Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ The Detective Prince ❯ Target Unraveled ( Chapter 28 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Detective Prince
Chapter 28
Target Unraveled

It was dark and frigid, a feel of discomfort flowing through all parts of the body. Then it struck, a very mind boggling odor. Her eyes tirelessly opening while rolling from her back to see Conan laid out to the side of her.

"Where are we?" Ai thought pushing up from the cold dirt ground.

She looked over to find they were locked in behind bars. Had someone brought them here? She took a few seconds to collect her thoughts, kneeling down next to Conan while giving him a few shakes.

"Shinichi get up," Ai said continuing to shake him. "We need to find a way out of here."

He shrugged her off, rolling to the other while mumbling something.

"We don't have time for this."

Ai leaned in close, grabbing his ear with a loud whistle. He popped up with a yelp, landing a few inches away from her.

"What was that for?" Conan asked.

"You didn't wake up when I shaked you," Ai said standing to her feet. "That resulted in me taking a more direct approach."

"Where are we anyway?" Conan asked standing up from the ground as well.

"I was hoping you'd know."

He took this time to think back, remembering all the events that occurred before blacking out. As he stood in thought they heard a slight sound, that of something straggling up. Ai turned her head to the side, relieved to see it was only Genta.

"I thought I heard voices," Genta said walking up next to the two. "Where are we?"

"In a cell of some kind," Ai replied. "How we got here is still a mystery in itself."

"We were dragged," Conan said remembering. "Before I faded out I remember my body sliding up against the ground."

"Did you get a look at who brought us here?"

He shook his head from side to side.

"It was much to dark," Conan replied. "My sight already being a little derailed from the fall as it was."

"Not to switch gears," Ai said scouring the dark room. "But what is that smell?"

Conan pressed down on his watch to find his light must have broken during the fall.

"Are any of your lights still active?" Conan asked.

"Looks like I'm out to." Ai said after giving hers a shot.

Genta reached for his wrist watch, pressing down to have light flash life into the dark room. He searched all corners, looking to see what could be the source of the stomach trembling odor filling the area.

"I don't see anything." Genta said continuing to search.

"Keep looking," Conan said. "There's defiantly something giving off that smell."

He then flashed his light to the far wall, shrieking out at what he saw.

"Look Conan, it's another body!"

"Shhhh," Conan snapped. "Do you want whoever brought us here to know we're awake?"

Everything fell silent from there. Conan dropped his hands to his pocket, making his way over to where the body lay. The body had only been cut a few times, but fatal none the less. He kneeled down, feeling the skin to diagnose a time.

"This guy's at least been dead for twenty four hours, forty eight even."

He then glimpsed up to the wall to see something written, something in blood.

"What is this?"

Conan stood back up giving the smeared message a look.

"Is it some kind of puzzle.....a message to be unlocked?"

"Have any idea what they were trying to say?" Ai asked walking up to his side.

"76....36.....4.....(1)," Conan read off. "I'm thinking maybe it's some kind of riddle."

"But what were they trying to say," Ai asked not expecting an answer. "And what is that?"

Conan looked to below the numbers, noticing something else he had left behind.

"Looks like some kind of emblem," Conan said giving the bloody drawing a look. "Can't really tell what it is though."

"Forget that," Genta said joining the two. "How did we get down here in the first place?"

Conan looked to him with a smile.

"That one's easy."

"Go ahead then Conan, we'd love to hear it." Genta said.

He took a few steps forward, the light still glued to the wall once coming to a stop. He reached out, running his finger in between the cracks of the wall, feeling for anything out of place.

"What is he doing?" Ayumi whispered.

"I'm not to sure," Mitsuhiko replied. "We'll give him a little longer, I'm pretty sure he'll tell us."

It slowly began to come together once locating the circular tracing in the wall which ranged out a couple feet from side to side.

"So this is how they hid the body so quickly."

Red Robin pressed his hands to the wall giving it a forceful shove, using his reflexes to bounce back before the wall spun to the other side.

"A secret passage, so that's where our friends went to." Mitsuhiko said.

"But why would they leave without telling us?" Ayumi questioned.

"I think the speed of the wall shifting might have caught them by surprise." Red Robin answered.

He pointed the light back to the wall, everything as clear as day.

"Blood," Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "Where did all that blood come from?"

"Oh no," Ayumi said in terror. "Do you think something happened to our friends?"

"Not sure," Red Robin replied stepping back to the wall. "But I can assure you this blood doesn't belong to them."

"He's right," Mitsuhiko said. "That blood is already dried up, there's no way it could be theirs."

Tim smiled at this, impressed with his deduction.

"If it's not there's, then that means......it's from the body Conan saw through the window earlier today." Ayumi said.

"But how come we didn't see the bloody wall when we first came in," Mitsuhiko questioned. "If Conan and the others indeed went through wouldn't it have been swapped to the bloody side?"

"I think you're forgetting something young detective." Red Robin said.

They both looked up to him, not entirely sure what he was speaking of.

"What, what did I forget?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Think back to when you entered the room, after I grabbed and hid us behind the desk."

"That's right," Ayumi said. "Someone entered the room."

"I see," Mitsuhiko said finally understanding. "Whoever came in must have seen the blood and switched it back to the clean side."

"But....but that means they must know someone entered through the wall," Ayumi said. "Do you think they have our friends?"

"It's a high possibility," Red Robin stated flashing the light back to the wall. "But there's really only one way to find out."

The two watched as he made his way back to the wall. He switched his mini flashlight off, sticking it into a secure place in his utility belt.

"Better hurry, who knows what the situation is with the other three."

Just as he was to push forward Ayumi and Mitsuhiko ran to his side.

"Can we come with you?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"We promise not to get in the way." Ayumi added.

He looked down to them both, giving what they asked some thought.

"It might be dangerous, I don't know what's on the other side of this wall," Red Robin thought to himself. "On the other hand I don't have time to escort them out, the others could be in danger."

He took a deep breath, turning back to the wall as he did.

"Stay close ok."

"Got it." Both Mitsuhiko and Ayumi said together.

Using his strength he forced the wall in, the three hurrying through before being hit by the rotation of the wall. It was dark, pitch dark at that. Red Robin reached into his belt, filling the room with light. It was narrow from where they stood, the air much more dense than the room they had come. He flashed the light forward to find there was no way but down, a fleet of stairs made of stone. Mitsuhiko gulped.

"I guess they must have gone down there." Mitsuhiko said.

"Which is where we're going," Red Robin declared. "Remember what I said."

Both nodded, following right behind.

It was testing him at this point, taking measures outside the box to try and comprehend what the numbers meant, or represented. He paced from one side of the room to the other, Ai and Genta both looking on as spectators.

"Why would someone write something like that with their last breath in the wait," Conan questioned. "It obviously was important to him, why else would he have felt the need to record this number sequence....did he want someone to see it?"

He gave the message another look, reconfiguring the number order in his head to see if he could make anything of it.

"Why is it the 1 is circled off yet none of the others?"

"Hey Conan, have you made any progress on cracking the meaning to the message left behind?" Genta asked.

"Not yet," Conan replied. "But I'm still working on it."

"Have you considered each number representing a character or letter?" Ai asked.

"Haven't worked that angle yet," Conan replied as the sound of someone approaching can be heard. "Everyone down, we'll pretend we're still unconscious."

With that the three of them took to the ground, laying in the same positions they had previously been in. The shadow of a figure loomed over the three from outside the cell, looking in to glance down at them. He could see his grin through the dark, swaying over to him. The figure then disappeared into the darkness of the halls.

"Phew, that was close." Conan thought to himself.

He jumped down from the final step, checking to make sure everything was clear before turning back to give Ayumi and Mitsuhiko the nod to continue on. They walked down the hall which was still rather narrow, torches lighting their path every few yards.

"It almost feels like we're beneath a castle, walking through a dungeon." Mitsuhiko said with a shiver.

"I'm getting a similar vibe from being down here." Red Robin said in agreement.

The flow of wind through the cracked walls could be heard chirping tunes, getting cooler by the minute. Mitsuhiko came to a stop, the other two looking to him immediately after.

"What's wrong?" Ayumi asked.

"It's his glasses," Mitsuhiko replied pulling them from the ground. "I found Conan's glasses."

"Great, now we can find where they are!" Ayumi yelled with joy.

She put a hand to her mouth right after, remembering they were supposed to be moving with stealth.

"You said you'd be able to locate them, care to fill me in?" Red Robin asked.

"We all have detective badges just like this," Mitsuhiko explained holding his out. "And with the use of Conan's glasses we'll be able to track where everyone else is."

"Clever," Red Robin said turning back to the path. "I'll take front stage, you just tell me where we're going."

"As you command captain," Mitsuhiko said clicking it to track mode. "We keep going straight, they're somewhere down that way."

"Whatever happens, stay to my side at all times."

The torches continued to light their way, each step in sync with the last. It beeped louder and louder as they neared the location of the other badges. As they continued, a flash could be seen coming from the right wall just up ahead. But what was it? He looked to them once more, reassuring they knew what to do if things went south. They came to a stop once reaching where the flash had came from, finding a large hole in the wall.

"Gold," Ayumi said looking in to see all kinds of goods. "They even have silver in there."

"Not to mention all that money laying on the ground," Mitsuhiko added. "Stolen money no doubt."

"I'd say someone was in a rush to remove this stuff, everything looks scattered and unorganized," Red Robin stood in thought. "I wonder what kind of dirty investment we've walked into."

At that second the sound of dirt cracking under the force of someones foot could be heard. The three turned to see three men standing at the end of the hall, with evil intent in their eyes.

"What do we have here?" One of them said gripping a pipe tightly.

"You folks get lost?" Another asked pulling a crow bar from behind.

"Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, listen," Red Robin instructed. "I want you both to go back and hide behind that corner, if I don't call you in under a minute, run."

"But you said to stay at your side no matter what!" Ayumi protested.

"That blue print has been scrapped," Red Robin said losing patience. "Now go, and don't look back."

"Come on Yoshida." Mitsuhiko said grabbing her by the wrist.

They hid behind the corner, Red Robin looking forward to face the task at hand.

"What's with the costume?"

"Halloween must have come early," The other said to the side of him. "So what brings you down here anyway."

"This may be a little juvenile, but I could ask you the same." Red Robin replied.

"That's really none of your concern, but you being here is."

"Huh, bet the police would love to have a look at this money here," Red Robin said glimpsing back to the wall. "How much is there in all, and where did you take the rest of it?"

She became a little shaky, curious as to what was going on. Mitsuhiko noticed this. Ayumi leaned over, slowly peaking around the corner.

"What are you doing," Mitsuhiko whispered. "Red Robin told us to hide and to not look back."

"I want to see what happens." Ayumi replied not listening.

"Well if you're going to look, I want to see what happens to." Mitsuhiko said standing above her peaking around the corner as well.

The one holding the crow bar took a few steps toward him, placing his right hand just above his left.

"Alright masked man or whatever your name is," He said with a practice swing. "Time for you to be properly disposed of."

"Wait a minute... hold on, time out," Red Robin jokingly said. "Don't I get options or something?"

"Options?"

"You know, to perhaps run?"

This caused the three men to laugh to his delight.

"At least they have a sense of humor."

"Your time for stalling has come to an end I'm afraid."

"Who says I was stalling?"

He lunged forward with the crow bar tight in hand, swinging down with a verticle strike. Red Robin shifted to the side, giving him a high kick to the side of the jaw all in one motion. He flew crashing up against the left wall before drifting to the ground.

"Now you've done it!!"

He jumped forward with the swing of the pipe, Tim swiftly falling back. As he inched in Red Robin touched upon the ground, tripping him to his back while landing his left heel to his neck rendering him unconscious.

"Two down, one to go."

Red Robin flipped back to his feet with ease, a chain immediately wrapping to his right wrist. He smiled, simply yanking the last man toward him with a fierce jab to the face. His body fell right next to the other two. Without even being able to savor the moment he could hear them running from behind, coming to his side.

"I thought I told the two of you to stay hidden." Red Robin said turning to face them with the cross of his arms.

"Sorry," Ayumi apologized. "It was my fault, I wanted to see what happened."

"That was so awesome," Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "The way you were able to lay them all out in one to two moves!"

He took a deep breath, everything had gone just as planned. That was the only thing that mattered.

"As they say, kids will be kids."

"Do you think anyone else is down here?" Ayumi asked.

"Doubtful, but I don't think it's something we should wait around to find out." Red Robin said kneeling down to the bodies.

He searched through each of their pockets, pulling a set of keys from the second body.

"What do we need those for?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"If they have your friends, I'm willing to bet they're locked up somewhere," Red Robin replied. "With one of these keys you should be able to spring them free."

He handed the keys to Mitsuhiko who slid them into his pocket, making sure they were secure.
Ayumi and Mitsuhiko both then looked to see him head back over to where the gold and money lay stashed in the wall.

"I wonder where all of this came from, haven't heard of any big robberies in the past few weeks."

Red Robin continued to look through the small area of stuff, not expecting to see what came to his sight next. His widened, reaching forward and pulling the box into his hand, looking over its very small but distinct design.

"That's the Yin and Yang symbol, could this be it..........could this be the box we've been looking for?"

His finger slid from one end to the other, removing the dust which occupied the space. Within the next few moments he heard a click, followed by another. Red Robin turned around to the see the two of them taking pictures of the money and gold.

"What exactly are you two doing," Red Robin asked. "Shouldn't you be going to find your friends?"

"We will," Ayumi stated. "But first we need to take pictures, this could be hard evidence the police could use."  

He put a hand to the back of his head, finding himself lost for words.

"I gotta hand it to them, they're more competent than I thought."

They took a couple more pictures, checking to make sure they snapped every important shot.

"Do you think that's enough?" Ayumi asked.

"I'd say so," Mitsuhiko nodded. "What do you think Red Robin, is that enough pictures?"

The two of them turned around only to see he had vanished out of sight.

"Where....where did he go?"

"Doubt my guess could be any better than yours, though I'm betting he had something else to attend to," Mitsuhiko said with the lift of a finger. "These pictures should do, let's go find the others."

"Wait until they hear about this." Ayumi said jumping up.

Mitsuhiko brought the glasses back to his eyes, following the signal which lead them clear down the hall. They took a right once reaching the end, walking a couple feet more before coming upon the cell.

"This is where it stops," Mitsuhiko said looking up to the cell with the flash of his light. "They must be in here."

"You guys made it!" Genta said running over.

"Keep it down," Conan scold. "Those guys could come back."

"Don't worry," Mitsuhiko said beginning to test each of the keys. "Red Robin already took care of them."

"What," Genta exclaimed. "Red Robin is here?!"

"Yea, he left after examining some money stashed in the wall?"

"Money stashed in a wall," Conan questioned. "Where was this?"

Ayumi held out her phone, flipping through each image for the others to see. Mitsuhiko on the other hand tried yet another key, finally unlocking the cell door allowing for his friends to step out.

"We have no signal down here, let's hurry and get to the surface so we can call the police." Conan said.

"So you saw him to huh," Ai said walking to the side of Mitsuhiko. "So what did he look like?"

"He was just as Yoshida described," Mitsuhiko confirmed. "He even showed signs of detective skills along with some handy combat moves, which leads us one step closer to finding out who he really is."

"How come he chooses to show up when I'm not around." Genta muttered.

Conan couldn't help but be humored by his friends frustration. Mitsuhiko took lead, the five arriving back to the room they had come within the next ten. Conan called Inspector Megure who arrived with the police shortly after, giving them the full details of what had happened.

"I wonder who drove out from that garage when we first arrived." Conan thought to himself.

"Thanks for calling, now you kids get on home," Inspector Megure thanked. "We'll take over from here."

"Come along now, I'll drive you all home." Officer Shiratori said.

They followed him out to his car, driving off once in. He leaned back, still thinking about the message that had been left on the wall.

"I wonder why he left that lettering behind......I guess it'll have to wait until another time, there's already a lot I have to focus on for these next few days."

Conan was the first to be dropped off, heading straight for bed once in. He laid to his back, staring to the ceiling with his hands rested to his head.

"Considering all that happened, not a bad day I must say."

His arms dropped to the side with his eyes fading shut in the minutes to come, falling into a deep sleep.

Rain touched down early that next morning, lightly tapping at the window with different strokes every few seconds. He awoke to the sound of arguing which made it's way through the walls. He pushed up with a yawn, the sound of the front door closing followed.

"Was that Kogoro and Ran," Conan thought while sliding out of bed. "I wonder what they could have been arguing about."

He walked over to the drawer, pulling out his clothes for the day. Conan found himself dressed by the minute, grabbing his bag while opening the door to his room. He walked out to find Ran standing near the window, staring to the rain which continued to fall down.

"Ran is everything ok," Conan asked bringing the bag to his shoulder. "I thought I heard you and Kogoro yelling."

She slowly turned from the window, looking over as he finished getting his bag into place.

"He's just being stubborn again." Ran said.

"What did he do?" Conan asked.

"It's what he won't do," Ran snapped. "Inspector Megure was here about twenty minutes ago, he came to talk to dad about that note found at the crime scene."

"What prompted you two to start arguing?"

"They said the note may have been referring to him," Ran explained. "I suggested he get police protection, but he down right refused!"

"Well with the two cops that were killed without anyone knowing about it until after the fact, I can't really blame Kogoro for not being so open to the idea of police protection." Conan said in his defense.

"That's not all," Ran said turning back to the window. "They received another note up at the station, just this morning."

"Was there another body?" Conan asked.

She shook her head in response.

"It said 'Come ten tonight, the man of the city shall fall'." Ran informed.

"What makes everyone think Kogoro is the man mentioned?"

"They wouldn't say." Ran muttered.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be just fine." Conan said assuringly.

"You think so?" Ran asked looking back to him.

He nodded with confidence. Ran smiled, feeling a soft comfort come over her.

"You're usually right, our fortune has been great since you arrived."

"I'm glad I was able to make you feel a little better," Conan said pulling the front door open. "I'll see you after school."

With that Conan stepped out, closing the door behind as he did. He skipped down the steps, not to bothered by the light rain which continued on.

"Could that note have been referring to Kogoro.... it's a possibility," Conan thought to himself. "It's something to look into, but time isn't something we really have."

He made his way to the school, looking to see Mitsuhiko who stood to the side of the entrance.

"You look like you're in a good mood." Conan said noticing the smile on his face.

"It's been a good start to the day," Mitsuhiko said looking down from the sky. "And it's Friday, what more can you ask for."

"You sure that's not it?" Conan asked crossing his arms.

"Well, I have come up with a list of possible suspects based on what we know about him," Mitsuhiko said handing him a rolled up piece of paper. "Suspects who could indeed be Red Robin."

Conan gave the list a look, an evil grin coming to his mouth. Mitsuhiko took notice of this, pushing up from the side of the wall where he leaned.

"What's so funny," Mitsuhiko asked. "You don't think he could be any of the people listed?"

"Who says he's a man?" Conan said handing the paper back to him while heading into the school.

Mitsuhiko looked down to the paper, then back to Conan who continued to walk.

"Conan wait," Mitsuhiko yelled taking off after him. "Is there something you know that I don't?!"

The rain picked up steam with the hours that passed, the day progressing at a very balanced pace. It was noisy and crowded just like any other day. She sat alone, staring down to the contents of her plate. The spoon slid from her hand, dropping into the batch of mashed potatoes to the side. She was slightly startled to the sound of a tray dropping down across from hers.

"Hey Ran, mind if I sit with you?"

She looked up to see it was just Tim.

"Sure, why not."

He took a seat while spinning the spoon in between his fingers.

"Considering this was your idea, you don't look very enthusiastic to see me," Tim said planting his spoon into the mashed potatoes. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine...I'm just having one of those days." Ran softly replied.

"You wanna talk about it?" Tim asked.

"No thanks."

"How about a story," Tim suggested. "I've got some pretty funny ones I think you'd like."

At that moment another tray slammed next to his, Tim looking up to see Sonoko who took a seat to the side of him.

"There you are," Sonoko said glaring over at him. "Why have you been ignoring me in class all day?"

"I wasn't ignoring you," Tim explained. "I was doing my work."

"I called your name like five times."

"Which all happened to be when Mrs. V was talking," Tim striked back. "Are you trying to get us sent to the main office?"

She sat corrected, rolling her eyes in the process.

"What was so important it couldn't wait until after class anyway?" Tim asked.

"I was just wondering where you were yesterday." Sonoko replied.

"At Teitan Elementary," Tim answered. "I was there for a little show and tell activity."

"Let me guess," Ran said pushing her tray to the side while leaning forward. "Did this little thing happen to be in Conan's class?"

He could see the anger in her face, causing him to smile with a slight laugh.

"Yea, it was Conan's class," Tim admitted. "But I was there on behalf of Ayumi, you can ask Conan and the rest of his friends if you don't believe me."

"As a matter a fact I will." Ran said sitting back to her seat.

"You feeling ok Ran," Sonoko asked with concern. "You seem a little uptight."

"That's what I'm saying." Tim said in agreement.

"I didn't ask for your input, Timmy." Sonoko said narrowing her eyes over at him.

She then looked back to Ran who didn't show any signs of lighting up. Tim pushed up from the table, grabbing his tray as he turned to walk.

"Where are you going?" Sonoko asked.

"This is the part where you ask me to leave, then you and Ran can have your little girl talk," Tim replied. "I've seen this over a million times on television."

She watched as he walked off, not sure if she should say anything.

"He sure is a strange one." Sonoko thought to herself.

The final bell rang, Conan jumping down from his seat more than relieved the weekend had finally come. He passed by Genta while walking the hall, looking over to see his shoulders slouched down.

"Poor guy, he's probably still beat up about not being able to get a glimpse of Red Robin."

As he continued to walk Ai stepped to the left of him, keeping pace as they exited through the front doors.

"Have anything planned for the next few days off?" Ai asked.

"Nothing special," Conan replied. "The main thing I want to wrap up is the mystery behind the cop killings."

"That's fully what I expected to hear." Ai said grabbing the straps to her bag.

"Haibara....were you the one to call the others back to that house last night?"

"I don't know, what do you think?" Ai teasingly asked.

"So it was her."

"What about you and that Tim guy," Ai questioned. "I thought you didn't like him."

"What, when did I ever say that?" Conan asked.

"If I remember correctly you asked me to whip you up a twenty four hour antidote for the APTX 4869 drug," Ai began. "You said he was inching his way in on Ran and that you needed to step in."

"Oh that," Conan said with a laugh. "That was just one big misunderstanding."

"So what did you do with the sample I gave you?"

Conan stopped laughing with a gulp, looking down to his watch.

"I just remembered I have to get back to the house," Conan said looking over to Ai. "Kogoro is going up to the station, I better hurry if I want to go with him."

Conan darted off down the street as quickly as he could, leaving Ai in the same situation as the previous day.

"Does he really believe I can't see through his lies?" Ai thought to herself.

He arrived to the house, slowly making his way up the stairs as to catch his breath. Not to his surprise he walked in to find he was the only one there. Conan headed to his room, tossing his bag onto the bed before walking to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water, taking it one strand at a time.

"Kogoro may not be interested in police protection," Conan thought with another sip. "But he's getting protection, whether he wants it or not."

Conan put the glass into the sink once finished, heading out the front door.

"If all goes as planned we should have the culprit in custody come night fall."

He walked the same path he had multiple times before, the message of blood still resting in the back of his mind. He tapped his foot to the ground with rhythm while in the elevator, arriving to the destined floor in a short time after. Conan made his way down the hall, taking a turn to the left. He gave the door a knock.

"I knew you'd be coming," Tim said opening the door. "What happened, I thought you said you were going to convince the detective boys to drop further activities on that case."

"Believe me when I say it wasn't my fault." Conan said as the door closed behind him.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, though I must say," Tim said taking a seat at the chair to the desk. "The influence you've had on Ayumi and Mitsuhiko are most impressive, especially for their age."

"Thanks for the compliment," Conan said jumping to the end of the bed. "So what's this treasure you found stashed in the wall?"

"Still looking into it," Tim replied pulling the box from the side of the computer. "I found this in the wall as well."

"Is that the Yin/Yang box we've been looking for?" Conan asked.

"Can't be one hundred percent sure." Tim answered.

"Have you looked inside?"

Tim nodded.

"It's empty, whatever was in it was removed," Tim said opening it. "During my examination I picked up traces of radioactive activity, it shouldn't take me long to find out what was inside."

"That's a start at least," Conan said. "Tim, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, you name it."

"I need you to watch over Kogoro, kinda like a hidden body guard," Conan said laying to his back to the bed. "The police received another note, this time saying the man of the city would die come ten tonight."

A few minutes passed as he looked to his computer, receiving results for a side project he was working on.

"So they think Kogoro is the man of the city?"

"That's correct," Conan replied. "If he truly is the one, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to intersect whoever the culprit is."

"Man of the city huh, he does have a nag for catching some of the big time crooks," Tim said looking to Conan. "With the help of you of course."

Conan pushed up from the bed to the sound of knocks at the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" Conan whispered.

"Not that I know of," Tim whispered back. "I got an idea, I'll just pretend I'm not here."

"Good idea." Conan said in agreement.

They kept silent for a few seconds, only to see the door to the room fly open.

"I knew I heard voices in here, Kudo and Drake."

"Oh hey Heiji," Conan said with a laugh noticing his angry friend. "We thought it was some kids trying to sell some girl scout cookies."

"He did it!" Tim immediately said pointing to Conan.

"Did what," Conan questioned with the lift of a brow. "What did I do?"

Heiji walked over, grabbing Conan by his shirt while giving him a few shakes.

"Can someone explain to me what I did?"

"Why in the world did you tell Drake Kazuha and I are a couple?!" Heiji demanded continuing to shake him.

"I didn't," Conan exclaimed. "I swear."

Heiji released his hold, looking over to Tim who had a half smile across his face.

"I guess it came out wrong." Tim said.

"You mean this was all your doing?!"

"Not all mine, Shinichi is partially to blame." Tim said.

"It's not my fault you couldn't keep your eyes off of her." Conan said.

"That's not true," Tim denied. "I was looking at the fish sign remember?"

"Sure you were," Conan said with his voice griming. "Your claim is beyond fishy if you ask me."

Heiji crossed his arms glaring down to Tim who couldn't help but smile.

"You can take down all these guys wielding blades and firing rounds, but can't even handle one little tough girl with a scary temper and bad aditude." Heiji said.

Tim brought a hand to his chin, giving what Heiji said some thought.

"When you put it that way.....it sounds so, simple," Tim said sitting up from the chair. "It's more complex than that."

"Forget it," Heiji said walking back over and closing the door. "Things will cool off between the two of us, it always does."

"Is Kazuha with you?" Conan asked.

"No, I came alone."

"I'm assuming you didn't come all the way from Osaka just to confront us about that," Tim said walking over and opening the balcony door. "I take it you've heard about the recent events taking place."

"It's been on the news all week, I stopped by the station before coming here," Heiji stated. "I got the full scoop of what's been going on, do you two have anything further to add the police don't know?"

Conan shook his head from side to side.

"We know just as much as they do," Conan said. "This whole thing is still somewhat of a mystery."

"Do you really think Mouri is the target?" Heiji asked.

"It's a possibility," Tim answered. "But we better be clear before ten, because if we're not.... someone will die."

"A lot has happened since my last visit," Heiji said taking a seat next to Conan. "Why don't you guys give me a run down on what I've missed."

The rain had come to an end after many hours, the day still rather bleak from the lack of sun which was covered by the many clouds. She arrived back to the house, tirelessly making her way up the stairs after a long after school session. She opened it, surprised to be greeted by Sato Miwako.

"Welcome home, I hope you don't mind us hanging around for the night."

"Of course not," Ran said stepping in to see Ninzaburo leaned to the wall. "So are you supposed to be here to watch my dad?"

"That's right," Miwako confirmed. "Kogoro said he'd rather be here then up at the station."

"Kogoro, don't you think it would be wise to step away from that window?"  Ninzaburo questioned.

"Listen to him dad, you can help as well by staying out of sight."

"Relax Ran, we have men on the roof and streets on the look out," Kogoro informed. "I don't see what's so troubling in me standing near the window, besides ten isn't for another three hours."

"That doesn't mean we should risk it." Miwako insisted.

He gave in, muttering as he walked over and took a seat next to the table.

"Where's Conan," Ran asked noticing his absence. "Has he come home yet?"

"Conan sure wasn't here when we arrived," Kogoro replied. "Unless he's hiding under one of the beds."

Ran shrugged his comment off, pulling her phone from her pocket.

"Conan isn't one to get scared," Ran said turning her phone on. "I think I have a very good idea where he is."

She began dialing, feeling a hand come to her shoulder as she did.

"Is this place Conan is at safe?" Ninzaburo asked.

"I guess so," Ran replied. "I haven't actually been in the room."

"I'd strongly advice he stay there for awhile longer," Ninzaburo said. "We don't know what could go down here."

"Speaking of which, don't you have a place you can wait it out until this is all over?" Kogoro asked.

"I'm not going anywhere," Ran stated crossing her arms. "I'm staying right here with you."

"I guess there was no point in even asking." Kogoro said to himself.

"Let the count down begin." Ninzaburo said looking to his watch.

The sky continued to darken, the rain beginning to shower down yet again. The three stood in the room, most everything silent except for the TV which broadcasted the evening news. Conan dropped down from the bed walking over to Tim who stood out on the balcony, letting the light rain dive down past him.

"With all that's happened I almost failed to mention something." Conan said standing to the side of him.

"Does it have something to do with the note?" Tim asked still looking to the sky.

Conan pulled a small slip of paper from his pocket handing it to him.

"What is this?" Tim asked unrolling it.

"A number sequence," Conan replied. "It was written in blood on the wall in the in the cell we were locked in."

"Was there a dead body?"

Conan nodded in response. Tim gave the numbers a look, taking up to a minute to try and figure what it might mean.

"Heiji come take a look at this." Tim said turning back to the room.

He walked over, taking the paper into his hand. Heiji read over the numbers four times, not making sense of it either.

"What is this?" Heiji asked looking back to the two.

"Conan found it while being locked in that cell he spoke of."

"It was written in blood on the wall," Conan added. "I'm betting the dead guy who was under it must have been the one to write it."

"I'm just as clueless as you two, I wonder if the police got a look at it."

Conan looked down to his watch which read just past eight thirty.

"We're running out of time, if Kogoro isn't the target we better find out soon."

Conan leaned to the railing, closing his eyes in thought. Remembering all the events, from the first victim found in the back of the station, to the shooting at the party, to the third event in which an officer was found in the storage room. He gripped the sides of the bar as the wind brushed the rain from one side to the other. Then it hit him, his eyes sprang open knowing exactly who the target was. But where was he? How much time did they have to get to him?

"Tim I know who the note was referring to!" Conan stated.

Heiji and Tim both looked down to him, wanting to hear his claim.

"Kudo are you saying Mouri isn't the man mentioned in the note?" Heiji asked.

"Man of the city, witness to all crimes, I can't believe I didn't catch it earlier." Conan began.

"Come on Kudo spit it out," Heiji said becoming impatient. "If it's not Kogoro then who?"

He smiled with the tip of his glasses, looking directly to Tim.

"Think back to when we were at that party, to the point where the shooting began." Conan said.

"I remember every little detail." Tim replied.

"Good, now think back to what happened right after you grabbed me and Kogoro from harms way," Conan said with a step back. "There was only one other person who was even remotely close to being shot that night."

"That must mean the target is.......Inspector Megure," Tim said. "If it hadn't been for officer Takagi knocking him to the ground he'd have been hit."

"Exactly, he's also witnesses most crime scenes after all is said and done," Conan said. "Now we have to find out where he is."

"Heiji," Tim said turning to him. "You were up at the station, have any idea where Megure might be?"

"Yea, he said he was going up to the shooting range just past the community park to investigate a case." Heiji answered.

"Perfect," Conan stated with the drop of his hands. "The culprit probably plans on using the sound of the other firearms to keep stealth."

"How far is this shooting range?" Tim asked.

"About an hour and twenty to the north of here." Heiji replied.

"That's not much time," Tim said heading back into the room. "But it's all we've got, and I'll have to work my way through."

He suited up as quickly as he could, stepping back out in between the two. He dug into his utility belt, handing the two of them mini devices.

"Stick these in your ears, it will allow for us to keep contact."

"Sounds good to me, we'll let you know how things are down on our end." Heiji said fitting it into place. "If Kogoro does happen to be the target, they've got the police watching him."

"I'm sure you've heard this many times before but... be careful." Conan said.

"Thanks," Red Robin said reaching for his grappler. "But it's the shooter who should be on the look out."

With that he flew forward, leaving the two to watch from the safety of the balcony. They stood in silence, watching as he disappeared into the night. Conan stepped to the side of Heiji, looking up to him.

"You think everything will turn out ok?" Conan asked.

"Of course," Heiji replied. "There's no way the shooter is prepared for someone like Drake."

Conan looked back to the city, something nagging from the back of his mind.

"Everything that has lead up to this, I don't know........I just have a bad feeling about this."

To Be Continued














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