Tokyo: 10:10 a.m
Panay: 9:10 a.m
'This is so wrong' Sato thought to herself with a glum expression as she clicked through the channels on her television. She was clad in the same pajamas she had worn to bed, feeling no particular need to clothe herself in anything presentable. 'First I get the weekend off, then Wataru proposes, and now….' This track of thought had been looping through her mind since the second she woke up, which was nearly two hours prior 'now I'm here alone and he has to work all weekend. I can't believe him, who volunteers to take three consecutive sixteen hour shifts?' she sighed and let her head fall onto the arm of the couch.
"Takagi-kun!" Megure yelled out from the other end of the floor. Takagi had been dosing off so the booming voice of his superior caused him to leap up out of his chair and stand at attention with his hand placed instinctively on his forehead in a salute
"Hai!" Megure strode over to him with a business-like expression
"Takagi-kun we're needed at the Beika Hospital" Takagi lowered his hand wiped his face in order to clear away any evidence of his mid day nap
"Is this about Mouri-san and Kudo-san?" Megure nodded, pinching the bill of his hat
"Hai, Mouri-kun called and asked if we wouldn't mind coming and talking with them about the incident in more detail. Apparently there is a lot more to this case than just what occurred last night" Takagi absorbed the information but formed a questioning look on his face
"But Megure-keibu, why are you taking me instead of Shiratori-san or another higher ranking officer?" Megure couldn't help but scratch the back of his head and returned the puzzled expression Takagi had given him
"Well that's the strange thing, Kudo-kun requested you specifically. He didn't give a reason, he just said 'Oh and keibu, bring Takagi-keiji with you'. When I asked him why he said he'd explain when we arrived. I trust Kudo-kun's judgment so there must be a reason" Takagi nodded and Megure regained his serious countenance. Without a word Megure turned and walked away, leaving Takagi to fumble around with his paperwork before chasing after him
"Megure said he'd be here in fifteen minutes" Kogoro stated as he walked into the hospital room. Despite Heiji's injury he insisted on being given a wheelchair so he could congregate with his friends as well as his fellow ward members. Agasa's doctor decided he'd healed enough to be mobilized so he was allowed to walk on his own. Haibara's room had been chosen as the place for everyone to lounge in, considering that she was the only person incapable of moving. The group had brought in some extra chairs so all of the women and Agasa could sit while Shinichi and Kogoro stood.
"So you're sure about this Kudo?" Heiji asked, twirling his chair around to face him
"I'm sure. Telling the police will not only give us more freedom and resources to investigate with, but it will also help us keep the incident out of the media for the time being" Ran, who was seated in front of Shinichi turned her head to indicate she was speaking to him
"But Shinichi won't the police want to take over the case?" Shinichi shook his head and placed his hands on the back of her seat
"That won't be a problem, for one Mouri-san and I have enough leverage with the police that they will respect our wishes. And furthermore they have more experience than we do with armed invasions and capturing culprits. Their support is vital if we plan to go to Panay Island" as the words spilled out of his mouth every head in the room jerked around to look at him. Even Haibara lifted her head up off of her pillow and sent him a glare
"Wait if we what?" Heiji roared with shock and fear
"Kudo-kun that's stupid, we can't just go off to another country like that I mean we have school tomorrow" a vein pulsated on Heiji's temple as he spun around to face his lady love
"Aho! This is no time to think about school!" Kazuha rose from her seat and pointed her index finger at him
"You're the Aho AND you're in a wheelchair how can you expect to do much of anything!" Heiji moved to stand up but quickly felt a surge of pain in his shoulder and fell back down. Kazuha's expression softened and she reached down to tend to him while he gripped his shoulder. As they shared an intimate moment Kogoro snorted and turned back to face Shinichi
"That kid is right, this is a stupid plan"
"Honey you know he's right stop being cold to him because he's dating your daughter" Eri snickered to herself as the faces of her daughter, her husband and Shinichi all burst into bright red
"But Ran said-" he cut himself off and looked own at his daughter who, to everyone's surprise, said nothing in the way of a denial. Shinichi had quickly noticed this and chose to remain silent as well. With a lack of verbal dispute to the point acting as conformation Kogoro's face turned crimson with frustration and unwarranted rage and he huffed out of the room. Eri gave each of the teenagers a comforting smile before she rose to track down her hyper-emotional husband.
"So Kudo…" Heiji started with a taunting grin on his face. Ran and Shinichi's cheeks were colored even darker and Heiji chose to let insinuation speak for itself
"So where are we going Kaito" Aoko grilled him with a confused yet overwhelmingly curious expression. Kaito had been avoiding this query since the moment they left his house and he had been doing a pretty terrible job of it
"Uh it's….a surprise" he spat out unconvincingly. Aoko's face hardened and she turned her head away from him
"You've been saying that for nearly an hour now, why don't you just come out and say it?" 'Because I don't have the words to tell you…'
"Because that would ruin the surprise silly girl. Tell you what, how about I give you a hint so you can occupy your mind while we walk" Aoko seemed unsure for a moment but conceded and turned back toward him
"Fine, what's the hint?" Kaito smirked and slowly slid both of his hands into the opposite sides of his button up shirt then, in a flash he ripped them out revealing a spray of confetti and a swarm of doves. Aoko jumped at the sudden burst of color and movement but settled when she realized what was happening
"That's my hint?" Kaito wiped each sleeve of his shirt and shot her a confident glance
"Yup and I'm not saying another word until we get there which should be in about ten minutes so you better think fast if you want to guess before then" Aoko's face contorted as her brain went to work which amused him. 'There's no way you'll guess this, but not to worry, you'll know soon enough Aoko…'
"Sir" Snake said with intent into the receiver of his phone
"What is it Snake?" that person asked, seemingly disinterested
"I've set the trap for the Kaito KID" a devious sneer painted itself on that person's face
"Excellent Snake, now all we have to do is wait, he'll come soon enough, and when he does-"
"Bang" Snake interjected suavely, finishing his superior's sentence with a calm and sinister tone
"Precisely my friend. This is one target that has eluded us far too long. We'll clean up the mess with all of these failed test experiments and finish off that illustrious fool in white in the process."
"I can't wait. Until then, what are your orders?"
"Continue to monitor him but take no action. Let him come to us on his own terms"
"I have one question" Snake stated hesitantly
"Please ask it"
"What if he doesn't pursue us? It may seem stupid knowing that bastard but it seems as if he wasn't really in this to stop us at all. It's like he only wanted the gem" that person chuckled lightly into the phone, causing Snake to growl in anger
"You give him far too much credit. If nothing else his curiosity will get the better of him."
"I understand. I will continue monitoring the target until further notice" that person laughed heartily into the phone
"Snake no need to be so official, we've worked together for many years now." Sanke grinned to himself and sighed in relief
"Gomen, Shouchuu-san"
"Oh Mouri-kun!" Megure exclaimed from across the waiting room, catching Kogoro and Eri off guard
"Keibu you're here already? It's hardly been five minutes" Megure scratched the back of his head and laughed trying to hide his embarrassment at the mis-estimate
"Well you see I calculate my arrival time including traffic and this morning there really wasn't any"
"It was actually pretty strange" Takagi chimed in to support his boss' point. Kogoro nodded in understanding and pointed at the room where Haibara was being treated
"They're all in there keibu, including that Kudo brat" Eri slapped his arm with a stern look
"Kogoro what did I tell you about that?" Kogoro brushed her hand off and stomped away toward the room that Megure and Takagi were heading toward. Megure opened the door and all three of them entered followed fairly closely by Eri who had her arms folded in front of her and appeared irritated
"Oh good keibu you're here" Megure was flattered by the comment but coughed and regained his professional composure
"Uh Kudo-kun why is it you called us here?" Shinichi grinned confidently and turned to face the inspector fully
"Keibu, I need your help. The men that did this to Haibara and Hattori, we know who they are and where they are. What we need is assistance in apprehending them" Megure and Takagi looked at one another in disbelief for a second
"Well who are they?" Takagi asked with his notepad in hand
"We don't know them by names, only aliases. A few of them are Vermouth, Vodka and Gin but there are others. Look there names aren't important, they are all part of a multi-national crime syndicate and they have a base in the Philippines" Megure rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly a few times, trying to snap out of the apparent daydream he was in
"How did you come across this information? How are you involved in this Kudo-kun?" Shinichi heaved a heavy sigh and bowed his head for a moment. After mustering up the internal fortitude necessary to answer the chief's question he raised his head and stared him in the eyes
"That case that I've been away on all this time, well, that was it. I was…affected by them and I took it upon myself to pursue them. Unfortunately I got in too deep and I was forced to stay away from here for fear of getting those closest to me hurt" Megure's expression hardened as he tried to digest all of the information. While he was gripped to silence Takagi swallowed hard and addressed Shinichi
"So Kudo-san you were being pursued by this syndicate and that's why you stayed away?" Shinichi nodded with a heavy heart. He glanced down to see that Ran's countenance was one to match his; dark and dreary
"Ran…" he whispered, hoping she would hear him but intending for her to. Her ear pricked up and she swiveled toward him. Her eyes were wide and red with the obvious signs of tears forming. He could only imagine what she was thinking and feeling. He knew he needed to relieve her stress so in a characteristic move he leaned over to place his mouth by her ear and whispered almost inaudibly "I promise I'll explain everything" before she could even acknowledge his words Takagi spoke up again
"So where exactly is this 'base'?"
"Panay Island, on the western coast of the Philippines" Takagi nodded knowingly
"Right I went to that place when I was seven for a vacation with my family" Shinichi glum expression quickly dashed Takagi's cheerful disposition which had developed as a result of his fond memory
"A lot has changed since then"
So boss has a name now huh? And how is this bit with Kaito going to relate to everything that's happening? Questions will be answered as the story progresses
we're only chapters away from the beginning of the end so stay tuned and remember
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