Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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At the training base in Nishitama City, it had already been six straight hours of sniper training, from six in the morning until noon. Maintaining such intense concentration for so long left Ritsu feeling exhausted.
But since Gin hadn't called a halt, he had no choice but to keep going.
After all, the "big news" he and Vodka had caused had angered Gin. They were only supposed to create a small disturbance, yet they had blown several huge holes in the Nisan-kai's casino, and worst of all, they had drawn the police in.
Luckily, he and Vodka had coordinated their stories and didn't tell Gin that they were the ones who had called the police. Otherwise, they'd probably be forced to train for twenty-four hours straight with no food or sleep.
Although their actions had wiped out about a tenth of the Nisan-kai's influence in Tokyo, they had also attracted too much attention. Their disguised appearances had already been put on a wanted list by the police…
Fortunately, they had been in disguise, and the guard at the door had been rather useless. He couldn't describe them clearly, only remembering that one was tall with a gold chain, and the other was handsome with a beard.
"Aniki, don't be mad…"
Gin glanced coldly at Vodka. Seeing that it was about time for lunch, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out without giving any instructions. But Vodka understood his habits, this meant they were dismissed.
"Macallan! Head back to the lab and get some rest. We've got another mission in a couple of days!"
"Got it, Vodka."
After everything that had happened, Ritsu had grown more familiar with Vodka, he no longer needed to add the polite "-san" when addressing him. After all, they had lied to Gin together; they were now brothers-in-arms on the same sinking ship.
More importantly, Ritsu had taken all the blame upon himself, deeply moving Vodka, so much so that he even considered reenacting a "brotherhood oath" scene from overseas TV dramas.
Ahem… without Ritsu knowing it, he had nearly ended up as the "third brother."
Leaving the training base, Ritsu drove toward the research institute. However, just as he parked his car, he received a call from Gin, an ominous sign.
"Hello, Gin-san. Is there something you need?"
"There's another task for you. Head to Osaka, there's an issue on Jack Daniels' side."
Jack Daniels? If he remembered correctly, that was someone who had been in the organization for quite some time. For someone like that to run into trouble during a mission…
"Understood, Gin-san. I'll set out immediately."
"Mm. The details will be sent to you by email."
With that, the call ended.
Ritsu had grown used to the abrupt dial tone. Instead of starting the car right away, he waited for Gin's email to arrive so he could review the mission details.
The first thing sent was an ID photo, clearly the one taken upon joining the organization.
Brown, short curly hair; thick eyebrows; blue eyes; a sharply defined face. Judging by his appearance, he seemed like a mature man who didn't talk much or smile often.
He looked capable. Could someone like him really make a mistake?
Then came the mission details: Jack Daniels, who had gone to Osaka on assignment, had been attacked by the Nisan-kai and was now isolated and without support. It seemed likely this was retaliation for the trouble Ritsu and Vodka had caused.
Although Ritsu wasn't particularly eager to help someone from the organization out of danger, it was Gin's order, he had to carry it out properly if he wanted to improve Gin's opinion of him.
He rushed to Tokyo Station as quickly as possible and boarded the Nozomi Shinkansen bound for Shin-Osaka. The two-and-a-half-hour journey was the fastest option available.
Even though the problem had occurred in Osaka, someone from Tokyo had to go handle it. The operations team really was short-staffed… or perhaps Gin simply didn't trust the lower-level members, worried they might fail to rescue the target and lose even more people in the process.
After arriving at Shin-Osaka Station, Ritsu immediately called Jack. A hurried, low voice came through the phone.
"Is this Macallan? This is Jack Daniels."
"Can you tell me your exact location?"
"I'm at a church in 4-12 Higashihonmoku, DC District. I've been hiding here for nearly two hours. The Nisan-kai doesn't seem to have noticed."
Smart, hiding in a church. It looked like Ritsu's role here was simply to extract him and get him medical attention.
"Alright. Stay where you are. I'm on my way."
After mapping out the quickest route, Ritsu took a taxi. About twenty minutes later, he arrived at the Christian church.
Instead of entering directly, he circled the area first. Once he confirmed there were no Nisan-kai members around, he leapt up, grabbed the top of the wall, and vaulted into the church's backyard.
A nun tending the lawn was startled and was about to scream when Ritsu coldly threatened, "If you make a sound, I'll kill you. I'm just here to take my companion and leave."
Terrified, the nun didn't dare make a sound. After seeing him enter through the back door, she shakily pulled out her phone to call the police.
Following the trail of blood, Ritsu found Jack hiding behind a curtain. Kneeling down, he examined the wounds and found no fatal injuries, just a slash across the abdomen… and one that avoided vital areas.
This didn't look like something inflicted by an enemy.
It looked more like... he had done it himself.
After all, he was carrying a firearm. The absence of gunshot wounds was one thing, but getting cut like this by a blade in such a precise spot? Suspicious.
Ritsu gave him a meaningful glance. If he remembered correctly, his real name was Rikiya Ishikawa. He extended a hand to pull him up and asked, "Can you walk on your own?"
"Yes. Thank you for coming to rescue me… Those damn Nisan-kai attacked suddenly. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I'd have been dead before you got here."
"Mm. Let's go. That nun has probably already called the police. If we don't leave now, it'll get troublesome."
Ritsu took off his jacket and draped it over Jack to cover the bloodstains. They left the area by taxi and traveled about ten kilometers away to buy medical supplies and perform basic treatment.
Once he confirmed the wound had stopped bleeding, Ritsu took him onto the Shinkansen for the return trip. Along the way, he idly played with his phone while observing Jack Daniels from the corner of his eye.
What was this man's real objective… or was he overthinking it?
"Daniels-san, what mission were you on in Osaka?"
"Sorry, Macallan… I messed it up." Jack frowned, clearly troubled. "I was supposed to eliminate an engineer who refused to join the organization, but I was attacked by the Nisan-kai during the mission, so…"
"Oh, no need to blame yourself."
Intentionally failing such a simple task, possibly even staging an attack by the Nisan-kai… was this a self-directed act?
If so, someone capable of injuring himself like this was likely an intelligence agent or operative. But without absolute confirmation of his identity, Ritsu decided it was best to keep his distance.
"Thank you for the reassurance."
Both men harbored their own hidden motives, and the rest of the journey passed in silence. When they arrived at Tokyo Station, Jack pointed in the opposite direction.
"I'll head to the hospital to properly treat my wound. Thanks for today."
"It's nothing. Go ahead."
"Mm."
Watching Macallan leave, Jack, who had maintained a polite demeanor the entire time, narrowed his eyes slightly. Turning around, he took out his phone and sent a message to a certain number.
[This is Hondo. I've made contact with an organization member codenamed Macallan. Black hair, blue eyes, fair skin; approximately 18 to 20 years old, around 185 cm tall. Classified as an A-rank dangerous individual. Report complete.]