Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

"This is Aoyagi who has just joined the investigation team."

After returning to the New York branch, the group entered the task force conference room, and the female agent announced the news to those who had gone elsewhere in the morning.

Aoyagi Toshiko, who was wearing casual clothes, stood there looking out of place. Shuichi Akai observed the reactions of others. Most of the agents at the headquarters did not recognize him and their reactions were dull. However, several agents from the branch looked happy.

It seems that he is also very popular here, and his abilities are recognized by many people.

"Thank you for your hard work, buddy."

A black detective who almost got angry during the briefing of the case yesterday walked over and patted him in a friendly manner, "Is your car still in the repair shop? I can lend you mine first."

Qingliu Binguang smiled and declined his kindness: "No, I can pick it up the day after tomorrow."

The female agent introduced Aoyagi Binguang to others - saying that he was an agent of the Counter-Terrorism Department and had extensive experience in dealing with extremists. At the same time, he happened to be near the scene twice - and did not mention his undercover experience at all.

After a brief introduction, they got down to business.

Everyone sat down at the table, Akai Shuichi talked about the body found in the church, and then Judy and Kamel again talked about their experiences today.

Hearing that they met the murderer head-on, the others were either surprised or excited.

When Judy posted the new crime scene photos and a face spelled out by software on the display board, one of them couldn't wait to ask: "Is this what the prisoner looks like?"

If this is the true face of the prisoner, the case is half solved.

"Not necessarily." Qingliu Binguang said.

There were several pieces of information on the table in front of him. This was information from previous cases, specially given to him, the last person to join.

"Some liquid residue was found in the concert hall, and the appraiser extracted the castor oil component. The prisoner may have used cosmetics to adjust his face. This face was just used by him to divert attention."

Judy disagreed: "Judging from the fact that he was wearing a mask at the beginning, he may not have made up on his face at first, but put it on temporarily after entering the concert hall. Time was tight at the time, and it was impossible for him to put on a full set of make-up. Can make some minor adjustments.”

"I agree too. If his makeup skills are so good and he has the ability to turn himself into another face, then why didn't he just wear a fake face to kill people from the beginning, but wear a mask instead?" Other agents supported her. .

Qingliu Binguang didn't speak anymore, his eyes glanced at the information on the table.

Others began to discuss the killing methods in this series of cases. Otto said: "This time, the neck bones were directly pinched to cause suffocation. The fracture surface of the bones was very neat. This guy's hand strength is definitely different from ordinary people."

The black agent looked at his stronger than ordinary physique and glanced at the dog tag on his wrist: "Then can you do it?"

"No." Otto shook his head, "When I practice naked choke, I use my arms, and I have to use my whole arm to exert force. He can do it with just a few fingers. If you encounter him again, it's best to shoot directly with your bare hands. It’s easy to lose in a fight.”

Shuichi Akai looked at the photo of the corpse.

Naked choke is a common and practical fighting technique. Otto, who once served in the Navy SEALs, knows how to do it, and he also knows how to do it after being an undercover agent in the black organization for three years.

Aoyagi Binguang, who had been in the HRT unit, also knew how to do it. According to file records, during the arrest operation against the "Zoo" organization, several bodyguards around the leader had their necks broken by him in this way.

Thinking of this, Akai Shuichi looked at Aoyagi Binguang again.

He found that he seemed to be very concerned about the first case and had been looking at the autopsy report of that family, which contained their detailed cause of death and time of death.

Suddenly, Aoyagi Binguang paused while flipping the paper. He raised his head directly, and his eyes met Akai Shuichi who was sitting opposite.

Akai Shuichi was not surprised by this sharpness, but he did not see any emotional changes on that face, and the latter quickly turned to the display board as if nothing had happened.

Aoyagi Binguang sat in the first seat on the right row of the long table, very close to the display board. He looked at the photo of rye whiskey posted on the top and asked:

"What's going on with that bottle of wine? Whose fingerprints are on it?"

"There are no fingerprints of the deceased. It should be left intentionally by the prisoner." Shuichi Akai answered, "It may be a simple provocation, or it may be a clue pointing to the location of the next crime."

Hearing the word provocation, Aoyagi Binguang raised his eyebrows slightly, and the detective beside him muttered: "Provoking with alcohol?... What can be provoked? The prohibition of alcohol decades ago?"

"The producer of that bottle is the New York Distilling Company."

Judy once again revealed key information, which was the second major clue in the case.

"It was a small distillery with a small output. This rye whiskey was a new product released this year. It was only sold in nearby community bars. We can use this to trace the suspect."

Seeing Aoyagi Binguang looking at the bottle of wine again, Akai Shuichi asked him: "Aoyagi, what do you think?"

“…I’ve been there before, and that winery was on the edge of Brooklyn.”

Aoyagi Binguang withdrew his gaze, looked directly at Akai Shuichi and replied: "There happened to be a magic show in Brooklyn recently. The prisoner used magic disguise skills and knot tying techniques at the music conservatory. I think I need to visit there as well."

Judy nodded repeatedly and wrote down this information.

Next, others discussed more about the details of today's case - other physical evidence at the scene, whether fingerprints and footprints were collected, whether there were other witnesses, whether other items could be traced to the buyer...

Shuichi Akai would put forward his opinions in the church. At other times, he would listen to what others said or pay attention to Aoyagi Binmitsu's movements.

As the last branch agent to join the investigation, in addition to the first initial case, he was more interested in the two cases that occurred in New York.

He quickly asked about the girl: "How was that girl yesterday?"

"I have contacted her grandparents and her maternal grandparents in Japan."

Mentioning this, Judy's voice was muffled: "Although I don't know why the prisoner let her go, her situation is still very dangerous, and people have been sent to protect her closely."

The female branch agent sighed. She also felt pity for the young child, and then she frowned as if she remembered some key clue.

"Could it be..." She muttered.

"What?" The person next to her looked at her in confusion.

"Could it be that the prisoner had a child close to her age, so he didn't have the heart to attack?"

The female detective made a guess that she had not thought of yesterday.

"The bear doll was a model from several years ago. It is not available in the toy stores in shopping malls near the crime scene. Moreover, it has been washed many times and is very clean. It does not look like it was picked up from the trash can. It is most likely something that the prisoner brought with him. … When he saw that the girl was very similar to his own child, he gave it to her without having the heart to kill her…”

"impossible."

Aoyagi Binguang interrupted her almost roughly. "——Steline and Kamel have met the prisoner, and they are basically sure that he is a man. Father rarely has that kind of mercy."

"........."

Shuichi Akai, who went undercover to find his father to join the FBI, fell silent when he looked at the father-hater in front of him who seemed to have a little prejudice against his father.

This is the first time Aoyagi Binguang's true emotions have been leaked since he entered the conference room.

……

When the meeting ended, it was already dark, and everyone left the room.

They will not go back today. They plan to borrow the bathroom at the training ground to take a bath and then take sleeping bags to sleep here.

Akai Shuichi saw Aoyagi Binguang going to the branch director and stayed in the office for nearly half an hour. After he left, Akai Shuichi also went in.

When the branch director saw him coming in, his expression was a bit complicated. Akai Shuichi asked first, "Sir, does Aoyagi know about my situation?"

"I told him in the morning email." said the branch director. "He just came to report the progress to me. In addition, he has doubts about Kudo and his son, and asked me to find someone to monitor their residence."

Akai Shuichi was stunned for a moment, and then quickly understood the reason.

There was no reason, just the paranoia of the undercover.

Yesterday, he read the transcripts of Kudo Yukiko and Kudo Shinichi. They arranged a time and place to meet with Aoyagi Binguang, and then met the scene;

Today is the same, because Kudo Yukiko wanted to visit her friends at the music school, so she invited Aoyagi Binguang, who loves music, to come with her, and then she encountered a case again;
It was okay once, but it happened twice in a short period of time, and it was the same inviter. With the undercover's paranoia, he would definitely suspect that there was something wrong with the inviter.

Akai Shuichi even thought of Kudo Yusaku - the report to the IRS was so sudden that it was impossible to find out who it was. Moreover, according to a colleague who was also at the IRS at the time, it was Kudo Yusaku who first spoke to Aoyagi Himitsu, and then the two parties started talking to him. become friends.

"Then did he doubt me?" Akai Shuichi asked calmly.

The branch director's expression became more subtle: "He... it's not suspicion at all. He just asked you when you arrived in New York and how many people were with you at the time."

The middle-aged man paused and added: "I also asked you if you have a fixed partner this time. If not, he can go with you tomorrow."

Akai Shuichi felt as if he had expected it.

Yesterday, luckily, they didn't have much contact; but today, in the concert hall, especially in the conference room, he could faintly sense Aoyagi Binguang's gaze.

Not only was he observing Aoyagi Binguang just now, he was also observing himself.

Many undercover agents will die in hidden organizations, and those who finally return must undergo psychological treatment and examination to determine their mentality and true position, because some of them cannot stand the pressure or the temptation of wealth and have already surrendered to those people.

Therefore, being an undercover agent does arouse empathy to a certain extent and make Aoyagi Binguang willing to help. However, it also arouses suspicion—doubts about whether he is really back, or whether he has been instigated by a criminal organization and has come back to cause trouble for the FBI. .

Especially Akai Shuichi knew that his aura was not that of a good person. It’s perfectly normal to arouse caution and suspicion.

And strong desire for control is the second characteristic of most undercover agents.

Because they have been walking on a tightrope for a long time, this kind of trembling mentality will make undercover agents only trust what is in their hands - in other words, they will feel relieved if they do important tasks by themselves and keep an eye on dangerous people by themselves.

Therefore, it is normal for Aoyagi Binguang to propose to accompany him and want to keep an eye on him in person...

Akai Shuichi thought for a moment and nodded.

"I have no opinion."

……

Akai Shuichi went to the training ground, and when he entered the locker room, he saw Aoyagi Binguang again.

The other person was changing clothes with his back to him, and his long, unrestrained hair was spread over his shoulders. He saw a tattoo from his right shoulder to his upper arm.

It was a wolf in a hunting posture.

Akai Shuichi knew what organization Aoyagi Hikaru was working as an undercover agent, and naturally also knew the code name of the other party in it.

Wolf.

Tattoos are not so frowned upon in Europe and the United States. Although public officials must be careful, Aoyagi Binguang has worked as an undercover agent. In order to blend in with those black characters, tattoos are nothing at all, especially the members of that organization have the habit of tattooing codename animals on their bodies.

His dirty clothes were thrown next to him, and Akai Shuichi saw the necklace thrown on top. One of the stainless steel sheets had a wolf head printed on it, and the other was pressed underneath, making it impossible to see the pattern.

Before Shuichi Akai could speak, Aoyagi Binguang had already put on his shirt, covering all the tattoos on his body, and turned towards him.

There was still doubt and inquiry in those light brown eyes, but it soon disappeared, and a friendly smile appeared on his face.

"What time shall we set off tomorrow?" he asked.

Akai Shuichi did not avoid Aoyagi Binguang at all when he entered the office. Since he was sure that he had met the branch director, he must have obtained the itinerary.

"Nine o'clock in the morning." Akai Shuichi said.

……

Aoyagi Binguang came to the lounge, where he slept in a sleeping bag for a month last month and continues today.

The people in the room were all his colleagues from the branch. He listened to their chat for a while, then suddenly walked to the window and opened it.

An eagle flew in and landed lightly on his right shoulder, where there was a wolf tattoo.

The others were not surprised by this; they all knew he kept a hawk, and one even tore a piece of toast to feed it. It had been hungry for a long time and ate it all without being picky.

The colleagues continued chatting, and one of them said: "I was having dinner with Kamel just now, and he accidentally revealed to me that the serial murders of the agents this time were related to Akai."

"what is the relationship?"

"It seems that he once lurked in some organization and later became a traitor. The other party came to take revenge on him..."

Aoyagi Binguang listened to this scene, which was like neighborhood gossip, and felt deeply that the level and professionalism of FBI agents had seriously declined in recent years.

——Undercover and traitor, those are two different things. (End of chapter)