From the moment the robbers collapsed until they were completely restrained, Officers Takagi and Sato simply stood frozen in place, watching the tennis players execute a flawless takedown operation as if they were mere spectators to someone else's action movie.
It wasn't until Ran and Sonoko approached them directly that they snapped back to reality.
"Officer Takagi! Officer Sato!" the girls called out, their voices cutting through the officers' shocked stupor.
"Ran? What are you doing here?" Takagi asked automatically, still processing what he'd just witnessed.
"Officer Takagi, that's not important right now," Ran said urgently. "The hostage who was shot - he doesn't look good."
Her reminder jolted both officers back to their professional priorities. The wounded man had been bleeding for several minutes now, and every second mattered.
When they reached the injured hostage, they found Gustave already kneeling beside him, methodically applying pressure bandages with practiced efficiency.
"Where did you get medical supplies?" Sato asked, impressed by his quick thinking.
"First aid kit from the security office," Gustave replied without looking up from his work. "Poor guy passed out - could be from blood loss, shock, or both. But the bleeding's under control now."
The timing was almost cinematic in its predictability. Just as the immediate crisis had been resolved and the wounded man stabilized, the distinctive sound of multiple police sirens filled the mall as Inspector Megure finally arrived with backup.
"Takagi! Sato! Where are the perpetrators?" Megure called out as he surveyed the scene, taking in the blood on the floor and the unconscious man with bandaged legs.
"The robbers have been subdued, Inspector," Takagi replied somewhat sheepishly, gesturing toward two black-clad figures bound with rope in the corner.
"Excellent work!" Megure beamed, clapping Takagi on the shoulder with obvious pride. "This is exactly the kind of professional police work our department needs! You've handled a serious armed robbery without requiring outside assistance!"
"Actually, Inspector..." Takagi began awkwardly, "we didn't subdue the criminals. That would be Conan and his friends."
Megure's expression immediately deflated. Of course it was. When will our department ever solve a case without that walking crime magnet getting involved first?
"Well, technically it wasn't Conan who stopped them this time," Sato interjected helpfully. "He was just... present. These two young men were the ones who actually neutralized the threat."
She indicated Tezuka and Fuji, who were quietly observing the proceedings with their characteristic calm professionalism.
Megure's spirits lifted immediately. If someone other than Conan had solved the case - even if that someone was a civilian - it represented progress. Perhaps the boy's legendary "curse of death" was finally showing cracks.
"Mr Tezuka! Mr Fuji!" he announced formally, straightening into his most official posture. "On behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department, I want to express our deepest gratitude for your courageous actions today! Citizens like you are what make this city safer!"
"It was nothing special, Inspector," Tezuka replied with his usual reserved courtesy. "We simply did what anyone would do in that situation."
"Nonsense! Your quick thinking and decisive action saved lives today!" Megure continued his effusive praise.
Watching this exchange, Gustave couldn't help but smile. "Truly, Inspector Megure possesses the legendary 'Brother Fruit' ability - anyone who helps him solve a case instantly becomes family."
The cleanup proceeded with typical police efficiency. The bound robbers were hauled away in custody while the wounded hostage was rushed to the hospital for proper medical treatment.
During the subsequent investigation, the full story emerged through interrogation. The anonymous tip that had started everything had actually come from an employee of the targeted jewelry store - a man crushed by workplace abuse and gambling debts who'd made the desperate decision to rob his own employer.
He'd hired two professional criminals through underworld contacts, but at the last moment - whether from conscience or fear - had tried to back out. The robbers, having no patience for second thoughts, had silenced him permanently and proceeded with the heist anyway.
His incomplete phone call to police had been cut short when his partners discovered his betrayal, explaining why the initial tip had been so vague.
As for the abusive manager whose treatment had driven the employee to such desperate measures - word was that he'd been found in an alley with both legs broken, reduced to begging for survival. The jewelry store chain's president claimed complete ignorance about the manager's "unfortunate accident," though he did mention having recently lost his son to criminal violence.
The connection between these events remained officially unclear.
All of this background information came to light later, of course. In the immediate aftermath, Gustave and his friends were escorted to Metropolitan Police Headquarters for formal statements - a process that nearly exposed their carefully constructed cover identities.
Ai's forged documents were masterworks of technical precision, virtually indistinguishable from legitimate papers. However, she hadn't anticipated the possibility of her friends being taken to police headquarters for questioning, so she hadn't bothered hacking into official databases to insert matching records.
Fortunately, Gustave realized this oversight just in time. Excusing himself for a restroom break, he quietly used his abilities to access the department's computer systems and insert appropriate background information for his entire group.
Now we're officially residents of this world, he thought with satisfaction as he returned to give his statement.
The questioning process was remarkably brief, considering they'd been instrumental in stopping an armed robbery. But several factors expedited their release: Conan's status as a regular visitor to the building, Sonoko's position as heir to the powerful Suzuki conglomerate, and the general bureaucratic desire to avoid paperwork complications.
"This is the first time I've ever been inside a police station," Eiji announced as they emerged into the afternoon sunlight, hands clasped behind his head in a relaxed pose. "I never expected my debut would be at Metropolitan Police Headquarters!"
"If you want more experiences like this, just spend time with Conan," Gustave suggested with mock seriousness. "Stay close to him for a week or two, and you'll be visiting police stations two or three times daily."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Conan protested indignantly. "This has nothing to do with me!"
"Are you sure about that?" Gustave asked mildly. "Because I distinctly remember Inspector Megure making similar observations about your... unique relationship with criminal activity."
Conan deflated immediately, knowing he had no defense against that particular accusation. Megure had indeed made such comments, usually in the same breath as complaints about "that plague god Mouri Kogoro."
"Conan, don't be rude to adults," Ran chided gently, though her tone held more affection than censure.
"Yes, Sister Ran," he replied with defeated resignation.
Normally, this would have been prime opportunity for Sonoko to pile on with additional mockery, but she seemed distracted by other concerns. Her attention had been completely captured by Tezuka ever since witnessing his heroic performance in the mall.
From the moment she'd first noticed him, Sonoko had been intrigued by his serious demeanor, intellectual glasses, and handsome features - the very image of a scholarly warrior that featured in her romantic fantasies. Initially, she'd managed to maintain some social restraint given the crowd of witnesses.
But watching him calmly analyze a dangerous situation and execute a perfect precision strike to save innocent lives? That had shattered her self-control completely. Here was her ideal man made manifest: handsome, capable, mature, and willing to risk himself for others' safety.
The fact that his driver's license listed him as several years older than her only added to his appeal. In Sonoko's mind, such maturity was exactly what she needed in a partner - someone strong enough to protect her from life's dangers.
And so she launched herself into full romantic pursuit mode, deploying every charm offensive in her considerable arsenal.
Meanwhile, Tezuka maintained his characteristic external calm while experiencing internal turmoil of epic proportions.
She thinks I'm older and more mature than her, he thought desperately. But the truth is I'm actually several years younger! This driver's license age is completely fake! How am I supposed to handle this situation?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~