"You think the famous High School Detective is our shrunken teenager?" Akemi asked, the shock audible in her voice.
"Didn't they mention in the article that it had become quiet around him? Let's see." James started typing again. "Kudo hasn't solved a case since the 12th, at least there are no reports about any online. That in itself wouldn't be unusual if he wouldn't have the tendency to run into cases at least once a week."
"The timing also fits." Akai still had his phone in his hand. "The murder happened at 6 pm. If we assume that the police arrived quickly and Kudo solved the case in half an hour to an hour, he would have had enough time to follow Gin and Vodka and get poisoned."
"Wait," Akemi interjected. "Do you really believe that Shinichi Kudo is connected to someone in the organisation? From everything I know about him, it doesn't seem to fit his character. Why would he solve crimes and help the police?"
"Our initial assumption could be wrong," Akai said. He had put his phone away and was now leaning against the wall. "Maybe they did not spare him because of his affiliation to a high-ranking member, but because they want to recruit him."
James put his hand under his chin. "The organisation does value intelligence. He could be a strong asset."
"Except for his moral values." Shiho tried to put herself into his shoes. Even she who had grown up in the organisation had trouble keeping her bad conscience under wraps, especially in light of recent events. She gulped and shook her head. Now was not the right time to think about it. From Akemi's description of him it didn't seem likely that he would willingly switch sides. If she came to this conclusion without knowing much about him, the organisation too must be well aware of this.
"Most people are susceptible to blackmail," Akai stated plainly. "Apart from that, if he is really as smart as the media makes it seem, he must know that his options are limited. He needs the organisation to get his old body back. And trying to escape would be futile as they know his identity. By now he should know enough about the organisation to realise that they would spare no efforts to hunt him down, leaving the trail to him covered in the corpses of his loved ones. They only keep him alive as long as he plays along."
Suddenly the events of the night in question appeared in a different light. Shiho could imagine it vividly. The teenage detective had wanted to relax and to spend a fun afternoon with some friends in the amusement park. He got entangled in a murder and after solving it he noticed two suspicious men. Being the detective that he was and maybe a bit overconfident from his previous success, he decided to follow them which almost cost him his life.
A new kind of guilt hit her with full force. He had probably put all his hope into her as one of the few people who could get him his old life back. And now she was gone and she hadn't been able to finish the antidote and he was alone surrounded by ruthless killers. Would he be able to stand his ground in a child's body? Would they even keep him alive if the creation of an antidote seemed improbable? And in the unlikely event that they do let him live, when would they force him to commit his first crime?
Again she had to fight to suppress her own memories. How would he cope with a situation like this? Maybe this could explain his strange behaviour. Did he provoke Gin on purpose in an attempt to get killed? For someone fighting for justice being dead could be preferential to becoming a criminal.
Still, she wondered why the organisation would expend so many resources for him They already had a multitude of intelligent members. It seemed like an unnecessary risk to try to recruit someone like Kudo, no matter how special he might be. If he were able to escape, he could use his fame and his connections to the police to expose the organisation. He had enough credibility and the police could protect his loved ones.
A different thought formed in her mind, a possible reason for keeping him alive. He is famous, his disappearance would attract too much attention. In the article the author already wondered about Kudos whereabouts because he had not solved a case in a week. If they would kill him while he was still stuck in a child's body, he would remain missing forever. No one could say how long his family, the police and the media would continue to search for him. But if the organisation could return him to his original size, they could kill him and frame someone else for his murder. No one would look into it further seeing as a teenage detective probably has a lot of enemies. It would explain the urgency for the antidote - the longer it took to kill him, the more attention his disappearance would garner.
Shiho shook her head. It still didn't make sense. There would be no need to train him if they planned to kill him in the end. Maybe he wasn't Kudo after all. They had no proof that it really was Kudo and the physical resemblance could simply be a coincidence.
Akemi grabbed her hand and snapped her out of her thoughts. "Don't blame yourself." she whispered. "The only reason he is still alive is that poison. Without it, they would have found another way to kill him."
She wished she could be as optimistic as Akemi. Not only did she not condemn her for creating a deadly poison, on the contrary, she found something positive in it. If only she knew …
"We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. It's just a theory and we don't have any proof yet," James said, repeating the same things she had just thought. He glanced at his wristwatch. "We should take a small break. I'll go get some food for us and contact the relevant department in the FBI to plan our further actions. We can't rule out that the boy might be someone else. We need information on Shinichi Kudo as well as on every missing 16 year-old. That would require us to work together with the local police force."
No one objected to his plan. He got up, grabbed his coat and left the apartment.
"I need some time for myself," Shiho exclaimed as soon as the door fell close behind him.
"But -," Akemi started, but Shiho interrupted her immediately.
"I want to continue my research. I think I'm pretty close to a breakthrough and who knows, maybe we'll need the antidote someday. Can I use the laptop?" Akai nodded. She quickly grabbed it as well as the flash drive and walked over to one of the bedrooms. With a sigh of relief she let herself fall on the bed.
Her research was not the only reason why she decided to retreat into the bedroom. Primarily she didn't want to be left alone in the living room with Akemi and Akai. There was this palpable tension between them, probably stemming from all the unspoken words. The car ride to this apartment had been uncomfortable enough.
She may not understand what her sister saw in Akai, but Shiho knew that her sister never stopped loving him. The FBI agent was more difficult to read, but if his glances and his willingness to help the both of them after all this time were any indication, he may return her feelings.
Whatever it was that was left between the two, they needed time to talk about it and Shiho gladly gave them the space. She would do anything to make her sister happy.
"I heard you need my help to find Sherry." A man that Shinichi had never seen before entered the meeting room from which they coordinated their search and where they had met up again. A few hours had already passed, but so far they hadn't been able to find a single lead on Sherry's or the FBI's whereabouts.
Even though his blond hair and dark skin were made him stand out, Shinichi found his clothes even more peculiar. Whereas the other organisations members were all clad completely in black, he wore a white shirt and grey pants. He seemed out of place.
"Go away, Bourbon," Gin barked. By now Shinichi began to wonder if the man could stand anyone in the organisation who wasn't Vodka. Everytime he interacted with someone, he seemed irritated and his mood worsened - insofar as this was even possible.
Bourbon wasn't fazed by the hostility, on the contrary, he looked like it amused him. "I'm afraid I can't. It's a direct order from him." He extended his arm to show off a short text message on the display of his smartphone. "What do we have so far?"
Shinichi watched as the blond man scanned the room. He must have already heard about his presence as he didn't react to seeing a child amongst the organisation members. Vodka looked nervous, glancing at Gin and waiting for him to answer. By the way he was clenching his teeth, it was clear that Gin was not willing to share any information with Bourbon.
"They had help from the FBI." Shinchi didn't know what problem Gin had with the other organisation member and quite frankly, he did not care. He wanted his body back and since his father had sent him, it meant that Bourbon could help them find Sherry. He wouldn't hinder him.
Bourbon's expression turned into something akin to anticipation at the mention of the FBI.
"Let me guess, Akai?" he said, an unnerving smile spreading on his face.
"Yes," Vodka said.
"Perfect. This is my chance to finally kill this bastard."
Shinichi wondered what had happened between Bourbon and this Akai to provoke this level of hatred. It seemed to be something personal. As long as it helped them to find Sherry faster, he didn't care if Bourbon sought his own revenge in the process. Still, he made a mental note to ask Vermouth later to find out about Bourbon's motivation. She hadn't returned yet from her own investigation.
"The goal of this operation is to capture Sherry, alive," Gin finally spoke. "Everything else is secondary."
Bourbon raised his eyebrows, his smile now turning into a mocking one. "I didn't think I would ever see the day I wouldn't have to fight you for the right to kill Akai. Are you getting old?"
Gin took a step closer towards Bourbon. Shinichi couldn't see his face, but Gin's low voice told him enough about his mood. He was about to snap. "Watch it. Dead men can't kill others."
"Can we focus on our task?" Shinichi interrupted them before they could attack each other. He might be the youngest in the group, but apparently not the most childish. Now was not the time to deal with their personal conflicts. The longer Sherry remained missing, the more difficult it would be to get her back.
In the next hours Bourbon proved himself to be a capable ally in their search for Sherry. Shinichi didn't know how, but he had produced the passenger lists of different flights that had possibly had FBI agents on them.
"Akai didn't even use a fake name. He wants us to know that he is in the country."
They were still checking all the names for known pseudonyms and suspicious passengers. Once they were done, they would have a better idea how many people they were currently up against.
Other than that they didn't have any leads. They didn't know in which car they left the shopping centre as, despite their best efforts, they hadn't been able to access the security footage of the parking area. The FBI must have expected them to try this and taken the appropriate measures. Without this information they couldn't use the footage from the traffic cameras to find their location.
Shinichi didn't want to be too pessimistic, but at the moment their prospects of finding her appeared to be quite bleak. If the FBI cooperated with the Japanese Police, they had more resources to hide the two sisters.
The main problem wasn't that they just needed Sherry back in their research team. She had extensive knowledge about different organisation members, the facilities, many past and some future operations and their research goals. If she were to share all the information she had with the FBI, the consequences could be disastrous. The whole organisation was in danger and consequently everyone was on high alert.
They were monitoring all streets leading to the entrance of the headquarter, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activities. But nothing happened. Everyone was tense as nobody knew if or when the FBI would prepare a counter attack.
A small relief came from an unexpected source. Shinichi found out that the organisation had a spy in the police department and according to his information, at least they were still oblivious to the organisation's existence. They could only hope that it would stay that way.
The hours passed and Shinichi grew increasingly frustrated. Maybe Sherry wasn't even in the country anymore. If her only goal was to get away from the organisation and not necessarily to help the police take action against it, all she had to do was go into hiding. In case the FBI managed to get them to America, it would be almost impossible to get them back with their resources there. Shinichi felt useless, locked up in the headquarters without the ability to actively help.
His mood only worsened due to the behaviour of the others. It almost seemed like they were testing his patience by wasting precious time. Bourbon continued to irritate Gin who in turn refused to talk to him. Vermouth, who in the meantime had returned from a mission, refused to tell them where she had been and what she had been doing. How were they supposed to achieve anything if everyone refused to collaborate with each other?
"Don't look so sullen," Vermouth said to him after Gin had stormed out of the meeting room to do whatever.
"If they would stop arguing for a few minutes - " Shinichi said and briefly glanced at Bourbon who was busy researching recently rented apartments. " - and started to work together, we might actually have a chance of finding them."
He couldn't believe that members of a criminal organisation were behaving like this. It proved that even they were only human, however, they were endangering the organisation's future as well as his own with their petty quarrels.
"You don't have to worry so much. Even if we don't find them, they can't bring us down," she said, almost as if she had read his mind. "Besides, you really do look cute like this."
"One more comment about my appearance and I'll tell everyone how old you really are."
"You wouldn't dare."
Their bickering helped to distract him a bit, but she couldn't convince him that the situation wasn't as dire as he thought. With nothing else to do he poured over all records they had regarding the communication of the two sisters. It was still a mystery how they had planned their escape and managed to contact the FBI without anyone noticing. It took him less than half an hour to solve at least one part of it. She had used one of his favourite books. It was partially his fault - if he had asked for it back or far she had gotten, he would have noticed that she hadn't read it.
Still, in the grand scheme of things it was irrelevant. Knowing how they did It didn't change the fact that they had escaped. Though he did wonder why they had chosen this moment to flee. Something must have happened. He asked around, but no one could give him a good enough reason. The sister's had grown up in the organisation and even though never seemed too enthusiastic when it came to the more gruesome activities of the organisation, they had never attempted to escape before - even after the older's boyfriend had turned out to be a spy from the FBI and with the threat of punishment looming over her. Initially he suspected that it had something to do with the first human test subject. The change in Sherry's behaviour had been drastic following his death. But he quickly dismissed this theory as she had given Akemi the book a week before that incident.
Not matter what he did, it wasn't enough to make him feel useful. He began to feel restless. He was itching to get out, to follow leads and chase them down. In his desperation he had gone to his father, urging him to let him take on a more active role in their search - not just for his own gain, but to protect the whole organisation. His father had only relented when his mother had come to his aid. She had offered to make a realistic mask for Shinichi so that he could go out without anyone recognising him.
"Remember, you carry the responsibility. By now Sherry must have told the FBI about your existence. If they manage to capture you, our options would be limited." Yusaku looked at him, the lines on his face strained. His expression left no doubts about the type of options he meant. It was one of the first lessons Gin and Vodka had taught him - never let one member of the organisation be captured by the enemy; at least not alive.
Shinichi nodded. He had spent years training for this moment and he was ready to prove himself. "I won't disappoint you."