Ace Attorney: Criminal's Masquerade

The Classified Turnabout, Part 1 (James)

"Alright... So you know why you're here, right?"

"Yes. You said that you know something about the recent cases. The vault, animation studio, and duck pond murders are all connected. You claimed that you had information about how they all come together."

"As it turns out, I have more information than you know, but it's not like you'll live long enough to discover that..."

"W-what are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that you're not leaving this room."

"Y-you have to be bluff-AAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

"I don't think that's a bluff, but maybe that's just me."

"W-what's going on in here?!"

"Sleep tight, darling... I know you'll enjoy waking up in police custody... I know that I'll enjoy it."

"O-ow! Let me g... Let me..."

"And just like that, everything is taken care of. I love it when things work out to my advantage. It makes things much more fun to deal with."

//October 15, 2033. Morix Law Offices, 9:34 AM//

Time at the agency was passing just as it always did. I was getting extremely bored. I was tired of laying around without any cases to work on. I liked the agency a whole lot better when there were cases to tackle, but when we went through a dry few weeks like now, it was no fun working here.

I was lying around on the couch as I always did when the phone rang. I raised an eyebrow and went to get it, but I wasn't fast enough. Pieter reached the phone first. He grabbed it, pressed the button that initiated the call, and then put it on speaker. "This is Morix Law Offices. You're speaking with Pieter Fury. How may I help you?" he asked.

The voice on the other side didn't sound all that pleased. "I need you to come and defend somebody."

Pieter nodded slowly even though the caller couldn't see it. "I sort of figured... Who should we be defending?"

"An Interpol agent was arrested this morning. You need to defend her in court tomorrow. She's been accused of murdering another agent within Interpol's ranks." The person on the other end was a male. At least I thought it was judging by the deep and masculine sounding voice. You can never be sure these days when it comes to voices and genders. Society is changing, you know?

"Well... We'll go right on down to the detention center now. May I ask for your name?" Pieter questioned.

If I knew correctly, then the person on the other side was about to be super secretive with us. Interpol types were always secretive whether they chose to admit it or not. I was just waiting for somebody to say something about having a letter. That was the code that they used these days.

"You may call me M. Now, hurry it up." The person on the other end, this M fellow, hung up as soon as he finished up his final word.

"I guess that we'll be going down to the detention center to see the suspect," I said.

Pieter shook his head. "No. I'm supposed to be watching over the agency. Nobody else is here yet, so I'm stuck here for now. When somebody else gets here, I'll send them over to help you out, okay?" he said.

I gulped. I didn't like the idea of facing the suspect, an Interpol agent of all people, alone. If they left me alone in court, I didn't know what I'd do. I'd probably panic, but that was beside the point at that moment. I pushed away all nerves and nodded at Pieter. "Alright," I told him. "I'll see you around, Pieter!" I grabbed my phone off of the counter and ran from the room and then the building altogether.

//October 15, 2033. Detention Center, 10:00 AM//

The detention center was rather chilly when I arrived. I shivered slightly and glanced through the glass to peer at the suspect on the other side.

I gasped in shock when I realized who it was. "U-U?" I stammered, unsure that it was really her. "You're the suspect?"

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Devine," U told me, crossing her arms and looking away distantly. "I didn't expect that we'd meet in these circumstances, but what can you do? Life does was it wants." She began to rub the shoulder of her right arm, wincing slightly as she did so. I was tempted to ask her if she was okay, but she returned to normal a few seconds later, so I tossed the thought from my mind.

"Can you tell me about the crime?" I asked.

U nodded. "The victim was one Int R. Paul. He was found dead in the break room of Interpol. He was stabbed all over the body with a thin weapon that easily impaled him in many places. I was the one to discover the body, which is why I ended up here," she told me.

"What happened when you discovered the body?" I questioned.

"I heard yelling as I was walking past to reach my branch, so I made a stop by the break room to see what was going on. When I arrived, the victim was already dead and bleeding out. I tried to go and get help, but... But..." U faltered for a moment, a frown crossing her face.

"What's wrong?" I interrogated, frowning myself. "Is everything okay? It looks to me like you're thinking about something pretty deeply over there, U..."

U sighed. "I don't really remember what happened after finding the body. There was a sharp pain in my shoulder and after that... Nothing. I woke up here in police custody with a shoulder ache and blood all over my clothes. Apparently, my fingerprints were found on the murder weapon as well. I don't understand how any of that could have happened... I'm used to crime scenes, which means that I shouldn't pass out. As for the shoulder ache, bloody clothes, and fingerprints... I don't know."

"I'm going to go to the crime scene to look around now. If you remember anything, be sure to tell me, alright?" I asked.

U nodded. "Alright... Tell your boss that the candles in his office are nice."

I nodded slowly. "Okay," I murmured before backing out of the room. What an odd subject to finish on.

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I typed this case ahead since I was so excited for it

it's my favorite case in the book so far and it's not even all that good, so this book clearly isn't the best one in the series but whatever I'm having more fun with it than I did with cf so all is well

-Digital