Vanishing Into Thin Air Once More
When the wind died down, Akai Shuichi's eyes went straight to the hospital bed. Only after confirming that Kir was still there did he glance toward where the boy had been standing — and sure enough, the spot was empty, with the window now hanging open.
The moment Judy realized the boy was gone, she rushed to the window and leaned out, scanning every direction she could see. No matter how she looked, there was no trace of him.
She pulled herself back inside, muttering in disbelief, "No way. He just — vanished that fast?!"
"Is disappearing in midair some kind of secret technique everyone in the Organization knows?" Judy couldn't help letting her thoughts run wild as she remembered how Cointreau had leapt from a great height and simply melted away. "And that sudden gust of wind back there — you're telling me that wasn't magic?"
Having confirmed that Kir was unharmed where she lay, Akai crossed to his two colleagues sprawled unconscious on the floor and checked them over.
The good news was that they were still breathing. The bad news was that both had taken heavy blows to the head — likely concussions, which meant they were out of the operation. Just like that, their numbers had shrunk by two more.
Once he finished the examination, he answered Judy's question seriously. "It's not magic. At the very least, I don't believe in the existence of magic without concrete evidence. As for that abrupt wind — my guess is some kind of specialized device caused it."
......
Meanwhile, Conan raced to the stairwell, where he found exactly what he'd feared: the FBI agents who'd been dispatched here to disarm the bomb were slumped on the stairs, out cold.
He hurried over and ran a quick check — they were breathing. The knot in his chest finally loosened.
Then he bolted straight for the room the boy had mentioned.
When he reached the door, he found it ajar, and through the gap he could faintly hear the sounds of a struggle inside — the clash of bodies and furniture being knocked about.
Conan eased the door open inch by inch, moving as quietly as he could, terrified that even the slightest noise would give away his position.
But the moment he'd pried it open just wide enough to make out the scene within, the sounds of fighting stopped dead — cut off by two dull thuds of bodies hitting the floor.
Conan held his breath and slowly raised his eyes.
The worst had happened. Lying on the ground were the two FBI agents who'd been sent in to rescue the hostages.
Too fast, he thought bitterly. Before I could even get the tranquilizer needle lined up on the enemy, our side's muscle was already down.
When Conan noticed thin trails of blood seeping out from beneath the fallen agents, he strained his eyes toward their chests — and, catching the faint rise and fall of breathing, exhaled quietly in relief.
Just then, he heard two soft footsteps, and watched a figure walk over to stand beside the FBI agents on the floor.
His heart clenched. If the man realized they were still alive, he might finish them off with a shot.
Conan immediately raised his watch, flipped open the cover, and took aim through the gap in the door. The figure's feet came slowly into view beside the fallen agents, and his gaze traveled upward until he could see the man's face clearly.
Alhaitham! Why would he be here?!
(Haibara Ai had told Conan Alhaitham's name, but she didn't know his codename.)
Conan's breath caught in his throat, and a flicker of shock he couldn't suppress crept into his eyes.
According to Haibara, Alhaitham was a researcher, wasn't he? What was he doing here of all places?!
But there was clearly no time to mull over any of that. Through his scope, Conan could see that the man seemed to have sensed something and was turning his head toward the door.
Thinking fast, Conan fired the tranquilizer needle at Alhaitham's neck.
Then Conan could only stare, dumbfounded, as Alhaitham tilted his head in a single fluid motion and slipped neatly out of the needle's path.
Conan: ......
A heartbeat later, his eyes locked with Alhaitham's.
Under that calm, unblinking stare, Conan's body went rigid, frozen in place.
He could only watch as Alhaitham strode right up to him and swung the half-open door wide.
"Ah. It's you."
By now Conan understood just how bad his situation was. Caught red-handed by a member of the Organization, in the company of FBI agents — if the man connected him to Professor Agasa or Uncle Mouri, it would drag all of them down with him.
Dire as things were, something in Alhaitham's words still snagged his attention. Wait — does this guy actually know me?
Since the man hadn't attacked right away, Conan seized the opening, tilting his head up and putting on his best childlike innocence. "Mister, do you know me?"
It was a long shot, but he could only pray that if Alhaitham bought the act, he'd write the whole thing off as some kind of accident.
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow at the performance. "No. But I saw you talking with Kaeya before. You two should be acquainted, no?"
Though phrased as a question, the certainty in his tone left no room for doubt.
Conan knew at once he was talking about their brief encounter after the magic show. To think the man had memorized his face after such a short exchange.
Then Alhaitham lifted his left hand, glancing at the watch-like device strapped to it, and murmured, "Ah — quitting time. Finally, I can leave."
With that, he paid Conan no further attention, turning instead and walking toward the window at the far end of the room.
Realizing the man intended to exit the hospital, Conan blurted out at his decisively retreating back, "Um... hey, mister! You're just leaving? What am I supposed to do?"
Conan hadn't spelled it out, but Alhaitham understood perfectly. "My assignment was to take out the FBI agents dispatched to this wing," he answered, his voice flat and even. "You fall under miscellaneous. I don't take on surplus workload."
Conan watched the man vault out the window and vanish, then sprinted over to the fallen FBI agents. After a quick check, he confirmed that although both had been cut by a sharp instrument and lost some blood, the wounds had missed anything vital — treated promptly, they should pull through.
With the weight finally lifting from his chest, Conan immediately called for the hospital's doctors to come treat the wounded men.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Akai Shuichi — who had just watched the boy vanish into thin air — found himself quietly worried about how things were going on Conan's end.
Kir hadn't been taken from them, but he doubted the situation in that other room was any prettier.
There was no time to worry about it now, though. The clock wait for no one. The plan was already set, and the vehicles were ready and waiting.
The immediate priority was carrying out the plan: loading Kir into Cameron's car.
Shorthanded as they were, Akai and Judy got help from the FBI agents arriving on the scene, lifted Kir onto a stretcher, wheeled her to Cameron's vehicle, disguised her, and loaded her inside.
Then, one by one, the three vans pulled up before James, each signaling him with a raised hand as it arrived.
"Vehicle One, ready to go."
"Vehicle Two, ready to go."
Last came the third van, driven by Cameron. "Vehicle Three, ready to go."
James nodded. "Good. All units are set. Open your comm channels — any trouble at all, contact me immediately."
With that, he sent the three vans off, each heading in a different direction.
At that very moment, a message arrived on Gin's terminal:
Failed to bring back Kir in time. The cargo has been loaded aboard as planned.