Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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July 17th, Thursday, 05:24 AM.
At Tokyo International Airport, the sky had only just begun to brighten, yet the terminal was already bustling with people.
Compared to his usual operational outfit, Ritsu dressed a bit lighter today due to the stifling heat, a thin short-sleeve T-shirt layered with a black tactical jacket. His pants and shoes remained unchanged: the Organization's preferred all-black look.
He carried no firearms or contraband. Unlike other places in Japan, airport security wasn't something you could slip through, so everything would be provided by their contact in the U.S.
Pop. Pop.
The sound of bubble gum bursting.
Ritsu turned around and saw a man in a black suit with a white bow tie, hair slicked back to look more mature. Unfortunately, his thinning hairline didn't quite cooperate, honestly, a bit concerning.
They were heading out on a mission, not attending an awards ceremony. Was there really a need to dress like that? Without the stray tuft of hair on his head, he looked even shorter.
With one hand in his pocket, Ritsu sized up the 140-centimeter-tall figure. In truth, if he hadn't read the file, it would be hard to believe this elementary school–looking kid was actually the same age as Vodka, a 31-year-old man.
"Yo, the golden boy of the action team. First time we're working together, huh?"
Glenfiddich's voice was also childlike, as if it hadn't gone through puberty. His grin was almost cute, anyone unfamiliar with him would easily be fooled. No wonder his close-range assassination success rate was 100%; most people wouldn't guard against a child.
"Glenfiddich, I should be saying that to you. You're quite the star in the Organization too, aren't you?" Ritsu replied expressionlessly. He didn't believe this was praise, just sarcasm.
Glenfiddich simply smiled without answering. It was obvious he didn't like Macallan.
He was someone both arrogant and insecure, believing himself superior and favored by the Organization, yet deeply self-conscious about being stuck in a child's body due to human experimentation.
So naturally, he disliked tall, mature-looking men like Ritsu.
He didn't dare provoke Gin, but someone like Macallan, who had only been in the Organization for three years? As a veteran, Glenfiddich figured he could bully him.
But unexpectedly, Ritsu had picked up on the deeper meaning in his words and even pushed back.
How annoying. If Gin didn't value him so much, he'd love to slice him into pieces and cook him in sukiyaki.
Noticing Glenfiddich staring at him with almost drooling intent, Ritsu didn't think it was admiration. More likely, the guy was imagining turning him into food.
"Glenfiddich, it's time to board."
"…Yeah."
They boarded a flight to Yeager Airport in Charleston. The twenty-hour journey was long and tedious. At first, Ritsu watched a sci-fi movie, but after realizing only two hours had passed, he gave up and took a sleeping pill, drifting into deep sleep.
By the time they arrived at Yeager Airport, it was 1:45 PM local time.
Traveling light, neither of them had luggage. Ritsu only carried a shoulder bag with communication devices like his phone and earpiece. They skipped baggage claim and headed straight to the airport lockers to retrieve the car keys left there in advance.
After entering the code and retrieving the keys, Ritsu located their vehicle in Parking Area A, a silver Dodge Ram 1500 Sport, a popular pickup truck in the U.S.
Having obtained a driver's license during his time at Columbia University, Ritsu didn't need a forged one. He drove, naturally, there was no way Glenfiddich could.
Their destination, Virginia.
The CIA headquarters was located in Langley, Virginia, but they weren't heading there. Instead, they drove to Harrisonburg, where all the CIA agents on their list resided.
After six hours of travel, they finally arrived at a shopping mall in Harrisonburg. From another locker, they retrieved a backpack prepared by an inside contact.
Inside, naturally, were contraband items.
Handguns and fragmentation grenades.
After checking all their equipment in the car, Ritsu put on his earpiece and attached the transmitter given by Hiro to the lining of his clothes. The moment a red dot appeared on Public Security's monitoring screen, the operation had begun.
According to the CIA mole, their target was a ten-story office building. It looked ordinary on the outside, but in reality, it served as housing for non-local CIA operatives.
It wasn't just the twelve agents on their list living there.
The Organization's intent was clear, cause chaos. Kill as many as possible.
"Hey, Macallan… excited?"
Hearing Glenfiddich loudly chewing gum, Ritsu calmly holstered his handgun at his waist and strapped another to his calf.
"No. I just want to finish this and get back to Tokyo."
"Tch, how boring." Glenfiddich played with a military knife, grinning wickedly. "I'm planning to kill them all. Don't you think the survivors would be pitiful? Cleaning up corpses is exhausting. As good coworkers, we should go to hell hand in hand."
"Deal with the names on the list first. Then do whatever you want."
"Yes, yes~ As expected of the Organization's model student. No wonder Gin likes you so much." Glenfiddich yawned, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Macallan, it's about time."
"Hold on. The security system isn't cracked yet." Ritsu stared at the complex code on the screen, fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard.
"Then hurry up. I can't wait."
"You'd speed things up if you spit out that gum," Ritsu said irritably, shooting him a glance. "You're noisy."
Glenfiddich raised an eyebrow, surprised at how intimidating that glare was. Wanting to get moving, he reluctantly spat out the gum and sat obediently, already imagining the bloodbath to come.
After about three minutes, the system was successfully hacked.
Ritsu pulled a black baseball cap from his bag and put it on, then glanced at Glenfiddich.
"We're good to go."
"OK! Don't steal my targets!" Glenfiddich stepped out of the car, turning back with an innocent, radiant smile while saying something utterly chilling. "Otherwise, when I get mad, I might kill you too."
"…"
Definitely a problem child.
No, considering his age… A problem grown man.