Author's note: This fanfic will have three chapters, and there will be release dates for each one. Hope you enjoy Chapter 1~

Chapter 1: Kidnapped

Conan looked toward the street again. The black-hooded man was still there, leaning against the corner of an alley. But he wasn't looking at Conan; he was staring at the entrance of the grocery store, as if expecting something. Conan frowned. This was the third time the man was lurking around the area.

"Your eyes are wandering again."

Conan turned to Haibara, who was walking next to him. School had ended a few minutes ago, and they were heading to Professor Agasa's place. He nodded toward the street. "That man is suspicious."

Haibara glanced at the man. "If you think he's one of them, you're wrong. They're smarter than that."

"I know," Conan admitted. "But I have a feeling he's got something to do with the current serial case."

Lately, the news has been reporting several murders in the city. Nobody knew who was behind the killings, but the pattern was consistent. The victims were always members of the Tori gang, a group of thieves who had been infamous for robbing banks eight years ago. Back then, the gang had never been caught, but they eventually broke apart and quit stealing. However, they were still hiding to avoid paying for their crimes. Now it appeared someone was killing off the members of the gang.

The door of the grocery store opened, and a different man wearing a brown leather jacket and blue jeans stepped out. The hooded man hiding behind the corner nodded subtly to himself and walked off in the opposite direction.

"He did it again," Conan said.

"What?" Haibara asked.

"He always walks off after the guy with a leather jacket exits the grocery store. He's a stalker."

Haibara frowned. "Well, great detective, what are you gonna do?"

Conan smirked, a plan already in mind.


The next day after school, Conan slowly approached the corner of the grocery store, where the hooded man was spying as usual. Hidden between Conan's fingers was a transmitter, a sticker used to track criminals down—a handy invention by Agasa.

With an excited voice, Conan yelled, "Uncle!"

The hooded man jumped as Conan grabbed his wrist. "What?"

"Come play with me, I'm bored!" Conan whined like a child, furtively sticking the transmitter beneath the cuff of the man's sleeve.

"Brat! I'm not your uncle, go away!" The hooded man commanded in a gruff voice, shoving Conan away.

Conan stumbled. "What?" He gasped as if realizing the hooded man was actually a stranger then wailed as he dashed off.


Mizuchi brushed his sleeve off, staring after the little boy. "Stupid kid," he muttered. He peeked around the corner in time to see the man with the leather jacket step out of the grocery store. He nodded to himself and walked off, heading back to the hideout.


"Are you sure, Conan?" Megure asked. The inspector was studying the evidence from the most recent murder case when his phone had rung.

"Yes," Conan said. "I've seen the hooded man lurking in the same spot for two days now."

Megure frowned. "That is indeed suspicious. It might even be connected to this serial murder case. We will approach him later today."

"Thank you, Inspector Megure." Conan hung up. He planned to watch the encounter from a distance. If he saw the hooded man trying to run off, Conan would track him down with the sticker he attached and ensure the man's capture.


Conan pulled out his detective badge and contacted Haibara. "I placed the transmitter," he said. "Megure is going to try and talk to the man. If he tries to run, I'll be there to intervene."

Haibara softly chuckled in reply. "If you're lucky, you'll end up catching the culprit of the serial case."

"Maybe," Conan said. He activated his glasses and zoomed in on the hooded man, who was lurking in the same alley. Pressing another button, his glasses switched over to a view of the grid, where a bright dot flashed, signaling the location of the stalker.


Megure had two other policemen follow him as he carefully approached the hooded man and tapped his shoulder.

The stalker whirled around, an irritated look on his face.

Megure held up his police badge. "Inspector Megure here, may I speak with you for a moment?"

The man's face flinched. "Um… okay."

Megure got to the point. "Are you stalking anyone?"

The man looked bewildered. "What? No, I'm just, ah, waiting for my buddy to come with the groceries."

Megure tightened his lips disapprovingly. "There's no need to wait so secretively for your friend."

"I, um, just wanted to scare him for a joke, you know? As friends."

"He knows you're already here. You wouldn't be able to scare him anyway."

The stalker bit his lip nervously. "Uhh. It's fine to add a little scare for fun, right?"

Megure sighed. "Sir, we know you've been here stalking someone for two days. We'll finish your interrogation at the police station."

"What? No, I can explain."

"Let's go."

"Wait!" He held up his hands in protest. "You see, I… um…" Then he dashed off into the alleyway.

Megure cursed and pulled out his walkie talkie as he ran toward the man. "The suspect is running, corner him around the next block."

"Yes, sir." The policeman inside the cruiser stepped on the accelerator.


Mizuchi's heart thumped loudly in his ears as he ran through the alley. Quickly, his eyes searched for a hiding place. There, he thought. He squatted next to a huge garbage dump and curled up his body. He smiled arrogantly. That fat old inspector will never catch me.

After several minutes, Mizuchi decided it was safe. He peeked around the garbage bin and looked left and right. The coast was clear. He slowly stepped out and started walking in the direction of the hideout. Then he froze. A scratching sound. He turned around and to his surprise, he saw a little boy step out from behind a pile of boxes. The boy had his arm up, his other hand positioned on his watch.

Mizuchi froze. What's a kid doing in an alleyway? Before deciding to make a break for it, he realized the boy looked familiar in the dim light. He paused, squinting to see the kid better. Suddenly, he felt a prick on his neck. "What…" The ground rushed up to him, and everything went black.


At the police station, Conan waited patiently for the interrogation to be over. When Inspector Megure finally came out, Conan stood.

"Inspector, did you figure out his identity?" Conan asked.

"Oh, Conan," Megure said, surprised to see the boy had stayed this long. Recovering his composure, he held up a sheet of paper. "Uh, yes. He's a member of the Dragon gang, a group of people who used to steal very frequently, but nowadays, nobody really knows what they're up to. They've been out of action these past eight years."

Conan pondered the new information. Haibara would be able to do some more research on that.

"Thank you, Inspector Megure."

As Conan ran off, the inspector shook his head to himself. He still couldn't understand why Conan would be interested in a serial murder case, or any case at all. It wasn't normal for a little kid. The boy was relentless, no matter what the potential danger was from being involved.


Conan and Haibara sat at the table in Agasa's living room, where the professor was busy working on another silly invention.

"I saw the news. Well done, detective," Haibara praised sarcastically.

Conan shook his head. "I don't think this is over yet."

Haibara cocked her head slightly. "Is that so?"

"I have a hunch that more than one person is behind the murders. But I need evidence." Conan tapped his chin, deep in thought.

Haibara sighed. "You won't rest until you solve this case."

Conan agreed with a firm nod.


"Mizuchi sure is taking his time today." Teke, a spy of the gang, relaxed on a beanbag, sipping a can of beer.

Riu, the leader of the gang, frowned. He found it annoying whenever one of his members failed to show up on time. Tomorrow, the gang was planning to kill the Tori gang member whom Mizuchi was stalking, and the meeting was critical in ensuring their success.

"Teke, go look for him. This is just disappointing," Riu shook his head, exasperated.

"You got it, boss." Teke threw his empty can on the floor and got up to grab his gun.

"Boss!" Another voice cried.

The leader looked up as he saw Turo, Teke's younger twin, run toward him. He was not as good of a spy as Teke but competent nevertheless.

"What is it, Turo?" Riu asked.

"It's Mizuchi," Turo exclaimed. "He got caught!"

Riu's eyes bulged open. "What?!" he bellowed.

Turo cringed but kept going. "I was observing from the roof as usual, checking Mizuchi's progress, but then I saw a little boy knock him out!"

Riu couldn't believe his ears. "A… little boy?"

Turo nodded agitatedly. "Well, at first the police approached Mizuchi, so he ran and hid. But there was a boy in the alleyway, and he sorta just opened the lid of his watch, probably shot out some tiny tranquilizer dart, and Mizuchi went out cold. The police arrived shortly and dragged him away."

Riu pondered deep in thought. This was a disaster. If the police discovered Mizuchi's identity, their cover would be blown. People would know the Dragon gang was behind the serial murder. Eight years ago, they were infamous for thievery, uncatchable by the law—until the incident.

"Boss?" Teke said. "What should we do?"

Riu made a rough plan in his head. "Turo, I want to know what the kid looks like. Get me pictures of him. And Teke, you'll be killing Leather Jacket tomorrow as planned. But make a big show of it, if you know what I mean. Let's see if we can attract the kid."

Turo and Teke nodded. "Yes, sir."

As the twins left the hideout, Riu sat in silence, pondering. Yes, this could work. But he had no idea what the boy was fully capable of, so he would have to be careful. Once the kid was in his clutches, he would get some answers and perhaps the kid would prove to be useful for the gang. He smiled to himself. For now, he would wait for the twins' report and go over his newly-developing plan.


Haibara's fingers blurred across her keyboard as she searched for information about the Dragon gang. Conan stood beside her, deep in thought. They had migrated to the kitchen, where Haibara sat at the countertop with her computer.

"Found it," Haibara said.

Conan looked up and saw a list of articles on the screen. Many of them were reports on the Dragon gang's robberies.

Haibara pointed the cursor at one of the titles: The Infamous Dragon Gang Steals Third Bank This Week.

Conan looked at the date. It was posted eight years ago. "This can't be a coincidence," he said.

Haibara nodded. "Also, it seems like the Tori Gang was also infamous at that time." She pointed to another title: Tori Gang Gets Away With Another Heist.

Conan scanned through the list of articles until one particular title stood out to him: Dragon Gang Caught After Attempting To Rob Bank.

"Click that one," Conan said.

Haibara complied.

Conan quickly read the article as she scrolled. "This is it," he said.

Haibara looked at him expectantly. "Care to explain?"

Conan sat on the couch, crossing his arms. "The man we caught today is a member of the Dragon gang. All the victims of the current serial murder case are members of the Tori gang. The article says some Dragon gang members managed to escape during the bank robbery attempt, and eight years later, the Dragon gang is now killing off the Tori gang members."

Haibara frowned. "That does seem suspicious."

Conan stood up to go to Agasa's lab. "I'll have to reload my tranquilizer before looking into it tomorrow."

Haibara nodded. "Be careful out there."

"Thanks."


The street was unexpectedly crowded as a group of people huddled around the base of a building.

Conan jogged over. It's probably another murder case.

Inspector Megure and two other policemen were crouched over a body with blood splattered around the head.

Conan came over and noticed the corpse was wearing a leather jacket. It was the man who was being stalked yesterday.

"...it appears as if the cause of death was a fall from the building's roof," Megure was saying, pointing upward where a five-story building towered over them.

Conan studied the corpse's face. "That's not it."

Megure frowned, looking down. "Conan?"
"Look here," Conan pointed at the mouth and leaned in to sniff. "There's the slightest bit of foam at the corner of his mouth. And judging from the scent of almonds, the cause of death was potassium cyanide. Also, if you look at his eyelids and neck, you can see they have hardened due to rigor mortis. He's been dead for a few hours already."

Megure leaned in for a closer look and realized Conan was right. As usual. The boy never ceased to amaze Megure—but mostly annoy him for being exceptionally smart.

The inspector sighed. "Thank you, Conan, but the police can handle this. If we verify his identity, he will probably turn out to be a member of the Tori gang."

Conan racked his brain. It didn't make sense that the culprit would suddenly decide to be conspicuous with their crimes. If the victim was already dead, there was no reason to throw the body off of a building. Unless… they wanted to cause a distraction.

Conan quickly exited the crowd of people and scanned his surroundings. There. A subtle shadow between two buildings. Conan flipped open his watch and ran toward the alleyway.


Turo's mouth dropped open as he realized the boy was coming toward him. How did he…? He gritted his teeth in frustration and hurriedly stuffed the camera in his fanny pack. When he looked up again, the boy was almost within reach. Heart thumping, he began sprinting toward the hideout.


Conan grew more confident as he approached the alley. There was definitely someone there, no doubt spying on the commotion. With his watch in position, he peeked around the corner. A silhouette flashed in view before disappearing deeper into the alley. Conan cursed and ran toward it. After running for a few seconds, Conan slowly came to a stop. This was pointless. The gang member had already gotten a head start. Sighing, Conan started heading home, thinking about today's case.


Riu silently studied the photos of the innocent-looking boy. The kid didn't look like much. Glasses, black hair, blue uniform with a red bowtie, red sneakers. But his facial expression did not match what one would expect from a child. In most of the pictures, the boy appeared to be deep in thought, as if he was trying to figure out something.

"What do you think, boss?"

Riu put his hand on his chin, thinking about Turo's account. Apparently, the boy had talked with the police, as if it was natural to share a piece of information to help out the cops. Riu slowly nodded to himself. "A little boy who might be a genius? Why not. Let's recruit him."

Turo stared in confusion. "Boss?"

Riu rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about a kidnapping, you idiot!"

Teke, who was sitting on his beanbag, perked up and grinned. "No way."

Riu stood and walked to the table. He waved his hand over, and the twins joined him.

"First of all, report. Where are Haki and Furoshi?"
Haki was the muscle man and bodyguard, a guy with enough strength to lift a car. Furoshi was the sniper and expert of any other weapon that shot bullets.

Teke spoke up. "They're currently keeping eyes on our next victim. Give the word, and they'll get rid of him."

"Tell them we're gonna postpone the killing," Riu said, pulling out a heavy suitcase. "We have a more important job to get done."

Teke and Turo shared a glance. Their boss rarely changed plans. The boy sounded like a big deal.

Riu rummaged through the equipment in the suitcase. "Once they get here, I'll explain the plan." He took out a small vial and jiggled it. "We're gonna have some fun."


Conan checked his gadgets on the counter with Agasa. When everything seemed to be in order, he pulled out his phone and called the inspector.

Megure answered after a few rings. "Yes, Conan?"

Conan could tell the inspector was trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Nevertheless, he trudged on. "Any new information, inspector?"

Megure held in a sigh as he reluctantly said, "Yes, Conan. We might actually know who the next victim is."

Conan's eyes widened. "Where?"

Megure's voice was stern as he said, "Conan, this is a serious case. It is too dangerous for a little kid like you to get involved."

"Aw, please," Conan put on his whiny, childish voice. "I just wanna know!"

Megure closed his eyes and exhaled in frustration. "All right," he relented. "We managed to track down a Tori gang member who's living in an apartment near the mall. We're thinking of taking him to a secure location until the serial case is over."

Conan nodded. It seemed like a good idea. But something seemed off.

"Inspector, how exactly did you find this information?"

"Through his blog. Turns out he's been lying low for some time after breaking off from the Tori gang, but now it looks like he's trying to get a fresh start."

That sounded dubious. It was something that would definitely lure some policemen. It didn't seem likely for a former gang member to suddenly get involved in social media and attract attention. But this seemed like the only lead they had.

"Okay, thank you. Good luck, inspector." Conan hung up, already planning to visit the apartment.

Agasa finished double-checking the gadgets. "All done," he announced.

"Thank you, professor," Conan said, buckling his soccer ball belt around his waist and slapping on his metal watch.

"But I don't know about this, Conan. It seems dangerous." Agasa crossed his arms, a troubled expression on his face. Conan had told him about the recent lead he discovered with Haibara's research, and even though Agasa knew Conan was capable of protecting himself, he worried nonetheless.

"Don't worry, professor," Conan reassured, grabbing his skateboard. "I'm only planning to investigate a little." He exited the house.


As Megure stepped out of the police car, he warned the two policemen, "Be careful. The Dragon gang may already be here, staking out to kill their next victim."

The two men nodded.

Megure and the policemen climbed the stairs of the apartment, not knowing Conan was following quietly. They arrived on the second floor and walked past a few doors before pausing in front of one. Megure knocked, and the door opened to reveal a lean man with smooth brown hair, white t-shirt, and trousers.

The inspector held up his badge. "Hello sir, we would like to talk for a moment."


Conan waited patiently, stooped below a cracked window next to the door. Based on what he could hear from the conversation inside, the former gang member was more than willing to be escorted to a safe place.

Luckily, the door was positioned to open in the direction of the stairs. When the men were finally done talking, Conan hid behind the door as it opened, then ducked into the apartment room just before they closed it.

Conan waited for his eyes to adjust. The room was dim but bright enough to see its contents. He walked around and began his investigation.


Riu squatted next to Haki in the alleyway next to the apartment. The two sturdy men proceeded to check and make sure they got all their equipment. Riu peeked around the corner and smirked as the little boy climbed up the stairs after the policemen.

How convenient, he thought. Teke's fake blog had worked.

Turo was hiding in the parking lot as backup, in case the kid managed to escape the apartment and make a run for it, although Riu doubted it.

Riu pressed his earpiece. "Furoshi, are you in position?"

"Yep," Furoshi said, cocking her dart gun as she stood on the roof of the building next to the apartment.

"Now remembered, Furoshi," Riu said. "Only shoot if you think he will get away." He looked over at Haki, who stayed silent as he hid among the garbage bags. "Though I doubt a little boy can overpower two men."


Conan knelt before a newspaper in front of a bookshelf filled with CDs. The newspaper was annotated, and it had been tucked between the disks. Conan had also found a photograph of the Dragon gang and the Tori gang, appearing to get along quite well.

Conan went through all the clues he had gathered so far and started connecting the pieces in his mind. Then the underlying motive behind the serial murder case revealed itself.

This is all for revenge, Conan thought.

Suddenly, Conan felt the urge to turn around. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see a huge, strongly-built man swinging a club toward him. Conan's eyes widened in surprise, and he managed to jump out of the way. The club crashed into the CDs, shattering the cases. The loud noise was jarring.

Conan rolled out of his leap and flipped open his watch, but the man was quicker. Conan felt his feet leave the floor as the man grabbed Conan's left wrist and held him up at arm's length. Unfortunately, it was the wrist with the watch. Conan grunted as he struggled and kicked his legs.

The man laughed. "How are you going to knock me out now, boy?"

Conan quirked his eyebrow in confusion. That was a strange question to ask a little kid. To his dismay, the man reached over and grabbed his watch, unclasping it from his wrist and pocketing it.

Heart pounding, Conan used his other hand to activate his ball-inflating belt. A soccer ball appeared on his stomach, but he didn't release it yet; the soccer ball kept growing until it was the size of a mini fridge.

"What the—" The man let go of Conan's wrist in surprise.

As Conan dropped to the floor on his feet, he pressed the release button. The ball escaped the belt and began deflating, the flat rubber draping over the man, who cried out.

Conan ran around him and headed toward the door. But then an obstacle came out of nowhere, making him trip.

Conan cried out as he tumbled across the floor. The door was only a few feet away. He tried to get up but then a shadow blocked the door. Next thing he knew, a kick to his ribs had him skidding on the floor, gasping for breath. When his vision cleared, he looked up to see a second man towering over him, this one slightly smaller in build but muscular all the same.

The man's knee came down on Conan's chest, making it hard to breathe. Frustratingly, this man also seemed to know about his tranquilizer because he quickly shoved Conan's wrist down.

"So we meet face-to-face," the man sniggered. "Name's Riu. And that guy—" he pointed to the first man Conan had encountered. "—is Haki. Nice to meet you."

Conan gritted his teeth as he tried to pry the knee off his chest. "You guys are the ones behind the serial murder case."

Riu shook his head in astonishment. "How clever. Finding the clues we purposely placed and figuring everything out."

Conan froze. This was all… a trap?

Haki grunted. He seemed upset that a little boy managed to throw him off guard.

"Okay okay, we'll talk later. Let's get out of here." Riu snapped his fingers and held out his hand expectantly.

Haki gave him a piece of cloth.

Conan's heart thudded.

"Chloroform." Riu's eyes squinted with mischief. "But being a genius and all, you probably knew that."

The cloth came down, blocking Conan's nose and mouth. He resisted, grabbing Riu's wrist and trying to shove it away. He held his breath, turning his head left and right to no avail. When he couldn't hold it in any longer, he had no choice but to take a breath, and the chemicals entered his lungs. Dizziness took over, fogging his vision, and his hand slipped from the man's wrist.

Riu laughed in victory as the boy's eyelids drooped closed.

-End of Chapter 1-

Thanks for reading~ I hope you guys liked it. Reviews/comments appreciated.

Chapter 2 release date: January 29, 2021 at 5:00 pm MST