Wow this has been a crazy summer so far. Its been so HOT here and of course for some reason my boss is having me work more shifts than anyone else. (I can't tell if that's a good sign or not) I do still have time to write though so do not despair! Here is the possibly awaited chapter with Conan and Takagi, the part I would find more interesting if I were reading. So I hope you like it!

Also thank you so much for all of the favorites, alerts and reviews! I can't beleive how many people like this story and I hope I don't disappoint!

Disclaimer: Just by putting this here I'm telling you I don't own this...

The next morning Takagi and Conan woke to a bright light streaming into their faces. Conan, who for the past year has been living in paranoia and caution, shot immediately into a sitting position, alert to any danger. Takagi, who for the past few years had been a working man with late nights, early mornings, unpredictable hours and annoying alarm clocks, grumbled angrily and rolled over before he remembered the previous day and shot up as well. Both now awake detectives turned to the stairs leading to their cage as the sounds of footsteps filled the room. Itoumo was walking towards them, two bowls in his hand and a sneer on his face.

"Well good morning, sleeping beauties. You look like you've slept terribly." Takagi blinked at the man's words. Did he really look that bad? On second thought, if he looked half as bad as he felt, then yeah probably. But did Conan look that bad too? The man turned slightly to see the boy leaning over the side of his bunk, his legs dangling in the air. The officer grimaced slightly at the child's appearance. His bruises had darkened immensely overnight and now dark, multicolored spots covered the boys body and half of his face was a deep purple-red. In addition to that, the terrible night's sleep had left dark circles under his eyes that even the boy's large rimed glasses couldn't hide. His hair was in such chaos that you couldn't even see the cowlick standing up in the back. In the gray concrete of their cell, the bright red showing through the makeshift bandage on his bullet wound brought a surprising splash of dark color. Takagi felt a stone of doom settle in his stomach. Ran would kill him if she saw Conan like this, and considering her karate skills that wasn't just a saying.

A low chuckling sounded from the gate, and Takagi turned back to see that Itoumo had already reached the ends of the stairs and was working on unlocking the food gate. The office forced himself to stand and went to meet the kidnapper. Tabby slid the two bowls through the hole but stayed silent during the exchange, a large yawn splitting his face. As Takagi grabbed the bowl he heard an angry grumble complaining that it was "Way to early for this".

Turning back to the bed, Takagi winced as Conan jumped from the top of the bed to the floor. The bunk had to be at least three times the boy's height... not that that was really saying much. The bed wasn't really that high, but it sure seemed that way when someone as small as Conan was jumping down from it. Not for the first time Takagi questioned letting the boy take the top bunk, but he knew that it really was for the best. Without any of his handy-dandy gadgets, the only hope Conan had of helping to defend the two of them was jumping on one of the cats from the top bunk or tripping them from the ground. In reality it probably wouldn't make any difference, but in a war you always wanted the higher ground.

Handing the child one of the bowls, Takagi sat down on the side of his bed to eat his breakfast. Some kind of oatmeal, it didn't taste bad but there wasn't exactly a lot of it. Certainly not enough to completely fill the hole in his stomach. Conan was looking in his bowl with the same dismay that Takagi felt. Then he sighed and began eating, the officer following suit a few seconds later. It wasn't like anything they did would get them more food anyways, might as well just eat what they had. As they got near to the bottom of their bowls, Itoumo started talking.

"Don't you two think you can try to get away with hiding the silverware like you tried yesterday. I may not be as smart as Lion, but I can count two bowls and spoons."

From the corner of his eye Takagi could see Conan rolling his eyes, and he had to bite back both a chuckle and the desire to do the same. It would be idiotic to try something they'd gotten caught at yesterday, especially because of how obvious it would be if one of the two spoons were missing. For all of the planning Itoumo seemed to have when they were first kidnapped, it seemed as if Lion was the only who really had any brains. But he probably wasn't lying about being able to count to two. Takagi handed back the now empty bowls without incident, barely listening to the criminal's rambling speech. It was becoming rapidly apparent that Tabby liked to speak for the sole purpose of hearing his own voice. Suddenly the man said something that caught the officer's interest.

"Yeah officer whatever-your-name-is, we have plans for the kid, but you we're just going to kill. Ha, we're counting down the days of your murder and you can't do anything to stop it! You can't escape, you can't fight, you can try begging but it won't get you anywhere. Six days. You have six days before you're dead and the kid... ha. Like I said we have plans for him, wonderful plans. Well, wonderful for us at least. You probably wouldn't like all of them... or any of them. You kid... well, you'll learn to like 'em. You won't have any choice." With an abrupt turn the criminal started up the stairs, menacing laughter trailing behind him. The duo remained silent until the door closed behind the man, Conan watching him dubiously.

"You know," The child began " I bet he stands in front of a mirror practicing everything he says." Takagi nodded, eying the space the man had been speculatively.

"I hate to say it Conan-kun, but if that's the kind of intellect Lion has in his little group right now, I can see why he would want to recruit you." Conan nodded, a ironic and wry smile on his face.

"You almost feel sorry for him."

"I don't."

"Yeah, not really." There was a momentary silence, then Conan spoke.

"I guess they don't know that we figured out about how they replicate old murders. It didn't seem like it at least."

"How could they? I never told anyone about my theories, not even Satou-san. Unless you told anyone I can't think of anyone else who might have figured it out."

Conan shook his head. "I wasn't involved in any of their other cases so I didn't pay much attention to them. I had noticed the frequency of cases with their M.O and thought it was getting suspicious but I wanted to go over some old case files and get some evidence or at least find some bases or precedents to back the theory up before I took it to anyone."

Takagi nodded, attempting to look solemn about the news while inside he was marveling. That was the longest and most intelligent spiel he'd heard Conan say without covering it up with a fake little kid smile or lie. Who was he going to take it to? Not many officers appreciated the child's genius like he did, but wouldn't Conan have said so if he was just going to tell him. More importantly where was he getting case files from? Especially because he would have to search in ones that were years old. For the first time it really hit the officer, this would be a great opportunity to observe his little test subject. The kid was already slipping up much more than he realized. Earlier he knew a lot about the officer case, one that happened before he was supposed to be born. The seriousness of their situation was making him forget to cover up and hide... whatever the secret was. This was his chance to finally figure out the truth! Just in time to die... great.

Takagi let out a half-amused snort at the thought. Conan looked at him curiously, but the officer shook his head to show that it was nothing. After giving the man a strange look, the boy rested his chin on his thumb and fell back into his ponderings. Takagi began to ponder as well, though his thoughts were far from his young companion's. He finally had the perfect opportunity to make everything make sense and he was determined to do so, even if it was the last thing he did. Which, considering his current situation it may very well be.

But he wouldn't learn anything from sitting next to the pint-sized private eye in silence. Sure body language tells a lot and eyes are the window to the soul, actions speak louder then words, blah blah blah. Truthfully, Conan could lie all he wanted with his words and little kid talk, but he couldn't lie with his body. During everyday cases the boy would most enter elevator mode when silent, mentally reviewing and deducing the matter of a case and the evidence. Takagi had hours of body language data in his metal library of Conan anomalies. What he needed now was words. The incredible theories, vast vocabulary, and slight slips he said when his mind was occupied with a case. The time of intense concentration where the boy was no longer Conan, when everything seemed to fade out for the boy and he no longer hid behind masks or lies. That was what Takagi would need to solve the Conan Case.

He had to find some way to draw the boy into thinking out loud without making the boy clam up or making his suspicious. It wouldn't do to simply ask him about his ideas. That would only get him a stupid "How would I know, I'm just a kid" Or something to that effect. The man knew from experience that trying to get answers led no where; any data he had had fallen right into his lap. He just had to be observant, and be ready when the clues came. Suddenly he realized that a slight mumbled droning had started during his mental tirade. Conan was very, very quietly mumbling to himself as he thought.

Takagi allowed himself the smallest of smiles. His luck was a strange thing. He had no clue how he could simultaneously be the person with the best and luck in the world. Like one time when he was the officer whose car had a bomb in it... yet he'd somehow escaped the blast unharmed. Or how he was the one who ended up stuck in an elevator with a bomb... with perhaps the only person alive who could decode the clue and still stop the bomb. Or even how he was somehow able to catch the notice of Satou, but was interrupted every time they tried to kiss for months. Best luck and worst luck at the same time, it made no sense.

Oh well this wasn't helping anything. He stopped his musing and began listening to Conan's soft dialogue. In the hours of waiting in the small cell, the only sound to be heard was the soft murmuring of a child and the steady breathing of an adult. For hours it seemed Takagi sat in silence, amazed at the boy's intellect, now being shown in ways the officer would never have believed before. He listed for the scarce slips the child made, the anomalies between him now and the life he had established as Conan, the mention of dates far beyond his age, occasional mentions of Them ( though the child never said who They were). All in all the fuzzy picture was becoming clearer, excruciatingly slow and confusing, but clear none the less. Still he knew he was still missing something, or several somethings. For a moment he wished he had his trusty notebook. It always helped him to focus, and while he didn't actually write down his theories about the child it contained all of the cases they'd been on together. He wondered where the book was now.

Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs opened. Conan quieted as both of them looked to the top of the steps, surprised to see Lion there rather than Tabby. He was alone too, the lower ranked man was nowhere to be seen. The two captives didn't focus on that long though, their attention focused of the lethal man walking to their cell, with what looked like dinner held in his hands. Takagi's stomach rumbled at the sight. It had been hours since their meager breakfast, and they had received no lunch. By now both captives were starving and the waited with baited breath as Lion neared them. He stopped at the foot of the stairs. Takagi rose, knowing even as he did so that it was a useless act.

"You know I don't want you, officer," Lion's harsh voice sounded, putting both disdain and scorn into the man's title.

Despite everything in him telling him otherwise, Takagi forced himself to sit back down as Conan hopped off the bed. Learning from last time the boy stayed well out of arm's reach from the door, his piercing gaze fixed on the fiend standing on the other side of the cage. The man returned his stare, but made no move to give the food. Finally Conan spoke.

"Well?" The man smiled, as if he had won some battle only he knew of.

"Well, what?" The man replied. Conan nodded towards the plates in the man's hands, but got no reply until he actually spoke.

"The food, aren't you going to give it to us?" Lion smiled again and Takagi's jaw clenched as he realized what the man was doing. It was all mental games. He was trying to make Conan subconsciously view him as a leader, doing small things in attempt to show authority. When he first came in and was watching Conan, he was really attempting to stare the boy down. And Conan had unwittingly conceded when he spoke. Then Lion made Conan talk to him before answering his question, by refusing to answer with just motions, the man had practically ordered Conan to verbally ask. And Conan had unknowingly obeyed his command.

Takagi's hands formed into fists and Lion looked up, alerted by the small movement. The two men's eyes connected for a second, and Lion sneered when he saw from Takagi's eyes that the man knew what he was doing. The sneer changed into a deep glare, sending the officer a silent message: if you value your life, say nothing. The felon's eyes then returned to the child before him, who had seemingly missed the fast exchange. Takagi glared, but knew it would do no good to say anything. Lion spoke, and Takagi realized he was responding to Conan's question.

"Beg."

"Huh?" The boy blinked, confused.

"If you want the food, beg." Takagi forced himself to refrain from an eye roll. So much for subtle mind games. Conan however, still seemed slightly in shock by the request.

"Y-you... want me to beg?" The man smirked at the boy's owlish, confused face.

"Yes, Kitten. Something like: Please give me dinner Lion-sama." Finally Conan seemed to understand what was happening, and his confused face morphed into one of anger and defiance.

"No."

"Say it if you want to eat."

"No."

"Then you go hungry."

"I don't care."

The man sneered and nodded back at the officer, "Perhaps you don't care about going hungry, but what about your friend? If you don't get food, than neither does he. Will you really allow him to go without food when you know he is so hungry?" At that it seemed as if the boy's resolve faltered slightly. He looked back to his fellow captive with worry and doubt in his eyes. The officer felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. Unusual or not, Conan was simply a child. The boy shouldn't be worried for him, an officer. He shouldn't feel the responsibility of making sure Takagi was safe, or fed. With these thoughts in mind he forced his most convincing smile.

"Don't worry Conan-kun I'm not that hungry. I'm an officer, remember? I'm used to living on a cup of microwave noodles a day."

A small smile ghosted on Conan's face, but Lion's only let out a glare so murderous Takagi rethought the saying about looks not being able to kill. Conan looked back to the man.

"No." Suddenly the glare was gone and the fiend's face returned to his usual calm yet harsh exterior. He seemed to be back in control.

"Fine then. See you tomorrow Kitten." With a swift turn he headed up the stairs, never once looking back. As usual the man's presence brought on a moment of silence between the two prisoners. Finally Conan spoke.

"I didn't think I'd see him again until you week was done. Well, I hoped I wouldn't see him."

"Yeah, seems Lion-sama likes to start training early." Takagi replied, saying the name mockingly. Conan snorted softly, "Even Itoumo just called him Lion." Then practically silently, so quietly that Takagi wasn't really sure the child even spoke, he breathed " And They only refer to Him as That Person, so..."

Takagi blinked, but knew he hadn't been supposed to hear and therefore not supposed to reply. The two settled into silence that lasted until the lights went out, starting a hungry, once again sleepless night.