episodes 176—178 — reunion with the black organization
A small meow made Haibara lose her focus and flinch slightly, looking at the floor to see a black cat with green eyes staring up at her. She stared at it with a nervous frown as the cat's tail flicked back and forth, never looking away from the shrunken girl once.
"Ah, Kuro!" Suzume said, walking over and picking up the cat in her arms. She gave Haibara a guilty smile. "Sorry about that, Haibara-san. Kuro here likes to observe people he's not too familiar with."
Haibara blinked. "You have a cat?"
Suzume nodded. "Yep. He's more of an outdoors cat and the police know to leave him alone if they see him wandering around." She frowned as she remembered something. "Though, Kuro is a little overly friendly with that bomb squad guy..." She shook her head. "Never mind that. I came over to ask if you want to get out from behind the computer and take a walk with me."
"A walk?" Haibara echoed, confused. "Why?"
Suzume shrugged. "Just feeling a little restless. Happens when I get cooped up in my house for too long."
Haibara looked away at that. After revealing that her sister was the one who died in Suzume's arms, the teenager locked herself in her house for the next two days. Hiro had to drag her around the house to get her to freshen up and eat. Yeah, Suzume doesn't cope with grief all that well...
At least Hiro knows her well enough to know what to do. It was freaky just how easily he could read her. Whenever she asked about it, he would just get a secretive smile and refuse to answer, usually just by shaking his head and not saying anything. Suzume has just learned to drop it when he does this.
"Okay," Haibara agreed quickly. She didn't regret her decision when she saw the Kudo physically brighten up.
~ — — — ~
Suzume frowned when she saw Haibara look uneasy at the falling snow. "You okay?" she asked quietly, stopping to let the shrunken girl catch up.
Haibara nodded hesitantly. "Just a nightmare I had," she said.
"About them?" Suzume asked, though she already knew the answer from Haibara's demeanor. "I won't let them get to you, okay? I'd shoot myself before that ever happens."
Haibara gave her a strange look at that but was slightly reassured by the Kudo's support. It was one of the better qualities that all Kudo Skies possess—their undying loyalty to their friends and family. Haibara felt flattered that they were close enough to be included in that group.
Suzume let out a hum as they continued walking, fiddling with the gloves on her hands as she kept her attention on their surroundings and Haibara. She may have been the scientist Sherry of the Organization, but to Suzume, she was a girl grieving the loss of her older sister who needed someone looking out for her, and that's what she planned on doing.
"Why didn't we find your cat?" Haibara asked out of nowhere.
Suzume blinked before grinning. "Oh. Kuro loves hide-and-seek, especially with people whom he's unfamiliar with. Expect him to be stalking you around the professor's place for the next week or so."
"Wonderful," Haibara muttered sarcastically, though was curious about what the cat was going to do. "So that's normal?"
"Yep. Did it to me when I adopted him a while ago," Suzume said. "Scared the crap out of my parents a few times, too!" She laughed at the memories. "That cat is very creative in his hiding spots. He somehow hid himself in Papa's desk drawer! The scream he let out was heard from a few houses down!"
Haibara smirked with amusement. "Now I'm looking forward to this." She was going to try and anticipate the cat now.
Suzume shook her head, her eyes locking onto a black car up ahead of them parked on the side of the road. "Good luck trying to figure out where he is," she murmured before frowning. "Haibara..."
The girl froze in terror at the familiar black Porsche 356 A.
Suzume stared down at the girl in concern. Porsche 356 A, a classic German car from 50 years ago. She risked a glance at their surroundings. I don't see an owner in sight, thank God. She looked back at Haibara. "Is this...?"
"Gin," the girl confirmed, making Suzume sigh.
"Probably his," she muttered. "And even if it's not, we should treat it like it is. So if his car is here, that means..." He's looking for Haibara... She pulled off her backpack and set it on the ground, reaching into the bag while Haibara watched her in confusion and curiosity. "Thank God I still carry some of these around." She pulled out a thin wire hook and pushed the bag towards Haibara. "Keep an eye on that, okay? I've got some pretty important stuff in there that I don't want stolen."
"Then why bring it?" Haibara asked as she watched Suzume use the hook to try and unlock the door of the Porsche.
"It's a toolkit of sorts," Suzume said. "It has all kinds of things for different kinds of situations. Hikaru suggested it a while back after my ear injury so I could be a little more prepared during cases or just when I'm out enjoying my day."
"Your ear?" Haibara repeated quietly before her eyes widened. "That earpiece—!"
Suzume nodded. "I was chasing after a suspect in a case I was helping on about a year ago," she explained softly, frowning at the memories. "When I caught up to him, he pulled out a screwdriver and drove it so far into my ear that it fucked up my hearing in my right ear. I became deaf in that ear as a result."
"I made that earpiece," Haibara admitted, making Suzume pause and glance at her before smiling and continuing her work.
"So you're the one Pierrot-san got it from," she murmured. "Thank you."
Haibara blinked at the sudden thanks.
Suzume grinned when she heard the door unlock. "Success!" she cheered quietly as she opened the door.
"What are you going to do?" Haibara asked.
"I'm going to try and set up a wiretap and transmitter in this car," Suzume answered. "He may find it, but I'd rather try than do nothing and be on edge even more than usual."
Haibara gasped as she looked through the car window. "Across the street..." she whispered.
Suzume looked at what the girl was talking about and her eyes widened when she saw the two familiar men in black. "Gin and Vodka," she muttered, narrowing her eyes.
The two men began to cross the street, ignoring the cars that had to stop for them. A man had even leaned out the window of his car to yell at them but was cowed by the glare Gin had given him. When they arrived at the car, the door was shut again with no sign of Suzume and Haibara. Gin paused as he looked at all of the footprints around the Porsche.
"The ground around the car sure is messed up," he muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Vodka joined his side to look at the footprints. "Maybe the passerby was looking at your car because it's rare?" he offered as an explanation.
Gin smirked. "Germany's Rainfrog. It sure became famous," he said, though he knew that wasn't the case, feeling the familiar residual Flames of a certain Sky. You couldn't try to hide it better, hm?
Suzume and Haibara were hiding behind the back of the car, Suzume holding the shrunken scientist close to her, both to warm her and to try and comfort her since they were so close to the two Organization members. The car drove off and both girls got to their feet as Suzume pulled out her phone.
"You okay with riding a motorcycle?" Suzume asked Haibara, glancing down at her.
Haibara blinked at the question.
~ — — — ~
Haibara's hands tightly gripped onto the back of Suzume's jacket, a helmet on her head. She had no idea when Suzume had the time to get a helmet her size, but she wasn't going to question it as they drove down the street.
"When did you have the time to bring your motorcycle?" Haibara asked.
Suzume took a glance over her shoulder at the shrunken scientist. "Called it here with my phone," she answered. "Professor Agasa helped in the design and I made suggestions before it was made."
"Wait, it drove itself to your location?" Haibara was surprised.
Suzume chuckled, weaving between a few slow cars. "Don't sound so surprised," she teased. "There are other smart people in the world."
Haibara switched topics. "You do realize how dangerous this is?"
"Of course," Suzume replied easily before hearing a phone ring. "A phone?"
"Yeah, it's me," Gin's voice rang through the connection to the wiretap Suzume had set up in his Porsche. "How's it going? What? He hasn't come yet?" He chuckled. "No big deal. The target will come to Haido City Hotel at 18:00 sharp. Not even aware that it is going to be his farewell party."
Target? Farewell party? Suzume's eyebrows scrunched together.
"Anyway, we've got to shut him up before he is arrested," Gin continued. "We can use that poison if needed."
Poison? She glanced at Haibara. That one?
"Don't goof, Pisco."
"Pisco?" Suzume repeated out loud for Haibara, whose head lifted.
"I've heard that code name before," Haibara told her. "I've never seen the person."
Pisco and Haido City Hotel... She heard Gin hang up the phone and let out a questioning hum. She sighed, knowing that he noticed the wiretap now.
"Aniki, what's up?" She heard Vodka ask. "What is that?"
Yeah, they found it.
"It's probably a transmitter and wiretap," Gin said before there was a crunch and static.
Suzume grumbled under her breath. "They found it," she told Haibara, who wasn't surprised.
"We should turn a corner and pull away from them right away," the shrunken girl said. "It's dangerous to just vaguely follow the traces of their car like this."
Suzume hummed. "I'll stop following," she agreed. "But I'm not going to run from them."
"What?"
"Haido City Hotel," Suzume said. "They're planning to make some guy named Pisco assassinate someone there. We need to get to that hotel to at least figure out what's going on and, just maybe, stop this assassination from happening."
"My, how righteous." Suzume could hear the smirk in the girl's voice. "Not for me. Besides, I'm not interested in something abstract like righteousness. I don't think we can do much anyway, going to such a dangerous place."
"Well, good thing I wasn't planning on taking you with me," Suzume told her. "It would be too dangerous for you, considering they know what you look like as a child."
"And they know what you look like," Haibara reminded her.
"You can wait by my motorcycle or wait in a nearby building. At the very least, I might be able to get my hands on the poison."
"Poison?"
"Gin mentioned on the phone that they'll use the poison if needed," Suzume recalled and Haibara gasped. "It might be APTX 4869, the poison that shrunk your body."
~ — — — ~
"I thought you weren't interested in coming along with me," Suzume said, looking down at the girl standing partially behind her. They observed the people heading inside the ballroom for some kind of black-tie event.
"I have no choice because I'm the one who made the poison," Haibara said. "I don't want you thinking of me as a killer anymore."
Suzume frowned at that. Sure, she may have slightly condemned Haibara for making the poison, but she never thought of her as a killer. She made the poison, but she wasn't the one to give it to the victims who died from it.
"Just be careful and don't leave my side," she said, though it was more of an order than anything else. "If they think the transmitter and wiretap were you..."
"I'll be fine," Haibara assured. "You got rid of the evidence, didn't you? They'll take it as a prank or something done by someone who has a grudge against the Organization." They both walked towards a pair of doors. "Are you sure it's this hall?"
Suzume nodded her head at the sign by the doors. "He said it was a farewell party," she said. "This Pisco and his target are also supposed to come here." She sighed. "All right. Let's get this over with."
She pushed open one of the doors and adjusted her shirt and jacket before she and Haibara walked inside. Thankfully, no one took any mind to the two new faces in the room, too engrossed in their conversations.
God, I hate funerals, Suzume groaned in her head. I know this is a farewell party, but there is way too much black for a bright room like this. Any one of these people could be this Pisco...
She began to walk around the room until she noticed Haibara looking terrified as a server was looking down at her with a friendly smile.
"Are you looking for your parents?" the server asked kindly.
Suzume quickly walked back over and smiled at the server. "Thank you," she said before pulling Haibara to one of the tables and crouching down in front of her. "Hey, you okay?" she murmured. "Are you sure you want to be here?"
"I had a terrible dream," Haibara said quietly, still looking a little frightened. Suzume frowned. "Gin found me on my way back from school. I was cornered into a back alley and...you were the first one to get shot."
Suzume blinked and was vaguely reminded of what Heiji had spoken to her about the last time they saw each other. She's the second person to have a dream where I die. Suzume's eyebrows pinched together. I'm not the superstitious type, but that just spells all kinds of bad.
"And with the dry sound of the pistol going off, people were killed one after the other," Haibara continued as Suzume looked at her in concern and worry. "Yes. Just because they were all involved with me." Her voice wavered near the end before a bitter smile came onto her face. "Maybe I should've been executed by them right there and then."
She jolted when a pair of glasses slid onto her face, Suzume giving her a comforting smile as she lowered her hands.
"It's an old pair of my papa's," Suzume explained softly. "I replaced the lenses and made it to where they can double as sunglasses. Glasses are a good way of changing your appearance, even if just by a little." She chuckled. "People can look very different with and without glasses, trust me."
"Are you trying to be Superman or something?" Haibara asked, feeling a little better.
Suzume grinned at her. "Just can't fly," she said with a wink.
Haibara adjusted the glasses on her nose. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing. Thank you."
"Anytime, Haibara," Suzume said.
They continued walking around the room and Suzume took a glance at the large picture of the man the farewell party was being held for.
"Definitely a farewell party for a master," she remarked.
"Look at all the big shots," Haibara murmured.
"A female novelist and winner of the Ueki Award, Nanjo Mika. The owner of a pro-baseball team, Mihei Yasuo. A top-notch musical producer, Tarumi Naoya. A famous actress from the US, Chris Vineyard." Suzume's brows furrowed at the familiar name. "A famous university professor, Tawara Yoshiharu. A big shot of the economics world, Masuyama Kenzo, is also here."
"And? Did you figure out who Pisco's target is?" Haibara asked her.
Suzume hummed. "He said on the phone that the target would be here around 6 PM and is someone on the wanted list of the police," she said before turning towards the doors. "Definitely has to be the guy getting swarmed by reporters at the entrance."
"I see. The politician who made the headlines is sweating while justifying himself," Haibara observed as Nomiguchi Shigehiko wiped at his forehead with a handkerchief.
"If they want him shut up before he's arrested, is it possible he's a member?" Suzume posed the question to Haibara.
"I wonder. We'll find out when he's nabbed."
"Please explain it so we understand!" one of the reporters demanded of Nomiguchi.
The doors opened and Megure with several police officers walked inside.
"Will you excuse me?" Megure asked.
Haibara's eyes widened. "What? Inspector Megure."
"I called him a little while ago in the restroom," Suzume admitted, making the shrunken scientist look at her in surprise. "I told him somebody was after the politician's life. Since it's me, he didn't question it." She exhaled. What now, Pisco? A little more difficult to assassinate someone with these conditions, no?
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the person at the microphone, Mugikura Naomichi, called out to the people in the room, the curtains behind him opening up. "Now, we will view a slideshow of Director Sakamaki's memories when he was alive!"
Suzume gasped. The lights—!
The lights went out and the slideshow began, everyone's attention on it.
Haibara turned and said, "Hey, that politician is leaving!"
"What?" Suzume's head snapped around.
"Hey, hurry up and look for him!" Megure ordered his men quietly.
Suzume, Haibara, and the officers all made their way through the crowd, trying to figure out where Nomiguchi went.
"How is it?"
"No, we can't find him yet!"
"Look closer!"
"Yes, sir!"
The search continued until Suzume saw something flash from the corner of her eye. What the—? The speaker made a joke about the flash, thinking that it was a camera. A muffled sound followed soon after that sent the hairs on the back of Suzume's neck standing up. What was that? A loud shatter echoed throughout the room.
"What the hell?" she muttered.
"What was that sound?" Haibara asked her.
"Hurry, turn the lights on!" Megure ordered quickly.
Suzume was making her way through the crowd towards where the noise occurred when something landed on her head. She pulled it off and her eyes widened. "A handkerchief?" she murmured.
The lights came on and various amounts of shock made its way across the room as everyone caught sight of Nomiguchi crushed underneath the chandelier. Murmurs and questions filled the room as everyone realized what had happened.
"Quiet please, everyone!" Megure requested loudly, pushing his way through the crowd. "I am Inspector Megure of the police department!"
"You're here so early for a change," Yasuo commented, sounding impressed.
"I received a report from a trusted source saying that someone will commit a murder here tonight," Megure said, slipping on a pair of gloves. "That someone was after the life of Nomiguchi-san!"
Officers lifted the chandelier off the body as Takagi went to take a closer look.
"How is he, Officer Takagi?" Megure asked.
Takagi shook his head. "No good. He's not breathing."
"I see. Contact the department right away," Megure ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
One of the Black Organization's men is here, Suzume thought to herself, frowning. Pisco. He's definitely still here.
~ — — — ~
Megure let out a hum. "I see. Then you were the ones closest to Nomiguchi-san when the chandelier came falling?"
"Yes," Yoshiharu confirmed, a hand pressed to his injured arm.
"Did you see anyone suspicious at that time?"
"I didn't have time to look because I was almost crushed by the chandelier, too," Yoshiharu said, gesturing to his injury. "Take a look at this! The chandelier skimmed my suit and it tore."
"I never saw any suspicious characters," Chris said in English.
"I see. Inspector, she says she hasn't seen anyone suspicious," the officer said.
"It's an accident, a mere accident!" Naoya insisted. "The chain of the chandelier was old and broke off, and the politician coincidentally got crushed to death under it."
"But somebody reported that there was going to be a murder, right?" Kenzo pointed out. "What about that? Before you suspect us, I would sure like to know more about the person who reported the murder. After all, that person may be the murderer."
"Like I said before, the tip came from a trusted source," Megure told him, eyes narrowed slightly.
"This is probably just a prank," Naomichi said, looking at Suzume. "Many people detested Nomiguchi for being suspected of bribery."
"That's right," Yasuo said. "And the accident happened to take place after the prank call. He was punished by the heavens! You really can't get away with evil doings, right?" He took a bite of some food.
You'd be surprised, Suzume deadpanned.
"I don't see how you can eat in this situation," Naoya sighed.
"I wish timid greenhorns would shut up!" Yasuo took another bite of his food before spitting something out onto the floor. "Hey, somebody go get the chef!"
"What's the matter? Did you find a cockroach in there or something?" Naoya taunted.
Suzume ignored the ongoing argument as she picked up what fell with a tissue. Haibara joined her to look at it when the teenager crouched down. "A piece of broken chain from the chandelier?" she murmured.
"Anyway, politician Nomiguchi died because the chandelier fell on top of him, right?" Mika asked, adjusting her glasses. "If it were homicide, then there would have had to be a rig of some kind, and somebody would've had to lure him under the chandelier after the place got dark. But there seems to be no such thing on the chandelier or the ceiling that it was hanging from either." Her eyes narrowed. "Therefore, murder would be impossible! Now that it's cleared, may I please be excused?"
She has a point, Suzume thought. Dropping a chandelier on the target in the dark...unless something had been set up beforehand, it would be impossible. She looked up at the chain still hanging from the ceiling. But Pisco still somehow did it. How?
Haibara grabbed her hand and began to pull her towards the exit. "We need to leave," she said, feeling Suzume's inquisitive stare on the back of her head. "It's too dangerous to spend meaningless time here any longer. Besides, if Inspector Megure and the others see us here, how are we going to explain why we're here? The only clue is the broken-off piece of chain that you picked up a while ago." She glanced up at the teenager. "You couldn't possibly figure out who the killer is with just that."
Suzume made them stop walking. "What if I have two clues?" she proposed, making Haibara pause in surprise. "After the chandelier fell and before the lights came back on, something came falling and landed on my head." She pulled out the handkerchief from her pocket. "This handkerchief."
"So what? The name of the killer is not written on it, is it?"
"Nah, that'd be too easy," Suzume said with a grin before tapping her finger on the cloth. "Look at the corner of the handkerchief. The words, Farewell Party for Director Sakamaki, are sewn on. The owner of this handkerchief received it here at the reception desk." She glanced around them. "Besides, look at everyone here. See, that man with the glass cup, the plump lady next to him, and the old man with the beard behind them. They all have handkerchiefs that are different colors!"
"What does that mean?" Haibara asked.
"Probably because they passed out handkerchiefs of seven different colors in memory of Director Sakamaki's best movie, "Rainbow Colored Handkerchief"." Suzume gave Haibara a look of confidence. "In other words, if we check at the reception desk and see who received purple handkerchiefs, we may or may not have a clue!"
"But we won't be able to determine whether the owner is involved with the killing," Haibara pointed out.
Suzume hummed in agreement. "We still wouldn't be able to know what it was used for or whether it belongs to the killer or not. But the possibility that it has nothing to do with the murder isn't zero, right?"
Haibara nodded.
~ — — — ~
"Excuse me, Officer?" Suzume said as she and Haibara stood in front of the officers guarding the doors. "Is it possible for us to use the restroom?"
The officers nodded and opened one of the doors, only to be stopped by the flashing cameras and thousands of questions from several reporters. Eyes narrowed onto Haibara's face as she and Suzume managed to slip through the doors and crowd of reporters before the door shut. They went over to the reception table.
"Who did I give the purple handkerchief to?" the woman repeated the question Suzume asked.
Suzume nodded. "I picked up a handkerchief of that color, so I was hoping that I could possibly locate the owner and return it. I figured that it's supposed to be for something later on, right?"
"Yes. At the end of the gathering, a certain color of handkerchief was supposed to be chosen, and the people with it were supposed to make comments," the receptionist told her.
"Is it possible for you to give me the names?" Suzume asked hopefully. "I can go look for the person who lost it."
~ — — — ~
"What shall we do, Inspector?" Takagi asked Megure quietly behind his hand.
"If we hold them back any longer, we may cause a racket," Megure said. "It looks like an accident no matter how you look at it too, so maybe we should let them go for now."
Takagi frowned. "But Suzume said..."
"I know."
~ — — — ~
"I've found the person, ma'am," the receptionist informed Suzume with a smile. "Here are the names of the seven people who are in the room now. There!"
Suzume smiled at her before looking at the book. "Thank you." She read over the seven names and frowned in her head. Those seven people... I can't be completely sure, but it's possible one of them is Pisco...
"Hey, they're coming out!" a reporter shouted, making Suzume look over as the doors opened and people streamed out of the room.
Suzume sighed. "Let's head back to my motorcycle for now, Haibara." She looked down but began to panic when the shrunken girl was nowhere in sight. "Haibara?!"
~ — — — ~
Haibara's eyes opened as she heard Suzume call out to her. "Haibara!"
She pushed herself into a sitting position, holding a hand to her head as it throbbed. "Kudo-san?" she murmured.
"Haibara?" Suzume said, sounding relieved. "Is that you?"
"Where are you?" Haibara asked, looking around at the room she was in.
"At my motorcycle in front of the hotel," Suzume told her. "I'm using the built-in microphone and speaker in the glasses to communicate with you. Sorry, I didn't tell you about it when I gave them to you earlier."
"What happened to me?"
"I'd like to know that as well," Suzume said, a frown evident in her voice. "What happened in the corridor in front of the hall?"
"In front of the hall?" Haibara echoed before her memories of the event came back to her. "Oh, I was swallowed by the crowd of people and lost track of you. Then somebody came at me from behind." She gasped.
"What did that person do from behind?" Suzume asked, her voice hard.
"Somebody made me sniff something and it looks like I'm confined in a wine cellar or something," Haibara said, looking around the room.
"Don't tell me..."
"Yes. The one who committed the murder under police surveillance is one of the members of the Organization—Pisco!" Haibara said.
"Don't tell me he's close right now," Suzume said.
Haibara walked to the door. "No, that person is not here right now," she said, trying to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. "The door of this room is securely locked, though. The only things that I see here are a cardboard box on a baggage cart and a janitor's overalls."
"Overalls?" Suzume repeated quietly, thinking of something.
"Yes. After I was made to sniff something, he probably took me to the restroom and changed into overalls," she walked towards the box, "then he put me in this cardboard box and brought me here. I think that if he goofed killing that politician in the hall, he was going to carry out killing him in the restroom and bring him here."
"Okay, we've got to figure out a way for you to get out of there before he gets back and plan our next move," Suzume said.
"Listen, Kudo-san. Listen very carefully. The word "apo" in the Apotoxin 4869 that shrunk my body stands for apoptosis," Haibara said. "In other words, it means the death of a program. Yes. The cells have a self-destruction structure and exist because of a signal that keeps them in check."
"Haibara..." Suzume said in a warning tone.
"But this drug not only guides apoptosis, it also waits for the activation of trimorphism and increases cell multiplication efficiency," Haibara continued, unfazed.
"Haibara, cut it out!" Suzume snapped. "I'll listen to whatever you have to say after you get out of there!"
"Never mind and just listen, will you?" Haibara said back. "Because I'm never going to be able to...to talk to you again."
"What?"
"Can't you tell? They kidnapped me and locked me here despite me being a child," she said with a smile. "Even if I were able to get out of here, they would track me down in a day or two. If that happens, they will annihilate Professor Agase, who has sheltered me, as well as everyone I am involved with in order to protect their secret. Now do you understand? Whether I am killed here or get out of here, I will never be able to see all of you again." She walked over to the chair and table that had a computer on it and sat down. "That's why I'm going to give you all the information on the drug while I can."
The familiar chime of the game she had on her that was made by Agase played out.
"What the hell was that?" Suzume asked, caught off guard by what she just overheard.
"The game that Professor Agasa made that Mitsuhiko gave back to me at school," Haibara answered. "They probably checked the MO that was in my pocket. A cellular phone connected to the computer means..." She typed on the keyboard before a chime sounded. "Just as I thought. They were searching my face."
"Wait, you're not tied up?" Suzume asked.
"That's why I'm rushing," Haibara told her. "They wouldn't leave me for a long time without even tying me up, would they?"
"Nah. They won't be back for a while," Suzume informed her with a smirk. "After you disappeared, I called Megure immediately. I told him not to let the seven with purple handkerchiefs out of the Haido City Hotel. The fact that you're not tied up and that the cellular phone is still connected to the computer shows that the guy who locked you in there wanted to leave the hotel just for a little while for something but was stopped by the officers, and is being questioned as we speak." She sighed softly. "It's quite likely that he's made contact with those outside. It's been about an hour since you disappeared, yet it's unthinkable that nobody, including the guy who kidnapped you, went back. Like I originally thought, the killer is among those seven. He assassinated his target and confined you in that room. Pisco."
"You mean I'm still inside Haido City Hotel?" Haibara asked in surprise, getting off the chair.
"Most likely. If we can find some proof he committed the murder before he contacts anyone else, and hand him over to the police, you'll still be relatively safe," Suzume said. "The longest Megure can keep them in the room is about another hour. I'll ask an employee of the hotel if they have a wine cellar that's not in use and come and get you. If I tell them someone's locked up in there..."
"You idiot," Haibara sighed as she cut her off. "Didn't I just tell you what will happen to people who get involved with me? It's not my fault if something happens to the employee who helps me out."
"Then how about you find a way out of there yourself?" Suzume suggested, beginning to get a little frustrated. "While you do that, I'll go and figure out who Pisco is."
"You say it like it's so simple, but there is no escape route here," Haibara said. "Only an old fireplace."
Suzume barked out a laugh. "Wouldn't you be able to climb up the fireplace?"
Haibara walked inside it and touched a hand to one of the walls. "Impossible. It's too wide to climb. If I weren't this small, I could probably use my hands and legs and get out of here, but..."
"Is there a rope or something?"
"I wonder. Would they have a rope inside a wine cellar?"
Suzume let out a chuckle. "How about trying one of the liquors there?" she suggested. "I've got a feeling one of them might help you out."
Haibara furrowed her brows. "Yes. It seems that they packed liquor from all over the world into this room that is not being used anymore and turned it into a wine cellar," she said. "Why do you think liquor would help?"
"Haibara, I've got something called Intuition," Suzume said smugly. "And it's telling me that you should try some Paikal. It's a strong Chinese liquor. Try looking for it."
Haibara sighed, going to look for it. "If you say so." She walked down the room, looking over the shelves. "Why do you want me to look for it anyway?"
"Is your fever still there?"
"Thanks to lying on the floor, I think it went up," Haibara said before picking up a bottle. "I found the Paikal. Now what?"
"Time for me to use my type of magic!"
~ — — — ~
As Suzume was conversing with Haibara over the MO and the data for the Apotoxin 4869, the slamming of a car door across the street caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes narrowed when she saw Gin and Vodka get out of Gin's Porsche. She held back a sigh and just slumped her shoulders. My dirty, rotten luck. Her eyes widened. Don't tell me there's a transmitter in the computer Haibara's using!
"Haibara, I've got bad news. You've got incoming," Suzume warned the shrunken scientist quietly, not wanting to draw attention to herself. "Hide in the fireplace or something for now." Pants came from the other end of the line and Suzume's brows furrowed together. "What's wrong?"
A scream of pain came from Haibara and Suzume bit her lip, pulling out her phone and dialing a number.
~ — — — ~
"Hey," Suzume murmured after hearing Vodka and Gin shut the door to the cellar behind them. "Did they leave?"
"Yes," Haibara answered, panting heavily.
"Did you get the overalls on?"
"Yes. I also have the MO with the data of the drug that I copied too," Haibara said. "What a surprise! I wonder if that liquor called Paikal has an enhancing factor that quickens the speed of cell multiplication?"
Suzume chuckled nervously. "That's nothing to be relieved about. I'd say the effect is only temporary," she said. "You need to get out of that chimney before your body turns back into a child."
"Okay. I feel just like Cordelia crawling out of the well," Haibara remarked. "Talk about a long way to go. By the way...did you figure out who Pisco is?"
Suzume sighed, an irritated look appearing on her face as she looked down at the notebook in her hand. "Not yet," she replied. "I don't have enough information." She paused when her handheld computer let out a chime, the next day's newspaper popping up with the show biz section displayed. Her eyes widened at the picture of the couple shown before pulling out the purple handkerchief, looking at the small dark mark on it. Traces of a burn! She then pulled out the piece of chain. Which means this chain... She cupped her hand over it to block the light of the lampposts, and the edge of the chain glowed a bright yellow-green color. She smirked. So, that's what it was.
~ — — — ~
"The wine cellar?" the receptionist repeated, confused at Suzume's question.
"Yeah. I think it's a room with a large fireplace in it," Suzume said, leaning forward with her hands on the counter.
"I wonder if we have that kind of room in this hotel," the receptionist murmured, looking at the map in her hands.
"Maybe it's in the old building that is going to be renovated soon?" the other receptionist suggested.
Suzume looked at her. "Old building?"
"Yes! I heard that they're using one of the rooms there as a storage room," the receptionist told her.
That's it! Suzume pushed herself away from the desk and took off running, ignoring the confused calls of the receptionists. Pisco is probably heading there now as well. If he joins up with Gin and Vodka, they'll find out Haibara shrank because of that drug! She growled under her breath. If only Megure could've kept those seven for another five minutes!
Several muffled gunshots came from the end of the call she was still on with Haibara and she began to push herself to run faster. The call suddenly cut out and she growled. She ran into the old hotel building and ran up the stairs, taking them two, sometimes three, at a time, hoping to get there before they killed Haibara.
When she got to the top and saw Gin aiming his gun at Haibara, she flicked open her watch and aimed it at him, firing a tranquilizer dart into the back of his shoulder.
Gin's eyes widened as he looked at the needle, which dissolved quickly. He crumbled onto his knees as the drug began to make a course through his body, Vodka hovering around him with worry.
"The chimney!" Suzume called out through her voice changer to Haibara, who lifted her head from the roof. "Get into the chimney! Hurry!"
"Who's there?!" Vodka snarled, firing his gun at the door. He turned and fired another shot at Haibara just before she fell down the chimney.
Gin clenched his jaw and fired a bullet through his shoulder, negating the effects of the dart. He growled under his breath, his eyes flickering back towards the door. So it was you...
~ — — — ~
"Hold it!" Suzume snapped, stopping Masuyama Kenzo, or rather, Pisco, from putting a bullet in Haibara's head. "Masuyama-san. Or should I call you Pisco?"
The older man stood up, staring in shock as he didn't see anyone there. Suzume was hiding in the room, leaning against the wall as she had a hand pressed against the graze she got from one of the bullets Vodka fired earlier.
"Who are you?" the Black Organization operative asked.
"You may think you've succeeded in dropping the chandelier on Nomiguchi-san and making it look like an accident, but you're not getting away with that," she told him. "You dropped it, didn't you? When you used the gun with a silencer. Your target was the fluorescent paint you painted on the chandelier in advance. When the lights in the room went out for the slide show, you could see the chain glow.
"Of course, if you fired just like that, then everyone around you would notice the sparks from your gun. But if you cover the silencer with the handkerchief, it would go off when you fire your gun, so the sparks wouldn't be visible. You used the handkerchief that was handed out at the hall probably because it would be hard to trace even if it was found later on.
"Unfortunately, most of the guests who had received the purple handkerchief had already gone home, and the suspects left were only the seven of you. Tawara-san and Chris, who were right below the chandelier and couldn't aim at it, are proven to be innocent. Mihei-san, who spit out the chain piece that was used as proof, and Mugikura-san, who was being watched by the guests, are also innocent. Tarumi-san and Nanjo-san, who were seen embracing each other just before the incident, are out of the question as well. In other words, the only one who could've committed the murder is you, Masuyama-san!"
"There!" Pisco fired a few shots into one of the boxes, in which alcohol began to spill out of it.
"The reason Nomiguchi-san was below the chandelier was because there was fluorescent paint on the floor too," Suzume continued, unfazed by the man's frantic search for her location. "You probably told him that you could give him a chance to avoid being arrested, so he should wait for you at the place that glows when the lights go out. Isn't that right, Pisco?"
Pisco's eyes widened at what was attached to the far corner of the box. "A speaker?!" He picked it up. "Who are you? Who the hell are you?"
Suzume stepped in front of Haibara, hand no longer pressed against her arm. "Kudo Suzume," she spoke. "A detective."
He stared at her in shock. "A detective? Don't tell me that you're the one who called the police while we were being questioned?!"
She smirked at him. "You and the other two on the roof will be arrested," she said, though she had a feeling it wouldn't happen. "Before that happens, I'd like to know something—why'd you have that purple handkerchief on you during questioning? That's the only reason Megure had no choice but to release you. Why did you have that handkerchief..."
He aimed his gun at her. "There are things in this world that you don't need to know about," he told her, sweat dripping down his face as he panicked. "Besides, take a good look at the situation! You couldn't have called the police."
The corners of her lips twitched up. "You better take a good look at yourself," she advised. "Well, more like your feet." He looked down and saw he was standing in a pool of alcohol. "Spiritas. Its alcohol content is as strong as 96%! You understand what that means, yes? Do you know what happens when you smoke in a place where such liquor is evaporating?"
He cried out as his cigarette caught fire. He opened his mouth and let it fall into the alcohol, causing a fire to break out throughout the room.
"Oi, brat! Where are you? Come out here!" Pisco shouted. "Damn it! Where the hell are you?" As he turned towards the chimney when he heard sounds coming from it, Suzume quickly left the room by opening the door, Haibara held securely in her arms. "So, that's where you are."
A gun was pointed at his head as Gin climbed out of the chimney.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Gin?!" Pisco demanded.
"Have you gone senile, Pisco?" Gin asked. "Why didn't you kill that cameraman right away and get rid of the film?"
"Cameraman?" Pisco gasped. "What're you talking about?"
"The picture for the front page of tomorrow's newspaper has been switched to your face," Gin explained. "It shows you pointing a gun at the ceiling!"
"Don't!" Pisco pleaded. "If you kill me, you won't be able to find Sherry. I have an idea of where she is. Besides, if you kill me, who has served that person, you'll get yourself in trouble too."
"I'm sorry. But I just got orders personally from that person a while ago to kill," Gin said, a wicked smirk appearing on his face.
"What?"
"You borrowed the power of the Organization and made it all the way up here. I'll bet you've already seen enough good dreams," Gin told him, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, making Pisco gulp and tremble. "Dream the rest of your dream in the world beyond."
BANG!
~ — — — ~
Suzume waved a hand over her shoulder as she left the professor's house, having dropped off Haibara with him so she could receive medical attention for her numerous bullet wounds. She sighed as she walked back to her motorcycle and got on it, sliding her helmet on and driving off.
She was too restless right now to think about going to bed for the night, so she decided a night drive through the city would help calm her down. Hopefully, at least.
The news was buzzing about the fire that had broken out at the Haido City Hotel building, and Suzume couldn't find it in herself to care about it. The events of the day drained her and she just wanted to relax before going home to get some sleep. A glance into one of her sideview mirrors told her that wouldn't happen any time soon as she saw the familiar black Porsche tailing her.
She looked over her shoulder and sighed, turning down at street and driving until she found a decent place to park her motorcycle. She kicked out the kickstand and leaned the motorcycle onto it, pulling off her helmet as the Porsche parked not too far behind her like she thought it would.
A door opened and shut, footsteps crunching on the thin layer of snow on the ground.
"How's the shoulder?" she called out uncaringly.
A scoff was her answer. "Yet another question about you," Gin muttered, blowing out some cigarette smoke as he stopped not too far from her. "It was your wiretap and transmitter, wasn't it?"
She smiled at him. "Guilty," she admitted, tilting her head. "Thought you would have found it quicker than that, or I wouldn't have found out about Pisco."
"He was going to die anyway," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "How the events played out didn't matter as they would have had the same outcome."
"I'll take your word for it," she said with a hum, eyeing the cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Those things kill, you know."
He cracked a small smile at that. "Funny," he said sarcastically.
"I thought it was." There was a moment of silence. "Tell your buddy to be a little more accurate in his shooting," she told him. "He only grazed my arm instead of hitting anything important."
Gin's eyes immediately went towards the passenger in his Porsche, glaring at his usual partner on assignments. "I'll let him know," he muttered as he looked back at her. "Which arm?"
She raised her left arm a little. "Thankfully not my dominant hand," she remarked with a shrug. "It's weird how you were trying to kill my friend just a few hours ago and here we are, talking like we're old friends." She chuckled humorlessly. "Wonder what some of my friends would have to say about it."
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Get some rest," he said, walking back to his car, missing the surprised look she sent him. "You're going to fall asleep while driving and I'll be without the most interesting thing that's happened in years."
She blinked as she watched him get back into his Porsche and drive off.
"...Well. That was unexpected," she murmured into the night, snow blissfully falling from the dark sky.
Fun Facts —
— Gin would never admit it out loud to anyone but himself, but he killed Pisco not just because of the order, but also because he was pissed that Pisco had threatened to kill Suzume. He doesn't understand this feeling, so he's unsure whether he likes it or not yet.
— Kuro the cat was a spur of the moment thing to add here. I knew from the start that I wanted Suzume to have a cat, I just didn't really know when I was going to put it in.
— I also put in a mention of a "bomb squad guy" that Kuro likes to be around. hehe