The laboratory, devoid of windows, felt like a prison. In the silent environment, the only sound was the steady hum of the ventilation fans.
Under the illumination of the xenon lamps, Shiho's already fair skin seemed almost translucent.
She was in a fairly good mood today. The new batch of lab mice that had arrived was adorable, and during this rare period of free time, being able to enjoy a warm cup of coffee wasn't bad at all.
Holding her mug, Shiho walked toward the mice enclosure. Watching them huddle together, loneliness filled her ice-blue eyes. It had been quite some time since she had seen her sister, and she had no idea how she was doing.
Akai's betrayal had pushed her sister into an awkward position. She was worried that the Organization might target Akemi. For example, using her as bait to lure that FBI agent into showing himself.
Lowering her head, she let out a self-mocking laugh. Even if Akemi were strapped to a bomb, that coldhearted man probably wouldn't appear.
When Vodka had told her who killed Macallan, she simply couldn't believe it.
'That idiot Macallan...'
Aside from the person he mentioned most often, Bourbon, the name he brought up the second most in front of her was Rye.
He would talk about how Rye always sat on the couch reading newspapers like an old man, praise his competence in the Operatives Division, and complain about how his constant smoking always annoyed Bourbon.
Shiho wanted to ask Akai why he could cast aside all those moments they had shared and pull the trigger without hesitation.
Unfortunately, she would never get the chance.
Until APTX4869 was successfully developed, she would remain here, like a pitiful bird trapped in a cage, with no freedom whatsoever.
Then again, perhaps failing to complete it wasn't such a bad thing.
Because APTX4869 was Shiho's final remaining value. She didn't dare imagine what would happen after she lost that value.
Beep.
The crisp electronic sound brought her back to reality.
Frowning, she looked toward the entrance.
Logically speaking, nobody should be visiting the laboratory around this time. After all, that annoying white-haired man had only come by recently.
Could it be Gin? Was he planning to take another batch of the still-experimental APTX4869 to use as poison?
The laboratory doors slowly opened.
Standing at the entrance was surprisingly that very same annoying white-haired man... along with Vodka.
How strange. Those two actually being together.
"Sherry, you've got work to do."
"Good afternoon, the younger daughter of the Miyano family."
Shiho glanced at the bloodstains on Augier's face and his disheveled appearance before sneering.
"It seems Mr. Augier isn't very competent at his job."
Hearing that, Vodka immediately raised a fist, ready to argue, but Ritsu stopped him with a hand.
"I'll have to trouble you to treat my injuries."
Ritsu casually approached her. Completely unconcerned, he removed his clothing, revealing a body covered in blood.
Shiho's gaze moved downward.
She noticed the bloodstained mark extending from his left chest to his shoulder.
'That wound... No, was it a scar? How exactly had something like that happened?'
"Miss Sherry, don't tell me you've become captivated by my body? Sorry, but I'm not interested in girls younger than me, and I'll have to reject your affection."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ritsu couldn't help recalling the days when he had approached Shiho under the identity of Nanase Tōru.
Looking back on it now, the things he had said back then were unbelievably dense, borderline deserving a punch.
So he decided to reuse the tactic.
After saying something guaranteed to make the little cat bristle, he deliberately blinked rapidly several times, as though trying to flirt with the increasingly irritated Shiho.
If not for who he was...
If not for the fact that Vodka, whom she couldn't beat, was standing nearby...
Shiho genuinely wanted to chop him into pieces.
Picking up an alcohol-soaked cotton ball with tweezers, she pressed it hard against Ritsu's still-bleeding wound and asked expressionlessly,
"Is this amount of force okay?"
Ritsu barely managed to force out an ugly smile. Yet he still refused to admit defeat.
"It's fine. Pretty good, actually."
Nearby, Vodka was utterly dumbfounded. He never would have imagined that the once-honest Macallan had gone bad.
Those narcissistic, flirtatious lines that only appeared in television dramas had somehow become part of his vocabulary.
And his facial expressions were surprisingly convincing too.
Shiho snorted and ignored him. She had already realized that Augier was the type who would take a mile if you gave him an inch.
After swiftly treating all his wounds, she even used the laboratory's medical equipment to perform a brain CT scan.
Once she confirmed there were no issues, she immediately showed him the door.
After getting dressed, Ritsu found that his injuries were no longer a major concern. Using the table for support, he stood up and looked toward Vodka.
"Vodka, go wait in the car. I have a few things to discuss with Sherry."
"Hm? Okay."
Vodka obediently left the laboratory.
Back in the car, his expression grew serious. He began to wonder:
'Could Augier, No, Macallan... possibly like Sherry?'
If that was true, should he tell Gin?
Gin had always disliked the people he valued becoming entangled in romantic relationships.
For example, even before discovering his true identity, Gin had already disliked the fact that the detestable FBI agent Akai was dating Akemi.
Wait.
Now that he thought about it, Akemi really had it rough. Hadn't she essentially been deceived by Akai and had her feelings exploited?
Vodka nodded to himself, convinced his deduction was absolutely correct.
Which raised an important question, should he try probing Ritsu's feelings for Sherry?
If it turned out to be true, and that witch who hated the Miyano family found out...
'Tch. Things would become very troublesome.'
After much deliberation, Vodka decided to keep the matter as a secret shared only between himself and Ritsu.
Once in a while, he deserved to enjoy the feeling of being mysterious too. Hopefully Gin wouldn't be too angry after learning about it.
Inside the laboratory, Ritsu suddenly sneezed.
Rubbing the tip of his nose, he wondered whether someone was cursing him. Could it be the openly disgusted Shiho standing right in front of him?
"What else do you need from me?" Shiho asked, folding her arms across her chest. "You've already taken the latest batch of APTX4869 experimental data, haven't you?"
"It has nothing to do with you. It's just that making a phone call in front of him wasn't very convenient."
Ritsu pulled out his phone.
Looking at the dozens of missed calls and unread emails accumulated while it had been on silent mode, he couldn't help but sigh.
Shinichi on one side, Hayasaka on the other.
If he didn't inform them soon that he was safe, they would probably start arranging a full mourning service despite not having found a body yet.
Standing up, he left the laboratory and immediately returned Shinichi's call. The call had barely begun ringing before it was answered.
Ritsu instantly moved the receiver farther from his ear. The next second, an extremely loud voice exploded from the phone.
"Sensei, you finally answered! If you'd been one second later, I would've finished filling out the missing-person report form!!!"
"Sorry for making you worry. My phone was on silent, so I didn't hear it."
Shinichi was about to continue when Hayasaka snatched the phone from him. In a cold voice, she asked,
"Onizawa Takashi, where are you right now? I'll come pick you up."
She had directly used his real name. Looks like she was genuinely angry.
Chuckling awkwardly, Ritsu replied, "No need. It's easy to get a taxi from here."
"You're not injured, are you?"
"I'm fine. Forget about me. I told you two to investigate Moriya's residence. How did it go?"
He quickly changed the subject. Right now, capturing Teiji was the top priority.
Based on the amount of explosives he had purchased, he could still manufacture at least a dozen more plastic bombs.
"Just as you predicted," Hayasaka answered. "He's gone."
"No other findings?"
"No. The servants said he left at 9 p.m. last night and never returned."
After a brief moment of thought, Ritsu asked, "Kudo didn't receive a phone call? There should already be further instructions from the culprit."
Hayasaka handed the phone back to Shinichi. She had already obtained the answer she wanted. As long as Onizawa was safe, that was enough.
"I did receive a call from the culprit, and I've already confirmed his identity," Shinichi said before pausing. "Sensei, how did you know the culprit was Moriya-san?"
Having prepared his explanation beforehand, Ritsu answered calmly,
"The recent arson cases gave me the idea. I already found it strange that Moriya invited you to that afternoon tea gathering. Combining that with the arson incidents, I reviewed the cases you'd helped investigate and discovered that you had once solved the case involving Mayor Okamoto of Nishitama City."
At that point, Shinichi understood. He hadn't expected his teacher to deduce so much from such tiny clues.
As expected, he still had a long way to go before reaching that level.
"I've already emailed the new code to you, Teacher. Make sure to check it. I'll be waiting at the MPD."
"Got it. I'll head over right away."
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bonus chap every 20 PS
read ahead to 400 chapters on my p4tr3on.com/Siamus404