The young man was outside his comfort zone. He held his hands tight together, happy that his locks hid a good part of his face. In front of him, Francis was calmly drinking his tea, served by none other than Ms Alcott. Poe remained stubbornly standing. It had been a while since he had reconnected with the Guild and their presence made him feel uneasy.

Francis abruptly places his cup on the table, which echoes on the wood. Poe flinched.

"You want to use the Eyes of God to establish the best time and place to get Ranpo-kun?" the man crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably in the chair.

Poe nodded. "I wish to have an opportunity to get Ranpo-kun out of Port Mafia's hands.'' his voice was weak, shy.

"Hmm..." Francis closed his eyes and opened them again. He leaned towards the young man who, by reflex, took a step back. "Obviously there's going to be a price. Given our past partnership, I can give you a little discount. But, don't expect much."

Poe swallowed hard before nodding in acceptance. Francis smiled at him, satisfied.

His consciousness was slowly returning to him. He heard noises around him. He focused on the sounds. He recognized the sound of metal, drops of water falling on the floor and a repetitive beep. The dazzling light behind his eyelids forced him to wake up. He opened his eyes slightly, then closed them abruptly. The clarity gave him headaches. He took a moment to calm down as the earth swirled around him. He tried to calm the nausea. However, they got the better of him.

Chuuya suddenly opened his eyes and vomited next to him, on the wet concrete. He blinked several times before feeling another surge rising from his stomach. His head was throbbing and hurting like hell.

"I see you finally woke up. How do you like my new cocktail?"

Chuuya's blood froze in his veins. No, he must have been dreaming... Port Mafia had confirmed to him that Verlaine had killed this man. Memories flooded in. Memories he preferred to keep buried deep within himself. Then his blood began to boil. The beep quickened. He wanted this man dead.

Chuuya looked around for N. He found him behind a bay window, watching him sadistically. Chuuya tugged at the chains that pinned him to the wall, ignoring his stiff muscles and nausea. He was going to kill this man once and for all. He tried to activate his skill, but a powerful electric shock pierced him. It lasted long enough to leave him gasping, panting. His vision clouded, but he tried to pull himself together. He tried again to free himself. The next discharge was much worse. He heard his own howls of pain before sinking again.

Poe returned home with a sigh of relief. His meeting with Francis had been trying. He was happy to be back home. He sank back into his seat, Carl well settled on his shoulder. After a while, he noticed that his Armed Detective Agency book was no longer where he had left it on his desk. So he took it with caution and questioning.

Poe jumped as Carl leapt from his shoulder, hissing. He dropped his precious book on the table which opened on a torn page. He froze, mortified, ignoring the mayhem his friend was causing. He came to his senses as he heard a hiss different from Carl's. At the same time, a dark beast in the darkness of the room slipped between his legs, the raccoon at his heel.

The animal, a cat, leapt to the edge of the window, a piece of paper in its mouth. His golden eyes looked at Poe for a moment before disappearing into the dark night.

The young man, his legs curled up on his chair, shivered in terror.

Ranpo had to concede it, Mori knew how to play in people's heads. Unfortunately, it also involved the head of the Great Detective. The young man knew, perceived and heard the manipulations of the Port Mafia boss. He saw through it like an open book. However, identifying them and avoiding them were two very different things.

Mori played with the anger, the betrayal and the thirst for revenge that animated Ranpo towards Fukuchi. The Great Detective couldn't erase from his memory all the suffering that Fukuzawa's former friend had inflicted his colleagues. So he gave in despite himself.

The physical and psychological torture of the two heads, Mori and Ranpo, got the better of Fukuchi's temerity.

"Ugh... You both failed.'' the man said between his teeth. "If you thought you ended the Decay of Angels by capturing me, you were foolishly mistaken."

"Oh?" Mori barely turned from the table still littered with torture tools, bloody this time.

"You've only seen part of the iceberg. Even if the Decay of Angels falls, the supreme plan remains."

Ranpo suddenly opened his eyes. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together in his head. "Divert attention... Create an emergency situation so people focus on something else... There is another organization behind the Decay of Angels."

"Something stands behind Fyodor. Something even stronger." Fukuchi replied with a smirk. Then he closed his eyes and refused to say another word.

Outside the building, out of sight, three guards watch the surroundings. Slowly, a cat approached them, skirting the building. The oldest of the guards leaned over to the level of the cat, under the disapproving gaze of his colleagues. The cat then approached the outstretched hand and rubbed against the man to receive caresses. After a while, the cat sat up and began to meow.

"Make it stop or I shoot it in the head." ordered one of the guards.

The older sighed and informed him that the animal was probably just thirsty. After all, the day had been very hot and the evening not very refreshing. His colleagues rolled their eyes as the man reached into his bag for a bowl and put some water in it. At the sight of the bowl of water, the cat mewed happily.

"See?" replied the oldest under the exasperated gaze of the two others.

His head was throbbing with every heartbeat. He felt heavy. He was dazed. He opened one eye, then the other. He hadn't hallucinated. He was at the same place. Reinforced concrete walls and floors. A puddle of water next to him, where from the ceiling a pipe was dripping. The noise irritated him. Along with his headache, that little repetitive sound seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

Chuuya closed his eyes. This was not his first torture session. He focused on the sensations in his body. The chains on his wrists, ankles and neck lacerated his skin. He felt the raw cuts. Heavy chains crushed his arms and legs forcing him to kneel. But the worst was the poison in his veins. He had to force himself to stay conscious.

Chuuya opened his eyes again. His vision was blurred and he had difficulty seeing the details of the room. Then, he finally noticed the figure sitting on a chair in front of him. He concentrated with all his strength.

There was indeed a person tied to a chair in front of him. A few meters and a window separated them. The young man had short gray hair. He seemed to be trying to talk to him. After a while, there was a noise and Chuuya could finally hear him call his name.
The executive froze and opened his eyes wide. It was a hallucination. It was not possible...

"Shit! Chuuya, what's going on!? What the hell man!? Again? Really!?" Shirase spoke before turning his attention to someone Chuuya couldn't see. "Hey, you! You better let me out before my gang comes and kick ya sorry ass! You won't get away with this! You're a deadman! No one touches th- ARGH!"

The gunshots and Shirase's scream confirmed to Chuuya that it was real. Then, suddenly, the room fell silent again. A door opened and N walked in, all smiles. He leaned against the door, one hand in the pockets of his blouse, the other behind his back. His gaze wandered from Shirase to Chuuya. Then he sighed.

"The plan was going well. I thought I could finally have you and Dazai. But no," he pulled Chuuya's hat out from behind his back before setting it on fire. The prisoner was struggling as best he could in his chains. "Verlaine and Rimbaud again... An anti mind-control hat. Well, play."

He paused. Then he passes a hand over his lips.

"Then Dazai died." the words echoed in Chuuya. It was not possible, was it? "It was to be expected. Who survives a fall from an elevator? Even with his singularity, Dazai is still just a human being."

"Impossible. The man-tiger-" replied Chuuya with his eyes wide open.

N gave him a fake sympathetic smile. "Seem like he failed." He took a deep breath and walked towards Chuuya. "See, I still have big plans for you. And I would really like your cooperation. After all, you'll be here for a long time and it would be unpleasant if you weren't more docile." He clasped his hands together. "Here, Port Mafia is in a bad state… if we can even still speak of such an organization. They'll never have the time or the manpower to come and save you. And, Dazai is dead. So, hmm... There aren't really other people who actually care about you. Except perhaps, our little friend here." He half turned to Shirase. "You could try to resist. You might want to try to run away on your own, but..."

The sound of the room where Shirase was was activated again. The sound returned followed by a gunshot and Shirase's screams.

"You asshole, I'll kill you.'' Chuuya uttered between his teeth, his gaze murderous.

N gave him a nice smile. "You better behave like a good boy." he said before leaving the room.

It was relatively easy for the cat to infiltrate the building. He received several hugs from the workers who believed in another feline helping them hunt rats and mice. Due to its small size, it manages to squeeze through half-closed doors. In just a few hours, the cat had reached the room where Chuuya was locked up. The executive was tied to the wall in chains and seemed barely conscious. However, the cat could not delay. He approached the prisoner and stopped in front of him.

Across the room, one of N's scientists alarmed him, confused, by the presence of a cat. A discouraged N asked him to get rid of this vermin and continue their work.

"Is it me or does this cat have something in its mouth?"

"A rat, maybe?"

"No, it looks like a piece of paper..."

"Who cares." replied N dryly.

One of the guards got up to take the animal out.

In the room, seeing that time was running out, Natsume dropped the piece of paper at Chuuya's feet and then let out a loud meow. Chuuya jumped slightly, looking at the cat and then at the piece of paper, confused. On the piece of paper, there were several sentences to write with difficulty, the executive read a few lines. Suddenly, he felt himself sucking towards the piece of paper and winced at the sensation he recognized.

Moments later, the cat and Chuuya had disappeared from the room under the dazed gaze of the scientists.

Ranpo waddled from side to side, occasionally glancing out the bay window. He hated all these business meetings that Mori and Kouyou dragged him. Today he had to hear the boring negotiations of Port Mafia and the Guild. All this talk irritated him off.
The young man glanced up at the ceiling, his head tilted back from his backrest. Francis paused in his talk, watching with a smirk at Ranpo's disinterest and Mori's impassiveness at his behavior.

"This conversation seems to be boring you, Ranpo-kun." said Francis. Mori frowned as if he had just noticed the other's presence. "I have a little mystery for you that might interest you while we finish our conversation. Miss Louisa?"

With those words, Alcott gave a folded sheet to Ranpo. The detective opened it nonchalantly, certain that this "mystery" would not be the most captivating. Mori glanced at him before turning his attention back to Francis who continued the discussion. Ranpo suddenly felt sucked into the text he was reading. The Port Mafia boss turned around just in time to see him disappear. He glared at Fitzgerald. The man smiled back at him with satisfaction.

"Every service comes with a price. The bigger the service, the bigger the price. No hard feelings, right? We both know that the world is all about money. Say your price and I'll reveal all the information about this applicant."

Mori's cell phone rang. He answered, defiant gaze still on a smiling Francis.

"Boss, Port mafia is under attack. ADA's here."

Mori stood up and glared at Fitzgerald.

"It looks like we can't come to an agreement. It's a shame.''

N closed the door quietly behind him. Eyes closed, Fyodor listened to classical music, savoring the moment. The scientist sat down on the adjacent couch, in silence.

In the hollow of the symphony, the rat asked "Is everything in place?"

"Yes" replied N with a smirk.

Fyodor responded with a smirk as the melody picked up again, more exhilarating.