Detective Conan: Death Note

"Calling Cat A, the smoke grenades are set up and ready to be activated at any time." "Good job, Cat D." "Wait to activate until the airship

"Calling Cat A, the smoke grenades are set up and ready to be activated at any time."

"Good job, Cat D."

"Wait to activate until the airship is about to approach Nara. Until then, go with Cat E and patrol together."

"Cat D copy."

The fully armed man answered and then ended the radio call.

He had placed a large number of smoke grenades at several ventilation shafts on the airship—right now, citizens of Osaka were all rushing to escape, and if they saw an airship flying by emitting thick smoke, they would probably be terrified out of their minds.

Time to patrol.

After confirming one last time that everything was fine there, the man stood up and prepared to find his team for the rendezvous.

What he didn't notice was that, in the corner, a sniper rifle was silently aimed at him from the shadows.

Diu!

Chianti pulled the trigger.

The bullet pierced directly into the back of the man's head, exiting through his forehead, knocking him unconscious before he could utter a single sound.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Cat E, holding a submachine gun, was casually walking down the corridor on patrol.

Throat.

But just as he reached a corner—

A large hand suddenly grabbed his head and efficiently squeezed his throat.

"Ugh—!"

The man only managed a muffled groan before the strangulation silenced him completely.

That muffled sound was noticed by the other end of the radio, which was left on.

"Cat E, what's going on?"

Tequila's strength nearly crushed the armed man's throat. Amidst the man's desperate struggles, a slender hand took the radio clipped to his chest.

Vermouth removed her gas mask and spoke into the radio with a deep male voice:

"This is Cat E, nothing happened."

"Good. Cat D is heading your way. After you meet and patrol together to confirm no issues, come straight back to the restaurant."

"Cat E understood."

After replying, Vermouth gave a charming smile to the stunned man.

Once she stepped a bit away holding the radio, Tequila immediately snapped the man's neck.

"Are all the hostages in the restaurant? Our guys should be there too."

"They should be."

Vermouth said this while looking at Gin and Chianti approaching nearby.

"These guys aren't wearing gas masks, looks like they didn't use the bacteria inside the airship."

"Finding Cointreau's whereabouts is the top priority."

Gin's tone remained icy cold.

"Besides that, the lethal bacteria sample is our target as well."

"Then let me sneak into the restaurant and take a look."

Vermouth chuckled lightly.

She looked at the motionless Cat E and took a human-skin mask from her pocket—right now, inside, she was even more anxious than Gin.

Gin then turned to Chianti:

"Chianti, you take control of the cockpit."

"Understood."

Without a word, Chianti moved into action.

Inside the restaurant controlled by the Red Siamese Cat group, everyone dared not breathe loudly.

"Ai..."

Ayumi worriedly watched Haibara Ai, who had looked uneasy since earlier.

The girl crouched, her pale face clutching her arms tightly, her nails digging into her skin.

What to do?

What to do...?

How can I save him!?

Bacteriology was a field Ai had almost never touched, but if conditions allowed her to examine, analyze, and urgently treat immediately, maybe there was hope.

But the airship was now hijacked by an armed group, and there was no research equipment on board...

Ai bit her lip hard.

At this moment, she truly hated her own helplessness.

Then, suddenly, Ai inexplicably felt suffocated.

Her pupils shrank.

With an expression of disbelief, she looked at a fully armed man who had just entered the restaurant...

In that instant, a sharp sense of danger like a needle pierced her spine, frantically urging her to escape as soon as possible.

"Cat E?"

The leader of the Red Siamese Cat group looked confused seeing him come alone.

"Where's Cat D?"

"He said he was going to the restroom during patrol."

The leader said no more.

Cat E—that is, Vermouth—stood behind him holding a gun.

She immediately observed the surroundings.

No sign of Cointreau.

Not even Ran or Yukiko's kid were visible...

But she did notice Haibara Ai's figure.

That pale, bloodless, terrified face likely was not revealed because of her discovery,

which gave Vermouth a bad premonition.

The Red Siamese Cat leader still hadn't realized another group had infiltrated the airship.

He waited for the airship to fly past a conspicuous mountain peak, then picked up the radio to order the smoke grenades activated:

"Cat D, acknowledge, activate n—"

Click.

The gun barrel pressed against his forehead interrupted his words.

He turned back in disbelief to his subordinate:

"What are you doing?"

"Cat D!?"

"What are you doing!?"

"Don't move."

Vermouth continued speaking in Cat D's voice.

She pressed the heavy gun barrel down on his head:

"If you don't want your head to explode, hand over the bacteria."

"You're not one of my men!?"

Vermouth's words made the Red Siamese Cat leader realize this immediately.

The hostages in the restaurant were stunned by this sudden change.

Nakamori Ginzo even instinctively stood, ready to spring into action...

Though unsure what was happening, if there was a chance...

"Who exactly are you?"

The leader turned confused, staring at the man who looked exactly like his own subordinate.

Several mercenaries nearby nervously aimed guns at Vermouth.

Then—

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, from outside the restaurant, rapid gunfire rang out.

The hostages inside saw clearly—the few armed men standing there didn't even have time to react before the volley of bullets riddled them with holes, blood spraying everywhere.

In Haibara Ai's terrified reaction, Gin and Tequila walked in.

Though both wore gas masks hiding their faces, Ai immediately recognized them by their flowing silver hair.

"Damn you—!"

The Red Siamese Cat leader's eyes widened in rage and confusion.

Still unable to comprehend what was happening, he met Gin's icy gaze behind the mask.

The next moment, the words from Gin shocked him deeply:

"Turns out you're just a bunch of mercenaries."

When Gin saw the face of the man codenamed Cat E in the corridor earlier, he had a faint sense of familiarity.

Seeing the scar on this leader's nose bridge, Gin finally recalled the international mercenary files he had sent Hayashi Yoshiki seven days ago.

—There was no such thing as the Red Siamese Cat.

They were just mercenaries hired under that name, planning a sinister crime.

"Find the bacteria."

Tequila stepped forward and searched the mercenary leader's body, soon finding a glass vial filled with green liquid.

It was indeed something ominous to see.

Meanwhile, the only woman in the mercenary group, dressed as a waitress, quietly reached for the gun at her waist and disengaged the safety.

But the faintest sound of that mechanical click caught Gin's attention immediately.

Shoot her.

"Die—"

Bang!

Before the waitress could even raise her gun, she was shot in the forehead and fell backward.

Bang!

After Gin's shot, Vermouth also fired, finishing off the mercenary leader.

Screams erupted from the crowd.

"Hey! Who the hell are you people?!"

Nakamori Ginzo couldn't help but jump out.

As a police officer, he had a bad feeling—these people were even more ruthless criminals who killed without hesitation.

Their target was undoubtedly the lethal bacteria.

If the airship fell into their hands...

Nakamori Ginzo was sweating profusely.

Gin ignored him.

As soon as he entered, he looked for Hayashi Yoshiki but didn't see him.

"What now?" Vermouth asked.

"No need to look anymore, retreat immediately."

"What!?"

Tequila's Kansai accent came out rough as he heard this.

Before he could say anything more, Gin strode out of the restaurant with his hands in his pockets.

Since discovering Cointreau was not among the hostages, and the armed men were mercenaries from the files he had sent Yoshiki, Gin realized this was all just Cointreau's self-entertainment.

That kid's seriously messed up.

Gin scowled.

Watching Gin and the others head out, Haibara Ai still trembled.

Dr. Agasa looked at her worriedly.

But Ai couldn't hear him.

At this moment, seeing Gin and the others leave, she had an impulse to run up to them and reveal her identity—if she admitted she was Sherry in front of them, maybe she could negotiate to have them take Cointreau for treatment.

Though this would expose Edogawa and Dr. Agasa...

Even the fact that Cointreau had been protecting her all along would be exposed to the organization.

But the value of APTX4869 had already been proven, and she had succeeded in developing an antidote to some extent.

If she put all this on the line as a bargaining chip, maybe the organization would agree to her terms.

Otherwise, it was an 80% death rate...

Thinking all this, Ai stood up with a grim expression.

"Ai?"

Dr. Agasa looked at her, surprised.

"Ai?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you scared?"

The three kids from Teitan Elementary also looked over.

Meanwhile, Nakamori Ginzo and Suzuki Jirokichi exchanged a glance, the latter nodding solemnly.

Nakamori Ginzo immediately stood up and looked at his subordinates:

"Everyone, grab your guns. I'm calling for backup right now."

"Yes, sir!"

Several officers picked up the weapons the mercenaries had used earlier.

Haibara Ai began walking toward the restaurant's entrance.

Dr. Agasa, unsure what she was thinking, hurried after her and reached out to grab her:

"It's dangerous, Ai, don't go!"

"Sorry, Doctor."

The girl's hoarse voice answered.

Without waiting for Dr. Agasa to say anything more, she ran out of the restaurant.

But before she could get out, she collided head-on with a figure running toward her—

"Ai?"

Ran Mouri looked at her in shock.

Ai stopped abruptly, staring at the girl in front of her with a pale face.

"Where's Hayashi Yoshiki?"

"Yoshiki just split from me."

Ran instinctively replied.

Just after leaving that room with Yoshiki, they carefully observed the corridor and found a corpse—the body of the armed man who had taken them captive.

Yoshiki quickly guessed something had gone wrong, so he and Ran cautiously headed to the restaurant, only to see two gas-masked men shooting at the restaurant door.

After those men left and it seemed safe inside, Yoshiki sent Ran back and went to observe the dangerous men's situation himself.

"Great, everyone's safe... By the way, Yoshiki said there's actually no bacteria on this ship; the rash was just a skin allergy caused by lacquer!"

Skin allergy?

Hearing this, Haibara Ai could hardly describe her feelings.

She stood still, her hollow eyes seemingly regaining light...

She suddenly grabbed Ran's hand.

"You really mean it?"

She looked at the rash on Ran's hand.

It really was true.

"Yeah..."

Unexpectedly, the kid's reaction was so strong, but Ran had never really understood Ai before.

She gently nodded, then glanced anxiously at Nakamori Ginzo and the police rushing in to report that Hayashi Yoshiki was tracking another group of unknown armed men.

The frantic responses of the officers nearby faded from Ai's ears.

She only felt happiness.

Countless emotional ups and downs from hell to heaven made this moment feel unreal.

Cointreau is safe...

He should be fine tracking Gin and the others, given his status, she thought.

Meanwhile, Gin was already ordering Chianti to retreat.

Tequila was irritable.

Unable to confirm Yoshiki's safety without finding him, he resented Gin.

Finally, Gin coldly reprimanded:

"Idiots, still don't get it? This is just Cointreau's self-entertainment."

"What the hell?"

Gin was about to explain, but as they crossed the corridor to meet Chianti, they saw a figure standing there.

Hayashi Yoshiki.

Wearing a suit full of refined elegance, he smiled gently and waved at Gin and the others:

"Good evening, hello~"