The Detective Prince
Chapter 127
First Meet
The day had gone like a flurry of dust in the wind, bringing a relatively quiet evening. The halls were empty at the time of his return, only hearing the occasional sound of a TV through the walls from nearby rooms. He arrived at the door to his room soon after, looking both ways before lowering his hand into the right pocket of his jacket.
"Everything looks to be clear."
With that he pulled out the key to the room, taking no time in unlocking it. He stepped in with the close of the door, surprised to walk into complete darkness. He took a few steps in, taking little time for him to locate the light switch.
"He must still be out running that errand he mentioned." Kaito said flipping the switch upward.
He didn't stop there, continuing to walk until reaching the second bed. He had the urge to have a seat but chose to simply place his bag there before turning for the curtains only a couple feet away.
"This room could use some circulation of air."
He pulled the curtains off to the side, opening the balcony door which brought in a flow of fresh air.
"Much better."
He stepped out onto the balcony, leveling his hands down onto the railing as he watched the streets below. Minutes passed in the passing of this, taking very little time for him to completely fall into the moment. It was comforting in a sense; it was almost as if he was staring into a reflection of his mind, a never ending traffic. A move to look away from the streets didn't come until the sound of something gazing the skies could be heard, but where was it coming from. He looked around to answer that very question, finally laying eyes on it as it passed overhead.
"A helicopter," Kaito said keeping pace with it as it traveled east. "It's traveling unusually low, I wonder if something is going on."
He continued to follow it with the slight turn of his head, looking on until it ultimately fell out of sight in the moments that past.
"That's the end of that," Kaito said turning back for the room. "If there is something going on it's bound to be getting covered right now."
The remote was sitting atop the TV when he looked over, making his search for it very brief.
"Now let's see what we've got."
He took a seat on the bed as he pressed down to the power button.
It had darkened on this day sooner than any other day he had been here. It was now a quarter to ten, still feeling the lingering numbness from where blood had been extracted from his left arm. He did his best to place it to the back of his mind as he headed down the stairs. He turned for the right once reaching the bottom, almost sure he'd find him where he usually was. The door was slightly cracked upon reaching it, hearing his voice soon after.
"How are you feeling?"
He took this as an invitation, pushing the door aside before stepping in.
"Still feeling the affects." Shinichi admitted.
"It shouldn't last past tomorrow."
"I figured that much," Shinichi said. "Have you heard back from any of the others?"
"Dick and Heiji wrapped up their visit a few hours ago at Mount Zomoph."
"And?"
"There was nothing of importance for them to report."
"I'm not surprised," Shinichi said. "I take it he left the surveillance still in place?"
"He doesn't plan on removing that equipment anytime soon." Bruce confirmed.
"What about that bomb that was initially found at the site when it was first investigated," Shinichi asked. "Wasn't it given to you?"
"Yes," Bruce replied. "Though I have yet to completely examine it."
"First the bomb, then the computer found in Metropolis."
"About that, Tim called with an update on the matter."
"Did he now," Shinichi said pleased to hear. "What did he say?"
"It was all there, everything," Bruce replied. "Every single file you brought back was in fact on that hard drive."
"So those records came from that hard drive after all."
"Unfortunately for us that's all there was to find."
"What?"
"Yes, there were no other documents to be found on that computer except the medical records that were given to you."
"They must have purchased that computer just for this occasion," Shinichi said. "It seems the more we find out, the further things seem to widen from the truth."
"That does seem to be a consist theme," Bruce said. "I meant to ask earlier, but have you checked in with those back home in the last couple days."
"That's something I had planned on doing later tonight," Shinichi said checking his watch. "I'll give it another two hours or so, that will assure things have started for everyone."
He lowered his wrist with a shift in his positioning, making it to where he was now completely facing the left side. He stood there for seconds, not saying a word… simply gazing out the window as if to find the answer to something, something which was seemingly unreachable. It wasn't long after that he took notice of his sudden change in stance. He said nothing at first… knowing there was something deep setting in on his mind.
"Are you alright?" Bruce asked out of concern after several moments had passed.
His conscious was pulled back into the moment at the mention of his name, looking his way almost immediately.
"It's nothing… was just thinking."
"Why don't you go and get some rest," Bruce suggested. "It's been a long day."
"No, not until we make progress," Shinichi said in response. "At least with what occurred this morning."
"There's no telling when that might be." Bruce said before shifting his focus back to the computer.
Interested in what he was working on he walked toward him.
"What are you looking at now?"
"The surveillance footage," Bruce replied. "Particularly that of the intersection found in the City Hall district."
"Find anything?"
"Not yet," Bruce replied. "Only two minutes into the tape now."
"Mind if I take a look?"
"Not at all."
He accepted the invite, taking his time in making a move around the desk before laying his eyes down to the moving footage which could be found. The screen was divided into two slides, the left side showcasing the rearview of many vehicles, while the right showcased the passing automobiles from the front. He examined the footage with the best of his ability, checking each visible window for any cracks or ware, detailing every tire that rotated.
He did this for an unknowingly amount of time, keeping his eyes as he looked from one side of the screen to the other… trying to stay in rhythm with the speed of how fast the feed was playing back. At the moment his pace was set in, taking notice of something that wasn't consistent. It was at that moment that he spoke out.
"Pause it there." Shinichi said.
Without saying anything he did as asked of him.
"What is it?"
"I noticed something while scanning the footage."
"Please do share."
"Right there," Shinichi said pointing at a particular vehicle on the left side. "But I noticed something that was different from the others."
"And what was that?" Bruce asked before beginning to type something.
"This car here, like the rest of the other vehicles you can clearly see its license plate," Shinichi explained. "But when you look over on the right side where the front of the car can be viewed, there is not another license plate to be found, when you can clearly see that all other automobiles do in this case."
"Your exactly right," Bruce said. "Rules and regulations differ in different states, but here in Gotham it is a required law to have a license plate on both the front and back of whatever you're driving."
"That's something I didn't know, I'll keep that in mind for future reference," Shinichi said. "But that's not the only thing which gravitated my interest to it."
"I'm listening."
"That car is a Koenigsegg Agera R, one of the fastest accelerating cars in the world at this given time," Shinichi continued. "It can reach up to sixty two miles per hour in less than three seconds."
"Two point nine to my knowledge."
"I see you keep up with the auto industry yourself," Shinichi said not surprised to hear. "And that's only scratching the surface, the Agera R can reach speeds that exceed two hundred seventy miles per hour… I'd say that would make for a great escape vehicle if someone did find themselves in a road skirmish with the authorities."
"I'm impressed," Bruce admitted as his typing came to a stop. "Not even three minutes into looking over the footage and you were able to determine all of that."
"Think we should run a scan on the license plate?"
"Already did." Bruce said in response.
He found himself surprised by this, but only at first.
"… You knew."
"When you asked for me to pause the footage I wanted to hear what you had to say," Bruce said before clicking down to the mouse which brought up another screen. "It seems we've come to the same conclusion."
The two looked on, tracing the bold letters which read 'Not Registered'.
"Bingo," Shinichi said. "Looks like we have a winner."
"If they're using a fake license then that means we'll have to work quickly."
"Agreed, it's only a matter of time before that car is ditched as well," Shinichi said. "Unless they plan on placing a legit registered license plate on it at some point."
"This only accounts for one additional escape vehicle if our hunch is correct," Bruce said. "If there are more they're bound to have taken another path after abandoning that van."
"Have you checked all footage covering all other escape routes?"
"No, this was the first."
His full attention was drawn back to the computer, saving the license plate number along with pictures of the footage collected all into one folder.
"Since there's no license plate to go off of what's your means for tracking them?"
"That's a good question that you pose," Bruce said. "And being that the amount of camera's set up around Gotham is limited there's a chance we might have lost them… but that doesn't mean the trail is completely cold."
"How so?"
"We'll just have to get a hold of video feed beyond our sources."
"Good solution, no matter where you go these days while traveling the roads there's bound to be surveillance watching at almost every turn."
"Determining which way they headed after passing that intersection shouldn't be hard," Bruce said. "Especially if they continued heading south."
"Can't disagree, that whole area accounts for the entire City Hall district."
"At least for a couple more miles, yes." Bruce confirmed.
"Let's go with the scenario that they do continue in that direction," Shinichi said. "What if they were to head out of town, would you go after them?"
"There are two things to be considered in the case of that," Bruce said in response. "The first being we don't know what they plan on accomplishing is directly tied to Gotham."
"And the second?"
"Where there destination is, if not here."
"So what you're saying is you won't go after them if what they're conspiring isn't centered around Gotham."
"To a degree," Bruce admitted. "But I didn't say I wouldn't see to it that this vendetta of theirs is brought to a halt."
"If not by going after them, then how?"
"I'll refer back to my second point, it would all depend on what city they land in," Bruce replied. "There's bound to be a road block no matter where they go."
"I don't quite understand, but I'll take your word for it."
He pushed out from the chair at that given moment, immediately looking over at the clock placed just above the door. Shinichi taking notice of this took a step away from the desk as he walked around.
"Going somewhere?"
"Yes," Bruce replied. "There's someone I need to meet with."
"What about the surveillance footage covering the other intersections?"
"I plan on resuming that when I return." Bruce answered.
He continued for the other side, not stopping until a few steps shy of the door.
"If you'd like you're free to look over the rest of the footage yourself." Bruce said facing him once more.
"You don't mind?"
"If there's anything that gives you trouble be sure and call Alfred," Bruce said. "He should be able to assist you with anything regarding the tapes."
"I'll keep that in mind."
He looked away, this time completely walking out… leaving him the task alone to handle. He didn't waste any time, walking around the desk where he took a seat in front of the computer.
"Now, let's see what we have."
A good deal of time had passed since his return, laying there borderline of falling completely under. A soft sound could be heard in that moment. What it was and where it had come from was just a thought, too drained to pay it any mind. Just as he was to fall completely under he felt a tug at his left arm, taking little time for him to turn to see him standing over him.
".. Jii."
"Did I wake you?"
"Not quite," Kaito said staggering up from where he laid. "Barely heard you come in just now."
"How did the interview go, if you don't mind me asking?"
"About as good as it could have." Kaito replied.
"Were you hired for the position?"
"No, but I did get a call from them forty five minutes after leaving."
"And?"
"They want me to come in for a second interview."
"That's always a good indication," Konosuke said. "How soon?"
"Thirty after noon tomorrow." Kaito answered.
"Sounds good."
"So," Kaito said taking notice of the bag in his possession. "What is it you've got there?"
"What I said I'd be going out to fetch."
"Aren't you going to show me what's inside?"
"That would ruin the surprise," Konosuke said before turning back for the other bed directly across. "Besides you haven't been completely open with me with everything you've done since we arrived here."
"Fair enough."
He looked down to the side of the bed where the remote still laid, reminding him of the excitement from a couple hours back.
"What about that helicopter?" Kaito said turning to the left where he could be found stashing something into the closet.
"What's that?"
"There was a helicopter flying around the city just a bit ago," Kaito replied. "Did you by any chance catch a glimpse of it?"
"No, I did not."
"Then I guess it would also mean you don't know what was going on."
"How do you know something was going on?" Konosuke questioned
"By how low it was flying," Kaito replied. "It's almost as if a search was underway."
"Did you try checking the news?"
"That's the first thing I did after I could no longer see it," Kaito replied. "Unfortunately there was nothing being reported on it."
"The morning paper is bound to have something on it," Konosuke said. "If you'd like I could go and buy you one once they've hit the stands."
"That won't be necessary," Kaito said in response. "I'm sure it was nothing of importance."
"Your call."
He finished tucking away his jacket, sliding the closet door completely shut after doing so. He took a couple steps toward the bathroom before stopping. He looked his way, finding him with eyes glued to the blank screen of the television.
"Master Kuroba… is everything alright?"
"Just thinking, no need to worry."
He nodded in response.
"I'm going to go in and take a shower, will you still be here?"
"I'll be here." Kaito replied.
"Hm..."
With that he walked in past the door, closing it in the process.
No move was made from leaving the bed, sitting there for a period of time in thought. He stood up a short time later, returning to the balcony. Once out there he simply gazed upward, tracing his eyes across the night sky ahead. There was nothing to be said or found, using this as a means to sort what was to come next.
It had been a lengthy one at the office, a long one which was on the edge of finally coming to an end. She traveled down the hall to where her office was located, stooping in front of the last door on the left. She opened it up to enter a dark room, hearing the fiddling of the rain stroking the window side on the far right side. She moved in closer to find a small puddle from the rain setting in.
"I don't recall leaving the window open."
She immediately locked it down into place with the use of her right hand before immediately turning to the opposite corner.
"A call would have been sufficient."
A dark figure in the form of the nights most recognized caped crusader stepped out from the darkness of where they hid behind, revealing themselves in the fullest.
"Ms. Thompkins… we need to talk."
"I take it this is about my missing patient?"
"I need more information." Batman confirmed.
"What is it you need to know?"
"Danielle Walden and his daughter Mera, is there any more information you can give me on the two," Bruce asked. "From what has been given to me I haven't been able to turn up anything involving their disappearance."
"Did you check his apartment?" Leslie asked.
"Of course."
"And from that what were you able to tell," Leslie asked. "Were there any signs that they may have been abducted?"
"No, it doesn't appear that way," Bruce replied. "Well at least not from where he lived, if they were taken it would have had to have happened at another location."
"We both know that isn't the case," Leslie said. "The security footage at that apartment complex shows them entering, but never leaving at any time."
"There's still an open possibility those videos were tampered with."
"What lead you to that possibility?"
"I collected the live feed from the staircase that had been recording that night," Bruce informed. "There was a slight delay in the time around forty after ten."
"The last call made from his residence was at ten O' five," Leslie recalled. "That could be something significant, how much have you followed up on that find?"
"Beyond exhaustion," Bruce assured. "Even if the footage was somehow tampered with I have no means of retrieving the original."
"That's unfortunate."
"Which is why I've come here tonight," Bruce said taking another step toward her. "Is there anything else you can tell me about Mr. Walden, maybe something most wouldn't normally know about him?"
She looked away, finding her sights falling to the right where her desk could be found. She took several seconds to meditate on what was asked.
"I'm sorry," Leslie said facing him once more. "But there's nothing I can think of at this time."
"It could be anything, even something you wouldn't consider of importance." Batman said widening the field.
"I don't know how much this will help, but he casually brought up baseball on a consistent bases," Leslie informed. "I'm not sure how much that may help."
"Is there anything else you can think of?"
Her head dropped once more, thinking deeper on the matter. It didn't take long for her to face him once more with the shake of her head, ending with the same conclusion.
"There's nothing specific I can think of, sorry."
"Don't worry about it, I'll carry on with the investigation none the less."
She turned back for the desk in this instant, side stepping around it before having a seat. Once set she looked across to face him once more.
"So what do you plan on doing from here?" Leslie asked.
"The only thing that comes to mind."
"Which is?"
"Returning to the apartment to have another look."
"I thought that's what you might say." Leslie said focusing her attention on the folder that had been placed onto the table.
"What's that you've got there?"
"A couple files profiles to look over," Leslie replied before reaching in to pull out what was tucked inside. "An assistant position has opened up for outside networking."
"…"
"That's something we've been hoping to get done for a while now, it's a big decision to make."
"I'm sure you'll make the right pick."
"I anticipate your next visit, though it would be nice if you'd visit more often, preferably without that forsaken," Leslie began as she looked up to see he was already gone. ".. mask of yours."
She sat there for the longest of time, feeling there was more she could do to help. But beyond that there was a sense of responsibility, one which had fallen on her years ago. With this feeling brought an emotion of fear… fear of the unknown, moving past that fear was only confronted by a sense of confidence she had in him.
"No matter where it may lead, be careful Bruce."
A time had passed since he had taken a front seat to the investigation, a toll clearly taking effect. Everything on the outside was seemingly a blur, only subtle sounds sinking its way through his subconscious. There was ultimately one thing on his mind at that given moment, a sense of the drive, a narrow road of uncertainty that had come as a measure of what could be withstand. But what was to be chased? What would there be to find come the end of the course? Those thoughts ran deep, only becoming more heart wrenching the further sunken by the challenge. But with anger came a sudden calmness… a gravitation from the outside which had found its way past the field of thought. It was only a matter of time before all was awakened.
His eyes leveled open with fair visual kicking in within in those first moments.
"Napping on the job detective?"
He turned at the sound of his voice, looking just as a hand was removed from his right shoulder.
"Alfred?"
"At your service," Alfred said in response. "I called for you, and when you didn't respond I came in here to make sure everything was alright."
"How long was I out?" Shinichi asked.
"I don't have an approximate time for how long, but it is roughly twenty minutes after one."
"That late huh."
"Time seems to fly with these late hours," Alfred said. "Which is why I was wondering if you'd be interested in some tea?"
"That would be nice, thanks."
"It should still be warm." Alfred assured before heading for the door.
After only taking a step he stopped, looking down at him once more.
"What is it you've been working on?"
"Just following up," Shinichi replied. "You can have a look if you'd like."
He reached across to give the computer mouse a tug, getting rid of the screen saver which had taken form.
"What's this?"
"The names of other victims who showed signs of lead poisoning after succumbing to heart attacks," Shinichi replied. "Only in this case, being a list of those in Japan."
"How many names are there in all?"
"One thirty two to be exact," Shinichi answered. "We've only scratched the surface with all things considered."
"Have you been able to determine anything new by gaining further insight?"
"No, but we'll see how long that lasts for," Shinichi replied. "But if there is anything good to come out of this streak of deaths is consistency, it's a safe bet there's a common source at the heart of all of this."
"It's hard to argue against the point you just made," Alfred said. "How many of these newly obtained profiles have you read through?"
"Not many, as you noticed I had passed out during the duration of it," Shinichi replied. "Besides that's not all I had been working on while in here, I also had the chance to look over the camera footage that was set in place at the intersections we discussed earlier."
"That's what I assumed you were looking over."
"Besides the suspect Agera R that was sited there's nothing I was able to find that could possibly amount to anything."
"We'll just have to keep pushing, something will turn up."
"We'll have to keep looking, I'm certain at least another vehicle was used in the escape."
"Master Wayne seems to feel the same way on the matter." Alfred said setting his sights for the door.
"That's a belief we all share." Shinichi said.
"Similar minds think alike."
He said nothing further, watching as he walked past the door into the darkness of the room ahead.
"He makes a point."
Just as he was to turn back for the computer he felt the vibration of his phone from the top left pocket of his jacket. He pulled it out to see he had a single missed call and an unread text, checking to see exactly who had tried contacting him.
"Ran," Shinichi said looking down at the registered name in both cases. "She must have called when I was out."
Without giving a seconds thought he opened the message which had been received.
"Just checking in with you," The first line of the message read. "Jog in 15, I'll get back to you soon."
He leaned back in the chair with the close of the phone before placing it back into his jacket.
"If I don't hear back from her in the next day I'll be sure Conan follows up."
With that last statement he reached into his right pocket to pull out his other phone, heading straight for his contacts with someone in mind. The speed dial was instantly hit after their name came into view. He waited for a response, only hearing the emptiness of the everlasting ring. The only thing that came was that of the answering machine, prompting him to leave a message of his own.
"Agasa its Shinichi, when you get this message give me a call," Shinichi recorded. "We need to talk."
Once done he locked down the phone before lowering it back into place. He then turned his attention back to the computer screen, knowing there was still much to be handled before a conclusion would be reached.
The night passed with emptiness in the sky, not a single cloud to be found over the city until the following day which brought a fleet of them. The day had started later for him than usual, but still on time for the meet which was scheduled to be held at noon that day. After what seemed to be a lengthy strand of driving his destination finally came into view. The cab stopped shortly thereafter, pulling up to the curb right outside the police headquarters.
"How's this?" Asked the cab driver.
"This will be fine."
He exited after paying for the service, heading straight for the entryway just ahead.
"Just after ten forty five," Heiji thought. "I've still got plenty of time before we're to meet."
He walked in to find it was business as usual, looking toward the front desk on the left side of the room to see an officer booking someone who they had obviously just brought in. He took to the right, having a seat in one of the chairs which could be found in the waiting area. It took only seconds for the clear wait at hand to kick in. He checked his watch once more before easing into the seat.
"It would have been in my best interest to have brought something along to do."
That was the thought that ran through his mind in those first few moments of waiting. To his luck there was a newspaper lying on the seat next to his. He reached over to grab it, confirming it was today's paper.
"This will do."
He leaned forward with a rise in interest to what the main headline read on the first page of the paper.
"President of Syclons hits the jackpot!"
He wasn't sure why his focus had been drawn to the headline; it almost felt as if he had heard the name somewhere before. He went through his thoughts, rehashing where he might have heard the name.
"Syclons.. that's right," He finally recalled. "That's the name of one of the companies linked with the Futures building."
There was no stopping there; he turned a few pages in to find the main story for what covered what had been seen on the front. It didn't take long for him to find the story, starting with the top line where the information began.
"Let's see what we have here."
He read what was in front of him, surprised to read what was printed.
"Jefferson Vermon Tyse of Syclons breaks the surface with new creation, a mega deal in the works for over an estimated two billion." Heiji read before slightly lowering the paper. "This Jefferson guy must be the president of the company who was mentioned on the first page, I wonder what was created that could cause such a big pay day."
Just as he was to dig deeper into the story he heard the sudden sound of someone coming to a stop on the left side of him.
"So, it really is you."
He turned at the sound of his voice to see a grin on his face.
"Commissioner?"
"That'd be me," James confirmed. "You're here earlier than expected."
"You seemed surprised."
"That's a fair assumption."
"So you just happened to be walking through here then?"
"Not exactly, I actually saw when you arrived after exiting that cab," James replied. "I happened to be looking out the window at the time."
"Is that right?"
"Since you're here what do you say we get started?"
"Are you sure that's alight with you," Heiji questioned. "I'm perfectly fine with waiting until our actual scheduled time."
"There's not a problem at all," James assured with a turn for the other side of the room. "Walk with me."
Not wanting to deny him he did as wished of him, placing the paper back to where he found it before following after Gordon. They didn't stop until reaching the door located in the far right corner, the same door which led to the staircase.
"After you." James said unlocking the door.
He accepted, heading in with Gordon finding his way back to his side soon after as the two began on their path up the stairs.
"Have you followed up with yesterday's burglary since the last we spoke?"
"A 'Koenigsegg Agera R'."
"What's that?"
"That's the type of car that was used in the second phase of the escape," Heiji replied. "Well, at least one of them."
"Are you sure?"
"I have evidence to support what I've said, yes," Heiji assured. "Though I won't take all of the credit, I had some help this time around."
"I should have expected no less," James said. "I'm interested to see what you've been able to dig up."
They reached the floor of their destination soon after, pushing past the door which lead into the hall of that floor.
"We can have that arranged."
"Sounds fine," James agreed. "But first there's someone you need to meet."
"Someone you want me to meet?"
The pace in which he walked picked up the further they moved.
"Yes," James finally replied after taking a left at the end of the hall. "We had… no, they've been waiting for you."
"Come again?"
"The officer you'll be working aside of course." James replied.
"Oh, that's right," Heiji remembered upon the two reaching the door to his office. "Are they in there now?"
He nodded with confirmation.
"Wait." Heiji said before he had the chance to open the door.
"What is it?" James asked facing him again.
"His name," Heiji replied. "What did you say his name was again?"
"Detective Norwich," James replied before placing his hand onto the door knob. "But I never recall saying they were a 'he'."
One tug was all it took, opening the doorway for yet another chapter that was ready to unfold.
To Be Continued