Chapter 1

Echo

Faded memories rebounded anew as Haibara Ai allowed herself to become lost yet again in those few scraps of torn and tattered paper. The fragmented shards of that life still held a sharp edge. They were dangerous to hold and in the end, they always cut deeply. Yet despite all the heartache, the trials and tribulations, the loss they represented, she still refused to let go. In that loving message from half an eternity ago, she could, for a time, forget.

Things were somehow simpler back then. When her sister first penned the letter, she was still a university student and resigned to her fate among the villainous lot. That was an immutable fact of nature. There was no more cause to question it than a falcon has to question the wind flowing over its wings. One does as they must to survive. Anything else was unfathomable. It is best to abandon hope in hell, after all. Isn't that what people say?

But after Akemi had been murdered, those shades of gray suddenly came into stark contrast. In an instant her place in the shadows was no longer habitable.

It was a pitiful excuse, Haibara thought bleakly. She had been complicit in so many deaths and it was here she drew the line? Joining her victims in one small spark of defiance seemed only just and right.

However, the dictates of fate would see her atone in a different way. The poison didn't work. And someone who should have by all logical reason, despised her, someone who she had helped deprive of so much, was somehow sympathetic. He convinced her to live under an alias. A new life that her sister would be proud of.

She owed a lot to Kudo Shinichi.

Crestfallen, she pulled her knees up close to her chest and pondered the question of "why" in all its many hues.

The doorbell chimed and there came the sound of relaxed commotion and banter from upstairs. While the words were muffled, she could still recognize the voice. Speak of the devil and he will appear. Quickly she composed herself, laying the paper down and applying the ends of her sleeve to her face before turning back to her work on the computer. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Old habits and all.

The door opened and Edogawa Conan breezed down the stairs. "Yo Haibara," He said casually.

She didn't look up from the screen. "Who died this time?"

He laughed good-humoredly, "Business has been pretty light as of late. I actually came to print something out for Ran. We're out of toner. Mind if I borrow the computer for a minute?"

With a shrug, she pushed away from the table and picked up her empty mug. "Sure, I'm out of coffee anyway. Want some?"

"Ran just put the kettle on. I'll grab mine on the way up."

So the detective agency girl was here too? Only to be expected. Other than being unimaginably sincere, Haibara was quite fond of Mouri Ran. Yet the ground never felt stable underfoot when they talked. With Kudo at least, the slate was clean, everyone was on the same page. But with her, lies had to be maintained. It was an unpleasant reminder of an unpleasant past.

"Seriously, Kudo kun, some day you're going to have to grow up and learn to operate without your nee-chan holding your hand." She chided.

"Shut up" was the only retort he could muster as all of his focus was devoted to wrestling the cantankerous printer into compliance. The professor had taken it upon himself to make some 'improvements' to the device at the cost of an eyebrow for him and a modicum of sanity for any user.

She left him to his mounting frustration and proceeded into the kitchen.

Any chance that the professor would be there to act as an intermediary was dashed the moment she reached the top of the stairs.

"Hi, Ai chan!" Ran beamed, "how are you today?"

"Good evening." Haibara said rather monotone, climbing upon a barstool. "Where's the professor?"

Replacing a glass to the cupboard, Ran explained that he was in the restroom.

"I see. Edogawa kun said you had a pot of coffee brewing. May I have some?"

"Of course. How do you like it?"

"Black"

Half of a heartbeat of surprise disappeared into a little chuckle as Ran took the offered cup. "It's funny. I always thought Conan kun was the only one your age who drank this stuff. You two have a lot in common." She finished pouring the decaf and handed it back.

Haibara blew off some steam and took a savoring sip. It was exceptionally good. "We share in some mutual experiences. That's all."

"You mean living in America?"

"Yeah."

Ran toyed with a sweet thought in her head, letting it linger with as close a sentiment to mischief as she was capable of, before setting it free. "You know, just between us girls, I think conan kun might like you."

Haibara remained unfazed as she took another swig. "I sincerely doubt it." Then added softly, almost as an afterthought "There's room for only one in that man's heart."

A quizzical note of interest glittered in Ran's eyes as she tried to judge her tone.

Realizing she may have said more than intended, Haibara instantly put on the kid routine and smiled. "Mysteries, of course."

Ran could feel an old sense of warmth and loss surrounding her. Looking off far away, she mused to herself "I know how disheartening that can be."

Cold guilt caused Haibara's stomach to drop. It wasn't the detective's love of intrigue that kept those two apart. It was her. What a miserable day. Embarrassed, she got up to take her leave. "Thank you for the coffee." She said formally.

Before she could make good her escape however, Conan burst through the door, laden with a dozen sheets of paper and seemingly out of breath. "Here are your documents, Ran neechan."

"Thank you. I got your ice coffee ready. Shall we drink it then head home or would you rather take it to go?"

"Actually there's a cool new game downstairs I'd like to check out. You go on ahead without me. I'll catch up later."

Ran offered a few words of concern given the late hour but soon agreed. With a "see you later" to Conan and a surreptitious wink to Haibara, she left them to enjoy some time together.

Haibara waited a few moments to make sure they were alone and out of earshot. "What's this about? There's no new game."

He looked at her gravely, producing the letter. "I found this."

"That's mine, you leech!" Angrily, she snatched the papers from his hand.

"What does it say, Haibara?"

"Like you don't already know."

"I wouldn't ask if I had read it. I don't want to intrude on your privacy but if it's something relevant, I ought to know."

"It's just a letter from my sister. I didn't break into my old apartment to get it if that's what you're worried about. I happened to have it in my lab coat the night I escaped."

Conan slowly stalked his way around the kitchen counter. "I'm not talking about the letter itself. I'm talking about the coded message."

She looked at him cautiously. "Coded message? There's no coded message. What are you talking about?"

"Like I said, I didn't actually read it but you can tell just by looking at the syntax, there's a cipher. See here?" He pointed to a few lines in the second paragraph. "She used a capital N in the middle of this word but over here, where it should be capital, it's written in lowercase. Same with the G here and here and the t here. She keeps bouncing back and forth at what looks like regular intervals. I only met your sister once but she was smart enough to deceive me. I don't think she would have repeatedly made a mistake like that by accident."

The words sounded hollow and remote as Haibara stared in disbelief at the paper on the table. Could it be true? Had her sister left behind a final goodbye? Her head felt light as gears whirred in her analytical mind. "Gin." She finally whispered "Gin is in charge of internal security. That's why he's always so trigger happy. He's the one who would have checked the mail before it got to me. That's who Akemi would have had to get by. And his English is terrible. It's the kind of thing he wouldn't have noticed." She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Can you break it?"

It was easier done than said. Only a few permutations revealed it to be a simple split-rail transpositional encryption. Child's play according to Conan, who reveled in such puzzles. He had to bounce back and forth a few times from the English alphabet to romaji but it wasn't long before lost words became manifest. Eventually he put down the pen and presented his efforts for inspection.

Shiho. I've cut a deal. If it works you and I will be free. If it doesn't, you'll find out soon enough. In the event something goes wrong, I've stolen a hard drive before decommissioning and sent it to Dr. Wei. It'll have everything you need. Use it. Go to the police. It's already not safe here. If they come for you, ask Rye for help. He's a good person. I want you to live a long happy life away from this. Find someone who loves you and grow old with them. Don't be afraid. I love you.

Holding her hand to her mouth, it was a long time before Haibara was able to register the rest of the world. There was so much to take in. This changed everything. She awoke from the trance only when Conan asked who Dr. Wei was.

"Huh? Oh, she was my advanced biology professor at Berkeley University. I mentioned her a few times in my letters back home. I didn't have much in the way of friends there. Dr. Wei was kind to me."

"I see. I can understand if you're hesitant, but if this person has a hard drive from the organization, she could be in danger. We need to talk to her."

It was a good sales pitch, she thought. Clever to frame it in such a way. That always was his problem. He was too damned clever.

To be fair, the well-being of Dr Wei was a great concern now. But she knew he had every angle already figured out. She knew full well where his ambitions lay.

If it was real, if a hard drive had been stolen before she left, that meant her passwords would still be valid. The night baron virus would be inert and all her research on APTX 4869 would be right there for the taking. Along with all the evidence he could ever need to take down the organization once and for all.

It was too good to be true.

"Don't get your hopes up. We don't even know if Dr. Wei has it." Haibara warned "For all we know she could have thrown the thing away months ago. Assuming it ever got that far in the first place."

Conan adopted a cocky grin and plucked at the red bowtie on his neck. "Let's find out."

One internet search later and they had a phone number. While still working at the university, Dr. Wei had changed departments to manage a wing of the natural history museum in San Francisco.

As she picked up the phone, Haibara tried to convince herself that the time differential would be too great for anyone to answer. All but the most eager of Californians should still be asleep. But it turned out her old professor was an early bird.

Wei was in the middle of her breakfast sandwich when the telephone rang. Shr stared at it curiously through horn rimmed glasses that, along with her spiky gray hair, gave the Doctor's tanned face a cat-like appearance. Quickly she put down the avocado croissant and picked up the receiver. "Michelle Wei. How can I help you?"

Haibara gulped before putting the bowtie to her lips "Yes, good morning doctor. You may not remember me but I was a student of yours a year or two ago. Shiho Miyano?"

Audible delight sang back through the speaker. "Shiho chan, darling! How could I forget my star pupil? Good to hear from you. It's been far too long. How have you been, dear?"

"Well thank you. I'm sorry to bother you out of the blue like this but I have a bit of a strange question to ask. Did my sister, Akemi Miyano, happen to send you something to hold for me?"

"Why as a matter of fact she did. Lovely girl, Akemi. Such a delight. Let's see. Lets see…'' There was a pause and the sound of things being violently shuffled. "Here it is. Some sort of electronic doohickey. You know these sorts of things aren't my forte. I was beginning to wonder if you two had forgotten about it."

Haibara could feel her pulse quicken. "I only just found out about it. Would it be possible for you to mail that to me? I'll pay for the shipping of course."

Dr Wei sucked in air through her teeth. "I'm so sorry, Shiho chan. Your sister was very adamant that I only give it to you in person. Said it was very important. I promised her I would do so. Tell you what, though. We're having a charity gala at the museum this upcoming Saturday. Why don't you come? I'd love to introduce you to the staff and afterwards I can give you this thing."

Silently listening, Conan clenched his fist. Such a trip would require her old passport to get through customs. She would have to temporarily return to her old body. They were so damn close. She would never…

"I'll be there." Haibara said.

Conan was floored.

"Marvelous!" Dr. Wei cheered. "Can't wait to see you! I should still have your email address in my computer. I'll send you an invitation by this afternoon."

"Could I bring a friend?"

"Of course, dearie. I just need the name to put on the ticket."

"It's for Kudo Shinichi."

"Shinichi?" Dr. Wei chuckled. "That's a boy's name, isn't it?"

Haibara blushed bitterly, not saying anything.

The doctor smiled and continued, "Good for you. I look forward to meeting him. Oh my, it's almost seven. I've got to go. Zai Jian! See you Saturday!"

Without looking up, Haibara closed the phone in her hand. Soberly she said, "If I can get you this evidence, will you get justice for my sister?"

"I'll make sure they rot in prison for the rest of their miserable lives." The confidence in his voice was iron. After all this time, the endgame was finally in sight. His mind was already engineering the necessary plans.

But in his soaring spirits, those plans were predicated on an assumption of surprise. There was no way they could have known that half a world away, the jaws of the trap were already snapping shut.

In a dark room on the other side of the pacific, a dangerous man sat cleaning his sidearm when an alert flashed on his laptop. He swiftly holstered the pistol with a cowboy spin as he leaned forward. The warning at first, made little sense. An email had been sent to an account long since abandoned. This, in and of itself, might be unremarkable however something else caught the brigand's attention. The words on the screen inspired a wolf's grin to crawl onto his face. For the email bore the name of a person he knew. The name of a dead woman. Now isn't that interesting? He thought. A real life ghost?