Christmas at the Beach- Chapter 2
Magic Kaito- Fanfic 1
Started 6/28/2012
"No news is good news, right, Aoko?" Keiko patted Aoko's head the next morning between classes. She had clicked her mobile phone shut after checking the news for Kaitou Kid's message.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Do you want to go to the exhibit this Saturday? If we go in the morning, it shouldn't be too bad." Aoko nodded in agreement, her heart only half-aware of her movements. Keiko wasn't fazed. "We'll talk about this later in the week."
Later, Aoko was walking home with Kaito. "With" in a loose interpretation. He was off darting from one side of the path to the other, looking at one thing, then something else. Aoko stayed in the center of the empty path with her best friend running like a puppy with too much leash freedom.
"Hey, Aoko, look!" Kaito's voice and his pointing finger directed Aoko's attention to the river. A pair of winter geese were flapping their wings into flight, droplets of water falling from their bodies and sparkling like diamonds as they melded with the flowing river once more. Aoko could not help but smile.
Kaito had said nothing about her mood, rather, he continued to be himself—annoying—but not overly so. Nor did he overtly try to bait her anger. Then here he was, at the end of the day, showing her the beauty of nature. It was enough to give a girl a headache.
"My mom came home last night." Kaito said, walking backwards to look at Aoko while he walked. "She would be really happy to see you again."
"I'll have to say hello sometime, then."
"Not today, though, her internal clock is out of whack. She was awake until I left for school." Kaito fell into step with Aoko. "How's the Inspector?"
"Dad? Disappointed. He thought Kaitou Kid would really want the bracelet. Now he's not sure since it's already open for the public to see." Aoko looked side long to Kaito. "I just hope I didn't push too far with this bet thing."
"He's a grown man, and you know he's not going to back down now."
"You're right." Aoko sighed. "I have to buy groceries for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow, Kaito."
Kaito stopped walking to watch Aoko's retreating back, the winter breeze tugging at her skirt and mussing her thick brown hair. He muttered at the wind, "No blowing her skirt up, that's my job."
"A note has been issued by Kaitou Kid. Police Inspector Nakamori Ginzo was sent this note via the Museum of Eastern and Western antiquities. It says, 'I let you enjoy the Silver Duchess Cuff. Tomorrow at 9:36 pm, I will take it for my own. Kaitou Kid.'" The news reporter announced, showing pictures of the bracelet and note on the screen.
Aoko paused, the pot of oden bubbling noisily at the table, unattended.
"Inspector Nakamori, this is the third note this month from Kid, will you capture him this time?" A field reporter was on screen with the police force running in the background.
"My duties demand it." There was a fine line of tension in his jaw that Aoko noticed. He wasn't going to say the real pressure in catching the thief on national television. Winning a bet against his sixteen year old daughter was not necessarily the best reason to catch the elusive Kid.
"Will the museum be open tomorrow, and will it be showing the Silver Duchess Cuff, Inspector?"
"Yes, there is no need to worry. Listen up, Kid!" Ginzo grabbed the microphone and glared into the camera. "You do this honorably, you hear? No injuring innocent people who pay to see it, got it?"
He relinquished his hold on the microphone and turned away from the camera, walking off to work.
"Thank you, Inspector Nakamori. Back to you."
The screen switched back to the station and Aoko looked down at the table. Time to pack a bento.
In no time, the food was packed and she was bundled up against the cold. She hurried to the museum. Oden is no good to eat cold.
"Ah, Aoko-chan." An officer of the police detail greeted Aoko at the door. "Bringing the Inspector dinner? What is it tonight?"
"Oden. Can you tell me where he is?"
"I'm not rightly sure." He lifted his radio. "Inspector Nakamori, your daughter is here. She has oden, what's your location?"
"Main atrium. Let her in." The radio popped and went silent.
"Like I was going to stop you." The guard pointed her in, and the other officers let her pass.
With a smile and a chirp of 'thanks,' Aoko breezed into the main room. The gaze of several guards went unnoticed as she entered the large room.
Surveying the area, she found her father in the center of the room using and ancient table as his headquarters. She could see the blueprints of the museum as she waited for someone to tap Ginzo's shoulder and point to her.
"Tousan, I brought dinner!" Aoko held up the wrapped thermos box and handed it to Ginzo. "There's fresh coffee in there, too."
"You're the best daughter a man could hope for. It's getting late. Get home safely. Call me when you get there and sleep early." Ginzo put an arm around her shoulders as he led her back to the entrance.
"Catch him, Tousan. I believe in you." Aoko smiled and rushed into the cold.
"Alright, let's do this people!" Inspector Nakamori roused a cheer from his men.
Keiko heaved a sigh. Akako blinked her long eyelashes at the disturbance. Keiko sighed again. Aoko looked up from her notes.
"What's the matter, Keiko?" Aoko asked, half expecting to know the cause of her friend's plight.
"Kaitou Kid is going to steal the Silver Duchess! We won't be able to see it!" The girl wailed dramatically.
"There are other exhibits to see." Akako spoke up. "The Silver Duchess Cuff is not the only new item on display."
Keiko dissolved into a blubbering mess, one such that the mention of Kaitou Kid did not tempt the inner fangirl to awaken.
Aoko absent-mindedly rubbed her friend's back in silent comfort.
Later that day, Kaito asked her on the way home, "Are you going to visit your dad?"
"Hm? What did you say, Kaito?" Aoko was in her thoughts. Kaito repeated his question.
"No, I don't think so. I don't think it's a good idea. I have split interests in this after all." Aoko pondered aloud, "Maybe I should go to sleep early."
"9:30 is a little early, even for elementary school kids." Kaito joked, but his laughter died on his lips before they bubbled out. Moisture glistened in her deep blue eyes. Worry misted over before getting obscured by her bangs.
"Kid wouldn't hurt my father, would he?" Aoko's voice was small, but Kaito was always acutely aware of her feelings. Well, except for when he was pulling pranks on her.
"He doesn't want to hurt anyone. Including the Inspector. I'm sure."
"Yeah, you're right. He's just a flamboyant, egotistical, attention seeking trickster who wants an audience. Audiences, even volunteers for acts, are meant to be entertained. They're not in harm's way." Aoko smiled and linked elbows with Kaito, making his heart skip a beat, before leading them to the edge of the market. "I'll buy you dango."
Kaito wasn't about to turn down food.
The heist was about to begin. Kaito told Aoko that his mother was still keeping mid-European time and that she was sure to be off kilter until the end of the week. Taking his word for it, having been on the receiving end of Chikage's jet lag before, Aoko gave him one last appreciative pat on the arm before rushing home to a pile of distractions. All of which would keep her away from live news, the internet, and people.
Now it was just before nine; 8:57 to be precise, and Kaito had finished his triple check of the devices in play. Inspector Nakamori was being sneaky. Only his own personal team would be inside the room with the bracelet. All the other guards were in the rooms beyond and on the perimeter. Men in the power switch room wore gasmasks and night vision goggles. Kaito did not envy them; though possible, wearing both head pieces was frightfully uncomfortable. This was not going to be a stealth in the dark mission, especially since Inspector Nakamori put the district's best hand to hand combat fighter on that door to protect the electricity.
The guards at the skylights were well armed; tranquilizers and tasers alike. The windows had laser motion detectors, steel bars and guards like the ones on the roof. Doors: front, sides, back, and loading dock were all covered.
There was no way in.
So, naturally, Kaito was already in the room with Inspector Nakamori and his direct team. He had, like a teenage citizen of the city, bought a ticket and walked straight in. He asked forgiveness for the interruption, but told the Inspector, that contrary to the now routine appearance of his dauther on the night of a promised heist, that Aoko had decided to wait at home. When asked why he was there, the boy replied stoically, "I took it upon myself to tell you her customary 'good luck'."
Ginzo gave a grunt of approval, clapping a hand on Kaito's shoulder. A detective called for the Inspector and in that moment Kaito disappeared.
As darkness fell, Kaito moused around in the crawl space between the roof and the ceilings of the rooms below. Even if the police made it up to his secret paths, they wouldn't get far by following the trail in the dust. Kaito had spent the entire first hour going through every available path, purposefully sweeping up the grit and grime. Now he knew every turn in the building.
The devices he had put into play were simple, more junior high haunted house than mastermind magician. But it worked, so he used them.
9:36 on the dot.
The lights went out. Or so the police thought. They only thought so because the room was suddenly devoid of light. Inspector Nakamori was yelling into his radio and cries of "there's nothing wrong" and "he hasn't been here" echoed in the room.
Silent timers and blackout fabric, material Kaito was incredibly grateful to have as his curtains for the east facing window in his room, covered the directional field of light from the overhead lamps. Effectively creating the semblance of darkness, the second trick came into play. Gas cans, hidden in the bases of the posts that held the red velvet 'do not cross' dividers, went off simultaneously. There was three-fold use for the gas: cut down visibility even more, force the guards to sacrifice the use of one hand to cover their nose and mouth, and to discern the placement of the laser sensors.
Gas mask in place, Kaitou Kid fell to the scene from his hiding spot. The heist had begun.