AN: The fourth chapter is here, and my, my, my do some developments happen in it! It was quite the fun chapter to write so I hope it's half as fun to read! With that said, thanks to everyone who is reading this story, and don't forget to leave a review on your way out!

Black Echo

Chapter Four

(Not Their) First Encounter

Yoshimura Daisuke, age thirty nine, who on the surface worked as nothing more than a bank teller. An unassuming man all around, and frankly, Heiji couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to get into the Organization in the first place- even if he didn't have a codename, and was considered to be on the lowest rung of the ladder. Granted, his life story didn't matter all that much anymore. It was probably going to end soon anyways.

He hadn't been tasked with tracking the man down for asking him his reasons for running from the Organization, he'd been tasked with tracking the man down to ensure that he couldn't give away valuable information. While the words hadn't been spoken out loud, it was quite obvious what Vermouth wanted his fate to be- and as much as Heiji felt pity for him on some level, what needed to be done needed to be done. If he let someone like this slip through his fingers, the Organization would begin questioning his activities again.

He'd rather avoid that.

After excusing himself from his afternoon with Kazuha, Heiji had made his way back home. It was good luck that his mother seemed to be out at the moment- and of course, his father was at work. Removing his second cellphone, the one he had to make sure that Kudo never found out he owned, from it's hiding place, he found that the details surrounding this mission were already waiting for him on it, just as promised. Full details about the escaped member were readily available to him- but just as he thought, anything about the supposed information that the man had fled with wasn't there.

He could only hope that the man himself might be forthcoming, or that there was some kind of physical record of the information. If he played his cards right, he might even be able to get him to tell Hattori Heiji- before he realized the true nature of the high school detective who had come to visit. He didn't know if he would be able to pass that information along to Kudo, not without him beginning to suspect him- but it was worth hearing anyways. Involved though he was with these shady creeps, he regrettably had to admit that even he was still in the dark about exactly what it was that the Organization's true goals were.

Whatever they were, he didn't doubt that they were horrifying. He had seen enough to know that much. What things that he knew- that the Organization had purposefully sent Sherry to Mermaid Island in the past in order to investigate their claims of an immortal grandmother, that the poison that had started everything for his friend was never meant to be a poison in the first place, lead him to have some speculations- but speculations alone could be dangerous.

Perhaps if he contacted Kir, and explained the situation to her, she might be willing to become something of a liaison for him, so to speak. Granted, he didn't know if she would be willing to accept it- after all, he wasn't like her at all. She was a good person, thrown into a bad situation, and was trying to make the best she could out of it. She was CIA, a mole, someone with purpose.

He was just a traitor, no matter how you looked at him. To the Organization, of course, but also to his father, and his best friend. The worst kind of person.

Well, she did also have a kid brother around his own age as well- maybe that would pull on her heartstrings more than anything. There were still suspicions lingering around her from that time, even though she had fulfilled her mission- at least, in so far as the Organization knew. There were limits to what kind of information she could obtain now- maybe partnering up with him would be a tantalizing deal in that regard.

"Oh, Heiji!"

Thankfully, Heiji tucked his work cellphone back away into his pocket before his mother entered his room, before she could catch sight of it. What was she doing here? He was pretty sure that her shoes weren't in the entranceway, and he hadn't heard her come in- he wasn't so absorbed in his thoughts that he would have missed something like that. "What's up, mom?"

"You're just in time. I was about to get ready to clean the storehouse when I heard you come in." Shizuka said, a soft smile crossing her face. She had been in the storehouse- no wonder. "Although I was sure you were spending today with Kazuha... did something happen?"

"Yeah, somethin' came up." Heiji said, nodding his head. "I don't think I'll be able ta help ya clean the storehouse today, mom, sorry. I might gone fer awhile on a case, actually. I just got a phone call about it."

"Ah, is that so?" Shizuka asked, an understanding expression on her face. Nodding her head, he didn't miss the way that her brow creased with worry- but it was nothing more than the usual. If she knew what her son was really heading out to do- no, he didn't want to think about that. "Well, be careful. Where are you heading this time? Tokyo again?"

"Close, but not quite. It's in the Chiba prefecture." Heiji told her- which was also a lie. It was actually in the Shizuoka prefecture. Well, that was where he would start looking anyways, checking that man's apartment for any signs of clues. Someone like that would have left a trail, and it was one that he intended to follow. It probably wouldn't be hard. "I'll give ya a call when I get there."

Still, if the FBI were involved, then he had to hurry. If he didn't deal with the man before the information reached them about someone trying to contact them with Organization intel... it could get rather tricky, and quick. At the very least, he didn't think he'd be dealing with that Akai Shuichi person, something he very much wanted to avoid- honestly, he didn't even want to meet the man as Hattori Heiji, much less as Paikaru. If anything, it would probably be that Jodie woman- but even that was a little too much, given the fact that she had already met him.

Both Hattori Heiji and Paikaru, really, though she wasn't aware of the latter. Much better to keep it that way.

And if the FBI were involved- it was highly likely that Kudo would involve himself. And that, definitely, was something he didn't want.

"You'd better, Heiji." Shizuka said, and though her tone was light, there was a trace of a lecture to be had at another time. "I have confidence in your skills as a detective, but I worry about you."

"I know." Heiji told her, giving her a small smile. Frankly, he didn't feel like he deserved said worry. His parents had taken in the son of murderers, and how was he repaying them? By becoming even worse than his blood related parents, all while lying through his teeth about it. If his father knew that he had given the Organization Osakan police intelligence any number of times in the past, he doubted he'd ever forgive him. And that wasn't even touching on the murder. "Sorry mom, but I need ta get ready."

"Oh, of course." Shizuka said, nodding her head. "Then, I'll get out of your way, Heiji. Do be careful!"

With that said, Shizuka departed from his room, closing his door behind him. Once he was certain she was gone, Heiji let a long sigh escape from his lips, rubbing the back of his neck, before he pulled out his cellphone again, burning the image of the man he'd been assigned to hunt down into his head.

It was unfortunate, but it couldn't be helped. A mission was a mission- and Vermouth had been right. He really wasn't in a position to refuse.

"You're going to meet him, right? This Yoshimura Daisuke?"

Feeling her head thump against her steering wheel, Jodie was just grateful that Conan had waited until they were stopped at a red light to make his presence known. Really, she should have expected this much- but she hadn't noticed the small boy sneak into the back of her car at all. Were he to put his mind to it, there was no doubt that he might one day make a splendid FBI agent- but there was no way in hell she was going to try and recruit a seven year old child, of all things, however gifted he might be.

"Conan-kun, you really shouldn't be here." Jodie said finally, lifting her head just in time for the light to change. There was no time to waste, so she continued down the road- and she knew that Conan knew that much. Once he got inside of her car, and once she was on her way, she wouldn't have time to stop and let him out. "I'm grateful for the information that you brought me from Shu, but it this could be dangerous. Depending on how badly the Organization doesn't want this information to get out, they might already be looking for Yoshimura-san. I don't want to put you in their crosshairs."

"It's fine, I'll be careful!" Conan all but chirped, beaming proudly as he realized that his plan had gone off without a hitch. He had to thank his good timing- he had arrived at Jodie's apartment to inform of what he'd learned from Subaru and Ai alike, just in time for her to get a call from her boss, informing her that there was a chance that they might be able to obtain some important information in regards to the Organization, if they moved quickly.

"There's no way I can convince you to stay in the car once we get there?" Jodie asked, chancing a glance back towards him, almost not needing him to answer the question. That expression on his face was more than enough. Even if she tried to lock him in it, he would still get out and follow her in- it was better if she could keep him where she could see him at all times. "You'll have to listen to every word I say, Conan-kun. And if things look dangerous, I want you to hide yourself and stay there until I come get you. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got!" Conan promised her, nodding his head. "Besides, if it becomes dangerous, you can just use that thing you brought with you."

"So you noticed that much." Jodie noted, sparing a glance down towards her leg, where she had hidden her pistol. It was a dangerous situation she was about to head into, after all- there was no telling if the man would even still be alive once she got there. It was a gamble, a race, between her and the Organization, one they probably already had a head start on. "Why are you so interested in the Organization anyways, Conan-kun? You've never given me an answer about that."

"Because they're bad people!" Conan told her simply, even though he knew full well that the child's answer would not satisfy her. He didn't have anything against Jodie, and frankly, he trusted her quite a bit- but the less people who knew the truth behind Edogawa Conan, the better. "But more importantly, Jodie-sensei, do you think this Yoshimura-san really has important information? He's a former Organization member himself, isn't he?"

Heaving a slight sigh at the non-answer to her question, Jodie nevertheless was forced to accept it. "That's right, although he's a member without a codename, much like Kusuda Rikumichi was." She said, carefully switching lanes as she headed onto the highway. "He's currently holed up in a hotel room under a false name, and managed to contact us through some back channels. He won't say what kind of information it is that he obtained, just that it's very important. Whatever the case, it's worth taking a chance on."

"I see." Placing a hand to his chin, his brows furrowing together in thought, Conan couldn't help but be intrigued at the prospect as well. What kind of information was it, that it was so important that he'd go this far? His life was most likely in extreme danger now- he'd most likely want the FBI'S protection in exchange for it. Jodie was right, the Organization was probably already looking for him.

And if the Organization was looking for him, there was a chance that they were looking for him. The Organization member named Paikaru. If that was the case, then Conan absolutely did not want to pass up on this chance- both the chance to obtain more information about the Organization itself, and the chance to obtain more information about this Paikaru, to shed some light on this shadowy figure he had only just learned about.

If his hunch was correct, and Paikaru really did have some kind of connection to law enforcement like he suspected, then there was a chance that he might even be working for the Osakan police. It would make sense- if he could easily track down traitors and get them to trust him, he probably had to be someone that they would trust in the first place. A police officer or a detective- someone that they wouldn't doubt wanted to help them. He would then turn that very same trust against them- truly a horrible man.

Well, even if he did speak with Kansai-ben, that didn't guarantee that he was actually really living in the Kansai region, he supposed. Besides, even if he did, he still might live in Kyoto, as opposed to Osaka- and it was possible his theory might be completely wrong to begin with. Still, if there was a chance that he might be someone close to Heiji, he wanted to deal with him as quickly as possible. At the very least, he wanted to know what the man looked like. He'd feel a lot more comfortable if he did.

Whatever the case, he didn't think he'd come out of this situation at a loss- one way or another, he'd leave it knowing something.

"Hattori Heiji? The famous high school detective?"

"That's right." Beaming broadly at the man in front of him even as he sized him up, he took a step inside the room, closing the door behind him. They auto locked- good. The fact that he had been able to get him to open up the door in the first place was a good sign- it would appear that whatever his information was, it had nothing to do with him. "I heard about yer situation, Yoshimura-han, an' I decided ta come an' offer my help. Yer tryin' ta contact the FBI, right?"

"That's correct, but how did you know about that?" The man in question, Yoshimura Daisuke, could only blink in confusion. He'd heard that the FBI was sending out someone to meet him- but he'd also heard that the person coming was an American woman. Still, he did recognize the teenager in question. It was hard not to- his face often showed up in the newspaper, after all. Hattori Heiji was a hard one to miss.

He'd almost been a bit apprehensive to let him in at first- but there was no way that a mere high school student, detective or not, could have any associations with those who were doubtlessly chasing him. Besides, this was the only son of Osaka's chief of police they were talking about- and from little he saw of him on the news, he knew that Hattori Heizo was a rather formidable man.

He might be someone smart to ally himself with- if the FBI couldn't get him out of this situation, then maybe he could. Really, he was filled with nothing but regrets- why had he gone there at that time? If he hadn't done something like that, then he wouldn't be running for his life. At the very least, if he turned his back on the Organization, and passed on the information to those chasing them, he might live to see another day but given the choice, he'd rather go back in time and prevent this all from happening in the first place.

"My old man's actually been lookin' into those guys fer awhile." The lies flowed freely from Paikaru's lips, keeping his tone and expression friendly, his posture casual. As he suspected, Daisuke was armed. He'd have to be a bit careful- he'd rather avoid getting shot. "Him comin' here himself would raise suspicion, which is why he sent me instead. I hear that ya landed yerself in some pretty hot water, Yoshimura-han. Somethin' about learnin' some information ya weren't supposed ta?"

Too easy, really. How many others had he tricked in this same fashion? Honestly, some son he was, using his father's name to gain access when his own wasn't quite enough. Really, that old man would have been better served by letting him disappear into the foster system. Maybe if he'd done that, then he wouldn't have ended up becoming such a person in the first place.

No, that probably wouldn't be the case. If he'd done that, they would have found him anyways- and at a much younger age at that. Really, his blood parents weren't much different from this man- desperate to do anything to escape. Sure, he'd been shocked when he'd heard that both of his parents were murderers- but it was only later that he learned that all of those they had killed had been Organization members. Perhaps it was an unavoidable fate- they had escaped from there in order to prevent their child from being raised there, but he'd ended up there anyways. They had been watching him all this time, waiting for their chance- and the moment they had one, they took it.

"Yes." Nodding his head, a grim look crossed Daisuke's face. "You could say it's a case of ending up in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

"That's how a lot of these stories go." Paikaru couldn't help but quip, rubbing the back of his neck. Although he had pulled down the surgical mask that he had been using to help conceal his face, and had taken down his hood once he had entered the room, well out of sight of the hallway security cameras, he still hadn't taken off his bike gloves. Couldn't risk leaving fingerprints, after all. "Did ya already get into contact with the FBI?"

"I did." Daisuke told him. "Actually, I was expecting them when I heard the doorbell ring. For a moment, I was scared that the Organization might have caught up with me."

"Ah, sorry about that." Giving him a sheepish smile, Paikaru scratched his cheek. There was a different reason for his apology, but he didn't need to know that now. At the very least, it seemed things were going well- he might actually be able to get that information from him. From the sound of it, there wasn't anything physical to go along with it- so if he didn't hear it from the horse's mouth, it was no good. "I guess I startled ya. So? What's this information ya found out?"

"I can't tell you, Hattori-kun." Daisuke said, shaking his head. "I'll tell your father, but it might be dangerous for you to hear. I'd rather not involve a high school student."

"Why not?" Paikaru blinked, fighting back the urge to click his tongue. So close, too! Come on an' just spill the beans already! Ya might live a little longer if ya do that much, an' at the very least, yer death will have some kinda meanin'. "I'm a pretty good detective myself. I've been helpin' my old man out with this already."

Another lie. As far as he knew, his father had no idea such an Organization even existed- and he wanted to keep it that way. Both for his own sake, and for his father's safety.

"I don't doubt that. I've heard of you, after all." Daisuke said, a slight smile emerging on his face, not quite shaking away the traces of stress that lined it. "But I don't feel comfortable discussing it with someone nearly twenty years younger than me. Well, if you stick around until the woman from the FBI shows up, then..."

"She's already on her way here?" Paikaru blinked, narrowing his eyes slightly at the mention of a woman. That was probably Jodie, then- that was bad. If she was already on her way here, then he didn't have time to fool around. If he couldn't get that information, then he at the very least needed to complete his mission quickly. If she caught him here... there was no way that he could explain his presence.

He doubted she'd miss the fact that he was armed, either.

"So I've been told." Daisuke said, letting out a long sigh and slumping back in a chair. "Perhaps your father and the FBI should join together on this matter. I know it's quite a bit for someone who used to be involved with them to say, but they really do need to be stopped."

"Tell me about it." Paikaru muttered underneath his breath, before heaving a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck again. He'd given it a shot- but it wasn't like he could convince him to leave the hotel and bring him to meet his father, otherwise his lies would be revealed. There was no way he could hang around and wait for Jodie either, not unless he planned to kill her too- and he wasn't going to do that.

At least, he hoped he would never have to. If a direct order came his way from someone, then... that was something else he didn't like to think about.

"Hattori-kun?" Daisuke blinked, unable to help as something in the young man's demeanor almost seemed to change, the moment that he seemed convinced that he wasn't going to learn anything from him. That warm, friendly look in his eyes was replaced by something else- a cold, cool calculation, that was quite honestly more than a little terrifying. Someone his age had no right to have such eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Are ya sure ya really can't tell me anythin', Yoshimura-han? I'd really appreciate it." Paikaru spoke again, letting any traces of Hattori Heiji's personality drop from his voice. Too bad, Yoshimura-han. It looks like yer time is over. "If ya really do want ta help ta stop them, now's yer chance."

"What are you saying?" Daisuke blinked, more than a little taken aback in his sudden change in demeanor. Suddenly, he felt a lot less like a high school student, and more like a...

Black clothes and Kansai-ben.

There was no way. It was impossible. He was just a teenager! A child!

"Oh, it looks like yer startin' ta put the pieces together, Yoshimura-han." Paikaru said, quirking a brow, a trace of an amused grin surfacing on his face. "I'll ask again. Is there any chance ya can pass that information along ta me? I promise I'll be puttin' it ta good use."

Jolting to his feet and reaching for his pistol, Daisuke only ended up letting out a yelp of pain, clutching at the arm he was about to reach out instead. If there were any doubts in his mind, they were gone now- with the smoking barrel of a gun pointed right at him. Why hadn't he suspected something? He already knew about the existence of the Organization's dog, of Paikaru. He already expected that he would be coming after him but...

"I thought the Organization's dog would be older." Daisuke managed to get out, even as he clutched at his bleeding arm. No good- he'd shot him right at his elbow. He could barely move his hand. If he reached for his gun again, he didn't doubt that he'd shoot him again. Maybe if he just held out for awhile longer, the FBI would come bursting through this door, and he'd live through this.

At the very least, Paikaru wouldn't be able to escape. If the world knew that the famous high school detective of the west was involved with such people- he couldn't imagine the firestorm that would erupt.

"So is Osaka's entire police force corrupt, or is it just you and your father?" Daisuke couldn't help but ask. Keep him talking, buy some time, and maybe he'd make his way out of this alive. "Sending out a high school student of all things."

"Nah, it's just me." Paikaru stated simply, not letting his regrets surface in his eyes. The traces of Hattori Heiji's personality that he had been using to get his guard down had been sealed away again, Paikaru's mask fixed firmly in place. "My father has nothin' ta do with it either. I just used his name ta get a bit closer to ya- not that it paid off in the end. Too bad."

"I doubt you would have let me live even if I told you what you wanted to know." Daisuke said, narrowing his eyes. God, but getting shot hurt. "I've heard your reputation, Paikaru. And it is Paikaru, isn't it?"

"How rude of me not to introduce myself. But yer right. Like ya put it earlier, I'm the Organization's dog, Paikaru." Paikaru said simply. "An' don't try an' scream fer help. Ya chose a hotel that was nearly empty fer a reason. There's no other guests on this floor or the ones above or below, isn't that right? Ya didn't want ta risk bystanders gettin' involved. Touchin' really, if not stupid."

"The FBI are already on their way here, you know." Daisuke almost sneered. "You're not going to escape this one."

"I will." Paikaru said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I've got a lot ridin' on people not findin' out who I am. So yer right, even if ya talked, I would have still killed ya. Sorry, it's nothin' personal. It's just business, really."

"But you know. If ya talk, maybe you'll by yerself enough time fer the FBI ta get here. Ya said she's a woman, right?" Paikaru asked, a placid smile crossing his face, one that was a far cry from those he normally sported. "I hear there's a female investigator that's been causin' problems fer the Organization. Might be a good idea ta take her out now, when I have the chance."

It was an empty threat, really, but Daisuke had no reason to know that.

"I'm not telling you anything." Daisuke said, narrowing his eyes.

"So be it." As Paikaru raised his pistol, Daisuke made a desperate dive for his own.

"Ah, the man in room 310?" Granted, the receptionist was a little surprised to see two people in one hour ask for the same person, but she supposed there was nothing wrong with that. "Yes, he should be available. Ah, but his other guest might still be with him, since I haven't seen him come back down just yet." He also hadn't come to claim the bag he'd left in the office either, though he'd said he would pick it up on his way out.

"Other guest?" Jodie blinked, somehow managing to keep a note of alarm out of her voice. "Was this other guest by any chance dressed in all black?"

"Yes, he was. If I recall correctly, he was a young man who spoke with a Kansai dialect." She said, nodding her head a little. Frankly, she hadn't even noticed the American woman wasn't alone until she saw her look down, only then taking notice of a child by her feet. Both shared mutual expressions of alarm. "Um, is something wrong?"

"Call the police right away miss, and then hide yourself in the office. There's probably someone very dangerous in your hotel right now." Jodie advised her calmly, fighting to control her tone. That was all the time she had- because Conan was already on the move, racing for the elevator. Letting out a small swear, Jodie bolted after him, barely making it onto the elevator in time.

Now wasn't the time for lectures though. Quickly pulling her gun from her hidden holster, Jodie glanced down towards Conan, only taking a moment to take in that too intense expression on his face. This was bad- they weren't fast enough, it seemed. She knew that the Organization probably had a head start on them, but she had underestimated just how much of one it was. If they didn't hurry...

The gunshot rang out just as the elevator doors opened. It only took them a second to locate the direction room 310 was in, and they didn't waste any more after that, quickly rushing towards the room. Silently advising Conan to stay behind her, and not to come out until she knew the danger was gone, Jodie crept up towards the door, listening inside. Reaching out a testing hand, she narrowed her eyes as she realized the door was locked.

"I'm going to break it down." Jodie said, advising Conan to move back. Gun still in hand, finger safely away from the trigger for the moment, Jodie rammed the door with all of her strength, feeling it budge underneath her weight. Gritting her teeth, she rammed it once more, this time feeling the hinges give way. Even as he shoulders throbbed from the effort, she didn't waste any time in raising her pistol, her eyes narrowing sharply.

"Don't move! FBI!"

In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but notice that the person clad in black was slightly shorter than her. She couldn't make out his face- his back was facing her, and the hood of his hoodie had been raised up. A rather casual style of dress all things considered- this clearly wasn't a member that she had crossed paths with before. Without a doubt though, they were probably someone with a codename.

Yoshimura Daisuke lay dead, slumped half on a chair, a bullet hole in the side of his head. Any hopes of obtaining information from him were dashed. But right now, she had a more important goal- taking this person into custody. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just faintly make out Conan totally ignoring what she had told him to do, and coming out from the safety of the hallway, lifting the lid on his watch.

The hooded figure merely heaved a long sigh. Of course it really was Jodie- he could tell that much from the sound of her voice alone. This was bad- this had been exactly the sort of situation that he wanted to avoid. She probably had a gun trained on him- not that he could tell, seeing as he couldn't see her, back turned to her as it was.

"Drop your weapon and turn around slowly." Jodie instructed him, taking a step into the room. "The police should be here soon."

Well, that wasn't good either. Sorry but he couldn't do what she wanted. Casting a glance up towards the ceiling, his gaze fixing on the light fixture there- the sole source of light in the room. Glancing towards the balcony doors, he noticed that it was quite dark outside as well. If he recalled, the light in the hallway was... The latch on the balcony door was rather simple as well, it probably wouldn't even take a second to unlock, even in the dark. With that in mind...

When he moved, it was quick. Jodie moved in response, but she wasn't quite fast- nor was she expecting him to aim for the room's lights, plunging it into darkness. It was something that caused both parties to swear underneath their breaths- and it was probably a good thing that they couldn't make out Paikaru's figure in the inky blackness that consumed the room, his black clothes all but blending into it.

Aw crap. That was definitely Kudo's voice. He really had no luck, did he?

Still, he didn't let that make him hesitate. Dashing towards the balcony door, he quickly flipped the latch and threw it open, tucking his own gun back away. A faint shine of light towards the floor caught his eye, and he vaguely recalled Conan's wristwatch flashlight- but if he was using that feature, that meant he wasn't able to use his tranquilizing needle right now. That was good.

"He's getting away!" He heard Conan's voice call out- something which was quickly followed by the sound of a bullet whizzing just past his head. Or not just past, he quickly realized, letting out a wince as he felt it trail against his cheek, tearing at the fabric of his hood. A thin line of blood leaked out, even as he planted one foot on the balcony railing- and jumped.

"This is the third floor!" He could hear Jodie's voice make out, and even as he grunted from the force of the landing, feeling it shoot through him, he'd trained for things like this. Not even sparing a glance towards the balcony, and not waiting for himself to fully recover from the jump, Paikaru bolted, heading for where he knew he parked his motorcycle earlier. Not his usual one, of course- that could be linked back to him.

But there was still one loose end he had to take care of first. Reaching into the pocket of his hoodie, Paikaru pulled out a small device, finger vaguely hovering over the button. For a brief second, regret surfaced past the mask, past the practiced act- but it was only a second of hesitation. "Sorry about this. It's really nothin' personal this time."

He supposed he'd finally won a match against Kudo- it just wasn't in the way he wanted.

The explosion that rocked the hotel shortly thereafter came from the ground floor.

As Conan's eyes lay on the smoldering ruin that was the hotel's office, he couldn't help but feel that he failed. Couldn't come out of this with a loss, he'd thought to himself earlier, gritting his teeth as he remembered it. As they pulled the body of the receptionist out from the rubble, cold and still, he couldn't help but feel that on some level, this was his fault. He should have realized that if an Organization member really was here, then they would have taken action to ensure that nobody who witnessed them would remain alive.

Yoshimura Daisuke was dead, the information he might have had gone with him. The room had been scoured, but nothing that looked like it might be a physical record of it had turned up- he was probably too afraid to make one. A completely innocent bystander was dead, just because she had seen someone's face. And what's worse, the Organization member in question had gotten away, melting into the night as if he was never there in the first place. By the time the police set up a cordon, it was probably already too late.

It wasn't as if they had any idea of what he looked like anyways. His height and body type alone weren't nearly enough to go off of- they hadn't even seen the back of his head, he had been completely covered up. His instincts, however, whispered to him that he had just had his very first encounter with the one known as Paikaru.

His instincts were trying to whisper something else to him as well, but that buzz was so faint and indistinct, that he couldn't quite make it out. It was enough to make him uncomfortable for reasons he didn't fully understand, however.

He had underestimated his opponent, and this was the fallout from it. Was it because everything had been going to smoothly up until this point? Had he gotten a sense of complacency amidst his successes? Or was it just bad luck? Turning his gaze over towards Jodie, who was deep in discussion with the police still, he couldn't help but think that she was thinking along the same lines as well. She had been the one to tell the receptionist to hide in the office in the first place- not that it would have made any difference. The bomb that had been brought in was powerful enough to devastate the reception desk as well.

He'd planned for this.

But there was one thing about this situation that didn't make sense. Why didn't he attack them? He had plenty of chances to. Yet he hadn't even tried to fight back against them, instead concentrating solely on escaping- and through a third story balcony at that. For someone who had gone so far as to blow up the hotel's office in order to erase any traces of himself, it didn't make any sense. If anything, eliminating an FBI agent would have been advantageous to the Organization.

They already thought they had taken Akai Shuichi out of the picture- eliminating Jodie Starling would have left behind only Andre Camel, and their boss, James Black. So why was it that he hadn't even tried? It was too inconsistent with his other actions, and while he was grateful for it, in his own way, it just didn't add up.

"Conan-kun." Jodie's voice started him out of his thoughts. She hadn't even noticed her wrapping things up with the police, and making her way back towards him. "I called Agent Camel a little while ago. He's coming to drive you home."

"Eh? But I want to stay and help!" Conan almost whined, amazed that he could even raise up that childish mask of his even in this situation. "There must be something I can do!"

"I'm sure there is, but by the time he gets here, it'll probably already be past your bedtime." Jodie told him, reaching down to lightly ruffle his hair. He put up with it, for the moment. "I'm sure Mouri-san is worried about you."

"I told her I would be staying over at the Professor's tonight." Conan told her frankly. "It'll be fine, Jodie-sensei! I'm not sleepy at all!"

"That may be so, but you're safer back at home." Jodie told him softly. Her frustrations ran deep- just when they thought they finally had a chance to get ahead, it had all been stolen from them. Was it because she hadn't acted fast enough? Granted, she hadn't expected him to aim for the lights- but she still shouldn't have allowed that to make her hesitate. She should have shot him then and there. An Organization member captured alive would be the best, but at least a dead one couldn't cause them any further problems.

This was her failure- but she was going to make up for it.

"But-"

"No buts, Conan-kun." Jodie said, her tone growing sharp, drawing on her experience as a teacher. "Listen to the adults around you for once, please. Don't forget that you're still a child."

Opening his mouth to protest- he wasn't a child, damnit!- Conan eventually shut it again, sensing that now as not the time and place. This was riding on Jodie hard too- and there probably wasn't anything else he could do here to begin with. The source of information and the witness alike were dead, and Paikaru was long gone.

For the first time in a long time, Kudo Shinichi had failed- and while he might have been caught off guard, that was no excuse.

It wouldn't happen again. He wouldn't let it happen again.

No matter what, he'd capture Paikaru.