"Vermouth" Boss said concisely "I am aware of your treason" she squirmed in her seat, feeling the heat of his gaze "I cannot verify any of the allegations against you, but there is sufficient evidence to say that you have been hiding various secrets from me. After what's happened with Sherry and Rye, I can't afford to have rats in my syndicate. You will have to prove your allegiance to us once again, Vermouth." She looked down at her feet warily. Even though she couldn't actually see his eyes, she knew he was staring at her with sinister intentions.

"What must I do" she asked with a shaky voice, uncommon to her

"It has come to our attention that the original APTX drug that Sherry designed was defective. Our scientists have been running round-the-clock tests on it since she left. They've concluded that it is in fact an age reversion agent. We thought the only drug of that nature was the one we gave to you but apparently we were incorrect. Now we must track down every person we have given APTX to so we can eliminate any evidence of this blunder" Vermouth had an eyebrow raised at this point. The one question that plagued her above any other was 'How did they find out?' Boss could sense he wasn't receiving his employee's undivided attention, so he motioned for Gin to regain it on his behalf. Gin smirked and strode over to Vermouth, still shrouded in darkness. She looked up and saw his cigarette moving closer to her. Before she could ask or move, Gin had seized a hold of her arm. She flinched as he pushed the burning end of the cigarette into her arm.

"Focus" Gin said coldly as he left the cigarette to sit on her arm and lit a new one for himself. He hovered over her for a moment before returning to his place alongside Boss.

"As I was saying, we need to draw out all of the victims of the APTX drug. I feel it would be best to start with Kudo Shinichi, the detective from Tokyo that ingested the drug approximately fifteen months ago. Due to his prestigious career as a young crime stopper we believe him to be a threat. Undoubtedly he's been investigating our Organization since the day he was drugged." Vermouth felt her heart catch. She knew everything he was saying to be true. She had already watched one of the 'silver bullets' die, now her last hope was in danger.

"So what do you intend to do?" she asked fearfully, completely aware of Boss' cruel potential

"Simple, you are going to resurrect Sharon Vineyard" he ordered, making sure to show no remorse in his voice

"How do you expect me to do that? Incase you've forgotten she's been dead for over half a decade" she asked, seemingly losing her cool for a moment

"Relax, Vermouth, you don't have to convince the world, just one person" Vermouth's eyes peeled as she leaned toward him, curious about the person he was referring to

"Really? Who would that be?" Dead silence fell on the room as Boss handed a picture over to Gin. Gin made his over to her and tossed the picture on her lap. She analyzed the picture for a moment before taking on an unwanted expression of shock

"T-This is Kudo Yukiko" she said, unable to hide the traces of emotion in her voice

"Yes, the plan is simple. You fabricate some story as to why Sharon is still alive. Then you ask her to meet you at Sharon's hotel room. When she arrives, you subdue her and await further orders." Boss made the task sound elementary

"When would I do this?"

"Tomorrow night. You are going to ask her to come over at this time." Boss handed a slip of paper to Gin who begrudgingly delivered it to her "If all goes according to plan we should have confirmation of Kudo Shinichi's whereabouts as well as his current identity with a few days." He addressed her as a student would a teacher, instructing her through every step of the operation

"I understand. What about her husband?" she asked, hoping she had come upon a loophole on the airtight plan

"He's just a novelist. We'll monitor him. If he gets out of line we'll end him then and there" Vermouth looked down at the floor. This was the first time she had ever really been torn by an assignment. She had carefully taught herself indifference so she would never have to wrestle with the emotional issues that she was now.

"I understand." She said, eliminating any trace of doubt that Boss or Gin may have had. With that, she rose from her sit and began to walk out of the room

"Vermouth" she heard an eerie voice call out. She turned and found Gin walking with purpose toward her. Within a few seconds he was face to face with her. He blew a large puff of smoke in her face, trying hard to intimidate her. She shook her head mockingly and locked eyes with him

"What is it?"

"Don't fail. I'll be watching you" She quickly generated a chuckle and turned away from him. Once she was out of the room she let out a huge gasp and began to question what her next move would be. How was she supposed to simply tell her that she was alive? It's not exactly a simple task and Yukiko, despite her outward persona was quite intelligent. She was going to have to tell her, in person. There was no way she would believe it over the phone. She pulled out her and looked through the contacts until the cursor landed on Yukiko. She had managed to keep in touch with her via Chris Vineyard. They had been out to dinner a few times and met at large social gatherings. Now, she had to call her as a woman that had supposedly been dead for years; as her best friend, Sharon Vineyard. As she arrived at her motorcycle, which had been parked in a shed outside the factory where the Organization was currently being sheltered, she pressed the dial key on her phone and pressed it to her ear. She had to meditate momentarily on her old persona's voice. Once she felt confident with it she focused her thought on the phone, which was still ringing. The dial tone was cut short but a click at the other end an a familiar voice

"Hai this is Kudo Yukiko" Yukiko answered in her usual light-hearted demeanor

"Yukiko" she muttered just loud enough to be audible. Yukiko stared at the phone for a second, confused by the voice she had just heard

"Who is this?" she asked, a little more coldly than before. She had never thought a fan would sink so low as to actually prank call her while imitating the voice of a deceased friend

"Its me Yukiko…its really me" Vermouth grimaced at the thought of her friend crying at the sound of her voice

"You're…you're lying. That's not possible, Sharon died many years ago." Her voice dropped off and she began to tear up, sniffling through the phone

"I'll prove it to you" Vermouth's voice was resolute and it silence the other end of the line

"Anyone can dress up like someone, how do you intend to 'prove it'?" Yukiko hardly believed she was really who she claimed to be, but she nonetheless wanted to know how far she'd go to prove that she was

"Do you remember the night you came to New York to see 'The Golden Apple'?" Yukiko was listening to her explanation intently and only gave a slight murmur of confirmation "Well, do you remember the girl that you said was going to be your future daughter-in-law?" Yukiko was now growing more frightened by the accuracy of this woman's recollection and could only whisper a miniscule yes in response "What was her name….let's see…Oh I remember Mouri Ran! Am I right? Do you believe me?" Yukiko gaped openly as the phone slipped out of her hand. 'There's no way just anyone could have known that in such detail. There were only five people in the room not counting myself. And you subtract Shin-chan, Ran-kun and Sharon herself there were only three. Then you subtract the woman who was murdered that night and you're left with just two people. This is far too strange to be mere coincidence' she thought thoroughly. Meanwhile, Vermouth waited patiently on the other line for Yukiko to return.

"I want to see you in person" Yukiko said abruptly, no evidence of satire in her voice

"Of course. How about we meet at the Italian restaurant on 56th and Maine Street in one hour" her proposal was so official, almost unmistakably characteristic of Sharon Vineyard

"See you then" Yukiko said a little more cheerfully as she ended the call. Vermouth smiled at the success of her reconnection with her old friend. She wanted to talk to her and make her comfortable before their meeting the next day. She hopped onto her bike and rode toward her hotel to change into her disguise, smiling merrily and thinking about what she would say once she was face to face with her companion.

Yukiko, meanwhile, chuckled heartily to herself as she went to her closet to change.

"Whoever this stalker is, I'll catch them myself." She grinned as she shuffled through her piles of clothes, diverting her attention away from the serious implications of her evening

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Ran was sitting in class daydreaming again. Even the best students dozed off in philosophy class. The teacher was nearly seventy and his voice was monotone. She thought back to a joke Shinichi had made about him possibly being the guy that calls out the numbers for bingo at the retirement center. Unfortunately, by recollecting this, she had crossed over into dangerous waters. Anytime her mind alluded back to him, a thousand other thoughts and memories immediately followed. She tried her best to ward off the unwelcome contemplations but to no avail. Soon she found herself, as she had almost every day prior to that, thinking about her currently absent love interest. Although they hadn't declared themselves a 'couple' yet, they had both acknowledged openly that what they had was more than friendship.

~Flashback~

"Oi Ran, I'm sorry I haven't called recently" Shinichi said, awaiting her inevitable angry explosion

"You should be!" she screamed crossly "After what happened in England you don't even call!" She had been able to think of nothing but what he said to her since the day she arrived home. Shinichi knew it too, but the last weeks he had been by her side almost none-stop. This was the first real separation from her aside from school in three weeks.

"Ran I…" he tried to manufacture a response that would not give away his secret. He already knew that she liked him, but he had to pretend he didn't otherwise she would be suspicious

"Shinichi, I'm sorry." Shinichi gaped at the concept of her apologizing to him "I shouldn't have run away after you said that to me. I was a little confused" He was completely taken back by her apology. He had called to apologize and receive his well-deserved chastising, and yet, here she was beating him to it

"Its alright, I was scared when you didn't call me because I thought that maybe you…didn't feel the same" Ran's jaw dropped when she heard this but she managed to maintain her composure

"Shinichi…"

"I mean I understand. After all, I've been away so long and I couldn't hardly expect to feel like that about me after so long"

"I…I still do" she whispered with an obvious pink hue crawling over her cheeks. Shinichi silently pressed the phone to his ear as if the next words out of her mouth were the most important in world. Nothing would take priority over what she had to say "And…"she continued, trying hard not to choke on her breath "I always will". Every word she had spoken had an unmistakable hint of fear and apprehension on it. Shinichi felt it wise to quickly diminish any worries or doubt in her mind

"Ran, I promise when I come back I will show, with my own hands and my own body that I feel the exact same way" Silence flooded the line until Shinichi, as he often did, abruptly ended the call "Ran I have to go, I'll call you more often from no on bye!"

~End Flashback~

She suddenly found herself wondering what he meant by 'his own hands' and 'his own body'. As she became further enwrapped in her own thoughts, the monotonous voice that had distracted her in the first place suddenly addressed her

"Mouri" the teacher said, displaying no sort of emotion

"Hai!" she exclaimed, trying to fend off any suspicion of her lack of attention

"Would you please give your input on the current topic?" he asked. Ran looked around the class, trying to pick up any clues as to what he was talking about. She began to sweat nervously until the teacher hit his pointer hard against the blackboard behind him. She jumped at the crack of the stick hitting the board but then analyzed the words he was pointing to "Mouri Ran the question was: Is it better to live in apathy in order to avoid pain or to live in pain as a reminder that you are alive?" Ran stared down at her desk and felt a deep burning as the words sunk into her brain. She mulled them around, picking them apart logically. Then after a brief lapse of time she addressed the teacher

"I believe that the pain we experience reminds us that we can feel other things as well. If we live without feeling anything then life has no meaning. But, if we acknowledge the bad parts of life, the ones that hurt, then we also acknowledge the good parts of life, the ones that bring us joy. In the end, the joy you feel makes all of the pain worth it."

Vermouth had made all the necessary preparations for her dinner and had only twenty to get her destination. As she walked out the door she saw herself in a mirror and stopped to further analyze the visage. She ran her fingers down the sides of her face, where she had placed wrinkles to make her age appear more advanced. She locked eyes with herself and let out a heavy sigh then walked out the door.

As Yukiko strode fiercely toward the door in a red evening gown, complete with matching earrings, she heard a voice beckon her. She turned and walked into the study where her husband was sitting behind his desk with both elbows on the desk and his hands placed under his chin

"Honey" he started, almost paternally "Where are you going dressed so formally?"

"To meet a friend. She's an actress and she wanted to meet me for dinner." Yukiko smiled broadly, trying her best to elude her husband's suspicions

"Really? Well that sounds lovely. Have a great time, I'll see you when you get home" she beamed at him in relief and he simply grinned and returned to his work. She quickly left his sight and exited the house. As she drove away at a dangerous speed, Yuusaku watched from the window and quickly picked up his phone and punched in one of his speed dials.

Sorry about having to full on rewrite the first chapter, but it was brought to my attention there was a plot discrepency and i had to address. From this point forward the story shooulf move more smoothly so please keep reading