Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the next chapter of this story.
When Suzuki Jirokichi makes a challenge, Kaitou KID is bound to respond! And stun all of his fans while doing it :D
Yay! I managed to get an update done in a week~ Wohoo~ I actually hoped to make it a bit longer, but unfortunately I have a bit of work this weekend. Hopefully you will enjoy anyway – especially since this chapter you get pure heist and deduction – all in over 5,5k words :D Hopefully this should be a treat for you ;)
But first for the review reply – from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of those who did write me a few words :) It really helps me keep on going~
Cerlinfia – And I'm happy I made you happy ;) Enjoy :D
KingKagura – yep I finally did~ And I should be able to keep up weekly updates (keep your fingers crossed!)
Mists – Oh you have no idea how hard it was! I had so many beginning attempts and so many different things happened in it! I even did wonder about involving Shinichi's parents here already (glad I didn't yet). Oh yeah – they are growing onto each other – now they just have to pull in Kaito to have the full set xD Hopefully you will enjoy this :)
So without further delay…
Please enjoy and review! :)
Chapter 30: The phantom dance
Suzuki's challenges were considered to be the best type of KID heists for a good reason. Since Jirokichi's goal was to add the capturing of the kaitou to his biography, he paid extra attention to having it well documented on film. In that situation, it didn't require much more resources to present the whole event to the gathered public. And cash in profit, of course. This is why the area around the new military museum has provided its visitors with enough parking lots, souvenir and food stalls, as well as sanitary facilities in addition to the huge monitors displayed before the building. The screens were connected to a small barrack that was going to be used as a command center. From there, Suzuki Jirokichi was going to monitor the situation along with invited detectives and police.
When Nakamori Ginzo heard that his officers wouldn't be allowed to partake in the chase, he was angry. He did expect trouble from the old man, as per usual, and he started wondering if perhaps giving him a headache wasn't another goal for Jirokichi.
For this heist, Suzuki hired 12 men, whom he paid extra to spend ALL of their time paired for the last week. They were to do everything without losing eye contact with at least one of them even for a moment, so that it would be impossible for KID to impersonate any of them. They even slept in shifts. Those 12 men entered the building and were closed inside before Jirokichi sent his challenge. What's more, the museum was constructed just a few months ago with the sole purpose of catching the thief (and later on serving as a museum, but that felt more like a side goal or an excuse), so it lacked any convenient hideouts or passages and was supplied with motion sensors, cameras and thick iron gates. Beside the regular entrances, there was only one other way inside - a narrow tube-like vent wide enough for a grown man to slid through inside, but practically impossible to serve as a way out. And as for now it, was the only open passage.
The inspector looked at the gathered crowd and meanly wondered what the guy would do if KID simply decided that he didn't feel like entering this giant rat trap and ignored the challenge. Most likely he would try to cover his failure with boasting about how the thief was afraid of him. He gave a heavy sigh. The whole plan for capturing him... might not have been a bad one. Actually it would be most likely impossible for anyone to avoid getting captured by it. The problem was that KID wasn't just 'anyone' and with his experience with the thief, Nakamori saw a few major flaws to the plan. First of all, the building was huge, so it was impossible for only 12 men to cover it, meaning that the main line of defense was entrusted to devices – cameras and motion sensors. And those should be used as support for humans rather than the other way around. The inspector was nearly sure that KID would exploit that gap. Another flaw of the plan was to leave only one entrance, which screamed 'trap' and hope that KID would use it. It was obvious he wouldn't. There wasn't even a question about it. The kaitou never did what they wanted him to. There even was once a heist where they didn't see him touch the ground even once, running only on walls and ceiling. Ginzo sighed heavily. He found himself wondering if he wouldn't prefer to cheer for KID just this time, just to be able to watch the old man fuming in rage and have his mind blown by the ridiculous impossibility. Hiding a smirk, he stepped back into the command center, bracing himself for another shout out with Jirokichi.
There were still 16 minutes and 36.21 seconds left until the heist started, when Hakuba stepped out of the command center, wondering if his fellow detectives wouldn't be late. Due to the popularity of the event, the traffic was heavy, so it might as well turn out to be impossible for them to make it in time. He was about to enter the small barrack again, when he thought he heard a familiar voice break through the crowd. And yes, when he looked closer, he recognized two figures closing in. Apparently Kogoro wasn't happy with Heiji for some reason, as he seemed to be complaining to the tanned teen about something. The Osakan didn't look happy about it, but excluding occasional grumbling, he decided to endure the scolding for some reason. What Saguru wondered the most about was why he didn't see Conan with them. He approached the duo when they passed the police barrier.
"Good evening, Mouri-san."
Kogoro shot him an annoyed glare and snorted. "Che! I have no idea why they let you brats around here anyway!" And without replying to the greeting, he stormed into the barrack.
Hakuba raised an eyebrow at Heiji, seeking explanation. "What happened? And where is Conan-kun?"
The Osakan was still rubbing his cheek, sore from the police check-up and gave the Brit a flat stare, apparently still irked by the treatment he received from Mouri. "Said he wanted to check something and gave a slip to Otchan, leaving me to distract him." It didn't take a detective to deduce that he wasn't happy about being left behind. He tucked his hands into his pockets and stepped into the barrack.
Despite himself Saguru chuckled. "I see…" He followed his friend. "Do you know if he intends to get back?"
Heiji shot him a glance and showed him a Detective Badge, before turning his attention to the monitors inside the command center. "Said he'd contact me if he found anything or needed help." He mumbled while his eyes scanned the screens, leaning towards them.
The Brit frowned. Was the Osakan not telling him something? He turned his attention to the monitors as well. "What are you looking for?"
"Just wondered if…" He trailed off as his eyes widened. "Shit-!" He cursed under his breath and rushed out.
Saguru turned his head violently after his fellow detective and to the screens again, before jolting out after Heiji. "What is it, Hattori?" He called out, but didn't receive an answer.
Two officers that were returning from their brief break to the bathroom noticed the two teens and recognized them. Without much thought, they followed as well. Saguru could only congratulate himself for his shape, as he didn't even break a sweat as he rushed after Heiji around the building and away from the crowd. He couldn't shake off an ominous feeling. And it clicked.
"Hattori! Where are you going?" he demanded. "There are no cameras here…"
The Osakan slowed down. "Yeah…" he huffed out. "And isn't that a pity~?" He added with KID's voice and suddenly turned around with a razor-like grin on his face.
"Shit-! KID, wai-!" Hakuba called out, but it was too late.
The distance was far too short for the detective to hope for escape. As he reflected, it would be probably better to press on to pass the disguised thief, but in surprise Saguru jerked back, colliding with the two following officers. On the other hand, KID didn't waste his opportunity and sprayed the three men with the pink sleep gas. Hakuba tried to fight off its effect, to say something, or to grab the kaitou. But his fingers couldn't hold the material of his shirt and his mind was quickly getting overcome by haze. The last thing he heard before falling to oblivion was KID whispering with glee:
"Nighty night, Tantei-san~"
There were only a few seconds left, so the crowd started their countdown, when suddenly the lights inside the building flickered and went off for just a moment. But it was apparently enough. People let out a shrill of excitement as they saw their idol standing in the place of one of the guards, grinning towards the camera. He raised a finger to his lips as if asking for discretion, causing Nakamori to howl out to the three other guards, who were standing with their backs turned to the display and apparently somehow not noticing the kaitou!
"You idiots! He was disguised as Yamao all along! Get him before he gets away!" The guards heard from their earphones.
The lights flickered again as the three men, following their order, tackled the white figure. A blink later everyone saw KID crouching on the display, with the encrusted dagger in his hand, looking down at the wrestling men. Before the guards could recollect themselves, the thief dropped a smoke bomb, while already moving and jumping forward. On the monitors, they saw western door open and the white figure rush out of it. Suzuki snatched the microphone from Nakamori.
"He's taken the west door, follow him! He is headed towards the medieval route!"
Nakamori and Mouri flinched in compassion at what they saw next. The smoke in the display dispersed enough just in time for everybody to see a guard bumping into the opened door. Another man reached and ripped off a sheet with a picture of the open passage, revealing a completely closed door underneath. Kogoro chuckled at the sight, but covered it with clearing his throat under the heavy gaze of Ginzo. Meanwhile, the monitor operators were reporting KID's position to the remaining guards, who tried to follow the kaitou, while the trapped four opened the door.
The inspector growled with anger and snapped a pencil he was holding. "He seems to know where the guards are-!"
"Sir, look!" A sharp officer cut in, bringing Nakamori's attention. "KID doesn't show on the sensor monitors!"
"He must have tinkered with the sensors," Jirokichi retorted.
Ginzo frowned. "Not so sure about that… They show the guards…"
"He must have made them unable to point out only his location!" Kogoro deduced.
The inspector spared him an unimpressed glare, before turning back to the monitors, unwilling to lose sight of KID. "And how would he do that?!"
While the headquarters quarreled, the guards tried desperately to fulfill their role, but couldn't even get as much as a glimpse of the white cape! The monitor operators however were well trained and with help of the Kaitou KID Task Force members, they managed to coordinate the men to somehow herd the thief, as they wished to. They saw him stop on a crossing, as the guards were closing in on him. Soon they would reach him and he had nowhere to run! But then KID grinned, turning his gaze to the camera. He covered himself with his cape and stepped backwards… Into the wall!
"HOW?!" The men gathered in the command center demanded in unison.
As ordered, the guards inspected the wall as they finally reached the place, but didn't notice anything off. Meanwhile there was another flick of light and KID emerged in the display room again. He pulled out the sheath from under his cape and left it on the pedestal with a card. He bowed to the camera, as the guards desperately tried to return to the room in time. Suddenly smoke started coming out of his suit and slowly the kaitou faded into thin air, as a phantom he was called would.
The control room fell quiet and Nakamori felt his eyebrow twitch. There were so many questions flowing through his mind, demanding to be voiced first, but he decided to ask the one which had a chance to be answered.
"Why did he leave the sheath?" He turned towards Jirokichi, already having an idea about it himself.
The old man snapped out of his gaping and smirked. "Because it's a fake obviously. I had a hunch that this wouldn't stop him today."
Ginzo wasn't even surprised. "And why wasn't I informed about it?" He glared at the man.
Suzuki raised an eyebrow, as if the answer was obvious. "Because I didn't want KID to overhear about it." He folded his arms and sighed, turning his attention back to the monitors and mumbled. "But I am disappointed that we didn't get to see how he entered the building or left it… I did hope that today would provide us with some clues to help us capture him."
At least apparently the man wasn't the fool Nakamori started believing he was.
Meanwhile, the guards managed to finally return to the display room and one of them, named Hayashi Shuji, cried out to the command center.
"What happened here anyway?"
Ginzo vaguely heard one of the monitor operators reply with a sigh.
"Apparently KID was Yamao all along or somehow managed to swit-"
He didn't get to finish as a shocked "Huh?!" interrupted him and suddenly all of the guards tackled their colleague. Jirokichi snatched a microphone.
"What's the meaning of this?!"
"Sir! We captured KID!" the guard leader reported.
"What?!"
"You said it was Yamao, and he was with us all along!"
"It's not me! I'm not KID! Let me go!" the unfortunate Yamao cried out, while being pressed to the floor and getting tied up.
"What the hell..?" Ginzo mumbled, his eyes flicking through the screens.
Kogoro laughed. "That idiot didn't have a way out! So he just blended with the guards and hoped to get out with them!"
Nakamori grabbed the microphone. "When did Yamao reappear?"
"Sir?" Hayashi replied with a confused tone.
"Just answer the question." Suzuki ordered, eyeing the inspector.
"Yes sir. He never left. Actually he was running by my side through the whole chase... the bastard..." he cursed hoping that it wouldn't be noticed.
"What the hell is going on here..?" Ginzo mumbled and looking at the men gathered in the room. He would've liked to hear what one of those smart-ass detectives had to say about this... Weren't they supposed to be there? He could have sworn he saw Saguru earlier. "Where is Hakuba-kun?" he asked out loud.
"Ah yes, that reminds me, Mouri-san weren't you supposed to bring the KID-killer with you?" Jirokichi asked with suspicion.
Kogoro rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I did but that bra- kid ran off somewhere when I took my eyes off him for a second."
"And you didn't report this?" Nakamori growled at him.
The detective shrugged. "He always does that and it's not like KID could disguise as him, so I only made sure to keep my eye on the Osaka- wait... Where is he?" Confused, he turned around, looking for Heiji.
"Has anybody seen either of them?" Ginzo called out, casting angry looks at the gathered men.
"Sir... I think I noticed two teenage boys, but they left in a hurry long before the heist started..." one of the monitor operators said quietly. "I was busy, so didn't really pay them much attention…" he added apologetically.
The inspector sighed in annoyance, angry that he and his men gotten too used to the immature detectives running around wherever they pleased. But truth be told, they did get the best results that way, so he didn't want to limit them too much. And who knew? Maybe they actually were on KID's track right now.
"Alright…" he grumbled. "In that case, we need to find them." And he already was turning to give out orders, when Kogoro's snort stopped him.
"What for? I'm sure they'll come around soon enough. Right now you have to send in men to retrieve KID!" The Sleeping Detective reminded him, pointing at the monitor, where the guards still awaited for further orders.
"Wait!" Ginzo cut in before Suzuki could say a word. "It might be a diversion. It is still possible that KID is in there, but he doesn't have to be Yamao."
"What are you saying?" Mouri mocked. "Are you blind? We saw him with our very eyes being that guy!"
"KID makes a living from deceiving people!" The inspector corrected him and turned to Jirokichi. "Sir, let my men handle this. They will secure the entrance and check all of the guards."
"Well, it's not like your men have a high record of discovering him!" Suzuki huffed. "You may send in your men, but I'm going with them!"
"Sir..?" Ginzo raised an eyebrow unsure if he heard correct.
"If that is KID there, I want to personally unmask him! Plus, I'm not sure if your men are up for the job!"
Nakamori growled with annoyance, but held back a retort and instead gave his orders. He dispatched a few of the officers to search for the missing detectives and directed the rest of his force towards the museum building. Walking beside Jirokichi and Kogoro, who decided to tag along, they soon entered it. He wasn't really surprised to find out that Yamao wasn't KID in disguise. Apparently none of the guards were. He even had them take off their jackets to confirm that their bulkiness was natural. He knew that it was impossible for the kaitou who often posed as a female to have such build. But just in case any of the 12 men were KID's associates, he had them driven to the station for questioning. They read the card left by the thief alongside the fake sheath.
*Thank you for your invitation and for preparing such a nice gift for me.
However, I find it such a shame to divide a set of such fine treasures and offend it with crude fakes!
I shall return tomorrow in hopes that you'll decide to fix this mistake!
Kaitou KID (doodle)*
Apparently Suzuki found it amusing and was overall pleased with the promise left by the thief.
Nakamori cleared his throat. "Sir, I hope that as for tomorrow, you'll allow my men to partake in the protection of the sheath." It would've been probably more polite to phrase it as a question, but the inspector didn't have it in him to do so.
Jirokichi cast him a glance and hummed, wondering about it. "Well, since you arrested my special security, it doesn't seem like I have much choice in the matter. Hiring anybody now would be just making it easy for that pesky thief!" He laughed out loud, apparently not upset about the outcome in the least.
Somehow Ginzo had a feeling that this was his plan all along. Well, at least now the police had their chance to trigger the well-prepared trap. If only they could figure out how KID came inside the building, disappeared in the middle of it and left… 'The freaking thief and his teleportation tricks' the inspector thought with annoyance, but found it hard to conceal his grin.
Meanwhile it didn't take long for the few officers to find Hakuba and two of their comrades. They were still sleeping, neatly tied up to a tree, on the other side of the museum. Conan and Heiji were found by some of the fans, as they managed to wake up before the officers reached them and called out for help. Apparently the kaitou left them in a small stash behind one of the souvenir stalls.
Of course KID wouldn't be a gentleman if he didn't leave them with a sort of an explanation, as to why he found it inevitable to take out his detectives before the heist started. Not that anybody had any doubts that he simply wanted to get rid of his most dangerous obstacles and the cards left behind were only to enrage them.
*My dear Tantei~
I am truly sorry about this.
However it didn't escape my attention how cramped the tiny barrack was!
I couldn't bear the thought that you might get crushed in there!
So in order to be able to focus on my show, I decided to keep you away from it and safe~
Please do take better care of yourself in the future!
Yours truly, Kaitou KID (doodle)*
Shinichi did not appreciate the allusion to his fragile body, but since each of them received an identical one, it was Heiji who got angry by it and shred his card in half.
"Worry about yourself, you ahou!" he growled with anger.
"Oi! What do you think you're doing?!" a police officer cried out, scolding the teen. "That was evidence!"
Hattori shot him a glare, but immediately looked away, feeling abashed as he recalled that it wasn't just a prank-note from a friend. "Well it's not like it was the only copy and KID never leaves any traces anyway…" he grumbled as an excuse.
The man sighed, knowing full well that what Heiji said was right. As well as how vexatious getting knocked out by KID could be. "Yeah, well… procedures are still to be followed. Just keep that in mind, alright?" he offered with a compassionate smile, taking the two parts of the note and bagging them.
The unfortunate seller was taken in for questioning under suspicion of cooperating with the thief. He asked a colleague to keep an eye for his stall while he was gone. Fortunately for him, there wasn't any evidence to the claim that he had anything in common with KID and the only thing the detectives found interesting, when they heard about his answers, was that on every other day, the seller ran a store in Ekoda. But they of course kept why it was interesting to themselves. Although to his satisfaction, the seller noticed after he returned that while he was gone, all of his merchandise were sold out, since apparently quite few of the fans wanted to buy a souvenir from the stall KID himself shown interest in.
"Hey, Hakuba. He caught you by surprise as well, eh?" Shinichi approached the Brit, as he noticed him sitting beside the barrack and massaging his temples.
Saguru shot him a glance and noticed Heiji following. "Hello and yes… Unfortunately, you are correct. Care to tell me what happened on your end?"
Conan sighed, tucking hands in his pockets. "Well, soon after we parted with the girls, Otchan said he had to go to the bathroom. We didn't even manage to lose the sight of him when we noticed somebody looking like Kuroba. He saw us too and fled so…" He cast an annoyed glare in Heiji's direction. "Hattori ran after him. Before I could stop him, KID managed to lure us to the back of the stands and knock us out."
"Oi, give me a break already, will you?" The Osakan complained. "I couldn't let him just disappear like that…"
Shinichi rolled his eyes, already bored with arguing about it. "Yeah, yeah… Well, anyway. I just can't figure it out how he managed to make Otchan leave in that exact moment. He didn't eat nor drink anything since we ate at the Agency…" He shrugged, dismissing it for the moment. "I guess he did it to use him to pass the checkup without suspicion and fool you. The question is why he wanted to get rid of us?"
Saguru gave an abashed expression. "I do admit that I dropped my guard because he approached me as Hattori. He did make a striking impression of him…" He added warily, focusing his gaze on the Osakan.
Heiji shot him an annoyed glare in return. "If you're thinking about pinching my cheek, or something like that, I'm gonna-"
"Oi, oi~" the shrunken detective cut in, half amused. "Give him a break, Hattori. KID got him too."
The blonde sighed, turning away from the tanned teen. "As for why, we can only guess. Maybe we'll figure it out after seeing the footage?"
Shinichi nodded, coming to a similar conclusion. "Have you managed to find out anything about what happened while we were out?"
Saguru pointed with his head the paramedics who were packing their things. "Unfortunately, I just woke up. I did overhear that they found out that the pedestal was hollow. Apparently they believe that this was where KID hid himself."
Conan narrowed his eyes and mumbled. "But this doesn't explain how he entered the building..."
"No, it doesn't. And from what I've heard, Adviser Suzuki had the vent watched over before the heist even started. So it is unlikely that he used that passage…" Hakuba mused, prompting his chin.
"Well, not much use talking about it. Best go now and watch the footage." Heiji reasoned, tucking his hands in his pockets and already directing his steps into the barrack, causing Saguru to have a Déjà vu sensation.
"Hakuba, you ok?" Shinichi snapped the Brit out of his daze, standing in the entrance.
Saguru shook his head and stood up. "Yes, sorry. Just recalled something."
Conan raised his eyebrow and watched the blonde enter the room. "Something important?"
"Maybe…" He wondered as he apologized and ducked under the display board, near the monitors where he remembered the disguised kaitou leaned before. "Could I ask for some advice here? I would appreciate gloves as well, he added, tapping his pockets and not finding any of his own.
Conan ducked underneath and noticed a very small bump, barely visibly sticking out from underneath the board. He snorted. "That explains why he wanted to enter here."
"Yes, it seems so… I wonder what it is though…" Saguru replied and made space for a technician who joined him. "Do you think it is safe to take it out?"
The man shot him a wary look. "What do you mean?"
Hakuba shrugged. "I don't know much about electronics, but if it is possible, I imagine KID would want to secure it from us prying into his devices."
The technician hummed and poked out from under the board. "Oi, Zengo! Take a look if you can see what's on this. Seems like a pendrive or something."
The called out IT specialist gave a nod and started tapping on the computer, while Conan noticed Jirokichi, Ginzo and Kogoro return with two officers.
"What is going on here?" The older man demanded, noticing the gathering.
"Sir, Hakuba-kun found some kind of device from KID under the command board."
"Oh~? Good job, boy~! What is it?" he asked with a wide smile on his face.
Saguru got out from underneath the board and dusted off his pants. "Not sure, sir. We want to be careful about it. Have you found anything interesting inside the museum, beside the hollowed pedestal?"
Ginzo shook his head, eyeing the monitor next to Zengo. "Not really. We've sent the material KID used to fool the guards, as well as the card and fake sheath to the lab, but I wouldn't expect any results."
Hakuba nodded, but it was Hattori who spoke. "Mind if we take a look at the footage now?"
Jirokichi replied jovially in his stead: "Of course. We were about to sit down with it anyway. Maybe you boys will notice something?"
Kogoro snorted. "Since they let KID fool them once, I doubt they will be much of a help anyway."
Heiji glared at him. "Oh yeah? But it was you who gave him cover and brought him here."
Mouri glared back at him, but Suzuki stepped between them with raised hands. "Maa, maa, we all know how cunning that white sinner is, let's not argue between us and join-"
He suddenly got cut off by a shriek from a technician, who bumped into the tiny device as he tried to get out from underneath the board. The pendrive started sending out sparks and smoke. Conan immediately jumped in and pulled the smoldering device out, before it could cause any damage to the computer.
"Boy, are you alright?!" Suzuki asked, sounding worried.
"That was reckless Conan-kun, did you burn yourself?" Ginzo was already reaching out to the boy.
Shinichi shook his head and held out his hand, showing the smoking pendrive. "No, I'm fine. Figured it's KID's so it couldn't be dangerous. See? It's not even hot from the outside. But I'm afraid this will be useless now…"
"He probably had it secured so that if the power was cut it would self-destruct…" Heiji mussed, glad that his friend was alright and that his gasp 'Kudo!' was unheard in the commotion.
Saguru nodded, glaring at Hattori (apparently not all missed his slip). "Yes, that's what I was afraid of."
"S-sorry… lost my balance." the technician apologized with his head ducked between his shoulders.
Ginzo eyes suspiciously the man and after scolding, he had him and his colleague Zengo questioned to make sure that it truly was just an accident. He sent the destroyed device to the lab as well in case the forensics there could figure out anything from it. As the commotion passed, the group sat to watch the footage from the heist.
While watching it and taking the tiny gadget into account, the detectives had already an idea about the trick KID used. But there was a problem with it.
"It's unlike him…" Saguru mumbled, narrowing his eyes, with Conan replying to him with a nod.
"What? You figured it out? Then spit it out already!" Ginzo demanded, still unsure how to connect the dots.
"There seems to be two possibilities, ne?" Heiji asked, eyeing the Brit, who confirmed. The rest gave him annoyed glares, so Hattori waved his hands apologetically. "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that he used this device to send prepared footages through it. Since you didn't find anything in the place he disappeared in and apparently for the whole chase he managed to avoid getting seen by the guards, I would guess that he was never there to begin with."
"WHAT?!" Kogoro shouted furiously. "What are you talking about? They've obviously seen him in the display room and he has stolen the dagger! He had to be there!"
"Well, there are two possible explanations to that." Saguru stepped in before a quarrel could burst out. "Either he never left in the display room and had you send the guards off on a goose chase, while he hid himself in the pedestal. Or a guard was cooperating with him. It is even possible that all of them were. In that case, he just had his accomplice hide the dagger somewhere and leave the card in the commotion, without KID ever going in there. If so, then the blade should be still somewhere in the building…Unless KID already managed to retrieve it already, of course."
"I would highly doubt that any of my people were involved." Jirokichi argued with slight annoyance in his tone. "I didn't only have the men watch each other for the last week, I also had them watched. It is hard for me to believe that one of them, let alone to whole four I had chosen as the most trustworthy connive with KID."
"We're not accusing anybody, just laying out the possibilities." Hakuba replied amicably.
Still, it was all strange, Shinichi mused, focusing his gaze on the smoldered USB port. Kuroba wasn't a stranger to aiding his heists with technology, but to run most of it that way? He did prefer to do everything personally. Why didn't he think of something else? Was it impossible? But it shouldn't have been if he already found a way to get inside. Maybe there was something wrong with him? But Hakuba did say he ran after the magician before the heist started and he seemed fine. So why...? Conan narrowed his eyes and the only conclusion he could to reach was that Kaito had too little time to prepare. Truth be told, the notice was short. Somehow this didn't ease him and lead him to wondering why Jirokichi decided to put out his challenge right before another scheduled heist in the first place.
Later on, when the report from the questioning came from the police station, it was revealed that the guards saw KID during the heist only once. It was when he was standing on the display case. Baffled, Ginzo questioned why they tackled one of their own in that case and they replied that they were following his orders.
"But I never said that they were to attack the guy!" Nakamori yelled in rage.
Kogoro frowned and nodded. "Yeah, if I remember correctly you said 'It's KID! Why don't you see him?!' or something like that…"
The inspector groaned. "He must have hacked into the connection and sent the order with my voice… Again!" And wasn't that the most annoying part that he was able to do it?
This seemed to confirm the theory about KID never leaving the display room and making the monitor operators to send the guards on a goose chase after a fake image. This also explained why he didn't show on the motion sensors. That way the kaitou gained enough time to determine that the sheath was a fake and allowed him to make his escape. But they still didn't know how he entered and left. Unfortunately, before the detectives could go and investigate the building themselves, Ran and Kazuha, accompanied by Sonoko came by and demanded to return home. Seeing that it was already late, Ginzo chased out Saguru as well, knowing that the detective had one last mock exam on the following day. In the end, the police settled for an explanation that KID managed somehow to fool the people watching over the vent entrance and took that road in. Since he already had access to the security system, it was possible for him to turn off any devices set to monitor it. And passing the vent like that both ways wouldn't have been the biggest stunt done by the kaitou.
And cut~! Didn't want to spoil the surprise – but yes, Suzuki can't resist the temptation of having a two-day heist and Kaito will have to figure out something better for the second part, so… look forward to it~?
See you next chapter *grins*
