Synchronicity Chapter 5: A Scrutiny Too Sustained

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

A girl wearing headphones and an indifferent expression slipped into the bathroom at Kansai Hotel, tugging a change of clothes from her duffel bag. She exchanged her collared shirt and tie for a tee shirt displaying a popular band and a jacket, covering her dark red hair with a black baseball cap turned around backward. She threw out the brown contacts that had been left for her, but set a pair of thick-framed glasses at the bridge of her nose. The mp3 player from her pocket was dropped in the bag, swapped for a paperback book titled, "Best Collected Horror Stories." After depositing the duffel bag behind the baggage claim counter, she opened the book to the most worn, dog-eared page within its covers and began to read as she walked. 'The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous.'

 

    Shinichi read over the letter twice, his hands shaking. The black organization had introduced another member. Amontillado... Someone was following him around, or had planted a tracer on him. He glanced around quickly, but didn't see any familiar faces.

     With a relieved sigh, he headed outside, following the flow of traffic down the sidewalk and letting his mind wrap around the case. The caller who had forced him to participate in the 'deduction contest,'... presumably that person... wanted him to find the "Pigeon Among the Cats..." He knew that The Cat Among the Pigeons was an Agatha Christie mystery, and the metaphor and hint led him to believe that he was being called upon to do someone else's recon work.

 

    There was a mole in the Black Organization; someone aside from Akai Shuuichi and Hondou Hidemi was leaking information to the police or another enemy of the Organization... When he found out who it was, Shinichi knew the Organization wouldn't just let him be... The informant would most likely be killed, used as an example to discourage others from thinking twice about their alignment. I can't let that happen... but- what about the prize he was so keen to tell me existed? What is it that he holds which could compel me to throw another human being's life away? Shinichi was convinced that there was nothing, but a sense of dread gnawed at his resolve...

 

    Impulsively he drew the cell phone from his pocket, dialing the number he needed with shaking fingers. His heart beat louder with each second, the ringing driving blind hope into his heart. 'Please, please pick up...' After five eternally drawn out seconds, the call connected. "Shinichi?!" He almost couldn't find the words, but he managed to whisper, "Ran? Where are you? Are you safe?" A laugh, then a heartfelt reply assured him that she was in no danger. "Shinichi, I'm fine. Dad hasn't been on a dangerous case in weeks, and you know he'd never let me get involved... is something wrong?" Shinichi sighed, then replied, "No, nothing at all... I just met the kid with glasses at the train station, and we decided to play some soccer together." That would explain his absence, and the call...

 

    "Train station...? Are you able to come to Beika?" Shinichi let out a mirthless breath. "I don't know... I have a short break right now, but not enough to take the train to the city..." He paused, thinking of what he meant to use the emergency antidote for, and added, "But if I solve this case within twenty-four hours, I promise, I'll come see you." Ran was quiet for a moment, then she responded to the words she had hoped to hear for months, a smile countering the tears in her eyes. "Okay... I'll hold you to that, Shinichi." With a grin, Shinichi said, "I've got to get back to work now so I can get that case finished, okay? I'll just bring Conan with me, since it's nothing dangerous." Just as he was about to hang up, Ran asked, "Will you bring Conan-kun with you when you come? I'd rather he didn't take the train back by himself."

 

    Cornered and with no excuses, he grasped at straws, trying to come up with a lie that wouldn't hurt anything. "Ah, well... we finished soccer a little while ago. He said he was actually here to visit Hattori on a surprise visit, so he'll be coming back in a day or two..." He didn't add 'as soon as I get out of your sight and change back.' Ran seemed satisfied with the reply, though her response wasn't exactly happy. "Conan-kun's always running off without telling us. Tell him to call me, okay?"

 

    "Alright..." Shinichi smiled, adding, "Bye, Ran." After hanging up he realized he was standing still in the middle of the sidewalk, and immediately began walking. At the intersection and to his right was a trolley, ferrying tourists about Osaka on a sightseeing venture. On a whim he jogged up beside it and scanned the vehicle. The old man from the train was sitting at the back, studying the brochure he still held. With a smile, Shinichi climbed the short stair to the cab. "It's nice to see you again, sir," he said. The man looked up from his booklet, then returned the smile and the greeting. "Hello. Are you enjoying the city?" With a nod, Shinichi replied, "Yeah, it's a great place-"

 

    The trolley pulled away from the corner, turning just as a teen in a grey jacket and baseball cap was boarding, which threw her across the laps of a couple of passengers. Shinichi was knocked over as well, and he told himself to remember that trolley floors were really uncomfortable to land on. "Oi, watch it!" the girl called, picking herself up and jamming the cap back down on her head. She glared at the driver as she fixed her glasses. The man turned his head slightly. "Sorry, I didn't see you..." With a frown, the girl picked up her book from the floor, situating herself beside Shinichi, who had managed to stand back up. "Sorry 'bout that," she sighed, dusting off her pants. "My fault I almost missed it." She held out a hand. "I'm Natake," she said. "Ah, Kudou," he replied. Then he froze. Great, I just told my name on a crowded trolley... If somebody is watching, I'm a wide open target now... "Kudou-kun, huh? Nice to meet you." She returned to her book without another word, and Shinichi sighed in relief at the dumb luck that for once, someone hadn't recognized his name. Natake, meanwhile, smiled as she finished the story she'd been reading. 'And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.'

[Sakila 88]

Love all the Poe references. "The Cask of Amontillado"--how fitting, LOL and Red Death ofc

Hmm...wait, I think I read somewhere that amontillado is a type of Sherry......Wonder if that's significant in any way..

[Maltavite 61]

Keep it up! I like it! 1 Rep for ya! (Even your fanfic isn't brutal as mine XD)

Ari