Disclaimer: Again, and must we say it over and over again? We don't own Detective Conan/ Case Closed. Only Tess and Jade.
Chapter 7: Murder Within the Group
Tess sat in front of a computer. It was the early morning and barely no one was up. Not even the servants. But Tess wanted to know who this Keina person was and what she was doing, so what did she do? She went to hack the Japanese Government files.
When Tess was finally in the Japanese Government files, it was well over 11 o'clock and everyone was now up, except for Jake. He always slept this late; he never liked to get up early.
Tess continued to work. She had gotten use to the 'click' sound of the mouse. She didn't mind it all actually considering she's always sitting on a computer at her house. She continued to work, searching through the files of murderers, robbers, and conmen and woman in the files. Tess stared at the screen so long to the point where sometimes she went crossed eyed and she had to look away.
"Tess?" came a voice. She turned to see Conan, Ai, and Jade there. "What are you doing?" asked Jade. Tess turned back around.
"Searching." Tess answered as she placed her chin into her hand.
"Searching for what?" Ai asked.
"Keina." Tess answered. Conan walked forward as he now stood at her right side.
"Did you find anything on her yet?" Conan asked. Tess shook her head as she glanced at him.
"No, nothing yet. Just simple robbers and murderers so far." Tess answered. Ai then walked over standing at her left side.
"How did you get these files may I ask?" Ai asked.
"I hacked into the Japanese Computer Mainframe." Tess answered. Jade limped her way over standing behind Tess.
"You can do that?" Jade asked. Tess nodded her head.
"Yeah, you'll be amazed at what I can do." Tess said to Jade as she looked back and smiled. Jade smiled back and Tess went back to work.
"How long have you been doing this?" Conan asked as he also started to go cross eyed.
"Um... oh I don't know. Maybe in the early morning I say around 4 AM." Tess answered as she entered a different file.
"What? Are you serious?" Conan asked.
"I'm dead serious. You guys go on downstairs and I'll meet you down there for breakfast, once I found out who this Keina girl is." Tess said as she then started to type. The three left and went downstairs.
As they sat there at the table Jade was almost finished with her book. Ai was also reading and Conan, he was eating.
"How's your knee?" Conan asked as he looked up at Jade. Jade smiled as she looked at him.
"Alright thanks for asking Conan." Jade answered.
"What happened?" Ai asked as she looked up from her book. Jade looked at her.
"I whacked my knee the other morning." Jade answered. Ai nodded her head, turning back to her book. Jake had then entered the kitchen all dressed and ready for what ever was going to happen.
"Finally, the dead man wakes." Ai said from reading her book. Jake looked at her as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"I would watch what you say Ai." He said to her taking a sip.
"Or what?" Ai asked. Jake was about to answer but Tess came running into the room.
"I found her!" Tess shouted. Everyone looked at Tess weirdly and by this time Maxwell had entered the room.
"Found who?" he asked. Tess turned to him as he took his seat next to Jade.
"I found out who this Keina girl is." Tess answered as she took a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I printed out a file on her." she added. She handed the printed out piece of paper to her partner who quickly read through it.
"Keina, age 17." Jake read. "That's all they have on her?" he asked. Tess shook her head.
"No there's more information at the bottom." Tess said. Jade snatched the paper out of his hands as he continued to read it.
"Convicted of many crimes." Jade read. Ai then took it.
"But was not found guilty." Ai read.
"Until now. That paper also says she's an extreme gunwoman. We'll have to place extra protection on you Mr. Jones." Tess said. Maxwell nodded his head as he stood up.
"Alright." He said. Tess turned towards her team as Maxwell left the room.
"Some of us will have to pull an all nighter." Tess said to her team.
"Alright, but who will be going first?" Jade asked. Tess started to think for a minute.
"I don't know. Do we have any volunteers?" she asked. No one said anything. "Alright then, Jake."
"What?" he asked.
"Me and you will stay up for this week." Tess said. Jake blinked a few times.
"Why me?" Jake asked. Tess sighed as she smacked him on his forehead.
"Stop complaining okay? Me and you are going to stay up this week." She said as she exited the room. Jake followed behind her trying to talk his way out of it but Tess's answer was clear.
"Why does he even try?" Conan asked as he shook his head.
"He's a man." Ai answered, "men are always like that. They want something done their way or the highway." She said as she stood up and walked out into another room. Jade followed her with a limp. Conan watched. He wondered about Jade. He didn't know what to think about her. She was just...odd. There was nothing else to it besides she was odd. A little too odd. He got up and walked into another room where he found Jade sitting on the couch reading yet another book. He watched her as she looked back at him and smiled. He smiled back and headed up stairs.
Soon night came. Tess and Jake sat in the living room of the mansion. Tess refilled her gun as she twirled it around her finger. Jake sat across from her on the other couch.
"Must you twirl that thing?" Jake asked. Tess looked at her and smiled.
"Why? Are you scared?" she asked as she pointed the gun at him. Jake looked at the gun as he looked at Tess.
"Come on, that's not funny." Jake said. Suddenly there was a sudden scream. Tess quickly. She jumped over the couch and headed up stairs to Maxwell's room. She kicked down the door and looked at him. He had fallen out of his bed and lying on the floor staring at his window.
"What happened?" tess asked. Maxwell pointed at the window. Tess looked to see someone looking through the window. Jake appeared behind her.
"Who is that?" Jake quickly asked. Suddenly gun shots were fired. Tess ran forward and jumped onto Maxwell covering his head. Jake tried to find cover but that didn't happen. Jake was shot about 5 times. Tess lifted up her head and turned to look at him. He stumbled backward and fell to the ground rolling down the stair case.
"JAKE!" Tess shouted. Suddenly Ai and Conan appeared at the door way and who ever was at the window started to shoot again. Tess turned to them. "TAKE COVER!" she shouted. Ai and Conan pressed their bodies against the wall as Tess lifted up her head. She pointed her gun up at the window and started to fire. Suddenly who ever was at the window ducked and jumped down. Tess ran to the window and shot whatever was left of it blowing it away. Tess started to shoot at the running figure. Once the figure was out of sight Tess turned and looked at the doorway. She looked at Maxwell as he sat up. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah I'm fine." He answered. Tess nodded her head as she an out of the room and looked over the railing to see Jake lying on the ground in his own pool of blood. "Jake!" she shouted again as she turned and started to run down the stairs. She tripped a few times but kept her balance. She got to the bottom of the stair case and fell. Ai and Conan followed close behind her. They watched as Tess rolled Jake onto his back. "Jake?" she called to him as she leaned forward a little to check his breathing. He was breathing but slightly. Jake's eyes opened.
"Tess?" he called back to her. Tess smiled.
"Good, you're alive. I'm going to call for an ambulance, alright? Just hang on." Tess said to him. Jake suddenly started to cough up blood. Tess lifted up his shirt to see five bullet wounds in his upper and lower chest. Tess looked at him as she turned to look at Ai and Conan. "One of you please, call an ambulance." She begged. Ai and Conan ran around the two as they rushed to the kitchen phone.
"What happened?" Jade asked as she was now standing at the top of the stairs. Tess turned and looked at her.
"I think it was Keina. I'm not sure though. She shot Jake about five times." Tess answered. Jake's coughing started up again and Tess turned her direction to him. Tess held his head up to easy the coughing but it only got worse. Tess ripped the bottom of her shirt and wiped his mouth. "Please, stay with me Jake." Ai and Conan came back into the room.
"They said they will be here soon." Conan said as he got down onto his knees next to Jake. Tess nodded her head. She then placed Jake onto the ground as she slipped off her shirt. Conan looked away but then he noticed she had her bikini top on. He watched as Tess placed her shirt onto Jake's chest and started to press down.
"Ah." he said weakly in pain.
"I'm sorry Jake. But we have to apply pressure." Tess said as she pressed onto his chest. Conan looked around and then raced up the stairs.
"I'm going to get towels!" he shouted. Jade watched from the top of the stairs as Conan pushed past her. Maxwell walked out of his room and walked forward. He looked over the catwalk to see Tess kneeling next to Jake trying to stop his bleeding. He watched this young girl try to save someone. And from this point on he knew he could trust her.
Conan came back running past Jade again and down the stairs. He fell onto his knees next to Tess, placing the towels onto the ground and handing one to Tess. She took it and placed it onto Jake's chest removing her blood filled shirt. She pressed down hard as Jake groaned again.
"Ai, I need you to press down on this real quick." Tess said as she looked up at her. Ai nodded her head as she got up onto her knees and walked over. She placed her hands onto Tess's as she slipped them out. Tess stood up and ran up stairs and entered her room. "Where is it, where is it!" Tess asked herself as she searched through her drawers. Then she found it. Her cell phone. She went to dial a number when Conan's voice was heard.
"TESS!" he screamed. Tess looked over as she swung her door open and stood next to Jade. Conan looked up at her with blood covering his hands and Ai's as they continued to press down onto his chest. "We can't stop the bleeding!" he shouted. Then Ai looked.
"And we're loosing him!" she shouted. Tess ran down the stairs as Jade and Maxwell followed. Tess got down next to Jake.
"Come on Jake you can't give in now." Tess said. "Remember when I first became your partner? And I had such a difficult time trying to trust you?"
"Till I saved your life" came his weak voice. Tess looked at him. She could see how pale he was getting. She knew it was no use. As hard as they tried, they were going to lose Jake and there was nothing they could have done about it.
Soon an hour past and Jake was slipping away. Tess held onto his hand as she used her other one to press onto his chest wounds as Conan and Ai raced to get more towels. Maxwell was on the other side of Jake also pressing his hands on Jake's wounds and Jade was fetching some water. Tess felt a slight tug on her hand. She looked down at him to see he was smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" Tess asked.
"Your..your effort... to...to save me." he said weakly. Tess shook her head.
"There's nothing funny about it Jake!" Tess shouted.
"We both know th-that I won--won't make it." Jake said as his eyes opened slightly yo look at her. "I'm bleeding to death and there's nothing that can stop it." Jake's head rolled to the left and his eyes shut. His body limped on the ground. The grip on Tess's hand became loose and his hand slipped out of her grasp. Tess pulled herself back onto her feet. She slipped them out as she tucked them to her chest. Tears appeared in her eyes as she covered her face in her knees. Maxwell also pulled himself back as he looked down. When Jade came back with the water it was to late. She dropped the water onto the floor slipping everywhere when she saw how Jake was now lying on the floor. Ai and Conan stood at the top of the stairs holding towels in their hands.
"See ya, Jake" Tess's voice came softly. Then there was red blinking lights outside and heard sirens. They looked out to see paramedics coming out of the ambulance with a stretcher. They came into the house and saw the blood on everyone's hands. Tess stood up as she pulled her badge out of her pocket. She showed it to them and they nodded their heads.
"Load his body into a body bag." Tess said as she looked down. "He's gone." She added. The paramedics nodded their heads as one went back to get a body bag. The other moved the stretcher toward Jake's body as he got down.
"Looks like--"
"Five bullet wounds to the upper and lower chest." Tess finished. She walked outside as the other paramedic brushed by her with a body bag. Tess seated herself outside on the stone wall along the house. Soon the paramedics came out with the body bag on the stretcher. Tess looked up and watched as they loaded Jake's body into the ambulance. Soon cops had arrived and among them was Mr Johnson. He walked towards Tess, standing in front of her. He looked at her blood hands. "It's not my blood." She said.
"Is it Mr Jones's blood?" Mr Johnson asked. Tess shook her head.
"No. Not his either." She said.
"Then whose?"he asked her. Jade, Ai, Conan, and Maxwell were standing outside. He looked over at them. He looked at them all and then his eyes widened as he looked back at Tess.
"Yeah, it was Jake, he's gone now Chief."