Chapter 194: Can a Kind Uncle Take Me In?
"Tequila, I knew I wasn't wrong about you!" Seeing Tequila's equally sinister expression, Gin revealed a satisfied sneer. "Since Shirakage Pharmaceuticals can't be saved, we can't let the police get their hands on the remaining research equipment for nothing."
"As for grenades, I might not be able to find a source."
Natsukawa said, observing Gin's expression. Seeing the sudden displeasure, he immediately changed his tone. "However, I might be able to get a batch of plastic explosives. With a little modification, we can make a large quantity of plastic bombs."
Gin's eyes lit up. Wasn't this even better than grenades?
Tequila usually kept a low profile, but when needed, he always provided excellent assistance.
Perfect. This subordinate wasn't useless—his judgment was indeed exceptional.
While pleased with himself for making the right choice, he pressed further. "How much can you get?"
Natsukawa hesitated for two seconds, then looked troubled. "It should be quite a lot, but it'll take two days. If the police discover us, they'll probably take action tonight or tomorrow night, so there might not be enough time."
Gin waved his hand, indicating that time wasn't an issue.
The Organization actually had a batch of bombs, but the quantity was limited—definitely not enough to give the police a nasty surprise. Therefore, he'd originally planned to just use a few grenades as a message to the police. If Natsukawa could provide a batch of plastic explosives in two days, the Organization's stockpile of explosives could be cleared out, giving the police a decisive blow.
"Sure, time isn't a problem. The Organization isn't short of explosives. If you can provide some, we can clear out our stockpile.
But we can't delay too long—two days should be fine."
At this point, Gin suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Can we just take this batch?"
"Does Aniki mean he wants both the goods and lives?"
"That's right."
This question stumped Natsukawa.
Calling it a yakuza organization deal was just a pretext—he was the one making the transaction.
Gin was planning to kill and rob, which was rather greedy.
If he was going to do this, he couldn't appear as the trader, so the question arose: who would be the one to die?
Franky was definitely out of the question—he couldn't betray his own people.
He could manipulate Moriya Teiji to become his pawn unknowingly, but Gin's intention was clear: to kill him to silence him, which made Natsukawa somewhat conflicted.
The existence of the Time-Bombed Skyscraper case was a crucial element in the development of the relationship between Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran, and his untimely death would signal the premature end of this movie before it even began.
But then again, what did this have to do with him?
He was worried that his involvement would affect the plot, but now it seemed it wouldn't.
Sherry was a good example. She'd escaped from the research facility before the Japanese Public Security Bureau found Shirakage Pharmaceuticals. Wasn't that Conan's plot armor at work?
Once Public Security took action against Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, Gin would definitely move Sherry immediately, and then it might not be as easy to escape.
Sherry's successful escape was definitely related to her years of familiarity with the underground research facility at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals. If she'd been in a new, unfamiliar location, her escape would have been questionable.
Furthermore, there was another possibility: Gin might not move Sherry but instead kill her in the chaos and frame Public Security.
Yes, kill her!
Gin's murderous intent toward Sherry was obvious. Natsukawa, despite only knowing Gin for a short time, sensed something was off.
Since Sherry could escape unscathed in this situation, he had nothing to worry about.
If there were any significant plot changes, he could simply find a way to fulfill Moriya Teiji's dream.
Tokyo was so big—ordinary people were hard to find, but criminals eager to commit crimes were plentiful.
"Okay, I need to contact them first, then report back to you, Aniki, once we've confirmed the time and place of the transaction."
"However," Natsukawa feigned hesitation, "that means we might not have any other channels for explosives in the short term."
Gin shook his head dismissively. "No matter. Someone will always do this kind of business. Besides, because of Sherry's disappearance, the Organization's drug research in Japan will definitely have to be suspended, which will save a lot of money.
The difficulty with explosives lies in the raw materials. I'll find a way to open up channels, and then we can produce them ourselves without needing to purchase from outside. We can even sell them."
No need to purchase?
Natsukawa secretly rolled his eyes. Purchasing without capital and even eliminating the trading parties?
Gin had clearly had this idea for a long time, and his plans were very logical. He probably wanted to kill Sherry a long time ago. The plan went slightly wrong—Sherry's disappearance instead of her death made him a little angry, but at least he'd achieved his main goal of redirecting the funds elsewhere.
The explosives matter could wait until Moriya Teiji made his move.
After reporting to Gin, Natsukawa rejoined Vodka to investigate the surveillance footage from nearby convenience stores.
However, the results were unsatisfactory.
Due to the heavy rain the previous night, the late hour, and the fact that many convenience store surveillance cameras were outdated, they couldn't find any trace of Sherry.
Perhaps Sherry had noticed this while escaping and cautiously avoided the cameras.
In any case, the two checked the surveillance footage of more than a dozen nearby 24-hour convenience stores but still couldn't find any trace of Sherry.
This relieved Natsukawa.
Although Vodka couldn't recognize Sherry because she'd shrunk, an elementary school student wearing a white coat and getting soaked in the rain on the street in the middle of the night was extremely suspicious.
Gin, on the other hand, was no longer paying attention to Sherry's situation. He was focusing all his energy on antagonizing the police.
Sherry was only important to the boss. Gin himself didn't particularly care about her.
Besides, the Organization had more than just Sherry as a top researcher—he could simply leave the research to Rum.
Most of the Organization's remaining explosives were transferred to Shirakage, and under Gin's instructions, all the load-bearing pillars of Shirakage Pharmaceuticals were fitted with explosives.
Equipment that couldn't be moved was either gathered near bombs or directly rigged with them.
All possible exits were also bombed, even the ventilation ducts.
If the police entered Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, they'd be trapped, and the bombs would detonate from the outside in, ensuring not a single officer escaped.
In short, by the time Gin withdrew, Shirakage Pharmaceuticals had become a powder keg ready to explode.
"Just as Tequila said—we've been discovered?"
Gin, who'd left through the secret passage in the evening, reappeared near Shirakage Pharmaceuticals. He circled the area, his sharp eyes spotting several suspicious individuals resembling surveillance personnel.
Tequila's caution pleased Gin, filling him with both admiration and frustration.
Vodka had been with him for so many years and still hadn't amounted to much. Even a dog should learn something after following its master for a while, right? He was truly hopeless.
At 7 PM, in a temporary base in an underground air-raid shelter at a factory in Shibuya, several code-named members of the Organization waited silently.
Soon, the large screen in the conference room lit up, displaying a crow icon.
Everyone looked at the screen.
"Gin, you've disappointed me this time."
The synthesized electronic voice was cold and emotionless, but the murderous intent within it was palpable.
Gin's expression remained unchanged. He simply took a couple of drags from his cigarette in silence. Perhaps he was the only one in the entire Organization who dared to leave the boss speechless.
After taking a couple of drags, he spoke. "I'll find Sherry as soon as possible and eliminate her. I bear undeniable responsibility for this incident."
"I'm not here to interrogate you. With Sherry gone, the drug research in Japan can be suspended for now. From now on, all drug research will be handled by Rum.
You continue with the software technology, but be careful—there can't be another incident like Sherry's.
Otherwise..."
The boss's meaning was clear: he was stripping the Japanese branch of some of its operations.
While seemingly easing Gin's burden, it was actually stripping him of authority.
It was like holding two positions in a company and wielding immense power, then having the boss suddenly remove one of those positions, effectively costing you half your influence.
"I understand." Gin said coldly, glancing at all the members. "The same mistake won't happen again. I'll do everything I can to find that woman, Sherry."
This was addressed to the boss but also to the code-named members.
He was telling everyone to keep their eyes peeled and notify him immediately if they found Sherry.
The others remained silent. All the members still in Tokyo were present.
Besides Baileys and Bourbon, whom he'd met once, Pisco and Kir, whom he'd never met, were there.
But was it really appropriate to have three undercover agents at the Black Organization's most crucial meeting?
While finding this amusing, Natsukawa secretly glanced at Amuro several times, noticing the latter wasn't looking at him.
It seemed Amuro hadn't yet made contact with Public Security.
The boss's call was brief. Aside from Gin being called out, everyone else was just a listener.
He only gave a few brief instructions.
The other topic was Shirakage Pharmaceuticals.
Because Gin had planted a large quantity of explosives, the upcoming explosion would undoubtedly enrage Public Security, plunging the recently active Organization back into a period of silence.
Natsukawa secretly rolled his eyes. Even Amuro Tooru had been called in—the outcome Gin wanted was definitely catastrophic.
This was fine. Otherwise, he would have had to find a way to prevent Jodie from raiding Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, which would have been very troublesome.
Most members were called in primarily to observe, but it was worth noting that Amuro Tooru was kept behind—the boss seemed to have other tasks for him.
Even Gin wasn't allowed to listen in.
After everyone left the meeting room, Natsukawa took the opportunity to meet Baileys and Kir.
Since there would definitely be further contact, Natsukawa needed to get to know them.
Kir was alright. She was a CIA agent, and the conversation was proper, so there was no need to deliberately make contact. They only exchanged a few words.
Baileys was more outgoing, her speaking style somewhat similar to Vermouth's—a seductive type.
However, compared to her encounter at the Hiromoto Foundation, she was much more restrained.
It seemed Baileys wasn't interested in Tequila, this forty-something-year-old man.
Seeing Tequila chatting with two female members, Vodka quietly moved closer.
Gin had specifically instructed him today to carefully study Tequila's way of handling things.
Reluctantly, he still strictly followed his big brother's instructions.
Natsukawa didn't mind. It was just normal chatting to pass the time.
Natsukawa had originally planned to chat with Amuro Tooru after the meeting, but the latter hadn't emerged from the meeting room for half an hour, seemingly discussing something with the boss, so Natsukawa had to give up.
Sherry was still at Professor Agasa's house. He needed to go back and check on her as soon as possible.
After saying goodbye to Gin, Natsukawa took his leave.
There was no need to remember this base—it was just temporary and not worth much.
It was already eight o'clock when he arrived at Professor Agasa's house.
Natsukawa had assumed Sherry would remain silent as before, but things took an unexpected turn.
"You're here." Sherry sat cross-legged on the sofa, watching the Milan Fashion Week runway show on TV. Beside her were Professor Agasa and Conan, one large and one small, watching her intently.
Sherry seemed to adapt quickly. In less than a day, Professor Agasa's house felt like her own, and she didn't seem reserved at all.
"Why is Conan here?" Natsukawa glanced at Conan and asked Professor Agasa.
Logically, Conan should have met Sherry after she changed her name to Ai Haibara and enrolled in Class 1-B at Teitan Elementary School.
Now it seemed the plot had taken a strange turn, and he wondered what would happen next.
"Oh, I called Conan over." Professor Agasa gestured toward Sherry with his chin. "I thought Ai didn't want to talk to us because she was wary of adults, so I called Conan, who's a child, to help."
"Ai?" Natsukawa was slightly taken aback, scrutinizing the three of them for a moment.
They'd already chosen a name! Looks like things had really changed a bit. Judging from Conan's expression, they seemed to get along fairly well, right?
Natsukawa didn't know that besides changing the plot, Tequila's unintentional display of cunning had also slightly altered Sherry's personality.
The thrill of her first experience with manipulation today gave Sherry a glimmer of satisfaction, and she decided to explore that path further.
"I didn't help at all, and this brat even made me drink three cups of cola."
Sherry, now renamed Haibara Ai, pretended to touch her forehead. "After drinking three cups of iced cola, I feel like my fever, which just broke, is starting to flare up again."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Conan's eye twitched in exasperation. "I only poured you one cup! You poured the rest yourself, okay? You said cola wasn't as good as coffee, but you drank three cups in a row."
How could one person have two personalities? He felt she was somewhat similar to his mother in her contrarian nature.
"It's mainly because you brought the cola to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to stop drinking it."
Natsukawa finally understood that while he was away, Ai Haibara had apparently already confronted Conan and Professor Agasa.
Ai Haibara's tone was very indifferent, even a little sly. If she wanted to pretend to be a child in front of Conan, she definitely wouldn't be behaving like this.
"So, Ai, haven't you told Professor Agasa where you live yet?"
Natsukawa squatted down in front of Ai Haibara, looking her directly in the eyes. "It's been almost a full day now. If you don't go home, your parents will be worried sick, and they might have already reported you missing to the police."
Ai Haibara had been watching TV, and being looked at like this suddenly made her a little shy.
The man in front of her was quite handsome, with blond hair and chiseled features that appealed to her.
Ai Haibara believed that her small body contained the mind of an eighteen-year-old, and it was normal for her to appreciate a handsome man. She had no other intentions.
In addition, she'd studied in America before, so she was relatively comfortable around handsome men with Western features like Natsukawa.
If it were Kudo Shinichi, she could only describe him as somewhat handsome.
However, considering that Kudo Shinichi's father, Yusaku Kudo, sported a small mustache—and she disliked that type of man—she also mentally crossed out his son, Shinichi Kudo.
There was no helping it. Like father, like son.
The father had a mustache, and the son might look like that someday.
"I've just recovered from my fever, but I seem to have forgotten where I live."
Ai Haibara composed herself, pulled her legs together, hugged them with her arms, and put on a pitiful expression. "I've forgotten where I live. Kind uncle, could you take me in?"
(End of Chapter)
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