Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Kudo Shinichi sat on the ground.

The room where he was held was quite dilapidated. The walls and floors had not been cleaned for a long time and were full of stains. There was a window, but the curtains were tightly drawn, leaving only a ray of light, allowing him to judge that it was not underground.

A rope stained with blood on the inside fell to the side, and Kudo Shinichi finally broke free from the restraints of his hands. He ignored his injured wrist and tried to find his cell phone while untying the rope around his feet.

The ankles were tied even more tightly, and he was so anxious that cold sweat covered his forehead. At the same time, he listened carefully to the movement at the door, fearing that gangsters would suddenly break in.

Fortunately, the iron door was always closed tightly. He quickly found his cell phone - the gangster did not search him and left such an important thing - Kudo Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief and dialed the phone with his heart beating wildly. .

The first thing he did not call the police or ask Kudo Yukiko, but contacted Aoyagi Binmitsu.

The call was quickly connected. He briefly explained the ins and outs of the matter, apologized to Aoyagi Binguang, and then began to explain the details.

"The gangster is a white male with blond hair and green eyes. He has no beard. He is under forty years old and has a strong build. He wears an ordinary white shirt and jeans. I am not sure if he has any accomplices."

"He is very strong and can easily break the car window. He also has a Beretta M92F pistol without a silencer in his hand."

"He knocked me unconscious as soon as he got in the car, so I don't know where he was taken... I am now locked in a room alone, but the gangster and Agent Kamel are not here."

"By the way, after he sat up, I saw a large scar on the back of his neck, which was a burn scar."

The room was really dirty, and you could smell the terrible and unpleasant smell around you even with your slightest breath. Kudo Shinichi quickly and completely explained everything he knew.

Qingliu Binguang didn't interrupt him the whole time. Kudo Shinichi felt the silence on the other end of the phone, thinking that the other party was still angry, and lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Qingliu..."

The boy who wanted to be a detective apologized again.

……

In the car, Qingliu Binguang's mood was quite stable.

Akai Shuichi didn't quite understand why Kamel wanted to intervene in another case - he would be arrested even if he just took care of it - but apart from being stunned for a moment at the beginning, he quickly regained his composure.

He called the information department of the branch, asked for Kudo Shinichi's mobile phone number, asked technicians to help locate it, and then relayed the situation of the gangster to the branch, asking the other party to inform the superiors of the branch.

The technician quickly responded: "We found it. It's in the western suburbs of Brooklyn! It's specifically located at an abandoned chemical factory. The target hasn't moved. Do you want me to send you the address?"

"Send it to me. Then contact the New York City Police Department and ask the ESU to dispatch."

The U.S. city police, state police, FBI and military all have SWAT establishments. After refinement, they have different names in different places: for example, Chicago is called HBT, and New York is called ESU (Emergency Service Unit).

The HRT unit that Aoyagi Binguang worked for in the past was a national SWAT unit, responsible for responding to more sensitive and dangerous incidents. Ordinary serial killers who took hostages were temporarily out of their turn.

"Ok!"

After hanging up the phone, Shuichi Akai received the address, clicked on the New York map on his phone to search, and found that the factory was not far from them.

——If they rush over here immediately, they can arrive twenty minutes earlier than the police team.

Akai Shuichi was thoughtful. He wanted to communicate with Aoyagi Binguang, and then heard Kudo Shinichi apologize on the phone.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Qingliu..."

Aoyagi Binguang listened to Kudo Shinichi's description of the current situation and Akai Shuichi's temporary response at the same time, and the expression on his face finally changed.

"You are at fault, but you are a minor - the agent who revealed the details of the case to you, let you see internal information, and took you there just because you said a word has a greater responsibility."

"He failed to meet his due confidentiality obligations."

Qingliu Binguang sighed silently without making too many accusations.

When he saw Akai Shuichi pulling out a map and locating his location, he went over to take a look and continued to ask:

"Kudo, are you injured? Can you move around? In addition to your mobile phone, do you have any other tools that you can use? Pins, rubber bands, harder paper, etc. Just calm down and look for it." "No injuries, I'm here Trying to untie the rope on my feet, it’s too tight... I don’t have any tools, I just have a cell phone in my pocket and the receipt from yesterday’s book purchase.”

Akai Shuichi's expression changed instantly when he saw Aoyagi Binguang.

It was a brief change, almost in the blink of an eye. His lips pursed slightly, and his eyes swayed. They were originally looking down, but suddenly glanced upward - as if he realized something bad.

"I know." Qingliu Binguang said.

Akai Shuichi wanted to speak again, but then his cell phone rang. When he looked at the number, it was Judy calling.

He answered the phone, and the voice of the female agent who went to the Magic Group to investigate the situation immediately came: "Xiu, I just received an emergency call saying that Kamel was arrested!"

"I know." Akai Shuichi said.

"That's no ordinary gangster!"

When Judy heard her ex-boyfriend's voice being so calm, she became excited and raised her voice: "My colleague in charge of another serial murder case told me that the gangster's name is Aaron Lucas, and he works in this magic troupe!"

Akai Shuichi suddenly realized the implication of her words.

"This magic troupe previously performed in Washington and Atlanta, and the time coincided with those two cases. Moreover, he took leave yesterday morning and returned in the afternoon. When he came back, his face was red and swollen. He claimed that it was caused by contact with cosmetics and skin allergies."

Judy spoke very fast, and every word came into his ears without missing a word.

"If the above is just a coincidence... He was sorting out the warehouse yesterday afternoon. I asked the leader to take me to see it, and then I found that the knots on the items were exactly the same as those of the conservatory prisoners! The leader told me that he was the only one in the entire magic troupe who liked to use this A style of play used by magicians in the past!”

"The person who captured Kamel may be the murderer of the FBI's serial murders! Kamel is very dangerous now!"

Akai Shuichi's face turned completely gloomy.

He took hold of the steering wheel and stepped on the accelerator. Just when he was about to start, Qingliu Binguang next to him suddenly stretched out his hand and pressed it on his wrist.

"What are you going to do?" Qingliu Binguang looked at him.

"Go to the factory." Shuichi Akai said, "You should be very clear about the requirements for hostage rescue - before the regular rescue team arrives, two team members will be sent to the scene first to confirm the basic situation."

Qingliu Binguang's eyes turned cold.

He held Akai Shuichi's hand motionless, put the phone down with his other hand, and said with a voice squeezed between his teeth: "Don't be impulsive, this may be a trap."

The eagle behind saw its master taking action and quickly flew up to help. It bit the knitted hat and tried to pull it back.

Akai Shuichi did not forcefully break free. Let’s not talk about whether he has the strength to break free. Even if he can, this will intensify the conflict, and he knows that Aoyagi Binguang’s worries are very reasonable.

Seize the hostages and throw them away after you get them. Not only that, they don't even take away their mobile phones, giving the other party a chance to make a distress call...

There are indeed gangsters in the world who are so ambitious, but more likely, this is a trap.

Akai Shuichi looked at Aoyagi Binguang calmly, the dull dark green crashed into the light brown that was close to gray in the sun:

"He is the child of your former student and friend." Akai Shuichi said, "You should find a way to confirm his identity instead of denying him directly without giving him a chance."

He had a feeling - as an undercover agent, Aoyagi Binguang was more suspicious and wary than him. He would help his companions but would not give too much trust and was always wary of others.

...Is this the difference between undercover agents who come back successfully and losers?

"Teacher Aoyagi, I..." Kudo Shinichi seemed to notice something, "I seemed to hear the sound of a car downstairs. Are you here?"

Qingliu Binguang was silent.

He released Akai Shuichi's hand and spoke without any change in his tone.

"Kudo, do you still remember what the 'last words' you left for your mother two years ago?" (End of this chapter)