Detective Conan FF: ♤The Poisoned Trio♤ (English)

Chapter 3

Bright, glaring light streamed into the store as Minoru pulled up the blinds on the window. He had to squint his eyes as the sun blinded him. The tall, broadly built man contemplated for a moment more, the streets not packed until now, then he sighed and turned to the items. Minoru sold antiques or restored them. Old statues made of glass, sparkling pieces of jewelry, but also on highly polished vases, whose patterns came from all over the world. Most of the time, out of boredom, he went over them again with a rag so that no new dust would accumulate. His eyes checked one last time, then he opened the front door and turned the sign around.

I wonder if anyone would stop by today. Not many people visited the store, there were a few regulars, but it kept within limits. Maybe it was better that way. Not too much stress, not too many people. In a good mood, Minoru strode upstairs, his apartment was above the store, so he fired up the tea maker in the kitchen and put the tea leaves in.

While the water was boiling, he turned on classical music, his old record player was in the corner, and the golden, noble metal shimmered like a small crown. Just as Minoru was about to pour the hot water, he heard the bell ring downstairs. Out of habit, he took out his pocket watch and looked at the time; it was ten a.m. Someone had arrived very punctually for the opening of the store. His gaze lingered on the picture; his blue eyes fixed on the person in the picture. It was a woman. Briefly, a memory flashed through his mind, but he flipped the clock closed and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, how can I help you?", Minoru greeted the visitor, smiling kindly. His pointed mustache matched his appearance well, light brown hair, a suit, and a brooch. He smoothly resembled a gentleman. The person stepped closer, it was a massive man, with black short hair. On his right eye, he wore an eye patch as a band-aid. Minoru had noticed it immediately, somehow this man had a strange aura. "Good morning, I was wondering if you could restore something? I hear you have nimble hands for it," the man explained, his gaze on his left, missing arm. Minoru's mine turned serious.

"Oh, excuse me, I didn't know that was extremely stupid of me," the man apologized. But Minoru shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So back to the matter at hand, do you have the item with you?" the salesman changed the subject and tried to smile. The man grinned. He pulled out from his jacket a hand-sized statue. It was made entirely of black glass, only the eyes replaced two orange sparkling gems. "I broke a paw," the guest told him, placing the figurine on the counter. Minoru eyed the figurine more closely, a tiny shiver chased down his spine, it was a rat. A statue of a rat.

"Yes...yes...I'll get that. Come by tomorrow," Minoru said after he regained his composure. The strange man just grinned even more. "I'm glad to hear that. I thank you," with these words he left the store. Confused, Minoru stared after that man. Somehow, he had a strange misgiving, perhaps he was mistaken. But this man...

He should worry less. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. "Chardonnay," it sounded from the speaker. "There's a new assignment for you."

♠♠♠

Cold, fresh water. Nick swam through the pool with brisk, long strokes, feeling his muscles relax. Dubonnet swam a few laps after puffing in the workout room. He liked it when it burned in his arms when he felt himself getting stronger. Nick held onto the edge of the pool and took a deep breath. A glance at the clock told him it was already a little after four. Soon he had to leave and steal the data. He sat down on the edge as another person entered the room. At first, Nick thought it was Gimlet or another agent, but in amazement, he looked at Vermouth's face.

"Ah, you're here too? I thought I'd cool off a bit," the blonde woman giggled. Nick tried not to look at her chest, but with the bikini neckline, that was nearly impossible. Her slender frame moved elegantly in the water, the drops of water running down her well-groomed skin. Nick shook his head and reached for his towel.

"Gin said you were going to tell me something else...later," Nick remarked, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity. Vermouth swam a lane before answering. "Yeah, that's true, but...you'll have to be patient," she grinned, running a hand through her long, ash-blonde hair. Before Nick glared at her again, he just nodded and left the pool. In the locker room, he took a quick look at himself in the mirror. The long scar on his trained stomach made him wince briefly. He could still remember that well.

On a mission from the FSB, he was tortured, captured, and in the end, he was almost cut open. Fortunately, the cut had only been superficial, the scar even made him a little proud. Nick was drying himself off, opening the locker, when his heart stopped. Startled, he took a step back.

What was this doing in his locker? Was this some kind of bad joke? Carefully, with trembling hands, he reached for the photo. Nick looked at it, immediately, feeling sick. "No," he breathed. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to relive it. In the photo were his parents. His parents, who were...now dead...

Nick slammed the closet shut and tried to breathe calmly. It was all good. It was the past, it had already happened. He had to swallow to keep from gagging. Weakly, he held on, his breathing becoming more and more erratic. All at once, someone appeared as well. Nick tried to close his eyes. Imagine something beautiful. Forget what you saw. Nick stuffed the picture into his pants pocket, slipped on his T-shirt, and stormed out of the room.

Vermouth tracked Nick with her gaze as he stormed out of the locker room. A charming smile played around her lips. 

"He saw it. Just the way he wanted it. Everything's going according to plan."

AAAAAND THANKS AGAIN TO FURYASH ON INSTAGRAM
THX to Anime_fan_girl1412
The drawings are too beautiful 😍