Secrets and Lies: Chapter 21
"What can you see Kaito-kun?" Jodie hissed at him from their precarious position on the rooftop of a building opposite the Metropolitan Police. If anyone looked out the window then they would be spotted immediately.
Instead of just rushing in like Jodie would have preferred to do it had been decided that they would stake out the building to get information first as Anokata and the Black Organisation were a force to be reckoned with.
"The office is dark, but if I use the thermal filter I can see that there are 5 figures in the office. Although 1 seems to be colder than the rest," Kaito answered putting the binoculars down and staring with his own eyes.
"He must have a method of keeping them all in there if they are still alive. The 4 figures must be the Kudos, Hakuba-kun and Nakamori-san. The fifth should be Anokata/Shiratori if Chief Hakuba is telling the truth. Hmm... How many people are there in the rest of the building?" Jodie spoke into her phone.
"Most officers have left or are currently leaving. It's mostly cleaners," Camel reported from his position in the lobby. "I'm staying out of sight in case he can see the live feed in his office."
"That's good for him and it's good for us," she commented and turned back to Kaito. "I don't suppose that you have a sniper rifle concealed on you anywhere?"
Kaito shook his head. "His blind is drawn so not even night vision would work. We have no idea what's going on in there."
Jodie thought it over. She couldn't think of any way to do it. They didn't know anything about what was happening in the office so they couldn't just storm the building; there could be a bomb linked to the door or window. If they just could find out what was going on inside the room then they could formulate a plan.
"You're Kaito Kid. Can't you find a way of knowing what's going on in there?"
"I told you, I'm retired," Kaito grumbled irritably. Then an idea hit him like he had been struck by lightning. "I've got it!"
He unclasped his watch and held it up to his ear. Jodie started at him as if he had gone stark raving mad.
"What are you doing Kid?"
"Agasa-Hakase made us both a tracking and communication device. If I can connect to hers then we can hear what is going on in the room."
"That's totally awesome, Kid," Jodie clapped her hands ecstatically.
"Shh," Kaito put his finger to his lips and turned the dial again. "I've got something."
"-small bomb. The timer is in Nakamori-san's lap, but I have a secondary remote control. If you make another move I will detonate it now."
"There is a bomb on a timer," Kaito whispered to Jodie. "I can hear it beeping faintly because it's on Aoko's lap."
"If that's that case we need to act now."
"No, we need more information."
Yusaku's voice could be heard.
""You will die too."
"Its blast radius had been carefully calculated. You will die, but I won't; I will just waltz out of here alive whilst the 4 of you will be blown to bits."
Jodie tapped Kaito in the shoulder. She had sensed that there was something wrong with Anokata's threat.
"It's impossible to make a bomb to that. And his office is too small anyway; all of it would blow up if a bomb did go off."
"So he's bluffing about the bomb," Kaito concluded. "But there has to be something else that he is going to kill them with."
"Poison." The voice came from behind him.
Jodie and Kaito spun round with weapons drawn. Kaito turned off the communicator so there would be any noise transmitted to Aoko's that would give them away. When seeing that it was a 7 year old with light brown hair that had crept up on them they put their guns down and breathed a sigh of relief. Then they spotted a shadowy figure standing a few metres behind her. When the figure stepped forward they breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing who it was.
For Kaito it was like looking in the mirror and seeing a version of himself with tidier hair. Otherwise they looked almost identical. Jodie smiled at seeing Conan as his true self for the first time.
"Tantei-kun," Kaito breathed quietly.
"Cool Ki-, I mean Cool Guy," Jodie said, remembering what Vermouth had written on a photo of him.
"Hello Jodie-san. Sorry, I'm a little late," Shinichi greeted, putting his Conan glasses on to listen to the audio from the bug that he had placed on Yusaku's shoe. "I have a bug in the room so I know what is going on and I do have a plan."
A few hours before the group had split off to go to separate locations Shinichi had paid a hotel employee to purchase a childsize black wig and adult size clothing. He had explained to Haibara that he wanted to play a lone hand rather than team up with his father and he needed her to impersonate him so no one would notice when he disappeared. He had had hidden in the bathroom after trading clothes with Haibara and had taken the antidote once everyone had left the hotel suite. He had noted that it had been his most painful transformation yet and he hoped that it was his last. After he had left the hotel as his normal teenage self to track down a certain person which had taken a several hours.
A thought struck Kaito suddenly. "Who's your ally?" he asked sharply, thinking back to what Haibara had said back at the Hakuba residence.
As Kaito asked a frown came over Haibara's face and she glared meanfully at Shinichi who looked a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. He winced as his eyes came to rest on Jodie.
"Jodie-san, I appreciate that this may be stressful for you, but please remember that this is for the sake of saving lives and arresting Anokata. Please try not to let your personal feelings get in the way."
Jodie looked mystified as to why he was talking to her in that manner, but she replied anyway. "Of course not."
Shinichi knew that she was likely to change her mind when she saw who he wanted her to work with, but he chose to give her a chance.
He raised his voice, "you can come out now."
A tall, dark figure emerged from the shadows, carrying a long sniper rifle. The man was wearing a dark beanie hat and had a scar on one cheek. Jodie froze like a statue for a few seconds before gasping out in a short breath, "Shu."
Her knees weakened at the sight of Shuichi Akai and she would have fallen over if Kaito hadn't caught her. She had mourned for his death and now he appeared in front of her. She remembered catching a glimpse of him once, after being held hostage and she had cursed herself for not being over to get over his death which she had believed caused her to imagine seeing him.
Shinichi had an apologetic expression on his face. "I'm sorry Jodie-san. I know that this is hard for you, but we have to move now. Immediately."
"I will explain my conduct to everyone later," he added to sweeten the dull pain for her. That was all he could do. At crime scenes he couldn't bring back the murdered victim to life, but he could hunt down the murderer analytically.
Jodie tore her eyes from the silent Akai, straightened up and looked Conan straight in the eye after wiping a tear that had strayed down her face.
"What do you want us to do?"
"I need you and Kid to get Anokata to look out of the window. Akai-san will take care of the rest. As for me I'm going to call an ambulance and inform them to bring the antidote for a certain poison," Conan ordered turning away to hide the nervous apprehension that he was currently feeing. Everyone was relying on him and he couldn't let them down. It was his last and only chance.
It wasn't like before when he knew that his father's offer of him moving to America and letting other people take care of the Black Organisation was just waiting in the wings. This time was different.
If he failed now everyone he cared for and respected would pay the price. He would become Anokata's slave for life. His mother's life was slowly being drained by a sadist.
He had to act now. He was out of time.
Anokata smiled in satisfaction at the thought that he would have Shinichi Kudo in the palm of his hand in a matter of minutes and that the most annoying pawns in the resistance against the Organisation would be dead. Everything was going his way today. He leaned back and watched the poison slowly destroy Aoko Nakamori and Saguru Hakuba. When Yukiko Kudo finally died he would shoot Yusaku Kudo after watching his anguish.
The seconds ticked by and felt elation as he anticipated his victory. A loud noise interrupted his elated feeling. The noise had sounded similar to a firework. It came again.
Bang. Whoosh.
He resisted the temptation to look out of the window.
The sound came again and there was a fizzing sound to accompany it. The room flashed with bright orange light and the Kaito Kid symbol was projected onto the wall of the office. Anokata started and drew out his phone to call his sniper that was set up in the office building opposite to ask what was going on.
"If you see Kid shoot him," he ordered and was just about to put down his phone and continue watching the death around him when the sniper replied.
"Look out the window now," he shouted.
If Anokata hadn't been fixated on watching the deaths he had orchestrated he would have noticed that there was something wrong with the sniper's voice, but he didn't. He pulled up the blind and opened the window to see what was going on.
That was all that Akai needed to fire off a lethal shot. Just a second of confusion and Anokata had been defeated. The best criminals always tried to keep a clear head so they couldn't be caught off guard and Anokata had proved that he wasn't one of the best criminals. Just one second of confusion.
Just the epilogue to go now.
I really am sorry about my sporadic updates, but I have just had a month of exams (I have definitely failed Maths) and I still have a lot of deadlines to go, but writing this fanfiction has been something that has kept my from going mad with stress although it has caused some stress itself.