Chapter 196: Explosion
Anya would definitely be raised long-term, but for Ai Haibara, it would only be for a year. After all the plot events were over, she should be able to develop an antidote to return to normal, right?
And Yor was so considerate—she'd definitely agree, right?
It was just that this year was a bit long...
"Alright, let's not talk about this now. I'll discuss it with Yor when I have time." Natsukawa changed the subject and got to the main point. "What's the situation with Teiji Moriya?"
"The situation—" Franky drew out the word, somewhat excitedly. "He should be making his move tomorrow. This architect is something else! Going to rob a Japanese munitions depot all by himself—he doesn't take the guards seriously at all!"
Actually, Natsukawa didn't quite understand how Teiji Moriya could steal such a large amount of explosives either.
Even if an architect cracked the security code to the munitions depot, the guards wouldn't be people he could easily evade. It could only be attributed to Conan's plot armor at work.
"Let's leave that aside for now. You make preparations on your end. When he makes his move tomorrow, we'll move too. This time, with Moriya Teiji taking the blame, take as much as possible. Don't try to save money for Japan."
They'd also be sharing some with Gin, so they'd definitely need to take more.
"Don't worry, we'll use that tax bureau armored car. I've already repaired it. This time, we'll just fill the trunk. A hundred pounds isn't too little, a thousand pounds wouldn't be too much."
"By the way," Franky paused for a moment before continuing, "he also went to the Kurokawa residence in Beika Town 1-chome today. Looks like he was scouting the place. I think his first target should be the Kurokawa estate.
That's ruthless. Dissatisfied with his own building, he actually plans to destroy it this way."
Even after years in the business, Franky had rarely heard of such an extreme case.
Being dissatisfied with a building he'd designed in his youth and directly stealing explosives to demolish it—this kind of behavior was outrageous in any country.
Night fell, and the Tokyo skyline appeared and disappeared in the darkness. Under the cover of night, the city became quiet and mysterious.
The sky was covered by a few thin, dark clouds, with a few stars occasionally peeking through, twinkling faintly.
The Touto Gunpowder Storehouse was located in the suburbs of Beika.
Because it was a munitions depot, there were basically no people around. This was for safety reasons—otherwise, with such explosive yield, nearby residents would be affected in case of an incident.
"Built along the lake—it would be easier to put out a fire in time if an explosion occurred. The architect thought that through very well." Natsukawa sat in the driver's seat of the armored car, looking at the terrain with some appreciation.
"You didn't know?!" Franky in the passenger seat asked with some surprise.
"Know what?"
"I specifically looked it up these past two days. The Touto Gunpowder Storehouse is the work of Teiji Moriya.
Look at the architectural style—symmetrical, row upon row. Even the surrounding greenery is symmetrical.
I thought you already knew."
Oh, I see.
Natsukawa suddenly realized. He hadn't noticed that detail.
The reason he knew everything was mainly because of the plot. The plot didn't seem to mention that the Touto Gunpowder Storehouse was Moriya Teiji's work—or rather, it did mention it, but he'd forgotten.
No wonder he could easily steal the explosives. It turned out to be his own design.
The Japanese munitions depot was only five years old. Perhaps Moriya Teiji had been planning to destroy his early works even back then.
The reason he'd approached Kudo Shinichi was simply because Shinichi had interfered with his architectural aesthetics—not the main reason he wanted to blow up the asymmetrical building.
At most, Shinichi was a catalyst.
The real culprits should be those Japanese officials who'd commissioned Moriya Teiji to design the building. Of all people to choose, why did they have to choose Moriya Teiji?
They were quite lucky, actually.
They'd demanded bribes and favors, and in the end, the shoddy construction was about to be blown up by the designer himself. Moriya Teiji would settle this messy debt, and those people should be very happy.
"I see. No wonder you asked me to drive the car to the lakeside. Is there a secret passage here?" Natsukawa asked.
"There's no secret passage, but there is a sewer that leads directly into the storehouse. According to the architectural plans, going in from here leads directly to the internal emergency exit. Although the emergency exit is sealed, Moriya Teiji definitely left himself a backdoor.
Taking this route can avoid at least three waves of guards, so this is definitely Moriya Teiji's first choice.
Many architects have a habit of leaving a secret path, and Moriya Teiji is no exception, so I'm sure he's going to enter through this sewer."
Natsukawa sighed deeply. What was wrong with him these past two days? He'd been going through sewers every day. It was disgusting.
Franky patted Natsukawa on the shoulder and pulled two gas masks from his feet.
"Brother, you really understand me. You're such a clever guy, but..."
Natsukawa glanced at Franky's feet to make sure he wasn't wearing slippers or going barefoot before nodding in satisfaction.
Guided by Franky, Natsukawa drove the car to a secluded corner, waiting for the protagonist to appear.
Half an hour later, a black van slowly pulled up by the lake.
"It should be him." Franky squinted. "Black vans are rare, and he didn't even turn on his headlights while driving. It must be Moriya Teiji."
A short while later, a tall, thin figure stepped out of the van.
This person was completely covered in black—not the Men in Black from the anime, but Moriya Teiji himself, wrapped in a black wetsuit with what appeared to be a black stocking over his head. A rather incongruous look.
The two men in the van exchanged a glance, both seeing the speechless look in each other's eyes. Dressed like that, what kind of explosives was he stealing? He should be robbing a jewelry store.
As the man stealthily descended the slope and entered the sewers, Natsukawa quietly followed.
Franky, meanwhile, approached the black van, skillfully opened the door, and installed a listening and tracking device under the brake pedal.
Then he glanced at the route Moriya Teiji had taken, silently took out a shovel he'd prepared beforehand, and began digging a hole in the ground.
They still needed to knock the guy unconscious. Their preparations went beyond this—it would take some time. Better to render him unconscious.
The sewers extended inward, and soon they reached the area directly beneath the Japanese munitions depot. Natsukawa caught up with Moriya Teiji midway. He was currently unscrewing bolts at the entrance of a ventilation duct.
It seemed he intended to enter through this duct.
"How can there be such a large ventilation duct?"
He'd assumed Moriya had made some special arrangements in the emergency passage at the end of the sewers, but it seemed the arrangement wasn't inside but rather in this ventilation duct.
The ventilation duct Haibara Ai had escaped from was only large enough for a child, but this one was different—it was unusually large, easily fitting an adult.
Natsukawa strongly suspected this was a hidden door Moriya Teiji had left when he designed the munitions depot.
This guy had indeed been planning to steal explosives for years.
As for using explosives to make plastic bombs, an architect must know some demolition experts. It was only natural he could make plastic bombs.
Waiting for Moriya to enter the ventilation duct, Natsukawa didn't rush in. Instead, he walked a little further to avoid running into him when he came out. There were no obstructions in the sewers.
The ventilation duct was a one-way passage, and he couldn't possibly enter while Moriya was still inside. Otherwise, it would be awkward to have their eyes meet in the duct later.
After waiting for twenty minutes, a rustling sound came from inside the ventilation duct.
Soon after, a silver-white metal box appeared at the duct opening and was pushed out.
With a clang, the heavy metal box landed, its corners dented.
It looked to weigh at least fifty pounds.
Moriya Teiji appeared at the duct opening, sweating profusely. After confirming it was safe outside, he cautiously emerged, not even resealing the duct, and ran out carrying the box.
Natsukawa watched the scapegoat leave, then approached the ventilation duct.
Entering the armory through the duct, which connected to the internal restroom exhaust vents, he stepped out and saw two unfortunate men lying on the floor.
Two heavily armed guards were breathing steadily, one even snoring.
Beside them was a white, spherical object. Sniffing it, Natsukawa confirmed it was sleeping gas.
The effects of this type of gas typically lasted half an hour to an hour. Moriya Teiji had used a bit too much, and the two men were probably on the verge of waking up.
To ensure the guards had a full night's sleep, Natsukawa took a handkerchief wrapped in transparent film from his pocket and covered their noses.
"Sweet dreams tonight."
Stepping over the guards and following the map he'd memorized, he arrived at an open warehouse.
Inside were boxes of metal crates identical to the one Moriya Teiji had just pushed out.
"Looks like that's all."
Natsukawa carried one box in each hand.
Compared to the physically weak Moriya Teiji, Natsukawa appeared much more composed. The two boxes, weighing over 150 pounds combined, were a piece of cake for him.
He spent half an hour moving six boxes out.
Franky, very professional, had been waiting at the ventilation duct entrance, pushing a cart.
"How's it going? Where's Moriya Teiji?" Natsukawa asked as he piled the boxes onto the cart.
"I've knocked him out."
"He probably didn't notice, right?"
"Impossible!" Franky waved his hand smugly. "He probably just thought he accidentally stepped into a hole and passed out. He has no idea I shot him with a tranquilizer dart."
"That's good."
Natsukawa breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the ventilation duct, and shook his head. "Shift change is approaching. I could only get six boxes. I'll use Moriya Teiji's box to give to Gin."
He'd originally planned to empty the Japanese munitions depot, but the backdoor Moriya Teiji had created was too small, making large-scale transport impossible, so he had to give up.
"That's what I was thinking too."
The two loaded everything into the car, then spent some time modifying the vehicle Moriya Teiji would use for his crime.
They installed a detonating device and converted the car into a remote-controlled version.
Not long after they returned to the armored car, Moriya Teiji slowly woke up.
"Ouch, that hurts!" Moriya Teiji rubbed his ankle, then glanced at the hole beside his foot, cursing under his breath about what kind of kids would dig a hole in the mud by the river.
But what was that faint pain in the back of his neck? Had he bumped it?
He glanced at his watch and realized almost an hour had passed.
"Never mind, it's almost time for shift change. I have to leave immediately!"
Moriya Teiji rubbed his ankle for a while, endured the pain, carried the large box to the car, then started the engine and disappeared into the night.
"If I'm not mistaken, he'll act tomorrow!"
Franky had done a detailed investigation into Moriya Teiji's personality. The guy had a sense of urgency.
He might be able to endure when there was no other way, but once he got the explosives, he definitely wouldn't wait any longer.
"Then let's do the deal with Gin tomorrow. The timing is perfect."
As he spoke, Natsukawa glanced at his watch. It was already past one o'clock.
"I wonder how things are going at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals."
Natsukawa looked toward Beika Town, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
Public Security must have confirmed the situation at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, especially now that Gin had moved a large amount of research equipment. This would definitely raise their suspicions.
Thinking this, a burst of fire shot into the sky in the direction he was looking.
The red light illuminated the sky, turning the dark clouds crimson before quickly spreading out, forming a red hole above the light, like a wormhole from a science fiction movie.
The sound of an explosion could be faintly heard even here, though not very clearly. The constantly flashing red light indicated a series of explosions—Gin had indeed detonated it.
"It still exploded." Natsukawa frowned, curious about the scene.
Franky peeked out and clicked his tongue in amazement. "The Organization is really crazy. This amount of explosives could probably collapse city hall. We're probably going to face insane retaliation from Public Security."
Natsukawa disagreed.
He shook his head without explaining, or rather, he himself was somewhat uncertain.
Amuro Tooru had also been present at the meeting, and he'd definitely try his best to notify Public Security. So in this situation, it wasn't necessarily true that Public Security had been outmaneuvered.
The two were still admiring the distant red light when suddenly sirens blared and red lights flashed wildly at the Touto Gunpowder Storehouse.
"The Metropolitan Police Department is going to be busy. An explosion plus a munitions theft—either one alone would have reporters going crazy."
Franky's interest was piqued. "Should we go check it out?"
Natsukawa nodded. He was interested.
He also wanted to know if Jodie was alright.
Although Amuro Tooru was there and Public Security shouldn't be at a disadvantage, speculation was never as reliable as seeing it for himself.
Not long after the two drove away, the police quickly arrived at the scene.
An explosion and a munitions theft—Director General Odagiri Toshiro's phone had been ringing off the hook with calls from his superiors within minutes, so naturally, the police response was extremely fast.
By the time the two arrived near Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, the scene was already surrounded by Metropolitan Police Department officers and fire trucks.
In addition, reporters who'd caught wind of the situation began reporting from all angles.
The explosion had stopped, but the flames still flickered, illuminating the surrounding area for miles.
Natsukawa drove around the scene but didn't see a single person from the Organization, or even anyone who appeared to be from Public Security.
He did see several firefighters carrying several limp bodies out of the scene.
They weren't wearing white lab coats—they were all dressed in ordinary clothes. "Ordinary citizens."
"Could it be... Amuro Tooru didn't notify Jodie?"
Natsukawa wondered. A day was plenty of time for Amuro Tooru to notify Public Security, and these seemingly lifeless "ordinary citizens" were clearly Japanese police officers.
After all, he knew most of the people at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, and these people's clothing didn't match the style of the Organization's researchers or peripheral members.
Shirakage Pharmaceuticals' researchers all wore white lab coats, and peripheral members wore black suits—these people didn't fit those descriptions.
Natsukawa frowned, signaling Franky to take the explosives back while he got out of the car to observe the scene more closely.
However, after looking for a long time, he still couldn't find any trace of Jodie, which made him frown.
Could she have been killed in the explosion?
Natsukawa's gaze lingered on the ambulances, one after another carrying away bodies whose fates were uncertain.
"Beika General Hospital?" Natsukawa hailed a taxi belonging to someone watching the commotion and headed directly to Beika General Hospital. He needed to check on the condition of the dead and injured.
The taxi driver was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected to get a fare while casually watching the commotion.
There shouldn't be many people around at this time, especially after the explosion. Surely no normal person would approach, right?
"Sir, are any of your friends among the injured? Going to Beika General Hospital at this hour?" The taxi driver, driven by curiosity, finally asked.
He was just asking casually. After all, Natsukawa's expression was indifferent, not at all like someone whose relatives or friends had been injured in the explosion.
"No, my stomach hurts. I need to go to the emergency room. I probably ate some bad seafood tonight." Natsukawa casually made up an excuse.
"By the way, do you know what happened here?" Natsukawa had chosen this taxi driver only after confirming he'd been there for a while, hoping to get some information.
"An explosion, isn't that obvious?" The taxi driver shook his head, somewhat wistfully. "The explosion happened at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals. I just heard from the police and reporters that the explosion originated in the research lab on the first floor of Shirakage Pharmaceuticals.
A pharmaceutical company, and something like this happens? I bet they were researching some kind of contraband."
"The research lab on the first floor." Natsukawa muttered, then asked, "Are there many casualties?"
The driver shook his head. "At this hour, there shouldn't be many people. I've been watching from the beginning, and the firefighters only managed to rescue a handful of people.
But it's possible some people were already killed in the explosion or burned to death, so there was no need for rescue."
Natsukawa nodded, not asking any more questions. The taxi driver hadn't provided any useful information.
(End of Chapter)
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