The Contingency Plan

Chapter 1

Echo

Faded memories rebounded anew as Haibara Ai allowed herself to become lost yet again in those few scraps of torn and tattered paper. The fragmented shards of that life still held a sharp edge. They were dangerous to hold, and in the end, they always cut deeply. Yet despite all the heartache, the trials and tribulations, the loss they represented, she still refused to let go. In that loving message from half an eternity ago, she could, for a time, forget.

Things were somehow simpler back then. When her sister first penned the letter, she was still a university student and resigned to her fate among the villainous lot. That was an immutable fact of nature. There was no more cause to question it than a falcon has to question the wind flowing over its wings. One does as they must to survive. Anything else was unfathomable. It is best to abandon hope in hell, after all. Isn't that what people say?

But after Akemi had been murdered, those shades of gray suddenly came into stark contrast. In an instant, her place in the shadows was no longer habitable.

It was a pitiful excuse, Haibara thought bleakly. She had been complicit in so many deaths, and it was here she drew the line? Joining her victims in one small spark of defiance seemed only just and right.

However, the dictates of fate would see her atone in a different way. The poison didn't work. And someone who should have, by all logical reason, despised her, someone who she had helped deprive of so much, was somehow sympathetic. He convinced her to live under an alias. A new life that her sister would be proud of.

She owed a lot to Kudo Shinichi.

Crestfallen, she pulled her knees up close to her chest and pondered the question of "why" in all its many hues.

The doorbell chimed, and there came the sound of relaxed commotion and banter from upstairs. While the words were muffled, she could still recognize the voice. Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Quickly, she composed herself, laying the paper down and applying the ends of her sleeve to her face before turning back to her work on the computer. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Old habits and all.

The door opened, and Edogawa Conan breezed down the stairs. "Yo Haibara," He said casually.

She didn't look up from the screen. "Who died this time?"

He laughed good-humoredly, "Business has been pretty light as of late. I actually came to print something out for Ran. We're out of toner. Mind if I borrow the computer for a minute?"

With a shrug, she pushed away from the table and picked up her empty mug. "Sure, I'm out of coffee anyway. Want some?"

"Ran just put the kettle on. I'll grab mine on the way up."

So the detective agency girl was here too? Only to be expected. Other than being unimaginably sincere, Haibara was quite fond of Mouri Ran. Yet the ground never felt stable underfoot when they talked.  With Kudo at least, the slate was clean, everyone was on the same page. But with her, lies had to be maintained. It was an unpleasant reminder of an unpleasant past.

"Seriously, Kudo kun, some day you're going to have to grow up and learn to operate without your nee-chan holding your hand." She chided.

"Shut up" was the only retort he could muster as all of his focus was devoted to wrestling the cantankerous printer into compliance. The professor had taken it upon himself to make some 'improvements' to the device at the cost of an eyebrow for him and a modicum of sanity for any user.

She left him to his mounting frustration and proceeded into the kitchen.

Any chance that the professor would be there to act as an intermediary was dashed the moment she reached the top of the stairs.