Chapter 5

I'm begging for you to take my hand

Aoko stood by the door, glancing at the wall clock.

8:55 in the morning

She was going to catch Kaito if he was even one minute late. Hey, he promised 9 o' clock so 9 o' clock she waited.

She took one last look at the hallway mirror. She was wearing black jeans that fit her nicely and a light blue blouse. Nodding, she slipped on her shoes.

8:59 in the morning

Ding Dong

Aoko practically flung the door open, the sight of Kaito surprising her.

"Am I on time or what?" Kaito gloated.

Aoko rolled her eyes, then took a step back. "Hey, we match."

And true enough, Kaito was also wearing black jeans and a blue dress shirt. Kaito laughed.

"Great now we look like siblings or a couple."

"So which one is it?" Aoko said, tilting her head.

"Hmmm. I'll let you decide," he winked and pulled her arm. "Come on, people are waiting!"

"I'm in!" Aoko proclaimed. Tonight's mission was in a high class hotel and the security system was fully automated. Not a problem for her and Ai.

"Can you do something about the cameras on the left wing?" Said Hakuba's voice into her ear phones.

"Done and done!"

"Great. I'm on standby now," the British detective said.

"How's everything in the ballroom?" Asked Ai.

Kaito was disguised as an old woman. "She" bumped into one of the waiters, and pickpocketed a necklace. Why did the waiter have a necklace? Well, tonight's mission was to intercept a group of thieves who also specialized in pickpocketing and hustling.

"They think they've got all the jewels but I've returned them already," Kaito said, you can practically hear his smug smile. "They probably won't notice they have fakes til they've left."

The main attraction, however, was the emerald currently in the necklace of Suzuki Sonoko, the heiress of the Suzuki group.

Sonoko stumbled a bit because of her shoes' broken heel. (Due to a precise hit from Kaito's card gun.) And a waiter was helping her reach the secured lounge.

CRASH

Hakuba collided with the two. The waiter's uniform was stained red from the wine glass in the former's hand.

"I'm so sorry! Here, let me," Hakuba said in straight English.

The waiter swatted the blond's arm away. "Great, now I gotta change." He looked at Sonoko then at Hakuba. "I'll come back, miss."

"That's okay," Sonoko said and grabbed on to Hakuba's arm. "I'm fine right here! Can you speak Japanese?"

"Perfectly fine," he winked and the girl swooned. "But I believe you dropped this?"

He presented the emerald necklace.

"Oh! Thank you! Uncle would be pissed if I lost it!"

"No problem. But I have to go, miss. It was lovely bumping into you." Hakuba gave a slight bow and walked back the way he came from.

"Bait and switch success," he said just loud enough to reach his ear piece.

"Well done," Chikage replied. "Alright boys, rendezvous in 5 minutes. The party is dwindling down."

It took Kaito, Hakuba, Shinichi, and Heiji to pull this off. It was a busy night! They ditched their disguises at the meet up point. A car slowed down before them. The window was rolled down.

"Hop in Hakuba,". Chikage said. "Nice play tonight! See you at headquarters after you've all rested, and I mean it Shinichi!"

"What?" Shinichi said.

"You over work."

"Just my nature, part of my charm."

Kaito made a gagging noise. "Save it for Ran." He walked to the side trees and readied his motorcycle. From the other side, Heiji mounted his own motorcycle.

Shinichi ignored the comment and reached his own car. The four vehicles went their separate ways well into the night.

"I know what you're up to."

Aoko froze. Crap it's Kaito. She should've closed the curtains. She looked at the balcony across hers. "W-what do you mean?" Aoko stepped out, and forced an innocent smile.

"You're tagging along Shinichi."

"What makes you think that?"

"You linger around his desk, research things out of your role, and look into your father's files," Kaito shrugged. "Also he already knows. He's paranoid like that."

Aoko sighed. "I just wanna help..."

Before she knew it, Kaito jumped and gracefully landed on her balcony's railings.

"Hey! Don't surprise me like that!" Aoko looked up at him and he descended onto the floor.

"Just a flamboyant habit." Kaito said. "But you really should stay away from the syndicate case. Shinichi, Hakuba, and Heiji will handle it. Three of the four geniuses you'll ever meet!"

Aoko put a hand on her hip. "And I take it you're the fourth?"

"Undoubtedly," he winked.

Aoko laughed. She's been tense for a while now especially since the men in trench coats recently made an appearance. But being like this with Kaito, it made her feel at ease.

"This is nice," she suddenly said.

"What is?" Kaito said.

"You and the breeze." The sky was overcast and it was bright and slightly windy. She smiled. "Thanks."

"I didn't even do anything."

"Maybe it's magic," she mumbled, unsure if Kaito caught that. But in a small voice he replied.

"Maybe."