Heya ! As promised, double release today : )
You'll find the two last chapters for this arc, we'll start a new one next week ; )
By the way, I also updated today the previous chapters (no big changes, just a few little things added, some small corrections...).
This chapter closes the action. I was planning at the beginning to make it absolutely cliffy but well... decided not to be too hard with you :p
Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^
o.O.o
Great : Yup, she's an idiot... But a courageous one, that's what makes her cute ^_^
SilverSapphire34523 : End of the suspense ! ; )
Chap 14 : Down at last
The door leading to the roof was slammed open when the elevator closed on Kaito and Takagi. At the noise, Conan pushed the button to explode the card he sticked earlier in the ground and threw some others randomly before running further into the corridor.
"Damn !" he thought, noticing there were 3 men including Matsumoto. "That's what took them so long, they waited for the chopper to land to get more manpower...",
His deduction appeared to be right when, as the smokes were slightly fading, he recognized the female pilot's and the male sniper's faces.
Good thing, apparently the one he put to sleep with his watch was still in the arms of Morpheus. And Matsumoto wasn't looking at his best, with his nose bleeding. But still, the game of hide-and-seek was going to be harder than expected...
"- Try and catch me, oldie !" he taunted, using the voice changer bow to mimic Kid's insolent tone.
"- Get that damn Thief !" Matsumoto roared, disappearing in the smoke emitted by another card Conan just blew up.
"- Over here !" the woman coughed, noticing a shadow going away, trying to go after him.
"Wrong move" the small detective thought with a grin, before using the taser on her, as he was crouching in the fumes.
After a flash, the woman fell down with a moan, knocked out.
"One down" Conan let the now useless taser on the floor and rushed away, sending a smoke bomb behind him.
The building was shaped as a triangle, so he planned to loop and go back to the elevators, hoping Takagi and Kaito would have escaped for long before he came down.
"- I'm surprised you can still run like that" Matsumoto pointed with a strong voice, trying not to sound too annoyed when he reached the woman knocked out on the floor so he wouldn't flatter the Thief's ego. He was walking slowly, careful of any trap, his gun in the hand, his man just behind him.
"- It's not my fault you kick like a girl, RUM-chan" Conan teased, still Kid-voiced, to anger him, waiting for any mistake.
After one turn and some other explosive cards, the boy spotted a fire bucket and took it, as it could do a great job with his power-enhancing kick shoes.
"- I must say I'm a bit bored of this hide-and-seek game and of all this smoke, Kid.
- Well, I'm not. You should know we, thieves, enjoy hiding in the shadows."
Taking advantage of the second turn, the small detective hid in the corner and stopped sending smoke, putting his bucket on the floor, ready to shot.
"- There you are... " Matsumoto began, once passing the corner out of the smoke. "What ? Conan-kun ?!"
Conan grinned at him and kicked the bucket at high speed towards the Superintendent's head. The man avoided it with a quick move but it ended in his accomplice's head, knocking him down.
"- You won't have me twice with that trick, boy."
"Crap !" Conan sent a smoke bomb and ran away, zigzagging as the man started to shot aimlessly in the corridor. It was the final stretch, the elevators were at the end of it, if he could just rush his way there, he would be safe. But no matter how hard he tried, he noticed he was slowing down, suddenly feeling less energetic, his breath shorter and his ears ringing. His right hand went to his side without him ordering his brain to do so, making him lowering his head, spotting his shirt was turning red. With the comprehension came the pain. He put his other hand on the wall not to fall and bit his lip, closing his eyes an instant to keep control of himself and avoid fainting.
"- Conan-kun ?"
"Damn, am I already out? I'm hearing Ran's voice..."
"- Conan-kun ?!" The voice seemed strangely closer this second time.
"Hehe, strange, usually, she calls me Shinichi when I dream of her..." he thought with a silly smile.
Leaving his half asleep state, he suddenly opened his eyes as he understood with the greatest panic Ran was really here, when Matsumoto wasn't far away.
"- Ran?! What are you doing here ?! It's dangerous !" Conan couldn't believe his eyes, so shocked he even forgot the "nee-chan", this day was starting to look like his last night's nightmare : Ran melding in a fight with the Organization.
"- I..." she began, hesitating at the scolding tone, feeling half guilty then remembered who she was talking to."It's not a place for a little boy either ! What happened ? Are you hurt ?!
- I ..." Conan spotted the Superintendent at the corner of his eye. "Come on, go in, quick !"
Forgetting his pain as he knew Ran was in danger, he took her hand and opened the nearest door, hearing some bullets sticking into the nearby wall as they came in. They ended to what seemed to be a conference room, with its tier of seats and tables. After closing the door behind them, the bespectacled detective dragged the girl under the third row's tables and hid them under them, panting, his hand back on his side. Ran's eyes widened as she noticed the blood covering the small boy, seeing it was mainly his without a doubt as she spotted his pained face.
"- Conan-kun" she whispered, "you're hurt, we need to get you to an hospital !
- As long as Matsumoto is here... There's no way out... He'll just shoot us when we'll wait... for the elevator... We need to hope for help...
- Matsumoto ? Is there an impostor again?!" Ran asked with surprise in her voice.
"- Nope, no impostor this time... he's the real one.
- I just don't get it... He's a police Superintendent, why is he doing all this ?! And how did you get yourself in all that again, Conan-kun ?"
He looked at her face full of questions, wondering what lie he would be feeding her this time. Before he could try to answer, they heard the door opening and closing. The last part didn't bode well for them as people coming to help certainly wouldn't have closed the door.
"- Come on, Conan-kun, I know you and your nee-chan are here" Matsumoto's voice started with a soothing tone. "It's all a big misunderstanding, I thought I was chasing a criminal, you know I work for the good ones, don't you ? I won't harm you..."
Conan smirked involuntarily at the catalogue of blunders he was serving them with. But he had to save some time, until Takagi or another officer came to help. He got out of his hiding place, after a gesture of the hand to signify to Ran not to move. She obeyed at his serious look, even if he felt she didn't seem happy with it.
"- Really, Superintendent Matsumoto ?" he asked with a childish smile, holding his injured side, trying to ignore the throbbing pain .
"- Yes, my boy." The officer answered, pocketing his gun and coming near the small detective, with what was probably intended to be a comforting smile but was still a scary expression on his distorted face.
"- So why did you shoot me ?" the boy asked with bright wide eyes. "You saw I wasn't a criminal...
- It was an accident, with all that smoke...
- We know you're a part of the Organization" Conan cut, bored by the man's little act, stopping to pose himself as a little child. "... You followed me because you though I was the Kid and you wanted to kill him so he wouldn't spill your secrets... But more know the truth by now, your cover is busted, M. ex-Superintendent. "
The policeman looked at the boy with bewilderment.
"- No use to fool you, small detective, eh ? You remind me of someone..." He was keeping his smile but Conan could see his hands were shaking in anger as he understood his position as an infiltrated agent for the Organization was now really compromised. "No more lies then. Let's make a deal, boy. I promise I won't harm the both of you if you tell me where is that damn Thief."
"The Organization sparing witnesses ? Don't make me laugh..." the bespectacled kid thought.
"- To be honest, he left a while ago ! " Conan declared with his most annoying childish smile.
"- I said "no more lies", it should also apply to you, brat. I've heard him less than 5 minutes ago.
- Oh, that's thanks to this item", he said, taking out his bow. "I can use any voice I want with it" he added, with the Kid's tone.
"- Oh that's smart... So I lost two men and some precious minutes thanks to you, in fact ?" The officer's smile was getting more and more threatening.
"- Yep" the boy smirked of an insolent way, not unlike Kid's.
The smirk was brushed away by a sudden kick from the man, which Conan couldn't avoid as he wasn't expecting such a sudden attack, and sent him flying with a painful grunt at the bottom of the tiers.
"- Conan-kun !" Ran shouted, going out of her hiding spot and pushing the officer away to rush at the kid.
The small detective was lying on the floor, his glasses a few meters away, barely reacting to her voice as she crouched to him.
"- Ran..." he said, opening his eyes when she touched his bruised face. His eyes widened, at the sight of Matsumoto approaching and he warned " Watch out !"
Ran quickly got up and took a defensive stance as the officer's leg was thrown to where her head was a few instants before. She blocked it with a grunt and counter-attacked. After a few exchanges, Ran succeeded to place a hit at the man's formerly hurt shoulder, which made him take a few steps back.
"- Mouri Ran" he smiled, with a bit of admiration in his eyes. "I remember your father saying you weren't bad in karate. I must admit he was right, it's been a long time since I didn't fight a serious opponent... Unluckily for you, your karate is no match for the close combat's training I received..."
His rhythm accelerated and, as agile as she was, Ran couldn't keep up with the series of strong and quick hits he threw on her. She let out a painful moan at his last kick in her ribs, which sent her against the table for the conferences, hitting her back on it and falling on the floor, filled with too much in pain to be able to get up anymore.
The policeman slowly walked to her to give his finishing blow.
"- Don't touch her ! " Conan said, getting up to put himself between the girl and Matsumoto, hardly standing with his injuries.
"- Conan-kun..." She faintly tried to stop him as she heard his voice.
The boy gave her an encouraging smile and turned back to the officer who had his gun out once again and was now pointing it at him.
"Still no help coming... What takes them so long ?" Conan was starting to despair.
Making up his mind, ready to try anything, he took a deep breath at the thought of what he was going to do but he had no other choice if he wanted to have a chance to save Ran.
"- You don't want to kill me. Spare her, I'll come with you.
"- And why would I be interested in taking a brat like you with me?" Matsumoto asked with an ironic smile.
"- Because I'm Kudô Shinichi."
Ran, as foggy as her mind was, still succeeded to look at Conan with bewilderment.
"- Don't make me laugh, brat, it's...
- APTX 4869. The poison Sherry developed in your Organization. Gin used on me 6 months ago. It never worked, at least not the way you imagined."
After a moment of disbelief, looking intensively at the boy's face, the man finally laughed wholeheartedly.
"- Oh yes, it worked ! Beyond our expectations! You're right, brat, I need you. Consider your girlfriend as safe."
With a last look at Ran and a sad guilty smile at her astonished face, Conan let the officer catch him and hold him in his right arm. Once the boy was secured, the man's face split in an evil grin.
"- But if you've met us already, you should know by now..." The man said, lifting his gun to Ran's head. "That we don't leave any witnesses.
- No! RAAAAAAAN ! "
Saguru exited from the building throught the front door, clenching his right arm, trying to ignore the pain.
"-Hakuba-kun ! " Aoko shouted when she spotted him.
A few heads turned at the cry and, seeing he was hurt, some men rushed to the teen.
"- What happened ? " One of them asked with a worried expression.
"- There were two other men on the first floor...
- Saguru ! " His father quickly came to him, alerted by the cry, his face showing concern. " Are you alright ?
- Nothing too harmful but I would need you to send a medical team to Kuroba-kun, he's near the elevators."
Aoko couldn't hold a gasp when she heard him.
"- Send some medics there, I want three men to protect them ! " the Superintendent general ordered. " Who is he ? What happened ?
- He's an acquaintance of mine and also one of Conan's friends..." the blond-haired explained. "Apparently, he came looking for the boy as he heard there was a shootout and has been hurt... Takagi-keiji took him downstairs so we could treat him.
- Just how did he come in... And where is Takagi-dôno now ?
- He went to the last floor to retrieve Conan-kun and Ran-kun...
- How many civilians do we have in this building... !" the old man swore. "Where is Shiratori-dôno ?
- I'm here, Sir ! " he answered, now clothed for the intervention, " we are ready for the retrieval of Sato-keiji and Megure-keibu !
- Then go, now ! Takagi-dôno is already up there. Please note we also have two civilians, a teenage girl and a boy, whose statuses are unknown. Secure them.
- Yes, Sir ! Let's go, men !" he ordered, turning at the men on his heels.
The team rushed to the building, men with shields at the front, medics on the back.
"- Have that arm checked at in the hospital, son" the Superintendant advised Saguru, pointing the ambulances on the parking with a move of the head. "There's nothing else you can do right now.
- I'll go with Kuroba-kun."
"- KAITO !" Saguru heard as he was sitting on the stairs, holding his arm against him.
He turned his head to the source of the shout, to see the Thief was lying on a stretcher, two men carrying him, a third talking in a radio with a worried look. The cry came from Aoko who, he saw it as he got up, was just near of them, her hand in front of her mouth, an horror-struck expression on her face.
"- How is he doing ?" he asked with concern, walking alongside them towards the ambulance. "I know him, I found him" he added, as he saw the men were reluctant to share some information.
"- He has two bullet wound... " one of them finally answered, "in each of his shoulders and also a hit on the head... First aid has been performed correctly but he needs a transfusion immediately and probably surgery, we'll know after additional examination to evaluate the wounds' seriousness.
- He's B type, positive rhesus." The high-school detective pointed.
"- Thank you, that will help. You are also wounded ? " the man enquired, spotting the teen was holding his right arm and had a bruised face.
"- Yes, I think my arm is broken, I need to have it treated, I'll come with you.
- Ok.
- Let me come too" Aoko asked with a determined look
"- You know he won't be happy with it... " Saguru whispered with a reproving face. " You are endangering the protection he built for you...
- I have to be there. "
Both of them stopped, staring into each others' eyes in a silent fight.
"- If you're willing to take that risk... But understand you're also putting him in danger" he gave up with a sight.
"- Are you coming ? " the stretcher bearer asked from the ambulance.
"- Hai ! " Aoko confirmed, going in the vehicle.
"- No! RAAAAAAAN ! "
The boy heard a gunshot and saw the girl's head fall down.
"- No…" Conan's body became limp as he gave up, with no more reason to fight.
"- Let him go !"
From afar, his mind blurred by an unbearable emotional pain, the small detective recognized Takagi's voice. But he was so late…
"- I said "let him go" or you'll getanother bullet, Matsumoto !
- Getting quite confident, eh, Takagi-kun ?" Conan still in his arms, the man turned to the young officer who was standing at the door, a fuming gun in his hands pointed at him.
"- There's no more escape, your men have been neutralized and the intervention team will be here at any moment… Give up !"
The boy came to his senses with a shiver when he felt the cold nose of Matsumoto's gun on his temple. With a glimpse at him, he also noticed the man's right hand, the one holding him, was bleeding.
"- And now? If you don't want to let me pass, I could still take one or two persons with me, you know…"
Takagi gulped at the scene, lowering a bit his gun, hesitant as to what to do. Ignoring his pain and the weapon, Conan desperately wriggled to escape the man's grip, trying to take advantage of his injured arm.
"- Stop moving damn brat ! " Matsumoto ordered, moving the weapon away from his head to hit him with its cross.
"- Shoot him !" He ordered to the cop with a pained grimace after that new hit, seeing the man's attention was focused in managing to hold him.
Without giving a second thought, Takagi raised once again his gun and pressed the trigger. The man fell on the floor with a loud thud, head shot.
"- Conan-kun ! " He called, as the former officer landed on the boy in his fall.
The policeman pushed the old man body to release Conan and saw with concern the child was covered with blood.
"- Where are you hurt ?
- Never mind me ! Ran… She … " the detective's face was desperate as he got up to look at her from where he was, unable to go any closer.
Takagi crouched to the girl's body to check on her, looking for a pulse and external injuries.
"How could I ever forgive myself if…" Conan was shaking in sadness, as white as a sheet.
"- Conan-kun, she's just fainted out" the policeman stated with a small smile. "Conan-kun ? Shinichi-kun !" He put his hand on the boy's shoulder so he would look at him. "She'll be ok !"
The kid blinked as he recognized the cop and processed the information he just gave him. His eyes watered with relief as he kneeled near Ran and patted her head with an affectionate smile.
"- You fought well…"
He collapsed near of her as the adrenaline, leaving his body, stopped to keep him awake.
"- Conan-kun !"