Fixed misspells on 26/7/2019. Nothing worth rechecking.

Ch 6: The Spy

"Who was it, Dave?" Kudo Yusaku raised as the first sat back down. The doctor's eyes made him sure that the call was highly important. It was a rare thing to see him 'concentrated' since he always playfully acted his turns without the slightest bit of his real emotions slipping on his face. There wasn't doubt there, as it was the case now, something that truly worried him or, given the fact, made him want to be extra cautious.

"A friend of mine, work and those boring matters." he waved the subject off quickly, too quickly but it did not cast away the novelist's attention. Dave then eyed Hakuba, aware of his friend's eyes on him, analyzing every expression. 'I knew he'd realize!' he sighed mentally, beginning the conversation with the classmate. "What will you give as an excuse for Kaito's absence from high school?"

Given the sticky situation they were in, they all had to be aware of the same excuse. Hakuba thought for a moment, noticing the watchful eyes of the writer.

"We haven't discussed it yet. Currently, the school and his classmates think that he is in Rome performing with Kuroba-san. Or at least that he should have arrived last night."

Aoko decided to cut in, "Tousan said we'll have a fake funeral for Kaito, to drive the syndicate off his track. I doubt that we will let the public know who KID is..." she rolled her eyes away, even she knew the amount of trouble if such information was ever leaked to the public. The list of victims would never end.

"Yes, of course. Trouble will follow everyone he knew. That and the TV channels will raise their questions and follow some of his classmates, it will expand the risks and we cannot have that." Yusaku said with a straight face. Aoko had no idea how he could be so calm in a situation like that. Then again, she would surprise her if he couldn't mask every expression, after all, she heard so much about him from Kaito.

Dave took over and continued on his friend's behalf, "Evidently, The Syndicate knows the police came to realize his identity. Well, so far, I will write his death certificate; make things as they were. But concerning your friends and classmates, what will they be told? He can't stay in Rome forever" Dave said, his hand rested near his chin. "It has to be a well-told story, enough to keep the students safe"

"We'll spread the word that he died in an accident there," Aoko said with enthusiasm and Hakuba felt his spirit drop. "What? You heard, Aoko doesn't want to say it again."

"But Aoko-kun, that won't work. Everyone knows that Kuroba-kun can disappear fast before anyone can see him. The accident just seems... not well enough"

Aoko took her eyes off of him and observed in silence. "True, but come on, who can stop every single accident from coming at himself? Just because he's a magician doesn't mean he's invincible" she said with a glare. 'Although being KID is~'

"We need to think of something good enough to fit what we'll do with a fake body"

"We'll say he was at the heist with the police inspecting the Kaitou KID case..." Kudo said then proceeded. "And when the random shooting took place, Kaito-kun was shot"

"But won't that make people suspicious of him being KID?" Aoko interrupted yet again, "Besides, they won't buy it. Kaito is supposed to still be in Rome, he never told anyone he returned to Japan yet. Unless Aoko pretends she knew. We wanted to see the heist and spend the day together and that could explain why we didn't go to school." she said too fast, yet her words were logical. It was almost like she had a few ideas of her own, and without a doubt, she didn't want to voice them.

"That is correct"

They turned back to see who spoke. "Tousan? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with the FBI, investigating the officers that were attacked?"

Now that she mentioned it, they wanted to facepalm themselves. They were focused on Kuroba that they forgot about the others in Japan.

"I postponed that case," he said confidently, he wouldn't admit being too distracted from that main issue. He could fool everyone with that straight face of his, but Aoko knew the truth behind it. "For Now, Kaito-kun is all that is on my mind." he walked closer, "Kudo-kun, Dave-san, I'm glad you both made it on time." they shook hands and sat down again. "Aoko, I spoke with a friend of yours, she called me to check for your absence today, and I told her that you were sick"

"Okay!" she brought her hand to her head like a soldier, "Aoko will form an illness by tomorrow," they laughed as she said that. "Anyhow, if anything happens with Kaito, Aoko doesn't care if she is in school, you tell Aoko right away"

Ginzo rubbed his neck. "Of course I will, dear."

'Aoko doesn't believe you, Tousan' her eyes told him, he chuckled and took a seat beside the teens.

Hakuba received a call and went outside to answer it. The two men decided to take advantage of his absence and spoke casually.

"Aoko-kun, it has been a while since we last met. I hope Kaito-kun didn't annoy you with his tricks" Kudo smiled.

"On the contrary, Aoko loves his tricks! Kaito taught Aoko quite a few. People see the trouble-maker in him, but he's nice and calm. He only pulls tricks to entertain people" she said with a smile.

"Yeah, and he gets bored a lot, I know. Just like when he was little, he wouldn't spare anyone from his pranks!" yet Dave said nothing only observing the two. "Is your relationship with him going well?"

"Of course. He understands Aoko well, he won't prank much anymore, and he knows he'll get it if he annoys Aoko" she smiled softly. "To tell the truth, Kaito and Aoko aren't engaged. We're actually_"

"Married" Her father interrupted and closed his eyes. 'I feel like smoking now...' he sighed.

Eyes widen in response. "Re-really?"

"Yes, three months ago. Only tousan, Jii-chan, two friends, and Chikage-san were there. With the whole syndicate on his tail, they'll take advantage of our relation. You know, same old same old threats and warnings. Just, don't let anyone know, especial Hakuba-kun, he'll never stop teasing Kaito" a wink followed a teasing grin.

"Not a word." they sustained with a smile. 'Kaito-kun is gonna get a lot of teases from us, no need for Hakuba to add any.' Yusaku's eyes told the doctor, the latter nodded.

Aoko sighed and looked away.

'Oh, looks like she knows what we are up to' Kudo gave her a very scary smile, one that indicated trouble.

"Never, ever, trust that smile," Kaito's voice said in her head. 'It's proof of a big scheme. Those people are troublemakers, I tell you!'

As the day progressed, the Kaitou KID partners were on the move, working inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. They lurked around long enough to study the security system and how many cops and doctors that they had to fool where their leader was currently recovering. Looking into personal files was never challenging, hopefully, it would be difficult for the syndicate, or at least enough to have them a step behind.

"We have to find a way to get Kaito bocchama out of the hospital," Jii said with a whisper as he carefully watched the officers from inside the ceiling's air vent. He had brought his special KID devices, they were easy to hide, and of course, untraceable.

He wore a black hoodie and black pants; his face hidden thanks to his cap. He remained hiding in the vent as his friend walked the corridors, secretly analyzing everyone and their behaviors. They knew all the officers well enough by now, what they were looking for were fakes, plans and anything that might hinder their plans to save their leader. Thankfully, none of the syndicate members were there, so the partner took the liberty to sabotage the system to put in on hackers alert. That should keep anyone from spying'

The latter sustained and spoke once he was away from everyone sight and the cameras. "Yes, I've got a friend on our side. He'll protect Kaito from inside, but, he doesn't know when or how we will enter to save him."

"1311, I know we only have one shot, if we fail, they'll shift him somewhere else..."

"We better not fail, 1211. Let's leave now, there is nothing more to do here. Our job is done"

In ten minutes, they met in a street they agreed on and rode their motorcycles heading towards S2. "Remember your part of the plan. I will meet you at the exit"

They parted as 1311 was now inside the corridor; he pulled his mask on, disguised as Doctor Wiver, the co-doctor and assistance of Dave.

After skimming the place carefully, the fake Wiver went inside the room, rapidly noticed by the seated four. "Hello everyone," he said with a warm casual smile. His cover was safe since the alarm didn't go on when he pressed the code, 'how did they think they could catch intruders? I know they will easily find him here. It's best to act and fast' changing fingerprints was kid's play. No pun intended~

"Hello, Jack. How're the results?" Dave held as he greeted him back. "Is all going well?"

The doctor rolled his eyes away, "They came negative, I'm afraid." for a quick moment, Dave's face was filled with a hint of fear. "He will be here for a while. He's too damaged to be shifted anywhere anytime soon"

Fear clouded Aoko's heart. Her heart raced too fast for her to calm it down. 'No! Please no' she clutched at her skirt, fingers digging deep into the fabric. 'No, Aoko can't let her expression slight on her face!' she swallowed the bitter pain accumulating in her heart. She has to be strong.

"Shifted?" both Kudo and Hakuba repeated.

"Why?" Ginzo added, more than just worried.

Jack was silent for a moment, probably considering how to spit it out. His eyes went to Dave, however, the latter said nothing, leaving him to clarify. The partner shrugged, 'Just as well, I'll get my revenge later~' he cleared his throat, ready to elaborate. "As an officer, he can't stay here. The police wanted to send him to PS3; it's safer there. However, if they move him now, the reaction will be terrible." Hakuba looked confused. oh right, Kuroba was brought there as a task force officer. "He received a lot of damage to his spine, any movement will provoke immediate death"

Saguru's eyes widen, Aoko was frozen in fear, and Yusaku was the combination of both. 'It can't be!'

"Which is why," Dave began, interrupting their concern. "He mustn't move, not even one inch. Don't worry, we already denied the authorization to move him. So don't worry about that for now. Both police headquarters agreed to send a backup to keep the killers from finding him here, or from getting him out if they managed to break in"

"They better try!" the inspector bid, now having all eyes on him. Ginzo cleared his throat, "I assigned four officers to guard this room tonight. They won't leave Ka-Kanno-kun alone," that was a near slip. "And security will be high enough to keep everyone on guard."

"And I will put him on deep drug influence. If he moves, he won't be in pain" with that, Dave silenced himself as they sustained. 'I hope the plan will work'

Jack scanned everyone in the room, his hands stashed in his robe's pockets. They thought the syndicate couldn't enter? 'How foolish' he turned his gaze to Dave, the man talking to the one with glasses. 'As if I will let you'

Feeling the sensation of eyes on him, Dave turned out of habit. unfortunately, Jake was long gone.

"Guard this room well, men" Nakamori shouted at the top of his lungs while he passed through the corridor. His men were lined up, backs to the walls. "I don't want anyone in or out. Understood?" with a furious shout, everyone sustained. Nakamori continued with steady confident steps, turning his gaze to the four standing in front of the door. "If anyone comes without authorization, catch him immediately"

The guards divided themselves, two standing outside and two standing inside by the door. Sometimes the force acted like they were up against a vicious monster than a group of killers. They were armed with heavy guns, and precautions were taken into full consideration. Surveillance cameras were set everywhere, seven to be exact, un-noticeable and un-hackable (or so they thought), carefully camouflaged in their hiding spots.

The Kaitou KID partners watched the un-hackle footage across their special devices. 1311 gave a sly grin, he was sitting beside the men in the surveillance room, as one of them. 1211 was lurking around in the vents, coming in and out whenever he wanted to fix something to their advantage. seriously, how did the police think they could outsmart geniuses?

1311 glanced at his watch, as far as his intel went, the members would make their appearance in a few minutes. He stood up, ready to proceed to the next step. His pass outside the room was the fake permission to fix a supposedly 'not working' camera at the far end of the corridor.

The first few hours went by, and it was around three in the morning. The guards didn't step into dreamland; though they were somewhat sleepy, they didn't resign. No time to rest now, not when the most dangerous syndicate was minutes away from crashing the place.

"This is B4, no one suspicious yet," one of them said through his wireless radio.

"B9, negative. None here either."

Silence consumed the region as well as darkness. Time was ticking high and slow. 1211 watched the monitor on his device, it was rare for KID not elude; so even they were worried. 'It might take months before Kaito bocchama wakes' they had to rescue him one way or another. There was no way they would keep him here, in the police's hands.

"Area 13, negative"

"Area 17, negative"

"F7 and 8, negative, no sign of KID's partners or the syndicate"

1211 returned to the vents, walking secretly above the rooms. He stood above Kaito's room, ready to be of assistance the moment 1311 calls for him.

Nakamori felt assured somewhat after hearing his men's answer on their radios, and he truly hoped it to remain peaceful throughout the night. "Okay men, keep your eyes wide open." with that, he returned to the surveillance room and keep his eyes on the screens. The room was engulfed in darkness, lit only by those four screens. 'Kaito-kun, I won't let them find you' he said to himself, for a second there, it was like he was trying to convince himself too. He observed his friend's son through the 4th camera, the boy was only lying there on the bed, half dead. He bewailed not knowing what both Toichi and Kaito went through before it was too late, maybe, it wasn't too late for Kaito. Just maybe, he still has the chance to save him, since thankfully so far, he was still alive.

Why couldn't Ginzo help them before, why? 'I was responsible for the second division, you could have told me, Toichi-kun! I could have helped you, I could have saved you. Kaito... will die because I was too selfish, trying to stop KID instead of realizing what this boy was going through...' he rubbed his fingers through his hair. 'I should have known...God, I was just too blind to notice anything. And here I called myself capable...'

Before inspector Nakamori could complete his thoughts, he lost contact with Camera 2. "B4, do you copy? B4?" no answer came, he counted quickly to five then spoke through his radio. "To all unites, send a backup to patient 12"

*blackout*

The door to room 12 swung wide open and a man cladded in a grey coat awent calmly inside. Just like that. No hard effort.

"And they call this security?" he looked behind him at the floor, the knocked out guards were way unconscious. "Tsk, useless as ever," he turned his gaze to the patient on the bed. He glared at the tubes as if he blamed them for keeping the boy alive. "Let's get this over with, Kaitou KID, for the last time" nothing came from the boy, and all Snake could hear was the loud forced breathing echoing in the room. Being the cold-blooded killer he was, he didn't even flinch. He was used to it, and the sight of his enemy weak and at his mercy was music to his ears. He raised an evil grin, "You thought it was over, didn't you? I couldn't believe you died just like that, even from that height" he glanced around the room, there were no cameras inside. 'Foolish' the boy was breathing hard with the help of the machines, clearly, barely hanging by a thread. if so to say.

Snake walked forward to the penalized boy and took out a small silver box from his trenchcoat's side pockets. He opened it and stood by KID's left shoulder, ready for the final page in the book. He removed the breathing tube, and put what looked like a pill in Kuroba's mouth. "Let's see how you'll escape death this time," he said through his grin, teeth gleaming. His fingers pressed Kuroba's throat, forcing reflex to kick in. Kaito somehow swallowed, Snake was pleased with the outcome. Good, he should be dead in ten minutes. He wasn't going to wait, it was bad, especially with the chance of the doctors rushing in to save him. "We made it especially for you, Kuroba boy" that said, he took the pillow from under the boy's head and pressed it on Kaito's face. He counted, the sweat countdown he had waited for long was right here, right now.

The vitals began to drop drastically, nearly settling down to a straight line.

The door smashed open and hit the wall with a loud thud, the officers stood on the other side with their weapons prepare to shoot. Snake snorted, unpleased by the unwanted visit. "Visiting hours are over" his deep voice echoed in the room, gun at hand. So they interrupted his plans again, he wasn't going to deem the plan a failure yet, not until he succeeds in taking Kuroba's life. He glanced back at the boy, the poison was already ingested, there was nothing they could do now. No cure, no hope. If Kuroba was lucky, he'd be dead in half an hour even if the doctors use drugs to stall the poison.

Snake knew everything was pointless.

"Step away from him" torch lights hit the killer straight in the eyes. Twenty men stood facing him, their guns raised at his head. "Put the pillow down," one of them said, his finger on the trigger, ready to shot.

"Hands in the air," said Ginzo yelling, anger roasting through his face.

The man grinned, laughing like a maniac. "You're too late, inspector" he pressed the trigger, shooting aimlessly at everyone'What the...?

Ginzo's laugh filled the room. "Idiot, you can't kill us when we are wearing bulletproof vests"

"How about..." Snake raised a malicious grin, "A shot in the head?" he held his gun steadily. "Dodge this, Nakamori-keibu" his tone carried irony, the way he said inspector made Nakamori's eyebrow twitch. multiple shots followed in their direction, thankfully, his men dodged and stood behind the door. As the smoke cleared, Snake was gone, leaving the monitor alarming them to the drastic drop of Kuroba's heartbeats.

Doctors Dave and Jack rushed in, they tried everything they could. Wiver cursed, his eyes watching the sweat ascend his leader's face. Kuroba ushered in pain, tightening his fingers on the sheets. Despite the pain overwhelming his body, he didn't wake. "It's not working" helplessly they looked at each other. Kaito's heartbeats began to settle down.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep

"We're losing him!" someone said from the force, voice muffled by his shock.

"No! we won't!" Jack grabbed the pedals and shocked the boy with high currency. "Come on," he tried several times. Kuroba wasn't responding. 'Kaito…' he could almost cry. 'Come on, come on! Don't give up…please don't give up'

The boy began to usher in deep pain, gritting his teeth and tightening his clutch on the sheets. If he was awake, he would have screamed from the pain.

"Morphine NOW!" they shouted, but before the substance could reach them, they realized something weird was happening. The boy's temperature peaked high and sweat covered him, panting heavily as one hand clutched his patient uniform above his heart. "He's_

"Shrinking!?"

Eyes widen, focusing on the shrinking process before Dave infused more drugs into the cannula, thus bringing their attention back to the current situation.

Before the syndicate member could disappear, he heard the final heartbeat resting down. He knew the kaitou was dead now. He returned to the layer and spoke to the man sitting behind the desk. "It's done. Both Silver bullets are down, boss" his cold deep voice echoed in the dark room.

A dry laugh came from the back of the seat, the person did not turn. His voice was a monotone male voice, obviously changed by devices. Not that anyone ever heard a different voice, but they knew it was always him from it. "Well done, Snake. Go join the others; we have more important things to do now since he is out of the way"

The latter excused and left the office. 'Tsk, does he ever turn the lights on?' he thought to himself. "Well, at least, those brats are out of our way" he didn't realize he had said it out loud, probably because he was too focused on the fact that his main enemy was finally ridden off.

"I couldn't agree with you more"

He made an immediate turn, he was not expecting her at that late hour when everyone was supposed to have left two hours ago.

"Chianti, what are you doing here?" he asked in a cold tone, clearly pissed off. "Where is your team?"

She kept her dead composure, "Gin and Vodka are taking care of loose ends" she cast her gaze behind her, "Korn and I have been assigned to impersonate two FBI members, for now. Currently, we have another disguise to deal with"

"Well, do your job, and I will deal with mine"

As if she needed him to remind her. She still didn't forgive him for the last team-up they did. 'Fine with me' she said to herself, turning without a word.

Sonoko switched on the TV, waiting for any good show to start. "It's so boring. Nothing funny is on." she kept flipping for around two minutes until something caught her interest. "Oh, what's this?"

"We interrupt this show to bring in the latest attacks on the police headquarters... This morning at 3 a.m a police officer was murdered by an unknown poison. Resources say it was a well-made poison that left no trace in the blood; thus, could not be identified. Now the police are more concerned about how to avert this poison from killing anyone else..." rapidly Sonoko changed the channel.

"Ugh, more police murders! I don't get it, they were after KID-sama, so why are they killing officers now? Are they trying to erase evidence of their involvement?" she sank for a moment in her thoughts, considering the options. 'It could be'

Yet her question could find no answer no matter how many times she thought of excuses or bright ideas. She knew nothing about the subject, how could she, when the case was confidential? No information ever escaped the headquarters until the day the syndicate started sniping out FBI members and the police officers. It was a matter of security breakage; systems were easily hacked and information was exposed to the ruthless murderers. Safety, now something that cannot be provided, was beginning to go into the museum as a rare item.

The police break-ins were sometimes leaked to the public, before being taken down by the police. But it was already too late, panic began to rise slowly day by day.

Outside, no one knew what was happening. Few random deaths, explosions, even after midnight. It wasn't safe anymore, no one knew who and where the next targets were going to happen. Police warnings expanded every region, calling people to be cautious and reserve at home at certain times (and whenever they received suspicious calls from people warning them about strange activities happening).

Nevertheless, no one could stay put and watch the citizens being hunted down; well, it was what they thought. It wasn't citizens that were targeted, of course not! They were FBI and double agents, with few high ranked officers. Aside from those, the syndicated started to eliminate every person among them that was suspicious or acting on their own. Furthermore, the percentage decreased greatly. Some weren't even rats, but no team believed them, directly assassinating them on the spot_ without even hearing a word from the accused.

The syndicate's boss was concerned with the number of traitor rising_ he didn't care about his subordinates_ that he deemed it necessary to eliminate loose ends directly, without hesitation. Everyone knew what would happen if they crossed the line, so they followed their orders by the word. It wasn't a mystery to figure the reason, the boss was determined to end every Rat no matter the cost.

Regardless, he wasn't blind to the main problem at hand.

"If this keeps up, we won't have any members left." Ano kata turned to his most loyal comrades. His appearance masked by the darkness of the room. "I can only trust you seven," they were silent for a moment. They were dead serious to end their problems too; they were fed up from the traitors just like him. "Chianti, Korn, Gin, Vodka, Vermouth, and Snake."

"And who is the seventh member, boss?" Chianti posed, she saw the stares expanding from her comrades. "What? I didn't say anything wrong! We should know who we are working with" her stare turned to the man seated at the desk. "Right?"

"Surely," the mysterious man said, he never doubted her. The woman was a ruthless killer, exactly what he wanted everyone to be. "I will send him to your aid tomorrow night, and be sure to confirm the boy's death!"

"Yes, boss!"

That said, they exited the darkroom, each carrying out their part of the orders. Chianti and Korn were, as always, a team. Whilst Gin and Vodka were the second team, leaving Vermouth and the unknown member to be the third team. Snake, as usual, worked alone. All his comrades were killed and arrested by the police and the KIDs; furthermore, he trusts no one else to work with him. 'If you want something done, you better do it yourself' he reminded himself, he had enough turning in masses, only wanting to get the job done. Chianti tried to get him on her team, but the man only snorted and turned away without a word. Ridiculing her completely.

"Fine, let him be on his own. I don't care" Chianti yelled at nothing. "He'll probably stand in my way!" she turned with a huff. "Who needs him anyway?" she turned her gaze, not allowing it to linger on the blonde (whom she still hated)

"Chianti, there's nothing worth getting mad about, "Kir's serious playful voice held back some discomfort, approaching the two women with a grin on her face and slow steady steps. Korn kept his usual silence, waiting by the door. "He's just too serious... Too boring, if you ask me. You and Korn are better off with him anyway~"

Vermouth gave a smile, merely sustaining. "He's been after the KID for twenty years now. He wants him dead as bad as you want rats to die!"

"Well, he could be a little thankful," she huffed, "why did I even bother assisting him that night? Those kinds of idiot men bug me" the sniper blathered, grabbing her rifle and leaning it on her shoulder. "Well, we're off to our mission, if you need anything, Korn and I are in S2"

"The federal hospital?" Vermouth said with a shocked expression.

"Yes," Chianti's eyes bragged, Kir remained confused. It was evident the blonde knew where they were going to be, but why did she fake her knowledge? "We're spying there. Today we will check if the Kuroba Kid died or if they are just faking it again. As if we will fall for it anyway. Fools, they don't know we know every secret hideout they have." she bragged again, walking towards Korn who prepared his weapons. With her back turned to Kir and Vermouth, she raised her hand waving goodbye. "Well, ja na"

'What do we do now?' Kir stood vague, sinking in her musings. The grin from Vermouth made her stand perfectly still, waiting for something to come at her. She was already suspected to be a rat, even Vermouth wouldn't blow a chance at killing her, here and now.

"I'll stay in touch, see ya~," Vermouth said before she went away, leaving a million thought running in Kir's head. The woman went outside and walked away with a worried mien. There was no one outside, no need to keep her thoughts concealed now. "I wonder if he will come tomorrow! It's been a while"

She stared into the sky for some time; the brightly shining moon was still full. Too bad that it meant nothing now; they couldn't find the gem anyway. Even if it was in the forest, no red glow appeared. 'Just where did it fall?'

She knew who her partner was, and if she was being honest with herself, she'd admit that she didn't expect him to return so soon. His special mission wasn't over, and he had been working freely on his own accord for quite a while. The boss didn't seem to mind it though, he was being informed, and as far as Vermouth knew, her partner_ like her_ received permission to carry certain missions to verify something they weren't sure of.