Ch13

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

Zero!

The sun shined through the blinds of the panes of the windows upon a tiny girl's face. It twitched a few times, irritated by the light, before it finally opened to show her the snoring figure of an old man next to her. Watching the old man sleeping for carefree gave her a snicker as she got up from her bed. Yawning, she walked to the living room where she left Kudou last night to see if he had been awake yet. The clock that hung from the wall indicated that it was still 6:30 so she made her way down the hall quietly, careful not to make any sudden noise so she will not wake the teen. When she got there, to her surprise, the one she seeked was gone. The sheet she placed upon him had been folded neatly on the armrest where he had rested his head the past night. A faint sent of beacon was left hung in the air. A freshly washed plate can be seen upon the drying rack through the open door to the kitchen. 'He must have left quite a while ago, the smell in the air quite faint and that dish seems half dry already.' She deduced.

She decided to check his home in hopes of seeing him. An unusual feeling came over her as she strolled down the street to the big mansion next door. Something felt warm inside her that she could not explain. The arching door of the empty house creaked open with a small force applied by her hand. She took a look around from the door before entering and making her way up the stairs to the detective's room.

(Knock Knock)

"Kudou-kun, are you in side?" she whispered through the door. The only answer she received was the cries of the floorboard that shrieked each time she shifted her weight. "Kudou-kun, I'm coming in," she called out.

As she opened the door, she heard a crinkling sound under her feet. Looking down, she found an envelope, upon which wrote "To Haibara". She picked it up curiously and opened it to investigate the inside. A gasp of horror escaped her lips before she grinded her teeth together nervously.

11:07

Through the windows above a small café, the face of a concerned middle-aged man peeped through, watching the streets below with his right hand supporting his head below his chin. In his other, he held a photo of his dear daughter, smiling happily squeezing the protesting little boy in her arms. Each time he glanced down at the image, he would look back outside with his heart refilled with nostalgic yearn to see that smile in real life.

Aside from his sorrow, something bothered him, something wasn't settling. He did not know what the feeling was, at least not at the time. Turning back to his desk, he dismissed the thought as he took a sip of beer. He had been drinking the same bear for the past 4 hours, a personal record when it comes to drinking considering his usual can lasted no more than 5minutes. The bitterness of the beer and the nose pinching odor of the alcohol seemed to be emphasized that morning. Giving a long sigh, he shook the last of what was left in his can and chugged it into his mouth.

FBI Heaquarter

"Ms. Jodie, it's good to see you again," the voice of a teen called out.

"Huh, cool kid! You got your body back!" Jodie chirped with surprise.

"Don't be too happy, it's only temporary until tomorrow," he laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, toning down her voice in disappointment.

"Don't be, I'm not," Shinichi replied cheerfully.

Jodie smiled back, "You're pretty cute there Shinichi-kun," she said pinching his face, "Although I think you were cuter when you were 3 feet tall."

"heh heh" Shinichi laughed weakly, "Did you organize your teams like I asked you to?"

"Of course! This gamble almost worked last time with Belmot at the harbor, perhaps this time we'll get lucky," she said twirling her badge.

"It's not a gamble Ms. Jodie, it's a plan," Shinichi said firmly.

Jodie raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Yes it is," she said calmly.

"You came to check up on us?" the voice of a man came from behind.

Shinichi turned around to find the source of the voice. A man, no more than his twentieth strolled toward him. "Nice to see you again Shuichi-san," Kudou waved.

"and I" Shuichi replied.

'huh, he looks just like…' "Shuichi-san, Were you…" he called out.

"Huh, what was that?" Shuichi asked.

"Never mind, it's nothing important," He stopped himself.

"So what brings you over?" Shuichi asked.

"Ah yes, I brought these," Shinichi replied opening his pawn to reveal a stack of clear sticker like plastic.

"What are they," Jodie asked, taking the object to her hand and observing the details. A She could see metallic fiber like wires that lined the inside and as she pushed on the edges, the object was unusually flexible for plastic.

"That is the Ultra Nano Transmitter or UNT for short. It's an upgraded model of the sticker transmitters I had. Now, it is able to pick up sound and video imagery too if one wished to." Shinichi explained.

"Interesting, where's the receiver?" Jodie asked.

"This," Shinichi pulled out a pair of sunglasses, "It's much like the glasses I had but adjusted for looks and new receptions to get the sound and images from the transmitters," said Shinichi, tossing it over to the man across who looked intriguingly at the gadget.

He put the glasses on and looked around. His eyes opened under the shades, as he noticed how the colors of his surrounding did not change one bit. Only excess light from the bright noon sun seemed to get blocked while everything else remained the same.

"Those glasses contain night vision, heat vision, and work as binoculars up to 50X an object's original size," Shinichi laughed, "Magnificent, isn't it?"

"My god, are you sure this was all made by that old professor…what was his name…Agasa?" Jodie questioned with astonishment.

"Indeed he did," Shinichi smiled, "I want you to give these to each of the 12 squad leaders I told you to set up for me. Don't move till you hear a message from me," Shinichi said firmly.

"Right!" Jodie said. Shuichi gave a sharp look at the young detective and cracked a small smile.

'Damn, I'm giving orders to the FBI! This is sooo cool!' Shinichi thought to himself.

The professor looked nervously at the tiny anxious girl that paced back and force in the living room. This was one of the rare occasions where she actually chose to not go to school. In her hand, she held the small piece of paper she found under Kudou's bedroom door, now crinkled from her tight grip.

"Try to calm yourself Ai-kun," the old scientist called out.

"How can I!" she replied, "That baka is going to get himself killed if he does this," she said angrily and looked down upon the letter once more.

'Ai, today is the day that I am to meet with gin once more. I've decided to attack him head on. I'm sure that he will have many leads to the organization in his car so I will use those and go for the nest. I know what I am writing to you may be hard to comprehend but I hope you understand that it is what I must do. You know better than I do that if I let this chance escape, the B.O. will track me, Ran, you, and all the others down to eliminate us later on.

They know my identity now and that means either I kill them or they will kill me, quite literally. Meet me at Beika Park at 8:15 tonight, I wish to talk to you about something. Wait for me if I am late.

Shinichi '

"This was his brilliant plan? This was the best he could come up with after 10 long days?" Ai bursted out furiously.

"Calm down Ai-kun, you know what he says is true," the professor said with concern, "I know what his doing may seem incomprehensible but it's out of our hands now. Once he thinks of doing something, nobody can tell him other wise."

"Th.th..this isn't even a plan! This is just plain foolish suicide!" Ai screamed back, "What's wrong with him, did he cry his common sense out or something?"

"Maybe his got something up his sleeve, maybe he really do have a plan that let him attack them head on and win," the professor defended.

"Oh give me a break. Do you really think that the organization is that dumb? Kudou-kun is smart as he is but there is no way…just no way!" she shouted, shaking her head. "Anyways, I'm going to go tonight to meet him there and knock some senses into his head. I'm not going to let him walk into his own demise," she said angrily.

The door opened abruptly as light shot violently into the room where a girl lay quietly upon the bed. Stains upon the sheets marked the places where tears collected after plopping out from her eyes. "Hey woman! It's time for you to be reunited with your little friend," a deep voice rang against her back.

Ran didn't say a word. She got up slowly and walked over in silence, watching nervously at the darkened smile upon the black cloaked male's face. They walked out of the hotel with Ran receiving momentary shoves to pick up her pace. Once she was forced into the car, gin grabbed the blind fold once more and tied it tightly across her eyes.

Her eyes had run dry of tears. She didn't react in any way to the abuse she received from the man's shoving. Her head hit the room of the car heavily when she was pushed in but she did not yelp nor groan from her pain. The only thoughts that ran over and over in her mind was the thought that she would, once more, be reunited with the one she loved. At least, she hoped she would. Despite everything she said to him over the phone, deep down, she still wished for him to choose her. She hated herself for it and denied that she was thinking of such thoughts numerous times before, but she had given up and just accepted that, that was how she was.

Can you call someone selfish for wishing to live? Can you say someone is arrogant for wishing to be with the one she loved? With all her generosity, all her kindness, she was still…human. Though some may say she is selfish or arrogant, God shall find forgiveness for her decisions.

The sun began to set in the distant city horizon as a boy sat patiently at the location of his prearranged meeting. He could hear the noisy chatting of the people that walked in the streets behind the building to which he leaned against. He checked his watch, 7:55… 5 more minutes. His heart began to race and his mind jumped from possibility to possibility. He tinkered with his watch, making sure everything was set as it was suppose to be. The day had grown strangely warm over the hours that passed. Precipitation formed above his brows and formed into droplets that slid down his cheeks.

The sound of an engine caught the young man's attention as a classic Porsche turned around the corner down the ally. His eyes narrowed with hatred and bit his lip down hard to keep himself stable. He watched as the car came to a slow stop a few meters away. The front doors opened with a click and out came a man's voice. "Kudou Shinichi, long time now see," sang the voice.

"Gin…" Shinichi narrowed his eyes bitterly.

"I must say that I was surprised to see you back in your…stature," he laughed.

"Where is Ran?" Kudou demanded.

"Where is Sherry?" Gin called out.

Reaching for his back pocket, he pulled out a white envelope and said, "She's at the location written in this envelope."

"Give me the letter,"

"Give me Ran first!"

Gin looked up and gave a chuckle. "Very well," he said, "Vodka, get his woman out here."

"Right away," Vodka said with a smirk and opened the back seat doors. He pulled Ran forcefully, making her half jumping half tripping out of the vehicle. Her face was tinted in a slightly pale white shade as she swayed from side to side, trying hard to keep herself in balance with her weakened legs. The once tough and strong character now seemed fragile and insecure. Also she didn't look to her best shape, her figure remained the same. Her long legs made its way to her slender waist where her smooth silky hair slid up her back. Her thin fingers curled around the soft skin of her arms as her blue gray eyes glimmered wide at the disbelief of finally coming face to face with the one she longed for.

"Sh..Shinichi? Is it really…?" Ran called hesitantly.

"Baarou, what are you talking about, of course it's me," he laughed, trying to raise her spirit despite the situation. "Now let her go!" he shouted as he shifted his glance back to Gin.

Vodka gave her a slight shove and she made her way down the ally. "You do know the consequences don't you?" the cloaked tubby man called out, "If you tried to mess with us, we will track you down tomorrow and end your very life then and there. That better be the real address of where Sherry is!"

"Yes…It is" Shinichi said sliding his glance downwards with shame and grinded his teeth.

Ran's footsteps gained in momentum as her excitement and her urge to get away from the two captors grew steadily in her body. Tears built in her eyes that she thought had already run dry. "Ran! Don't run, walk slowly!" Shinichi yelled, holding his palm open in front of him. Ran snapped her focus back and held the tears in. With a nod, she continued.

She made her way down the ally slowly. Each step made Kudou's heart skip as he remembered his dream where she was shot when she was nearly to his reach. He placed his hands behind his back and readied his watch so that it can be shot at a moments notice if his opponent looked as though he was about to act. As Ran got closer, his focus on her decreased. He kept a strict eye for the entire time she trickled her way to him on the man behind her, ginning coldly through his maniac face.

"You have her, now give me the envelope," Gin demanded lowering his brow.

Kudou thinned his eyes and pulled out the letter. He tossed it expertly and watched the envelope fly through the air, landing a few steps in front of Gin. Gin picked up the envelope while sticking his other in his pocket as though to pose.

The young detective returned his glance back to Ran and breathed out in relief. Taking a few steps back, he saw that Gin was satisfied by the bargain he had received so he turned around, sliding his hands into Ran's as he motioned to leave the ally.

A click caught the attention of Ran as they were making their way out and turned swiftly. Shinichi watched questioningly for a split second before realizing the fear upon her eyes. He reached for his tranquilizer watch in reaction but he knew he wouldn't have made it. The last thing he registered before he shut the light from his eyes was the frozen smile of the stone hearted man as his fingered pulled on the trigger on his silenced pistol.

Pshoot!

His eyes opened wide immediately after hearing the sound of the gun fire. Realizing he wasn't in pain, his glance quickly turned to the girl beside him. No traces of blood can be seen on her, but the terrified surprised look on her face made him shift his glance to the direction of her eyes. (All this had taken in a split second)

He gasped with shock to find the great sleeping detective, still on his way to the ground from the impact he had just taken. He could see trails of blood skipping into the air. His immediate reflex was to raise his watch. He took a short aim and fired. Gin had also been taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of this man. He raised an eye brow, feeling a sting to his throat then grasped it with his hand.

"Vodka, let's get out of here!" he called out.

"But Aniki, what about them?" Vodka questioned, confused for he thought that they were going to finish the two there and then.

"I said get out of here!" Gin exclaimed. The tubby man jumped at the sudden eruption of anger and followed his order obediently while he mumbled a few curses to the young detective as he glared through his sunglasses. Their car screeched out of the area, leaving behind a cloud of dust that disappeared soon after.

"Daddy!" Ran cried out as she held her wounded father to her chest.

"Mouri-san! What are you doing here?" Shinichi ran over and kneeled down.

"Heh (Cough) did you think I was that stupid? You told (Cough) me to come to your house on the 4th night when we talked last time. Yet, I remembered that you told me that the this B.O. had given you 10 days. I (Cough, cough) remember the first time you told me about Ran's disappearance was 6days before that when you told me she was off wi…(Ahh)" he cried out in pain.

"Daddy!" Ran yelled out.

Kogorou patted her hand to ensure her that he was alright and continued. "When she was off with Sonoko. I felt strange about it so I camped at the Beika Plaza, just in case (ow)."

Shinichi watched with surprise at the sharpness of the man. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 110. The bullet had entered to his lungs. His face grew pale and his eyes began to shut.

"Daddy?…DAD? DAD!" Ran shouted and squeezed her father slightly more tightly. Tears poured as she shook him, desperately trying to keep him awake.

"Mouri-san, you must stay awake! Hang on, the ambulance will be here in a short time!" Shinichi called to the fainting detective.

"Ran…" Kogorou whispered.

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble from you…" he said, trailing off to the end.

The emergency crew arrived and was loading the unconscious Kogorou. Ran climbed onto the ambulance to her father's side and watched in tears at the man who laid in critical condition. Shinichi stood outside, watching the doctors go about busily trying to stabilize the dying detective.

"Aren't you coming Shinichi?" Ran asked.

"No, I've still got someone to save," Shinichi smiled.

Ran remembered about the other girl, Sherry. Looking back at the pale face of her father, she kissed him on his head then climbed out with a nod. "I'm coming with you," she spoke with a determined tone.

"NO!" Shinichi declined abruptly.

"Yes I am!" Ran demanded.

"Ran! I can't bring you into something so dangerous as this! If something was to happen to you, I don't know what I'm going to do!" he continued to refuse.

"Shinichi, I've made up my mind. I'll come weather you like it or not!" she said, stomping her feet on the ground.

Shinichi was about to argue some more but he knew Ran's stubborn nature better than anyone else. She was just like him, once her mind is made up, no one else can change it. With a deep sigh, he gave a nod of affirmation.

"Aniki, why didn't you finish them there?" vodka asked.

"That bastard shot me with that thing again!" Gin relied, trying to shake off the dizziness.

"He shot you? Where? Are you injured?" Vodka patted his partner with a bewildered face.

"I'll be fine. I've taken enough drugs to take the full effect of his drug. Where's that paper that he left us?" Gin asked.

"It's right here, it says Beika Park" Vodka announced.

"It's 8:13 right now huh, shouldn't take more than 5min to get there. Let's see if he actually did keep his side of the bargain," Gin smirked hitting the side of his head with his palm.

End…

I ended here because if I didn't this would become a 20 page chapter lol. I hope you liked it, wait till you see what happens to Shiho! Who's going to die? What's Conan's ultimate plot?

Crystal Snowflake: I am working on both stories at same time right now. Don't worry, I should have chap3 of other uped soon.

Fanfic Maniac: You don't think I'm going to end this so quickly do you? Especially after all those days of planning Kudou undergone. More chapters to come and I hope you will enjoy them

Case-Closed-Lover-1: I'm sorry but I got school work too you know. I'm doing my best at updating my stories.

Great Detective: Thank you very much. I guess I left you in suspense again lol, sorry.

Schillok: Well, yes I never really thought about it. But Ran could have been at university? And GABA is benzoic acid not butter acid. I forgot what G and A stood for although I don't think it was Gamma Amino. I don't study medicine. I'm just a Bio30 student in Gr.12. Sorry about the Mitochondria thing. It's the ribosome that does the protein synthesis, but give me a break. I haven't done parts of a cell since Gr.10 lol.

Thank you very much for you constructive review. I appreciated it a lot!

Ficcie: Thank you, I'm glad you like it

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