Chapter 22: Following
Anya had recently adapted to the pace of life in Japan. She'd joined the Detective Boys at school and was incredibly busy after classes, doing more work than her spy father ever did.
Because of this, she no longer needed Natsukawa to pick her up from school. She'd gotten used to going to and from school with Conan.
"Papa, I'm going to school!"
After finishing her breakfast, Anya hopped off her chair, slung her small backpack over her shoulder, and headed downstairs to meet Conan.
Downstairs, Conan leaned against the wall with his hands on his backpack straps, looking deep in thought.
"Let's go, Conan!"
"Oh."
Conan seemed distracted, but Anya didn't know what he was thinking about. Her mind-reading superpower wasn't always reliable.
Perhaps it needed a cooldown period sometimes.
"What's wrong, Conan? What are you thinking about?" Anya turned to look at him as they walked side by side.
"Nothing. Just didn't sleep well last night."
Conan didn't elaborate.
He couldn't exactly tell her he was thinking about the Black Organization—that was definitely not something he could share with a kid.
He'd been shrunk for several months now, and during that time, he'd encountered several people he suspected of being members of the Black Organization, only to be proven wrong every time.
It left him feeling discouraged.
Was it really impossible to find them?
Wait... Anya and Natsukawa were pretty suspicious too.
"Anya, where does your father work as a police officer?"
Anya froze, her mind racing. (◎_◎;)
She definitely couldn't tell Conan that her papa was a spy! A police officer? Why would Conan think her papa was a police officer?
After thinking for a moment, Anya finally remembered that her father had apparently admitted to being one at the Beika Department Store.
"Papa... Papa was a UN peacekeeping officer. He served for ten years and recently retired because of Anya."
As she said this, Anya put on an exaggeratedly sad expression.
However, because her acting was so over the top, Conan saw through it immediately.
Ten years?
Conan's eye twitched.
"Anya, you mentioned before that your father is 28, right?" Conan stopped and looked at her. "If he's 28 years old and served as a peacekeeping officer for ten years, that means he must have started at 18."
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
Anya looked confused, not understanding what was wrong with that.
"Do you really think someone can become a UN peacekeeping officer at 18? If you're going to make up a story, at least make it believable."
"Maybe a little bit?" Anya's green eyes darted around nervously.
Ocean... water... the Navy counts as working with water, right?
"That's right! Actually, Papa is in the Navy—the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, specializing in fighting crime. He even helped catch Lupin III and Kaito Kid!"
Anya lied with a completely straight face.
Navy? Are you sure it's not the Coast Guard?
Conan sighed. "Fine. If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."
It seems I'll have to investigate Natsukawa and Anya's identities properly when I get the chance.
Professor Agasa should be able to help with that, right?
While thinking about all this, the two arrived at school.
Anya looked dejected.
It seemed like her cover story for Papa had completely failed.
Meanwhile, Natsukawa had already changed his appearance and was walking down the street.
Right now, not even Anya—let alone Frank, who'd worked with him for over a decade—would recognize him.
He wore the face of a middle-aged man with a small mustache similar to Kogoro Mouri's, a knit cap on his head, and a brown suit that screamed "salaryman."
Ahead of him, a tall man dressed entirely in black strolled casually down the sidewalk.
This man was Tequila.
Natsukawa was somewhat baffled by the Organization's members.
Why would a secret organization wear such conspicuous black clothing? Were they trying to make sure everyone noticed them?
Even stranger, in this Detective Conan world, everyone seemed completely accustomed to Tequila's appearance, not giving him a second glance.
Was dressing entirely in black really that inconspicuous here?
Today was the day Tequila and Director Tsugawa of the Beika Library were making their deal. Natsukawa had specifically followed Tequila to see where he was picking up the drugs.
At the crosswalk, Natsukawa naturally walked up beside Tequila.
Tequila glanced back at him, noticed nothing amiss, and continued waiting for the light to change.
Natsukawa was curious. If Tequila was picking up drugs, wouldn't he be driving? Or had the other Organization members already prepared a truck full of drugs for him to drive away?
From that brief glance, Natsukawa realized that Tequila would be relatively easy to impersonate.
His expressions were quite limited—he seemed only capable of maintaining a blank face.
The more difficult aspects would be Tequila's height and voice.
His accent leaned toward Kansai dialect, which Natsukawa would need to be mindful of.
As for height, Natsukawa would have to use special shoe lifts. Tequila stood around 190 centimeters tall, while Natsukawa was 180 centimeters—requiring a 10-centimeter boost.
It wasn't too difficult, but the increased height would make his footsteps sound slightly different, which he'd also need to account for.
The light turned green.
Tequila walked briskly, glanced around after about a hundred meters, then entered a narrow alley.
Natsukawa didn't follow, walking straight past the alley entrance.
Tequila had already seen his face—he couldn't afford to appear in front of him again.
After walking two blocks, Natsukawa found a secluded corner and removed his disguise mask.
"Connect the audio," he said into his earpiece.
Frank's listening device was still active, supposedly hidden inside the brim of Tequila's hat.
Frank's skills were truly impressive. Tequila was, after all, a code-named member of the Organization, and installing a bug inside his hat without detection was remarkable.
The earpiece emitted static, then cleared up after a few crackling sounds.
Some noises came through, but Natsukawa didn't hear any conversation.
There was the jingling of keys.
Then came the sounds of a door opening and closing, followed by a car engine starting.
It seemed the other Organization members had indeed prepared a vehicle, and Tequila had driven off immediately upon arrival.
"What's the location?"
"A logistics company. The registration shows it was newly established this year. Should be an Organization front."
Frank sounded somewhat excited. He hadn't been in Japan long, but had already discovered several Organization locations. This undoubtedly proved that Natsukawa's earlier decision was correct—the Organization definitely had significant presence in Japan.
Natsukawa smiled slightly. "Give me Tamada Kazuo's location."
Another location discovered. Next, he would observe Tequila's behavior during the transaction.
He also wanted to learn more about the trading partner, Director Tsugawa. After all, he'd be impersonating Tequila later. The more he understood about Tequila's business dealings, the less risk of exposure.
"...We have a problem."
Frank's voice paused, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
"What happened?" Natsukawa looked up at the sky, squinting against the sunlight.
A blue logistics truck drove past him, carrying Tequila inside.
"Tamada Kazuo... he's missing."
"When did this happen?" After a long silence, Natsukawa finally asked.
Just when he thought things were going according to plan, a complication arose.
"Must've been last night. The people I sent to tail him discovered he never left the Beika Library. This morning, just a short while ago, his wife got worried and called the police. But since it hasn't been 24 hours yet, they haven't officially opened a case."
Natsukawa sighed. "I understand."
He stopped and hailed a taxi.
He gave the driver the address of the Beika Library.
[End of Chapter 22]
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