SSJBowser

The Detective Prince Chapter 78 Uncommon Case It was just as quiet on his trip back down as it had been going up. He continued down the way, stopping after reaching bottom of the stairwell. The door was unlocked as expected, giving it a slight push which lead back to the lobby. "Welcome back." "Officer Basell." Heiji said turning to see the smile on his face. "How'd things go between you and the Commissioner just now?" "Not what I was expecting, but all went well considering." "That's good to hear," Basell commented. "Not that I really care to know, but what were the two of you discussing anyway?" "He gave me information on a series of burglaries that have been taking place throughout the city from the beginning of this month," Heiji replied. "Though I don't have all the fine details, I've decided to give it a go." "So he called you here to help with a case, that was unexpected," Basell said. "Who exactly are you?" "Detective," Heiji replied with the tip of his hat. "Detective Hattori." "A detective huh," Basell remarked. "You're a young one aren't you?" "In some terms yes." "Can't say I'm too familiar with your name," Basell admitted "What part of town do you originate from?" "Not anywhere from around here," Heiji replied. "I'm a good deal away from home, can't say how long I'll be here at the moment." "Is that so?" He heard his name called in the seconds that passed from clear across the room, turning to see one of the other officers waving over at him. "Looks like I'm needed elsewhere," Basell said giving him a last look. "Are you about to leave?" "That's the plan, there's someone I'm supposed to meet with not too far from here." "Need a ride?" "Thanks, but no," Heiji kindly declined. "I've already got that covered." "Well then, next time you're around let me know how things turn out with that case." "Sure thing officer." Heiji said. He watched as he made his way to the other side of the room. He then turned for the left, making his way toward the exit. Not once did he turn to look back, following through the whole way. The weather came as a bit of a surprise upon reaching the outside, expecting it to be cooler than it had been over the past hour. The cars paved the way along side the road, looking down as he reached for his phone. "Why the bother when we can just take a taxi?" Someone questioned from off to the side. "Tim," Heiji said turning to see him standing under a nearby tree. "How'd you know I was here?" "I heard it from Alfred after finishing up with that event at Wayne Enterprises." "So that's where you've been all this time," Heiji said. "I've been trying to reach you for most of the day." "Yea, I know." "Today's Monday," Heiji said. "Also the day I was supposed to go to that party celebration at the bowling alley, on behalf of Mr. Eldelmon of course." "No need to worry," Tim said. "Jefferson never showed up, he had a little accident." "Accident, what kind of accident?" Heiji asked. "I don't have the full report, but they're calling it a heart attack." "Is he going to be ok?" "Didn't sound too serious, so I'd say so." "About what time did this heart attack of his occur?" "Between noon and one is what I've been told." Tim replied. "That's much sooner than when the party was scheduled." "So," Tim said stepping from under the tree. "How'd things go between you and Gordon?" "Relatively well," Heiji replied. "He even offered me an opportunity to help handle a case." "Did you accept?" "Of course," Heiji replied. "This is in my element, no way was I going to turn it down." "I thought that much," Tim said before turning for the road. "I'd love to hear what you're set to investigate, but first what do you say we go and catch ourselves a cab?" "Can't say no to that idea." Heiji said before following him across the parking lot. The street light switched after a brief period of waiting. They fast approached the next stop and he was still unclear what he was to do. Things had finally fallen silent between the two men toward the front, resulting in him looking to the back to see the ski capped man still with his sights set to the floor below. He continued to think things through, coming to a dead end with each new idea. "From the layout of this map I'd say we have less than a minute before reaching the next stopping point," Conan thought as he looked it over. "Times running short, better think of something fast." It was now a game of wait, checking all what he had in his possession as he thought up every possible outcome that could possibly play out in the next few minutes. "Don't have my enhanced shoes but I've got six remaining stunners, that should be good enough if things do in fact turn sour." He took a peak out the window side, watching as they closed in on the next stop. The bus gradually slowed as they neared the sidewalk, hearing the sound of him pushing up from behind. "Looks like he's getting off here," Conan said glancing back. "Now, what about the others?" He looked back to the front at about the same time the bus finally came to a stop. He remained seated for the first couple seconds, allowing for the man from behind to walk past. It was then that he took notice of something stashed in the side of his left boot, keeping his eyes glued to it as he made his way to the front. "That looks like the handle to something... I'm betting it's a knife or scalpel of some kind." It was only a matter of seconds after that the woman several seats ahead from where he sat stood to her feet. She too made her way to the door located on the right side. Seeing this he immediately turned his head to the other side to see the two men who sat on the opposite side step up from where they had been sitting. "Perfect, this is exactly what I was hoping for," Conan said dropping down from the seat before hurrying his way to the front. "Now's the time to make my move." He smiled on his way out, waving to the bus driver as he did. "Appreciate the ride." Conan thanked. "Any time kid." He said in response. The sound of the doors sliding shut from behind rang clear to his ears after touching down to the sidewalk. The woman who had been on the bus headed straight for the left, pulling out a phone as she began walking down the side of the street. It was no surprise when the two men who had been seated across from her resulted to following her. He then looked to the left to see the man with the ski cap walking into the opposite direction. "Looks like I'll have to make a choice after all," Conan said with the lift of his arm. "But first thing's first." He grabbed hold of his wrist, tapering his eyes as he focused in on the target. "One down." Conan said after pressing down to the side of his watch. "Now for Mr..." He turned with one full motion, coming to find he was nowhere to be seen. There were very few people walking in the general area, and it was a good few yards away before the next intersection. He then looked to the street, finding no sign of him crossing the way to the other side. "I only took my eye off of him for nothing but a second, where could he could he have gone to?" He observed the surrounding area for a final time, giving up after coming up empty once again. "Don't exactly have time to try and relocate him, I better stay on the others while I can." He wasted no further time in activating the tracker, turning into the opposite direction before following after the others. He looked back as he skipped along, hoping he'd catch sight of him. He checked the time on his watch, surprised to see how late it had become. "It's already five after nine, whatever I'm going to do I better make it quick." Conan thought continuing to follow the signal. "The others might become worried if I don't return or call soon." They came back into view shortly there after, maneuvering around a small group of people to see the two men from right up ahead. "I don't see that woman from earlier," Conan said checking each side. "Maybe I was wrong about their intent after all." He finally caught sight of her walking from a distance up after continuing his search. "Now I see, they're just keeping a space of comfort between her and themselves," Conan said. "The question now becomes when and where they plan to make their move." He stayed with them step for step, doing his best not to be noticed by either of the two. Minutes passed as they continued on. He watched as the man he had placed the tracker on pulled out a phone, bringing it to his ear in the moments that followed. The length of their steps became shortened as he talked, causing Conan to slow up just as well. "I wonder what's going on here." The woman came to a stop upon reaching a stop light a little ways up, triggering them to come to a halt as well. He quickly found himself a spot behind a newspaper stand just as one of them flashed their sights into his direction. "That was close, gotta be more careful from here on out." He couldn't help but look to see what was taking place in the surrounding area as he waited, hearing the sound of an alarm go off directly across the road from where he stood. "That can't be good." Conan said looking that way. It was only a matter of seconds before he witnessed someone storm out of a liquor store with a gun in hand, racing down the left side of the street. He then took notice of the large bag strapped across their shoulder. "Now I see, this is nothing but a burglary," Conan said taking aim once again. "They may get away now, but that doesn't mean it will be for long." A thunderous sound soared past all who were present, causing most to seek cover. He was no stranger to what was heard, trying to make out where it was coming from as it struck once again. "Someone's firing a gun, and from the sounds of it I'd say they're no more than a block away from here." And with that split second of time he had completely forgotten about the gunman who had exited the liquor store, looking to see they had vanished out of sight. "Dammit, I should have taken the shot when I had it." There was no time for regret, before he knew it the tracker alerted him of movement concerning the tracer he had planted on one of the men he was still pursuing. "Here we go again." He peaked from behind the newsstand to see the two men heading toward the street light where she once stood. The street light had turned red, signaling for all to cross over. He made his way across before the light could fall green once again, following the two men of interest as they made their way into a darker part of the city. The lack of light poles ahead was more than apparent. "I could use my wrist light," Conan thought weighing in on his option. "But then I take the chance of potentially being spotted." He quickly decided against this, using the limited light from the moon above to keep his sights to the woman who was a good distance ahead. He took notice of a sign to the left as he walked, taking a quick second to read what it said. "Robert Kane Memorial Bridge," Conan read. "If I'm not mistaken that's the same bridge that we usually always take on the way to the manor." The longer they went on the more uneasy he became, getting the feeling that something unexpected was going to occur at any moment. The decrease in their pace became most evident as they walked down the longest street they had come by that night. He didn't know what to make of it at first, glancing ahead to see a group of about five men heading to their side of the street further up. "What's this all about?" The posture which they expressed in their movement sent a clear message. He looked on, watching as they settled in at the end of the block. "Now I see what this is all about, these guys must be associated with the two guys I've tailed with a tracker," Conan thought. "If I'm not mistaken they're waiting in hopes of cornering this woman, that must have been what he was planning for when I saw him make that phone call just a bit ago." There was no doubt in his mind what they had in mind. What to do next was the question. "There's seven of them in all and I've only got six stunners, not to mention the chance of a missing if I do in fact decide to take a shot," Conan said as he walked. "And even if I did connect that would still leave one guy remaining, and who knows what any of them might be carrying." He contemplated on what to do for seconds to come. There were very few cars parked at the side of the road, something he took note of as he continued to plot out a plan of action. By this point the two men came to a full stop after watching the woman they followed have a seat at a bench aside a stop sign. Thinking quickly, Conan found himself a spot behind a car for a form of cover. "This is it, whatever they've got planned is bound to happen any time now." He peaked around from where he crouched, watching as everything began to unfold. The five men who stood at the end of the block looked to one another before making their way down. "Here they come, and I'm not exactly fully equipped with all my gadgets," Conan said. "Which puts limitations to what I can do as it is." He looked back into the direction of the bench, coming to find she was now sorting through her bag for something unknown to him. "I don't get it, why did she stop here," Conan thought. "You would think she would be on her way home or something to that affect." The two men he had been following from the get go began to move once again, heading straight for the bench where she sat. The other five did the same, continuing to head down from the other side. "Looks like times up, got to make a move before they do," Conan said with the raise of his arm. "I could take out these first two which would then stir the attention of the others, leaving them open... but that would still leave one remaining if all does go as planned." The longer he took to decide the closer they moved in. "It's now or never." He wasted no further time, seizing the opportunity of a surprise attack. Just as he was to let loose the woman sprung up from where she sat, pulling out a bottle of some kind. What happened next caught everyone by surprise. Within the flash of the moment several rubber looking balls fell from above, releasing a wave of smoke that expanded in all directions. It blew past where he hid as well, trying his best not to inhale any of the unknown substance. "Now what's going on?!" This all but caused the seven men to flee off into the night, none looking back on their departure. He continued to hold back, feeling the stress beginning to mount from within himself. He could still see the gas flourishing from all sides, feeling the ground leave him from beneath as he finally breathed in after seconds of holding back. Everything was happing so fast, not realizing he was levitating to the building above until about half way up. It was darker than it had been from the streets below, the moon just barely peaking from around a set of cruising clouds. As dark as it may have seemed, the polarizing winged figure that spanned wide could clearly be seen. He slightly raised his head, feeling the grip around his collar as he was further lifted. It was then that his eyes became locked with his, seeing the clear look of disapproval across his face. "I can explain." "Don't bother," Batman said. "But let's get one thing straight, there will be no more traveling alone at night, got it?" "Those men were following after that woman," Conan explained. "I couldn't just stand by and do noth..." His voiced dropped in mid sentence, feeling a cold chill come over him as he slowly felt his arms give out on him. "So... feel so weak," Conan said with his vision beginning to flutter away. "What's wrong with me?" "You breathed in a portion of the smoke." "What was that stuff?" Conan asked as his eyes gradually began to close. "A light incapacitating agent," Batman replied. "You'll be fine come the crack of dawn." His head staggered forward in exhaustion, everything falling to a complete darkness as he drifted off within that moment. The night had come and gone, the next morning bringing a cloudy sky just as the previous night had. A small strand of light from the lower half of the sheet emitted bright, taking only minutes for it to make its way up. It only took the sound of something tapping to the window to awake him, rolling to his side to see it was only a branch touching down from the forceful wind. "That's one way to start the day." Conan said sitting up from where he laid. The events of last nights occasion poured in with the seconds that followed, from the bus ride all the way up to his encounter on the roof. This continued to loop through his mind upon dropping down from the bed. Then there was also the missed call, something he wanted to get addressed first and foremost. He took little time to get dressed, pulling out his phone to see he had one unread message still sitting in place. "Perhaps it's an update on that guy we've been trying to track for months now." He wasted no time in opening it, more than surprised to see what the message said. "a Day to Commence," Conan read with a long pause ensuing. "Why would Haibara send me a message like this?" He didn't know what to make of it, placing the phone into his pocket before walking out of the room. "That was a bit from the left field, I'll defiantly have to give her a call about that." He headed down the hall, a little taken back by how quiet it was throughout. It wasn't until he reached the main room that he found that he wasn't the only one in the house, glancing down to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs with something in his hand. "You're awake, good," Bruce said turning to face him. "Because you and I need to have a talk." "I had a feeling you'd want to." "It's not about what you may think," Bruce assured. "I'll talk to you about your little stroll soon enough, but this has something to do with what unfolded on the streets." "You mean with those men I was following after?" "Not exactly," Bruce replied. "There was an incident that occurred outside of the the Knights Dome Sporting complex." "What kind of incident?" "Nine men were found dead in a parking lot nearby, six of them shot and another three died from puncture wounds." "Any idea if any of the men were connected?" Conan asked. "They were all members of the Sprang Bridge Soldiers," Bruce confirmed. "I recognized two of them almost immediately after seeing the bodies." "Sorry for sounding a little misinformed, but who are the Sprang Bridge Soldiers?" "They're one of the many gangs that inhabit the streets of Gotham," Bruce replied. "Particularly Robbinsville." "So you're thinking they were taken out by a rival gang?" "Maybe." "I guess we truly won't know until we find the weapons used huh?" "A Mauser M67 was the rifle used," Bruce informed. "And the other three were fatly wounded by that of a Kirpan knife." "Wow, you're really on top of this." "It didn't take much," Bruce said. "Being the fact the killer responsible left both weapons behind." "Say what?" "The knife was still buried into one of the victims chest upon finding the bodies," Bruce informed. "And the rifle used was discovered on a roof nearby." "Were there any witnesses?" Conan asked. "If there are, none of them have come forward." "What a strange case this is." "And if that wasn't enough, I found a set of gloves aside the rifle," Bruce added. "Which means our killer left them behind for us to find." "Who does that," Conan questioned. "What about the serial number, the rifle did have one right?" "I already traced it back to it's owner only to find him dead as well," Bruce informed. "I found his body sitting in that of a rocking chair." "How did he die?" "One shot to the head, the weapon used was an automatic pistol which was also registered to him," Bruce replied. "I found the gun laying on a table a few feet away from his body." "That pretty much rules out suicide," Conan said. "Anything else note worthy?" "Near the gun was another set of gloves, a small cloth, and a silencer," Bruce answered. "I believe whoever killed him stole his rifle which ended up in our second case of murders." "Was he also a Sprang Bridge Soldier?" Bruce nodded in confirmation. "It's not often a killer leaves behind the weapon or weapons used in a crime, whoever we're dealing with must really know what they're doing," Conan said. "But I must ask, why did you decide to tell me about all of this?" "You were on the other side of town from what I was told," Bruce replied. "On the bus ride back you should have passed by the sporting complex where it all took place." "And you're wondering if I saw anything." "Did you?" "I didn't see anything, but I did hear the sound of shots fired." "And when would you say that was?" Bruce asked. "After getting off the bus and walking a couple blocks." "That puts you a couple miles away from the sporting complex," Bruce said. "That must have been a separate incident." He took the next few moments to try and rehash the full events of last night, looking back up to him with the shake of his head. "Sorry, I don't recall seeing anything out of the ordinary while we drove," Conan replied. "But there was.." "Was what," Bruce asked. "Anything you may have heard or seen could prove useful." "There was this man," Conan informed. "Dressed in a heavy jacket and dark ski cap that rode the bus along with me." "Was there something he did or said?" "No," Conan replied. "It's what was on the sleeve of his jacket that caught my attention." "What did you see?" "It was a dark red stain," Conan replied. "From my angle it looked like it could have been blood that dried." "Is that so," Bruce said. "Anything else that seemed less than normal?" "When we were getting off the bus I saw something rested in the side of his boot," Conan replied. "From what I could tell I'd say it was a knife or dagger of some kind." "That might just be the lead I was looking for," Bruce said before turning for the other side of the room. "Come, we have work to do." "Where are we going?" "To start from the bottom up, which requires us to create a time table." "If you don't mind, there's something I wanted to ask," Conan said following after him. "How'd you know where to find me last night, there's no way you just happened to come across me by coincidence." He stopped in his tracks, looking back down at him. "Do you remember that night you collapsed in the kitchen?" It took a few seconds for him to recall, shaking his head in response. "That was the night you had gone to the city hall." "When I arrived home that night I came across your glasses in the TV room," Bruce informed. "It was then that I learned of their tracking capabilities." "Let me guess, you linked them to your system which then allows you to track me at any given time." "Only when your tracking system is active." Bruce confirmed. "Now come, I'd like to get started right away." "You don't have to tell me, I think we're both on the same page." With that the two of them made their way across the room, entering past the door into the study. They headed straight for the desk where he reached for a pen and paper. He sorted out a few other things before then looking down to face him. "Before we begin, I want you to tell me everything," Bruce said. "Every single detail about that man you can remember." To Be Continued