Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ The Detective Prince ❯ Mad Houes ( Chapter 15 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: SSJBowser 
Events of a Mad House
Anime/Manga: Case Closed Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Mystery / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.17.2011 | Pages: 10 | Words: 7.7K | Visits: 384 | Status: Completed
Events of a Mad House
Anime/Manga: Case Closed Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Mystery / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.17.2011 | Pages: 10 | Words: 7.7K | Visits: 384 | Status: Completed
The Detective Prince
Chapter 15
Mad House
"RobinRed maybe?"
Conan went through many different password options, regulating his search around Tim's secret identity.
"What could he have possibly used as his password?" Conan questioned as he continued trying different word phrases.
This continued on for a time to come.
The shop came into view, he walked over pushing the door to the side. He removed his hands from his pocket, ordering a cup of coffee before having a seat at a nearby table.
"Now let's see how everything fits into place."
Heiji reached into his side pocket pulling out a couple print outs, laying them across the table.
"I have all the information here, his parents deaths, the adoption...where does Batman fit into all of this. No use in asking Kudo."
Heiji read over the material once more taking a sip every here and there. As he continued reading someone placed a drink right across from his.
"Mind if I join you?"
Heiji looked up to see Shiratori Ninzaburo standing to the side of him.
"Sure thing, have a seat." Heiji answered as Ninzaburo sat across from him.
"I'm surprised to still see you here, don't you have school?"
"Trying to help find the guy who's killing these people is my biggest concern."
"I love your passion and motivation, we need more guys around like you." Ninzaburo commented.
"Thanks, I try and do what I can."
Ninzaburo looked over noticing the many different articles placed across the table. He reached forward grabbing one of them. He skimmed over the front of it.
"Batman, sounds like a monster flick from back when I was a child." Ninzaburo thought to himself.
He read through the article finding himself a little more intrigued than he thought he'd be.
"Interesting stuff detective Hattori, what brought your attention to this?" He asked holding up the sheet.
"Just a little investigation I'm conducting on the side."
"Sounds like a fun case, what exactly is it you're investigating?"
"To tell you the truth I haven't quite figured that one out."
"Mind if I take a look?" Ninzaburo asked reaching for another article.
"Go right on ahead."
His head lay rested in the crack where the walls intersect, eyes peaking open as he sat up looking over to see Ran wasn't there. The only thing sitting in the corner across from him was his jacket. Tim directed his attention to the other corner to see the door was open.
"Dammit, shouldn't have fallen asleep."
He pushed to get up, feeling something weighing down on his left side. He turned to see Ran with her head rested upon his shoulder. Tim sighed in relief. He gave her a slight shake.
"Ran, wake up." Tim softly spoke.
He tried shaking her once more receiving the same results.
"Come on, time to get up." Tim said raising his voice.
He began shaking her once more. Trying to be gentle as he could.
"Wow, she's really a deep sleeper."
Tim pushed to his feet pulling her up as well. He shaked her back and forth once again trying to awake her.
"Ran come on, wake up." Tim said with a whistle.
He held Ran out infront of him, her body tilting back. He placed his hand behind her head pulling her in a few inches away from his face.
"Ran!!"
Her eyes sprung open as she pushed away.
"What are you doing!"
"Wait, It's not what it looks like."
Ran lunged forward with a couple kicks which he managed to dodge. She then threw a few punches as he got a hold of her wrists, spinning and placing her up against the wall, crossing her left arm over her right.
"Cool it Ran, I was only trying to wake you up."
"Look more like you were recreating a scene from sleeping beauty to me."
"Are we done?" Tim asked slowly loosening his grip.
Ran breathed out as he lowered her to the ground, taking a step back after releasing her wrists.
"If I hurt you, I apologize."
"I'll live. So how long has that door been open?" Ran asked looking toward the opened door.
"I don't know, when I awoke it was like that." Tim replied.
"You think it's a trap of some kind?"
"Maybe, we'll just have to stay on full alert. Stay close ok.”
With that the two of them headed into the dark hall, the water trailing within the pipes acting as a music beat.
He sat back in thought, staring over at the screen.
“I’ve gone through all his loved ones names, secret identities, places, and even formed some of them together. Tim, what did you put as your password?”
Conan began working with number sequences, thinking up any combination he could. As he typed his phone rang from in his pocket. He pulled it to his ear while continuing to type.
“Hello?”
“Hey Conan, it’s me.”
“Tsuburaya, what’s up?” Conan asked.
“Just checking to see if you got any new information.”
“Not quite but I’m still looking, anything on your end?”
“Unfortunately not.”
It became silent between the two in the following moments.
“I’ll keep looking, give me a call if you find anything.” Conan said.
“You as well.”
Conan and Mitsuhiko both hung up, which left the room in silence once more. He walked his fingers along the key board, thinking of other possible password options.
“I gotta hand it to him, he isn’t making this easy.”
It was dark, getting colder as they walked down the tunnel. The pipes rumbled from time to time, causing water to flicker about. Ran wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm as possible.
“You think he’s watching us?” She asked with a shiver.
“Could be, haven’t seen any survaliance devices so I can’t be to sure.” Tim replied looking over his shoulder.
They walked in silence for another minute. A smile coming to his face. He looked back once more as they walked.
“I see you came over, you get a little scared in your little corner?”
“If you should know, I was cold. That’s the only reason you had the luxury of my company.”
“Yep, she was scared.”
“You know, for someone who claims he can’t fight you sure have some moves.” Ran said.
“Guess I wasn’t totally honest, we all have our little secrets.”
“Some more so than others.” Ran muttered under her breath.
They took a right just up the corner, coming to a stop when they saw a long log stretched from one side of the room to the next.
“Looks like we have our work cut out for us.” Tim said stepping up.
The log made a cracking sound as he stepped back down.
“Darn thing’s fragile, how are we supposed to get across?”
Tim looked to see it was thirty feet to the other side and twenty five down.
“Look Tim, there’s a rope.” Ran pointed.
He looked to see a rope tied to a lever on the other side.
“If one of us could some how get over there we could pass the rope back to the other.”
He continued thinking as something dropped to the ground from behind. Tim turned to see Ran had removed her jacket.
“What are you doing?”
“Making myself lighter.” Ran replied kicking off her shoes and socks.
“We should really think about this, what if the log breaks?” Tim questioned.
“If you’ve got a better idea feel free to share anytime.” Ran said pushing past him.
She walked over, slowly stepping up to the log.
“Wish me luck.” Ran said as she turned toward the log.
Ran slowly made her way across, the log cracking every here and there. Tim watched on nervously, praying the log wouldn’t break in half. After a little over two minutes she made it across, unwinding the rope from the lever.
“Here you go, I hope you appreciate my efforts.” Ran said tossing the rope his way.
Tim grabbed hold swinging over next to her.
“You forgot to grab my shoes and socks!” Ran yelled.
“Relax, I’ll just go back and get them.” Tim said turning his head back to the other side.
They both froze in place, neither moving. Her jacket, socks, and shoes were nowhere to be seen.
“Ti....Tim, where is my stuff?”
“I don’t know.” He replied looking to her.
“What do you mean you don’t know?!”
“I was watching you cross the whole time, that must mean someone....”
Tim stopped in mid sentence. It didn’t matter, they both knew someone had taken her things while she crossed the log. He looked back once more, semi angry at himself for not focusing on his surroundings. Tim then directed his attention back to Ran. She held herself more tightly than before, looking to the ground. He looked to her feet, his mind flashing back to the roughed up feet of the other female victims.
“It’s almost like deja vu, but without knowing the ending.” Tim thought to himself.
Ran continued to shiver as she looked back up.
“Tim, I’m scared.”
“We’re going to be ok, don’t worry.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“We better keep moving, come on.” Tim said as they walked down yet another dark tunnel.
“I hope I’m right to.”
He continued reading, looking through a couple more of the articles. Something came to his attention causing him to look up.
“Wayne Timothy, is he part of your investigation detective Hattori?” Ninzaburo asked.
“Indeed he is, right at the center. You know him?”
“Not personally, but he seems pretty liked around here.”
“Really, I wonder why that is.”
“I’m not supposed to say, but he helped in an undercover investigation.” Ninzaburo informed.
Heiji took another sip, placing his mug to the side.
“Please do share.” Heiji said becoming interested.
“As you probably already heard, someone attempted a hit on Mr. Mouri’s life.”
“Yea I heard about that lunatic, abducting those children.”
“Not long after Timothy paid for his police protection, allowing him to continue his investigation under cover.”
“How did Tim know there was a kill attempt on Mr Mouri?” Heiji asked.
Ninzaburo sat there as a hand resting under his chin. He sat in thought for the next few moments.
“Hmm, that’s a good question. Sorry, but I’m not able to answer that one.” Ninzaburo finally replied.
“What about the abducted girls, how were they found?”
“An anonymous caller let Mr. Mouri know where the site was located.” Ninzaburo said.
“An anonymous caller huh.”
“What about the children, how did they manage to escape?”
“When we arrived they came running out, how they were able to escape is still some what of a mystery.”
“A mystery that should be looked into.” Heiji thought to himself.
“How many men were there?”
“We recovered thirteen bodies after the explosion.” Ninzaburo replied.
“Thirteen, there’s no way those girls could have got by that many of them.”
“I hope the information given was helpful.”
“Indeed it was, thank you.”
The two of them sat in silence. Heiji continued reading while Ninzaburo finished up his drink. A minute passed by as Ninzaburo stood to his feet.
“Where are you going?” Heiji asked.
“My date has arrived.” He replied as he walked over to the front door.
Heiji turned in his seat to see Ninzaburo joined by Kobayashi Sumiko. They exchanged a few words before walking out together. Heiji directed his attention back to the reading material, thinking about all he had heard.
“How did he know about the attack?”
Heiji finished the remainder of his drink pushing the mug to the side.
“Is it possible....could Drake have been the anonymous caller?”
Water continued to drip down from the pipes. Dim lights across the ceiling lit their path every ten yards or so. Her feet pushed against the cold rigid ground causing her to groan every so often. They turned another corner, heading down yet another long hall. As they walked they heard a loud thump from around the corner they had come.
“What was that?” Ran questioned.
The sound of steam can be heard, getting louder and louder every second that went by. They looked back to see a yellow gas of some kind creeping around the corner.
“Run!” Tim yelled.
They sprinted down the hall as fast as they could taking a left once they reached the end. They came upon another steel door, quickly making their way over.
“You think it’s locked?”
“Only one way to find out.” Tim said plowing the door open with the use of his shoulder.
They stepped in, slamming the door behind them. They both stood in place catching their breath.
“Phew, that was close.” Tim exclaimed.
The next second a cracking sound can be heard. They looked to each other, wondering what could possibly be next. Suddenly the walls on both sides slowly began closing in.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
They began running once more. They reached the end of the hall pushing the next door open. Ran jumped forward tackling Tim to the ground as an ax flew out of the corner just above their heads.
“Nice save.” Tim thanked.
At that second darts began firing from the walls. Ran pushed up taking off, Tim followed close behind. They reached the end of the hall surprised to be met by a rope rather than a door.
“Ladies first.” Tim quickly said not wanting to cause any kind of collision.
They climbed up, looking to see a mini door attached to the ceiling. Ran reached up trying to push it open.
“It won’t budge.” Ran said as Tim climbed up next to her.
“Let’s try again.”
They both pushed upward forcing the cage door to the side. Ran climbed out, reaching down helping Tim up as well.
“You think we’re almost out of here?” Ran asked.
“I’m not sure, I’d have a better idea if I knew where we were.”
Ran breathed out, turning to walk once more. Her body slipped from under her as she stumbled forward, falling to the ground.
“Ran, you ok?”
Tim walked over kneeling down at her side. She pushed up with her hands. Tim helped her back to her feet
“What’s wrong?” Tim asked.
“It’s my feet... so tired.” Ran said as she fell forward.
He grabbed a hold of her, walking her over to the nearest wall. Ran sat up against it as he examined her feet.
“She’s bruised and cut up, just like the other victims.”
Tim slid his tie off, wiping the dirt and small fragments from the bottom of her feet. Ran hissed out in pain as he tied it around her left foot.
“Sorry if that hurt, you have a cut. Just trying to keep pressure on it.” Tim explained.
Tim looked over to see Ran struggling to keep her eyes open. This was alarming. He reached over placing his hands on the sides of her face. He stared at her for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong?” Ran asked.
“It’s your eyes.... let me see your arms.”
Ran held her right arm out as he slowly rubbed the sides of her arm. He did the same to the left side.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
He reached forward placing a hand upon her shoulder.
“I’m about to do something you may find discomforting, I need to know...do you trust me?”
“What are you going to do, will it hurt?” Ran asked.
“It won’t hurt, I’ll try and make it as quick as possible.”
“Ok, I trust you.”
“If Shinichi ever finds out about this, I’m not sure what I’d do.”
He reached over placing a hand around her left ankle. Slowly making his way up her leg, stroking her soft skin with the use of his thumb. Every move with precise intent. Her heart rate raised. She found herself shaking inbetween breaths.
Tim looked up, getting her ok to continue on. He moved to her right leg, moving with the same genteelness and persuasion as before. Ran closed her eyes as he made his way up past her knee, stroking the side of her leg with a circular motion. He rubbed one spot, almost as if he was looking for something.
“Got it.”
“Got what?” Ran asked as he removed his hand from her leg.
“You were nicked by one of the darts, from the way your eyes look I’d say it might have carried something.” Tim said.
“Do you think it was poison?”
“Most likely, how deadly I can’t say. I want you to sit here for awhile, I’m going to go give the area a look.” Tim said as he turned to get up.
Ran reached forward grabbing a hold of his wrist. He turned back, seeing a look of uncertainty in her face.
“Don’t leave me, I don’t want to be alone.”
“I have to Ran, it’s the only way we’re going to figure a way out of here.” Tim stated.
“You promise you’ll come back?” Ran asked gripping his hand.
Tim smiled.
“I promise.”
He sat in place, slouched over the desk. Still thinking up possible password options.
“Maybe he used a combination of two of his separate lives.”
Conan sat in thought awhile longer. He tried all the names of his family and allies once more, not to mention places of importance in his life. Despite all this, he still hadn’t figured it out. Something suddenly came to mind as he sat up.
“Wait a minute, didn’t he just recently change his password?”
Conan flashed back to the time Tim had created a new pass phrase.
“Right before he created the new password he was smiling, he wouldn’t let me know why. Might have had something to do with what we were talking about, Wait....did he.”
He reached forward trying three more passwords, finally gaining access on the fourth.
“Great, I’m in.” Conan said as an alert popped up on the side of the screen.
He clicked on it as a new window appeared.
“It’s a location, maybe that’s where he is.”
Conan read through, it gave him a full description on the location.
“That’s two miles from here. It wont take me long to get there, let’s just hope he’s ok.”
Conan jumped down from the chair, grabbing his turbo skate board as he headed back to the surface.
The lights seemed to get lighter as he continued down a tunnel. He came to a stop, noticing something connected to the lower sides of the walls.
“Motion censors.”
Tim reached down grabbing a rock. He tossed it down the hall as more darts flew out from each side.
“Looks like I better keep my eyes peeled.” Tim said continuing to walk forward.
He turned yet another corner, light cracked through one of the walls, flashing to a large portion of the ground.
“I’m almost certain that’s another trap. Security sure is amplified in this area, I must be getting close to something.”
Tim stepped around the light, making his way to the end of the hall. Once there he found he had come to a dead end. He took a step back looking from one side to the other.
“There’s got to be something I’m not seeing, having all that extra security would be a little redundant if there isn’t anything of importance over here.”
Tim pushed up against the wall to the right checking to see if it would move, nothing happened. He did the same for the middle, gaining the same results.
“Guess that just leaves the left wall.” Tim said as he walked over placing his hands up, pushing.
The wall made a slight crack sound as he pushed it to the side. He walked forward entering a large room to see computers, a bed, cabinets, clothes, and even a TV.
“What is this place?” Tim thought to himself as he headed over toward the computers.
He looked to see each screen covered a different area of the facility. He turned to the right to see womens underwear stashed inside a plastic bag, except for one which laid next to the mouse of the computer.
“I betting those are Ran’s, but where did he take our phone’s and ID to?” Tim questioned as he heard the sound of a step from behind.
He quickly turned to see a man take a swing at him with a pipe bar. He grabbed it removing it from the his hands.
“Who are you?!” Tim yelled tossing the pipe to the ground.
He responded by lunging forward with a punch. Tim grabbed a hold of his arm, twisting it while shoving him up against the wall.
“If you don’t start talking, I’m going to break your arm in several places.” Tim said losing his patience.
The man laughed out causing Tim to put more pressure up against his arm. In that split second Tim felt something cold touch down upon the back of his neck as an electrical current went through his body. He yelped out before his body fell to the ground. Another man stood over him, holding a taser gun in his right hand.
“Get me the syringe and needle Dan.” He instructed.
“Sure thing Jack.” He replied gripping his injured arm.
Dan brought it over as instructed. Jack took it as he kneeled down next to Tim who was still unconscious, injecting him in his right arm.
“Sleep well young one, I’m going to go pay your little girlfriend a little visit. I’ll be sure to give her a kiss for you.” Jack said brushing a strand of Tim’s hair to the side before standing to his feet.
“What about him, you want me to take him to holding cell E?” Dan asked.
“This guy is different, the way he alluded most of our traps should be an eye opener. I don’t want to take any chances.” Jack replied.
“Then what do you want me to do with him?”
“Take him out to the lot, make sure you properly dispose of the body when you’re finished.” Jack instructed.
“What about you?”
“I’m going to go spend some quality time with my princess, I’ll see you in a couple hours.” Jack replied with a smile.
Dan smiled back as he walked over grabbing Tim by his ankle, dragging him to a door near the back corner of the room.
The wind blew back, his hair gliding in sync with it. Conan felt his phone vibrate. He ignored this, knowing he had a task at hand.
“Why am I getting the feeling something bad is about to happen?”
That went through his mind as he continued flying along the side walks.
He stood up from the table wrapping all the articles up and placing them into his jacket. Heiji headed out of the coffe shop, still trying to piece everything together.
“If Tim was indeed the one who made the call, how did he know where to find the children?”
Heiji looked to the ground as he continued to walk. A scream can be heard just around the block. His head sprung up as he took off, running into that direction. He turned the block to see a man laid out along the sidewalk with multiple blows to the face and neck. Heiji turned to see a man fleeing from the scene.
“Look out!” Heiji yelled pushing past many bystanders.
He chased the guy down the street.
“Stop!!” Heiji yelled gaining on him.
He looked back as he turned into an alley, Heiji did the same. They continued running as he climbed up a fence jumping down. A large van pulled up, the door sliding open as he jumped in.
“Dammit.” Heiji stomped as the van took off.
Heiji slowly made his way back to the crime scene, catching his breath from his little chase. He arrived back to see Kogoro standing over the body, trying to get everyone to stand back.
“Hattori Heiji, what are you doing here?” Kogoro asked noticing him.
“Been in town for a few days.”
“Did you happen to see what happened?” Kogoro asked.
“Just got done chasing after a suspect, took off in a purple van.” Heiji replied.
“I just informed the station about this, mind sticking around to give your statement?”
“Not at all.”
Heiji walked over, giving the body a longer look than he had before.
“The cuts are deep, not very precise. Looks like our killer is new at this, by the depth of the cut’s I’d say he knew the victim.”
They waited on, more spectators joining every minute.
“So what brought you out here tonight, going shopping?” Heiji asked trying to create conversation.
“My daughters missing, she hasn’t come home yet.”
“You try her phone?” Heiji asked.
“Ofcourse, I’ve had no luck in reaching her either.”
Heiji reached down hitting down the speed dial button on his phone. He stood in place getting no answer.
“Hmm, I wonder where she could be.”
He tried reaching Conan next, receiving the same response.
“Kudo isn’t answering either, what’s going on?”
A sharp pain rolled along his back, coming to a stop a few seconds later. He felt his left leg drop to the ground. He was numb all over, slowly opening his eyes. His vision was a blur, slowly coming back to him.
“Where am I?”
“What the hell, how are you even conscious?”
Everything slowly came back to him, he pushed up with his arms only to be kicked back down. He was kicked several more times in his side. Tim gripped himself gasping for air as the assault finally came to a stop. He looked from side to side, looking to see they were in an empty parking lot.
“I’ll give you props on your persistency, but I’d advice you stop struggling so we can get this over with.”
“Where...where’s Ran?” He asked with a cough.
“You mean your girl, she’s with the boss man.”
“What’s he going to do to her?”
“She’ll be his wife for the remainder of the night, then we’ll dump you both come tommarrow evening. Bet that makes you sick, huh?”
He reached into his side pocket pulling out a hand gun.
“Why are you doing this, I don’t understand your motive.” Tim said.
“My father was a drunk and my mother a whore, what chance does a guy like me have?” He said with a laugh.
“You shouldn’t let your past send you down a dark path like this.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you talk to much?”
Dan walked to the side of him, loading the gun as he did.
“Wait, you really have a nice black shirt.”
“What, you want me to burry it along with you?” Dan asked pointing the gun down at him.
“Nah, just stalling.” Tim said.
“Stalling, stalling for what?” Dan asked as a flying object knocked the gun from his hand.
He turned in anger to be met by a booming soccer ball to the face. Tim rolled to his side groaning as he did.
“What the hell took you so long?” Tim asked with a smile as Conan approached.
“Your password was absurd, what did you expect?” Conan said picking up the bird disk.
“Really....I think Kudo Sonoko has a sexy ring to it.”
Conan looked down at the tracking device, then back to Tim.
“How come you’re here, but the device says you’re not?”
“That’s because I didn’t put the tracer on myself.” Tim answered beginning to get up.
“If it’s not on you, then who?”
“We were targeted next Conan, he has Ran.”
Conan took a step back, not exactly sure what he was talking about.
“The double abductions, we were the next two chosen.” Tim said finally making it to his feet.
“We gotta get to her, how long has she been alone?”
“I’m not to sure, I was knocked out for a little bit. You go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” Tim said.
“Where are you going?” Conan asked.
“There’s something I need to do first, just be careful for some of the traps throughout the facility.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” Conan said before taking off.
Conan followed the signal, entering a door through the side of the building. He hustled down the hall, looking for any traps he may run into. It beeped louder and louder as he got closer to the tracer.
“I hope she’s ok.”
Conan pushed a door open entering another tunnel. He looked down at the device to see Ran was located behind the door at the end of the hall. Conan moved with caution, taking each step with little sound. He reached the door pushing the metal bar down.
“This is it.”
Conan quietly pushed the door open, walking in to see Ran tied to a bed by her wrists and ankles. He looked to the other sides to see no one else was present. He quickly made his way over, shaking her from side to side.
“Ran wake up, we gotta get out of here.” Conan said continuing to shake her.
He checked for a pulse, making sure she was still alive.
“Her heart rate is pretty normal for the most part, why isn’t she waking up?”
“Because she was poisoned.” Someone said from behind entering the room.
Conan turned, his heart racing up.
“This must be the other killer.” Conan thought to himself.
“What did you do to her?!”
“Just a little something, it’ll ware off in a few minutes. Who are you anyway, and how did you find this place?” Jack asked.
“I’m Detective Conan.”
“So sad to tell you little one, but I’m afraid I’ll have to kill you. Can’t have anyone knowing about my operations.”
“Give it your best shot.” Conan said attempting to kick one of his inflatable balls at him.
Jack dodged it, a look of displeasure coming to his face.
“You had your shot kid, now it’s my turn.”
They talked with all the witnesses, making sure they got all the information they could on the case at hand. Heiji leaned up against one of the building walls, his hands resting in his pocket. Inspector Megure walked over standing next to him.
“I’m not sure how your schedule is, but I was wondering if you could work this case. After all you did get a visual of the potential suspect.”
“Sure thing inspector, I’d love to take this one on.” Heiji agreed.
“That’s good to hear.”
Megure walked back over engaging in a conversation with Kogoro. Heiji’s phone began vibrating causing him to reached down pulling it from within his pocket. He looked down to see a text message from Ran. He read it, making his way over to Kogoro as well.
“Just got a message from Ran, she’s in trouble.” Heiji informed.
“Where is she?!” Kogoro yelled as his phone began to vibrate.
He pulled out his phone, seeing he got the same message as Heiji.
“We have a location, she’s not far from here.”
“What are we waiting for?” Heiji questioned.
“What’s going on?” Inspector Megure asked.
“Ran’s in trouble, we need to get to her as soon as possible.” Heiji answered.
“I’ll have someone drive you there.”
“I really appreciate that.” Kogoro thanked.
He took another blow to the gut, landing on his back. Blood rolled down from the side of his face, his strength steadily declining. Conan looked up, Jack giving him one last good shot to his ribs.
“Dumb move coming here boy, let’s say we make this quick.” He said pulling a knife from his back pocket.
He looked down at him, then to Ran.
“I bet you really care for this woman, why else would you have shown up here. How about I kill her first, make you feel the pain of not only death but loss as well.”
“If you even lay a finger on her.”
“You’re in no position to make threats. I’m going to have to differ on your request, it’s not every day an opportunity like this presents itself.”
He directed his attention back to Ran, running his blade up her shirt, removing the top button. Conan tried pushing up, only to fall back down. He chose his spot, tracing the outline of where he would strike. He gave Conan one last look before raising his blade. Before Jack could make his move the door flew open as someone raced over at him.
“Tim.” Conan said in relief.
Jack turned as the blade jabbed into the side of one of Tim’s ribs. He yelled out in pain as the two engaged in a little scuffle.
“You again, I should have known I couldn’t count on that idiot Dan.”
With all the energy he had Conan forced himself as he took aim and fired. Jack fell to the ground. Tim looked over to Conan, a confused expression on his face.
“What did you do?”
“A stun gun installed into my watch.” Conan replied.
“Nice.”
Conan reached over grabbing the bed to help him get back to his feet. He immediately went for the ropes wrapped around her ankles. They were on tight, very tight at that.
“Hey Tim you think you can get these ropes undone?” Conan asked turning to see Tim slowly removing the blade from his ribs.
“One sec.” He replied griping his teeth.
After he removed the blade from his side he walked over, slicing each rope which binded her down.
“You think you have enough energy to carry her?” Conan asked.
“I’ll try.” Tim said reaching down placing her over his shoulder.
They headed back down the dark halls, neither one saying a word. Conan looked over, noticing a plastic bag filled with underwear tied around Tim’s belt.
“Looks like there may have been more victims than we thought.” Conan thought to himself.
They made it back to the lot as Tim slowly placed Ran to the ground. Small amounts of blood still flowing from his wound.
“You going to be ok?” Conan asked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll live.”
“Sorry I took so long to figure out your password.” Conan apologized.
“Dosen’t matter you helped save my life twice today, that has to count for something.”
“You’re cut looks bad, I better call someone.” Conan said reaching for his phone.
Tim placed his hand over Conan’s, shaking his head from side to side.
“The authorities are already on their way.” Tim informed.
“How do you know?”
“I alerted them.”
Tim handed the plastic bag filled with underwear to Conan. Within the next few seconds vehicles can be heard heading in their direction.
“Guess that’s my cue.” Tim said standing to his feet gripping his side.
“What do you mean, you’re not planning on leaving are you?”
“Can’t let them know about my involvement in this whole ordeal.”
“But you’re hurt.” Conan protested.
“I’ll bandage myself up when I get back to the apartment.” Tim said heading for the forest nearby.
“But Tim, Tim!”
It was no use, his mind had been made up.
“That there is one stubborn man.” Conan thought to himself.
He watched on as Tim disappeared into the forest. The police and ambulance arrived shortly after.
“Conan, what are you doing here?!” Kogoro yelled out as every one made their way over.
“Ran informed me of her location.” Conan replied.
“Do you have any idea what happened?” Inspector Megure asked.
“Before Ran fainted she said the two men who were abducting couples are here, one of them being him.” Conan pointed to the still unconscious Dan.
“Check the building, I want the other guy found.”
Kogoro examined Ran, a little confused on her condition.
“She has blood on her, but I can’t seem to find any cuts.” Kogoro said.
Heiji took note of this, then turning and walking over next to Conan.
“Hey Kudo what exactly happened?” Heiji asked.
“Like I said, she sent me a text on her location. I really don’t know what happened.” Conan replied.
“It was worth a shot. Kudo is defiantly hiding something, he was a little to uneasy with his answer.”
They pulled Ran up placing her onto a stretcher, taking her toward the ambulance truck. Kogoro followed next to them, Heiji assisted him. Her eyes finally opened, tilting her head to the side.
“Daddy?” Ran asked still light headed.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”
“What about Tim?”
“Tim?” Heiji questioned.
“Is he ok to?”
“That’s enough for now, you just get your rest.” Kogoro said as they reached the truck.
Heiji turned back looking over to see Conan who stood up against a tree, apparently in thought like himself.
“Ran wanted to know if Tim was alright, I’m betting he was here. No use in asking Kudo.....I think it’s time I took that extra step.”
He walked on, each step just as challenging as the last. He felt himself fading, the light of the moon the only source which kept him awake. The loss of blood had drained him, mixed in with the drug he had been given. The Apartment finally came into view nearly two hours later.
“Didn’t know it’d take this long on foot. I’ll take the stairs to my room, don’t want anyone to take note of my current state.”
Tim walked to the side of the apartment building, taking the stairwell up to his floor. He coughed out every few steps, his legs feeling like they were imploding beneath him.
“Ran will probably be angry with me again......expected.”
Tim pushed the door open, finally reaching his floor. He walked, pain soaring across his whole body, not sure how much longer he could stand.
“Hopefully I have enough energy to fix myself up.” Tim thought to himself as he turned the corner which lead to his room.
He froze in place, sweat flowing down the right side of his face. His hands shaking from side to side.
“Hey Drake, hope I didn’t drop by at a bad time.” Heiji said leaning up from the door to his room.
“This can’t be happening, Heiji is here, can’t breath, losing vision.”
Tim slightly stumbled forward as Heiji quickly made his way over.
“Woh, you ok there Drake?” Heiji asked placing a hand on his shoulder.
Tim looked into Heiji’s eyes before falling forward, losing conscious. Heiji caught him in his arms, feeling something warm on his side.
“Wetness, what is that?”
Heiji lifted his hand from Tim’s side to find it covered in blood. He knew he had just hit the jack pot.
“Stay alive Drake, we have something to discuss when you awake.”
To Be Continued
Converting /tmp/php5dHhiM to /dev/stdout
Chapter 15
Mad House
"RobinRed maybe?"
Conan went through many different password options, regulating his search around Tim's secret identity.
"What could he have possibly used as his password?" Conan questioned as he continued trying different word phrases.
This continued on for a time to come.
The shop came into view, he walked over pushing the door to the side. He removed his hands from his pocket, ordering a cup of coffee before having a seat at a nearby table.
"Now let's see how everything fits into place."
Heiji reached into his side pocket pulling out a couple print outs, laying them across the table.
"I have all the information here, his parents deaths, the adoption...where does Batman fit into all of this. No use in asking Kudo."
Heiji read over the material once more taking a sip every here and there. As he continued reading someone placed a drink right across from his.
"Mind if I join you?"
Heiji looked up to see Shiratori Ninzaburo standing to the side of him.
"Sure thing, have a seat." Heiji answered as Ninzaburo sat across from him.
"I'm surprised to still see you here, don't you have school?"
"Trying to help find the guy who's killing these people is my biggest concern."
"I love your passion and motivation, we need more guys around like you." Ninzaburo commented.
"Thanks, I try and do what I can."
Ninzaburo looked over noticing the many different articles placed across the table. He reached forward grabbing one of them. He skimmed over the front of it.
"Batman, sounds like a monster flick from back when I was a child." Ninzaburo thought to himself.
He read through the article finding himself a little more intrigued than he thought he'd be.
"Interesting stuff detective Hattori, what brought your attention to this?" He asked holding up the sheet.
"Just a little investigation I'm conducting on the side."
"Sounds like a fun case, what exactly is it you're investigating?"
"To tell you the truth I haven't quite figured that one out."
"Mind if I take a look?" Ninzaburo asked reaching for another article.
"Go right on ahead."
His head lay rested in the crack where the walls intersect, eyes peaking open as he sat up looking over to see Ran wasn't there. The only thing sitting in the corner across from him was his jacket. Tim directed his attention to the other corner to see the door was open.
"Dammit, shouldn't have fallen asleep."
He pushed to get up, feeling something weighing down on his left side. He turned to see Ran with her head rested upon his shoulder. Tim sighed in relief. He gave her a slight shake.
"Ran, wake up." Tim softly spoke.
He tried shaking her once more receiving the same results.
"Come on, time to get up." Tim said raising his voice.
He began shaking her once more. Trying to be gentle as he could.
"Wow, she's really a deep sleeper."
Tim pushed to his feet pulling her up as well. He shaked her back and forth once again trying to awake her.
"Ran come on, wake up." Tim said with a whistle.
He held Ran out infront of him, her body tilting back. He placed his hand behind her head pulling her in a few inches away from his face.
"Ran!!"
Her eyes sprung open as she pushed away.
"What are you doing!"
"Wait, It's not what it looks like."
Ran lunged forward with a couple kicks which he managed to dodge. She then threw a few punches as he got a hold of her wrists, spinning and placing her up against the wall, crossing her left arm over her right.
"Cool it Ran, I was only trying to wake you up."
"Look more like you were recreating a scene from sleeping beauty to me."
"Are we done?" Tim asked slowly loosening his grip.
Ran breathed out as he lowered her to the ground, taking a step back after releasing her wrists.
"If I hurt you, I apologize."
"I'll live. So how long has that door been open?" Ran asked looking toward the opened door.
"I don't know, when I awoke it was like that." Tim replied.
"You think it's a trap of some kind?"
"Maybe, we'll just have to stay on full alert. Stay close ok.”
With that the two of them headed into the dark hall, the water trailing within the pipes acting as a music beat.
He sat back in thought, staring over at the screen.
“I’ve gone through all his loved ones names, secret identities, places, and even formed some of them together. Tim, what did you put as your password?”
Conan began working with number sequences, thinking up any combination he could. As he typed his phone rang from in his pocket. He pulled it to his ear while continuing to type.
“Hello?”
“Hey Conan, it’s me.”
“Tsuburaya, what’s up?” Conan asked.
“Just checking to see if you got any new information.”
“Not quite but I’m still looking, anything on your end?”
“Unfortunately not.”
It became silent between the two in the following moments.
“I’ll keep looking, give me a call if you find anything.” Conan said.
“You as well.”
Conan and Mitsuhiko both hung up, which left the room in silence once more. He walked his fingers along the key board, thinking of other possible password options.
“I gotta hand it to him, he isn’t making this easy.”
It was dark, getting colder as they walked down the tunnel. The pipes rumbled from time to time, causing water to flicker about. Ran wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm as possible.
“You think he’s watching us?” She asked with a shiver.
“Could be, haven’t seen any survaliance devices so I can’t be to sure.” Tim replied looking over his shoulder.
They walked in silence for another minute. A smile coming to his face. He looked back once more as they walked.
“I see you came over, you get a little scared in your little corner?”
“If you should know, I was cold. That’s the only reason you had the luxury of my company.”
“Yep, she was scared.”
“You know, for someone who claims he can’t fight you sure have some moves.” Ran said.
“Guess I wasn’t totally honest, we all have our little secrets.”
“Some more so than others.” Ran muttered under her breath.
They took a right just up the corner, coming to a stop when they saw a long log stretched from one side of the room to the next.
“Looks like we have our work cut out for us.” Tim said stepping up.
The log made a cracking sound as he stepped back down.
“Darn thing’s fragile, how are we supposed to get across?”
Tim looked to see it was thirty feet to the other side and twenty five down.
“Look Tim, there’s a rope.” Ran pointed.
He looked to see a rope tied to a lever on the other side.
“If one of us could some how get over there we could pass the rope back to the other.”
He continued thinking as something dropped to the ground from behind. Tim turned to see Ran had removed her jacket.
“What are you doing?”
“Making myself lighter.” Ran replied kicking off her shoes and socks.
“We should really think about this, what if the log breaks?” Tim questioned.
“If you’ve got a better idea feel free to share anytime.” Ran said pushing past him.
She walked over, slowly stepping up to the log.
“Wish me luck.” Ran said as she turned toward the log.
Ran slowly made her way across, the log cracking every here and there. Tim watched on nervously, praying the log wouldn’t break in half. After a little over two minutes she made it across, unwinding the rope from the lever.
“Here you go, I hope you appreciate my efforts.” Ran said tossing the rope his way.
Tim grabbed hold swinging over next to her.
“You forgot to grab my shoes and socks!” Ran yelled.
“Relax, I’ll just go back and get them.” Tim said turning his head back to the other side.
They both froze in place, neither moving. Her jacket, socks, and shoes were nowhere to be seen.
“Ti....Tim, where is my stuff?”
“I don’t know.” He replied looking to her.
“What do you mean you don’t know?!”
“I was watching you cross the whole time, that must mean someone....”
Tim stopped in mid sentence. It didn’t matter, they both knew someone had taken her things while she crossed the log. He looked back once more, semi angry at himself for not focusing on his surroundings. Tim then directed his attention back to Ran. She held herself more tightly than before, looking to the ground. He looked to her feet, his mind flashing back to the roughed up feet of the other female victims.
“It’s almost like deja vu, but without knowing the ending.” Tim thought to himself.
Ran continued to shiver as she looked back up.
“Tim, I’m scared.”
“We’re going to be ok, don’t worry.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“We better keep moving, come on.” Tim said as they walked down yet another dark tunnel.
“I hope I’m right to.”
He continued reading, looking through a couple more of the articles. Something came to his attention causing him to look up.
“Wayne Timothy, is he part of your investigation detective Hattori?” Ninzaburo asked.
“Indeed he is, right at the center. You know him?”
“Not personally, but he seems pretty liked around here.”
“Really, I wonder why that is.”
“I’m not supposed to say, but he helped in an undercover investigation.” Ninzaburo informed.
Heiji took another sip, placing his mug to the side.
“Please do share.” Heiji said becoming interested.
“As you probably already heard, someone attempted a hit on Mr. Mouri’s life.”
“Yea I heard about that lunatic, abducting those children.”
“Not long after Timothy paid for his police protection, allowing him to continue his investigation under cover.”
“How did Tim know there was a kill attempt on Mr Mouri?” Heiji asked.
Ninzaburo sat there as a hand resting under his chin. He sat in thought for the next few moments.
“Hmm, that’s a good question. Sorry, but I’m not able to answer that one.” Ninzaburo finally replied.
“What about the abducted girls, how were they found?”
“An anonymous caller let Mr. Mouri know where the site was located.” Ninzaburo said.
“An anonymous caller huh.”
“What about the children, how did they manage to escape?”
“When we arrived they came running out, how they were able to escape is still some what of a mystery.”
“A mystery that should be looked into.” Heiji thought to himself.
“How many men were there?”
“We recovered thirteen bodies after the explosion.” Ninzaburo replied.
“Thirteen, there’s no way those girls could have got by that many of them.”
“I hope the information given was helpful.”
“Indeed it was, thank you.”
The two of them sat in silence. Heiji continued reading while Ninzaburo finished up his drink. A minute passed by as Ninzaburo stood to his feet.
“Where are you going?” Heiji asked.
“My date has arrived.” He replied as he walked over to the front door.
Heiji turned in his seat to see Ninzaburo joined by Kobayashi Sumiko. They exchanged a few words before walking out together. Heiji directed his attention back to the reading material, thinking about all he had heard.
“How did he know about the attack?”
Heiji finished the remainder of his drink pushing the mug to the side.
“Is it possible....could Drake have been the anonymous caller?”
Water continued to drip down from the pipes. Dim lights across the ceiling lit their path every ten yards or so. Her feet pushed against the cold rigid ground causing her to groan every so often. They turned another corner, heading down yet another long hall. As they walked they heard a loud thump from around the corner they had come.
“What was that?” Ran questioned.
The sound of steam can be heard, getting louder and louder every second that went by. They looked back to see a yellow gas of some kind creeping around the corner.
“Run!” Tim yelled.
They sprinted down the hall as fast as they could taking a left once they reached the end. They came upon another steel door, quickly making their way over.
“You think it’s locked?”
“Only one way to find out.” Tim said plowing the door open with the use of his shoulder.
They stepped in, slamming the door behind them. They both stood in place catching their breath.
“Phew, that was close.” Tim exclaimed.
The next second a cracking sound can be heard. They looked to each other, wondering what could possibly be next. Suddenly the walls on both sides slowly began closing in.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
They began running once more. They reached the end of the hall pushing the next door open. Ran jumped forward tackling Tim to the ground as an ax flew out of the corner just above their heads.
“Nice save.” Tim thanked.
At that second darts began firing from the walls. Ran pushed up taking off, Tim followed close behind. They reached the end of the hall surprised to be met by a rope rather than a door.
“Ladies first.” Tim quickly said not wanting to cause any kind of collision.
They climbed up, looking to see a mini door attached to the ceiling. Ran reached up trying to push it open.
“It won’t budge.” Ran said as Tim climbed up next to her.
“Let’s try again.”
They both pushed upward forcing the cage door to the side. Ran climbed out, reaching down helping Tim up as well.
“You think we’re almost out of here?” Ran asked.
“I’m not sure, I’d have a better idea if I knew where we were.”
Ran breathed out, turning to walk once more. Her body slipped from under her as she stumbled forward, falling to the ground.
“Ran, you ok?”
Tim walked over kneeling down at her side. She pushed up with her hands. Tim helped her back to her feet
“What’s wrong?” Tim asked.
“It’s my feet... so tired.” Ran said as she fell forward.
He grabbed a hold of her, walking her over to the nearest wall. Ran sat up against it as he examined her feet.
“She’s bruised and cut up, just like the other victims.”
Tim slid his tie off, wiping the dirt and small fragments from the bottom of her feet. Ran hissed out in pain as he tied it around her left foot.
“Sorry if that hurt, you have a cut. Just trying to keep pressure on it.” Tim explained.
Tim looked over to see Ran struggling to keep her eyes open. This was alarming. He reached over placing his hands on the sides of her face. He stared at her for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong?” Ran asked.
“It’s your eyes.... let me see your arms.”
Ran held her right arm out as he slowly rubbed the sides of her arm. He did the same to the left side.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
He reached forward placing a hand upon her shoulder.
“I’m about to do something you may find discomforting, I need to know...do you trust me?”
“What are you going to do, will it hurt?” Ran asked.
“It won’t hurt, I’ll try and make it as quick as possible.”
“Ok, I trust you.”
“If Shinichi ever finds out about this, I’m not sure what I’d do.”
He reached over placing a hand around her left ankle. Slowly making his way up her leg, stroking her soft skin with the use of his thumb. Every move with precise intent. Her heart rate raised. She found herself shaking inbetween breaths.
Tim looked up, getting her ok to continue on. He moved to her right leg, moving with the same genteelness and persuasion as before. Ran closed her eyes as he made his way up past her knee, stroking the side of her leg with a circular motion. He rubbed one spot, almost as if he was looking for something.
“Got it.”
“Got what?” Ran asked as he removed his hand from her leg.
“You were nicked by one of the darts, from the way your eyes look I’d say it might have carried something.” Tim said.
“Do you think it was poison?”
“Most likely, how deadly I can’t say. I want you to sit here for awhile, I’m going to go give the area a look.” Tim said as he turned to get up.
Ran reached forward grabbing a hold of his wrist. He turned back, seeing a look of uncertainty in her face.
“Don’t leave me, I don’t want to be alone.”
“I have to Ran, it’s the only way we’re going to figure a way out of here.” Tim stated.
“You promise you’ll come back?” Ran asked gripping his hand.
Tim smiled.
“I promise.”
He sat in place, slouched over the desk. Still thinking up possible password options.
“Maybe he used a combination of two of his separate lives.”
Conan sat in thought awhile longer. He tried all the names of his family and allies once more, not to mention places of importance in his life. Despite all this, he still hadn’t figured it out. Something suddenly came to mind as he sat up.
“Wait a minute, didn’t he just recently change his password?”
Conan flashed back to the time Tim had created a new pass phrase.
“Right before he created the new password he was smiling, he wouldn’t let me know why. Might have had something to do with what we were talking about, Wait....did he.”
He reached forward trying three more passwords, finally gaining access on the fourth.
“Great, I’m in.” Conan said as an alert popped up on the side of the screen.
He clicked on it as a new window appeared.
“It’s a location, maybe that’s where he is.”
Conan read through, it gave him a full description on the location.
“That’s two miles from here. It wont take me long to get there, let’s just hope he’s ok.”
Conan jumped down from the chair, grabbing his turbo skate board as he headed back to the surface.
The lights seemed to get lighter as he continued down a tunnel. He came to a stop, noticing something connected to the lower sides of the walls.
“Motion censors.”
Tim reached down grabbing a rock. He tossed it down the hall as more darts flew out from each side.
“Looks like I better keep my eyes peeled.” Tim said continuing to walk forward.
He turned yet another corner, light cracked through one of the walls, flashing to a large portion of the ground.
“I’m almost certain that’s another trap. Security sure is amplified in this area, I must be getting close to something.”
Tim stepped around the light, making his way to the end of the hall. Once there he found he had come to a dead end. He took a step back looking from one side to the other.
“There’s got to be something I’m not seeing, having all that extra security would be a little redundant if there isn’t anything of importance over here.”
Tim pushed up against the wall to the right checking to see if it would move, nothing happened. He did the same for the middle, gaining the same results.
“Guess that just leaves the left wall.” Tim said as he walked over placing his hands up, pushing.
The wall made a slight crack sound as he pushed it to the side. He walked forward entering a large room to see computers, a bed, cabinets, clothes, and even a TV.
“What is this place?” Tim thought to himself as he headed over toward the computers.
He looked to see each screen covered a different area of the facility. He turned to the right to see womens underwear stashed inside a plastic bag, except for one which laid next to the mouse of the computer.
“I betting those are Ran’s, but where did he take our phone’s and ID to?” Tim questioned as he heard the sound of a step from behind.
He quickly turned to see a man take a swing at him with a pipe bar. He grabbed it removing it from the his hands.
“Who are you?!” Tim yelled tossing the pipe to the ground.
He responded by lunging forward with a punch. Tim grabbed a hold of his arm, twisting it while shoving him up against the wall.
“If you don’t start talking, I’m going to break your arm in several places.” Tim said losing his patience.
The man laughed out causing Tim to put more pressure up against his arm. In that split second Tim felt something cold touch down upon the back of his neck as an electrical current went through his body. He yelped out before his body fell to the ground. Another man stood over him, holding a taser gun in his right hand.
“Get me the syringe and needle Dan.” He instructed.
“Sure thing Jack.” He replied gripping his injured arm.
Dan brought it over as instructed. Jack took it as he kneeled down next to Tim who was still unconscious, injecting him in his right arm.
“Sleep well young one, I’m going to go pay your little girlfriend a little visit. I’ll be sure to give her a kiss for you.” Jack said brushing a strand of Tim’s hair to the side before standing to his feet.
“What about him, you want me to take him to holding cell E?” Dan asked.
“This guy is different, the way he alluded most of our traps should be an eye opener. I don’t want to take any chances.” Jack replied.
“Then what do you want me to do with him?”
“Take him out to the lot, make sure you properly dispose of the body when you’re finished.” Jack instructed.
“What about you?”
“I’m going to go spend some quality time with my princess, I’ll see you in a couple hours.” Jack replied with a smile.
Dan smiled back as he walked over grabbing Tim by his ankle, dragging him to a door near the back corner of the room.
The wind blew back, his hair gliding in sync with it. Conan felt his phone vibrate. He ignored this, knowing he had a task at hand.
“Why am I getting the feeling something bad is about to happen?”
That went through his mind as he continued flying along the side walks.
He stood up from the table wrapping all the articles up and placing them into his jacket. Heiji headed out of the coffe shop, still trying to piece everything together.
“If Tim was indeed the one who made the call, how did he know where to find the children?”
Heiji looked to the ground as he continued to walk. A scream can be heard just around the block. His head sprung up as he took off, running into that direction. He turned the block to see a man laid out along the sidewalk with multiple blows to the face and neck. Heiji turned to see a man fleeing from the scene.
“Look out!” Heiji yelled pushing past many bystanders.
He chased the guy down the street.
“Stop!!” Heiji yelled gaining on him.
He looked back as he turned into an alley, Heiji did the same. They continued running as he climbed up a fence jumping down. A large van pulled up, the door sliding open as he jumped in.
“Dammit.” Heiji stomped as the van took off.
Heiji slowly made his way back to the crime scene, catching his breath from his little chase. He arrived back to see Kogoro standing over the body, trying to get everyone to stand back.
“Hattori Heiji, what are you doing here?” Kogoro asked noticing him.
“Been in town for a few days.”
“Did you happen to see what happened?” Kogoro asked.
“Just got done chasing after a suspect, took off in a purple van.” Heiji replied.
“I just informed the station about this, mind sticking around to give your statement?”
“Not at all.”
Heiji walked over, giving the body a longer look than he had before.
“The cuts are deep, not very precise. Looks like our killer is new at this, by the depth of the cut’s I’d say he knew the victim.”
They waited on, more spectators joining every minute.
“So what brought you out here tonight, going shopping?” Heiji asked trying to create conversation.
“My daughters missing, she hasn’t come home yet.”
“You try her phone?” Heiji asked.
“Ofcourse, I’ve had no luck in reaching her either.”
Heiji reached down hitting down the speed dial button on his phone. He stood in place getting no answer.
“Hmm, I wonder where she could be.”
He tried reaching Conan next, receiving the same response.
“Kudo isn’t answering either, what’s going on?”
A sharp pain rolled along his back, coming to a stop a few seconds later. He felt his left leg drop to the ground. He was numb all over, slowly opening his eyes. His vision was a blur, slowly coming back to him.
“Where am I?”
“What the hell, how are you even conscious?”
Everything slowly came back to him, he pushed up with his arms only to be kicked back down. He was kicked several more times in his side. Tim gripped himself gasping for air as the assault finally came to a stop. He looked from side to side, looking to see they were in an empty parking lot.
“I’ll give you props on your persistency, but I’d advice you stop struggling so we can get this over with.”
“Where...where’s Ran?” He asked with a cough.
“You mean your girl, she’s with the boss man.”
“What’s he going to do to her?”
“She’ll be his wife for the remainder of the night, then we’ll dump you both come tommarrow evening. Bet that makes you sick, huh?”
He reached into his side pocket pulling out a hand gun.
“Why are you doing this, I don’t understand your motive.” Tim said.
“My father was a drunk and my mother a whore, what chance does a guy like me have?” He said with a laugh.
“You shouldn’t let your past send you down a dark path like this.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you talk to much?”
Dan walked to the side of him, loading the gun as he did.
“Wait, you really have a nice black shirt.”
“What, you want me to burry it along with you?” Dan asked pointing the gun down at him.
“Nah, just stalling.” Tim said.
“Stalling, stalling for what?” Dan asked as a flying object knocked the gun from his hand.
He turned in anger to be met by a booming soccer ball to the face. Tim rolled to his side groaning as he did.
“What the hell took you so long?” Tim asked with a smile as Conan approached.
“Your password was absurd, what did you expect?” Conan said picking up the bird disk.
“Really....I think Kudo Sonoko has a sexy ring to it.”
Conan looked down at the tracking device, then back to Tim.
“How come you’re here, but the device says you’re not?”
“That’s because I didn’t put the tracer on myself.” Tim answered beginning to get up.
“If it’s not on you, then who?”
“We were targeted next Conan, he has Ran.”
Conan took a step back, not exactly sure what he was talking about.
“The double abductions, we were the next two chosen.” Tim said finally making it to his feet.
“We gotta get to her, how long has she been alone?”
“I’m not to sure, I was knocked out for a little bit. You go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” Tim said.
“Where are you going?” Conan asked.
“There’s something I need to do first, just be careful for some of the traps throughout the facility.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” Conan said before taking off.
Conan followed the signal, entering a door through the side of the building. He hustled down the hall, looking for any traps he may run into. It beeped louder and louder as he got closer to the tracer.
“I hope she’s ok.”
Conan pushed a door open entering another tunnel. He looked down at the device to see Ran was located behind the door at the end of the hall. Conan moved with caution, taking each step with little sound. He reached the door pushing the metal bar down.
“This is it.”
Conan quietly pushed the door open, walking in to see Ran tied to a bed by her wrists and ankles. He looked to the other sides to see no one else was present. He quickly made his way over, shaking her from side to side.
“Ran wake up, we gotta get out of here.” Conan said continuing to shake her.
He checked for a pulse, making sure she was still alive.
“Her heart rate is pretty normal for the most part, why isn’t she waking up?”
“Because she was poisoned.” Someone said from behind entering the room.
Conan turned, his heart racing up.
“This must be the other killer.” Conan thought to himself.
“What did you do to her?!”
“Just a little something, it’ll ware off in a few minutes. Who are you anyway, and how did you find this place?” Jack asked.
“I’m Detective Conan.”
“So sad to tell you little one, but I’m afraid I’ll have to kill you. Can’t have anyone knowing about my operations.”
“Give it your best shot.” Conan said attempting to kick one of his inflatable balls at him.
Jack dodged it, a look of displeasure coming to his face.
“You had your shot kid, now it’s my turn.”
They talked with all the witnesses, making sure they got all the information they could on the case at hand. Heiji leaned up against one of the building walls, his hands resting in his pocket. Inspector Megure walked over standing next to him.
“I’m not sure how your schedule is, but I was wondering if you could work this case. After all you did get a visual of the potential suspect.”
“Sure thing inspector, I’d love to take this one on.” Heiji agreed.
“That’s good to hear.”
Megure walked back over engaging in a conversation with Kogoro. Heiji’s phone began vibrating causing him to reached down pulling it from within his pocket. He looked down to see a text message from Ran. He read it, making his way over to Kogoro as well.
“Just got a message from Ran, she’s in trouble.” Heiji informed.
“Where is she?!” Kogoro yelled as his phone began to vibrate.
He pulled out his phone, seeing he got the same message as Heiji.
“We have a location, she’s not far from here.”
“What are we waiting for?” Heiji questioned.
“What’s going on?” Inspector Megure asked.
“Ran’s in trouble, we need to get to her as soon as possible.” Heiji answered.
“I’ll have someone drive you there.”
“I really appreciate that.” Kogoro thanked.
He took another blow to the gut, landing on his back. Blood rolled down from the side of his face, his strength steadily declining. Conan looked up, Jack giving him one last good shot to his ribs.
“Dumb move coming here boy, let’s say we make this quick.” He said pulling a knife from his back pocket.
He looked down at him, then to Ran.
“I bet you really care for this woman, why else would you have shown up here. How about I kill her first, make you feel the pain of not only death but loss as well.”
“If you even lay a finger on her.”
“You’re in no position to make threats. I’m going to have to differ on your request, it’s not every day an opportunity like this presents itself.”
He directed his attention back to Ran, running his blade up her shirt, removing the top button. Conan tried pushing up, only to fall back down. He chose his spot, tracing the outline of where he would strike. He gave Conan one last look before raising his blade. Before Jack could make his move the door flew open as someone raced over at him.
“Tim.” Conan said in relief.
Jack turned as the blade jabbed into the side of one of Tim’s ribs. He yelled out in pain as the two engaged in a little scuffle.
“You again, I should have known I couldn’t count on that idiot Dan.”
With all the energy he had Conan forced himself as he took aim and fired. Jack fell to the ground. Tim looked over to Conan, a confused expression on his face.
“What did you do?”
“A stun gun installed into my watch.” Conan replied.
“Nice.”
Conan reached over grabbing the bed to help him get back to his feet. He immediately went for the ropes wrapped around her ankles. They were on tight, very tight at that.
“Hey Tim you think you can get these ropes undone?” Conan asked turning to see Tim slowly removing the blade from his ribs.
“One sec.” He replied griping his teeth.
After he removed the blade from his side he walked over, slicing each rope which binded her down.
“You think you have enough energy to carry her?” Conan asked.
“I’ll try.” Tim said reaching down placing her over his shoulder.
They headed back down the dark halls, neither one saying a word. Conan looked over, noticing a plastic bag filled with underwear tied around Tim’s belt.
“Looks like there may have been more victims than we thought.” Conan thought to himself.
They made it back to the lot as Tim slowly placed Ran to the ground. Small amounts of blood still flowing from his wound.
“You going to be ok?” Conan asked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll live.”
“Sorry I took so long to figure out your password.” Conan apologized.
“Dosen’t matter you helped save my life twice today, that has to count for something.”
“You’re cut looks bad, I better call someone.” Conan said reaching for his phone.
Tim placed his hand over Conan’s, shaking his head from side to side.
“The authorities are already on their way.” Tim informed.
“How do you know?”
“I alerted them.”
Tim handed the plastic bag filled with underwear to Conan. Within the next few seconds vehicles can be heard heading in their direction.
“Guess that’s my cue.” Tim said standing to his feet gripping his side.
“What do you mean, you’re not planning on leaving are you?”
“Can’t let them know about my involvement in this whole ordeal.”
“But you’re hurt.” Conan protested.
“I’ll bandage myself up when I get back to the apartment.” Tim said heading for the forest nearby.
“But Tim, Tim!”
It was no use, his mind had been made up.
“That there is one stubborn man.” Conan thought to himself.
He watched on as Tim disappeared into the forest. The police and ambulance arrived shortly after.
“Conan, what are you doing here?!” Kogoro yelled out as every one made their way over.
“Ran informed me of her location.” Conan replied.
“Do you have any idea what happened?” Inspector Megure asked.
“Before Ran fainted she said the two men who were abducting couples are here, one of them being him.” Conan pointed to the still unconscious Dan.
“Check the building, I want the other guy found.”
Kogoro examined Ran, a little confused on her condition.
“She has blood on her, but I can’t seem to find any cuts.” Kogoro said.
Heiji took note of this, then turning and walking over next to Conan.
“Hey Kudo what exactly happened?” Heiji asked.
“Like I said, she sent me a text on her location. I really don’t know what happened.” Conan replied.
“It was worth a shot. Kudo is defiantly hiding something, he was a little to uneasy with his answer.”
They pulled Ran up placing her onto a stretcher, taking her toward the ambulance truck. Kogoro followed next to them, Heiji assisted him. Her eyes finally opened, tilting her head to the side.
“Daddy?” Ran asked still light headed.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”
“What about Tim?”
“Tim?” Heiji questioned.
“Is he ok to?”
“That’s enough for now, you just get your rest.” Kogoro said as they reached the truck.
Heiji turned back looking over to see Conan who stood up against a tree, apparently in thought like himself.
“Ran wanted to know if Tim was alright, I’m betting he was here. No use in asking Kudo.....I think it’s time I took that extra step.”
He walked on, each step just as challenging as the last. He felt himself fading, the light of the moon the only source which kept him awake. The loss of blood had drained him, mixed in with the drug he had been given. The Apartment finally came into view nearly two hours later.
“Didn’t know it’d take this long on foot. I’ll take the stairs to my room, don’t want anyone to take note of my current state.”
Tim walked to the side of the apartment building, taking the stairwell up to his floor. He coughed out every few steps, his legs feeling like they were imploding beneath him.
“Ran will probably be angry with me again......expected.”
Tim pushed the door open, finally reaching his floor. He walked, pain soaring across his whole body, not sure how much longer he could stand.
“Hopefully I have enough energy to fix myself up.” Tim thought to himself as he turned the corner which lead to his room.
He froze in place, sweat flowing down the right side of his face. His hands shaking from side to side.
“Hey Drake, hope I didn’t drop by at a bad time.” Heiji said leaning up from the door to his room.
“This can’t be happening, Heiji is here, can’t breath, losing vision.”
Tim slightly stumbled forward as Heiji quickly made his way over.
“Woh, you ok there Drake?” Heiji asked placing a hand on his shoulder.
Tim looked into Heiji’s eyes before falling forward, losing conscious. Heiji caught him in his arms, feeling something warm on his side.
“Wetness, what is that?”
Heiji lifted his hand from Tim’s side to find it covered in blood. He knew he had just hit the jack pot.
“Stay alive Drake, we have something to discuss when you awake.”
To Be Continued
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