Chapter 178: Exposure Risk
The two departments had a notoriously bad relationship, so Inspector Megure certainly couldn't let this slide easily. He had to push back somewhat, or he wouldn't be able to explain things to Superintendent Matsumoto when he returned to headquarters.
Besides, he was genuinely curious about the mysterious organization Public Security was investigating.
Learning more about them would help the Metropolitan Police solve future cases—or at the very least, broaden their understanding of Tokyo's criminal underworld.
And since this was happening in Tokyo, he might very well encounter this mysterious organization again.
He'd heard that Public Security mostly dealt with extremely dangerous terrorist organizations whose arrogance and methods were terrifying. He'd previously dismissed it as Public Security bragging, but now, with this one billion yen case, he was starting to believe it.
Based on what Kazami had said, this wasn't even the organization directly involved—they were merely being controlled remotely by someone higher up.
Kazami Yuya shook his head firmly. "That won't work. The people behind this are extremely well-hidden and have immense power. They could have operatives anywhere. I'm afraid I can't share that information.
However, we will contact Superintendent General Hakuba later. This matter won't have any negative impact on Inspector Megure's career."
While the phrase "operatives anywhere" sounded diplomatic enough, Inspector Megure clearly understood the implication.
Public Security suspected there were moles within the Metropolitan Police Department.
Inspector Megure didn't appreciate that insinuation. His initial satisfaction vanished, and he prepared to argue with the young agent.
Just then, one of his officers handed him a cell phone and whispered in his ear, "It's Chief Odagiri on the line."
Odagiri Toshiro, the head of the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau, was Inspector Megure's boss's boss.
Inspector Megure had suspected the timing of this call wasn't coincidental.
"Chief, this is Inspector Megure.
Yes, the Public Security agent is right in front of me. Awaiting your instructions.
Yes.
Understood."
Hanging up the phone, Inspector Megure waved for the officers behind him to lower their weapons. The call had been brief—Chief Odagiri had instructed him to hand over the case to Public Security.
With his superior's approval, Inspector Megure was actually happy to save himself the headache.
As for the mysterious organization, if he couldn't learn about them, so be it. Inspector Megure knew when not to push his luck.
Red and blue lights flashed alternately across the pier.
Officers continued patrolling the perimeter.
Although the order had been given to hand over the case to Public Security, that didn't mean they couldn't investigate the scene.
Out of curiosity, Inspector Megure still checked the warehouse area, not ruling out the possibility that Miyano Akemi had stashed the one billion yen somewhere nearby.
Kazami Yuya left after receiving Inspector Megure's acknowledgment. Public Security didn't make a habit of lingering, and with Miyano Akemi in custody, nothing else mattered.
However, he did drive off in Miyano Akemi's car. First, he had no other transportation available, and second, the vehicle might contain important evidence.
Since Miyano Akemi was still unconscious, it made sense to take everything with them to avoid having to retrieve the car from the Metropolitan Police later.
After that, Natsukawa and Inspector Megure entered the warehouse together.
Kogoro Mouri was shouting frantically, seemingly at a loss about what was wrong with Conan.
However, Yuya probably wouldn't do anything too extreme to the kid, so Natsukawa wasn't particularly worried.
"Inspector Megure!" Conan, who had just been revived by Kogoro Mouri's aggressive philtrum-pinching, ignored the pain and rushed to the inspector, asking anxiously, "Where's Akemi-neechan? Has she already been taken back to the station?"
Conan's tone was full of desperate hope, much like Anya's eagerness when offered peanuts.
Inspector Megure shook his head and continued examining the warehouse.
The warehouse was unremarkable—no different from any other ordinary storage facility, with nothing particularly noteworthy. The officers hadn't found the one billion yen inside.
Conan turned to Natsukawa and asked hopefully, "Uncle Natsukawa, can you tell me?"
Please! I'm waiting online! This is urgent!
"You brat, you still haven't learned your lesson?! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to face an armed robber directly?!"
Kogoro Mouri's fist connected with Conan's forehead, then twisted it hard for good measure.
The pain was excruciating!
"Owww!" Conan stumbled backward and fell into Natsukawa's arms. Seeing his guardian about to strike again, he quickly covered his head and bolted from the warehouse.
It's fine. If I can't ask Uncle Natsukawa, I can ask Officer Takagi. I still need to get my badge phone back anyway.
Natsukawa casually retrieved the tracking device from Conan's jacket, then turned with a smile. "Uncle Mouri, don't be too angry with him. Although Conan was reckless, finding Miyano Akemi was entirely thanks to him. Otherwise, we'd probably have no leads to follow right now."
"That's true." Inspector Megure nodded in agreement. "But we still need to be more careful. After all, it's far too dangerous. If something happened to Conan, the consequences would be unthinkable."
Having made his point, Inspector Megure began discussing with Kogoro Mouri how to handle Conan's reckless behavior.
"Since you're worried about Conan running around getting into trouble, why not assign him more homework? Practice problems and worksheets would keep him occupied. That way he can learn useful material and stay out of danger.
If Conan's parents knew Uncle Mouri was being so responsible, they'd definitely thank you."
"You know... that actually makes sense."
Kogoro Mouri nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin. "Natsukawa, that's a brilliant idea. I'll get started on it as soon as we get home."
Right! Conan's recklessness must stem from having too much free time. Kogoro decided to have Ran take Conan to buy several workbooks as soon as they returned.
From now on, Conan's daily routine would consist of eating, going to school, doing homework, and sleeping—a fulfilling and enriching elementary school experience. Filling his knowledge base with academic material would definitely benefit his future.
Completely unaware that his fate had already been sealed, Conan reached the warehouse entrance to question Takagi.
Takagi didn't hide anything and explained the entire situation.
Conan's expression darkened considerably upon learning that Miyano Akemi had been taken by Public Security.
He remembered Miyano Akemi's warning: "Your situation cannot be revealed to anyone, or you'll be captured and dissected for research."
Conan was unfamiliar with Public Security's interrogation methods, which made him deeply uneasy.
It wasn't that he worried about Miyano Akemi's safety—Public Security was a legitimate government agency, after all. His main concern was that she might reveal his transformation to them, which posed a serious risk of exposure.
"She wouldn't... right?" Conan muttered uncertainly to himself. "And even if she did, Public Security shouldn't do anything to me... right?"
Public Security's reputation was somewhat intimidating, making Conan anxious.
Take that man named Yuya, for example. Judging by how effortlessly he'd disarmed Miyano Akemi and confiscated the tranquilizer watch, he was clearly highly trained and formidable.
Is this the caliber of Public Security agents?
The Metropolitan Police couldn't compare to them at all.
Well, Aunt Yoru was an exception.
But how many officers in the Metropolitan Police had Aunt Yoru's level of skill?
"Should I ask Hattori for help? His dad's the Osaka Police Chief—maybe he has connections with Public Security.
No, forget that. I should check if Dad knows any high-ranking officials in Public Security first."
Conan's mind raced through multiple scenarios in an instant. In the end, he forced himself to calm down.
Ultimately, he decided to wait and see how things developed.
He couldn't easily contact his dad—after all, his father had been pressuring him to leave Japan. If he asked for help now, his dad might just kidnap him and drag him overseas.
Conan chose to trust Miyano Akemi. Although their interaction had been brief, his detective's intuition told him she wouldn't easily betray him.
"Oh, right!" Conan suddenly remembered something important he hadn't told Inspector Megure.
He'd been so focused on Miyano Akemi's situation when he woke up that he'd completely forgotten about the stolen money—one billion yen!
"Inspector Megure!"
Conan ran back into the warehouse. "I know where Miyano Akemi hid the one billion yen!"
Miyano Akemi had revealed the location during their earlier conversation.
When Tequila failed to appear for the transaction as agreed, she'd told Conan where she'd hidden the money, asking him to notify the police to recover it should anything happen to her.
Inspector Megure's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Where is it? Take me there immediately!"
"In the parking lot of the Beika Grand Hotel. It's in a white sedan, license plate number: Shinjuku 500, AY-5172."
Inspector Megure waved his hand, rallying his team. "Move out—to the Beika Grand Hotel!"
Now that they'd located the money, they could leave the rest of the case to Public Security.
Watching Inspector Megure depart, Natsukawa shook his head inwardly.
Sorry to disappoint you, Inspector, but you're not getting that money back.
It wasn't a major problem, though. Kazami Yuya had already taken the fall for Public Security.
Obviously, Public Security assumed that capturing Miyano Akemi and recovering the money was simply a matter of time. They never imagined that Natsukawa had already seen through Miyano Akemi's plan and transferred the one billion yen in advance.
Right now, ten suitcases full of cash were in his GT-R, and Natsukawa planned to deliver them to Hakuba Pharmaceuticals after the case officially closed.
This stuff was troublesome even for him to hold onto—better to return it to Gin as soon as possible.
As for Miyano Akemi's fate, he'd already instructed Yuya via letter to keep the case classified.
From Kazami Yuya's earlier conversation with Inspector Megure, it was confirmed they wouldn't reveal that Miyano Akemi was still alive.
The only potential leak was that Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi knew the truth.
As for the other officers at the scene, they only knew a robbery case had occurred and were mainly searching for the one billion yen—they had no idea what had actually happened to Miyano Akemi.
Natsukawa wasn't worried about Megure and Takagi leaking information.
Those two had absolutely no connection to the Black Organization. Besides, he'd prepared a substitute body beforehand and filmed footage of "Tequila" stuffing "Miyano Akemi" into a cement barrel and dumping it in Tokyo Bay. Gin's side probably wouldn't investigate further.
Even if they did, Takagi and Megure were main characters in the Detective Conan world—they wouldn't be eliminated easily.
Conan didn't follow Inspector Megure's team.
First, the police's high-profile arrival at Tokyo Bay meant Tequila must have spotted them by now. He couldn't possibly show up again unless he was an idiot.
Second, the one billion yen wasn't his objective. The important lead—Miyano Akemi—had already been taken by Public Security, and recovering the money wouldn't provide any clues about the Black Organization.
Third, Kogoro Mouri had already retrieved him from the warehouse, preventing him from sneaking off with the police.
Fourth, he had something urgent to attend to, and he needed Professor Agasa's help.
However, it seemed Uncle Mouri wouldn't let him out of sight tonight. He'd probably have to wait until tomorrow.
"Natsukawa, heading home?" Kogoro Mouri asked.
"Nah, since I'm already at Tokyo Bay, I might as well do some fishing." Natsukawa walked to his GT-R and retrieved his fishing gear from the trunk.
[End of Chapter]
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