BWDC:SDDK Chapter 110: Shintaro Chaki's Strategic Retreat
Time ticked away, minute by minute.
Outside the Suzuki Foundation's exhibition hall, reporters from various television stations had surrounded the area, forming an impenetrable wall of cameras and microphones. They were all waiting for one person to appear.
--- Kaito Kid.
The legendary phantom thief, who had vanished for a significant period before making a flamboyant comeback, used magnificent magic tricks to perform his heists—only to return the stolen goods the very next day.
He was the ultimate "traffic magnet" for the media in present-day Beika City, a one-man career-maker for numerous news crews.
Kid's opponent this time was Saguru Hakuba, the only son of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Superintendent General and a high school detective recently returned from Britain. Whether it was the gimmick or the sheer media hype, the stakes for this showdown were at an all-time high.
Naturally, Beika City's news reporters were usually obsessed with reporting on violent homicide cases. However, they had now flocked to the Suzuki exhibition hall to compete with the TV stations for a piece of the action.
It wasn't that they had suddenly lost interest in murder cases; it was because of a peculiar phenomenon: whenever Kaito Kid appeared, no violent homicides occurred in Beika City.
Though it sounded like a strange superstition, the pattern held true.
To ensure they had something for tomorrow's front page, the journalists suppressed their obsession with filming crime scenes and pivoted to capturing the moment the phantom thief made his move.
The police cordons had been established an hour before the press arrived. Numerous officers from the First Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police stood sternly by the lines, strictly prohibiting reporters, media, and Kaito Kid fans from entering the perimeter.
Everyone knew Kid's greatest talent was his mastery of disguise. Anyone attempting to sneak into the hall could very well be the phantom thief in a mask.
Ginzo Nakamori's voice crackled over the transceivers:
"Increase vigilance! Once Kaito Kid appears, we absolutely cannot let him escape this time!"
Nakamori's orders had shifted slightly compared to previous operations. Originally, his priority was to prevent Kid from entering the site and stealing the gem. Now, the focus had shifted to ensuring he didn't get away once he showed himself.
There was a reason for this change.
Saguru Hakuba had made it clear: if Kaito Kid did not show up, then Kaito Kuroba was officially Kaito Kid.
Consequently, Nakamori had to "go easy" on the security. He couldn't be as strict as usual; he had to at least let Kid get inside. Otherwise, if the thief failed to appear and Kaito Kuroba ended up behind bars, Nakamori would become the laughingstock of the force.
Of course, Nakamori also knew that even if he didn't relax the security, Kid would likely find a way in regardless. Having been rivals for so many years, Nakamori felt he had a decent grasp of the thief's capabilities.
Meanwhile, inside the exhibition hall.
Officers were patrolling everywhere; the sheer scale of the police presence was staggering. Ginzo Nakamori paced back and forth, directing officers with an air of absolute command.
Under normal circumstances, Shintaro Chaki should have been co-commanding the scene with Nakamori. However, after being left speechless by Nakamori's "methods" aboard the Queen Selizabeth, and considering Nakamori was currently clashing with the son of the Superintendent General, Chaki had decided to step back.
He had handed full command over to Nakamori.
Any other officer might have felt anxious, as this meant Nakamori would bear full responsibility if the operation failed. But Nakamori had been chasing Kid for years without a single success. He wasn't afraid of another failure. He wasn't a "Career Track" officer; his rank of Inspector was his ceiling. He couldn't go any higher, and the police department couldn't exactly fire him for failing to catch a ghost, so what did he have to fear?
"Once Kaito Kid appears, we must not let that wretched thief escape from here!" Nakamori shouted into his megaphone.
Seeing her father's intense dedication, Aoko Nakamori—who had come along with her father and Kaito—whispered to the boy beside her, "Kaito, I know for sure you aren't Kaito Kid!"
Kaito Kuroba remained silent.
The reason was simple: his wrist was currently adorned with a "silver bracelet." One end of the handcuffs was locked to his wrist, and the other to Saguru Hakuba's. They were literally joined at the hip. While picking the lock would be child's play for Kaito, doing so without Hakuba noticing was the real challenge.
He could only hope that Koizumi Akako's arrival to "steal" the gem would create enough of a distraction. If he could sabotage the lighting system, he could use the darkness to slip away, meet up with Akako, and see if that "Spider" illusionist showed his face.
If the illusionist didn't show, he'd just sneak back to the hall and bluff his way past Hakuba and Aoko.
Kaito's ears twitched. He looked up toward the upper level.
Leaning against the railing was Ren Ichimonji, who seemed to be on a phone call. His voice was so low that even Kaito couldn't make out what he was saying.
Ren Ichimonji held the phone to his ear, looking somewhat surprised.
"What's going on? Huh? A school exploration?"
On the other end of the line, Conan, who had already followed the Junior Detective League over the school fence, said helplessly, "Yeah."
"You were actually right. When I came to school today, a lot of students were saying that the students on cleaning duty who stayed late saw the Dean with blood on his hands, looking like he'd killed someone. But when the police came, they found nothing."
"Then, the Junior Detective League insisted on a night visit to see what's happening. I was worried they'd get into trouble, so I had to follow them... I'm serious, why does every school have these 'Seven Wonders' urban legends?"
Conan was beyond exasperated. He had originally planned to accompany Mouri Kogoro and Ran to stake out Kaito Kid tonight. He still had a score to settle with the thief after being played on the Queen Selizabeth.
Instead, he was being dragged around by the kids to investigate some "Seven Wonders of Teitan Elementary." It was ridiculous.
"What about Uncle Mouri and Ran? Are they at the scene?" Conan asked.
Hearing the inquiry, Ren scanned the hall before replying.
"No, they didn't come either."
"I suggest you finish your little adventure and go home early. I bet Mouri Kogoro is waiting for you at the agency right now, ready to give you a taste of your favorite 'Mouri Divine Fist.'"
Conan: "?"
You cold-blooded man! How can such heartless words come out of a mouth that's thirty-eight degrees Celsius?
End of Chapter
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