Four points of the same star Chapter 25: Before it's too late, a detective conan/case closed fanfic

Four points of the same star.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Detective Conan.

This chapter will have many sudden changes from Japan to America. So, I hope you won't get confused. On with the story!

-...- transceiver talk

FOUR POINTS OF THES SAME STAR Chapter 23: Before it's too late...

-What is he doing here?-

Shinichi, Shiho, Ryu and Rei were hiding behind the alley's wall and peered at the black car that was parked not too far from them. They didn't dare to take their helmets off for the fear of being recognised.

-If Vodka is here..- Shiho said, -It means that Gin is around too.-

-That's not reassuring..- Rei remarked.

-Shinichi's right, though.- Ryu stated, -What is he doing here? I mean, the Organisation has gone through a great loss with the American Headquarter's downfall and all the members should be in alarm. They should be even more careful and secretive than before.-

-And they shouldn't be hanging around in broad day as though nothing had happened.- Shinichi added, -Unless...-

-Unless they are doing some criminal activity...- Rei said.

-.. or the other headquarter is nearby.- Shiho completed.

-But these are only guesses.- Shinichi remarked, -We don't have any evidences.-

Ryu had been silent while the others talked but he heard them and agreed with their guesses.

'If Vodka and, maybe, Gin are here in the city's center in broad day, they could be doing something for the Organisation or going back to the headquarter.' he thought, 'But, for what we know, they could also be here because they have suspects on... us.'

There were so many possibilities that he couldn't consider them all.

But maybe they could find out...

Without saying a word, Ryu walked back to his motorbike and took off his helmet. Rei, Shinichi and Shiho looked at him with confusion and followed him, taking their helmets off as well. They knew Ryu enough to understand that he had something in his mind.

"Ryu, what are you thinking?" Rei asked, getting to the point immediately.

The boy looked at her and then at his other two friends. He didn't reply but just opened his jacket and took out his chain with the star. Shinichi and the girls looked at him with a puzzled expression as he took the small silver star in his hand and turned it around.

"What are you doing?" Shinichi asked.

"Ryu?" Shiho called.

"I want to put one of my transceivers on Gin's car." he finally replied.

America 7 am ( 5 pm in Japan)

Matt sighed as he flipped through the pages of a thick notebook.

More than two weeks had passed since FBI had raided the Organisation's headquarter and they still didn't have a clue of where the Japanese headquarter could be. He had to admit that the members had been trained well: they wouldn't talk even if they were under torture. Everyone of them, from the simple agent to the scientist, from the high member to the leader, didn't reveal anything. Inspector Xanders and his fellow inspector friends were in charge of collecting information from the captives but they were having trouble doing it because the criminals didn't collaborate at all: they would only smirk or sneer sarcastically at their questions without saying a word.

More than half of the criminals had been sent to high security prisons with isolated jails and with men guarding every captive. In order to do this they needed more men, so Inspector Xanders along with the other three chief Inspectors, started to gather more agents in their ranks. First, they checked them till they were sure they were trustworthy and only after this, they told them about the plan. In this way, there were another hundred men working for MYSTERY. Matt had to admit that now that many people were involved, he felt better: hiding their work was easier.

For example, many reporters had come to bother them after they had found out of the sudden arrests of the deputy and the financial magnate. Inspector Morris had spoke to them, saying that the two public men were involved with a gang of drug dealers. In this way, the press was satisfied: they had their piece of news. For the rest, everything was kept secret: the raid, the many arrests and the many criminals in prison were all information known only by the FBI agents and inspectors involved in MYSTERY.

No one else knew and this was the only bright thing of the situation.

Matt shut the notebook and stretched, getting up from his chair. He, Christine and Lucas had been working restlessly in the last weeks. Chris and Lucas had used Rei's program to work out every archive, database and file they could find in the computers they had taken away. The notebook he was reading was only a small part of that information. Unfortunately for him, most of the material was written in Japanese and he was the only one, besides his father that could read it. Since his father was busy with the other Inspectors, dealing with local criminality, he was the only one that actually read everything. Lucas and Christine often stayed with him, reading the files written in English. As a matter of fact, the three of them were the only ones that spent 24 hours working on MYSTERY. The other agents and the Inspectors helped when they could: they had their own work at FBI to do, after all. If they started to stop doing their duties, it would have been suspicious.

Matt looked at his desk: it was full of papers and there was a stack of thick notebooks on a corner. He groaned as he slumped back on his chair and reluctantly opened the notebook in front of him again. He went on reading for nearly half an hour when someone knocked at his door.

"Come in." he said, looking up.

A boy of his age with black hair and grey eyes came in carrying a laptop; behind came a girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes holding three notebooks.

"Hi, Matt." the boy said, "Where should I put this one?"

"On the corner, Luc, with the other ones." Matt replied. Lucas walked to the corner and put down the laptop on top of one of the computers that were already there.

"We have finished to work these ones out." the girl said, giving the notebooks to Matt, "I've just put the all the papers together."

"Great.." the boy remarked unenthusiastically.

Lucas and Chris smirked.

"So, how is it going?" Lucas asked, "Anything interesting?"

"No. There isn't anything new." Mat replied, "I've already ready five of these notebooks and they all talk about the Organisation's past activities in Japan. It's all stuff I already know about."

"The first information Rei gave you?" Chris asked quietly.

"Yes. It was all in that stack of notes she gave when I went to Japan a few months ago. You know, I can't even skip this part because there might be something hidden in these papers."

"Don't be so cheerful.." Lucas said sarcastically, noticing the bored look on his face. Matt shot him a glare in reply.

"What about you guys?" he asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"We've got to start working on the other computers." Chris said, "We have only worked four of them till now and there are another three.. four left."

"We've quickened a lot now." Lucas added, "It won't take us long to work them."

"Let's hope so." Matt stated.

"By the way, are you sure we can put all the worked out computers here in your office?" Chris asked, "It will be a mess..."

"As though it has ever been tidy..." Matt remarked with a smirk, "It not a problem for me and it's also safer."

"True." Lucas said, "Well, let's get back to work."

"See you later, Matt." Chris said as she left.

"Bye." Matt said.

The door closed and he looked at the pile of work on his desk: he had to quicken up, too.

"Joy to the world.." he muttered to himself as he resumed reading.

"You have lost your mind completely!"

"It's the only way we have to know where they are!"

"Sure but you'll never find their hideout because they will kill you before."

"Then what should we do?"

"I don't know but it must be something less... reckless."

"Rei..."

"No, Ryu."

Shinichi and Shiho watched their friends with an expression torn between concern and slight amusement. It was the first time they ever saw Rei and Ryu argue and they didn't know what to do or whose side to be since both had a good point.

"Rei, listen to me." Ryu said, exasperated, after having argued with his girlfriend for nearly five minutes, "No one knows where the Organisation's headquarter is here in Japan. Even Shiho and I don't know it and we've been working for them. If I put a transceiver on Gin's car, we have the chance to find it."

"I know that." Rei retorted, "But did you consider that if they see you or if they find the transceiver, they'll know that you're here in Beika? It will take them less than a snap of fingers to find you."

"Well, it's a risk I'll take." he said firmly.

"You really have lost your mind." she stated, staring at him.

Shinichi coughed lightly, making them turn to him. It seemed that they had forgotten that he and Shiho were there because they blushed slightly.

"Well?" the detective asked, "If we have to do something, we have to be quick. I don't think Vodka will stay there forever."

Rei and Ryu looked at each other: arguing was pointless. They had to come to a common conclusion. And they had to do it fast.

"Any suggestions?" Rei asked, looking at Shinichi and Shiho.

"Well, the idea of the transceiver is not bad.." Shinichi said, "Who knows when we'll ever get the chance to find the headquarter again?"

"I agree with him on this point." Shiho said, "But.. who will risk?"

Rei nodded slowly.

"If you all agree, I can't retort." she said, "But Shiho's right: who will get near the car and put the transceiver?"

"I will." Ryu said.

"No." Rei, Shiho and Shinichi said.

"But it was my idea!" he retorted, "I'm not going to let one of you risk."

"Ryu, listen to me, now." Rei said firmly, "You can't go. Vodka will recognise you."

"She's right." Shiho remarked, "You were already in disguise when you joined the Organisation as Martini and a pair of glasses can't make you seem that different. Even though Vodka' s a pathetic fool, he will know who you are."

"So?" Shinichi asked, "Who goes?"

There was a moment of silence till Rei looked up.

"I will." she said.

"No!" Ryu and Shinichi said together. Shiho didn't say anything.

"I'm the one that risks less to be recognised." she said, "Ryu, you already know why you can't do it. Shiho, you have been in the Organisation for a long time and you're the one that risks most: Vodka, Gin or any other member will recognise you immediately. As for you, Shinichi, Vodka is the one that knocked you down with an iron bar and was there when Gin fed you the pill. If he sees you, I don't think he will think that he has seen a ghost. The Organisation has suspects on your.. death and if Vodka sees you, they will have the proof. Coming to the point, I have only met Scotch till now and he's dead."

"The Organisation thinks that you're dead too." Shinichi remarked.

"And no one knows you." Shiho added.

"Yes, but..." Ryu started to say but Rei stopped him.

"You know that I'm right." she said, "Ryu, I appreciate the fact that you don't want anything to happen to me but remember that I'm a FBI agent just like you. I know how to behave and what to do: don't underestimate me so much. Please."

Ryu looked at her and nodded. She was right.

"Ok." he said, "Take this."

He handed her a very small and transparent octagonal object. Then, the four walked to the alley's entrance and saw that Vodka was still there.

"How are you going to get near the car?" Ryu asked.

"Ehm... I've got an idea... but first..." she replied and, unexpectedly she slipped Ryu's glasses out of his nose.

"What the...?" the boy exclaimed. He turned around and saw the two girls go near the bikes. He looked at Shinichi who shrugged.

Rei took off her school jacket and her tie and handed them to Shiho; she untucked her blouse, putting it loose over her skirt and undid the first two buttons; she ruffled her hair slightly and put Ryu's glasses. Then, she put on her leather jacket. She turned around to Shiho.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Not bad." the blonde replied with a smile.

Rei put her other clothes in the motorbike's trunk and then the two girls went back to the Shinichi and Ryu. The two boys stared at Rei.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Amazing." Shinichi replied. Rei smirked.

Ryu was stunned too: she was unrecognisable... not to mention beautiful... He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he remembered what she was going to do.

"Ok, listen carefully." he said, "Rei, you get near the car and try to put the device in a hidden spot: under the car, on a tire or something like that."

"Will you be able to listen them if I put it there?" she asked.

"I don't know but I'd be satisfied if I know where they go. Anyway, we'll have to wait 12 hours. That's the device's only defect: it takes half a day to show its position when it's applied to a new subject."

"Ok."

Ryu turned to Shinichi and Shiho.

"You two have to go home and check if every thing's normal. If there's something wrong, leave immediately and then when you find a safe place, call us."

"What will you do?" Shiho asked.

"There's a small road behind this block." he said, "I'll wait there with the bike. Rei, you will reach me there as soon as you've put the device, hoping that no one follows you. Shinichi, Shiho, if every thing's normal, call me and we'll come home. Everyone, ready?"

"Yes." Rei said.

"Sure." Shiho replied while Shinichi nodded.

"All right." Ryu said, "It's half past five. If everything goes well, we'll see each other at home in about an hour. Off we go."

Rei walked out and headed to the other side of the road. Ryu, Shiho and Shinichi were incredibly tensed for her but they couldn't stay there. Shinichi and Shiho headed to their bike, put their helmets on and sped away after giving Ryu one of their earring phones. Ryu headed to his bike and was going to leave when he put on the earring phone.

-Rei?-

-Ryu? What's wrong?- she asked very softly, -I'm nearly at the bar..-

-Be careful.-

There was a moment of silence.

-I will, don't worry. See you later.-

-See you later.-

Ryu put on his helmet and sped away on the motorbike.

America 8:30 am ( 6:30 pm in Japan)

Matt's reading session was going on.

Only that morning he had reread the Organisation's activities in the last ten years: all things that he already knew since Rei had given him an encyclopedia-like tome, full of this information. However, this didn't leave him emotionless.

Matt was actually seething in blind rage.

He had read of the accurate plan to murder Rei's parents, the way Ryu's family had been killed, how Kaito's father's death had been classified as an accident and how Akemi Miyano had been silenced. Not to mention all the other murders and deaths of people he didn't know.

Matt couldn't believe that a group of people could do all this. It was too much: too cruel.

Nevertheless, it happened and two of it's founders had been caught. Matt felt anger surging through him only thinking that one of the leaders was a deputy that everyone reputed honest, generous and loyal.

'It was all an act...' he thought, 'Only a mask to cover his true face... that bastard..'

He looked at the time: it was only half past eight. He had come to work at six o'clock, hoping to finish reading all the notes but most of all, he wanted to attend the interrogation of the double-crossers. Since the criminals didn't collaborate, maybe those backstabbing traitors would: they only cared for themselves after all. His father was going to interrogate the double crossers personally around nine o'clock. Matt had never seen his father's eyes flame with anger the way they did when the double crossers were mentioned.

Mr Xanders hated traitors and the fact that men that had worked with him had betrayed FBI, made him even angrier.

Matt sighed and closed the notebook he had finished to read. He noticed with amusement that the stack of books to read on his desk had become smaller: there were only two left.

'Don't rejoice..' he lectured himself, 'Many more will come..'

He reached for another notebook and began to read. He immediately noticed that there was something strange. Till now, he had been reading of past activities: things that had happened a decade ago. But on this papers were described activities that had happened recently. Matt scanned the page looking for a date and he found it. A week before the American Headquarter's downfall.

'No way...' he thought.

Heart thumping, Matt flipped through the pages, looking at the dates. He went on till he read of the last activity: a work of counterfeits that had happened hardly a week ago. But the important point was that it didn't happen in America.

It had happened in Japan.

Matt got up with a start and walked out of his office, shutting the door behind him and with the notebook in his hand. He headed to an office, three rooms away from his and knocked.

"Come in." a male voice said.

"Luc, Chris, I've got something to ask you." Matt said in a getting-to-the-point tone, closing the door behind him.

The two looked up from their computers and noticed the look on the boy's face.

"Sure." Lucas said, "What's up?"

"The last computer that's in my room... when did you start working on it?" Matt asked.

"The last one? You mean the laptop?" Chris asked, "A few days ago. Why?"

"It has got information of the Organisation's headquarter in Japan. Recent information: the last one is dated back to a week ago."

"What?" Lucas exclaimed, "No way.."

"Exactly what I thought." Matt stated, "Listen, you work on the computers, choosing them randomly, right?" Chris nodded. "When we brought them here, they were all unplugged. Is it possible that information from Japan has been sent to an unplugged computer here in America?"

"Well, no." Chris said.

"Pardon?" Matt asked, "Then where did these information come from? Chris, you gave me these notes an hour ago!"

"Wait, Matt... let me explain." the girl said, "If the computer is unplugged, it's impossible that anything gets saved in it. But, since you have the information, it must have been plugged..." Christine stopped abruptly and turned to Lucas. "Didn't we plug all the computers when we brought them here?"

"Yes." he replied, "We checked if there were any viruses or system blocking programs in them. We plugged them all and loaded Rei's decrypting program along with Ryu's protection." Lucas looked at her. "Maybe we left the last computer we checked plugged on."

Chris nodded.

"Yes, it could be." she said, "Remember that I said that we could work on that laptop since it was already plugged and we didn't have to waste time putting all the cables and wires?"

"It must have be like that."

Matt looked at them: he felt the same annoyance that he used to feel when Rei and Ryu rambled on computers.

"So?" he asked.

"So, for our great luck, that laptop has been plugged all the time and the information has been saved in it." Chris remarked.

"And no one noticed it?" Matt asked in confusion, "Ehm.. let's say that someone of the Organisation was regularly sending information to the laptop. Even if we kept the raid secret the other members must know that the American headquarter had fallen. Why would someone keep sending information if there could be the risk that we would see it?"

"Good point.." Lucas stated, "Wait... there is a way."

Matt turned to him.

"Really?" he said, "Tell me."

"Well, I'm not an expert of electronics but maybe, there must be a small processor in the sending computer."

"Come again?"

"Come on, Ryu did the same when he got the information from the Organisation's database. The laptop is connected through a processor to another computer that automatically sends information to it."

"And no one notices it?"

"Matt, didn't Ryu make a mistake like that at the beginning?" Chris asked, "He put a processor and a downloading program in a computer but at the first try, it downloaded the whole hard disk. Maybe, something similar is happening now. With the difference that only some information is being downloaded."

"And no one notices it?" Matt asked again.

"No, unless the dismantle the computer or modify the program."

Matt didn't say anything for a few minutes: he was thinking quickly.

"So, the only ones that know of this... mistake are you two, me and the laptop's former owner, right?" he asked.

"Yes." Lucas said.

"When did you unplug the laptop?"

"More or less an hour ago. Why..?" Chris stopped and looked at Matt: she seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he was. "Unless you.."

"It's an idea..."

"What? What are you guys talking about?" Lucas asked, cutting through their thought process.

"You want to.." Chris said.

"Take advantage of the situation." Matt remarked, "We could do it and.."

"Track them down.."

"To find the other headquarter."

Lucas had followed their cryptic dialogue with a puzzled expression but at the end he understood. He got up and left the room, coming back a few minutes later with the laptop. He quickly put all the plugs and cables and started it. Matt and Chris approached him.

"What if they had sent something during the hour it was unplugged?" the young lawyer asked, "What would happen to that information?"

"Well, that's lost." Lucas said, "But, didn't you say that the last file sent was dated back to a week ago?"

"Yes."

"We have to hope that nothing has happened in the mean time."

Lucas quickly checked the files and Matt read them, since they were all in Japanese. There wasn't anything new.

"Ok." Matt said, "We have to take advantage of this situation. Luc, Chris, I know you're loaded with work but keep an eye on the files: if something new is sent, try to track them down. We have to find the other headquarter as soon as possible."

"We'll call you right away." Lucas said with a nod.

"Yes, don't worry." Chris added.

"All right." Matt replied and glanced at his watch. "I've got to go: it's nearly nine o'clock."

"Where are you going?" the girl asked.

"Dad's going to have a... enjoyable chat with our double crossing colleagues." he replied, "I want to hear what they will say."

"Why are you so sure they'll talk or even tell the truth?" Lucas asked, "We're speaking of people that are natural back stabbers."

"That's the point: they only care for their selves. They will probably ask our help if they collaborate. They would probably trust me if I gave them some guarantees: I'm a lawyer after all."

"So, you'll help them?" Chris asked in disbelief.

"I'll let them think so. I'm a lawyer and a FBI agent, not a saint: since they took advantage of us, I'll take advantage of them." Matt replied coolly.

"And your father agreed?"

"Yeah. He was a bit surprised at the beginning when I came up with this idea but he agreed later. He said that they deserved it."

"Wow, Matt, I never thought you'd be so devilish.." Lucas commented.

"Yes, since when you became so wise and cunning?" Chris asked.

"Well, it shines through occasionally.." Matt replied.

Both Lucas and Chris laughed as he grinned.

"See you later, guys." Matt said, as he opened the door.

"Bye."

Matt walked along the corridor, heading to the interrogation's room. He noticed that he still had the notebook in his hand, so he stuffed it in his jacket pocket and walked on.

Shinichi and Shiho

-Do you see anyone around?-

-No.. and I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad one..-

Shinichi and Shiho were close to their house.

They had been going around the neighbourhood for a while, looking at every car and person but they didn't notice anything strange. Nevertheless, they were still very cautious: they knew what the Organisation could do. They slowed down when they came in front of Agase's house. Without taking off their helmets, they got down from the bike and looked around.

-Everything seems normal to me.- Shinichi said.

-Let's see..- Shiho replied. She glanced at Professor's house: it was all in order. The only thing that was missing was the car but that didn't alarm her: Agase had gone to a scientific convention a few days ago and was due to come back tomorrow morning. Shinichi guessed her thoughts.

-Good thing Professor isn't here.- he said, -He would be the first to be in danger..-

-Aren't you worried of the Mouris?- Shiho remarked -If Vermouth had suspects on you being Conan, they could go there and check out.-

Shinichi shrugged.

-We can't think of everything now. First, let's check here and then, we'll think of the rest... but I don't think they'd be in trouble.- he replied. Shiho nodded.

They walked towards the Kudos house and looked around carefully. The gate was closed, just as they had left it that morning and there weren't any signs on the lock: it seemed that no one had tried to get in.

-What do you think?- Shinichi asked, opening the gate, -Seems normal to me.-

-They could be waiting inside.- Shiho stated, -.. Or they could have left something inside..-

-A bomb?-

-It wouldn't be the first time they do it.-

Shinichi glanced at her and saw that she was pale.

-Do you.. sense them?- he asked.

-No.- she replied, -I don't know if it's good or bad..-

He looked at the ground and something clicked in his head.

-No one came here.- he asserted.

-How do you know!"- Shiho asked

-There aren't any footprints.-

-Shinichi, we're speaking of professionals. Do you really think they would leave visible prints on the ground?-

-It rained heavily all night, Shiho. This morning, the ground was muddy: I'm sure of it and it's still soft now. Look, our footprints and the motorbikes' tracks are still visible and they are the only ones. So, unless the members of the Organisation can glide like ghosts or fly like birds, no one came here.-

Shiho looked at him.

-Are you sure?- she asked.

-Positive.- he said with a nod.

-Let's go in then.-

-I'll bring the bike here and then we'll go.-

Shinichi walked back to take the bike and parked it in his lawn. Then, he opened the front door and went in with Shiho.

The girl casually glanced at the clock. Ten to six.

Ryu

Ryu was standing next to his motorbike in a small road that coasted the main street. Even though he didn't show it, he was deadly nervous. His thoughts went to Rei then to Shinichi and Shiho. He cursed himself because they were risking their lives while he was safe and hidden.

'I should have gone to check the house..' he thought but then he shook his head.

He was doing it again: he was underestimating them, just like Rei had pointed out. Shinichi and Shiho knew what to do: they had faced the Organisation many times and were still alive to tell it. At the beginning, he was worried about them because they were Conan and Ai, two kids, but now worrying was useless. Shiho had been trained by the Organisation: she had the same skills he had. Maybe she was even better, coming to think of it. While Shinichi had asked him to train him: they had done fighting and shooting sessions. Ryu had to admit that Shinichi was good: he had reached his same level in a very short time. As for Rei, she had always been at his level.

They were all equals. Then why was he so overprotective?

'Who do I think I am? God Almighty?' he thought. He had to trust them: they deserved it.

A sudden phone ring tone broke the silence, snapping him out of his thoughts. Ryu fetched the earring phone from his pocket and put it on.

"Hello?"

"Ryu?"

"Shinichi? Thanks God... where are you?"

"We're at home. We've checked the whole block but there wasn't anyone around. We have also checked the house but there isn't strange. Anyway, we have decided to wait for you: you're the expert when it comes to find devices or check if the phone lines are bugged."

"All right. By the way, what phone are you using?"

"My phone, don't' worry. Any news from Rei?"

"Nothing. I'm waiting here: let's hope everything has gone well."

"Let's hope so. See you later."

"See you later."

Ryu sighed with relief: at least, they were safe. He fought the urge to call Rei on the transceiver on his glasses. He had to trust her and wait. However, he didn't put the phone away: if she called him, he would go immediately.

He checked the time. Six o'clock.

Rei

Rei was walking towards the bar in front of which was parked the black Porsche that made her feel so uneasy. She had changed her appearance a bit and she was also trusting on the fact that no member of the Organisation, besides the dead Scotch, had ever seen her face but, yet, she felt nervous. She had to find a way to get near the car and put the device on it. The point was how.

Rei got inside the bar and looked around as though she was looking for a friend or a known face and then ordered a coffee.

She noticed that there wasn't anyone dressed in black.

'So, Gin or whoever is with Vodka is somewhere else..' she thought, 'That's reassuring.'

She got out of the bar ten minutes later: the car was still there and the driver was looking at the other side. She had to get near to it without catching Vodka's attention. She had heard enough about him from Shiho, Ryu and Shinichi to know that he was very dangerous. She was still standing by the bar when a young man caught her eye: he was carrying a large grocery bag that partly covered his frontal vision.

'It's now or never..' Rei thought. She started walking, looking around as though she was searching someone and 'accidentally' crashed into the man who hadn't seen her. Rei managed to keep her balance and fell on a knee but the man stumbled to ground and the groceries spilled out from the bag. Rei rejoiced as an apple rolled under the car but cursed inwardly when another one hit the car's door with a soft thud. Vodka must have surely heard it: she had to be quick.

"I'm sorry, sir." she said to the man, who had sat up. "I was looking for a friend and I didn't see you."

"Oh... don't worry." he said. A blush appeared on his face when Rei smiled at him.

"Let me help you." she said and she started to pick the groceries putting them back in the bag. The man did the same.

Rei had the device in her right hand: pretending to reach for the apple that was under the car, she quickly applied it in a hidden spot, right under the car's back door and then got the apple. She was going to get up when she felt her chain slip out of her neck and fall to the ground. She instinctively knelt down to get it.

"What's going on?" a harsh voice said at the same moment.

Rei felt a chill run down her spine as she heard it. She didn't even dare to look up.

"Nothing sir." the man Rei had knocked down, said, "I dropped the shopping and this young lady was helping me."

Vodka carelessly looked down at Rei: her eyes were hidden by her bangs and he couldn't see her face.

"Hurry up and stay away from the car." he ordered and then, he got back in the car.

The other man left, muttering about cranky people. Rei quickly put her chain and walked the opposite direction. She glanced at a nearby car's wing mirror and saw that Vodka was still near the bar and wasn't looking at her.

'He didn't recognise me..' she thought. She clicked on the glasses.

-Ryu?- she said softly.

-Rei? Are you all right?- he asked. There was a hint of concern in his voice.

-Yes, but I'll tell you later. What about the others?-

-It's all right. They're at home.-

-Good. I'll be there with you in a few minutes.-

-Ok-

Rei walked on at a steady pace, feeling quite relieved that nothing had happened.

She glanced at her watch. 18:10.

As the girl disappeared from sight, an evil smile appeared on the man's face, his sunglasses hiding the malice in his eyes.

He drew out four pictures from his coat pocket. Someone had scribbled something on the back of each photo. He chose one and looked at it.

It was a girl with dark brown hair that reached her shoulder blades and cobalt-blue eyes. She had a serious expression and a FBI badge was pinned to her jacket. Vodka turned the photo and read what was written in his mind.

'Name: Reila Ikeda

Age: 17

Occupation: FBI agent'

There were other things written but he didn't bother to read them. He glanced at the other photos: they were two boys and a girl. And he knew that three very well.

An evil smile appeared on his face again as he started the engine.

'We will meet very soon..' he thought as he drove away, 'We have found you at last...'

Shinichi, Shiho, Ryu and Rei were all at home.

After a quick shower, they all set up to see if there were devices in the house. Rei put on Agase's x-ray glasses and scanned the whole house while Ryu checked the phone lines.

At the end, they didn't find anything.

It seemed that Shinichi's guess was right: no one had been there.

They went to the studio and discussed about what had happened. Why was Vodka back at Beika? Was he alone or with Gin? These were only few of the many questions they had.

"What if they know we're here for us?" Rei wondered.

"They don't know that we're all together." Ryu said, "I doubt they know that the four of us even know each other."

"But they might have suspects." Shiho retorted, "They saw me here in Beika, Shinichi lives here and Scotch found you here too."

"Yes, but they also think that I'm dead." the detective remarked, "They probably think that you and Ryu have left Beika since they know you were here."

"We just have to wait." Ryu stated, "Till tomorrow morning at least."

"Tomorrow morning?" Rei asked, "Why...? Oh, the device."

"Yes, you said that you applied it around six o'clock. It should start working from six of tomorrow morning."

"What will we do once we know where Vodka is?" Shinichi asked, "We don't know if he's going straight to the headquarter."

"We'll see." Ryu replied, "We could call Matt and see what to do.."

"You don't want to waste this chance." Shiho remarked.

"Well, who knows what the Organisation might do now?" Rei said, "They could decide to move their headquarter or who know what."

"They could slip away if we don't stop them." Shinichi added.

Ryu nodded slowly.

"Yes and we can't let them go away." he said firmly. The others nodded in agreement.

That night when they went to bed, Ryu, Rei, Shinichi and Shiho felt a nagging feeling that didn't let them sleep immediately, despite their tiring day.

Meeting a member of the Organisation after all these months had awakened their senses and all the alarm sirens in their mind. It was a quiet night but with a slight wind. Every leaf that rustled and every twig that creaked made them open their eyes in alert. At the end, however, they fell asleep.

The clock in the living room chimed three times. It was eleven o'clock.

It was the calm before the storm...

America 12 am ( 10 pm in Japan)

Matt was walking towards his office, his head swimming in the information he had accumulated in one morning. He had just helped his father to interrogate some of the double crossers: three hours spent with people who only cared of their own good.

He could swear he had seen his father's hands shake with rage the whole time. But Mr Xanders wasn't the only one to feel like: Matt and Inspector Morris, who was there too, felt anger surging through them the whole time.

As Matt had foreseen, the double crossers accepted to collaborate only if they could have some guaranties for themselves. Matt had accepted and they started to speak. The first two hours, Matt, Inspector Xanders and Inspector Morris felt like priests listening to sinners: the corrupted ones blabbered about how sorry they felt to have betrayed FBI and sold out their secrets and then talked about their activities. It was all information Matt already knew. His interest increased when the last man was called...

FLASHBACK

Matt, his father and Inspector Morris were standing in front of a table. A man was sitting in front of them. He was tall with brownish black hair and black eyes.

He was Hector Kyle, agent of the drug squad and also partner of one of the murdered agents. He was different from the others: he didn't beg for mercy but had a rather dignified attitude that strongly reminded him of the Organisation's members.

His answers were mainly -yes, -no or -I don't know but despite his loquacity, he admitted his crimes. It was something the other double crossers had avoided to do till the end.

Kyle admitted to have sold out information regarding FBI for nearly an year: he revealed dates and places where raids should have been, told how many men were involved. He even admitted that he had sold out his own partner and his family.

When Inspector Morris, head of the drug squad, asked why he did it, he had replied: "A desperate man will make a deal with the darkest demon if it meant he would survive."

It seemed that Kyle's life wasn't so easy: he was divorced, had many debts and had a few problems with his colleagues. He was your typical cold and asocial subject.

He had been a first class agent along with his partner James Madison but slowly, as his problems began, a growing distance separated the two men. When the Organisation got interested on Madison, Kyle lamely tried to convince him because he was sure he would refuse. He was the one that kidnapped and later killed Madison's wife and daughter. Inspector Morris couldn't hide a disgusted look: this was one of his best men.

It was Matt that made the last questions and, surprisingly, Kyle had replied with full sentences.

"Do you know anything of the Organisation's recent plans?" he asked, "You're one of the men that has worked longer time for them."

"I don't know." he replied, "They didn't trust me enough... but I heard a few rumours."

"That are...?"

"They knew that FBI had valiant collaborators that could find their hideout. It seemed that they had an emergency plan if one of the headquarters was found."

"What was it?"

"I said it was only a rumour: I don't know the details. However, I can only say that the headquarter in Japan is more important than the one that was here."

"Where is it then?"

"I don't know."

"Why am I not surprised.." Matt commented sarcastically, "You can go. Thanks"

As Kyle got up, two men flanked him, ready to escort him back to jail. However, when he was about to leave, he turned around.

"Matt Xanders." he called. The boy looked at him. "You tricked the others, saying that they would be helped by the law. Why didn't you do the same with me?"

"You wouldn't have fallen in my trap." Matt replied, "It would have been an insult to your intelligence if I only tried to do it. After all, you were one of the best agents here."

Hector Kyle stared at him. The boy remembered him of James Madison when they first met: same sense of honour and same respect for other people even if they were criminals. A small smile appeared on his face as a glint of sorrow flashed through his eyes.

"There's one last thing I have to say." he remarked, "One day, nearly a month ago, a man with black trench coat, black hat and with long pale blonde hair came to the headquarter. It was the first I ever saw him there. He mainly spoke with a woman and another man: they spoke in Japanese the whole time. When he was leaving, I heard the woman say something in English, without bothering to be heard.

"The traitor and the living dead will help us reach our goal."

Matt looked at him in confusion.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"I don't know." was the reply.

"Then, why did you tell me this?"

"It's a way to pay.. for the past crimes"

With this last statement, Hector Kyle left the room.

END FLASHBACK

"The traitor and the living dead will help us reach our goal."

'What the hell does that mean?' he thought, scratching the back of his head. He was heading to his office but then he changed his mind and went to see how Lucas and Chris' work was going on. He had hardly reached their office, that the door opened and he found himself face to face with Chris.

Literally.

There were a mere ten centimeters between them.

"Hi, Chris." he said flashing a smile and his green eyes sparkling. The girl blushed, stepping back.

"Matt, I was looking for you." she said, as they went in.

"Well, here I am. What's up?"

"We've received some new information." Lucas replied from his desk. He was working on the laptop Matt had told them to plug on three hours ago.

"You're kidding me." he remarked, approaching him, "Didn't you say that the information couldn't be saved if the computer was unplugged?"

"Yes but, I think that the processor can memorize the data. And then, if the information has not already been sent, it sends it to this laptop. I don't know how much material we've got though.."

"Whatever. What do the files say?"

"You are the one that has to tell us what's written on these files." Chris said, "There all in Japanese."

"Ehm.. right." Matt muttered embarrassedly. Chris smiled.

"I've printed them: they were all small files so I put them all together." she said and handed him a sheet of paper, "Here."

Matt took them and scanned the page: it was a short, mainly formed by dates and short sentences.

"Let's see, this one's of three days ago." he said, "Locations for the operation have been found. In order to fulfil the transfer, all the members have been called."

Lucas looked confused.

"What's this?" he asked, "An operation? With a transfer that requires all the members?"

Matt shrugged and went on.

"This is of yesterday." he said, his eyes widening slightly, "All the preparatives are finished. The operation will start as soon as the two subjects will be captured."

"Two subjects?" Chris asked.

"That's all." Matt said, "Well, the new thing we know is that they are preparing an operation: an operation that requires a transfer and all the members' aid. And it will start when... the two.. how did they say? Oh yes ... subjects will be found."

"Who could this two subjects be?" Lucas asked, "Or better, where could they be? America o Japan?"

"Good question..." Matt remarked, "If only we had a clue or ...What the...?"

A sudden beeping sound startled them. Chris jumped from her seat.

"Something else is coming!" she exclaimed, "Lucas, we have to track them down!"

"I'm ready." he said, connecting his computer to the laptop with a cable, while Chris did the same. Matt stood up and stepped back, giving them all the space they needed.

"Can you do it?" he asked.

"I think so.." Chris said, typing quickly, "We couldn't do it before because the information was saved on the processor: it was impossible to track down the sender but now it's different."

"Why?"

"Someone is working on the other computer now." Lucas replied, "We have the chance to track him."

"And then, you'll know where he is?" Matt asked.

"Well, it will take a few hours work to do it but... yes." Chris said, "We will know from where the information is coming."

"Great.."

The room went silent as the two scientists worked: the only sound was the typing coming from their keyboards.

"It's done." Chris said, after a while, "As soon as the information will be downloaded on the laptop, we'll automatically have a clue of where the sender is. Then, we'll work it out."

Matt eagerly looked at the laptop's screen, waiting to see what would appear. A few seconds later, a window appeared and Chris clicked the button OPEN.

The colour drained from Matt's face when he saw the file's content.

There were four photos with a small paragraph, next to each. Chris and Lucas looked at Matt: it was written in Japanese. He had to translate.

The boy started from the first picture: a girl with dark brown hair that reached her shoulder blades and cobalt-blue eyes; she had a serious expression and a FBI badge was pinned to her jacket. 'Rei..' he thought.

And he slowly began to read.

"Name: Reila Ikeda.

Age: 17.

Occupation: FBI agent

Very talented computer scientist: the only one that has decrypted secret information stolen by the infiltrator."

Matt gulped: they were talking about Rei when she first joined MYSTERY.

"Presumed dead(?)"

Matt arched an eyebrow, as he saw the question mark,

"Probably, the main responsible of the systematic downfall of all our system's security programs and the loss of our headquarter in New York."

A stunned silence greeted his last words: they knew that Rei was alive and that she had helped them recently.

The next photo showed a boy with short dark blonde hair, cold light blue eyes and an emotionless expression. He was wearing a black shirt, black coat and a black hat. 'Ryu..'

"Name: Ryuji Xanders/ Ryuji Kazama.

Age: 17

Occupation: FBI agent

Electronic engineer that has special devices that must come in our possession. He infiltrated in our American headquarter and stole information, passing it to FBI. His codename was Martini, member of the computer technology and programming group. Still on the run: must be silenced. "

Matt looked at the following picture. A reddish-blonde haired girl with light blue eyes that wore a lab coat over a black turtleneck, stared back at him colourlessly. 'Shiho...'

"Name: Shiho Miyano

Codename: Sherry

Age: 17

Occupation: Member of the scientific research group

Chemist that worked on the experimental poison's project APTX-4869. She is a traitor and escaped from our gas chambers. Still on the run: must be silenced.

Matt's gaze fell on the last picture: it was a newspaper cutting. A boy with dark hair that stuck out at the back and was dressed with a dark suit looked at him seriously. 'Shinichi..'

"Name: Shinichi Kudo

Age: 17

Occupation: Detective

Eyewitness to an activity and fed with the experimental poison. Presumed dead. However, there are doubts that he is still alive: if found, he must be silenced."

Matt took a deep breath as the information he had just read sunk in.

But that was just the beginning: there was another statement after. He read it loud.

"One of the two subjects has been located in the suspected area: the first stage has finished successfully. When the second subject will be located and both will be on our side, the operation will start. Our task will be achieved if they will be us."

The room fell silent again. Chris and Lucas looked confused after having heard all these cryptic news but Matt was lost in his thoughts.

He had the odd feeling that he already knew the answer to all his questions: the point was finding it. It was there... in his head... if only he had a clue where it was.

He walked to the window, calmed down and cleared his thoughts, concentrating: he had to find a key.

"The traitor and the living dead will help us reach our goal."

Hector Kyle's strange sentence came back to his mind.

'Maybe.. that''s the key..' Matt thought. He had to put all the pieces together.

FLASH

"We can be both God and the devil since we're trying to raise the dead against the stream of time"

"God and the devil. . "Rei said slowly, "Good and evil… but, maybe, also…"
"Life and death." Ryu added, "And this would mean…"
"Pandora and the APTX-4869." Shiho completed.
"Exactly." Shinichi remarked, "Immortality and instant death."

FLASH

"They want something to kill, besides weapons, so they want this poison. They want something to reach immortality, so they want that gem, Pandora." he said, "My question is: what do the computer scientists got to do with this?"

A blank silence greeted his words. No one knew what to say or think of. Only Rei was lost in her thoughts and then, she got it.

"Simulations.." she said, "They probably want some certitudes that Pandora's miraculous substance works. Or maybe they're trying to find a different combination of elements that can make that substance."

FLASH

"I was in the scientific research group and was working on a chemical, medic-poison project: the APTX-4869." Shiho said quietly, "It's a poison… well, it should be the perfect poison: always efficacious, immediate operation and traceless in blood testing."
"Well, it seems like something went wrong…" he remarked, "I mean, you and Kudo are still alive and you took the poison."
"We two are a… particular case. The APTX has been used other times and it worked: all the deaths have been confirmed."

FLASH

"They knew that FBI had valiant collaborators that could find their hideout. It seemed that they had an emergency plan if one of the headquarters was found."

FLASH

"Reila Ikeda.. Very talented computer scientist: the only one that has decrypted secret information stolen by the infiltrator... Probably, main responsible of the systematic downfall of all our system's security programs and the loss of our headquarter in New York."

FLASH

"Presumed dead(?)"

FLASH

"Shiho Miyano... Sherry... Member of the scientific research group... Chemist that worked on the experimental poison's project APTX-4869..."

FLASH

"One day, nearly a month ago, a man with black trench coat, black hat and with long pale blonde hair came to the headquarter. It was the first I ever saw him there. He mainly spoke with a woman and another man: they spoke in Japanese the whole time. When he was leaving, I heard the woman say something in English, without bothering to be heard.

"The traitor and the living dead will help us reach our goal."

FLASH

"The operation will start as soon as the two subjects will be captured."

FLASH

"Nobody must recognize you, Rei: try to disguise yourself somehow. And wait till your.. ehm.. "death" is official."

FLASH

"She is a traitor and escaped from our gas chambers."

FLASH

Matt's eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fit together and a dreading thought sunk in.

"The traitor.. and.. the living.. death." he muttered, ".. will help us reach our goal... located in the suspected area... first stage... finished successfully... OH, DAMN IT!"

Chris and Lucas jumped at his sudden outburst: they turned to him and saw that he was pale. Very pale.

"Matt, what ... ? " Chris started to say in concern but he stopped her with a hand.

"Just give me a minute." he said softly. There was a worried hint in his voice and she nodded slowly.

Matt left the room and rushed to his office. He found his cell phone and dialled a number. The phone didn't even ring: it seemed to be enabled. A sense of foreboding washed through him.

"I told them to wait..." he muttered, as he dialled the number again, "Ryu.. Rei.. Shinichi.. Shiho... if you four have done something stupid, I swear that I'll kill you the moment I find you."

Once again, the phone didn't even ring. Matt quickly took a piece of paper from his wallet where he had written Shinichi's earring phone number. He dialled the number but once again there was no signal at all. Close to exasperation, Matt dialled Agase's number.

It was half past ten in Japan and he hoped Professor would be awake. His hopes went up when the phone rang but sunk down after five minutes of continuous ringing without any answer.

"Why the hell have a phone if no one answers?" he growled angrily, slamming his cell phone on his desk. He held his head with a hand, trying to calm down. Matt looked up only a few minutes later, feeling someone's stare. Chris was by the door with a concerned glint in her eyes.

"Matt, are you all right?" she asked, approaching him.

"Chris..." he said, not replying to her question, "Please, call everyone."

"Who?" she asked in confusion.

"All the people that are involved in MYSTERY. I have to talk to my father and the other inspectors. You and Lucas get all the agents. Tell them to come to the meeting's room in half an hour."

He walked to door but Chris stopped him, blocking his way.

"Why?" she asked, "Matt, what's going on?"

He stared at her.

"I'll explain everything in half an hour. Please, Chris, go and call the others. We have to leave for Japan as soon as possible. Before it's too late.."

Matt left after having said that mysterious statement, leaving a concerned and rather confused Christine at the door.

"Are you sure of what you are saying?"

"Yes, Dad.. sir."

Matt was in his father's office, talking with him and other three inspectors: Inspector Morris, Knight and Carter. The young agent had rushed in their offices saying that the events had taken a sudden and rather perilous turn. It didn't take them much to understand what he was talking of so they all met in Inspector Xanders' office.

Matt's revelations had left them speechless: if what he said was true, they couldn't waste a minute more...

Mr Xanders was standing in front of his son. He had black shining hair with small gray streaks just above his ears and dark blue eyes that were sparkling with concern at the moment. He was the only one that asked questions to the boy.

"Matt, if what you're saying is true..." he started but the boy cut him through.

"It is true!" he exclaimed, "Chris and Lucas have been working on the computers from the day we brought them here. For pure luck, one of them is connected to a computer in Japan and records all the information. I have just read the entries of the last two days!"

"Matt, calm down." Inspector Xanders ordered firmly and this actually calmed the boy who took a deep breath. The man nodded. "So, you were saying..."

"The Organisation has set up a trap and I think that they have fallen in it. They know that Rei is alive and I think that they know about the others too even though I still don't know how. But there is more: after the downfall of their headquarter they made a plan. It's just a guess for the moment, I still have to finish to read the other notes Chris and Lucas have given me, but I think they are planning to move their Japanese headquarter somewhere else."

"They must have decided to do it after having seen what has happened to the one here in New York." Inspector Morris remarked, "They want to avoid a total downfall."

"Yes, sir." Matt said with nod, "From the information we have, it seems that they have already prepared everything for the transfer and all the members have been called. They are just waiting to capture... the two subjects." The boy's eyes clouded. "However, Lucas and Chris are tracking down the other computer: we'll have their exact position as soon as they locate it."

The four men nodded and glanced at each other. Matt looked at them with slight confusion and impatience.

"Excuse me but shouldn't we...?" he started to ask but his father stopped him with a hand. This was a characteristic Matt had inherited from him.

"We have already decided." Mr Xanders said.

"What?" the boy asked in bewilderment, "But.. you didn't even talk to each other!"

"Experience, my boy." Inspector Knight said with a slight smile.

"Yes." Inspector Xanders added, "You did your work, now it's our turn." He looked at his watch. "It's one o'clock"

He turned to his colleagues.

"Scott..?" he asked, turning to Inspector Knight.

"I'll get the planes and vehicles ready." he replied and walked out of the room.

"Derek...?" he said turning to Inspector Morris.

"I'll get all the equipment." he replied and left the room.

"Jason..?" he called at last, turning to Inspector Carter.

"I'll talk to the men." he said, "Evans and Daimon must have already found them all: I'll start giving them a few explanations."

"All right, we can't waste time." Inspector Xanders remarked, " I'll start to make a plan."

Carter left, leaving Matt and his father alone.

"Have I understood well?" the boy asked, "We are..?"

"Yes, we're leaving for Japan." the man replied, "This is our chance to get the Organisation off guard: we can't waste it. And, most of all, we have to find Ryu, Reila and your other friends before it's too late."

Matt looked at his father with great respect. The man noticed it because he smiled.

"You did your share too, son." he said, "I'm very proud of you. Come on, I.. we will start to make our plan."

"We?"

"Yes, we. You, Ryu and the others have made a plan that involved Japan's police forces right? You have to fill me in. America and Japan will have to work side by side. With no mistakes."

Matt nodded and set to work with his father.

America 3 pm (1 am in Japan)

The second floor of the FBI's headquarter in New York was desert.

All the agents involved in MYSTERY had gone to the sudden meeting that had been held at one o'clock. How Chris and Lucas had managed to find nearly hundred men in half an hour was beyond anyone's comprehension but they did it.

Everyone attended the meeting: only Matt and Inspectors Xanders, Morris and Knight arrived later. Inspector Carter explained what was happening and that, due to the events, they all had to leave for Japan that very day. None of the agents protested: they knew that it would have happened. It was only a question of time after the raid that had happened a few weeks ago. The other Inspectors exposed the plan.

Knight had a few contacts at the local airport.

After a few phone calls and lots of angry yells, he had managed to get two planes ready to leave at eight o'clock. He couldn't do any better: it was that or the next day. He had also found a cargo jumbo jet that could transport forty cars. He then, called the American embassy in Japan and asked for immediate help. He said that it was an emergency and without other explanations, he set up a few orders: they had to get the permission from the Japanese airport at Tokyo for their landing and they also had to prepare fifty cars for them, ready at the airport. All this had to be done for the next morning.

The ambassador in Japan didn't even have the chance to retort...

Morris was in charge of the equipment. All FBI agents had a bullet-proof vest and a gun but he thought that it wasn't enough. He managed to get crates with a hundred automatic guns and nearly as much revolvers. In this way, every man would have two guns each. He ordered a large supply of ammunition too: nearly a hundred boxes of bullets and as many chargers. Also a large amount of silencers. The vendor, that sold him all these things and that knew the police inspector very well, jokingly asked if they were in war again considering the large amount of weapons he had bought in such a short time. Morris had smiled grimly and said that they were all necessary. He also asked the man to keep his visit secret till their next meeting. He then set out to find the rest of the equipment: transceivers, walkie-talkies and also night-visual glasses. They didn't know when they had to go in action: it could be broad day as well as night. He had to consider every possibility. During the meeting, Morris gave every man another gun along with the necessary bullets and chargers and a transceiver or a walkie-talkie. The spare equipment along with the glasses was going to be shipped on the plane and used if necessary.

At the end, Inspector Xanders exposed the first stage of their plan.

All the men, besides those who were not guarding the prisoners, had to go to the airport: since no one had to know what they were doing, they had to help load the planes with the cars and the supplies of guns and ammunition. At eight o'clock they would have left New York and gone to Tokyo where they would approximately be there around six in the morning. Once in Japan, Matt would have contacted his.. collaborators and then, they would have decided how to work with the local police forces. Chris and Lucas had also tracked the signal of the computer: it was at the bay of Tokyo.

Now they had a place. The meeting was dismissed an hour later and all the men went back home to inform their families: they didn't know when exactly they would have come back but, most of all, they had to admonish them not to say anyone of their sudden departure.

At three o'clock there wasn't anyone at the headquarter, besides Matt, Chris and Lucas. Inspector Xanders had ordered them to keep out of the works and to be at the airport around seven o'clock. They had their own work to do.

Chris and Lucas were decrypting the other computers at full speed: it was a miracle if the keyboards of their computers were not fuming. Matt, on the other hand, was reading all the information they systematically printed: he had to know as much he could. The room was relatively quite: besides the typing, the only audible sound came from the two printers. Matt had written a concise but detailed report on the Organisation from it's first activities to their most recent ones. He had just added the information he had read today.

As they had planned months ago, Shinichi had to contact Inspector Megure and Heiji Hattori who would have called his father to help FBI. Matt had planned to give the reports to the men as a surplus sure that Shinichi would have talked with them before but, now that he wasn't even sure where the young detective was, he might have to give the explanations instead.

Three hours later, the three agents finished their work.

"I can't believe it." Lucas said, turning his computer off, "We decrypted the files of four computers."

"Don't I know.." Chris said stretching.

Matt opened his briefcase and put in five copies of the report along with the notebook that he had started to read this morning: it had all the information concerning the Organisation's activities during the past week and he wanted to read it on the plane. Maybe, he could find some more hints. He shut the briefcase close and looked up.

"We've got to go." he said, "We have to be at the airport in an hour."

"It seems that we've just got the time to go home, get ready and leave." Lucas remarked, "Well, see you later guys. I've got to hurry up."

"Oh, yes. You live far from here..." Chris stated, "Will you make it in time to the airport?"

"I've got my scooter." he reassured her, "Bye, see you later."

"Bye." the other two said as he left. They gathered their things and Matt noticed something.

"Why are you taking that laptop?" he asked, pointing to the small computer that she was putting in her bag.

"I'll take it with me." Chris replied, "I can't use it on the plane but, once we land I can check if there are new entries."

"Great idea." he remarked, "Anyway, how are you going home?"

"Good point.." she said, "I think I'll call home and then go straight to the airport."

"Without seeing your parents?"

"What can I do? My car's in repair and, knowing how much time I'd be stuck in traffic if I take a bus, I don't have other choice, do I?"

Matt stared at her. He took her jacket and tossed it to her.

"What the..?" she exclaimed, catching it.

"Come on, I'll drop you home." he remarked, "I've got my motorbike and, fortunately, even a spare helmet."

"Matt, thanks but.."

"No, buts. I'm sure your parents would like to see you before you leave. They would only be dead worried if you only give them a phone call."

Chris put on her jacket and looked at him curiously.

"You're talking of Ryu, right?" she asked. The boy nodded.

"When he infiltrated in the Organisation, my mother was always anxious for him. She definitely panicked when he disappeared. Dad and I were worried too. Believe me, you wouldn't want your parents to feel like that, too."

"All right, thanks Matt." she said. Her eyes softened and she approached him, kissing lightly on the cheek. Matt blushed.

"It's the first time I've ever seen you blush." she said with a smirk.

"Oh, really?" he muttered, still red. He put his jacket on and took his briefcase. "Let's go."

They left after having locked the door.

Shinichi, Shiho, Ryu and Rei got up earlier than usual.

It was only half past five but they had already washed and dressed in normal day clothes: they had decided to skip school. Finding the Organisation's headquarter was more important. They quickly had breakfast and went to the studio.

Ryu walked to the desk he shared with Shinichi, followed by the other three.

A metallic object with something like a plastic-glass panel on the front, was on top of it: it was the size of a laptop. It was Ryu's radar and vaguely looked like a small LCD monitored television put upside down. He quickly plugged all the cables and wires and waited for it to work. Shinichi and the girls stayed in silence.

The monitor was turned on: a white grill with rather large boxes appeared on a black background. At the four sides there were arrows showing the polar points. On the top were the coordinates of longitude and latitude. Suddenly, four bright yellow points appeared on the center of the screen.

"We are these points." Ryu explained, "The radar is still set up low: the range is only a hundred of meters."

"What's it's maximum range?" Rei asked.

"50 kilometers." he replied, "I couldn't do any better with the parts I found."

"That's more than half of the city." Shinichi said thoughtfully.

"Without considering the suburbs and the towns immediately out of Tokyo." Shiho remarked.

"You've got a point, Shiho." Ryu stated, "We have to hope the other device's signal is inside the radar's range starting from the house."

"Otherwise?" Shinichi asked.

"Otherwise, we'll have to see what to do." the other boy replied, "Let's see now."

Ryu pressed a hidden button on the bottom of the radar's edge and a quiet 'click' could be heard as a touch pad came out. He put his finger on it and gently tapped it. The screen changed: the boxes became smaller along with the points at the center.

"10... 20... 30.." he muttered, "40... 45... 50.. Damn it. He isn't in."

Disappointment could be clearly seen on their faces.

"So, what do we do?" Rei asked after a while, "I don't think we'll give up."

"No." Ryu said firmly, "We'll have to find him."

"How?" Shinichi asked, "Wait a minute.. you want to go back there?"

"Right. We'll start from the last place we've seen Vodka." the blonde replied.

"What about the radar?" Shiho asked, "You can't bring it with us."

"You could use our computers." Rei suggested before Ryu could reply, "The ones Agase gave us. Didn't you say that the radar could be linked to a laptop or computer?"

"Good idea.. and we could use our glasses." Ryu said, "Bring them to me."

Rei and Shiho left the room and came back a few minutes later with the two computer big as a wallet. They handed them to Ryu who set to work immediately.

"There isn't a lot of space.." he said, "I'll just put a connecting program: in this way, if I leave the radar on, the computers can link to it freely but you can still use them for other reasons."

"What about the range?" Rei asked.

"The radar's origin will change with our movements." Ryu replied, "But it's lower than the original radar: 25 kilometers, I think."

He handed them back to the girls and got up. The four looked at each other: they knew what was going to happen. Ryu was the first to speak.

"Before deciding anything.." he started with a serious face, "We have to make a choice: it's individual and no one must be or feel forced to do something he or she doesn't want to do." The others nodded in agreement and he went on. "All right. So, anyone wants to give up? It's now or never: there isn't another chance. If we start to plan something from now on, we have to be sure of ourselves and of the others: otherwise, we're just throwing our lives away. Sincerely, anyone wants to give up?"

Silence greeted his words. Ryu looked at the others' eyes one by one.

"Rei?"

"No, I'm not giving up." she said firmly, "It's more than a year that I'm working to do this and I'm not leaving now. I even feigned my death to do it!"

She was sincere: Ryu could see it. He turned to the next one.

"Shiho?"

"I'm not giving up." she said, "At the beginning, it could have been vengeance but now, I want to bring them down also for my past wrongs."

Her tone was so firm that Ryu didn't even have to doubt.

"Shinichi?"

He didn't answer immediately but Ryu could understand: among the three, he was the one that was hurt least. He had been shrunken and had suffered, he admitted it, but he hadn't lost everything like Rei, Shiho and he did. If he gave up, they would have understood. At last, Shinichi looked up and shook his head.

"No, I'm not giving up." he asserted, "It's not only for what they've done to me but for what they've been able to do till now. I will stop them."

Ryu smiled despite the moment. Shinichi was like that: the honest and sometimes naive detective that always followed the rules of justice. He had that determined sparkle in his eyes and Ryu nodded.

"What about you?" Rei asked, "What have you decided?"

Ryu looked at her.

"I'm not giving up." he said, "I've worked the plan at the very beginning with Matt and got all of you involved.. I'm not leaving even if what we're heading for could also be a trap."

They looked at each other again and nodded as though they had made a silent deal.

"So, what do we do?" Shinichi asked in a business-like tone.

"The faster we work, the better it will be." Ryu replied, "First of all, we need a car."

"We have to rent one." Rei said.

"Yes and then, we have to get prepared... I think you understand what I mean." he remarked.

"We have to take the guns and the necessary equipment." Shiho said quietly.

"We can only take the essential though." Shinichi stated, "I don't think we can take a bag pack or something."

"No, we can't." Ryu agreed, "Just the necessary things."

"Who will go to take the car?" Shiho asked.

"I will." the boy replied, "Rei, you exposed yourself yesterday while, Shiho, Shinichi, you don't have a driving licence to show when you'll fill the rental form."

The others couldn't retort.

"I'll go right away." Ryu said, "You three start to prepare yourselves."

"What about you?" Shinichi asked, as Ryu headed to the door.

"I know what to bring. I'll take them when I come back."

Fifteen minutes later, an old dark blue car was parked in front of the Kudos house: Ryu couldn't find anything better. Inside, the preparations were finished.

The four teenagers were in the studio.

Ryu was wearing black jeans, a gray shirt with a white t-shirt under it, dark trainers and his leather jacket with the bullet-proof vest sewn in. He had decided to take his two guns, the automatic and the revolver with two chargers and a fistful of bullets. He put all these things in his jackets inner pockets. He wore his glasses with transceiver and radar built-in.

Rei was wearing blue jeans, a white blouse, her denim bullet-proof vest, dark trainers and her black leather jacket. She had taken her automatic and two chargers and put it in her jacket pockets along with her small computer and her x-ray sunglasses.

Shiho wore blue jeans, a white blouse over a black long sleeves turtleneck, dark trainers and her leather jacket. She took her automatic with two chargers and put them in her pockets with her computer and her earring phone. She also wore her flash light watch.

Shinichi wore blue jeans, a white shirt with a blue one over it, dark trainers and a leather jacket. He put his automatic and two chargers in the inner pocket. He had decided to take his old glasses with transceiver and radar built-in, the bow-tie and was wearing his old stun-gun watch. He had brought a few spare hypodermic needles and pinned them on a side of his jacket. He would have also taken his earring phone but they battery was low since yesterday and he didn't have time to charge it.

To finish, the four were wearing baseball caps: it wasn't much as a disguise but it was better than nothing.

"Ok." Shinichi said, "We can go."

"All right." Ryu remarked, holding the car keys.

Rei took out her computer.

"Off we go to find Vodka." she said.

"And the rest of the Organisation." Shiho added.

They left a few minutes later. Six o'clock.

Ironically, Matt and FBI were landing at the airport of Tokyo at the very same time...

"Kaito.. wake up."

"In a minute, Mum."

"No, wake up.. come on."

"Mum, it takes me five minutes to get dressed. Give me another few more minutes..."

"I know, honey, but there is one of your friends on the phone."

Blue orbs opened slowly and Kaito Kuroba sat up groggily, staring at his mother with sleepy eyes.

"What?" he asked.

Kasumi Kuroba looked at her son with amusement. He just sat there on his bed, with his hair more ruffled than usual and a rather dazed expression.

"There's someone on the phone for you." she said, "And I thinks it's urgent."

"All right." he replied and reluctantly got up. He looked at the time. It was only ten past six!

'Who is the insane person that calls me at this time?' he wondered, going to the phone table. His mother smiled slightly seeing his face and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"If it's Aoko, I swear I'll..." he muttered, "Maybe, it's Hakuba with another of his accuses, saying that I am Phantom Thief Kid..." A smirk appeared on his face. "But I'll kill him if it's him.."

He took the receiver, stifling a yawn.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Kid, Ford speaking."

The boy's attitude changed immediately.

Kaito changed from drowsy and sleepy eyed to alert and fully awake. Matt had never called him since he had entered MYSTERY: he had only talked to Kudo when he gave constant news about the events at Tokyo's principal police station.

"What's up?" he asked, "Something wrong?"

"You can't even immagine it... Listen, I'm at Tokyo now and there are more than hundred FBI agents with me."

"What?" Kaito exclaimed in surprise, "Why?"

"I can't explain everything now but.. well.. I found out that the Organisation might know of Ellery, Christie, Conan and Ai."

"What?"

"Yes but that's just the beginning: the Organisation's going to move its headquarter to another site. That's why we are here: we have to stop them before they get away."

"What should I do?"

"You have to go to the police station again and check if the Chief Inspector Koji Koizumi is still there. He's one of the leaders and he might try to go away or do something. You also have to check if the imprisoned member is still there."

"Ok, when?"

"When? NOW!"

"O..ok! Calm down." Kaito sweat dropped.

"Kid, you also have to do me a great favour."

"Sure, tell me."

"I tried to call the others but the phone's enabled. It's the same with Conan's cell phone and Professor doesn't answer."

"But.. I talked to them less than a week ago!"

"Listen, I don't know what has happened but I'm afraid for them. The Organisation seems to know too much about them: I think that they've set up a trap and those four have fallen in it. I can't go now because I'm stuck at the airport."

"What must I do?"

"After you did your work, go to their place and check if someone's there."

"Ok."

"If no one's there, you have to do another thing." Matt said.

Kaito listened for five whole minutes without saying a word and at the end, he nodded. "All right." he said.

"Kid, one last thing, you live with your mother, right?"

"Yes but what's this got to do with her?" Kaito asked sharply.

"Leave her in a safe place with someone you trust. I read a few recent files and the Organisation's got a few suspects on Phantom Thief's identity. You are on that list, too."

"Oh, God..."

"They are only suspects for now but it's better to be cautious."

"Thanks, Ford. I'll take care of her security."

"Ok. We'll meet... where will we meet?"

Kaito thought it over and suggested a place.

"Ok. Bye Kid. Good luck and see you later."

"See you later."

Kaito put down the phone.

'Where can I leave Mum?' he thought, 'Maybe... yes.. it's the only place. But how can I take her there without suspicions?'

"Kaito?"

The young boy turned with a start, facing his mother.

"Mum!" he said in tone that was mingled with shock and surprise, "What...? When did you come?"

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Kaito didn't answer immediately. He hated lying to his mother. He had often thought of telling her the truth about him... Kid, but this wasn't the moment.

"Mum, can I ask you a favour?" he asked.

"Of course." she replied, slightly taken aback.

"Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies."

"Kaito, what do you mean?"

"Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies." the boy repeated. The woman didn't say anything, seeing his serious face. "I've got to help a few friends. They might be in trouble and I want to help them. Mum, can you stay at Aoko's house for a few days?"

"What about you?" she asked fearing for him.

"I'll be back, Mum. As soon as I help my friends." he replied, "But I've got to go soon. Why don't you prepare yourself? I'll get dressed too. But first I'll call Aoko."

"All right." Mrs Kuroba went upstairs to get ready.

As she walked up the steps she thought that it was the second time she had ever seen Kaito so serious: the first time, it had been at her husband's funeral. Since then, her son had been carefree and joyful, trying to hide his pain for his father's loss.

He always cheered her up when she felt down, doing one of the magical tricks his father had thought him and that he had bettered with time.

Suddenly, she had a flash of a newspaper's heading: "Phantom Thief Kid appears again!"

Mrs Kuroba sighed and went in her room.

Kaito rang the Nakamori's doorbell.

He had talked with Mrs Nakamori on the phone since Aoko was still asleep and had made up a excuse to allow his mother stay at there house for a day or two. Something like a sudden magical tournament he had to attend: Kaito wasn't very confident but Mrs Nakamori believed him. She said that she would be delighted to have his mother at her house: they were good friends since the day he and Aoko had met.

The door opened and a girl, still in her pyjamas, appeared. She had shoulder length dark brown hair, blue eyes and a rather annoyed look on her face.

"Kaito!" she exclaimed, "It's only half past six! What's so importa...?"

"Didn't your mother tell you anything?" the boy asked, cutting through her sentence.

"Well, she woke me up and said that you were coming. I think she told me something else too.. but I was still half asleep and didn't understand much."

"Just like Kaito." Mrs Kuroba said with a smile.

Aoko looked at her and turned red: she hadn't seen her.

"Oh.. Mrs. Kuroba!" she said, "Hello."

"Good morning, Aoko." the woman replied.

"Well, Mum will explain you then." Kaito said. He looked at her and smirked. "Nice pyjamas."

Aoko blushed and ran back inside the house. Mrs Kuroba looked at him sternly but he raised his hands with a look that 'I was only joking.'

"Bye, Mum." he said, "I'll be back soon."

Mrs Kuroba looked at him and gave him a hug. Kaito accepted it hugging her back.

"Be careful, all right?" she whispered, "Don't underestimate your enemies and don't do the mistake to overestimate your tricks." As they parted, the boy looked confused but the woman just smiled. "Go."

He nodded and walked away. As he disappeared from sight, a single tear rolled down her cheek but she hastily wiped it.

'He will come back..' she told herself, 'Toichi will be by his side..'

As for Kaito, while he walked away from Aoko's house, he kept thinking of his mother's words. Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind: could she know..?

He shook his head: he didn't have time to think of it now. He had work to do.

Five minutes later, a police car was parked at the back of Tokyo's principal police station. Kaito was at the driver's seat... but nobody could have recognised him: he was disguised as a policeman and was wearing a mask. He looked at the rear view mirror and adjusted his cap.

"Yamato Kobe. 28 years old. Born in Tokyo on the 6/02/1977." he recited and smirked, turning to the back seats. A man was there: asleep, half naked, handcuffed and gagged.

"I'll borrow your face and identity for a while. Sorry, mate."

He got out of the car and headed to the station. He saluted an inspector and a few other agents and then, unseen to the guards, he went to the prisons. Kaito had decided to see the prisoner first and then check the chief Inspector.

He went towards the man's jail as he felt his insides seething with rage, like all the times he had been there. That man was responsible of his father's death.

He walked along a corridor: there weren't inferred cameras, so he proceeded rather calmly. His calm turned into panic when he reached the jail.

The prisoner was on the ground, his back leaning on the wall. But the thing that startled Kaito most was the growing red mark on his chest: the man had been shot at the heart and must have died immediately. But the fact that the blood stain was still increasing, meant that he had been shot recently. A dreadful thought past through his mind.

Kaito left the prisons immediately in the same way he reached them and after having calmed down, he approached one of the agent that were by guard.

"Hello." he said with a salute, "Did you see Chief Inspector Koizumi?"

"Yes, he was here ten minutes ago." the man replied, "He checked the man imprisoned in jail 3 and left shortly after."

Kaito had to use all his ability to keep a neutral face despite the horror and shock he was feeling as the truth sank in: the Inspector, the leader, had murdered the member.

He thanked the guard and left the station. He headed towards Kudo's house: the recent events and Matt's words made him hurry up.

He hoped that his four friends were ok.

"Well, here we are."

"Check the radar."

Shiho and Rei took the small computers out of their jacket pockets and checked the radar just like Shinichi had said.

"No, nothing.." Shiho said, "He's not in the surrounding 25 kilometres."

"Well, it was expected." Ryu remarked, "We're hardly a kilometer away from our house. Rei, Vodka didn't leave while you were nearby, did he?"

"No. The car didn't move." she replied, "I checked to see if he was following me."

"We could go on this street." Shinichi suggested, "Vodka must have gone straight."

"How do you know?" Ryu asked, turning around from the driver's seat.

"Yes, he could have turned and gone back." Shiho remarked, looking at him.

"No." Rei retorted, "He's right."

The two blondes looked at her questioningly but it was Shinichi that replied.

"If we go straight, we'll come to a main road that leads out of to the suburbs and next towns." he explained, "If we go back, we'll only go to the city center."

"And considering that we are looking for their headquarter..." Rei added but she didn't have to say more. Ryu nodded and turned the car on and drove straight on. Shiho opened the computer, checking the radar. Rei did the same from the front seat.

The car went on steadily till the the main road but there wasn't any signal yet. After having made a decision, they followed the road. After 10 kilometers, Rei and Shiho yelled suddenly, startling Shinichi, who jumped, and Ryu, who nearly collided with a car next to them.

"Why the heck did you do that?" Ryu asked, keeping the car on it's line.

"A signal." Rei said shortly.

"It just appeared on the screen." Shiho added.

"Where?" Shinichi asked, peering at her computer's screen.

"North-east but it's far from where we are." she replied, pointing to a small bright yellow dot right at the top of the screen.

"Well, we'll reach it." Ryu said firmly and sped off.

The signal was not moving but it was getting closer very slowly: after another 10 kilometers, there was still a good distance between them. At this point, they came to a fork.

"Which way?" Ryu asked, "Bay of Tokyo or to the suburbs? Left or right?"

"Right." the girls replied together.

Ryu nodded and turned to the right.

None of them knew what they were going against, as they chose that direction...

It was seven o'clock and Matt was getting impatient.

The plane had landed at six o'clock and they had already wasted sixty precious minutes. The embassy had done it's work: they had landed without problems and the cars were there but they were having a few problems with the luggage they had brought from America. There were many planes at the airport and many had to fly and just as many had to land: there wasn't enough space, so the operations of unloading were going on very slowly.

Matt, Lucas and Chris were not taking part at the unloading activity: they were waiting inside the airport along with Inspectors Xanders and Knight. Matt was getting more and more irritated as the minutes passed. Only fifteen cars had been already taken out: the weapons and the other cars were still inside.

"Dad, we can't waste time in this way." Matt said, turning to his father, "While we are here, the others could be in danger. And the Organisation could have already started it's moving operation."

The man didn't reply: he looked out of the window thoughtfully. The boy was going to repeat his question, thinking that his father hadn't heard him but he stopped. Mr Xanders took out his walkie-talkie and turned it on.

-Derek?- he called.

A few seconds later, Inspector Morris answered.

-Mark? What's wrong?-

-How are the things going there?-

-Damn slowly. It will take another hour or even two.-

Mr Xanders thought this over, as though deciding what to do.

-Derek, send five men here. I have a work for them.-

-All right. They will be there in a minute.-

The call finished and Mr Xanders looked up. Matt was going to ask something but he shot him a look that plainly said 'You will see in a minute'.

Five men came a few minutes later and saluted Inspectors Xanders and Knight. Matt smiled slightly as the nodded at him. He knew them pretty well: they had been in his Dad's squad for many years.

Mr Xanders looked at them.

"Adrians, Brown, Jones, Spencer, Tyler, you will go with my son and check if our collaborators are fine and contact the local police forces." he ordered, "Scott, you will have to go too: as an inspector, you will give Matt's story more credibility. Evans, Daimon, you will go as well."

Inspector Knight nodded while Chris, Lucas and the other agents said: "Yes, sir."

At the end, the man turned to Matt.

"You are in charge of the whole operation." he said and the boy's eyes widened and the inspector smiled slightly. "I don't think anyone has something to say about it, right?"

None of the agents retorted and, neither did Inspector Knight. They all turned to Matt and saluted, waiting for orders. A small smile flickered on their faces as they saw thin red lines on the boy's face. Matt was torn between pride and embarrassment: he was proud because his father trusted him enough to be in charge of a part of the plan but he was also embarrassed because he had to give orders to men that had years of experience in FBI. Many of them had taught him and given him advice and now, he had to give them orders?

"I'll call you the moment we finish here." Inspector Xanders said to him, "In the meanwhile, you must find out what happened to Ryu and the others and contacted the Japanese police. When we'll see each other, we'll decide what to do."

"Yes, D.. sir." Matt replied. The man smiled and walked away. The boy turned around and faced his colleagues: he still felt a bit awkward but he quickly recovered. It was a quarter past seven: there wasn't time to waste.

"All right, we'll take three cars." he said, "Inspector Knight, Chris, Lucas and I will be in one, Spencer and Tyler in the second and Adrians, Brown and Jones in the last one. First, we'll get to Tokyo's center then, I'll tell you what to do."

The men nodded and they all walked to the airport's entrance, heading to the cars. Inspector Knight smiled as a thought passed through his mind.

'Just like his father...'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It was nearly a quarter to eight and Ran was hurrying because she was going to be late for school. She had accidentally turned off her alarm clock and had woken up at half past seven. She mentally groaned when she realised that she should have heard Sonoko's lecture for being late: her friend always met half way from school and she didn't like waiting... even though she was always late and made the others wait for her.

Kogoroh Mouri appeared in the living room, yawning his head off and his hair still ruffled. He had got up only because Ran had told him so and had threatened to leave him without breakfast if he didn't. At this point, the 'famous Sleeping Detective' had hastily got up and dressed. Now he was sitting in the kitchen, wearing his usual grey trousers and white shirt with a half undid tie.

Ran looked at him and smiled, sighing inwardly as she served him his breakfast.

Her father had been called for many cases in the past months but she noticed that he didn't seem able to solve them with the same brilliance he had shown before. The number of calls asking for his help were slowly decreasing.. She had supposed that he was only tired: he had been working restlessly all over Japan for nearly an year, after all. However, she did also notice that her father's lack of ability coincided with Conan's departure.

'Maybe, Conan-kun was his lucky charm when he had to solve cases..' she thought and hid a smile as she imagined what her father would have said if she told him this.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. The two Mouris looked at each other.

"Dad, do you expect someone?" Ran asked, taking off the apron from her school uniform.

"No, no one called." he replied but his face brightened, "Maybe it's a customer."

"I'll go and see." the girl said and went to door and opened it.

A man with black hair and dark eyes, wearing an orange jacket, white shirt, green tie and a orange hat, a young man with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, wearing a grey suit, a light blue shirt and a blue tie and a young woman with short dark brown hair and amethyst eyes that wore a a light green skirt and coat over a purple top were standing at the door.

"Good morning, Ran." the first man said with a slight smile.

"Inspector Megure, Detective Takagi, Detective Satou. Good morning to you." the girl greeted, letting them in. She closed the door and called her father. Kogoroh came out of the kitchen, drinking his coffee and greeted his inspector friend jovially and told him and the two detectives to sit down.

"So, what brings you here?" Kogoroh asked, as Ran, despite the time, served the three guests a cup of coffee.

Megure arched an eyebrow.

"You should tell me since you you called." he remarked.

Kogoroh looked at him blankly.

"I didn't call you." he said.

Sato and Takagi looked at each other while Inspector Megure insisted.

"Are you joking?" he asked, "You called me at half past seven telling to come here as soon as possible. Takagi and Satou were there too so I brought them with me."

The two detectives nodded but Kogoroh still had a blank look.

"Inspector, that's impossible." Ran pitched in, "Dad got up hardly ten minutes ago: I woke him up. He couldn't have called you at half past seven: I got up at that time and he was fast asleep."

The three police officers had a blank look now.

The doorbell rang again, startling them. Ran looked at the time: it was eight o'clock. She groaned inwardly as she realised that she was late.

"I'll go and open." she said, "Dad, you'll have to sign a permission slip since I'm late."

Kogoroh mumbled a reply as the girl headed to door.

"What are you doing here?" Ran asked in surprise as she opened the door, recognising the two people in front of her. Her father and the three policemen turned around.

Standing by the door were none other but the Great Detective of the West and his childhood friend: they looked a bit tired but Heiji looked definitely annoyed.

"Hi, Ran." the other girl said while the boy gave her a small nod. Ran smiled and let them in wondering what was going on that morning.

The two Osaka teens greeted Kogoroh and Inspector Megure and were introduced to Satou and Takagi. When they settled down, Heiji looked around and then turned to Ran.

"Well, where is he?" he asked.

"Where is... who?" she asked in confusion.

"Kudo." Heiji replied impatiently, "He told me to come here."

At this point, everyone, except Kazuha, stared at the boy. Inspector Megure got up and faced the boy.

"Hattori-kun, would you mind to explain better?" he asked. The boy nodded.

"I got a phone call this morning at a quarter to seven. It was Kudo and he said to come urgently to Tokyo and come here at the Mouri's agency." he said, "Without even giving an explanation or giving me time to say anything."

Megure nodded and told him that they were there for a similar reason. Ran turned to Kazuha.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Heiji wanted to get to Tokyo as soon as possible and he called my father: he had to come to Tokyo for a work, so he said that it wasn't a problem. I will never go with them by car again: we covered the distance between Osaka and Tokyo in an hour. There wasn't any traffic but Dad put the car's sirens on, so we literally flied here and all because Heiji said that it was very urgent."

"All right, but why are you here?" Ran asked again, "Were you worried for Heiji-kun?"

Kazuha blushed.

"Why should I worry for him?" she mumbled.

Ran smiled as the Osaka girl looked at the boy. Heiji didn't notice her stare because he was lost in his thoughts: he had been expecting a call from Shinichi but, according to their plans, he should have explained him what to do. Instead, on the phone, he only told him to come to Tokyo as soon as possible. Yes but, was it really Shinichi?

'Someone with Mouri-san's voice called Inspector Megure while someone with Kudo's voice called me..' he thought, 'And told us to come here at the agency.. It could be really Kudo: he's got that voice changing bow-tie but... why here? Why here at the Mouris and not at his place? And most of all.. where is he?'

Another dozen of questions flooded his mind while Inspector Megure and Kogoroh were discussing about who could have called using the detective's voice. Satou and Takagi often pitched in the discussion while Kazuha and Ran, who seemed to have forgotten school, stayed silent in a corner.

"I can answer your questions if you want."

The seven people in the living room hushed and looked around for the speaker but there wasn't anyone else in the room. All of a sudden, one of the glass panels behind Kogoroh's desk loosened and fell inside but instead of shattering into pieces, it fell into a crumpled pile. The panel had been removed and a transparent sheet had been put there at it's place. No one had noticed the difference.

Before anybody could move, a white cloud appeared near the window and a figure could be seen. Very slowly, the white disappeared and the figure was visible.

A young man was standing behind the desk: he was wearing a silvery-white suit with a white cloak and a white top hat. A single lens covered his right eye and a haughty smirk was plastered on his face.

Satou was the first to react at the sight of the famous thief followed by Takagi and Megure. They drew out their guns but Kid was faster: he was holding his special card-shooting gun. The three policemen were disarmed in a flash as three aces got stuck to the wall and their weapons fell to the ground. Kid then shot two cards to Heiji and Kogoroh, who were moving towards him. The two jumped back as the cards stuck to ground as though they were knives.

"I am not here to harm anybody. So, please, don't try to harm me." Kid said, "I see that you're all here.. Good..."

"So, it was you that called us?" Heiji remarked, "What do you want?"

"I.. well, we need your help." the other boy replied.

"Why should we help a thief or his friends?" Satou asked harshly. She wanted to pick her gun but Kid seemed to read her mind.

"I wouldn't do that, Satou-san." he stated showing his gun to her, "I told you, I'm not here to do any harm. By the way, the help I'm asking is not for me but for some common friends we have."

"Common friends?" Takagi repeated.

"Whatever. Why don't you give us a few answers then?" Heiji said, "Why are we here?"

Kid didn't reply: he looked behind his shoulder, glancing down at the street. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Well, why don't you answer?" Kogoroh asked loudly, "Why did you tell everyone here at my house?"

"It was the first place that came into my mind.." Kid said with a shrug, turning to him. The detective seemed to be fuming with rage but Ran stepped in.

"When did you come here?" she asked, surprising herself to have the nerves to talk with a famous thief, "When did you change the window?"

Kid's eyes sparkled as he lowered his hat on his face.

"Sorry but that's a secret that belongs to my vast arsenal of tricks and surprises." he answered, "By the way, Ran-san?"

"Y..yes?" the girl said, wondering how he knew her name.

"You should open the door."

"What? But no on..." Ran's words trailed off as the door bell rang for the third time. She was going to the door but Heiji stopped her.

"It could be a trap." he said firmly. Kogoroh and Megure nodded in agreement. However, Takagi and Satou looked perplexed: why should Kid lie?

The young magician sighed.

"Hattori-san, if I wanted to pull you all in a trap, I would have done it better and, surely, I wouldn't have shown myself." he remarked.

"How can we be sure we can trust you?" Megure retorted.

"I swear on my honour that who's at the door will only explain you everything." he replied.

Kogoroh, Megure and Heiji were still doubtful.

"I will open." Satou said and she walked to the door before anyone could stop her. She opened it and three strangers were there: two boys and a girl.

A boy had black hair and gray eyes, he was wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and a brown leather jacket; the other one had black hair but bright green eyes, he wore black trousers, a white shirt and a black jacket; the girl had long brown hair and hazel eyes, she was wearing black trousers, a light blue sweater and a blue jacket. She was also carrying a laptop bag.

"Is this Mouri's Detective Agency?" the green-eyed boy asked.

Satou nodded and let them in but she had the feeling that she had seen that boy before. Ran had the same sense of recognition too. The three strangers were greeted with stares and a rather embarrassing silence but they didn't bother to it. The boy that talked looked around and his serious face broke into a small smile when he saw the white-dressed boy standing by the window.

"Kid." he said, approaching him.

"Hi, Ford." the thief replied with a smile.

"Tell me that you have found them."

Kid shook his head and Matt cursed under his breath. Chris and Lucas looked at him and he immediately made the introductions.

"Chris, Luc, he's Phantom Thief Kid. He works with us, too. Kid, these are my two friends and colleagues: Christine Evans and Lucas Daimon."

In the meanwhile, the others were looking at the three new comers with an expression that was torn between confusion and bewilderment.

One because the three spoke a fluent American English but most of all, because they treated Kid as an old friend.

Heiji was the first to speak up.

"Who are you?" he asked but no one replied. Matt, Chris, Lucas and Kaito were busy talking to each other in hushed tones. Kaito was telling who the others were and what he had found out that morning. Kogoroh coughed impatiently and this made them turn around.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked loudly.

"Sorry to be rude, but just who are you?" Matt asked in Japanese.

"I am the famous detective, Kogoroh Mouri." he replied boastfully.

The boy stared at him.

"Never heard before." he said. Kogoroh looked as though he was going to explode.

"YOU! HOW DO YOU DARE..?" he roared but Matt silenced him with an incinerating stare.

"We are here to talk with Inspector Megure and Heiji Hattori." he remarked.

"I am Megure." Inspector said, stepping forward, "But first tell me, who are you?"

Matt nodded and whispered something to Chris and Lucas as he put his hand in his jacket pocket.

"Matt Xanders, FBI." he said, showing his badge, "These are my colleagues Christine Evans and Lucas Daimon." Chris and Lucas nodded at them.

Heiji shot his head up the moment he heard 'FBI'.

"What happened?" he asked, "Where's Kudo?"

"I suppose you are Heiji Hattori." Matt stated, looking at him, "As for Shinichi... well, frankly, I don't know where he is. Kid checked his house and.."

"Kid? What's he got to do with this?" the Osaka teen asked in disbelief, "He's a criminal! How can you..?"

"Cut it out." Matt said shortly.

"But Hattori-kun's right." Inspector Megure pitched in, "I don't think you know but Kid is a thief. How can you trust him?"

Matt growled under his breath as he heard this.

"Listen, all of you." he said in a deadly calm voice, "I haven't come here from America to hear you ramble. Kid's a thief? Well, who the hell cares? He's helping me and my friends." The ones in front of him looked rather startled but didn't say anything: the boy's eyes were flaming. "I'm saying this only once: leave Kid alone. He's under FBI protection for this whole operation and if you don't believe a simple agent like me, you can ask the inspector that is waiting down in the car."

No one retorted.

"Why didn't the Inspector come here?" Takagi asked unexpectedly.

"I'm the only one that knows Japanese." Matt said, "Anyway, that's not important now: we don't have time to waste. Inspector Megure, Hattori, I hope you can understand English because I will only give a short explanation now."

He turned around to Chris.

"Give me the reports." he said and she opened her laptop bag and handed them to him. Matt gave two to Heiji and three to Megure. The Osaka detective opened one and read it while Satou and Kogoroh took the report Megure handed them: Kogoroh didn't even try to read it since it was in English. Megure understood a few things but Satou knew English pretty well and read it. Takagi read a bit of it, too.

"Can you give us an explanation, now?" Inspector Megure asked, "Why are we here?"

"Sure." Matt said with a nod, "More than a year ago, an operation to track down a large criminal organisation that works in America and Japan has been started. This group is called the Black Organisation. It's involved in all kinds of activities: thefts, receiving of stolen properties, corruption, murders and lots of other things. If you want some details of these activities, you can read the report."

"He's right." Satou remarked, flipping through the pages, "There are lists of criminal activities here and they started more than thirty years ago!"

"That's only a summary." Matt said, "The list is much longer: we'll give you the full account later. Anyway, going on, we managed to infiltrate an agent in the Organisation and he brought out material. It was mainly encrypted computer files but, fortunately, one of our agents is a brilliant computer scientist and managed to work them out, allowing us to have the information you are now reading. At the beginning, the ones involved in this plan were the infiltrated agent, the computer scientist, me and my father, who is a chief Inspector in FBI. Unfortunately, our plan went wrong more or less eight months ago.

The infiltrator had been discovered but instead of killing him immediately, they played with him to find out who else was working with him: our computer scientist was discovered in this way. Coming to the point, the Organisation wanted them dead and they tried to get them. The infiltrated agent had to leave America secretly not only because his life was in danger but also because the Organisation had provided elements to make him seem a traitor. The computer scientist was in danger too: I suggested her to leave America and look for our colleague. To do so, she had to feign her death. They left America in two different moments but, fortunately, they met each other here in Beika, nearly five months ago. Our scientist had come here to seek the help of an old friend of hers.

A young detective you know well: Shinichi Kudo."

"Kudo-kun is involved?" Megure asked in shock. Ran's eyes widened too. Matt went on.

"For a rather curious coincidence, Shinichi had met the Black Organisation too. He witnessed one of their activities and was fed a poison: it didn't work, though, so he decided to hide in the shadows, stalling for time. Shortly after, he came across a girl that had betrayed the Organisation and that asked his aid. They set to work together, trying to find out what they could of the Organisation. When my two friends showed up, the four of them worked together and.. well, they found out everything. At this point, however, we had to be cautious: we had to bring the Organisation down without letting them have suspicions. I was in charge of this part of the plan: I had to verify if all the criminal activities had really happened and stop with the aid of FBI. We asked Kid to join in this particular moment: he could use his amazing disguising ability to keep an eye on the member imprisoned here at Tokyo. In the meanwhile, my four friends had to wait: they were the ones that risked most, so I asked them to stay here in the shadows. Anyway, with the information they had collected and worked out, FBI has raided the Organisation's headquarter in America a few weeks ago."

"The deputy and the financial magnate.." Heiji remarked, remembering the news, "They were involved..."

"Yes, they were two of the leaders." Matt answered, "At this point, we had to hurry up to find the other headquarter: the Organisation was aware that we were looking for them, so we took all the material we could find in the raided headquarter and set to work. My friends Christine and Lucas did it. The work was going on quite slowly but, casually yesterday, we came across some startling information."

Matt stopped to catch breath and to find the right words. The room was silent: his story was shocking.

"Please, look at the last page of the report." the boy said, "That's the most recent piece of information we have and it's also the reason that brought us here to Tokyo so suddenly."

With mild curiosity and some trepidation, Heiji flipped through the pages as Kazuha and Ran approached him. Kogoroh, Inspector Megure approached Takagi and Satou as they read a report. Suddenly one of the notebooks floated in air and headed towards Kid. Seeing the others stunned expressions, the young magician shrugged.

"What?" he said, "I want to know, too."

Matt smiled despite himself but he quickly changed expression as he saw the others faces as they read the last page. Ran gasped loudly, recognising the subjects of the pictures.

"That photos show FBI's four collaborators." Matt remarked, "Ryuji Kazama, Reila Ikeda, Shinichi Kudo and Shiho Miyano."

"But.. it can't be!" Ran exclaimed. Matt turned to her, as did the others.

"Haven't we met before?" he asked but before she could reply, he went on, "Well, it doesn't matter.. Why is it impossible?"

"Kazama, Ikeda, Miyano and Shinichi go to my same school." Ran said.

"Yes, they said they were transfer students from America." Kazuha added.

Matt shook his head.

"It was all a cover." he replied, "They had to live anonymously for a while and behaving as normal high school students was the best way. But this isn't the point. As you can see, that file has a complete set of information about them. It seems that we have underestimated the Organisation's wits once again. We caught them by surprise attacking their American headquarter so they made an emergency plan in order to prevent a total downfall. We know that the Organisation's other headquarter is here at Tokyo but we haven't managed to find it. But, through this last information, we know that they are planning to move their headquarter to another site.."

"As soon as the two subjects will be found.." Heiji said, "It's written here."

"And now, I'll get to the important point." Matt remarked, "If you read the other entries, you can see that the Organisation has set a trap to capture the subjects. I tried to call Ryu and the others but they seemed to have disappeared: I think that the Organisation wants two of them but the other two will be killed." Ran and Kazuha gasped in shock. "If they have fallen in a trap, it will be a question of time for the emergency plan to start. That's why we are here."

He stepped forward and looked straight at Inspector Megure.

"Inspector, there are two hundred FBI agents at Tokyo's airport now but we are outnumbered." Matt said, "In America we faced mainly scientists, double-crossers and a few agents but they were only a minority. In this moving operation, all the members are involved and we need the local police force's help. Shinichi's work was to contact you and Hattori the moment we knew where the headquarter was but since he's not here, I'll do it. Inspector, you have to gather all your men: this must be done soon and secretly. One of the Organisation's leaders is Koji Koizumi, one of your police forces Chief Inspector." Megure, Kogoroh, Takagi, Satou and Heiji looked at him with disbelieved shock. "We have the proof of that: he has just murdered the imprisoned member that was in his police station. Kid can testify it. We know that your police station's phone lines are bugged: if the Organisation knows that we are here to get them, we'll loose the little advantage we've got on them."

Megure looked at the young boy in front of him. He was sincere: he knew that..

"All right." he said, after a while, "I will go personally and gather all the men I can find. Takagi, Satou, you two will stay with Agent Xanders: I will contact you the moment I will be ready."

"Yes, sir." the two detectives said.

"One more thing, Inspector." Matt said, "I know this might sound rude but, no offence meant, inform only the people you are sure are trustful. We learned the hard way what it means to have double-crossers on our side." Then, turning to Heiji. "Hattori, you already know what to do: remember, everything must be kept secret."

"I need a phone." the Osaka teen said and Matt tossed him his cell phone. Heiji nodded a thanks and dialled a number.

"Dad? Yeah, it's me.. Listen carefully, you have to do this..."

The boy walked to a corner of the room and went on talking. Matt turned back to Megure.

"Osaka's police will help too." he explained, "I suppose you'll contact Inspector Hattori later to discuss what to do." The man nodded.

"What will we do now?" Takagi asked.

"We'll go to the Kudo's place and see where those four are: if they are caught, the plan starts.." Matt replied, "Well, I have told you what I had to tell you... Hattori! So?"

"My father said that he wants to talk to Inspector Megure as soon as possible to combine the police forces." Heiji said, giving the phone back, "He agreed right away."

"Good. At least, we have the men now." Matt remarked. He stood there lost in his thought for a while and then, looked up.

"Inspector, once you and Inspector Hattori have gathered the men, you will have to wait. I'll call you through Detective Takagi or Detective Satou and Hattori." he said, "We will attack all together."

Megure nodded.

"Kid, you come with us." Matt remarked, "Detective Satou and Takagi, there's another car down with three agents: you can go with them since Inspector will go away with his car. Ok, we can go."

They were all going to leave when Kogoroh stopped them.

"Wait what about me?" he asked.

Matt stared at him.

"You're not involved." he said shortly.

"But you told everyone to come here!"

"Only because Kid suggested it."

"YOU...!"

Megure stepped in.

"All right, Mouri, you can come." he said, "Take your car and follow Agent Xanders with Hattori-kun."

"I'm coming too." Ran and Kazuha piped in. Kogoroh was about to retort but the fire in their eyes and the knowledge of their karate skills, made him in nod furiously. Matt shook his head in disbelief: didn't they realise that this was a damn serious operation?

"I don't care who comes as long as we hurry up." he said with a strained calm voice, "I'm just saying that you'll have to take care of yourselves and, most of all, be out of the way. Am I clear?"

Matt, Chris, Lucas, Kaito, Megure, Takagi and Satou left immediately.

Ran ran into her room and quickly got changed. She thought that it would have been uncomfortable to go around in her uniform. She was worried for Shinichi but also confused: according to what that boy had said, Shinichi had never left Japan.

Why did he lie? Why didn't he show up before?

She put her thoughts away as her father called her.

Ten minutes later, they were all in front of the Kudo's mansion.

A car was there and Agents Spencer and Tyler got out and approached Matt.

"No one has come out or has gone in." Tyler said, "Only an old man came here a few minutes ago. He's there."

Matt turned and saw Agase walking towards him. Everyone greeted him, besides the FBI agents that didn't know him and only nodded in respect.

"Matt, what going on?" the scientist asked.

"Professor." the boy said, "Where are Ryu, Rei, Shinichi and Shiho?"
"What? Well, at school.. I think."

"You think?"

"I've just come back from a scientific convention: I haven't seen them for two days."

"Great..." Matt muttered, "That explains why you didn't answer the phone..."

"Has something happened to them?" Agase asked worried.

"I hope not." Matt replied, "Professor, do you have the house's keys?"

"Yes, I'll get them in a minute."

As Agase rushed back to his house, Matt turned to Kaito who was standing away from the others. He had to keep his identity secret: he couldn't risk, after all.

"When did you come here?" he asked.

"Around six forty." the magician replied.

"And they had already left... It's half past eight now... Where the hell did they go?"

Agase arrived with the keys and the group went inside the house. The door was locked so no one had tried to enter and the lock had not been damaged. Matt was so concerned for his friends that he forgot his initial embarrassment towards the other agents.

"We have to check around and find a clue. Agents Brown, Adrians, Tyler and Spencer, you check the first floor." he ordered, in English, "Don't mess up: only find a clue."

"Yes, sir." they replied and headed upstairs.

"We'll check here." Inspector Knight said, "Jones, Daimon, with me."

"Yes, sir."

The three headed to the living room.

"We'll help too." Satou said and Takagi nodded. Matt, Chris, Kid and Heiji set to work too while Agase, Kogoroh, Ran and Kazuha stayed on the background. Kogoroh was still fuming because Matt had told him to not interfere with their work.

Matt walked to the phone table and noticed that the plug was loose.

'That's why there wasn't any signal...' he thought, 'But why...?"

He looked around: the house was neat and in order so they didn't escape hastily but had left calmly.

"This door's is locked!" Takagi called.

The ones that were in the hallway approached the studio.

"What's inside?" Heiji asked.

"It's only full of books." Ran replied but Matt shook his head.

"They worked here, right?" he asked, turning to Agase.

"Yes." he replied.

"Do you have the key?"

"Yes, wait a minute." he searched in his pockets and drew out a brass key. He gave it to Matt and he opened the door. He turned the lights on and he heard a gasp from somewhere behind him. The studio had changed a lot from the last time Ran had seen it: it looked like an office now. There were laptops, a computer, a printer and...

"What's this?" Matt asked, walking to a desk where something like a small television put upside down was. "It's on... at least I think so."

"Oh, that's Ryu-kun's radar." Agase said and the boy nodded in understanding.

"His what?" Heiji asked.

"Radar." Matt said, "Ryu's a electronic engineer."

"Didn't you say he was 17?" Takagi asked.

"Ryu, Rei and Shiho have already graduated." he replied, ignoring the stunned expressions around him: only Kaito and Chris didn't react. "Rei's a computer scientist, just like Chris and Lucas, Shiho is a chemist. I'm graduated as well: I'm a lawyer. Anyway, Agase do you know how this works? I'm not an expert.."

The scientist sat down and set to work on the radar. Matt looked around: this room was in order too.

"Chris, check the computers." he said in English, "There might be something."

"All right." she replied and turned on a laptop. He turned to Kid who was looking around and approached him.

"Found something?" he asked.

"Kudo's earring phone." Kaito replied, "The battery' s low: that explains why it didn't work when you called."

"I don't if it's a coincidence or just a damn way to make me mad." Matt muttered, "We don't have a clue of where they are... and they're in danger. I wonder if they know what they're going against.."

"Why didn't you tell the others that you know who the Organisation wants?" Kid asked quietly. Matt had hidden many things during his explanation.

"I want to save them all." Matt replied firmly. Then, looking at the magician, "Say, will you come with us later?"

"Yes. My mother is safe so I don't have to worry of anything else. And, I want to help Kudo and the others too."

"A thief that wants to help a detective? It sounds so awkward."

"Don't I know.."

Agase called and Matt got to his side.

"So, have you figured it out?" he asked.

"This radar has a range of 50 kilometers and it works with Ryu-kun's devices."

"His father's devices? Can we track them down...? No, wait... they don't have devices on them." Matt said with disappointment.

"Yes, they do." Professor retorted.

"Really?"

"Yes, they all wear a chain with a star and the device is applied to it."

"Where are they, then?"

"I'm sorry but they are out of the radar's range."

"DAMN IT!" Matt cursed loudly, "That means that they are 50 kilometers away from here!" He slammed a fist against the wall.

The room went silent at young agent's outburst. Chris got up, not finding anything in the computers and approached him: she knew that his concern was overwhelming him but he had to keep a clear mind.

"Calm down, Matt." she whispered. He nodded after having taken a deep breath.

Ran noticed that there was a particular atmosphere between them.

Suddenly, a thought passed through Matt's mind.

"Why is the radar on?" he asked. As a blank silent greeted his words, he pressed on. "It was on when we got here. Why? Why did they use it?"

"Kazama must have left it on." Heiji said, thinking, " They were looking for something.. that had a device on it."

"The point is what?" Satou said, following their reasoning, "What were they looking for?"

Kid looked up suddenly.

"Matt, didn't Kudo put a device on Gin's car, once?" he asked.

"Yes.. they thought it had been Miyano and nearly killed her." he replied absently. Then, his eyes widened. "They put a device on the car!"

"That's the trap then." Heiji remarked, "The Organisation knew that they would have tried to bug the car.."

"And now, that four are looking for it." Matt finished, visibly paling, "They are falling straight in their hands."

"Ehm... wait.." Takagi said, trying to keep up with their quick deductions, "How can they follow the car with device... if the radar is here?"

Matt, Kaito and Heiji stared at him, wondering why this hadn't come in their minds before, while Satou shot an appreciative smile to Takagi who blushed.

"Good point.." Matt said.

"Oh, that's easy." Agase remarked, making them turning to him.

"You know?" Satou asked. She had seen the old scientist solve cases before (actually it was Conan..), so she wondered if he had guessed something this time, too. Matt seemed to be thinking something like that as well, but his attention went to Chris that was typing something on the laptop she had brought.

"Chris, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Just a minute.." she said, "Professor Agase can explain."

Hiding a puzzled expression, he turned to the scientist.

"What's she doing?" he asked.

"Ryu-kun has made this radar so that it could be linked to a computer." Agase replied, "I managed to explain this young lady in my not perfect English, that with a downloading program she could use the radar from her laptop."

"Ok but why did they leave it on?"

"Wait, how are they using the radar?" Kid asked, cutting through, "Their laptops are all here."

"Oh, they must have used the the computers I gave them: they are smaller than a laptop and more easy to carry." Agase replied.

"So? Why did they leave the radar on?" Matt asked again.

"Probably, the mini-computers didn't have enough space to support the whole downloading program..." the scientist stopped seeing the blank look on the others faces, "Well, if they leave it on, they can link to the radar freely and use it."

"I see." Matt said, understanding, "Then, we can still track them down."

Chris got up, closing the laptop.

"I'm done." she said to Matt, "We can use the radar from the car."

The boy nodded.

"Now, we only have to find a clue of where they went." he remarked. He walked out of the studio and called the FBI agents that were checking the house. Inspector Knight, Lucas and Agent Jones were in the hall and approached him.

"There isn't anything in the whole down floor, excluding the room you were." Knight said wearily, "All in order, not even a speck of dust!"

"Let's hope that there was something upstairs." Matt stated, "We have the means to find Ryu and the others: we only need a hint of where they are."

The other four agents came down and Matt's heart sank, seeing their faces.

"Nothing?" he asked.

"Only this." Adrians said and handed him a piece of paper.

Matt looked at it: it was bar's bill.

"A coffee bought in a bar... yesterday afternoon?" his eyes widened as he said this. Matt looked up. "This could be a start. Well done."

He turned around quickly to join the ones in the studio and missed the proud smile on the agents' faces and the knowing smile on Knight's face.

"We've got an address." Matt announced, entering the studio. He handed it to Heiji and was going to ask where the bar was, when his cellphone rang. Matt answered.

"Hello? .. Dad! Yeah, I've talked to them and they are gathering men. What about...? You're done? Great! No.. I didn't find them but.. we've got a hint. Huh? Wait a second.."Matt turned to Heiji."Is the airport far from the Bay of Tokyo?"

Heiji shook his head.

"Don't ask me." he said, "I'm from Osaka."

Takagi answered.

"No, the airport is not far from the bay." he said, "It's less than fifteen minutes by car."

"Great, thanks." Matt said and then, spoke on the phone again, "Dad? The airport's perfect.. Don't worry: I'll deal with them. See you later."

Matt put the phone away, checking the time: it was nine o'clock. Then, he looked up.

"My father said that they are all ready and will wait at the airport till Inspectors Megure and Hattori have done." he said, "I think we should all go there and then plan what to do."

"What about Kudo, Kazama, Miyano and Ikeda?" Heiji asked, "Shouldn't we find them since the whole operation will start if they are caught?"

"While we are going to the airport, we'll look for them with the radar: they have the devices, remember? As soon as we have an idea of where they are, we'll split in two groups: one will go to the Bay of Tokyo, the other will go wherever Ryu, Rei and the others are."

The group nodded in agreement.

As they were leaving the house, Matt turned to Agase.

"Professor, just in case, keep an eye on the house: maybe they will come here and our worries are totally vain.." he said, "I'll ask two agents to wait here, too."

"All right, Matt." he replied.

Five minutes later, Agase and Agents Spencer and Brown were the only ones there.

The following forty minutes were innervating, especially for Matt.

As he and the others, excluding Kaito who said that he would have followed them in his way, were going to the airport, they found the bar where Rei had bought a coffee. Chris had checked with the radar but they were not in sight. Well, sight is an understatement: they weren't in the range of 50 km. Takagi, however, informed Matt through a walkie-talkie that from that street they could have reached the Bay of Tokyo. The boy's hopes went slightly up: maybe Ryu, Rei, Shinichi and Shiho had somehow found out that the Organisation was planning to move its headquarter and were only trying to collect evidences. He immediately crushed that thought when he realised who he was talking of and, most of all, when he remembered the information he had read the day before. His temper and impatience went up when Chris' laptop's battery finished, not allowing them to use the radar. The girl had a spare battery in her bag but it was at the airport.

They reached the airport and found Inspector Megure already there with Inspector Shiratori. They were talking to Matt's father, who knew a bit of Japanese, and were deciding how they should work together. The three were in a room near the check-ins and when they saw the small group coming in, they all looked up.

"Dad." Matt said, approaching him, "How are things going?"

"We are ready and so is Inspector Megure." the man replied, "Inspector Hattori had just contacted us: he said he'll be here with his men in less than a hour."

"How many men do we have by our side?"

"There are more than a hundred FBI agents, a hundred- hundred and fifty policemen and two hundred men are coming from Osaka."

"Nearly five hundred men..."

"Our men are all waiting outside, behind the airport: we can't block the way here. Anyway, what about you? Any news?"

Matt quickly explained what they had found out till then.

"Chris will change the laptop's battery and check again." he assured, "They must be close: it's too much of a coincidence that they are so close to the transferring site."

"You're saying that the trap to capture has been set nearby?" Inspector Xanders remarked.

"Probably."

"Matt!"

The boy turned around as he heard his name. He quickly approached Chris who was sitting at a table with the laptop open in front of her.

"What?" he asked, looking at the screen and then at her. He didn't fail to notice the concerned look on her face but her words stopped him from asking.

"I found them." she replied quietly.

"Well, that's good." Heiji said in English, so that she could understand him as well, "Where are they?"

Chris pointed to the screen all the people in the room, craned their necks to look. Four bright yellow points were slowly approaching another one at the far right end of the screen.

"We need a map of this area." the Osaka teen said loudly. Megure had expected such a request and had a map with him: he promptly handed it to Heiji, who opened it and laid it on the table. With the help of Takagi and Satou who knew the city better, he located them.

"They are heading to a valley that's on the opposite side from the Bay." Satou remarked, slightly confused, "Why are they going there?"

Heiji shook his head but Matt didn't even hear her question.

He was lost in his reasoning: you could almost see the machines in his brain working furiously. He had learned that the Organisation always did things with a subtle method. If they had decided to set up a trap, it was obvious that they would have chosen a lonely, isolated area: that explained the valley. He glanced at the map: the valley was surrounded by woods. Excellent place to set up an ambush.. But now, the point was, why so far from the Bay? He remembered a sentence from the updates.

"The operation will start as soon as the two subjects will be captured."

Matt looked at the map, trying to find a hint. He suddenly noticed a small line that went from the valley to the bay.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing to the line.

"It's an old road." Inspector Megure said, "Hardly used nowadays."

"How big is it?" the boy asked.

" Not much." Takagi replied, "Only some kind of cars can go on that road."

"Some cars... Jeeps?" Matt asked, looking up. Takagi nodded. "Ok, now it makes sense. They set the trap there and the moment they capture the subjects, they would join the other members at the Bay, taking that road."

"By the way, we made a few researches.." Megure said, "Three ships will come to the Bay today: it seems that they have to carry material and equipment for a foreign country."

"What material?" Heiji asked, "To which country?"

Megure shook his head as Shiratori replied.

"All the information related to the ships is unknown." he said, "And nobody bothered to ask questions since a rather prominent person gave his permission for the ships' landing."

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess.." he said, "The prominent person is Koji Koizumi." Shiratori nodded.

Matt absently ran his fingers through his hair: everything had been planned perfectly and rather simply so that no one could have noticed.

'Maybe.. if I hadn't told them to wait..' he thought, 'They would have found out this things... and they would probably be here..'

He shook his head, trying to shake off his thoughts: this wasn't the moment for regrets. Just then, he noticed that Chris was still tensed.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. The girl looked up and he noticed that she still had a worried look.

"There's another update." she replied, "I have a bad feeling..."

"Show it to me." Matt said shortly.

The room went silent as they noticed the young agent's pale face.

Chris nodded and opened the file: a short message appeared. Matt read it slowly.

"The two subjects are located. The operation can begin. They will be by our side soon."

If possible, the room went even more silent as his words sunk in.

"Damn it..." Matt whispered, voicing everyone's thoughts, "They have fallen in the trap.."

Shinichi, Shiho, Ryu and Rei were getting close to the device applied to Gin's car.

It was nine o'clock: as Ryu had sarcastically commented while they drove, the man that had rented them the car had made a great deal. It was a miracle if it still moved, after three hours of continuous driving.

However, even with the rather old car, they were getting to the place they wanted to reach and they were all very tensed. They had come to an isolated area and it had all the characteristics of the perfect ambush place. The four were all very careful and in alarm.

The car drove on an old country road that crossed the valley and coasted the woods.

"Great... woods again.." Ryu muttered under his breath.

"We're nearly there." Rei remarked, "Do you see the car or something?"

"There isn't anything here." Shiho said, looking up from her computer and scanning the landscape, "Or anyone."

"Nearly.." Shinichi retorted, pointing to the front, "Isn't that a rooftop?"

The other three looked in front and actually saw a rooftop hidden by the thick midst of trees.

"Who lives here?" Rei asked, "This place is quite cut out from the world."

"Good question.." Shinichi remarked, looking at the map he had with him, "That house doesn't exist on the map."

"That's not reassuring.." Shiho stated, "Not at all.."

The car drove on and they finally reached a wide open space. A rather old mansion was there: it must have been inhabited because the windows were sealed or broken, the door's paint was peeling off and it was pretty run down. Ryu braked the car as soon as the house was in view. The others looked at him.

"It's an open space." he said, foreseeing their question, "We don't know what or who could be waiting us.."

"We can't leave the car." Shiho remarked, "We would be more exposed if we walked around."

"All right.." Ryu started the car and headed to the mansion but he kept close to the forest. Just then, they noticed something else.

A black Porsche was parked there.

The four looked at each other: it was too easy..

"Has anyone got the feeling of being watched?" Ryu asked quietly as he stopped in front of it.

"Where could they be?" Shinichi asked, looking around cautiously.

"There are many places." Shiho replied, "The house... but also from the trees."

"And we don't know how many they are.." Rei remarked, "If it's a trap..."

"Scratch off that if." Ryu muttered darkly.

"..we're good as dead." she finished.

"Thanks. That's really reassuring." Shinichi said sarcastically.

Ryu looked around.

Shiho was right: there were many places for a couple of trained shooters to hide. Leaving the car was a risk: they were exposed and the only place to hide was the forest.

Well, hide if it wasn't already full of armed members. He was still thinking when a sudden noise startled him: it was a soft beeping sound... that came from the car in front of them. When he attended the course with the bomb disposal experts, he learned to develop his hearing and recognise certain sounds. And that was...

"DAMN IT!" he exclaimed and abruptly started and turned the car, speeding away.

"What the heck are you doing?" Rei asked as she slammed against the window. Shiho collided into Shinichi.

An explosion behind them made them turn around in alarm. The Porsche had blown up.

"Does that answer your question?" Ryu remarked, turning to Rei.

"How..?" Shinichi asked, looking at the black car... or what still remained of it.

"I heard it." Ryu said, "But that's not the problem... The timer... Someone turned it on.."

"And he's here." Shiho finished, "But .. ? "

She stopped abruptly as a shiver ran down her spine: her heart started thumping.

"They're near." she whispered and Shinichi heard her. He looked around wildly.

'Where?' he thought furiously, 'Where are..?'

He noticed something on the high branch of a tree in front of them. It was a small light.. no... it was like the sun reflected on a glass and there was a small black tube-like object coming out of a clump of leaves under it. He didn't even have to think to realise what was going to happen.

"OUT!" he yelled, "OUT OF THE CAR!"

Shinichi took Shiho's hand, opened the car's door and jumped out with her. They rolled on themselves to soften their fall: Shinichi had put his arms around Shiho to protect her. Ryu and Rei jumped out of the car a second later: Rei rolled next to Shinichi and Shiho but Ryu was on the other side. However, as he was jumping out, he looked up and saw everything as though it was in slow motion.

A man was hiding behind a clump of leaves on the high branch of the tree in front of them: he had a rifle with silencer and rifle scope. As he crashed on the ground, Ryu saw a bullet shatter the car's front glass and another hit the driver's seat: if he had been there, he would be already dead. But he didn't have to rejoice yet: despite the others, he was completely exposed. Without wasting time, Ryu straightened up and drew out his automatic. He fired twice towards the branch and then ran to join the others. Whoever was up there mustn't have expected such a quick reaction and the boy was counting on that: he was sure that the man was shielding himself behind the trunk.

This gave them time to escape.

"Come on!" he urged as he reached Shinichi and the girls, who were getting up, "In the woods! Quick!"

He didn't have to say this twice.

The four dashed into the thick vegetation, getting out of sight.

The man clad in black quickly stepped behind, balancing on another branch and using the tree's trunk as a shield. He had heard that Martini was good but this was unbelievable: how he had jumped out of the car, taken out his gun, aimed and fired in less than five seconds was beyond him. And he had also avoided the bomb but that was more understandable..

However, when he looked back down Martini and the other three were not there.

"Damn it!" he cursed as a scowl appeared on his face: they had escaped from him. He pulled out a transceiver from his pocket.

-They have escaped into the forest.- he said to an unknown person.

-Wait there. The others will deal with them.-

-Yes, sir.-

The man put the transceiver away and was visibly tensed: he had let the subjects slip out of his hands. The orders had been clear: no mistakes.

He had to hope that the others would have captured them, otherwise he would have been the first to be punished.

The man actually shivered, remembering what had happened to other people that had gone through a punishment.

None were alive to tell it.

Inspector Xanders was in Inspector Megure's car with other two agents.

All the men were in their cars too, waiting. The man took a deep breath and took his walkie-talkie: he knew that his men as well as Megure's had one so they could hear him.

-For more than thirty years, the underground criminal group called Black Organisation has killed, murdered and done the most vile activities.- he said. He spoke in English since he had found out that many of the Japanese police officers knew the language well.

-Today we are going to bring it down. I won't lie: it will be hard and many will be injured or worse, die. But this is something we have chosen. The day we decided to become police officers, we chose to be on the "Good" side and to prevent and defeat the evil one. I don't know what was the reason of your choice but mine was very simple: I didn't want my son to live in a bad world. I suppose many of you have families: you probably chose this work to protect them. If you are all here, it means that your sense of justice has prevailed on fear because no one has been forced to come. You... We are all here because we want to. So, FBI men and Tokyo's policemen, here we are to do our work side by side. Let's get rid of the Black Organisation.-

Mr Xanders words were greeted by a roaring and firm: -YES, SIR.-

The FBI Inspector turned to his Japanese colleague.

"So, Inspector Megure.." he said, speaking a bit slower because the man had asked him to do so, "We can go to the Bay of Tokyo."

"Of course." Megure replied and he started the car. A beeline of more than a hundred cars left the airport, heading to the Bay.

As he looked out of the window, Mr Xanders' thoughts went to his son.

'Matt, whatever you do, be careful.' he thought, 'And save your friends.'

Ten cars were speeding the opposite direction from the Bay of Tokyo.

Inside were the people that had to find Shinichi Kudo, Shiho Miyano, Ryuji Kazama and Reila Ikeda.

Matt, Chris were in a car; Detectives Satou and Takagi were in another with two agents. Agents Adrians and Tyler, Heiji, Kazuha and Ran were in another. In the other seven cars, there were more than thirty men between FBI agents and Japanese policemen. All the men had to take orders from Matt. Kid was there too: he had decided to follow them with his hang glider.

Speaking of Matt, the boy was incredibly tensed.

Not only because he had to guide all these men in a place where he didn't know anything, but also because their lives were somehow in his hands. He had tried to convince Chris to go with the other group as computer scientist instead of Lucas but she had refused. Matt had a liking on her and he didn't want her to risk her life in such a unsure mission. He had also retorted in bringing Ran and Kazuha: the two girls weren't trained to face a member of the Organisation but they had managed to find a way to come anyway. Matt had asked Agents Adrians and Tyler to be always by their side. Detective Satou and Takagi had volunteered to go with him: Takagi knew Shinichi and Satou had heard of the famous Great detective of the East and they both wanted to help him and his friends. Heiji was there for the same reason. Kazuha didn't want to leave Heiji alone and Ran wanted to see if Shinichi was fine. Kogoroh had protested but his daughter was stubborn and had managed to go nevertheless: Kogoroh went with Inspector Megure, instead.

Matt glanced at Chris.

"Is it still far?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the street.

"Twenty kilometers, more or less." she replied, looking at the radar. The boy sighed slightly.

"We'll find them." she said softly, "Ryu and Rei are not fools: they know what to do. And, from what I've heard, Kudo and Miyano are just as good."

"Yeah." he said, "I just hope we'll be there before it's too late.."

The car sped on, followed by the other nine.

Chapter 23 is finished! I hope you liked it and didn't get confused from the frequent changes. At the beginning, I didn't plan this chapter but then, I realised that I hadn't given great importance to the characters of Matt and Kid, even though they were involved in the famous plan. So, I wrote this. The next chapters will be chaotic and I'm still figuring out how I'll put everything together..

Really, at the beginning I thought I'd get the story finished in a few long chapters but as time goes on, I realise that more and more stuff comes out! I'll have to clear my mind a bit...

Anyway, I've also uploaded the last two chapters again because I made a few mistakes.

REVIEW!

Bye!

A.N: I've made all corrections