The shot rang out—but no one fell.
Chianti, the Organization's sniper, was stunned. She rarely missed, unless her target was a top FBI agent. But Iris wasn't one. So why wasn't he dead?
Gin froze too, then glanced at the rooftop. Kaitou Kid stood there.
"Hello, Gin!" Kid mouthed the words, and Gin read them. It was pure provocation, pure mockery!
It was Kid who had fired, intercepting the bullet and saving Iris. The two shots had been so close together they sounded like one.
Iris dove into cover. He hadn't expected Gin to actually try to kill him.
"You look surprised. Aren't you part of the Organization? Don't you know their style by now?" Conan sneered, seizing the chance.
"Gin, one day I'll kill you," Iris roared.
But Gin's answer was the twin machine guns on the helicopter.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—
He was going for big headlines now. Wouldn't the Boss kill him for this? Wasn't the Black Organization supposed to be low-key, obsessed with immortality?
Blasting Tokyo Tower with an armed helicopter—how could that not make the news?
The panoramic windows shattered one by one, glass raining down in sheets. Police on the ground scrambled to dodge the shards.
Was this a terrorist attack on Tokyo? The officers had never faced criminals like this before.
But Gin had gone mad. He fired wildly, determined to kill everyone on the tower—including Kaitou Kid.
Kid's precision shooting proved the earlier two misses on Gin were deliberate. That was worse than defeat. It was charity. Gin couldn't stand the humiliation. "Kaitou Kid, by this time next year, you'll be dead."
Vodka had never seen his big brother this furious. He was sweating for Kaitou Kid himself.
"Fire the rockets!" Gin roared. He was unleashing everything, enough to blow the tower's antenna clean off.
What the hell was this? Conan and Iris were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope.
"Damn it, Gin."
"If this keeps up… is Tokyo Tower going to collapse?" Conan thought grimly.
"Edogawa, jump." The voice came through Conan's detective badge—it was Haibara.
"Haibara, what?"
"I said jump. If you don't, you'll die."
"But…" This was the very top of Tokyo Tower. Conan hesitated.
"Jump! Just do it!" Haibara snapped.
"I got it!" Conan grabbed Iris. "Jump with me!"
"…"
"If you don't want to die, follow me!" Conan leapt from the edge.
Iris saw the heavy gunfire and knew he had no choice. He clenched his teeth and jumped after him.
"Aaahhh—!" Gravity yanked them down like a merciless hand.
Pop!
Softness. Not the hard impact of concrete. Huh?
It was a giant green baseball glove.
"Nice catch!" Haibara shouted.
Conan couldn't believe it. He'd actually been caught by a flying, oversized, soft baseball glove. Impossible. What even was this?
But Haibara was nowhere in sight. The glove shot back up toward the rooftop. The police dodging glass below didn't even notice.
Kid thought to himself, 'Looks like I really did piss off Gin. But no matter how mad he gets, he'll never catch me.'
Kid had no patience left to play. "Bye-bye, Gin!"
He tossed a magnetic powder bomb into the air. For a machine like a helicopter, it was a deadly weapon.
"Big bro, the control stick's not working!" Vodka shouted in panic.
The chopper tilted to one side, veering farther and farther away.
Gin glared at Kaitou Kid, who waved mockingly in farewell. He wanted nothing more than to flay him alive, but this time he had no chance.
"Bye-bye to you too, idiot!" Kid sneered. He had no fondness for Gin—a psycho, nothing more. If it weren't for leaving Gin as Conan's training partner, Kid would've put a bullet in his head long ago.
Behind them, a green hammer smacked down, knocking Iris out cold. Conan noticed the glow came from Haibara's hand. "Hey, Haibara, what's going on here?"
Haibara felt amazing. She had just saved Conan. That reversal gave her a deep, unexpected satisfaction. She realized how passive she had been before, always letting others worry about her. But now things were different. From this moment, Haibara no longer needed anyone's protection.
"Haibara, what is this? Is it Professor's latest invention?" Conan asked curiously. If it was from the Professor, then maybe he'd get one soon too. "What an awesome gadget."
"This isn't from the Professor. My foster father gave it to me," Haibara said.
"Foster father? You mean Liu A'dou? How does he have something this powerful?" Conan frowned. If it wasn't Agasa, that was disappointing. But Liu A'dou hardly seemed like someone who could build such outrageous tech.
Conan assumed the green baseball glove worked on the same principle as his soccer belt. But then again, could his belt ever carry him through the air?
"Aliens gave it to him," Haibara replied.
Conan stared at her. 'Do you think I'm stupid?' "Don't joke around."
"But that's exactly what he told me," Haibara said flatly.
"Fine! Then show me again. It looks amazing," Conan said, curiosity burning.
"No. It can only be used in danger. Otherwise, it runs out of energy." Haibara wasn't the type to flaunt things, so she refused.
Luckily, Conan was only curious. If he couldn't see it, so be it. This wasn't a case to solve.
"How did you even get here?"
"TV broadcast," Haibara lied smoothly, her face calm. A woman, a pretty one at that—lying came naturally. "What about Iris?"
"He already knows my identity. I don't know. It's a tough spot," Conan admitted. If Iris told the truth, his cover would be blown before the Organization.
"Hand him to the police?"
"I don't know." Conan hated this type of problem. Still, with the memory card in hand, maybe the Organization would fall soon. In that case, Iris wouldn't matter.
"Why not hand him to me? I'll deal with him," Kaitou Kid dropped down from above. Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Iris by the collar and prepared to leave.
Conan watched but said nothing. He really didn't know what to do. Better to let Kid handle it. Kid was skilled, and he wasn't the type to silence people with murder.
But Conan still asked, "What are you planning to do?"
"Relax, I won't hurt him. I'll give him a few lessons and then let him go." Kid smirked. His goal was to make Iris see that the Organization had no future. Only by abandoning evil and doing good could he redeem himself. Iris was someone worth saving—after all, he had enemies within the Organization.