For several moments it was quiet in Anokata's office. Vodka even held his breath, overwhelmed by the whole situation.
Gin was the first to break the silence. "Again?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
Vodka focused his attention on the boy. He did not remember ever seeing him, but admittedly, he never really paid attention to random children. What was he doing here? And where was Shinichi Kudo?
"No wonder you don't recognise me, the last time you saw me I was quite a bit taller."
Taller? Vodka wondered if he had misheard him. How could a child have been taller?
"Let me introduce myself properly." The boy leaned a bit forward and grinned from side to side. "I'm Shinichi Kudo."
Neither Gin nor Vodka said anything, but the same thoughts filled their minds. It was impossible. Shinichi Kudo was the High School detective they had killed a few hours ago, or at least tried to kill. He was a teenager, not a small boy. Maybe they just had the same name? But that wouldn't explain why the boy was here.
Vodka was about to voice his questions, when he paused. Yusaku Kudo was Anokata. And Shinichi Kudo was his only son. They had poisoned their boss's son. Vodka felt like he was going to pass out.
"Imagine my surprise when my dear son called me this evening." Yusaku finally spoke again. "He told me a story that exceeded even my imagination. What are the chances?" He stood up and walked past his table with his hands crossed behind his back. "I never expected my son to cross the path of my subordinates and them almost killing him because he was too negligent."
"So the poison does not kill its victims, it shrinks them?" Gin said with blatant scepticism.
"You can test it out yourself if my words are not convincing enough." His tone was cheerful, but the threat was unmistakable. Don't doubt me again.
"But to answer your question – I am not quite sure yet. Its intended purpose was to kill without leaving a trace. And animal testing has had a 100 percent success rate so far." He came to a halt next to the shrunken teenager and put his hand on the back of the armchair, smiling at him. "It seems like you are the exception, a special case."
The boy sighed theatrically.
"I am confident that our scientist will be able to identify the cause and create an antidote. I have already summoned them and they are currently in the laboratory waiting for their new task. Which leads me back to you two." Vodka tensed under the attention.
"You two put me in quite a conundrum. On one hand, you failed to kill a witness – a grave mistake that should be punished. On the other hand, this mistake allowed for my son to survive. Since we all experienced something extraordinary today, I feel unusually merciful. I am willing to overlook your mistake under the condition that you get him back to his former state. Sherry and her team must focus on the creation of an antidote and you ... " His eyes wandered from Gin to Vodka and back."... will assist them with whatever they need – ingredients, test subjects, coffee; I don't care. Keep them happy and follow their orders."
Vodka didn't need to look at his partner's face to know that he was fuming. Gin was used to order others around, being on the other side was degrading. But in terms of possible punishments, at least in Vodka's opinion, it was surprisingly lenient. It felt almost too good to be true.
"Highest priority and utmost confidentiality. His identity had to remain a secret under any circumstances. And in the meantime, protect him and teach him everything he needs to know to become our newest member."
While he spoke, Yusaku walked back to his table. He stopped in front of it, his back leaning against the edge .
"I don't think I have to spell out the consequences of your potential failure. I want him back in pristine condition. Not a single hair out of place. Understood?"
Shiho was leaning against the small kitchenette in the laboratory while waiting for her coffee. Her eyes were closed and she was rubbing the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stay awake. The other four scientists in the room were quietly whispering with each other. All of them had been awoken in the middle of the night and told to come to work immediately. Even though they were used to working during the night, such an urgent request was more than unusual and speculations to the why were thrown around.
The quiet buzzing of the coffee machine came to an end and Shiho grabbed her hot beverage to sip on it. She was not interested in talking to her colleagues, especially this late at night. Like the others she had a few theories but she was not willing to share them with anyone. When she had arrived she had quickly checked her inventory and of course noticed the missing pills. And it didn't take a genius to guess who might have taken them. If he had used them … her thoughts immediately went back to her experiments on the mice - no, that was impossible. Most likely it was a complete success and they wanted them to create more as fast as possible. Or something else entirely.
Everyone stopped talking when they heard heavy footsteps coming down the corridor. The door was thrown open with more force than necessary. She had anticipated it, but Shiho's heart still skipped a beat when the tall man with long silvery hair entered the laboratory followed by his loyal partner.
"Everybody out!" He almost shouted. Gin's reputation in the organisation was well-known and the others reacted instantly. "Except for -" His piercing eyes found hers. "you!"
It took every bit of self-control for Shiho to hold his gaze. She had known him long enough to know that she couldn't let him see her fear. He would relish in it and use it against her in ways she didn't even want to think about. Their eye contact only broke when Vodka kicked the door close.
With long strides Gin quickly crossed the distance between them and pushed her against the cupboard, one hand grabbing her throat and the other pressing his beloved Beretta against her forehead.
"Did you know?" She could feel his breath on her face. He seemed angrier than she had ever seen him before. Shiho closed her eyes in an effort to calm down her racing heart.
"Know what?" She didn't dare to say more, afraid that her voice might tremble.
"About your poisons little side-effect." His gun dug deeper into her skin for a second before he let go of her. She took the opportunity to take a deep breath. Gin stepped aside and only now did she notice that Vodka wasn't the only other person in the room.
"What is this child doing here?" She almost shrieked, incapable of keeping her emotions under control. No, no, no, that was impossible. What had he said? Your poison's little side-effect? Could it mean that this child is…
"You tell me. Why is he still alive?"
Maybe she had been wrong in her assumption. Could it be that the side-effect Gin was talking about was that the poison wasn't deadly? But why would they try to kill a child? And why not use any other method after the poison had failed?
"You gave him the APTX4869 and he survived and now you want me to find out why?" She crossed her arms in front of her. "I won't experiment on a child."
"Oh, trying to act as if you have morals, how noble." A grin spread across his face. "You can rest assured, he is no child."
Even though she had seen the shrunken mouse, she still had trouble grasping what Gin was telling her. Was it really possible for a human to shrink? Shiho was glad that shock was an appropriate reaction to such a revelation because she wouldn't have been able to hide her feelings anyway. It was too surreal.
"Well, technically I'm still a minor." The little boy remarked dryly and broke her out of her stupor.
Shiho expected Gin's wrath to focus on the little boy but to her surprise he ignored him. That was unusual for Gin. And speaking of unusual, how was that boy, even if - and she still refused to fully believe it - he was older, not scared of Gin? Few people on this earth would dare to challenge Gin directly. She could count them on one hand. On another note, why did Gin let him get away with it? She felt like she was trapped in a really bad dream.
"You don't expect me to believe that this boy is a teenager."
"The faster you believe it, the faster you can create something to reverse it."
His tone left no room for speculation. The poison had really shrunken someone. The boy was the living, undeniable proof.
And now she knew why Gin's mood was worse than usual. He had not only failed to kill someone, but he needed her help. Shiho felt a wave of relief wash over herself. Even though the organisation had many capable scientists, the APTX4869 was mainly her work. Her parents' legacy. He needed her. He wouldn't hurt her in the foreseeable future because for some reason he relied on her abilities to create an antidote. Encouraged by this knowledge, she focused on the boy. He looked tiny and the bandage around his head made her heart ache. His eyes looked at her with a mix of mistrust and interest.
"What's your name?"
He seemed surprised. He opened his mouth, closed it again and remained silent for a few moments. "I guess you can call me Conan."
Obviously not his real name, but at least he wasn't stupid enough to use his real name. She wondered how he had ended up in this miserable situation and what he thought about it.
"Enough with the pleasantries." Gin interrupted them, as impatient as ever. "Do what needs to be done without killing him. And no details to anyone not involved in the research. I will be back in a few hours and I want to see results."
Without waiting for a response, he turned around and left her laboratory with Vodka right on his heels.
"As pleasant as always," Shiho muttered when the door was closed again.
She waited to see if anyone else would enter. When it became clear that the others were probably assigned with another task for the moment, she gestured to the small table next to the kitchenette.
"Let's talk!"
