Tantei-kun

Ten

There was a heavy tension in the air. Ai stooped to see the thing making the noise. She tried to somehow defuse it but she wasn't that much of an expert. It was a bomb and it would definitely kill them. She was sure there were other bombs, they were in a high-rise building after all. She sighed, looking at the people around her. They were trapped at the fourth floor, in the recreation room.

"Where are the police?" A man, old and cranky, asked, staring one of the staff of the hotel.

The staff gulped. "They've been notified."

"Well, where are they?"

Ai decided to speak up. She knew that kind of man, they were the ones who had enough power to kill you for money. They were paranoid for their lives that they forgot about the rest of humanity. "They blocked every road. The criminals created chaos, car crashes and the like. They successfully trapped us."

Suddenly, Ai's badge beeped. She retreated to a corner. "What is it?" She spoke to the badge.

"Have you defused the bomb?" It was Conan's voice with worry dripping from it. When Ai left to get her bag, he was waiting in a cafe with Agase. They were talking about some criminal who might have connections with the Black Organization.

"Not yet," Ai answered. "It's harder than that. There are more security measures."

"Send me a pic if you can," he said. "The bomb squad can't get in. The hotel's locks malfunctioned. Every entrance we can think of are locked."

"We?"

"I'm at the entrance. There was a small hole and only I can enter. There's a helicopter with some professionals."

Ai chuckled. "Of course you're with them now. I'll send the pic." She took a quick shot of the bomb and sent it to Conan.

"Damn," she heard him mutter. "There's a timer?"

She looked at the bomb. "There should be but it's blank."

For a few seconds there's static. "What was that, Kudo-kun?!" Still no reply.

"Saw.. chased... two criminals..." The connection was getting worse. She could only hear faint gun shots and screams. She couldn't look outside through the window. There were automatic screens for all the windows and as Conan said, the security measures broke. Inside the room, it wasn't much better. Children were crying, practically everyone was weeping, dozens of voices... it was chaos.

The staff took hold of the bomb. "It's not safe for you to be this close to the bomb, young miss," she said, smiling sadly at her. "Why don't you-" She felt the bomb vibrate. The blank screen was glowing with red numbers now, 1:00. She was about to shriek when Ai signalled for her to keep quiet.

"We don't want them to panic," Ai whispered. "Keep it down. My friend's sending me instructions to defuse the bomb."

The staff nodded, her eyes tearing. She carefully placed the bomb down. Ai knew how hard it was to be in this situation, especially if you weren't friends with a certain Body Magnet. Things were coming to an end, she knew, and maybe, just maybe, she'd miss being surrounded by dead bodies all the time.

She tried not to panic with the one minute death sentence above her but she was still human. She picked up her tweezers a poked around the wires again, recalling bomb lectures she used to go to. But this was a modified bomb. Who ever made it was no stranger to this job.

"Haibara," she heard from her badge. "The bomb experts said that this one's quite trickier than the rest but-"

"Kudo-kun," she said calmly. "Listen to me. The antidote isn't finished but my notes are in my computer. The password is R-E-T-S-I-S. The prototypes are in my desk and the extra key is in my pillow. Once you defeated the Black Organization, ask for their code and hopefully, you can find out the files you need. Good luck with that, Kudo-kun."

"Why do you seem like you're going to... die?"

"Because I am. The timer started. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I'm a scientist, not a bomb expert." She could hear how her voice was starting to crack. This wasn't how she imagined her last moment to be.

"I promise I'll save you there- oh sh*t! Heiji, hurry up!"

"Don't," she said, looking at the bomb. The seconds were weeding away, fast. "Are you still listening? There's a letter in that desk and I want you to read. Another for Hakase. I wanted-"

Then there was static.

Author's Note: Thank you for all those who still read this even with the sporadic updates! Hope you enjoy!