Part 2: Screwed
LOCATION: Saguru Hakuba's Hotel Room
Saguru was sleeping in bed still wearing his black turtleneck sweater and slacks when his phone rang later that morning. With a groan, Saguru fumbled for his cellphone on the nightstand, knocking over a couple of little empty glass bottles that used to contain some kind of alcoholic beverage from the room's mini-bar. He blearily checked the caller ID, surprised to see that it was from Takahashi.
"Yeah?" Saguru answered, sounding more awake than he was.
"You screwed me!" the businessman yelled, forcing Saguru to pull the receiver away at arm's length. His ears rang and he groaned softly, trying to shake his head to clear it, but that only made the room spin.
"The designs never got to me," Takahashi was still yelling over the line.
"No, I watched them go out," Saguru insisted as he sat up, willing the room to stop moving. He was too tired for this shit.
"I don't know what you saw, but I received nothing!"
"Look," Saguru sighed. "I told you, you couldn't trust them."
"It is not my job to trust anybody. That is what you were here for. I am freezing the payments. I am freezing all the payments!"
"All right, look," Saguru said as he got to his feet. "I will come over there right now and we'll straighten this out."
"No!" gasped Takahashi, sounding fearful. "No, no, no, do not come here. Listen, my company has an old distributing warehouse on the other side of the city. I will text you the address and you be there in one hour." The line clicked, informing him that the businessman had hung up.
Saguru sighed, running a hand through his hair and down his face. He'd known he'd regret taking this job. Nothing ever went well when you worked in collaboration with a well-known thief, let alone three. He should have walked away the moment he knew who else would be involved, but damn the alcohol he'd been drinking that night for clouding his judgment and curse his own personal desire to get back at U.N.I.S., even if it had only been with a small branch of the insurance company. With another sigh Saguru quickly freshened up and changed into clean clothes before grabbing his jacket and left for the warehouse.
LOCATION: Old Microtech Distribution Warehouse
Saguru entered the warehouse, making his way past the old abandoned offices and towards the main room where he could hear two voices arguing. He found Shiho Miyano glaring, holding a gun at Heiji Hattori.
"You mind telling me what happened to the designs?" she demanded.
"What makes ya think I know what happened?" Heiji snarled.
"It had to have been either you or Kid when we were coming down from the elevator," she reasoned.
"Yeah?" Heiji scoffed. "Well that makes a lotta sense, now don't it? Seeing as you had tha file every second."
"Hold up, Hattori, I did my part. I transferred the files."
"Ya better get that gun outta my face-!"
"What did you do?"
"-or else I'm gonna feed it to ya, woman or not!"
"Hey!" Saguru shouted to get their attention.
They both turned, Shiho turning her gun on him.
"Did ya do it?" Heiji demanded. "Yer tha only one that's ever played both sides."
Shiho pointed the gun back at Heiji, but kept Saguru in her sights.
"Yeah," Saguru scoffed as he came up to them. "And you seem pretty relaxed for a guy with a gun pointed at him."
Heiji sighed, glancing at Shiho. "Safety's on."
"Like I'm going to fall for that," Shiho scowled.
"No," Saguru said, "no, actually he's right. The safety is on."
With a frown Shiho glanced at her gun only for Saguru to grab it out of her hands and click the safety on for real. "Are you armed?" he asked Heiji.
Heiji shook his head. "I don't like guns." He looked pointedly past Saguru's shoulder. Saguru whirled around, clicking the safety back off and pointed the gun at Kid who was holding a gun of his own at them. This time Kid was dressed as a man in a white tee, black jeans, and white and blue converse sneakers. He had short spiky hair sticking out in messy tangles, looking for all the world like some college kid who had just rolled out of bed. Saguru was willing to bet that this was what Kid really looked like.
"My money's not in my account," Kid growled, raising his gun casually, nozzle pointed up towards the ceiling when Saguru lowered the one he'd grabbed from Shiho. Kid may play around with firearms, but the guy hardly ever used them. He was insane and a thief, but not a murderer. "That makes me cry inside my special, angry place." Yeah… Really mental, that one.
"Okay, Kid," Saguru said slowly, maintaining eye contact as he reached forward and carefully lowered thief's gun, relieved to find that the safety was already on, but not daring to take it away like he'd done with Shiho's. Kid was known for being unstable and might see such a move as aggressive and turn on them. "Now, did you all come here to get paid?" he asked.
"No," Shiho said sarcastically. "I'm here to transfer funds. Global economy and all that bull shit."
"This was supposed ta be a walk away," Heiji said angrily. "I'm never supposed ta see you guys again."
"Then the only reason you guys are here is because you didn't get paid… and you're pissed off." Saguru couldn't hold back the laugh in spite of the others' glares. "As a matter of fact, the only way to get all of us in the same place at the same time…" Oh fuck. "Is to tell us… that we're not… getting… paid."
The realization had hit the other three as well and they all shared panicked looks, making a break for the nearest exit, with Saguru in the lead. The whole thing had been a trap. The nearest exit was a garage door and Saguru got there first, slamming his hand on the button to open it, directing them all out. Shiho tripped when one of her heels caught on the old steps and would have fallen flat on her face if Heiji hadn't been right behind her and set her back on her feet.
"Come on, come on, come on! Let's go! Hustle! Go!" Saguru shouted, just as Kid dashed past him ducking under and out of the still rising door. Shiho and Heiji were right behind him. Once they were all out, Saguru moved to follow them when a blast wave hit him from behind and the inside of the building exploded, throwing all four of them to the ground and knocking them out cold.
LOCATION: Ekoda General Hospital
Saguru groaned as he came to. His head was killing him and there was a ringing in his ears and… there was this smell… the smell of antiseptic… the smell of a hospital room. He gasped, eyes flying open and he sat up quickly, but the movement was inhibited when something attached to his left wrist held him back. He was handcuffed to a hospital bed. Looking up he saw Heiji handcuffed to a chair. The retrieval specialist looked all right apart from a small cut on his forehead, some mild scrapes and bruising, and a thin layer of rubble dust that coated his clothes and skin.
"Ya don't like hospitals," Heiji observed.
"Not much," Saguru sighed, looking around their room.
He jumped with he heard Kid's voice come from the small vent over his bed. "It's about time!"
"What?" Saguru asked, confused.
Next-door in another hospital room Kid was pacing, playing with the handcuffs that were supposed to be restraining him to his hospital bed. With him, Shiho was still handcuffed to her bed, glaring at the thief. She gestured to her own shackles, but Kid only spared her a side glance and continued to ignore her in favor of his nervous pacing. He'd gone into the warehouse lightly equipped to begin with, but he'd been thoroughly searched (probably because of that stupid gun he'd had in his possession) and all of his equipment had been confiscated, so the entire situation was making him antsy.
"The cops and firemen got there just as we were waking up," he told Saguru.
"Where are we?" Saguru asked.
"Ekoda Ward's General Hospital," Heiji said. "Local cops responded ta tha explosion."
"Have we been processed yet?" Saguru asked, groaning when Heiji waved ink-covered fingers at him.
"They faxed our prints ta tha Tokyo Metropolitan Police," Heiji reported grimly.
"Shit," Shiho swore. "If they run our prints we're screwed. We're all in the system, even you Kid, I'm sure."
"How long until they get those results?" Kid asked her nervously.
"Thirty, thirty-five minutes depending on the software," Shiho said grimly, glaring up at their room's clock.
"They printed us twenty minutes ago," Heiji groaned. "So unless we get out of here in tha next ten minutes we all go ta jail. Except fer you, Hakuba. They'll just kick yer ass back ta Jolly Old England and let tha Yard deal with ya."
"Yeah, all right," Saguru sighed, mind reeling and trying to come up with a solution. He did not want to go to jail or be deported. That was not how he'd been planning to leave Japan.
"I can take these cops," Heiji offered.
"Don't you dare," Kid growled. "You kill anyone you screw up my getaway."
"Just wait a moment!" Shiho said, "I'm still handcuffed here!"
"Kid! Get me a phone!" Saguru spoke up before they could start arguing. "What we're going to do is get out of here together." Because Takahashi hadn't just used Saguru. He'd used the other three as well and had tried to kill them all to cover up his scheme. And even though Heiji Hattori, Shiho Miyano and the Kaitou Kid were criminals, they didn't deserve to be killed. Saguru was going to need them as much as they needed him to get out of this mess.
"This was a one-time deal," Heiji grumbled.
"Look, guys, here's your problem. You all know what you can do. I know what all of you can do, so that gives me the edge, gives me the plan," Saguru reasoned, knowing he was right. Knowledge of each other's reputation could only get them so far, and that was all that they had on each other right now. None of them had ever teamed up with or faced one of the others before now, unlike Saguru who had chased them all at one time or another for a living when he was an investigator.
Kid sighed, leaning back against the wall connecting their two rooms. "I don't trust these guys." Especially the woman. She was scary.
"Do you trust me?" Saguru asked.
It was quiet in both rooms for a moment. Then Heiji sighed, a smile quirking the corners of his lips. "Of course," he said. "Yer an honest man."
Saguru was quiet for another moment, taking that in. An honest man… What kind of honest man worked with thieves? Conflicted, but knowing that they all wanted – needed – to get out, Saguru put aside his unease and let the plan come forth.
"Kid, phone," he demanded.
Kid smirked, but then grimaced for what he was about to do.
"This is gonna suck," he groaned before sticking his fingers down his throat to trigger his gag reflex.
"For the love of-!" Shiho recoiled on her bed, nose wrinkled in disgust as Kid vomited all over the floor.
A few minutes later Kid was lying down handcuffed to his hospital bed again while the doctor took his temperature.
"Nausea could mean a concussion," the doctor mused, while the nurse took notes. "If you feel any more effects or blurred vision, tell the officer outside your door right away."
Kid nodded pitifully, smiling weakly as the doctor and the nurse left the room. The police officer checked Kid's cuffs one more time before leaving as well to stand guard outside in the hall. Once the door was closed, Kid sat up and both he and Shiho held up a phone each; Kid's lifted from the doctor, and Shiho's from the nurse when she'd stood too close. After a quick glance, Kid noted that the doctor's was a Smartphone while the nurse's was a regular old flip phone, which was probably of more use to Hakuba than the one with all the gadgets, which was best left with the techno genius. With a nod Kid and Shiho traded phones. When that exchange was done Kid smirked and held up a set of keys he'd lifted off the guard, making a show that he was already back out of his cuffs.
"Hey!" Shiho snapped softly, making a "gimme" gesture. Kid snickered as he tossed her the keys and then got up on his bed to slip the flip-phone through the vent into the next room. "Tantei-san."
Saguru got up on his bed and retrieved the phone Kid passed to him.
"Got it," he said before turning to Heiji, tossing the phone to him. "So the trick is to give them what they want. They're expecting a phone call, right? So call them."
After Saguru explained the plan to them, Heiji dialed the number for their hospital, while Shiho used the Smartphone to create a quick "classified" document that she would send to the hospital's fax machine were a local officer would, no doubt, be waiting in case anything came in from the TMP.
Heiji cleared his throat, waiting nervously as his call was put on hold so that the secretary at the desk could get the police officer in charge of them at the hospital.
"This is Manabí-keiji," a voice soon answered.
"This is Toyama-keibu with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police," Heiji said in his best official tone. "We got those prints that you sent us. The problem I have is that they're sending up red flags all over the place and I've got somebody on the phone from Interpol all the way from London. Can you hold?"
Heiji smirked. He could only imagine the look on the officer's face as he stammered, "Yes, sir," and waited. Heiji tossed the phone back to Saguru who began to speak Japanese with an exaggerated English accent.
"Hullo? Manabí-keiji? This is Special Agent McAlister from Interpol. Yes, is our man all right?"
"Uh, I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I don't follow."
"Keiji, listen to me. The woman that you have there is ours. She's been in deep cover for over three years now."
"Seriously?" Saguru heard the officer gasp and in the background there was the telltale thumping of racing footsteps.
"That is correct," Saguru replied. "In fact, you should be receiving a fax any moment now confirming what I am telling you."
Heiji and Shiho were grinning to themselves and Kid snickered while Saguru began to reel off a story about a crime ring of international thieves to the local police. It was like Christmas had come early for them. Saguru Hakuba, one of the world's most infamous investigative detectives in the world was working with the very thieves he used to chase and was lying to the police.
"Most of what I've told you is classified, you understand," Saguru said, wrapping up his quick tale. "I need to know that I can trust you. Can I?"
"Yes, sir!" Officer Manabí answered.
Saguru hung up and sat back on his bed. Now all they had to do was wait.
Ten minutes later Saguru and Kid were sitting in a loaned police car, Kid in the back on the passenger's side and Saguru sitting shotgun. Shiho was escorting Heiji out of the hospital in handcuffs with two of the local cops trailing behind her. As she was guiding Heiji into the back of car next to Kid, she hit his head on the top of the doorframe. Heiji turned his head towards her, growling.
"Opps," Shiho said innocently. "Just get inside, convict."
Heiji continued to growl, but complied, ignoring Kid's snickering. Dude was going to laugh himself to death if he kept giggling at every little thing he found amusing.
"Thank you, Keiji," Shiho said as she turned to address the officers that had helped her escort her companions out of the hospital. "It's good to know that the Japanese Police can be relied upon in cases such as this."
The officers beamed proudly, bowing back when she gave them a respectful bow and got into the car, driving away just in time. In the rearview mirror she could see a nurse come out of the hospital and addressed the officers who now looked confused.
She drove far enough away from the hospital before ditching the police car. Then they all followed her to a nearby train station and to an expensive loft apartment in downtown Tokyo high up on the 28th floor of a high rise.
"Four first class tickets to anywhere but here, coming up," she said briskly as they all entered the apartment.
"Whose place is this?" Kid asked, whistling in admiration of the nice expensive décor.
"It's mine," was all Shiho said as she hurried over to a bank of computers.
"I'm gonna beat Takahashi so bad that even tha people that look like 'im are gonna bleed," Heiji growled, pissed off now that they were currently safe from the police.
"You won't get within 50 meters," Kid scoffed. "He knows your face. He knows all of your guys' faces. Maybe even mine." That last bit made Kid scowl. He'd gone to great lengths to keep his real face hidden and a mystery. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things. Kid was great at hiding and changing his appearance, but it was the principle of the thing.
"He tried to kill us," Heiji said, punching a fist into his other hand's palm.
"More importantly, he didn't pay is," Kid sulked.
Heiji stared at the thief in disbelief. "How is that more important?" he demanded.
"I take that rather personally," Kid pouted.
"There's something wrong with you," Heiji said, staring wearily at Kid.
"Interesting," Shiho mused. "Listen up you lot! It turns out that Takahashi's story is 90 percent true. He is one of the main project heads at Microtech's Tokyo offices, but look at what my little web crawlers found."
A local Tokyo news report recorded earlier that day showed a Niindento representative speaking to reporters.
"We've lost research that we've been working on for over five years. Our servers have been sabotaged, and we're going to pursue these perpetrators to the full extent of the law and with all the resources we have at our disposal."
"Could be a cover story," Saguru said, but deep down he knew that wasn't true. Something had been off about this job from the start and he was only just seeing it now.
"Here's a log of last night's rip. Internal timestamps on their project – going back for almost the last six years. They're way, way down in the code. There's no reason to fake those," Shiho sighed.
"So, what? Are ya sayin' we didn't steal tha plans back?" Heiji asked. As if he needed another reason to be pissed off at this slimy corporate douche bag.
"No, we were just stealing them," Kid sighed, glaring out the window.
"Why would Takahashi lie to us?" Shiho asked.
"Because you're thieves," Saguru said bluntly, looking over the information on Shiho's monitors, mind finally fully accepting and comprehending the fact that he'd been played, and began mentally cataloguing the information displayed before him. "If he hired you for a straight up crime, you'd know he was a bad guy like you. You'd be suspicious. This way you saw another citizen in over his head and that's why you didn't see the double cross coming."
"Why didn't you see it coming?" Kid asked.
"Because I'm not a thief," Saguru said matter-of-factly.
"Ya know what?" Heiji snapped. "Maybe that was tha problem. If ya-!"
"Hey!" Shiho spoke up, cutting off Heiji's angry tirade. "I got us tickets to London, Rome, Paris, and Istanbul all matching the IDs that you guys gave me."
"You're running," Saguru said as he passed Shiho and made his way over for a closer look at her monitors.
"You got it. Ya got any better ideas?" Heiji demanded.
"Wasn't talking to you," Saguru said absently and waved him off, eyes glued to the screen and began talking to Takahashi's image. "You're running. Now that was a high-risk play. You've got yourself tied down to the stock price like a cinder block, and with a shareholders meeting coming up… We can't let this guy have any time to cool down."
Saguru's mind was whirling with ideas and plans and back up plans to get back at this guy. He couldn't let Takahashi get away with what he'd done and what he'd tricked Saguru into doing, not to mention the fact that the man had tried to kill them all. And as much as Saguru didn't want to admit it, he needed these guys. Now if only he could convince them to team up with him just one more time.
"Wait," Heiji said, looking shocked. "You wanna run a game on this guy? You?"
"Well, yes," Saguru said, turning to face the others, his game face on. "How do you think I got most of my clients' stolen merchandise back? I mean, this guy is greedy and thinks he's smart. He's the best kind of mark."
"He does think he got rid of us." Kid grinned.
"We'd have the element of surprise," Shiho mused.
"Yeah? Well… What's in it fer me?" Heiji demanded.
"Payback," Saguru said, "and if it goes right, a lot of money."
"What's in it for me?" Kid asked.
"A lot of money," Saguru smiled. "And if it goes right, payback. Miyano-san?"
Kid cackled, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Shiho was smiling too for once, with a glint in her eye that wasn't too different from the Kid's.
"I was just going to spam his e-mails with virus attachments that would crash his home and office computer systems, but count me in. I want to see this bastard pay," she said.
"Alright, so we're all in agreement, but what I want to know, Hakuba, is what's in it for you?" Heiji asked, suspiciously.
Kid and Shiho also looked over at Saguru, also wondering why someone who had been the definition of lawful and one of the best investigators in the world, would team up with a bunch of thieves and pull a job that could more than likely get him arrested and ruin his reputation just to take down Takahashi.
Saguru was quiet for a moment, looking at all three of them in turn before saying in a soft, but hard voice. "He used my daughter."
Kid's mischievous smile dropped a few notches, Shiho nodded, and Heiji looked away feeling a little awkward. They had all heard the rumors and stories surrounding the circumstances behind Saguru's abrupt retirement from U.N.I.S.
"All right," Saguru said brightly, dispelling the mood and walked past them all. "Lets go get Kudo."
Kid, Shiho and Heiji blinked in surprise at the sudden cheer in the other man's voice and traded confused glances.
"What the hell's a Kudo?" Heiji asked, the three of them rushing to catch up with their team leader.
"It means to receive honor, glory and acclaim," Kid said, skipping ahead.
"That's what kudos are, Kid," Shiho sighed.
"There is something seriously wrong with that one," Heiji muttered.
"For once we're in agreement," Shiho said, smiling in amusement as Kid did one of his signature instant-disguise-changes from male to female behind a smoke bomb and clung the Saguru's arm as if they were a couple, prattling about something absurd. It was funny to see Saguru try to pull away a few times, but he eventually gave up and appeared to be resigned to his new companion. Then Shiho's smile vanished when she realized that Kid was wearing some of her clothes. When had the bastard…? "KID!"