Ace Attorney: Council of Crime

Part 38 (Milan)

We searched for hours, seeing if we could find any traces of Celosia. She had just disappeared out of nowhere, so we had to find her somehow. Maybe she decided to run off and get something from her house. I hoped that we were worrying over nothing, which eventually, we settled on. 

"I guess that we should just go home. I have no idea where she could be, and looking to the fact that none of you seem to get it either, I'm going to go on the wild assumption that she's gone," Vesgate frowned. 

Connor sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Let's just go. I don't have any ideas either. Come on, Milan. Let's go home," he said.

I looked down sadly before taking his hand and letting him walk me home. I wasn't paying much attention to the walk home, too worried about Celosia to notice what bugs flew by or which birds chirped happily overhead. 

"I find it hard to believe that she would just leave us for no reason... There must be some reason for her leaving," Connor told me. 

"Yeah... Whatever reason it is, it must be big. I don't think that she would just leave us if it were nothing..." I murmured.

"Why don't we try and call her? Don't you have her number?" Connor suggested.

I gasped and fumbled with my phone, pulling it from my pocket. "You're right! Give me a second!" 

I dialed Celosia's number and waited for somebody to pick up. The phone rang three times, and I was about to declare to Connor that she wasn't answering.

And then I heard the voice. 

"Little girl..." A snarl was being transmitted through the speaker, making me flinch. "Tsumi. Leave the investigation alone. Your friend is gone, and there's no way that you can get her back. It would be best if you just allowed her to stay with us forever."

Muscling up my courage, I gulped. "W-who are you?!" I exclaimed. "And why do you have Celosia's phone?! It belongs to her and not you!"

"Well... It belongs to me now, mainly since she belongs to us now," the person said. It was an adult man, with a voice somewhat similar to Connor or Vesgate's, though it was deeper. Deeper and darker and meaner among other things.

"What do you mean?! Celosia doesn't belong to you, creepy!" I yelled.

"She does now. I suggest that you leave them alone. Griffin, Blake, and Quell are ours." The person on the other end of the line hung up, leaving me standing in confusion. I could hear nothing but static, which made me feel eerie inside. I bit my lip. As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared, terrified even. 

Connor didn't ask me any questions. He allowed me to hug him and let a few choked sobs escape through my tears. "S-somebody took C-C-Celosia!" I cried fearfully.

"What?!" Connor exclaimed. "Did they give any clues as to who they are?! We need to track them down before Celosia ends up in danger!!"

"They didn't say anything..." I murmured. "What if we never see her again?! The person on the phone was really mean!!"

"We'll get her back. I'll call Interpol now and see what they can do about it," Connor declared. He pulled out his phone and wandered out of the room, talking to somebody on the phone. I wasn't sure who it was, but Connor sounded intense. It scared me half to death. 

I paced in fear, rubbing my eyes nervously. I was scared and afraid. I knew I was trembling as I sat down on the couch, rubbing my arms in hopes of banishing the chill that had crept onto my arms. 

Connor came back into the room not long after. He was stuffing his phone back into his pocket, so I looked up from my moping. "What did they say? Are they going to help us get Celosia back?" I asked, still shaking. 

Connor sighed and nodded. "They're looking for her and two other people who disappeared. I'm not sure who they are, though. Apparently, that information is classified or whatever," Connor groaned. 

"The person on the phone said that Celosia, Blake, and Griffin were theirs. I don't know who Blake or Griffin are, though... Sorry about that..." I muttered.

"In that case... I think I know who they were talking about!" Connor cried. "Blake... Clarith Blake! The forensic scientist we spoke with earlier today! Maybe after we spoke to her, she was taken by those weird guys!"

"Too bad we don't know who Griffin is..." I whispered.

"Wait! We do! Felix Griffin! I heard about him! Some Interpol agents were talking about him yesterday while Lynnette Farrell was being arrested at the train station!" Connor exclaimed. 

"So... Do you think that Interpol is going to be looking for them?" I asked.

Connor nodded. "Yeah. I doubt that they could just let go one of their own agents being kidnapped," he said. "But we can't do anything about it for now. I think that we should try and relax for a little while, maybe catch a little bit of sleep. Tomorrow is February 25, and that means that we're going to have a lot of work to do."

"Yeah... You're right," I agreed. Too lazy to drag myself to the guest bedroom that had been substituting as my bedroom for the past few days, I pulled my feet up onto the couch. My head sagged onto the head rest, so I allowed the wave of sleepy drowsiness to wash over me, leaving me asleep while Connor continued to pace the length of the living room.

--------------------------------------------

I GOT MY FRIEND TO START WATCHING SDR2 ON YOUTUBE YESTERDAY WOOP

-Digital