Chapter 182: Advantages and Disadvantages
Natsukawa naturally knew why Gin had kept him behind. Although Gin hadn't seemed particularly concerned about Miyano Akemi's fate when he'd called earlier, he was actually quite invested in confirming her death.
After all, she was Sherry's sister. Gin wouldn't feel at ease until he saw concrete proof she was truly gone.
After the other two left, Natsukawa pulled out his phone and handed it over. A video began playing.
It showed "Miyano Akemi" being encased in a cement barrel and thrown into Tokyo Bay.
The footage was dark, but Natsukawa had filmed her face in close-up from the beginning, so Gin easily identified the woman in the video as Miyano Akemi.
After watching the video and confirming it was indeed Miyano Akemi, Gin nodded in satisfaction and returned the phone to Natsukawa.
While Gin was watching the video intently, Natsukawa's heart couldn't help but race slightly, but after confirming that Gin hadn't noticed anything suspicious, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
This was precisely why he'd specifically chosen to make the transaction after 6:30 PM.
Besides giving Conan and Jodie time to react, another reason was that the video quality would be poor at that hour, ensuring that his plan to use a corpse to impersonate Miyano Akemi wouldn't be exposed.
Since it was a corpse, the disguise mask didn't fit perfectly, so the darkness had to cover the flaws.
As for the one billion yen, the embezzled funds had been received by logistics personnel. Natsukawa didn't need to report on this, as the briefcase sitting beside the conference table indicated that Gin had already inspected it.
Inside the research facility at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, Sherry was sobbing alone.
Her research assistant stood nearby, somewhat at a loss. After watching for a while, she stepped out of the research room to inform Gin.
Gin glanced at Natsukawa after receiving the news.
"You went to see Sherry? You weren't thinking of..."
Gin suspected that Tequila wasn't satisfied with just killing the older sister and was preparing to eliminate the younger one as well.
After all, leaving the younger sister alive meant potential retaliation down the line, especially since Sherry was a code-named member.
If it were him, he'd make the same choice. Come to think of it, Tequila was somewhat similar to himself—he appreciated that personality trait.
However, Tequila had obviously abandoned the idea later, showing he still understood the bigger picture.
Natsukawa nodded. "I went to see her first when I came back. I was going to make a move, but I thought better of it. After all, she's the Organization's chief scientist.
However, I hope she never learns that I killed her sister.
We're both code-named members of the Organization, and we'll be running into each other constantly. I don't want her looking at me with hatred every time.
That would negatively impact my future work."
Gin stared at Tequila for a long moment, noticing that his eyes didn't waver at all, and that he spoke clearly and sincerely.
"Alright, I'll tell Sherry that I killed Miyano Akemi. You don't need to worry about her attacking you.
As long as you do your job well, the Organization won't treat you unfairly, and neither will I. You've been performing excellently on your missions lately, and the boss has already taken notice of you.
As long as you continue to contribute to the Organization, you'll definitely receive more than what Bourbon and Vermouth get."
Natsukawa understood Gin's meaning—he was being recruited.
After all, this was Japan, Gin's stronghold, and he should align himself with Gin's leadership.
"Understood, Gin-aniki. From now on, I'll absolutely follow your lead and strike wherever you point!"
Although Gin didn't know where Tequila had picked up these somewhat theatrical phrases, he was pleased that Tequila understood his meaning and aligned himself so readily.
After Vodka, he'd gained another reliable subordinate.
Rum had several capable followers, but he only had Vodka, and he'd long felt short-handed.
Especially since Vodka wasn't particularly bright and could only serve as muscle, he desperately needed a confidant with actual brains.
Right now, Tequila was the perfect choice.
Although Tequila was a bit older, as long as he had the ability, Gin could accept him.
Talent didn't depend on age, only on capability, and Tequila's recent performance had been very much to his liking.
"However..." Natsukawa hesitated, stammering for a moment before finally speaking. "During our conversation just now, Sherry seemed to have overheard something. She might suspect her sister is dead. I think she's acting strangely. Aniki, do you have time to go check on her?"
Gin nodded, checked the time, and said, "Yes, I'll handle this. Tomorrow, you and Vodka go retrieve the ransom and deal with that stupid dog while you're at it."
If it weren't for that idiotic dog secretly carrying Kaitou Kid's notice into its kennel, today wouldn't have been so troublesome.
The Organization wasn't afraid of Kaitou Kid. If they'd known he would appear, they definitely would have devised a plan. The problem was they hadn't known, which was the main reason for Gin's frustration.
Fortunately, Tequila had been on a mission at Tokyo Bay. Otherwise, Kaitou Kid would definitely have escaped by now.
Those on the ground could never catch those flying in the sky.
Therefore, that stupid dog named Lupin was the root of all this trouble—it was the one that had nearly caused this operation to fail.
You see, because he'd been confident the operation would succeed, he'd already spent a large portion of research funds in advance. If the operation had failed, Shirakage Pharmaceuticals could have declared bankruptcy.
"No, don't touch the dog!"
Gin's eyes narrowed. Tequila had just become his subordinate, and the very first task he'd assigned was already being opposed. This was unacceptable!
Thinking of this, he reflexively placed his hand on his waist, as if he would pull out his gun and demand a satisfactory explanation if Tequila couldn't provide a reasonable one in the next moment.
Natsukawa showed no fear. Instead, he revealed a sinister and cunning smile. "Aniki, don't you think the Suzuki Group could be a long-term cash cow?"
Gin paused, his right hand—which had been about to draw his gun—moved down to scratch casually at his side. "Explain in detail."
"Think about it. If we return Lupin this time, when the Organization is short on funds again, can't we just kidnap him again?
We can't do one-off deals. A steady stream of income is the key to sustainable development.
Besides, with the experience of using Kaitou Kid's name this time, we can frame other organizations next time.
For example, that phantom thief group that specializes in stealing jewels—they always wear the same black outfits as us. I've been annoyed with them for a long time.
In short, as long as Lupin is alive, we'll have opportunities to kidnap him repeatedly. This time they're paying 8 billion. Next time it probably won't be any less. After all, Lupin is practically Suzuki Jirokichi's beloved son.
The amounts we demand are negligible to the Suzuki Group."
Gin sat down on the sofa, pondering Tequila's suggestion carefully.
After thinking for a while, he realized it actually made considerable sense. Kidnapping Lupin could be a sustainable revenue stream.
Not only should they not kill him, but they should feed and care for him properly. Perhaps he'd even recognize them later and willingly come to be kidnapped when he saw Organization members. Wouldn't that be simple and convenient?
"Excellent, Tequila. I like you more and more!"
Gin gazed at Natsukawa with genuine admiration, satisfied that he hadn't misjudged him this time. A smug smile spread across his face.
This Tequila seemed even more useful than Vodka—his thinking was creative, and his suggestions were highly constructive.
He had muscle, but what he lacked was someone like Tequila who could think strategically. Tequila's appearance was a pleasant surprise.
However, Tequila had remained so low-profile for years. How had he suddenly become so insightful? While satisfied, a slight unease also arose.
However, this unease vanished almost instantly.
After all, Tequila was a long-time member of the Organization, always performing his duties faithfully without any major mistakes. There was no intelligence suggesting he was an undercover agent, so there shouldn't be any problem.
He'd tested him several times before and found nothing suspicious, so there really seemed to be no issue.
The two discussed the matter at length, confirming various details of the extortion scheme, while Natsukawa inquired about Vermouth and Bourbon.
Because Gin had accepted Natsukawa as a confidant, he didn't hide anything from him.
From their conversation, Natsukawa learned that Vermouth was indeed operating as Amamiya Mina, embedded within the Yabumoto Group.
Having been with the company for just over a month, she'd already become familiar with all its operations. Yabumoto Natsue treated her as a trusted confidante and had even recently expressed interest in allocating company shares to her.
However, while Yabumoto Natsue treated her as a confidante, she treated him like an ATM.
In the past month, Vermouth had not only secretly transferred significant Yabumoto Group assets but had also transferred some shareholders' stakes to her own name.
Because the Yabumoto Group's covert operations had recently stabilized, she'd had time to come out and assist with this dog-stealing mission.
As for Bourbon, he was somewhat isolated from Gin's direct command structure.
He reported directly to the boss and operated globally. This year, he'd been sent to Japan, apparently to investigate something the boss valued highly.
Gin wasn't entirely clear on the specifics, only knowing that Bourbon seemed to be searching for something.
Although he'd only been in the Organization for a few years, Bourbon's intelligence-gathering abilities were highly valued by the boss. A significant portion of the Organization's extortion business relied on Bourbon providing compromising materials.
Even Gin's invitation to involve him this time had required the boss's approval.
It was clear that Bourbon held a high position within the Organization.
Natsukawa shook his head inwardly and sighed. The boss, though mysterious, was probably getting senile.
For a spy to become the Organization's chief intelligence officer—if Bourbon wanted to, he could fabricate false information for the boss, potentially causing severe losses to the Organization.
Knock, knock, knock.
The conference room door was knocked on a few times before being pushed open, revealing Vodka's rotund figure.
Looking up, Natsukawa saw the man's face and noticed he seemed extremely happy, his mouth stretched in a wide grin.
Natsukawa could even see joy in Vodka's eyes behind his sunglasses. Without a doubt, Suzuki Jirokichi had agreed to pay the ransom.
As expected of a wealthy dog owner! He'd agreed to ransom Lupin so quickly.
Eight billion yen was a staggering sum converted to any currency, and Suzuki Jirokichi had agreed so readily, with the transaction scheduled for tomorrow. This demonstrated that the Suzuki Group's reputation as a major conglomerate was well-deserved.
"Aniki, Suzuki Jirokichi has agreed. He'll have the eight billion yen ready by noon tomorrow. We'll arrange the transaction location then."
"Hmm." Gin's lips curled slightly as he lit a cigarette.
Just as Tequila had predicted, Suzuki Jirokichi truly doted on his "son."
With that, a long-term cash cow seemed within reach.
Gin then arranged the transaction details based on his earlier discussion with Natsukawa. Vodka was visibly displeased when he learned that Tequila had been chosen to handle tomorrow's transaction.
He'd fallen out of favor. This kind of assignment should have been his responsibility, or his aniki's personal involvement.
For the first time, Vodka felt that his position as the chief subordinate might be usurped by Tequila. His smile slowly faded, and he resolved to find a way to win back his aniki's favor from Tequila.
After the discussion concluded, it was past midnight when Natsukawa finally left.
While he was away, Gin went to check on Sherry's lab.
According to the timeline, Ai Haibara was about to make her appearance.
It was estimated to happen within the next few days, and the FBI would likely make their move soon as well.
Based on Franky's calculations, it would happen within two or three days. It seemed they needed to find a way to lure Gin out of Shirakage Pharmaceuticals in the next couple of days, which would help facilitate Sherry's escape.
Actually, Natsukawa had another dilemma.
He'd pondered for a long time whether or not to adopt Ai Haibara.
Adoption had its pros and cons.
The advantages were obvious.
His own Anya was unreliable. If he adopted Ai Haibara, he could keep her under his watchful eye and give the unreliable Anya a little push. Perhaps Anya's grades would even improve.
After all, Sherry had already graduated from university in her teens and become the chief scientist at the Black Organization. Her intelligence was definitely exceptional. Living together might even subtly improve Anya's academic performance.
The downside—
He was a spy, after all. His house was full of equipment, he frequently went out at night, and made countless phone calls. All of this could be discovered by Ai Haibara at some point.
After all, she was one of the main characters, and her perceptiveness was famously sharp. When she shrank, she was practically a mobile Organization detector.
He sometimes impersonated Tequila, and he wondered if he'd picked up some of the Organization's scent. Maybe the moment Ai Haibara saw him, she'd realize he was connected to the Organization.
The car pulled into Franky's villa, the license plate and color-changing film reverting to their original appearance.
"How did it go? Any results?" Franky asked.
"Yes, we've gained Gin's trust. I've been appointed as the main executor for tomorrow's ransom collection."
"Eight billion yen—Gin really has the guts to demand that much," Franky remarked.
He'd secretly been monitoring the Suzuki family's phone calls and knew all about Vodka's extortion demands.
"Oh, right, the Suzuki family called the police!"
"Called the police?"
"Yeah, because this matter has gotten pretty serious, and then Kaitou Kid showed up. The security guards called the police the moment they spotted him. The Second Investigation Division is handling this now." Franky changed the subject. "However, after receiving the police, Suzuki Jirokichi kicked Inspector Nakamori Ginzo out of his house. He seems adamant about not wanting the Metropolitan Police Department involved."
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