Four points of the same star.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Detective Conan.

-...- transceiver talk

FOUR POINTS OF THES SAME STAR Chapter 24: Dealing with the Organisation (B)

-I don't want any unnecessary frontal encounters. We are not here to start a slaughter: we are here to catch as many of them. If I hear of a death provoked because of simple hatred, I will be merciless and consider that person as a murderer. At my eyes, that agent will be a criminal at the same level of the ones we are going to fight.-

A firm -Yes, sir- was heard and then the communications were stopped.

FBI, Tokyo and Osaka's police forces had surrounded the whole area of the Bay of Tokyo.

The cars had been lined in a huge circle so that no one could go past them since a man would be in each car with a gun in his hand. They had spotted three ships at the harbour and a quick, yet quiet and calm line of people carrying boxes, crates and bags that came in and out of them. Nearby, there were a few black Jeeps. Matt's Dad knew why they were there.. and he would have stopped them from leaving.

Mark Xanders turned around to see his squad. The seven Inspectors involved in the attack were in charge of nearly sixty men each and they all had a definite role.

Squads Alpha and Beta: Inspector Xanders and Megure. They were in the front line and would have been the first to show themselves and attack.

Squads Gamma and Delta: Inspector Morris and Carter. They would have come from the back to catch the criminals off guard, supporting the first attack.

Squads Omega and Theta: Inspector Knight and Shiratori. They were the 'covering fire' and 'radar' of the whole operation: they had to get into action if they saw that the other four squads were in trouble, if they saw anyone trying to get away and they also had to give constant information to the squads in action. They couldn't risk to be ambushed.

Squad Sigma: Inspector Hattori. He was in charge of the 'navy': he had managed to provide a group of boats and motorboats to patrol the sea around the Bay. If someone of the Organisation tried to escape, they would have him.

Everything was ready: everyone was waiting for Inspector Xanders' signal. When he was sure that everyone was in position, Mark Xanders took his transceiver and inhaled deeply.

-NOW!-

More than a hundred men with the two Inspectors at the lead charged into the old building right in front of the harbour. The men clad in black that were inside were caught off guard. They saw policemen belonging to Tokyo's district, judging by their black and white uniforms, and FBI agents, judging by the blue uniforms with the yellow letters printed on the jackets. But they quickly recovered.

Shots and shouts were heard shortly after.

The attack had begun.

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Shinichi stared at the gun pointed at his head.

Shuichi Akai held the weapon with his right hand and was holding Shiho's wrists with the other. Port was lying on the ground. Dead.

Their attempt had failed miserably..

Shiho had squirmed out of Port's grip after having hit him on the ribs. At the same time, Shinichi shot one of his hypodermic needles to Shuichi. Unfortunately, Akai had noticed the sudden movement and abruptly stepped aside and the needle hit the walkie-talkie instead of his arm. He quickly turned to Shinichi and aimed his gun at him. Shiho saw Shinichi in danger but she had to think of Port before. Without even thinking, she drew out her gun and fired randomly. The sound of the shot echoed throughout the forest and Port fell to the ground, clutching his injured shoulder.

"Sherry!"

Shiho turned and saw Shuichi pointing a gun at Shinichi's head.

"Put that down or Kudo will die." Akai threatened.

"No, don't.." Shinichi started to say but Shuichi hit him on the head again, on the same spot he had hit before. The boy fell on his knees, bleeding profusely from the cut on his head.

Akai turned to the girl.

"Well?" he asked, "What do you choose? His death or .. ?" He stopped as a gun fell on the ground and a smirk appeared on his face. "You have softened. Now, come here. Slowly."

Shiho did as she was told and when she was close, Shuichi grabbed her wrists, forcing her to turn around and look at Shinichi who was still on the ground.

Port was whimpering behind them, holding his bleeding shoulder. Shuichi looked at him with a calculating stare and then, without warning, he fired. The bullet hit Port square in the chest: he died with a surprised, stunned look on his face.

Shinichi's eyes widened in shock as he saw the murder take place right in front of his eyes while Shiho's stare turned harder and colder. This was the Organization.

Shuichi turned back to the boy as though nothing had happened, gun in his right hand and left hand busy holding Shiho.

"Now that we're alone, we can talk." he said, surprisingly, "I should take Sherry away but I don't think that he would mind a few minutes of lateness."

Both Shinichi and Shiho noticed the 'he' and wondered who Akai was referring to. The man looked at them with a odd stare.

"So, tell me." he remarked, "How did you two manage to survive?"

A full-blown silence greeted his words. Despite this, a smirk appeared on his face.

"I have a theory but it needs to be cleared a bit." he continued, "Let's see, it has all started with your poison, Sherry." He turned to look down at Shiho."I am sure this has something got to do with your project."The girl failed to hide her disgust as she felt his breath reach her face. Shinichi felt anger course through his body and Shuichi noticed it.

"Mad, are you?" he taunted, "You don't know what you're going against, Kudo. You don't know her as I do."

Shiho's head shot around to look at him: her eyes were blazing with fury.

"You don't know me." she spat venomously.

Shuichi smirked as a glint of amusement shone in his green eyes.

"Well, Akemi did and I heard enough about you from her." he said, "She always spoke of you: always Shiho here, Shiho there."

Saying that the girl was furious was an understatement. Shinichi had never seen Shiho in such an angry state.

"You betrayed her." she said in forced calm voice, "You gave her hopes, saying that I could have abandoned the Organization with her if she did a few well done works. And in the meantime, you convinced her that the making of the poison would have been my last task. You knew that she was the only one that could have persuaded me on quickening the project: if there was a possibility of leaving, I would have done anything. And you knew how we were close to each other." The words just spilled out her mouth before she could stop them. Shiho was pouring out all the bitterness and anger mixed with sorrow for the loss of her sister: all because of Akai that had disillusioned her. "But then, when the project was coming close to the end, you showed your true colors. You knew that the Organization wouldn't have let me go. Nor they would leave Akemi. So you just waited for the moment to.. take care of her. You knew that she would have protested if you didn't accomplish the agreement. And when she did... " A mirthless smirk flickered on her face. "It was all planned. I half expected that it would have been you to assassin her. Who had the idea? You? Gin? Or someone else coming from the higher ranks? I should have known.. To think that she trusted you.."

At this point she stopped, startled by Shuichi's sudden laughter. It was a cold, harsh and mocking laughter. Shinichi, whose gaze had been fixed on Shiho during her outburst, looked at the man in bewilderment. What was so funny?

"She trusted me?" Akai repeated, "Who? Akemi? She trusted me as much as I trusted her." He smirked at Shiho's confused expression. "Your sister wasn't foolish as everyone thought. She hid her true intentions under a mask of naivety. If you want all the truth, Sherry, she gave me the idea of our -how did you call it? Oh, yes, plan. She tried to use me, so I used her."

Shinichi looked at the man with puzzlement but Shiho was completely stunned. What did he mean?

'What..?' she thought, 'Neechan, you tried to take advantage of Shuichi? Why..?'

Her thoughts were interrupted by Akai.

"Well, since neither want to collaborate, I'll just have to finish my work and keep my curiosity low." he said and looked down at Shinichi. "Although, I still wonder how it's possible for two teenagers to turn into two children."

Shinichi's eyes widened slightly while a glint of alarm flashed in Shiho's eyes.

Akai knew of them. He knew of Conan and Ai.

Shuichi smirked at their reaction.

"Jodie knew this and gave me a few hints." he added, "I saw you and believe me, I thought I was hallucinating." He glanced at Shiho as he said this. "I'm sure you will explain later. But now, back to work.." He turned to Shinichi. "You are not requested, Kudo." An evil smile spread on his face, "Sorry but we are interested only on Sherry and Ikeda."

'Rei..?' the boy thought, 'What..?'

Shiho was thinking on the same lines.

'They want me and Rei? Why? For which purpose?'

"Say goodbye to your detective, Sherry." Shuichi remarked, loading his gun.

"Leave him." Shiho said, struggling in the man's grip, "He's not involved."

"Not involved?" he asked, "Then why is he here?"

Shiho looked down at Shinichi. The detective could see fear and guilt flash in her eyes.

"Because of me." she said softly, "It's my fau..'

"No." Shinichi cut through her statement and looked at her. Shiho and, even, Shuichi were slightly startled: he was intimidating. The left part of his face was covered with a mask of blood but his dark blue eyes shone with firmness beneath it.

"Don't say it's your fault." he said, "Because it isn't."

Shiho just looked at him and he stared back with trusting eyes. The silent communication lasted a few moments until Akai decided that he had enough of it.

"Well, since you have said goodbye." he remarked, "I can split the couple and finish my work." He pointed the gun at Shinichi's head. Shiho struggled to block him but the man was stronger than her, so she tried to kick him. Shuichi, fed up by her attempts, shoved her a few feet away from him: he had received the order to not harm Sherry in any way and then, he was sure that by the time she would get up, he would have already killed Kudo. She couldn't have done anything at that point.

Shiho fell to the ground as a dreading sensation coursed through her. She wasn't a fool: she knew what Shuichi had in his mind.

Shinichi just glared defiantly at Akai: it was the only form of resistance that he could think of to fight him. The man smiled evilly and fingered the trigger, ready to shoot.

"FBI! DON'T MOVE!"

Shuichi turned abruptly to his right towards the voice. A blond boy was standing ten, or so, feet away from him with a revolver in his left hand.

Shinichi and Shiho didn't even have the time to realize what was happening that Shuichi reacted. He instantly pointed his gun to the new comer and fired. The boy didn't have time to do the same: the bullet hit him square on the chest.

The two teens' eyes widened in shock. But not for the reason everyone would think of..

"It can't be.." Akai muttered in disbelief.

The blond didn't fall to the ground after the shot. He just stood there, eyes covered by his bangs, unharmed to what they could see.

A smirk slowly appeared on his face. He raised his gun and aimed it to Shuichi. The Organization's man was going to do the same but this time he was blocked.

Shinichi had quickly charged his stun-gun watch and shot a hypodermic needle to Akai's left arm; Shiho dashed to her gun and fired at the same arm as well.

The shot reverberated in the air and Shuichi staggered for the pain but didn't fall. The blond boy fired and hit the man's right shoulder. This time the hypodermic substance effected him: Shuichi crumpled to the ground.

The three teenagers stood there in silence for a few seconds, looking at the man on the ground until the blond approached the other two.

"Hey, are you two ok?" he asked, helping them get up.

Shiho and Shinichi stared at him.

"Ryu?" she said in slight dismay, "How..?"

"You were shot.." Shinichi remarked, staggering slightly as he kept his balance and staring at the hole on his leather jacket right where the heart was.

Ryu smirked.

"Bullet proof vest." he stated, "Something that you two should have put on too." He glanced at Shinichi, who was bleeding profusely from his head, and at Shiho, who had scratches on her legs, arms and dirt on her clothes, "You look pretty battered up."

"So do you." Shiho said, eying the line of blood oozing down his forehead and the dirt and dust on his clothes.

"Where's Rei?" Shinichi asked.

"I'll tell you later.." Ryu replied hastily, "We'll have visitors shortly." Noticing the blank look on their faces, he arched an eyebrow. "You have shot twice: all the Org. members in this area will come here. We'll have to face them." He handed them two silencers.

Shinichi and Shiho wondered where he had got them but they decided to ask later, considering the situation. They applied the silencers to their guns and loaded them as Ryu did the same. They positioned themselves back to back. They had hardly done this that they heard a noise.

Approaching footsteps.

"They're coming." Shinichi whispered, turning towards the source of the sound.

"Disarm them immediately." Ryu said, "We'll take care of them after."

Suddenly, Shiho put out her hand. The boys looked at her but she was looking in front of her: they followed her gaze and noticed a few distant shadows.

They looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

Five men, dressed in black were approaching them and they didn't seem to have noticed the three teenagers. When they realized their presence, it was already too late.

A series of muffled shots were heard. Two men fell to the ground, stunned by the hypodermic bullets of Ryu's revolver while the other three's guns fell to the ground as they were hurt by Shiho and Shinichi's shots. The three men flung themselves against Ryu, Shiho and Shinichi who were in alert.

Ryu faced the first man. He dropped on his knee and swung a sweeping kick, knocking the man on his knees. He then hit him on his face with his right fist, making him faint.

Shinichi faced the second man. He dodged a punch but soon realized that his sight was getting slightly blurry and his balance was unstable.

'It's due to the blood loss.' he thought, 'I have to be quick.'

He got ready to attack. The man launched himself against him but he was faster. Shinichi kicked high: his right foot collided with the man's jaw and he went flying for a few feet, passing out before he touched the ground.

Shiho faced the last man. As he flung himself on her, she sidestepped, avoiding his blow. She hit him on the stomach with her knee and then, hit him on the head with a sharp hand chop. The man fell down unconscious.

Ryu and Shinichi had been watching her and one common thought passed in their minds as they thanked God that Shiho was on their side.

'Never get this woman angry.'

The three had hardly approached each other that a voice reached them.

"That was quite a fight."

Shiho and Shinichi whipped around in alarm and were startled to see Matt with many other known faces. Surprised faces, if you want to know.

"What are you doing here?" the detective asked, looking at astonishment at Matt, Heiji and Detectives Satou and Takagi. He saw Kid that flew down from his hang glider and stood a few meters away from the group and wondered why he was there. However, his eyes widened even more when he noticed Kazuha and Ran. He turned abruptly to Matt to get answers but swayed slightly on the spot, feeling dizzy.

"Shini..." Ran started to say with concern but the words died in her mouth when she saw Miyano approach him.

"Come on." she said softly and lead him away from the crowd towards an old stump nearby and made him sit down. She then examined his wound.

"It's a deep cut." she said, "You will probably need a few stitches."

"Well, that's not possible at the moment." he remarked, looking up at her "Can you stop the bleeding in some way?"

"Maybe."

Shiho drew out a handkerchief from her pocket and ripped it in two halves. She used one part to clean his face: there was blood on the whole left side of his face and it had oozed down his neck.

Another girl would have winced in seeing such a sight or would have been disgusted but Shiho didn't even flinch. When she finished, however, she realized that she wouldn't have been able to bandage his wound with the small piece of fabric she had.

"Do you have a handkerchief?" she asked him.

"No. I didn't think of taking one."

"Here take this." an English voice said.

Shiho turned around while Shinichi looked up. The girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes that they had noticed standing near Matt, was handing her a white handkerchief. Shiho nodded and took it. She managed to bandage Shinichi's head. When he got up, he smiled at Shiho with gratitude and then turned to the other girl.

"Sorry, but you are..?" he asked in English.

"Christine Evans, agent and computer scientist of FBI." Chris replied, "Very pleased to meet you, Shinichi Kudo and you too, Shiho Miyano."

"You helped Matt to work out the material you found during the raid in America." Shiho remarked, remembering their phone call with Matt and Chris nodded.

In the meanwhile, Matt, Ryu, Takagi and Satou were busy handcuffing and immobilizing the Organisation's operatives. They took their weapons and transceivers and threw them in a corner.

Heiji eyed the corpse in the corner and the unconscious body next to it. His stare hardened and Kazuha noticed it.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

"If it wasn't for Kid and Kazama, we would have found Kudo or Miyano's body instead of that guys there" he said, pointing to the bodies.

Actually, when the first shot was heard, Ryu had located them with the radar while Kaito had seen them in danger from the sky. Ryu had quickly made a plan: he would have shown himself and faced Akai Shuichi. Ryu was sure that Shinichi and Shiho would have helped him; he was also sure that all the operatives would have reached them. Ryu had been quite clear at this point: Shinichi, Shiho and him would have faced the Organization's men. And if they were in trouble, only then, Matt and the other agents would have showed their presence, taking the men off guard.

Kazuha shuddered, eying Kudo and Miyano. She didn't know them well but when they had met last time, they seemed normal students and teenagers just like her and Heiji. But after having seen them fight, she saw that they were just like Kazama. While she was watching the couple, another thought passed through her mind.

"Heiji." she whispered.

"Hmm?" he replied absently.

"Isn't Kudo-san Ran's boyfriend?"

Heiji looked at her in disbelief.

"Is that important now?" he asked. Kazuha scoffed and looked away.

However, Heiji did think that it was strange. He glanced at Ran and noticed the sad glint in her eyes.

'Why is he with Miyano?' he thought, 'Don't tell me that... nah, impossible.' He shook his head, not believing that he had actually been thinking of Kudo's love affairs.

In that moment, Shinichi, Shiho and Chris approached the rest of the group.

"Care to enlighten us now?" the detective asked, "What are you doing here?"

"That's something I'd like to know too." Ryu said, turning to Matt, "You still didn't tell me. How did you find us?"

Matt looked at Ryu, Shinichi and Shiho with a very serious face and nodded.

"All right.." he said, "This is what..."

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Koji Koizumi smiled and nodded appreciatively at the girl bound to the wall.

"I should have known." he remarked, "I underestimated your ability."

If the words had come from someone else, Rei would have felt proud but from this man, it sounded like a taunt or worse.

He had started everything. Everything.

She knew what he had done: all the things that had happened to her, Ryu, Shiho, Shinichi and many others had happened because he had decided it. He was the main responsible.

Rei felt a wave of hatred and anger course through her body. Her face must have shown her feelings because the man looked at her with mild amusement.

"You are quite amazing, you know?" he said, "Another person in your situation would be scared but you.. You are not showing even a trace of fear. Remarkable. Really remarkable."

'Well, that's not true..' Rei thought, staring at him coldly. To tell the truth, she was terrified but she couldn't show it. She wanted answers.

"Why should I be scared?" she asked with a smirk, "You want me alive otherwise I would already be dead by now."

"True." Koizumi replied, "Well, if you..."

He stopped mid-sentence as another shot was heard. Rei's spirits went up slightly: it had to be Ryu, Shiho or Shinichi. They had not been found.. yet. They were still fighting.

"I think I underestimated your friends, too." the man remarked without a hint of worry or annoyance "Anyway, they won't last for long. Three against twenty five operatives.. They will fall and Sherry will join you soon."

"Why are you so interested on us?"

"I was wondering when you would ask. But before that, I want to see if you will accept my offer since you are such a reasonable person."

Rei arched an eyebrow.

"Offer?" she asked.

Koji Koizumi turned to look at her intently and asked Rei the last thing she would have ever expected to hear.

"Reila Ikeda, would you join the Organisation?"

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'What?'

This was the thought that raced furiously in Ryu, Shiho and Shinichi's mind after they heard a part of Matt's story.

"Let me get this clear.." Shinichi said, "We understood that they had set up a trap to catch us but.. the Organization has made an emergency plan and it will start when Rei and Shiho will be caught?"

"Yes. And you and Ryu must be dead." Matt added.

"How did they know that we four have been together?" Ryu asked, "How did they find out?"

"Don't ask me." the lawyer said, "They must have.. guessed."

"Or they put all the pieces together." Shiho stated, making the others turn to her, "Shinichi lives at Beika, Rei knows him and went to school there for a while, Ryu was seen here by Scotch and I was last seen at Beika too. Too many coincidences."

A rather uncomfortable silence fell among them. Silence that Matt broke.

"Now, where's Rei?" he asked, "She was with you, right Ryu? Where is she now?"

"We split up at a certain point." he said, blanching slightly, "There were five men after us and I managed to get them coming after me while she went on."

"Which way?" Heiji asked him.

"West. Towards the.."

".. Bay of Tokyo." Matt finished. He paled and Ryu noticed it.

"What..?" he asked but the other cut through his phrase harshly.

"They want her, Ryu." he remarked, "The Organization wants Rei and Shiho but while Shiho is safe with us, Rei is walking towards the Organization's headquarter!"

Ryu blanched more. Shiho and Shinichi looked at him in shock.

"The Headquarter.. is.. there?" he asked slowly.

"YES! DAMN IT, YES!" Matt yelled. He struggled to keep his calm. "To think that we rushed here from America to stop them.."

"We can still find her." Ryu said firmly, after the initial shock wore off. He clicked his glasses, activating the transceiver.

-Rei? It's me, Ryu.- he said, -Answer.-

No reply.

-Rei, please.. Answer.-

Still no reply.

Shinichi reached for his glasses and activated the transceiver.

-Rei, it's Shinichi. Answer.-

But no one replied.

The boys looked at each other as a dreading feeling reached them.

"The battery of her sunglasses could be low." the detective said softly with a last spark of hope as he went on with his tentatives. If he hadn't been so worried of Rei, he would have felt a stare.

Detective Satou had just handcuffed a man and was straightening up when she casually noticed Shinichi take out his glasses. When he put them on, she started in surprise.

She was looking at the adult version of Conan Edogawa.

She had heard rumors that Conan- kun was a distant relative of Kudo but..

'They are identical.' she thought. She wondered if someone else had noticed this but everyone was concerned for Ikeda, so she put away her thoughts.

It was Shiho that talked after a while.

"Why do they want me and Rei?" she asked Matt, "Why us? Me, in particular? I am the traitor! They tried to kill me!"

"You really don't understand why?" he asked instead of answering, "Remember our last meeting? We discussed about their objective."

"Pandora and the APTX-4869." Ryu said, "Yes, but.." He stopped abruptly as he put all the pieces together and his eyes widened. "Oh, Lord.."

Shinichi and Shiho looked at him with slight confusion but they quickly came to his conclusion, too and shock was clear on their faces. Shiho tensed and instinctively reached for Shinichi's hand who squeezed it in an attempt to reassure her.

The Organization wanted Rei and Shiho because they were the only ones that could carry on its plan, now that all the scientists had been caught: achieving immortality with Pandora and causing instant death with the APTX.

The men in black wanted the two girls to join them.

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"No."

Rei's eyes blazed as she stared at the Organization's leader. The man merely smirked at her.

"Really, Ikeda." he said, "I would have expected a better answer."

"All right, I will rephrase it properly." she retorted, sarcasm dripping in her voice, "I will never join your Organization."

"Never?" he asked in amusement, "Well, that's an interesting word, you know? Never refers to an undetermined period of time. But in human being's case, it can only refer to the length of their life. Men's short, ephemeral life."

Rei stared at him. What was this, a lesson of Philosophy?

Koizumi puzzled her: he puzzled her greatly. He was the man that created the Organization, if we could say so. He should be ruthless as the men that worked for him. Why was he loosing time talking with her?

'Why is he stalling for time?' she wondered, 'And what the heck does he want from me and Shiho? From me? First Scotch and now him..'

She thought this over. She was a computer scientist and Shiho a chemist. Both skilled, she added without any faked modesty: it was true after all.

Suddenly, she remembered the meeting of the ones involved in MYSTERY where she, Ryu, Shiho, Shinichi, Kuroba and Matt had discussed about what to do. She then remembered that they had an idea of the Organization's objective.

FLASH

"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?" Matt said, "Anyway, they want something that ends life instantly without leaving traces, and so they asked.. forced Miyano to make that poison..

..They want something to kill, besides weapons, so they want this poison. They want something to reach immortality, so they want that gem, Pandora."

"They want to create Pandora's tears artificially." Ryu explained.

'Through computer simulations..' Rei thought, as realisation dawned on her face, 'So, that's why they.. he.. Oh, Lord.'

Koizumi had been watching her and he smiled when he noticed her facial changes.

"You have finally understood." he remarked, "Very well."

Rei looked at him. He was standing right in front of her, arms crossed on his chest and a rather annoying, knowing smile plastered on his face.

"Why us?" she asked, "There are hundreds of scientists that could do what you want or even more. Why us among all people?"

Koizumi let out a short sarcastic laugh.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Reila Ikeda." he replied. He walked to the corner, took the chair where he was seated before, put it in front of Rei and sat down.

"At the age of seventeen, you have provoked the downfall of our security system." he stated, "For thirty years, since the day I decided to found the Organization, I looked for the most talented scientists to help me with my task. Some joined me on their own will while some had to be.. convinced by my men. However, for all this time, our activities managed to be hidden in the shadows. No one could even find the clues to show the existence of the my Organization, as you called it. But a year and a half ago, you showed up." His hawk-like eyes were fixed on Rei and she found herself incredibly uncomfortable. She wanted to get away but she couldn't since she had practically been added as a decor to the wall. "Martini.. no, Kazama did his share too, I admit it. I would have never imagined that someone would have tried or even dared to infiltrate in our ranks. I don't know if I should define his attitude brave or reckless. He stole information and brought it to you. And you worked out all our protections and codes. You, Kazama and FBI have started to investigated and managed to find more and more information despite our efforts to stop you."

"I know that." Rei said without realizing it; she was annoyed and fed up by his summary. "I cooperated to do it."

Koizumi smirked at her reaction. She had courage to talk to him in this way.

"But at a certain point, Martini's cover fell and you had to act quickly. Kazama left the country while you, Ikeda, feigned your death. We lost your tracks for a while but in the meanwhile, you didn't stay still. You contacted Sherry and Shinichi Kudo who were already together and you started to work as a solid group."

Rei stared at him in shock. How did he know all of this? But most of all, how did he know that Shiho and Shinichi had met each other before Ryu and her coming?

"I am not a fool, Ikeda." Koizumi said with a sarcastic smile, "Not like the other two that I made the mistake to convince in founding the Organization. Being Chief Inspector, I have a few privileges and also get to hear news and rumors and to see information that few can achieve." He smirked at Rei's blank look and followed on. "Nearly a year ago, two of my operatives informed me that they had caught Kudo Shinichi spying them and that they had fed him the experimental poison Sherry was developing. I knew Kudo by his fame: he was defined the 'Sherlock Holmes of the Third Millennium' and had solved cases that seemed unsolvable and I considered him a possible threat. When I heard of his death, I was quite glad and I was sure that the acknowledgment of his death would have been on the front page of all the papers but, surprisingly, it wasn't.

I waited a few days but still nothing and the suspicion that he had survived increased although my operatives thought that his parents, being famous and not wanting the medias to bother them, had done the burial service secretly.

For a while, I accepted this theory until I heard a few interesting rumors: Shinichi Kudo was abroad, solving some important cases.

When I asked for more details, nobody gave me a satisfactory answer: it seemed that they had only heard about the boy's departure. That's when I started to suspect that he was alive. And I also started to suspect that the poison had some side-effect but, since Sherry was still working on it, I put the thought away."

Rei felt her throat and mouth dry as she heard the man talk: his cold tone and emotionless eyes described what had happened in all its details. But he hadn't finished yet.

"After Kudo's disappearance, another thing caught my attention. Kogoroh Mouri, a private detective that was usually employed for minor cases, had suddenly shown exceptional brilliance in solving murders and other hard cases. I thought that he could be a threat to the Organization's activities and managed to meet him during a party to see how he was." Koizumi grimaced. "What a waste of time! He was just an idiotic man who's major pleasure was boasting his so-called deductive skills and drinking an amount of alcoholics that could have thirst ten people at least." Rei smirked, imagining Shinichi's face in hearing such an accurate description but her features turned serious when she heard the rest. "But there was a child with him and he caught my attention because he had a peculiar.. stare. In the following months, Detective Mouri solved more cases and became famous as the 'Great Sleeping Detective' but this made me even more suspicious. The little boy was always there during every murder scene, during every case. I happened to hear a few agents that were on the same murder scenes where Mouri was and they spoke very highly of the boy.

Exceptional brilliance, razor sharp deductions and a rather adult like attitude that differed him from other children of his age." Koizumi looked at Rei with a chilling smile. "Conan Edogawa, 7 year old child that was left under Mouri's care from his parents. Unknown parents, if I can add. I didn't find any Edogawa that had a son called Conan in none of my database.

At this point, I found out that Detective Mouri has a daughter that happens to know Shinichi Kudo. Now, could there be a relation between little Conan Edogawa and the presumed dead Kudo? Many ideas passed through my mind but they were definitely too improbable if not impossible."

Rei felt cold sweat on her forehead because she knew by the look on the man's face that there was more. And it would have been worse.

"However, shortly after, Sherry disappeared from the gas chamber where she was imprisoned. She just disappeared in thin air and I sent operatives all over Japan to find the traitor and kill her. But nothing happened.

She was alive but hidden so well that we couldn't find her. Just like Shinichi Kudo.

At this point, my old suspicions came back. What if everything was due to Sherry's poison? Kudo had taken it and he vanished. Sherry had disappeared. What if she had taken the poison herself? I needed to know so I set to work.

I tried my best to find more about my first suspect: Conan Edogawa. And then, one day, on the local newspaper, I saw a picture that enlightened me.

A group of five children had caught a burglar and got the theft back. Three were simple seven year olds but the other two weren't. I knew they weren't. I could see the difference in their stare." The man stopped and his gaze stalled on Rei again as a creepy smirk appeared on his face. "Guess what? One was Conan Edogawa. And the other was a girl that looked exactly like Sherry when she was small. I knew her quite well. I personally asked Atsushi and Elena Miyano to join the Organization and I followed Sher.. Shiho and Akemi's life during the years. Especially Shiho's. She had inherited her father's brilliance in science but her last achievement went beyond my most fantastic musings."

There was a strange light in his eyes and Rei didn't like it at all. He looked like a man that was seeing his most treasured dream come true: triumph was clear in his eyes. His stare was fixed on Rei as though waiting for her reaction but the girl didn't move. To tell the truth, she didn't even dare to breathe, fearing what else could happen.

"Now tell me, Ikeda." Koizumi said, after a few moments of silence, "What would you do if you knew that two seventeen year old teenagers had turned into seven year old toddlers thanks to a pill?"

Rei just looked at him. Her face had turned deadly pale and she felt as though her heart had sunk down to the pit of her stomach. But despite this, a thought passed through her mind.

If he had known all of this, why did he wait till now that the Organization was close to the fall?

Why hadn't he stop them?

Why didn't he come and get them before?

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"She's still there?"

"Yes."

"But is she...?"

"No, the point is completely still."

Ryu ran his fingers through his hair and went on walking as fast as he could. Shinichi and Shiho were right behind him; the girl had her small computer in her hand and was constantly checking it.

When Matt had finished to give them a quick explanation of what was going on, Ryu, torn between guilt and concern for having let Rei continue on her own, had started to call her on her device. Without receiving any answer but lowering the battery of his glasses. At that point, Shiho remembered the radar on the computer Agase had given her and Rei and instantly turned it on. Their initial relief of finding the signal of her device soon faded when they saw that it was still.

The most terrible of hypothesis crossed their minds but Matt had remarked that the Organization wanted her alive. Why wasn't she moving then?

Ryu, Shiho and Shinichi had immediately set to go and find Rei, despite Heiji, Detective Satou and Detective Takagi's protests. They were the Organization's targets and they couldn't go around in this forest full of operatives. But the look on Ryu's face made them give up: they had rarely seen so much resolution.

As the three walked off, Matt just had time to reach a few agents on their transceivers, ordering them to come there immediately and take care of the fallen captives. A group of agents arrived shortly after while Ryu, Shinichi and Shiho were nearly out of sight. At the end, Matt, Chris, Detective Satou, Takagi, Heiji, Kazuha and Ran had to run to catch up with the three; Kaito was following them with his hang-glider staying a few meters behind.

Matt caught up with Ryu.

"Where exactly are you going?" he asked.

"West." the blond replied shortly, "The signal's from there."

"You do realize that it could be a trap, right? To catch you all?"

"I'll risk."

Matt was getting annoyed by Ryu's absent and vague answers but he didn't say anything. He knew that he was concerned but.. was he really going to risk his friends' and his own life without thinking of the possible consequences? What happened to the Ryu he knew, the one that could make a plan considering every single detail? The one that would have never put people in danger?

The group walked in silence for ten long minutes. Everyone was in alert but the abnormal silence in the forest was not helping. Satou fingered her gun as though it gave her more reassurance; Takagi kept looking around just like Heiji; Kazuha felt very uncomfortable and she unconsciously moved closer to the boy. Ran felt as though thousand of invisible eyes were looking at her: she wished Shinichi would be by her side but he wasn't. She looked in front of her and say the boy walking close to Miyano. Very close, she noticed with a bit of pain.

Anyway, ten minutes later, they came to the spot where Ryu and Rei had split; the boy recognized the place immediately.

"How far, Shiho?" he asked, turning to the girl.

"Close." she replied, "We're nearly there."

As they walked on, Shinichi felt a terribly familiar feeling: fear mixed with dread. The same that he had felt when he thought Rei had died suicide, when Ryu had been shot and when Shiho had met Gin and Vodka. He gulped.

'Be fine, Rei." he thought desperately, 'Sis, be fine.'

Suddenly, Ryu froze, making Matt and Shiho nearly crash on him.

"Ryu, what the hell..?" Matt asked but the words died in his mouth at the sight of Ryu's face. He looked as though his worst nightmare or fear had come true. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"There's.. a body." he whispered, walking on, pale as a sheet, "God, no... Rei..."

Shinichi, Shiho and Matt went with him, hoping that it wasn't her. Heiji and the others noticed their sudden concern and hurried to catch up with them.

They all reached an open space among the trees. Ran and Kazuha gasped loudly when they noticed that there was a body of a woman lying on the ground. Ryu, Shinichi, Shiho and Matt let out a loud sigh of relief when they noticed that it was woman, yes, but blond. It wasn't Rei.

"Thanks God.." Ryu muttered and was about to approach the body. However, Shinichi stopped him with his hand. The blond engineer looked at his friend with confusion. "What?"

"Look around." the detective replied, "What the hell has happened here?"

At this point, Ryu looked around: there were metallic and plastic fragments but also wires and there was a great number of footprints. Not far from them was a black baseball cap close to a branch.

"A fight." he said, "A damn hard one."

Heiji approached the front group.

"There are three sets of footprints coming from the back and only one comes from the path we came from." he remarked, assuming his 'detective tone', "I presume that it was Ikeda." He then, glanced at the body, "Who's that?"

"No need to ask." Shiho muttered coolly. Heiji looked at her with puzzlement.

"Vermouth." Ryu said.

"Chris Vineyard." Shinichi remarked, "One of the most dangerous of them."

Hearing this, Matt pulled out a set of handcuffs from his pockets and quickly set to immobilize the woman. He had heard enough of her to know what she was able to do. In the meantime, Shinichi, Heiji, Ryu, Shiho, Detective Satou and Takagi set to work, trying to understand what had happened to Rei while Chris, Ran and Kazuha stayed on the background. Five minutes later they came up with a plausible conclusion.

"Rei came here." Shinichi said, "But someone was following her.. It must have been Vermouth." He glanced at the fallen branch. "I suppose she shot that branch to make Rei stop. They had a fight and it must have been really hard: Rei also had to use her small computer as a weapon. But she managed to take advantage of Vermouth and she stunned her with the hypodermic needles I gave her."

"But after that.." Matt remarked, "Someone caught Rei by surprise."

"From behind." Heiji added, "It's all clear in the tracks."

"The point is who?" Takagi wondered.

"And also why is her device's signal still here while she clearly isn't." Satou stated.

Shiho nodded in agreement but her attention turned to Ryu who was looking around as though searching something. She was about to ask what he was doing when he suddenly moved towards a spot not far from them, paling visibly. Ryu suddenly crouched down and picked something. Shiho saw a silvery glimmer in his hand. He turned around to face the others, who had noticed his movements as well, and a sad smile flickered on his face as he dangled a sliver chain from his fingers. Shinichi and Shiho gasped when they saw the familiar silver star.

"The hook's loose." Ryu stated softly, "She's always asked me to fix it up but I didn't..." He turned away, unable to speak. The others didn't talk either.

If Rei's chain, and so the device, were there, they didn't have a way to find her. They only knew that she had been caught. But they didn't know who had taken her away and, worst of all, where she was.

Ryu tightened the grip on the chain and hit a tree trunk with his fist in frustration.

They were at a dead end.
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Rei stared at the man in front of her.

He had talked the whole time and now he just stood there, staring back at her. There were dozens of questions that roamed in her mind and she wondered if it wouldn't have been better to dare and ask rather than keep quiet.

"Why.. ?" she started, "Why didn't you stop or capture us if you knew all of this?"

Koji Koizumi's iron colored eyes gazed at her as a sly smirk appeared on his face.

"Why?" he asked, "Well, I was just too interested in you. At the beginning, when you and Kazama had started your plan.. MYSTERY, right? The other two in America decided to silence you and I agreed as well. But when you just slipped out of their fingers, my interest perked up. Kazama escaped but you.. you feigned your death." He approached Rei. "Tell me, is bringing down my criminal organization that important for you? To the point to make the world think you are dead?"

Rei's usually warm blue eyes turned incredibly cold.

"I had to do it. You are behind the deaths of many people." she said through gritted teeth, "And my parents are among them. You ordered their death. You killed them."

"Collateral Damage." he replied dryly, "We have to make some sacrifices if you want to reach our objectives." He merely smirked at Rei's disgusted and angry face. "You are different though. Your talent and.. yes, stubbornness to catch me and the whole organization red-handed intrigued me. That's why you are here: I want you with us."

"I said no."

"You might change your mind. It's a chance of a lifetime, Ikeda. Think of it."

"Sure, helping a group of criminals and murderers." Rei looked at him. "There will never be a good reason for a man to take another man's life."

At this point, Koizumi looked at her with the most peculiar of stares. Rei could swear that there was vengeance in his eyes. Why though?

"Those are only words, Ikeda." he stated, "And you are definitely too young and naive if you still believe in that and in the mere ideal of justice."

"You are a chief Inspector of the police department. Your entire life should be ruled by the concept of justice." The question that she most wanted to get an answer came out. "Why did you start all of this? The Organization, the thefts, the murders, everything... What did it bring you? Money? Power? And now that you have them, how do you feel? How can you deal with your conscience knowing what you have done to achieve what you wanted?"

The man listened to the girl's outburst without moving. Then, suddenly, his eyes flashed menacingly and Rei realized that she had touched a nerve.

"My conscience is something I'll deal with when I'll want to." he remarked with a cold voice, "What do you know? I've got my reasons."

"The death of your mother and brother by your father?"

The man tensed and shot a look that could have killed to Rei.

"How do you know that?" he hissed, approaching her.

"I... we found out your private story when we found out that you were one of the leaders." the girl replied, keeping her calm despite the shiver of fear that had gone down her spine. "Don't underestimate us to that point."

"I should have known." he replied with a smirk, "So how much do you know?"

Rei cleared her thoughts and spoke up, thinking that if she kept on talking, maybe, the others could have got to her before anything happened.

"You won a scholarship to an American college and occasionally came back to Japan. When you were attending the first years of Law, your father, a policeman of the district of Nakano, was blamed of being in collusion with a group of drug dealers. He went through a trial that condemned him even though he had always claimed his innocence. Innocence that was effectively discovered months later. But it was too late. The man fell in depression, breaking down psychologically and.."

"After having fallen in the clutches of addiction to medicines, he took his gun and in a moment of confusion or madness, he shot his wife and elder son and injured the younger one. Then he pointed the weapon to himself and suicided." Koizumi completed with a trace of emotion in his voice. "You are probably wondering why I joined the police forces, aren't you? Well, I wanted revenge but for my family. I was disgusted by the juridical system. Justice was nothing more than a mere word to me. Me, a lawyer-to be. So I decided to take my revenge destroying what I hated so much.

I managed to convince two students that attended class with me to create an underground criminal group. They were easy to manipulate: brilliant when it came to studies but power hungry and with weak wills." An amused smirk appeared on his face and he went on.

On the other hand, Rei's face expressed her utter horror as she heard the man's 'confession'.

The three leaders to-be began their careers in finance, politics and police. They were really brilliant because they reached their high positions in a short time. In the following years, they recruited the men that would have become the members of the Black Organization. Gin, Vodka, Scotch and Vermouth were among the members that had shown particular ability and had been rewarded with the title of high member. Shuichi Akai joined them shortly after.

The Organization's main purpose was gaining money and power. Thefts, corruption, receiving of stolen properties and murders were the ways to achieve them. At least this was what the other two leaders thought. Koizumi had a secret plan...

He himself at times, chose the people that could be useful to the Organisation. The Ikedas, Ryu's father and Shiho's parents were among the people he chose for wits and talent. He had been also the one that had suggested to recruit scientists for their purposes. The other two had agreed at the thought of the future profits. However, Koizumi had another plan in his mind.

A killing weapon.

A deadly poison that could have killed the ones that were dangerous for the Organisation and that would have been traceless. Koizumi had asked a few scientists to carry on this project but most had failed. Atsushi Miyano seemed to be close to accomplish his request but.. he was silenced before finishing the poison. Sherry had done what her father hadn't.

The perfect poison. The APTX-4869.

"And now, the same poison seems to have some other interesting effect." Koizumi said with a smirk, "It's more than I ever asked."

"What about Pandora?" Rei surprised herself as she asked the question, "I can understand that you needed the APTX but why the jewel? It does the exact opposite!"

Koji Koizumi looked at her.

"We can be both God and the devil since we're trying to raise the dead against the stream of time" he remarked, "If man can provoke death why can't he also bring life?"

Rei stared at him as though he had gone mad.

"Who do you think you are?" she asked, "God or something? Life cannot be created: it's one and must be lived fully till the end. And, in the same way, you can't provoke death. No man should take away another man's life."

Koizumi smirked.

"You say life is one, right?" he said, "Well, that's not true."

"What?" the girl exclaimed.

"I've been blessed with a second chance to live. My father shot me after having killed my mother and brother: the bullet grazed my heart. Even the doctors said that it was a miracle that I had survived that slaughter." The man came closer to her. "In my first life I made the mistake to trust justice and our society but I quickly made up forming the Organisation. My second life is really another chance for me."

Rei looked at the man as her brain slowly took in his words. She first thought that he was utterly mad but she realised that he wasn't. He wasn't mad at all. Instead, he was extremely cunning and intelligent, not to mention ambitious.

For thirty years, he had been at the lead of one of the most dangerous underground criminal groups; if he hadn't been so sharp, the Organisation would have been dismantled sooner. Rei couldn't help but compare Koizumi to another genial criminal.

James Moriarty. Sherlock Holmes' nemesis: the man he feared and admired at the same time.

However, there was something else she wanted to know. Rei didn't know what would have become of her since she had refused Koizumi's offer. But she was sure of one thing: she would have found out all the truth about the Organisation. If she had to die, she would have died knowing everything about the criminals that had ruined hers and her friends' life.

"So that's why you want Pandora.." she said, "Since you have escaped death once, why not escape

it forever?"

"I see you have understood." the man remarked, "Very well, Ikeda."

Rei frowned darkly.

"I don't want your compliments." she retorted, "I just put all the pieces together. You are afraid. Afraid of death. So afraid that you gathered the best scientists in order to create artificially Pandora's tears in case you can't find the jewel." Koizumi didn't say anything so she went on. "You're pathetic. We are given to birth, live and die. There's no other way. Why don't you just accept all humans' common fate rather than destroying innocent lives in the ludicrous attempt of achieving immortality?"

"It's my choice, Reila Ikeda." he remarked shortly, "You and Sherry will help me, if you want it or not. Now that the group of scientists I contacted has been arrested, you two are the only ones that can accomplish my request."

Before Rei could say anything, a buzzing sound reached her ears and Koizumi took out a walkie-talkie from his trousers' pocket. He walked a few steps away from Rei and answered the call.

Rei couldn't hear what he was saying but she realised that something must have happened because Koizumi's eyes widened and he shot her a withering glare. He harshly said something to the one on the other side of the transceiver and then walked towards her.

Rei could swear that among the fire blazing in his eyes, there was also fear.

"How did you do it?" he snapped angrily.

"Do what?" she asked in confusion.

"Don't play with me, Ikeda." His tone was icy and the previous sarcasm was definitely a long lost memory. "How did you find out this time? How?"

"How did I find what?" Rei asked in bewilderment.

Koizumi looked at her, wondering if she was acting or if she was really oblivious to the recent events. A few seconds later, he approached her and tightened the grip of the ropes that bound her legs. Rei winced. Then, he checked the handcuffs.

"FBI is here." he said harshly, "They are with your friends."

Rei felt a wave of relief course through her body, followed shortly after by utter confusion.

'FBI?' she thought, 'Who? Matt? What are they doing here?' Her gaze fell on Koizumi who looked extremely thoughtful and panicked. 'He's worried. For the Organisation or for himself?'

Koizumi stood still for another couple of moments. Then, as though he had come to reasonable way out, he looked at Rei.

"Well, Ikeda, I must leave you here for the moment." he said, "My operatives will come to get you when the tide is clear. Nobody will ever think of coming here so.. don't even think of calling for help or hope that someone will come."

He was definitely not helping Rei's spirits but the worse still had to come. He walked to a corner and came back carrying two old dusty stools with a candle on top of each of them.

Saying that Rei was confused was an understatement.

Koizumi ignored her stare and placed the stools near to her, so that they were in front of her fists. He then lit the candles and stepping back, he smirked.

Rei slowly turned her head from left to right and she finally got to it.

"Let me guess.. these are gas lines, right?" she said darkly, eyeing the pipes she was bound to.

"Yes and if you try to get rid of the handcuffs, these old, very old gas lines will give away. And that's something I wouldn't advice you to do unless you want to blow up."

"Very thoughtful of you." Rei said sarcastically.

Koizumi smirked and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

As soon as he left the room and was sure she couldn't hear him, he pulled out his walkie-talkie.

-Gin.- he said.

-Boss.- the man answered.

-Do as we had planned in this kind of situation. Tell Vodka to do his work and take her with you.-

-Yes.-

-In case of failure, you already know what to do.-

-Yes.-

The communication ended and Koizumi walked away.

There were only three people with whom he talked and that knew his identity and they were Gin, Vermouth and Shuichi Akai.

Gin had told him what had happened: FBI and local police members were in the forest with Kudo, Martini and Sherry; Shuichi and Vermouth had been defeated and are their captives along with a dozen or so, agents. To think that he had talked with the two hardly an hour ago. There was no way to help them but he didn't even think of helping them. The most important thing now was getting away. With Sherry and Ikeda if possible.

However, if something went wrong, he would have only thought of his security.

'And I'll also have to take care of Ikeda in that case, much to my displeasure..' he thought, 'She knows too much now.'

As he thought of this, Koji Koizumi fingered a small metallic box in his pocket.

It had a red button on it.

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"What now?"

Matt asked the question with suppressed frustration and anger.

He felt useless. For Rei and for all the things that were happening. They had come late. He had come late. But he realised that his feelings were nothing compared to the ones Ryu, Shinichi and Shiho must feel.

The blonde engineer stood still, away from the others, with his hand still holding tightly the silver chain he had given to his girlfriend.

Shiho was lost in her thoughts. Now that she knew that the Organisation wanted her back for their plans, old feelings surfaced back and she didn't like them.

Shinichi, on the other hand, hadn't left her side once. He stood next to her, thinking and often shooting her a glance to see how she was doing.

They were worried for Rei, wondering where she could be but, at the same time, their brains were working at full power. The Organisation wanted Shiho and would have done anything to get her. Also killing all the people that were in the forest at the moment. They had to think of something.

While they were thinking, Kaito was soaring in the sky above them with his hang-glider. He wanted to check the surroundings, in case something happened.

Matt and Chris were standing next to each other, looking around with their right hand touching the gun they had in their pockets, as though they expected a member of the Organisation to pop out from no where and fire at them.

As for the others, they felt many different feelings: fear, confusion, puzzlement, dread and much more. It had all happened so quickly that they still didn't realise what was actually going on. After all, they had found themselves involved with the Organisation business only that morning.

A sudden buzzing sound brought everyone back to reality.

Matt drew out his transceiver and hardly had time to answer when a voice called.

-Agent Xanders!-

-Agent Kenneth?- he asked slowly. -What happened?- Josh Kenneth was one of the best agents in his father's squad. He knew him as a very cool and collected person who rarely lost his calm but now he detected a hint of alarm and panic in his voice that made him worry. -What's wrong?-

-Get away! We... suddenly... ambush!-

-What? I can't hear you well! What happened?- Matt exclaimed. The others approached him; Ryu, Shinichi and Shiho were right by his side.

No one replied. A few seconds later, they heard a few muffled sounds followed by a thud.

-Agent Kenneth?- Matt called, -Answer me! Hey, Josh, answer for heaven's sake!-

Still nothing.

Matt paled and so did the others. A dreading silence fell among them.

-Agent..- he started to say but the voice that answered stopped him.

-No need to call. He's gone.-

Ryu, Shinichi and Shiho tensed as they recognized the voice.

Gin.

-Who are you?- Matt asked sharply.

-Why don't you ask our common friends?-

Matt was confused. He looked up and noticed the looks on his three friends' faces.

"Who is he?" he mouthed but they just looked at him blankly.

-Come on, why don't you answer? You surely remember me don't you, Martini? What about you, Kudo? And you, my dear Sherry?-

Shiho's hand latched to Shinichi's one: she was trembling slightly. He entwined his fingers with hers and squeezed them reassuringly.

At this point, Matt knew who the man was.

-What happened to my men?- he asked, unfortunately knowing the answer.

-Don't ask unnecessary questions, Agent Xanders.- Gin replied, -Time is precious.-

Matt's insides seethed in rage as he thought of Josh Kenneth and the two agents that were with him.

-What do you want?- he asked.

-Now, you 're speaking.. I want Sherry.-

Matt eyed Shiho while Shinichi stepped in front of her in a protective stance.

-Why?- the young lawyer asked slowly.

-I already told you not to ask unnecessary questions, Xanders.-

-Well, the answer is no.-

-Foolish answer. Do you want other ones to die?-

Matt gulped while Shiho's eyes widened.

'That men had died because of.. me?' she thought desperately, 'Is it my fault?'

-There is an accurate shooter near you. He has just shot the three men that were here. Do you want another demonstration of his ability?-

Matt didn't reply while Ryu slowly approached Shinichi and Shiho.

"It must be Vodka." he whispered, "With Vermouth and Shuichi out and Gin talking with Matt, Vodka's the only one that has the necessary ability."

"Damn.." Shinichi muttered, "Where could he be?"

"Anywhere and that's a problem. We're exposed: anyone could be shot." Ryu said grimly looking at the detective. Shiho didn't say anything.

'Anyone..' she thought.

In the meanwhile, Gin was getting tired of Matt's reticence.

-All right, Xanders, let's see what you'll say now.- he remarked coldly.

Matt looked up in alarm.

"HEY, BE CAREFUL!" he yelled, "THERE'S A SHOOTER HERE. HIDE YOURSELVES!"

Detectives Satou and Takagi, Chris, Matt, Ryu, Shinichi and Shiho took out their guns and positioned themselves in front of Ran, Kazuha and Heiji, wildly looking around.

Shinichi suddenly saw a shadow on the ground. He looked up and saw Kid flying on his hang-glider: a vague sense of foreboding crossed his mind.

He reached for his glasses and put them on, clicking on the zooming function. He looked up and saw a small red spot going up in an imaginary line towards Kaito's heart. He fished his transceiver from his pocket.

-KID, GET DOWN!- he hollered.

-What?- he asked.

-Get down immediately! You're being aimed!-

Kaito abruptly steered his hang-glider down and a bullet grazed his left arm. He nearly lost his balance but he managed to stay on the glider although he was speeding to the ground without control. Ryu and Shinichi ran towards him, both thinking to catch him before he crashed to the ground. Kaito saw them and closed his hang-glider a few meters from the ground; the boy fell in the other two boys' arms. The three heavily fell on the ground in a crumpled pile.

"Kid, get off me." Shinichi groaned grumpily, "You weigh a ton."

"Yeah." Ryu agreed, getting up, "But let's talk about it later. We're still under fire."

Kaito straightened up, adjusting his top hat and monocole. He then noticed that the bullet had hit him lightly judging by the red stain on his his ripped shirt but it didn't hurt much.

A sudden shout made the three boys whip around. They saw Matt on the ground, holding his left leg that was bleeding from a hole through his thigh. Chris was kneeling on the ground next to him, looking extremely worried. Ryu fell on his knees next to his brother.

"What happened?" he asked him, "Matt?" He looked at Chris, who was on the verge of tears. "What happened?" he asked again but in English.

"He took the shot in my place." Chris replied, hastily wiping away the tears that were willing to fall from her eyes.

"Hey, calm down." Matt said with a strained yet calm voice, "I'm fine. Such a thing won't kill me."

He got up, staggering slightly; he was about to fall when Chris and Ryu caught him by an arm.

-So, what's your reply now?- Gin asked, -Do you want other demonstrations?-

Shinichi cursed under his breath and gritted his teeth as he heard the man's voice. However, he realised something. Gin had to be communicating with Vodka but he also had to in a position that allowed him to see them. Unless Vodka informed him continuously.

Shiho had been silent for the whole time. She felt responsible. Guilty for the fact that Matt had been injured because he had refused to give her to them.

The Organisation wanted her.

Rei was already in their hands and she was the missing piece of the puzzle that the men in black had created. Rei was necessary for the simulations to create Pandora's tears artificially while she was needed for the creation of the APTX-4869.

Rei would have created life. She would have created death. That was all.

It was her destiny.

Shiho looked in front of her.

Mouri, Toyama and Hattori were standing between Detectives Satou and Takagi that still had their guns in hand. The two girls looked quite scared.

'They're not involved..' Shiho thought, 'They shouldn't be here... And they could die because of me.'

She eyed Evans, Kuroba and Matt who were still bleeding. 'Because of me...'

Ryu was covered with dust and dirt and a line of blood oozed down his forehead. She noticed a bit of Rei's chain hanging out of his pocket.

Rei.. Her best friend. The girl that had startled her so much when they had first met because of her resemblance with her beloved sister. The only one with whom she had talked freely after Akemi's death. And now Rei was in the Organisation's clutches.

Ryu.. Her brother. She had met him first when she was still in the Organisation. She was Sherry and he was Martini: he had infiltrated among the men in black under Akemi's pleading request. To save her and get her out of the Organisation.

If something happened to them, Shiho would have never forgiven herself. They were her friends, her family. Her everything now.

And of course, there was...

-Xanders, answer immediately.- Gin hissed, -Otherwise, you won't be lucky like before.-

The threat was enough to bring an even more unnatural silence among the group. Shinichi tightened the grip on Shiho's hand. She glanced at him. He was covered with dirt, his wound had opened again, judging by the thick line of blood that was oozing down his face. The handkerchief she had used to stop the bleeding was soaked with his blood.

And of course, there was him.

'Shinichi...' she thought.

If something happened to him, if he got harmed because of her, she would have died.

Shinichi was her first friend. The first one that had been able to break the walls that were built around her heart. He was the ray of light that had reached her soul, piercing through the darkness that had lived with her for years.

He was her love. The only one that she had ever loved besides her sister. But it was a different kind of love. The feelings she felt for him were strong and so.. new to her. Her usual cool façade shattered, her normal rationalism fled away when he was with her.

The Organisation wanted her, not him. They wanted him dead. And she wouldn't have allowed it. Never.

Matt got the walkie-talkie, ready to answer. Shiho decided to act. She slipped out of Shinichi's grip, approached Matt and took the transceiver.

Everyone, Shinichi on the lead, looked at her with utter surprise.

Shiho took a deep breath and spoke.

-Sherry here.- she said, forcing to use a cool and calm voice.

-Sherry! My dear, how are you?- Gin drawled.

-As though you cared , Gin.- she replied.

-My, my, you haven't changed a bit.-

-What do you want?-

-What have you decided? Are you coming?-

Shiho steeled herself.

'It's now or never..' she thought.

-I...- she started to say but Shinichi stopped her, lowering the hand that held the walkie-talkie.

"Don't." he said firmly, "Shiho, you can't do it."

"I have to." she replied without meeting his stare.

"No." he insisted.

-I'll give you five minutes, Sherry.- Gin said suddenly, -Not a second more. If you don't come with me by then, you're all dead.-

-All right.-Shiho replied, before Shinichi could stop her.

When the communication finished, Shiho didn't dare to look up but she felt Shinichi's stare on her.

"Are you going to go?" he asked, "Shiho?"

"Yes." she replied.

"What?" He approached her so that there were practically five centimeters between them. "Have you gone mad, Shiho?"

Shiho looked at him straight in the eyes. There was a soft light in those sky blue orbs that startled the young detective slightly.

"Don't you understand?" she said, "It's an opportunity."

"What?" he said again.

Ryu pitched in the conversation, approaching the couple.

"It's an opportunity for what?" he asked.

"Think of it, Ryu." Shiho said, turning towards him, "I still have my device and if I go with Gin, he might take me to where Rei is."

The two boys looked at each other ad then back at her.

"It's too dangerous." Shinichi remarked.

"He's right." Ryu agreed, "We can't be sure that he'll take you to the same place."

"But there is a possibility." Shiho insisted, "He could take me where she is." She turned to the engineer. "Don't you want to find Rei, Ryu?"

He looked at her with horror and stepped back , holding his hands up a bit, slowly shaking his head.

"You can't do this to me, Shiho." he whispered, "Don't ask me to put you in danger to save her.." His hand slipped in his pocket and he squeezed the chain. "Don't ask me to choose between my love for Rei and my love for you, sis. It's unfair.. Please, don't..."

Shiho smiled tenderly.

"It's my choice, brother." she said, "One instead of all: it's a good price. So, will you let me do this?"

Ryu didn't answer: he just stared at her with his light blue eyes fixed on her face. Shinichi looked at him questioningly and with mild anger. But Ryu shook his head.

"I can't decide." he said, "It's all up to her. And you."

Shinichi looked at him in disbelief as he stepped back to where the Matt and Kaito were. The young detective glanced at him, the magician and the lawyer. They all looked at him and shook their heads as though answering his unsaid question.

Shinichi then looked back at Shiho.

"Shiho.." he started but she stopped him. Shiho just looked at him.

"You always told me that I'm not one of them and that I'm just like you." she whispered, "This is my chance to show you, Ryu and Rei how much I've changed. And, after all, isn't it better to sacrifice one person rather than all? Many of them are not involved with this situation." Since he didn't say anything, she continued. "You.. you promised that you would protect me, right Shinichi? That's also the reason I'm going."

"You will see Gin again." he said softly, "You could meet many other of the men in black. Aren't you scared?"

"I.. I trust you, Shinichi." she replied and his eyes widened, "I'm sure you.. will come like the other times. As always."

Shinichi didn't know what to say. Her words had touched him more than anything. However, he realised that the five minuted were nearly over. She had to go.

Shiho realised it too. She was going to take the walkie-talkie when he stopped her.

"I swear I'll come and get you, Shiho." he said softly, "It's a promise."

"I'll be waiting for you." she replied, "I'm sure you will come."

The buzzing sound of the walkie-talkie reached their ears.

-Sherry.- Shiho said.

-Ready, my dear?- Gin taunted.

-Yes.-

-Get rid of your gun and transceiver. No tricks, Sherry. I can see you.- Shiho did as she was told. -Now take Xander's walkie-talkie and walk on straight in front of you till I tell you to stop. And no one must follow you otherwise our shooter will take care of him.-

Shiho turned to the others. One look and she knew that they had all heard Gin's threat.

-All right.- she said coolly, -I'm coming.-

She lowered the transceiver and looked at the path she had to follow. She didn't want to turn to look at the others.

She had never liked goodbyes.

In the rare occasions the Organisation allowed her to meet Akemi, she had always hoped that time would have slowed down or maybe, in her childish naivete, stopped. But it never did. Akemi came and then went away with a goodbye. She always said that they would have met soon.

Even the day she died, she had said the same.

And now, was she going to do the same? Would she also go away just like her, breaking the promise of coming back?

She didn't know the answer. She didn't want to know.

Shiho had hardly made a step forward that a hand grabbed her own hand. A second later, she found herself in Shinichi's warm embrace. Ran and Kazuha blushed and even Heiji, Detective Satou and Takagi looked embarrassed.

"I... I will come and get you." he whispered in her ear, "It's a solemn promise."

"I'll be waiting for you." she replied as he pulled her closer to him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. Shinichi laced his hand through her silky reddish-blonde hair as a wave of emotions surged in him.

He was concerned, worried, scared... He feared for her. He feared to loose her.

"Shiho.." he whispered softly, bringing her even closer to him, "I love you."

"I love you too." she replied, tightening the grip on his neck.

"Wait for me."

"I will."

"Be careful."

Shiho pulled away painfully and looked into her lover's eyes. She saw affection, tenderness and concern in Shinichi's dark blue eyes as he gently caressed her cheek. Shiho nodded, taking his hand in hers and then, letting go, she headed towards the trail.

Shinichi followed her with his gaze till she disappeared from sight.

When he turned around, he felt numb and as though his heart had fallen down into his stomach. He now realised what Ryu must have been feeling. How much he must have suffered at the thought of his love in the hands of the most dangerous of criminals.

Rei was in their hands. Shiho was going 'voluntarily' towards them.

Ryu and Shinichi looked at each other in dismay. With the shooter.. Vodka around, they couldn't move without being shot. And this, meant that they couldn't follow Shiho.

Their situation was desperate.

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After a looooong time, I've finally updated! I'm sorry, sorry, sorry...

:Annitha bows continuously:

---..sorry, sorry!

The other updates should be faster. Ehm.. I hope so..

By the way, we're nearly at the end: four chapters, I think, and the story's first part is over.

REVIEW!

Bye!

A.N: Mistakes corrected