Chapter 6

Wreck my plans

It was a coincidence. It had to be. Kaito was wary of the news.

"Alright team," Chikage cleared her throat. "As you may have heard, the 8th floor of Beika's largest shopping mall will be turned into a jewelry shop called Pandora.

"The star of the show is a diamond also called Pandora. And the guest list for the grand opening is yet to be finalized. The floor will be completely transformed in half a month, so let's be ready by then," she finished.

Thus, the group went on with their daily operations; finalizing reports, mapping out blueprints, fixing gadgets, scheduling training sessions and check ups.

Kaito went to Chikage. "Mom. Do you think...?"

The older woman sighed. "I'm not sure if those interested parties are the same ones responsible for your father's death. So try to relax for now."

Kaito ran his hand through his hair. "How can I relax?! This is a lead!"

Chikage put her arm around his shoulder. "Dear, it'll be okay. But for now...

"Aoko! Come over! You and Kaito are in charge of attires!" She proclaimed happily.

Aoko looked up from her desk. "Are we all going to the event?"

"Except for Ai, Agasa, and Kazuha, we'll be there. So pick out something nice for me, okay?" She winked.

Aoko and Kaito were ushered out of headquarters and left to their own devices. They walked to the nearest mall.

"Your mom is trying to distract you, huh?" Aoko asked. "Can I know why?"

Kaito was silent, and Aoko waited.

"My dad was a magician. A magician thief," he looked at her, gauging her reaction. Aoko was passive and she listened. "He ran into deep trouble with a group of robbers though they did more than just that." He ran a hand through his hair.

"We started this team in hopes to bring down whoever was responsible for his death... but we became something more."

"And you think those responsible are coming to the opening?"

Kaito gave a curt nod. "From the things my dad left, mom and I figured he was after a gem called Pandora. That was his last target.

"And now it finally appeared. And I bet those same men are gonna make an appearance too."

"We'll get them," Aoko said. She looked at Kaito, echoing the words Kazuha told her before, "They'll get what's coming to them."

So here's what went down. They got a knee length red halter dress for Ran, a simple strapped lavender dress for Chikage, a black suit and matching polo plus a green tie for Heiji, and a white Greek-inspired dress with a gold belt for Aoko. For the rest of the team, they already owned suits for the occasion.

"Why is shopping so tiring, we've gone all over the mall," Kaito complained.

"We went to three stores. Suck it up," Aoko retorted. She gave their haul to him (It's light so stop complaining) and they went back to headquarters. But on their way, they chanced upon an ice cream truck. Kaito gave a passing glance.

"Do you want some?" Aoko looked at him, she noticed the slight change in his facial expression. "Your face says so."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "I don't want ice cream, mom."

But it was pointless, Aoko was already lining up. She came back in a couple of minutes.

"Here. Chocolate, right?"

Kaito pouted but accepted the ice cream nonetheless. "You didn't have to. Why do you like toothpaste flavor anyway?"

"You're so cold sometimes, like ice cream," Aoko said and took a lick of her own choco-mint dessert.

"Ah but—"

"Ice cream can also be sweet?" Aoko guessed, unimpressed.

"Correctamundo!" Kaito replied happily.

Aoko laughed. "You're an idiot. Come on, let's go."

Dashing. They were dashing. Okay, dashing couldn't even cover it.

They stood before the entrance hall of the lavish store. Kaito wore a blue polo, a red tie, and surprisingly— white pants. Kind of a bold statement but he looked hella fine. In contrast to him, Hakuba wore a dark blue suit, and matching tie with a light blue polo. Shinichi donned a blue suit with a white polo and a red bow tie which Ran was fixing for the third time this evening.

"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing," Kaito said right into Aoko's ear. She jumped then gave him a look.

"Don't be an idiot. Focus!"

"I guess you haven't focused on the double takes you've received tonight."

Aoko flushed and hooked onto his arm. "Then let's give something to look at," she grinned. They slowly made their way across the floor with some oooohs and aaaahs from Aoko that weren't half hearted at all.

The entire floor was bright with jewelry cases displayed in every inch of the store. The whole place practically glittered. That being said, wouldn't the men in black trench coats appear out of place? Or are they hiding amongst the guests?

And with that thought, the lights of the whole floor went out. There was some commotion and the sound of glass breaking shocked the place. The generators kicked in after a few seconds, and the display case of Pandora was smashed.

Kaito clicked his tongue. "So crude." And he ran to the elevator before anyone else moved or figured out what just happened.

Snake cursed. The elevator was taking too long so he headed for the stairs. Kaito followed in hot pursuit until they reached the 12th floor.

"He's in my sight! We're at the twelfth floor!" Kaito said into his ear piece.

"Shut it, kid. I have Pandora," Snake said, trying to level the field. "My men are on their way. You'll be outnumbered."

"No you don't," Kaito said in a teasing manner. He reached into his suit and waved the giant gem. "We'll be taking this, but first I need to know. Why did you kill Kuroba Toichi?"

"I don't know anyone named that," Snake spat.

Kaito donned a white blazer over his polo. He took out a white top hat and monocle too. It was his father's trademark suit. "Look again and tell me you don't know him."

Snake eyed him. "Pandora is more precious than any other gem in the world. It has a smaller gem embedded in it and it's supposed to give eternal life."

"You don't look like the type to believe in myths like eternal life," Kaito raised an eyebrow.

"I don't, but clients do. And your Kuroba Toichi just got in the way. He didn't even beg for his life. We just shot him quick and clean. And that was doing him a favor."

"You bastar—"

Ping!

Kaito's curses were cut short by the elevator suddenly opening.

"Ah, Snake. We finally meet." Chikage appeared with two card guns, one in each hand. "It's over. The police are here." She shot at him twice, one successfully hitting his hand with the gun. The weapon fell to the floor.

Snake cursed. "Damn woman!" As he spoke, his back up arrived from the other end of the floor. "Where were you idiots?" Then he belatedly realized that his men were running away from something too.

"Boss! Trouble!"

Shinichi and Hakuba appeared with guns aimed at the men. Aoko, Ran, and Heiji were right behind them.

Snake cursed again. They were surrounded.

"Come quietly," Chikage said as she stepped closer, card guns still aimed at him.

Snake and his men were forced back to back. It was then he grabbed another gun from behind him and kept shooting haphazardly.

"I ain't going anywhere without a fight!"

More shots from Snake and more cards from Chikage. The woman nodded at someone behind Snake, and he noticed it was too late. His gun was kicked off his hand by Ran.

Ran gave him several punches in the gut until he sank to his knees and passed out.

Kaito looked behind Ran and saw Snake's goons all defeated. He whistled.

"Wow Ran, you really messed them up," Kaito said.

"That's because they kept running away!" She defended.

"It's alright," Chikage said. "Now let's make it neat for our policemen to round them up!"

Finally, the whole event was over. Pandora was returned to its rightful owner, Snake and his men were escorted to police cars, and the guests left with no casualties. Such an eventful night.

Kaito approached Chikage. "Mom," he swallowed. They were safe at home now. "Snake said— he said—"

Suddenly she hugged him. "It's alright Kaito. We've protected Pandora, got the bad guys, and no one was injured. Well, aside from those who suffered the wrath of Ran," she ended with a chuckle.

Kaito made no response.

Chikage tightened her hold on him. "We've avenged your father. I'm sure you've made him proud. Now let him rest. We can finally move on."

Kaito nodded and put a hand over his eyes, trying to stop the tears of relief. "Yeah. Thanks, mom."