The Hunt: Prologue
The rain slides down the front of the Porsche, drumming the roof like little bullets.
"Is that guy even coming?" Gin wondered. He had been waiting for 3 hours now and was getting irritated. His eyes darted around again, searching for people. He was still, on guard, as if a bomb would go off if he moved even an inch.
Then, Gin heard the roaring of a car, like a lion, ready to strike, approaching. Instead of playing the role of the mouse in his little game, Gin surreptitiously reached for his pistol and placed it in his lap.
The growling turned out to come from a green Jaguar, which pulled up next to Gin's, the action somehow done with such pompousness that it reeked of obnoxiousness. The roar calmed down into a small grumble, and quieted.
The window of the Jaguar opened slowly, and revealed a man wearing dark sunglasses, hiding his eyes. In response, Gin delicately pulls the switch, making the window creak downwards. While it went down, his finger curled around the trigger of the pistol like a rattlesnake. He pointed the gun out the open window, out of view from the man in the Jaguar.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," the man remarks, taking off his sunglasses, exposing his sharp blue eyes, which seemed to be able to pierce through the soul.
"The set time was for 7. You came at 10. What kept you so long?"
"That's something I wish not to say. Anyways, why did you call me, the Red Hawk?"
Gin folded back into a relaxed position. He pulled out the lighter from the dashboard, the dim light from the lighter nudging the darkness of the night back, and a cigarette. Gin placed the cigarette in his mouth, took a small puff, and sighed. "I have a little request for you." He took the cigarette out of his mouth, and glared at the Hawk directly into the eyes, as if in a staring contest. Wordlessly, Gin pulled out an small envelope from his pocket, and gave it to the Hawk.
The Hawk took the envelope with two fingers, and slowly opened it. From the envelope, he pulled out a small picture, and only then did he take his eyes off Gin and shifted them onto the photo. He smirked. "You can kill all these people, but not a kid?"
Gin coldly stared at the Hawk. "What do you expect? He is a detective."
"You're lucky he didn't tattle on you and your organization to the police," the Hawk commented snidely.
Gin loosened his composure and said, "The police are helpless, lost in the murky fogs. We are the hunters, with the scent of our prey already in our grasps, ready to strike whenever necessary."
The Hawk sneered again. "Anyway, you want me to find this person, and finish the job that your little poison couldn't handle?" He crossed his arms, as if he just won the argument.
Gin stiffened. "You know a lot about us, don't you?"
The Hawk simply grinned in response. Then his expression became more businesslike. "Don't worry. I keep the information of my clients secret," he said mockingly. With that, he closed the window, and turned on the engine of his Jaguar. He threw the car into top gear and sped away, the vehicle making a cleavage through the curtain of droplets.
Gin started his car as well, the engine rumbling to life.
"I will find you, Kudo Shinichi. And you…Sherry…"
"Is that guy even coming?" Gin wondered. He had been waiting for 3 hours now and was getting irritated. His eyes darted around again, searching for people. He was still, on guard, as if a bomb would go off if he moved even an inch.
Then, Gin heard the roaring of a car, like a lion, ready to strike, approaching. Instead of playing the role of the mouse in his little game, Gin surreptitiously reached for his pistol and placed it in his lap.
The growling turned out to come from a green Jaguar, which pulled up next to Gin's, the action somehow done with such pompousness that it reeked of obnoxiousness. The roar calmed down into a small grumble, and quieted.
The window of the Jaguar opened slowly, and revealed a man wearing dark sunglasses, hiding his eyes. In response, Gin delicately pulls the switch, making the window creak downwards. While it went down, his finger curled around the trigger of the pistol like a rattlesnake. He pointed the gun out the open window, out of view from the man in the Jaguar.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," the man remarks, taking off his sunglasses, exposing his sharp blue eyes, which seemed to be able to pierce through the soul.
"The set time was for 7. You came at 10. What kept you so long?"
"That's something I wish not to say. Anyways, why did you call me, the Red Hawk?"
Gin folded back into a relaxed position. He pulled out the lighter from the dashboard, the dim light from the lighter nudging the darkness of the night back, and a cigarette. Gin placed the cigarette in his mouth, took a small puff, and sighed. "I have a little request for you." He took the cigarette out of his mouth, and glared at the Hawk directly into the eyes, as if in a staring contest. Wordlessly, Gin pulled out an small envelope from his pocket, and gave it to the Hawk.
The Hawk took the envelope with two fingers, and slowly opened it. From the envelope, he pulled out a small picture, and only then did he take his eyes off Gin and shifted them onto the photo. He smirked. "You can kill all these people, but not a kid?"
Gin coldly stared at the Hawk. "What do you expect? He is a detective."
"You're lucky he didn't tattle on you and your organization to the police," the Hawk commented snidely.
Gin loosened his composure and said, "The police are helpless, lost in the murky fogs. We are the hunters, with the scent of our prey already in our grasps, ready to strike whenever necessary."
The Hawk sneered again. "Anyway, you want me to find this person, and finish the job that your little poison couldn't handle?" He crossed his arms, as if he just won the argument.
Gin stiffened. "You know a lot about us, don't you?"
The Hawk simply grinned in response. Then his expression became more businesslike. "Don't worry. I keep the information of my clients secret," he said mockingly. With that, he closed the window, and turned on the engine of his Jaguar. He threw the car into top gear and sped away, the vehicle making a cleavage through the curtain of droplets.
Gin started his car as well, the engine rumbling to life.
"I will find you, Kudo Shinichi. And you…Sherry…"
The Hunt: At Home
"A man's home is his castle, but it shouldn't have to be a fortress."
Calvin's Dad, from Calvin and Hobbes
"Dad!"
Ran was trying to wake up Mouri – drunk on the sofa, a leg in the air, sticking up like a spear - with no luck. Conan was right next to Ran, looking at the Mt. Everest of beer cans on Mouri's desk. Even a bird could nest on that mountain, Conan thought.
"Why in the world did you drink so much beer anyway?" Ran exclaimed. She shook Kogoro again, and Kogoro seemed to fuzz into conscience.
"Couldn't help it…new client…gave…100 million yen…such easy case…Ran," Mouri grumbled in his drunken stupor. The words seem to come from one who just woke from sleep - which was somewhat true.
That huge number shocked both Ran and Conan - who immediately turned around as if a gunshot went off. "100…million?" they shouted in disbelief. "Who would pay that much?" Ran and Conan asked.
"The client, of course," Kogoro said. "Good night..." and with that he fell asleep again. Ran immediately shook him again, and Kogoro opened his eyes, but the shake seemed to have less of an effect.
"Well, you could use that money to something…better then beer," Conan thought. Instead of saying what he felt, he said, "Hey, who was the client?"
"The...client? Ummm…oh yeah, he was wearing a...I think...black hat…he was wearing all black…his car was strange too...one of those Porsche...356As...yawn..." and his voice faded again.
Ran shook Kogoro again. This time, he fell off the sofa and on the floor with a loud thud.
Ran resumed trying to wake up Mouri, trying to wake up Kogoro in a strangely rhythmic way, as if she did this many times before. It was no use, Kogoro lost the match by TKO.
Conan merely stared straight ahead. The room started to feel far away, as if he was falling into a nightmare. His neck felt strangled, as if a rattlesnake wrapped itself around its neck.
"Gin...but why?"
Calvin's Dad, from Calvin and Hobbes
"Dad!"
Ran was trying to wake up Mouri – drunk on the sofa, a leg in the air, sticking up like a spear - with no luck. Conan was right next to Ran, looking at the Mt. Everest of beer cans on Mouri's desk. Even a bird could nest on that mountain, Conan thought.
"Why in the world did you drink so much beer anyway?" Ran exclaimed. She shook Kogoro again, and Kogoro seemed to fuzz into conscience.
"Couldn't help it…new client…gave…100 million yen…such easy case…Ran," Mouri grumbled in his drunken stupor. The words seem to come from one who just woke from sleep - which was somewhat true.
That huge number shocked both Ran and Conan - who immediately turned around as if a gunshot went off. "100…million?" they shouted in disbelief. "Who would pay that much?" Ran and Conan asked.
"The client, of course," Kogoro said. "Good night..." and with that he fell asleep again. Ran immediately shook him again, and Kogoro opened his eyes, but the shake seemed to have less of an effect.
"Well, you could use that money to something…better then beer," Conan thought. Instead of saying what he felt, he said, "Hey, who was the client?"
"The...client? Ummm…oh yeah, he was wearing a...I think...black hat…he was wearing all black…his car was strange too...one of those Porsche...356As...yawn..." and his voice faded again.
Ran shook Kogoro again. This time, he fell off the sofa and on the floor with a loud thud.
Ran resumed trying to wake up Mouri, trying to wake up Kogoro in a strangely rhythmic way, as if she did this many times before. It was no use, Kogoro lost the match by TKO.
Conan merely stared straight ahead. The room started to feel far away, as if he was falling into a nightmare. His neck felt strangled, as if a rattlesnake wrapped itself around its neck.
"Gin...but why?"
The Hunt: War Council
"In case of nuclear attack, put your head between your legs and kiss your butt goodbye."
-Anonymous
"What did you say? You aren't lying, are you?"
As if the first shot of a war had been fired, Agasa was in a state of total shock when Conan told him of Gin's supposed appearance.
"Ssshhh! You don't want her to..." Conan began...
"Were you trying to hide something from me again?" Haibara, who recently came up from downstairs, was wearing a cold façade. Her feelings however, were like a sinking ship - spiraling into the endless depths of an ocean.
"Ah…not quite…" Conan said, scrambling for the right words, knowing that if he messed up, it would be like setting off a bomb - the Haibara bomb.
"So, Gin (Haibara froze) came to the detective agency, and paid 100 million yen to Mouri for a case?" Agasa said.
"It seems so. Although I'm not yet sure why he came – he could've just went bang and killed us all." Conan said, motioning the shooting of a gun with his hands. He himself did not understand why Gin decided to go scouting instead of search-and-destroy.
"That isn't Gin's nature. Gin is too cautious…too dangerous…" Haibara chimed in.
A long period of silent ceasefire passed. And when that period passed, the war council - Conan, Agasa, and Haibara, came to the same conclusion. Shinichi's identity had been found out.
"Anyway, what are you going to do, Shinichi?" Agasa inquired.
"Well, the Black Organization now knows my identity…they'll do anything to make "Edogawa Conan" disappear as inconspicuously as possible." He paused. Conan knew that he had two choices – go to school, and risk the chance of being killed, or stay home, and confirming his identity to Black Organization. He frowned as his mind battled between the two decisions; his sharp mind analyzing the pros and cons of each situation. Eventually, one side of his mind won the battle.
"We'll wait this out," Conan finally said. "We'll continue our schedules as normal."
"Are you sure? You can get killed!" Agasa exclaimed in complete disbelief. What he heard was complete suicide in his opinion.
"Keep Haibara home and safe. I'll go solo and see if the Black Organization will show themselves." Conan continued. He couldn't cause more people to be in danger because of the Black Organization. Especially not Haibara…
Agasa and Conan continued their council with the absence of Haibara, who went downstairs. They however, failed to notice that their conversation was bugged.
============================TRANSITION============================
The wind blew through the only open window - broken with only the frame remaining. The room was thick with dust. The spot of moonlight from the window revealed a man with piercing blue eyes sitting in a chair. His hand was at his ear - the earphone on his left ear.
The Hawk smirked. "Let's see how you do in this game of cat and mouse, Meitantei."
-Anonymous
"What did you say? You aren't lying, are you?"
As if the first shot of a war had been fired, Agasa was in a state of total shock when Conan told him of Gin's supposed appearance.
"Ssshhh! You don't want her to..." Conan began...
"Were you trying to hide something from me again?" Haibara, who recently came up from downstairs, was wearing a cold façade. Her feelings however, were like a sinking ship - spiraling into the endless depths of an ocean.
"Ah…not quite…" Conan said, scrambling for the right words, knowing that if he messed up, it would be like setting off a bomb - the Haibara bomb.
"So, Gin (Haibara froze) came to the detective agency, and paid 100 million yen to Mouri for a case?" Agasa said.
"It seems so. Although I'm not yet sure why he came – he could've just went bang and killed us all." Conan said, motioning the shooting of a gun with his hands. He himself did not understand why Gin decided to go scouting instead of search-and-destroy.
"That isn't Gin's nature. Gin is too cautious…too dangerous…" Haibara chimed in.
A long period of silent ceasefire passed. And when that period passed, the war council - Conan, Agasa, and Haibara, came to the same conclusion. Shinichi's identity had been found out.
"Anyway, what are you going to do, Shinichi?" Agasa inquired.
"Well, the Black Organization now knows my identity…they'll do anything to make "Edogawa Conan" disappear as inconspicuously as possible." He paused. Conan knew that he had two choices – go to school, and risk the chance of being killed, or stay home, and confirming his identity to Black Organization. He frowned as his mind battled between the two decisions; his sharp mind analyzing the pros and cons of each situation. Eventually, one side of his mind won the battle.
"We'll wait this out," Conan finally said. "We'll continue our schedules as normal."
"Are you sure? You can get killed!" Agasa exclaimed in complete disbelief. What he heard was complete suicide in his opinion.
"Keep Haibara home and safe. I'll go solo and see if the Black Organization will show themselves." Conan continued. He couldn't cause more people to be in danger because of the Black Organization. Especially not Haibara…
Agasa and Conan continued their council with the absence of Haibara, who went downstairs. They however, failed to notice that their conversation was bugged.
============================TRANSITION============================
The wind blew through the only open window - broken with only the frame remaining. The room was thick with dust. The spot of moonlight from the window revealed a man with piercing blue eyes sitting in a chair. His hand was at his ear - the earphone on his left ear.
The Hawk smirked. "Let's see how you do in this game of cat and mouse, Meitantei."
The Hunt: Doppleganger
"Some people say there are three people that look exactly like you."
-Ran Mouri
It was May 3rd. Conan was outside Teitan Elementary taking a big sigh of relief. The Black Organization hadn't shown up; in fact he hadn't noticed a single suspicious person outside the school at all.
Right then, his cell phone rang – a sudden intrusion to the so-far quiet morning. He quickly took the phone out of his pocket, and delicately – as if the phone was a bomb that could go off at any second – pressed the call button.
"Hey, Cool Kid!"
Jodie's sudden greeting shocked Conan, causing him to reel back in surprise. He hadn't been expecting her, of all people on the other end of the line.
"Jodie-sensei, why did you call me?" Conan wasn't particularly anxious to be caught talking to a FBI agent on the phone right now.
"We recently found suspicious activity around the Beika Aquarium Dome – the recent one, you see. Lately we've found cars parking outside, and then leaving after a few minutes. One of them was a Porsche 356A."
"Porsche 356A. Gin's car?" Conan asked, although the answer was quite obvious.
"We fear so. What's more is Kaitou Kid's announced theft date. It seems more and more cars are coming as that date approaches. It just reeks of them."
"Yeah. I think that Kid's announced date is about 2 days from now…Saturday, at 7 in the evening."
"For now, we plan to place FBI agents around the area on Saturday. We want you there, if you don't mind, 'Kid Killer'."
"Uh…but…" Conan started to object, but Jodie rolled right over his reluctance.
"Great. We'll see what the Organization is planning."
"But…wait…"Conan started, but it was too late – she had already hung up.
"Could this be a trap? The Black Organization could be doing this to lure me out…they've probably already seen the many TV broadcasts about me." His forehead furrowed with hills and valleys as his mind went into deep thought.
Click.
The strange click came from the gate. It was small, but suspicious. Conan's head slowly turned, bit by bit, as if he was a machine.
The surveillance revealed nothing. There was no one at the gate. But then came the sound of footsteps, like raindrops, coming from the entrance. They began getting more rapid, like a person was running. Running?
Conan quickly dashed towards the gate. He looked to the right. Nothing. But then he looked to the left, and found a small figure that was running away from the school. His hand quickly went to his belt. He pressed the button, and turned the knob on his shoe.
He kicked the soccer ball as hard as he could and it went flying towards the figure, hunting it down like a ravenous wolf. But then, just for a brief second, the figure swirled around, a gun in hand. And then, the sound of a bang rang through the air and the soccer ball burst and lolled around like a flimsy doll before landing on the ground.
The figure quickly turned around and resumed running again, but Conan didn't fire again, he was paralyzed with shock. Although he had only seen the strange person's face for a brief second, the face remained burned in his mind.
The face. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was his, child-like, but twisted.
==========TRANSITION==========
It was the middle of the night. Agasa's snoring rang loud and deep throughout the house, like a grumbling bear. Haibara was also asleep, covers turned.
And then, came Conan's voice.
"Oi, Haibara. Wake up."
She woke up to see Conan, an evil grin painted on his face. Holding a gun to her forehead.
Her eyes widened in fear. Was this the end?
-Ran Mouri
It was May 3rd. Conan was outside Teitan Elementary taking a big sigh of relief. The Black Organization hadn't shown up; in fact he hadn't noticed a single suspicious person outside the school at all.
Right then, his cell phone rang – a sudden intrusion to the so-far quiet morning. He quickly took the phone out of his pocket, and delicately – as if the phone was a bomb that could go off at any second – pressed the call button.
"Hey, Cool Kid!"
Jodie's sudden greeting shocked Conan, causing him to reel back in surprise. He hadn't been expecting her, of all people on the other end of the line.
"Jodie-sensei, why did you call me?" Conan wasn't particularly anxious to be caught talking to a FBI agent on the phone right now.
"We recently found suspicious activity around the Beika Aquarium Dome – the recent one, you see. Lately we've found cars parking outside, and then leaving after a few minutes. One of them was a Porsche 356A."
"Porsche 356A. Gin's car?" Conan asked, although the answer was quite obvious.
"We fear so. What's more is Kaitou Kid's announced theft date. It seems more and more cars are coming as that date approaches. It just reeks of them."
"Yeah. I think that Kid's announced date is about 2 days from now…Saturday, at 7 in the evening."
"For now, we plan to place FBI agents around the area on Saturday. We want you there, if you don't mind, 'Kid Killer'."
"Uh…but…" Conan started to object, but Jodie rolled right over his reluctance.
"Great. We'll see what the Organization is planning."
"But…wait…"Conan started, but it was too late – she had already hung up.
"Could this be a trap? The Black Organization could be doing this to lure me out…they've probably already seen the many TV broadcasts about me." His forehead furrowed with hills and valleys as his mind went into deep thought.
Click.
The strange click came from the gate. It was small, but suspicious. Conan's head slowly turned, bit by bit, as if he was a machine.
The surveillance revealed nothing. There was no one at the gate. But then came the sound of footsteps, like raindrops, coming from the entrance. They began getting more rapid, like a person was running. Running?
Conan quickly dashed towards the gate. He looked to the right. Nothing. But then he looked to the left, and found a small figure that was running away from the school. His hand quickly went to his belt. He pressed the button, and turned the knob on his shoe.
He kicked the soccer ball as hard as he could and it went flying towards the figure, hunting it down like a ravenous wolf. But then, just for a brief second, the figure swirled around, a gun in hand. And then, the sound of a bang rang through the air and the soccer ball burst and lolled around like a flimsy doll before landing on the ground.
The figure quickly turned around and resumed running again, but Conan didn't fire again, he was paralyzed with shock. Although he had only seen the strange person's face for a brief second, the face remained burned in his mind.
The face. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was his, child-like, but twisted.
==========TRANSITION==========
It was the middle of the night. Agasa's snoring rang loud and deep throughout the house, like a grumbling bear. Haibara was also asleep, covers turned.
And then, came Conan's voice.
"Oi, Haibara. Wake up."
She woke up to see Conan, an evil grin painted on his face. Holding a gun to her forehead.
Her eyes widened in fear. Was this the end?
