"Excellent, that's more like it. Now, anyone carrying a mobile phone, hand them over immediately." Hijacker A continued to direct the driver, while Hijacker B began brandishing his gun to collect the communication devices.
"Listen up! We have seized control of your company's bus. We have only one demand: release Kunio Yajima from prison immediately!"
"If you refuse, we will execute one passenger every hour. If you understand, pass that message to the police!"
"I'll contact you again in twenty minutes."
The situation had escalated rapidly. Hijacker A had proactively contacted the bus depot, using them as a relay to issue demands to the police.
Hijacker B soon made his way to the back. He leveled his pistol at the man in the last row wearing the knit cap and surgical mask. "Hey, kid. Hand over your phone."
"Cough, cough..." The man coughed a few times, sounding quite sick. "I don't have a mobile phone on me."
"Tsk, just a broke brat."
Hijacker B shot him a disdainful look before pointing the gun at the old man beside him. The man in the beret and black clothes immediately waved his hands, explaining frantically, "This is a hearing aid, not a phone." He pointed to the wired earphone connected to his device.
"Hey, woman! That clicking sound is annoying as hell!" Having found nothing on the men, Hijacker B turned his gaze toward a middle-aged woman chewing gum nearby.
"Well, that's just how you eat gum. I suggest you two stop this now; you'll only get caught in the end." The woman looked utterly indifferent, as if she didn't believe they would actually pull the trigger.
Bang!
Hijacker B fired again. The bullet slammed into the backrest of the seat, less than ten centimeters from the woman's body.
"I... I understand. I'll be good," the woman stammered, trembling.
"Hehe, see? Things go much smoother when you listen." Hijacker B sneered and turned to head back to the front.
Tsuneo glanced at Ms. Jodie, who had slightly shifted her sitting position.
In the next instant—Clatter!—the hijacker who had just finished collecting the phones was suddenly tripped, landing flat on his face on the floor.
"Pfft, hahaha." The repairman let out a very uncharitable laugh.
"Oh, sorry! Oh my god..." Ms. Jodie acted as if it were a total accident. She rushed forward, grabbing his hand and babbling in English, asking if he was alright.
Hijacker B shoved the blonde woman's hand away, barking at her to go back and sit down. He shot a murderous glare at the laughing Tsuneo before stomping back to his partner at the front.
"It's very, very exciting!"
After sitting back down, Ms. Jodie leaned over and whispered this to Conan. The Great Detective gave a hollow, speechless smile. Seriously, is this teacher actually okay in the head?
Haibara, meanwhile, had retreated as far into her corner as possible, her hood pulled low and her head bowed.
"Kunio Yajima..."
Conan repeated the name to himself. He was a member of the robber gang that had attacked a jewelry store with explosives last month. At the time, the police only caught the primary suspect, Yajima; the other three accomplices were still at large. Yajima, the mastermind, was rumored to be a jewelry broker.
The reason they were hijacking a bus to save their boss was likely for his black-market distribution channels. Or, more likely, only he knew where the stolen jewelry was hidden.
Conan suddenly remembered the earring-style phone in his pocket. He could secretly inform the police. Just as he was about to dial...
Ring! Ring! Ring!
A loud, abrupt ringtone echoed through the bus.
"Hello? Hello?" Tsuneo answered his phone as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
At that moment, nearly every eye on the bus was fixed on him. Even "Director" Conan was staring at him in sheer bewilderment.
"Did you reach the port safely?" Tsuneo asked. The caller was Ikumi Kyoda.
"Yeah, I'm out skiing. We're having a great time over here, too!"
The two of them actually started chatting...
"Dammit!" Hijacker B stormed back and snatched the phone from Tsuneo's ear.
Having a great time? A great time, my ass! Was there something fundamentally wrong with this guy's brain? Clearly, it was time to get serious...
"This is Sato. The hijacked bus is currently heading toward Takaido at approximately fifty kilometers per hour."
Behind the bus, a red Mazda was trailing at a distance. The driver was none other than the "God of Wheels" of Beika, Officer Sato.
"This is Takagi at Point E. I've sighted the target bus. There are two hijackers, both in ski gear. Their faces are obscured by hats and goggles."
"Both hijackers appear to be armed with handguns!" Takagi, stationed at a high vantage point, looked through his binoculars to observe the scene inside the bus as it moved through traffic. Strange... that passenger talking to the hijacker looks awfully familiar.
"The bus might pass that way again. Takagi, remain on standby," Inspector Megure commanded from the bus depot headquarters.
"Understood!"
"Blast it. If both hijackers have firearms, we can't move in recklessly," Megure said, his expression grave.
"Inspector, orders just came in from high-ups," Officer Shiratori said, putting down his phone. "They say the priority is the safety of the hostages. We may have to follow the demands and release Kunio Yajima for now."
"Mmm... it seems we have no choice. If they really are the accomplices from that jewelry heist a year ago, there's likely an explosives expert among them. If we mishandle this and a bomb goes off on the street, innocent people will be hurt." Megure sighed and nodded.
"Yes. But they won't escape. The bus has just been circling the downtown area," Shiratori noted, looking at a map of the bus's route.
"Don't lower your guard. They might have other tricks up their sleeves. This could just be a smoke screen," Megure cautioned. If they dared to contact the police, they likely already had an escape plan.
"In-Inspector Megure!" Officer Sato's voice crackled over the radio, sounding anxious and shocked.
Megure's nerves tightened instantly. Sato was right behind them; he prayed nothing had happened to the hostages.
"Another gunshot just came from inside the bus!" From Sato's angle, she couldn't see the details, but there was no mistaking that sound!
"What?!" Megure was stunned.
Why? Why would they open fire now, before the deadline? Had they completely given up on Kunio Yajima?
(End of Chapter)
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