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

Meanwhile, at an organization's base in Shibuya.

They are currently completely unaware of what is happening outside.

"Kil is gone?"

"Yes, she left here ten minutes ago."

Curaçao adjusted her communication headset. Seeing her contacting someone, the others in the room discreetly left the room. She then reported the situation to her superior on the other end.

She stayed at the base all day, and apart from watching Kiel identify people and contacting the lower-level members outside to confirm the situation, she did nothing else. Even though it was chaotic outside, she didn't step out of the base. She was so idle that it was unbelievable.

Rum remained noncommittal.

He completely disregarded the character of this Gin subordinate he had hastily summoned, turning instead to the other person on the communication channel, whose cold, electronic voice betrayed no emotion:
"Glenn, how's it going on your end? Have you found Manhattan's whereabouts?"

"...We found her."

Glenn's voice, calm to the point of being indifferent, carried a hint of hesitation: "But the situation is rather special, and I think it would be best to report to you in person."

The channel fell silent for a moment.

"Okay, come over here."

A few seconds later, Rum's emotionless voice continued, and he gave another order to one of his men:
“Curaçao, you stay here. There appears to be a shooting near Shibuya Station. The police will thoroughly investigate the area. Have your team members in that area leave immediately.”

"Yes."

Curaçao immediately responded.

The call ended, and silence fell over the surroundings.

Curaçao sensed the silence around her and lowered her eyes.

From an angle not visible to the overhead surveillance, her hands, hanging at her sides, tightened slightly.

……

the other side.

After ending the communication, Grain Whiskey arrived at Rum's current secret hideout and began his report.

He jumped straight to the point: "I found Manhattan. She's dead."

Rum's mood worsened immediately.

"what happened?"

As he pressed for answers, he thought about what had happened in the past few days.

Manhattan.

Its full name is Bourbon Manhattan Cocktail.

This whisky is a blend of bourbon and Vermouth, the code name given to her by the former leader of the international bomber, Pramia, after she joined the organization and eventually surrendered.

This code name alludes to the close connection between her joining and Bourbon.

Now Rum gets angry whenever he hears the word "bourbon".

Three years ago, he genuinely believed Bourbon was dead! He even felt genuinely sad for a few seconds about losing this quite useful subordinate!
Unexpectedly, the other party turned out to be an undercover agent sent by the Japanese Public Security Bureau, just like Scotland! Because Scotland was exposed, he also fled!

—And he, Rum, the organization's second-in-command, was kept in the dark for three whole years. He wouldn't have known if Goldvasel's son, Aniset, hadn't come to ask him!

A few days ago, Aniset called him.

Rum was previously the second-in-command, but now Goldvasel has taken over. On the surface, the organization hasn't caused any trouble, and the new boss seems to respectfully retain his original position, but in reality, there are undercurrents within the organization.

Rum wasn't confident enough to take down Godivaser yet, so he treated Anisette, who had come to him, with some respect, barely addressing her as "Miss," and then asked what she wanted. She immediately retorted, "Give me Bourbon's information, preferably with high-resolution photos."

Rum was a little confused.

"Bourbon? There are no members in the organization currently using that codename. The last user died three years ago."

Organizational code names are not one-time use; if a person dies, their code name will be given to a new person a few years later.

Parent-child relationships are an exception. For example, if the father is a member and the child is also in the organization from a young age, the child can obtain an independent code name when he grows up, or he can inherit his father's code name after his death—Rum is the latter.

Glenn's situation was somewhat special. He spent several years in an orphanage and was ostracized because of his sexual orientation. He had no partners and could only work alone until he took over the business three years ago.

Rum was puzzled as to why Anisette would ask a dead, ordinary codenamed member. In his recollection, Bourbon had never had any contact with Anisette.

Anisette's next words stunned him:

"When I went to Yokosuka before, I saw the Public Security Bureau setting up an ambush. The leader of the Public Security Bureau was a blond, dark-skinned mixed-race man who looked a lot like Bourbon."

“Gin’s subordinate, Kir, was framed as the murderer in the relevant case. She had contact with him, and I’m worried that her identity as a member of the organization will be exposed and she will be targeted by the police, so I want to verify this.”

Rum finally figured out Anisette's purpose.

It's not surprising that she went to Yokosuka. Goldwaser had close ties with people in the US military, and the commander of the US military bases in Japan was a good friend of his. Anisette could go to those bases as if they were home without any scruples. Taking away the most advanced weapons and flying off armed helicopters would not be a problem for her.

As for Kiel...

...Tsk, she really knows Gin well; she even lends a hand when his men are in trouble. Kir is quite a pretty woman, and she didn't even seem to mind.

Rum was somewhat annoyed at being ordered around.

But deep down, he felt more uneasy.

The reason is simple: Shirley's disappearance is already known to others in the organization, and many are gossiping that he's covering it up. If, at this sensitive time, it were to be revealed that one of his supposedly dead subordinates from three years ago was actually an undercover agent who escaped…

Rum quickly found the information and sent it to the other party, silently praying that Anisette had misread it.

However, reality slapped him in the face:

"It's him, he looks exactly the same."

Aniset's voice sounded heavy on the phone.

“Sigh, Rum, I’ve heard from Goldvasel that you have poor eyesight, are always trusting, and your intelligence is always a step behind… I originally thought he was just trying to belittle you because he didn’t like you, but I didn’t expect him to tell the truth this time. You still haven’t realized that there was something wrong with his death back then? It’s been three years already.”

"No wonder you were so easily pushed out by Godivaser. It's such a pity," she added sadly.

"........."

Rum was so angry that even his blind eye started to ache.

The mean-spirited Anisette ignored his feelings, and after provoking him, she said, "Then go find Bourbon. Capture him alive, don't kill him," and hung up the phone.

Rum knew he was in the wrong regarding the bourbon incident.

So even though he was furious about that phone call, and even though the new leader didn't directly order him to investigate Bourbon, he still started his own investigation.

Rum's first contact was with Kenji Hyodo, the fourth head of the Metropolitan Police Department, whom he had bribed.

Over the years, he had poured a lot of money into this person, but this man hadn't even given him advance notice of Bourbon's whereabouts, let alone sent back much information about Scotland. Sometimes, he even had to help clean up certain messes. If it weren't for concerns about sunk costs and the fact that the man was reliable in other matters, Rum would have already cut off this bottomless pit.

As expected, this time they also came up empty-handed.

Not only that, the official also made another request: he had recently run into some trouble in his hometown of Nagano and hoped Rum could send someone to help him resolve it. (End of Chapter)