Shinichi was woken by loud stomping outside his door and the smell of breakfast. He sat up, forgetting his injury in his grogginess, and hissed. The bandages were soaked through, so he felt in his bag for more. While patching himself up, he was alerted to a knocking at the door and a jiggling handle. At that moment, he was grateful that he had remembered to lock the door.
"Conan! Breakfast is ready!" Ayumi's muffled voice shone through.
"I'm coming!" he yelled back with as much energy as possible. The mirror on his dresser showed him to be more than a bit pale. He would never again question Jodie for her inclusion of powder. He dabbed on a thin layer, just enough to bring color, but not enough to be visible.
He covered his shoulder with bandages and then again with his shirt. He hoped that they would not go swimming or do anything too strenuous. Lastly, he stuffed a roll of bandages and other necessities into his pant's pockets.
Sitting at the table, he was greeted with playful banter and nothing to do with last night. He was glad.
Haibara seemed to notice that he was tired looking, but he assumed that she didn't want to bring it up. After all, she looked almost identical, having stayed up for research. Thankfully, she had been wearing headphones to block out the shots.
What followed that day was a hike about halfway up the mountain, fishing, and a small scavenger hunt set up by the Professor the day before.
This would all be absolutely fine if the scavenger hunt didn't bring them to the all-to-familiar clearing from the night before. The ground was riddled with blood and a few bullet holes. Shinichi almost sighed with relief when he realized that the clean-up crew had already taken the corpse.
The detective boys went wild, and they ran around the clearing with bright eyes. According to their reactions, they most likely thought this was something elaborate set up by the older man. The assassin knew better, however, but he decided to let them come to their own conclusions. He wanted to avoid the police if at all possible, and his blood was only a few hundred meters away.
Unfortunately, Haibara had other plans. She used her weird sense to somehow conclude that a Black Organization member had been there. The boy cursed. She knew this was a real crime scene, and if she spoke up, he wasn't sure how he would explain it away.
He walked behind a tree, acting as if he was searching for clues, and frantically texted Jodie a message.
'Boss! The clean-up crew left vital evidence in the woods last night. The kids found it.' he wrote.
She replied almost instantly,' I'll reprimand them later, right now, just prevent the other from calling the police. Act as if you did, and I'll send a couple agents from that area.'
He sighed and wrote back a quick thank you. He walked out from behind the tree and pretended that he had just ended a call.
"Guys! I called the police. This is a real crime scene, so stay away from the evidence." He spoke evenly and convincingly.
Ayumi screamed and ran away from blood that she had been near. The Professor showed up, heaving, moments later,
"What's wrong," he started before taking in the clearing.
The kids had devolved into a worried mess and were explaining the situation in barely intelligible words. Haibara stepped up in the middle and explained more clearly. She also included the Black Organization's involvement.
A loud siren was heard in the distance as the agents arrived. They introduced themselves as ordinary officers, but Shinichi almost facepalmed at how obvious they were. They had not bothered to change and were clad in black suits with their respective flowers. They apologized for their attire and stated that they were dressed for a formal later that day. This excuse seemed to work.
"We've had a couple complaints about shooting sounds in the forest overnight, so we came as soon as possible." The agent with a Chrysanthemum placed on their shirt spoke first. He introduced himself as Chris. The other agent introduced herself as Lily as her flower was more suitable as a name.
The kids wasted no time in explaining their harrowing experience. Because the agents already knew everything, they only acted interested. After they finished, the two walked around the clearing to gather evidence. They asked seemingly essential questions and did a fine job of acting like officers.
All in all, the encounter was much less than Shinichi's anxiety led him to believe. But, as if something just had to go wrong, Haibara proceeded to collect a blood sample from the grass. The assassin could only hope that it wasn't his.
The agents finally left, doing just the amount of work needed to be convincing, but avoiding any possible suspicion or answers.
Back at the cabin, the kids talked excitedly about the scene they had encountered earlier. The shock had faded, and they were only interested in solving whatever case they believed they had.
To Shinichi's dismay, Haibara had been using her portable lab since they had returned. He sat in growing concern as she glanced back at him occasionally. Finally, she gained reliable results.
Walking back slowly, she showed him the sheet she had written on.
"Kudo, please explain why I found traces of your blood on that grass," she said clearly.
The rest of the room stopped and looked at them.
"Haibara, I don't know what you're talking about…" he chose to take the dumb route.
"Perhaps it is possible that I found faulty data, but that it would be a perfect match to you?" she sounded unconvinced, "And, I've noticed you haven't used your left shoulder much." She continued as she gently squeezed there to prove a point. Her carelessness showed that she had not expected something as severe as a bullet wound.
He cried out in pain and backpedaled away from the others. The girl seemed to gain some semblance of guilt before it turned to anger.
"What did you do!" she yelled, starting to take off his shirt. The room gasped when her efforts revealed a soaked bandage. He had not yet changed it again. His entire side was covered with blood-red bandages, and he winced in pain as the shirt slid off his arm. It was a wonder that it was not soaked as well.
She quieted and began unraveling the wraps. The first aid kit he had been provided and the one from Agent Iris was bare with only a few essentials. As such, he was unable to fix himself properly. The bandages revealed an almost black wound.
"Who took the bullet out? It looks professionally done." The scientist asked slowly.
"I did," he managed, hoping she would buy it, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you…I have an explanation." He quickly added.
They looked expectant, and he thought back to his previous excuse.