The Organization's tech tree always seemed light-years ahead of the rest of the world.
Forget the infamous A-Drug that kicked off the whole story—back when bulky desktops were still standard, Vodka's sleek portable computer already felt like something from the future.
"I found it. He was secretly communicating with these two numbers. I'll have someone trace them right away," Vodka said, fingers typing rapidly.
He edited a message and sent it out.
While they waited for the reply, Eitan glanced at his watch.
Five seconds until 22:09.
Vodka finished packing up and restarted the car.
Just as the vehicle rolled forward about ten meters, gaining speed, Eitan caught the glint of a motorcycle's high beams in the rearview mirror. It was approaching fast.
"This guy…"
Vodka noticed too, though he didn't think much of it—until the bike overtook them and screeched to a stop, cutting off the car entirely.
He hit the brakes hard.
"Hey, you got a death wish?!"
Vodka rolled down the window and barked a curse, but the man who climbed off the bike was already staggering toward them. He reached inside his trench coat—and pulled out a knife.
Eitan glanced sideways. Gin had also rolled down his window, one hand slipping casually into his coat. Likely already gripping his gun.
"Oi, brat—hand over everything you've got!"
Tsukida Taku, a rough-looking middle-aged man, jabbed the knife through the window, pointing it straight at Gin. His voice was hoarse, spitting every word. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dilated—clearly high on something.
Gin didn't even flinch.
He calmly raised his hand and pulled the trigger.
The silencer muffled the shot. A bullet zipped out, hitting Tsukida square between the eyes.
His pupils shrank instantly.
Staggering forward, he nearly fell into the car. But Gin caught him—then used the momentum to plunge the same knife into Tsukida's neck and shove the body aside.
Not a drop of blood landed on the car.
Vodka restarted the engine.
In the backseat, Eitan glanced at the now-lifeless corpse sprawled on the street. His expression remained calm.
Two bodies within five minutes.
This will definitely make tomorrow's paper.
Tsukida's death and the robbery—especially the exact amount stolen—would all be documented publicly.
Back on the main road, Vodka returned the car to downtown Beika. As soon as a message alert sounded from his phone, he found a side street to park, pulled out his laptop, and logged into his email.
"It's here… tch. Two more damn rats."
The email contained two files. Opening them revealed profiles of two men—names, photos, locations, and daily activity logs.
"Eitan."
Gin didn't turn around as he spoke. "Prove yourself again. Get rid of these two."
"…Peripheral members tied to the Organization?"
Eitan studied the screen with mild curiosity.
"Yeah," Vodka replied with disdain. "Some idiots have been getting bold lately. Gangsters thinking they can mess with us. These two sold us out for cash—fools who've clearly forgotten what kind of group they're dealing with."
"Alright," Eitan said as he lazily scrolled on his phone. "How soon is 'as soon as possible'?"
"No more than five days," Gin replied, surprisingly lenient.
Eitan's methods were unusual—deadly precise, yet indirect. Because of that, Gin granted him more flexibility than most.
"Then two days from now. Any preference on how I kill them?"
"Doesn't matter. I just want them gone."
For Gin, a corpse was a corpse. The method didn't matter—as long as the job was done.
However—
(Is he the type who treats killing as an art form?)
Gin glanced at Eitan, who was still wearing that soft smile after receiving the task.
Back during the aquarium job, Eitan had flawlessly planned the kill. But afterward, his entire mood soured just because the corpse landed on its back instead of face-down—ruining what he called the "perfect scene."
(This guy… he's either a boring perfectionist or has serious OCD.)
Gin scoffed inwardly.
He didn't care what kind of quirks his subordinates had. Ability and loyalty were all that mattered.
And if Eitan succeeded again, Gin wouldn't mind offering him more support in the future.
"Alright. I'll handle it my way. Send me the files later. Also… if there's nothing else, could you drop me off at Beika Second Apartment?"
"Big Bro?" Vodka turned slightly.
"Take him."
The car pulled away again.
Eitan leaned back in his seat, amused.
The Organization's actually pretty chill.
As long as you had skills, even Gin would give you a ride.
"Two bodies found near the Beika City Aquarium—both died of gunshot wounds."
"…One of the deceased, Tsukida Taku, had been committing a string of robberies in the area just before the time of death."
"Total amount stolen was confirmed to be 23,601 yen…"
"…Wound patterns suggest a professional shooter—"
Sitting at his desk, Eitan skimmed the online edition of the next morning's paper.
A satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
Let's put the experiment on hold for now.
He only had two things to do recently: first, establish and register the detective agency; second, write the two names Gin gave him into the death note.
Neither was troublesome.
As for slightly longer-term goals…
Eitan drew a circle in the death note and marked it with the word "Spider."
He had been thinking about how to obtain the true name of that illusion-using assassin from Kaitou Kid's side of the story—after all, that ability could prove very useful.
Currently, he had three possible routes in mind.
The first was through the Organization's intelligence network—but he couldn't directly ask Gin to help. That would be too suspicious.
However… maybe he could use the death note to provoke a conflict between the Organization and the group behind Spider, causing enough confusion to uncover something useful.
The second route was Koizumi Akako's divination magic. Her fortune-telling seemed capable of doing quite a bit.
The last was the artificial intelligence "Noah's Ark" from the movie Baker Street's Ghost. Eitan believed that one was the most reliable lead.
With that kind of processing power, any trace left on the internet would be easy to uncover.
…The only problem was, Noah's Ark hadn't appeared yet.
Thinking about all that, Eitan absentmindedly marked Gin's name again in the notebook.
He vaguely remembered that the original story had revealed Gin and Vodka's real names as an Easter egg—Kurosawa Jin and Saburo Uozuka—but whether those were real names or just cover identities was unclear.
Maybe someday, when Gin wasn't around, he could casually sound Vodka out.
Ding-a-ling-ling~ Ding-a-ling-ling~
The phone on his desk suddenly rang.
Eitan pressed "Answer."
"Hello, Onisan?"
"It's me."
"Are you free today?... I need a little favor."
It was Ran's voice on the other end. She sounded slightly hesitant, even a little shy—but before Eitan could answer, she rushed on:
"It's like this—I was at a café eating cake with a friend when two boys came up and started hitting on us. Then they invited us to a Valentine's Day party this afternoon…"
Valentine's Day?
Eitan had no idea—but his voice stayed calm:
"You couldn't refuse, and you're not interested in either of them, right, Ran?"
"Yes…"
Her voice softened further, embarrassment seeping through.
The boy had been persistent, talking over her attempts to say no. She'd originally wanted to call Shinichi to ask for help, but the call never went through. So now, she had no choice but to turn to Eitan.
"Alright. I'll go with you."
"Mm! That's great! Oh—but my friend's coming too."
"The girl who was with you at the book signing?"
"Yes."
"Got it. I'll pick you both up when it's almost time."
After hanging up, Eitan paused for a moment, then picked up his pen and began writing in the death note.
---
1:30 PM
Eitan arrived right on time at the foot of the stairs outside the Mouri Detective Agency.
There, a short-haired girl was already waiting—bouncing slightly on her feet, glancing at her phone, clearly checking for someone.
She turned at the sound of footsteps.
The moment her eyes met Eitan's, they lit up like stars.
"Ah, Mr. Lin!!"
"Good afternoon, Sonoko-san," Eitan said as he walked up.
"Just call me Eitan."
"You remember me?" Sonoko's face brightened.
"Yes. You had me sign six books that day."
"Uhh—"
"Just kidding. Actually, Ran told me you're her best friend."
"Of course I am!"
At that, Sonoko puffed up proudly.
But under Eitan's soft gaze and smile, her confidence quickly turned into mild fluster.
"I finished all of Eitan-sensei's books recently! They're amazing! Though… some parts are a bit scary."
"Well, it is mystery fiction."
"But why is Eitan-sensei here at Ran's place?"
"She hasn't told you?"
Sonoko blinked.
"I'm the one accompanying you two to the Valentine's Day party."
"!!!"
Those words—spoken from that face—made Sonoko feel like the whole world had gone bright.
The sky looked bluer than ever.
(TL: Floating Timeline:
Detective Conan doesn't adhere to a strict linear timeline like many other series. Aoyama has said that he has the ending planned out, but that the series is in a "floating timeline", This means that while events in the series might imply a certain amount of time has passed (like seasons changing or holidays occurring), the characters' ages don't progress in a way that reflects that passage of time.)
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