Alright already, I get it plotbunny! *surrenders to Evil Demanding Plotbunny With Fangs that cut in update line*
Kaito supposed that it was high time to use a resource he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of sooner during his own investigation into the strange magician vanishings that seemed to be connected to his alter ego- the many forums and chat rooms that comprised the Internet-savvy segment of the magician community. After he sat down at the computer he'd rented utilizing both a disguise and false name in the Internet café he'd chosen due to its huge size and very large clientele base, Kaito began to surf through the not insubstantial list of sites and forums that he'd memorized hoping to find some sort of clue or lead. His eventual goal was to be able to point tantei-kun and tantei-san in the right direction with any findings after figuring out just how to go about getting the information to the pair.
There was also the rather interesting fact that tantei-kun had definitely seemed to know at least something about those guys who'd shown up at his house and put his mom in the hospital, or at the very least known some information about whatever group that the pair was a part of. The very serious facial expression Kudo Shinichi had displayed back in the hospital, however quickly the other boy had covered it up once he'd realized he was blowing his cover, had immediately raised Kaito's suspicions. This had later led to Kaito sneaking over to Jii's and deciding with a sudden burst of rather mean-spirited but necessary inspiration to corner Kudo and force him into a meeting with Hakuba, in the hopes that tantei-kun would at least let something slip to tantei-san about the men. At least it had been pretty easy to find some old taped radio interviews and a few TV specials containing Kudo Shinichi's voice before his call to Hakuba, since his recall of the meitantei's tone and pitch had been a bit rusty.
He had wanted to be out of Hakuba's house when the meeting between the two meitantei he'd taken such pains to arrange took place (although he'd planted a bug and was recording the conversation for later use, as long as he'd chosen the correct room- Kaito really hoped that Hakuba had met with Kudo in that stupid library.) Kaito had therefore decided to do his current research then risk a quick trip with Jii back to his house to make sure that his mom had locked everything up and to grab some clothes. After she'd been released from the hospital she had finally agreed at Kaito's very insistent urging to go and stay with relatives in another city for at least a week. He also wanted to check and see if the two men dressed from head to toe in black that had been driving that black antique Porsche were still skulking around in the general vicinity of the house; he had a few highly unpleasant surprises in store for them if they were.
Hey, here's something! Finally... Kaito had after a good couple of hours hit what appeared to be pay dirt on a smaller site that was generally used for magicians arranging to either purchase, borrow or rent some of the larger and/or more expensive equipment used in various tricks from fellow magicians. The post's subject was 'The missing- A possible connection?' He was especially interested because the post had just been put up on the site about five minutes ago and it was also the first thread that he had found even remotely referencing the string of vanishings during his search. He clicked on the link to the post and found that the post contained nothing more than a single question, a solitary query that caused his false, bushy white eyebrow to cock in puzzlement.
Hey, aren't all of these vanishing magicians- or at least members of their families- a part of that weird group?
Finding his curiosity most thoroughly piqued, Kaito hit the 'Reply' button and decided to respond with a question of his own. Group? What 'weird group' are you talking about? He chose to not post the reply using any sort of name, though he had been sorely tempted for a few moments to sign the question using the alias '5648/4' before deciding with a small, discontented sigh that the better he buried his larcenous alter ego for the time being, the better. Well, at least until he got a better handle on what exactly was going on, why those black-clad men were in pursuit of him and why even though they looked by appearance to be in the same group as Snake they didn't seem to know with certainty that Kaitou Kid was a Kuroba. Still wondering about that and its possible significance, Kaito clicked 'Submit' only to be met with an error message that indicated there was 'No such post on the forum'.
He blinked twice before checking the main forum page only to discover that, indeed, the thread had apparently been deleted or taken down after not even ten minutes. Well, maybe Jii would know something, he hoped.
"Hey Kudo, I take it you've been following this string of magician vanishings that's been all over everywhere?"
"Yeah, Hattori, I have been. That's what I was trying to get you to call Hakuba Saguru and get information about earlier, remember?" Shinichi sighed and rummaged around for a pen and paper with his free hand as the voice of his friend Hattori Heiji drifted through the line. And now because you wouldn't help me, Hakuba Saguru knows that I'm really Kudo Shinichi...
"Whatever. Well, we've got a magician who's vanished during his finale down here in Osaka now, by the name of Oonishi Isamu. The guy apparently decided to take his Disappearing Act finale a little too seriously last night."
This is the first magician kidnapping that's taken place outside the greater Tokyo prefecture, the shrunken meitantei realized as he hastily scribbled down a few notes on a small piece of paper that would be easily and quickly hideable if Ran knocked on his bedroom door. If this newest case turns out to be connected to the others- and I'm fairly sure it will be- this doesn't look good at all. It hasn't even been a full week since the previous kidnapping; that could be a sign that whoever or whatever group is behind this is getting more desperate...
"...present, though." Heiji was apparently waiting for Shinichi's reply to something that Shinichi hadn't heard due to his thoughts drifting elsewhere.
"Sorry, Hattori, I didn't quite catch that. What was that just now about a present?"
"Well, not an actual present. But that second magician that vanished- uhh, Uchihara Kojiro? He was left bound and gagged in the dressing room belonging to this newest guy."
"Say WHAT?" Shinichi's first thought was that it was a nothing short of a miracle that the second magician was alive; his second thought caused him to narrow his eyes in puzzlement as he finally realized what had been bugging him since they'd found the first magician tied up under the leaf pile at his school. It's not like the Black Organization to leave anyone that could possibly relate any sort of information about them alive...
"He was left in Oonishi's dressing room, sorta banged up but otherwise in decent shape. And he's not all that was left. There was apparently an envelope pinned to the guy's blazer that was addressed to Kaitou Kid."
"Did they let you see what was in the envelope?" Why did they leave the envelope with the magician like that? The kidnappers should have known there would be police swarming the place and I doubt Kid would touch a crime scene that's crawling with cops with a ten-foot pole unless he was feeling particularly brazen...or desperate.
"Ehh, they wouldn't let anyone but the detectives in charge of the scene see what was in the thing. But I did see that it looked like it was a single piece of paper- a note or a letter maybe."
"Is there any way that you can try and get your hands on it? It's important; Hakuba might be able to-"
"What's that guy gonna be able to do? It's not like he's been able to even come close to catching Kid or anything."
"He's classmates with one of the people that he suspects most of being Kaito Kid. If you can find out what's on that paper he can probably figure out a way to get whatever is on that paper to the guy."
"How do you know so much about Hakuba all of a sudden? He didn't seem like he'd be the type to reveal too much about himself even if you two did have a meeting."
Shinichi let out a sigh that mixed irritation and resignation and rechecked that his bedroom door was locked before replying. "Hattori, he knows who I really am now- or rather, who Edogawa Conan really is. No thanks to you, I might add. If you would have just called him liked I'd asked-"
"How the hell did that happen?"
"Long story short, after you didn't help me Kid backed me into a corner, my antidote didn't last for the amount of time that it should have and I wound up passing out on Hakuba's doorstep. Then we discussed some of the suspects after I woke up-"
"Kid backed you into a corner? What exactly do you mean by that?"
"He called up Hakuba using my voice and left him a message that pretty much forced me to arrange a meeting- I don't want to know how Kid managed to get my number. I wanted to warn Hakuba about the guys in black and also try and get what information I could out of him, so I took an antidote and went to meet him. Unfortunately, Agasa-hakase grabbed an older antidote so it didn't last nearly as long as I was counting on." Shinichi quickly grew angry when he realized that Heiji was trying to contain a fit of laughter and not succeeding all that well. "Hattori, I do not see what's so funny at all-"
"Just thinking about what that overstuffed shirt Hakuba's face must have looked like when he saw you pass out and then shrink, that's all." Still trying to suppress a few snickers, Heiji added "You got a couple more minutes, or is nee-chan expecting you? I'm gonna try and snag one of these copies of whatever was in the envelope that they're starting to pass around."
"Alright people! Let's get this briefing underway." Megure looked around the room at his detectives. "As you've all no doubt heard by now, the second kidnapped magician was found a couple of hours ago in Osaka, tied up in the dressing room of another magician who's now gone missing. He was a little roughed up but alive. The hospital has indicated that Uchihara Kojiro could be going home as early as tomorrow afternoon with any luck." Glancing down at the faxed piece of paper in front of him, Megure added in a somewhat more somber tone "Of course, there is this other problem of the letter left pinned on the magician that was addressed to Kaitou Kid..."
"Have you contacted the Kaitou Kid task force about this note yet, Megure-keibu? They should probably see if they haven't yet..." Takagi Wataru didn't like the note or its contents at all.
"Nakamori Ginzo, the head of the Kid task force, has been made aware of the contents, yes. The Osaka headquarters called him almost immediately after they read the note. Naturally I don't need to tell any of you that the contents of the note aren't to be made public until we decide how we're going to handle releasing the information."
"So are we operating on the theory that these kidnappers are going after Kaitou Kid? This note seems to make it pretty plain that they are." Satou Miwako's mind had been churning nonstop ever since the call from the Osaka police headquarters.
"We don't have any hard evidence of anything at this point. All we can do is figure out how to get this letter out there and then watch Kaitou Kid at his next heist, if he even decides to schedule one anytime soon. It wouldn't surprise me if he's decided to cool his heels for a while- it'd be the smart thing to do in his shoes."
"And that train of thought is probably exactly why the kidnappers have left this. Specifically to smoke him out." Takagi glanced down at the copied note with a half grimace.
"Exactly." Satou gave a nod. "And knowing Kid, it will probably work. He's always operated with that No One Gets Hurt policy of his, after all..." Her eyes narrowed as she studied her own copy of the note, four sinister typewritten lines that had been on very plain, easily obtainable white paper inside an equally common envelope:
ATTENTION KAITOU KID
WE'RE GROWING VERY IMPATIENT.
IF YOU DON'T SURRENDER YOURSELF AT YOUR NEXT HEIST
WE MIGHT JUST STOP RETURNING THEM.