Chapter 19: La Persistance de la Mémoire : Consciousness
Nous rembobinons l'horloge à avant le chapitre 17. Ces événements interviennent entre les heures de six et sept dans la matinée Vendredi.
This was it, then.
Not extremely unexpected, but he underestimated her. And now here he was, surrounded by at least five men with repeating guns while he had a six shot.
Damn.
Oh, well. He quietly lowered his cap. Luckily he put on a mask tough enough to resist pulling, pinching, and was thin enough to allow his real skin to be scratched. All after he said his goodbyes….
Closing his eyes for a second, a flash of Shiho-chan and Akemi-chan crossed his mind. I'm so sorry I can no longer be there… but you're safer with them then with me… success or failure this was going to happen anyway. And I rather you don't see this end.
Although… I don't know if this is my end.
He noticed that there were a few snipers on the higher roofs. He smirked. He might as well have fun with this.
He stood straighter, staring down his would-be executioners. There was enough light to shadow his eyes but not his mouth and the smirk grew more manic. He opened his arms wide.
"What are you waiting for?" he simply said, his voice carrying even to the snipers. "I'm a traitor and you know what that person does to some traitors, especially ones that were after his life! Well?" After each word, the smile grew more manic to the point where it was completely unhinged, even scaring some of the shooters. He lifted his head to the point where his eyes could be somewhat seen, full of madness and further scaring those closest. He had to chuckle to himself. He had to admit, his acting was really good.
Do you honestly think that this is all acting?
He ignored that stray thought, instead waiting for the men to lift their weapons, aim, and fire, all the while starting to laugh, so full of brutal insanity and cold calmness as bullets hit him almost everywhere. He was a living contradiction, he knew as he hit the wall and slid down.
With a smile on his face, it was here that Champagne died.
XXXXXXXXXX
À Six Heures le Matin
Waking up to the growing light of the early morning sun, Ran Mouri yawned and quietly shook her head, her long brown hair a mess. Frowning and hoping that she won't get knots in her hair (She checked; she won't), she turned to her Osakan friend as she slept peacefully. She smiled and rose out of bed, leaving Kazuha-chan to essentially take over the only bed in her room. The girls had decided to sleep in Ran's room while Tou-san and the boys had futons in the living room. She was going to have to wake them up so they can have an early breakfast before her and Conan-kun get ready for school today.
Lucky Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun.
After heading to the bathroom to freshen up, she checked in the living room to see how the men are doing, a loud snore telling her that at least her father was sound asleep. Peeking through the door confirmed that for her, as well as chuckling at Hattori-kun's relaxed expression despite the disturbance. Ran saw what suspiciously looked like plugs in his ears. She still chuckled, which stopped when she noticed her little charge was nowhere to be found.
"Conan-kun?" she whispered. How silly of her. Conan-kun wouldn't have heard her with her father in the room. Frowning she tip-toed from the room and wandered a bit to Tou-san's room, maybe to get away from that man. A quick peek told her that he wasn't there either. Her frown became more pronounced as a little spark of panic coursed through her veins.
Where are you, Conan-kun?
If searching the apartment was fruitless then maybe...
Quietly walking down the stairs she stood in front of the office door. Ran gently pressed her hand to the door and pushed, twisting the knob. She was surprised that it opened. Wasn't it supposed to be locked for the night? Slowly she entered to see the boy sleeping soundly on Tou-san's chair. She silently walked closer to see his rather peacefully dosing face without the glasses.
Not for the first time did an image of young Shin'ichi superimposed itself on Conan-kun. She wasn't shocked anymore when it happened. At first she thought that definitely Conan-kun was that missing detective geek but time and time again she was proven wrong. Now she didn't know anymore what to believe.
Conan-kun, I do wonder-
!?
She noticed two cell phones on the work desk not far in front of the child. Wondering about this she quietly picked up the two. Stilling herself and giving cautious glances at the sleeping child, she crept back up the stairs only to retrieve her phone, climbed back down the stairs and hid herself in the office's bathroom closing and locking the door.
Sitting on the toilet lid she flipped open both phones, faintly happy that they weren't in this case password protected and then paused.
What was she thinking? Going into Conan-kun's personal business...
You're worried about him, that's all, she thought to herself. With the KID and Lupin heist only tomorrow, the mini-detective in training would of course be stressed out over this, the elder newcomer specifically targeting him and Hattori-kun. Maybe he was down here to check his phones, but why does he have two? Ran, frowning and determined, looked through the first phone's history, the latest text from Ai-chan, the serious strawberry-blonde girl who she felt was quite similar to Conan-kun. Scrolling down she saw other calls and text that told her that this may by the young boy's phone. Satisfied, she turned to the other phone and scrolled down the list to see an unregistered number first. Curious, she read it.
… And covered her mouth to stop a gasp.
What?! Ran couldn't understand this; what does this mean by crows, silver bullet, and focal point. Who was this 'C'? Confused and a little fearful, she stared at the door at the sleeping child.
Is this really Conan-kun's phone...?
She bit her lip and took out her phone, slowly breathing. This was now the chance to see some evidence.
The last time she tried this she was mistaken, but now...
She scrolled down her registered list and stopped at a familiar number...
Shin'ichi's.
She only hesitated for a second before pressing her call button... and nearly dropped the phone in surprise as it vibrated. Ran quickly pressed buttons to reveal that indeed the receiving call said 'Ran'.
What... Conan-kun, why do you have Shin'ichi's phone? Did he give it to you? Or are you...?
She stopped that thought. All those times...
"Why are you lying to me, Conan-kun? What are you hiding?" she whispered as she wiped the tears streaming down her face. The girl shook her head and glared hard at the phones. She made sure, after ending her call to delete 'Shin'ichi's' phone's recent history of her call. Quickly rushing out the bathroom door, she placed the phones back on the desk and quickly left the room reaching the third floor and her room. Hands shaking she placed her phone on her nightstand. What was she going to do? She wasn't going to tell Kazuha-chan this or Sonoko. Right now she needed to take her time to understand what's happening. And if that text is to be believed, something bad will happen at the heist/party.
She then noticed the time on her phone.
"Ahh, it's 6:20! I forgot to make breakfast!"
Rushing out to the kitchen, she made a quick breakfast involving eggs and rice, the smell eliciting groans and mumbles from the men in the living room and an already freshened up Kazuha-chan appearing next to her.
"Mornin', Ran-chan!"
"Kazuha-chan!" The girl smiled at her best friend as the female Osakan started to take out the plates for the group.
Her father was the first to enter the kitchen with a frown. "Have ya seen the brat? He wasn't in the room with us. I checked my room."
"Pro'bly went downstairs ta get away from ya snorin'." The man gave a dark growl to Hattori-kun's direction.
"I'm finished with breakfast so I'll wake him." She let the other girl do the rest as Ran left the room and went to the door of the office… and hesitated.
She still didn't know what to think. Conan-kun… no, Shin'ichi, was lying to her, but why? Her vision blurred again with tears and she quickly wiped them away.
Alright, Shin'ichi. I don't understand why you're hiding from me and what bad things are happening around you, but for now I'll let it be. But I will be watching you. And I will figure this out!
Shaking her head, she knocked hard on the door. "Conan-kun! Breakfast is ready!"
A startled yelp and a thud later, she heard a timid, "Ran-neechan?"
With a faint smile, she opened the door to see a red-faced Conan-kun just getting up from the floor behind the desk.
"Couldn't get any sleep from Tou-san, hm?" she chuckled. A deeper splash of red was her answer. "It's alright. It's time for breakfast, so go freshen up. We also need to go to school."
"Hai!" The … child rushed past her, halfway up the steps before a sound interrupted the process. She faintly noted that the phones were missing and was most likely where the noise came from.
He took out one of them, Conan's, she thought, and answered with a slight frown. "Haibara… what's wrong?"
Ai-chan? I wonder if she's calling in sick. His frown deepened before his eyes widened. Ran looked on worriedly.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN OKIYA-SAN IS DEAD?"
A Six Heures et Demie Du Matin
"The victim is 25-year-old Suguru Okiya. He's a university student who has been staying in Kudou-kun's home for a few months because his original apartment had burned down. The Shounen Tantei-dan had helped solved the case and Conan-kun offered the house for his temporary stay. The time of the murder was between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning. The cause of death was a gunshot to the forehead, killing him instantly."
Wataru looked at his superior as the other officers around him took pictures of the crime scene and other procedures. He quietly glanced at the two people who phoned in the crime.
"Agasa-hakase was visiting the house to borrow some eggs for breakfast and he noticed the door was unlocked. He came across the body in the living room and immediately called us, isn't that right?" He turned to said portly professor and he quietly nodded.
Megure-keibu looked around and blinked. "Where's Haibara-chan?"
"She went back in the house to tell Conan-kun." The inspector gave a very audible sigh, while both Wataru and the professor gave weak chuckles.
"We searched around the crime scene and the only clues we have is this next to the body." The detective indicated one of those fancy wine glasses that are commonly used in those expensive parties. Wataru wondered if the heist/party will have those.
"The investigators found no fingerprints on the wine glass," stated Satou-san, standing in front of the body, with a frown.
"Something wrong?"
She turned to her superior, "Sometimes when people are killed their faces sometimes show the last expression they had before death, right?" There are indicating nods. "It looks like he faced his killer or killers and looked very afraid of them." She turned to look at them. "He maybe knows them."
"KEIBU-DONO!"
Megure-keibu flinched before turning to the source of the cry. Mouri-san looked out of breath and wide eyed as he entered the house, Ran-chan, Conan-kun, and the Osakans following behind. "Conan told us what he heard from that Haibara girl! Is there anything I can do to help?"
With another sigh, the keibu gestured for the men to look at the crime scene themselves, maybe he could get a fresh perspective.
"Ya couldn't find the murder weapon?" asked Hattori-kun. Satou-san shook her head.
"Dusted for prints and everything."
"The killer probably knew what he was doing." murmured the oldest detective.
"Nee, Oji-san?" Conan-kun gave a look said detective, "I wonder why that glass was left there if that person knew what he was doing?"
The timid detective watched in fascination as Mouri-san was about to tell the child off until his eyes widened. Conan-kun done it again, he thought, giving little hints that lead to realizations. It was another tally to the enigma that was Conan Edogawa. He had also followed that train of thought. It could be a dying message, a false clue… or a calling card. Megure-keibu frowned before taking out his cellphone.
"Keibu-dono?" Mouri-san was ignored.
"Do you know what's going on?" murmured a female child's voice. Wataru nearly jumped at Haibara-chan being right next to him. She nearly gave him a heart attack!
"That wine glass…" piped in Hattori-kun. "There are a variety of sizes an' shapes ta match wit' ta type of wines that exist." He quietly picked up said glass. As far as the detective knew, he had only seen probably two or three types; he didn't think there are that many!
"There all the same to me," muttered Satou-san, smirking at Wataru. He had to stomp on the blush that threatened to appear. He honestly wished that Shiratori-san was here. Since his family was wealthy, he was sure that they had social parties having these things. Unfortunately he was with Nakamouri-keibu and Zenigata-keibu at trying to figure out how the thief Lupin infiltrated the precinct.
"Champagne."
Eyes focused on the bi-speckled boy who had snatched the glass from the male Osakan. He noticed Haibara-san's eyes widened while Ran-chan's eyes thinned.
"How did you know that?" asked Satou-san. Blinking rapidly, like a switch, the child gave a childish laugh while having his hand behind his head. "Hehehe, I saw it on TV. These are usually used for regular champagne drinks. The top part of the glass to hold the drink is usually slender for the concentration of bubbles for the drink."
"I thought so." Everyone turned to Megure-keibu as he stared at the evidence bag in the child's hands. Satou-san nodded and quietly took it back.
"Thought what, Keibu-dono?"
"Mouri-kun, do you remember a case years ago which involves this?" It took a few seconds for the detective to frown. The keibu sighed as he continued, "Years ago there was a series of unsolved assassinations where the only clue to be found were those glasses. He or she disappeared some time after that."
"Ya saying that the killer is probably a copycat or that un-retired assassin?" asked Kazuha-chan. The keibu nodded.
"I just got off the phone with Zenigata-keibu to see if he stumbled across these similar murders during his travels. He said he'll look into it." He looked at the civilian group. "Were you able to contact Kudou-kun about what has happened in his house?"
"Not at this time," Hakase stated. "He was busy."
"Sou ka." He turned to Ran-chan. "Isn't it time to go to school?"
A pause…
"AHHHHH!" cried Ran-chan, "I forgot!" She hesitated and looked at her father. Mouri-san sighed.
"You'll stay home or something," with an added scowl he added, "I have to call your school or something, right?" He began to mutter as he took out his phone and dialed Ran's school. At the same time, Ran used her phone to call Conan-kun's school with Hakase frowning as he took out his phone to call the same elementary school for Haibara-chan's absence.
After a few minutes, the three people closed their respective phones with slight sighs.
"For now, since there isn't much to find, we need to figure out why he was targeted in the first place," Megure-keibu stated. With a nod, Mouri-san and his superior began to talk among themselves.
Satou-san quietly gave a gentle squeeze to his arm and whispered, "Maybe we should postpone our date until later, hm?" He gave a relaxed sigh and nodded. She returned the nod and walked away from the young officer, helping with some of the evidence gathering. Wataru noticed that the professor, Conan-kun, Haibara-chan and Hattori-kun were talking among themselves. He noticed the serious little girl had a strange frantic look on her face, the males surrounding her held different levels of panic on their own faces.
"The party."
Wataru had to once again resist jumping as the girl belonging to that pained and quiet voice (Why did she sound so sad?) stared at the small group. "Ran-san?"
She looked back at him, with a sad smile on her face. It only stayed for a second before becoming happier. "Nothing, Takegi-keiji." She turned and left before he could say anything.
Was there something going on here?
XXXXXXXXXXX
Shiho quietly waited at the top of a tall building, her hair blowing in the wind. This was one of the few times that she could be alone like this, without those mean people surrounding her. This was the same place Akemi-neechan stated that she stayed with; it was too bad that those people took her away again to train her.
She clutched her young fists.
"Shiho-chan?"
She turned in surprise to see Onii-chan quietly looking at her. She was disappointed that he didn't show his real face, but she didn't mind.
"Akemi-neechan said she came here yesterday and you and her did something cool!" She pouted. "I wanna do that cool thing too!"
Nii-san was wearing the face of an older girl and 'she' was smirking a little. 'She' said in a similar voice, "I was going to do that anyway, Shiho-chan~!" The little girl noticed that the kind care taker was dressed in all black… and had straps on 'her' shoulders and in front of 'her', did it have something to do with that cool thing her sister told her but didn't say anymore?
"What are those?"
The caretaker's smile widened as 'she' walked up to Shiho… and picked her up. The strawberry blonde noticed that Nii-chan was wearing a backpack.
What was Onii-chan planning?
"Harness straps to carry someone, to leave my hands free for the next part. You want to face me or not?"
Shiho shook her head and as such she was turned to face the beautiful evening sky. She was slipped in and felt those straps tightened until they were almost painful.
"It's to make sure you don't fall out."
As Nii-chan walked closer and closer to the building's ledge, he continued, quietly in his own voice. "I've been meaning to take you both to this spot so I could do this at the same time. But I've been so busy..." She felt his arms tighten. With a smile, she pats his arms and looked back at the mildly surprised look.
"It's alright, Nii-san! At least you're here now!" She then blinked when she noticed that they were standing at the ledge. Shiho began to shake. Why were they near the edge? Where they going to...
She mentally shook herself. Onii-chan wasn't like that!
"Don't worry; I won't let anything harm you?" Those words made her relax. "I suggest you close your eyes otherwise they may be affected by this." 'She' spread 'her' arms wide. "We're going to fly!"
Without warning, the girl felt the wind on her face (Eyes closed). She could barely breathe and her heart was beating faster. Shiho tried to calm down along with the calm heartbeat of her brother. She risked a glance to see what she thought was the rushing wind. And nearly let out a shriek.
The gray-black ground was rushing to meet her and a part of her screamed that Onii-chan was going to do something despicable. But she calmed down again.
"Onii—"
"Few more seconds."
She stayed silent until she heard him cry in his voice, "And now, I give you Shiho-chan, flight!" A small fluttering sound was heard; she quickly clutched her harness before she felt her body jerk a little painfully… and they weren't falling any more.
She looked back and gave out a gasp and a happy giggle at the black hang-glider on her friend's back and looked all around her at the buildings and the ground with the cars and people going past her.
So this is what Akemi-neechan meant as she gave that smile! It's so fun and cool but…
"Nii-chan?"
"Hmm?" She looked back to see a look of seriousness on his face. He was thinking about controlling the glider but she can tell she had his attention.
"How long have you known how to fly?"
"… Taught myself."
"Um…" After the small pause she decided to plow on, hoping that she didn't offend her big brother. "Where did you get that glider?"
She looked back to see a scowl on his face. Oh no! I made Onii-chan upset! She was about to say sorry to him until…
"Some annoyance mocked and 'improved' my skills and gave this—" and he twitched his head at the glider "—as 'compensation'."
A giggle at his fond mumblings. "Who?"
"Some stupid annoying magician."
XXXXXXXXXXX
À sept heures moins quatorze du matin
So what are you going to do?
He stared at his reflection in the mirror, brushing his teeth.
'Do what?'
About the party? The refection spoke back, a frown on his face.
'The usual.'
That's not good enough, you know. That bitch will be there, Ai-chan will be there, and Silver Bullet-kun will be there. And if that … woman is there, then they will be there. They probably figured out that Bourbon is dead already. The reflection smirked, showing canines.
'I wonder why though?'
I'm sure some of the guests are members already. I wouldn't be surprised if the birthday boy knows them.
He sighed and turned on the faucet. He quietly stared at the flowing water. For a second it went out of focus and he had to blink and pinch his nose to return it to normal.
You're falling apart.
He didn't respond; he simply spat out the toothpaste and rinsed out his mouth.
What are you going to do about that other bitch, the traitorous one?
'…'
What? No response? You usually try to defend her! Why the change of heart?
He returned looking at the mirror; the reflection holding a hint of concern but at the same time faintly smirking. He scowled.
'I need to see myself.'
You didn't deny it.
'…'
The reflection chuckled. It sounded dry and cold. Well then, I'll leave you to the rest of your day then. It's going to be a very fun day.
It took a few seconds to see his reflection being back to normal as he gave a long slow exhale and left the bathroom to another room. He quietly stared at a stack of files and smiled sharply. He looked at his watch to see that it was almost seven.
The smile sharpened further. If he started now….
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Il sourit à son reflet dans le miroir.
"Mon frère, qu'est-ce que tu fais?" Elle a demandé, un sourcil levé.
"Rendez-vous avec une jolie femme ~." Il se tourna vers elle et écarta les bras. "Eh bien?"
"Tacky". Elle se retourne et ignore sa moue, pour rentrer à son ordinateur. « Qui est-elle?"
"Une belle, blonde, actrice débutante, nommé Sharon!" Il a donné un sourire lubrique comme il a ajouté: "Elle a également le plus grand ..." Le sourire s'élargit comme il agita ses doigts.
"Tout comme le Père!"
"Aww, ne sois pas comme ça, je vais faire une bonne première impression pour elle!"
Elle sourit doucement à lui, "Amusez-vous bien!"
Il fronça légèrement les sourcils, "Serez-vous d'accord? Vous avez été hacking non-stop pour ..."
Elle secoua la tête. "Je vais bien. J'ai presque fini de toute façon et vous avez besoin que la prochaine étape pour être un« gentleman »de toute façon. Ce n'est pas que vous allez réussir ou quoi que ce soit."
"Ha, ha, ha."
Il fit un geste d'adieu comme il est parti et a fermé la porte de leur atelier seul étage. Elle le regarda tranquillement à la porte fermée, serrant les disques cachés dans ses mains. Avec des doigts tremblants et des larmes dans les yeux, elle a placé les disques dans un récipient résistant au feu. Elle l'a caché juste à temps comme cette porte même cogné ouverte, laissant entrer un groupe d'hommes vêtus de noir.
"Je suis désolé, mon frère."
And thus ends another chapter. Next up, we go back to the present and after the battle… two groups meet for the first time. What will happen? Who knows?