So... I just uploaded chapter 3, and now I'm doing the same for chapter 4... However, I also just realized that I made a horrible pun in the title of chapter 3. /bows/ please excuse it.

Disclaimers apply.

Chapter 4: Narrow Escapes

An hour later, Edogawa Conan once again found himself in the presence of Hattori Heiji. The Detective of the West was still partially covered in Edward's blood; he was waiting outside.

"How's it going?"

"I'm actually not sure. It's so busy in there that I couldn't even find someone who could tell me where to go to get cleaned up. They took him to the emergency room, though, so I guess that means his case was still worse than the other people who were coming in." He slouched to a sitting position. "So now what?"

"We wait until he's in a more stable condition, and then we take him over to Dr Agasa's house."

"We spring him? Kudo, are you nuts?"

"I've never been more serious." He described the first encounter with the blond man, which had taken place earlier that afternoon. "I don't know why, but I have this strange feeling that guy is in an even tougher bind than I am. We don't know if he has medical records anywhere, and with the added complication of the apotoxin, I'd like to get him out of there before the doctors start asking a lot of questions."

Heiji looked at his companion as if he'd grown a second head. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized it was probably the best course of action.

Conan looked up at him. "Come on, I'll go talk to a doctor and see how that guy is doing. We can also see if there's somewhere you can get cleaned up." Heiji stood and followed him through the doorway. Once inside, they made a beeline for the nurses' station. "Hey, miss nurse! Are you busy?"

A woman in bright-colored scrubs turned around and looked at the pair. "Why hello, Conan-kun. What can I do for you? Is your friend okay?"

"You know them that well," Heiji muttered.

Conan chose to ignore it. "This guy? Nah, he's fine. I was actually wondering about the blond kid he brought in a little bit ago."

The taller detective decided he couldn't handle it anymore. "Excuse me, please. Is there somewhere I can go to clean up?"

The nurse diverted her attention from Conan's question for a moment. She pointed down a hallway. "If you just go that way, make the first left, and go for a little more, you'll find the men's room."

"Thank you." He made a small bow and walked off in the direction she was pointing.

"Now, what were you saying?"

"My friend brought in a blond kid a little while ago."

"Is he also a friend of yours?"

Conan debated with himself whether to answer truthfully. He decided it would be safer not to. "More like an acquaintance… It's been a while since we saw each other, and I don't even really remember his name. When I saw him today, he was missing his right arm and a good bit of his left leg."

The nurse nodded. "They took him to the ER when he came in, and then they took him to the OR once he was stabilized. You don't have any more information about him?"

Conan shook his head. "Is there any chance you could let me in to see him?"

"Not right now, but if you'll wait a little while, I'll let you know when he's out of the OR."

"Okay, thank you." He bowed and backed away. He managed to find two vacant chairs next to each other in the crowded room, and sat down to wait for Heiji to return.

"So, how's the patient," Heiji asked as he sat down beside Conan. He set his bag, which now contained the blood-stained clothes, on the floor.

"Ten minutes ago, they had just moved him from the ER to the OR. The nurse said she'd tell me when they take him to a room."

"So…"

"Yes." The smaller detective understood that he was asking whether they were still going through with the plan. He took out his notepad, wrote something down, and handed it to Heiji.

They'll probably put him on the first floor. When the nurse comes over here, we'll say goodbye. I'll follow her back, and you go around the outside. Wait until I have the doctor in the hallway, and then take the kid out the window.

Heiji nodded, even though he still wasn't sure whether they were using the best method to accomplish the task.

There was a television in the waiting room, and both pairs of eyes were focused on it when the nurse came over. "Excuse me, Conan-kun. They just brought your friend out of the OR. He's stable and cleaned up."

It took an extra second for the words to register. "Can I go see him?"

"I don't see why not. Follow me."

"I'll be right there. Which room is it?"

"153; just down that way and around the corner." She pointed a finger to the opposite side of the room from where they were sitting.

The detectives shot meaningful glances at each other. Luckily, no one else was paying attention.

Conan put on his kid voice. "Thanks for waiting with me, Heiji-niichan!"

The Osakan teen reached over and ruffled his hair, knowing full-well how much it annoyed the other detective. "You're welcome. Guess I'll see ya later."

They parted, weaving in opposite directions through the sea of people still waiting for their turns.

Conan wasn't quite prepared for what he saw when the nurse opened the door to Ed's room. A doctor had been standing in front of the bed, writing something on a clipboard, but moved to the side at the sound of the turning handle. The patient had been cleaned up, but it didn't make it any less weird to be missing the arm and the leg.

The doctor looked up, surprised as well to see the bespectacled kid. "Hello, Conan-kun." The nurse took her leave then, but the child refused to enter.

"Hello doctor, how is he?"

The doctor, sensing his apparent discomfort, led him to another room. He closed the door behind him and sat down with a sigh. "The good news is that he's stable. We got the bullet out of his leg, and were able to close up all the damaged areas."

"And the bad news?"

As soon as Heiji got outside and around the corner of the building, he started running. He knew that Conan had gotten as much information on the location of the room as possible, while still being discreet about it. Still, he let out a swear word when he discovered that the room was on the other side of the hallway from where he was. He finally found the right window, and saw the back of Conan's head just as the detective and the doctor were leaving the room. The window was already open a couple inches, so he reached his fingers in and pushed it up high enough to squeeze the rest of his body through.

"The bad news is that he lost a lot of blood, and was passed out before he got here. He looks strong, but we have no idea how long it'll take for him to wake up. You're sure you have no idea what happened to him?"

"No," Conan lied again. "I'm sorry… we didn't get there until afterwards."

"That's okay. It's just such a strange case, I wish we had more to go on…"

Heiji looked around and smiled, happy to find the blond kid in the room by himself. "You look a lot better than the last time I saw you," he muttered, approaching the bed.

He looked around for the clothes which had apparently been set aside in the ER, and found them folded on the rolling table beside the bed. He put the pants, shirt, and shoe (which were all too big now) into his blue bag. Then, he slipped the sock over the bare foot, and wrapped the kid in the long red coat.

When everything was ready, he put his ear against the door to make sure there was no one coming. Satisfied, he went back, put one arm under the kid's shoulders and one under his thigh, picked him up, and made his way over to the window.

Conan stood up from his seat. "Thank you, doctor. I need to be getting home soon."

"Didn't you come here to see him?"

"He's not awake… there isn't much I can do."

An expression of understanding crossed the doctor's face as he realized the child's almost-true connection to the patient. "Yes, well, why don't I walk you out?"

Conan made sure no one from inside the hospital could see him, before searching for the other detective.

"You owe me big time, Kudo."

The Detective of the East jumped and turned around. Heiji had the stranger on his back now, covered up by the red coat. "Don't scare me like that! Come on, let's go."

The pair slowly found their way to Dr Agasa's house – slow for Heiji because of the additional burden, and for Conan because that was just how long his legs were.

Ai opened the door a full minute after Conan rang the bell. "Kudo-kun… Don't you know what t-… who's your friend?"

Conan looked at his watch for the first time that night. "It may be 1 am, but I think you'd still be able to recognize Hattori…"

She waved an arm in Heiji's general direction. "Yes, Kudo-kun, I know who Hattori-san is. I meant the blond kid on his back."

"Um… Where's Dr Agasa?"

"In bed, amazingly enough. Now you answer my question."

"Suffice it to say it's not just you and me anymore."

Ai's eyes widened in shock and understanding – she was fully awake now. "What? There weren't supposed to be any more victims!"

Heiji suddenly burst out laughing. Ai glared at him. "What's funny, detective-man?"

"Oh, sorry. You two must have ESP or something, because that's exactly what Kudo said!"

Ai sighed. "Bring him inside, I'll go get Dr Agasa."

End Chapter 4