Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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July 28.
It had been some time since Ritsu received the codename Macallan, but the transmitter planted on new members still hadn't been removed. He had no choice but to pretend he didn't know about it, living a hectic life running back and forth between duties.
The operations division wasn't limited to assassination missions. Illegal transactions and large-scale extortion were also part of their responsibilities. In short, they were extremely busy; so much so that Ritsu couldn't find the time to quietly focus on experiments. Most of the research burden had fallen onto Shiho alone.
Like today. Before dawn had even broken, Ritsu was summoned to the training base in Yokohama City. He had no idea why Gin had called him all the way out here.
Stepping across the black tiles as he approached the base, Ritsu entered the twelve-digit password. He couldn't help but think that nearly every organization base had long, complex codes and none of them were the same… Maybe someone like Vodka had poured all his intelligence into memorizing passwords.
Before he could even register his palm print, the door opened from the inside.
And what greeted him wasn't a person but a sniper rifle he didn't even have time to identify.
Why couldn't he see what model it was? Because in less than two seconds, Ritsu reacted. His left hand grabbed the barrel and forced it upward, while his right hand swiftly drew the dagger from his waist and pressed it against the wielder's throat.
"Macallan, she's one of us."
Gin's voice came through. Only then did Ritsu withdraw the dagger from her neck, though he still confiscated the dangerous sniper rifle.
"And she is?"
She had a very distinctive look, short orange hair with blunt bangs. The bangs were so short that at first glance, you'd wonder whether it was an intentional style or a barber's mistake.
Beneath her left eye was a striking swallowtail butterfly tattoo. Not only that, she wore black eyeshadow and heavy plum eyeliner, and even her lipstick was an unusual deep purple shade.
Of course, Ritsu didn't deduce that. He simply blurted out something blunt enough to instantly set her off.
"Is she poisoned? Her lips are turning purple."
"Pfft."
The short burst of laughter echoed clearly in the empty space. Vodka lowered his head, trying to suppress it, but the more he thought about Macallan's dead-serious question, the harder it became to hold back.
Gin stood there expressionless as ever, cold and composed but the hands hidden in his pockets were clenched tightly, clearly holding back laughter.
"You're the one who's poisoned! This is a super trendy dark purple lipstick shade! You country bumpkin, total bumpkin!" The delinquent girl snapped, grabbing her sniper rifle back from Macallan. "Give me back my gun!"
"…Oh." Ritsu released it, glancing at the weapon that had nearly been pressed against his chest. So it was a German-made PSG-1 sniper rifle, with a maximum range comparable to his AWP.
"She's Chianti. And this is Korn. Both are members of the operations division," Vodka introduced, inwardly quite pleased. After all, Chianti was usually unruly, rude, and a little unhinged.
Seeing her get shut down like this? Very satisfying.
"So this is a first-meeting welcome ceremony? Pretty unique."
Chianti hadn't expected Macallan to be this skilled. No wonder Gin hadn't assigned her any missions these past two days, this pretty boy had taken them all…
The thought soured her mood immediately.
"Gin! Don't you have any missions for me? I haven't felt the thrill of a bullet piercing someone's skull in ages!" Chianti complained, hoisting her beloved rifle.
Korn, who had remained silent until now, spoke in an oddly halting manner. "I also… want… a mission."
"…"
There sure were a lot of abnormal people in this organization.
Ritsu sized up the two snipers with vastly different styles. Korn, on the left, spoke sluggishly and gave off a dull, almost vacant impression. Chianti, on the right, was like a human powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark.
He immediately gave them nicknames in his head: Scatterbrain and Sourpuss.
Gin addressed the two clearly problematic "children" with stunted mental development.
"Korn, stay on standby at the base this time. I'll assign you one next time."
After seeing Korn purse his lips and nod, Ritsu suddenly felt that Gin resembled a patient father guiding his odd children. As expected… when strange people communicate with each other, there's no language barrier.
"Yes~ So this mission is mine, right, Gin?" Chianti asked excitedly, already itching to perform what she called "cranial surgery" on the target.
"Chianti, for this mission, you will follow Macallan's instructions. Next—"
"What? Why should I play assistant to a newbie?!"
Gin's cold gaze swept over her. He clearly disliked being interrupted, but he also knew force wouldn't work on her personality. Suppressing his impatience, he said, "Chianti, if you're unwilling, I'll assign Korn instead."
Her protest died instantly, like a dud firecracker. Lowering her head and pouting, Chianti reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
Going on a mission was still better than staying at the base. Besides… once they were in the field, it would just be her and the newcomer. As long as the mission was completed, Gin probably wouldn't care who took the lead.
With that thought, her mood brightened considerably.
"I'll now brief you on the target and location. The operation is scheduled for early morning."
"Yes."
The mission would take place in a high-rise office building at 2-32 Beika-cho, Tokyo. Their objective was to steal confidential documents from Miike Software Co., Ltd. More precisely, President Miike Fumitake was embroiled in a scandal, obtaining those documents would allow them to blackmail him.
There was a high chance of encountering security during the theft, so the operation required coordination between the two of them.
"So my job is to provide sniper support from a distance? That building about two hundred yards away looks like a good vantage point," Chianti said, studying the map.
"Mm. There's still time before the operation. Go make your preparations," Gin said, handing Ritsu a USB-like device. "This is a decryption tool. Take it."
Ritsu examined the USB. "Do we have someone on the inside?"
"They withdrew after developing it."
"Got it. Chianti, let's go… we'll scout the area first."
"Fine."
Chianti was older than Ritsu and had been in the organization for around three years.
When he saw the blue-and-white Dodge Viper SRT parked by the factory and realized it was hers, Ritsu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. As expected, everyone making dirty money in this organization drove luxury cars. Maybe he should buy one too… otherwise, he'd look a bit lacking in comparison.
At the end of last month, Ritsu had received his first payment since joining the organization. Perhaps because he worked across divisions, the pay was quite high; three million yen, just for completing a single operations mission.
As for the research division's annual salary of ten million yen… broken down monthly, it wasn't that impressive. As expected, the operations division paid better.
"Where's your gun?" Chianti asked.
"Didn't bring a sniper rifle since I probably won't need it. My handgun's here," Ritsu said, tapping the left side of his waist.
"Heh… I'd like to see what makes you so capable, for Gin to value you this much."
"…"
Just as expected, there was no reasoning with a scatterbrain. He had no interest in competing for anyone's favor.
He only hoped today's mission would go smoothly. All he wanted was to retrieve the target item safely…
He had no desire to kill.