At Jodie's place, there was already a man waiting.
"Hello, you two. This is Shuichi Akai, my colleague," Jodie introduced.
"Gin. Hennessy. Tell me about them," Shuichi Akai went straight to the point. He would never let any lead about the Organization slip by. The sacrifice of Rena Mizunashi—also known as Kir—could not be in vain.
Conan began explaining how he first encountered them. "Gin… I first saw him at an amusement park while he was making a deal. He knocked me out and forced me to drink poison. But I didn't die."
Shuichi Akai didn't interrupt, but he seemed to have guessed something about Conan's identity.
"After that, I kept chasing the truth about the Black Organization. The next time I ran into them was when I met Masami Hirota. She committed a billion-yen robbery. She was an external member of the Organization… and was killed by them."
The name clearly made Shuichi Akai flinch, as if he knew her.
"After that, the trail went cold until Valentine's Day. I ran into two of the Organization's researchers—a man and a woman. The man sent an email ending with the word 'Hennessy.' The one chatting with him was Gin. That's where I first encountered Hennessy." Conan briefly summed up his encounters with the Black Organization.
"Do you still remember what Hennessy looked like?"
"Yes. Black short hair. About one meter eighty-two. A mix between Asian and American white. Wearing a white lab coat and flat-lens glasses." Conan described Ren's appearance. In Japan, his looks were very recognizable.
Even with only that information, it would be enough to identify him.
Jodie understood Conan's curiosity. Following the principle of information sharing, she explained, "Hennessy is a researcher in the Organization. They say his mind is at least thirty years ahead of the current field. If possible, the moment he shows himself… he has to be taken out."
"Taken out?" Conan's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the FBI to hate this man so much.
"He developed a new kind of lie detector that purged most of the Organization's informants. The ones left behind gained absolute trust. But his other invention made it extremely difficult to transmit information. Any outgoing message has to be intercepted and approved by another member before being sent. And if you carry another phone, the moment it sends a signal, it triggers an audible beep." Jodie gave a brief but heavy explanation of the devastating blow Ren had dealt to all undercover agents.
"Those with unstable psychological quality will be killed. Those who survive by luck can't use their phones to pass information. The intelligence delivery is too slow, so even if we know something, it's often outdated. Basically, we're just working for the organization." Conan quickly analyzed their disadvantages.
"Yes, many undercover agents have been killed. The most capable spies have to stay in the shadows, and passing information has become a luxury," Akai Shuichi sighed.
The organization was already very secretive, but now it was even more so.
"Phew, I came to see you today because the organization has set their sights on me," Conan said directly.
"Why?" Akai asked. If it was true, the FBI would naturally provide protection. They really didn't know much about the organization yet.
"The time I encountered Bourbon, I didn't die. Now Hennessy has noticed me," Conan revealed the truth behind the situation.
"Alright, live your normal lives. We'll keep watch around you," Akai decided immediately.
"Okay."
Ran just listened quietly nearby. She had just found out and didn't fully understand.
"Ran, let's go back," Conan said.
"Alright."
On the way back, Ran looked worried. "Should we tell Dad?"
"Not yet, Ran. If something really happens, telling him won't change the outcome," Conan said irritably. He hated feeling powerless. The people close to him were in danger.
This was the true danger of the organization. He wanted to bring them to justice, but now he had dragged Ran's family into this. Conan felt depressed.
He couldn't help but think: if on that Valentine's Day he hadn't impulsively acted on that information, maybe the organization wouldn't have contacted Ran. If Ran hadn't been involved, would things be like this now?
At that moment, Conan regretted it deeply. He couldn't think of a way to save himself.
The police and FBI were only temporary protections. There was no way to guard against thieves every single day.
"Conan, Shinichi!"
"Ran, you can't call me that name," Conan snapped back to reality.
"Didn't you just hear that, Conan? Are you worried?" Ran crouched down and looked at Conan gently.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have gone to Ran's house back then. Maybe I was too impulsive at that restaurant and caused trouble for you, uncle, and aunt." Conan lowered his head. He couldn't imagine what he would do if he was the one who got Ran, uncle, and aunt killed.
Ran knelt down, wrapping Conan in a hug. "It's okay. This isn't your fault. It's the organization's problem. Don't blame yourself."
"But…"
"Shinichi, I didn't know you were facing such big troubles before, even risking your life, while I was just complaining that you never came back. I'm sorry," Ran said softly.
"Ran."
"Shinichi, you can actually trust me more," Ran whispered. She didn't know how else to comfort Shinichi now.
"Ran, let's go back. It's been a while and it feels strange." Conan slowly calmed down and noticed people looking at them.
Ran let go of Conan. Though people stared, they soon walked away. To passersby, it was just a little boy sad and his sister comforting him.
"Alright, tonight we'll eat something good," Ran smiled.
Looking at Ran's back, Conan froze for a moment. As a genius detective with super high intelligence, he still couldn't protect the girl he liked.
The more mature Ran was, the more guilty he felt.
…
"Shuichi, can we trust that boy's words?"
"Hm, he's not an ordinary kid. You probably know that his desperate look isn't something a lie can fake," Akai Shuichi said calmly.
"Should we isolate and protect them?"
"No. If we miss this chance, it will be hard to get close to important members of the organization again. They are in the open, we are in the dark. If we can arrest or take down Gin, we should try," Akai said, using Conan's family as bait.
There was no other way. Conan was the one asking for help, and he had no useful info. This deal was never equal.
"Alright, first rent a place near his house. Tell the others simply — this may be a long fight."
"Got it." Jodie started calling the other FBI agents.
"Also, we need to meet with the police again. This time, we need help from Japan. We are too passive here," said Shuichi Akai. He needed information, and with the police's help, they would face fewer problems.
"I've already asked Cameron to pick us up," Jodie said.
"All right. Next, about hunting the organization. I will take out their sniper," Shuichi Akai began assigning tasks for the upcoming battle between the Black Organization and them.
Since the enemy wanted to eliminate Ran's family, their sniper would definitely be there. That was the best time for him, hidden in the shadows, to deal with the sniper.
As for capturing them, Shuichi Akai didn't consider it. From his time in the organization, he felt the sniper was just an executor, carrying very limited information.
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