KudoEdogawa presents...

"Everlasting"

***

Chapter 8::

"There is it," Jodie said, looking out at the harbor along the seashores. She retrieved a pair of binoculars from her purse and examined the warehouses for any signs of activity. "It's pretty dead for a harbor," she commented.

"That's good," Shuichi said as he drove the black car down the road, "Wouldn't want too much attention."

The waves assaulted the pearly white sand, and seagulls slept peacefully on roofs of the warehouses, completely unaware of the upcoming bloodshed. Shuichi parked the car in front of the first set of the warehouses and opened the back trunk of the car and retrieved from it a large black jacket; the same one that he wore when she saw Ran on that wintry day in Beika.* He opened up one side of the jacket and revealed many pockets, in which he placed guns that he had already prepared in the trunk. He tossed a small hand gun to Jodie, who caught it and placed it in the inner pocket of her red jacket.

"Let's bust this case," she said, and the two of them proceeded.

They went knocking on the door of every single warehouse, and when no one answered, they'd kick down the door and do a thorough search to make sure they don't miss anything. The first was empty except some cargo, the second had several boats, the third had what seemed to be extra parts for ships, and when they came to the fourth, they heard a small voice whisper: "Go check who it is."

"Must be boss, she said she's gonna come and get this brat once she finishes her job in Tokyo; wants to train this brat, she says," a second voice reply, and they heard chairs being shuffled and soft footsteps.

The door opened, and in one swift movement, Shuichi kneed whoever opened the door in the stomach, turned him around, seized his neck with one arm, and pointed a gun at the man's head with the other.

"Don't move, FBI!" Jodie shouted as she pointed her gun at the first man who talked as well as showing her badge.

"Damn..." the first man said slowly as he got up and put his hands up, "It's just a small twerp, did America's great agents really have to come all the way here?"

"Give us the boy, or I'll bust this man's head open," Shuichi threatened, pressing the mouth of the gun closer to the man's head.

"Alright, alright," the man said leisurely, though carefully staring at Jodie as she followed his every movement with the gun.

Poor Hiroichi was asleep, or unconscious, in the corner of the room, a big, purple bruise on his pale, little face. The man went and bent down and acted as if he was untying the boy's restraints, yet the man stood back up a moment later, clutching Hiroichi by the neck and a gun next to his head.

"Ha ha!" the man laughed menacingly, "Come on! Bust his head now!" He taunted, "Or even mine!" He said, looking at Jodie. "Either way, I'll fire as soon as I hear a gun shot, how's that for a change, huh?"

"Drop the boy," Shuichi said clear and serious, tone of threat and murder with every word.

"No," the man said. "Drop your guns or I'll kill him now. Gee, I wonder how that Kudo is going to handle the death of both his son and his wife?"

"Drop the boy."

"DROP THE GUNS!!" The man shouted as soon as Shuichi's words left him. The man stared and pressed the gun forcefully at Hiroichi's head. "NOW!!"

Reluctantly, Jodie lowered her gun, and Shuichi and tossed it aside, though not daring to let his prisoner loose.

"Now," the man said with a snicker, "You are both to turn around so that I could kill you one by one... we can't have the FBI know what we're up to yet, you know. Now let's do it, starting with the woman."

"You're insane!" Jodie spat.

"DO IT NOW!!"

Jodie shot a sideways glance at Shuichi, who nodded lightly, and as he done so, he saw something: the back of his prisoner's neck... and there was not a tattoo.

Jodie spun around with her hands in the air, and Shuichi's free hand reached into his jacket. The man grinned and pulled the gun away from Hiroichi's head, directing it at Jodie instead. Shuichi seized the chance, dropped the man that he was holding, pulled a second gun from his jackets and fired at the man. The bullet struck the man's right chest, the pain bringing him to the ground, dropping Hiroichi. The man whom Shuichi was holding got on his feet and was about to attack Shuichi when Jodie awarded him with a well-struck kick.

"Dammit!" The man said, "We've gotta get outta here!" The other man clutched his chest painfully as he stood up and nodded.

Fwish!

There was a sound of something zooming across the air, and then an undeniable ding! of a bullet hitting the ground, followed by a heavy thud! The man fell forward to the ground, his lifeless body next to Hiroichi. The remaining man's eyes widened in horror as he made to escape.

"You can't even handle two FBI rats and a small brat; you've lost your worthiness," a voice said.

A second Fwish! was heard as the man fell through the door of the warehouse, dead, staining the sand a bloody red.

Shuichi and Jodie turned to see a man facing them, his hair black with some strands of gold, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, narrow eyes that show no mercy, and an outstretched arm with a gun. Every single aspect of him gave the feeling of the long-deceased Gin, sending chilled air of danger down everyone's spines.

"You would be...?" Jodie spoke first.

"I was code-named Cappuccino, but you FBI rats might know me better as Moriyama Kousuke," the man said.

"M-Moriyama?!" Shuichi repeated. "The professional assassin who has killed more than three-hundred people around the world?"

"That would be me," Moriyama replied.

"But you died," said Jodie, horrified, "You died nine years ago while trying to escape."

The man chuckled, rather proudly, "Nah, that's just something that my current boss planned for me. She said that as long as I work for her, she'll make sure that I live."

"Who's your boss?" Shuichi questioned, his grip tight on his gun.

"I cannot tell you," he replied, "I'm getting bored now... so either you give me the boy, or I'll have to kill the two of you and get the boy myself."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Jodie said. Moriyama turned to look at her, and he let out a small growl; Jodie was holding some sort of telecommunication system. "The Osaka and Koube Police Department have been alerted of the boy's location, and so have the members of FBI who are here in Japan." She grinned.

"You're making this more difficult for you, lady," said Moriyama, "You see, for that, now I'd have to kill you."

He raised his gun, the shaft of the gun glimmering under the sunlight. The man smiled. A click was heard by the man and Jodie and they spun around to find Shuichi with his gun raised, "Better think twice before firing," he said.

Moriyama chuckled as his free hand reached into his jackets and retrieved from it a second gun, "You're not the only one who came prepared," he said and aimed the second gun at Shuichi.

The atmosphere was tense, none of them moved for nearly a minute, and none of them spoke. A small whine came from somewhere inside the room as Hiroichi stirred. The whine was soon followed by a long, terrified scream as Hiroichi laid his eyes on the dead body next to him and the blood which has reached his pants and stained the soft cloth.

"Hiro-chan, don't move!" Jodie shouted, tilting her head a little so she could see the little boy behind her.

Moriyama seized this chance of his enemies being distracted and ducked down, firing at the same time. The bullets hit Shuichi and Jodie in the leg, and they stumbled as they're hit. Shuichi, with the strength of the other leg, spun himself around to see Moriyama running towards Hiroichi, apparently hoping to grab the hostage and bust out of the place as soon as possible.

"Think again!" Shuichi roared and fired without aiming, and the flying bullet hit Moriyama in the upper back, near the heart. Moriyama gave a small gasp as blood gushed out of his body and he fell to the floor.

Shuichi and Jodie limped to where Moriyama was, weak and trembling.

"Thank you..." he muttered, "I've done too many wrongs in my life, and I really wanted to stop... but that woman made me do it; she said she'd kill my family... I can't let her do that, my wife and my children have done nothing immoral in their lives."

"Who's the one behind this?" Shuichi asked, while Jodie tried to rip off the sleeve of Moriyama's shirt to stop his bleeding.

"A woman," Moriyama panted. "No... not a woman -- she's a serpent, a viper, she must've came from Hell itself.... Hates the FBI.... and Kudo... his wife... danger...." He's barely making any sense as his breathing became more rapid.

"What's her name?" Shuichi questioned. "Hurry up, Jodie!"

"I'm trying!" Jodie replied sharply, lifting the man up and wrapping the ripped cloth around his body.

"Dunno her name..." Moriyama panted, "But calls herself... calls herself... Vermou-" He gave an intense cough of blood and the next second, life left him.

The wails of sirens can be heard in the distance as police cars drove into the Koube Harbor. Jodie sat with next to the dead man with a sour look, "Go on peacefully, we'll make sure your wife stays well," she said.

A dozen police officers charged into the warehouse, "Sir?" One of them said.

"It's finished here," Shuichi stood up and said, "Get the Kudo boy back to his family in Tokyo, and dispatch a team to safeguard the family members of Moriyama Kousuke."

"Moriyama?" An officer repeated.

"Do not question me!" Shuichi barked. "Just get to it!"

"Yes sir!" The officer cried in unison and left.

Shuichi walked out on to the beach, staring at the slowly setting sun, "It seems like we're not finished yet," he said softly, "...Vermouth."

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*Vol. 37, File 8