- o -

A bullet.
Not any bullet though.
The Silver Bullet.

How ironic.

The boss of the organization smiled sadly as he watched the wick of his death ignite.

He couldn't flee and save himself. The Kid had made sure of that.
And it was his two favourites put together who had created the chaos, the confusion...
The occasion...
But what was really ironic was that Akai, the man he feared would be his downfall, was not the one to pull his trigger, no...
It was Gin. Gin, his silver haired right hand man, whose codename just happened to also be read as the Japanese word for silver.
The boss didn't have any famous last words to say to that...
But he had one last laugh.

- o -

- Chapter Seven: Silver. -

-vii-

When she awoke that morning, it was once again from a nightmare.

She didn't recall waking from a happy dream since the incident, and if she ever did before then, she couldn't remember.

She sighed, then looked bleary eyed at her surroundings. It was a small room, with a small but comfy bed, above which a square window let in the morning light. The light was only yet just coming through the electric shutters in front of the larger windowpanes.

It was the same room she'd been in yesterday, but now she noticed more about it, the novelty having started to wear off.

There was dust in the corners, on the table, and even on the shelving units the professor seemed to use as wide windowsills. Someone had tried to dust, but had obviously been rather distracted or unmotivated in doing so. There weren't as many random objects as in the rest of the house; and what little there was seemed to have been here a while. With the exception of her green box, and maybe her clothes. She recalled the old man saying they were in the short shelving-units. Even the magazine she'd been reading last night, now that she actually thought to check the date of it, was at least a couple of years old.

To be honest, the room felt like a rarely used guest room. A quiet and cold guest room.

A sad smile flew across her lips. A guest room fit for a fugitive. How ironic.

She shook her head. Her feeling like a fugitive was only because of that dream; she wasn't really one, as far as she knew. She shivered at the thought of the silver-backed beast that had scared her enough to wake up, and yearned to forget that vision in the fastest way possible. She had the feeling that her fear of it could and would haunt her day if she let it.

At any rate, if what she'd been told last night was true, it was strange she was sleeping in an unused guestroom and not where she'd been sleeping before... She'd have to ask the professor about that.

Yawning, she slipped out of bed. Despite her bad dream, her body seemed well rested, and she felt better than she had all week, nagging worry in the back of her head set aside. She just needed to get herself washed, dressed, and re-bandage her wounds. This was quickly handled, thanks to the en suite shower room and first aid box the professor had forgotten by her bed. That done, she gingerly opened the door and headed downstairs.

The house seemed empty and quiet. She wondered what time it was. Looking out through some of the window curtains, she could see the sun was still low on the horizon.

Hah! Ican get up early.
This pleasant thought was only enhanced when she noticed a digital clock nearby stating the time as quarter to six. She also noticed the sound of the old man snoring.

She smiled fondly in the direction the noise was coming from, but refrained from investigating before she'd headed to the kitchen. There, she put some water to boil and, crouching behind the counter to reach the cupboards but still being cautious because of her convalescing leg, she hunted for some instant coffee.

She knew that seven to eight year olds weren't supposed to drink coffee, but at the moment that was what she craved, and she'd decided not to question her urges too deeply today.

Once the coffee and mug were found and the hot water poured, she hunted around for some bread to make toast while her hot drink cooled. That done, she decided to go sit by the windows nearby and look out at the new day starting; the electric shutters having automatically and diligently opened.

The new day seemed to promise more rain, but the clouds looked willing to hold back on that for a bit yet, leaving sufficient gaps between themselves for some of the sky and sun to peep through. She sat on the wall unit while munching on her toast. Her food finished, she decided to walk around the house a bit, her mug in hand, sipping at the warm drink as she investigated various rooms and areas.

The kitchen area and eating area she was familiar with by now, since they'd spent quite a while in there yesterday. The TV and lounge area was pretty simple and comfortable looking. She could see herself sitting there and reading magazines. She walked past the sofas and table to head towards the front door. It was beside this door that one could find the downstairs bathroom and the stairs she'd taken to come down barely half an hour before. The professor's shoes were still there, soggy from the rain last night. She put them somewhere close by where they'd be more likely to dry properly, before continuing on her round.

Now the prof's snores were even louder. She'd reached his sleeping area, which also seemed to be his computing corner. Not too far from the circular kitchen counter was a desk with a personal computer and related tools and gadgets (some recognizable, such as scanner, printer, phone, others less). A bit further off was the man's bed. She could see a large lump hiding from the morning sun under the blankets. On the small night side table blinked a digital clock with a little dot showing the alarm was set. Since it hadn't rung yet, she decided the dear man probably deserved to not be stirred just yet.
She noticed the indoor balcony running by the windows above her head, forming a first floor of sorts. With a smile she decided to find her way up there.

It wasn't that hard to locate. There were some stairs on the other side of the kitchen area that led up to it, just beside two doors that led one to the basement, and the other up to some sort of tower above the house. The turtle's head, she mused. The indoor balcony allowed one a nice overview of the bottom floor. She could see the Professor sleeping from up here; she could see the cooking area and the lounge. She could also see the stairs leading up to her bedroom, which also seemed to be attached to the balcony. Whoever designed this house had a lot of fun.

But it wasn't to look at the inside of the house that she'd climbed those stairs.

Sipping her coffee, she went around slowly, looking out the windows at the neighbourhood, the morning sky, and the delivery vans passing by. She stopped not far above the snores of professor Agasa, and leaned back against the railing with a content smile on her face, observing the manor like house opposite her and the last shreds of night sky she could see behind.
She'd finished her coffee now, and felt more awake for it and that toast.
She wondered what she was expected to do with her days. Sure, she was supposed to rest, which was fine really. She could sit back, watch some television perhaps, read a newspaper, book or magazine, and then proceed to be thoroughly bored... She could also anguish over her amnesia or try and remember things, but that didn't feel productive. Yet again she wondered at the lack of children's toys clearly marked hers, and at why she didn't feel sorry about that.

What kind of child had she been before her amnesia?

Sure, they'd talked about that last night, but all she'd got out of that was the picture of a clever, knowledgeable but quiet little girl, sometimes sarcastic and critical, who liked to read, play on the computer and had trouble getting up in the mornings.
The computer mention had confused her. Playing computer games seemed as futile as playing with dolls to her at present. When she'd asked for specifics, the Professor had stuttered and changed the subject while Ran had merely shrugged.
Maybe she could ask again later on, once he was up; maybe even use the computer and see first hand.

By then the last shreds of night had definitely vanished from the view in front of her, presenting her with the brilliantly lit windows of the house opposite. She was just about to leave and return her mug to the kitchen area when some movement caught her eye.

She peered out the window at the front door of the house.
Yes, it had just opened. Someone was coming out.
With a start she realised it was Kudo.

She remembered him saying he was the Professor's neighbour.
So that was his house.
Quite a big house for only one young high school student... She recalled something about Kudo living there alone.

But she didn't get to ponder that thought further, as she noticed another person being dragged out of the house by Kudo.
A young man with round glasses. His coat and trousers seemed stained with mud, and his face seemed terribly pale compared to Kudo's. The latter seemed to be shouting at him, his face flushed with anger.

She watched on as the strange drama took place.

The stranger, who for some reason seemed familiar to her, had ripped himself away from Kudo's grip, and was staring at him... looking worriedly towards the gates before snapping back at the professor's neighbour.

Seeing the two boys go rigid, she assumed whatever he'd said had to be serious. If she hadn't been pretty convinced Ran and Kudo had some sort of romantic relationship, she would have toyed with the idea the two were having a lovers' spat.
... Although there definitely wasn't anything tender in Kudo's facial expression.

She stared as the high school detective shoved the bespectacled boy back into the house before slamming the door behind him...
What was that about?

Tapping thoughtfully at the side of her mug with a finger, she slowly came down the steps, barely noticing the sound of an alarm clock.

She put her mug in the kitchen sink, greeted the professor and smiled at him, ignoring his surprised "You're up?!" look, before heading downstairs to the lab.
The lab felt like a nice place to be. She didn't know why it felt so homely to her, and wasn't going to ponder it.
She sat on the couch there, looking idly up at the small window near the ceiling.
And she thought.

-vii-

"What do you mean, 'he' will be after us'? What 'he'?"

His angry shout rang out in the entry hall. The person it was directed at shied away.
Shinichi stared at the boy in front of him, taking in the pale complexion, fidgeting hands and furtive eyes. He didn't like these signs.

"You know." replied Eisuke solemnly, after a long silence. "You know exactly of whom I am speaking, don't you?"
Shinichi ignored the question, and started stomping towards the library, Eisuke following as expected.

Damn. Damn it all to hell.

He'd guessed all right, and as he had previously thought on many occasions, Hondou Eisuke wasn't what he seemed to be at first glance.
After his sudden finding of the unexpected guest that morning, he'd kicked the boy off his sofa, sent him to have a wash while he went to get dressed (why Eisuke had to 'accidentally' manage to make his towel fall off his hips at that point he did not want to ponder) before going to make some breakfast while he tried to make sense of it in his head.

So... Hondou had, after the face off with the black operatives last week, disappeared. Shinichi hadn't really noticed, being too wrapped up in his anger at him, among other issues. It had taken Ran's pointing out of the boy's absence at school to alert him to it. Had something happened that day, after the explosion, for Hondou to skive school? He didn't seem to be wounded. Shinichi had taken great care to make sure Hondou was out of the way before the black ops had arrived. He hadn't wanted the boy to ruin his plans more then he had already. But then, why hadn't the bespectacled teenager returned to school then? Why had he decided to show up at the Kudo house, of all places? Shouldn't he have shown up at Mouri's if he needed a detective?

No. Chances were that the klutz was involved in something he couldn't go to Mouri about. Something he knew Mouri couldn't handle... Something that had very much to do with Shinichi and what had happened last week.

Shinichi shuffled through some of the papers on his father's desk, looking for the file he'd put amongst the ever-mutating stack a while ago.
Hondou merely stood back, waiting for him to say something, glancing at the shelves upon shelves of crime novels surrounding them. He didn't say anything, the thundercloud above Shinichi's head an obvious sign that any comments on bibliophilic tendencies were very unwelcome.
And anyway, the serious expression on Hondou's usually amiable face showed that he too wasn't in a hurry for a topic change.

Curses.

Shinichi found the file he was looking for. He turned to face Hondou again, but spent some time fiddling with the papers, remembering sourly what he'd been told by Megure the night before.
They'd found bodies. Some unidentifiable. Seven dead bodies.

... He had expected eight.

It had only taken a quick check of the body descriptions and a word with Jodie and Akai to figure out who the missing number eight.
They'd found the bodies of Vermouth, the boss, Vodka and some other high-ranking members. None of them had the most recognizable feature of the eighth.
Long, silver-blond hair.

Gin.

Akai had seemed glad to know Gin wasn't amongst the dead.
Shinichi couldn't quite recall why the two FBI agents had been allowed in on the investigation, but suspected that they'd guessed enough to force themselves upon Megure. After all, Conan Edogawa returning to his adult self was quite a big hint.
Jodie had had little trouble identifying Chris Vinyard, aka Vermouth The Chameleon. The FBI had known from that point on that the other bodies were most likely syndicate members too... They had been surprised when he'd told him the real identity of one of the less recognizable corpses. Now they knew who the boss of the organisation had been. James Black and his underlings were probably scouring the dead man's home for information first thing this morning. That was their job. They had the resources for it that Shinichi did not, and the Japanese police was there to second them.

That left the questions of Eisuke and Gin.

Since Gin's body had not been found in the surrounding area; that meant he had, in all likelihood, not only survived the explosion, but also found some way to get away.

Shinichi clearly recalled seeing Gin exposed to the blast. It seemed improbable that he'd made it out completely unscathed. He doubted he'd be able to drive in that condition, so...

It was time for Shinichi Kudo and Eisuke Hondou to have a talk.

"Gin. Isn't it? Tall man with scary eyes and silver-blond hair?"

The bespectacled teen shivered and nodded.

-vii-

Evil. The Devils playing in the house of the living.
Sadistic. Those toying with the dead.

The man grimaced as the song played on in his head, the voices slowly drifting away into silence, the music lessening its nightmarish beat.
His body heaved, as he slowly rose to full consciousness. He felt cold, but his clammy skin reminded him how he'd been burning from a fever these past few days. He shivered, and opened his icy blue eyes.
The daylight hurt, but he wasn't seeing ghosts this time.
He was in a strange room. He tried to recall what had happened, as he sat up. He blinked as he noticed something odd. His hair, it wasn't sliding over his shoulders like it should. Had he tied it up? Reaching for the back of his head came up with a negative regarding hair ties. Instead his fingers came across ragged ends, unevenly cut and perhaps even singed hair.

Ah.

Now he recalled the explosion. He was fortunate to have made it out alive. His long platinum mane of hair was a small price to pay, even if he hadn't gotten out completely unscathed... The bandage on his right arm needed changing, and now that he felt for it, it seemed the one around his head had become dislodged during his slumber. He rummaged around the mess around him, looking for clean bandages, before heading to the bathroom in the corner. He did not forget to take his gun with him.
When Gin saw his reflection in the mirror, he glared at the pale shadow of a man he was presented with. His hair was a mess, his face white and more taunt than normal. He didn't like the dark bags under his eyes, or their unusual sheen. However he knew that he was feeling better than yesterday, and was now on the healing bend.
He squared his jaw in determination. Maybe now he could seriously consider taking action again.
He took a shower, put on clean bandages, and swallowed an aspirin to get rid of any lingering headaches and fever. He didn't want his pain numbing his processing powers. Once he returned to the room he'd been sleeping in, he searched in the set of drawers for clothes to wear, his own being filthy.
He grunted, realizing that the twerp who lived here had hardly anything in his size... And thinking of the twerp...
Gin turned to scan the room, his expression urgent.
Damn. He'd passed out on the twerp yesterday, hadn't he? The kid could have gone anywhere since then... Fled to some friends, to family, to the cops.
Pulling on the baggiest clothes he could find, he threw on his shoes and coat, picked up the first-aid kit, his gun, and checked for his wallet before fleeing the boy's flat.

-vii-

Shinichi Kudo invited Eisuke to sit down in one of the library's armchairs, as he dragged his father's desk chair out so he could sit facing the other teen.

"We both know that Gin is the codename of a cold blooded murderer, a henchman for a crime syndicate with a fondness for black, am I right?"

"Yes," answered Eisuke. He'd stopped shivering now, and his eyes were starting to fill with a flame Shinichi easily recognized as hate and loathing.

"And I am fully aware that you are conscious of my involvement with them," added Shinichi.

A spark of worry showed behind the round glasses on Eisuke's face, as he squared his jaw in apprehension. Apparently he'd misunderstood Shinichi's words.

"And by involvement I shall be clearer later on... But that would require some clarity on your part, Mister Hondou." He handed over one of the sheets from the file he'd been holding. A sheet with a photo and description of Eisuke Hondou, as well as some relevant newspaper extracts. Some on his father, some on a famous TV presenter...

He watched as Eisuke's face shut down, only showing briefly his alarm at this information. He was good at playing a role, but now the act was over.

"What do you mean, by clarity?" he answered, keeping his face a blank sheet. He studiously avoided commenting on the information on the paper in his hands.

Shinichi grinned.
"Clarity. As in not acting like idiots and telling half-truths and lies, white or not. As in making clear and avoiding quid pro quo one's intentions."
He crossed his legs and swiveled his father's chair a bit, adding for emphasis...
"And I know that you are about as clumsy and cursed as I am. Less even. You put on quite a strong act."

"I see... And how do you know all this?" Eisuke's smile was amused, even if his eyes did not share that spark yet.

"Don't you know? Ran asked me to find you last night, and surprise, surprise! You end up on my couch the very same evening. You've looked me up like a very good detective. What do you think I did? The same."

"And what do you want from me, high school detective Kudo Shinichi?"

"I want to know what you want. And what there is between you and Kir, or should I say Rena Mizunashi? I want to know that too."

There was a sound of crumpled paper at the mention of the now absent-from-public-life newscaster's name. Hondou had lowered his head, effectively hiding his facial expression. It was hard to tell whether he was taut with anger and frustration or holding in some grief. Both probably.

"I'd also like to know what it is you know about me. And how Gin made it away from the blast scene, as well as why he'd be after not only me, but you too."
He didn't have the time to accommodate for any hurt feelings.

"Heh." Hondou sighed. "I guess I can't play stupid anymore, can I?" He let out one of his annoying, clumsy and nervous sounding laughs. Although this time, it probably wasn't intentional.

Shinichi kept quiet, waiting for the teenager to continue.

"Yes. I do know quite a bit about you, although probably not enough. I had no idea, for a start, that you'd compiled this much on me... I presume that folder's not just full of bluff?"

Shinichi nodded his head, indicating that indeed, the information in his hands was very real and relevant to Eisuke... And Kir.
He hadn't shared it with the FBI. Hattori was the only other person who knew of the full contents of the file... Agasa and Hai-... Agasa only knew of its existence.

Hondou slumped back in the armchair, closing his eyes under Shinichi's quiet stare. For such a chatty detective when it came to sharing his knowledge, Kudo sure knew how to be disturbingly and yet encouragingly quiet.

"To be truthful, it wasn't you I'd planned on looking up. At first it was detective Mouri... Sleeping Kogoro as he is called." Eisuke pulled off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose.
"I'd only found Rena's trace a day or so after she'd vanished from the public scene. My only hint was that she'd been last seen with the detective Mouri, presumably for some minor case that didn't make the headlines."

"Detective Mouri was suspicious. He'd shot up to fame in a fortnight or so, solving cases by the dozen. Of these cases, he hardly remembers any, and when asked about them he jokingly claims they were like a dream. I suspect they were. He wasn't called "Sleeping Kogoro" for nothing, as I soon noticed after meeting him... But that was not what I was interested in. I wanted to find Rena... Wherever she was..."

"What's the link between you and Rena Mizunashi?" Shinichi interrupted. He wanted to get this straight.

"I said so before, in front of Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki and Conan. She's my elder sister... Rena Mizunashi isn't her real name."

"Did you know she was a member of the organisation? Under the name Kir?"

Eisuke's face darkened at Shinichi's question.
"I didn't know then..."

The two lapsed into silence, one waiting for the other to continue his explanations, the other trying to repress some painful memories...

Just about as Eisuke was about to speak again, they found themselves frozen on the spot by the noise coming from the front door.
... Someone had pressed the buzzer.

A glance at the other confirmed that both feared it might be a certain assassin coming for revenge.

"Crap..." Jumping from his chair, Shinichi darted passed Eisuke, through the doorway and into one of the rooms near the front of the house. From here, he should be able to discreetly check on who was at the gate, or near the front door. He gently parted the dusty curtain so as to peek through.
An audible sigh of relief poured from his lips, as he ran to the intercom from which his friend's voice soon came through. It was Ran Mouri.

Eisuke tentatively appeared in the corridor, hearing Shinichi Kudo's relieved voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. No, I'm sorry. I don't think I can make it to class today, something popped up...
...No I'm not going to leave on a case ag... Wait a minute!
... Yes, it has got to do with that case, but I'm not leaving Beika. Also... No listen...
No. It also has to do with Eisuke. Before you fret, I've found him. Or should I say he found me...
... Fine, come in, but I'm not going to make you miss class because of me!"

Pressing the buzzer to let Ran in, Shinichi went to the door to greet her, a warning glance at Eisuke saying clearly that they weren't finished...

-vii-

After he'd had breakfast, the Professor, instead of beginning his usually round of "Work in Progress" checks, puttered around worriedly. Come to think of it, he hadn't really done a proper round of work in progress checks for at least a week. The incident had shot his routine, worry for his protégée and Shinichi interfering with his thoughts of inventions and other ideas. His imagination had been pretty overactive of late when it came to thinking of worst-case scenarios. But being the optimistic man he liked to be, he'd done his best to put a clamp on it, usually by messing around with some project or other when he felt like it.Maybe it's what Shinichi had told him last night that had him worrying like this... Maybe it's the fact that Gin had survived the explosion...
Or maybe it has to do with what Vermouth had said that night... With the fact that Ai had actually got up early...
But no, he shouldn't be fretting like this. It was normal for Ai to be up at this hour... After all, she had spent most of yesterday asleep. Maybe he should go and check on her?

It's already eight am... She's been downstairs for nearly an hour. What could she be up to?

Putting his now empty breakfast bowl in the kitchen sink, he headed towards the basement stairs leaving the TV he'd turned on in an unsuccessful attempt to steady his nerves.

That was when he heard Ai's startled scream.

-vii-

To be continued...

... Thanks to Astarael for Beta-Reading!