Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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May 31st, Saturday.
Night had already fallen. At the tail end of May, summer was beginning to show itself. The air turning humid, early-summer cicadas buzzing irritably.
Driving back to Tokyo from Chiba Prefecture after finishing his mission, Ritsu planned to stop by an izakaya for a quick bite before heading home. Pulling into a temporary parking spot, he took out his phone to search for a well-reviewed place nearby.
Then, the tablet on the passenger seat suddenly made a sound.
He put down his phone, picked up the tablet, and opened the monitoring app. His brows furrowed slightly.
The transmitter installed on Mizunashi had moved away from the locations she was usually active in. At this hour, she should have been recording a TV program so why was she somewhere other than Nichiuri TV?
Ritsu pulled out his phone and brought up a map, tracking the signal's location. It pinpointed an abandoned factory warehouse that had been unused for over ten years.
"An abandoned warehouse… Could it be she…?"
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. Seeing the caller ID, Gin, at a time like this, he couldn't help but wonder if it was coincidence.
"Yeah, Gin. Need something?"
"There's something off about the location shown by Mizunashi's transmitter."
Ritsu paused slightly. He hadn't expected Gin to be able to receive the transmitter's signal as well. Pretending he hadn't noticed was no longer an option.
"Yeah, I've already noticed. I'm on my way."
"Fast, aren't you? If it's a rat, don't bother keeping it alive. Deal with it immediately."
"Gin, don't you want to pry her for more information first?"
Gin chuckled, flicking the half-smoked cigarette out the window.
"No need. I'm not interested in people who are about to die. She's just a new recruit, if there's a problem, just kill her."
"…Understood. I'll report back after it's handled."
"Mm."
----
Near the abandoned factory warehouse by Nichiuri TV, this was also the organization's next planned transaction site. Meeting here at this time clearly meant something shady was going on.
Dressed in her professional attire, Rena saw her father, Ethan Hondō, approaching. Knowing time was limited, she quickly pulled out a photo of her new contact from her pocket.
The photo showed a brown-haired American man, around forty years old, a CIA agent with over ten years of experience.
"Father, this is the new contact, his name is Barney. I've already arranged a meeting. He'll arrive here in half an hour."
After finally seeing his daughter again, there was no time for warm greetings. Ethan maintained his stern expression, glancing at the man in the photo before slipping it into his suit.
He knew Barney, they were colleagues in the CIA. He just hadn't expected him to be the new contact.
"You weren't followed on your way here, were you?"
"No. It's recording time right now. I told the director I wasn't feeling well and needed to lie down for an hour. I slipped out during that time."
Ethan frowned at her answer.
"Did you change your clothes?"
"Huh?" Rena looked confused and shook her head. "No… I didn't want to waste time, so I came as I was."
At that, Ethan's expression darkened.
Thirteen years ago, he had infiltrated the organization under the alias Ishikawa Rikiya as a low-level member. Five years ago, he had finally earned their trust and was given the codename Jack Daniel's.
That much time was enough to understand the organization's methods. New recruits were secretly fitted with transmitters, tracked for at least three months, sometimes even longer before earning a codename.
Clearly, his daughter had been careless. Their location was very likely already exposed to the organization.
"Turn around. Don't move."
"??"
Though confused, Rena obeyed. Ethan lifted the back of her collar and spotted a small circular patch attached underneath. He didn't say anything, staring at the transmitter in thought.
"Father, what is—"
"A new transmitter developed by the organization. It dissolves automatically after twenty-four hours. Every new recruit gets one installed."
Instead of removing it, Ethan wiped off his fingerprints and placed it back under her collar.
"Father, then doesn't that mean we've been—"
"We're actually lucky," Ethan said quietly. At least there was no listening device. Otherwise, his next plan wouldn't work.
"Rena, calm down and listen carefully. You must remember everything I'm about to say."
He placed a recorder on the ground and pulled out a syringe filled with a colorless liquid.
As an intelligence agent, he always prepared for the worst. Ever since arranging for his daughter to enter the organization, he had considered the possibility of this scenario.
He just hadn't expected it to come so soon.
"This is a truth serum. I'll inject a small amount to avoid suspicion. No matter what happens next, endure it. Understood?"
Without hesitation, Ethan punched Rena hard in the stomach. Though it pained him deeply to hurt his own daughter, it was necessary to save her.
He crouched down, binding her with rope, then injected a portion of the liquid into her neck. Only about one-fifth of the dose, not enough to fully sedate her.
"Organization members will be here soon. I'll pretend to force a confession out of you. When they arrive, I'll take you hostage and when that happens, you need to bite down hard on the hand holding the gun. Got it?"
"No! Father, what are you—"
The sound of a sports car approached.
Realizing time was up, Ethan frowned.
"Rena, don't let my efforts go to waste. I'm entrusting the mission of taking down the organization to you… Survive, and finish what I couldn't. Do you understand?"
Rena struggled to hold back her emotions. She knew her mistake had forced her father into this position. Clenching her fists, she nodded, accepting his plan despite the pain.
Hearing footsteps approaching from outside, Ethan's expression turned resolute. He raised his gun and deliberately fired several shots that grazed her skin.
"Mmgh!"
Even grazing shots caused wounds at that speed. Blood streaked across her pale legs, her shoulder torn open as blood dripped onto the cold ground.
"Hurry up and tell me everything you know or I'll kill you!"
...
Outside the warehouse, Ritsu parked the black-and-white Ford GT40 about ten meters away, far enough to avoid any potential explosion trap.
Checking the bullets in his handgun, he didn't even bother attaching a suppressor. After all, even a small gunfight here wouldn't attract attention.
He didn't bother to soften his footsteps, deliberately creating a sense of pressure, alerting the "rats" inside who were exchanging information.
A rat playing the role of a cat, it was a complicated feeling.
Reaching the warehouse entrance, he peered inside through the dim light …and paused, slightly surprised.
This wasn't quite the scene he had expected.