For the curious, this is a canon picture of Edgeworth's phone. In 2018. This fuckin guy.

[glassinine]

"You've reached the voice mailbox of Miles Edgeworth. Leave a message; I'll return your call."

Comments

:D

[glassinine]

[On the third ring - ]

This is Edgeworth.

[beenwaitinglong]

Hey there, Mr. Future Perfect. I've got some questions for you.

[glassinine]

Future -

[Is that a joke about how he's...tense? A tense? Or just - Ah, well.

He clears his throat.]

I will answer those that are within reason.

[beenwaitinglong]

I think you'll find my questions are all very reasonable.

[Siiiiiiiiiip.]

Wright.

[glassinine]

Is that a question?

[beenwaitinglong]

What happened to him? Why isn't he practicing law?

[glassinine]

[He's quiet a moment. He oughtn't tell Armando. This is something far beyond what he can affect, of course, so there's no risk of damage to space-time or anything of the sort; but the fact is, quite simply, that it's not his story to tell.

Yet if Armando asks Wright, then Wright will simply act the martyr and play up his ill deeds in forging evidence. All that nonsense. And Edgeworth has no desire to let Wright smear his own reputation in a fit of pique and depression.

So, finally:]

Wright was disbarred several years ago.

[beenwaitinglong]

[Now that was more like it. Regardless of Godot's opinions on Trite's suitability as a lawyer, the little idiot was far too determined and gung-ho to have simply quit.

Of course, the idea he'd go and get himself disbarred is equally puzzling.]

For what?

[glassinine]

Forging evidence. Or so the charges went.

[Edgeworth forges ahead quickly, before Godot can get any wrong ideas.]

It was a set-up. An envious rival playing on Wright's zeal for defending those he believed innocent and his fundamental naivete.

[beenwaitinglong]

[There's a moment of silence, and then Edgeworth might be a bit surprised at the response.]

Sounds about right. He was taught better than to forge evidence.

[glassinine]

[And, indeed, he is; there's a momentary pause, and then he says - rather pointedly:]

Indeed. His intellectual lineage is a formidable and noble one. His teacher was a fine lawyer - as was his teacher's teacher.

[beenwaitinglong]

[Subtle, Edgeworth.]

Yes. Marvin Grossberg was a good man.

[glassinine]

[And Edgeworth gives a slight sigh. If Armando wants to play it that way, fine; Edgeworth isn't about to fight him.]

Quite.

[Moving on:]

Wright's fall from grace was...notable. He had something of a reputation, you understand, and so his disbarment was a shock. That, and another case with it, caused people to begin talking of the dark days of the law. Things have been...bad in the past seven years.

[beenwaitinglong]

[The dark days of the law. How dramatic. Sounds like something Godot would have come up with.]

How bad?

[glassinine]

Very bad. Corruption the like of which has not been seen in years. Prosecutors pursuing trumped-up charges to inflate their conviction rates. Defense attorneys forging evidence to counter that. Court trials are practically mockeries of what they once were - a sideshow of underhanded tactics and dishonesty. It's all spiraled completely out of control - and while Wright's conviction is not the root cause of this dark time, it is a symbol of it.

[beenwaitinglong]

Fun.

[Gee. You take Godot out of the equation and suddenly everything goes to shit, huh?

Not that he knows he's out of the equation. It's, he assumes, a very reasonable guess.]

And our little porcupine-headed messiah is the sacrificial lamb for the broken system.

[glassinine]

Him and one other - a prosecutor convicted of murder, sent away to be executed. In a case which, if I may be quite honest, I found deeply troubling.

[beenwaitinglong]

Hm.

[Siiiiiip.]

It would seem I've plenty to look forward to.

[glassinine]

[Edgeworth hesitates just a moment - but he's not going to contradict Godot. God - no. Instead, he simply says:]

Corruption is difficult to fight once it takes root. That cannot be denied.

[beenwaitinglong]

Seems to me it's always been there. Maybe it just grew up especially big and ugly from when you're looking at it.

[With another gulp of coffee, he chuckles.]

Who thought it would be funny to make him my paralegal?

[glassinine]

I cannot say.

But I am certain that he will be a good worker, Mr. Godot. You oughtn't mistreat him.

[beenwaitinglong]

Who says I'm going to mistreat him? Such assumptions are unbecoming of you, Mr. Edgeworth.

I'm barely interested in this job, and even less interested in working with him.

[glassinine]

Meaning you intend to quit?

[beenwaitinglong]

Perhaps. There isn't much of a reason for me to stay.

[glassinine]

It's the right thing to do. Is that inconsequential?