"The wound is no longer an issue. You can get it wet starting today, but it's still best to apply this ointment for a few more days." "Alrig
"The wound is no longer an issue. You can get it wet starting today, but it's still best to apply this ointment for a few more days."
"Alright, thank you."
Beika Central Hospital, Trauma Department
Hayashi Yoshiki extended his right hand for the doctor to examine. Once the doctor confirmed everything was fine, he stood up and left.
Today marked the seventh day since his return from Vespania.
The bullet graze he had suffered there had left his arm in a rather poor state, but as of today, he no longer needed to change the bandages regularly.
As he took the elevator down to the ground floor, he unexpectedly ran into two familiar figures.
Jodie Starling... and Conan.
"Conan?"
"Yoshiki-nii?"
Conan, whose face had been full of seriousness just a moment ago, was caught off guard upon hearing Hayashi Yoshiki's voice. He looked up and saw him holding a medical chart in his hand.
"Why are you here?"
"My hand wound."
Hayashi Yoshiki waved the object in his hand.
Conan understood instantly.
He had known that Yoshiki had taken a bullet graze while trying to save Ran at the royal palace. He still felt lucky to have had him there.
"Is the wound healing well? Why didn't you go to a hospital in Mīhama Town?"
"Yeah, I can finally get it wet today." Yoshiki seemed in good spirits. "The trauma department here at Beika Hospital is top-notch. Some treatments can even prevent scarring."
"That's great. Ran-nee will feel more at ease too."
"Right? Well then, I'll be off. Bye, and see you too, Miss Jodie."
"Bye-bye."
"Hold on, handsome."
Just as Yoshiki smiled and was about to leave, Jodie, who had been listening with a smile the whole time, suddenly stopped him.
He paused, looking slightly confused.
"You're the other person behind Cool Kid, right?"
Jodie looked absolutely confident. "Don't even try to hide it. That day at the Mouri Detective Agency, you and he were perfectly in sync. And now you're not even questioning why a child like him is wandering around a hospital? The answer's obvious, isn't it?"
Yoshiki didn't deny it. He paused, and his expression grew more serious as he turned to Conan.
"So... members of the Organization are already in this hospital?"
"Exactly."
Conan's expression also turned grim.
That day, the FBI had captured Rena Mizunashi after her accident and brought her secretly to Beika Hospital for treatment. For a variety of reasons, Conan had realized that members of the Organization had infiltrated the hospital to investigate.
He had originally planned to contact Yoshiki later to discuss the matter.
"So you knew they were here too."
Jodie crossed her arms.
"Let's talk somewhere else, Miss Jodie."
Even though no one was around at the moment, it was still a public area.
Jodie quickly led them to the part of the hospital guarded by the FBI. Rena Mizunashi was lying unconscious in one of the rooms on that floor.
"You were being awfully blunt just now. Weren't you afraid of exposure?"
"I trust the kid's judgment."
Jodie paused as she spoke. Her eyes, lowered for a moment, revealed a trace of determination. She looked at Yoshiki and spoke earnestly:
"To go up against that organization, the more trustworthy allies we have, the better."
She hadn't meant to be like this.
But with Shuichi Akai now gone, and Gin and the others targeting Rena Mizunashi, her sense of security was seriously shaken.
And Yoshiki's mind was incredibly sharp.
Not only did Conan trust him, but Jodie still remembered his performance during the bus hijacking incident. She saw him as a valuable and trustworthy ally.
"I see..."
"So Organization agents have already entered the hospital..."Yoshiki repeated, frowning. "We heard from a nurse that someone came directly asking about Rena Mizunashi. Unfortunately, the nurse's contact lens had fallen out, so she couldn't see the person's face clearly."
Jodie shared all the intel they had.
"It seems the Organization is just sending people to probe hospital by hospital. There's no record of Rena Mizunashi being admitted here, right?"
"Of course."
"And the hospital staff? A live person being under tight security in a hospital with no record... doctors or nurses would notice something odd about that room, right?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
At that moment, the door to Rena Mizunashi's room opened.
Yoshiki and the others turned toward it and saw two people walking out.
James Black—and a slightly chubby, gentle-looking middle-aged man in a white lab coat.
The one who spoke was James.
But the moment Hayashi Yoshiki saw the man in the white coat behind him, his pupils contracted sharply.
—During the incident in Ireland, he had obtained a list of the Organization's spies. On that list of only 24 names, he had seen this man before.
"This is the director of Beika Central Hospital, an old friend I saved years ago. He's someone I trust deeply."
James smiled as he introduced the man in the lab coat behind him.
"Everything's been arranged. The doctors and nurses know absolutely nothing about Rena Mizunashi in that room."
"Hello."
The director raised his hand in greeting with a kind smile.
What's going on...?
That guy is an Organization spy. He should be one of Rum's people.
If he's here... then the Organization already knows Rena Mizunashi is hiding here...
What the hell is going on?
Yoshiki's mind raced with the question once more.
Is Rum withholding information on purpose?
Or is the spy list itself a trap?
It seemed James had called the hospital director to check on Rena Mizunashi. Once done, he quickly left.
Afterward, Jodie introduced James to Yoshiki.
After exchanging a few words, the head of the FBI's Japan task force greeted the well-known Yoshiki with no airs about him.
"So, what are you planning now?"
Yoshiki asked, "The Organization's spy is still just feeling things out, not yet sure Rena Mizunashi is in this hospital... Are you planning to deceive him?"
"Deceive him, huh? Yes, if we succeed, it would be better than a rushed hospital transfer." James nodded. "But the problem is... we still don't know who the spy is."
"Find them... and capture them? Rena Mizunashi has been unconscious this whole time, and we haven't gained any intel. But if we capture the spy, we'll have more leads."
Jodie's expression turned graver than ever. She looked James straight in the eye.
"If it were Shu... he would've definitely done that."
It seemed Shuichi Akai's death had made Jodie's thinking more aggressive.
"Miss Jodie... Who is this 'Shu' you're talking about?"
Hayashi Yoshiki suddenly asked.