Ace Attorney: Brennan Malley : The Next Case

Chapter 2 Part 2

    We started off by going to a nearby joint and having lunch together.  While we did have a case to investigate, I hadn't talked with Aaron for quite a while, and wanted to catch up.  As I had suspected, he was having just as much trouble keeping his job as I was.  It was nice, to finally have another person who understood our pain.  After a long and surprising cheery talk, we set off to prepare for the case.
     As we began to approach the crime scene, we heard screaming coming from somewhere nearby.  Lots of screaming.  Not the "AHH!!!! SOMEONE'S GONNA KILL ME!!!!" kind, but the "OH MY GOSH, IT'S HIM!!!" kind.  I could tell because, well, when you hear about thirty teenage females scream at the same time, you can easily guess it has something to do with some new hot guy.  I had no interest whatsoever in who was there, but of course, Aaron's curiosity quickly got the best of him.  I mean, it's not like he put any effort against that curiosity.
   "Hey Brennan, let's go see what all the cheering is about!"
   I sighed.  Like we needed one more distraction right now.  We'd already gotten off track about five times since we'd left.  I had no idea there were so many doughnut shops on this rout.
   "Aaron, it's just a new popular boy band or something.  First off, it probably has nothing to do with what we are trying to do currently, and two, it's going to make us look even more pathetic than we already are."
   "But what if they play good music?"
   "Then that, my friend, would be a miracle."
   We both laughed, and I started to continue on...until I realized that Aaron still wanted to check it out.
   "Heh, there's no arguing with you is there, Aaron?  All right, we'll see who it is.  Maybe we'll get lucky, and a couple of females will have interest in us."
   Aaron looked at me a little surprised.
   "I had no idea you were interested in women."
   "Aaron, I'm a jobless deadbeat with depression issues and next to no friends.  Of course I'm interested in women.  Don't tell me the thought of women didn't have anything to do with your decision to see this band."
   Aaron actually blushed.
   "Well, you got me there."
   We walked over and joined the assembling crowd, but were a little surprised at what we saw.  This was certainly no band; it was only one very-well dressed man.  He had all the qualities of a pop star: the combed down hair, the blue eyes, the calm, apparently attractive smile.  The only odd thing was the suit.  He wore a grey suit with a red tie, like some sort of businessman.  My curiosity piqued, I dug further into the crowd, trying to figure out just who the heck this was.  I could tell he noticed me pushing through the crowd, which really wasn't surprising, as the rest of the crowd was completely women.  What did surprise me is what happened next.
   "Hey, mademoiselles, can we please make way for the odd gentlemen in the front?"
   Like a bunch of mindless slaves they all scattered, and in the course of three seconds there was not a soul as close as two yards from us.   I took a few steps closer, hoping I was doing what he wanted and not making a complete fool of myself.  To my further surprise, he offered me his hand.
  "Hello, good sir, it is excellent to finally meet you in person!"
  I shook his hand, not attempting to withhold my confused expression.   He looked at me with what I would probably call his "signature" grin (with all the ladies swooning of course).
  "Aren't you the commoner known as Brennan Malley?"
  "Yes, I am, but how..."
  "But of course!  It is a pleasure to finally meet you, although you look a little less noble than I had hoped."
  If I wasn't confused before, I certainly was now.
  "Excuse me, but who the heck are you?"
  His face instantly took on the look of surprise, which really didn't help my confused situation at all.
  "Certainly you must know of the wonderful lad you are speaking to?"
  "No, I really don't.  I have never seen you before in my life."
  He looked shocked, almost appalled.
  "This is outrageous!  Unheard of, impossible!  There is not a babe in this city that has not heard of m-"
  "Look, just tell me who the heck you are, so I can get back to my work.  I have more important things to do than listen to the whining of some pretty boy."
  I was a little more than annoyed by this point.  There are few things I hate as much as some upstart thinking that he's the coolest thing since iced mocha; and this guy was obviously obsessed with himself.  Heck, he couldn't spend five seconds without pulling out his little mirror and checking somewhere on his face!   He noticed my annoyance, and decided it would be best to introduce himself.  Of course, he decided to do so by checking his face once again, and then trying to look as gentlemanly as possible.
  "I am Sir Duke III, famous nobleman, wonderful gift from the gods, child of goddesses, and, most important to you, the perfect prosecutor.  I am your opponent in this battle of wits, which can only end in my victory, as I am absolutely perfect!"
  I couldn't hide a look of disgust.  This was my opponent!?  This was the man prosecuting my friend!?  True, I no longer knew any prosecutors, but I had at least hoped for something better than this.  I was going to spend hours defending my client against a man who I swore had pink glitter in his hair.  I should have known my luck came with a price.
  "It's a...pleasure to meet you."
  Duke frowned.
  "You don't exactly look so pleased, as one meeting me for the first time should."
  "I'm honestly quite frustrated.  I had hoped for someone with less of a swelled head, and a little more common sense."
  I admit, this was a little over the top for me, but remember, I was just about jobless, had just about no money and no friends,  and had recently found out that one of the few friends I did have was not only in bad emotional shape, but was being tried for murder.  For once, I had a reason to be pissed.  He was, of course, quite offended.
  "And I had hoped you were cut from a finer cloth, but it seems you are just as much of a peasant as the rest!  Fine then, I will see you tomorrow, and will teach you how to properly battle in court!"
  He then turned, and walked away.  He gave a single wave of his hand, and all the women who had been watching came chasing after him.  I sat down, quite upset at the whole thing.  After a few minutes of pondering, I noticed Aaron looked quite down.  It occurred to me that the whole experience had probably made him feel a little down too.  Someone who can control women like game pieces on a chess board can bring a guy down pretty easily.  I sat down next to him, putting my arm on his shoulder.   Now was not the time to be the depressed one, there were others in worse positions.
  "Don't worry man, I'm sure you'll get yourself a very pretty lady someday.  Now let's get back on track, and get some evidence that we can shove right in that smug jerk's face."
  Aaron perked up right away.
  "Yeah!  We'll show him!  I'll bet we'll find enough evidence to end the case in five minutes!  No, two!  C'mon, let's get going!"
  He ran off towards the site, charge with energy, as I walked slowly towards the site, wishing I was fighting Brea instead of this stupid jerk.