A/N:Time for the next chapter.

Chapter 16 The second heist

Hattori Heiji stared at the boy in front of him for a long moment. He was stunned at the fact that this seemingly ordinary boy had turned out to be none other than the extraordinary detective Kudo Shinichi, his arch-rival. He had always heard people brag about the great detective's deductive abilities, but never did he think he'd be standing before the real thing...

"Kudou...you're my rival...I never thought I'd meet ya in person." Heiji admitted in shock to the young detective, who just looked at him and shrugged.

"Funny things happen all the time, Hattori," He said dismissively. "Now, who is the murderer here? It has to be you...her sister!" He cried, pointing at the woman's sister, who was crying hysterically.

"Why would I have killed my sister?" She sobbed.

"Don't lie...to me! You have your fingerprints all over this gun, don't you? You hated her enough to want to kill her...am I right?" He said.

The woman was indeed proven to be the killer, and was arrested. As Megure's men took her away, Heiji turned to Shinichi.

"Can I come with ya to the heist?" He asked eagerly.

"Sure," Shinichi said. "But be careful not to mention that you're a detective to the Nightmare Inspector-he'll flip his lid."

Hattori chuckled as well. "I'll be careful, Kudo."

"Yeah...you be careful," Shinichi said as the case ended and they were allowed to head home.

The next day, Shinichi was not expecting to be called down to the office by one Inspector Nakamori, but it happened; his cousin also tagged along, much to Shinichi's delight-it was always good to have someone sane come along with him. The Inspector wasn't exactly the most sane person on the face of the earth, so to have someone by his side who happened to be sane was a good thing to have.

"Hey, meitantei-san, you glad I'm coming with you? I hear Nakamori can be quite a pain if you're not ready for his temper tantrums!" Kaito taunted, waving a bouquet of roses in his hand as he walked along with his cousin, who just snorted in response.

"Baarou, you speak as though you've dealt with it daily." Shinichi said sharply, noticing how his cousin winced as if he had hit something deep within him.

"...Perhaps you're right." Kaito said softly.

Shinichi looked at him oddly before turning away, lost in his thoughts. "Hmm...Kaito, you've been acting funny lately. Like I noticed before, you're not hiding anything from me, are you?"

Kaito froze again. "No, definitely not, meitantei-san! The way you're interrogating me lately is like you think I'm a common criminal or something!" He yelped.

"What if I were to tell you that I did think to some degree that you just might be KID? Your attempts to distract you from whatever it is you're hiding have not completely detered me, Kaito. Maybe you know who KID is and you're covering for him. I'll know what you're hiding sooner or later." Shinichi said, in clear detective mode now.

Kaito shivered. 'Damn, he's really getting close to the truth.' "Cousin, relax. There's absolutely nothing I'm hiding."

"Look, I'm telling you, you're hiding something. Stop denying it." Shinichi said. His gaze softened. "Please...I really don't want to believe that my dear cousin is KID. But if he is, I have to take him in."

Before Kaito could reply, Shinichi looked at him for a moment. "You know, I want you to come with me to the heist next Saturday. If you are KID, you won't appear-if you aren't, I'll know. Just let me know you're not KID. I really don't want to believe you are."

Kaito froze. 'It's just like what Aoko had me do before.' "You really are crazy!"

Nakamori banged open the door to his office and came out laughing. "You see, here's the latest KID note. I told you he's still around, idiot!"

The officer beside him flinched.

"I can decipher that note, Inspector," A silky voice said as Saguru appeared behind the Inspector. His eyes narrowed as he took in Shinichi and Kaito. "Ah, if it isn't the upstart detective and the thief himself."

Shinichi widened his eyes slightly and looked at Kaito, who flinched. "It's crazy Saguru again. Still acting like something died in your body, huh?"

Saguru rolled his eyes. "As witty as ever, Mr. thief. We'll see how witty you are when I catch you." He threatened.

Shinichi glared at him. "I see you're fond of picking on my cousin, huh?"

"Half the time, he deserves it, Kudo. You're the same as he is."

Shinichi sighed. "Oi, Kaito, see here? It's not everyday you run into a person with an ego the size of a blimp," He hissed in his ear.

Kaito burst out laughing and disappeared and reappeared behind Saguru. "Hey, Saguru...you look like you could use a good haircut. Try some of this!"

There was a puff of smoke and suddenly Saguru's hair was bright blue. Saguru screamed and ran out.

"KUROBA, YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

Kaito laughed hysterically at his little prank while Nakamori argued with the other officer.

"I told you, KID is not dead!"

"It's been a while since I heard that name," A new voice said. Shinichi heard high heels clicking as someone stepped into their line of view. It was a woman with short blond hair wearing wire-rimmed spectacles. She was smoking a cigarette and was quite beauitful.

Shinichi couldn't help but get a sense of deja-vu upon seeing her face. 'Where have I seen her before?' He wondered to himself as the woman stopped in front of them.

"Who are you?" Nakamori demanded.

The woman continued, as though she hadn't heard him, "The name's Sharon. Sharon Vineyard."

Shinichi's mouth dropped open. "You're the one we met in New York city last summer!"

"You know her?" Kaito whispered.

Shinichi nodded. "She's the mother of a famous American actress, Chris Vineyard. Kaasan is friends with her."

Kaito stared at him in disbelief. "Dang, you're famous."

"Baarou, it's just what comes from having celebrities for parents," Shinichi sighed.

Sharon turned to meet them, her cerulean eyes gleaming. "Oh, it's been a while, Shinichi-kun. How have you been, Cool Guy? Where's Angel at?"

"Ran? She's not with us right now." Shinichi said apologetically. 'How'd she know that was Ran's nickname? The only one who called her by that name was that woman we met before.'

"Too bad. I wish I could have gotten to see her. I've heard all about your cases. Yukiko-chan talks a lot about you on TV. You're famous now, too! Who is this behind you?"

"I'm the one and only Kaito Kuroba!" Kaito announced.

"The son of Toiichi Kuroba? I trained under him, you know. Yukiko-chan and I learned our detective skills from him. He taught us acting and expertise in disguise, too. It helped out my daughter's career a lot, too, when I taught it to her. You've become quite handsome. I just came here because I hoped to meet the famous KID in person. I suppose I've missed all the excitement, Cool Guy." She winked at them both.

Shinichi got a strange feeling upon looking at this woman. 'What is it about her that sets my nerves on edge? It's like...It's like there's something not quite right about her...but what? What could be wrong with her?'

She smiled at him. He shivered mentally but kept a calm face. "Um, where are you headed?"

She smiled again. "That's a secret. I'm headed somewhere very important." She turned and walked away without another word.

"She was creepy..." Kaito shuddered.

"Yeah..." Shinichi trailed off.

Vermouth smirked as she continued down the street. Once she was sure she was out of earshot, she took out a phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, boss. I'm sure I've found KID. I'm pretty certain of this. Let's take him down at the next heist."

She smirked. "No, I'm not leaving anything out."

'Cool Kid, I don't want you to get hurt. Stay out of this for your own good.'