Four points of the same star
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Detective Conan.
FOUR POINTS OF THE SAME STAR Chapter 18: MYSTERY: final stage.
"Listen, before starting anything…" Kaito said, as everyone had settled down, "Why don't you explain me exactly what are you all up to and, most of all, who you really are? You've just given me a general idea till now: Kazama, Ikeda and Xanders are FBI agents, Miyano is a scientist and, well, Kudo is a detective."
"Fair point." Matt remarked and he turned to Ryu, "Come on, tell him the story otherwise he won't understand what's going on."
Ryu nodded and began to tell Kaito everything about Matt, Rei, Shinichi, Shiho and himself.
-
"Let's see if I can summarize everything." Kaito said slowly, after having listened carefully, "More than a year ago, a young woman showed up and asked you to help her. She addressed herself, especially to Kazama. She talked about the existence of a big underground criminal organisation involved in all kinds of activities but she couldn't give you more information because she was just a simple agent. She asked you a favour: help her younger sister get out from this organisation." Kaito turned to Shiho, "It was you. You used to work for the Organisation as a scientist: you're the one that made the pill that shrank Kudo. But you left after they killed your sister and took the pill yourself." Shiho nodded and the young magician went on, turning to the three FBI agents. "You three work out a plan to bring the Organisation down, shortly after you met Miyano-san: Kazama infiltrates into it and gets out information, Ikeda works them out, Xanders keeps an eye on the whole situation. You found out a great deal of things but months ago they found out Kazama's real identity and your plan shattered. Now, Kazama's wanted by the Organisation and FBI because they think he's a traitor, Ikeda's thought dead, suicidal, Miyano is wanted by the Org. as a traitor and Kudo is thought dead by the poison. However, three months ago, you four met each other and decided to collaborate and you worked out all the material Kazama had taken from the Organisation. You also met one of its members but you managed to escape. And that's all, right?"
"Yes, that's all." Rei remarked, "For now at least… Matt? Something wrong?"
Matt was staring at Ryu and her.
"I suppose you two have forgotten to mention in your e-mails that you have met Scotch and that you nearly got killed by him." he said coolly.
"Ehm…. It's not that." Ryu said uncomfortably, "We just thought it was better to inform you personally than through e-mails."
"Anyway, did anyone see you?" Matt asked, "Anyone noticed that you were there or something?"
"The only people that know we four were there are the doctor and the nurses that treated us." the other replied, "They promised they wouldn't have told anyone we had been in their surgery and they didn't, actually. Shinichi controlled."
"Yes, the police doesn't have any evidences that there was someone in the woods that day besides Scotch." Shinichi said, "They're still working on it since they found his body tied to a tree and shot at the head."
"Well, you're lucky you found some sensible people.." Matt remarked, "I don't think that anyone would have helped four strangers with gun shot wounds when the police was investigating on a murderer."
"Yeah, we were lucky." Ryu agreed, "By the way, Matt, we've told you everything: why don't you tell us what has been going on in USA? You said that there have been murders and disappearances."
Matt straightened up and looked at them with a serious face.
"Yes, strange things have been going on." he said, "Several scientists vanished in thin air and many police officers and small criminals have been killed.… Wait a minute, I've brought my notes. You'll understand better."
He got up and went out of the lab, returning a few seconds later with a small backpack. "I've brought all the things you have asked me." he said, sitting down and opening the bag, "But I'll give it to you later… Anyway, here it is."
He drew out a notebook and handed it to Ryu. Rei, Shinichi, Shiho and Kaito approached him as he opened it. The notebook was full of notes and newspaper cuttings.
"I've put them all in time order." Matt said, as he watched Ryu turn the notebook's pages, "I'm quite sure the Organisation is behind this, even though I have to admit that I'd have expected something more secretive by them."
Shiho nodded as he said this.
"You're right. It's not in their.. style to act so freely." she said, "Without bothering to be noticed."
"I've been thinking the same in the beginning but then I changed idea looking at the dates.."
"The dates?" Shinichi asked puzzled.
They all looked at the cuttings' dates: Kaito, Shinichi and Shiho didn't see anything strange but Rei and Ryu did.
"Oh my…" he said, "The first murder happened the day I escaped from the Organisation. Look here: local police officer, Agent J. Adam, found dead in his house…. The investigators supposes that it might be an act of revenge from a criminal the victim could have arrested." Ryu looked up at Matt. "Listen, why do you think they're involved in this case? You know that some criminals threaten the ones that arrest them and they also manage to kill them sometimes."
"Read the next article." Matt said as an answer and Ryu did so.
"Case of suicidal: S. Boyd, known to the police as a bank burglar, has been found dead….." Ryu read, scanning the article, " The officers have found a gun near the crime scene… the victim's fingerprints…. It's supposed that Boyd has probably murdered Agent Adam….. because he had arrested him an year ago… Boyd was sentenced to four months in prison…wait a minute this happened two days after the first murder."
Ryu stopped and looked at the others that had a sceptical look.
"Well, it does sound odd." Shinichi said, "And the investigations seem to have been closed pretty soon without further verifications."
"Yes, that's what I thought, too, so I did a few researches on my own." Matt said, drawing out another notebook from his backpack.
"What do you mean?" Rei asked.
"I checked out Adam's and Boyd's past." Matt said, "I rummaged through FBI's and local polices' judicial archives and found out a few things. Boyd's story is true: he's the usual burglar, involved in small crimes. Adam's story, instead, is more interesting: according to what his colleagues say, he was a model officer with a great career in front of him. Quite a good fellow even though he was ambitious, very ambitious. Since he didn't seem suspicious at work, I checked out his private life and there were many problems in it. Money, in first place: seems that he had many debts and, from what I've seen looking at his credit cards receipts, bank accounts and tax payments, he didn't have a way to pay. Then, here comes the surprise, one day he pays everything. I checked his bank account and found that someone had made a deposit of 10 0000 dollars."
"Where did that come from?" Kaito asked with surprise.
"No idea. I checked everything: bank loans and other things like that but nothing. I also checked if he had won money at a lottery or if some relative had left him money but no." Matt said sarcastically, "That money just appeared in his bank account."
Rei looked at Matt: she had understood where he was getting at.
"You think somebody corrupted him?" she asked.
"Yes, that's what I think." he said, nodding at her, "I've found out that Adams last work was to control all the airports' passengers' lists: you know, to see if a criminal was on a plane headed who knows where and avoiding capture. Now, what I've been thinking is, what if…?"
"What if the Organisation has taken him to their side to check all the planes and see if I was there?" Ryu said sceptically, "Well, it seems a bit far-fetched to me. I mean, why choose this agent instead of others? How could he have controlled alone all the passengers' lists of all the planes in the airports of New York? It's too much work for one person."
"Who said Adams was the only one working for them?" Matt said, looking up at him.
The other five teenagers stared at him.
"What?" they said.
Matt looked at them with an eyebrow raised.
"What do you think I've been doing in all these months?" he asked, "Since the day Ryu sent that message telling that there was a double-crosser, I've been working restlessly to find out who it is."
"And did you find out?" Shinichi asked eagerly.
"Yes, I have a few suspects but the point is that it's not one double-crosser." Matt remarked, "There are lots more and nearly in every police department and FBI headquarter in New York."
That simple statement silenced the room.
"Well, we knew that." Rei said, after a while, "They played with Ryu when he was at the Organisation making him think that they believed him while they only wanted to know who was behind MYSTERY and block him down."
Ryu nodded.
"How can you be so sure that all your.. suspects are related to the Organisation, Matt?" he asked, "If we count all the police and FBI headquarters in New York, you're considering at least twenty-thirty agents."
"Well, at the beginning I didn't have a clue of how to find the double-crosser." he replied, straightening up, "I decided to check out the archives and see if I could find something: I looked up for all the new agents that have been recruited in the last year but I didn't find anything. Then, Adams was found dead and that's when I got an idea… First of all, which are the ways to corrupt?"
"Money or threatens." Shinichi said quickly.
Shiho looked at him with amazement.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"It's always like that in my cases." he said, shrugging.
"Exactly." Matt said, "I decided to go on this way and I checked out all the archives again and I did researches the same way I did to find out Adams' story and.."
"Wait a second.." Ryu stopped him, "Didn't you say that you were going through an inquiry? How did you do all of this without being seen?"
"Well, it seems that a certain person has managed to influence me because I've learnt to act pretty well, too." Matt said with a smirk, "I worked at the FBI headquarter at night while I went to check out all the other departments archives during the day but not as an agent but as a lawyer."
"So, you fooled them." Ryu said with a grin.
"Come on, I've got to use that degree in law, right?" Matt said, "Anyway, I've been doing this work nearly everyday after Rei left and I finished only a month ago but I've got a list of suspects and I'm having them controlled."
"Controlled?" Rei asked.
"Yes, why…? Oh, yeah, you two don't know. Well, I talked to Dad about my suspects and he decided to use his men to follow them."
"Wait a minute, you mean that your father's squad knows about MYSTERY?" Ryu asked.
"Yes, we had to tell them otherwise, they wouldn't have understood why they had to follow other agents. Don't worry." Matt said, seeing the looks on the others' face, "I've double checked every single member of Dad's team and none of them can be suspected: they're all very trustworthy and they've been working with my Dad for years. He knows them all very well."
"Ok, then." Ryu said.
"By the way, coming back to the murders." Matt remarked, "If you go on reading the newspaper cuttings on that notebook, you'll see that all the murdered were either police agents or small criminals. And, guess what, all the dead agents must have been double-crossers."
"So the Organisation has silenced them all." Shiho said quietly, "What were they paid for?"
"Let's see, I've written it down." Matt opened the notebook he had in his hands and flicked through the pages, "Here it is: well, nearly all of them sold out information while the others helped some criminals avoid jail. I've checked them out: they were all great agents but some fell down for money while the others were threatened. If you go to the last pages, there's an article about a FBI agent that got killed in action."
Ryu flipped the pages and when he came to the page, his eyes widened.
"I know him." he said, "Didn't he work with the drug squad?"
"Yes, I remember him, too." Rei said, peering at the article, "I think his name was… Madison."
"Jason Madison, one of the drug squad's best agents." Matt remarked, "I think the Organisation threatened him since they couldn't buy him with money: I found out that his wife and daughter had been kidnapped nearly two months ago. That's why he gave them the information they asked: he hoped to save his family but it was useless. They found their bodies in an old abandoned car shortly after Madison got killed.."
There was a stunned silence in the room. Shinichi turned to look at the others and saw the expression of pure hatred on Shiho, Rei, Ryu and Kaito's face.
"Anyway, all the other double-crossers, or suspected double-crossers, are being followed." Matt said, "In this we should avoid other murders."
"Wait, what are the criminals got to do with this?" Rei asked, "Do you think they're also involved with the Organisation?"
It was Shiho that answered.
"I don't think they can be agents or even members." she said, "They have been caught by the police many times, from what I've understood. The Organisation wouldn't have permitted these kinds of mistakes."
"You're right, Shiho." Ryu remarked, "I think it's more probable that they got killed only because they were related to the dead agents."
"In other words, they were the perfect culprits." Shinichi said, "And they all had reasons to murder the victims."
"You know, I have to admit that it's a perfect plan." Matt remarked, "Devilish but really subtle."
Ryu turned another few pages of the notebook and an article caught his eye.
"What about the disappearances?" he asked, "You figured out everything about the murders but what about the disappearances?"
"Well, I hoped you would have told me something about it." Matt remarked, "The only thing I know is that the missing were all scientists. They are seven in total: five computer scientists and two chemists."
Shiho looked up in alarm.
"Chemists?" she asked.
Shinichi turned around and saw her concerned face.
"What do you think?" he asked, "Do you believe they're going to…?"
"They might want to carry on with the APTX's research." she said, nodding, "That would explain why they kidnapped two new chemists."
"What about the other scientists?" Matt asked, "They are all computer scientists and all talented."
"Well, while I was still infiltrated, I noticed that most of the scientists were involved in a big project." Ryu said, "I don't know what it was about but it must be something important because it involved all the best scientists."
"You don't know what it is?" Matt said, "It's not even mentioned in that files you have taken?"
"Well, reading all the files, we can find some hints regarding this project but nothing too definite." Rei said, getting up, "Anyway, since we're talking about the files now, there are a few things I'd like to ask you, Kuroba."
Kaito looked up and nodded: he knew that he would have had to give an explanation sooner or later.
"Sure, what do you want to know?" he asked.
"Just a moment…" she said, opening a drawer in her desk, "Ryu, Shiho, Shinichi and I have worked on the files for months and we know, more or less, what they say but you and Matt don't, so.."
She took out an enormous stack of printed-paper. Matt stared at it.
"What that?" he asked, "It's higher than three encyclopaedias put together! How many pages are there? 1000 or more?"
"987, to be exact. I've printed all the files since I know that you're hopeless with computers." Rei said and hid a smile, "Have a good time reading, Matt."
Ryu, Shinichi, Shiho and Kaito stifled a laugh as they saw the look on Matt's face.
"Well, seems that I've found something to do during the flight." he said, not very enthusiastically, "And I was hoping I could sleep a bit before going back to work…"
Rei smiled again at Matt and turned to her side.
"Anyway, coming back to you, Kuroba, we decided to get you involved because we found you mentioned in a few files." she said, turning her laptop on, "One of eight years ago and in a more recent one, too."
"In the beginning, we didn't know if we could consider you an ally or an enemy." Ryu added, "That's why we decided to take it slow."
"I see." Kaito said, "That's why Kudo came to talk with me, then."
"My work was to wait until you showed up, talk to you and figure out if you were related to the Organisation." Shinichi said, "Since I thought you were trustworthy, I told you everything."
Kaito smirked.
'A thief defined trustworthy by a detective?' he thought amused.
"Anyway, how did you find out my identity?" he asked, "Don't tell me it's written in the files too?"
"No, don't worry." Ryu said, "You're only mentioned as Kid."
"Then, how….?" Kaito asked again but Rei stopped him.
"I'll explain immediately..." she said, "Matt, turn to page.. ehm.. 54… Yes, that's when Kaito Kid is first mentioned."
As Matt carefully turned the pages, Shinichi found the file on his computer and let Ryu look at it while Shiho peered in Rei's screen. Kaito leaned towards Matt as he found he page: it was a short page, mainly formed by dates, and short paragraphs.
"As you can see, it's referred to events happened eight years ago. I'll summarize the important facts, all right?" Rei said, " Retrieval of hypothetical Pandora failed due to Phantom Thief Kid's interference. Despite the researches, his identity is still unknown. Now, skip two paragraphs….. New attempt of finding Pandora. Mission accomplished partially: the object is not the requested one, however, the subject of interference has been located. Kid's identity is known: silenced without witnesses and without being exposed.."
Rei stopped and looked at Kaito: she could see the familiar glint of anger and sorrow in his eyes.
"Kuroba?" she asked, after a while, "Are you all right?"
Kaito looked up and nodded: he could see understanding in her eyes but also in Ryu and Shiho's eyes too. He remembered their stories.
'They have lost their families.' he thought, 'They have suffered even more than me: I've still got my mother.'
"Well, it was obvious that the Kid mentioned here couldn't be you, so we decided to do a few researches." Rei resumed, "It was Shinichi that came up with the right guess: if it wasn't for his great memory, we would be still researching."
"Kudo?" Kaito asked, turning to him.
"Well, I remembered that ten years ago the Master Magician Kuroba Toichi died in what appeared to be an accident. The case was closed immediately because everyone thought it had been an a accident."
"We checked out the dates and found out that Toichi Kuroba died the same day Kid did." Rei added, "It didn't take us much to figure out that they were the same person: there were too many similarities between them to be a coincidence."
"So, you found out about my Dad in this way." Kaito said, "How did you come up to me?"
"We found out that Toichi Kuroba had a son: you." Ryu remarked, "We initially guessed that you could have taken your father's role but we had to be sure, so we went on working on the files until we found one referred to you." He opened another file on the screen, "Page 839, Matt."
As soon as he found the page, Ryu went on.
"This has been written more or less an year ago." he said, "Different attempts of retrieving Pandora have failed, due to the agents' ineptitude and to the interference of Phantom Thief Kid. Suspects of his identity but still no certainty. Subject must be silenced."
There was a uncomfortable silence in the room as the last statement sank in.
"Well, Kuroba, after having read this file, our suspects that you could be Kid increased. If the Organisation had suspects it meant that they were thinking what we were: Toichi Kuroba's son, Kaito was the new Phantom Thief Kid. " Ryu said, "We decided to contact you as soon as possible to figure out the truth and warn you."
"Wait a minute, you mean that you weren't sure that I was Kid?" Kaito asked.
Shinichi smiled mischievously.
"It was like making a bet." he said, "Once I had seen that you weren't an enemy, I just told you everything and waited. Your reaction was enough to tell me that Kid and Kuroba are the same person."
"So, you just fooled me, didn't you?" Kaito asked, frowning slightly.
"Yes." Shinichi replied promptly and the others smiled, seeing Kaito's face. It was a weird to see Shinichi and Kaito bickering: it was like watching two Shinichis teasing themselves.
"Anyway, Kuroba." Rei said, after a while, "There a few things I… we would like to know."
Kaito straightened up and nodded.
"First: did you know of the Organisation's existence?" she asked.
"No, I've never heard of them until my talk with Kudo." he answered.
"But you knew that someone was after you, right?" Shinichi asked, "You quickly changed subject when I asked you last time."
"Well, there's not much to say." Kaito said, "I knew immediately that Dad's death was not an accident: he had been murdered and, pretty cleverly too, since they made it look like an accident during his magical performance. Anyway, the ones that killed him now want me because I'm interfering with their plans as Dad did."
"They're looking for.. Pandora, right?" Ryu remarked, "And you're after it, too. What is it, anyway? A jewel or something?"
"Pandora is the mystic red gem within a gem that was thought to be visible under the moon's light and cries tears of immortality during a comet's pass." Kaito recited, "That's what the legend says." But seeing the blank expression on the others face he went on. "These people and I are looking for a certain jewel. If you hold it up to the moonlight, a holy gem inside will glow red. This holy gem can shed tears that can make a man immortal."
A blank silence greeted Kaito's words.
"That's ridiculous." Shinichi retorted, "You can't make someone immortal."
Kaito turned to him.
"They've killed my father and are willing to kill me for it." Kid said sharply, "Ridiculous enough for you?"
Ryu, Rei, Shiho and Shinichi looked at each other: Kaito had a good point. Matt turned to him.
"Let me get this straight.." he said, "The Organisation is after this jewel, Pandora, and your father first and you now are looking for it, too. But it seems that no one knows which stone is the right one, right?"
"No and that's why I… Kid's after all the precious stones: I want to find it before them."
"And what will happen when you find it?" Ryu asked.
"It's obvious: I'll destroy it into bits." Kaito said. Seeing the others surprised looks, he smiled, "But, so far, I've had no luck."
"Do you know who killed your father?" Rei asked.
"I found the man who killed Dad and part of their gang. I thought they were just a small part of an even bigger group and it seems that I've guessed right."
"When did you catch them?" Shinichi asked, interested.
"Nearly an year ago." he replied, "Handed them to Aoko's Dad."
"To who?"
"Oh, Inspector Nakamori." Kaito explained, "He's the one in charge to catch me and Aoko is a… friend of mine."
"Yeah, you two are friends like Ryu and Rei." Matt muttered and Kaito turned red. Rei couldn't help to notice the Kaito's likeness with Shinichi in this reaction.
Shiho, in the meanwhile, seemed to be completely lost in her thoughts and it didn't take much for Shinichi to notice it.
"Miyano?" he asked, "Something wrong?"
She turned to him with a thoughtful expression and his heart skipped a beat as their eyes met.
"No, it's just.. I was thinking…" she replied slowly. She then reformulated her thoughts, "Well, I was thinking what the Organisation is up to."
"Do you mean that secret project they're working on?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes, but not only that.."
"What is there objective?" Ryu asked, "What is the Organisation's real aim?"
He had overheard them and smiled slightly as Shinichi and Shiho turned to him.
"That was what you were thinking, right Shiho?" he asked and she nodded.
Ryu got up and walked to the window.
"The Black Organisation is involved in corruption, thefts, receiving of stolen properties, murders and other sorts of crimes, like other criminal groups. " he said, looking out of the window, "But this one is different. They're interested in scientific researches. They try to bring on their side all the talented scientists: especially chemists and computer scientists." He turned around to face the others who had been listening to his words. A frown creased his face. "The point is why do they need all these scientists?"
No one answered him, until…
"We can be both God and the devil since we're trying to raise the dead against the stream of time"
It was Shinichi that spoke and he looked up as the others turned to him.
"I've already told you this. Anyway, during a case, I found a computer disk belonging to a murdered computer programmer that had diary entries relating to the Black Org." he said, "When Agase and I read the disk, we discovered that the programmer was forced to work for the organisation -Tequila was his first contact and later he spoke to a woman on the phone- I think, probably, Vermouth. When the programmer asked her about the purpose of the program he was developing, she said these words: We can be both God and the devil since we're trying to raise the dead against the stream of time. Now if we think about it for a moment…"
"God and the devil…. "Rei said slowly, "Good and evil… but, maybe, also…"
"Life and death." Ryu added, "And this would mean…"
"Pandora and the APTX-4869." Shiho completed.
"Exactly." Shinichi remarked, "Immortality and instant death."
Kaito looked at the four with a point of amazement: they seemed to read the others mind and reason in the same way. However, as soon as their words sank in, his eyes widened in shock: he had understood what they meant and if the Organisation's aim was really that…
The room fell silent.
Matt looked up, after a while.
"Miyano?" he said suddenly, "And you too, Ryu."
Ryu and Shiho looked at him, wondering what he wanted.
"Listen, you two are the only ones that have been actually in the Organisation." Matt said, "Miyano has been working here in Japan while Ryu in America. Can you give me an idea of what you did there? What was your and the others work?"
Shiho and Ryu glanced at each other and noticed that the others were curious to know what they had really done in the Organisation too. It was Shiho that started.
"I was in the scientific research group and was working on a chemical, medic-poison project: the APTX-4869." she said quietly, "It's a poison… well, it should be the perfect poison: always efficacious, immediate operation and traceless in blood testing …"
"Well, it seems like something went wrong…" Matt remarked, "I mean, you and Kudo are still alive and you took the poison."
"We two are a…. particular case. The APTX has been used other times and it worked: all the deaths have been confirmed."
Shiho's heartbeat had doubled in a few seconds time: she was reviving in her mind all the months she had spent in the Organisation's lab, working on the poison. She was responsible of many peoples' death: she wasn't different from the Organisation's members.
Matt glanced at her.
Maybe it was for the fact that he had lived with Ryu for many years, but he could immediately understand when a person felt guilty. And Shiho was feeling like that now.
"Hey, don't worry. You're not the one to blame for those deaths." he said quickly and she looked up at him, clearly surprised, "You were forced to work for them: you didn't make that poison on your own will, did you? And besides that, you left the Organisation and are helping to bring it down. Anyone could see that you're not a criminal." He turned to the others. "Am I right?"
Kaito, Ryu and Shinichi nodded.
"We've been always saying that." Rei said.
"And by the way, I know laws pretty well since I'm a lawyer besides being an FBI agent." Matt added, grinning slightly, "So you can believe me. I'm not lying, Miyano."
Shiho smiled slightly at him and nodded.
"Anyway, going on.." she said, "I don't know where the Organisation's headquarter is: I've been working in a lab hidden in an old pharmaceutical building since I finished my studies in America. I was the only chemist there: there were four… no five computer scientists and a few high members that came over every now and then to keep an eye on us."
"Which members?" Matt asked, "Can you give me a few names?"
"Gin, Vodka and Shuichi Akai." she replied, feeling hatred wash her as she thought of them.
"So, you don't know where the Japanese headquarter is?"
Shiho shook her head and Matt turned to Ryu.
"What about you?" he asked.
"The Organisation's headquarter is in New York." Ryu said, "I've heard it's a large place: something like a building with five floors. If I'm not wrong, they said as a cover, that it's a research institute. I've never been there: they didn't trust me enough to take me there but the lab where I was working was close to it. I'm sure of that: there were always many high members coming around. Vermouth (Rei frowns slightly), Gin and Vodka, when they were there and other ones I didn't know. Anyway, I was in the second scientific group: computer technology and programming. There were many scientists there: I counted about fifteen computer scientists, three engineers.. no four, I was one, too. That's all."
Matt nodded. Just then, they noticed that he was writing everything on his notebook.
"Matt, you're taking notes?" Ryu asked.
"Yeah, I want to know.. well, I want to have an idea of who we're fighting against." he said, looking up, "You five have already faced them and it seems that I'll be facing them soon." He scribbled another thing on his notebook and put it away. "I knew that the Organisation was dangerous. Besides the crimes, like theft and corruption, they kill and murder as if nothing was the matter and you guys know it better than me.. However, I've been thinking that their only purpose was getting powerful, rich or something like that. That was my first thought, when I found out about the programmers. It was kind of obvious, right?"
Rei nodded.
"Yes, it would have been natural." she said, "Computer scientists are always useful: nearly everything nowadays works or deals with computers. The Organisation could use them to force systems such as police archives or many other top-secret data containers. However, a couple of talented programmers are enough for that. I mean, they've got more than twenty scientists at their side: they're too many for a… simple project."
Matt straightened up and looked at her.
"Ok, let's suppose, since we don't have any concrete evidence, that the Organisation's secret project is to… ehm… act as God? Can I define it like that?" he asked, "Anyway, they want something that ends life instantly without leaving traces, and so they asked.. forced Miyano to make that poison. Fortunately, she left before having finished its making.."
"Well, if they have asked someone else to carry on my work, the APTX will be finished pretty soon." Shiho cut him, "It has worked a few times when it was still experimental and if they find out what's wrong with it, they'll have the perfect poison soon."
"That doesn't sound good." Ryu said, "By the way, do you know what was the error, right?"
"Yes, I figured it out thanks to the data you gave me." she replied, "That's how I got the antidote."
"Anyway, as I was saying.." Matt continued, "They want something to kill, besides weapons, so they want this poison. They want something to reach immortality, so they want that gem, Pandora. My question is: what do the computer scientists got to do with this?"
A blank silence greeted his words. No one knew what to say or think of.
Only Rei was lost in her thoughts and then, she got it.
"Simulations.." she said.
The others stared at her.
"Come again?"
"They probably want some certitudes that Pandora's miraculous substance works." she said, "Or maybe they're trying to find a different combination of elements that can make that substance."
As the others stared at her, Kaito was the first to speak.
"You mean, they're trying to find a way to reach immortality without finding the gem?" he asked.
It was Ryu that replied.
"I think it's a kind of second plan." he said, "In case they don't get Pandora or if you, Kid, find it before. They want to create Pandora's tears artificially."
"In other words, they're trying to make an.. elixir of eternal life." Matt said, raising an eyebrow, "Well, the alchemists had tried to do something like that centuries ago. How can the Organisation be sure to get what they want? And would you mind explaining me what the computer scientists have got to do with this?"
"It's pretty simple." Rei said, "They want to make this elixir, as you called, but they don't know which elements can make it. They have to make hundreds… no, thousands of experiments to find out and they can't do it in the normal way, with test tubes and everything in a lab: it would take too much time. The best way is to simulate all the experiments with computers: at least, if you make a mistake, you don't have to start everything from the beginning but just modify one program."
"So, the Organisation needs all the scientists to make these simulations." Matt said.
"Yes, and since they've kidnapped so many more in the past months, I suppose they want to get the results pretty soon." Rei remarked.
"Well, this means that we have to hurry up to bring them down, right?" Matt said, getting up, "Come on, we've got to come up with the last bit of the plan soon. That's the main reason we're all here, so let's get started."
Ryu smiled. Matt never changed: he was always eager to do things quickly.
"You already have a plan?" Kaito asked.
"Well, it's the one we made more than a year ago." Ryu explained, approaching the others and leaning on the wall, "First, the information: I had to take them out, being the infiltrate, Rei had to work them out and Matt had to.. well, he has the tough job.."
"What do you have to do?" Shiho asked.
"I have to verify if all the information is true, checking all the police archives." Matt replied, "And only after my checking, we can go on with the final act."
"Bring the Organisation down." Shinichi said, "Well, how will we do it?"
Ryu came over and sat down on his chair while the others straightened up on their own chairs: this was the most important moment of their meeting and nobody wanted to loose a word.
It was Matt that started.
"Ok, I think there are a few points to clear out before. It seems that I'm always the one that gives out warnings and everything, isn't it?" he said, looking up at Rei and Ryu who smiled.
Matt was a year elder than them and he had always been very protective. Now, that Shinichi, Shiho and Kaito had joined the team, they knew that his sense of protection would have extended to them, too.
"Anyway, the Organisation knows about MYSTERY. The double-crossers have probably told them everything, after you disappeared, Ryu. They know that you escaped with information regarding them, they know that you are an FBI agent and they're probably waiting that you'll come out to damage them."
"Well, I knew that already." Ryu replied, "That's why they want me dead, remember?"
Matt ignored Ryu's sarcasm and went on.
"I don't think your situation is different, Miyano: you worked for them and know many things about the Organisation. I know that they want you dead too. So, till now, they want two of us. Now, we come to Rei and Kudo.."
"They think I've killed myself." Rei said, "Everyone thinks so."
"And they I am dead because of the poison." Shinichi remarked.
To their surprise, Matt shook his head.
"That's the point: they think you two are dead and I don't think they'll accept only a hypothesis." he said, "From what I've understood, there is a possibility that the Organisation knows about the poison's.. ehm.. contraindication. Kudo, your body has not been found and you said that Vermouth had suspects about your identity when you were a kid. Let's say that she wants to carry on her suspects and asks the new chemists to see if it's really possible to shrink with the poison. Miyano, do you think the other chemists can find this out?"
"Well, it possible." Shiho admitted, "But it also depends on their ability."
"So, if these two chemists are good, they could find out that Kudo and also you have turned into kids." Matt said, "Well, I don't know if it's a good news that you have turned back to your normal bodies: the Organisation might be looking for you."
Ryu looked at Matt with a strange expression.
'Why is he telling us all this?' he thought, 'We know that we're wanted by the Organisation: we know that they want us dead. Then, why is telling us something so... Unless..'
Ryu got up so quickly that the others jumped, and turned to Matt.
"Matt, don't even think of doing that." he said sharply.
"Of doing what?" Matt asked simply. He knew that Ryu had understood: lying was useless.
"You want to keep us out. You know that we are in danger and that we're on the Organisation's wanted list. Well, we know that ourselves. " Ryu said, "And with –we- I mean, Rei, Shinichi, Shiho and myself. Kuroba is still safe because the Organisation doesn't know him. So, have I guessed right or wrong?"
The initial surprise at Ryu's behaviour had changed into sharp looks at Matt: Rei, Shinichi and Shiho were staring at him and Matt noticed it.
"Listen, I don't want to keep you out." he said uncomfortably, nearly feeling the intensity of their stares, "The point is that you four have been exposed too much and.."
"Matt, I know that you're a lawyer and you always try to sort things out with diplomacy." Rei cut him, "But for once, just come to the point without trying to find the right words."
The boy looked at her and nodded.
"All right, then." he said to her, "I'll tell you what's up. Before leaving America, Dad talked to me: he said that I had to try to keep you and Ryu out of any plan we were going to work out. He thought that you two were more in danger than me since you have been working in the forefront. I've always been keeping in the background. He asked me to convince you to let him, his squad and me work out the last part of the plan."
"What?" Ryu and Rei exclaimed together. They were both going to say something else when Matt stopped them with his hand.
"I said that he asked me to convince you. He didn't say to do it really, did he?" he said smiling mischievously, "And I did what he asked me to do. My conscience is ok." He nearly laughed out as he saw the looks on his friends' faces, but he managed to keep a straight face and went on. "Anyway, I have to admit that Dad was right on a point: you two… well, you four, are lots more in danger than the others that are involved in MYSTERY. The Organisation knows who you are, what you have done and, since you know nearly as much about them, they want you dead."
"Matt, I understand that you and your father are worried about us but.." Rei started.
"But we know the risks we are going against." Ryu finished, "We've always known that; since the day we decided to start this plan, I knew that it would have been dangerous but I want to go on anyway, and I think Rei, Shinichi and Shiho are as determined as I am. Right?"
"Sure." Shinichi said, "I'm not giving up now."
"Neither am I." Shiho remarked, "I want to see the Organisation brought down."
"Me too." Rei said, "Matt, we appreciate yours and your father's concern but we are all for it. We will keep on working to bring the Organisation down."
"And don't even try to pull us out of it." Ryu added.
Matt looked at them with a mingled expression of amusement and exasperation.
"I thought I had met the two most stubborn and foolish people in the world when I met you two." he said, pointing to Ryu and Rei, "But it seems that I've got to change my mind: Kudo and Miyano are cast in your same mould. It was obvious that you four would have got along well.."
The four in question smiled sheepishly as he said this.
"Ehm… what about me?" Kaito asked, "I know that I'm the new one here, but now that I know what you're up to, I want to join in, too."
Matt nodded.
"Fine for me and, since they called you, it must be fine for them, too." he said, "So, everything has been sorted out. Let's get started."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran was alone at home.
Kogoroh had gone out with Inspector Megure shortly after Conan had left.
'Conan-kun…' she thought. She got up from her bed and headed to his room. Her heart gave a lurch as she saw that the room was empty: there weren't novels scattered on the table along with comics, there wasn't the soccer ball in the corner and all his things.
'He left only a couple of hours ago and I already miss him as though he had gone for days. I know he won't come back. His mother and father will want him with them. He won't come back here anymore. He won't come back to me anymore. First Shinichi and then him…'
Ran shook her head. She was doing it again: comparing Conan to Shinichi.
'I can't do that.' she thought, 'Conan-kun has always been there for me: he always comforted me and cheered me up. I can't compare him to Shinichi. Shinichi that… gave me false hopes and then rejected my feelings.'
Tears were about to fall down her cheeks but she managed to fight them back.
She was not going to cry for that: she had promised it to herself. She promised that she wouldn't have cried on what had happened with Shinichi weeks ago. She had to react and…fight.
'He said he'll be back in a few weeks…' she thought, 'I don't want to go to his house… I'll probably meet him at school… I'll find a way to talk to him and, maybe, everything will go well.'
She didn't even want to consider the hypothesis that Shinichi could have declared himself to the girl
he loved. The only thought shattered her last hopes and Ran wanted to hope.
She sighed and left Conan's room.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It took them more than a hour but the final stage of MYSTERY was nearly all planned out.
Matt was the first one to go into action: he was going to start the work from USA. He had to read all the papers Rei had given him: all the files regarding the Organisation and verify if they were true in the police archives. As soon as he got back to America, he would inform his father and together they'll start to block the Organisation's activities.
"We'll start from the minor activities such as thefts and receiving of stolen properties. I think that these are the main ways the Organisation gets the money for their other activities." Matt said, "Otherwise, I don't know how they manage to corrupt so many people. Anyway, we'll probably deal with the double-crossers and the long list of murders later."
If Matt was going to inform FBI, someone had to inform the Japanese police….
Kaito was the next one to start working: he had to keep an eye on the agent that he had given to police since he was the only Organisation's member that was imprisoned.
"Listen, Kuroba, we'll take advantage of your disguising ability." Ryu said to him, "You'll have to act to be a policeman and check if the Org.'s member is still there. Moreover, you'll have to watch what's going on in the police headquarter: if there's anything strange, call us right away."
"So, I just have to keep an eye on the situation back at Inspector Nakamori's station, right?" Kaito said, taking the piece of paper that Ryu was giving him. Matt, Agase and Shinichi's phone numbers were written on it.
"Well, I wouldn't take it so simple if I were you." Rei said, "According to the files, the Organisation's leaders are three: two in America and one in Japan. We don't know anything else about them. They are totally hidden in the shadows. We know lots more about the members: each one has a file with general information and a photo."
"Well, it's a good thing." Matt remarked, "It will be easier to catch them."
"Hey, what's this got to do with my work?" Kaito asked.
Ryu turned to him.
"We made a few guesses on the leaders' real identity." he said, "They have to be rich or powerful people or both of them. Big shots, in other words. If we had to make a list, I'd put in lots of finance magnates and other men of that sort but also a few high police inspectors."
"That's why he was telling you to be careful." Shinichi remarked, "The police station that you have to control is Tokyo's principal one. You'll have to check if some high officer is involved."
"Uhm, all right." Kaito replied, "And if I find out something, I must inform you guys."
Shinichi had a similar job, too.
He was the only one that knew personally some local police officers: every now and then, he had to contact Inspector Megure and see if anything strange had happened.
"We can also take advantage on the fact that you are friends with an important police inspector's son." Rei said, "What's his name…? Hattori Heiji?"
"Yeah, Heiji Hattori." Shinichi said, "He knows everything about me.. about my shrinking, I mean. I'm sure he'll help us."
That was Shinichi's other job: if they got any news, from Matt or on their own, about the Organization's Japanese headquarter, he had to contact Hattori and then Inspector Megure and, together, they would have raided the place and caught all the members.
On the other hand, Rei, Ryu and Shiho would have worked in the background: they had to help Matt whenever he asked for information. They would be useful since they were all good in using computers and making researches in Internet. Moreover, they had to concentrate their efforts in finding the Organization's Japanese headquarter.
The plan was pretty simple: everyone had a definite role and job. But there was a risk..
They hadn't forgotten that the police station's phone lines were bugged and if Shinichi called and the Organization heard him, they would know he was alive and he would be in danger.
Moreover, if Shinichi was found, Ryu, Rei and Shiho would be in danger, too.
They discussed about this, especially after that Ryu, Rei and Shiho had slightly protested when they learned that their job would have only been to search and give information.
After a while, Matt tried to make them see some sense.
"Listen, you four are the most exposed." he said, "The Organization knows you: they know your faces and they want you dead."
"Well, you're putting Shinichi in danger asking him to contact his police officers friends." Ryu said.
"I would have done without him if I could but it's necessary and he's the only one that can do it." Matt retorted, "I can't suddenly show up and inform Japanese police about the Black Organization and of MYSTERY. Even if I say that I'm an FBI agent, I don't think they'll believe, especially if they ask for information about me and find out that I've been through an inquiry for double crossing."
"Well, I can't do it either." Kaito pitched in, "Even though we look alike, I can't take Kudo's place because I don't know anything about the cases he's been involved. And, by the way, I am Phantom Thief Kid: if they find out who I am, I'd go straight to jail."
"You weren't so cautious when we said that you had to disguise as a policeman and check Tokyo's principal police station." Shinichi remarked, looking at him with an eyebrow raised.
Kaito grinned.
"Being Kid is one thing, acting as you is another." he said simply.
Matt was still thinking over the previous problem.
"Anyway, Kudo is the only one that can contact Japanese police." he said, "He knows trustworthy people. We can't make the mistake to inform one of the Organization's spies."
"Don't worry." Shinichi said, "I'll find a way to do my job without being found by the Organization and without endangering."
Ryu sighed lightly.
"Yes, you're the only one that can do this." he said, " And, by the way, we don't have other choice, do we? So, what else is left?"
"Well, the plan is all… planned and each of us has a specific job." Matt replied, "Then, what..? Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. Whenever you contact me, never use your names: I've checked out all my phone lines but it's better to be cautious. Each of you has to find a codename, so I'll know right away whom I'm talking with. There's no problem for Ryu, Rei and me: we already have ours. It's just you three, then."
"I'll stick with Kid." Kaito said, "I don't think it could be recognizable."
"No, it isn't. Anyway, who would think an FBI agent worked with a thief?" Matt said, grinning slightly, "By the way, my code name's Ford."
"Mine is Ellery." Ryu said.
"And mine is Christie." Rei said.
"What about you two?" Matt asked, turning to Shinichi and Shiho, "What have you decided?"
"I think I'll carry on with Conan." Shinichi said, "After all, he was involved with the Organization as much as I was."
"Yeah, good idea." Ryu said with a smile, "And you Shiho?"
"I'll go on with Ai." she said, "I don't want to choose another name."
"All right, then" Matt said, getting up, "MYSTERY'S team is formed: the six of us plus my Dad and his squad. The plan will start tomorrow. As soon as I get back to America, I'll start my job."
He opened his backpack and stuffed his two notebooks inside. Afterwards he drew out two parcels and handed them to Ryu.
"The things you asked me to bring." he said, "Two automatics with two chargers each plus other four extra ones for you and Rei and two dozens of bullets for your revolver."
"Well, I didn't except you'd have brought everything today." Ryu remarked, "Thanks Matt."
"No problem. Anyway, good thing I came with a private airplane, otherwise they would have stopped me at the airport, thinking I'm a terrorist or something." Matt replied with a slight grin.
The others smiled slightly.
"Matt?" Rei said, "How much time will it take you to get on with work?"
"Time? Well, I will try to verify everything and work out the rest with Dad as fast as possible but I can't do it too fast either." he replied, "Both the Organization and FBI would suspect something. Anyway, I'll start asking your help right away, so let's say a few weeks…"
"A few weeks?" Shinichi said, "Well, that not much."
But Ryu was not so optimist.
"No, Shinichi, you misunderstood." he said, "It will take Matt a few weeks to start the work. It will take even more, maybe, months for us to take part of the plan."
"Well, that right." Matt admitted, "But it's a good thing after all. The Organization will be too busy trying to understand why all their activities in America are being blocked to bother to you four. You won't have to hide as much as you did till now."
Both Ryu and Rei noticed a strange hint in Matt's voice and, for some reason, it didn't sound good. For them at least.
"What do you mean with –you don't have to hide?" Ryu asked, "Ok, let's say that the Organization is all focused in the problems you'll be giving them in America. It doesn't mean that we four can hang around freely without worrying to be found."
"I'm not saying that but.."
"But?" Rei asked.
Matt looked first at Ryu and Rei, then turned to Shinichi and Shiho.
"Can I ask you a thing?" he asked, looking at the four, "What are you going to do in these months?"
This question took them by surprise: it was the last thing they expected in that moment.
"There's not much to say." Shiho said, "We'll wait."
"You'll wait." Matt said, "Ok, where?"
"At Agase's house." Rei said, wondering where on earth was Matt getting to.
Matt nearly laughed.
"All four of you?" he asked.
"Of course." Shinichi said, "We can't split, can we?"
"I didn't mean that." Matt said again, "Till now, Rei, Ryu and Miyano.. well no, Ai have been living here while Kudo.. ehm, Conan has been living in another place, right?"
"Yes." Rei said.
"You and Ryu have been very careful: you rarely went out and, when you did, you were always disguised. The other two didn't need a disguise since they were kids. But now, it's all different. Wouldn't it be suspicious if four teenagers were all hiding in the same place, hardly going out?"
Ryu thought this over.
"Well, it might be suspicious." he admitted, "But what can we do?"
"You could try to be normal for once." Matt replied and Ryu, Rei, Shiho and Shinichi stared at him.
"Be normal?" Ryu echoed, "What the hell do you mean with that?"
But the American boy didn't answer. Rei looked at him thoughtfully.
"Matt, do you know something we don't?" she asked, "I've got this… fleeting feeling that you want to, or better, have to tell us something but you don't know how."
Matt looked at her and nodded.
"Well, you guessed right." he said, scratching his head, embarrassedly, "But, first of all, I've got nothing to do with this! It's not my idea or anything: I'm just the messenger."
Ryu looked at him slightly amused.
"Hey, calm down, Matt." he said, "No one's going to kill you. Anyway, what's up?"
'No one will kill me?' Matt thought, 'Just wait to hear this and then, let's see. Anyway, here I go.'
"Ok.. well, when I was coming here by plane with Mrs. Kudo…" he said, "Well, she asked what we would have done today: what we would have discussed and decided.."
"Were you worried for that?" Shinichi asked, "Yeah, Mom can be pretty curious.. nosy, I can say but don't worry, she won't say a word."
"No, it's not that: I know we can trust your mother and your father." Matt said to him, "It's just that, I gave her a general idea of the plan and she quickly spotted this last part where you, Miyano, Rei and Ryu had to work here. She noticed that you had to be contact and work outdoors but you also had to be careful not to found."
"And..?" Rei asked.
"Well, she said: The best disguise is to be normal."
"Sorry, but I don't understand." Ryu said, "Matt, why don't you explain instead of… talking nonsense?"
"Oh, all right. Mrs. Kudo came up with an idea and, well, I thought it wasn't bad." Matt said. He turned to Shinichi and Shiho. "Does anyone know that you two are back? I mean, in your true forms."
Shiho shook her head.
"Nobody. I don't know anyone here, besides the ones in this house." she replied and she turned to Shinichi. Rei and Ryu did the same. The detective turned slightly red.
"Ehm… A friend of mine knows." he said, "I met her a few weeks ago and I told her that I'd be back in a couple of weeks."
Matt nearly sighed in relief.
'Great! Someone knows.' he thought, 'We can still do it.'
"Coming back to Mrs. Kudo's idea, she suggested that you four could…ehm.." Matt stammered, "Go to school."
The reaction was predictable.
"WHAT?"
"Matt, this is mad." Rei said.
"Absolutely mad." Ryu corrected.
"Teitan High will be surely controlled." Shiho said, "That's where Kudo-kun goes to school: the Organization knows it."
"We can't go there." Shinichi said.
"Why not?"
The six teenagers turned around and saw Yukiko standing at the door frame with Agase right behind her, holding a tray with cups of coffee.
Shinichi got up and faced his mother.
"Mom, why do you think that going to school will help us instead of complicating our situation?" he asked with a note of exasperation in his tone.
"Well, you four will be mixed up with hundreds of other students." she said, "It would take the Organization quite a while to find you."
"Ok, but.."
"Shin-chan, why didn't you tell us that you had given and passed your final exams?" Yukiko asked, cutting across her son's question, "Hiroshi-san just told me."
"Well, I forgot." he replied sincerely, "Mom, why..?"
"Another thing, why didn't you tell us that there were so many old bills to pay? I went home to look around and there was no light, gas or water." she said with a slightly annoyed tone, "Anyway, I paid everything: it should be all working by tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?" Shinichi asked echoed confused but his face cleared immediately, "Oh, yes, I understand: since I'm back to my true form, I must go and live at home from now on. I nearly forgot that. Anyway, I'll stay here at Agase's tonight."
"Listen, won't it be dangerous for you to go back to your house?" Rei asked, approaching him, "I mean, the Organization knows that next door is your place. They had already sent people to check it out and Shiho was with them. What if they do it again?"
"Well, I'll have to risk." he replied, "If something happens, I'll manage to come here and you three will help me out. Ran knows I'm coming back and she has told it to Sonoko, so I have to go and stay at my place."
As he mentioned Ran, a glint of guilt flickered in his eyes while a spark of sadness mixed to pain flashed for a few seconds in Shiho's eyes. Ryu was the only one to notice it and he couldn't help wondering when his two friends would deal with their feelings and stop suffering pointlessly.
"I don't think they'll come back." Matt said, making Ryu, Rei, Shinichi and Shiho stare at him.
"Why not?" Ryu asked.
"Well, it would be too.. obvious." Matt replied simply, "Let's put it in this way: the Organization supposes that Kudo is alive. They think: Where could he be? In America with his parents? In Japan, waiting for the right moment to strike and damage them? Hiding in some other foreign country? Or perhaps, is he really dead?
These are all their questions. Believe me, the last thing they would think of is that Kudo has got back to his house, here in Beika. They know that he knows that it would be the first place where they would look for him, so they don't even bother to check it out and look somewhere else. And, coming to think of it, it's the same thing for the school."
"Well, your reasoning could be right." Ryu said, "But it's all built up on hypothesis and we can't risk our lives without some certitudes."
Matt looked at him defiantly.
"You want some certitudes?" he asked, "Well, you'll have them. Give me one.. two weeks: I'll start damaging the Organization's activities in America and I bet what you want that they'll be so busy figuring out how to block FBI that they will probably forget you four for a while."
'Ugh, he thought of everything!' Ryu thought, sighing inwardly, 'He knew that we would have protested and he came up with a good answer for each of our questions.'
"Matt, since you seem to have worked this out from the beginning, why don't you tell us what exactly should we do?" he asked.
"I told you: be normal. I don't know what story you'll make up but you'll all have to behave as four normal seventeen year olds. Not like FBI agents or chemists." Matt said, looking straight at Ryu, Rei and Shiho, "And, most of all, not like ex university students."
Kaito and Shinichi tried to keep their face straight but a small smile forced it's way out as they saw the look on the other three's face. Going back to school… high school was probably the last thing they thought would have happened to them.
Rei slowly turned around and faced Yukiko and Agase.
"I suppose that you two agree with Matt, right?" she asked, "It would be pointless to ask you to support us and let us stay home?"
"Right." Yukiko said.
"We'll always support you." Agase said, "But not in this case. Anyway, it doesn't seem such a bad idea to me: at least, you'll have something to do while you have to wait the news from America."
Thinking it over, after the annoyance had slightly gone away, Shinichi admitted that it was a good idea. If they went to school and behaved as any other student, no one would have noticed them. It would have been lots more suspicious if they were hiding in the same place, occasionally going out.
"Well, it seems that we don't have other choice, do we?" he said, after a while.
"Not really." Ryu said, looking up.
"I suppose we'll have to agree." Shiho remarked.
"Yes, seems that we'll be all back to the second year of high school." Rei said.
"So, you're going to go to school?" Yukiko asked.
The four teenagers looked at each other.
"Yes." they replied rather glumly.
"Don't be so enthusiast." Matt said sarcastically, "To tell the truth, I don't know why you're so glum: you've got something to do instead of being bored to death, cooped in this house." He grinned as the four sent death glares to him and got up. "Oh well, since we've finished talking and we've decided everything.." He stretched a bit, "What now?"
"What about eating something?" Agase suggested, "It's already half past four and you didn't even have lunch. I prepared a few things while you were discussing, so if you want to…"
"Well, now that you mention it…" Shinichi said, "I do feel hungry."
"And not only you." Ryu added, "We were so taken up that we didn't even bother to check the time."
"Let's go then." Rei said, "Everybody in the kitchen."
The six teenagers, Yukiko and Agase left the lab and headed to the kitchen.
-
The meal was quite enjoyable: between Agase's great cooking and Yukiko's usual cheerfulness, everyone had a good time. Yukiko was particularly interested on Kaito's resemblance with Shinichi and passed most of the time trying to find all the similarities among them (Shinichi was perpetually red because of his mother's behavior).
About an hour later, Matt and Yukiko decided to leave: there was a private plane that was waiting for them at the airport. However, before going away, Yukiko opened her handbag and drew out a few envelopes.
"Shin-chan, these are for you." she said, handing them to her son.
Shinichi looked at her quizzically.
"Mom? What's this stuff?" he asked.
"A small gift from your father and me." she replied, "In one envelope there is your bankbook and.."
"I've got a bank account?" Shinichi asked, cutting through his mother's explanation.
"Of course you have one! Did you really think that your father and I would have left you alone in Japan without leaving you some extra money?" she asked, slightly surprised, "Anyway, you can use that money in the way you like: it's yours. Take it as a welcome back gift. Hiroshi-san said that you wanted to buy a motor bike, so you can do it now."
"A motor bike? Oh, yes… a motor bike, of course." Shinichi said, hoping no one noticed his wavering. Behind him, Ryu, Rei and Shiho hid a smile. They were the only ones that knew the truth: Agase still believed that the two boys had gone out to choose a motorbike the evening after Shinichi's exam. They didn't tell him anything about the rifle range or the fighting lessons. They knew that he would have worried.
"What's in this one?" Shinichi said, waving the other envelope. Something moved inside.
"Oh, there are two credit cards in there. One is for emergencies while the other one is for your friends." Yukiko replied simply.
Rei, Ryu and Shiho stared at her.
"For… us?" they asked.
"Yes for you." she said with a smile, " Rei-chan and Ryu-kun, you left America abruptly and I don't think you had enough time to collect some money and Shiho-kun, you didn't have the chance to do it either. So, my husband and I thought that we could help you: we thought that you would need to buy some things too."
"No, wait, I've got some money." Ryu started, "I can manage with that.."
Yukiko stopped him and shook her head.
"Don't worry. It's not a problem for us: on the contrary, it's a pleasure." she said, "Please accept the money as a gift."
Ryu and the two girls were speechless. They just looked at each other and then nodded at Yukiko, murmuring a "Thank you."
Shinichi grinned.
'Great move, Mom and Dad.' he thought.
Kaito was the leaving too: he promised to be careful and to keep in touch but he also made the others swear that they would contact him if they had any important news. As he gave them his phone number, Shinichi smirked: he had Phantom Thief Kid's phone number and they were working together.. He never thought it would have been possible.
They were all standing in front of Agase's house for the last goodbyes.
Yukiko gave Shinichi and Rei a rib-cracking hug and made them promise to be careful. They both blushed and mumbled that they would have been. Yukiko then turned to Ryu and Shiho and gave them a hug too.
"Take care, all right?" she said.
Taken aback by her action but secretly pleased, Shiho and Ryu nodded.
Matt shook hands with everyone and then, he surprisingly turned to Agase.
"Professor, can I ask you favor?" he asked, "Would you mind keeping an eye on these four? Ryu and Rei attract problems like magnets and I think that Miyano and Kudo are not very different. And the thought that these four are together worries me."
Agase smiled, noticing the look on the above mentioned four.
"Of course." he replied, "It will be my duty to see what they're doing."
Matt and Yukiko left by car while Kaito walked away. They waved goodbye and disappeared.
Shinichi looked around: it was getting dark and he felt quite tired after a day of decisions and discussions. Agase and the others went back inside while he waited out for a few seconds.
He glanced at his house: it had been months since he had been inside. He wondered in what state he would find it tomorrow but he was also secretly glad to go back to his own house.
He stared at the dusky sky.
"The final stage has started now." he whispered, "Black Organization, your hours are counted."
And with this, he went inside too.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, chapter 18 is up! It's an important chapter and I hope that everyone has understood what I meant. I must admit that it's a bit confusing: there are a few parts that don't satisfy me a lot. Let's say that I had the ideas but I don't know if I wrote them well. I also think I've rushed a bit at the end. Anyway, if there are any mistakes or confusing points, just send me a review or an e-mail and I'll try to clear your ideas. Ok?
Another thing, everything that is written in this chapter has been created by me. I only used Kaito Kids' story and Pandora, the rest is invented.
REVIEW!
Bye!
A.N: Mistakes have been corrected
