__________Part Two -
Takagi wasted no time. After equipping himself and spreading the new found information to the force of the six suspects and their possible locations, he had had the groups split up. They went to streets nearby friend's or Edogawa Conan. He didn't exactly tell them just why they were going to these places, only that they were to search for men dressed in black. He rushed into his own police car and drove off in a hurry. He had not time to morn and brood over anything, he kept himself focused on the situation at hand. He resisted the urges to break out in tears, to scream at the top of his lungs in anger. Satou was dead; the Inspector was gone. Murdered. Both of them; with such ease! Just who were these people?
"You could make a great leader, Detective Takagi." A boys voice called from behind him.
Takagi jumped and looked to his rear view mirror to so the lonely, bold expression of the eerily mature child. "C-Conan!? Shouldn't you be going to the FBI? It's best to keep you safe!"
"Idiot, if I sit around, I doubt the FBI could hold them off forever. I have to fight this war now." Conan argued before looking around, watching the cop cars spill onto the roads in their organized fashion. Was this the right thing to do? To have them run wild and search for these dangerous men. "Where are you heading now, Detective Takagi?"
"Ah... I was going to go with one of the squads towards Suzuki Mansion." He said before looking back towards the road. "The thre deaths so far have been flashy, I'd expect they would keep that pattern."
Conan perked up a bit at Takagi's last comment. They had started flashy, sure, but they wanted to torture Conan, not make a show for others. No, they'd probably do something that would call him out now, something that would hit him hard; very hard. His expression went morbid as a voice echoed for the badge on his jacket. He ripped it off and held it to his mouth, waiting for something to call to him.
"Conan!"
"Ayumi!? What's wrong?" Conan felt his stomach twist again as he cringed, his nails slowly digging into the seat. The bastards. They are only kids!
"I thought I saw a shadow on the roof... but it's gone now..." She yawned back to him.
"Ayumi, hide somewhere for now. I'll be there soon. Please tell Genta and Mitsuhiko to do the same." After that, Conan jumped up into the front of the patrol car. "Takagi! Down that road!" He ordered, pointing out directions. They had to hurry, for the sake of those innocent smiling faces that had befriended him, no matter how much he had pushed them away.
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Tires screeched at the turn as the police car neared Ayumi's house. Finally the car came to a stop as Conan jumped out of it. "Hey, wait... Conan!" Takagi tried to stop him, but let it go as he too, raced towards the house. Conan had sent a message to Ayumi to meet them at the door, and as predicted, the door opened for the two. Conan sighed in relief at Ayumi's face and without warning, wrapped his tiny arms around the girl. Thank God... The thought echoed his mind as Takagi watched the two of them. "Conan, we shouldn't wait here like this. We should explain the situation to her parents and leave."
Ayumi blinked, having had been shocked at the sudden closeness of her friend. Suddenly her cheeks went bright red as she gasped. "Conan! Are you... confessing?" She asked in surprise.
Conan blinked and stepped back, going a bit pale. "Ah-... ah... We gotta go, Ayumi!" He left no time for conversing as her grabbed his friend's hand and lead her into the streets. There was a silent shot in the distance, then a thud as Conan's stomach plummeted. He froze in place, slowly looking back at Takagi's limp form. His eyes were wide like a deer staring into headlights; unknowing of what was coming at him; innocent to the deadly barrel that had been pointed at him.
Ayumi screamed, breaking Conan from his shock as he cursed out loud. He ran towards the patrol car, letting Ayumi in first. "Ayumi, go to the floor. When I say, hold down the peddle on your right, hard!" Ayumi agreed, which was enough for him as he jumped up onto the seat and shifted the gear. "Now!" He shouted as he shoved down on the peddle. Conan nearly fell back as they shot out into the dark streets. He steered with the skill of his mother, racing the streets dangerously. His mind was racing, head throbbing, heart sinking. He did not know what exhaustion was, anymore. Adrenaline rushed his body, his eyes wide and his skills unlike that of any child before him. "Ayumi, get Mitsuhiko to run outside to us; when I tell you to, let go of the gas." Conan explained everything easy enough for Ayumi to understand; one step at a time.
As they neared Mitsuhiko's house, Syumi let go of the gas. "Now push down the left peddle, Ayumi!" He cried. She did so and the car screeched to a stop. Conan ran into the steering wheel head on from the force and Ayumi screeched, tumbling down below. "Are you okay, Ayumi?" He called to her before looking to Mitsuhiko's house.
Soon enough the tall, thin boy hurried out towards the police car that he saw Conan at the wheel at. He hurried in and gaped at the two trouble makers. "Conan! Ayumi! Hijacking from the police!?"
"Not now, Mitsuhiko!" Conan groaned before waving to him. "Get in, get in! This is a crisis!"
"Detective Takagi is... is..." Ayumi started from her spot on the floor. Mitsuhiko buckled in and closed the door behind him. "He fell back and..."
Conan's eyes watered suddenly as raged blistered him. "Ayumi..." He forced out from his grit teeth, clawing his fingers into the steering wheel. "It will all be alright. Hit the gas, again; please."
Ayumi did as Conan said, but lighter at first this time as soon they were racing off again. Mitsuhiko looked depressed for a long time before he looked up at Conan. He knew in his gut, by looking at Conan's expression, that now was not the time for useless questions such as, 'Where did you learn how to drive?' "Are we going to go defend everyone together then, Conan? As the Detective Boys?" He asked a bit more bravely than he felt.
Conan stayed silent as they neared Genta's house. Ayumi again did the honors of calling Genta and hitting the brakes, but Genta never picked up. Conan cursed, opening the car door and jumping out. He wanted to go alone, but even in this car,, those two would be alone. They would be as open of targets here as they would be in the streets. He picked up his detective badge and held it up to his mouth.
"OOOOOOIII!!! GENTA! PICK UP!"
They could hear the audbile thunk and an echo of Conan's voice from the house. It was obvious the kid had been fast asleep when they called. Only moments later did Genta scream back at him.
"I'm trying to sleep here! It's one AM!"
"There's no time, get outside!"
"Why do I have to? I don't want to go anywhere but back to bed."
"You need to get somewhere safe; now!"
"E-Eh!? Why? What did I do?"
"There's no time to ask stupid questions; we're all waiting for you!"
Genta pulled his window shades open and looked down at the police car below where Conan was standing. He blinked, then quickly ran out from his room, grabbing his jacket. His parents were obviously squabbling with him as he ran out of the house with his friends. They were trying to keep him inside, of course.
After a moment, Genta responded again "Oi, Conan. My parents won't let me leave. I'll be fine in my house anyway. You all go have fun..."
"This isn't a game, idio-" Ayumi's scream filled the air as Conan felt a hand shove over his mouth. He struggled against it , holding his breath for as long as he could. Someone had him, he couldn't stay like this! Bringing his foot up to his thigh, he twisted the dial on the side of his foot as far as it would go before slamming it against the floor and kicking off the ground. His whole body arched, his foot catching the person square in the chin. Static shot everywhere, and soon Conan felt the grip on his mouth loosen. His body fell hard the the ground and he cried out before looking back at the person. "Vodka...?" His eyes went wide as the giant groaned and stirred. He wasn't out of the game yet.
He backed away slowly as Ayumi and Mitsuhiko called to him, but the obvious sound was soon to be heard. Genta rushed out of his house, but as Conan spun around the shout at to to go back inside, their was a loud crack. Genta fell face down to the pavement; motionless. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko panicked, frozen up in fear, but none more than Conan.
He stared, horrified into those cold, heartless eyes. They enveloped him as every fiber in his body froze. The man looked him in the eyes before grinning maliciously. "There you are." He said coldly before pointing his gun at him. But, this would be too easy. No, this kid had not suffered enough. He had not known the true horror; the true power of the organization. Conan suddenly grit his teeth hard as he readied himself. In one quick play, he shouted for Ayumi to hit the gas as he jumped into the car and grabbed the wheel, staring off down the street.
Gin had felt his finger twitch in hesitation before he finally lowered in. He looked to Vodka, groaning and rubbing his aching chin from the floor. "You're useless..." He closed his eyes, popping a cigarette into his mouth from the box before lighting it. "Korn. Take their wheel. When they run out, both of you take the kids. Do not touch Edogawa Conan." His eyes twitched as Chianti's voice yelled back at him, but he did not respond. Edogawa Conan was his pray.
A moment later, he heard a scuffle behind him. He looked back at the door of the house, hearing the bogging of the parents. Taking a small black box from his pocket, her set two minutes on it before tossing it back at the front of the building. A second later he fired several times at the front down. The sound of two bodies hitting the floor limp as a doll brought a grin to his face once more.
Soon... Soon you will taste the cold bite of death, Kudo Shinichi.
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