Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
I have decided to give bonus every 20 PS.
Enjoy Reading!
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Shiho took small sips of her warm coffee as she studied Ritsu, who was flipping through documents. She asked casually, "How have things been for you in the operations unit lately?"
Saying her concern out loud made her feel a little embarrassed, so she buried her face in her mug. She had already noticed when Ritsu entered that he didn't look well. From her observations just now, he seemed a bit thinner than the last time they met.
Ritsu curved his lips slightly, set down the documents in his hand, and habitually reached out to ruffle her hair. With a straight face, he said, "I'm doing fine. But you, shorty, you've gotten taller, huh?"
"Don't call me shorty." Shiho shot him an annoyed half-lidded glare, swatting away the hand that had messed up her hair, though she felt relieved inside.
"Oh, same deal as always, once you're taller than me, I'll stop."
"…Get lost."
At fourteen years old, Shiho was already 164 cm tall, definitely above average among her peers. But standing in front of Ritsu, who was a full 188 cm, she still had to tilt her head up obediently.
Ritsu had intended to chat with Shiho a bit longer when Gin called, telling him to meet at the parking lot.
"I've got to go. I'll take you to see your sister another day."
"Mm. Go on."
Shiho waved him off with a cool expression, though she felt a bit reluctant inside. In her eyes, Ritsu ranked just behind her sister, someone very important to her.
As Ritsu was about to press the button to open the lab door, he suddenly remembered Vermouth had asked him to pass along a message.
"Oh right, are you close with Chris Vineyard? She asked me to tell you she's looking forward to seeing the results of APTX4869."
"Chris Vineyard? I don't know her."
"In the organization, her codename is Vermouth. When I asked what your relationship was, she even—"
Crash.
The mug, still containing some coffee, shattered on the floor.
When Ritsu turned around, he saw that Shiho had a look of terror on her face upon hearing that codename, an even stronger reaction than when she saw Gin.
'She's afraid of Vermouth?'
"Sherry, you—"
"It's nothing. My hand slipped." Shiho crouched down, her expression calm as she picked up the broken ceramic pieces. "You should go. Don't keep Gin waiting, he's never liked waiting."
Since she didn't want to talk about it, he didn't press further. Ritsu nodded. "Alright. Be careful cleaning that up. See you next time."
The lab door opened and quickly shut again. Still crouched on the floor, Shiho stared blankly at the ceramic shards. Her thoughts had already drifted far away because of Vermouth's name, so much so that she didn't even notice when her finger got cut.
'That woman… has she been watching me all this time?'
Her body trembled uncontrollably. Thinking back to what Vermouth had said to her in America, a bitter smile formed on her lips. If she didn't make it, she would die. If she did make it… she might still be killed by her.
But at least, if she completed it, her sister could live well. And that was enough.
Pulling herself together, Shiho finally noticed the cut on her ring finger. After carefully disposing of the shards, she went to disinfect the wound.
Leaving Lab No. 5, Ritsu quickened his pace while pondering Shiho's strong reaction. It seemed Vermouth had been hiding something from him.
"A secret makes a woman woman."
As expected of someone who loved mystique and speaking in riddles, definitely not his type. Surprisingly, on this point, he and Gin shared the same view.
Arriving at the parking lot, Ritsu looked at Gin standing by the car door. As for Vodka? He was skillfully inspecting the car with tools in hand, checking the water pump and thermostat, likely trying to figure out why the engine temperature had been running high.
Seriously, why drive a vintage car around? And if something actually happened, the thing couldn't even go fast, it might just break down halfway.
"Gin, did you need something from me?"
"I've got a mission for you. We caught a rat trying to infiltrate the organization."
"Which side?"
"NIS."
NIS, the South Korean National Intelligence Service. The organization's reach really was extensive. It seemed the only power it hadn't managed to control was China.
Ritsu straightened his expression. "You want me to interrogate him?"
"Yeah. You don't have interrogation experience yet, so cracking this rat's mouth open will be your job." Gin intended to train Ritsu into a well-rounded operative. He trusted his chosen subordinate could handle it.
"Also, bring Kir along. Let her learn more, interrogation falls under the intelligence division anyway."
"Got it. If there's nothing else, I'll head back first. Didn't get much rest on the plane."
"Mm."
The faint dark circles under his eyes did show he hadn't rested well. Gin withdrew his gaze and looked at Vodka, who was still checking the car.
"Not done yet?"
"Boss, looks like the cylinder gasket's damaged. We'll need to take it to a repair shop."
"Fine. Get someone to fix it. Macallan, take me to the training base in Nishitama City."
"Sure."
Gin was probably going to supervise a few snipers with "average" skills. Even without missions, he still had to worry about those problem children, truly a workaholic.
Ritsu was about to get into his own car parked nearby when he remembered Vermouth's message.
"Gin, Vermouth asked me to pass something along."
At the mention of that woman's codename, Gin frowned slightly. "What is it?"
Vodka, who was about to call for repairs, perked up his ears. He knew certain things and was curious what Vermouth wanted to say to his boss.
"She said she misses the days when you used to mix Martinis together."
Delivering such an improper message in a perfectly serious tone made Vodka choke and start coughing uncontrollably, yes, on his own saliva.
A cold glint flashed in Gin's dark green eyes as he shot Vodka a frigid look. The latter turned red in the face but didn't dare make another sound.
"From now on, ignore anything she says. Stay away from her."
With that, Gin walked toward the passenger seat of the GT40 with a grim expression. It was obvious Vermouth's message had put him in a bad mood.
Now Ritsu was certain, the meaning of "mixing Martinis" was exactly what he had thought…
Who would've guessed that the famous movie star once had a relationship with the organization's cold-blooded killer boss?
Somehow, it felt like this would make a bestselling novel.
Vodka subtly gestured to Macallan, signaling, 'come to my apartment when you have time—we'll talk.'
"??"
'So that's the kind of guy you are, Vodka, daring to gossip about your boss's love life?'
But… he was honestly a little curious too. It was hard to believe someone as ruthless as Gin even had a romantic past.
"Macallan, get in the car."
"Yeah, coming."