The incident was over. To the FBI, it had ultimately amounted to nothing. After days of guarding Rena Mizunashi, they hadn't obtained a sing
The incident was over.
To the FBI, it had ultimately amounted to nothing.
After days of guarding Rena Mizunashi, they hadn't obtained a single piece of intel—
And now, she had been taken back by the Organization.
"Sigh..."
Jodie Starling let out a deep breath.
She popped the tab on a canned coffee, and sitting on the bench, she tilted her head back and drank half of it in one go.
"What are you thinking about?"
Hayashi Yoshiki walked over.
"Sorry, Mr. Hayashi..."
Jodie's voice was heavy.
"Everything unfolded just as you predicted—Gin and the others were fooled—
But in the end, this still happened..."
Yoshiki had repeatedly raised suspicions about whether the director could be trusted.
Strictly speaking, the blame couldn't be entirely placed on the director. After all, who could have imagined that Vermouth would impersonate him first and infiltrate the hospital?
Vermouth...
Jodie's eyes darkened at the thought of the woman who had murdered her parents twenty years ago—
And now, she had been played by her once again.
For a moment, Jodie felt utterly defeated.
She had failed to produce results during the Full Moon incident.
Now, Shuichi was dead.
This mission had ended in complete failure.
Were the Organization's people truly that powerful?
Was the FBI just incompetent?
Or was it her own ability that had fallen short?
Bad luck, perhaps?
Jodie stared down at her can of coffee, eyes blank.
"No. Everything is still going according to plan."
At that moment, Conan walked over.
Though Jodie was clearly downcast, his face was lit with a confident, energetic smile.
Jodie blinked, confused.
"Rena Mizunashi—or rather, CIA agent Hidemi Hondō—being taken back by the Organization was something we had planned from the beginning."
Hayashi Yoshiki sat down beside her.
Unlike the others drinking coffee, he held a bottle of mineral water.
Seeing Jodie's stunned expression—bordering on disbelief—Yoshiki smiled.
"Last night, Rena Mizunashi actually regained consciousness. Once Conan and I confirmed her identity, we struck a deal with her."
"The deal was this: She would return to the Black Organization to gather intel—
And we, or more precisely the FBI, would ensure her younger brother Eisuke Hondō is protected."
Conan stepped in, explaining Rena's situation in more detail.
The CIA and FBI, both part of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, often had overlapping duties—
But conflict, sabotage, and infighting were long-standing traditions between them.
After absorbing all the new information, Jodie pointed to herself in disbelief.
"You kept us—the FBI—in the dark, and now you want us to take on the responsibility of protecting someone!?"
"That's right," Yoshiki nodded.
His expression then turned more serious.
"I'm truly sorry we didn't tell you—but we had our reasons."
His gaze grew sharper, causing Jodie's rising frustration to fade away instinctively.
What he was about to say might be very important.
She braced herself.
"James Black—I don't trust him."
"Why?"
"There are things about him that seem... suspicious."
Yoshiki began in a calm tone.
"Do you remember the video footage from June 15th, at the third traffic light outside Beika Station? How exactly did James get his hands on that video?"
"Well, James is a high-ranking official in the FBI. He has his own channels."
"Oh, I believe that," Yoshiki nodded.
"But the Public Security Bureau went to great lengths to recover that data and still failed.
They concluded that only the Black Organization could've possessed it.
I assume you can agree with that, Jodie?"
Jodie nodded slowly.
"But the video shows a top-level secret in the Organization—the use of an accidental killing agent.
Through my own methods—and confirmed again in my conversation with Rena Mizunashi last night—she had never even heard of such a thing."
Jodie could feel where Yoshiki was going.
"For someone to have copied that footage from within the Organization... they'd have to be someone in a very high position."
"Even so, that doesn't prove James is guilty," Jodie defended him firmly.
Her trust in James Black was deep-rooted.
After all, when her parents were killed 20 years ago, James had been the one who came to save her.
He had wanted to shield her from that life, to help her grow up as a normal person.
She decided to join the FBI.
"I expected that answer from you."
"But still..."
Yoshiki paused.
Even Conan furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
From Jodie's perspective, it was hard to suspect James.
But Conan had always believed in Hayashi Yoshiki.
If he was saying something was wrong... then perhaps there truly was.
"What is it?" Conan asked.
"Come with me to my car."
Yoshiki stood up.
He led the two to his car, opened his laptop, and typed in a password.
After a few steps, he pulled up a hidden folder.
Inside it—
"What is this?"
Jodie frowned.
Conan leaned in to take a closer look.
On the screen was a list of names, positions, and accompanying photos.
They quickly realized—
They were all prominent people.
Parliamentary aides, company presidents, newspaper editors, philanthropists...
"This file," said Hayashi Yoshiki,
"is the Black Organization's spy list."
The shock in their eyes was immediate.
Yoshiki briefly explained the origin of the file—
How Ireland had once infiltrated the police department disguised as Kiyonaga Matsumoto.
Yoshiki glossed over some of the technical details of how he recovered the memory card, then scrolled further down—
Until both Jodie and Conan saw one particular photo:
[Hitomo Kaibu]
[Director of Beika Central Hospital]
Jodie froze.
"When I heard James describe that man as 'absolutely trustworthy,' I was... stunned."
Yoshiki's voice remained calm.
"Jodie, I understand your hesitation to doubt someone close to you.
And I know your first reaction is probably to question the authenticity of this list."
"Then—why not verify it?"
"There are 24 names on this list.
Excluding the hospital director—who might be alerted—we can discreetly investigate the others to determine whether this list is genuine."
Hayashi Yoshiki looked Jodie straight in the eyes.