February 13
Other: 'Kuranin' was written in blood by real killer.

Due to us Interpol agents not knowing one another's real names, this confused me. Why was he so upset? Was there something deeper to the case that I didn't yet understand? I thought I had done all my research on the case, but I suppose not...

I frowned and continued reading through the files. There were only two things I could find to link them all together: the instant death and the message left behind by the real killer. Other than that, the victims had no connection. They didn't even know each other. But that made no sense...

"Stalkuma?" I questioned aloud, breaking the silence that had lingered over my office since N's departure.

The white and blue monochrome bear popped up from behind my desk at hearing my call. "What is it, Master Buddy?" he asked, tilting his head curiously. If a robot can be curious, that is... I'm not quite sure...

"I need you to do something for me," I declared as the bear waddled over to my side. "It's about N."

"Stalkuma is here for Master Buddy!!" Stalkuma sang, dancing in a circle.

I clapped my hands over the bear's speaker. "Are you trying to wake up everybody in the building...?!" I hissed.

"Silly Buddy! Interpol agents don't sleep here!" Stalkuma told me.

I sighed. Even if Stalkuma was my own invention, he still tired me out from time to time. "Just go check on N and see what's wrong with him. M has been acting weird for a few days, too."

"Stalkuma will do that for Master Boddy!" Stalkuma announced. He walked over to the door, waved at me, and exited, making some weird robotic noise as he did so.

I leaned back in my chair and frowned. What exactly was this Kuranin group planning, and why did it make N and M so upset...?

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#feelsarebroken

-Digital