"Mr. Burns."
Toru walked barefoot to the window, gazed at the bright moon through the glass, and greeted the caller.
The person on the other end was none other than the CIA's Deputy Director, Burns.
"Adam, I have a mission for you."
"I'm listening."
"A short while ago, the CIA was infiltrated. Some critical files were stolen."
"The CIA? Something was stolen?"
Toru found it hard to believe.
This was the CIA headquarters, after all. How could someone just walk in and steal classified data?
Burns sounded a bit embarrassed. "The infiltrator used a disguise to impersonate a senior CIA official and somehow obtained a password, allowing her to breach our systems."
"She was discovered while retreating. There was a struggle, but she managed to escape. From the brief contact we had, she's confirmed to be a highly skilled expert."
Toru caught the key word. "She?"
In English, 'he' and 'she' weren't interchangeable.
"Yes. Although she disguised herself as a man and acted very convincingly, her behavior during the escape gave her away. After reviewing surveillance footage, our analysts concluded she's female."
Burns' words instantly made Toru think of Vermouth.
But he dismissed that thought quickly.
There were definitely more disguise experts in the world than just Vermouth, Yukiko, and Kaitou Kid. There had to be other masters out there.
Not to belittle Vermouth, but with her skill level, infiltrating the CIA and escaping under such pressure would be a stretch. Besides, acting was her strength. If it were really her, she likely wouldn't have exposed herself at all.
"Why are you contacting me? Is there intel suggesting the intruder is now in Japan?"
"Exactly. Not long ago, we received intel from Japan's Public Security Bureau. Their headquarters suffered the same breach, and it appears to be the same individual."
"The same person? That's serious. Pulling off successful infiltrations at both the CIA and PSB in such a short timeframe… she must've had a solid plan in place."
Toru sat by the window, his interest piqued.
"That's why we need you to handle it personally. Adam, you're currently the supervisor of the Japan branch. This matter falls entirely under your jurisdiction. You have full authority to mobilize personnel in Japan."
Burns' words made Toru pause for a moment.
Had that old fox Spencer really handed over control?
From what Toru knew, Spencer had an extreme thirst for power. He wouldn't give it up so easily.
In the past, even when authority was handed over on paper, Spencer would bypass him and issue direct orders to other CIA agents in Japan.
But this time, there were no bypasses. All authority had been handed to him directly. That was... unusual.
With that in mind, Toru answered, "Understood. I'll assign someone to investigate. What exactly was stolen from HQ?"
"The identities of several CIA agents working abroad. Their lives are potentially in danger."
The call ended. Toru fell into thought.
He wasn't particularly worried about this mission.
He no longer worked as a covert field agent. He was a supervisor now. His own identity being exposed wasn't a big deal.
The real danger came when active agents in hostile territory were exposed. If enemy forces knew their true identities, survival became nearly impossible.
"Still, I need to go through the motions. I'll have someone handle it."
Toru muttered, took out his phone, and started assigning tasks.
Life was easy as a supervisor. You didn't need to do anything yourself—just hand down orders and let others do the work.
If he were still a field agent, he'd be doing the legwork himself—gathering intel, doing surveillance, running interviews.
...
At CIA HQ, Burns found Spencer in his office again.
"Did you assign the mission?"
"Yes. As you instructed, before handing Adam a more important task, I gave him this one to handle first."
Burns stood upright.
"This time, I gave Adam real authority. I think he'll come to appreciate how sweet power can be. Once he's tasted it, he'll start thinking more wisely... and fall in line."
"If he performs well, I'll give him opportunities and a higher position—he'll get to control the lives of others. But if he refuses to play along, well, disobedient people tend to disappear."
Spencer's tone was calm, but Burns felt a chill run down his spine.
He understood. That warning wasn't just for Adam. It was for him too.
Do well, and you rise. Fail, and you vanish.
The CIA was good at making people disappear.
Burns could feel Spencer's ambition. The man clearly wasn't satisfied with just being Director anymore.
"Understood. I'll keep a close eye on the situation."
"What about the agents whose covers were blown?"
"We'll assess the situation first. If they're truly exposed, we'll categorize them by value. If they're worth saving, we'll commit resources. If not..."
Spencer paused, then continued. "...Then they'll be abandoned. They should have been prepared for sacrifice the moment they joined the CIA."
...
In Tokyo, at a café near Ikebukuro, Toru Amuro was smiling as he walked a customer to the door.
After the last customer left, he looked at the empty café and began cleaning up.
Just then, his phone rang.
"What? Confidential data was stolen?"
Amuro's eyes widened.
"The intruder even breached the CIA? They must be an expert. Furuya, stay alert."
"Understood."
"The stolen data includes encrypted files. We're not sure how long it'll take to decrypt them, but if we recover the files beforehand, we might still have a chance."
"Got it. I'll start gathering intel immediately."
He hung up and clenched his fist, slamming it into the wall beside him.
"Damn it. Are all my years of work going to be wasted?"
The stolen files included his undercover data. If decrypted, his identity as a Black Organization infiltrator would be exposed.
The Organization would immediately begin hunting him down. His mission to uncover the mastermind would be over.
"This just got messy."
Amuro covered his face with a hand, voice tight with frustration.
...
"Fujiwara-kun, I feel bad dragging you into this. I didn't expect my classmate to suddenly call. That's why I had to make the trip."
On a road in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, Yukiko was driving a Toyota sedan.
"It's no trouble at all. Anywhere I go with Yukiko-nee is time well spent."
"Flatterer. You make me feel even worse. Want to go have a drink at a bar tonight?"
"Sure. If Yukiko-nee's inviting, how could I say no? But what exactly happened that made your classmate call?"
Toru asked with a smile.
"It's a middle school classmate named Kimura. He was a top student and ended up going to a good university."
"After graduating, he came back to Gunma and somehow married into a wealthy local family. He changed his name to Fukuyama."
"His wife passed away recently, and the whole family fortune was inherited by him. But then someone sent him a bullet as a threat."
Toru replied, "Maybe someone in the Fukuyama family wasn't happy that all that wealth ended up in an outsider's hands. They could be threatening him."
"That's what I think too. Since Fukuyama asked me to come help investigate, I felt I should show up..."
In the passenger seat, Toru watched Yukiko's excited expression and could tell she was fully in her element.
This woman really was a child at heart.
Soon, they arrived at a lavish manor.
A rotund man walked out, and the moment he saw Yukiko, he laughed heartily. "Yukiko! It's been almost twenty years, hasn't it? You were the belle of the school back then, and now you're even more stunning!"
"When I heard you left acting and got married, half the guys we knew were devastated. Oh, is this your son?"
He turned to look at Toru with a grin.
Toru felt a wave of helplessness. Seriously? Do I look like her son?
Yukiko laughed, covering her mouth. Her eyes sparkled as she said, "He's not my son. This is Fujiwara Toru. Fukuyama, you didn't recognize him?"
Fukuyama thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Ah, now I remember. No wonder he looked familiar! So he's the great hero himself."
Just then, a butler whispered something in his ear. Fukuyama's expression changed at once, and he immediately greeted Toru with enthusiasm. "Mr. Fujiwara, your presence brings honor—great honor!"
Toru raised an eyebrow and exchanged a few polite words.
Even though the butler had spoken quietly, Toru's sharp hearing picked up everything. He had just informed Fukuyama of Toru's identity as a member of the Fujiwara family.
No wonder the man's attitude flipped instantly.
In Japan, the Fujiwara name held serious weight in both political and business circles.
"This is Eri."
"The famous Queen of the Legal World. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You flatter me."
After a round of introductions, the group entered the manor.
Yukiko got straight to the point. "Fukuyama, why'd you suddenly ask me to help with this case?"
"Yukiko, your husband is that famous mystery novelist, and your son's a hot-shot detective. Detectives are popular these days, so I figured you'd be the one to ask."
"Did you call the police?"
"Yes, but they didn't turn up anything."
They sat in the living room, chatting for about half an hour before Fukuyama stood up.
"Apologies, I have a daily video conference right now. Please make yourselves comfortable. I'll be back shortly."
"Mr. Fujiwara, Ms. Kisaki, I hope you'll forgive the interruption."
Fukuyama excused himself and left for the study.
"This Fukuyama guy doesn't seem too worried about the death threat," Eri remarked, sipping her tea.
Yukiko frowned slightly. "If he's not concerned, why invite me all the way out here?"
Clearly annoyed, she felt like she'd been dragged into something pointless.
Toru smiled. "Actually, the reason is pretty simple."
As Yukiko and Eri looked over, he continued. "...Just look at this manor. The Fukuyama family has serious wealth. I'd estimate it's in the tens of billions of yen."
"Fukuyama married into the family. His wife was the previous head, which probably meant he was under strict control."
"Now that she's dead, he inherited everything and is feeling on top of the world. Yukiko-nee was the school beauty and a famous actress. What do you think he called her here for? He's probably trying to hit on her. You saw how he looked at her."
Yukiko's brows knit together. "His look was a little... off, but I didn't think much of it. If that's his motive, we're leaving."
After hearing Toru's analysis and recalling Fukuyama's expression, Yukiko found it quite plausible.
But just then—
Bang—
A gunshot rang out from upstairs.
Toru's hand froze mid-sip.
Seriously? Have I caught Conan's curse or something? Everywhere I go, someone dies. How unlucky.
(To be continued.)
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