30: Grave Mistakes (Continuation of Gravely Mistaken)

Shinichi smirked, fearlessly ignoring the gun pointed at his chest, to instead stare into the eyes of the man who held it. The detective was far from stupid; he stood on the balls of his feet prepared to dodge the moment the trigger was pressed. His plans didn't include dying tonight. In the shadows, Shinichi could hear the others waiting for his signal. He still couldn't believe they'd agreed to this harebrained scheme. He still couldn't believe he'd even thought it up in the first place.

~o0o~

Unable to reach the doorbell, Conan knocked three times instead. A minute passed, just as he was beginning to think that no one was home, the lock clicked and the door cracked open. A woman with short reddish-brown hair and eyes, red from crying, peered out. "Hello", Conan greeted professionally, "I am Edogawa Conan, a detective. You are Kuroba Chikage, yes?" The woman nodded timidly and opened the door the rest of the way to invite the shrunken detective in.

They sat in the living room in silence for a moment. "You were there when he… Kaito was fond of you." Chikage suddenly said. "He always complained about the 'little Tantei-kun, always ruining my plans', but I could always tell how happy the challenge made him." She gave a sad smile.

Conan smiled too, before his expression faded. "Kuroba-san, the identities of the two KIDs remain undisclosed for your safety. As far as anyone else knows, you are ignorant of the actions of your husband and son. Nobody even considers that you could possibly have been Phantom Lady."

Chikage tensed, inhaling sharply.

"Don't worry", Conan said, not pausing long enough for her to say anything. "I don't care about your past. I am here for only one reason." He caught her eyes and held them, "I am here to follow my only lead in the Kaitou KID Case."

Chikage shook her head, "I can't let you! If you investigate this they'll kill you too!"

Conan's cool stare silenced the ex-thief. "I am a homicide detective, this is my job – my life – it's just what I do. More importantly is that Kaito – KID – was my respected rival. I'm sure we could have been friends. I owe him a lot. The point is, if I can't solve the murder of someone I consider a friend, then what kind of a detective would I be?" He smirked at Chikage's continued hesitance. "I also have quite a few aces up my sleeve. I will catch them, even if I have to pull in every favor I have."

Chikage smiled gratefully, "you really are something Con-chan. Kaito couldn't have picked a better ally." She stood up, "he left you something in his will. 'If that child going by the name Edogawa Conan appears he alone shall receive my secrets.'" Chikage recited. She led the detective up a set of stairs and into a messy bedroom. "I suppose that he meant this", Chikage muttered, stopping in front of a portrait of a magician mid trick. "Kuroba Toichi, I presume." Conan said. Chikage smirked, "more than that."

She placed her hand on the frame and pushed, the picture turned easily. The new picture depicted the same magician, but dressed in the eye-catching white suit of KID. "I'll be… making tea." Chikage said and left. Conan suspected she hadn't entered Kaito's room since his death and doing so now was hard for her. Exhaling, the detective carefully pushed on the picture. Again it turned, but this time Conan passed through the hidden passage.

Yelping at the unexpected drop, Conan landed with a thud on a sturdy armchair placed under the entrance. The lights flickered on and Conan gasped. The black and white checkered floor shone, making the space seem bigger. A white car sat on one side (how the hell did that get down here?) and there were shelves full of gadgets, tools, and books on the other. One wall was covered in mirrors, curving so that one could see their back as well as their front, next to a door that opened to an extensive disguise wardrobe. There were several workbenches where Kaito had obviously been tinkering, experimenting with chemicals, crafting masks and fake gems, and doing research. It was… "fantastic" Conan breathed.

The entire room, though large, had a used and comfortable feeling. It seemed to whisper hints at secrets, and yet like a library demanded silence in return.

Conan smiled softly, of all people, he gave this to me. The detective jumped off the chair, feeling as though he'd just been accepted into something magical, and walked toward the middle of the lair. A tile compressed under his foot and the mirrors suddenly opened. Conan nearly jerked back in fright at the sudden movement.

A row of white suits, crisply pressed, greeted him: the full KID paraphernalia. A box held several monocles and there were several slots with variations of his card gun's ammunition. They were helpfully labeled: grapple, card, smoke, bouquet, message, etc. Tearing himself away from the interesting tools of the magician-thief trade, Conan walked over to the desks. KID was meticulous; he would have compiled evidence and would have records – a diary of sorts.

Conan opened the first journal eagerly. His face fell into a scowl. "Why did he need to write in code when everything was already in a hidden room!" The shrunken detective groaned, stupid paranoid thieves! With a sigh, Conan got to work. He had a feeling that the clue he needed was here somewhere.

It took a long time, long enough that Conan was glad he'd told the Mouri's that his parents were taking him on a vacation, for him to finally crack the code. There was an account of rescuing Phantom Lady, and then thief 1412's creation to cover up her retirement. Following that first entry was a long list of thefts, complete with the target's name, building plans, a detailed account of the heists themselves, and newspaper clips. There were no mentions of any enemies or dangers to KID.

Replacing the first journal on its shelf, the shrunken detective grabbed the next. It was in an entirely different code than the first book. Sighing heavily, Conan worked on cracking that too. At least this time it wasn't in vain.

There was a passage about an organization offering to pay KID to steal large gems, if it wasn't the one they wanted KID had permission to return it as usual. The only descriptions of these men were that they wore black. Conan kept reading, hoping to find more evidence. His respect for the KID's grew with each journal

Nearly a week later, he finished all of what could be considered the autobiography of the KIDs. An extensively detailed tale it was, too. He knew every word they'd spoken, every plan they'd made, he knew KID. More… Conan knew how the KID thinks and he knew what the KID wanted.

Smirking, Conan brought out his cell phone. "Haibara" he said as soon as she picked up, "I'm going to need a temporary antidote."

The shrunken scientist's sigh raked across the line a moment later, "I take it you've got a plan to avenge KID. Is it really that important, Kudo-kun?"

Conan glanced over at the thief's white suit, "yes."

~o0o~

Nakamori Ginzo could honestly say he wasn't surprised when he came into his office and found Edogawa 'the KID-killer' Conan waiting for him.

The strange child had been stoically distraught after KID, aka Kuroba Kaito, died in front of them. While Ginzo would admit that the child and KID had been the greatest rivals, he was still uncomfortable with how quiet and depressed Conan had been after that day. With the number of other murders the brat ran into, it was logical to assume that the kid would go after the KID's murderer.

With a sigh, the inspector realized that he had been expecting this outcome.

The child was obviously sleep-deprived, he had dark circles around his eyes and his hair seemed messier than usual, but he had the same triumphant smirk he had always worn when he'd uncovered KID. Nakamori silently offered Conan a cup of coffee. "I assume you found something." Nakamori said in a tone that differed immensely from his usual rough voice.

Conan chuckled darkly as he sipped the coffee, "I talked to Kuroba-san. She let me into Kaito's room." Ginzo flinched at the name, something the young detective didn't miss. "I found a number of journals written by the KIDs." Nakamori's head jerked up and Conan continued. "KID was hired by an organization; they wear all black and have animal code names. They wanted him to find a special gem called Pandora. Pandora was said to grant immortality and the organization was more than willing to kill for it. His own nobility and abhorrence towards death and pain led KID to decline, but beyond that he decided to find Pandora and destroy it. He wouldn't allow anyone else to die for Pandora and wouldn't allow murderers to get their hands on it and become immortal. To get rid of KID, the organization killed Toichi, and then Kaito when he took up the mantel."

Conan's gaze burned with righteous flames. "You were close to both the Kurobas and KID, I therefore think it only right to offer the destruction of their killers to you."

Ginzo grinned dangerously and leaned forward, "what do you have in mind?"

Conan matched the inspector's expression as he said innocently, "well… I know a certain thief who would certainly draw them out and I have someone willing to play the part. I'm sure the organization has spies in the police, so gather a number of people you trust unconditionally, and prepare yourselves. You're going hunting and I have a heist to plan."

~o0o~

Shinichi took the gem from his pocket with a relaxed manner that contradicted how he really felt. Keeping his cool gaze locked on the assassin, Shinichi raised the gem up so that the moonlight could shine through it. "What a shame." The detective said, "it's not what you are looking for… Snake."

Snake glowered at the detective and aimed his handgun at Shinichi's heart. "We killed Toichi, his assistant, and I personally killed the magician's blasted son, so… who the hell are you?"

Shinichi smoothed out the white suit he wore and adjusted the top hat to cast deeper shadows over his eyes. "Well, I'm not a magician and I'm not a thief. KID always called me a critic. I suppose right now, I'm just KID's phantom, here to finish his work." Shinichi calmly put his hands in his pockets, this was the part he was good at: laying out the facts.

"Through the years, the KIDs have used themselves as targets, drawing out you and your organization and following the leads when you inevitably made mistakes. They compiled a more than adequate amount of evidence to put you all behind bars; the only problem was making an actual arrest. The police most definitely wouldn't have taken the word of a thief seriously. Until KID Junior was murdered. Kuroba Kaito's murder drew an undeniable connection between KID and Toichi, KID Senior, two murders to which you just confessed."

Shinichi smirked and slowly raised his right hand. "Even as we are talking here, your buddies are being taken down: five snipers and three get-away-car drivers. You were sloppy, and I doubt you had the time to properly prepare with the manifesto being posted just this morning, meaning your communications aren't being scrambled or hidden in any way. By tracking their radio's, we will find your hideout and take down your leader and the entire organization!"

Shinichi snapped his fingers, a predetermined signal, and jumped to the side as Snake fired. The shadows seethed as armed policemen swarmed out towards them. Distracted, Snake gave Shinichi the perfect opportunity to tranquilize him with his watch.

Snake swayed as he tried to fight off the effects of the sedative. "This branch may fall, but the Black Organization has many more." He slurred, glaring at the teenage detective before succumbing to the drug.

Shinichi stared at the unconscious man, frozen with dread.

The police radios crackled, "success. The zoo is closed, mission success, over."

Inspector Nakamori walked up to the white-clad detective, grinning in victory. "Kudo-kun, everything went exactly as you said. They panicked with the return of 'KID' and were sloppy, we've got them!" Shinichi shook his head, blood cold. "We got one branch." Nakamori-keibu frowned. "What?"

Shinichi shuddered, "there's a saying, 'don't let the left hand see what the right is doing'. Unfortunately, I may eventually have further use for your services. The organization the KIDs were attacking is gone, but I fear that, like a hydra, the organization has several heads." Ginzo shot him a confused and anxious glance, but Shinichi just shook his head with a sad smile. "I'm afraid I must go, inspector. If you have any further questions, direct them to my cousin. Conan can answer in my stead. Also, I think I'll keep this suit as a keep sake, if you don't mind."

The head of the previously dubbed 'Kaitou KID Task Force' could only nod dumbly as Shinichi stalked to the edge of the building. I still have my own branch of the Organization to dismantle, he thought sadly, at least now you can rest in peace, KID. With a sigh at the closure of the KIDs Case, Shinichi relaxed. Then, with a grin that said 'why the hell not?' The detective leapt off the roof. With a thrilled 'whoop!' Shinichi let the hang-glider snap into shape and flew off on his borrowed white wings.