Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ The Detective Prince ❯ A Steel Encounter ( Chapter 62 )

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

The Detective Prince
Chapter 62
A Steel Encounter

All was rested to the mind as he slept through the night. It wasn't until well after mid night that something awoke him. It wasn't a sound, but rather something looming over the lower portion of the room. His eyes slid open at the sight, finding a small portion of light shinning in from the window.

"That light's too bright to be the moon, I wonder what's going on out there."

He pressed his hands down to his side, casually pushing up as his eyes slowly adjusted to the half dark room. He came to a dead stop after sitting up, feeling the slick frigid blade across his neck. Regardless of how dark it was, there was still enough light to make out who was at his side.

"Damian, what are you doing in here?"

"You and I are due for a little talk." Damian replied leisurely lowering the blade.

"It's two in the morning," Conan said looking to the clock at the bedside. "What's so important that it can't wait until tomorrow morning?"

Damian didn't reply, simply stepping back from where he stood. He steadily raised the sword, keeping his eyes fixated to his before launching forward with a daring swing. He cringed back in fear, closing his eyes in the process. He reopened them after a long a long pause, finding a small strand of his hair laying at his side.

"You're about as fragile minded as they come," Damian said lowering the sword to his side. "Let's hope this trip of yours is a short one, because you won't last very long around here."

He turned away seconds later, taking each step at a time as he made his way through the dark room. He came to a stop after pushing the door aside, glimpsing back at him for a final time.

"One last thing," Damian said resting the blade upon his shoulder. "Don't ever call me Drake's little brother again, it's insulting."

He left the room from there, softly closing the door on his way out. Everything seemed to have become darker, looking to find the light that had awoken him was nowhere to be seen. He took a deep breath, dropping back down to the comfort of the soft pillow. He stared into the dark space of the room before closing his eyes.

"This is going to be one long trip."

He laid there for minutes to come, slowly drifting off with each tick. All remained steady throughout the rest of the night. The next morning brought the sound of a loud roaring engine, gashing its way through the window side. It didn't take long for him to awake, sitting up from where he laid.

"I wonder what that was."

He wiped the sleep from his eyes before crawling out of bed, heading toward the dresser on the far side of the room. He left the room once dressed, glimpsing at the door across from his as he made his way down the hall. The sound of the TV running from the left side could be heard as he made his way down the stairs, looking up at the sound of someone entering in through the front door.

"I see you're finally awake," Alfred said stopping once reaching the bottom of the steps. "How did you sleep?"

"Couldn't have been any better."

"That's good to hear."

"There aren't many roads in this particular area," Conan said stepping down from the stairs. "Do you know what all that racket was about a couple minutes ago?"

"Nothing to be concerned, it was just a group of uptown bikers racing along the side of the road," Alfred informed. "That's what promoted me to go outside in the first place."

"Where's everyone else?" Conan asked looking around.

"Master Bruce left for an important meeting over an hour ago," Alfred replied. "And as far as I know, Damian has yet to come from his room."  

He looked down at his watch to check the time, surprised at what he saw.

"It's almost two O'clock," Conan said looking back up. "Can't believe I was asleep that long."

"I predicted that much."

"What about last night," Conan asked. "Did Dick ever show up?"

"As a matter a fact he did," Alfred confirmed with a nod. "He arrived shortly after you had taken off to your room."

"That means I must have fallen asleep by the time he arrived."

"No worriers," Alfred said. "He's on his way here now."

"That's good to know," Conan said. "There's something we're supposed to discuss as it is."

"Well you won't have to wait long," Alfred assured. "He called over twenty minutes ago, so he should be here anytime now."

"In that case I'll just wait it out here." Conan said having a seat at the third step from the bottom.

The sound of something ringing from inside the kitchen instantly caused the two of them to look that way.

"What was that?"

"Duty calls I'm afraid," Alfred replied before heading toward the sound of the ring. "If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen."

He pulled his phone out as he sat in wait, coming to find a couple missed calls from his friends.

"It's two in the morning back in Tokyo," Conan said dropping the phone to his side. "I'll have to wait until tonight some time to call them back."

The sound of the gate could be heard sliding to the side after minutes of waiting. He stood up from where he sat, looking over just in time to see him head in through the front door.

"Glad to see you're up and going," Dick said closing the door from behind. "When I called awhile ago you were still asleep."

"Sorry I missed you last night."

"Don't sweat it," Dick said. "I had a lot to do as it was, heard you got a tour of the house."

"Sure did."

"How'd that go?"

"About as good as it can get," Conan replied. "So what brings you here, did you come to discuss that case you told me about?"

"That, and I also came here to let you know Tim has returned from his trip to Dakota," Dick replied. "He flew in some time this morning."

"Does he know I'm here?" Conan asked.

"I figured you'd want to let him know yourself."

"Where is he now?"

"Getting ready to speak at a public event," Dick replied. "He's helping to sponsor a youth fitness program they have set to begin in the next few weeks."

"Sounds like fun," Conan said. "Not to flip gears or anything, but you never did tell me the full extend of what caused the deaths of those victims you mentioned."

"You mean the heart attacks?"

He nodded in response.

"So what is it you think triggered the heart attacks," Conan asked. "Did any of them happen to have any similar health issues?"

"That's defiantly a possibility, but something I haven't looked into," Dick replied. "It's not what was discovered in the heart that caught my attention, but rather what was found in each of their brains."

"And what is it you came across?"

"Plumbism," Dick replied. "It was very apparent after taking a look at their prefrontal cortexes."

"How low were the volumes levels?"

"Low enough for sufficient damage."

"So what's the catch, do you think their heart attacks were triggered from lead poisoning?"

"It's a possibility, but I have yet to find out how they got the lead into their system."

"Not an easy task, considering the amount of possibilities," Conan said. "There's plenty of facilities that present a high risk, such as working with auto mechanics or painting."

"That's not what I had in mind," Dick said. "We have over fifty people who have died with these same results, and that's just counting this last week."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"It's too much of a coincidence, there has to be more to it than that."

"Let me guess, you think someone is triggering all of this?"

"The how is what I haven't been able pin point as of yet," Dick stated. "Or the why for that matter."

"That just means we have a lot of work to do," Conan said. "If what you think holds true of course."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small device after feeling it vibrate from within his pocket.

"What is that," Conan asked. "Some kind of pager?"

"Sort of, it's linked to a security system I've been using to keep tabs on a few things," Dick replied before turning for the door. "I'm heading into the city, you're free to come along if you'd like."

"Where are you going?"

"I plan on meeting with a friend, but I can drop you off in front of the construction site on my way there."

"A construction site?"

"Yea, the one Tim will be holding his speech at," Dick informed. "It's only about a twenty minute drive from here."

"You can count me in," Conan said walking up to his side. "The sooner I talk with him, the better."

"I figured that much," Dick said reaching into his pocket. "This is for you, you'll need it for clearance."

"Clearance for what?" Conan asked taking the key card into his hand.

"Everything requires a form of insurance these days, it will enable you to get past the security they have set up."

"Gotcha."

They headed out the front door from there, walking down the long fleet of stairs before getting into the car. He rolled down the windows as they drove, allowing for the air to flow in. Conan tapped his finger to the side of the seat as they drove, thinking of all the possibilities that it could be.

"You said there were over fifty deaths in the past week in regards to this case you've been working."

"That's correct."

"So tell me," Conan said looking his way. "Where did these heart attacks occur?"

"All around the world," Dick replied. "There is no specific place, that's what has made it so difficult to pin point the source of the problem."

"That just makes things a lot more complex."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, it's only a matter of time before we make a break."

"That's one thing to think about, but then there's also the why," Conan said. "If someone is in fact responsible, they must have a motive."

"And we probably won't find out what it is until we find the person responsible," Dick said. "That is if  what I believe holds true."  

Things fell silent for the next few minutes. He turned on the radio as they drove on, listening to the weather broadcast for the day up until the end of the week. He could tell they were getting close, looking out the window to see a large construction site in the near distance.

"Any idea what they plan on building?" Conan asked.

"I know for a fact they're building an inside gym along with an outside track," Dick replied. "They also plan on setting up two smaller facilities out back, what they'll be used for is beyond me at this point."

"Guess we'll have to wait and see."

He casually lost speed as they paved the way, finding a spot near the end of the block before coming to a stop.

"We're here, this is as far as I go," Dick said. "If you need me to pick you up in the next hour or so be sure to call."

"Will do," Conan said pushing the door open. "You're positive he'll be here?"

"He's been planning this for the past two weeks, he'll be here." Dick assuringly replied.

With that he exited the car, waving as he watched him head off back into the direction they had come.

"Now to get some things cleared up."

He headed over to a group of people who stood in a long line, making his way to the back before looking up at the sky. He took notice of an officer near the gate door after facing forward. The weather was mild, making for a manageable wait. He reached into his pocket as the line progressed forward, pulling out the key card that was given to him. Just as it was his turn to enter past the gate he felt someone grab hold of his left hand, looking up to find a woman dressed in a light sweater with a hood laying over her head at his side.

"Not to be too fast pressing, but I'm going to need to see your entry card," The officer said from the side of the gate door. "We have a lot of spectators coming in, so I'd like to keep this as fast moving as we can."

Her grip tightened, glimpsing down at him with an softening grin.

"Alright honey, give the gentleman the card."

He became lost within the moment, captivated by her alluring eyes. He could feel the card slide out of his grasp, turning just in time to see the security guard slide the card which caused the door to slide open.

"You two are cleared to head in." The guard said before handing her the card.

"Thanks officer." She said with a nod.

She pulled him along as the two walked in, making their way past a group of people before coming to a stop. She kneeled down in front of him, brushing a red streak of her hair to the side as she slowly moved in closer.

"Appreciate the help handsome." She thanked before giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Everything fell stiff, feeling her slide the card into his pocket before watching her disappear amongst the crowd.

"Did I just let her use me to get past security?"

It took a few moments for everything to ease in to the mind, looking into the direction she had headed into.

"What could be so important that she used me to get in here," Conan said following after her. "Only one way to find out."

He carefully made his way past those standing around, taking notice of a fleet of chairs to the left lined up in front of a small stage.

"That must be where he'll  be speaking at."

He faced forward once again only to unintentionally bump into someone which caused his glasses to fall from his eyes. Not wanting to lose any extra ground, he decided to leave them there for the time being. He finally caught sight of her after a few extra steps, taking cover behind a light pole.

"I knew she couldn't have gotten far, not with those boots she's wearing," Conan said. "But how did she know I came alone, was she watching me?"

He watched her from the tree she stood under, taking notice of the gloves on her hand he had failed to notice earlier.

"I wonder what's with the gloves."

He continued to look on from his position. It wasn't until another minute passed that a man dressed in a suit of black approached her.

"Looks like we're finally getting somewhere."

He did his best to get a look at his face, catching sight of an eye patch over his left eye. The hat atop his head made it hard for him to get a clearer view. The two engaged in conversation shortly after.

"Can't hear a word they're saying," Conan thought to himself. "But it's not like I can move in any closer, they'll most certainly see me."

He continued to look on, watching as the mystery man pulled a mini remote from within his jacket. The two exchanged a few additional words before he pressed down to the remote. She seemed delighted by this, smiling in response. Something dashed past his eyes. It was brief, but he had seen it.

"What was that flash of light." Conan said looking around.

He looked to all sides, unable to find where the light had come from. It then happened for a second time. He shot his head into the direction it had come from, looking up to a building overlooking the site to see someone holding a sniper in hand.

"That's not good," Conan said pushing away from the pole. "Looks like I'll have to put my little operation on hold."

He quickly raced over to a group of people, tugging at the end of a woman's dress to get her attention.

"How may I help you?" She asked looking down at him.

"There's a man with a gun on the roof," Conan pointed. "Someone needs to call the police."

"You have quite the imagination little boy." She said before turning away.

He then walked over to the left, tapping a man from behind who instantly glared down at him.

"Not now kid, can't you see I'm busy?"

He tried informing a few others, only to receive similar results.

"What's wrong with theses people," Conan said looking back to the roof to see the sniper still in position. "No one seems to want to listen to me."

There was only one thing left that came to mind, checking his watch to find he only had one stunner left.

"Only got one shot," Conan said taking aim. "Gotta make this count."

He quickly scoured the area, coming across a young man wearing a pair of glasses with a fine dress suit on.

"He looks well to do," Conan said locking down to the back of his neck. "I don't think anyone will have a problem listening to him."

Without hesitation he fired away, stepping back in anticipation of his fall. Surprisingly nothing happened.

"It didn't work!"

He walked forward, coming to a stop after finding his launched stunner laying on the ground. He reached for it, his eyes widening after finding it had snapped in half.

"There's just no way," Conan thought with the shake of his head. "I've never had a stunner have no affect, let alone break on me."

He then narrowed his eyes up at the man who stood over him,

"Was something wrong with the stunner, or did it have something to do with him?"

Just as he stood back to his feet a freighting scream glided past his ears. It caused everyone who heard it to look into that direction.

"And here I thought things couldn't get any worse."

To Be Continued





  



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