Naoko
Chapter Three: The Kidnap
Shinichi was panicking, so he did the only thing he could think of. He sank his teeth into the guy's hand. The guy growled and dropped him, grasping is right hand, which was bleeding between his thumb and first finger. Conan landed hard, but stood up quickly and tried to run for it. The guy reached out and grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face him.
"You won't get away that easy," he snarled. He pulled a phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, still holding Shinichi's arm in a death grip.
"Let go!" Conan howled. The guy looked down and clamped a hand over Conan's mouth, dragging him into the shadows and out of sight. The guy dialed a number and waited.
"Taro? It's Jiro. Guess who I found," he said sickeningly. He paused. "Yeah, it's that kid from the Mouri house." Pause. "Yeah I got hi now. Come help me with him, he's a little fighter!" Long pause. "Right. I'll meet you here. Okay, bye." He hung up. He gazed down at the boy beside him.
"Too bad for you, kid. I'll get quite a ransom, I'm sure," he laughed. Conan's words were muffled by Jiro's large hand. A few minutes of struggling later, another man that man almost exactly alike to the first came by with a large sack. He looked slightly angry at the sight of them.
"Jiro, you moron! You know better than to just take a kid off the street! Who knows who could've been watching," he hissed.
"Look Taro, rag on me later. Just help me with him; the little runt won't stay still!" Jiro growled. Taro nodded and opened the sack, pulling out a length of rope.
"Hold him still," Taro muttered. Conan struggled against them still. No way would famous Detective Shinichi Kudou let himself be kidnapped by two goons without a fight. Jiro hit him over the head and he saw stars. He stopped struggling as a wave of dizziness overtook him.
Taro uncoiled the rope and tied his wrists behind his back. He then tied his ankles together. Conan shook his head, trying to get focus back.
'No, I can't give up I can't...' he thought desperately. He took a deep breath and yelled out as loud as he could. Jiro slammed his hand over his mouth again, cutting off his yell abruptly. A light clicked on in some of the apartments across the street.
"Damn it! We'll be caught!" Jiro murmured. Taro shook his head.
"No. No way am I going to jail," Taro snarled. He taped Conan's mouth shut. "Blindfold him too. Get rid of those glasses."
"What should I do with them?" Jiro asked, pulling a strip of cloth around Conan's eyes and tying it in the back. He held up the glasses.
"I don't care. Leave them, we have to get out of here," Taro ordered, opening the sack again. Jiro picked Conan up by his waist and dropped him into the sack. Shinichi grunted and groaned, struggling to untie the bonds.
Naoko watched it all take place. She watched as they tied up the boy who had been nice to her. She watched him be dropped into the sack and the top of the sack be tied tightly with string. The men stood up and started to leave. They were taking him away!
She ran out of her alley. She had to stop them. They wouldn't take away the only person who'd ever been nice to her. She wouldn't stand for it!
Naoko grabbed the bigger man's leg. He looked down and scoffed in disgust, kicking her away. She fell to the ground, but scrambled up quickly. She yanked on the man's leg as hard as she could.
"Get away, disgusting child! Away!" he snapped. She sank her teeth into his leg. He yelled out in pain and grasped her filthy hair. She made a small noise of pain and surprise, grabbing his hand and trying to pull her hair back.
"She'll get us caught!" Taro whispered. "Tie her up too! Quickly Jiro," he ordered. Jiro nodded and tied her wrists and ankles, then gagging and blindfolding her. They shoved her in the bag, re-closed it, and disappeared into the night.
---
Ran was more than concerned now. Frantic was an understatement. She was hysterical, absolutely beside her self with worry.
"Oh my god, Sonoko! He's probably dead! Or kidnapped! It's seven! He's four hours late!" she cried. He hadn't come to the food court. He wasn't at home either. He wasn't at Shinichi's house or at Doctor Agasa's. Neither he nor Ai had seen him. She'd called Mitsuhiko's mother, Ayumi's mother and Genta's father, but they hadn't seen him since three thirty.
"Ran, he's probably fine," Sonoko said.
"Okay, I'm not waiting anymore," Ran stated. "I'm calling the police." She dialed the number and held the phone to her ear.
"Hello, I'd like to speak to Inspector Megure please," she said. There was a pause. "Hello Inspector, its Ran Mouri. I'm calling because I was supposed to meet Conan at three o'clock, but no one's seen him since three thirty. We've looked everywhere, we can't find him. I think he's been kidnapped," she said. She waited. "You saw him at four?" she asked. Pause. "Okay, what did he say?" she asked hopefully. "Oh. Will you help us find him?" she asked. "Yes sir. I'll meet you there. Okay. Bye," she said hanging up.
"So what's going on?" Kogoro asked.
"Inspector Megure wants us to meet him near the apartment building eight blocks down. He said that's where he saw Conan and maybe we'd find clues there," Ran explained, pulling on her jacket. Kogoro and Sonoko followed her out the door.
They all met up there, greeting each other like old friends in a grim situation.
"Now don't panic, Ran. We don't know he's been kidnapped. He could be lost, or at another friend's house that we don't know about," Inspector Megure told her. She nodded. They began looking around, searching for clues.
"Inspector! Inspector come quickly!" a policeman shouted from near an alley. He hurried over being tailed by Ran and Kogoro. Ran sobbed out loud when she saw what he'd found.
Conan's sneakers and cracked glasses were lying innocently at their feet. Ran burst into hysterical sobs. Sonoko rubbed her back and led her away.
"Be careful where you walk, keep on your toes," Megure muttered. They held their flashlights tipped towards the ground. The crouched over, looking for anything that could help.
"Megure, look at this," Kogoro said. He leaned over Kogoro's shoulder to see what it was. Two scarlet droplets of blood stained the sidewalk.
"Get some samples! Quickly!" Megure barked. They took samples of the blood and put the sneakers and glasses in plastic bags to be tested for fingerprints. The news crew arrived. Conan's picture would be all over the front page the next day.
---
Conan had felt someone fall on top of him. He couldn't tell who it was. He could smell dirt and grime, and stringy hair fell over his face. It was Naoko. He stirred and grunted, shifting his weight. She lay still. They were moving away from the spot.
After a long time of being bumped around, there was the sound of a door opening and closing again, then more walking and another door opening and closing. They were bumped around as the man trotted downstairs. The man turned the sack upside down when they reached the bottom. Conan and Naoko tumbled out of the sack, onto cold concrete floor. Conan groaned as his head hit the floor, hard. He felt the skin on his forehead split and blood spill onto the floor. His captor swore loudly, picking him up around the waist.
"Damn it! That'll never come out!" he grumbled, tossing Conan aside like a rag doll. He landed harder than before, hitting his head again, causing more blood to be spilt. The sound of his captors' voices faded and he fell unconscious.
---
Ran sat on the couch, lost in a sea of thoughts and memories.
'Oh Shinichi, where are you?' she thought miserably. 'You could save Conan. If only you were here!' she began crying again. Kogoro took a long swig of his beer. He belched loudly and grunted.
"Oh dad, what if they don't find him?" she cried. Kogoro looked over at her. "What if he's dead?"
"The kid's smart. He'll be fine," Kogoro said, not quite sure who he was trying to convince, his daughter or himself.
"But he could already be dead! He could be lying in the gutter somewhere, alone and afraid, dying!" she sobbed. Kogoro put his arm around her and pulled her close. She sobbed into his shoulder.
'Don't worry, Ran. I'll find him. I won't let you down again.' Kogoro thought firmly.
---
When Conan regained consciousness, he noticed he was no longer on the concrete floor. He was laying flat on his back on a freezing table. His arms were at his side, his hands tied to the table, as well as his ankles. There was also a length of rope around his neck, making it harder to breath. He shivered. He wasn't gagged or blindfolded either.
He took the opportunity to look around. It was a dark stone room, presumably the basement of a house. The walls, floor, and ceiling were stone, dripping some fluid, making it colder. There was a staircase on the other side of the room; he could just see it in his peripheral vision. Next to the table he was tied to, was another table, on which Naoko was tied to. She was staring strait up at the ceiling unmoving.
"Naoko?" he choked. He coughed. 'Great.' He thought. 'Just what I need! A cold!'
"Shhh..." she hushed quietly. "No you want them to hear you."
"Why not?" he whispered. She didn't answer. Loud thumping footsteps were headed down the stairs. Water splashed as he walked closer.
"Ah, I see you have finally decided to join us," the man said cruelly. Conan didn't recognize him. He shivered again. The man put a hand on Conan's stomach, which he just noticed was bare. His hand sent more shivers up his spine.
"Don't worry child. You won't be here for long. As long as your little friends pay for you, that is," he said rubbing Conan's stomach. He took his hand away and went over and gazed down at Naoko. She was still in her ratty dress, but Shinichi couldn't help but wonder why his shirt had been taken. Another man loomed in the shadows. He stepped out and gazed down at her as well.
"Dear little Naoko. How have you been my dear?" Jiro asked. She stayed still.
"Leave her, Jiro. We're writing the ransom note upstairs. Come," he beckoned, heading towards the stairs. Jiro reluctantly followed him out.
'How do these guys know Naoko?' Shinichi wondered. 'She seems to know a lot about them.' He lay still shivering and staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes.
'Please, Ran. Come get me!'
---
To my reviewers for chapters 1 and 2:
Wing Omega: Yes. This will be interesting.
candy: Why, thank you! I'll try to fix that.
caseclosed lover: I'm not mean! I updated didnt I?
Katrina: You dork! lol, just kidding! You're great, really.
To anyone I missed: Thanks a lot, guys! you're the best!