Ace Attorney: Council of Crime

Part 16 (Drew)

Mr. Joe followed me into the warden's office. With his feet propped up on the desk before him, a man sat in a swivel chair. He had dark brown hair not unlike mine with hazel eyes. He wore a light brown fedora that rested on the top of his head. He wore a dark blue trench coat that reached his knees over a black shirt and black pants. Even his shoes were slick and dark as the midnight sky.

"You all are government agents, correct?" the warden asked in his heavy Texan accent.

"Interpol agents," Mr. Joe corrected him. "And I hear that my partner has met you before."

"O' course I know ol' Drew!" the warden, who I remembered went by the name of Robert West, smiled. "He came in here to question one of our more... Unique prisoners from a while ago. Rosa Uccello, I think she is."

"Unique, he says," I mumbled.

"It's too bad that Uccello got away recently," Warden West declared, shifting his chair from side to side in thought. "Maybe you guys could have questioned her a little bit about this weird subject."

"Uccello got away?" I asked, looking up from my unhappy sulking.

"Yesiree. She was one of the recent four prisoners to escape the prison," Warden West replied. "Along with Dee Vil an' Dark Ness. They all got away about two weeks ago. Why are you so curious, young 'un?"

"Visitors...? How curious..."

A girl came walking into the room slowly. She had bright red hair that was tipped with orange, yellow, green, and eventually blue. Her eyes were bright and teal. The girl had freckles and wore a red dress with many layers of that weird transparent fabric (tulle, I think, from what I hear my sisters ramble endlessly about). She had tall white boots and an innocent smile.

"Pandora!" came the cry of Warden West, who got out of his seat to greet the newcomer. "Mr. Government Agent and Drew, let me introduce you to Pandora Rell. She's my assistant in this here joint."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at Pandora.

"That's really sweet. Mr. West tells me all the time about when you used to be a detective and would come down here all the time. And Mr. Government Agent, I hope you've been doing a good job of looking after him. Mr. West won't like it if you've been treating him badly. Mr. West taught him all he knows about this law stuff," Pandora told us.

"What makes you think that I've been doing a bad job...?!" Mr. Joe stammered, his eyes going wide. "How low do you think I am...?!"

"Don't worry, Warden West, Pandora," I smiled. "He's one of the best people I've ever met. Mr. Jo-I mean, M here is actually my mentor at my current job."

"Good think 'ou haven't been mistreatin' the ol' boy," Warden West told Mr. Joe. "If you 'ad been... There'd be trouble, if ya know what I mean."

Mr. Joe glared at him. "Are you really trying to threaten me?" Mr. Joe snarled.

"I wouldn't do somethin' like that, Mr. Government Agent!" Warden West exclaimed.

"I could refute that..." Mr. Joe muttered irritably.

"What about we relax and not fight?" I cut in nervously, hoping they would take my advice seriously.

"Fine... But I'm your favorite mentor, right?" Mr. Joe asked, lowering his voice and leaning down so he was at my ear level.

I nodded with a smile and resisted the urge to kiss him on the cheek. We started going out a few years ago, but so as not to ruin the Q x D vibe that Q-Branch got started (mainly by L's encouragement), we kept it to ourselves. This was another moment where M and N couldn't break professionalism, which made me sad.

Warden West sighed. "If 'ou two are done, wanna hear abou' Uccello's escape, eh?" he suggested. "But only if 'ou two are okay with that sort of thin'."

I nodded again. "Yes, please!"

"It was abou' a week ago. She an' Vil, Ness, an' Giuseppe all got away one night. I'm not sure 'ow they got out, so I wouldn't ask," Warden West said. "Nobody seen 'em since. Good enough for ya?"

"That's perfect," I told Warden West. "Now, if you'll excuse us, Mr. J-M and I should get back to the rest of our group. Could you tell us which cells they escaped from before we go, though?"

"11035 was Dee Vil, 11036 was Dark News, 11037 Pierre Giuseppe, and then 11038 Rosa Uccello," Pandora replied, shooting us a wide smile. "See you later!"

I waved and led Mr. Joe out of the room. "You're sure that you like me better than that warden guy?" Mr. Joe asked me.

"He's like a father to me. But with us... Wait. We're alone," I said, beginning to show traces of a joyful smile. I elevated myself onto my toes and leaned over to Mr. Joe, pecking him on the cheek. "That's how we are."

Mr. Joe smiled at me for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around me for a few seconds (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I turned bright red and leaned into his arms, happy he was so great. Mr. Joe is so nice...

"What do you say to leaving that Warden West guy and his cooky little sidekick girl with a name that sounds like some sort of curse and go see the rest of our investigation group?" Mr. Joe suggested once I was done blushing to the color of a tomato.

I nodded with a wide grin. "It's fine by me if it's fine by you, Mr. Joe!" I exclaimed, allowing him to take his hand in mine gently and lead me back to the rest of our group.

We had to deal with my old boss (and fatherly figure in law), who's more than a little nutty during that conversation, but at least Mr. Joe knows he's appreciated in my eyes.

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I typed this on my tablet for you I hope you appreciate this-

-Digital