Due to me needing to SEE what I'm describing, I know it's a little late, but I posted rough drawings of how the original characters in this story would look like on our profile- if anyone cares. Kinda late at this point.
Chapter 26: The Search
Takagi had apparently missed Mouri, and still had almost no idea as to what happened while he'd been with Hattori. He knew he had to look for the doctor. That he could do. Doors were locked more often than not, though, and Takagi had walked in on more than one family as it was. The other staff members hadn't seen him. Takagi sighed. Maybe he'd go back upstairs. He really wasn't very good at intruding on people, and the majority of the rooms were for miscellaneous purposes. The cafeteria had been almost painful to go through. He needed to get something to eat. First, though, he had to try and find this doctor. Continuing on, the next door he found said it was for soiled linens. He didn't really want to go in there, but he turned the handle anyway.
Sato turned a corner and saw someone familiar just opening a door down the hall. Relief flooded her. "There you are!" She hurried forward. She wasn't sure what he knew, but she guessed he was searching room by room for the doctor.
"Oh, Sato." He closed the door, walking towards her. "Gomen, about walking out like that. Did Hattori-kun get back to the room okay?"
"Yes, as did…" She lowered her voice briefly. "Kudo-kun, a bit earlier, but... Hakuba-kun left again, after bringing him up, and he apparently disappeared before getting back to Hattori-kun. We don't know where he is."
Takagi didn't like that at all, mostly the word disappeared. "I didn't know." He looked around, more towards where he'd just come from and the rooms he'd missed. Now he suddenly wanted to check them out again. "Arigato. I'll help find him." Takagi waved his hand the direction he'd been heading. "Go that way. I'll tell you if I find him." Takagi wanted to go back to the front desk himself, to get someone to open the doors he'd skipped. He hesitated for a moment before walking away from his partner. She knew he'd want to find Hakuba instead of speaking with her. It was their job.
Sato went off in the direction Wataru had indicated. The more help they had, the more ground they could cover. Standard operating procedure. She continued, opening what doors she could, and knocking on or marking down the ones that she couldn't. She knew that with Wataru heading to the front, he could put out the word that they had a missing patient.
Takagi reached the front, asking for the key codes and explaining that Hakuba-kun had not been found since he had left the room, adding in the un-likeliness of it being because he went somewhere on his own. It took a while, but he got the numbers for the first floor, planning to return for more once finished. He thanked the attendant at the front for their help and took off to the doors he had already skipped, sure he'd meet up with Sato sooner or later if he didn't find Hakuba.
Sato looked at her list as she reached the recovery room. No luck. He was nowhere to be found, and she had no way to get into the rooms that she'd had to skip.
Takagi went through the doors that were locked, seeing nothing - as he'd expected - and meeting Sato at he end. He couldn't help if he looked depressed about it. "I don't think he's on the first floor."
Sato sighed. "I asked everyone I came across. None of them saw him return to this floor alone. One remembered him with a hooded person in the elevator, but we know who that was." She scanned the area again. "I looked through most of the rooms on the second floor before I came down here, but we can double-check."
Takagi nodded. "Let's go get the lock codes for that floor." He had to return the others anyway, as a show of good faith that he really was doing what he'd said, and not trying to aggravate any patients. Police officers at hospitals weren't usually handled well, but everyone here had been gracious. He tipped his head. "Start checking and I'll meet you on the left hand side of the building, near their room. We'll work our way over from there."
"See you there." Sato moved off and took the elevator up. As soon as she reached the next floor, she started down the hall, checking rooms and requesting that anyone who saw a blond teen in a white shirt report it to the desk.
Kaito had come across the officers and had to figure they were doing exactly the same thing he was, so he ignored the rooms he'd yet to finish and headed downstairs. There really wasn't much to look through; no one was down there, and it was fairly obvious. He went back up, realizing he didn't know what to do now. He stood still for a second, considering. The truth was, he didn't know this hospital, didn't know where Hakuba could be that no one would have noticed him. If he'd been taken higher up, someone should have seen. Kaito bared his teeth as he thought. And of course, their little missing suspect could have done anything to him. For all Kaito knew, he'd knocked him out and put him on a bed, covered him up so no one would notice. That was the only logical explanation he could think of. So... he wouldn't take him to a new room. There would have to be records, but the hospital had to have someplace to store the patients who died while here. He didn't know, and he needed a few guesses, so he went to the only staff member he had met whom he knew Hattori trusted. He headed back upstairs and found Shina. "Hello, it seems that Hakuba-kun has gone missing and it has Hattori-kun worried. I said I'd look for him, but I can't seem to find him anywhere. You wouldn't happen to know about any especially secluded places here, would you?" And I am so not gonna ask you where you keep your dead bodies because one, that's gross, and two, I should probably know that.
Shina looked up when the doctor came over and showed concern when she heard that Hakuba-kun had gone missing. She thought about the question. "I'm not sure how or why he would have strayed, but he might have gone to the roof. It's a nice place to get some fresh air without being bothered, and his friend didn't look too well." Shina held up her hand. "Keep in mind, Hakuba-kun's friend is pretty skittish around doctors. If I think of anywhere else he might have gone, I will let you know."
Kaito thought about it. The roof. Well, Hakuba wouldn't have gone there on his own, and someone should have noticed something if he was taken there against his will. That seemed unlikely. Kaito let out a small air of breath before smiling and looking back up at Shina. "I'll try that. They are apparently still looking for the doctor I replaced, and I would hardly want to run into him myself. Any idea where he would be, so I could avoid it?"
"Him? Well, I know he tended to just disappear at times. He'd check on his patients' reports, but often not until he was actually called to check on them, and sometimes he'd have to be paged. I always figured he was just lazy. As far as where he would be, I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine."
Kaito nodded. Roof first, then. He'd make his way down. He hardly wanted to check the whole hospital, but if that's what he'd have to do he would. "Thank you for your help. I hope to find the boy and calm Hattori-kun down. He's been a bit worried about it. If you would, please see try to find me if you discover anything. It seems I left my phone at home. Sometimes I don't know where my mind is." He laughed a little, walking off. Once he was out of sight, he was running. Damn it.
Shina watched him leave and started to really think. 'Where could the boy have gone? And is that jerk really still here?'
Takagi met up with Sato, sharing the codes and splitting up. She took the rest of the side she'd been working on, while he started with the other. They met somewhere in Takagi's area, going back to check out the rooms in the middle. Takagi sighed when they were done. "Well, where else could he have gone to?"
Sato had started thinking of the possibility she had tried to shove to the back of her mind. "If he had simply gotten lost or turned around on the return trip, however unlikely that is, I think we would have found him. What if that doctor never took off? No one can confirm he left."
"I know." Takagi said, just as tiredly. "I was looking for him before I was looking for Hakuba-kun. I was worried about that, too." Takagi couldn't fully understand why the man would be so angry, though he knew Hakuba-kun had outshone him. Takagi clenched one of his hands into a fist. "I don't know. Maybe we should look upstairs. This is a foreign styled hospital, isn't it?" Takagi looked around with his eyes. "There's not some sort of prayer room is there?" There weren't very many foreigners in Japan, and even less that were outwardly of a Christian religion. Of course, he didn't even know if foreign hospitals had things like that, but it would definitely be somewhere quiet where people wouldn't be asking questions.
"I think those are, ummmm, 'cha...pals' or something. It was on the lower floor but there was some sort of service going on. Hakuba-kun would have been noticed. None of the occupants had his hair color." Sato was worried and racking her brain. "I don't want to return to Hattori-kun to tell him that Hakuba-kun is nowhere to be found."
"I don't, either." Takagi looked around. What else was there to do? "Well, let's think. If they did run into each other, it would have been on this floor. You can't get to the parking lot, and they aren't in one of the rooms... so where could they go where they wouldn't need to take the elevator...?" Takagi was thinking, but he knew he wasn't very good at this complicated stuff. Think easier. He was running, found Hakuba, was mad, and did something to hide him. As himself, Takagi would have wanted to go somewhere that most of his colleagues didn't go, not normal patients. Okay, so the waiting room was like that. "Sato-san, there's no where around here that had more patients and less hospital staff, is there?"
Sato couldn't help the smile. He must have gone far into 'police mode' to use 'Sato-san' again. "I wonder. It may be possible there are one of those open air gardens somewhere, like the roof or behind the building; although, I doubt it would be an option if the exit was at ground level."
If he was outside already, Takagi couldn't see why he'd keep Hakuba-kun. "We can try the roof." Takagi shrugged. It wasn't the best idea, because everyone had access up there, but maybe he'd think of something as he was going. As long as he was trying, anything was better than sitting still.
Sato nodded then headed to the elevator and hit the up button to call it.
Kaito jumped down the stairs, quite literally. He was much faster doing this than waiting for the elevator, and he was tired of checking them room-by-room. The roof was empty, as he thought, but it had given him an idea. There would be people at the exits, most likely at least one officer, and hospitals were made for safety. He couldn't see the guy just walking out, and the only other secluded place he could think of was the parking lot. He'd look around. 'The guy had to be paged.'Odds were that meant he didn't stay in the building. He'd talk to Shina on the way back in, see if there were any other place outside, aside from the parking area, that the guy could have been to.
Takagi made it to the roof with Sato, leaning against the wall where they'd just exited. It was very open up here, and very empty. He let the fresh air calm him for a moment. "I don't know where else to look..." And he didn't. He'd tried everywhere he thought that the guy could have gone.
Sato took a few breaths of air herself. She wasn't sure where else to go, unless... "Hey, is security still watching the exits? Mouri-san stopped by and left again, saying that he was going to search for the guy. If security has been given the impression the doctor was already gone, he may have been waiting for a chance to get away."
Takagi's voice got caught in his throat. "Why would he take Hakuba-kun, then, if he could get away? Besides, it's not like he's done anything that bad." But Takagi knew what he was going to do now. "Maybe we should go see what's going on downstairs." He opened the door, waiting for Sato.
Sato hurried through the door and hoped that they could find Hakuba-kun, and the doctor, before either left the hospital.
Kaito evaluated the outside. Two possible exits, one for cars and one for pedestrians. He couldn't watch both at once because they were on opposite sides of the building. Time to play the part he was born for. Kaito calmly walked up to the officer in the less crowded area of the building. "Excuse me, someone inside told me to get you. I think he said his name was Mouri, but he was in such a rush I can't be sure. He said to tell you to go to the other side of the building, because the doctor you're looking for was headed that way. He said that you and whoever else was there should be extremely vigilant and not let anyone past."
The officer heard the name 'Mouri' and nodded. "Right, Sensei." He grabbed his mike. "Let's move to the far side and seal it. Keep your eyes open and let's get this guy." He took off, making his way straight through the nearest door.
Kaito grinned once the man was gone, blending seamlessly into the background himself. Best way to catch a rat: offer them cheese. He wasn't letting this bastard get away, not now and not ever; and this way, wherever Hakuba was, Kaito wouldn't have to wait it out until he found him. No one touches my friend. You are going to pay dearly if I find out you've so much as scratched him.
Sato made her way to the front and looked around for the security that was there. She spotted a few men that were moving about, but watching every person that went by. "Looks like this area is pretty secure."
"Yeah," Takagi said as well. He took out his phone, leaning against the wall. "I'm going to get some help. It's better to get yelled at for wasting our energy than not doing anything."
Sato nodded and headed over to ask if there had been any offers of assistance from a blond teenager, just on the off chance he'd gotten distracted trying to help; though she really doubted it.
Takagi made the call, hearing the same exhaustion on the other end of the line, if not more. Shiratori was still in charge of the investigation, and it seemed he was nearby, though Takagi didn't know why. He was surprised by the quickness of the call, as well as the free use of officers that were promised to be sent over. Takagi hung up, feeling strangely closer to Shiratori than ever before.
Sato had talked to the men she had picked out as security personnel. None had seen the boy, but the last man she talked to made a comment that chilled her. He had been told to move everyone here and be ready. She didn't stop to question him further, but turned and flat out ran back to Wataru. They had to get to the rear exit.
Takagi noticed Sato running towards him. Her expression told him it wasn't good news. "What's going on?"
"Apparently, all the security on this floor is here because they were told Mouri-san wanted them here. The rear exit is practically unguarded!"
Takagi didn't like that at all, even if Mouri-san knew what he was doing. He nodded to Sato, following the unspoken sentiments. They'd go guard the back.
Sato's mind wandered as she hurried to the back. She spotted the rear exit and saw no one around. 'This is not good. The guy could have walked out of here with Hakuba and no trouble.'
Kaito growled under his breath, seeing the two officers and knowing how the doctor would react if he saw them. Not thinking at all about his guise, he rushed over to them, blocking any line of sight and falling into a more defensive position once he reached them. "Go back in. Now." Hard and a command. He needed them to listen.
"What? Yoshiro-sensei? What do you think you're doing?"
Takagi had no idea who the guy was, but he nearly fell backwards when he was suddenly in front of him. Sato's words had him thinking he was a doctor, since he hardly looked like a cop.
Kaito fingered the small sphere in his pocket. He had a few, and really, it only took some average ingredients to make the sleeping gas. He'd had more than he needed here. "I'm following instructions," Kaito said on impulse. "I need you to go back inside. I'm helping to get Hakuba-kun back."
"Back? So the guy does have him. We were afraid that might be the case when we didn't find him anywhere."
Takagi relaxed, still not really sure what was going on. "Where is he?"
Kaito could have used the backup but he wasn't going to wait. He held his breath seamlessly as he broke his new little toy open. He'd only need about ten or fifteen seconds for it to start working. Even that was wasting too much time. "I'm not sure. All I know is that I was told to stand out here, alone. So that's what I'm doing."
"Wha..."
"I'm sorry," Kaito said with a smile. "This is twice now, for both of you." He was obviously going to catch Sato when she fell. Takagi-keiji could take care of himself. He was Kid. He'd always choose the girl.
Sato felt her eyes closing again. She had to hope Hakuba-kun was OK.
Takagi was more then a little lost now, and the air suddenly felt so heavy, like he had to fight to breathe through it. He could feel his eyes closing, but there was nothing he could do about it. He briefly wondered again what was going on.
Kaito caught Sato, wincing. Ow, stupid arm. He dragged her over to the side and out of the way, quickly using the adrenaline to do the same to Takagi. He held in the pants of breath, controlling them as he went back, making sure the two were out of sight, and settling back in to the shadows. I'm sorry, but I can't let him get away. You were wasting too much of my time.
Saguru groaned. He had a huge headache and went to rub his forehead when he realized he couldn't move. His limbs felt so heavy and he could barely crack his eyes open. 'What happened? I- I was... going back downstairs but...the elevator... What...' He recalled nothing after getting onto the elevator. He tried listening and heard some movement. Someone was nearby. He started to call out when he felt his arms being grabbed and pulling him upright. He could not vocalize anything, but he moaned.
"So, you woke up already. Oh well. The effects won't wear off anytime soon. You can just come with me. We've got some things to settle." He shoved the arrogant teen into the wheelchair and tossed a large pink blanket over him.
Saguru knew that voice. He had not expected the man to be this serious. Kudo had been correct to prefer that he not go after him. Neither of them had considered that the man may still be around after all this time. 'At least he did not try when I was still with Kudo. That is a positive.' He could not feel much of anything around him. His entire body must have been numb. 'What is this guy thinking? He cannot believe he can just walk out.'
The doctor had exchanged his coat and the rest of what he had been wearing for some street clothes. The teen had swung at him before dropping, and that had just ticked him off further. He was not going to be so nice once they got away from here. He pulled the blanket lower over the boy's face to keep the distinctive hair hidden as he slipped out the small exit to the side of the rear doors. He spotted a doctor close by and began talking as he turned to head to his car. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We're going to get you home and you can rest."
First taker. No one had exited in his sight yet, aside from the two officers. He didn't know why he was so angry, but he was. He watched the man, and his very obviously hidden companion, as if that isn't ringing alarm bells in my head, and acted. The hair was the first to go. He didn't need to be a doctor anymore. He was perfectly content slipping away from the building, messing his hair up, back to it's own fashion. He lost the stupid coat next as he turned again, going about things the long way, but keeping close enough distance that he knew he could run and make it. It was a wheelchair. The guy could only move so fast. Everything he needed, he kept in his own pockets. He very much looked like himself again. The bandage on his arm was visible now, and anything that had once been the doctor was gone. He was angry, and he didn't want to wait. Small, unassuming, and feigning a similar injury to his leg, Kaito ran up on the man from his blind spot. This would hurt neither him nor the man if he was wrong. He kept up the limp, waving a hand. "Ojisan, can you help me for a second?"
'Damn.' He turned halfway just as he reached his car, keeping a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I'm afraid I can't. You'd be better off going into the hospital. Besides, I really should be getting her home." He made sure to rub the shoulder like he had seen that woman do, just to keep up appearances. "Don't want her to get worse."
"Oh, no, see, that's just it." Kaito pointed back to the hospital. "I can't really walk much farther..." He panted a little with the distance he had visibly taken to get where he was. "My brother went in there to get me a wheelchair, but he hasn't come back out." Kaito let a distressed noise of pain escape. "I don't know what happened, but I can't move another step." Kaito coughed on the air, feigning a condition far worse than his own. "Please, can you just get someone for me? I'll be right here." Kaito half collapsed so he was sitting down. "You should be able to see me from here. I'm sorry about your wife. If you bring her over here, I promise to keep her company. Really, I only need a few seconds of your time." And I'm as good as right behind your car. Hit me, and we'll see how far you get.
'Damn. What is WITH these kids? I do NOT have time for this.' He sighed and put a concerned smile on his face, much like when he had been apologizing to this kid and the rest of them earlier. "Tell you what. I'll get her in and you can have this one." He opened the door with one hand and grabbed the teen under the knees and around his back. "Come on, in we go. Let this young man use the chair now."
"Thank you so much," Kaito said with a smile. He had done it to the others; he had no problem doing it now. It would wear off in about twenty minutes or so. Kaito waited until the man's back was turned as he got the poorly disguised person in the car, rolling the knock out gas towards him. To add to the effect, he set one off near himself, being very careful about not breathing it in.
The man had set the teen down and clicked the belt when he heard a sound near his feet... like something rolling. In his experience, that had only one response. Move. He climbed across the boy, pulling the door shut behind him. Jumping over into the driver's seat in a clunky display of agility, he started the car. The kid must have been a decoy. Damn. Not much difference if he was or not. He was gone from this hospital, and already set to relocate quickly.
Saguru was unsure as to what was going on, but he heard someone. It almost sounded like Kuroba, but that was not possible. From the way they were talking, they were outside... and he was being put in a car... and what had the man been referring to him as? He still found himself unable to move, but from the pain, he knew something had happened to cause the man to crawl across him and start the car. 'Whoever that was, I hope they are all right.'
Guy really did try to run me over, Kaito thought, as he smiled from his spot underneath the car. It was hard to cling to it with both hands, so he used his left arm to wrap around, laying as flat as he could and catching his feet under the frame by the bumper. His side hurt a bit, but that was from the cut. It would heal, and it wasn't bleeding all that bad. He just wanted to leave a message behind. Pretty much a hey, come get us. Fresh blood would do that. The police could find out where he lived. Kaito wasn't going to let him get away. That had to be Hakuba. The guy's actions were far too suspicious. Kaito was not going to be nice when they stopped. He was angry and scared and damn it, this wasn't Tantei-kun, it was Hakuba.
Sato blinked her eyes open slowly and started to stretch when she realized she had fallen asleep or passed out or something. She should not have been that tired this time to do that. She suddenly realized there was someone seated beside her. "Wha- Wataru. Wataru." She shook his arm firmly.
Takagi blinked his eyes open, wiping one of them clear when it watered. He felt really stiff and his head hurt. He looked over at his partner, then at his surroundings before he remembered where they were and what they were doing. He wiped his other eye and looked at her. "Miwako-san, what happened?"
"I'm not sure. I think I... fell asleep or something. But that doctor's gone. We should check around."
"What doctor? The one we were looking for?"
"Yes and no. That one that stopped us had brought Hattori-kun to the room and helped Conan-kun, then told Hattori-kun that he'd find Hakuba-kun. I say we check outside. He stopped us for some reason." Sato stood and started for the door, scanning the area for any signs of Hakuba-kun or either doctor.
Takagi stood up, shaking his head in disbelief. "Miwako-san, that was not normal. I mean, the last time I was knocked out, it was Kuroba-kun when he snuck off with Hakuba-kun. What did that guy do?" He followed her outside, anyway, confused as to how he'd fallen asleep with her. No one had even touched him.
Sato half heard what her partner had said and didn't quite understand what he meant. "You're right. I'm not sure what happened, but I intend to find out." She headed toward the cars, looking in the windows to see if there was anyone or anything suspicious in the back.
Takagi followed after her, feeling like a lost puppy. He didn't know what to do anymore, and he wasn't understanding what was going on. All he knew was that if anyone were out here, they should have seen them. If they were in their car, they would have taken off. He didn't say any of this, following along beside her and searching as well; but it was on his mind. He just wished he knew what he could recommend doing besides this.
Sato ran past an empty space, not paying much mind when she stepped into a puddle.
Takagi looked after Sato, sprinting a few steps before stopping when he noticed something that would have caught most any officer's eye- that was, if they were at a crime scene. He didn't want his partner to get away, but he didn't want to make a big deal of something. They were at a hospital. "Sato-san!" Takagi called before she could get too far. He simply pointed. She would have a better indication of what it meant, and it wasn't until Takagi was looking that he noticed the drops led in the opposite direction of the hospital. That was... unusual.
Sato spun at her partner's call. It was the 'Sato-san' again, and it sounded urgent. She saw him point and looked down, then followed the trail of a shoeprint that was her own that led back to the puddle in the empty spot. She walked back over and looked around. Not far away was a wheelchair that appeared to be discarded. She started over to it.
Takagi walked up to her, following her gaze and looking around himself. There had been a car here. It left in a hurry, leaving faint tread marks where the person had put on their breaks and shifted gears. He saw Sato inspecting a wheelchair. It was what was on the ground that was bothering him and, like it or not, it wasn't the content that had much of an affect on him anymore. It was the fact that the blood was very near where the skid marks ended that worried him. He walked over to his partner. "You think it was the doctor?" Whichever doctor. As far as he was concerned, there were currently two missing hospital employees along with Hakuba-kun.
"Well, this wheelchair definitely came from the hospital, and there is no blood anywhere on it. Whatever happened, at least two someone's left here in a hurry. As to who and where the blood came from, I can't be certain; but I believe it's safe to say that one of the doctors drove away from here and took someone with them."
"Or they both left." Takagi looked up to meet Sato's eyes. "We were knocked out, you know that don't you? I don't know how-" Takagi stopped right there, turning around. That doctor had been with Hattori and Kudo-kun. "I'll be right back, I want to check something." Takagi was running back to the hospital. Hattori wouldn't be able to fight back, and that man he'd encountered had stopped them. He didn't know what was going on but, right now, he wanted to make sure that Hattori was all right. Please, not again.
Sato watched her partner take off. 'What now?' She looked around. She couldn't leave the area unattended. It was likely a crime scene. 'What could make him take off like tha- oh no. The others!' She pulled out her phone and called into the hospital, telling the desk to send a few men out to her location. She hung up, knowing as soon as they got there, she would be heading for the boys' room.
The elevators weren't there and Takagi skipped them, going for the stairs. He stopped at the room, his feet wanting to keep taking him forward, but he knocked first. At least, he stayed for a moment. He didn't wait for an answer before opening the door and taking the few quick steps insides until he could see the occupants. Takagi breathed in a sigh, his heart still racing.
Heiji wasn't sure what jerked him out of his attempted rest, but he heard a knock and the door opened. He kept his left hand over Kudo and looked over at the door- or the person that had just come through it and blinked at the light. "Who..."
Takagi put a hand to his forehead and walked back until he hit the wall, resting there for a second. "It's just me, Hattori-kun." They were fine. Then he let his fear for Hakuba-kun come back. He was not. Takagi got on his phone, calling his partner. He really shouldn't have run off like that, but he needed to make sure.
Heiji sighed. Takagi-keiji. That was good. WAIT! He saw the guy start to call someone but wanted answers. "Didja find 'im?"
Sato had just finished filling in the men on exactly how they were to maintain the scene when her phone rang. "Hai."
Takagi shook his head, covering the mouthpiece. "No, we haven't." "Sorry about that. I had to check on Hattori-kun. He's fine." He covered the mouthpiece again. He didn't know but... it was all pointing to that right now. "We're not sure what happened, but he may have gotten away."
"Gotten away? What are you talking about? Hakuba wouldn't 'get... away'..." He tapered off. Takagi-keiji had been looking for the windbag, not Hakuba. "If ya mean that wind- I mean doctor, I thought he'd already 'gotten away'."
Sato wasn't happy with just that. "What about Conan-kun? He was in the room, too."
Takagi held the phone tighter. He'd processed Hattori's words first, though Sato was the one he answered. "Yes, they're both here and fine." Then he looked back up at Hattori. He would never even think of lying to him. "He may have gotten away with Hakuba-kun. We can't find him anywhere."
Sato sighed now. "Very well. I'll remain here and wait for a forensic team to start processing the blood and the pattern for the trail."
Heiji was shocked then livid. "He WHAT!?" Heiji started to sit up, not thinking of anything else but the news he'd just received.
"Ah, right. I'll call you back."Takagi hung up the phone as he went beside Hattori, though the woman had already gotten there and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Eri's eyes were hard. "How could the police just let this man get away, and with a patient, after all he's done? Really, you're all nothing but useless."
Heiji was stopped by Neechan's mom putting her hand on his shoulder. He remained propped up on one arm, the other remaining close to Kudo, even grabbing his arm. He got one friend back... just to lose another. Hell no. Not! A! Chance! "Why didn' I say some'in' to 'em?" He muttered.
Takagi looked back at Hattori, glancing over at Mouri's... not wife. She was almost as intimidating as Sato. "We're not sure what happened. We could be wrong. Besides the doctor and Hakuba-kun, apparently the doctor who was in your room after is missing, too. I think." Takagi wasn't even sure about that. They hadn't seen him, and he thought he would if he'd been out there and following whatever orders he'd been talking about. Takagi didn't really remember their conversation. The blood was hard to forget, though. "We think something happened outside. Someone might have been hurt. But don't worry, Hattori-kun, we're going to find him." Takagi would have to call Shiratori again, see if this was enough for a new investigation. Get anyone he could to help. Hakuba-kun had helped to rescue Kudo-kun. A lot. That would get him any friends he needed on the force. That, and Takagi owed the boy, too.
"Damn. I can't even- an' ya said Yoshiro-sensei mighta disappeared, too?" Heiji locked eyes with Takagi-keiji, ignoring the woman who was the only thing keeping him from sitting up all the way... and he was NOT gonna lie back down until he knew what had happened.
Takagi frowned. "I think so. I'm not sure. Something happened before that." He put a hand to his forehead again. "But he was outside and he stopped us. I'm not really sure what happened. I don't understand it myself. Maybe they were in it together, maybe Hakuba-kun was hurt. Either way, I haven't seen him since then, and I haven't really had time to look, and... and there was some blood found outside. I have to call this in. Stay in bed." Takagi tipped his head, knowing it was low, but knowing Hattori couldn't do anything. "If he wakes up and you're gone, he's going to follow you."
Heiji followed Takagi-keiji's gaze. He had a point. After what had happened, he didn't doubt that he would try following him again. "I know." Heiji let his mind return to Kuroba. "But I- I'm pretty sure the new doctor was... not helpin' the bakafrom before. If he is gone it's 'cause he tried ta... stop the other. He took care a Kudo... an' I feel I can trust 'im."
Takagi shrugged, though he was smiling a little. "I'll tell you if I find anything." The woman seemed capable enough of making sure Hattori-kun didn't act thoughtlessly. He went back out, calling Shiratori-san first. They needed to get this guy. He couldn't have left that long ago. He asked around for a description of the car while he was on the phone with him, before heading outside with Sato to see what she'd been doing.
Heiji watched Takagi-keiji leave and finally let himself fall back onto the pillows. "Jus' when one nightmare gets over, another jumps up. He does anythin' ta 'im... Oi, Obaasan, what actually happened between them. I wasn' exactly at my best, even when I was here."
Eri nodded in understand. "You suffered a relapse. Hakuba-kun recognized it and was helping you. The doctor pushed him away. It could have killed you. Takagi-keiji stopped him, and Hakuba-kun stayed by your side until the doctors came. After that, the doctor was told to apologize for being the fool he is by my no good husband, who I will be calling right after this. We all knew Hakuba-kun was hurt, but the doctor must not have. He forcibly touched his shoulder. I made sure all he saw next was ceiling. After that, Shinichi-kun called the Inspector from the bathroom. I don't know what set him off, but maybe he saw something like this coming." She looked over at Yukiko's son. His fever had gone down, but he was still pale and unconscious. "The man got away before we could stop him. I wasn't too sure how much of the story you had heard, and it's better to hear it all at once anyway." Eri changed her line of sight back to Hattori. "And I know. I share your sentiments."
Heiji gave a half laugh. "Ya know, ever since I heard he was... s'pppose ta have come back ta where I was, I'd been wonderin' if goin' ta sleep might provide a clue. Now I'm not sure I wanna."
"Hattori-kun, as much as I don't want to take his side." Eri lightly moved her hand to brush back Hattori's hair. "Let the police handle this. You've done more than enough. While he's not perfect, maybe that fool will stumble across something important." Eri stared at her phone, ready to call him. That was something new. She focused on Hattori-kun, first. "Rest. Stay awake or get some sleep. It's up to you. Do you need anything?"
"No. Jus' another miracle." Heiji closed his eyes, hiding the tiny hope that might show up there. He'dprovided that before, and he hoped Kuroba was well enough too do it again.
Eri got on the phone after she made sure Hattori-kun was resting, sighing and backing away to a further part of the room to at least pretend she had some privacy.
Kogoro was a few blocks from the hospital, questioning if anyone had seen a man that fit the doctor's description. None had recognized the man from the street, but one guy said he had had words with him when he was visiting a buddy of his that had broke his leg, but refused to say more. He heard his phone ring and answered it. "Mouri Kogoro speaking."
"Anata." Eri's hand tightened on it, she wasn't sure why. Even more than Shinichi-kun or Hattori-kun, she'd felt a protectiveness for the boy. She hadn't shown it much, or thought that she could explain where it had come from, but she knew it was a similar feeling as she felt for her daughter. "I need you to do something for me, and I need you to do it right, no matter what it takes." She didn't like the way her initial, un-thought-out words came out. I don't want to see you hurt either. She wasn't sure where that thought had come from. Eri played with her glasses. Maybe it was from not sleeping well last night. This was hard to sort out, but her mind would get things in order with time.
"Eri, what happened? Are you all right?" He'd rarely heard her like this. She had always been so collected in her thoughts. "Eri..."
"Hakuba-kun is missing. It seems the doctor that you're after took him sometime while we weren't looking. The police can't find him, and he did leave the hospital since. No one knows what's going on; at least, that was the impression I got. You have the strangest luck, and while I don't think you're perfect, you're the only one I can call." Because, for some stupid reason, I trust you. "Please, find him."
"The- Hakuba-kun..." He had watched the boy interact with Conan- Kudo-kun and Hattori-kun. He even watched him saving the teen's life, only for the doctor to- He hadn't thought the dimwitted doctor could do anything to make him madder than he had been, but this did it. "Do the other boys know yet?" He didn't want either of them trying to go after him too. That would just worsen the problem.
"Yes. The police know as well, but I don't know how much they're doing about it, right now. I think they only just learned it. I'm watching Hattori-kun, and I know what you're thinking. I can't move right now. There's always the chance. You're going to have to get this man for me so that I can make sure he doesn't see the light of day for a very, verylong time."
"I almost hope he resists, just so he will never walk again. Watch the kids. I'll track down the other one and the unlucky guy that took him." He hung up and set about calling Megure to get anything further he could on this guy and his background.
LINE BREAK
Takagi ran back downstairs, realizing that he'd been doing a lot of running around recently while he wasn't sleeping. His muscles were starting to protest, but he ignored it. Sato did not look happy and Takagi couldn't blame her. He wasn't either. "Sato-san, I just got off the phone with Shiratori-san. This might be harder than we thought."
Sato did not want more bad news but she did want something to work with. "How much harder is an empty wheelchair and a puddle of blood with three possible sources, and no way to determine who was or was not here?"
"No records, for either." Takagi sighed. "The doctors. Neither of them show up in the system, and when they do, it doesn't make sense. We don't even know the names of who we're looking for." And the fact that both were fake names was unnerving enough. Takagi could feel the emotional toll. He kept seeing Hakuba-kun's face after they were ready to go out and follow Hattori to help Kudo-kun. He'd been so confident. He could only. All the officer could think about was what someone who was angry at the boy might have done. And if the blood was Hakuba's... Why did the doctor go after him? Takagi had done worse, hadn't he? He'd grabbed the man and pulled him away from Hattori, picking Hakuba-kun's side over his authority. Wasn't that more insulting than a teenager who thought they knew better?
"Great." Sato had received the on-site reports and they were also not encouraging. "The blood trail gets us to the street and going left. After that, the blood, from wherever it was dripping from, starts spacing out...a lot. Either the car took off fast, there wasn't that much on the outside of the car, or both. We can try to follow, but even at the first intersection, it was run over and gives two separate directions."
Takagi shook his head. "This feels like Kudo-kun all over again." And in a way, it kind of was. He only wished they could hit upon the same luck finding Hakuba-kun as they had with Kudo-kun. ...Whatever that was.. "We can at least try." His eyes were steadier when they said this at. "I have a description of the car he drove to work from some of the other staff members."
Sato fingered her cell, still in her hand. "Give it to me. Yumi is on today. She can keep an eye out and use the car's radio to put out a BOLO faster than dispatch can."
Takagi nodded. That was a good idea. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of trying to get a hold of the traffic division. He gave her the information, looking around and realizing they didn't have a car. Takagi pointed over to the officers that had come. "Maybe you should-"
Nakamori walked around the building, keeping his daughter close. He didn't know what all the officers were doing here, but he wasn't going to let her get far. His first thoughts had actually been 'what has Kaito-kun done now?', but this was no prank. He walked around, trying to find someone he recognized, when he saw the officer who he'd met when he'd first gone to find out about Kaito-kun. He was talking with someone, but Nakamori didn't care. "What is going on?" It was more of a growl than words. He was through dealing with other division officers.
Takagi jumped, his words disappearing as he stared at the person who had interrupted him. He remembered the man, but only because he'd expected to be yelled at before and wasn't. That didn't mean Takagi was going to say anything, especially when he knew the Inspector had come for Hakuba-kun and Kuroba-kun. Takagi looked at Sato, eyes a bit downcast and maybe more pleading then he would have liked, but she was better at this kind of stuff.
"Ah, Nakamori-keibu. I'm afraid there was a number of incidences that have escalated... and resulted in a second kidnapping."
Aoko covered her mouth. A second kidnapping. It couldn't be. Not..."Please..." She whispered as a silent prayer.
Nakamori wanted to sigh, but that would have been allowing his anger to reside, so instead he huffed. "And who was it?"
Sato knew he had been pretty concerned about Hakuba-kun but this was going to be hard. "Hakuba-kun."
Nakamori let out a few deeper breaths. He had been annoyed to all hell to find out what the Hakuba kid had done that they had called earlier and all but tried to interrogate the boy to find out information. He was not at all happy to hear the kid had been kidnapped. At all. That stupid know-it-all brat was good, but too weak to look out for himself and too cocky to drop the attitude that was anything but weak. All in all, the kid was an idiot because he cared too much, and if someone went and kidnapped him, there wasn't much he'd be able to do to fight back. He knew him well enough to know that Hakuba-kun was a great guy to have on your team when you were hunting someone down, but not when you were instigating a raid. "What happened? Where was he? How do you know he was kidnapped? Where is he now?" Then something in his mind went back to the first time he'd seen Hakuba-kun since all the interrogating, and how the kid was stupid enough to have gotten himself hurt during the pervious kidnapping. That, and the brat went and tried to get up, just to talk to Kaito. Kaito-kun looked just as upset to see hi- Nakamori waved his hand at his daughter. She was smart. She knew both of them just as well as he did. "Go check."
Aoko was shocked but her first thought after Hakuba-kun was Kaito. They had seemed closer after whatever that kidnapping case had involved. He'd be... She had to check on him. She had just turned to tell her father flat out that she was going to Kaito's room when he turned and told her the same. "Gone." She took off at a dead run, well-practiced from chasing Kaito all the time. For her, the stairs would be quicker.
Sato was about to answer when the young lady took off in response to Nakamori-keibu's order. 'Hmmm. She can run pretty fast.' She looked back at the man in front of her and proceeded to recap the events concerning the first bogus doctor and his earlier, unethical attitude, including his almost lethal actions. "If not for Hakuba-kun, the doctor would be facing not only medical malpractice and negligence, but a homicide as well. Hattori-kun is alive and much better than he was even earlier today thanks to that boy. Unfortunately, the doctor did not seem to see it that way and failed to realize that Hakuba-kun was even a patient until Eri-san told him, afterthe guy had put his arm around the teen's shoulders and possibly threatened to have him ejected from the hospital, thinking he was a visitor."
"Never would have happened," Nakamori said on reflex. It wouldn't have. He didn't know this man, though, couldn't guess at what he was thinking. What he did know was that the cops couldn't have been here long. He had a car. He'd wait for Aoko to come back, because he had a sinking feeling that Kaito-kun had to have been up to something while all this happened. Ignoring all logic, he kept his eyes focused on the woman. Doctors barely sat well with him. Bad ones, and ones that had touched Hakuba-kun, and had a chance to touch Kaito-kun, and Kami knew how many other children, and was out there somewhere right now with the boy because Hakuba-kun has saved someone's life, had him beyond the point of angry. It had been a long time since he'd reached this level of fury, and it was all he could do to contain it. "Doctor. Describe him and how he got away."
"A candy striper offered her abilities. I got this sketch of him, a good one. As far as how he got away..." She pointed to the area now marked off. "Wheelchair could have been used to move someone that was unconscious to a car, but the blood only starts here and the drops head out to the street. No real idea what it was that caused it as there was no blood on the wheelchair at all."
"So what? The guy hit someone with his car and we've got a wounded witness out there somewhere?" Nakamori was through with actual facts. He'd had all the ones that were important, now he just needed to see the picture. Nakamori brushed through his pockets, finding a pen in his inner coat pocket and taking out his notebook. He wrote his cell down in writing far too uneven but didn't care. It was legible, though he had to go back over the nine. He handed it to the woman. "Call me if anything- anything comes up." Nakamori tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Aoko. "That boy better not have done anything stupid." Like gotten run over by a car.
Aoko was frantic. She had double-checked both rooms just in case before racing back to the parking lot. She spotted her dad and ran right to him. "OTOUSAN. OTOUSAN, HE'S NOT THERE!"
"Damn it." Nakamori clenched his teeth, his eyes all but venom at the woman now. "Tell me you've seen Kaito-kun."
"Kaito-kun? I haven't seen him since we arrived. Since you were here, I didn't feel the need go check on him."
Takagi shook his head. He'd been busy enough with Hattori-kun and then Kudo-kun. If Hakuba-kun hadn't been in the room, he didn't even think he would have found time to see him right away. They hadn't been up that long, and for something like this to have happened already...
Nakamori wanted something to hit. His daughter and the other two were the only things nearby, so that didn't seem to be happening. Instead, his anger ate at him. "Tell me whose blood that is. AND CALL ME IF YOU FIND KAITO-KUN. That boy can turn 'stupid' into an Olympic sport." He spat out the last part. "Aoko, I'm going to look for Hakuba-kun. I don't know if Kaito-kun's with him, but I know he didn't stay in his room. Come with if you want." Nakamori turned and walked quickly away, shooting an acidic glance back once more. "Any information, you call me! Kaito-kun shows up, you call me five minutes before that!" He was through waiting. If he found out they went against him, he'd turn Tokyo itself upside down to right the wrong.
Aoko looked at the officers and offered only a quick bow. "Please, find Kaito and Hakuba-kun." Then she turned and easily caught up to her father. All she regretted was not grabbing a mop. She'd knock all three of them for a loop, but patch up only two.
Sato looked over at Wataru. "He seems to believe he can do it himself. However, from what I saw, if Kuroba-kun did find out about Hakuba-kun someway, he may have tried to stop it."
Takagi watched them go. After everything that had happened, how had he not thought Kuroba-kun would have done something? "Yeah... I don't know. I can't read him." And it was true. Maybe that was why Takagi didn't like the boy. He trusted him, though he still, after all this time, didn't know if it was misplaced. He'd seen the teenager himself, though, and had a few glances at his wounds. Looking back, Kuroba-kun was the main reason Hattori hadn't hurt himself... Takagi was shocked he was only seeing that now. "No question about it. He would have." Takagi looked around. "You think he was the one that was hurt?"
"I'm not sure. It would make more sense for the injured party to be the unplanned one. That still doesn't explain the other doctor, the one that stopped us. What was he up to?"
"I don't know. That was my first time meeting the guy but-" Takagi literally choked on his words, having to cough. "Was that Kuroba-kun?" He thought it was impossible, but the first time he had met the teen, he'd watched him knock out Hattori-kun seamlessly without touching him. Their nap was unnatural, and those were no drugs... he would have felt something. Hakuba-kun, he could have mistaken for Hattori-kun. The deceptions from the videos… He'd seen- he knew what he'd- Kami, what was that kid doing?
"What?" Wataru had just responded to her question about the doctor with Kuroba-kun's name. "How can a teenage boy do that?"
Takagi just shook his head, his eyes wide. "I have no idea but... I've seen him... do things he shouldn't be able to do. I didn't think about it before but, you know what I told you about the videos, right?" Takagi kept his eyes locked on hers, not believing what he was saying. "Hattori-kun wasn't in them, but the kidnapper thought he was. And after... I don't know how, but Sato-san, we found Kudo-kun because of Kuroba-kun. I don't know what he did or how he did it, but if that was him, what happened?" Takagi frowned a little at the last part, feeling himself worry about the teenager, not for the first time, but for the first time that he would acknowledge it.
"So, what is he? Some kind of actor-in-training or maybe a hypnotist? Are you saying he's the reason we were both out cold." Sato folded her arms. Really. How many teens had secret abilities?
"I... I don't know." But that didn't sound right. "I... I don't think it was hypnotism or anything. He didn't look at Hattori-kun." Takagi sighed, something both worried and... maybe awed? "He came with us. He got Hakuba-kun out of the station, somehow contacted Hattori-kun. He- he was able to run faster than all of us to catch him. He knocked us both out the first time, and then took the second task as well, all without... I didn't feel... I don't know, at the time it didn't seem like he was doing as much. Then he left and somehow got the information even we couldn't get. He brought some of the case files before that. I don't know where he got them. Sato-san..." Takagi frowned. "That's not right. He shouldn't have been able to do all that, no matter how gifted he is." Takagi looked up, as his eyes seemed to have fallen while he was thinking aloud. "And... I think he just passed himself off as a doctor, too. That's... beyondimpossible..."
"The files. I was looking through them in the archives... I started to feel tired and then collapsed, I guess. I woke up against the back wall, of all places, and the files were gone. Could it be possible that he...?" Sato wasn't sure what to believe now, nor what to question.
Takagi's frown deepened. "I- I have to talk to Hattori-kun. They- I don't think they knew each other before but I- I'll see." There wasn't anything he could do, and he was going to go back to the room anyway to ask Eri-san for her car. This would sooth his curiosity and get him what he needed.
"I'll wait here and see if I can get any more info. Do. Not. Leave. Without me."
"I wouldn't do that." Takagi was a bit ashamed and sad that she had to say that. He'd only kept her away the first time because it was hard enough trying to handle Hattori-kun. He hadn't had room for her. He hadn't even really had room for Kuroba-kun and Hakuba-kun, though he'd tried. He really did care about Hakuba-kun. Kuroba-kun was more... as indescribable in person as he was in his mind. "I'm going to ask Eri-san for her car." Takagi went back in the hospital, hoping this was the last kidnapping that they wound up in for some time to come.
Eri watched, hearing the knock at the door and inviting Takagi-keiji in. He'd spoken up, so she knew it was him.
Takagi walked in, looking at the woman, and then at Hattori-kun who looked like he was sleeping, his hand still on Kudo-kun. Takagi smiled at that, turning back to Eri-san. "Can I borrow your car for a while? I don't have one and Sato-san was try-"
Eri raised a hand to get the officer to shut up, taking her keys out of her pocket and throwing them to him. "Not a scratch and you'd better come back with Hakuba-kun."
Takagi nodded, looking back and forth between the two before going over to Hattori and shaking his shoulder. "Hey, Hattori-kun. It's me. We didn't find him yet... but I wanted to ask you about something."
"What do you think you're doing? Let him rest." After all the consideration she'd seen Takagi-keiji show Hattori-kun before, Eri was surprised and a little angry that he was bothering him. She had been too far away to stop it and odds were that had already started to rouse him.
"Sorry," Takagi said as he looked back at her. "I need to know something. Hakuba-kun... isn't the only one who's missing. Kuroba-kun is too."
She hadn't met the other boy, but the name had come up a few times and she wasn't one to forget important information, such as the names of the victims involved in this case. Most of what she'd heard of him, she'd heard from her husband. Now both of them were missing? Eri played with her phone, waiting for the officer to leave. You really need to step up your game. They need you.
Takagi gently shook Hattori's shoulder again. "I just need to talk to you for a little while. You can go right back to sleep afterwards."
Heiji moaned. He had found he actually was tired enough to start falling asleep regardless of how much he wanted to stay awake and make sure none of the others were hurt. He opened his eyes and checked on Kudo first, hand slipping to the forehead for a moment and relieved that it wasn't as warm as it had been. "Yeah..." Takagi-keiji. It must have had to do with Hakuba or the doctor or both, because anything else seemed unimportant. "Ya find 'em?"
"No... but we're looking, and there have been a lot of things coming up." And I'm not alone in this. The other officers will need to know if there's another minor involved in this kidnapping, let alone another patient. "The man's going to be harder to find than we thought." Takagi tightened his other hand at his side as his thoughts took control of his emotions. "Really, Hattori-kun, how do these people find you?" He sighed before containing. "And, I know it sounds weird but, I didn't notice, and the doctor," and why am I only now seeing how much you trusted him. The first thing you did when I asked about him was defend him. "He is missing... and... why add another person to the list if they're not really gone? That was Kuroba-kun, wasn't it?"
"He's missin'! Da-" Heiji was a bit slow to catch the rest, and when he did, he was shocked, then half relieved, half worried. If 'Yoshiro-sensei' was missing, that meant Kuroba had finished up with that disguise and had either become someone else or found Hakuba and possibly the doctor too- but how had Takagi-keiji drawn that conclusion? Unless he knew Kuroba wasn't in his bed anymore. "Why would ya think that? What aren't ya sayin'?"
"I'm not saying anything." Takagi sighed. "Nakamori-keibu showed up. He seemed to think Kuroba-kun was missing when he found out Hakuba-kun was. And he is. I called in to the Inspector earlier, to report in and try and find some information. Shiratori-san couldn't tell me much, but he as good as said there was nothing on the doctor... either of them. I don't know." Takagi stopped. It was more of everything compiled together that he'd noticed about him, but mostly the fact that he was now missing a gap in time, surely because he was unconscious, and only Kuroba-kun had done that. "But he was here. He was looking for Hakuba-kun, wasn't he? I don't... really get the doctor thing, but I- it's him." Takagi was almost sure of it; he just needed to hear Hattori say it so he could figure out how one high school boy had done all that he had.
'Damn. He had to have found somethin' but... Why didn't he get help from them? Unless he hadn't- yet.' "What was he up to?" Heiji looked over at Kudo. He had allowed himself to be hurt and risked his life for him. No doubt something similar had happened. Now the two of them were missing, both still hurt, and the likely kidnapper had a grudge against Hakuba. "Takagi-keiji..." Heiji looked back over. "It was a way ta check on us. Hakuba had a tough time bein' allowed... ta visit. I doubt he'd have been allowed fer awhile yet. Damn." Heiji took a few breaths and sat up fast, keeping one hand on Kudo and using the other to reach for the side of the bed and steady himself. He knew it wasn't that smart, but he had to be sitting up before either adult stopped him.
Takagi was right. He still didn't understand, but that could wait. He had other things on his mind. "Hattori-kun!"he said, worriedly and as quietly as he could in the hospital. "You shouldn't be moving, yet!"
"I can't just lay down. I need ta- Damn." Heiji couldn't explain it. He was worried about something. He did not want to be laying down- not right now. He couldn't.
"Hattori-kun, you don't need to do anything. We're looking for them. I'm about to head out with Sato-san right now." Not that we have any idea where we're going... Takagi spoke quietly and calmly, though, with a hint of certainty, because that was what Hattori needed. "You're hurt, and you only just started getting better. You have to rest or you could make your injuries worse. They're still not sure what caused the relapse. We don't need to be running after all three of you- four of you."
"I- I don't know. I ain't leavin' 'im alone. I mean-" He glanced at Neechan's mom quickly. "I ain' goin' anywhere. I jus' need ta..." Heiji shook his head. He was getting more and more uncomfortable and confused about what exactly was causing it. "I'll be stayin' here wi' 'im." He confirmed his contact with Kudo before looking at Takagi-keiji. "Ya find that guy an' get the others back." He looked down, first toward Kudo, and then placed his hand on his side. Both of them had saved their lives... "If he hurt either of them..." he whispered.
Takagi could understand the feeling, so he nodded. "We're going to find them." He didn't know how they were going to do that yet, but Takagi was sure that they were going to. They had to. He had to call Shiratori-san and give him an update before... or while he had headed out. "Take care of yourself," Takagi said as he headed out. He needed Hattori-kun to stay safe, just for a little while. There were enough people in danger, and Hattori-kun kept putting himself in the middle of it. Though... Takagi was sure he would have done the same.
Heiji nodded, but looked over at the one beside him and silently added that he would be taking care of Kudo, who was still out and again worse than he was.
Takagi pulled out his cell, going back down, taking the stairs because it was easier and he needed time on the phone, anyway. He called Shiratori-san, hearing the same tired voice on the other end of the line. It took Takagi until right then to wondered if he had slept. He'd been in contact with Shiratori since about the time Kudo-kun had been kidnapped... and that was a while ago. He stopped on the stairwell. Sato would be outside, and it was hard to have a conversation around a second conversation.
Shiratori picked up his cell, pulling over. He'd been driving around, going through to all the companies that set up cameras at intersections and, since they had a description and basic timeframe to work with, was trying to find where the man had gone. It felt like looking at a mile long picture with pinpoint differences. "Yes?"
"Ah, yes sir. It seems that when Hakuba-kun was taken, Kuroba-kun disappeared as well." Takagi sighed, hating those words over and over. "It looks like they're both together, though I don't really get that."
Shiratori rubbed a hand over one side of his face. "So was the other boy kidnapped as well, or are you not sure what that word means anymore?"
"It's not that, it's just... Sato-san and I ran into Kuroba-kun before the man got away. He knew Hakuba-kun had been taken and he was just worried about his friend." Takagi had also spent a good deal of time with that boy, and while he couldn't understand the reason, he understood the means. He couldn't picture Kuroba-kun getting kidnapped, especially if he was looking out for something like that. That is, if he didn't purposely get kidnapped, too. "There's a lot of things about this I don't know, but I do know they're together with the man we're after."
Shiratori breathed out. "Okay, I'll get the word out about both of them. I'm looking into finding the basic direction our perpetrator left in. I'll call you back if I find anything." He didn't have to. He really didn't have to. Every time Takagi-kun was involved with something, it became his mess. He was going to call him anyway. "If you find any leads, be sure to phone them in this time."
Takagi nodded, noting that Shiratori-san wouldn't see it and answering after. "Of course. Gomenasai about earlier. I- I wasn't sure about Hattori-kun, and Hakuba-kun was-"
"Takagi-kun." Shiratori could barely keep his eyes open. He wasn't in the mood to sit there and listen to apologies. "We'll discuss it later. Right now, we have a job to do."
Takagi stupidly nodded again, answering. "I know. I'll call you back if we find anything." He hung up with him. Really, what was it that was so off about him? He'd never seen him try so hard before. Not that he didn't normally, but-... Takagi shook his head. It didn't matter. He was right. There was a job to do. He headed back outside to find Sato so they could at least try. It looked like Kuroba-kun had accomplished more than they had... but why had he knocked them out? It didn't make sense.
Sato was watching the door. 'What is taking Wata- Takagi-kun so long?' She had decided with herself that, on the job, using 'Takagi' like he was using 'Sato' was much more professional. She had been surprised when she heard her phone ring, and answered it with a mixture of curiosity and worry when she saw it was Yumi. The traffic division officer told her that there had been an accident caused by a car running a stop sign, and the description matched that of the doctor's car. Sato thanked her and received a promise that all units were still on the lookout for it. Yumi then ran the place and the time it would take to get there. The guy was either taking his time or driving in circles, as the place was about 20 minutes away and more time than that had passed. 'Only one reason I can think of for that. Either he wants to make sure he's not being followed, or he doesn't want a passenger to know the way. For that to work, the passenger likely can't see where they are going.'
Takagi took a few quick steps over to Sato. She hadn't moved since he left, as far as he could tell. "Hi, sorry." Takagi smiled a little, taking the keys out of his pocket and throwing them to her. "She's the second from the end. Um... and she said not to leave a scratch on it." Takagi shrank back just a little at the expression she had given him. Either she was serious and would eat him if there were so much as a speck of dirt, or she wanted the kids found... or both. "And... Kuroba-kun is missing. He was the doctor." Takagi shook his head. "I don't know why, and it was bothering Hattori-kun, so I thought it could wait. I don't know... we might have another kidnapping, or he found some way to purposely follow them." Takagi shrugged. "I don't know, but there's two of them now."
'Great.' "Yumi called. Our guy ran a stop sign and caused an accident, but he himself got through clean. I figure we head that way and see if we can spot him." Sato knew the car now and headed out the door for it, reaching it by the time she had finished speaking. She climbed in and started the car, ready to hit the road as soon as Wataru was in, and hit it hard.
Takagi was not at all surprised about the speed, but he didn't want her doing that. He put a hand on her shoulder before they got too far. "Turn around."
"What? Why? We don't want him getting further away."
Takagi wasn't sure, it was just a guess, but it was strong enough that he couldn't help it. "You'd notice if you caused an accident, right? I'm sure if he got away from it, he wouldn't be going in the same direction as the accident. It would be like a beacon." Takagi pointed behind them. "Don't you think he might have headed the other way?"
Sato looked over at him in surprise. If an accident was caused, it would draw the police- there and past it, if they were looking for him. Which they were. "Good point. Hold on."
Takagi held on. He didn't need to be told. He did feel a light color come to his face, though. It wasn't often that he'd been taken seriously, and this was just a guess. He at least hoped he wasn't dragging them any further backwards.
Kaito was mad. No. Mad would have been too lenient. And he was scared, something he hadn't really been in a long time. Getter hurt wasn't scary, falling off a building wasn't scary, even going up against a gun - or worse, Aoko - wasn't scary. Being able to do nothing while someone did whatever they wanted to one of his only friends - could kill him for all Kaito knew... that was scary. The fear was only feeding his anger, and the farther away they got from the others, the more and more Kaito's less dominant personality took over. He was hurt, he knew that, but he was as much of a wolf as he was rabbit. Even hurt, he wasn't one to be messed with. It hurt that it was Hakuba, made the anger more powerful than even against Snake. Because his dad was dead. He didn't have the chance to help him. Now, one of the only people who he'd ever really let into his life was the one in danger. He would have felt no different if it were Aoko or her father, or even his own mother. Those four - Hattori didn't even make it there - were special, and they were worth far more than his own life. Kaito was possessive and he knew it. They were his, and no one was going to hurt them; and if he lost them... Kaito held on tighter. That wasn't going to happen, but if it did, this man wouldn't survive the week. He'd hunt him down and make him pay if it was the last thing he did.
He looked over at his passenger. He figured the kid, no matter how good, would have no chance now. He was still angry, and the fact he had almost been stopped had just increased that. This boy would pay for all of it. He had spouted his ideas and turned the others against him- both about the other boy and then he played it up and got them mad at him just for touching his shoulders. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had changed his mind and started to tell him what to do again. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reached over and pulled the blanket down. "So, you enjoy being all high and mighty, and you work the pity angle when it suits you. Well, you won't get any pity from me." He smiled and grabbed the boy's shoulder like before, only to feel something different under the shirt. "Hmmm." He hadn't trained as a doctor for nothing. He had the top buttons undone and pulled the back of the shirt down enough to see the bandage. "So, you were hurt." He grabbed it and yanked the bandage off. "Big deal. I'll make sure you really have something to cry about, not that that woman will ever see you to hear it."
Saguru wished he could move. He couldn't stop the man from doing as he wished, and from the sound of it, this guy had snapped. The feel of fresh air as the blanket was removed had been a relief at first, until the man grabbed him. The bandage did a good job of protecting it, but it seemed the guy noticed it. Him opening his shirt and looking at his back was embarrassing enough, but when he removed the bandage, Saguru closed his eyes, which he had only recently been able to open. The further threats only heightened his apprehension.
He grinned to himself. He couldn't wait to get the chance to really put this kid in his place. "We get there, you can kiss everything else good bye."
Saguru had been fighting with his unresponsive body for as long as he had been awake, and was managing some motion of his own. With that, he turned his head to look at the man. "No... you will... when you... get caught-"
So the kid was starting to move already. He needed to stop that as soon as he reached his destination. The boy's words were once more aimed at telling him what was going to happen to him- when he had no power to do anything about it. He smacked the kid a good one, just to shut him up for the moment. He'd enjoy listening to him apologizing later.
"AH!" Saguru had not intended to yell, but the man's blow had caught him by surprise and he had had no time to prepare himself. He could feel the pain on the side of his face and chose, for the time being, to remain quiet as he shifted his fingers slightly. He could only hope that he would soon be able to move enough to get the belt undone, followed by the door, and hope that the man was still driving slow enough that he would survive the jump.
He really smiled now. The kid had yelled. He'd only gotten a small 'ow' last time and nothing after. Now that he knew he could get him to actually acknowledge him and follow his orders, he could use that. "So that's what it takes to get you to do what you're told. I'll keep that in mind."
Saguru held his tongue. He was not going to rise to this man's bait. He inchedhis fingers closer to the belt and hoped he could release it without being spotted. He still had to get his hands to the door and get that open, but he had no time to wait any longer.