So, how's this for on time? I told you it's be two days...who thought I was lying? :P
Anyways, getting on with it. We're nearing the conclusion of Part Three, so there's going to be more frequent updates, as well as more action and drama than we've seen so far. Each chapter will end in a cliffhanger to maintain reader interest. You'll see what I mean when you keep reading. Oh, and please review. Reviews are good. ;)
Chapter Eleven
"What do you want with Conan-kun?" asked Ran at once, her muscles tensing. Sakura knew that Ran was prepping to unleash her karate on these guys, so she put her hand on Ran's shoulder to cool her off a bit; the robber was still holding a gun to Sonoko's head, after all.
"That kid is the entire reason my brother went to jail! All he did was get into a marital spat! It was a sheer accident was he killed my sister-in-law! My brother had a reputation to keep, though, so he hid the accident with a trick. Then that little son of a bxtch showed up with you and Mouri-tantei, knocked Mouri-tantei out with that little dart-watch of his, and used that bowtie to emulate his voice. It was because of him that my brother had to rot in jail!"
"You're insane!" Ran spat. "Conan-kun never did any of that!"
'Actually, I did,' thought Sakura. She didn't have any clue who this guy was, but she knew he was a danger. Not only was he willing to go the extra mile for child kidnapping, he even knew Conan's secret. Granted, Conan didn't exist anymore, but Sakura couldn't risk Kogoro finding out. 'At least Ran thinks it's BS," she thought in relief.
"I have proof!" the guy shouted. He pulled a phone out of his pocket, used his free hand to navigate the menus, and then threw it at Ran. "Play the video and you'll see," he said, gripping Sonoko ever tighter. Ran, still suspicious, slowly picked up the phone and hit 'play'. Sakura looked over her shoulder and got the shock of a lifetime.
The video was everything the culprit claimed it was. The video started with Kogoro saying over and over that it was a suicide, since the body was found in a locked room. Conan looked on with a flat look, as if he was tired of the bullcrap. Then Megure decided that the investigation was over for the day and the police prepared to leave. The camera shifted, but not before, in the lower corner of the screen, where Conan had just gone off-screen, a flash of something zipped up and hit Kogoro in the back of the neck. He instantly crumpled into a chair and began spouting off the correct deduction. Within ten minutes, the guy in the room, the only suspect, was being carted off to jail. When he was gone, Kogoro woke up, visibly stretching and yawning. Then Conan came back into view, adjusting his bowtie. It was hard for Ran to tell, but it appeared as if the lid on Conan's watch was open. "This doesn't prove anything," said Ran flatly when the video finished.
"That footage was captured by a hidden camera I hid in my brother's apartment. It might be low quality, but it shows exactly what happened. That kid was responsible, not your father. If you don't believe me, go get the kid so I can question him. If he can prove that the video is wrong, then I'll let your friend go."
"But…I mean I can't…" Ran spluttered.
"I'd hurry if I were you," the crook said, pressing the gun into Sonoko's temple. "The longer you take, the sooner it is your friend will die." To prove his point, he attached a silencer to the gun.
Sakura knew that things were very bad. There was no way Conan could appear without blowing her secret. Therefore, she compromised. Addressing the thief, she said, "How about we all just calm down? We're not going to get anywhere by violence and…" she was cut off by the robber aiming his gun and shooting at her. The bullet hit her square in the torso, and while it didn't actually hit Minami inside, the bullet caused severe damage to the suit, which had stopped it from passing clean through her. The red liquid that gave the skin its skin-color began gushing out of the wound, staining the pavement. The bullet also sliced one of the artificial ligaments Minami used to control her right leg, causing it to snap and send her falling to the ground. "Sakura-chan!" Ran screamed, running toward her. Sonoko screamed through her gag and then hid her face from the gruesome sight.
"We'll call that phone I gave you with where you're to bring the kid," said the robber as the other three finished loading the van with money and got inside. "To prove that you'll do it, we'll be taking this girl with us. Of course, the phone has a bug in it, so we'll know if you call the police." Laughing crazily, he forced Sonoko into the van, slammed the door, and the van roared away.
"I'll call an ambulance!" said Ran at once, taking her own cell phone and preparing to dial, but was stopped by Sakura shaking her head at her. Then Sakura gestured for the robber's phone, which Ran silently handed over. Sakura then texted Ran some instructions. "Are you going to be OK by yourself?" Ran asked. "I still think we should call an ambulance."
"I'll call it," said Sakura weakly. "You just do what I said." Ran nodded and ran off. Minami was finding it hard to breathe since the suit deformations were pushing on her chest. To solve the problem temporarily, she began kicking at it from inside, which allowed her some more breathing room. Then she sat up and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. 'What now?' she asked herself. 'I sent Ran to the police to report what happened, and I've got the phone so they can't overhear. I guess now I'll have to…'
XXX
Kogoro Mouri had not had the best week. He hadn't been able to find any leads to who had tried to kill him. He was also paranoid about going outside, since being trapped in the tank had given him a fear of water and it had been raining most of the week. Today, the rain had finally cleared up, and Kogoro was determined to use it to catch up on all the horse-racing he'd missed seeing live.
On his way out the door, though, his cell phone rang. 'What does Ran want?' he thought to himself as he closed the door and walked down the stairs. "What is it?" he asked gruffly.
"Dad, it's terrible! Sonoko got kidnapped."
"Calm down," he said, somewhat unconcernedly; Sonoko getting into trouble was something that happened often. "Have you called the police?"
"Yes; Sakura-chan said to. But that's not the worst part: Sakura-chan got shot!"
"What do you mean?" asked Kogoro, taking a detour into Café Poirot so he wouldn't have to focus on both the conversation and walking.
"It all started this morning when Sonoko got her purse snatched. We chased the thief, but he took her money and just threw the rest of it out into traffic. By the time we'd gotten it back, he was gone."
"Doesn't sound like that big a deal," said Kogoro, motioning to Azusa to get him a coffee.
"What's not that big a deal?" asked Tooru Amuro from nearby, where he was serving a nearby customer.
"Oh, Amuro-kun!" Kogoro said. "Take a listen to this." He turned on the speaker function so they could both hear.
"It gets worse, Dad!" Ran continued. "After Sonoko got her purse back, we went to the bank to get more money out, and on the way we saw the thief again. Sonoko gave chase, and Sakura-chan and I followed her. That robber was actually one of four, who just robbed the bank! When Sakura-chan tried to stop them, she got shot!"
"So call an ambulance, then," said Kogoro, taking his coffee from Azusa and taking a sip.
"But Dad, they've got Sonoko! They said that if we don't give them Conan-kun in exchange, they'll kill her!"
"So call the police!" Kogoro shouted.
"I already did. Sakura-chan has a plan, though. She said to call the police and then call you."
"Well, I can't make the kid appear out of thin air, so I can't help you," said Kogoro.
"Why are you being so stubborn, Dad?" asked Ran shrilly.
"It's because I'm afraid of getting jumped again!" Kogoro roared, making the entire restaurant go quiet.
"But Dad," said Ran quietly, "these are the same guys."
There was a silence as Kogoro contemplated his options. "Where are you?" he asked at last, his grip on his cup turning his knuckles white.
"I'm at the Police Box near Beika Station," said Ran. "Sakura-chan said I should go get the police directly instead of just calling 110."
"Then, why don't we go in my car?" Amuro offered. "I just got it out of the shop, so it's all good to go!"
"Let's go," said Kogoro, leaving the money for his mostly undrunk coffee on the table and heading for the door, putting on his jacket while doing so. Amuro followed a minute later.
XXX
Detective Takagi was in a helicopter over the city, peering through binoculars for a glimpse of the getaway van Ran had described. Inspector Megure sat beside him, relaying information to HQ while assisting.
"First a robbery and now a kidnapping? What more could go wrong?" Megure complained loudly.
"Megure-keibu!" Shiratori's voice came over the radio.
"What is it?" asked Megure at once.
"We went to the spot that Ran-kun said the kidnapping took place at. After looking around, we determined that nobody had been shot."
"What are you saying?" asked Megure. "Ran-kun said Sakura-kun got shot, and I don't doubt her testimony."
"Well, there was a dark red stain on the ground, but forensics has confirmed it wasn't actually blood. We still haven't identified what the fluid is, but it's not water, a blood pack, or actual blood."
"So what do we know?" asked Megure.
"Whatever the red stuff came out of, it got picked up by a car. Clear tire tracks were left when the car drove through the trail of the stuff leading from the initial puddle to a point where I suppose the 'injured' person got into the car. We're comparing the tracks now, but initial reports suspect they're from a Volkswagen, likely a Beetle."
"Takagi, do you see a Beetle down there?" Megure asked Takagi.
"Yes, I see one!" Takagi exclaimed. "It's an older model painted bright yellow…inspector, it looks like it's Agasa-san!"
Megure hung up on Shiratori and dialed Sato. "Sato-kun, we've spotted a bright yellow Beetle heading north through Beika. Give it a drive-by and see if there's an injured person in it!"
"Roger," said Sato, before hanging up.
XXX
Sakura sat in the passenger seat of Agasa's beetle while Haibara did some repairs. The 'bleeding' had been stemmed and Sakura was currently waiting for Haibara to free her from the disabled suit.
"Why do you always do such dangerous stuff?" asked Haibara through gritted teeth.
"How was I supposed to know I'd get shot? I was just trying to reason with him!" Sakura said in defense.
"Now we're away from the crime scene and the police patrols, what are we going to do?" asked Agasa.
"Conan's going to have to resurface," said Sakura. "Unfortunately, I can't go as Sakura anymore not that everyone thinks I'm in the hospital," said Sakura. "No, I'll have to go as myself. If I tie my hair up and use the in-mouth voice changer, I think I can disguise as myself. How long until I can get out of this thing?" she asked Haibara.
"It's hard to tell; this thing is pretty damaged. Well, it's your fault anyways, so waiting is probably good for you."
Just then, they heard sirens from behind them. Sato's distinctive red sports car drove up alongside them, and Sakura immediately hid in the floorboards to avoid being seen. The fit was tight, and it was made even more humiliating by Haibara's distinct smirk.
After finishing her inspection, Sato waved at Haibara, took another look inside, and then drove away.
It was then that the robber's phone rang. Sakura sat back up in her seat and answered.
"I thought I told you not to call the police," said the thief. "For this, the girl will die."
Of all the things that could've happened, I doubt any of you expected this. I'm purposely trying to not spoil any...revelations from the manga, so if you've read the manga, please do the same in the comments. I hope you all are continuing to enjoy the story, and let me know if I'm doing something right or wrong. (And thanks for pointing out any embarrassing typos. :) )