Chapter 157: Cornering the FBI
"...He's either in the same situation as Vermouth, or he joined the organization in his teens," Conan said, picking up where Haibara had left off. He paused, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. "But since he seems to be an acquaintance of Vermouth, I think the first case is more likely."
Haibara considered this for a moment, her gaze distant, before giving a small, sharp nod of agreement.
"If Shinichi's guess is correct, then the organization has at least two people who don't age," Dr. Agasa murmured, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. A deep line of worry etched itself between his eyes. "Does this mean they've already mastered the relevant biotechnology?"
If the Black Organization truly possessed such a breakthrough, the implications were terrifying. They would become an even more impossible foe.
"That's unlikely," Haibara countered, her voice low but firm. "When I was in the organization, if there were such results, it's impossible I wouldn't have heard anything. This should just be an accidental case." She paused, her gaze flicking to Conan. "Just like us."
As if to match the grim turn of the conversation, the rain outside began to fall in earnest. It hammered against the roof of the Beetle, a relentless drumming that blurred the world outside the windows. The signal grew unstable, and the voice in Conan's earphone dissolved into intermittent bursts of static.
Earlier, he had heard Natsume—Cointreau—mention that organization members were secretly observing suspicious vehicles nearby. On her advice, he had instructed Dr. Agasa to pull over to the side of the road and wait.
Now, with the eavesdropping device failing, Conan activated the tracking function on his glasses, trying to pinpoint the transmitter's last known location. Ignoring Haibara's sharp cry for him to stop, he threw the car door open and plunged into the downpour, determined to see the situation for himself.
He hadn't taken two steps before he collided squarely with someone.
The impact was solid, and as he stumbled back, his eyes caught the distinct shape of a gun muzzle pressing against the fabric of the person's pocket. Conan's pupils shrank to pinpricks. A cold dread seized him, freezing him to the spot.
Slowly, fearfully, he tilted his head up. When he saw the person's face, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch in exasperation.
It was Ms. Jodie.
"Hi, cool kid." Jodie Starling held an umbrella over them both. With her free hand, she pulled the object from her pocket—a mobile phone—and tilted her head, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Bang!"
Inside the car, Dr. Agasa and Ai Haibara, who had been holding their breath, let out a collective sigh of relief.
Conan's shoulders slumped. "Ms. Jodie, why... why are you here?"
Jodie explained that because the TV announcer, Rena Mizunashi, had been frequently contacting Dr. Araide—who they knew was Vermouth in disguise—she had been assigned to monitor Mizunashi's activities.
"Ah!" Conan's eyes widened in realization. "So the person that Sister Natsume mentioned, the one monitoring from the apartment across the street... that was you!"
The coincidence was almost too perfect. But if Ms. Jodie was here, it meant the surveillance operation was over. Did that mean Natsume would find an empty room if she went to investigate?
"Cool kid, let me ask you a question," Jodie said, her playful tone shifting to one of genuine curiosity. "What exactly is the identity of that 'Sister Natsume' of yours? How are her skills so incredible?"
Just hearing Conan mention the name made a faint, phantom ache throb through Jodie's body. She had been a bit impulsive today, she had to admit. But it was all because Shuichi had spoken so highly of Natsume's combat prowess. She had been dying to see it for herself.
Jodie's mind drifted back to the events of that morning, a memory that still sent a jolt through her.
It was around 6:30 AM.
Jodie noticed movement at the entrance of her target's apartment building and raised her binoculars to get a clearer view. She soon pieced together what had happened: Detective Mouri and his companions, who had apparently stayed at Rena Mizunashi's home overnight, had helped her catch the culprit behind the weekly doorbell pranks. The perpetrator was just a young boy, and the entire incident had nothing to do with the Black Organization.
Coupled with her own observations over the past few days, during which she had found no suspicious behavior from Rena Mizunashi, Jodie concluded that the likelihood of the announcer being an organization member was very small. She called her superior, James Black, to report her findings and request permission to terminate the surveillance.
After receiving the order to withdraw, Jodie put down her phone. She packed her binoculars away and began the careful process of erasing any trace of her presence.
"I didn't expect Ms. Jodie to be FBI..."
A sudden, almost spectral female voice spoke from just a few feet away.
Natsume had taken advantage of Jodie's momentary distraction to slip over from the adjacent balcony. Working from the approximate location of the gaze she'd felt while at Rena's apartment, she had systematically checked several possible rooms, moving with a silence that defied belief.
When she peered into this room, Natsume had been surprised to see a familiar face. She hadn't expected the FBI agent on surveillance duty to be Ms. Jodie, nor that she would still be here.
"Natsume!"
The voice sent a jolt of adrenaline through Jodie. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she spun around, only to find an acquaintance standing there. "Why are you here?" she blurted out, her mind reeling.
Seeing it was someone she knew, Jodie allowed the tension in her shoulders to ease fractionally, but her guard remained up. While it seemed unlikely that Natsume was connected to the Black Organization, one could never be a hundred percent certain in these matters.
'Even if she has no connection now,'Jodie mused,'who knows if she might stumble upon an organization transaction one day and be forced to join.'A wry thought followed.'Although, with Natsume's skills, ordinary members probably wouldn't stand a chance. It might not be the dark forces corrupting an innocent young woman, but a hot-blooded citizen heroically sending a squad of criminals on a one-way tour of the police station.'
As her mind relaxed, her thoughts began to wander. She quickly reined them in, her expression remaining calm and professional as she pressed Natsume for an explanation.
Natsume, oblivious to Jodie's internal monologue, heard the question and briefly explained her reason for being there. She also mentioned that she and a companion had split up to investigate, and that her partner, who had been checking rooms from the other direction, should be arriving shortly.
As if on cue, Jodie heard a faint scuffing sound from the balcony Natsume had indicated. It was clear someone had just vaulted over from the next unit, their movements deliberately light. If she hadn't already been focused in that direction, she likely wouldn't have noticed a thing.
"Yanfei," Natsume called out, her voice calm. The name served as both a signal of her location and an assurance that the area was safe.
Sure enough, after Natsume spoke, the footsteps of the newcomer grew slightly louder, more confident. A moment later, a young woman with vibrant pink hair and dressed in striking red attire appeared on the balcony.
Natsume made a brief introduction for both sides, then turned her gaze back to Jodie, her expression clearly waiting for an explanation.
Jodie felt a prickle of discomfort under Natsume's steady, probing stare. Matters concerning the Black Organization could certainly not be disclosed to uninvolved civilians. After a moment of careful thought, she organized her words and offered a vague, sanitized version of the truth.
"We suspected Ms. Mizunashi might have ties to a certain criminal syndicate," she said smoothly. "My presence here was merely a precaution. It seems our suspicions were unfounded, and I was just preparing to withdraw."
She added, "As for why an FBI agent is in Japan, I'm actually on vacation. I just happened to run into this and decided to lend a hand. It wasn't anything particularly important."
"So that's how it is."
Watching Natsume and the girl named Yanfei nod as if accepting her story, Jodie couldn't tell if they truly believed her, or just how much of it they had seen through.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]