On the Ferris wheel, Rei and Shuichi were locked in a one-on-one battle between men.
Even though Rei knew his friend's death couldn't be entirely blamed on Shuichi, he still couldn't get over that hurdle in his heart. Every time he saw Shuichi, his mind would go blank and all he wanted was to beat him until he knelt and begged for forgiveness.
Shuichi understood this well. If he didn't let Rei fight to his heart's content, their relationship would only grow more complicated.
He set aside his sniper rifle and went toe-to-toe with Rei. Blow for blow, neither side backed down.
Both were elite agents, genuine all-rounders. Shuichi had the edge in sniping, while Rei was skilled in intelligence gathering.
In close combat, they were evenly matched.
Bruised, bloodied, and swollen, but still impossible to decide a winner in the short term.
When Conan arrived at the Ferris wheel, what he saw was two men going at it hard, exchanging blows like something out of an action movie.
He didn't recognize Rei and assumed he was the enemy.
But he did know Shuichi was from the FBI, so he urgently shouted, "Mr. Akai, there are bombs planted on the Ferris wheel!"
As he said this, Conan opened his watch, ready to assist Shuichi in taking down the enemy.
"What?!"
Shuichi and Rei were both stunned.
Their fists paused mid-air as they looked toward the Ferris wheel. Every cabin still had tourists inside. If this thing really blew up, the casualties would be devastating.
"Kid, are you serious?"
Shuichi called out, voice tight with urgency.
"Mr. Akai, you'll know once you see for yourself."
Shuichi and Rei exchanged a look and both backed off.
Shuichi had always been wary of Conan, never taking his words lightly.
Rei didn't understand the situation, but seeing Shuichi's serious attitude, he also dropped his hostility.
Conan, who had been preparing to knock Rei out with his watch, asked in confusion, "Mr. Akai, who is he?"
The two men who had just been beating the life out of each other now stood calmly side by side, which confused Conan even more.
"He's from the Japanese Security Bureau."
"Hey, Akai, why'd you expose my identity?!"
Rei's expression changed dramatically.
A kid knowing his identity didn't just endanger him, it also put the child in serious danger.
"This kid isn't simple."
Shuichi replied with just that one line.
Conan's face stiffened. Shuichi was suspicious of him.
He regretted not holding back more at the hospital. This FBI agent wasn't like the Japanese police—he wasn't so easy to fool.
But it was too late now. He could only give a couple of silly laughs to play dumb.
"Kid, take us to where you found the bomb."
"Oh, okay!"
Conan quickly led the way.
Rei suppressed his doubts and followed Shuichi and Conan into the interior of the Ferris wheel.
Under Conan's guidance, they soon found the C4 explosives. And it wasn't just one.
Just then, a wave of panic broke out outside the Ferris wheel. Gunshots echoed, followed by screams and explosions.
Seeing Rei's tense expression, Shuichi said, "You handle the bomb. I'll check on the situation."
He grabbed the AWM sniper rifle slung across his back.
Rei didn't like Shuichi, but he trusted his skills. He nodded immediately. "Okay, I'll leave the outside to you."
Shuichi turned to Conan. "Kid, it's probably dangerous out there. Stay here."
With that, he ran off with the sniper rifle.
Rei didn't waste any time. He opened the bomb case, glanced at the detonator inside, and let out a small breath. "Good, not a complicated setup."
Conan eyed him nervously and hesitated. "Brother, can you really do it? You sure you can defuse it?"
He didn't know much about this Security Bureau agent, so naturally, he had doubts.
"Kid, shut up! Sit still and stay quiet. If you distract me, we'll both get sent straight to heaven!"
Rei snapped.
Damn it, even a kid was doubting his skills now?
He took a deep breath and focused on inspecting the wiring.
Conan quickly covered his mouth.
Rei was right. If he failed, they were all dead.
Outside the Ferris wheel, through the 16x scope of his AWM, Shuichi watched as a group of armed men fired indiscriminately at fleeing civilians.
His expression was grim. "Bunch of lunatics. Damn that Organization."
Taking a deep breath, he knelt beside the Ferris wheel. No spotter, no backup, he measured the wind speed, humidity, angle, and distance himself using the equipment beside him.
He made his adjustments and fired.
The suppressed AWM let out a muffled thud. The magnum round traveled over 300 meters and hit an armed attacker square in the chest.
The group immediately panicked. They abandoned their chase and shouted, "Sniper! Take cover!"
They scattered, hiding behind nearby buildings and trees.
"All of them are professionals, battlefield veterans."
Shuichi narrowed his eyes. It was going to be troublesome. Sniping them wouldn't be easy.
The only good news was they lacked heavy firepower. At most, they had assault rifles. Even if they discovered his position, they couldn't do much from this distance.
If they had heavier weapons, they would've shelled him by now.
"Buzz buzz buzz buzz..."
In the distance, the low thrum of helicopter rotors echoed through the air.
Shuichi raised his scope. A helicopter was flying straight toward the park.
"An Osprey? Seriously? They got their hands on one of those?!"
Shuichi cursed under his breath, both surprised and furious.
But for now, there was nothing he could do about the helicopter. He forced himself to ignore it and focused on sniping more gunmen below.
In one of the cabins, Curacao heard the sniper fire. With her level of skill, she immediately pinpointed Shuichi's location.
But she didn't interfere. She just quietly waited.
The countdown on her phone ticked to zero. Her body tensed, ready to jump the moment the Ferris wheel exploded.
But the explosion never came.
The Ferris wheel stayed completely still.
Curacao frowned and made a call. "Gin, where's the bomb you promised?"
Up in the Osprey, Gin was confused too. He immediately radioed Vermouth.
"I already planted them. If they didn't go off, someone must have disarmed them."
"No, Gin, look at the Ferris wheel. Isn't that... Akai Shuichi?"
Vermouth, not far from the scene, had been watching with binoculars.
Gin pulled out his own and looked toward the Ferris wheel. Sure enough, he spotted Shuichi.
"It really is Akai Shuichi!"
Gin's eyes narrowed. He was furious. The bombs had likely been defused by him.
"Chianti, shoot him dead!"
Gin's face twisted into a cruel grin. "Akai Shuichi... today, you die!"
This FBI agent was strong. Even Gin didn't dare underestimate him. He had caused the Organization no end of trouble after infiltrating them.
But now that he saw Shuichi here, Gin felt nothing but joy.
The man only had a sniper rifle. Meanwhile, he was in an Osprey. The advantage was all his.
"Hahahaha!! Is that Rye Whiskey? That traitor's toast!"
Chianti, with the odd facial tattoo, cackled. As Korn steadied the helicopter, she locked onto Shuichi and pulled the cannon trigger.
"Boom boom boom boom—"
The mounted cannon roared, its firepower more than enough to shred reinforced concrete. Explosions lit up the side of the Ferris wheel, sending metal and sparks flying.
Outside the Aquarium, the Tokyo police saw the Ferris wheel being strafed. Several officers, including Megure, nearly broke down on the spot.
"I-it's happening again. This time... it can't be the Americans again, right?"
Even if the U.S. was bold, they wouldn't just strafe civilians in Tokyo... right?
"Damn it!"
Shuichi realized he'd been spotted. He cursed and began retreating fast.
That cannon wasn't something he could take a hit from. One round and he'd be blown to pieces.
Up in the helicopter, Gin watched through his binoculars, excited beyond reason as Shuichi zigzagged away, dodging like a cockroach under fire.
"Chianti, are you even aiming? A little to the right. No, now a little to the left!"
Gin was in a fantastic mood.
Back at the suburban lab, he'd been chased down by an Apache. Now it was his turn to return the favor.
Suddenly—
Beep beep beep beep—
A shrill alarm blared inside the helicopter. Red warning lights flashed, the atmosphere instantly heavy.
"Gin, we've been locked on!"
Korn shouted in panic.
"Locked on?!"
Vodka looked out of the chopper window at the same time and screamed, "B-boss, bottom right—RPG!!"
"Evade!"
Gin reacted instantly. He kicked Korn aside, grabbed the controls, and yanked the stick.
The Osprey lurched, narrowly dodging the incoming missile.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the missile veered in midair, made a sharp 180-degree turn, and locked on again, flying straight back toward them.
"Boss, that's not an RPG. That's a Stinger anti-aircraft missile!"
Gin didn't hesitate. He dove straight out of the open side door.
Altitude? Who cares. Better to risk a fall than get blasted to bits.
Boom—
The missile hit its mark. The Osprey erupted in flames, a massive fireball falling from the sky.
Only Gin's enraged scream echoed through the air.
"Which bastard carries an anti-aircraft missile with them?!"
And Vodka's despairing shout as he plummeted:
"A hundred million dollars... gone!!"
(To be continued.)