I made this a while back before anything was confirmed about Bourbon, including his real name. Anyway, I assumed back then (when he first appeared), that he was in his mid-thirties or so, and probably was in his twenties when the whole silver bullet 1412 thing happened (KID 3)

So don't assume his true side yet~

Ch 13: Followed

They watched the boy as he was sound asleep, everything beside him was set to look like he took his sleeping pills, like he did every night. Vermouth placed Jeff's hands above the blanket and made sure it was a random sleeping position and not something planned.

Bourbon wiped the glass from possible fingerprints and put the school bag where it was hours earlier. "All set?" he turned to his partner, he glanced back at the desk and the hidden locations of the cameras. "We have ten minutes before they start recording the real feedback"

She nodded, "good, and I took care of the motorcycle. It's at the station for repair. I told them to call in the morning for us to take it. We'll keep it at my place"

"Repair?" he arched his eyebrow, surprised. "Don't tell me you damaged it just to cover up_"

"No, I didn't have to cover up for anything! Our arrogant son slipped when he was chasing us yesterday" the man turned to his son and removed the cover, "Don't worry, he's okay" she said as he uncovered the boy's shirt, at least she could tell him where to check. "His back and left arm," she said and waited, "They're only flesh wounds" she watched him, "Besides, I had to explain why he left the bike in the middle of the road"

"Ha, because as we expected, they tracked it~" and she grinned, "So you called for it to be taken before they reached its location? That's who you were talking to when he went back to take Kaito-kun?" and she nodded, "Clever, you wanted him to leave it behind~"

Once satisfied that the wound was nothing major, he stood and turned back to the woman behind him.

"Well, since we were playing the bad guys, I couldn't leave him with a means of transportation~ Escaping would be easy~"

He laughed, "As if he would~"

"I know, stupid like his dad~" she shrugged, he glared her.

"Anyways, I tampered with the cameras after I disguised myself as him and made everything look like he went to bed after finishing his homework"

Both turned to look through the window, something was getting closer. "Now for the next part of our little game~" she grinned and they vanished.

The window gave a sound and slid upwards, "…1412?" they called, and when no answer came, they went in. The person was wearing black, which made Vermouth sure he was an ally of the kaitou. He looked around, quickly noticing the boy asleep on the bed. He stepped closer to check, on the bed counter was a glass cup with some water and white participates that had long settled at its bottom.

Everything was placed away, the desk only had the laptop on it and a small copybook beside it. He flipped through the pages, most of them were blank, but the first few of them had the school schedule and some notes regarding the exams days. Yesterday's homework was marked as done, but nothing else was mentioned.

Nothing was wrong with the boy, however, he had to confirm whether or not he was right. He saw the laptop's search history, it had three pages recently opened, all of them about summaries of lessons fourteen and fifteen from the history book. He opened the school bag and took out the two thick copybooks inside it. The first one was a math copybook, and on the last written page was last night's date on the left upper corner. The second one was a biology copybook, full of summaries and notes.

From the letter 1412 left to Yusaku to warn him, the handwriting matched the entire book. 'If he struck a deal with the syndicate, there could be no way that he'd be here, asleep and had the time to do any of this!'

He watched the room one more time, everything was always the way he saw it. 1412 had a pattern with arranging his stuff, and what was in the room matched that pattern. "Humph, I guess we were wrong…" he turned with a smile under his poker face, 'one last thing to check' He tried to wake the boy, and when that failed, he knew the drug was truly taken. He went back to the window and passed through the gap, then he slid it down once he was out and left.

From the shadows, the two grinned. 'No matter how smart they think they are, we will always be one step ahead' Bourbon was terrifying with his assumptions and plans. "Glad I had you to help~"

"Likewise~ now, let's go down before he wakes" he opened the door, then turned to see her still in her place, "he'll be okay, besides, we'll be watching him from the cameras downstairs. We'll let him rest for now"

She turned, "Okay, daddy~" he only grinned.

"Come on, we lost enough time. The cameras will turn on!" They closed the door behind them.

Jeff woke up surprised to find himself in his apartment and tried to remember what last happened. He looked at the small digital clock on his right, 5:30. '… I never wake this early' he scanned the room, everything was normal from his perspective, aside from the main fact that he didn't remember anything of it.

His phone was wiped clean, with nothing new to check either. There was nothing from his partners on his KID devices either. The room was clean and neatly kept, which made him suspicious. He couldn't even remember what brought him here. The cup beside him also raised his interest. It was fuller than what he usually drank, and on the wrong side of the counter too.

What was going on?

He couldn't have forgotten just like that, could he? Not that it didn't happen before, but he knew something was tampered with. Call it intuition, but his guts were never wrong.

Maybe the partners brought him here?

They could have at least stuck around to explain something, or left a text or put a note.

He got out of bed, it was too early to get dressed for school or head there even. 'I better arranged my books…' he checked the date on his phone to know what he should put in the bag.

Saturday.

'… Saturday!' he covered his face with his hand, "Great, I'm up early and I'm going to die from boredom!' too bad he was kicked out of the hideout to rest.

'What am I gonna do now?' there was no way he'd spend the day in bed. He sighed, "I'll just wait until I die in peace~"

As if!

He tidied his bed. He glanced back at his school bag, "Don't stare at me, I won't do any homework today!"

"I'll just wait until I die in peace"

Vermouth laughed her heart out. "That boy inherited a lot of your words"

"Don't stare at me, I won't do any homework today!"

"Oh, this sounds like yours~" Bourbon snickered back at her while watching through their phones and listening from their earphones what Jeff was doing. She shrugged, "Some things never change~"

"You're going in now?"

He nodded and got up, "make sure to send the feedback. We can't let anyone see us there. Be it the thief partners or our partners" and she nodded.

"I'll follow you soon. Try not to drive him crazy~ you know he doesn't like you very much~"

"To think he was closer to me, as his dad~ All those years forgotten, what a shame~"

"I know right~ and I got jealous for no reason~" she added a laugh with the clerk's voice. "Now go up before he plans to go somewhere. He will probably head back to watch over Kaito-kun"

"You think he forgot about the deal?" their eyes met. "We'd have to strike another one or remind him of it. I don't want him to go through yesterday's events all over again" she narrowed her eyes away, the trembling alone was hard to watch. She couldn't give him the pill until he blacked out, she knew he was half conscious, but he wasn't conscious at the same time.

If she ever raised another child, she decided to never get him attached to them like Jeff was. Snake, the bloodthirsty killer, made him watch them burn alive too. As if killing them and torturing him weren't enough.

"You saw his face when he woke, he knew something was forgotten. Besides, he didn't realize it wasn't really Saturday~"

"Then I have to interfere before he does~"

Before 1412 could turn to do anything else, the front door received a knock and opened, to his surprise. Steps marched slowly to his location and the unwelcome visitor stood beside the door. 1412 wished he never woke up from the first place. The day couldn't get any better.

"Morning, Jeff-kun~" Bourbon gave a small wave and continued as if he didn't just barge in. 1412 didn't miss that Bourbon came after he woke, which meant that they were waiting for him to wake and chose that moment to come in before he'd head off somewhere else.

No wonder his mind was blank! Something must have happened and he couldn't remember how long it had been going on for.

At least they didn't watch him during his sleep… Or did they…?

"Sorry to come early on a Saturday, but we're short on schedule~ you're free, I'm free, makes a perfect day~" his eyes closed like an arc. Jeff noted how stupid that smile looked whenever he played the fool. 1412 still blinked back, 'though it's actually Thursday~'

1412 blinked again to prove his point and watched the killer's ridiculous face. He tried to suppress the fact that he was panicking behind his expressionless face. 'What's he doing here!'

The blond's creepy smile made his skin shiver as he walked in, "Well, I hope you're ready? We don't have much time to waste, we have a tightly cramped schedule planned for today"

"… could you stop saying schedule? … We're not in school… and I really hate that word~" and Bourbon laughed sheepishly, "Anyway, ready for what? No offense, but why are you here...?" More importantly, what did I do this time?

Bourbon closed his eyes to half and crossed his arms. "You forgot, didn't you?"

'Forgot?... Oh, God, what did I do now…' he mentally slapped his hand over his face. He hated forgetting important crossovers with the crows. "… Forgot what precisely…?" but Bourbon grinned. '…Please don't be a deal…'

"Our little deal~" another voice said, surprisingly from behind him. How did they sneak behind a kaitou? He let his guard down too soon!

Whoever they were, they spoke with voice changers, which was odd and mind-challenging at the same time. He wanted to turn and see, and at the same time, he didn't want to turn or see his second early-bird visitor.

Somehow everything felt like a dream. Maybe it was just his head playing games on him and he was actually still asleep in bed?

But if that wasn't the real situation, why on earth did he make another stupid deal?

And who was in his apartment too? Will someone else pops up beside him too?

"Ya know, visiting hours are after three"

When he remained still, Bourbon continued, "Oh, that would be too late for our program~ we'll barely have time to breathe~ besides, it's Saturday, no school to worry about~"

"Which means you can receive visitors at any time~"

1412 again wished he never ever woke up.

"And now is perfect, we're going for a lone time family vacation~"

He gave a slight turn, not truly looking behind him, "Oh, so you two are dating now~?"

Bourbon glared at him, "who'd wanna date her!" he gave a questioning glare. Vermouth stared directly into his eyes and he panicked in his heart. "In any case, it looks like you suffered a strong one this time too, foolish boy~"

"Oh, he did all right~" the voice came out familiar to his ears this time, a voice he hoped to forget. But he knew who it was since they were the only ones to stick around with each other. Not to forget, they were more expressing with each other.

'…Vermouth~' those two were wood and glue, inseparable. They always worked together.

Everything was crashing for sure now.

Bourbon and Vermouth? In his bedroom? And in the early morning?

Maybe it was a mission he was assigned to?

"You can turn now~" she grinned.

"Don't wanna~"

"Fine by me~"

She walked passed him and stood beside her partner. She put her arm on his, Bourbon calmly kept his sight on the boy, "not a problem if you can't remember~ we'll tell you the details later~" she approached him and set down clothes beside him on the desk. "Change into these, they have no trackers," She said calmly. He stared at her, "Well, come on!"

Maybe he could rebel all over again? Driving her crazy was fun last time. He wanted to give it another shot, hopefully, he wouldn't get shot.

If he thought waking up early was bad, now was his time to turn the tables and drive them crazy. She crossed her hands and glared back at him, "I believe I just ordered you to do something, boy!"

"I'm not going to!" he crossed his arms too, throwing his sight on the wall. "Dream on it because I won't!"

Bourbon grinned, "Some guts you have there, kid! You know who you're talking to?" his voice became void and dead. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you"

She sighed, "Stay out of this, Bourbon!" she turned her gaze back to the bullet. "And why won't you?"

"Maybe because I'm shy~?" it didn't make him flinch when he put it that way though.

Bourbon immediately laughed, "And here I thought you weren't going to obey us~"

"You can add that too~ though, I suppose it's obvious~"

"Well it's not up to you," he fixed his eyes in KID's. "If she didn't react, doesn't mean I won't"

"Not expecting you not to" silence grew in the room. " I won't listen to anything you say"

Bourbon grinned, "you already agreed to our deal, you can't break it now. Besides, a thief should keep his word. Isn't that what Kuroba-kun always said? You should act like him, you're his equal~"

The tension extended, Vermouth knew it could go on forever. 1412 wasn't going to listen, there was one way to force him. "Break the deal and our dear old pal Gin will blast a bullet in little Kaito's head. Probably while he's at preschool" 1412 was taken aback, she smirked, "since that's cleared, go change in the bathroom"

"And be quick"

"This conversation alone made us lose time. So, hurry up"

He couldn't think twice about it. His life or Kaito's. There was only one to choose from.

He took the clothes and went to the bathroom. Vermouth grinned as he passed her. "Now that's more like it~" but he didn't turn. If he had his hat on, he could have suppressed the remaining annoyance from slipping on his face.

"And make sure to hand all of your KID toys" Bourbon continued on her behalf.

'…they're not toys'

"Keep it open," she said aloud as soon as the door was closing.

"No!" KID's immediately shut it, "No way! No!" his hand remained on the door leaf, 'I'll never do that!'

"Yes!" she took two steps forward, "I'll count to three, and you better open the door before I reach three!"

"No!" what should he do? "Who gets changed with the door open anyway!"

"People who are under observation!"

"That was a rhetorical question, Vermouth" Bourbon added.

She ignored him, "KID, I won't repeat again!"

"No!"

"One … Two!" she was about to knock it open.

He desperately tried to lock it before she could, 'what the!'

Bourbon grinned, "Jeff-kun, we both know she's going to break in if you don't open it now~ besides, you should have noticed we removed the lock~"

'… he completely removed it…' he sighed, "I really hate you now", why those two of all people? They were playing mind games ahead of time. They even freely tampered and walked around in his room, during his sleep. "Promise not to go in?" he finally said. Will they?

'And he's red now~' she grinned, "Yes, we promise~"

"Liars~"

Bourbon laughed, "Alright, we won't~"

The door slid a few centimeters open, barely showing a creak of light from inside. While he didn't let his guard down, he dressed up quickly behind the door, making sure it wouldn't open.

'Always shy~' she turned to her partner, "This reminds you of something~?"

He laughed, "Yeah, of all the times since he turned five~" he watched the outside view through the window, the expression of boredom got quickly painted on his face. Jeff wasn't gone for five minutes, "I thought KID's fast~" he knew his son had trouble moving his injured arm, even taking the shirt off and putting another on would be mild torture on his back.

"Not when you're literally taking everything off..." they heard his faint voice and laughed. 'Seriously, why do I have to take everything off?' there was even a pair of socks and shoes among the bundle of clothes. He sighed, 'Did she leave anything out?'

Bourbon turned to the blonde, "You didn't have to do this~" his voice went low as he spoke. "We already knew he'd close it~"

"Yeah, but driving him shy is fun~"

1412 unfolded the shirt and blinked surprised. He had never seen that shirt before, then he saw the brand tag on it. So she bought it? '… why colors…' black had been his only color since his parents were murdered. He sighed and put the shoes on the side, then buttoned the green shirt.

Creepy ravens, she knew his size. Picking colorful clothes would have either been to taunt him or to force him out of his mourning habit.

Behind the door, she looked away. It pained her heart to drive him away by force. He wasn't getting over their death, and he was still in denial and suffering alone while blaming himself for their death.

…

The memory flew back into her head.

"Tsk, they're long dead, get over it!" she said it once when they first met face to face, a month after everything happened. "You're a crow, we don't want sensitive people. We want cold-blooded killers!"

He had just returned to his apartment in Ekoda, the moment he went in and closed the door, she appeared from behind him.

"Waited long for you~" it was the first time she met him without her mask on. He didn't recognize her. "Oh, surprised?"

Nothing came from his part, "… who are you?"

"An old crow sent out to watch over you," none of that made sense to him, how would he know? He didn't know he was the weapon, he didn't know he was lied to for the past sixteen years of his life. And worse, he didn't know she was his mother, "Little silver bullet~"

His eyes widen, "You're one of them!"

She grinned, "Bingo~ now, boy, like I said a minute ago, I've been waiting"

"I'm not doing anything for you psychopaths!"

She smiled in her heart, 'That's the answer I want. Never be like us. Be better, son' but she was never going to say that. Not with this face. She was a killer, she would always be.

He wasn't ready to know she was his mother, a part of the group who wrecked their lives. No, he was far from ready. "That's not up to you, boy. You're our weapon, don't think you can walk away!"

"Watch me!"

As much as it pained her heart, she had to do it. Gin was watching everything from the cameras she hid above the door.

*Slap*

His face remained to the right, "Do whatever you want. I won't be like you"

…

Bourbon coughed, "you're at it again" She glared him, "You're remembering something painful again"

She sighed, "Would you stop staring at me and mind your own busyness?"

He shrugged, "Whatever you want, mom~"

Inside the bathroom, 1412 struggled to put his shoes on.

There was no point to bother and put his hat on, not that they would let him anyway, it was the first thing that disappeared from his room. Walking around without a disguise was unnatural out of school. For the sake of their partners' safety, they kept the disguises on at all times.

Not that it would have mattered, his partners knew was aboard their ship. Real names and daily life included. Yet, Kuroba told then to fake their knowledge so no one gets hurt.

"Come on, ain't got all day~"

"Easy for you to say!" why was moving so hard? He never got injuries like these before.

"Need help~?" Bourbon smirked.

"As if!"

"Oh, but those injuries of yours are painful~ I wouldn't move much if I were you~" Vermouth crossed her arms, sounding serious but laughing. "At least, a boy helping you would be better than me~"

"Does the word shy rings a bell~?" but they laughed. 'And stop nagging since you know I can't move!' he tied the laces.

The door opened and he got out. Vermouth stretched her hand open, he put the mini trackers, listening devices and the devices his partners had in the room for him. She remained looking at him, waiting with her hand open.

"…what?" he felt misjudged, "… I don't have anything else on me. I double-checked!"

"Oh, really?" She stared and approached, "and what do you call that!" she pointed at the small button-like device on the low collar.

He cleared his throat, "…my voice aid speaker" He handed it to her to check it, once satisfied, she gave it back. Bourbon got up from on the bed, "If I find anything, I'll hand it"

"Good," Bourbon said. "Now, let's go before we get followed~"

Followed?

"Do you mind telling me the deal's details?" or 'why we're in a rush?'

Vermouth spoke first, waving the subject as if it was simple, "you're only supposed to do what we tell you"

"…that's easy…"

"Yeah…" Bourbon sank his voice, adding the rest, "and staying with us as our little prisoner~"

'Okay, I take that back… it's not easy!' His face became pale behind his straight poker face.

Bourbon pushed him forward, thus exiting the room. "No time to waste, Kiddo~"

'I'm really not a kid'

Bourbon grinned, "What? Got offended~?"

"Why should he? He's KID~"

'My day can't get any worse'

Prisoner, it is then. Surely his day could get worse as it progresses, why rush it from now?

"Lock the door"

Jeff did and they went in the elevator. Vermouth put a firm hand on his shoulder, keeping him still. Must she? Really, he wasn't a child anymore.

KID stood in the middle, Bourbon beside him and Vermouth behind him.

Alone in a small elevator with the scariest killers he ever met wasn't something he foresaw. They were being cold-blooded at times and easy-going at other times. He could never understand people like them. They were putting a limit to how much cold and dry they could be as if they were dealing with a small kid.

He was a kid to them, not a child!

Seventeen and three quarters didn't count as a kid, but they were adults and for many reasons, they were making sure he obeyed their orders accurately.

Taught by the best kaitou in the team, he knew no emotions should ever slip on his face. He was dealing with the crows, any signs of weaknesses could be used against him.

"Remain focused" Kuroba's voice rang in his read. "Can't let them have the upper hand"

'I know'

"We've been through worse~ a little trip with them is nothing~"

A little trip? If he thought of it that way, it wouldn't be so bad. He mentally shrugged, 'Anything to distract me'

Vermouth's grip on his shoulder increased. He winced mentally. 'Aw' why was his shoulder hurt anyway? Her grip on them was a little painful, though, it could be worse.

"Any objections, boy?" she said dryly.

'No ma'am~'

Bourbon cleared his throat, "your voice is making my ears bleed!" he glared at the blonde.

"Tsk" she turned her face away from his.

Once they were out of the building, Jeff sat in the middle of the back seat. Both occasionally looked from the front mirrors, watching him. He was drifted in his thought, his eyes almost at an angle near his feet. Whatever it was, it had to be important.

"Jeff-kun"

He looked up after he realized, Bourbon was looking at him with a determined stare. "What are you planning?"

"… Umm, nothing?" but the blond raised his eyebrow with a disbelieving face. "I'm trying to remember what last happened"

"Any success with that?" she asked dryly.

"…Yet"

Bourbon turned back, focused on the road, he knew the boy was telling the truth. "Foolish kid, mind blocks make things forgotten for a reason, taking the risk to remember will do worse"

"As if he didn't already know that" she glared her partner, "Saying that will only make him want to remember it more, Bourbon," she said with a serious tone, "there is nothing to remember anyway. We kidnapped little Kaito, you followed and switched him with you. Later was at the hotel, when you started remembering those things after seeing the mark on your face. The rest was-"

"Hard to grasp"

'The mark triggered it?' Jeff sank in his thought, 'then I saw them die again, which could explain why I forgot... But, if they knew about all of this, why warn me not to try, instead of using my weakness against me like Snake does?' Maybe it was a trap to make him lower his guard.

"Don't forget your poker face" Kaito's voice reminded him.

'I won't'

Vermouth was watching him from the front mirror, she didn't even bother to be subtle at it. He borrowed his eyes away when their eyes met. "My, how you thieves and detectives act like statutes~"

1412 shrugged, "can't be helped~"

Bourbon sighed, "Sometimes I don't know if you want to be silent or beat us at our own game~"

"It depends~" and Vermouth laughed. 'Driving you insane is a must~' it was too fun to back out now.

"Besides, I doubt you'd want to undergo another headache like that~"

Bourbon grinned, "We couldn't approach you until the pill took its effect!" their eyes met, "idiots will always be idiots~"

'Hey! What's that supposed to mean!' not that he could say it out loud. It was making his stomach flip for keeping it in. He really always spoke his mind, he had nothing to lose anyway. Lying wasn't his thing, even around killers like his current capturers.

'Sounds like a warning… Why did they help me? It would have been a perfect opportunity for them while I was drugged… why? Maybe they just wanted me to be still?' everything was possible. He knew they couldn't hurt him, they'd have to go against their boss and get killed, but helping him wasn't something he expected to happen.

"Now, let's focus more on the main fact here," that got his full attention, Bourbon proceeded, "any act you try to carry, including this spacing out of yours, will annul our deal and Kaito-kun will die"

"So keep that in mind. Any drifting will be considered a plan and you won't like what we'll do" she said dryly.

"Do we have that deal again?" and he nodded.

"Splendid, now stay still, we'll be back" as she said that, she pulled over near a building and they got out. Of course, she activated the automatic lock sealing all the doors and windows as they got out and put the keys in the right side pocket of her jacket.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Dave said confidently. "And it's the same tracker I put on him. His face was real"

Conan drifted, thinking for some time. "But I can't help but doubt that it's a bit too perfect, don't you think? None of them had a single scratch, and the thief said he took care of the kidnappers, but no one was reported or caught. Even the bike doesn't add up!"

"There's no doubt that the bike was truly repaired, we arrived before they began fixing it. The right side received some damage, not to forget, some of the paint was scratched off due to heavy friction with the ground"

"That only means they had a rough encounter and 1412 fell while riding the bike. He didn't look hurt..."

Dave shook his head, "His right shoulder, while he was asleep, I checked for possible wounds. And I did find two, his shoulder probably collided with the ground hard"

"And the second?"

"His forearm, the bleeding was slight, no real damage"

"But it is still enough to diminish his movement" and Yusaku nodded. "So it's possibly a slip of some sort and it occurred before he returned Kaito?" they nodded, "So he was saying the truth?"

"So it seems"

"They did encounter?"

"I find no other explanation. But the bike was fine and it had only cut him off where the traces stopped. The damage it received to its side was enough to explain why he took another mean of transportation. And the fact that he was at his apartment, fine and asleep, proves no deal had been made and that he had truly caught them"

"Ask 1311!"

"He's not answering"

"What if they escaped after 1412 took Kuroba-kun back…" Conan's mind slipped into other possible explanations. 'With the syndicate involved, we need to think well of this. One mistake and 1412 and Kuroba-kun won't live'

"While that could also be possible, we need to follow and make sure again. Perhaps, we have been tricked. With people like those two, anything is possible!"

"I asked Kaito with who he was, he described them accurately. They used no disguises"

"What did he say when you asked him?"

"He asked why I was asking him when they told him we send them"

"So they lied to him to go with them?"

"Yes, taking advantage of his amnesia was easy, he wouldn't doubt anything in his state"

"But we got to be careful, if Kuroba-Kun's survival was passed to the syndicate, they'll come back to finish him!"

"Which is why we have to move Kaito-kun to another place"

"You mean…?" Dave blinked surprised.

"Yes, that person. I know we're exposing this early, but he's not safe here anymore" Yusaku stared at his son, "We'll need his help"

"Who? Where are you taking him, tousan?" Conan didn't like the idea.

"You'll know once I have everything arranged, son"

Conan sat down, remembering. 'God! Tousan didn't open the subject since!' he turned his sight for the tenth time towards the boy, who was playing race games on the laptop. He gasped, 'while I'm stuck babysitting, tousan and Dave are looking for your partner… Why exactly can't I help? It's like he doesn't trust me!'

He felt eyes on them. Immediately he went to the window and glanced through. He magnified the image with his the glasses and skimmed the area for the third time within an hour. No one got his attention, 'where on earth are those partners?' Did they even get any information from 1412?

Kaito sighed, "I lost again…"

"It's okay, practice helps~" the child turned back to the game. 'If he was caught by those two, communication will be out of chance'

Kuroba was enjoying his free time, crashing cars on his way. "This is fun!"

"As long as you don't go crashing real cars~" and Kuroba laughed. Conan continued to scan the area, '…that's...!' he zoomed further, there was a person hiding behind the building facing them.

He tried to zoom in closer, nothing was clear on the face. 'The physical structure… a female?' he turned to the boy again. 'If one of your partners is a female, it's highly possible to be Nakamori-Keibu's daughter…' The image withdrew, then decided to step closer and approached the house's gate. To that, Conan rushed downstairs, before the bell rang, he already opened the door to a puzzled Aoko. "What are you doing here?" his tone was harsh and blaming, but her face was worried, and panicking would not be far from happening.

"… Aoko wanted to speak to Kudo-san, but Aoko wasn't sure if she should come or not without the crows knowing or following…"

"What's wrong?"

"We can't find 1412 anywhere... and none of his partners are able to contact him. All the trackers he had on him pointed to random places. 1311 is infiltrating and Aoko can't reach him! 1211 is stuck beside the injured partner. We can't wait, even his phone had been off all day, and we can't trace anything! Aoko is worried!"

'So it was a trap after all!' he rushed up and got his phone. 'There's no other way around this, I have to make sure!' he scrolled down to the first letter of the person's name. If anyone could answer, it would be her. But asking her, of all people? He'd be walking into another trap.

"Ne, Nakamori-san, are you sure they won't hurt him?" she nodded, "Then, why are you worried?"

"Who knows what the boss will tell them to do!"

He directed his gaze to the phone, he typed quickly and a text came back.

Who else can outsmart you?

For now, we won't hurt him. Not that he is awake anyway~

-Vermouth

"Who was that?"

"No one important" and Aoko arched her eyebrow at him. "It doesn't matter now" he pushed his phone into his pocket, a sudden flash of rage would have been easily seen by the girl facing him. But before he put it away, she managed to see the sender's name.

"All I know is that tousan and the doctor are tracking them, don't ask me how, I'm sure that they will pick up the trace somehow"

She didn't reply directly, recalling the name of the sender. "Aoko hopes they find him, and quick. If he's with the syndicate, who knows what they'll do to him…"

"Keep trying to contact his partners for the time being, while we find a way out of this"

She nodded and left, as she retreated, she looked back at the house. 'How did he get the number?' she quickly sent a text.

He's with her

The reply came a minute late. Were they having trouble? Was anything wrong?

I know

1311 just contacted me. We're on to it

Don't worry

-1211

Bourbon parked his car underneath a hotel, three cities away from KID's apartment.

Vermouth took the key and glanced back at the person lying down. "Did we have to drug him? Parking all of a sudden just so we can spray sleeping gas…"

"Well, I had to keep my place a secret. He already had yours exposed! He didn't expect it, I put the can inside the A.C vent, and he didn't even look! He fell asleep just like that, without noticing the gas!"

"It's his fault for being too obedient to his kidnappers~" she shrugged, "Now, enough wasting time. Let's get him up and head to our mission quickly, it'll take him two hours to wake"

He nodded, walking to the back door, he opened it and took the kid up. She followed him to open his apartment's door.

She advanced him and opened a door by the end of the west side, and strode in. "Put him on the bed, I'll connect a backup tube for a drug if we need to use it" he did as she carried her task, then placed a camera on the desk, focused on the boy. "We can watch him with this" they left after locking the door with the key.

Bourbon took his seat again and turned the car on, while she prepared everything and sat in front beside him. "All set, from my part"

"Good, my mission is to infiltrate the PSB for any spies among our newly recruited ones. I'll pretend to be hacking syndicate files too, while you carry your mission accurately"

She grinned, "while they believe you're on their side, I want to bring them down, Zero-kun"

He nodded, "nothing works more like an inside job~"

They drove out.

"It's the third floor," Yusaku approached from behind the wall, they went up to the stairs, since the elevator had a camera, hidden too perfectly to be that of the hotel.

Picking the lock was a child's play to Dave, to no surprise of Kudo Yusaku, who knew what the man was capable of. They reached the west side and opened the lock to the boy's current room.

"As we thought," Dave turned to Yusaku, "They don't want to hurt him"

"And played the bad guys to keep him with them, threatening to kill Kaito-kun so that he would listen to them" Yusaku approached, yet halted once he saw the camera on the desk fixed on a small tripod, focused on the boy. He looked around, no other cameras were intact. He then took a few steps forward, without approaching the camera's range and peered over to see how the boy was doing.

"As they said, he won't wake until two hours pass" Dave put his hand on the device in his ear.

"I understand their loyalty to their friends, but this is something bigger than that. He has other reasons to risk his life for Kaito-kun" Yusaku knew he was right to say that, 'what is their connection?' he couldn't piece it together.

"We'll have to ask them~"

"Oh, we're going for a visit?" Yusaku grinned, "It's about time we have a real chat with her"