"I hate to trouble you, but could you go get that document from the printer? As you can see, it's a little difficult for me to get around in this building."

"Of course! I'll be right back."

…

"Ah, you're back. Mr. Wright just stepped out, so-Wait, who are-what are you doing? Help, HELP!"

------

Conan idly glanced out of the window as he passed; slightly impressed by the sheer height of the building they were in. A movement in the night sky caught the corner of his eye, but by the time he'd lifted his gaze, there was nothing to be seen but the strange gray-black of the city sky.

A muffled explosion some ways ahead of him recaptured Conan's attention and he whipped his head around to look searchingly down the hall. Next to him, Ran gave a startled yelp while her father yelled and covered his head.

"I think it came from Mr. Watts' room!" the boy called as he dashed down the hall. A harried Ran and Detective Mouri followed behind, sensing yet another mystery.

As they sprinted up the hall, panicked employees from the surrounding offices. Conan had to frantically dodge heeled feet and falling briefcases while attempting to examine the faces of the fleeing people. After all, there was a high probability that the bomber was among them, assuming that the explosion had been a planned bomb. Not that he wasn't going to be able to see them again, he knew that the police would be on this place like flies, especially since this was Los Angeles. Just as the boy had almost escaped the crowd, he felt the sharp, eerie tingle of a killer's eyes on his back. He whipped his head around at the sickeningly familiar sensation, but all he saw was the backs of several suited employees, all following their colleagues. Shaking his head in resignation to a thorough search later, he returned to sprinting down the hallway at full speed.

Conan skidded to a halt in front of the wrecked door, his eyes widening as he took in the scene in front of him. It was quite obviously a crime scene. Shrapnel and soot were everywhere, and one of the windows had a hole smashed through the center. From experience, the young detective could tell that a body had been blasted backwards though the glass, although it looked like he might have been sitting in something when it happened. He ran up to the window and peered down. His hunch was rewarded with the sight of a mangled, blackened corpse on the roof of the office building next door. Furthermore, there was something that looked vaguely chair-like surrounding the body. Instinctively, Conan's nose wrinkled a little in distaste. Explosions were always messy, and the bodies were hard to look at.

"W-What happened?"

The party turned as one to see a shaken man standing in the doorway, a sheaf of papers in his hand. Conan sized him up; spiky hair, blue suit, and that looked like an attorney's badge on the lapel. The man looked completely stunned.

"It looks like someone had it in for Mr. Watts," Detective Mouri said, trying to sound suave. "And who are you?"

"Phoenix Wright, attorney at law," the man faltered. "M-Mr. Watts and I were discussing the possibility of me having to represent him in court sometime."

"So he was a potential client?" Mouri queried.

"Well, yes. I had no motive for this, if that's what you're asking."

Conan nodded to himself. It made sense, of course. Why would a lawyer want a possible client, a source of income, dead? Unless, of course, said attorney was part of a more elaborate scheme and did indeed have a reason to kill the victim…

Another glance, and Conan saw that Mr. Wright was distinctly agitated. Aha! Was his guess closer than he had thought?

"Um, would you happen to have seen a girl near here?" the attorney asked anxiously. "About eighteen, wearing a purple kimono and has a topknot?"

"For the last time Nick, it's not a topknot!"

The muffled, indignant voice came from behind a door a little ways from the broken window. The doorknob had melted, effectively welding the door shut. There was no way that girl was getting out, unless someone could break the door down. From the suddenly nervous sound of the girl's voice, she had just figured it out.

"Hey, Nick, why won't the door open?"

"The doorknob's melted Maya, but don't worry."

Mr. Wright was getting ready to charge, backing up and aiming one shoulder at the door. Conan ran over to him and tugged at his pant leg. "Mr. Wright, please come over here!"

"Wha-huh?" His eyebrows creased worriedly. "Hold on, I've gotta get Maya out."

"No, come ON, Mr. Wright," Conan insisted childishly, managing to drag him over a little ways. If his suspicions were right…

Simultaneously, Ran took up her own position in front of the door. "Hold on Maya," she called. (Conan briefly wondered what it was with girls insisting on using first names as soon as they learned them.) "I'm gonna break the door down, so back up."

"Alright!"

Ran took a deep breath, drawing her arms into a ready position. With one clipped "hi-YA" her leg flew up and a resounding crack split the room as the blast-damaged wood splintered. The hinged side of the door swung inward slightly, revealing a glimpse of a slender girl in a short lavender kimono and a darker purple jacket. She did indeed have a topknot on the top of her long black hair. At the moment though, the most striking this about her was the sheer look of adoration on her face.

"You. Are. So. COOL!" she yelled, slamming the door open as she rushed out, nearly crashing into Ran. "You're just like the Pink Princess! I was stuck in there and you were totally just 'BAM' and broke the door down and saved me! Can I have your autograph? What's your name?"

Ran grinned sheepishly and slid her hand around the back of her neck. "N-no, it's nothing. I'm just good at karate."

"Karate!? Wow!"

Conan watched the enthusiastic girl with no small amount of disbelief. "Um, is she always like this?" he asked Mr. Wright hesitantly.

"Ah, yeah," he replied.

"But I though you said she was eighteen?"

Mr. Wright looked down at him with a resigned, but good-natured look. "She is."

"Oh."

They both turned back to the scene at hand. Maya had managed to calm down a bit, but was still talking excitedly to Ran. Conan was seriously worried; shouldn't she have noticed the explosion? Anyone else would have been terrified; being trapped in a small room while a bomb went off. Then he noticed the way her knees were shaking ever so slightly, the way she took anxious glances around the room, and suddenly her behavior made sense. She was scared, and hiding it.

In the meantime, Mouri was muttering to himself, roaming the crime scene. Conan decided to take a look around as well, before the police arrived. He could already hear sirens through the open window.

A patch of glass shards in the center of the room caught his attention. He crouched down, careful to avoid the glittering edges, and examined what used to be a display case. There were distorted computer chips inserted the base, which had remained relatively intact. They looked like some sort of security system, possibly involving lasers. As Conan sifted through the remains, he could hear heavy police footsteps tramping down the hall. Things were about to get hectic. He stood, brushing his now sooty hands off on his jacket. Just then, a big man wearing a trashy trench coat burst into the room, startling Maya, Ran and Mr. Wright, who seemed to have been discussing the explosion.

"What? You two again?" The man glared accusingly at Maya and Mr. Wright, the latter seeming somewhat resigned.

"Hiya Detective Gumshoe!" Maya said chirpily.

"Hey, pal," the detective replied affably. Then he paused and seemed to remember why he was here. "Wait! This ain't no time to chat! I have to take you all down to the station now so we can hear your testimony!"