Fandom: Detective Conan/Case Closed
Disclaimer: Gin, Vermouth, Vodka, and "Boss" all belong to Gosho Aoyama. Well, everybody here belongs to him, except for Scotch, Cognac, and Absinthe (well, I don't know about the greenie), who are mine.
Story Title: Scarlet Distillation
Chapter Title: Another Red Shot
Notes: Gin pwns your ass.
Chapter Summary: Vermouth isn't the only one keeping secrets and tabs. Gin and Absinthe talk.
Chapter Quote: "Vermouth came calling. Asked a rather interesting favor of me."
A shudder passed through him when he heard those words. So she'd actually done it. He licked his lips, tasting victory, however small it was now. It would get bigger soon. He thanked Vodka for the tidbit of information and hung up the phone, looking contemplatively out the window. The sun was setting now, spilling dark red over his sheets and pale skin. The bare reflection of his face rested in the window, tinted scarlet.
He thought of Vermouth at the abandoned garage again. The casual slide of her gaze, the pattern of blood across her cheek. It was temptation, and he'd even wavered at the tree to pluck the apple. Dangerous. He didn't know what was happening to him. Thoughts of the woman - the woman, dead - kept running through his mind.
The phone rang again.
This time, the miniscreen was green.
Gin stared at it for a moment before he snatched it and answered. "Boss."
"Agent Gin," said a crackling voice, marred by disguise technology, "I was given a mild surprise today."
Gin's heart began to race, though he wouldn't have admitted it. He leaned forward in his chair. "What happened?"
"Vermouth came calling. Asked a rather interesting favor of me."
A favor. Gin took a sharp breath. She'd been this quick? Even with that vexed woman's irritating intelligence, Gin had been expecting at least one more week before she took the bait. Vermouth had been more perceptive. Normally she'd take his fleeting comments in stride, shrugging them off like they didn't matter. But knowledge of them was proof enough to him that something was amiss. She was watching him, and he didn't know why. His breathing quickened. "Sano and Takemura."
"You predict things rather well. Everything happened exactly as you told me it would."
"How convenient."
He was referring to the meeting Gin had called a few weeks earlier, a little while after Vermouth had begun tailing him. He had a hit for three computer designers, two of which were Sano and Takemura. He and the boss had worked out a deal that he would kill one but leave the other two, and wait to see if Vermouth would make a move within three weeks. If she did, then there'd be a hit pulled. If she didn't, the hit would still be pulled. Sano and Takemura had no information that Gin was in a massive crime syndicate, and were under the impression he was merely in a small gang. The boss would lose absolutely nothing, except for the tiniest amount of efficiency. And he had agreed, seemingly curious to see how events with his dear Vermouth would turn out, if they did at all.
And they did.
"You're wonderful at baiting, Agent Gin...perhaps a promotion is in order?" The boss sounded oddly smug, and Gin could almost hear the static words coming through a smirk. "The file will be delivered tomorrow morning. Expect another call then."
Another call. Unusual. What had to wait until tomorrow to be said? There were too many questions here, and Gin rubbed his temples, annoyance creeping on as the sun further set, its rays darkening over the room. Gin sighed. The scarlet was distilling his thoughts. "I'll be on."
But the Boss didn't hang up."Vermouth said some other interesting things to me as well, about you."
Gin fingered the rim of his sake, fast on thought. "Like what?"
"Ah. That's for me to know and you to find out." The phone clicked off.
Gin clenched the phone before tossing it on the bed. He closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. There was a dangerous game going on. He wasn't the only one baiting others - Boss was as well. Obviously, the hidden man needed some kind of motive to have even agreed to listen to Gin's request.
And Vermouth. Gin would admit that she was far from stupid, but she seemed to be leading herself along. There was a game in play, but she was the toy in both Gin and Boss's plans. Her own motives were completely obscured, though Gin could tell it somehow involved him. He bristled at the thought. Their games were all different - he knew that - but there was something similar between all the players of the stage.
Temptation.
It was a silent watch to see who would bite into the apple's flesh first.
A/N: So it turns out that Gin already knew about what Vermouth was doing. Keep reading for more twists and turns! I'm afraid Vodka becomes a small stock character, but that's because I need Scotch and Cognac for something a bit bigger. 8D
