The boys had been familiarizing themselves with the inside of the room when Shinichi suddenly spoke, "You know, I really hope all this has a smooth ending. Seems like a lot is happening in this secluded area." he turned over a rusted cleaver.
"We did kinda stumble upon a local drug ring," Hattori replied.
"I know, and the worst thing is I think it has nothing to do with the Org! I don't have time for this BS." The assassin ranted. At this point, he wasn't sure he cared if there were mics.
The detective alerted his friend to a hidden door. Inside was a collection of bagged narcotics and a few padding ingredients. Based on this, it seemed that the old couple was using common cooking powders to increase the amount of product they sold. That would explain the angry goon they redirected earlier.
Shinichi felt weirdly disgusted, but it wasn't because of the crime committed necessarily, it was more the lack of pride.
"Well, I'm sure there are fingerprints somewhere…should we go back and alert that clumsy oaf? He joked.
"Absolutely. That underlin' we sent earlier should be gettin' there about now." Hattori agreed, propping the door open.
On their way back, a scream sounded throughout the pitch-black woods. The two picked up their pace and came upon a peculiar scene at the house. The cry had apparently come from the older woman, who was continuing her act. The goon had arrived at the steps and shot into the door frame as she opened it. It was unclear whether this was intentional or not.
"Granny! What's this s #t?" the underling held a baggy full of a white substance. There was no way of knowing this only by looking, but it was padded with flour, "Boss ain't happy, and you ain't gonna live much longer!" A shot ricocheted off the building as he missed yet again. He had supposedly not yet seen the officer holding the old woman.
"Sir! I'm gonna have to ask you to put down the weapon!" Misao spoke, with a noticeable tremble in his voice. It was pitiful at best and did nothing to stop the angry man.
Hattori walked up behind him, knocked the gun out of his hand, pushed him to the ground, and retained him. It was apparent that the man was low on the ladder and had no real connections to anyone important. He wasn't trained properly and was easy to stop.
Shinichi was almost disappointed. He figured that someone strong might have information he could use, but this sad excuse for a gangster would only waste his time.
Cuffs were put on the man, and the lady was calming. Only then did she notice the small boy following the tan detective. Her eyes widened, and she glared at the two of them.
"Hey, Officer. Seems ta be a shack ou' there with all sorts of illegal stuff," Hattori stated, pointing behind him.
The woman, now a suspect, was brought along with the rest of the group. The small investigation consisted of only Misao, Shinichi, Hattori, and the woman. Kogoro and Ran were left with the younger woman and old man in case they became threats. Coming up upon the shack, the woman was frisked for anything incriminating. In her earlier haste to leave, she had accidentally brought along the knife she had cut the assassin with. He brought that little tidbit to their attention when they found it. There was now enough substantial evidence to cuff the lady and search the small shack.
There was an overwhelming amount of evidence inside, including a convenient security camera that had captured their earlier conversation after the kidnapping.
At that point, the older couple and goon were arrested with different charges placed on each. Now the only things left were proceedings for the police and the immediate family. Thankfully, a ride was offered by the younger woman. She was shaken, but was grateful towards them.
They would call the tow company in the morning. They got two rooms at a cheap nearby motel as it was the only place with vacancies. Once inside their shared room, the boys talked.
"As much as it was, it actually did end rather smoothly," Shinichi admitted.
"Yea, no thanks to Yamamura!" Hattori chuckled, imitating the tremble in the voice of the mentioned inspector.
"Sometimes I wonder if he's only there for legality. When does an investigation turn from professional to amateur?" the child added. He paused to think past the difficult night, "Hey, Hattori. Why had you wanted to sleep on the floor?"
They had two beds in this room, but the boy could clearly see the other stiffen with that question. There was an uncomfortable silence before the Kansai boy decided to answer.
"I think I know, but I'd rather not say…" he trailed off.
That was effectively the end of their night as neither boy dared to start on a new topic. Shinichi only whispered good night before he turned over.
The sun shone through the dusty windows. The rays created a beautiful kaleidoscope of filth. What do you expect from a dingy old motel? Shinichi had woken first. Despite the multitude of happenstances appearing around him, he couldn't stop the gnawing feeling that Hattori was keeping something from him. Though, it was hard to tell considering his partner's peaceful sleep.
The teen couldn't bring himself to stay in bed any longer, so he began his morning routine. Usually, he would wake the one sleeping, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. 'Can I trust you?' …the words bothered him more than he thought. Hattori had been his best friend for some time, and he trusted him with his life. As well as that, he had been one of the only people with the privilege to know his secret identity when he was shrunk. To lose that trust would be deeply saddening.
The shower he took was cold and lacking water pressure, but he couldn't forgo such a formality after exercising. The detective had been awoken by the creaking of the old water lines. All things considered, he seemed to have thought through his previous worries. At least, he didn't flinch away when Shinichi met his eyes.
"Good Morning," the assassin spoke, voice hoarse from not yet talking.
Hattori grumbled out another morning greeting and slammed his face back into the pillow before shooting up and out of bed. The whole bed was disgusting to be kind, and both boys wondered how they had never noticed the day before. As such, the tan boy went to take a shower.
Once he was done, they gathered their sparse belongings and met the others in the parking lot. Kogoro had called them a taxi to the mechanic shop to pick up their own car and continue the trip. The damages to the older detective's wallet were minimal, having only been an overheat. The workers had replaced the coolant and sent them on their way.
The rest of the ride was lively, with the group making jokes and recounting the previous night's happenings. Of course, Kogoro was yelling about how it was completely him who solved the case. Apparently, he had been the one to get the answers out of the young woman when she woke up.
The ski resort they arrived at was massive and surrounded by snowcapped mountains and swarms of people. They had arrived particularly late, and the crowds were beginning to thin. The structure was covered in window panels, and the warm glow inside lit a dim circle around the base. The dusk snow shrouded the sky with a deep blue-gray hue just barely visible through the moon's help. It was beautiful.
The three teens gawked at the expansive building as Kogoro drove the scenic road towards the entrance. It was far enough up to be snow-covered most of the year, only melting for about a month early in the summer. The driver began to provide information.
"Apparently, the owner of this place has had numerous complaints about some hooligans. The accounts all have something in common. They say that it happened at precisely midnight and without any witnesses around," he stopped to focus on a turn, "Other than that, though, there's nothing else they have in common. The people are wildly different, and the spot it happens in is never the same. Reports say that the person is wearing a ski mask and disappears just about as quickly as they appear."
This seemed to scare Ran, but for an unconventional reason, "You don't think it's a ghost, right?" she asked, terrified.
"Nah, it ain't a ghost. Those don't exist, remember?" Hattori reminded her.
Shinichi was listening, but only barely as he focused on an odd pair of people walking inside. They looked like agents and had their typical black suit and flower. He paid attention to their faces so he would be able to tell them apart if they changed. They were both women, one with long brown hair and the other with short gray hair. The boy assumed the second had dyed hers as they were young. He was too far away to see anything specific, but he took note of how they walked, their general face shape, and their body shape.
Hattori seemed to have noticed his distracted gaze and followed his eyes to the women. He took notice of the same things and convinced the child to look away. If the old man caught a glimpse of those people with their suspicious clothing, he would most certainly go after them.
The burner phone buzzed in the assassin's pocket, and he discreetly looked down. It read the following, 'Hey, Cool guy. I tracked your phone to be near the ski park that I've been scouting. If you don't mind, would you join?'
For once, he wasn't actually bothered by it. He figured that the case Kogoro had been assigned would be boring, and it could bring him a lead. He texted back an affirmative.
'Good, cause it actually has something to do with the Black Organization. I was glad that you had shown up there.' it responded quickly. It proceeded to explain the details that the other agents had already been provided. From what he could gather by the jumble, it seemed that some deal was taking place inside the building. While it was unclear precisely what was being transferred, they had reasonable suspicion to believe that it included arms and ammo. The two included weren't too high up, but they were important enough to have their own aliases. There would be a burly man named Greyhound and a smaller woman named Paloma. He was also given their physical descriptions, but they weren't too helpful without a reference. He and Jodie set up a meeting between himself and the two agents he had seen earlier.
The car finally pulled up to the end of the long drive, and the passengers began to leave. As this was a high-end and renowned establishment, they had a few people approach them to help with their bags. Shinichi, of course, chose to carry the bag containing his weapon himself.
The group was ecstatic to have a presentable room and comfortable bed for the coming days. Because of their contribution, the owner had agreed to let them stay however long they needed to solve the case.
Shinichi had agreed to meet the other agents at 2200 out by the smoking entrance. Hattori had insisted on coming along with them, and the boy had no reason to refuse. So, the two headed out around that time. They had convinced the others that they were simply looking around.
The smoking room smelled terrible, but it was secluded enough that they were able to talk without having to go outside in the cold.
Walking up to the two women from before, the boys noticed that they had changed into more casual clothing. It was evident that they had confused Hattori with Shinichi based on the fact that they essentially ignored the child.
"Why do you have small child?" the grey-haired lady spoke. She had a thick accent and was barely understandable. She was revealed to be named Chamomile. The other agent introduced herself as Dahlia.
"uh, actually, I am Valerian." the 'small child' revealed.