Ch14
"Speeches"
'Thoughts'
Cracking Shell
'That Baka, what the heck is he thinking! I'm gonna knock some sense into that noggin of his if I have to crack it flat with a sledge hammer!' A young girl paced in front of the giant entrance gate of Beika Park. She took frequent sight of her watch agitatedly as she scanned the vicinity for any sign of the lunatic detective. 'His late…it's 8:20 already, what the heck is he…oh screw the politeness, where the hell is that bastard. I worked too hard in keeping alive to let you die now!'
A figure lurked behind the bush at the other side of the park. It's eyes glided from one side to the other, as a tiger would search for his next grand meal. After a thorough search, the tubby man wiped the sweat from his head and turned back to his car. He took notice of his partner, though still seemed a bit weaker than his usual self, typing upon his laptop. "I don't see her anywhere aniki, that bastard of a kid lied to us," he cursed, slamming his hand on the roof of the car.
"Don't be so hasty, I don't think that kid was lying," Gin said in a calm tone.
"But she's not here, I've checked and double checked, even a third time! I don't see her anywhere or anyone that looks like her for that matter,"
"There are 3 most likely possibilities that I could think of."
"3?"
"Yes, the first is as you said, he lied to us. Though I highly doubt this for he knows that once we know him, he won't be able to hide her for long anyways."
"Hmmm…"
"2. That woman used surgery to change her appearance. I give some doubt to this either. We saw her 6month after she ran on top of that skyscraper and she didn't bother to change her face, why should she now? But still, that is a possibility."
"…"
"And finally, the one I'm considering the most, especially after I saw that kid today!"
"You mean that high school brat?"
"Yea him,"
"What's up with him?"
"You saw him, didn't you notice a big difference?"
"You mean the fact that he got his body back?"
"Exactly! But I doubt it was permanent. He was sweating quite a bit when I saw him. My guess is that sherry made him a temporary pill to return to his normal figure for a day? Maybe 2? I don't know, but for a limited time."
"What does this has to do with Sherry?"
"You still don't get it? Let me put it this way then, we handcuffed her to that room. The only exit was through the door which was guarded heavily by loyal members of the organization. When we found that she had escaped, the handcuffs were still on the metal pole we stuck it on with the other end closed. Do you really believe that someone that would be escaping for their lives would waste time putting the hand cuff they undid , neatly back to its original position?"
A gasp choked vodka's throat.
"There was one other way for her to escape that room, unnoticed by the guards and completely unsought of, even by us at the time. My 3rd guess is that she took that pill as well and shrunk like that kid detective. She then used the garbage shoot to escape t the outside and got away from that room. That day on top of that building, she must have taken something to return her to her original form for that short period of time. You remember Pisko's words before we shot him?
"Wait, if you kill me you won't be able to find Sherry. I have an idea of where she is now…"
"Yeah…I can sort of recall him saying something like that…"
"She breathed rather heavily as well. And despite the fact that it was snowing outside, she was sweating as well. The reason? She took a drug to make her return to her original figure to hide the truth from our eyes. Thinking back, it could have been possible that she showed herself before us on purpose to lead us into thinking differently."
"So what do we do now?"
An evil smile rose from the stoned man's lips and he turned his laptop over to reveal a picture. "I just got this picture from the organization, its her from when she was young. Look for this rather than what you seeked before."
"Understood!" Vodka replied firmly.
"Oh and Vodka…" Gin glanced side ways.
"Yes Aniki?" Vodka questioned.
"If you ever slam your fist upon my car like that again, don't blame me for not being more polite about it," he glared bitterly.
Vodka groaned with slight fear at the man's freezing stare and took a small bow of apology, "Sorry Aniki…" he whispered.
"So what are we going to do now?" Ran asked.
"Hold on," replied Shinichi and pulled out his miniature key holder cell phone.
'That cell phone, it's just like Conan-kun's' Ran thought but shook off her suspicion with a nudge, 'of course they're the same. The same Hakase made it,' she chuckled to her thoughts.
'I love you…More than anyone in the entire world.'
The young lad's words came echoing back into her mind. She gave her head a shake then smiled lightly at the detective.
"Of all the nerves…" Ai glared through her bright blue eyes. The blazing light of the late afternoon sun irritated her eyes as she continued her pacing steps. 'What's he doing? What's taking so long?' her hands squeezed the side of her arms then started tapping with her foot, trying best she could to stay calm.
"There you are…Sherry!" a voice sounded from her back. The young girl knew exactly who it was. The voice she's heard so many times before. Before she could jump to face the man, she felt a grasp followed by an odor forced to her nose. Her eyes grew weaker and strength started to fail in her struggle. Light faded from her vision and she collapsed with one last thought, 'Why…', while a single drop of tear fell from her eye.
'What the…oh right, I died after I got caught by…wait…Conscious thought? I'm alive!' the tiny chemist's eyes flashed open. She could hear the engine of a car running quietly in the background as lights of outside streets slid inside, dimmed by the shades of the windows.
"It's been a long time," the voice of a man sounded from the front seat. She could see his maniac eyes through the rear view mirror.
"Gin…" she whispered bitterly. She sat up with some difficulty, realizing that her hands were bound. "Why am I still alive?" she asked putting on her usual cold face to match her captor.
"The boss wants to see you before he decides what to do with you," the blond haired man spoke out plainly.
The car sped down the highway smoothly. They had left the busy city street and was on a country road. The stars shown brightly in the nocturnal skies and only disappeared with the few flashes of street lights that was spread in quite some distance apart from one another. Ai looked up through her window then lowered her eyes with a hint of sadness. 'So this was the deal that Kudou-kun made huh. In exchange for Ran-san, he would give me up.' Tears formed slowly to her lids which she bit her lips to keep them in, 'Shouldn't I be happy about this? I mean, all this time I've said that I was willing to trade my life if they could be safe. Is this not what I've wanted? If so…then why do I feel this pain?'
'Don't worry, if things gets bad then I'll protect you.'
'His all talk,' she gritted her teeth, 'all talk and no action.' Her eyes softened, pushing down her anger, 'Still…why do I feel the way I do? Is it through pure anger of betrayal? No…it's different some how. I've had this feeling before…'
The girl curled her knees to her chest. She could feel her heart pounding energetically in her chest. So much that each beat seemed to shake her body slightly. Even with all her knowledge about the human anatomy, she could not explain her feelings there and then. Times change, things change, but people do not. They may alter their appearance, their name, their style, but never their soul. How much one can conceal lies within the strength of their outer shell, and right now, hers was beginning to crack.
Flash back
"You don't love me. You were just looking out for yourself. You just wanted to stay alive for your own fears, you couldn't careless about me. All this time it was a lie, and what you are saying now is probably one as well." Said Shuichi coldly.
"That's not true! I'm not…"
"How can I be sure? You managed to lie to me all these years without me noticing!" Shuichi cut in before she could finish.
"Please Shuichi, I'm sorry…" Shiho pleaded.
Click—
The young man pulled out a handgun and pointed to her head. "No, stop! That's enough! I don't want to hear about it anymore. Beat it! I never want to see your face again."
Shiho's eyes widened as she lost all the strength in her legs and fell to her knees. She was all out of words to say. Her mouth moved but no sound came through. Only the pouring of the rains filled the painstaking silence that came in.
Shuichi lowered his gun and put it back into its holder and said almost whispering, "The next time we meet, it will be me putting you behind bars."
End Flash Back
It was 2hours past midnight when they finally arrived to their destination. It was a one-story building, almost like a small church with out the cross on top. The rigid walls seemed old yet new. They sparkled from the lobby light but its marble sides were beaten and rugged. At the center was a grand piano upon a circular mini stage on top of the main. They walked down the isle where only a few janitors stood by, watching them thoroughly from head to toe. They glanced at one another, and then with a nod, returned to their work as though they didn't see anything.
Gin stopped before the piano, then tapped the side of its stand before giving it a small punch. The stand folded down and flipped over a small panel. Ai looked over, just in time to see the code, 4869. Gin returned to the piano, and played 3 keys before stepping back down from the plat form. The stage twisted open to reveal a small passage way below. Faint signs of light can be seen from the bottom of the stairs.
Down the stairs, through the door and into the halls they walked. From the giant glass that stood as walls of the hall way Ai could see many scientists, workers and a few security guards, fully equipped with guns and batons. She gritted her teeth as the site brought back the disgusting memories of the times when she was one of those who were working below. She was led to a small wooden door. Her heart filled with uncertainties of who the "boss" was. For years, she had known of his existence but have never seen him in person. Every part of her body was screaming for her to run but the two men that escorted her said otherwise.
A hand grasped the knob and turned as the door slowly opened. It was dark inside the office. She can see that it wasn't as big as she thought it would be. A desk arced around the leather chair that turned its back toward the three enterers where she could see a pair of elbows upon the arm rests.
"Welcome back…Sherry," a voice echoed through the room. Vodka gave her a small push that made her stumble inside and shut the door behind him. Gin walked up to the desk and handed over a profile.
"Who are you!" Haibara demanded. 'I know his voice…from somewhere…and that accent…'
"I know you just thought that you know my voice. You should," the shadow grinned from his darkened seat.
"Show yourself!" Ai exclaimed.
The chair swung over slowly. Ai swallowed loudly as the dim lamp light revealed bits at a time of the details of his face. Her eyes began to widen as the face upon the body became more clear. 'No…it can't be…' A smile of amusement crossed the mastermind's face. She took a step back as she gasped with disbelief.
"Are you surprised?" the figure chuckled.
"Y…y…you're…" Ai's mouth hung in the midst of air as words cramped at his throat. One hand clutched her chest while the other covered her mouth.
"!"
End…
How was it? Please review! I hope I can get more reviews for this story lol. Who is the head of the B.O.? Wait for the next chapter to find out!
Remember, All reviews are well appreciated.
Crystal Snowflakes: Thank you, I'm glad you like my story so much. I loved your new 1chap fic too. It was very awesome, though I didn't cry, it was a very interesting literature. Gets my Excellence Award!
Great Detective: I personally don't like 20page chapters cause it's hard to get readers attracted for so long. My highest was 14 and that was because of the 1week writer block. I like Kogorou, he acts like an idiot sometime but I don't think his a complete fool. He has his… "Cool" sides.
Fanfic Maniac: thanks for reviews lol, I really appreciate it. More Dramas and suspense to come, hope you will enjoy them