Accomplice__ Kudo Shinichi x Kaitou Kid, Kaito Kid x Kudo Shinichi

Part 35: Clumsy Nick

After meeting with several cooperating agents, Akai and Jodie entered the office, leaving Kudo Shinichi alone outside the glass doors.

The chill of the room struck him as the automatic door opened behind him, and Nick rushed in, struggling to distribute the folders to the agents' desks. Kudo watched as the young assistant first knocked over the coffee at the edge of a desk and then bumped into a female ASAC assistant who was about to print some documents, apologizing profusely as he quickly retrieved his hand.

Wait... Kudo blinked. The movement had been so fast that it seemed like an illusion, but driven by his detective instincts, he followed Nick into the copy room, swiftly grabbing his hand.

"What... What are you doing, Mr. Kudo?"

Nick's innocent eyes showed only surprise, no hint of caution. Kudo stared at the name tag in his hand, which indeed read "Nick Nicolas II."

Nick smiled, "Mr. Kudo, please wait a moment. The documents will be ready soon. I'm sorry, one of the office's copiers broke down recently, and now there's a long queue for paperwork. I had no choice but to sneak into the executive copier room. Please don't tell anyone."

Nick, holding a large stack of papers, found he didn't have a free hand to operate the copier. He looked at Kudo a bit sheepishly, "Could you... lend a hand?" As he spoke, he inserted a labeled sheet of paper into the copier.

"How many copies?" Kudo asked. Nick thought for a moment, "About three for all the bigwigs. Double-sided. Thanks a lot. Sorry for the trouble. I'll take care of the FBI's paperwork after I finish this. Why don't you wait in the lounge? I'll be done soon."

The clumsy assistant's word of "quickly" turned out to be twenty-five minutes later, but Kudo Shinichi didn't complain. He quietly observed the routine work of the investigators, pondering if Uncle Toichi had worked in the same manner in the past. His eyes casually caught sight of Nick walking out from the corridor, and their gazes met.

That man had just exited the supervisor's office.

If he were part of the organization, he wouldn't be coming and going so daring.

"Kudo-kun, Martin just contacted me. He asked me to take you and the FBI agents to the venue. The documents are all sorted and packed in this briefcase."

It wasn't encrypted, and it didn't look tampered with. The death certificate seemed as ordinary as any other. Yet, it was precisely that ordinariness that made it hard to accept.

It was difficult to accept that a legend could meet such an ordinary end, dying like any other person.

Hemorrhagic shock.

Blood incompatibility—it happens often. Receiving donated blood doesn't guarantee that the body will fully accept it.

The cause of death might be as simple as it appears—perhaps there was never any talk of an internal mole.

"Kudo Shinichi."

A deep, smoky voice interrupted his thoughts, and Kudo realized it was Martin, who had somehow approached him unnoticed. He looked up. The post-conference gathering had drawn quite a number of ICPO officials and politicians, transforming it into more than just an Interpol event.

In a script like this, sitting in the farthest corner, studying Nick's organized materials, Kudo would theoretically be the last choice as a conversation partner. Especially for someone like Martin, who looked like he led an eventful life.

"Mr. Martin." Kudo politely put down the papers and greeted him. "Mr. Akai and Agent Jodie are over by the bar. I think I'll pass."

"Oh, is that so?" Martin leaned in closer, scrutinizing Kudo. "You look quite a bit like him."