Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Early morning, just before dawn.
After receiving Ritsu's message, Rena drove to 5-4 Konan 5-chome in Konan Ward. The message didn't explain what today's mission was, only told her to come here.
When she arrived, she didn't see him. Taking out her phone, she dialed his number to ask for the exact location.
"Macallan, I've arrived at the place you mentioned."
"Do you see a green vending machine?"
Rena scanned the surroundings. Spotting the green vending machine about five meters away, she replied, "I see it."
"The house behind it is one of the organization's small bases in Konan Ward. The code is 571890. Enter that, then scan your fingerprint, you've already been added to the system."
"Got it. I'm coming in."
"The second door from the left, there's a bookshelf inside. That's the hidden entrance."
"Understood."
Following Ritsu's instructions, Rena successfully reached the bookshelf. Moving it aside, she found a metal door behind it. The moment she opened it, a strange smell hit her. As she walked downstairs, the scent grew stronger, until she recognized it as the smell of blood.
The basement was fairly spacious, but what made her uncomfortable was… it was actually an underground interrogation room. The walls were fitted with soundproofing. Clearly, no matter how loudly someone screamed in here, no one outside would hear.
Ritsu sat on a metal chair, holding a large Chinese-style meat bun he'd bought from a convenience store. He pointed toward a meal set on a nearby table and asked, "Have you had breakfast? If not, that's yours."
'How could he eat in a place like this?'
Rena declined directly. "I've already eaten. Today's mission is interrogation?"
"Yeah. An NIS spy."
"In the room over there?"
"No." Ritsu lightly kicked the silver suitcase beside him and said cooly, "In here."
There were four cameras installed in the room. Most likely, members of the intelligence division were watching remotely. And the person behind the monitors was probably not Rei, Ritsu knew Rei's task today was in Saitama Prefecture, gathering intel on a politician collaborating with the organization.
Suppressing his sympathy, Ritsu knew that under such surveillance, he could only show the side of himself that would satisfy the organization. He looked at Rena and said calmly, "Kir, you're part of the intelligence division. This kind of work will fall to you in the future. Try to get her to talk first, this sheet lists the information the organization wants."
"Understood. I'll try."
Rena crouched down and unzipped the suitcase. Inside, curled up in the cramped space with a black hood over her head, was a female NIS agent.
She yanked off the hood. The woman's brown eyes were filled with hatred. Her mouth was sealed with tape, but she still made angry muffled sounds. If looks could kill, Rena felt she would've died hundreds of times already.
"Macallan, is it okay to remove the tape? NIS agents usually hide poison in their teeth."
"Don't worry. I already pulled out the tooth with the poison. If she tries to bite her tongue, you know what to do."
"Got it."
Rena slowly peeled off the tape. The red, swollen marks on the woman's face suggested it had been on for quite a while. The dark circles under her eyes also showed she hadn't had proper rest.
Glancing at the paper in her hand, Rena was about to start questioning when the fearless agent suddenly spat bloody saliva at her and grinned.
"Don't think you'll get anything out of me. I won't—"
Smack!
Rena grabbed her collar and slapped her hard across the left cheek. Already weakened from lack of rest and food, the agent grew dizzy.
"Did I tell you to speak?"
"You—"
Smack!
After several consecutive slaps, the agent stopped provoking her and simply clamped her mouth shut, glaring silently.
Seeing her quiet down, Rena hauled her up and forced her into the interrogation chair, staring her down.
"Tanaka Kaori. NIS sent you here, what information were you after? Start talking."
She instinctively reached out to place her hand on Kaori's carotid artery, but remembering Ritsu was watching, she quickly changed the gesture, resting her hand on the woman's shoulder instead and leaning in closer to cover the subtle movement.
"I won't say anything. Do whatever you want, kill me if you like."
Ritsu, seated nearby, continued eating his breakfast expressionlessly. He had noticed Rena's subtle shift. It wasn't badly concealed but with such a gentle interrogation style, it might take half a month to get anything out of this spy.
"Kir, being soft-hearted won't get you answers."
He wiped the grease from his lips with a handkerchief, folded it neatly, and tucked it back into his pocket. Then he walked over and stood beside them.
"Tanaka Kaori. You joined NIS at twenty, then had your family move from Gyeonggi Province to Jeju Island."
He braced his hands on the armrests of the interrogation chair and leaned down.
"You must miss your family, right? For example, your younger sister?"
Kaori's expression barely changed. She replied coldly, "I'm an only child. Seems your intelligence division needs improvement."
"Is that so?"
Ritsu took out a photograph. Grabbing her ponytail with one hand, he held the photo in front of her face with the other, tilting his head in mock confusion.
"Then who is this girl, Jung Eun-ji?"
Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "Are you sure you're an only child… Jung Bong-yi?"
Kaori's pupils shrank instantly. She hadn't expected her true identity to be exposed. Jung Bong-yi was her real name, and the girl in the photo, Jung Eun-ji, was her nine-year-old sister living in Jeju Island.
NIS had supposedly concealed her identity perfectly. So how had it been uncovered?
Rena pressed her lips together, staying silent. The paper Ritsu had given her only contained questions, not this level of detail. She hadn't expected the organization to have dug up so much information nor that NIS itself might have been infiltrated.
A thought crept into her mind, did the organization have spies inside the CIA as well?
If Ritsu could hear her thoughts, he would've told her, yes, the organization did have an informant in the CIA but he had already taken care of that person. Before dying, the informant had revealed he was the only one.
Which meant the CIA was, for now, safe.
Watching the fear and hesitation begin to appear on Kaori's face, Ritsu knew the interrogation was already halfway successful. It wouldn't take long to break her.
"Jung Bong-yi, do you love your sister?"