Chapter 3: Threats in the Shadows

The distance between thief and detective only grew greater as they went, Conan's considerably shorter legs giving him a distinct disadvantage in this sort of chase. When they reached the stairwell, Conan began to doubt that he would even be able to see the thief on the roof, betting that he'd already be gliding away by the time Conan got up there. He huffed in frustration but, determined, continued up the stairs anyway. At least the museum was only 5 stories tall, but Conan was only on the 2nd level when he heard the roof access door swing open with a loud bang, caused by the sure speed at which KID would have been shoving past it.

The detective didn't slow, still racing upward until he rounded to the base of the last flight of stairs and could then see the still open access door above him. He skidded to a stop, bracing himself against the bottom of the last 13 steps and looking up with wide eyes.

KID was still there, but why? At the door to the roof KID was leaning casually against the door frame, standing in the exit and facing away from the detective.

"I wish you wouldn't visit me on nights like tonight. I wouldn't want one of my fans to get hurt after all, why don't you stop by at my next less publicized show?" Conan could hear the smirk in KID's voice, but there was also a tone of dire seriousness in it.

Who was he talking to out there on the roof? What did he mean he didn't want his fans to get hurt? Who was in danger and why? Was he talking about Conan, a warning not to show himself?

Conan squinted against the light of the moon that was shining down through the door, trying to see KID more clearly in spite of how the moonlight gleamed around the edges of his suite. He could barely make out another detail: KID had his arms crossed over his chest as he was leaning against the door frame and in his left hand, tucked around so it could only be seen from behind him, was a red handkerchief.

The realization of what that meant made Conan tense with an anticipation of danger. 'A red flag, definitely a warning. But why? What's happening? What could be dangerous at a KID heist?' The words his father had called to say to him just before the heist were still bouncing around in his head, making him more readily jump to the conclusion of danger than he normally would have.

Drifting down from the roof, Conan could barely make out a gruff, manly voice that responded to KID's earlier statement. "You're not the only one who can hide in a crowd. If you die here tonight, there will be no need for anyone else to get hurt. Step out here."

KID crumpled the red handkerchief until it was a concealed ball in his hand and casually strolled out onto the roof, placing his hands in his pockets as he went. He didn't glance back to see if Conan was there, he knew he would be: KID showed no inkling that there would be anyone else to the person on the roof. He disappeared from Conan's view again, his bright white suit blending him with the intense light of the full moon as he exited.

The door began to slowly swing shut and Conan quietly and hastily climbed the final stairs up to it, keeping close and low against the wall so he couldn't be seen from outside. Before the door could fully close, he placed a hand out and stopped it so it was left open by only an inch, where he could peek out from the edge without being seen.

He peered out and his eyes widened, his body going rigid. Out on the rooftop was a man dressed in a dark trench coat and hat, appearing as black as ink in contrast to the moonlight coming down on him from the other direction. With the moon silhouetting him from the opposite side Conan couldn't make out any discernable features in the dark shadows of the man's face, but he could tell this guy was large, strong, and, above all else, he was holding a gun…. And it was pointed directly at KID.

'What should I do?' His father's warning played again in his mind. 'If I don't do something he could be killed! But, I don't know how many of them there are either, and I already used my weapons trying to catch KID earlier!' He was now regretting not saving one of them in case he'd need it. He tried to remind himself that KID was a capable person, that he could take care of himself, but wasn't that exactly what his father had been saying earlier? That if the original KID was a capable and talented person too and he still died, then the new KID could potentially meet the same fate? If this man with the gun was dangerous enough he'd successfully killed the first KID, wouldn't he be able to kill the second? Especially if, as Conan feared, he might be a part of that one group he'd been fighting [3]…. Conan involuntarily shivered at the thought that his thief might be playing games with people as dangerous at Them.

Conan was trying to consider his options when KID spoke again. "Working alone tonight, are we? Where's your usual posse? Or did you not want to share my attention tonight~" KID teased as if it was all fun and games, but Conan was thankful because it was exactly what he needed, information. This gunman was alone then, only one threat to handle. How much of a threat this one man posed was still yet to be seen, but at least Conan knew there weren't more lurking about.

"I don't need them to deal with you," the gunman responded with a growl. Conan could hear the door at the bottom of the stairwell open beneath him, down on the ground floor. No doubt it was the fans hoping to storm the roof and see the thief off as he glided away with his white wings. But tonight, if something wasn't done to turn the tables, Conan couldn't help but think instead they'd be finding a dead thief, and the perpetrator would probably blend in with the crowd after they arrived and slip away without being caught.

'Not if I can help it.' The time for planning was quickly running short, with people now ascending the stairs behind him he knew he had less than a minute left to do something before the crowds got here, and no way would the criminal still be out in full view with his gun when they arrived. He'd probably shoot KID, duck into a corner or behind an A/C unit, and then merge with the crowd when they got here, which meant a shot would be fired some time in the next 20 seconds or so. Conan had to think of something fast, something that didn't expose him to the gunman in case he became the next target, but that would also help KID out of this situation.

Or, even if it did expose him to the threat, some way to save the thief and arrest the man in the coat so he wouldn't have a chance to report to his colleagues, whoever they may be.

Conan had only thought of one course of action to save the thief, but it would put him at great risk of being exposed himself. He was still weighing his options when a low-volume and threatening-sounding comment from the thief made the gunman growl, KID glaring with a dark and ominous smirk as the gun was aimed more directly at him, and Conan knew at that moment that his time to decide was up.

With all the force his specially designed shoe could exhibit he braced his upper body against the center railing of the stairwell and kicked at the outer edge of the door, making it fly open so suddenly and with such force that it swung around 180-degrees on its hinges and fully collided with the outer wall it was built into. The resulting acoustic was so loud and startling it, in and of itself, sounded like a heavy gunshot piercing the air that could probably be heard for a mile in any direction.

The sudden resounding noise surprised the gunman and caused a second bang to be produced less than half a second after the first one, as he was involuntarily startled into firing a shot. His aim was off though since he'd been caught off guard and, at the slam of the door, had reflexively tensed and turned toward the sound. The tip of the gun moved enough to face away from the thief, a bullet firing way off mark and whizzing onward into the dark sky above, gone into the distance in an instant.

KID couldn't help but himself be pretty terribly startled at the sudden unexpected and ear-splitting, considerably louder than even a gunshot, sound. He didn't let it truly faze him though, the only change for him being that he jerked out the flash-bomb he'd been cradling in his pocket instead of pulling it out fluidly as he'd originally planned to. He was going to drop it in front of him before Snake could shoot and make his departure off the roof but instead, with Conan at risk of becoming a target, he threw the bomb down between Snake and the chibi-tantei, shielding his own eyes with an arm as he sprinted back towards where Conan was. The detective was blinded just like Snake, neither of them prepared for the intense flash of light.

The flash ended in moments and Snake tried to squint his eyes open, but even so KID was nothing but a blur of blinding white as he struck out across the rooftop, the light of the full moon glinting brightly off his stark white outfit and making it impossible for Snake to really see him from where he was standing, catching the moon's reflected beams full-force. He tried to fire some shots anyway, a couple piercing through KID's longer and easier to target cape, but none hit the main body itself.

'There goes the possibility of snagging Tantei-kun and flying away,' KID thought internally. Adjusting his plans, he snagged the handle of the door and swung it shut again with all his might, quickly swinging it back into place before Snake could fire any more shots. He turned and wrapped both arms around the short detective's waste before kicking open the door to the 5th floor of the museum. Conan was still blinded by the flash grenade that had gone off and struggled against the arms that had grabbed him, unsure of who it was that had him. If it was the gunman trying to whisk him away to be killed he would struggle with all his might, for sure, but a low and angry growl made him stop his struggles.

"Tantei-kun, don't." It was a harsh whisper, and Conan instantly froze for two reasons. First, because he recognized the thief's voice and name for him, and knew he was safest with the thief carrying him. And second, because KID actually sounded pissed off and Conan really didn't want to risk angering him further. He'd heard the Kaitou happy and amused, had heard him bored, seen him at least pretend to be sad before. He'd witnessed startled leaps and surprised yelps, and listened to a frustrated growl or two; he'd even heard him complain and whine on rare occasion, but he'd never seen the thief angry before. Annoyed maybe, but not like this for sure. So he went limp in the thief's grasp, only moving to grab onto the arms around him instinctively to ensure he wouldn't be dropped, and didn't say anything as his eyesight soon returned to him and he could see them move through the 5th floor of the museum.

[3] As it is in canon, I don't clearly state if KID and Conan are fighting the same group or not. KID knows that Conan has been in some sort of trouble with a criminal organization but neither of them seem to know for sure if they're the same ones or not. (However, I will say that it is my personal belief that they almost certainly are the same group. For one, because they both have some relation to seeking immortality, what with a jewel that supposedly grants it and probably intentional attempts to make a drug that makes you younger. Not only that, but if they were different groups then KID's is still way too underdefined; we know who the boss of the Black Org. is in canon now, if they're different groups then we'd still know too little about KID's for Aoyama saying that it's supposedly coming to an end relatively soon, especially when you factor in that the first ever time the true identity of the boss was introduced was during a KID-related episode. As a writer who's thus usually good at predicting likely plot development, I also think Aoyama-sama intends to have KID get involved in helping take down the organization at the end. Maybe use Pandora as a bargaining chip or diversion, maybe something else, hard to say really. He's clearly still fond of his older creation of KID though, and enjoys having Conan and KID work together. So basically, I don't see how they could not be the same organization, they pretty much have to be right? Unless…. We get a whole second series about KID then taking down his separate group after the main Conan series finishes and then it's the turn to see how Conan plays into it if KID is the main character…. That'd be cool, but I'm not gonna even hope for that haha.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you have a moment, reviews are much appreciated~! ^^