Chapter 358: Detective Friend
Toru Amuro—known within the dark underbelly of the Organization as Bourbon—sat in heavy silence. His piercing gaze remained locked onto the digital photograph of Sherry displayed on his monitor. His expression was an unreadable mask, calculating and cold. Suddenly, the screen flickered. Lines of unauthorized code cascaded across the display. His eyes narrowed sharply. Someone was hacking into his system.
Retreating to the secure confines of his safe house later that evening, Bourbon leaned back against the worn leather sofa. He mentally replayed the events that had transpired at the Mouri Detective Agency, piecing together the anomalies. After a moment of quiet deliberation, he pulled out a burner phone and dialed Cointreau's encrypted number.
The line clicked open after a few rings.
"Hello," Cointreau's voice drifted through the receiver, smooth and unbothered. "What do you want with me?"
"Nothing much," Bourbon replied, his tone casually probing. "I just encountered some unexpected interference while I was investigating Kogoro Mouri. I wanted to ask if you were the one pulling the strings."
The moment he had witnessed the intrusion on his computer, Cointreau had been his prime suspect. Within their immediate circles, Bourbon couldn't think of anyone else who possessed that level of elite hacking proficiency and the underlying motive to poke around his current assignment.
Truthfully, if it had been Cointreau, Bourbon wouldn't have minded. The man had never shown any particular interest in hunting down Sherry, and the two of them shared a functional, albeit cautious, working relationship. If Cointreau was the hacker, Bourbon could still easily conceal Sherry's data from the rest of the Organization.
Unfortunately, his theory was shot down immediately.
"Don't worry, it wasn't me," Cointreau answered, a hint of dry amusement in his tone. "I have absolutely no interest in the progress of your little investigation into the great Sleeping Kogoro."
Bourbon's jaw tightened slightly. If it wasn't Cointreau, the situation had just become exponentially more volatile. The hacker was almost certainly another operative within the Organization. Hiding Sherry's whereabouts was no longer a viable option; slipping her out from under the syndicate's watchful eyes was going to require a far more elaborate and dangerous maneuver.
Thinking quickly, Bourbon outlined the fresh intelligence he had gathered from the Mouri Detective Agency. "How about it?" he asked, shifting gears. "Are you interested in participating in the operation to capture Sherry?"
Silence stretched over the line for several long seconds.
"Sure," Cointreau finally replied. "I happen to have a lot of free time on my hands lately. However, you can keep your operational arrangements to yourself. I'll be acting alone when the time comes."
"Fine," Bourbon agreed, his voice dropping an octave in warning. "You can operate solo. Just make sure you do not interfere with my plan."
"Don't worry."
The line went dead before Bourbon could utter another syllable.
Staring at the disconnected call screen, Bourbon mentally finalized the complex trap he was setting for Sherry aboard the Bell Tree Express—the Mysterious Train. With the pieces in place, he dialed Vermouth, relaying the specifics of his strategy.
Miles away, Vermouth listened to the details of Bourbon's 'Plan Q'with a faint, enigmatic smile. As she ended the call, her thoughts drifted back to the tense confrontation in the car, remembering the promise she had been forced to make to the'Cool Guy'—the vow to permanently give up her pursuit of Sherry.
She took a slow drag from her cigarette, exhaling a thin plume of smoke. The one pulling the trigger this time wouldn't be her. It would be Bourbon. She could only hope that once the traitorous scientist was finally dead, her precious Cool Guy wouldn't direct his hatred toward her.
Her smile widened slightly, a glint of dangerous anticipation in her eyes. Cointreau and his hard-won 'princess' were also scheduled to board that very same train. With so many volatile elements confined to a moving steel tube, she highly doubted things would go exactly as Bourbon envisioned.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the bustling Wanmin Restaurant was warm and filled with the mouth-watering aroma of spices.
Suzuki Sonoko dug into her designer purse, pulling out a sleek, metallic Pass Ring for the Bell Tree Express. She slid it across the wooden table toward Natsume. "Here you go, Natsume," she said, tilting her head curiously. "Didn't I already give you one of these? You're asking for an extra... do you have another friend tagging along?"
Natsume caught the ring smoothly, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Yes, actually. I have a friend who happens to be a detective. He caught wind of the special reasoning game being held on your family's train and got incredibly interested. He really wants to participate."
She slipped the ring into her pocket. "Unfortunately, he found out about the event a bit late in the game. I had no choice but to shamelessly ask if you had any spares lying around. I really hope it hasn't caused you any trouble, Sonoko."
Sonoko waved her hand in the air, completely dismissing the notion. "Oh, please! What trouble could there possibly be? Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Natsume! Besides, it's my family's train. Getting an extra pass is literally just a matter of me saying the word."
Mouri Ran, who was sitting quietly beside Sonoko sipping her tea, watched the exchange with mild surprise. "Natsume," she chimed in, her large eyes blinking curiously. "This is the very first time I've ever heard you mention having a detective friend. Who is he? Is it someone we know?"
Prompted by Ran's question, Sonoko leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table with a look of intense gossip-readiness. While they both knew Natsume had a wide and eccentric circle of acquaintances, a fellow detective was entirely new territory.
Natsume kept her smile perfectly pleasant, but internally, she let out a long, exhausted sigh.
'Of course Ran and Sonoko don't know him,'she grumbled in her mind.'Even I only found out I had this so-called detective friend about five minutes ago! Blame the System for only letting me pull Heizou from the gacha just now!'
Since she obviously couldn't explain the mechanics of a multidimensional gacha system, Natsume offered a smooth, practiced lie. "I couldn't really help it. His agency gets a lot more foot traffic than mine does. He only just wrapped up a massive backlog of cases and finally got some free time."
"Oh~ I see," Sonoko hummed, already losing interest in the logistical details. "By the way, you still haven't told us his name."
"His name," Natsume announced, her voice steady, "is Shikanoin Heizou."
Right on cue, Noelle approached their table, expertly balancing a large tray loaded with the steaming dishes they had ordered. The dutiful maid carefully set the plates down. Catching the tail end of their conversation, she blinked her bright green eyes.
"Excuse me," Noelle asked, her voice polite and curious. "I overheard the mention of the Bell Tree Express. I heard a rumor that Kaitou Kid might make an appearance on that train. Miss Suzuki, is that true?"
The mere mention of the phantom thief acted like a spark to dry kindling. Sonoko's face instantly flushed with absolute, unbridled excitement. She nodded so fast her headband nearly slipped off.
"Yes! Yes, exactly! Oh, Noelle, you've heard the news too!"
"Uncle Jirokichi is specially exhibiting a breathtakingly noble gem right in the middle of the train ride," Sonoko gushed, clasping her hands together. "So naturally, Lord Kid is planning to grace us with his presence to steal it!"
She leaned in closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a state secret. "And let me tell you a little insider detail—the gem being exhibited this time was actually provided by Miss Ningguang! In fact, a huge portion of the high-tech security equipment protecting the jewel, plus the funding for the onboard detective activities, was all sponsored by Miss Ningguang's corporation!"
Sonoko swooned, pressing a hand to her cheek as her eyes practically turned into hearts. "This is it... This time, I might actually be able to get close enough to Lord Kid to personally hand him a letter declaring my endless, undying love!"
Beside her, Ran could only offer a strained, highly awkward smile, silently praying for the safety of everyone aboard that train. "Haha... right."
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