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

Chapter 11

"A day off?" wondered Nick, pressing his hands to his eyes. Yep, he didn't have an assignment, no, in fact, Dubonnet was bored. Normally, Nick had always been glad after an assignment to rest and finally sleep, but not today. On the contrary, Nick had no idea what he was going to do all day. Just the thought of sleeping was terrifying. He would prefer not to sleep at all, but just feed on coffee. 

Every time, every day, every night, when he went to sleep, he saw his nightmares. 

His dead parents. 

His torture. 

His training. 

Tired, Nick dragged himself upstairs to Minuro's apartment. But just as Nick was about to take a shower, his second cell phone started ringing. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was really there, then picked up. "Yes?" he hissed into the phone. Briskly, he locked himself in the restroom. "We need to meet," the agent replied. It was an agent of the FSB. 

"Meet?", Nick narrowed his eyes. "Yes, that's right, you have to give us data. It's time again," the voice explained grimly. "Сука," Nick growled, then agreed. "Fine by me. In a minute. As always," Dubonnet said, then hung up. "Speaking of, day off," Nick grumbled and changed his clothes. Then he disappeared from the apartment.

Outside, he stood on the boardwalk, watching the seagulls. The birds circled over the water, their cries resounding through the area. How long would he wait for Alex? It was his best buddy in the FSB...but still it annoyed him. Sighing, Nick leaned against the railing and looked at his reflection in the water. His hair looked terrible. No matter, it didn't care about him or his appearance. Suddenly, someone stepped up to him. A grinning guy with black curls and green-yellow eyes.

Alex Dobrow.

"Nice to see you again," Alex laughed. "Oh, keep it down," Nick grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Well...what's it about?", Nick finally wanted to know. Alex turned to him. "It's serious...really...serious," he muttered. Nick became serious. When it came to the organization...it was always serious. "Splitt the tea," he finally said. 

♠♠♠

Conan's head hurt, he felt dizzy and nauseous at the same time. He had to get up, but his legs buckled. Asleep, he pulled himself up against the stone wall. Panic-stricken, his eyes searched the surroundings, but he couldn't find Ai. They had kidnapped the girl. "Such a... mess..." gasped Conan, holding his stomach. The kick from Gin had probably broken some of his ribs. Quickly, he searched for the cell phone. 

"Ran! Ran!" he shouted tensely into the receiver. "For God's sake, Conan, what's wrong!!!" worried, Ran Mori held her breath. Conan bit his lip. He couldn't tell his girlfriend the truth, he couldn't involve her in this...but...what else could he do? If he and Ai died, everyone would find out sooner or later. "Conan? Say what's going on?", Ran inquired. 

"Ai Haibara was kidnapped...right in front of me," he finally confessed. If only he were still Shinichi! "What!!! I'm going to call Pops right now! Conan, call Shinichi...he'll know what to do," Ran ended the call. Conan stared at the display for a moment. Shinichi must know what to do. If only he had an idea. They were running out of time because Gin wouldn't hesitate to kill Ai. And if he found out about the apotoxin...everyone would be in danger. 

"Hang in there Haibara, I promise you we will save you."

♠♠♠

Ash sat down in her seat at Café Poirot and ordered a cup of tea. Strangely enough, she couldn't help but think of Nick. Again. "You've got this good-" he'd said. Didn't he hate her? She couldn't really care, what did she care about a Russian NOC? "Here you go, your tea," a young lady said in a high-pitched voice. 

Azusa. 

"Thank you," Ash replied kindly, though inside she would have liked to smack her face. 

Her voice. Ear tumor for free. 

"If there's anything, call me," Azusa said with a smile and departed. "I'll call you for your funeral," Ash whispered, sipping her tea. Looking through the window, she spotted a man in a cap in the reflection. She had seen him before at some point, or was she just imagining it? "Here, this is for you," a voice suddenly whispered. Ash looked briefly into Bourbon's eyes. "Have fun jobbing," she threw back. Unobtrusively, Amuro slid the envelope toward her. When Ash tried to look back at the strange man, he had disappeared.

♠♠♠

Shards. Blood. Screams. Minuro tried to move, but he couldn't. He realized he was stuck. "Shit," he cursed. Pain shot through his body, he had to get out of here! But he couldn't. Something heavy was squeezing his arm, as if it were a valve, slowly closing and cutting off his blood. "No! No, not again!" roared Minuro.

Blood. Splinters. Beams weighing tons.

Suddenly he was staring at the apartment ceiling, drenched in sweat. "Damn it," he cursed softly. It was just a daydream. He had probably dozed off in the armchair. Exhausted, he looked at the room. How much longer would his nightmares haunt him?

Minuro got up and strolled into Nick and Ash's room. A brief grin flitted across his face. Those two were such stubborn people, it was unbelievable. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a piece of paper under Nick's bed. His sense of order made him pick up the trash, but he paused. It was a picture of a little Nick and a blonde girl. Who was this? Maybe his sister? He put the note down and stopped. He couldn't trust Dubonnet yet, but deep in his heart he hoped the boy would do the right thing.

♠♠♠

Conan was prayed and doctored by Ran on the sofa, while Kogoro and Professor Agasa discussed wildly. "We have to get the police involved; the child was kidnapped in broad daylight!" shouted Kogoro Mori angrily. "But the men who kidnapped Ai are dangerous!" interjected Agasa. Ran's father didn't know which people he was messing with. "Oh poppycock! I, the sleeping Kogoro, can handle any criminal." Agasa shook his head. How much longer would they be able to hide the truth? 

"Tell me peck, were you able to remember the license plate?", Kogoro wanted to know. Of course, Conan had memorized the license plate, but...was he allowed to put the police and Ran's family in danger? 43-68...a black Porsche. Kogoro looked at Conan expectantly. "I'm not sure...43-68...I think...a black Porsche...," Conan gasped. Pain surged through his ribs at the memory. "Very well, I'll pass this on to Inspector Megure.''

Kogoro stormed out of the room. "Tell me, Conan, do you know why Ai was kidnapped by those men?" said Ran calmly, sitting down with Conan. If only she knew she was sitting next to Shinichi right now. Conan and Agasa exchanged a quick glance. "No, I'm afraid I have no idea," the black-haired man lied, looking downcast at the floor. Ran sighed, "I see. I'll try to reach Sonoko, and you, get some rest, okay?" she muttered, standing up. Conan looked after her for a moment. 

"Kudo, what do you think Gin is up to with Haibara?", Agasa hissed in Conan's ear. Shinichi thought for a moment. "He's going to kill her...but not right away.'' Gin would not let Ai die quickly. He would take his time and torture her. Pleasurably, painfully. They had to hurry. If anything happened to Ai, Conan would never forgive himself.