Heya !
After this hellish week for me, I'm proud to present you the next chapter ! : )
And sorry if there were some mistakes in the last one, I did my best but I was abroad without my computer so it was a bit hard to update correctly ^^; (was fun to see in my profile I was from Czech Republic a little while xD)
Sooo, time to know how much things are messed up after they found that mike ! ; )
o.O.o
emmahoshi : Haha, sorry, I tend to update pretty late, I know, I'm more of a night owl ^^; So this will be a Monday chapter probably for you... Ah, glad you liked that chapter xD So yea, Kudô is busted, question is by who : ) And yes, the culprit, as he/she noticed Heiji was really fond of his o-mamori, bugged it, knowing Heiji would probably keep it with him all the time. And yes, now that I'm working on how I'd like the last parts of this fic to happen, Kid's reappearance will be more in the epilogue, but he will appear again : ) Oh, don't worry for the mistakes, I know I can make a lot when Im tired so you'll never have a comment from me about that ^^;;; Ah, and about Jake, his work wasn't over yet : ) He'll help Heiji against the mind-control, you'll see it in this chapter. As I see it, he's unable to help Heiji to access to his memories but, since he's a specialist and he knows what Heiji was programmed to, it's possible for him to do something about the "kill kogoro" part.
SilverQueen08 : Nooo, don't let your characters hunt my bad guy, I need him for this fic a little while longer ! xD Ah, what I love in that ep' is Kaito's face when the guards find him in the air vent. His "What the hell, since when Nakamori is so intelligent" is so fun... he had never been used to have a correct rival except for Hakuba so it's hard for him to accept this change ^^ And yes, that flashback is part of what happens after Heiji got caught at the hospital. We're slowly going to an explanation as to what happened back then : )
Laury Rose : That's why he knows all the staff in Osaka ! xD Maa this time, he was at the hospital but it was more for the others' safety than because he was hurt ^^;; Yep, that's it, and that's why our culprit let him go : ) Yea... They are apparently many ways to brainwash someone, most based on weakening the mind and the body but since I wanted it to be done fast... I took the inspiration in the old psychology's techniques : some diseases were "healed" with electroshocks, it can alter the brain in some way. And yes, they could hear everything. EVERYHING ! It's pretty much funnier like that : )
Anilover : Yup, we're starting to see a bit what happened : ) A plot twist ? about what ? :3 If it's about Kid, yea, he'll be back, though it'll be a small scene, sorry ^^; Oh, nice timing, Big Boss is in this chapter ! ; )
Purpalz Miner : Haha, yea, our culprit has a stalker side it seems... ; )
Chapter 13 : Playing guessing
"- Miniature mike and GPS chip..." Jodie sighed as she came back after she examined a little while the item Conan had given to her. "That's some nice manufacturing but nowadays, you can find those on the internet...
- Think we could find where the signal is coming from ? " The boy asked with hope.
"- I had some material in my car but I didn't get anything. I guess your culprit broke the signal once he heard you noticed he was observing you...
- Crap...
- Don't frown like this or you'll end up with wrinkles before your thirties, Cool Kid..." The FBI agent chuckled at the small detective worried face. "What happened ? You mentioned your secret girlfriend ?
- If only... " Conan sighed, still trying to remember what he could have said when Hattori was with him.
"Whoever listened has heard too many information for my own good..." He deplored in his thoughts.
Clearly, the name 'Kudô' had been enounced more than once... But he couldn't resent his friend for that, how could he have imagined what happened... They also spoke about the Organization and even about their hunt after him... And wasn't there that joke from the Osakan about him solving cases instead of Kogoro-san ?
The bespectacled child facepalmed at the idea of the Organization having those intels, he'd have them knocking on the Mouri's door tomorrow... And even if it was someone else, there was enough blackmail material in there.
Jodie looked down at him and saw how depressed he looked.
"- If it can be of any consolation, I don't think this was the Organization's doing. They also use miniaturized spy items but it's usually homemade so They can be sure it's not traceable. They have a very specific pattern. This one is, as I told-you, mass-produced and accessible to each and everyone.
- So probably not Them..." The boy concluded, to see the woman was nodding to him. "Could you still have one or two agents around the agency during the next few days ? Something discreet, just in case, time to find out what really happened...
- No problem.
- Thanks. You'll find me in Hattori's room if anything new."
The azure-eyed detective left and was still in his thoughts, displaying a gloomy face, when he reached his best friend's door. He was clearly not the only one to be in trouble right now, so no use to dwell about it, better focus on the information he could gather.
Shaking his head to bring back a lighter expression on it, he turned the handle.
"- Hey, K... Conan-kun !" Heiji smiled when he saw who was at the door. "Jake-han got rid o' it !
- Oh, back to your Baka self already ?" The little one smirked as he came near the bed and noticed the restraints had been removed.
"- Well, everything isn't back to normal, some memories are still missing but at least we got rid of that trigger that aimed Mouri-san..." Jake temporized with an indulgent smile.
"- Do I have any chance ta have them back ?
- ... I think so, you've already started to have some flash-backs so they should be more and more numerous now that your brain understood something was missing. It'll try to find it back by itself." The FBI agent confirmed after a short pause.
"- So I'll eventually know who did that an' how...
- That's it !" The man concluded as he got up. "Here is my number, don't hesitate to call if anything disturbs you, mind control can be tricky sometimes...
- Thanks !" The Osakan warmly said as he took the piece of paper.
"- Any time !"
"- Soooo..." The small detective started with a grin when the agent closed the door behind him. "No more bloodthirsty Hattori-zombie ?
- Nope ! An' that's a relief, attackin' people without noticin' is..." The dark-skinned sighed as he bowed his head.
"- I also won't say I'll miss it..." The boy admitted as he rubbed his wounded arm. "Did that FBI agent identify the kind of trigger it was ?
- Yea, both a word an' a voice.
- So our culprit called you directly..." Conan observed as he took his chin in the hand.
"- Yes... Let's hope my brain remembers quick enough who it was !" The teen wished, putting a finger against his head. "An' ya, got anythin' out o' that mike ? It explains why that attack's timin' was so perfect but it's not good news...
- Nah, the signal was down, our spy probably heard us...
- Pity..." Heiji deplored before looking into the azure-eyed child. "I wouldn' want the conversations we recently shared ta fall in all ears...
- Me neither... Jodie-sensei thinks, according to the miniaturized mike technology, that this is probably not the BO. I asked her to have one or two agents around Ran and her father though.
- Good idea..."
Both teens stayed silent a little while, far from being relaxed, with all the questions and the problems raising from this incident.
"- Ah, by the way, I think I know when it happened..." The Osakan finally stated.
"- It ? The programming ?
- Yea... I've been sick as a dog, one night one week ago... I don' remember much but my parents scolded me the day after fer comin' back late without any warnin' an' fer spoilin' the dinner they left fer me as I didn' eat it.
- Not eating ?! This is clearly suspicious..." Conan snorted, knowing how much his best friend had to wolf down to function normally. "Sorry, was too tempting..." He smiled when he saw the other's flat stare. "And ? Any idea where you were before ?
- Hmm, I know I was out o' school early but after... That's perhaps the day I had my stitches removed in the hospital but I don' remember much..."
The boy had a fake dramatic sigh. "And I thought I defined "careful" precisely enough...
- Hey, those were the ones o' our case in the mountain, I didn'..." The bespectacled child's glare forced him to stop half-way. "Ok, ok, I just don' remember not bein' careful enough but I clearly did it again...
- Right."
Both exchanged a look when they saw they were both yawing. "Perhaps time ta sleep ? Enough adventures fer today an' I bet the girls won' cut us some slack tomorrow..." Heiji proposed as he rubbed his eyes.
"- Yea, agree..."
And the boy rolled into the nearest bed to try to get some sleep despite the late - or early now... - hour.
"- Open it !
- What's the...
- Now !"
The shadow, a smile on the face, switched off the receptor on the table.
"And I guess that's the end of that little spying..."
The person got up from the comfortable couch, lightened a cigarette and walked towards the window, to look at the snow falling down in the pale light of the night, lost in thoughts.
That plan to get rid of Mouri had failed but the information obtained from the small mike in the Osakan's o-mamori was quite… intriguing.
"Who are you really, Conan-kun... Kudô-kun ?"
The shadow remembered their first encounter, in the lodge. The child had been bright, right, but... What was that joke from Hattori-kun ? It was as if he was implying the boy was solving the cases ? And instead of Mouri ? That was so...
But the small Tokyoite wasn't talking like any seven year old, at least not when he was with that Osakan, he was treating him as an equal, as if they had the same kind of age...
"Was I aiming at the wrong target...? I hope you'll never learn you've been caught by a grade-schooler, Aleïev..."
The fact the Russian had been arrested had been a pain, as it was endangering the drug traffic, but it was hard for that person not to smirk at the idea, amused by this twisted theory, so twisted that it had good chances to be the truth...
The boy would have to die for that but, apart from that revenge, the idea to have a little chat with him was starting to be tempting. To know what kind of conclusion they reached with his dark-skinned friend and if Mouri was also following the case or if he just was some useless puppet. But also, to solve the mystery around him, that mystery that would puzzle any medic, how a seven year old could possibly not be a seven year old ?
The answers would determine the next actions. Either having Hattori-kun finish what he started and forcing him to kill Mouri. Or letting the old man free, since killing a famous detective would boil the police's blood and that wasn't a good idea to have cops everywhere, not when you were into criminal businesses. The moustached man wasn't in the lodge after all, so he had no way to link all those investigations...
The Osakan would also have to die, of course, it would be stupid to take the risk him to recover his memories. There was no rush of course, neutralizing him could be quick, there was enough booby-traps left in his brain, that FBI agent wouldn't have been able to find them all. With just a word and the right voice, it was possible to...
The shadow threw the butt of the cigarette into the snow that was pilling up on the balcony with a sigh of boredom. Kidnapping a child wouldn't be that hard, above all when you had some intel on him but...
"Better find someone else to do the work, already got involved too much when I programmed that detective kid..."
And, according to that last chat between the two boys, that third party had been pointed out already. If someone was already hunting this child, the only thing left to do was to find a way to get in touch with them.
The silhouette grabbed the phone on the table and quickly dialled a number. Trafficking had this side effect to help you to meet and befriend some disreputable characters. The kind to very probably know about some underground criminal society.
"- Abe ?"
Both teens looked at each other and saw they had the same expression. Worried. Of everything that recently happened but also of what they'd be facing now.
Lions.
To be more precise, lionesses.
"- It's goin' ta be ok..." Heiji whispered, forcing a smile on his face.
"- You don't even believe in what you're saying..." Conan pointed out with a flat glare.
"- Haha... Well, eh, ya first ? Kids are cuter after all, they may be softer with ya..."
The boy had a sigh when he saw the hope in the eyes of his friend. He wouldn't say he didn't agree with the Osakan but this child act was really embarrassing for him. He nevertheless raised his head with a determined expression and forced a childish grimace on his face.
"- Tadaima !" Conan joyfully trumpeted as he opened the door of the second floor of the Agency.
"- O-kaeri, Conan-kun !" Ran's voice immediately answered.
"- Heiji !" Kazuha spurted while footsteps, hers very probably, echoed on the wooden floor. "What's the..." She started, blanking as she saw the dark-skinned and stared at his vest.
"- That's just paint, Kazuha-neechan !" The small detective pointed out, having already seen the same reaction from Kogoro the previous night.
"- Oh, eh, yea, sorry if that scared ya, was a prank o' that Thief..." The green-eyed apologised, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment when he noticed the large scarlet stain on his parka.
The ponytailed girl was stuck between scare and anger, not really knowing which one to choose yet, when Ran arrived, to give a critical look at Conan and then to Heiji.
"- You both look tired..." She commented, at the boy's relief who had been wondering if he'd get scolded for leaving Kogoro and not coming back last night, even if he was with the Osakan. "Otou-san is already downstairs for his work, go rest a bit before lunch, if you need to..."
The detective of the West looked at his childhood friend and could see she was slowly deciding for anger for worrying for nothing and concluded it was a better idea to explain it all now despite his exhaustion.
"- I'm good, I'll be helpin' if ya need, Neechan...
- Maa, thank you, but I'll manage, since Kazuha-chan already said she'd help. Tell us instead about your first encounter with the Kaitou Kid !
- Yea, I'd also like ta hear about that..." Kazuha added in a much colder tone, with a bunch of 'ahou, what have you done again?!' in it.
"- I'll be lying down a bit..." The azure-eyed child announced with a yawn.
The dark-skinned looked at him with suspicion, knowing the boy wanted to investigate their previous cases, the ones that had been publically solved by both him and Kogoro. And yea, while the rest of his tiny body was saying he was tired, his eyes were showing his impatience. Clearly, he wasn't going to sleep the slightest bit.
"- We'll wake you up for lunch then." The long-haired Tokyoite said with an indulgent smile when she saw him yawn again.
"- Thanks, Ran-neechan !" He answered as he grabbed Kogoro's door's handle.
Noticing he was already getting his phone out to probably call Agasa, Heiji winked at him when he closed the door before focusing on the girls.
"Ok, now, let's try ta be convincin'..."