Chapter 14 - Réunion with the Black Organization - Part I
A/N:
It's been over a month! Sorry for the delay, I suppose working full time really takes its toll on you!
I'll say this, just in case. I have no intention of dropping this anytime soon, though it may take time to update faster.
She found herself standing alone in a dimly lit alleyway. A single street lamp flickered intermittently, casting eerie shadows that danced around her. The metallic casing of the lamp was worn out, and desperately needed replacing.
As she navigated the endless labyrinth, she spotted a familiar silhouette. Relief washed over her, and her hand instinctively reached out towards him. She was on the verge of calling out to the boy when—in an instant—his body dropped to the ground, cold and unmoving. She tried desperately to shake him awake, her fingers gripping his body in a futile attempt to defy the nightmare. Meanwhile, the small ray of light that had briefly sustained her had now flickered and died, leaving her engulfed by an overwhelming and desolate void.
From the corner, a sinister voice cut through it all, chilling her in her place.
"Did you enjoy my gift, Sherry? I really wanted to celebrate our reunion with a bang." He taunted, the words dripping with malice.
A sharp pang of dread sliced through her lungs, and she spun around, her eyes widening with terror. The oppressive darkness was unyielding, but even knowing the identity of the assailant offered no solace.
"Gin!" She screamed, the name of her tormentor tearing from her lips.
"It's been an exhilarating chase, but now it's time to reunite you with your family and your little boyfriend," he declared, raising his gun toward her.
Frozen in place, her expression became a mask of resignation. With a heavy heart, she simply waited for the inevitable, knowing that no escape was possible in this wretched alleyway.
…
"Ahhh! Haa…Haa…ha…"
As she jolted awake, cold beads of sweat clung to her forehead, and the remnants of the nightmare lingered vividly in her mind. Gasping for breath, she fumbled for the switch on the bedside lamp, flooding the room with a soft, reassuring glow.
Her racing heartbeat began to steady, but the unsettling images from the dream still played like a haunting film reel. Clutching the bedsheets, she took a moment to ground herself in reality.
Deciding to break free from the clutches of the nightmare, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. The cool floor beneath her feet provided a stark contrast to the residual chill of the fear induced by her dream.
How many times had it been now since that man kept haunting her dreams, instilling terror with each appearance?
The previous night, it had all unfolded in her home, with the Professor's lifeless body laid out on his work desk. And the day before, it was the children, sprawled out on a snow-covered pavement, cold and motionless.
Every single time, she was forced to see the people she had gotten involved with die before her very own eyes.
"What a dreadful dream," she thought, its unsettling nature bordering on an ominous premonition. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. And headed towards the kitchen, wanting to shake off the tense feelings. Pouring a glass of water, her hands trembling as they gripped the cold glass. Taking small sips to compose herself.
And there she remained; in the kitchen, until the first rays of the morning light began to pierce through the darkness. Waiting until it was time for school, hoping she could leave it all behind her and not let anyone notice.
After the previous few cases, she had started to open up and actively help with Conan's investigations. Helping him bounce off theories when he was stuck. There were times where she completely understood his mother's worries. He still remained just as headfast as before, often forgetting everything else in his quest for truth.
And yet, she also felt pleasantly surprised by his subtle moments of care. He was being much more careful so that no one, not even the culprits, had to suffer.
One day, she asked him about the driving force behind his desire to save everyone. His response was simple yet profound: "A detective who, with their reasoning, corners a suspect into taking their own life is no different from a murderer."
He let those words hang in the air, a heavy silence enveloping them. Haibara chose not to respond; there was no need to fill the void with words when the truth weighed so heavily.
She did not match his passion for justice, but she certainly understood his motive. After all, everyone had something they were passionate about.
...
And as the days passed by with so many new experiences, she couldn't help but wonder whether this was what people meant by stability? Or was this just an illusion of hope?
She couldn't really tell.
The wounds that had run deep from her life in the organization were slowly healing, and her life was gradually improving.
But whenever she had a nightmare, she understood that it was only a matter of time before they discovered her location, putting not only her life in danger but also the lives of the innocent children she had grown close to.
She couldn't really talk to anyone either. She didn't want to show weakness in front of the young detective, nor did she wish to be a burden to the professor. She considered getting in touch with his parents, and just sharing everything she knew about the Organization. Perhaps they might be able to handle things a lot more efficiently. But that felt like betraying the boy who had wanted to handle it all on his own.
It was a harsh situation, and she didn't know what the right choice was. Or if there even was one.
"If only Onee-chan was here…"
She was the only one who could cheer her up.
…
That particular day's nightmare left her restless and anxious, and she couldn't concentrate in school either. Not that elementary school kids had grades to worry about.
But her forlorn attitude hadn't escaped the notice of the other children, who tried to include her in their activities, even though she started declining their invitations more and more.
And finally, she snapped.
She didn't mean to frighten them...
And they were quickly reassured after she made up an excuse. But Conan sensed something was amiss.
On their way home, while the kids were playing around in the snow, laughing and giggling, he whispered to her.
"This isn't a place where I should be. I must disappear soon to ensure the safety of these kids," he said, glancing at her face with an indecipherable look.
"That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" She saw him play with his soccer ball, as he usually did when he was thinking.
How rude~
"It's not nice to have someone read your mind like that," she thought.
But Conan continued, trying to reassure her.
"Don't worry." He said with a smirk that always seemed to leave her feeling irritated nowadays.
"Nobody would believe it's possible for a person to shrink because of a pill."
"And with their head scientist missing, they most likely won't be able to recreate the poison either. So just keep playing the role of a child…until it's time."
"Besides, I'll think of something if things get really bad." He bounced the ball on his head, attempting to lighten the mood.
She knew he was trying to put her mind at ease, but she knew them better. As far as she was aware, Kudo Shinichi had only faced Gin once before, and that encounter had ended in Shinichi's defeat. And the second time, he had been too late to save her sister. Not a good track record. And she was certain Gin would make sure Conan wound up dead if he found out who Conan really was.
As they reached a familiar junction, the three kids waved goodbye to the shrunken pair, leaving just the two of them to go their own way. Free to speak their minds freely.
She didn't make use of the time though, still busy in her thoughts.
"Kudo-kun, you still don't understand anything. The organization is not something you can handle by yourself. Your arrogance will just get us all killed. You, me, the professor, your parents, and the kids. Just as in my dream, by now, they must have started their search for me, somewhere in this city. And they won't rest until I and everyone I've crossed paths with are dead."
She finally considered sharing her thoughts directly with him but noticed something else in the street that sent a shiver down her spine, freezing her in her place.
"Isn't that…?!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" He inquired, his gaze shifting between the car and the girl behind him.
"Is there something wrong with that black Porsche?" He asked her, but she wasn't able to reply, still struck with fear.
"Porsche 356A, huh? Interesting, that someone still drives a car this old." He walked towards the car to get a better look.
"Gin." She managed to say it.
"What?"
"That's Gin's favorite car. The number plate. It's definitely him."
"Is that true?!" Realizing that he had a chance to catch them before they committed any more crimes, he quickly brought out his cellphone.
"What are you doing?"
"Hakase, bring these items to Beika 6th street. I'll explain the details later…just hurry up!"
"What are you planning on doing?!"
He showed her the transmitter.
"I'm planning to follow them."
Breaking into the car was fairly easy with the instruments Agasa brought with him. He carefully placed the transmitter in Gin's car, just moments before Gin and Vodka arrived.
"Phew!" He got up from behind the car as he saw them drive on ahead. "That was close!"
"Have you gone mad? What if they notice the transmitter?"
"Don't worry so much. We wiped out our fingerprints before we left, right?"
"At best, they'll find my blood type from the saliva. Besides, I'm sure they've got a lot more enemies so even if they did find it, they wouldn't know it came from us."
"That's not all. Even if you find out where their current base is, what do you think we can do with our bodies?" He ignored her warning, trying to focus on his listening device.
"Do you not realize how dangerous your actions are?"
"Stop being so annoying!" He yelled in response.
He knew they were dangerous. That's why he wanted to find out any information he could get before taking them out.
In the middle of their argument, he heard something through the receiver, changing his focus on it instead.
"A phone call?" The ringtone clueing him in.
Through it, Conan heard about Gin and Pisco's plan for an assassination at Haido City Hotel.
He didn't find out who exactly their target was, but now he had another priority.
Luckily he had allies for just this sort of instance. He planned on contacting the FBI to follow Gin's car, while he would head out to Haido City Hotel to stop the murder from taking place. But just as he was about to call them, his tracker was found by Gin.
"Stop the car right now!" He heard Gin shout at Vodka.
"It appears we have a rat hoping to take a bite out of us." Saying that, Gin crushed the transmitter, the static hurting Conan's ears.
Conan stayed silent for a while, planning his next move.
"Are you still planning on following them?!" She asked.
"Hmm, no, I'll stop following them for now. But I'm not giving up." He finally answered.
"To Haido City Hotel, Hakase. Now that we know their plan, I am going to try and stop the murder from occurring.
"Oh, you and your sense of justice. But I'm different. I have no interest in such an abstract notion."
Not to mention, their agreement was only until they came across the Organization. She was sure he had forgotten all about it, but she hadn't.
"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on bringing you along either. You can wait in the car with the professor. I'll try to get the drug from him." He said, preparing himself, making sure the gadgets he got from the Professor were working properly.
"Drug?"
"Yeah, the one Gin was talking about. If it's the same one that you and I took, having a copy of it will be useful in reversing its effects, don't you think?"
...
Her drug. The one her parents had worked on, and the one she had continued.
…
That certainly changed things for her. If Pisco ended up using APTX-4869, that made it her responsibility. He already considered her a villain like them, she had to prove him otherwise...
That she still had some good in her.
So she needed to stop the assassination as well.
They arrived inside the hotel, and stood at the entrance of the room where the party was being held.
"Didn't you have no interest in these sorts of things," he asked the girl holding on to his sleeves for dear life.
"I am tired of you calling me a murderer. As the one who made APTX-4869, I am responsible for its misuse."
While Conan wanted to deny that he still considered her one of them, he let it go. She wouldn't believe him either way.
"You don't sound all that convincing hiding behind me like that." He said instead.
"Just being careful. If a stray bullet were to land, I'll have you be my shield," she quipped.
"Oi, oi, " he added with a sweat drop, "anyway, don't drop your guard. Let me know if you sense anything."
And with that, they both entered the room. The place where the murder was going to take place.
He swiftly started observing his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed inside were the different sets of handkerchiefs everyone received.
Each guest who had shown up at the specific hourly interval received a different colored handkerchief. This made it quite easy for him to differentiate the potential suspects and targets. Based on what Gin had said, he knew someone who'd be arriving at 6pm sharp would be the most likely candidate. And he already had the most likely individual, Nomiguchi Shigehiko. The man surrounded by reporters for a suspected bribery incident.
Next he turned his focus on finding out who Pisco might be, but it wasn't easy finding someone suspicious amongst a crowd. Especially when everyone else was wearing the same black attire of the organization members.
Maybe instead of finding Pisco, it might be better to alert the target? But in his current state, no one would believe him either.
"Haah," he let out a sigh, using the time to glance at the girl next to him. Perhaps she might have knowledge of who Pisco was in this crowd.
But she didn't seem all that fine either.
"What's wrong? You seem distracted."
...
"I had a bad dream today."
"Yes, a dream where Gin had found me. He chased me into an alley and shot you first, and with each reload, everyone else. One after another. Just because they knew me…
Maybe it would have been better if I had died back then instead of taking the pill. Then there would be less hassle."
To get her mind off of her depressing thoughts, Conan placed his glasses on her. "Did you know, with those glasses you'll never be found out. Even Clark Kent would be jealous of such a pair."
"Oh, then you who took off his glasses, are Superman?" She smirked.
"Except I can't fly." He played along.
"Well, at least it's better than nothing. Thank you." She said, looking away so that he wouldn't notice the small blush on her face.
"You really aren't cute!"
Unfortunately for them, the organization member who was to be the assassin, noticed her. In particular, he noticed how eerily similar the young girl looked to the traitor.
Neither of them were aware that along with his tracker, Gin had found the reddish blonde hair and figured out that it was Shiho's. Gin knew that Sherry would show up at the Hotel, trying to stop the murder and had alerted the agents inside about her.
Suddenly the room turned dark. This was beyond his expectations, too engrossed in stopping the crime, he forgot about the party's events itself. The officials had switched off the lights to show the slideshow about the man whose mourning party was being held.
In the darkness, a subdued gunshot echoed, concealed by the collective laughter of the crowd, drawn to the culprit's diversionary flash. Conan, who was used to hearing the subtle sound, caught it distinctly. However, time betrayed him. The bullet had been unleashed just above a chandelier, destined to plummet onto the unsuspecting victim. If Conan had not known about the impending crime, the staged accident would have deceived everyone in its wake.
Once the lights turned back on, the body of Nomiguchi was found, trapped beneath the chandelier.
There was panic in the room. The two kids got separated by the waves of people and consequently the girl was put to sleep and kidnapped by Pisco.
…
"Haibara, Answer me!" He yelled out loud in the crowd of panicking people leaving the room,
"Where are you?"
"Haibara!"
But to no avail.
A/N:
Considering Kudo hasn't told the FBI about Sherry...and Haibara about them, he couldn't really call them at the same place he was at as Edogawa Conan. But seeing the mess they're in, he'll need to get help.
The FBI's involvement won't affect the ending of this arc much, but it will set up the major changes for the next arc, adding on to the previous ones.
