Ran's been kidnapped! Now it's up to the five DBs + Sonoko to save her!

Chapter Nine

Shinichi immediately started to panic. But then he calmed himself. He called Sonoko as Conan to tell her the situation, as it would seem odd for Shinichi to know.

"Hello?"

"Sonoko-neechan, Ran-neechan's been kidnapped!"

"EH? Ran's been kidnapped! Are you sure about that, Conan-kun?"

"Yeah! She was talking to me when she suddenly stopped talking, and a new voice said she'd been kidnapped!"

"I've got to tell Shinichi-kun at once!" Sonoko hung up, and a minute later, Shinichi's Shinichi phone started ringing.

"Oh, Sonoko, I'm heading back now. What's up?"

"I just got a call from Conan-kun! He said Ran's been kidnapped!"

"WHAT? I'll be there in two minutes. Tell my friends to search the area, and you go and report it the director."

Shinichi hung up, and ran to where he'd left the others. Sonoko wasn't there, but the other four were waiting for him.

Mayumi said, "Is it true she'd been kidnapped, Conan-kun?" She looked very worried, as was evident by her usage of the name Conan and not Shinichi.

"Yeah. Which way did she go?"

"Over there," said Shiho in monotone. Shinichi quickly went that way. After walking about two minutes, he discovered Ran's cell phone on the ground. He quickly scanned the area, but didn't see anything else, not even footprints.

Shinichi returned to the path, and showed all of them Ran's cell phone, confirming that she'd been kidnapped. With no leads, they were forced to comply with the kidnapper's demands.

That night, the five of them plus Sonoko approached the lookout tower. After confirming no one was around, they slowly scaled the tower's ladder, one by one. Shiho stood guard down below, out of sight of everyone, but with a good view of the surroundings.

Shinichi reached the top, and looked around. It was a flat platform. There were no railings. Ran was tied up and gagged in the middle, and Shinichi quickly untied her.

Suddenly, Ran looked right at him and said, "Surprise!"

It wasn't Ran. It was all a trap. Suddenly the ladder fell away from the tower. They were trapped 50 feet in the air.

The Ran that had been there was a dummy, dressed to look like Ran. Then a voice rang out from an internal speaker. "Well, well, Kudo-san, you've taken the bait. I've always enjoyed reading about your successes. But the reason I set this up is for one reason: you dropped out of the public eye. My middle school son always loved reading about you, but when you disappeared, he was saddened. He became so depressed with the thought that you'd died that he committed suicide."

The voice continued, "In order to prove your worth, I have set up a series of trials for you and your friends to complete. Complete them all, and I'll reward you with your girlfriend. Your first trial is: GET OFF THE TOWER. YOUR RULES ARE SIMPLE: NO JUMPING OFF, NO COMMITTING SUICIDE, AND NO USING THE LADDER. THERE IS A VERY SIMPLE WAY OFF, BUT ONLY THOSE WITH A BRIGHT MIND WILL FIND IT."

With that, the doll exploded, and the tower started burning. Suddenly, Shinichi's Detective Boys badge started beeping, and he answered it, without letting Sonoko see.

"Kudo-kun, what's going on?" came Shiho's voice.

"The kidnapper has a grudge, and he's set up a challenge for all of us," replied Shinichi calmly. "The first challenge is to get off the tower, which the kidnapper conveniently set on fire."

Yeah, the chapter's short. I know. So don't PM me about it. The next chapter will be short too. But then the next one will be long, as it's the confrontation! Who's the kidnapper, and why would he try to roast Shinichi alive? Look forward to the next chapter!