You know those mystery novels where the main character gets bonked over the head at some point in the story? And instantaneously solves the mystery upon waking up? Yeah, it doesn't work like that. Unless you're the great Kudo Shinichi! is what I'd love to follow up that sentence with, but I really am trying to keep this as close to the truth as possible. My amazing revelation (or, lack thereof, more appropriately) is as follows.

Ow... Head. My head hurts. I cracked open my eyelids a sliver, rewarded with relatively non-painful light. I opened them wider about a tenth of a centimeter, and could look around me.

It was a large, circular room lined with comfortable-looking books, the kind that just sit there and wait for you to read them again and again. My library, this was my library! I was covered in a large, warm blanket, curled up in one of the armchairs. Next to me was a sidetable which held a cup of something that smelled like coffee. I reached feebly for it, my arm coming to rest on the well-padded chair. Someone placed the cup gently in my hand, and I slurped at the drink groggily.

"Thank you. Mmm."

I froze.

Who, exactly, had made the coffee?

"Like it?" Kid grinned. "I wasn't sure whether you would want cream, sugar, or anything at all, so I just made it how I usually do."

I set it back on the table. My kidnapper was leaning against a bookcase casually, and as he flipped closed The Hound of the Baskervilles, I almost asked him what he thought of it.

"How did you pick me?" I asked instead.

"Easy. Your shoes." He held up a pair of sneakers that looked suspiciously like mine. "They don't have a brand label; I saw that the first time we met." He smirked the Unmentionable Smile of his. "The tracers were entertaining- I hope you'll forgive me, I had to dispose of them on the way."

"Wait- The tracers were in my clothing." I found that under the blankets I was wearing a pair of silk pajamas. I have silk pajamas? I wondered idly. Surely I would never buy silk pajamas. At least not with this hideous pattern on the cloth; I hate plaid.

"Yeah, sorry. No time to cut them out, had to just ditch the whole thing if I found a bug." Kid didn't look sorry in the least.

"So I was carried halfway across Tokyo... Naked?"

"You were wearing underwear..." He gave me a defensive look, and pulled his hat over his eyes. I made a martyred face.

"The fact that you actually checked my underwear is really grossing me out."

"Next time I'll make it a point just to throw those out too," he scowled.

"How did you find silk pajamas? In my size? And in this garish plaid?" I tugged anxiously at a neon orange-green-and-blue sleeve, eager to get off of the subject of "next time". Admittedly, the pajamas were a poor choice of topic, but they were really hurting my eyes. "And how did you find Shinichi-nii-san's house?" I tried to sound as innocent as possible with this last line, wanting more to know how he got in to my house. He gave a small, secret smile.

"It's kind of hard to miss. Besides, did you think I would go through with a heist without having a proper escape route planned?"

To be perfectly fair, it always seemed to me like he disappeared without a trace after his shenanigans, but since that was just proving his point, I settled myself into the armchair more comfortably and turned on the sarcasm. "So, mister Kid the Phantom Thief- what now? Am I to be returned within the hour, like so many of your other prizes? How about a ransom? Or are you just going to kill me."

"Nothing that melodramatic," he laughed. I got the distinct feeling that Kid was like a dog chasing cars- when and if he ever caught one, he really wouldn't know what to do with it. Well, a wolf chasing BMWs and Ferraris, but still. "First things first, your coffee is cold."

"You know I'm not going to drink it." The back of my mouth still tasted acidic from the chloroform, but he shrugged.

"I would hardly be a good host if I left you without anything at all." He set off for the kitchen.

I stuck my tongue out at the door as soon as it closed. "Host... Bakka, it's my house." I jumped out of the chair, ignoring the wave of nausea that throttled my brain. First things first, I had to get out of there. Fortunately, I knew the house better than he did.

Less fortunately, he had locked the doors.

Unless I was going to hide behind one of the bookshelves, there wasn't much I could do in terms of escape plans. So really all I could do was wander around wishing that I'd put windows in at some point, other than the skylight. But hey, skylights come in handy sometimes.

Especially as a way for a smallish plastic box to be strategically dropped on my head by someone standing outside. (For those of you who haven't caught on, yes, this was happening.) I looked up hastily and caught a glimpse of Haibara's brownish head. I motioned frantically for her to come down, and she shook her head calmly, throwing a folded note after the box; I opened it up as quietly as possible.

Shut up, open box, use as instructed.

I shut up and opened box. You just don't argue when someone writes it like that. Inside, I expected to find a tranquilizer watch, maybe a spare set of high-powered shoes, even a cell phone, but instead I pulled out fold after fold of...

Clothing. Regular clothing. At about the second layer, two things fell out. The first was a clear plastic case holding a capsule pill, and the second was the aforementioned instruction.

Kudo- I'm afraid I had to make this on short notice, and the antidote will last considerably longer than you are used to. It's not yet been tested, since you are the only available subject, but you're a big boy- you can choose whether or not to use your lifeline. If you get back in one piece, make sure to tell me if the pill had any unexpected side-effects. I'm trying to cut down on the fevers, sweating, shortness of breath, etc etc that usually come along. I can't come down myself, or I would have no way of getting back up, and neither the professor nor I can hoist you up with the rope. I would have sent other supplies, but short of teleporting out of there, you've little chance of defeating Kid.

I hope this goes without saying Kudo, but-

Good luck.

"What do you mean, 'only available subject'?" I muttered. With a jaunty wave in the general direction of the ceiling, I downed the pill.