a/n:: Oh geez...how long has it been? Too long. Too long, my friend.
Where have I been? To put it simply:

college, homework, the world gone mad --equals-- Time

Also of course, great thanks for any reviews. I have finally figured out that reviews also serve as a whip to continue writing. I need to be whipped a lot, lol.

chapter 6::

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"Looking for something? Kudo?"

"What?!"

"Don't play dumb detective, though it suits you well," the dark figure said, stepping forward in the light more clearly revealed.

'It's...One of the men in black...The one with the long hair.'

"But--But how?"

"Your fate was already sealed when your friend over there requested the Aptex 4869."

'Aptex?? That thing…That thing turned me into this?'

"We thought it was a poison that couldn't be found even in an autopsy...but...It's more of a wonder drug than we thought."

'They didn't even know then…'

"We have an insider in the criminal labs. We knew we could find you by giving someone the same fate. A phone tap also does wonders you know."

Conan stared in disbelief.

'How could I have been so stupid? I should have seen this coming. I should have been more careful. I should have…I should have known. Now Dr. Agasa is gone…because of my ignorance.'

His heart felt heavy with grief and anger. Clenching his fists tightly to the point his knuckles turned to a washed white.

"You don't need this do you?" he continued, glancing at the small item in his hand, and then flicking it into a wastebasket that was near the door.

"After we realized what the Aptex can really do...we knew we had a problem on our hands. I'm here to fix it," he said with the same cold stare in his eyes as he did when he first met him at the amusement park, where this whole mess began to unfold.

Conan looked around for anything, anything at all he could use to protect himself or kick. Between the desk and the wall, there wasn't much of anything. His eyes glanced at a metal thermos for keeping coffee warm and vise versa, located on the top of the desk. Within one quick movement he grabbed the thermos bottle and adjusted his shoes for force, then tossed the item in the air and kicked with all his might. To his surprise the man dodged barely, the container hitting hard on his shoulder, then clanked against the wall and rolled to the floor.

"You little brat," he gritted through his teeth.

He grabbed the front of his gun that was in his inner jacket and lunged at Conan with a terrifying force and precision. The last thing Conan felt was the back of the gun pounding against his head, leaving a pain pulsating though his body, following the fading of his consciousness.

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Conan found himself in a half-sleep state, trying to concentrate on opening his eyes. The pain to his head was unbearable. He tried to wipe the blood that tricked down his forehead, but couldn't move any part of his body.

'Am I paralyzed?'

Conan tried to un-blur his eyes, blinking several times trying to see where he was. He felt nausea come in waves making a lump form in his throat. Looking down at his chest, he saw that he was tied, as were his legs. He was propped against the same place where he was hit. The man wasn't there with him.

Another wave of nausea hit him, causing him to retch. A powerful smell was in there air...He couldn't think clearly on what it was at first, everything was flooding his senses at once. Fluid was spread everywhere on the carpet floor in patches which lead to one another. The door was swung open which continued the trail of liquid, in much heavier amounts, even splashed against the walls. Snapping back into reality Jimmy realized it was gasoline.

'Shit'

Immediately Jimmy threw himself on the carpet and rolled towards the door, then using his tied feet to shut it quickly. He rolled back to the middle of the room as he heard a gush, a blast of heat come from the door. Smoke slowly began to seep from under the door. His head throbbed from the sudden burst of movement he just did. The constant pounding seemed to increase in pain; every part of his body could feel it.

Jimmy twisted and turned trying to get the roped that tied him loose enough to get free. He could feel that the rope that tied his feet was slightly loosening. Kicking off his shoes by pushing the back of his heel with his other foot, his feet were small enough to wiggle free. Standing up quickly, blood rushed to his head and made his legs buckle momentarily. Blackness flashed over his eyes for a second. He ran over towards the single pained window on the left side of the room and looked how he could open it or if he could break it. Suddenly two important words flashed in his mind before he could do anything else.

'The antidote'

Running back hazily to where the waste paper basket was, he grabbed the small edge with his teeth and threw it towards the open floor. The contents spilled over and with it the pill. Jimmy turned backwards and held it in his left hand. Now that he had that, he needed to get out of here alive if he ever hoped to use it. The smell of burning plastic and fabrics filled the room quickly as the fire under the door soon caught to the carpet. Over half of the room was immediately engulfed in flames.

Quickly he slid on his shoes so that he might have a chance to break the window. Flames licked and simmered the walls furiously, feeding on the fuel that gave it even more power. Jimmy's face was starting to get burned from the intensity of the fire. His skin almost felt they were in flames themselves. Crawling on the coffee table that stood near the window, he tossed himself on the window's small ledge, just large enough for his body to stay stable on. Kicking the window, the blow made a medium hole of jagged glass. Scooting to the end of feet, he turn back to back against window. The fire had reached the window's curtains and was even so close to almost catch fire on his sleeves. He jumped backwards; the jagged glass broke more as some creased into his arms. Now with his back to the cold, moonlit grass he rolled and tried to stand, coughing, trying to catch his breath. Smoke poured intensity out of the open window and was beginning to choke him again.

Falling to his knees he wheezed and tried to breath in the crisp air, trying to dilute his coughs. He could see the fence that separated his and Dr. Agasa's houses. Standing slightly again, staggering, he made his way towards the fence. He didn't catch it at first…but the man, the same one as before that tried to kill him, was leaning against the gate with a cigarette burning in his lips. He turned and threw the cigarette on the ground and stepped on it in a twisting motion.

"I knew you wouldn't die that easy," he said, pulling the trigger.

a/n: that's all for now' 0-0