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

"..."

Inside the supposedly top-secret underground bunker of the Public Security Bureau, Rei Furuya watched Shuichi Akai approach step by step through thickened explosion-proof glass, without uttering a word.

Kazami Yuya was initially shocked when he appeared, but quickly recovered and drew his gun to aim at him.

Before the gun could even be aimed, a dark shadow suddenly swooped down from above. It was an eagle; it landed on the gun, lowered the muzzle slightly, and with a whoosh, its outstretched wings ripped off Kazami Yuya's glasses.

When Furuya Rei saw his subordinate being bullied by the eagle, he recognized the eagle and fell even more silent.

"Feel sorry."

Shuichi Akai walked over to Yuya Kazami, but instead of taking the opportunity to snatch his gun, he simply nodded to him as a gesture, and then looked at Rei Furuya.

“Bourbon,” he called out his old code name, “I think you can tell what I’m saying—I have something I’d like to discuss with you, is that alright?”

Kazami Yuya had just bent down to pick up his glasses and put them back on when he heard those words. He paused, then turned to look at his boss, who could read lips.

Rei Furuya slowly nodded to him.

Kazami Yuya turned back, looking warily at Akai Shuichi, and handed him the microphone.

Shuichi Akai took the microphone and fixed his gaze on Rei Furuya behind the glass.

Even the bourbon whiskey of yesteryear is watching him.

……

Lei.

Rye whiskey.

When Furuya Rei was still playing bourbon, he used to work with rye whiskey, and he disliked the man even then.

There are many reasons for this aversion: because the other person is a member of the organization, because of their nonchalant attitude after each mission, and because of the dark aura about them that rivals Gin's...

Even though Morofushi Kagemitsu and Rai got along well, Furuya Rei would become extremely wary every time he saw him, and after returning to the Public Security Bureau, he marked him as a key person to watch.

...As it turns out, he was also an undercover agent.

Moreover, his identity was exposed and he fled.

Rei Furuya looked at the former rye whiskey with mixed feelings. He knew that he had come to Japan and had even cooperated with the Japanese police in the recent embassy bombing, but this was the first time he had seen him in several years.

He spoke first: "How did you find this place?"

Shuichi Akai wasn't surprised that he asked this first: "Thanks to this eagle."

Rei Furuya turned his gaze to the eagle that was still perched on Yuya Kazami's gun.

His men were trying to drive it away, and it almost pecked their hands. When it finally left the gun, it went to pull on Kazami Yuya's tie, and Kazami was almost pulled to the ground.

Shuichi Akai seemed oblivious to the scene of the animal bullying the human next to him. He continued, "You should have seen it before. It belongs to Aoyagi and is very intelligent. I borrowed it before coming to Shibuya today. It was it that led me to the entrance here... I just didn't expect that it would be you here."

His tone was fairly sincere, and his gaze towards Rei Furuya mainly fell on the collar around his neck.

Rei Furuya also knew that Shuichi Akai had no reason to lie at this time.

The fact that an FBI agent had brought an animal with investigative capabilities to Shibuya was definitely not out of charity, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "So, what do you want to ask? If you want to ask about the thing around my neck, your colleague has already helped, you don't need to interfere anymore..."

"Bourbon."

Shuichi Akai called out the code name again, interrupting him.

Rei Furuya paused, then met the eyes of the person outside the glass.

"—Why were you exposed three years ago?"

The blunt words echoed in the originally quiet space, causing a huge stir. Not only did Furuya Rei's eyes widen, but Kazami Yuya, who had been bullied by the hawk, also changed his expression drastically.

"Wait, wait!" He took a step back, barely managing to shake off the eagle's pursuit, and shouted at Akai Hideichi, "I know you used to be an undercover agent in that organization, just like Mr. Furuya, but this is an internal matter of the Japanese Public Security Bureau, and you have no right to interfere!"

Rei Furuya looked at Shuichi Akai, a chilling glint in his eyes.

"This has nothing to do with you, FBI."

He said expressionlessly.

Rei Furuya looked like he was about to slam down the phone any second, but Shuichi Akai took in his reaction without changing his expression, as if he had expected this reaction.

Shuichi Akai reached into his pocket, and to the surprise of the other two, who thought he was going to pull out a gun, he pulled out a cell phone.

He swiped and pressed the buttons a few times, then put down the microphone and walked towards the glass. He stopped in front of the huge glass, facing Rei Furuya inside, and turned the phone screen towards him.

Rei Furuya didn't really want to continue talking to Shuichi Akai, but he couldn't completely ignore him either. So he had no choice but to put down the microphone, walk to the glass wall, and see what the other man was showing him.

A few steps away, Kazami Yuya watched warily as the eagle flapped its wings and took off again. Once he was sure it wouldn't attack him again, he quickly rushed towards the glass.

"Agent Akai, please leave here—"

He had intended to stop the FBI agent from harassing his boss, who was already having a rough day, but as he got closer, he sensed something was wrong.

At this moment, Rei Furuya's expression was not one of anger, but rather one of astonishment.

Kazami Yuya subconsciously looked at the screen that Akai Shuichi was displaying. Because the screen was tilted, he could barely make out the content. His expression also turned to surprise.

Shuichi Akai put down his phone, turned around and went back to the phone, picking up the receiver again.

"I have some guesses about why you were exposed, and I've been wanting to confirm them with you," he said calmly. "Is it related to this mystery novel author's fan chat group?"

His phone screen showed a chat application, with the last message being "The group owner has disbanded the group." On the right were the user's avatar and ID.

His ID name is Caspar.

Rei Furuya stood there, stunned, his mind filled with the ID he had just seen.

He hadn't forgotten that this was one of only two chat room members whose identities they hadn't been able to identify since three years ago.

After a long pause, he came to his senses and realized something: "Those articles that were published last..."

"You mean the stories from the police academy? I've had the pleasure of reading them," Shuichi Akai said. "One of them is probably from Scotland... Morofushi, right? The description of his appearance is very accurate."

Jianggu Ling: "..."

Shuichi Akai continued, "And you, Bourbon. Although I don't think you would 'injure yourself on purpose to see your first love, the female doctor, more often when you were a child' or 'be willing to go into the dark to find your first love,' and challenge someone to a fight on the first day of school, you don't seem like the kind of man who would do such childish things. But the description of your appearance matches you perfectly."

Jianggu Ling: "…………"

Shuichi Akai didn't stop: "Furthermore, during the joint investigation with the Japanese police, I also discovered that black curly hair..."

"Ding."

The sound of the elevator arriving interrupted him.

With his black curly hair, Matsuda Jinpei carried a toolbox. As he strode out of the sedan chair, he impatiently ripped off his blindfold.

"Hey, Furuya, it's me—"

The rest of the conversation abruptly stopped.

He looked at Shuichi Akai through his ever-present sunglasses, his brows furrowing slightly: "You are... Akai from the FBI? What are you doing here?"

Then, as if he suddenly understood something, he exclaimed, "Did Furuya ask you to come and help?"

Jianggu Ling: "…………" (End of this chapter)