Hello folks!

Here's finally the last chapter of this fic. I'm sorry, this story should have ended long ago, but I'm a slow writer (mainly because life takes a lot of time!).

Thanks to the ones still here, to all of you who fav, followed the story and reviewed. It helped me to remember this fic and get the courage to finish it, even if it's not a really long one! Because that was the first time ever I wrote a long fiction in a foreign language.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 8 : In a hurry

Yamada pulled the trigger... Or rather, tried. He encontered the security, and blinked at his gun.

"What the hell?"

Conan couldn't help but grin despite the weight on his injured ankle.

"You didn't even notice the security was on, right?"

"It was you?! How do you know... Oh, never mind! It's the last time you're disrupting my plans brat!"

He applied a bit more pressure on his foot as he removed the security. Conan winced and tried to think of a way out.

He had made sure to remove all the bullets from the gun, including the one in the chamber (he knew weapon knowledge could come handy with the amount of trouble he was facing, and attracting, all of this only proved him right), but it wasn't going to stop Yamada from finding another way to silence both of them. But nothing came to mind for the time it took Yamada to realize there was no bullet left in his weapon.

"I guess you dropped the bullets in the room we were before?" He growled.

He didn't wait for a response before he kicked Conan out of sheer anger and frustration.

"You sneaky brat! I guess that girl is awake by now, or someone found her. Damn! I don't have the time to find other bullets. I can still kill both of you with the crowbar, but then self defense would sound less likely, as you being killed by accident. Oh well, we were fighting, you took a hit because you got too near, and when I tried to knock him out another time, I hit too hard in my panic and killed him. It's not that much unbelievable, after all."

Conan curled his hands around his stomach, which has taken the kick, as he was pushed a few feet away. Despite the pain, he had heard Yamada's plan, which only confirmed what he already knew: he didn't have much time to get himself and Inoue away from this! Speaking of which... He was now near him, and took the opportunity to both check that he was still alive and try to wake him while the man in suit took the crowbar and used it to push Conan away from him with a harsh but non lethal blow.

"Oh no, I've had enough of having to deal with you two. In case you're wondering, yes, he's still alive, but that won't last. Since you're the one who's not unconscious and causing the most trouble, how about you die first?"

He had closed the distance between him and the small sleuth while he was talking, raising the crowbar. As he pronounced the last word and seemed ready to deliver the fatal blow, the door was smashed open.

"Police, don't move!"

Sera looked around, desperate to find something, anything, to clue them as to where Conan was now. She doubted he moved on his own, but where was he? They didn't have time to search the whole floor.

As one of the people next to her suggested to split to find him, she finally noticed something yellow in a corridor. She immediately ran toward it, followed by the others.

"What, did you notice something?" Asked Kogoro.

Sato followed her gaze and noticed the small sticker.

"What is that?"

"I don't know, but it wasn't there before. I don't know why, but I feel like it belongs to Conan-kun."

"You mean it fell when the culprit moved him?" Wondered Takagi.

"Well, it at least gives us a general direction," Kogoro added.

But Sera had already looked up and soon spotted another yellow sticker with a smile on her face.

"No, it wasn't bad luck or anything. I think Conan-kun did it on purpose to show us where he has been taken. Come on, let's hurry!"

They all rushed from a yellow button to another. Some of them were stuck to the wall, which was the fact that clued Sera into thinking Conan did it on purpose. He had put enough of these that they could follow the path without slowing down. Sera had the feeling they needed that speed. She didn't know how much time had passed since she's been knocked out, but hopefully the man who took Conan away didn't move that fast because he was careful not to draw attention.

They quickly arrived before a door with several yellow stickers around. Sera's eyes narrowed.

"He's here", said Sato before she could.

The teen didn't add anything since they shared the same thought. The policemen gestured them to step aside so they could enter. The door seemed strong, but not strong enough to stop so many determined people. Both Chiba and Takagi got ready to charge at the door, with Sato ready to follow and Sera and Kogoro a bit behind. They didn't have time to wait for the help Chiba had asked by phone on the way here. They had to take action now, before it was too late.

A final nod, and they all bursted in the room, the door loudly knocked down, quickly followed by the shouts of "Police, don't move!".

Sera and Kogoro followed the police as closely as they could without being in the way, and everyone stood still at the sight for a mere second, for everyone to have the time to take in what they were seeing.

Masumi immediately knew her gut instinct had been right. The man in suit she had seen was obviously about to harm, or rather kill, Conan, who seemed conscious but in pain, lying further in the room near his attacker and the other unconscious man. Both the culprit and his victim were looking at them, one in surprise, the other one in relief.

"Step away from them", commanded Sato to Yamada. "Put your weapon on the ground with slow moves."

"No, I… It's not what you think..." stuttered the man in suit.

"Step aside!" Repeated Takagi.

"Yes, yes, easy!" Yamada said while almost jumping away from Conan and Inoue, which caused the policemen to tense at the quick move. "Look, I am setting down the bar."

Now, he was far enough from possible hostages for the policemen to encircle him and handcuff him, allowing Sera and Kogoro to rush to Conan and Inoue's side.

"You ok Conan?" Kogoro asked. "Who's this?"

"He is the one who killed Miyazawa-san. He's unconscious, but he should be fine", answered the small sleuth as he sat down with a wince.

Sera crouched in front of him while Kogoro looked over Inoue.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked, worried. "How's your head? Your face's all bloody."

"Ah, I'm fine I think, just a scratch. It bleeds a lot, that's all. But I sprained my ankle", he added on a more childish tone while holding said injured ankle.

His breathing was a bit uneven because of the hits he took but he was already better. Sera could hear this breathing was quickly growing steadier, so she didn't worry too much about it.

"Hold on Conan-kun, we'll take care of you." Assured Sato while Chiba pushed Yamada out of the room.

"Aren't the medical examiners still around?" Kogoro asked. "They'll probably be enough to deal with his injuries, won't they?"

"They already left with the body, and they're more used to corpses than living people, even if they are indeed competent for such medical care", informed Takagi. "But don't worry, I'm asking for someone right now to check on them both, just to be sure."

"The hospital would probably be better. Even a doctor would need a medical facility to see precisely how bad his ankle is", pointed out Sera.

"True, but we still need to wash your face", grumbled Kogoro as he lifted Conan from the ground, earning a surprised yelp.

"I guess going back where everyone is will be more convenient", suggested Takagi.

"That's true. Then help me move this guy, we'll treat him there. That way forensics will be free to finish collecting evidence on this floor."

"Ah, speaking of that, can I have my stickers back?" Asked Conan.

"Sure, I'm gonna get them!" Smiled Sera.

"What are they even for?" Wondered Kogoro.

"Huh, professor Agasa made them so they could stick to anything."

"I've heard there's already stuff like that, so what's the point?"

"All his inventions can't be useful", Conan tried to laugh off to distract the older sleuth from the subject.

Well, it was a bit mean since these were in fact really useful, but he didn't want to mention their true utility, since he sometimes used them on people around him. Well, he usually didn't use the tracers on people that close to him, except by accident or in case of necessity, he would rather use a listening device such as his badge, but it was still better not to mention it too much if he could avoid it. He only talked about them to policemen when he had to. However, he knew firsthand that all of Agasa's invention weren't useful, so he wasn't lying... Exactly.

They left the room, quickly joined by Sera who gave Conan his tracers back with a knowing smile. She couldn't have missed the bump when she took them off and her grin showed she knew it wasn't simple stickers, but she didn't go further than a remark about it and didn't push too much when Conan gave an evasive answer. She even helped to change the subject by making them notice they were passing before a bathroom.

"Oh yeah, better clean you up before we join the others, you'll draw too much attention if they see you like this otherwise, and it's not really hygienic", said Kogoro, pushing the door to the men's bathroom, followed by Sera who quickly found all they needed to at least wash the blood from the child's face.

Kogoro sat Conan near the sink and let Sera work on his face, casually leaning nearby since they couldn't be two to wash him at the same time, watching them while pretending not to care until he frowned and suddenly came closer again to examine Conan's hair.

"Ouch! Uncle, what are you doing?" Asked the child, too bothered by Sera washing his face to be able to see by himself.

"Just checking that that guy from earlier didn't split your head in two", he answered.

"It's true that you bled a lot, even if it's on the head", confirmed Sera, who stopped to take a look at the injury too. "Maybe you'll need a stitch or two after all, but it's not that bad."

"That's exactly what I told you!" Complained the child.

"I'll still ask the doctors to watch this to be sure when we'll get to the hospital", said Kogoro.

"I don't need the hospital! Doctors can get a good guess at the nature of an injury by a simple examination, and they can treat my cut to the head."

"No doctor's available at this hour, and I don't feel confident about waiting tomorrow. Head injuries are to be taken seriously, you know. The doctor who checked on you when you got hit on the head at the tennis court told me so. It can be dangerous, even if you're conscious now."

"Well, at least his face's clean now. Let's talk to the police first, I'm sure they'll let us leave quickly to get him to the hospital", suggested Sera.

"Us?"

"Yes, I'll join you to ask them about me to be sure, since I took a hit on the head too. I didn't bleed so I guess it's okay but as you said, better be safe than sorry."

Conan had a strong feeling it was more of an excuse to come with them, but it was indeed true that she should be checked too, so he didn't say anything.

The police indeed just asked them a couple of questions, checked several things with Conan and then let them go, saying they'd ask them to come again later for the details. It was already late, the culprits were with the police, so they were indeed all impatient to get home.

They all went to the hospital. Luckily, it didn't take too long. Sera got quickly checked at the same time as Conan. The doctors debated on keeping the small sleuth in hospital overnight for observation just to be sure, but in the end they all left together.

Sera finally left them, wishing them good bye. Conan couldn't help but ask, seeing her eyes her phone, if someone was waiting for her at her hotel, but of course she denied it and quickly left.

Since the shrunken teen couldn't walk, and the hospital didn't have any crutch for children to lend them, Kogoro had taken him on his back.

The walk on the way home was silent, until they heard Kogoro's phone ring.

"It must be Ran-neechan", said Conan. "She must worry."

"It was obvious we were going to get home late, given the time I got the call from the inspector, but yeah, she must worry. No need to answer, we're almost there."

"But that's strange !" He added with his child voice. "You usually switch off your phone on a case."

"I forgot to, since I got involved in the case so suddenly, and I certainly wasn't going to put it in silent mode while you and the tomboy were in danger !" He grumbled.

They stayed silent for a minute or so before the older sleuth continued: "Speaking of which, you really never learn brat. You should have called the police when you noticed the murderer was about to kill someone, rather than get in the middle. I mean… Well, I don't know if the police would have arrived in time, and it's a good thing to want to save people, but you get in this kind of trouble really often. I guess you have some really bad luck, but that doesn't excuse everything. Be more careful, ask for help, don't do things by yourself… Oï, you listening, brat?"

He waited for an answer for a couple of seconds while trying to get a look on the kid, before his breathing and his face told him he had fallen asleep.

Oh. Well… The kid had every right to be tired, given how advanced the night was and what he had experienced that evening. The sleuth didn't feel like waking him up. The brat probably wouldn't really care anyway. He wasn't even sure Ran would have any more success, despite being way more concerned about his well-being and safety. Not that he wasn't, of course, but… He usually didn't show it... Well, and he didn't really care as much, to be perfectly honest, yes.

Maybe he will be more cautious when he'll grow up. Until then, it was his duty to try and keep him as safe as he could, which was not going to be an easy task… But it was worth trying.

And... That's it! It's over! Finally! It took me five long years to finish this story. Yes, it is way too long for what it is, sorry! But as I told you, here's the end! You just need to be patient enough ^^'

Posted on the 18.03.2019 (French date)