Chapter 59: The Meeting Point
The temperature in the suburbs at night was considerably lower than in downtown Tokyo.
The chirping of summer insects rose and fell in waves, and the full moon hung high in the sky, its light illuminating the dilapidated old house before them.
The structure was built in traditional Japanese style—the entire house constructed of wood, the floorboards elevated above the ground on wooden posts, the roof tiled. It appeared to have been built at least a century ago.
"Is this the meeting point we agreed on with the Agency?"
Natsukawa stood on the entrance platform and surveyed his surroundings carefully.
The old house was surrounded by dense vegetation showing no signs of being flattened or disturbed, indicating that no vehicles had been here in the past several months. The road was several hundred meters away, and if the Agency hadn't provided such detailed directions, Natsukawa wouldn't have been able to find this place.
As he approached the old house, his footsteps produced creaking groans on the wooden floor.
The wooden door was hollowed out by insects, and the musty smell of decay grew stronger as he drew closer.
Judging from its abandoned state, no one had been here for at least ten years.
"Don't bother coming up," Natsukawa said with a hint of disdain, turning back to look at Frank, who was about to step onto the floor.
He walked with extreme caution, stepping carefully on supportive surfaces. If Frank tried, he'd probably crush the fragile wooden planks with a single step.
Falling into the gap between the ground and the elevated house wouldn't be pleasant.
"(ˉ▽￣～) Tch~~"
Frank scoffed but still heeded Natsukawa's advice. Who knew what snakes, insects, or rodents might be lurking in that dark gap if he fell through?
He wasn't afraid—just disgusted.
"I don't understand why these Agency contacts choose places like this. Can't we just make the exchange in downtown Tokyo?"
Frank muttered, kicking a pebble.
Bang!
The pebble struck the old wooden house with a dull thud.
"Looks like this old house is just a landmark. The actual rendezvous definitely won't take place inside."
After confirming the old house was structurally sound enough, Natsukawa checked his watch. "Should be any minute now."
Just then, a van slowly approached from the distance, its white body clearly visible in the moonlight.
Despite knowing the visitors were likely their Agency contacts, Natsukawa and Frank still solemnly placed their hands on their pistols and found suitable cover.
The van stopped about fifty meters from the old house, and two men stepped out.
They wore black suits and ties with sunglasses. If they'd also worn fedoras, Conan might have mistaken them for Black Organization members.
The leader turned on his flashlight and flashed it rhythmically several times.
This was the pre-arranged signal.
Confirming the signal was correct, Frank also pulled out his flashlight in response.
After both sides confirmed their identities, Frank and Natsukawa emerged from behind their cover.
They were disguised, each sporting an ordinary Beika citizen's face.
If the two Agency operatives investigated these faces, they'd find nothing—both men had been murdered months earlier. All that remained were their ashes.
The people on the other side paid no attention to the two ordinary Asian faces.
This time, they weren't identifying faces—only signals.
This wasn't their first time dealing with spies or assassins. Disguise was standard protocol. No one in the underworld wanted to reveal their true face. Even their own faces were disguised.
After all, intelligence operatives need to protect themselves.
Therefore, even if their contacts were six-year-olds, they'd still conduct the weapons exchange normally.
"Hello, or good evening, Agent Twilight."
How cringeworthy, Natsukawa thought to himself. This code phrase was Frank's idea, and aside from being slightly awkward, it wasn't a major problem.
"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"
Natsukawa replied with the agreed-upon code phrase.
This response was provided by the Agency—a play on the famous Japanese phrase often used as a poetic confession of love, twisted into something more ominous in their context.
The irony wasn't lost on Natsukawa. Here they were, exchanging weapons under the full moon, using words typically reserved for romantic declarations.
Though he supposed in the intelligence world, survival was its own kind of love story.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Agent Twilight."
The lead operative removed his sunglasses, revealing an Asian face.
Natsukawa wasn't surprised. The mask lacked sufficient detail—he immediately noticed the problems: insufficient eyelash definition and skin texture, pores too prominent, making the face appear pockmarked.
The lead operative immediately identified the taller, leaner man as the spy Twilight.
It wasn't exceptional deductive reasoning—he simply felt that Frank, who barely reached his collarbone, couldn't possibly be Twilight. Otherwise, it would be too anticlimactic.
"Mm," Natsukawa nodded, glancing at the van behind the operative, his meaning clear.
He was eager to complete the exchange. The coded messages had already left him mentally exhausted, making it difficult to muster any interest in further conversation.
"I heard you have some intelligence about the Black Organization to provide us?"
The operative smiled without any sign of impatience, his meaning unmistakable.
"Here."
Frank pulled out a prepared document.
It contained information about an Organization facility in the mountainous region of Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture.
After confirming this was a Black Organization operations base, Frank had conducted further investigations, uncovering solid evidence.
"I hope the weapons and ammunition you're providing are commensurate with this intelligence," Frank added coldly. "Also, don't look down on short people."
The operative shrugged.
"Sorry, my partner is a bit sensitive about height. I hope you understand."
Natsukawa shrugged. He could tease Frank, but others disrespecting him was unacceptable.
The operative rubbed his nose and coughed twice without replying. He took the document and scanned it briefly.
Then he smiled with satisfaction.
He was pleased that Twilight had provided intelligence on a Black Organization base in such a short timeframe.
"No problem. Let's proceed with the equipment transfer."
The operative was extremely satisfied with the intelligence and waved his hand magnanimously, signaling his colleague to open the vehicle compartment.
Twilight had only been on this assignment briefly and had already obtained intelligence on an important Organization base—far more impressive than certain other agencies' efforts.
The FBI's Akai Shuichi had pursued the Organization for years, only to withdraw empty-handed, providing the FBI with virtually no useful intelligence.
During his undercover work, for his personal safety, the FBI never allowed him to transmit any meaningful information about the Black Organization. By the time his cover was blown, all the Organization locations he'd known about had been relocated.
A textbook case of wasted effort.
Moreover, Akai Shuichi's exposure had triggered a chain reaction.
After discovering FBI infiltration, the Black Organization conducted a massive internal purge, eliminating several FBI operatives who'd infiltrated the peripheral ranks.
Rumor had it that agents from other nations were also caught in the crossfire, resulting in complaints from various countries and severely damaging America's international reputation—though its reputation wasn't stellar to begin with.
But that wasn't the point. Everyone appreciates help during crisis, but no one wants to be worse off than before.
He'd done nothing productive, collected a salary, and even dated someone from the Black Organization. If this were within their Agency, he would have been terminated long ago.
The operative felt a slight sense of superiority. At least Twilight was proving to be far more competent.
(End of Chapter 59)
[+100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (30+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01