The Detective Prince
Chapter 118
Digging Deeper
He pushed away from the wall, listening as the sound of footsteps became more distinctive the closer they got. It wasn't long after that two figures appeared from the shadows on the opposite side of the room. He smiled, being the first of the three to speak.
"Beesto and Samlong," Kaito said looking from one individual to the other. "You're early."
"That's Mr. Samlong to you."
"My apologies."
"You seem surprised, is there a problem in us arriving ahead of schedule?" Beesto asked.
"Of course not," Kaito replied. "But I was expecting more."
"What do you mean?"
"I thought for sure there'd be others with you," Kaito replied. "What happened to the two who traveled with you last night?"
"You need not concern yourself with them," Beesto said in response. "Neither are required to see this transaction through."
"I see."
"So," Mr. Samlong said taking a step toward him. "Do you have this footage you spoke of regarding that thief?"
"Yes," Kaito confirmed with the nod of his head. "You bet."
He reached into his jacket, pulling out a disk all in one motion.
"Here it is," Kaito replied. "It's all here."
"Excellent." Mr. Samlong said reaching out in attempt to grab it.
Just as he was inches away from grabbing hold of it, Kaito tossed the disk to his opposite hand which he caught.
"Not so fast," Kaito stated. "Isn't there something you have for me?"
"Oh yes," Mr. Samlong said. "But before I can give you that information I'd like to be assured that this footage you claim to have is accurate."
"And what of your end of the deal," Kaito asked. "Do you have the information I seek?"
"Not with me, no," Mr. Samlong replied. "I wanted to confirm things with this recorded footage of yours first."
"I'd prefer a fair trade."
"Very well," Mr. Samlong said turning to his comrade. "Beesto what do you say, what do you think about taking him to the out back?"
He didn't respond at first, taking time to give some thought on the matter.
"Let's make this quick," Beesto finally replied. "The less noise made on the matter the better."
"Yes, your boss might not agree to this."
After speaking those final words he turned back to face him.
"Would you mind going on a little stroll?"
"And where might this stroll lead to?" Kaito asked.
"A place a little over four miles from here," Beesto replied. "If we go now it shouldn't take long to get there."
"I don't understand."
"What's that?"
"If you knew I'd bring the video why didn't you bring the information I requested for in return?"
"That's a really good question that you pose," Mr. Samlong said in response. "It's all about circumstances and keeping an edge."
"That would imply that you don't trust me."
"Smart boy," Mr. Samlong smilingly replied. "You can never be too sure who you can trust these days."
"Ok, let's say I agree to follow you to this location," Kaito began. "Should I be expecting a fair trade?"
"Yes," Beesto replied. "You have my word on that."
"If that's the case why didn't you suggest that we meet at the place mentioned instead of here when we came to an agreement yesterday?"
"... It must have crossed my mind."
"I see."
"So, are you coming or not?"
"Of course," Kaito replied. "You have something that I want after all."
"Very well," Beesto said turning back for the stairs. "Follow us."
He was optimistic about following, but was reassured by his preparation that had been set in place before hand. He was the last of the three to make a move for the stairs, speaking again shortly thereafter.
"What will be our form of transportation to this place?"
"We'll keep it simple," Beesto replied. "The bus will prove to be sufficient."
Nothing further was said as the three made their way up the stairs. He kept a small distance in between him and the two leading the way. It didn't take long for them to reach the surface. They immediately took a right, taking a quick look ahead to see a bus stop in the clear. As they continued to walk that way he directed his eyes to the left, looking across the road to see him in position next to a light pole just as they had discussed. Wanting to acknowledge that there was a change in plans he nodded his head as a form of a signal.
"He's leaving the safety area that we've set up," Konosuke said upon seeing this. "What possibly be going on that he'd take the risk of leaving?"
He was unsure of what to think, watching as the three stopped after reaching the bus stop at the end of the block shortly after.
"That must be two of the three men he spoke of this morning," Konosuke said slightly shifting his head in attempt to stay unnoticed. "It would appear they plan to catch a bus."
This was a turn in events that caught him by surprise to the fullest.
"I have no idea what is going on, it would have helped if he had turned on that mic he attached to himself," Konosuke thought. "I sure hope he knows what he's doing."
Nearly ten minutes passed as he watched in wait, two buses past by during the duration of this time. It wasn't until the arrival of that fourth bus that they finally decided to get on. All he could do was watch the close of the bus doors, looking straight ahead as the bus took off into the path of the unknown.
"I don't like this," Konosuke thought. "I don't like this one bit."
The tension was increasing by the hour. Through all his searches and determination to unravel a conclusion only lead back to one thing, where he had started. As disappointed as he may have felt he fought off any frustration that lingered in the process. At about the same time he leaned back in the chair the door to the room slid open.
"I thought I'd pay you a visit to let you know of my return."
"How did things turn out?"
"I have no idea," Alfred replied stepping further into the room. "I left after dropping him off, I'm sure he'll get back to us at his convenience."
"That's to be expected."
"Have you finished compiling all information with those files?"
"Only five left to go, but I put that on hold," Bruce informed. "I took a little time to look into the other case."
"The one involving our unknown visitor?"
He nodded his head in confirmation.
"I took another look at the surveillance footage which recorded the cab pulling in just outside the gate," Bruce began. "I ran the license plates seen in the footage through the system in hopes of finding an answer."
"And?"
"The car and license came up as legit," Bruce replied. "I ran a check on the driver as well, he too was clean."
"So we're on a minimal when it comes to leads."
"The only thing we have linked to this guy is the files that were given to Shinichi."
"Perhaps the boys will find something while on their trip in Metropolis."
"Let's hope, but if not it we'll have to trace him by other means."
"Any idea's on who we could be dealing with."
"The list is slim, very," Bruce said in response. "But I'm still uncertain, once we've diagnosed a motive we'll know who we're dealing with."
"And how do you plan on finding out the answer to that?"
"By monitoring the field," Bruce replied. "They'll play their hand, and when they do it will be our move to make."
Several minutes passed from the time they had boarded the bus. He found himself a spot at the back of the bus, with the other two finding seats up closer to the front on opposite sides of one another. His phone rang the moment he leaned back in his seat. He slipped it from out of his pocket before glimpsing down to see where the call was coming from.
"Who is that," Kaito questioned. "I've never seen this number before."
He forced the phone back into his pocket, having no intent on answering. He eased back into the seat, wondering how much longer until they would reach the place they had spoken about.
"We've been on the move for nearly ten minutes now, we shouldn't have too much longer to go."
The elevator opened upon reaching the ninth floor. He looked down at the card key which read 909, letting him know which way to turn. He made a move for the right, walking a couple doors down before reaching the one which was 909.
"This is it."
He swiped the key card, allowing for him to open the door.
"Right after you." Dick said having a step off to the side.
"What time does the train we plan to take leave tomorrow?" Shinichi asked walking into the dark room.
"We have two options," Dick replied stepping in after him. "There's one that leaves at seven twenty, the one after being at ten after eight."
"And what about after that?" Shinichi asked flicking up the light switch.
"The next train to Gotham after that wouldn't be until sometime around noon."
"I like the sound of the eight ten," Shinichi said. "That gives us a little more time to rest."
"That works for me."
"So do you plan on getting back to the others on what we uncovered on our trip here?"
"I'm going to hold off on that," Dick replied. "We'll let them know everything when we return."
"They're probably busy as it is."
He found his way to the far side of the room, having a seat at the edge of the bed closest to the balcony door.
"What about the files you collected," Dick asked taking a couple steps toward him. "I'd like to see what you were talking about in regards to the common denominator you were able to determine with the heart attack cases."
"Right, I still haven't gone over any of the details with you."
He slipped his hand into his jacket, pulling out the folder that was tucked away. He laid it out onto the bed before pulling the top off to the side to reveal all contents.
"So what's the link between the majority of the victims that you mentioned."
"There's actually a couple," Shinichi replied. "But we'll start with what I discovered with the kidneys."
"Let's hear it."
"A fraction of eight of ten of the victims had renal damage to be found."
"How severe?"
"It ranged with each," Shinichi replied. "But in all cases was enough to signify an outside cause."
"Was it particular for a certain age group?"
"Not distinctive."
"So it varies."
"Moving on to another notable affect that was present in most," Shinichi continued. "First stages of bone marrow alterations."
"Now that's something I didn't expect to hear."
"This was mainly found in the victims past the age of twenty seven," Shinichi added. "But there were two others below that range that showed signs of this."
"This all falls in line with affects that can occur if one experiences lead poisoning."
"Exactly."
"Anything else I should know?"
"There were other results," Shinichi continued. "Such as recorded muscular weakness, but most all other affects were different from top to bottom."
"That helps to back our point of emphasis."
"There's just one thing that remains," Shinichi said. "Finding out what is causing these heart attacks."
"And there was nothing in the files that would seem to point to a source?"
"Unfortunately not," Shinichi replied. "But thankfully this isn't our only set of trials we'll have to go off of."
"What's that?"
"I asked a favor of Dr. Agasa the last we spoke." Shinichi informed.
"What kind of favor?"
"To gather information for our case," Shinichi replied. "Any recorded heart attacks in the last two months is what I asked for him to gather information on."
"I see," Dick said. "That way we can cross reference our findings with whatever he's able to uncover."
"That's the plan."
"When do you think you'll hear back from him?"
"He's usually a quick worker, so I'd expect a response within the next day."
"We can't be too sure this will lead to something," Dick said. "But it's defiantly something that could point us in the right direction."
"A jump start is all that we need."
Through the long minutes of silence and flashy lights that could be seen from both sides of the bus he found himself lost in the atmosphere of it all. They were now closing in on fifteen minutes since the time they had boarded. He looked up to the left side of the bus to see Beesto who had been slouched back in the seat ease up in his posture. There was only one thing to take away from this.
"We must be getting close."
Seeing this he too sat up from where he leaned. He took a look out the right side just in time to see them approaching another bus stop. He leaned forward, placing his hand onto the seat in front of him to use for balance. He kept his eyes to the front of the bus as it came to a stop shortly after, looking to see both Mr. Samlong and Beesto stand up from where they sat.
"This is defiantly our stop."
He stood up after watching the other two exit the bus, following in their path in small strides. Once off the bus he turned to the left to see them standing against a wall to a small building. The bus began to drive off just as he walked over to join the two.
"Come," Beesto said. "We're almost there."
"Anyone else going to be at this place besides us?"
"Yes," Beesto replied. "But don't mind any of them, this is our business alone."
With that said he began to pave the way once again with the two of them following once again.
"Are these guys you mentioned friends of yours?" Kaito asked keeping pace from behind.
"Acquaintances would be a better way of describing it."
They reached the end of the block in a short time, turning for the right side. The vibration of his phone could be felt once again. Given the current circumstances he chose not to answer it.
"How much further until we reach this place?"
"Never you worry," Mr. Samlong replied. "We're almost there."
He held out his hand in that next second, pointing to a large structure which was now in the clear.
"There, that's where we're headed."
"Looks like a warehouse," Kaito said holding up a hand just above his eyes. "This is not what I was expecting?"
"What do you mean?"
"I heard you mention some place called the out back," Kaito replied. "I was expecting an outside facility of sorts."
"The name has its meaning."
"Does it now, I'd like to hear."
"You should be able to figure that out for yourself soon enough." Beesto said in response to this.
They made it to the end of that street soon after, bringing them to an intersection along the road. Luckily there was no vehicles passing by, allowing for the three to travel to the other side. The warehouse pointed out was sitting right on the corner.
"Here we are." Mr. Samlong said.
They didn't stop there, walking around the left side of the structure which lead to the front of the warehouse. There were very few lights in the area, barely catching sight of a man who was standing next to the wall with a cigarette in hand. He could clearly see him staring him down as the three continued to walk.
"He doesn't look too thrilled to see me."
He quickly brushed this off, focusing back to everything out in front of him. Beesto brought the three to a stop seconds later after coming upon a large garage door which was located on the right.
"We're here."
He took one step forward, giving the door two good hard knocks. He then laid off, waiting for a couple seconds to pass before giving the door three more. A small period of time passed with nothing happening. It wasn't until about twenty seconds later that the garage began to open.
"I see, that must be their form of a password."
It wasn't too much longer until he could see the dark figure of someone standing directly on the other side. It was too dark to get a look at their face; the only thing he could tell was that it was a large man who appeared to be wearing a heavy coat. Beesto almost immediately exchanged words with him, walking right past once finished. The volume of what they spoke was too low for him to make out.
"Come, right this way."
It was nearly pitch dark in the path that they walked. He wonderd exactly where it was they were going.
"You guys should really think about investing in some lights," Kaito stated. "I mean, how do you move around in a place like this at night?"
Neither chose to respond to his comment. His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness of the room. Subtle sounds could be heard in the moments to come, almost as if something was moving throughout the walls. The sound of the echo through the room only increased the further they walked.
"Where is that coming from?"
Without warning the two stopped. He did the same in response.
"What's wrong?"
"This is it," Beesto replied. "When we walk through this door, don't touch anything."
"You got it." Kaito smilingly said in response.
Beesto then reached out his hand, grabbing hold of what Kaito assumed to be a door knob. Once the door was opened they headed into a narrow hall, clearly seeing a strand of light cracking through another door just ahead.
"Right this way."
He followed his instructions, keeping a casual look on his face the whole way through. They reached the door in little time.
"Here we are."
He pushed the door open, revealing a large room in the clear.
"Come on in."
The first thing that came to his eyes was the sight of two men standing around a pool table, clearly in the middle of a match.
"That must have been what I heard."
Beesto snapped a finger in that next moment, quickly gaining the attention of the two men.
"Gentlemen, mind putting your game on hold," Beesto asked. "I'd like to have this room cleared out, just for a couple minutes if you don't mind."
"As you wish." The man on the right said in response.
With that the two men headed toward the left side of the room where another door could be found. They walked out with the slightest of sound.
"I don't understand the meaning of that," Kaito said. "Why did you send the two of them out of the room?"
"Secrets must be kept?"
"Secrets?"
"Mr. Samlong, the floor is yours."
"Of course."
He stepped forward, turning for the right side of the room.
"I wonder what we're in for now."
He chose not to follow, watching from where he stood. There was a large bookcase pinned against the wall with a fish tank sitting atop a drawer just to the right. Hanging directly above the tank was a well done painting of an ocean. It was only a matter of seconds before Samlong removed the painting from the wall to reveal what appeared to be a safe.
"So this must be the secret just referred to," Kaito thought. "I wonder what's behind the door."
In the mist of that he came to find there wasn't a combination lock on the door.
"How's he supposed to get to what's inside."
His question would soon be answered, continuing to watch as Mr. Samlong stuck his hand into the depths of the fish tank. It was only a matter of seconds before he grabbed hold of a lever that was hidden beneath the gravel, pulling it up with two twists to the right followed by one to the left. The safe door swung wide almost instantly.
"Not bad," Kaito thought to himself in admiration. "I can appreciate the creativity in the security method."
"Here we are." Mr. Samlong said reaching in to grab what was inside.
It took all but a few seconds to pull out one of the items which had been stashed away, closing the safe door once finished. He looked to see a folder held down at his right side.
"This is it," Mr. Samlong said looking over to face him. "This is what you wanted right?"
"What is it?" Kaito asked looking for clarification.
"The file covering the transaction of the Networks Pivotal Equalizer's change in hands."
"You don't mean?"
"Yes," Mr. Samlong replied. "I took part in the session that took place that night."
"I don't understand, did you put in a bid yourself?"
"Of course not, I was only there for the business side of things," Mr. Samlong replied. "It's something I'm known for taking part in around town."
"What exactly is it you do?"
"I handle all records," Mr. Samlong said. "It makes for small pay in comparison to most jobs I take on, but it makes for good pocket change."
"How does this help me?"
"Not only was the amount and date recorded for what it was sold for, but the name of the winning bidder as well."
"Is that so," Kaito said pleased to hear. "Would you happen to have an address as well?"
"That's not something that's ever been required," Mr. Samlong answered. "But knowing a guy like you I'm sure you'll be able to make du with the information I have for you."
"I'm certain that I will."
"Now for you," Mr. Samlong said holding out his hand. "The tape?"
"Sounds like a fair trade to me."
With that he reached for the tape which had been stalled into the top pocket of the inside of the jacket. Before a trade could be made the door from behind and the door to the right swung open with three armed men roaring in from each, holding their weapons upward.
"Who in the world are these guys?"
The six individuals quickly surrounded the three of them, very evident at who they were targeting based on where their weapons pointed.
"What is the meaning of this?" Beesto questioned upon the unexpected arrival of the six armed men.
"That shouldn't be a question to ask," One of the men said in response. "You know Papa Bear doesn't tolerate the appearence of outsiders."
"Papa Bear," Kaito thought. "Who's that?"
"In normal circumstances, yes," Beesto agreed. "But we have an important matter we're trying to get settled, something I'm sure Bear would agree with."
"Then you should have gone and got the clear from the man himself," One of the others spoke. "In the case of this we have no choice but to."
"I think not," Beesto said in response. "I brought him here on my own accordance, if need be I'll go to the boss myself to explain my decision."
"That's too bad, but you know as well as I do that's not how things work under what has been instructed of us."
"So you intend on killing him without finding out what he has for us?"
"Why ask the question when you already know the answer."
"There's no need to further make your claim, they obviously have no intent on listening to reason." Kaito said stepping forward.
"Stand down, I'll handle this," Beesto stated. "That is if you want to live."
"Why bother," Kaito questioned. "If they wish to execute me, why not let them?"
"The hell," Beesto said looking down at him. "Don't you value your life?"
"That's not the question to be asked, but rather," Kaito smilingly replied before facing the gunmen. "How much they value theirs."
"What are you blabbing about?" The man directly across asked.
"It seems I have everyone's attention, good," Kaito said. "Because there's a little something you might want to know."
To Be Continued