Reviews make me smile.
"Sorry if I worried you," came Shinichi's somewhat rushed, hissed reply through the radio after a few increasingly tense, panicked moments of silence had passed between the group. "I'm fine, just had to dust myself off. This blonde hair got in my way after I jumped down, that's all."
"Umm, okay" muttered Kaito, very relieved that the guy (Boy? Guy? Eh, whatever) he had come to consider a friend was alright, but at the same time wondering why Kudo had put such a strange emphasis on the color of the wig he was currently wearing. "So how close are you to the room? Don't tell me that you've damaged the supplies in your pack when you dropped out of the harness or something like that! That stuff is expensive and kind of explosive to boot."
"No, everything is fine here. I'm watching the area like a hawk to make sure that no guards are coming and that the coast is clear."
Kaito cocked an eyebrow; there was that weird emphasis again! Wait just a doggone minute...blonde...hawk...aww, please don't tell me he's referring to who I think he is. The thief shut his eyes and rubbed his temples lightly with his free hand, accompanying the gesture with a sigh before pressing the button and responding. "I assume there's, eh, some other unannounced company down there that doesn't really suit our plans?" Kaito figured if someone else (read: a certain constant-freaking-thorn-in-his-side blonde meitantei) either had the radio in hand or was listening to it while Kudo was talking, they'd assume Kaito was referring to the other burglar who was currently attempting the exact same theft.
"Exactly," Shinichi instantly replied, his tone full of happiness since the clever master thief had picked up on his clues and figured out what -or rather, who- he'd been referring to. Yes, Kudo, I got the hint. Kaito rolled his eyes. He wasn't stupid, had Kudo thought he wouldn't figure it out? This was followed by a frustrated narrowing of eyes at the thought of the half-Brit irritant shoving his ego-filled way into the place. Dammit Hakuba! Why tonight of all times do you, that stupid bird Watson and that really ugly suit you like to wear have to show up to this particular building? Kaito made a face. Eh, he probably also figured that the real killer and burglar would go after the statue, and they did show up exactly like we thought.
But I wonder, why is Kudo not just saying his name since I know he knows Hakuba and they were even working together with him on this same case? Hakuba's probably stripped his disguise off by now and knows he's working with me. His eyes widened slightly as he realized that Kudo was probably trying to not let Hakuba know who precisely was on the other end of the radio; this was followed by him shaking his head sadly. He appreciated the effort, but Kaito knew it was more than likely fruitless thanks to the fact that Kudo had been in a disguise, albeit not nearly as elaborate of one as the thief normally prepared. Hakuba would smell Kid's involvement immediately. Hang in there, Kudo. Hakuba's really annoying, but he won't kill you. Arrest you maybe, or bore you to death perhaps...
"Radio silence from here on out, we'll meet at B." With that highly nonspecific statement- no need to name off the number of people or give any of those sort of details out after all- Kaito snapped off his two-way. He then began racing towards the large stand of trees they'd chosen as one of four possible regathering spots in case something had gone wrong- like Hakuba Saguru showing up and poking his arrogant nose in where it didn't belong.
"So." Saguru began evenly as he gently grabbed Shinichi and placed him onto a table once the blonde wig and wig cap had been softly yanked off of Shinichi's head and tossed aside. "Please do tell me, Edogawa Conan, when you and that idiot mentor of yours, Hattori, were going to get around to telling me that in addition to myself you're also working with Kaitou Kid to solve this series of robbery cases and the murders involved?" Both Saguru's eyes and tone had filled with ice and venom as the question was asked, not that Shinichi could blame the other meitantei for his current anger. He had desperately tried to communicate that Hakuba was here without using the other boy's name because of the disguise Shinichi had been wearing. He had been hoping to play dumb and buy a few minutes for the others before the disguise got taken off, and luckily it seemed like Kaito had picked up on his coded message quickly.
"But it wasn't Kaitou Kid-" he began in as innocent an whiny a tone as Shinichi could stand to muster, still trying to play for time as best he could.
"Oh, don't start up with that. Don't try and lie to me, even if Hattori or Kid told you to." Saguru glared and emitted a derisive snort as he pointed to the wig and cap that were laying on the ground to their left. "That thing over there on the ground and those colored contacts of yours have that thief's style written all over the both of them." He turned around and walked back over to the area in front of the door leading to the room containing the statue, then turned slightly and looked (OK, more like glared) back at Shinichi over his shoulder. "I had a funny feeling after seeing that report on television earlier that either Kid would try and take the statue so he could see what was going on with it that was worth framing him for murder over, or the real culprit would show up and try to steal it. Looks like both of my assumptions were correct." He allowed himself the ghost of a smile. "What a mess."
"Don't you want to help Kaitou Kid? You contacted Ha-eji-niichan and asked him to meet with you. You're the one who-"
"What I want," Saguru snapped, "is the truth. Isn't that the very highest calling of a detective? To find the truth?" He then slowly began approaching the table where Shinichi was sitting with folded arms and a cross expression. "And I mean the truth about more than just the robbery cases" he added harshly, giving Shinichi a knowing, pointed look that made the tiny meitantei break into a sweat instantly.
Oh, crap...how am I going to get out of this one? Shinichi was just beginning to try and figure out how to even begin wriggling out of this rather dire situation when a rather loud boom echoed from the end of the hallway that Shinichi instantly recognized as a gunshot. Before he could fully finish processing what had just happened- A GUNSHOT?- he suddenly saw Hakuba move quickly in front of him, then felt himself lifted up off the table as flecks of something warm lightly washed over his face. This was moments before Shinichi was tucked firmly into the one-armed grip of the other boy, who was currently running like hell with a very pained expression on his face while looking back over his shoulder. Wait...this smell...it's blood! But I don't feel anything... Shinichi's eyes widened as he realized that that was due to Hakuba quite literally having taken a bullet for him; the other boy's Inverness coat was slightly tattered on one side at about the middle of the left forearm and there was definitely blood now dripping down onto the white tile floor from that same arm, which was now dangling limply at Hakuba's side.
"Apparently someone doesn't care too badly who gets hurt over the things," hissed Saguru quietly through his arm screaming at him in pain as he tried to find another exit that didn't take them directly past a gun-wielding criminal who had already fired at least once. "He was aiming right for you, you realize. Luckily the light at the end of the hallway caught the muzzle of his gun just in time." He looked down at Shinichi and winced before asking "Where's that B place at, dammit? They went to radio silence. I know that idiot Hattori and Kid both have to be there, at a minimum. We all need to get out of here now!"
"I-it's a stand of pine trees about five yards to the back. Outside." Shinichi had barely heard the question; he was still trying to come to grips with the fact that he had damn near had a bullet rip through him. That wasn't helped by the fact that as bad as Hakuba's wound currently was, superimposing that same wound and damage on a seven-year-old body instead of a seventeen-year-old arm was no laughing matter. It definitely caused Shinichi to whiten a little at the mental image of what could have been.
"Wonderful. A place that we still have to get to," growled Hakuba through clenched teeth. The wounded arm had gone from merely throbbing to feeling like it was on searing fire, and he really wasn't sure how long his lone good arm could keep holding the strange boy; it was beginning to shake slightly from the exertion of the solo effort even if he didn't weigh that much. "Wait, what's that?" He had just spied his hawk, Watson, madly circling up the hallway slightly from them. She apparently had the intelligence to not screech or otherwise make noise at the moment, for which Saguru was greatly relieved and thankful.
"Hey, let me up on your shoulders," Shinichi said in a somewhat demanding tone. "I can feel your arm shaking from carrying me, and I think that's an emergency exit up there-look, there's a ladder hanging down partway from it."
Saguru tried to help Shinichi onto his shoulders as best he could with one good, shaking arm and Shinichi managed to scramble up onto his shoulders after a few frantic moments. With Saguru providing the boost to his height, Shinichi was just able to reach up and yank down the ladder. "Let's get out of here!" he yelled, running the rest of the way up the ladder and slamming the exit open. Watson quickly followed, then finally Saguru, who slammed the lid back down firmly. "Good riddance to that place." He then stood up while wobbling slightly, gently cradled his shot forearm and added "Now to figure out where the ladder down is..."
"Hey, who's that up there? We heard a gunshot in there!" Heiji was calling up from somewhere down below them on the ground.
"Is it really smart to go running around and yelling like that after you've just heard gunshots, Hattori?" asked Saguru quietly but imperiously as he and Conan made their way down the ladder they'd finally found leading down from the roof, the half-Brit clutching the hurt arm and wincing after they'd finished coming down. Watson perched on Conan's shoulder instead of Saguru's and settled herself in, seeming to realize that her master was hurt.
"What the hell happened to your arm?" asked Heiji after he walked over; Jii and Kaito had decided to hide themselves back at the original meeting point they were supposed to go to.
"And you call yourself a tantei." Hakuba just shook his head and said this in a somewhat amused tone before Heiji's eyes grew wide with realization.
"Wait a minute, that was aimed at you?"
"Mmm, no." Hakuba glanced down at Shinichi, who had an almost dozing Watson still perched on his shoulder. "And now if you'll be so kind as to summon Kid, who I am sure has at least a medium-sized motor vehicle of some persuasion since he carried you all here. I'm afraid this wound is going to require some medical attention."
Heiji dashed back off towards the bushes, and once he'd fully vanished Hakuba very gingerly took off his coat. "Would you mind holding this for me? Easier to try and do some pretreatment on the way without wearing it."
"Alright." After all, it was the bare minimum that Shinichi could do for the guy who had at a minimum saved him from some serious injury. It's just too bad that the robber is going to get the statue...Damn it, all this for nothing! After Saguru placed the coat into his hands, Shinichi began folding it up for easier transport and heard something hard hit the ground. Something must have fallen out of one of the pockets, he realized as he began to paw around at the ground. Watson suddenly leapt off Shinichi's shoulder and danced around a bit, the hawk hopping up and down on top of something laying in the grass. Shinichi figured it was whatever the object that fell out of Hakuba's pocket must have been.
Just then, the lights of the van they'd hidden deep in the woods came around the corner, and Shinichi's eyes widened as the light washed over what he was holding and he realized that he was clutching the jade Buddha statue that had been the targeted object of their theft in his hands. He looked over at Hakuba in a state of shock, the other meitantei currently busy slowly removing his suit jacket and gingerly rolling up his shirtsleeve. "But...is this...?" Shinichi found himself unable to form the sentence. Did he really tuck this into his pocket before we even got there? He seems like such a straight-arrow law-and-order type...
"Sometimes there are things that must be done to get to the truth. The path of legality and the path of truth don't always run parallel to each other- as you and Hattori both seem to realize already," explained Saguru without emotion as the van pulled up to them and its side door opened.