Chapter 8: Apple Cider Vinegar
Elements draws from Vol. 34: 350 – Vol. 35: 354
"Jesus christ! I can't believe this! The famous Heath Flockhart is death!"
Radish exclaims, this time the real one by the way, he has just received the news about a death of famous actor by an English woman but he sure didn't expect to be one of his wife's favorite one.
"You know him chief inspector?" His assistant, a dark chocolate skin bespectacled man asks with voice hint of curiosity.
"Yeah, my wife is an avid fan of him, the man is famous for playing may historic play like First Folio, Hamilton, etc… But jeez, what kind of grudge the poor guy created to result in his death like this. Anyway, give me the overall situation report assistant inspector." Radish orders as he continuously checking the body of Heath after they manages to put the corpse. Ironically, the famous actor died right on the his stage while acting, but the motive remains a mystery, love? Hatred? Old time grudge? Or just envy because of his reputation.
"Right chief inspector, someone managed to round up all the actors to wait in their dressing up, saving us the trouble but… Unfortunately the same thing can't be said to the audience, most if not all has fled the scene. Regarding Heath's death, basic forensic showed that the bullet went through his chest, we found it embedded in the wings on his back." The assistant says.
"The wings?" Radish turns Heath's body around, true to his assistant's word there's burnt mark on his left wing. "Ah I see…".
"Judging from the angle of bullet, Heath must have been struck from the angle of negative 40 degrees." The assistant concludes his report as Radish stroke his chin, entering thinking mode.
"So the murderer must have been on a elevated ground…"
"Well of course, the killer fired from the balcony section on the left side of the stage over there, using a laser guided shot." A third voice chimes in as the two man turn back to see Yukiko, who's pointing at the balcony where the laser came from.
"Night Baroness!" "Yukiko!" Both mans exclaim, apparently her reputation precedes her as almost everyone knows the great actress Yukiko Fujimine, wife of the detective novelist Yusaku Kudo, seem like even the The New York Metropolitan Police even how famous she is.
"My, what the famous Night Baroness doing here?" Radish says as he remembers back old time he together with Yusaku and his wife helping the polices crack some of the hardest case.
"Well I'm here to see a musical show, not expecting a murder hehe" Yukiko sheepishly laughs, in true she has no idea it would lead to THIS kind of things, it's appear that the curse of Kudo family run deep inside their blood through many generations. Yes that curse whenever they go, the likelihood of a murder to occur suddenly rises tenfold.
"Anyway, the whole thing happened during the finale when the angel appears. There were smoke and fireworks as an added effects to make him looked like flying out of the mirror." Yukiko's face turns serious as she recalls the memory during the chaos scene.
"I see, so the killer shot him the moment he appeared out from behind the mirror, but Yukiko, are you sure that he was shot from that balcony?" Radish is skeptical, sure the bullet seem to be shot from above, but there're plenty of balconies inside the theatre, the possibilities are plenty. "There are quite a few balcony from where I stand could cause that wound's angle."
"The laser pointer, just before the murder occurred, we managed to catch a glimpse of a thin red line of laser, my son saw it too."
"Your… son?"
"As a matter of fact, he's standing just… right next to you"
Radish's confused for a split second before his right cheek is pinched hard by Shinichi, it's appear that he's still not convinced about earlier meeting with Sharon disguising as one of the inspectors.
"Woah, now this is the real deal."
"Ouch ouch… Is this the little kid you always bragging about?!"
"Well you can't deny that he does inherit Yusaku's look and spirit right?" Yukiko says in embarrassment as she lightly scolds Shinichi. "C'mon, Shin-chan, behave alright?"
"Tch, kids these day" Radish massage where Shinichi when he notices another two individuals, who's also examine Heath's corpse as they're debating with one another, one of them shakes his head shows sight of disagree something. "Oi you two! What are you doing over there!" That catch the attention of the two teenagers but it seem like they pay no heed to it as they keep talking to each other.
"Yukiko, are they your relatives?"
"Uh no, actually those two kids were the one who told the all the actors to wait in their dressing room when everything was in disorder."
"Oh don't worry inspectors Radish, I can assure you that they'll make your day much better, speaking from experience as their senpai by the way." Another feminine voice interject Radish and Yukiko conversation. Approaching them is another woman seem to just barely over 20, who's wearing glass and and blonde hair tied into ponytail, her attire is that of a tourist but also seem to accentuate her athletic side. Her sudden appearance make everyone including Shinichi and Ran a confusion about her.
"Anddddd who are you again? Your accent seem like British to me though." Radish inquired but he found the new face awfully familiar, quite both Yukiko and Shinichi are racking their brain as they have seen her before but couldn't recall.
"Well, I guess my blending in skill works perfectly then." The British woman remove her glass as well a sport cap, the blonde pony tail swaying free after being confined for so long, rather than announcing her name, Minerva just stands there and smirk, letting her image sinking in.
"You… Y-You a-are Minerva G-Glass!... The famous Grass Court Queen from England, who has managed to achieve 4 consecutive first place in Wimbledon!" Ran shakily points her finger at Minerva, who in turn smile and return with V hand gesture. "The one and only!"
Literally everyone surrounds them has their mouth agape, all except Tobias and Saguru, who couldn't careless about the sudden revelation of another famous person, a professional tennis player at that.
"My god, what a night! Night Baroness and now Grass Court Queen, it felt like tonight are gathering of famous people." Radish happily exchange handshake with Minerva, but then he remembers something. "Wait you said something about knowing the two person over there?"
"Oh yeah, wait a sec, *inhale* SAGURU! TOBIAS! GET OVER HERE!"
The roar startles both kouhais as they briefly make their way to Minerva, wondering what's the emergency did she need to summon like that. However though, when Tobias and Saguru approach the group, Shinichi immediately put on his guard toward Tobias.
"Uhh what's the matter senpai?" Saguru is the first to speak to which Minerva could only sighs as she pinch her's nose's bridge.
"Christ, you guys are so into those detective stuff that your brain feels like having an automatic function that simply shut down anything that doesn't relate to the case." Minerva gently chastises both of her kouhais, which make everyone completely perplexed at how casual they are when at the crime scene. Yukiko giggles abit as she whisper into Shinichi's ear.
"They just like you Shin-chan."
"Please now's not the time…"
Their conversation concluded as the same time as Minerva finishes her scolding session to her kouhais, the blonde athlete then turns back to face Radish and Yukiko before gesturing Tobias and Saguru.
"Well as you can see these two idiots are detective freaks who always throw themselves to all kind of case without care in the world. Though they more often than not get the job done so you can count on them."
Saguru proceeds to step up and offer his ever so gentleman smile as he introduces himself.
"My name's Saguru Hakuba, detective at London Bridge Highschool, it's a pleasure to meet you all, the famous Night Baroness."
"The name's Tobias Rieper, this steal-yo-girl guy's ever so useful Alexa."
Everyone, except Minerva, suddenly stops thinking at Tobias's audacity to literally insult in his friend right in front of this many people, but to their surprise, Saguru didn't even seem offended by his friend's remark, even seemingly amused by it.
"Oh, you hurt me my friend. Scaring that I'm gonna to steal Masumi from you, Grumpy guy? Don't worry, that girl practically stick to you like glue and I don't have a Death Wish yet."
"Shush it you stroke-your-own-ego. Last thing I want to hear is another lecture from you of all people." Tobias growls at his friend, who in turn could only smirk a little as he put up both his hand and makes a surrender sight.
"Ahem, I think we got a little bit derail there. Anyway, like I said Inspector Radish, I can verify their claims so you don't have to worry about that."
The bald inspect stroke his chin, all the while Tobias has to resist the urge to call him eggman because of his perfectly shaped bald head.
"Alright, if say so. Right then, just as I got confirmation from my assistant, it's appear that a few weeks ago, a suspicious person booked those seat on the balcony. Unfortunately, that person happened to wear a scarf and a hat to conceal his true gender as well as his facial features."
Yukiko and Radish both think that the shooting took place at balcony but it appear that the trio of detectives don't think so as they all hold a skeptical gaze toward the new information they have just received.
"A suspicious person who bought those specific seat huh, now that sound like a…" Saguru is about to finishes his sentence but Shinichi beats him to it. "A red herring."
"It seem like all three of us are on the same boat about that one then." Tobias chuckles at his own remark, at the same time Saguru and Shinichi nod at Tobias's word as confirmation.
"On the same boat what?" the three are snapped back to reality as they see Radish, Yukiko and Ran look at them weirdly.
"Ah nothing nothing, It's just that we're discussing about the four actresses to see who's the murderer that killed Heath." Saguru says nonchalantly but that alone makes both Yukiko and Radish widen their eyes considerably.
"What?! How is that even possible?! The killer was up there in the balcony when the murder happened, how can you suspect one of them is the murder?" Radish exclaims as he points up the balcony where he and Yukiko theorized about the killing method. But that's soon met with a disapproval nod from Tobias.
"Hypothetically, that was should have happened, rather what the killer wanted us to think how it played out the that way, if not for this" Tobias says as he hands out the pistol that killer left behind, it's the custom USP45-S with laser attachment, he continues his deduction when he points at the accessory. "this, as you've already known, is the weapon that the murderer used to kill Heath. I only need you to pay attention to this laser attachment. Now if I remember correctly, Yukiko here claimed that she saw a red thin line of laser yes?"
Tobias looks toward the Night Baroness for clarification, to which she confirms it. "Alright the same goes for Saguru and Minerva-senpai right?"
"Yep, can confirm on that one."
"I have no objection either."
"Then it's impossible for the killer to fire from that balcony." Tobias swiftly bring out his points, he then immediately presume his deduction, leaving no room for question. "Now before you bombard me with my claim, let me clarify this. The attachment on this pistol as you can see for normal folk is a normal laser, but for more gun enthusiast, especially me, it's a Barska GLX 5mW Laser Sight and that's the thing. A 5mW laser sight isn't strong enough to project a thin line of photon that visible to normal eyes, even in a dark setting. That mean one thing, the murderer must have had a separate laser pointer with sole purpose to distract us that killer was sitting on that balcony. But if you want even more concreted evident, I think Kudo has it since earlier, I saw you ran to the balcony right?"
Tobias slightly glances at Kudo Shinichi, making him a bit uncomfortable. Shinichi recomposes himself as he brings out the handkerchief with a bullet casing in it. "When I arrived at the balcony, the bullet casing was on the ground but it was cold, very cold. Judging from the time window between the killing and when I retrieved this. It's shouldn't be possible for a bullet, even a small caliber like this .45 ACP, to cool down that fast. So in my conclusion that this was placed there preemptively by the same person who bought the tickets for those seats."
After the two conclude their deduction, leaving Radish and the rest of investigation team mouth hanging in the air due to their fast and efficient reasoning. All but except Minerva, Ran and Yukiko, since they've already seen this kind of thing too much, except now there're three of them.
"Well, now that we have our direction to go, let's catch this fallen angle shall we?" Saguru steps in with his bright beaming smile, but Tobias knows better. That isn't the gentle smile of a gentleman, but a satisfied smirk from the adrenaline pumping that every detectives have in their blood when they're getting close to corner the culprit.
When everyone is moving to the backstage, Tobias goes to the assistant inspector earlier, the man appears to be skimming through some documents on his hand when he's poked the man's shoulder.
"Oh kid! You need something?"
"Yes, I just need a small, tiny favour to test a theory of mine." Tobias says with a small smirk forming on his face, perhaps he really needs a lesson or two in controlling his sadistic side after all.
"Lilas… is it true? What you told me? About Heath's having affair with you?..." Akane asks with a trembling voice, trying her best to contain the anger swelling up inside her about she has just learnt.
"Yes… we've been seeing each other for five years now." Having no other choice to back out from the inevitable, the chocolate skin actress sighs as she confesses the true to Akane.
"How could you!? You knew that he and I were in love and you still thinking going after him?" Akane, visibly losing her sh*t in the background, finally couldn't help but lashing out at her.
"Would you two give it a rest already, tonight has already a mess!" Rose apparently is fed up with her two friend's antic as she too had a skeleton in her closet too that pertain to Heath. But his death tonight has already devastated her pass the point of no return.
"Aww, the little Rose upset about her prince huh? Aren't you the one who looks most resentful because you found out that your boyfriend had another two girls behind your back?" Iberis's voice chimes in venomously, but the Eris goddess is able to contain her emotional outburst much better the others. Right after the new secret leak out, Rose is immediately bombarded with questions from her colleageus, and their squabble doesn't last long enough since a certain hitman has enough of their woman's gossip time.
"Jesus christ women, I know the guy is a goddamn womanizer but attempted to build a harem with three other women when he already had a wife? it like he tried to be that one guy from School day and it seem like he really had success in doing it, with the only drawn back is that he died to one shot to heart rather than receiving 28 stab wounds all the while having his head timbered, but I digress. The poor guy must be rolling in heaven, or hell right now, especially when he learns that the last moment of his life was taken away by a hidden yandere among all four of you." Comes the absolute monotone voice from the door frame, all four actress are completely taken aback by such rude manner remark from the 15 years old boy, who's standing there while twirling the drink in his hand.
"What are you staring at?! Didn't your parent teach you that it's uncouth to stare at other people regardless of their age?OOF!" Tobias doesn't get to finish his sentence as he's hit in the head by Minerva, who has a tick mark on her face, for being absolutely sarcastic with his voice.
"Learn how to read the room Tobias-kun." Minerva says irritatedly while massaging her hand, being a professional athlete does have it perk. The others surround them are quite perplexed by such sight of casual banter of senpai-kouhais relationship. However though, another wave of nostalgic crashes into Yukiko, Ran and Shinichi, all three of them have same question inside their heads.
'This kind of attitude, where have I seen it?...'
"Ahem, anyway from what I heard, it's evident that all four of you have motive to kill Heath so for now, I'll handle the interrogation part." Radish coughs into his hand to dispel the awkwardness surrounding them as he proceed to do his order of business, all the while Tobias retreat to the background to observe the suspects with a subtle smirk, he doesn't notice a figure is soon approaching his position though.
"Tobias-kun!"
"Huh? Huh?! W-What's the matter Yukiko-san?"
Sneaking up next to him is other than Yukiko Fujimune, the famous Night Baroness but that's irrelevant. Because right now Tobias is sweating profusely, mainly since he is afraid of his identity leaking out, what worst is that he doesn't have anything remotely as to conceal him, if Yukiko knows he's same kid from that beach all those years ago, thing will go down hill quickly.
'Please don't remember! Please don't remember! Please don't remember!'
"Hmmmmm…" Yukiko looks at Tobias with scrutinize gaze as he tries his best to remain as calm as possible.
'Act natural! Act natural! Act natural! Act natural!'
"Hey, this may sound rude but… have we met before? I swear I could see some… uncanny resemblances."
"I don't think so Yukiko-san, as far as I can tell, the reason I even knew you is because of the newspaper surrounding you and your acting career, or something related to Night Baron himself, other than that, there's not much I can tell about you." Tobias calmly lays out his point, hoping for the best that Yukiko would take the bait and leave the subject in dust.
After a few minutes of silence as Yukiko taking in his answer, she seem to somewhat satisfied with it and change the subject.
"Alright, so what's your opinion about the three of them?−" Yukiko turns her eyes to four actress who are in line waiting to be interrogate by inspector Radish. "−Surely you have a suspect or two in your mind right?" Yukiko presses on with her question which is quite overwhelm to Tobias, but he know better, something is telling him that Yukiko is laying out minefield for him walk on.
"Hmm, never look into the oblivion, every rose has its thorn." Rather than giving a direct answer, Tobias settle for a vague one with a gentle smile. Yukiko looks puzzle at him for his peculiar answer. Before she could fire any more question, Tobias swiftly moves to Radish in an attempt to escape the Night Baroness and proceed with his theory. On his walk, he inadvertently collides with Rose making his drink spills all over her right side.
"A-Ah I'm sorry Miss Rose! Are you okay? Do you need any help with the stain?" Tobias frantically says, but anyone with great observation skill could see something slight off about it.
"Oh no problem young man, I got another set of dress and the changing room is near here, I'll handle it." Rose smile brightly Tobias, who turns to Radish to ask in.
"Inspector Radish! I take it that you've done miss Rose's interrogation part yes? I accidentally spill my drink on her dress so could you let her go change her attire?"
Yukiko silently watches the scene unfolds, subtly mulling every actions of the enigma name Tobias, how… out of character he is. Make no mistake, Yukiko might be a retired actress now but her art of acting is still sharp as ever, and she could see it, from his observation closely to the four suspects to his spilling drink on Rose and finally ask Radish to let her change the costume. All of it was a setup, a honeytrap to lure out the rat, and it seem like it work perfectly when Yukiko is taken aback by a creeping smirk making it to Tobias's face.
'There you are my devil in angels clothing'
"Hey hey Shinichi, you know something right? Can you told me about it?"
"Nope, not saying until I−"
"My, don't we all have same idea since you come here too right?"
Shinichi is interrupted by none other than Saguru, who's been inspecting the crime scene for a while now.
"You're suspecting the mirror too don't you Kudo-san, frankly speaking I have been questioning since when I first read through Heath's autopsy but unable to confirm it."
"Well, now we have a test subject." Shinichi smiles devilishly as he point his finger to Ran, who in turn is really confused about what they're conversing. Saguru, understanding what Shinichi implied, nods his head and leaves the couple alone while he walks behind the mirror to look for more evidences.
"What was that about? And who are you to say that I'm your test subject?" Ran continuously ranting about Shinichi treating her like a lab rat, apparently she did not get the joke.
"Hey Ran… how tall are you?" Shinichi immediately notices something abnormal about the mirror so he outright get to the point rather than indulging in teasing Ran by answering her question.
"Eh? Um… 160cm give or take… hey are you ignoring me?"
"Hmm" Shinichi looks around until his eyes land on the script book. "This is book is approximately 30 cm higher… hmm Ran, can you hold this book and stand in front of the mirror for me?"
"Wait wait Shini−" Giving her no time to respond Shinichi shove to Ran the script book while letting her standing there for a few second. "How is this suppose to help with the investiga−"
Ran doesn't get to finish her sentence as her face is a blushing mess, the reason being Shinichi is awfully close to her face yet somehow the guy remain observant as if once the detective instinct kicks, his shame neuron emotion is completely shut down, Ran silently curses her childhood friend/crush.
'Damn you Shinichi! Why are all detective geeks like you this dense?!'
"Hehe, I see, I see,… a crack huh?" Shinichi giggle slightly before stepping back, confusing Ran what his words are about. But that are all stopped when she takes a good look at the mirror and just like Shinichi said.
"Eh? Why is there a crack here? Sharon-san said that the logistic teams have been meticulously taking care of this mirror since it was here for generations, and it's a somewhat good luck charm too…"
"Well so much for the good luck charm thought. Anyway, if what Sharon said is true then the maintenance crews are doing very poor choice job of it, because here." Shinichi says as he points his finger toward the upper left edge of the mirror, which is made from expensive wood.
"It almost look like has been cut apart and glue back together, that sure is some competence they are showing there though. Which beg the question, what caused that crack."
Shinichi continues inspecting the mirror, but not long before a voice comes in call him. "Kudo-san, you might want to have a look at this"
Saguru is calling Shinichi from behind the mirror, prompting him and Ran to turns their attention to the blonde detective who's currently looking intensely at what seem like a contraption on the floor stage with a satisfied smile on his face.
'Hmm a feather stuck in this plain and iron grate with a circular groove nearby, not only that but also a… blood trail…?'
The cogs inside Shinichi's head starts working when suddenly his eyes widen. 'Ahhh… I see… As ever cunning as goddess Eris.'
Saguru notice a creeping smirk making it way to Shinichi which also makes Saguru's grin wider. It's appear that the son of the world famous detective novelist inherit much of his father's talent for this kind of job, Saguru stare back to trap door contraption with only one thought in his mind.
'Well well well, it seem like we've found our fallen angel.'
After two long hours of constant searching and interrogation, the whole investigation still going nowhere for Radish and his team as he's running out of patience.
"Regarding their respective positions, it was impossible for them to have a good shot at Heath… Dammit where's Yusaku when we need him…"
"Sir,… I think we need to reconsider the kid's evaluation, perhaps the true culprit comes from outside."
Radish furrows his brows, true that Saguru, Tobias have proven themselves in the past, not only that but they also got approval by the Grass Court Queen for their talents. Hell even, Shinichi, though his reputation hasn't exploded yet, will soon make a difference in history of detectives considering his father is the famous Night Baron himself who in the past had helped the polices solving thousand of brainstorming cases. But, at the end of the day, they are still just high school teenagers, they are bound to make mistakes on their way, and perhaps this perhaps this case will soon turn into said mistake.
On the backseats are Ran and Minerva with the latter nonchalantly observes the restless police investigation team looking for more evidences while the former seem ready to fall asleep any moment.
"Jeez finally those detectives geeks done having their fun with their investigation, and here I thought they'll take longer than that."
"Heh? Ah – What's the matter Glass-san? And what do you mean done having their fun ?" Asks Ran out of her curiosity to which Minerva stares at her in disbelief for a moment before she breaks into a small giggle.
"Eh? You stay together with your boyfriend that long and yet you don't know his normal behaviors when he plays detective? It's mean we're about to get out of this theatre soon enough since the case is done."
Ran's face is beet red for a brief second because of Minerva's remark about Shinichi being her boyfriend. The karate girl quickly composes herself and tries to change the subject.
"How can you tell Glass-san?"
"They are my kouhais, of course I know them but−" Minerva wraps her arm to Ran's shoulder as she point to the stage where Shinichi, Saguru and Tobias are standing. "−Look carefully to their expression."
Ran follows Minerva's order and she's in for a surprise when she sees that the boys trio all have a visible smirk on their face.
"−That, my dear, is what I call thrill of detectives, basically the signature smile that Saguru-kun and Tobias-kun had whenever they figure out the final loose end of the case, so expect us to get out of here soon enough. There your boyfriend even has one plastered on his face."
As if on cue, all the light inside the theatre are immediately shutdown, leaving the whole grand room in completed darkness until a booming voice rang out from multiple speakers.
"Well-known throughout the entire Japanese showbiz, also as a wife of a world's greatest mystery writer, but I like to call myself the lady detective with hot grey matter, THE NIGHT BARONESS."
The spotlight lit up to show none other than… the trio detectives Shinichi, Saguru and Tobias?...
"No not them spotlight, do they look anything like Baroness? You got it wrong!"
The spotlight promptly turns left to reveal Yukiko Kudo with a satisfied smile.
"Good, good! So we've came to this point, the smoke has cleared, captain. Let us unveil the secret hidden behind this murder case."
"Your mom sure is an amazing actress, don't you think so? Kudo-san?"
Saguru offhandedly comments with a small chuckle when he saw her Yukiko's flamboyant entrance but who could blame her, it's befitting her status to carry herself like that.
"You don't even know half of it, one time she grounded me hard with every movements just because I got a role in one of those silly plays back at the elementary school."
"Well, an actor must act, that's basically her pride of her career so you just have to live with that, and beside this is her stage, a perfect ground for someone like her to shine." Tobias nonchalantly says as he keeps his gaze at the four actresses on the other side of stage. His words make Saguru chuckle a bit, on the other hand Shinichi tries to whisper something to his mother.
"Hey Mom, don't carry away like that."
"Don't worry Shin-chan! I can handle just like you three boys do!"
The three boys have different expression upon hearing that, Shinichi grumbly reply with an annoyed face, Saguru could only offer a small chuckle and Tobias snickers at it since he's already expected that kind of behaviors.
"Have faith in your mother Shinichi Kudo, it's not like she's a wife to great Night Baron for nothing."
"You say that Rieper-san. Anyway, I guess both of you've already known who's the killer right, Rieper-san, Hakuba-san?"
Shinichi glances back to see the two English detectives look at each other's eyes and nods before turning to face Shinichi as they say in unison.
""Why of course""
"Oh pray do tell then."
Saguru is the first one to initiate the his explanation.
"Because of that trapdoor−" The blonde detective says as he points as the hidden contraption behind the mirror "−I've always wondered since Heath's death, how did the murderer shot him, the wound clearly indicated that the shot was coming from the front not behind so we can eliminate all the mob actors, that left the four primary suspect, when I found the hatch door, combined with the experiment Kudo-san did with Mori-san, I instantly narrowed it down to her."
Shinichi nods to confirm Saguru's deduction as he voice in his suspicion. "The golden apple sent to them was done on purpose, the recently incidents aim toward the four actresses was to create a sense of that they are target one of them, but in reality just to throw us off track. And then It come to that mirror, it's funny since Heath is around 190cm yet when I had my friend holding the manuscript on top of her head and stand in front of the mirror, somehow she's taller than it. That begged the question, how did he stood behind the mirror without poking his head up, that was solved when Hakuba found the contraption. All of it trace back to the old Japanese trick of under stage trap door."
Just like Shinichi said, Yukiko snaps her finger bring down the curtain, revealing the trap door with iron grate on it. Radish and his men immediately approach the contraption, on it's a small curved line of bloodstain as well as the a single feather of Heath's wings. The assistant inspector proceed to climb down, a few seconds later he comes back with a bullet casing in his hand, confirming their deduction.
"Out of the four positions where they stood, Akane kneeling nearby, Rose lied on the floor, Ibris sit near Akane at the farthest and Lilas stood in middle of them. Her position is by far the most suspicious, the blood smear, the burnt mark on Heath's further added to that point, especially the blood smear on his hand. After that I did myself a small experiment and now it seem to pay off." Tobias says as he hardens his gaze on the four actresses, ready for the finale as Yukiko too seem like ready to deliver her final verdict.
"That's right, the only person who could pull of that move… was the person who was lying right in front of mirror at that time… Rose, it was you, wasn't it?" Yukiko gives Rose the glare as she finally named the culprit behind the case which leaves everyone, save for Tobias, Shinichi and Saguru since they've already known, completely in stupor.
"Rose… It can't be you…" Akane is first one to recover as she faces directly to Yukiko, frantically asking for an answer "−Nobody told us that we'd be using that old trapdoor!"
"Oh I can explain that−" Shinichi says as he points at the small crack of mirror "−The logistic team didn't want to let the actors know about your lucky charm, aka that mirror over there had been crack. They must have found the crack earlier this morning and resolved to fix it by shortening the mirror, through cutting frame as well as the mirror, it couldn't contain Heath's height. In the end, they chose the under stage trapdoor as a solution to that problem. As for how Rose knew it, they need someone to close the grate after pulling Heath out so the team asked Rose, who happened to be lying right in front of the mirror, to do the job just like she predicted. Right before killing Heath, she must have use the laser pointer to throw us off the track about who's the real killer."
Rose, who's shaking right now from the all the evidence against her, tries one last time to deny the claim.
"B-But h-how… H-How can you explain the blood smear on Heath's right hand,… a-and … the gun as well! It was clearly dropped from the above!−"
"Where're the evening gloves you wore earlier?"
Tobias inquires with an emotionless voice, making Rose flinches back from his sudden change of attitude. Nonetheless, Tobias pushes further as he repeat his question.
"I ask again… Where're the evening gloves you wore earlier? The one that I accidentally stained with my drink…"
Rose does nothing but stares in horror at the undercover hitman.
"Won't answer? Or you couldn't answer… because it right here?−" Tobias pulls out transparent plastic bag, inside is the evening glove that was stained by Tobias's drink earlier, except the dirty spot is glowing blue. " −The drink earlier wasn't really any kind beverage, it was Luminol solution for blood detection. I had my suspicious all the way back when I first inspected Heath's wound, your position on stage and the blood smear on Heath's hand only further reinforced my point. The Luminol I asked for from the police was to test my theory when I decided to spill my drink on you earlier, it wasn't to provide you a way to dispose evidence, it was to lure you out. Oh, as for the burnt mark as well as how the gun was dropped on stage, after assassinating Heath, you put the gun on the frills of his costume so when he was descending, the gun dropped down like it was thrown from the balcony. So… Rose Hewitt… do you have any last word?"
Rose roots right where she stands in complete mortified, everything was crumbling down fast around her when she's cornered.
"Rose… you did it… not because of the jealousy that you feel toward the affection that Heath showed to other girls… but because of his role portrayed right?..." Yukiko asks sternly but the long silence atmosphere seem to have answered the riddle already. After a deafening silence, Rose finally cracked as she laughs at herself deprecatingly.
"That's right… I was me who killed him as an angel, I could bear the thought of other men play that role of Archangel Michael!" She stands there and declare her full motivation behind her action, shocking most people except the trio and the Night Baroness.
"He was quitting the play to go off Hollywood…" Lilas speaks up, perplexed by her colleague's such extreme and delusional action of falling in love with a fictional character that Heath portrayed.
"It was his choice! He's the one who killed the angel! He knew how much I loved the Michael!" Rose shouts in their face not long before return back to the self-deprecating smile. "But I guess, my little guardian angel was watching me all along… When I dropped that suit of armor, my dress was caught on the nail by mistake,−" Shen then turns her gaze toward Ran, making the highschool girl flinches from the malice induced stare. "−That little girl saved my life… I guess I should've thanked her for making everything go smoothly…" The polices put on the cuff on Rose's hand yet the hollow laugh continue.
"How delusional, if anything I learn from this, it is to never underestimate the human capacity for delusion." Tobias snarls disgustingly at the now hollow shell of a human that is Rose, to him the woman is completely insane and there's so saving it. It took every muscle strain on him not to immediately put the bullet in between her eyes.
"You talk as if you're the one to understand and judge the others!" Rose sneers back at the boy who could only snicker at her pitiful attempt.
"No, you are wrong… judging peopl one who deliver thee is god's job, as for me? I'm them to god." Tobias's tone growls dangerously, making sure Rose hear every single word full of hatred. The other people around him eyes Tobias carefully with full skeptic, especially Saguru, Shinichi and Yukiko. The way he worded felt like a threat that Tobias had killed before.
"See you later Shin-chan! I have to drop by the police station for some question so you and Ran-chan go hitch a drive and check in the hotel for us!"
Yukiko chirpy says as she gets into the backseat of taxi with Ran and Shinichi stand outside. The rain is getting heavier and heavier so they have no choice but to use umbrellas while waiting for Shinichi's mom to go off.
"Oh! And be careful that street slasher, word on street is he's lurking around here, you can recognize him by his Japanese trait with long hair."
"Yes yes mom, I know already jeez, I'm highschool already but why everyone treats me like a kid…" Shinichi grumbles as he watches his mom's taxi speed off into distance until all he hears is the sound of thunder and rain. Shinichi, together with his childhood friend Ran, take another taxi. On their way, Shinichi keeps on rambling about Sherlock Holmes but he then notices Ran was staring off into distance.
"Huh? Ran, what's wrong? You… You're not bugged by what Rose said at the end, aren't you?" Shinichi inquires
"Huh? Rose? What did she say? It was honestly a bit too fast so I couldn't follow her English accent. And I was too absorbed in my conversation with Minerva-senpai so I kinda let that slipped." Ran lies naturally as she breath, in reality, she currently in turmoil about Heath's death but Ran wants to put that aside for now.
"Oh okay then don't worry, nothing sort of important−" Shinichi, even though crowded as a soon-to-be great detective, fails to notice Ran's lie. "−you might want to close that window before catching a cold you know? You had a little fever today right?"
"I'm fine now, and beside… can't watch the Big Apple in her full glory with a closed window right?"
"And what if you get the seat all wet because of that, I can safely say that the driver won't be pleased." Says Shinichi tries his best to convince his childhood friend.
"Don't worry about it−" Ran says as she whips out the earlier handkerchief that was gifted to her by Sharon. "I'll wipe the seat clean with this handkerchief when we get out−" She, however though, doesn't manage to finish her sentence as the strong wind breeze through together with the handkerchief.
Ran's panic due to the loss of her handkerchief, if it was any normal piece of cloth then she wouldn't mind too much about it but this is different. That's Sharon's gift for her and it holds important sentiment inside it.
"Sir! Please stop the car sir!"
Ran shouts to taxi, hoping it isn't too late to recover her important Sharon's gift. A few minutes later, she and Shinichi are in a nearby alley, trying their best to locate the missing handkerchief, but it's definitely like finding a needle in a haystack during the strong wind time.
"Strange, it should be here somewhere. Or maybe the wind flew it to the roof…"
"C'mon, it's just a handkerchief! Why are you so work up about it?" Shinichi casually dismisses but that doesn't sit well with Ran, of course an intelligent kid like him somehow is completely clueless and insensitive about things that pertain to emotion.
"It's not just any handkerchief you jerk! Sharon gave it to me!" But to Ran's surprise, she sees the handkerchief stuck in the rail guard on the fire escapes.
Shinichi quickly checks the the building with Ran hastily makes her way to her childhood friend. The detective boy turns back with a reassuring smile. "It look like an abandoned building, I'll get it for you while you should stay in the taxi to avoid the rain.". Ran doesn't get to say anything before Shinichi vanishing into the darkness of the run down building in front of her, she could only stares back while waiting anxiously for her detective friend.
Rain continues pouring down around her yet Ran's ears now don't register anything as her mind racing back to the scene at theatre. Ran lied, she heard every single words of Rose said to her.
"I guess I should've thanked her for making everything go smoothly"
Ran suddenly feels her eyes getting moisture, the sting pain grows gradually inside her chest. She remember the words said by Sharon and Tobias.
"God would never make you go through this"
"…What's a god to a non-believer?"
Her shoulder grows tired from the looming guilt of what she had done.
'Did-Did Sharon… knows… that Rose would was going to kill somebody?... Did-Did she know I'd saved a… murderer…? I-I… I killed Heath… It's my fault… I killed Heath by saving Rose…'
Ran closes her eyes, trying to fight back the tears on her face yet it she could feel it, she's the one indirectly helped Rose killed Heath, it's her sympathy that she inadvertently took life of another person… She feels like a murderer herself…
'Why?... Why?...Wh−'
*Zhk*
Ran's suddenly interrupted by the sound of boots coming to her direction, she looks up and expect it's Shinichi but is petrified by who is it.
Roughly three meter in front of her, standing there is a menacing man with a death stare that could pierce your soul if he want to, his hair is long, enough to reach behind his back with a black knit hat. But what terrifies her the most is how fitted he is to the description Yukiko warned her and Shinichi before, a Japanese man with long hair.
"Be careful of the street slasher!"
Ran stands there mortified, her horror only grows more as she recognizes the man's left hand is in pocket, shows a glimpse sight of handgun he's holding. The man keeps getting closer to her as her body grows more limp.
'A g-gun?! I-I can't move!'
"Oi KID! HURRY UP AND JUMP IN! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! HE LOOK LIKE THAT SLASHER ON THE NEWSPAPER!"
Ran turns back to see the taxi driver roars at her, but at that moment her mind suddenly snaps at the elephant in the room. 'Shi-Shinichi!? He's still in that building!'. But what Ran doesn't expect that the man has been standing right next to her, his imposing figure shadow over her making every sense inside her head scream in horror. That doesn't get any better when she hears the sound of engine behind her quickly follows by the taxi speed off the alley, the driver must have been in panic to do that.
"Are you Japanese?" Inquired by the intimidating man, to which Ran could only weakly reply in confusion.
"Eh… Huh…?"
"I'm asking if you're Japanese?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Alright… have you seen anybody suspicious around here? A Japanese guy with silver hair tied into ponytail with stubble?"
"U-Um no… I haven't seen anyone like that."
Just as Ran finishes her sentence, a car comes up behind the imposing man, follows by an American exist the car with an inquisitive look on his face.
"Sir, have you found him yet?"
"No, just a tourist. Guess he didn't run to this way. That animal's all gobbled up from our earlier gun fight so he couldn't run far, and I sure as hell he wouldn't have passed an easy prey like this little girl."
The man doesn't give Ran any chance to talk before forcefully grabbing her arm, forcing her out of here "This place is dangerous little girl, turn right at that corner up ahead and you'll be right at the major street, from there you can catch a taxi or something like that."
"W-Wait… My friend, I-I'm waiting for my friend here… He-he's a highschooler just like me!" Ran pleads for the man and his friend helping her find Shinichi, her mind went into frenzy mode the moment she heard the conversation between them about a rampaging mass murderer in this area.
"Oh then pass up this message to this friend of yours. Get the hell out of this part of this town, pronto lest you want to find your corpse rot in some trash dump." The man coldly tells Ran before going away with his friend, who glances at Ran with some worry as he asks the man. "You sure you want to leave her there? It could be dangerous."
"Don't worry, the team has all exit entrances covered, it won't be long before we could flush out our rat."
Ran eyes the man carefully until their figures retreat into the car, her brain suddenly realizes that Shinichi still hasn't come back and her anxiety doesn't make the situation any better.
'N-No, calm down Ran, you need to tell Shinichi fast!'
With renew resolve, Ran makes her way into the abandoned building, inside is pitch black with barely any light. She tries to catch her friend's attention by shouting into the abyss blackness.
"Shinichi! You there?!"
Suddenly a lightning strike nearby, briefly blinding her but Ran quickly recovers. Though she finds a rather unpleasant sight, right in front of her on the floor is blood stain like that from a bleeding wound.
'This… does this belong to Shinichi?... Something must've happened to him!" Ran's mind is running frantically over the prospect of Shinichi being hurt because of her selfishness.
'It… It's my fault again… It's my fault… Why… Shinichi could be dangerous because of me… because of my selfishness… What have I done…'
Ran stumbles forward the fire escapes where the bloodstain leads to, however though, her mind is struggling to think straight due to the fever resurges at the worst possible moment.
"…Shinichi…"
As if a blessing from the above, Ran hears the sound of footsteps on the cold metal of stair coming down fast. However, the joyfulness was short-lived when the person comes down isn't Shinichi.
'Silver hair tied to ponytail and stubble shaved bear?! A-and wound on his lower left stomach?'
The man as Ran described fit the description of the person that the other long black hair gave her earlier. This is none other than the infamous Street Slasher.
Ran's entire body froze when she sees the man brings out a gun and a silencer as he leans on the rail guard of the stair.
"RAN! RUN! He's that serial killer everyone was talking about!"
The shout of Shinichi however is proven to be ineffective as Ran is too terrified as the Street Slasher points the gun to her.
"Heh heh heh, sorry little girl but that boy's right, I was hiding here until both of you unfortunately to stumble upon, if you ever want to blame anyone−" The Street Slasher says as he put on the suppressor to his gun "−Blame the god that put you in this situati−"
He's yet to finish his words when the railguard that he leans on is snapped, perhaps it's because it was left in dereliction for far too long leading to the metal rusty enough to easily break under heavy force.
The Street Slasher should have fell to his death right there had it not been for Ran's quick thinking as she grabs onto the his left arm.
"W-What? Why! What are you doing?!""
"GRAB ONTO MY ARM! H…Hurry! My hand is wet."
Just then another arm spring out to support Ran, it's Shinichi next to her.
"Jeez… This guy's full of trouble."
What they don't expect though is how athletic the Street Slasher is, with one swift motion he use the other hand on the edge and jump back right on the fire escape with the gun in the mouth, all the while still has an untended injury on his stomach.
"Why?... Why did you… Why did you save me!" The Street Slasher growls dangerously but his voice also full of curiosity on why would Ran saved a murderer.
"Hm, you need a reason for that? Sure figuring out the reason why people kill others is a headache but you don't need logical reason… to save some one yeah?" Shinichi says.
Ran's head however is further drifting in the state of dizziness due to fatigue from the fever but she was able to hears what Shinichi said.
'Right, so that's why… He's right… I'm so…'
Ran collapsed right next to Shinichi, the detective boy is sent into a slight panic as he tries his best to call out his childhood friend, in the end Shinichi resorts to carry the karate girl in bridal style and descends downstair, his priority now is Ran's wellbeing, no time for detective, that doesn't go as planned as he heard the gun clacking sound behind him.
"Don't even think about it old man…"
The Street Slasher stops his action as he was about to shoot the couple but was startled by Shinichi's authoritative voice.
"You're wounded from a gunfight, not to mention you're being chased around vehemently by whom I assume is either the police or the FBI so assuming you pull the trigger now, the whole block will be swarmed by the authority and I doubt you have enough bullet for all of them. I'm busy with my friend in high fever here so apprehend you is out of question, look like we've reached an impasse huh?"
"Impressive Shinichi Kudo, but how are you gonna to deal with third party intervention I wonder?" The voice comes from behind Street Slasher making both Shinichi and the mass murderer focus their attention to it.
On the rooftop of another run-down building right behind the Street Slasher stands another person in complete grey business suit with a fluttering overcoat on his shoulder which carries itself freely in the wind of the rain. The dreadful atmosphere add up even more when there're strangely numerous of Ravens near him as he gaze down both of them, Shinichi couldn't identify who it is when the person wear a lower half futuristic skull mask trimmed in gold, all he could make out is the jet black hair and the piercing red color eyes. His sense immediately goes alarmed when he realized that the man is holding a silenced pistol in his right hand.
"You said that the Street Slasher couldn't shoot you because his gun doesn't have a suppressor right? Now then, hypothetically what if I have−" The Street Slasher immediately reacts by ready the gun but what the man in skull mask is one step ahead when he points his handgun to the mass murderer. "−Don't do anything you'll regret, rotten apple."
47 looks into the Street Slasher with dull eyes as he keep up the gun on the mass murderer, although the distance isn't that close, he's still confidence in his aim to be able land the shot.
His eyes trails to the detective boy holding Ran in bridal style, he didn't anticipate to meet them again since the theatre this quick but fate can be giant middle finger for most of the time.
"I see you inherit a lot of Yusaku Kudo's trait huh?−" Shinichi's eyes widen before turns into a hardened gaze the moment his father's name is mentioned. "−How about entertain me with a riddle meitantei-kun? Do you know what happens to a cornered rat?"
There's uncomfortable deafening silence pertains throughout the alley, as if the entire rain has been muffed into the background, making way for the thin air tension around the three men.
One sudden movement is all it need for blood to spill.
"No matter where you run… you'll get blasted from the above…" Shinichi says resolutely which surprises 47, a small smile unconsciously make it way under his mask.
"A perfect answer Kudo Shinichi, your intelligence is indeed peerless. Yet your idea and attitude remain the same ever since, you haven't grown up after all these years."
Shinichi's brain abruptly comes to a grinding halt, 'Wait… what did he mean I haven't grown up? Did I meet this person before?' Million of thought floods his mind about this unbecoming reunion, that's until he's broken out of his pensive thinking by skull mask man.
"Rejoice Kudo Shinichi, you're not my target for tonight so why don't you and that girlfriend of yours run along. I just need the Street Slasher tonight only."
Kudo Shinichi grits his teeth but the man in grey is right, if it were only he and the Street Slasher, it could've ended in a draw as both were in a Mexican Standoff but the arrival of third party jeopardy that status quo, not to mention the new assassin seem to know him in the past.
Shinichi turns back while delicately carries Ran in his arms as he slowly descending the stair but not before sparing one last glance toward the Street Slasher and man in grey.
"You said as if killing is second nature to you Mr. Skull mask. But knowing this, the next time we meet each other again, It's recommended you start counting up your sins, so that I could put you and the Street Slasher behind bar for good."
47 half-expected that coming from Shinichi, the guy's still very high-strung about his idealistic dream of justice and truth and in 47's opinion, it's both annoying and commendable at the same time for the sheer persistence he demonstrated.
"Chasing your idea vehemently without care in the world, is that really what you are? Kudo Shinichi? Solving crime, uncovering truth, enforce justice?"
"Does it really matter to you Mr. Skull mask? Don't we, the human, all have a dream to relentlessly pursuit after?" Shinichi asks in mockery but is surprised by an audible chuckle from 47.
"You devotes your entire life to a fictional character, trying to be him, push back all other people who trying their best to care about you just because of some pipe dreams. Obstinate as ever but oh well, it seem like I've finally won my bet about who you truly are, that you are a waste!" 47's comment like ice pierces right through Shinichi, it hurts him like hell when the man insulted his idea like nothing, he snarls at the man but Ran must take priority now.
47 eyes Shinichi Kudo carefully until his figure with Ran in his arms disappears from the alley. He then turns his focus back to the Street Slasher as the two still have their guns point at each other.
"Now then for you, I wouldn't have expected to meet you here, in the Big Apple no less. Quite a coincidence don't you agree… Sharon… Vineyard?"
47 emphasizes the last part making the mass murderer widen their eyes in horror of this interloper, he'd just jumped out of nowhere and now able to know the real identity lying under the mask of disguise.
"H-How… did you …" The Street Slasher, or Sharon Vineyard in disguise now stutters but she doesn't finish her question as 47 beats her to it.
"I have no idea why you would dress up as a serial killer, let alone appeared in this place but… may I make a suggestion?... Run…" 47 says as he immediately takes aim and pull the trigger, Sharon just barely dodges the bullet when she returns fire with her own gun as she makes a beeline to the inside building.
'The sound from her gun will no doubt attract him here. Tsk'
47 makes the jump forward to the fire escapes staircase's edge, with enough straigh to pull himself up, the hitman just about to enter the doorway when he just narrowly escapes death via the sonic sound screeching through his left ear.
Sharon manages to get to upper floor when her leg just about to get shot. The two killer constantly exchanges fire as higher they get. Until 47 gets a goodshot right into Sharon's shoulder, further injuring her. Now with both of them lock into another gun draw as the two keep their guns point at one another.
"Sharon Vineyard… or should I say Christ Vineyard… actually let go with something shorter… something far more familiar with you… Vermouth."
At the mention her codename, Sharon's entire body freeze. Her internal is in complete panic wreck.
"How did… How did you know it? The Organization… how did−"
"Huh, I reckon the name… 47 sounds familiar to the likes of you, rings any bell?" 47's reveal likes dropping a bombshell onto Sharon, making her brain short-circuits for a brief second before a small chuckle of feminine voice coming from her, it seem like she makes to attempt to hide her disguise any longer.
"The infamous Raven's Feather huh? What are you doing here? I presume killing our operatives in England wasn't enough to satiate your desire to kill us all?"
"I could ask you the same question Vermouth… What are you… no… What are the Organization doing here? I'm surprised you guys have enough suicidal tendency to jump right into FBI's playground."
"Believe it or not, The Organization regard the ICA and MI6 are much more of a threat than the Fed."
"Well I'm honored, but you haven't answered my question yet."
"Huh… go ahead… do it…" Sharon or Vermouth weakly smiles as she tears apart the Street Slasher disguise, revealing the light blonde long hair and viridescent eyes.
"Go ahead, maybe dying to someone notorious like you won't be bad at all."
47 considers the prospect of him pulling the trigger right here and right now but after a split-second mulling over the consequence of his action. He retract the pistol making Vermouth surprised.
"You think… you can get a scot-free that easily huh… You live your entire life as a parasite, attaching to other people and suck out their life like they are your host, how else did you expect it to end? Alone on the cold metal floor in this abandoned factory, and until final moment still remain deservedly unwanted and unloved."
His insult comment doesn't go unnoticed as Vermouth's smile turns into a hatred growls, she wants nothing but shoot this person right now but that would be wistful thinking and Vermouth may die before she even has a chance.
"Consider this as both my thank for not shooting the couple earlier as well as your sentences from your past and your future wrongdoings all together… at the end of the day… Behind every mask of disguise is another mask of false revelation…"
47 bid his final words as he exits the room, a few seconds later he could hear the sound ruffling and just as he sneaks a glance inside, Vermouth is gone, leaving only the bloodtrail on the windowsill of the building. After confirming the coast is clear, 47 makes his way toward the rooftop, waiting for his next inevitable reunion of a person from his past.
The sound of rain ripping throughout the concrete floor of the rooftop as well as the howling wind carries 47's overcoat wavering in the air. He stands near the edge of the rooftop, gazing at the nightless New York city.
His sightseeing however is interrupted by a sound of metal door behind him, stepping into his peripheral vision is the same man that Ran met before in the alley with a cigarette in his mouth, his long black hair fluttering due to the strong wind.
'Well well well… long time no see… Akai Shuichi' 47 thinks as he grips his AMT Silverballer tightly. Ready for the gun fight should the situation doesn't escalate into more favourable outcome
"If you are looking for the Street Slasher, he has just been here but the elusive bastard managed to slip away at the last moment." 47 decides to initiate the conversation, trying to gain his control over the situation. This is FBI, we're talking about so he couldn't afford to accumulate too much hostility lest he wants to jeopardize their cooperation in the future.
"I'm more interested in who you are and why are you here more, that serial killer can wait. And I'm sure that we have another case of another one like that Street Slasher soon on my table, a professional one at that." Shuichi waste no second to answer his question. 47 furrows his brows, knowing full well what Shuichi is implying.
"Silver Bullet huh? A fitting name for you don't you think? If you want, you can call me 47."
Shuichi raised his eye's brows at that but quickly compose himself. It seem like whoever this person in front of him is. He's very good when it come to intelligence gathering, an expert no less so that he can dig out Shuichi's nickname during his time in FBI. And that codename 47 sound oddly familiar to him.
"Alright I'll bite, what are you doing here? 47?"
"Just to exterminate some annoying vermin, it's appear that a handful amount of them managed to crawl their way from Europe to US so you can say that I'm here for the clean up."
"I don't remember we called any help for pest extermination services."
"And I don't recall that the FBI is this inefficient in dealing with them."
At 47's insulting remark, Shuichi remains unwavering, sending the hitman the clear message that he won't back down that easily. His mental fortitude of an ox's like that really hard to deal with in 47's opinion.
'Not knowing when to back down from a fight huh? No wonder Akemi perished at your own stubbornness.'
47 is in his deep thought but is suddenly broken out by a sound of gun cocking, all of his five senses go into alarm mode as the two managed to keep one another at their own respective gun's point.
'What the hell Akai Shuichi!? I thought you would be more diplomatic than that? Why the sudden change of nuclear option right away? Actually… I was not expecting that… but I was expecting not to expect something so it doesn't count.'
"Oh? So we've reached this point already huh? Gonna to shoot someone for just doing their job diligently?" 47 sarcastically says but Shuichi remain stoic, making 47 scowls silently under his mask.
"I ask again, who are you?" Akai Shuichi further inquires but his answer in return is nothing but silence except for the sound of raining and occasion car passing by.
"Tsk, you remains the same as ever Akai Shuichi, your tenacious nature is praiseworthy while also a thorn in everyone's side. Who knows? Maybe in the near future someone gonna to pay dearly just because you don't know when to back off from a losing fight."
"What are you implying here 47?" Shuichi's reaches critically low which makes 47 further anxious, he has to use every muscle strains not to pull the trigger now. After a deafening silence, the hitman subtly prepares for his escape.
"You kill me, you're better. I kill you, I'm better." The FBI Agent and the ICA Hitman simultaneously pull the trigger of their guns, the two bullets grazes through each other but the two dodge just in time. Instead of repositioning and takes aim again, 47 decides to relies on the FBI agent's instinct and just like him predicted. True to his nickname, Shuichi is able to regain his aim much faster and fires again, but to his surprise, the bullet which's flying to 47 is collided with an object and that object is none other than a flash grenade.
The brightness engulfs the entire rooftop, 47 was fully expecting it so he easily makes his way out of the block district, the same however can be said to Akai Shuichi as he wasn't anticipate it, which took him nearly two minutes to barely gain his sense back. By the time he done recovering, there's only him alone on the rooftop together with the sound of rain getting heavier.
The End
