Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, but I have some good news. I'm proud to announce that I will release a double chapter on the first week of February. It's to make up for the lost time and my almost one year hiatus.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. How many times should I mention this?

The Moment Where Everything Was Lost

Part I: The Eclipse

"We balance probabilities and choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the imagination."

Sherlock Holmes (The Hound of the Baskervilles)

Chapter XXVIII: Black Contact: Kaito's Trick

"Kudo, she's on the move, and she's picking up some speed. I'm going in," Kaito was in the control room of the Beika Police Headquarters. "Okay, be careful. Go to Haibara and borrow her Detective Badge for a while," Shinichi was on the other line of the conversation. "Roger that," Kaito hung up and followed Shinichi's orders.

"You can't go alone," it was Heiji trailing his back. "You know that no one else can do this but me," he replied, giving off a faint smirk. "Idiot, we're not exactly in the position of advantage. They know we're tracking them."

"Wait, what?" Takagi suddenly barged in the middle of the conversation. "They know we're following them?"

"Yeah, they know it from the start. I don't know the entire plan yet, but knowing Kudo, he thought of this right off the bat and on-the-spot. It was rather sudden to know that the boss showed up to him. I flew all the way here when I received his text," Heiji explained. "Was it Kudo-kun's idea to evacuate everyone?"

"Yeah, he instructed me and Kuroba and gave out some orders. He said that he'll put a transmitter on the boss. Kudo knew that the boss will find out that they're being tracked," he explained. "Then why do we need to go there? It's a trap!" Takagi exclaimed. "Idiot, think, what do you think should we do. Wait until something happens before we try and catch them. By that time, they would've killed thousands of people. This is the best way, but it is risky, but Kaito can manage."

"He'll be going alone? Why?"

"Because this isn't war. This is a battle of wits. We're going in to steal whatever information Kaito could get. As of now, the organization itself is a mystery. Going where the boss is headed would shed some light. Well, I'm the only one who could do this. Am I right?" Kaito said without question. "Yeah, Ryujin would kill us if he knew, but we have no choice. You better get going, Kaito."

"Hey, you called me Kaito," he snickered a bit. "Don't get too full of yourself."

"But, Kaito-kun, what if they catch you?"

"They won't kill me if that's what you're worried about. Whatever the outcome, I'm still an asset. They could use me. Killing me would be wastes to them, so nothing will happen, but I won't get caught, don't worry. I'm off. Let's not waste time."

"Kuroba-kun," it was Haibara, appearing beside Kaito. "Haibara,"

"The last time we went face to face with them, we got lucky. This is not some game anymore nor is it some magic trick. You can't apply your poker face here. Once you get there, do not follow the boss. You will end up dead. Find some other passageway and extract whatever information you can get."

"Why can't I follow the boss? Judging from Kudo's description, she doesn't look all that strong."

"Just because she's a woman doesn't mean she's weak. I'm telling you. She's more deceptive than Vermouth. Watch out, Kuroba-kun. Now, get out before the others find out. Only we know Kaito's mission and Kudo's confrontation with the boss. Inspector Takagi, please keep this a secret."

"Okay," he accompanied with a nod.

Kaito's bag appeared out of nowhere and went near an open window. He slightly made an opening and stepped out onto the ledge. With a quick boost, he ended up jumping outside, falling. A second later, his hand swerved to his right, pulling a tiny handle with a fishing rod line tied to it. Along with an audible shrill of cloth, an air glider appeared behind him, causing him to rise into a steady line.

"Kudo, do you read? I'm in pursuit."

"Yeah, I can hear you. I'm headed to the headquarters. We're going to prepare a back-up just in case. Be careful. I'm sorry for the short notice," he said at the other end. "Don't sweat it. We're bound to come over missions like this eventually. By the way, they're expecting us. How do you think will they welcome me?"

"I have a hunch that they won't do much. I'm more afraid that they might feed you with a faulty lead. We won't be able to differentiate what is real once we go there, so I'm trusting on your hindsight, Kaito."

"I'm feeling the same thing."

After gliding in midair for thirteen minutes, the transmitter came to a stop. Kaito found a mansion on a private property on the borders of Beika city. It was a large property surrounded with pine trees with the mansion in the middle.

"Kudo, has this always been here?"

"Yeah, but I never thought that there was a mansion inside. All I se every time I pass through there are trees. What else can you see?"

"Nothing, the lights are out. That's odd. It's 7pm already. There are no cars and no security also."

"Kaito, they're expecting you," he hesitated to say at first. "I better cut the connection. I'll make this quick," he cut the connection afterwards.

Kaito landed on trees on the far right of the mansion. There were nothing but grass on the ground, and the sway of the trees accompanied him through the silence. Not even insects played a tune on the early night. Yet midnight was far away, it felt as if it was late at night already. He couldn't see the lights of the buildings from across the metal guarded borders of the place. Kaito turned his head from left to right in search of surveillance cameras. There were none just as he predicted.

Why are they too lax? Something's not right here. It's weird doing this without the Kaito Kid costume, but I can't drag him here.

Kaito crawled to the safe places of the surrounding, avoiding making sudden rustles with the grass, and as he came closer to the mansion, he noticed something off. There were absolutely no lights. Even from the inside, nothing could be seen. The faintest glimmer of a candle was the only thing he was expecting but there really was none.

"Kudo, there's no one here."

"Ka…wait…what do you…can't…call…properly," the reception was awful. Kaito could barely understand Shinichi's words. He couldn't make out the sense of the words itself. "Kudo, I can't hear you," then he heard it.

Kaito acted fast. Seconds to none, he heard a whirling sound towards him. It was fast. It already passed him, but where it came from was still a mystery. A second whirling sound came across him once more, barely missing him by a few inches.

Harpoons? I can't see properly.

He closed his eyes and stayed put. There.

He laid out a giant white blanket in thin air, and projectile came in contact with it. The blanket whirled towards the tree with the projectile stuck between it. Kaito analyzed the whirl and projectile. He took a few moments to think fast.

It was spinning in a counterclockwise manner. The projectile's about 28cm with a blunt top. It's obviously to leave me unconscious. They're aiming at my stomach. Now, I need to find where it's coming from. Judging from how the blanket misdirected it to go down, it means the projectile was light, so the one who shot it has to be near, about 250meters, north-east.

Kaito took out his card gun and pointed it 45 degrees, north east. In a quick pull trigger, three cards flew out straight into darkness. He heard a loud bump after.

The thing that fell wasn't heavy. It was audible, but it clearly wasn't from an equipment that shot a harpoon at that speed. It's a trap. It looks like they're here after all. Time to give them a show.

"Hey, I know you're all there. Be amazed at my magic show. It's to die for."

Kaito held up a tiny detonator, and without a minute to soon, he threw his bagpack in the air and pressed the button. The back burst in flames and took off, omitting fireworks from its side. The fireworks now whirled and bounced throughout the forest, covering the entire area with smoke. The sparks ricocheted to trunks and bounced off branches. It caused some of the trees to even catch flames. He heard the bushes near let out a crackle.

It's time.

Kaito pulled out a pair of white gloves and put them on. He then on grabbed a lighter from his pocket and combusted his gloves into flames. His hand was now a burning fireball, but Kaito gave off a smirk and clapped, making his other glove catch the flame.

"Time for the finale," he murmured to himself.

Everything came fast. One second, Kaito was standing still and in the next moments, he snapped his fingers a trail of blaze circled around his fingertips. He ran and his hand left a fiery trail. He raised his right hand and finally, snapped it, causing a big circular flame to engulf the trees of the property. There was no trick like it. The flame danced within his hand as if he controlled it. He swayed it forward and splashing a wave of fire that raged through the grass.

"Last but not the least," he clapped his hand above his head and one big wave of fire came surging out in thin air, covering the trees with flames and leaving the place, full of smoke and ash.

"He's good," a voice appeared through the smoke. Kaito soon vanished after the clap. "I know, but he's rather too flashy with things. Smart but too flashy. He purposely set this place on fire to attract the people outside. Now, he's probably on his way inside, trying to get some information," another voice said.

"You're right."

"Boss, what do we do next? This is a tricky situation right here."

"By the time the police get here, nothing will be left. Leave Kaito to me," she said, walking towards the mansion. Kaito snuck in the back door of the mansion. He found himself in the kitchen of the place. It was dark, and there really was no one there. He closely listened to coming footsteps or out of the patter sounds, but to no avail, he came up disappointed. He was alone in the kitchen part of the mansion, at least. He sprinted as quietly as he could to get through the corridors as fast as he could. He checked briefly each door knobs, finding which one of them were locked.

This is locked. Something must be behind here.

It took only a few seconds for Kaito to pick the lock. It opened to a study with two shelves behind a wooden study table. A fair amount of dust cluttered through the table. Kaito opened the drawers beneath the table and found nothing that could help. He went through random papers with useless blabber and notes. He scanned potential important papers, but none of them contained any specific information that could help them in pursuing the Black Organization.

Kaito was pushed through the edge. His stay took longer than expected. He couldn't stay for more considering that he might be in danger here. Staying a bit more was too dangerous.

He heard a clicking noise just before he stepped out the door. Observing the edges of the bookshelves, Kaito realized that it was movable.

"There's an opening behind this," he said to himself.

Kaito pushed the bookshelves, and a dark passageway welcomed his sight. The way was narrow with hollow blocks of stone to fill the sides. The stairs were wood, old and shabby, and every time Kaito would step down, a long echoed creek would resonate further forward and back to the study behind me. He knew better than to use a flashlight. The presence of light might give away his element of surprise.

The single way led him to a total darkness. He closely kept his hands on the wall, trying to find the switch to the lights. He found the switch after rubbing his hands on the walls for a few minutes.

The lights blinded him. A large white board was in front of him. It was a small horizontal room with a long table with a few seats behind it. The white board was in front of it. Kaito looked at the board, and his eyes enlarged with shock.

I found it. That's where we're headed next.

Kaito followed his way up to the study once more, but unlike before, he wasn't alone anymore the instant he stepped on the carpet of the study.

A woman with red hair was there. She was beautiful with a curvaceous body. Her latex black suit all the more gave emphasis to her body, but despite her beauty, her eyes were dead. Fixated upon Kaito, they were empty and shallow. Like an eternal abyss of nothingness, her eyes were glaring with emptiness. It was anger or anything associated with it. Her stare meant nothing, but her presence said otherwise, for Kaito's neck hair stood up as her lifeless stare was on him.

"Kaito Kid," he said in melancholic tone.

This is bad. She knows.

"Of course, I know," she said as if she read my mind. "You must be the boss. I have to say. I was expecting the boss to be a man. Not that I'm a sexist or anything. It's just judging from how they address you from before, I thought you were a man."

"Well, it is a common mistake. Just look at me. I look so fragile and vulnerable. Who would ever think that I'd run this entire organization."

"I'm guessing you won't let me leave."

"I'm afraid so. I gave Kudo-kun a choice. It's to have a truce and ignore each other or continue the fight. You know what he chose. Now, he'll see the consequence."

"Even if he did choose a truce, I myself will continue to pursue you. You killed my father. I'm not going to let that pass."

"Grow up, Kaito-kun. Revenge is overrated. Think deep within the corners of your mind. Your father had it coming. We gave him a choice, but he insisted to nose in our business. In the end, he learned too much. I don't have a grudge against him, but we had no choice. It's not easy being the boss. I need to carry our goal."

"Which is?"

"To get rid of all the evil in the world," she said in a blank tone.

"Stop screwing with me," Kaito started biting his tongue in distraught. "Do you actually think that our goal is evil? Just because we do this, does it mean we're evil? Believe in dark justice, Kaito-kun. I agree that the end does not justify the means, but sooner or later, the world will turn into despair without taking the precautions."

"I'm sorry, but if the world does go down that way, we're here to save it. A wrong won't make another wrong, right."

The woman pointed a gun directly at Kaito. The door was beside her, but by the time he'll try to escape, the bullet would be fired at him. "Do you know the American film, The Prestige?" Kaito said in a soft tone.

"Yeah, why?"

"Every magic trick consists of three parts. First is the pledge where you show something with an ordinary value."

"Next is the turn where you make that ordinary object do something incredible," she continued. Kaito then said, "Correct, and finally, the return of the object to its ordinary value which is known as…"

"The prestige," the woman finished, pulling the trigger of the pistol. A soft blast echoed within the walls of the room, but silence came faster than usual. The hissing recoil of the pistol ringed after, and Kaito fell slowly onto the carpet floor with a spot of blood forming on his right chest.

Shinichi, I hope you get the message.

The last thing Kaito saw was a pool of blood rushing towards the floor, and right then, everything came to a blur with the ringing of the recoil still prevailing through his ears up until darkness fully consumed his sight.

Author's Note: So, I hope you liked the chapter. The next chapter will be released in a few days. Stay tuned everyone. The story's just about to get good! And please, reviews! I'll make faster updates if you often give reviews!

Coming Soon: Chapter 29: Black Contact II: The Gathering of the Detectives