Chapter 49: Keeping secrets.
Haibara was an expert in sleeping drugs. She was an expert in chemicals that could start a fire, in poisons, in hallucinogenics, in chemicals to remove blood stains. You might as well call her a Chemical Witch. Brought up as she was, chemicals, metals and other substances that could deal harm or do anything else the Organisation wanted, she was an expert in. She may not like it, but it was a fact of her life. So that was why she was currently biting her lip, had rings around her eyes from peering too hard into a microscope, and was mumbling incoherently under her breath. Why?
Because there was one substance that she didn't recognise.
She had been told that this was a tranquiliser, one that sent an adult male into sleep in less than 5 seconds. And indeed many of the chemicals substances that she had found so far agreed with their analysis. All but one. And it frustrated her. Everything had been going so smoothly. She had woken up whenever she had wanted, felt refreshed with no lingering effects of the jet lag to speak of yet and was kind of looking forwards to a day of her and chemicals.
So far she had collected as much of the sample as she could from the tissue Yamamoto had used to clean Gokudera's hand off with. Yesterday they had taken her to the sight where the kidnapping happened, but there was none of the 'shine' that Gokudera claimed the tranquiliser had. Well not only had it been almost a week (6 days) since their Boss had been kidnapped, but Yamamoto said it started raining as soon as he picked Gokudera up, most likely washing any evidence of the drug away. However there was a reasonable amount of sample material for her to work with. So she'd spent the rest of yesterday mixing it with other chemicals, passing it through different machines and doing what she could to determine the separate elements that created this tranquiliser. The list was already long and complicated, created using the juice of rare plants along with a few synthetic chemicals too. It was clear to her than an expert had made this, and she silently (in a way of scientist to scientist) gave the creator a nod of respect. It was indeed a fine piece of work.
Not that anyone except possibly Gokudera would understand that. The rest either weren't smart enough to understand half of what she said, or were interested in subjects other than Bio-chemistry, as was the case with Irie and Spanner. And then some of the people surrounding her were just…
"Ne, scary nee-chan… are you done yet?"
… total idiots.
Haibara lifts her eyes up from the microscope and turns around to look at the snivelling cow clinging to her door frame. Bovino Lambo was an interesting person, bratty one second, grown up the next (and it seemed that this was true both of his mental age and his physical one, but Thank Science, he hadn't pulled out the Bazooka again), but it was clear to a stranger like her that he was dearly missing his Tsuna-nii. Indeed none of her 'helpers' were as lively as they had been at the Christmas party, and even if they were it seemed fake. This boy, Lambo, had been to see her three times this hour already, always asking whether she had finished or not. Then he'd come and sit quietly in the corner. However he had a short attention span and eventually got bored. At that point he'd start to mess with some equipment, or ask questions and Haibara got more and more annoyed until she chucked him out. That may possibly be the reason she currently had the nickname Scary Nee-chan, but it seemed to her that the boys never gave anyone nice nicknames in this place. But then again, Lawn head and Octopus head weren't exactly the meanest insults out there.
So this time Haibara ignored him, looking back down at her microscope, trying to figure out what this mysterious substance was. It was like nothing she had seen before. Hell, she wasn't even sure if it was a chemical or not.
"Oh, so you're awake." Sighing over being interrupted yet again, Haibara looks over to the doorway once more. This time it's to see one of the Mechanics, Irie Shoichi standing there with a tray of food. "Did you sleep off your jetlag?" He places the tray down on one the sides before coming over towards her. Haibara nods to the question before turning back to her work.
"Yes, I slept fine thank you."
"How is everything coming along? Is there anything you need help with?" Irie asks, genuinely concerned. Everyone seemed highly concerned with finding their Boss. Haibara suspected she could have asked for anything and they would have gotten it for her, so desperate to find him as they were.
Haibara leans back and rubs her eyes, before looking at the Mechanic. He seemed to know a lot about the Mafia fair around the house, especially the technology since he seemed to have created a lot of it. It wouldn't hurt to ask him about it. He had no reason to lie to her after all.
"I've practically figured out the components of this drug. It wasn't easy, very few people could have done it. But there's something I'd like your opinion on. The whole of this case could change depending on your answer. So you'd better think carefully before answering me. Unless you want Bomber Man on your case?" Haibara lifts one delicate eyebrow to finish off her nonchalant statement. She kept her voice neutral, no hint of malice, only a slight snarky undertone.
She watches as the man before her pales and a hand rests on his stomach. Oh, so he was one of those was he? "I-I'll do my best to help, although bio-chemistry is not my forte." Irie stutters. Haibara steps down from her stool and offers him a look. He looks in the viewer, adjusts the settings to suit him before he leans back and blinks. Haibara watches with a suspicious eye. "I must be seeing things," he mutters to himself before going back for another look. "No this is impossible. They shouldn't be here."
"What shouldn't be there?" Haibara asks. "Do you know what that substance is? It doesn't act like any chemical I know."
Shoichi looks at Haibara before pressing his hand against his ear. "Ne, Spanner, can you come down here with the laptop? I need the Rainbow Flame Files." It was then that Haibara took a better look at what was in Irie's ear. She had noticed them on most of her 'helpers'. Looking like a square Bluetooth headset, in different colours, all had this symbol on it that she had seen around the house. It must have been some kind of Family Shield, since around the house it had a bullet in the centre. On the outside was a clam with wings, a pair of crossed shot guns and some decorative vines. These headsets changed colour, as well as having differing symbols on the inside of the shield. Irie's in particular had a spanner inside, relating to his job as a mechanic she guessed.
"Rainbow Flame Files? What on earth are those?" That was not a name she was expecting.
Shoichi turns to the mini scientist and wonders what he should say. They had decided to keep her as in the dark as possible, especially since they didn't know how much Shinichi wanted her to know. Plus the less she knew the safer she was. "This is a substance created by the Mafia, and even then only a few people in the Mafia know about it. We would be worried if you did know what it was. Don't worry, we can take it from here"
They can what? Oh no, she didn't work on this just to be pushed to the side once it was done! Something created by the Mafia? It acted more like electricity than any chemical she knew. Something really was not right here. But before she can protest, Spanner walks in the door, a laptop held open in one hand.
"Got them." He says around his lollipop. He places the laptop down on a desk and Shoichi goes over to look at it. Haibara walks over to the tray Irie had brought, took a glass of orange juice and a slice of toast.
"How could we have missed it Spanner?" hisses Shoichi to his partner in mechanical crime. "These were made using Lightning Flames. I'd need to analyse them first but I think they're those special ones."
Lightning Flames? Rainbow Flames? What are they hiding from me? Haibara wonders. It's then that she remembers the other occupant in the room. Taking over a slice of toast smothered in grape jam, she walks over to the cow child.
"Ohh~ You've got grape jam. That's Lambo's favourite!" the boy sings, reaching out for the toast. Well, all the better to barter with then.
Haibara smiles, holding the toast just out of the little boy's reach- okay so she looked younger, but there was no way she was calling him older, especially not with his mental age. "I'll give this to you if you tell me something I want to know"
"Lambo will tell! You can trust Lambo. Lambo-sama knows everything!" An understatement surely, but she'll go along with it.
"So does… Lambo-sama…" Did she really have to call him that? "Know what Lightning Flames are?" It seems that she hit the lottery since Lambo suddenly stops whining and goes all smug. A haughty smile and expression alight on his face and hands go to his hips whilst he straightens up. He knew something alright.
"Gyahaha! Lambo-sama is the King of Lightning Flames. Lambo-sama's Lightning Flames are the best! No one is better with them. Ne, ne, Do you want to see Lambo-sama's amazing Lightning Flames? Of course you do."
Haibara didn't even need to hand over the toast. Lambo rummaged around in his hair before producing a ring. She watches as he places the ring on his thumb since it wouldn't fit anywhere else before closing his eyes. After a few minutes nothing happens, but Lambo is sweating.
"If you don't show me then you're not getting the grape jam toast" Haibara says sweetly. Lambo's eyes widen at the threat/encouragement before closing his eyes even tighter and mumbling something about grapes. Suddenly the ring on his hands is alight with a sparking green flame that looked a lot like electricity. But even more important, it was almost identical to the substance currently residing in her petri dish.
"Ahh~ Aren't Lambo-sama's Flames pretty! Much prettier than Ahodera's or Shibafu's. Yes, Lambo-sama has the prettiest Flames out of everyone's!" he shouts obnoxiously. "Now give Lambo the toast!" He snatches the toast out of her hand, letting the Flames go out at the same time. Haibara's eyes couldn't get any wider. She didn't have a clue what that was. Sure it was possible to create a green Flame, you used copper sulphate, but flames that looked like live electricity? That she knew for a FACT was impossible. Plus, the kid hadn't even lit a normal flame in the first place, and there was nothing to burn.
"Lambo!" Shouts Shoichi, having seen the display. His stomach tightened considerably. He was in such trouble now. She had found out about the existence of Flames. They definitely were not going to tell her about them. But things just had to go wrong didn't they? Flames just had to be in the tranquiliser and Lambo, malleable and susceptible Lambo who just so happened to have Lightning Flames, was also in the room.
Shoichi turns to Spanner, hoping he'd have some sort of remedy for the situation. However he shrugs. They were in the middle of a crisis and he shrugs! "We didn't calculate this simulation. Maybe we can just cause a data relapse?" He hefts his largest wrench into his hand and gives it an experimental swing. Shoichi's eyes widen dramatically and his stomach turns into even more knots. How can Spanner talk about hitting a child with a metal wrench so easily and calmly? Okay so he sounded like that all of the time, but still!
"Spanner!" Shoichi reprimands.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on here?" asks Haibara calmly. Getting frustrated only clouded ones judgement.
"Err, well, Haahaa, you see" Stutters Shoichi, eyes flickering around the room looking for an escape route. Haibara starts to tap her foot against the ground, her arms crossed over her chest. The way she looks at him reminds Shoichi that Haibara is actually older than he is, despite her current physical stature. But anyway he needed an escape quickly; His stomach wasn't going to hold up much longer.
"Shinichi told us not to tell you." Spanner says whilst looking at files on the laptop. Shoichi didn't know whether to praise Spanner for his quick thinking or condemn him to the Junkpile for having said that of all things. He was sure that Shinichi wouldn't be happy when he got back from the Vendicare.
"Shinichi told you not to tell me what that 'Flame' was? So that means that he knows what they are?" Shoichi has no choice but to nod under that glare. "And does that have something to do with why he's been lying to me? Does it have something to do with the way Shinichi seems to be cured?" Shoichi shrunk under her demanding look and tone, but he wasn't going to give in. This girl may be scary, but what Reborn did to them a while back when they snuck samples from him was a lot worse. If they could survive Reborn's treatment then he could surely survive whatever this girl threw at him.
Even though Shoichi didn't answer, Haibara could still draw her own conclusions. Starting with the fact Shinichi had his own ring that looked just like the one Lambo had. And if that ring lit up, then maybe Shinichi's did too. She couldn't wait for that Sherlock junkie to come back, he was in for it. She was going to get her answers, one way or another.
"Ahhchoo!"
"Bless you Shinichi" sings Kaito.
"You're not coming down with something are you?" asks Tsuna, placing a hand on Shinichi's forehead.
Kaito smiles widely. "Nahh, I bet some lovely Lady is talking about you~. The International Heisei Holmes has gained quite a following you know. Not nearly as big as mine, but then again, mysterious handsome men in disguise always get the ladies."
Shinichi refused to make a comment and instead focused on his Flame control exercises.
"Do you think Verde's okay? I haven't seen him all day" asks Tsuna, placing down his hand of cards, Kaito had won that round too… again.
"I'm sure that he'll be fine. He's just working on a new experiment isn't he?" sooths Shinichi before giving Kaito a look. "Boss wins that round." Tsuna splutters, eyes wide at Shinichi's words.
Kaito, however, pouts. "Mou, Shin-chan, you're no fun~" Tsuna looks between the two, missing what they are talking about.
"Sleeves Kaito." Says Shinichi, mock stern. Kaito makes a big show of rolling his sleeves up his arms, revealing nothing underneath. Shinichi should have known to expect that by now. "Never play cards against a Magician Boss, they cheat."
"Heeii! Kaito was cheating?" screams Tsuna in shock.
"Not only did he count the cards, but he also added some of his own to the pack. He's just playing you Boss" Answers Shinichi.
"Hey, Kaito! That's no fair~" Tsuna gives a pout of his own, crossing his arms and pretending to cry.
Crash! Bang! Grrrrr! Gao!
All three stand up from the table in a chemical laboratory they were sitting at, cards and cheating forgotten over the crashing sounds coming from down the corridor.
"Umm, guys, not to scare you or anything," whispers Tsuna. "But was, was that a dog? Like a wolf or something?"
"No." says Shinichi, running towards the exit door and down into the corridor. "Wolves don't make that sound. It was more like a fox."
"Get back in the BOX!"
"Wow, I don't think I've heard Verde shout before" remarks Kaito, following just behind Shinichi. When Verde got mad, he got even quieter, with voice like ice. Verde never really shouted.
They get to the place where Verde had been working since yesterday morning and bang on the door since it's locked. Of course Verde didn't use normal keys. He had high security palm prints scanners and other Flame scanner devices on his doorways, meaning it was Kaitou Proof.
"Hey Doc, everything alright in there?" Shouts Shinichi through the door.
"Of course I'm fine. I'm not going to be defeated by something I created," comes the answer, muffled by the metal doorway.
Tsuna sighs. "Verde always says that and I suppose it's true."
"Keep on thinking that Tsunayoshi, your Sky Lion needs the confidence boost." Tsuna thinks he can detect some slight worry in Verde's voice. But c'mon, this was Verde, he had an answer for everything, and surely whatever defence systems he had in place would work, they sure had had trouble with it.
"Gao~!" sings Natsu, finally confident enough to help Verde with… whatever they were doing in there.
A few minutes later, Verde opens the door and walks out. Luckily there are no scratches on him, but his hair is a little ruffed. Natsu comes out and pads up to Kaito and Shinichi. The lion looks up at the pair, eyes wide with amazement, respect and maybe fear. The pair had no idea why Natsu was looking at them like that though.
"I'm finished with my brand new Box Weapon designs" Verde states to the three expectant humans.
"Already? But it's only been a day since…" Tsuna quickly steps forwards, kneels down and peers into Verde's face. "Verde! You stayed up all night working?" Verde didn't answer the question, so instead Tsunayoshi turns and asks his Partner. "Natsu?" The lion looks down sheepishly before gently growling. "Verde it's not good for you to work through the night. Have you eaten anything? It's nearly lunchtime y'know." A quick peek into the room where Verde had been working reveals plenty of cans of Red Bull and other isotonic sports drinks laying on the floor. There was, however, no sign of any food products. Tsuna grabs Verde before standing up and striding to the kitchen. "It's no wonder that box weapon attacked you, you must have been out of energy."
"Plus it wasn't my Flame type either. Luckily it recognised me as it's creator so it followed my orders." Verde comments as they walk. He didn't even try to fight back anymore. He was getting a free lift and someone to make food for him, so why bother fighting? It would only waste energy.
"So what Box weapons did you create?" Tsuna asks, placing Verde down on the table.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"
"Hmm, you expecting anyone Prof?" asks Kaito, hand over his ears to quieten the blaring noise of the speakers. Verde jumps over to a computer console set in the wall before typing on the touch screen.
"Computer, can you identify the Flame signatures?" Verde asks out loud. The blaring noise stops, although lights still flash red.
"Searching… searching…Leopard of the Storm Version Vongola detected. Hedgehog of the Cloud Version Vongola detected. 3 other lesser Flame signatures detected. No more Box weapons found on external scans"
"I thought you asked it for Flame signatures, not Box Weapons?" asks Tsuna.
Verde stops typing for a second to look at Tsuna. "I did, however since I created the Vongola Firmware Update, I programmed the computer to recognise it. Since those are specific to Vongola, and therefore specific to your Guardians only, I know it is one of you, so the computer tells me so. For anyone without a box weapon, it can only tell me where they are."
Verde goes back to typing on the touch screen. "So that means that Gokudera and Hibari are here with their box weapons, along with three people who don't have box weapons." Clarifies Tsuna.
"Here we go. This is security footage, live, from the forest surrounding this lab." Verde looks up and speaks out loud again. "Computer, project this against the south wall"
A projector lowers down from the ceiling and starts playing the security footage. On screen is Gokudera, Hibari, Shoichi, Spanner and…
"Haibara?" gasps Shinichi, walking closer as if he could get a better look. "First of all what's Haibara doing here in Italy with them, and secondly what is she doing here of all places?"
"Do you want me to turn the sound on?" asks Verde. Shinichi nods and Verde presses another button.
"-daime had better be alright. This is our only lead into who kidnapped him after all. If those Bastards have done anything to harm Juudaime then I'll, I'll-"
"Bite them to death of course. The Omnivore is more than capable of dealing with a Baby."
"But Verde of all people. I wouldn't have suspected that."
"You're telling me your Boss was kidnapped by a baby?"
"Shut up wench. You don't understand what's going on. I knew we should have left you back at the base"
"Oh, you'd leave me alone with the only clue you have left?"
"You wouldn't dare"
"Boss, did we hear that right? They think Verde has… kidnapped you?" Asks Shinichi, turning to face Tsuna.
Tsuna, however, looks confused.
"Yes, I did kidnap him." Confirms Verde. "It was the only way to get him here to help me with my experiments"
"I thought you guys knew that? Didn't Gokudera send you to find me?" wonders Tsuna, for that's what he had believed had happened. They'd have no other reason to be at Verde's place otherwise.
"No. We came back to pick up Shinichi's watch since he forgot it here. Since the database had you down as not doing any missions, we assumed that they knew you were here" explains Kaito.
"So no one's told Gokudera that I'm fine and that he can stop looking for me?" confirms Tsuna slowly. Both males shake their heads.
…
"HEEEEIIII!" Tsuna screams, hands pulling at his hair as he ran around in circles. "What are we going to do? Gokudera's going to be so mad at me, and then Hibari will bite me to death! And he'll bite Verde to death too since he was the one who kidnapped me! What are we going to do, what're we going to do, what are we going to DO?"
"I don't know what you are going to do, but I do hope that you'll stick to the deal we made." Verde comments, eyes on the screen, judging how long they had left before the entrance was found.
…
"What?" Tsuna rushes over and kneels to be level with Verde. "You agree! I thought after that fight that…"
"I agree. You'll be my personal test subject and I'll take commissions from you. But I warn you now Tsunayoshi. This deal has nothing to do with Vongola. I will not be tied down to them, nor will I be your prized pet. You already have Reborn for that. I remain free and this contract can be broken when it no longer suits either of us. Understood"
Tsuna beams brightly. "Of course Verde. I never dreamed of using you like that! You'll never have to make anything for the Vongola Mafioso if you don't want to. I Promise. If you ever need me you know my number right?"
"Boss! Do you know what you're saying?" asks Shinichi, concerned for Tsuna's wellbeing.
Tsuna turns to them, eyes set and determined. "Of course I know what I'm doing. I'll just keep it a secret from the others so they don't worry. And so had you. Swear to me you won't tell anyone else about this."
"Yare Yare, you sure are set on doing this aren't you Tsuna? Well, what type of Guardians would we be if we let you do this alone?" Asks Kaito in a very gentleman-like voice. He turns to Verde and gives a mock bow, a suddenly materialised hat being held in his hand. "Verde, I offer to you my assistance too. My Flame has the ability to split into any of the others, accept Shin-chan's, so you should have enough to experiment with. If not, well," and here Kaito gives off a KID grin "I'm sure I can steal some purer Flames from the others."
Shinichi sighs and rubs a hand over his nose. "I suppose I had better join in too. I don't know about experiments on drugs and such due to my 'unique' immune system, but I can definitely offer up my Flame if you need it."
"There you go Tsuna, now we all have a secret to share." smiles Kaito, straightening up from his bow.
"The first of many you mean." mumbles Shinichi. Which was true. They were going to be Tsuna's secret service so there would be many secrets shared between the three than no one else could know about.
They turn back to the screen which currently shows an argument between Haibara and Gokudera. Haibara seemed to be winning if her smirk was anything to say. Hibari seemed to be getting more and more pissed off, and the two mechanics were trying to stay away from both parties.
"So what do you want to do Boss?" asks Shinichi. "If you don't want them to know what you were doing here then we had better not be here at all. They can't get mad at Verde that way."
"They would anyway. They must have tracked me through the tranquiliser I used to subdue Tsunayoshi. I thought the rain I had summoned would have washed away the traces of it." Verde says, looking disgruntled that his plan had failed.
"Tranquiliser?" asks Shinichi. "That must be why Haibara's here then. No one in Vongola is good with chemicals so they must have pulled her in. They all know she's an expert in that kind of stuff, she made the Apo-toxin after all."
Verde looks over to Shinichi at that comment. "That girl is the one who created the drug that shrunk you?" Shinichi nods. Verde gives the screen a considering look. "I'm assuming she used the drug herself to look like that?" Again Shinichi nods.
"Anyway," says Verde, coming out of his thinking. "Don't worry, it's easy enough to cover up why I made the tranquiliser." Comments Verde. They spend the next few minutes planning a cover story to protect all four of them.
"And don't forget those Boxes in the Lab. I'm sure you can tell which one belongs to who."
"Ahh! We're getting nowhere!" shouts Gokudera, stamping a foot against the ground.
"Well maybe if herbivores stayed quiet we'd be able to think and find the entrance" growls Hibari, a threatening tonfa under Gokudera's chin. Gokudera che's before turning away from Hibari.
"Umm…"
"So how do you propose we find Verde's lab's entrance? He's an Arcobaleno for god's sake, of course he's going to have it well hidden!" Shouts Gokudera once more.
"Umm…"
"Well bombing the place down is not the answer. Unless you wish to kill both the Science Baby and the Omnivore in the process?" comments Hibari, advancing on Gokudera again.
"Umm."
"What?!" Gokudera and Hibari turn to Shoichi at the same time instead of attacking each other.
"Have you tried just asking? If we are in the right place then he would have security cameras around. We should just ask to see him."
The people in the clearing look at Shoichi for a few seconds before Gokudera stands down. "Che, you do it. I'm not fucking talking to trees."
Haibara decides to ignore talk of Science Babies and Arcobaleno. She was going to have a nice long chat with Shinichi when she found him and all her questions would be answered then. Along with her gaining a few new designer purses and accessories.
She does take notice of the … baby… in a lab coat and glasses… that rises up from the ground.
The baby pushes up his glasses, takes a glance at her, before looking up at Gokudera. "What do you want Gokudera Hayato?" he asks in a monotone and apathetic voice. "I am in the middle of an experiment and it really cannot wait."
"We have come to collect Juudaime. You had better not have experimented on him" Gokudera was for once polite, even if he was holding his anger back. She had never seen Gokudera submit to anyone accept this other baby that had arrived earlier on today.
"Vongola Decimo? Why would I have him? He is of no scientific value to me." Questions Verde, still looking bored.
"Well the thing is Verde," starts Shoichi, taking a step forwards. "The tranquiliser that was used to take Tsuna had your Flame in it."
Verde lifts an eyebrow. "And how do you know it was my Flame specifically?" Even he had only just started working on telling apart Flames of the same type from different people apart.
"Because you are an Arcobaleno." States Shoichi. "I'm sure that if you've ever looked at your Flame, you know it's different to a normal Flame. The wavelength is different. The same abnormality was found in a sample of Reborn's Flames too. We believe it's an effect of the Pacifier."
Gokudera looks gobsmacked. "You managed to get a sample of Reborn's Flames?!"
Shoichi and Spanner go pale. Falling to the floor with a groan, Shoichi tightly holds his stomach. "We kind of tricked him into it. He punished us afterwards though. I don't ever want to go through that again." Gokudera assumes it must have been really bad for Spanner to show fear over it. Then again it was a punishment from Reborn of all people.
"Are you sure it's wise to be talking about Flame Wavelengths infront of this… girl?" asks Verde, putting emphasis on the word girl. Haibara's eyes widen slightly.
Gokudera huffs before crossing his arms. "No, she knows a lot already. She found your Flames in the sample and called Shoichi in to identify it. Lambo accidentally let the cat out of the bag by showing her his Flames. We leave her for 10 minutes and she'd gone and talked to Yamamoto and Chrome about what the Flames are, under the excuse that it's important to her investigation. Of course the idiots tell her what they know. She knows about their existence, but not a lot more than that." Verde nods and shrugs it off. It wasn't all that important anyway.
Verde takes the information about Reborn's Flames into consideration. He had noticed the abnormality in his Flames, Shoichi had just confirmed his own theory. "It is true that I created a high grade tranquiliser around a month back. I sold it to a client though. They told me it was for use on wild animals. I don't really know, I'm not bothered by that kind of thing."
"Hn, How can you not be bothered by the consequences of your actions?" asks Hibari. But even he stayed back. Verde was a cursed Baby after all and Hibari didn't know what his strength was. Being a scientist he might be a herbivore like Spanner and Shoichi are though.
Verde turns cold emotionless eyes onto Hibari. "Do you really expect me to care about the trustworthiness of the entire human race? Human's lie, it's a natural protective instinct. He could have told me a lie about what he was going to use the drug for but I really don't care. What people do with what I create is their business. If I worried about every possible thing someone might do with what I create then I might as well not create anything at all. Nearly everything can be turned into a weapon, no matter how innocent it's origins and intentions. Prescription drugs can kill if over dosed, shops sell knives for use in kitchens. The producers don't wonder whether people will over dose, or stab someone to death, so why should I care? I believe it's your problem. So unless you are here for me to create a cure, I suggest you leave. I don't have anything else to tell you." Verde pushes up his glasses before looking over the group once more.
"We don't need a cure. A high enough dosage of a stimulant would work fine. If one is not available then a large amount of caffeine would also work as a last resort." Inputs Haibara.
Verde turns to her, and looks her over before nodding. "Indeed." He turns away, with the clear intent to leave.
"Baby, let us search. If the omnivore is truly not here then you won't have anything to worry about."
Verde sighs, rolls his eyes and continues on his way. "Fine then. Follow me."
"So any idea who the Bastard was that brought that tranquiliser?" asks Gokudera as they walk through the trees.
"No, I do not. Names were never exchanged and all meetings were done through an intermediate party. I killed the messenger of course." Verde remarks with as little emotion as possible. Gokudera is not surprised that the messenger was killed like the others are, it was just the way of the Mafia.
"So are you going to kill us for finding your Lab?" asks Gokudera as they keep on walking.
Verde doesn't turn around as he answers. "No. Reborn promised that he would deal harshly with any of you who leaked the location. However much I despise the man, he is true to his word. And I know none of you wish to face his wrath." And those words, which were true, were enough of a threat.
Verde is pleased to see that, when they enter the lab, no sign of Tsunayoshi or Kaito and Shinichi's presence is visible, just like the thief promised. He keeps an eye on the visitors as they walk around, cleaning up after them and straightening things up. Most of the work is too high level for even Gokudera Hayato to copy and he had no robotic experiments going on at the moment for the Vongolian Mechanics to steal. Hibari Kyoya was not interested in the science at all, only in any secret rooms that there could be.
Half an hour and one thoroughly searched Lab later, they are back on the surface. "As you can see, Decimo is not here. So I'd appreciate it if you left now. I have experiments to finish." Verde didn't even wait for a reply before the grass he was standing on lowered into the ground and swallowed him up.
"Fuck it all." Shouts Gokudera, grabbing a cigarette and lighting it. "We're just going to have to search the hard way and wait for our informants to come back in with some news."
There was nothing the others could add to that.
There we go. Box weapons arrive next chapter. I feel sorry for Shinichi when he comes back. Not only will he have to deal with Mukuro but also Haibara too. Poor guy.
I'm going to an induction for University tomorrow and I can't wait. Hopefully University won't get in the way of me writing this fic; I'm good at writing assignments and such so it shouldn't.
See you next time!
Phantom Hitman 1412
First Published 19th September 2012