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“Pawn to e4,” I thought to myself, “the traditional chess opening.” I looked at the man in front of me. He was eating lunch in the courtroom cafeteria – a bowl of ramen – while looking over evidence for the trial that was set to continue tomorrow.
“So- uhm …” I trailed off, looking into my cup of tea before continuing, “Wright.” I looked at the defense attorney. He looked at me, curiously, but didn’t say anything back. I leaned forward, slightly, with a look in my eyes as if to say: “SAY SOMETHING.” He finished swallowing his bite, returning his gaze to the case file before speaking.
“Edgeworth.” His tone was cold and uninterested. My brows furrowed as I contemplated what could have him in such a sour mood. Normally it was I who had an unsavory attitude. I was about to ask if he would like to talk about what was bothering him, when Ms. Fey showed up at our table, pulling up a seat.
“Hey Nick! Oh, and hi Mr. Edgeworth!” She waved, ecstatically at both of us, after setting her wrapped burger down on the table.
“Whatcha doooin’?” She said, rhythm in her voice as she leaned over the table to see what Wright was staring at so intensely in the case file.
“Just looking for leads; trying to get a recap on the case.” He frowned, running a hand through his spiked hair.
Maya shrugged, unwrapping her burger and preparing to eat when Wright shot up from his seat, enlightenment on his face. He snapped his fingers, looking around frantically.
“I GOT IT!” He whispered, although loudly enough for the table to hear. He closed the file and put it back in his briefcase before picking up his blue suit jacket and pushing his chair in. Maya, although confused, got her leave ready in suit. Within the blink of an eye, the two had left the cafeteria leaving me with only a glimpse of the spirit medium waving goodbye as she walked out the doors.
“Pawn to e5.” I sighed, making a mental note of the failed attempt to communicate.
❯──｢✾｣──❮
The next day, around 9 am, I stared out the window in my office. Gumshoe was doing a last minute run through of evidence and testimony for me before I had to leave for the courts. I sighed, sipping my tea, turning to the chess set in my office. I put my cup down on my desk as I stood up and made my way over to the finely sculpted board. I stared over it, one hand on my chin and the other on my hip. I sighed, resetting the board to a new game.
I moved the red pawn to e4, like I had yesterday, and brought the blue pawn across it, at e5. This was the standard opening for most chess games, and how my conversation went yesterday. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and beginning to pace around my office in thought. Every few seconds I would pause my inadvertent pacing to look at the chess game, hoping that enlightenment would strike me as it did Wright the previous day.
Eventually, with a huff, I threw myself onto the couch and rested my head in my hands. All the thoughts in my head were clashing against each other and it would be illogical of me to make a decision at this point. At the same time, I know very well that Wright noticed my previous attempt at talking and he would notice if I stopped trying. I had to make a move, otherwise it would seem like I didn’t care! But, I was in no state to make a move! Would Phoenix even be aware enough to realize what I was trying to do? Did he even notice my previous attempt? Maybe I’m overthinking this all and he’s just focused!
“Hey Mr. Edgeworth!” Gumshoe barged in, startling me out of my thoughts.
“Hello, detective.” I spoke, calmly, as I stood up and made my way back over to my desk.
“I checked the fingerprints on the murder weapon, just like you asked, sir!”
I rested my hands on my desk, looming over my case file while rocking back and forth on my heels.
“Are you alright, Mr. Edgeworth sir?” Gumshoe asked, finally dropping his arm from a salute.
“ Hm? Oh- Yes, yes I’m fine.” I mumbled, looking at the detective while waving my hand in the air as if I were brushing away the question. I reached my hand out to grab the results of the fingerprinting analysis from Gumshoe as I continued.
“You should head back to the precinct to gather the defendant and witnesses. I shall meet you at the courts.”
“Alrighty, sir!” He smiled, boldly, saluting me once again before walking out the door. I leafed through the pages, attempting to make sure that all of the necessary information had been printed. Finally, I looked at the chess game one last time. In a huff, I collected the papers and put them in my briefcase before starting towards the door. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, I looked back at the chess set, deciding to move my knight to f3 before walking out.
❯──｢✾｣──❮
Moments after the trial, I caught up to Wright and Ms. Fey.
“Oh, hey Mr. Edgeworth!” Maya cheered, noticing me. Wright raised his hand up and waved, but didn’t bother turning around to face me. I cleared my throat and placed my hand on Maya’s shoulder. She looked at me, confused. I handed her some money, in cash, and said, “Will you go get us lunch, please? I need to discuss the case with Wright.” She puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy about not being included, but after looking at Wright and back at me, she walked towards the cafeteria, glaring at me. I sighed, making my way to catch up with Wright.
“Is there a particular reason you’re following me?” He asked, once again not even bothering to look at me.
“Yes, actually, there is.” I quipped, now walking along next to him. He sighed, stopping his traveling and looked at me, his hands on his hips.
“What is wrong, Wright? You’ve been so distant recently. It’s unlike you.” He raised his eyebrows, probably shocked at my forward approach. I bit my tongue, already regretting this path.
“I didn’t realize you cared.” He replied, bewildered. I stared at him, in shock, as my mouth hung open ever so slightly. “That was not the move I expected.” I thought to myself, scanning him up and down. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what was to come.
“Yes, I care. And when I tried to talk to you about it yesterday, I was met with only bitterness before we were interrupted!”
“That was your attempt to talk?”
“You’re missing the point, Wright! I’m not here to talk about my lack of emotional conversation skills! I’m here to talk about you!” I huffed, growing more agitated. He stepped back, shocked, although disgusted.
“Why should I talk to you? Why should you care now? For months and months I have done my best to provide you with support and show you that you don’t have to be this guarded, cold man anymore only to be met with resentment. Why do you think you’re entitled to knowing what I’m going through when you have done nothing to earn it? When you’re met with issues you run away and leave others to pick up after you while they assume it’s their fault you left. Even so, I don’t have the luxury to do that! I can’t just run away! I have an office to run that’s basically Maya’s home! And I can’t leave her behind either! But I can’t take her with me because that’s unfair to her! When you run away all you do is think about yourself. You focus on yourself while abandoning and avoiding your other responsibilities. I can’t. I have to face my issues head on without running away while other problems keep piling up! Yet you think you can just waltz on up to me and ask what’s wrong! You can’t even handle your own issues! Maybe that fake empathy will work on Gumshoe, but not me. Not me, Miles Edgeworth. Not me.”
I stared blankly at him as he walked away. I heard Maya walk up behind me and stop.
“They.. didn’t have any steel samurai dogs… What happened with Nick?”
“I… I don’t know!”
❯──｢✾｣──❮
Hours after the trial, I still found myself replaying the quarrel I had with Wright. I walked over to the chess board, staring at the pieces. “Pawn to e4, pawn to e5… knight to f3…” I mumbled to myself, my gaze wandering the pieces. I sighed, continuing. “Bishop to c5..? Knight captures pawn on e4… Queen to… NGOOOOOHHHH!” I stumbled back, mortified. How could this be? How could he have done this? The four-move-checkmate? Done on me? In a battle I started? This is absurd! I slammed my hands on the sides of the board, rattling the pieces as the conversation replayed in my head. As I got more and more enraged, the pieces on the board shook as though there were an earthquake. Eventually, the red king fell over. I lost the game. I stared at the now disheveled match, realizing what it all meant.
The world around me started to spin, my breathing becoming erratic. I started to lose my balance, stumbling back. Each step felt like a mile until I eventually landed on the couch. At this point I was hysterical: tears streaming down my face, my heart racing, my breathing far too quick to be healthy. I grabbed at my chest, my vision starting to fade.
“Checkmate.”