The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1388 Don't make your brother laugh.

"Isn't it obvious?"

I thought you could figure it out.

"Or are you playing along with me?"

Fujino simply shrugged at this and didn't type anything, feeling that Vermouth, that old auntie, was more interested in asking this question.

How could a clever and quick-witted old lady like you not understand this?
What if you can't figure it out?

Fujino suspected that the old lady might want to use him to get rid of Shuichi Akai.

Then this old lady has a way to get herself killed.

Vermouth didn't reply to Fujino's words. Instead, she lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before rapidly typing on the keyboard: "Kiel and Shuichi Akai had already discussed the strategy for the operation. Releasing him from the hospital was to allow him to return to the organization."

"According to what you've said, the fact that the BOSS would suspect Gil is probably something they anticipated."

"If that's the case, then Kir will successfully kill Shuichi Akai..."

"In order for Kir to gain the organization's trust, Shuichi Akai must die. Therefore, the death of 'Shuichi Akai' is necessary."

“But Kir definitely won’t kill Shuichi Akai, after all, she’s a NOC…”

She frowned: "Could it be that they're trying to fake their deaths to deceive us?"

Fujino looked at the message she sent and nodded: "You guessed right."

Vermouth was filled with doubt: "Even if Shuichi Akai understands the organization's methods, he can't be 100% certain that the organization will send Gil later..."

Fujino said calmly, "They don't need confirmation, they just need to prepare a plan. If the FBI can't think of it, surely their little assistants can too?"

Upon hearing the mention of the little helper, Vermouth immediately understood what was going on.

It must be my godson causing trouble again...

Okay, now that I think about it this way, it suddenly makes sense.

My godson is indeed capable of doing such a thing.

As expected of my son, he almost fooled his mother...

Vermouth felt quite relieved, and didn't feel stupid at all for her own foolishness.

After all, she is her mother.

After thinking it over, Vermouth quickly figured out the plan and sighed helplessly, "It seems that all this careful preparation is pointless. We might as well give Kiel some convenience."

“Not really.” Fujino didn’t quite agree with that. “If you could succeed so easily, Gil would definitely find it strange. After all, you’re a professional witch who specializes in this kind of thing. She’d probably feel like she’s given herself away.”

He paused, then continued, "Besides, you won't get any criticism if you do this, since Chianti, Cohen, and Ireland are all watching."

"Isn't it?"

"You've thought of everything."

Vermouth smiled slightly upon seeing the reply. "In that case, I'll have to enjoy the grand show that's been meticulously prepared for me."

She put her phone away and turned to look at the monitor behind her.

…………

Fujino sat in the back of the van, looking out through the open door at the scene outside, and couldn't help but want to compose a poem.

But thinking about it, I realized I didn't have any doggerel to write, so I gave up on the idea.

He turned on his enhanced vision glasses and looked through the vast expanse of flying snow towards the winding mountain road below the opposite mountain.

"The show is about to begin..."

Fujino, through his enhanced vision glasses, saw a pickup truck speeding towards him and called out to Vermouth behind him.

"Chianti saw it too." Vermouth sat on the stool staring at the monitor, looking both interested and somewhat bored.

The feeling was roughly like waiting a long time for a movie to be released, only to have a friend who had seen a pirated copy spoil the whole thing before the official release.

She rested her chin on one hand and picked up the walkie-talkie with the other: "Ireland, target spotted, be prepared."

"learn."

Vermouth looked up and saw a Chevrolet pickup truck parked on the monitor.

Shuichi Akai got out of the car, his hands in his pockets.

Kiel asked in confusion, "Why did you come from the opposite direction?"

"I searched the vicinity."

"So, did you find it?" Kiel asked in a villainous tone, "The evidence I brought here alone..."

“It seems so.” Shuichi Akai said, his eyes darting around as he surveyed the surroundings. “So, can you tell me now what you said about the information that helped you escape the organization?”

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, a flash of light appeared, followed by a cloud of white smoke.

Shuichi Akai took a small step back, then clutched his chest and let out a low moan.

He clutched his chest, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, followed by crimson blood seeping from between his fingers.

Vermouth watched the scene unfold before her in silence.

Looking at Shuichi Akai struggling and panting in the surveillance footage, I didn't know what to say.

No wonder he was an undercover agent; his acting skills are superb...

Vermouth, with a deadpan expression, propped her chin up and picked up the walkie-talkie, saying, "Kier, well done. Go up and finish him off, then plant the bomb and blow him up."

"clear."

Kir nodded, then took his pistol, slowly walked forward, and pointed it at Shuichi Akai's head.

Shuichi Akai then said in a deep voice, "Really, I never expected it to come to this..."

"I didn't expect that either..."

"Things actually went so smoothly."

Kiel narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

Immediately, gunshots rang out again.

Immediately afterwards, a large amount of blood spurted from Shuichi Akai's forehead, and he fell towards the driver's seat behind him.

Vermouth continued to squint at the scene and said, "Dispose of the bodies, then retreat. The mission is complete."

"clear."

Kiel nodded, picked up the spent cartridge from the ground, turned around, and retrieved the time bomb from the car.

Then, it was thrown next to Shuichi Akai's 'corpse' head.

She narrowed her eyes, glanced at it briefly, then activated the time bomb, turned around, and got into the car.

Her car had only driven a short distance.

Then, Shuichi Akai's car exploded violently. With a loud "boom," flames shot into the sky.

She glanced at the rearview mirror and then said casually, "Mission accomplished."

"Good job, retreat, go back to the old place."

"clear."

Kiel responded and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the pickup truck that was rising into the sky amidst the flying snow.

She could only pray in her heart that Shuichi Akai would be quick and efficient.

However, twenty seconds shouldn't be a problem for him.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he stepped on the gas and sped away.

…………

A yellow sports car sped through Tokyo at night.

"The acting was really realistic..."

"If I hadn't known what was going on beforehand, I would have actually believed it."

Vermouth drove her Detomasso GT5, with Fujino in the car, away from the warehouse. She rested her chin on one hand, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and held the steering wheel with the other, reflecting on what had just happened.

Fujino sat down beside him and said calmly, "I reckon it's just another gadget made by that kid's neighbor, Professor Agasa..."

Vermouth took a deep breath: "In some ways, he's quite a talent. He made those little listening devices, didn't he?"

“Yes, the supporters behind the Justice Partners.” Fujino glanced at her. “What does the BOSS think about this?”

“The video has been sent.” Vermouth, still resting her chin on her hand, said, “The boss seems quite satisfied with our actions, but he still has some doubts about the whole thing…”

"He asked me to investigate whether Shuichi Akai was really dead or faked his death."

"After all, this operation went too smoothly."

“It went too smoothly…” Fujino agreed. “Under normal circumstances, Shuichi Akai would not have come without a gun. Even if he didn’t, he would have fought back after being shot. The way it happened now only gives people something to talk about.”

“However, that’s not really a problem,” Vermouth chuckled. “After all, not everyone can see things from your perspective.”

"Most people are simply confined to the cage they perceive themselves to be in."

As she spoke, a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes: "Sometimes, even if the prey falls into the spider web, it can't escape no matter how hard it struggles, yet it doesn't even realize that it has fallen into the spider web."

"If no one reminds them, they might struggle to death without even realizing it."

As she spoke, she glanced to the side out of the corner of her eye: "And the only ones who can perceive this, besides the hunter himself, are the orioles hiding behind the hunter, looking down at the spider web from above."

"So, what is the oriole's purpose?"

"Who knows?"

Fujino crossed his arms and said calmly, "Perhaps he just thinks it's fun."

"Is it fun?"

Vermouth shook her head slightly, scoffed, and teased, "Playing with prey that's about to be eaten, the oriole really has a perverse sense of humor."

"Instead of trying to figure out what's going on later, let's think about the spider web right in front of us." Fujino glanced at her. "If I'm not mistaken, Shuichi Akai probably already planned out what would happen after he died before he even took action."

"If you want to check, you can probably find it right away."

"And the final conclusion will also point to the fact that Shuichi Akai is dead."

“However, there’s one thing I don’t quite understand.” Vermouth took a deep drag on her cigarette, exhaling a long puff of smoke—it was hard to tell if it was smoke or steam—“That Shuichi Akai faked his death so that Kir could re-infiltrate the organization…”

"However, I think given his personality, it shouldn't be just like that."

"Fake death, it must be for some other plan, right?"

"Who knows?" Fujino shook his head slightly, resting his elbow on the open car window beside him. "Maybe he's tired and wants to take a vacation, or maybe, like you said, he's gone on some other secret mission..."

"They might even appear in a different guise."

"Maybe we can even protect the little sister who we didn't protect before."

As he spoke, he glanced at her and said, "Now, it will be much more difficult for you to make a move."

Upon hearing this, Vermouth immediately understood and chuckled, "Then it seems that only my old friend can do this..."

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen that old friend."

Fujino glanced at the elderly woman next to him, too embarrassed to say anything.

You mean you consider them a friend?

You're just being greedy for someone else's son!

He muttered to himself for a moment, then asked, "So, how will the credit be calculated this time?"

“It’s on Gil’s head,” Vermouth explained casually. “Others can get a share too, but it’s mainly the two of us.”

"After all, it was the two of us who rescued her from the hospital and then directed the whole thing."

As she spoke, she blinked again: "But compared to all that, I'm quite curious about Mr. Oriole standing outside the spider web watching the prey and hunter entangle each other..."

What exactly does it feel like?

Fujino didn't turn around, but said calmly, "The oriole wants to make sure everything is under its control, so that it doesn't lose sight of its prey and cause both the prey inside and outside the web to disappear in the blink of an eye."

"Actually, I was quite worried."

“I see…” Vermouth responded. “Then it seems that Mr. Yellow Bird has been perched on a branch, observing its prey with great interest, ready to pounce and kill it at any moment…”

As she spoke, she chuckled softly, "I'm afraid that as prey, if you try to escape Mr. Oriole's eyes, you'll be eaten without mercy."

“The yellow bird doesn’t eat just any prey.” Fujino glanced at her beside him. “If it’s a good fruit, Mr. Yellow Bird doesn’t like to eat it. Only those fruits that are about to rot will be eaten by the yellow bird without hesitation.”

Vermouth then raised her eyes and asked, "So, for Mr. Oriole, what exactly is a good fruit and what is a rotten fruit?"

Fujino simply chuckled softly: "That depends on the mood of the oriole."

Hearing this, Vermouth laughed out loud: "The poor prey that has already been caught by Mr. Oriole should be careful, lest it turn into rotten fruit and be eaten clean by Mr. Oriole when he is unhappy."

Fujino glanced at Vermouth beside him, crossed his arms and said, "Although the yellow bird looks small, it is actually quite picky about its taste. Although it only eats rotten fruit, it will not eat fruit that is not fresh."

"Is that so?" Vermouth narrowed her foxy eyes upon hearing this. "How will the oriole know if it's fresh or not if it doesn't take a bite?"

As she spoke, a slight smile played on her lips: "After all, it's a good fruit; what if it's very fresh?"

"Don't make your brother Que laugh." Fujino chuckled. "You can tell good fruit from bad fruit, but you can't always tell if fruit is stale. Even good fruit can sometimes be poisonous if it's not fresh."

"If you eat this, even the yellow sparrow will be poisoned."

"Tsk..."

Vermouth clicked her tongue and scoffed, "That yellow oriole is quite picky about food."

Fujino shrugged helplessly: "After all, it's a yellow bird that loves to eat fruit. It's used to eating fresh fruit, so how could it possibly eat frozen fruit that it doesn't know if it's fresh or not?"

(End of this chapter)