Author's note: I don't own any of the characters I'm using in that story. But they're following me because Gosho Aoyama's been working on them for years, Conan isn't back to Shinichi, Ran hasn't stopped crying, Kazuha and Heiji are still as innocent as new-born babes, Kaito hasn't found Pandora yet and the only mark of love Aoko can show him is swing her mop at him.

So.

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I won't let you take it

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"KID AIMES AT THE CLOCK'S GEM – AGAIN!" the newspaper's front page showed.

Aoko crumpled it with rage and nearly spilled her coffee on the table. She looked through the window into the street, trying to catch the meaning of all this.

Who was he trying to kid…?

And why, after five years, had he decided to try stealing it again? Was it only because the old clock was to be brought down once again?

She was shaking with anger. She took a few deep breaths and attempted to read the article with as much calm as she could. Five years before, at the announcement of the clock's destruction, she had been grieved and lonely – no word could express her relief when her father had told her nothing, finally, would happen to it. That place held so many memories. Even after her dad was gone, and Kaito was gone, too, she still cherished it as much, for it recalled her of times when she had been happy.

The arrival of the two people whom she had been waiting for prevented her from reading further than the first two columns.

"Aoko!" Ran said cheerfully, sitting before her at the café's table. Shinichi was at the desk, taking orders.

"Hey, Ran-chan," Aoko answered, trying to sound just as cheerful. Obviously there was a tiny note of distress in her voice, 'cause Ran immediately asked, "What is it? you don't look well. Are you ill?"

Shinichi put a tray down on the table and sat by his girlfriend. "What's happening?"

"Aoko's not okay."

"But…"

"You look tired," the meitantei said, gazing at her face with an inquisitive look. "You haven't got a lot of sleep these last days, have you?"

"Not much," she admitted reluctantly. "Kid's been busy lately."

"Does he actually intend to steal the old clock's jewel?" Ran asked, pointing at her newspaper.

Aoko shot a glance at it. "Seems so," she said coldly. "And if he does, I'll rip his bones out. This clock's very important to me – I won't let him touch it!"

She had shrieked the last words. Ran looked surprised, Shinichi looked worried. The case of that old clock… it had been his first meeting with Kid, even before he was turned into Conan. The first fight of long series of fights.

But if he remembered well, Kid's real aim that night had been to…

He began to feel his pockets for a paper and pen.

"Why is the clock so important to you?" Ran, obviously anxious to change the subject, said. "Anything to do with Kuroba-kun?"

Aoko blushed deeply, cursing herself for doing so. "No. No, it doesn't."

"It does." Ran grinned. "What's the matter, Shinichi?"

"Paper and pen," he mumbled, rummaging through her bag.

"In the small pocket over there." He found them and began scribbling something down.

"But didn't Kid try to steal that jewel before?" Ran continued. "He was prevented from so by your father, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He…"

"Speaking of this case," Shinichi cut in, still drawing on his piece of paper, "ever heard about the enigma Kid left on the clock five years ago?"

"An enigma?"

"Yeah… right in the middle of the clock's face. Here." He handed her the paper where he had scribbled down the circular enigma. "If you succeed in deciphering it, you might understand what Kid's aim was. And is, I suppose."

"What Kid's aim was?" Aoko repeated, puzzled.

"It looks like a clock's face," Ran observed. "And this… is it katakana?"

"It doesn't make any sense," Aoko said, after reading them.

"If it did, it wouldn't be an enigma."

"Yeah… but usually Kid's enigmas are silly riddles. Are you sure that's from him?"

"Positive," Shinichi said. "Look, Aoko, you should try and find out by yourself. 'Till tonight, you've got time. If you do find, well… you'll understand why he wrote it that way."

Aoko left them soon afterwards. Ran watched her out.

"I'm worried," she told Shinichi. "She's involving herself too much. She looks exhausted… can't she take some vacation?"

"She should", Shinichi agreed. "And… don't worry too much. I'm sure she'll be fine."

'I hope you know what you're doing, Kuroba', he thought.

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Some miles away, one famous magician, preparing for tonight's heist, sneezed.

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Aoko cursed. It had been three hours. She had worked three damn hours on this silly enigma! Three hours lost in the tiny police caravan, with a broken air acclimatiser.

She glanced at her watch. Ten to eight. Kid wouldn't appear till nine, she knew, and the caravan was parked just below the clock tower, so time was kinda running short.

Time…

If you succeed in deciphering it, you might understand what Kid's real aim was.

So Shinichi had said.

But Kid's aim had been the gem… hadn't it?

She came back at the enigma, frowning. The katakana didn't make any sense, so they probably had to be turned into their equivalent in hiragana or kanji. Probably the latter. First, he'd always been quite good at grammar, second, she just couldn't figure the great last magician of the century writing undecipherable enigmas in hiragana.

There had to be a clue… a lead that permitted to read through it all. Where had it been written in the first place?

Right in the middle of the clock's face.

It looks like a clock's face, Ran-chan had also said, and so it did. It was a circle divided in twelve pie parts; in each was written a katakana. She re-drew it, writing them down in kanji.

That helped nothing at all.

Wait. Think. It had been written on a clock's face. In the shape of a clock.

Clock, clock, clock.

There was no hand to accentuate one or the other of the kanji and therefore lead her to a solution.

What about changing one syllable for the next in katakana conjugation? That might work… if she knew which way to go, or else to read.

A clock… clockwise…

Did that mean to go onward? Well, there was no harm trying… she re-drew one picture.

She read. Her brain stopped for a second, and she stared unbelievingly at the wall.

She read again.

And a third time.

"No."

Shinichi had made a mistake when writing it down for her. He had to. 'If he hadn't…

She had to check this out.

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Ten to nine.

Aoko was standing in very insecure balance on the clock's littlest hand, and bending to see the face's middle, where the enigma still was readable.

She compared it with that on the paper she was holding. Her eyes went back and forth between the two until she was perfectly sure they were alike. She checked her reasoning in hope she'd made some mistake somewhere. She found none.

She read it on the paper.

She read it on the clock.

"It's not possible," she murmured.

It read, "I won't let you take this clock's tone."

"It's not possible," she said.

"Seems that you've made an interesting discovery, Nakamori-kebu," a very familiar and very, very close voice said in her ear.

She tried to stand up, stumbled, and was only prevented from the fall by a gloved hand. She pulled herself up on the hand and glared at the arrogant grin before her.

"Congratulations, Nakamori-kebu," he said joyfully. "You've finally understood what the enigma meant."

Aoko found nothing to say, and glared some more. Her hand slowly went down to her side, searching for her gun.

Kid was looking up at the black sky. When he spoke again, there was a note of perfectly measured sadness in his voice.

"Last time I came here, it was five years ago. I was standing where you now are, your father…" he pointed at the trap which led to the inside of the clock, "was here. He tried to warn his men with his walkie-talkie, and I prevented him… like this…"

There was a viuff and next thing Aoko knew an ace of spades had flown her gun away.

He pocketed his card-gun. Aoko looked at the ground. There was a crowd of people down there, pointing and shouting. Five years ago she had been there too, brandishing a sign protesting against Kid. Something like a smile tugged rapidly at her lips.

"Well, I thing my task here is finished," Kid said softly.

"What about the…" Aoko hurriedly looked up at the jewel fitting in the biggest hand. "What about the gem?"

He smiled. And the bells began to ring.

For a long moment they just stood, watching each other, surrounded by the profound, deep sounds.

And that, Aoko understood, had been his aim. Because the clock was to be brought down.

"The gem's a fake," Kid said. "Five years ago my aim was to leave this enigma here." His voice softened a little. "Did you think you were the only one who cared about this place?"

Because the clock was to be brought down. Because he knew the enigma would be considered as an exhibit and the police would oppose to the clock's destruction 'till it was resolved.

But now it had been. She had solved it, right?

"Come to think of it," Kid added thoughtfully. He turned and smiled at her. "Nakamori-kebu had probably found the solution too."

With this he dived in the air, his handglider opening after a few seconds.

"Baka," Aoko thought, watching him flying away. She heard shouts, and the sirens of police cars pursuing him. She didn't move.

Her assistant's head popped up through the trap. "Nakamori-kebu? Are you okay? Did Kid steal the jewel?" he added nervously.

"Yes, I'm fine," Aoko snapped. "And no, he didn't."

"Good," her assistant said, sounding relieved. "The property developers were wondering as to when the clock could be brought down…"

"They'll have to wait," Aoko said. "Look at this."

Her assistant twitched his neck in order to see. "What is it?"

"An enigma Kid left. It's an important clue so the clock will stay as it is 'till we know what it exactly means."

Her assistant looked embarrassed. "The property developers will disagree…"

"I'll talk to them," Aoko said dryly. "Moreover, I'll take care of the enigma."

There was something she had learned when entering the police. When Nakamori-kebu, either father or daughter, was angry, no one dared to protest.

They would have to wait… a very, very long time. The longest possible.

Till Kid's next visit…

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Another chapter up! now, I would be much grateful to you to review. I've got ideas for the end of the story but your comments are always helping me. Making me feel better, too.

Kanji are the usual letters in Japanese, but katakana and hiragana are the alphabets the children learn first, the hiragana being the easiest.