Note: The map has been slightly changed! I apologize for this retcon, but I am much happier now with the new name for the Octopus, which I changed from BOB Jr. to Hal Jr. I also appended something to the Ray Carcinus riddle from last chapter. I have updated the riddle for last chapter's text as well.

The treasure map and hospital directory are handy references. Please view them via the links on my profile page, which links to my deviantArt stash. Thanks!

Chapter 5: It's All Greek to Me

For the last few minutes the persistent sound of a pencil being tapped on a metal surface resonated within an otherwise quiet area. After those few grueling minutes, the tapping finally ceased and was followed up with an abrupt clack of the writing utensil being palmed forcefully down onto the counter top.

The receptionist for the Women's Health Clinic pushed her chair back from the desk causing a harsh screech against the floor tile. "Those kids have been gone for at least three minutes." She stood up to clear the space in front of her and leaned over to peer at the one she was addressing. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd please get out from under my desk now!"

Despite waiting there much longer than probably necessary, the man being addressed was more than eager to take his leave. And so Yuusaku crawled out from his impromptu hiding spot. Not only was the situation they'd found themselves in highly embarrassing, but it was also quite uncomfortable for them both. Yuusaku had also barely avoided getting kicked twice due to the lady's honest carelessness. The whole time he'd been trying very hard to avoid looking anywhere… inappropriate.

"I must sincerely apologize again for such an inconvenience." He bowed deeply. Standing up straight again, he dusted himself off and worked out a few kinks in his stiff joints. I'm getting too old for these sorts of things.

The receptionist sighed and gave him a taxed smile. "You're lucky I'm a fan of yours, Kudou-san…" The woman then tossed her arms with a wild gesture. "I was about to call security when you pulled that stunt all of a sudden." I thought you were some crazy pervert! She blushed remembering him dive under the desk when the children raced over and having to make sure she kept herself… concealed.

Luckily, the mystery writer had briefly mentioned the treasure hunt beforehand, but not enough for her to understand what exactly was going on. It was extremely fortunate for him that she didn't scream at least.

"Now that the coast is clear," she said smirking. "I think you owe me a favor, hmm?"

"A-ah, of course," Yuusaku replied, sweating even more. He desperately hoped no one—especially Yukiko—ever got wind of this moment.

...

The Detective Boys had been staring intently at the tenth floor directory for a good few minutes, only mumbling quietly to one another. Agasa and Ai stood off to the side by the wall to avoid the other visitors and hospital staff passing by. This floor was much more busy than the previous floors they had come from.

"Well kids, any idea where to go next?" Agasa asked. He adjusted his glasses after having read over he directory himself carefully.

Ayumi and Genta turned around, both sporting childish pouts. Mitsuhiko was similarly sulking, yet he kept reading over the department listings in the hopes that something might click.

"Oi, Professor, Haibara, you gotta help us out. We don't even know what any of these things mean." Genta pointed to each department name and made a poor attempt to read each one aloud. With his elbow he then nudged his lanky friend. "Look, even Mitsuhiko doesn't know!"

The professor frowned, understanding their troubles. It wasn't surprising that all the main areas on this floor were unfamiliar to the children: Oncology, Radiology, and Neurology Clinics.

Instead of the professor responding, Haibara decided to speak up. "Did you know, it is estimated that three-fourths of our medical terminology is of Greek origin?" The girl crossed her hands behind her back. She glanced between the three children who looked intrigued but rather clueless.

The strawberry-blonde waited until they each shook their heads. "Although medical terms have been drawn from many languages, one reason for this large majority from Greek—and Latin—origins is that the Greeks were the founders of rational medicine in the golden age of Greek civilization in the fifth century.

"A second reason for this large number is that the Greek language lends itself easily to the building of compounds. The ancient language used roots, prefixes, and suffixes with specific meanings that rather easily clarify every term. In addition, despite how long and formidable sounding medical terms are, they are often merely a combination of words that describe parts of the body, a function, or a condition. When new terms were needed, Greek words and Latin words with Greek endings were used to express the new ideas, conditions, or instruments."

Haibara smirked at their perplexed expressions. She walked forward and raised her hand to touch the letters printed on the directory. The children came up behind the girl to look more closely at the sign as well. Haibara began tracing out the letters of the words in English, and then the strokes of various kanji for their corresponding Japanese translations on the sign. "It's surprising how similar it is to our own Japanese language." Haibara looked behind her towards Agasa. "Don't you think so, Professor?"

As a self-proclaimed master of puns and wordplay, Agasa couldn't help but admire the lesson on medical terminology. That it related to Japanese piqued his interest even more. He began to wonder just how many different pieces of history and instances of wordplay Shinichi had included for each step in this treasure hunt. The professor had already noticed the American English, Greek, and Japanese references within the animal names.

Agasa considered her question for a moment before realizing where she was going with her lecture. "I suppose that's true, Ai-chan." He nodded, rubbing his mustache.

The Detective Boys also turned their attention to their aging mentor. Genta was as puzzled as ever. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko had been following along as best they could but wanted to hear more. When Agasa didn't explain Mitsuhiko asked, "How so, Professor?" He frowned a bit, causing his eyebrows to furrow. "I don't really understand how Greek is like Japanese from what Haibara-san told us."

"Ah, well you see…" Agasa began to explain. "Centuries ago, our ancestors adapted Chinese characters into our writing system, despite the vast differences between our spoken languages."

"Oh, kanji, right?" Ayumi asked, beaming proudly at remembering the introductory lesson to kanji from school.

"Correct. These characters, or kanji as we call them, are also composed of about two-hundred building blocks called radicals. From those little building blocks, thousands of can be made."

The children awed quietly at the sheer number of characters there actually were. After all, they were only at a second grade level in their kanji studies, and had yet to have been taught about radicals before.

Agasa continued, "And so with only these few thousand kanji we created new combinations to represent our already existing vocabulary, as well as for new words as they came into existence thereafter."

"Man, forget school, Haibara and Professor Agasa can be our teachers from now on," Genta said after a moment.

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko laughed at the suggestion even though they agreed. Haibara and Agasa chuckled along with them. The latter two gave each other a shrug and smile as well.

While the kids joked about their plan to enroll at the Agasa Residence School, Haibara searched on her smartphone and found the perfect resource to share with them. She stepped over closer and held out her phone. "Look here." On the screen showed a user-friendly Greek and Latin terminology application. "You can enter in the medical term here and it can tell you what the parts of the word mean."

"Ah, this is fantastic…" Mitsuhiko said with a wide smile. It soon disappeared though. "But, are you sure this is okay? It's not cheating is it?"

Haibara shrugged and smirked. "I'm sure that detective wouldn't mind. He never said you couldn't use a smartphone, did he?"

Neither Mitsuhiko nor Ayumi seemed too reassured, but Genta didn't waste any time. He snatched the phone. With his chubby fingers, he then slowly typed in the first listing from the floor directory into the search box on the phone app. He had to glance back and forth between the sign and the screen to make sure he spelled it right. Luckily, when he hit enter, the screen provided him with the results he was looking for. It contained a definition of the word—with a link to read more information, which he ignored—as well as the word broken down into its Greek prefix and suffix.

Noticing what Genta was doing, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko conceded to using the help as long as Haibara said it'd be fine. They both leaned in to see what showed up on the phone screen.

"Let's see here… 'the branch of medical science dealing with tumors; the study of cancer'." Genta mumbled. "'Onco-: (from Greek ónkos) mass, bulk…; -logy: indicating the science or study of'."

"Ah, Oncology is the study of bulky people like Genta-kun!" Ayumi said with a smile.

Haibara and Mitsuhiko both tried to stifle their sudden laughter, though to little effect. Of course Genta didn't react to either of the girls, but instead Mitsuhiko took the brunt of his friend's ticked response. Agasa intervened before it got out of hand.

After taking notes on Oncology, Mitsuhiko took some notes from the entry for Oncology. Once he finished, Genta went on to enter the next medical term on the directory. Ayumi even pointed out that the remaining two terms also had the –logy suffix, which made things simpler for them. "Radiology: the science dealing with x-rays or nuclear radiation, especially for medical uses. Radio-: dealing with radiant energy; employing or dealing with radio waves; (from Middle French, directly from Latin radians/radius) beam, ray'."

Mitsuhiko again took notes for radiology before Genta continued on to the last medical term. "'Neurology: a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Neuro-: (from Greek neuron) nerves; nervous system'."

At first it was all Greek to them—literally. However, now that they looked up the three unfamiliar medical terms, the Detective Boys were starting to get a better idea of what each branch of medical study focused on. Professor Agasa then went on to answering a few more questions to help them get clearer descriptions of three studies.

...

In the meantime, Yuusaku hadn't wanted to risk taking the elevators in case Agasa and the children were still positioned right by the directory. If the doors opened and he came out, they'd notice him right away. Plus, he already had enough extra encounters with fans who'd recognized him.

So with his decision to take the stairs to follow the group from now, he was really starting to become irked at his son. The rational part of him knew Shinichi didn't plan it out to spite him, however… "Son, what did I ever do to deserve such inconsideration?" he huffed, turning the bend in the staircase between the ninth and tenth floor. Five floors from his last location. His voiced echoed slightly throughout the empty space of the ten-floored stairwell, as if in a vast cave.

He stopped to catch his breath. "I can't let your mother know your father is getting old and out of shape just yet." He grimaced. "Though, I can imagined she'd be much more concerned about herself getting old, rather than your old man…"

...

Mitsuhiko had written down a copy of the directory along with the medical terminology notes. On this floor there was the Oncology Center, with Beika's boasted Laser Treatment Clinic, the Radiology Suite, with its vast Radiology Film Library, and the Neurology Center, with various Neurosurgery Rooms.

Just as Mitsuhiko was finished taking his notes, a nurse who had passed by earlier approached the group.

"Excuse me. Can I help you find your way?" she asked clearly address the adult of the group. "I happened to notice you've been looking at the directory for awhile."

Agasa stepped around the kids. "Ah, no, we're alright. Thank you for your concern however."

"In that case, if it is not asking too much, may I kindly ask if you might move your group down the hall. There are some benches you may take a seat on down that way." She pointed toward the end of the hall over Agasa's shoulder.

The professor turned around to look. Just as he did so, a man quickly turned around so his back was facing the group. Agasa barely caught a glance his face, but for that brief moment, he thought it might have been someone he recognized.

The nurse spoke again and recaptured his attention though. "We'll be moving a patient on a gurney shortly and need to have this area cleared."

"I see. That won't be a problem. Thank you for letting us know," Agasa replied, turning back around.

The nurse bowed, thanked him and went back on her way.

After that, Agasa convinced the kids to follow the nurse's request. When they all started on their way, the man that had been there a moment ago was no longer there. Regardless, the vaguely familiar figure was already gone from the professor's mind.

Agasa herded the group down the hall and out of the way of the directory board. They found the few benches the nurse had mentioned in an out of the way location near a set of restrooms. Agasa was actually rather grateful for getting a chance to sit down. He knew they'd be walking and standing around most of the day on this treasure hunt. Nowadays his legs weren't as good as they used to be.

Even the kids all hopped up onto two of the unoccupied greenish-grey cushioned benches. The others sitting in the area were mostly talking amongst themselves and paid them little mind. This part of the hallway wasn't much different from the rest of the hospital; some pleasant yet rather plain landscape and floral paintings, and a few potted plants placed on the floor in the corners decorated the place.

Now better situated, the kids took a second look at the second treasure hunt riddle. It read, "My name is Ray Carcinus. I'm actually very proud of my heritage even though I hate what my family stands for. I strive to fight against it. My enemy's predecessor fights on my side."

"Hm, so with all this talk of the origin of things, I wonder if by 'heritage' it means the Crab is proud of his origins," Mitsuhiko thought aloud. He cupped his chin in his left hand.

Ayumi leaned forward on the bench, swaying her legs and looking around thinking. The girl spotted a landscape painting depicting a rural area with little village. "Does he mean his hometown?" she asked. "Like where he was born?"

The boys scratched their heads, trying to figure out where either of those locations would be if that were the case.

"If you read the sentence as a whole, do you notice how it connects the part about his heritage and his family?" Haibara asked, leading them in the right direction. She'd been rather quiet through their initial speculation. The girl kept catching herself fiddling with something in her pocket and tried to take her mind off of it.

They nodded, noticing as much. She continued, "A heritage is something that someone or someones inherit."

"Something one inherits… and has to do with their family?" Ayumi remembered a precious brooch she was given by her grandmother, which had belonged to her great-grandmother, on her last birthday. "It's something that they're given, like an heirloom?" she asked.

"Close, but not exactly," Haibara responded. The children pouted, having suspicions that their friend probably knew something but wasn't being forthright.

Mitsuhiko crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. He wanted to know what the origins of the medical terms had to do with helping him solve the name Ray Carcinus. He wondered how could he figure out what the Crab inherited just by knowing its name.

In the meantime, Genta was one step ahead of Mitsuhiko without even realizing it. He typed in "Carcinus" into the app search box, guessing that maybe the funny sounding last name was Greek. To his displeasure, nothing came up. Instead, it only had the phrase, "Did you mean?" and some similarly spelled words, like sarcinas, circinus, karkinos, and so on.

"Well, if we can use this smartphone, we can just find out what his name means on the Internet some way or another," Genta grumbled. He clicked a few things before he finally figured out how to open up a browser window on Haibara's phone.

The first link proved promising, as it was a Uikipedia entry. At first glance however, Genta merely groaned. "Seriously? It's just an actual name of a type of crab?"

Interested in what Genta was looking at on the Internet, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and even Haibara crowded in to see what was on the screen. They were all almost falling off the benches to get a good look. Mitsuhiko asked to see the phone and Genta handed it over without much protest.

"Actually, it's two types of crabs," Mitsuhiko said after glancing over the somewhat short entry.

Genta scowled. "So? Does that even make a difference?"

While Mitsuhiko tried to figure out the answer, Ayumi and Haibara also noticed something. Haibara spoke first. "No. I don't think the fact that there are two species of crabs matters much. I believe what matters is that the name 'Carcinus' only refers to what is called the species' 'genus.'"

"'Genius'? What's so smart about a crab," Genta asked. He always thought crabs were pretty stupid for getting caught so easily when he'd gone crab catching with his parents in the summer.

"Ah, the genus, one of the lowest ranks of scientific classification. Right, Haibara-san?" Since he'd been old enough, Mitsuhiko had started to become interested in biology, among the various other sciences. And he'd always been intrigued by insects and wildlife. So it was natural that he had at some point memorized the eight major taxonomic ranks of biological classification.

"Correct. I believe what we need to look at is the rank above genus. That rank, when referred to in taxonomy, can be called 'family.'" Haibara smirked, not quite knowing whether to be surprised or disturbed that the great detective had needed them to come up with a solution in such a convoluted way for what had appeared to be much simpler to begin with. Knowing that a crab was involved right from the start, she assumed that with this next lead, they must have been close to figuring it out. While she knew the answer, she was only directing the Detective Boys to the answer as she was unraveling the riddle along with them.

All of the Detective Boys' faces lit up and they said "ah" in understanding. Even Ayumi was taken in by Haibara's finding that she didn't feel the need to mention anything else. She believed in Haibara no matter what.

...

They spent a good few minutes still trying to figure out what the taxonomic 'family' name of Carcinus, meant. It had seemed to lead them to an impassable wall.

The fact that the Crab's first name was "Ray" was still a mystery that had only briefly been brought up. They knew there had to be a connection between the Crab's first and last name, the origin of the Crab's family, and whatever it was that the Crab strived to fight against, and who his enemy or enemy's predecessor was.

For a little while they reviewed the notes Mitsuhiko took on the three medical branches and the brainstormed connections between the two names. They even looked up the word "ray" which most definitions involved "a narrow beam of light."

One of the three medical fields stood out because of what they learned about the root word's origin in relation to the name Ray. Without being able to connect both of the names and what it had to do with the riddle as a whole, they had little indication if their assumption was the answer.

So, with the Crab riddle taking awhile, the kids ended up needing to take turns using the restrooms. Fortunately, the men and women's rooms were right along the opposite wall facing the group.

"Ah, much better," Mitsuhiko said to himself exiting the restroom. Despite just using the bathroom, the boy also went over to the water fountain by the bathroom doors and got a drink. Genta and Agasa came out of the bathroom soon after each other while Mitsuhiko was doing so.

"Oi, if you drink more water now, you're gonna have to use the bathroom again, you know?" Genta scolded.

Mitsuhiko shrugged. "You're right, but it is good to keep hydrated. Especially, on a treasure hunt. You never know when you'll get a chance to drink fresh water on a treasure hunt."

Genta grimaced and knocked lightly on Mitsuhiko's forehead. "Uh, hello? We're in a hospital, not a pirate ship. There'll be plenty of chances to drink water."

Mitsuhiko merely scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Tch. Whatever. Don't blame me if we leave you behind when you have to go pee ten times today then," Genta said in response.

Mitsuhiko rolled his eyes again and turned around to follow Professor Agasa back to the benches. From nearby, Ayumi giggled at their usual bickering.

Without even looking up from her phone, Haibara, who was still sitting on one of the benches, smirked knowing that both boys had a fair point. It was very good to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated, but as a result one would likely need to relieve himself more often. She felt it was bad enough children had to go more often than adults.

Genta only waited a moment before following at the rear. As they were walking, the boy pulled out the map from his pocket and began to unfold it so they could have it handy. The two papers had earlier been passed around and Ayumi had given the map and riddle to Genta to hold last. She didn't have any pockets in her skirt and didn't want to take them into the restroom.

Genta of course forgot that his hands were still a little wet from washing them in the restroom since there were no paper towels and he'd been too lazy to use the air driers. As a result, the paper got a little wet at the bottom left and top right where the Snake and the Crab were respectively drawn. Not thinking, but not wanting to make the map wetter, Genta dropped the paper in an instantaneous reaction. At the same time he let out an, "Oh, crap."

The paper glided forward just above the floor and passed both Mitsuhiko and Agasa. Genta hastily wiped his hands on his pants and then scrambled to pick the map back up. Mitsuhiko and Professor Agasa saw the paper skim in front of them but were pushed to the side as Genta shot between them. Ayumi also noticed since she had been watching them approach. The girl hopped over and crouched down to pick up the map for him.

Not wanting the others to notice that he'd gotten the map wet, Genta reached forward to take it back out of Ayumi's grasp. "Ah! Genta-kun!" Genta had practically barreled into her as he grabbed the map out of her hands.

Genta turned his back on the others and examined the damage to the paper. With his careless handling of it, he accidently touched the wet spots, getting pen ink from the drawings on his thumbs. He'd grabbed the paper upside-down, so his left thumb was over top of the Crab. As Genta fumbled with the map, he realized it was just getting worse. The boy was transferring ink marks from the bleeding drawing to other spots on the map. Finally, he tried to hold it delicately by its corners and desperately started to blow on the damp areas.

"Genta-kun, what are you doing?" Ayumi asked bewildered as she stepped around to his front. Mitsuhiko did the same and Agasa came up from behind.

Haibara finally looked up to see what the commotion was about. She'd been so engaged with contemplating the riddle that she'd practically tuned them out until now.

Genta tried to shift around so none of them could see what had happened to the map. "Nothing!"

Ayumi huffed and stepped to the side to get back in front of her bulky friend. Genta raised the map above their heads. "Why'd can't we see the map then?" Ayumi complained.

Mitsuhiko closed in, reached up, and was almost tall enough to reach the paper. Now with everyone surrounding him, Genta sighed and gave in. He held it out for them to see the damage. "It was just an accident. I didn't mean it—I swear."

At first Ayumi and Mitsuhiko frowned and ragged on him about his negligence. Since the ink drawings of the Snake started to bleed, Genta had gotten it on his thumb, and then touched the map with that thumb on some other places. Now there were faint little copies of the Snake's head around the drawing, as well as on other parts of the map. The most distinct copy had gotten all the way near the Crab as he had held the map upside-down after stealing it back from Ayumi.

Haibara had come over in the meantime to help keep the kids from raising their voices. After everyone calmed down, Agasa assessed the damage with them, noting that it wasn't that bad. They could still read the names, and even if the Snake was badly smudged, it was still recognizable.

Ayumi giggled and pointed to the Crab. "It looks like Mercia Garter is kissing Ray Carcinus!"

Genta scoffed and said, "Nah, it looks like it's biting it. They probably don't like each other and got into a fight."

Then Mitsuhiko pointed at the Snake. "The Snake looks like it has a bunch of other heads too."

As the Detective Boys joked around, Haibara inhaled sharply, suddenly understanding something. Snake with multiple heads… Hydrated… the Snake fighting with a Crab… She might have been right with her original answer to the riddle, but she figured out they had followed the wrong lead.

She didn't realize she had made a small gasp until the children looked at her and asked what was wrong. "Ah—" She shook her head, stopping herself from giving the solution away too easily. She'd promised that she would only give the children small hints if they needed it.

"I think we should look at the Uikipedia entry for Carcinus again. I believe I might have been thinking too literally in regards to the 'family' taxonomy rank."

The three real kids complained for a moment about having spent a lot of time following Haibara's suggestion. Not wanting to waste more time though, they followed her new advice and checked out the same Uikipedia entry as before.

Haibara glanced over the article more carefully again. This time, she easily found what she was looking for and was almost shocked that she had passed over the small bit of information the first time. "Tsubaraya-kun, Yoshida-san, I believe you were on to something earlier when you thought the origins of the name Carcinus was important. We were supposed to focus on Carcinus, not the family name."

"And, what are we supposed learn looking at this thing again?" Genta asked.

Ayumi couldn't ignore the hint on the page knowing that Haibara said she'd earlier been mistaken. "Ai-chan, do you mean what it says here?" Ayumi pointed to something. Right by the name Carcinus in parenthesis was small text that read, "Greek: Καρκίνος Karkinos."

They all got a glance at what it read. "Oi, that's one of the spelling corrections on the app when I searched 'Carcinus'," Genta said. Wanting a closer look Mitsuhiko reached out for the phone but accidently touched the screen as he did so. It turned out the phrase was a hyperlink and a new webpage was starting to load.

Mitsuhiko gave a tiny yelp and was about to hit the back button. What appeared on the linked page grabbed his attention though. As it loaded, it seemed to have automatically went to a section in the middle of the page. Skimming the text over, the paragraphs seemed to describe various names similar to Carcinus in different languages. The section under the first caught his eye too, as it displayed a photograph. The header designated the section to be about Mythology in regards to the article topic as a whole.

He read it in full and then aloud summarized to group. "Karkinos, or Carcinus, was a giant crab which assisted the nine-headed serpent Hydra in its battle with Heracles at Lerna. The hero crushed it beneath his foot, but as a reward for its service, it was placed amongst the stars as the constellation Cancer by Hera."

"Tch. Karkinos and Hydra were losers," Genta commented. After he said that, he'd thought about the story a little more thoroughly. The boy looked once again at the map, specifically at the Crab and Snake. "Wait a minute. Karkinos and Hydra are like these two on the map!" The fact that the two creatures fought side by side and not against each other—or liked each other—was the only difference.

"Ah! It's true!" Ayumi and Mitsuhiko cheered. Haibara smiled. The shrunken young woman would have never guessed they'd figure out this part by mere chance.

After rereading the part about Karkinos being made into the constellation Cancer, Mitsuhiko finally decided to scroll up to the top of the Uikipedia entry. The article ended up being about Cancer—as in the constellation.

However, the name Cancer made him remember what they had learned earlier about the medical terms that would lead them to finding Ray Carcinus. Their notes contained the fact that cancer—as in the medical condition—was the focus of study for the medical branch called Oncology.

Mitsuhiko couldn't help but think that this was not a coincidence. "This is exactly what we've been trying to figure out for this riddle all along! The origin, or heritage, of the family name Carcinus is Greek, from the name Karkinos, which means the constellation Cancer, which is also the same word—just with a different meaning—as the medical condition cancer. And we already found out that the study of cancer is Oncology."

Mitsuhiko glanced up with bright eyes at the rest of the group. They all smiled back and even Haibara smirked in return. With the strawberry-blonde's expression, Mitsuhiko was almost certain they were right. Even Ayumi couldn't believe that small little detail she'd noticed earlier, yet didn't mention at the time, had led them so close to the answer.

"Even if the Crab got beaten up, he must've been pretty awesome if he became a constellation," Genta said. "Who's this tough guy Heracles anyway, Professor?"

"Ah, I believe Heracles is the actual Greek name of Hercules. You all have heard of Hercules before?" Agasa asked. He remembered them coming over to watch that classic animated movie in the past.

All three kids nodded vigorously, clearly remembering the movie too. "Yup! He was that super strong hero!" Ayumi stated. She really loved that movie and it was a hard one to forget. "I don't remember him fighting any crab monsters," she spoke softly. "Oh! But I remember him fighting the Hydra!"

"Yeah, yeah! Hercules was so cool! He found out his dad was a kick-butt god and at the end he coulda became a god too." Genta was obsessed with the biggest, strongest, coolest heroes.

Mitsuhiko cleared his throat before adding, "Don't forget, it was because his real parents were gods themselves. His dad was the god Zeus and his mother was Hera."

Genta nodded with bright eyes. "Right! Zeus was so powerful and used those lightning bolts as weapons."

Professor Agasa cut in, "Now, now. Let's not get too off topic again. What else is left to figure out?" The Detective Boys calmed down and again read over the riddle.

Haibara and the Professor sighed in relief. The shrunken young adult didn't mind movie nights, and would have even enjoyed viewing most of the films, but often times the children got much too enthusiastic watching. She was surprised about how much they could retain despite how they liked to talk and giggle and mess around while the movies were playing.

"Wait just a moment! Look, the riddle says here," Mitsuhiko pointed to the phrase, "My enemy's predecessor fights on my side."

"Hm. A predecessor means someone who comes before another, or an ancestor." The professor could clearly see where this was leading. He was sure the kids could catch on too.

Genta and Ayumi's eyes lit up. Ayumi asked, "Can a dad be a predecessor?"

Agasa grinned and gave a curt nod. "I believe in this case, yes."

She smiled wide. "If Hercules, ah, I mean Heracles is Karkinos's enemy. Does that mean his predecessor is Zeus?"

The professor continued to grin. "It sure seems like that is the case, doesn't it?"

There was just one thing left… "But do you know what Ray means?" Mitsuhiko asked.

Agasa replied, "Even if we think we know the answer, it looks like there's something else we're missing about Ray and his riddle." The professor's brows furrowed; he did not understanding what would make the riddle more clear. Petey, the Monkey's riddle, led them directly to the Physical Therapy department once they figured it out. This wasn't the same situation apparently.

Mitsuhiko shook his head. "We were so certain that the answer earlier because his name was Ray." He rested his chin in his hand. "But now I believe that we were misled."

Genta and Ayumi nodded, thinking the same. "Can't we just go over to that 'Oinkology' place then and figure it out from there?" Genta asked.

The group narrowed their eyes at him in response. Everyone else remembered what happened last time the impatient boy took off before figuring out the riddle completely.

"I suggest we figure this last piece of the puzzle out first," Agasa said.

Genta humphed and headed back to the benches. After plopping down, he raised his arms to rest them behind his head against the wall. Despite looking like he wasn't going to be of much help for the remainder of this riddle, the boy suddenly asked, "Okay, so the Crab says he likes to fight against his family, right? And his family name is Carcinus or Karkinos or Cancer or whatever. But Zeus also fights on his side. So what's that all mean then?"

Everyone's eyes widen in surprise. "Professor. How do doctors fight against cancer?"

Agasa rubbed his mustache in thought. "Let's see… I know there's chemotherapy and surgery. I don't see what those have to do with Zeus though."

"Radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy…" The Detective Boys turned to Haibara. "Hypothermia therapy, laser surgery, stem cell transplant, photodynamic therapy, blood product transfusion." The young scientist rattled off the various treatments like she had been reading them out of a medical professional's textbook.

The kids blinked and stood speechless. Haibara was about to continue but she'd realized how unchildlike her knowledge was. "Ahaha, I watched a medical drama on TV. The episode was all about cancer." She refused to show a hint of nervousness as the children scrutinized her and her excuse. Goodness, I sound worse than Kudou-kun. They were more than used to Conan making all sorts of justifications for his outlandish expanse of knowledge.

Breaking the intense silence, Agasa asked, "So, there must be a type of treatment that relates with Zeus and the name Ray." With all these clues, Agasa was almost positive that the type of specialized cancer treatment Beika General was most known for was the answer. The complete answer was right in front of the children's faces. But there was one more roadblock…

"And the Crab definitely has to do with Oncology?" Mitsuhiko thought out loud. "Ah, it must be Radiation therapy. But that's like we thought before. While we found hints that Ray is indeed related to 'radiation,' you explained that the most types of medical radiation are often not actually narrow beams of light, but rather waves that traveled outward in all directions, right Professor?" Mitsuhiko asked looking up, all his thoughts starting to jumble in his mind.

"While Radiation therapy can be a treatment for cancer, it appears that the treatment centers aren't physically in the same location even though the departments may work hand-in-hand. There are other treatments that are more specialized in the Oncology Department here however..."

They all wanted to groan in frustration. Mitsuhiko tried to jot down the treatments Haibara had mentioned in his notebook. However, since many of them were unfamiliar to him and she'd spoke so quickly, he didn't quite catch them all. The boy was even too embarrassed to ask her to name them all again. He thought there were some therapies having to do with immune something, and lasers, and photos, and blood. He wasn't sure.

Mitsuhiko wanted to ask Genta to help with reasoning. Except when he looked to where his large friend had last been sitting, he saw him now lying on the same bench with his hands behind his head and eyes closed.

After a minute of Genta grumbling to himself though, he finally sat up all of a sudden. "Argh, what could Ray be besides Radiation. They sound so close. Are you sure we weren't right before?"

"Perhaps Ray isn't related to what it sounds like, but what it merely represents. What are some things you think of hearing the word 'ray'?" Haibara replied.

The professor frowned and leaned over to whisper to the girl, "Ai-chan, you don't really think Shinichi-kun meant Ray in that way, do you?"

Haibara smiled with a gleam in her eyes. "Whether or not he meant something else, I don't think he realized that such a simple logic may perhaps lead the children to the correct answer regardless. Their mental associations are vastly different than ours. The technicalities that Kudou-kun is so obsessed with might actually have worked against him for this. I'm sure you are thinking along the lines of Kudou-kun's electric thoughts?"

Agasa opened and closed his mouth, not knowing how to reply. Eventually he said, "His way of thinking and speaking sure is magnetic, eh?" Haibara was correct about his own thoughts, but he had to wonder if she was also right about the children's. If they were left to guessing, he couldn't fathom how the result would be any different from how they always guessed and then needed help in order to answer his quizzes.

"Ah, quite so. I can just feel the static, can't you?" Haibara staged whispered while feigning a shivering flinch. She continued to grin.

Agasa chuckled and smiled too, but then started when the children all of a sudden shouted in unison. "Lasers!" Both the professor and Haibara turned to see them all look ready to sprint down then hall. The shrunken young woman and old man looked back to each other. They were both surprisingly surprised—Haibara, even more so than she thought she'd be.

Agasa gave a few chuckles. "Well, I suppose you were right. And whatever the children thought up, I guess we missed it."

Haibara copied the old man. "I'm sure whatever it was, you'd never have used such simple-minded reasoning. I bet Kudou-kun face-palmed right about now." At the professor's confused look, she smiled and pulled something out of her pocket.

"Ehh? Was this your idea or his?" he asked, clearly recognizing the miniature microphone he'd invented. He now understood. "Haha, the boy would probably need to explain the real answer if he could, wouldn't he?"

Haibara grinned and shrugged. "I think it worked out fine without his know-it-all deduction shows," she said louder and clearly while holding the device up. "For this time at least." The girl carefully put the microphone back into her pocket and began to walk down the hall towards their next destination. The Detective Boys had already gone ahead of them and were weaving between the other people in the hall.

As Haibara was walking toward them, she took a second glance at the bathroom door as she was about to pass it. She slowed and came to a stop. Agasa, who was following right behind her, almost bumped into her. The children turned around and urged them to hurry up.

At first she was thought it'd be too soon. But with this opportunity, she was worried that a better chance wouldn't present itself. She made her decision before she could second guess it.

"Ah, I have to use the bathroom now. You all go ahead to the Oncology Laser Treatment Clinic. I'll be right behind you!" Before the children or the professor could protest, Haibara scuttled into the restroom. Standing closely on the other side of the door, she could still hear the kids and Agasa talking. She was grateful that the professor did her the favor of encouraging the Detective Boys to go ahead without her.

...

She waited an extra thirty seconds after she could no longer hear their voices, and then peaked out the door. The coast was clear.

The girl observed her surroundings like a hawk. She couldn't afford to be halted by a concerned adult asking if she was lost. Even with her alert awareness, she avoided eye contact and hurried along quietly. A child who wasn't loud or making a scene was much easier for adults in a crowded space to overlook.

When she left the bathroom, she thought she caught a glimpse of someone she recognized. The people passing by had obscured her line of sight though and when she looked back, no one was there. A sense of being watched had hit her strongly for a few seconds, but it faded to a small flicker. With all these people around, it was rational that a few gazes would linger on her. Nevertheless, the girl checked over her shoulder occasionally since she'd started on her way to the elevator.

Upon reaching the elevators, she pressed the call button. The light for the down arrow came on, but none of the three elevators were on this floor. She waited a few seconds, willing herself not to look over her shoulder anymore. She shifted her weight impatiently and pressed the call button another two times unnecessarily, as if it could make the elevator come more quickly.

Finally the ding announcing an elevator car's arrival sounded. The girl stepped in after an elderly couple shuffled out. To her relief, no one else was inside. She pressed the button to more quickly close the doors before also pressing the button for the third floor.

...

Yuusaku peaked back around the corner. He pulled out his cell phone again. The man was usually very patient, but he couldn't foresee how much longer they would need to do this in time.

As he finished his conversation on the phone, he turned the corner in order to slowly head down the hall in his targets' footsteps. That was when one of his followees came out from her hiding spot and started walking in the opposite direction. He ducked back behind the corner again and watched her, keeping himself from being spotted. Yuusaku's gaze followed the girl as she crept—without drawing attention to herself—around the doctors and nurses, who were making their way with purposeful strides, and the more slowly roaming hospital visitors.

Yuusaku narrowed his eyes, wondering where the girl was heading alone. In the end, he could only come to one conclusion for her destination. The mystery author was fairly certain that there was something going on that was important enough to warrant some concern. The corners of his lips tilted down as he debating his next moves. He couldn't wait, however, since he'd lose both parties as they left. So he quickly made his decision and stepped back around the corner to begin shadowing once again.

...

Yukiko pouted at her cell phone for a moment before slipping it back into her purse. She looked up and gave the person sitting across the table from her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for the interruption again, Hazuki-chan."

After leaving Beika General Hospital, Yukiko had called her friend she'd mentioned earlier to her son in regards to the special favor they needed. Luckily, she was able to get ahold of her and the woman had been happy to hear out her old friend's request. They'd arranged to meet around noon for lunch before she would have to head to the film studio in Chiyoda, so she said. Ran and Yukiko had been able to squeeze their shopping spree in beforehand although it'd been much too short for Yukiko's standards.

After that, the three women had met up at a popular American-style restaurant and bar called Suki's in Roppongi. Despite the earlier rain showers, the skies had cleared up and they had asked to be seated in the outdoor dining area to enjoy the now pleasant springtime weather.

"The men in my family sure know how to ruin a girl's day out. Even that Yuusaku can't let me get away for five minutes!" Yukiko huffed and finished off her California Cosmo. She lifted the napkin she'd placed in her lap out of habit— a western dining custom—back onto the table. Looking around, she then tried to spot their waiter to ask for the check.

To Yukiko's side, Ran tried not to giggle with food in her mouth as she was finishing the last bite of her meal. She hadn't even touched the drink Shinichi's mother got for her though. Yukiko ordered it despite the younger girl's modest insistence that she was still underage.

The woman across from Yukiko grinned and chuckled. She waved off the apology, her bracelets on her right arm clinking as she did so. Matsui Hazuki, who'd been fresh out of cosmetology school when she met the young, soon-to-be star actress, had become a professional makeup artist and had worked on the sets of numerous big screen hits herself. Now all of forty-two years old, she could still easily pass as ten years younger with the help of her expertly applied makeup and trendy updo of dyed auburn hair.

"Don't worry about it." She was amused by her old friend's personality that hadn't changed one bit since they'd first met years ago. The complaints Yukiko made about her husband were no different than before either. "Yuuji can be the same way sometimes. Master special effects makeup artist, best-seller mystery author—they're practically the same, right?"

Taking a look at her wristwatch she then said, "I have to get to the studio soon anyway. You were lucky enough to catch me today." Just thinking about the amount of work ahead of her, Hazuki copied Yukiko and downed the rest of her cocktail and then gave a big sigh. "Can you believe I got called in to work on a Sunday? And the rest of this week is going to be insanely busy."

Hazuki twirled the leftover ice around in her glass as she watched a pair of strikingly chartreuse-feathered little birds bathe themselves in a puddle on the side of the street. Her gaze followed them as they took off into the air a moment later and she found herself staring into the vast sky. The wind had begun to pick up again, pushing the few visible puffy white clouds toward the west to make room for a sheet of grey clouds coasting in from the east. Things were too good to last, eh?

While Hazuki was musing their waiter had returned and was now taking their plates and glasses away. He left Ran's drink in front of her, in case she was still drinking it and headed back inside to the kitchen.

"You know, I kind of miss the excitement of being apart of the next big film," Yukiko commented offhandedly as she watched the waiter walk away. She'd noticed the man's hint of interest while he'd been serving them although he didn't make any comment. Yukiko wondered if he happened to recognize her. She only wore one of her favorite hats instead of a full disguise after all.

Both Ran and Hazuki leaned forward at her remark somewhat surprised. "Are you thinking about acting again?" Ran ventured. Hazuki wondered the same and nodded, her dangling earrings swaying with the motion.

It was Yukiko's turn to be taken aback and she blinked a few times innocently. "Hm? Well, I never really thought about it… Until now since you mentioned it," she added with a chuckle.

The other two resisted rolling their eyes.

Yukiko looked like she was seriously considering the idea when all of a sudden she raised her hands and held the sides of her now aghast looking face. "What if everyone thinks I'm too old!" She pulled out a compact mirror from her purse and began examining the skin around her eyes and her furrowed brows. "They'd take one look at these wrinkles and throw me out!"

What wrinkles?! The other two thought and now had to resist face-palming. "Anyone who'd turned down the Fujimine Yukiko is a moron," Hazuki stated.

"T-that's right, that's right!" Ran agreed quickly before Yukiko went any further.

"You two think I still got it?" Yukiko asked calming down slightly. She lowered the mirror noticing the stares she was getting from the people at the tables next to theirs.

"O-of course!" they both chimed. How are we supposed to know? You haven't acted on stage in almost twenty years.

"If anyone has to worry about wrinkles first it's me. I am older than you after all," Hazuki added, resting her chin in her palm. Of course the other woman was just as youthful looking as her friend, and she knew how to keep up appearances because of her profession.

Eventually, the retired actress stopped fretting when she spotted the waiter coming back with their check. Yukiko offered to pay the tab in repayment for Hazuki's favor.

After a whiles wait, a different waiter, who appeared a bit flustered, returned with her credit card, thanked them for their patronage, and quickly went to handle another table. Yukiko was about to leave a tip, but the curious looks of Ran and Hazuki made her hesitate. The yen bills in her hand then reminded her she was back in Japan. "Silly me. I've gotten used to living abroad all these years." She briefly stuck her tongue out in embarrassment and shoved the bills back into her wallet.

"Thank you again for the favor Hazuki-chan. Shin-chan's friends are going to absolutely love it!" Yukiko said while grabbing her shopping bags from under the table and then stood up. Ran and Hazuki did the same.

"My pleasure," Hazuki nodded with a smile. "Wow, it's been ages since I've seen Shinichi-kun. How old is he now? Sixteen or so?" she asked trying to recall it herself.

"Heh, actually, he'll be nineteen in May. Can you believe that?" Yukiko corrected proudly.

"Eh? Nineteen? Isn't that a little old for his friends to like that sort of thing?" Hazuki responded now a bit confused. Yukiko hadn't gone into detail about the reasons for the favor or about her son and his kid friends. "Well, I suppose Yuuya still enjoyed the most childish things sometimes too. It must be a teenager thing," she continued recalling her own son's hobbies. She smiled fondly, seemingly answering her own question.

Yukiko and Ran merely smirked and chuckled, keeping the extraneous information to themselves since the issue wasn't pushed.

Hazuki hesitated for a moment glancing back to the table with a somber expression. Yukiko was about to ask her friend how her son was doing, but Hazuki spoke before she could. "I know this isn't like me but things are going to get a little stressful at work soon. And there's no need for this to go to waste," she said holding up Ran's untouched drink. She blushed and added in a whisper to Yukiko, "Yuuji always says I'm extra creative… when I'm a bit tipsy too." She giggled and winked to her old friend. "With my makeup work of course…"

Yukiko grinned and ribbed her friend, "You don't see me stopping you." More quietly she said, "I was hoping I could break Ran-chan out of her shell but she's too good for her own good sometimes."

"I guess the saying about boys dating girls that are similar to their mothers is just a myth, huh?" Hazuki whispered back and took a sip from the glass.

"Eh? What're you implying?" Yukiko scowled, stepping back and hefted her purse on her shoulder. She turned to the side in a huff.

Hazuki merely started laughing. Yukiko pouted, not amused at being teased. She was about to whine about it until Hazuki's laughter transitioned into gasps. Yukiko turned back around and both her and Ran stepped closer. "C'mon, calm down… It wasn't that funny, you know?" She patted her friend on the back. "H-Hey, are you all right?" she asked when Hazuki's choking gasps became worse.

The cocktail glass Hazuki was holding slipped from her grasp and shattered upon impact with the ground. The bright red liqueur pooled around their feet along with the broken shards of glass.

"Hazuki-chan?!" Yukiko screamed, going wide-eyed and pale herself. She could feel her friend begin to shake. Hazuki's left hand clawed at her chest while the other grasped Yukiko's sleeve as she crumbled to her knees, pulling Yukiko down with her.

"Matsui-san!" Ran watched in horror as the two women collapsed. A crowd began to gather around the commotion. In fear of this familiar, awful situation, Ran pulled out her cell phone and began dialing for an ambulance.

...

The confined space Haibara was in didn't remain empty for long. Coming from the tenth floor, the elevator stopped on other floors on it's way back down to the third floor and then to the lobby. Haibara moved closer to left corner by the front doors so she could get out easily. Additionally, she didn't have to look at the other people but could watch their reflections on the metallic walls.

A group of three high school girls stepped inside. Since they didn't press any floor button, it was apparent that they were going down to the lobby like the others. While the two girls were wearing casual clothes, the one wore a uniform for a local convenience store under her cardigan. The girl kept glancing at her watch as she and her friends talked.

"Oh man, I'm going to be so late for work," the uniformed girl said to her friends.

"I can't believe it took so long to get up to see Rika-chan," another girl replied. "She was so glad you could come with us though."

The third girl nodded. "Yeah, that security at the entrance was ridiculous. It was like going to the airport!" she added. "I don't remember those metal detectors being there when I came to visit my grandma a few months ago."

A man in his mid-twenties who overheard their conversation addressed them. "Hey…" The girls all turned to him wondering what he wanted. Haibara watched their reflections, listening without comment. "You know, I wonder if it has to do with that huge fire that broke out at the Police Hospital."

One of the girls asked, "That fire? Why would they need to make the security so crazy here because of that?" Her friends exchanged concerned glances but were still curious.

"My EMT pal who was on the scene told me he had to help transport the patients from there to other hospitals in the area—injured police officers, key witnesses… even criminals." The guy smirked at the wide-eyed girls. Haibara narrowed her eyes and took a sneaking glance over her shoulder.

They stopped at another floor to let more people doing down on. Haibara realized the next floor would be her stop.

The girl in the uniform gasped quietly. "Eh? Does that mean there might be dangerous criminals here?" she whispered. Her friends looked scared when they heard what their friend assumed.

It was difficult for Haibara to hear what they said next over the voices of the few other people conversing. It didn't matter much because soon enough the elevator doors opened to the third floor.

She stepped out and the doors closed behind her. The strawberry-blonde let out a deep breath. This sort of gossip is no good. Of course people are going to be suspicious… He eyes widened as she ran their conversation over again. No… this is not good at all…

BA-DUM! Haibara gasped, nearly choking on her own breath. He head fell forward sending her hair streaming past her cheeks. Her dilated eyes gazed at, without really seeing, the nauseatingly, impeccably cleaned tiled floor that seemed to sway beneath her shaking legs. It was that scent. That scent Haibara knew so well. The feeling she only ever got when one of Them was nearby. She clamped a hand over her mouth both to try and ease the lurching in her gut and deny the cry that begged to be released. No. No, i-impossible!

The shrunken girl tossed her head to the side, whirling her strawberry-blonde hair again. To her left, a few patients, guests and a group of five or so doctors coming out of a conference room. She whipped her gaze to the other side. To her right, more guests and two nurses speaking with a patient. Another elevator next to the one she just came out of dinged as it was about to stop on this floor.

With so many people around, she couldn't tell where the scent was coming from. All she knew was that it was getting stronger. She felt like Their presence was closing in from all angles. She refused to look around anymore. She couldn't. The elevator doors open beside her. Those Doors were like a floodgate opening. She couldn't. She couldn't be caught in that flood. And so she ran. She ran, as there was only one way to escape.

...

Ran barely heard another customer cry out for the staff to call an ambulance a moment after her own call went through. While explaining the situation to the operator, Ran's thoughts were interrupted when the roaring sound of a V-twin engine and the following squealing of tires ripped her attention away. She turned abruptly and watched, as if in slow motion, a black motorcycle and a nondescript car with tinted windows, apparently pursuing it, shot down the somewhat busy street.

The bike's rider was completely covered in a matching black riding outfit with a full helmet so they were impossible to identify. The two vehicles swerved around the traffic triggering a symphony of blaring horns. The bike gained a decent lead easily cutting through narrow gaps between other vehicles. Almost as quickly as they went by, they had already disappeared around the block.

Despite the honking, the restaurant customers' surprised uproar, the operator asking her routine questions, and Yukiko's interspersed shouts, to Ran the world went dreadfully, absolutely silent.

In this eerie calmness, Ran saw images flash before her eyes. Images of black clashing against red. Images that had haunted her for the last few months. Images that she hoped she wouldn't see ever again. Ran stepped back slowly, trying to escape the blackness as it pushed past the dimming glow of red.

The pseudo-silence and encroaching cloud of black overtaking red engulfed Ran as she mechanically answered the rest of the operator's questions, hung up, and dialed another familiar phone number. As it rang, she took another step back. A piercing, crunching sound of her stepping on the shattered cocktail glass broke the silence. She slowly looked down to see the split ruby liquid pooled under her feet. The world finally decided to turn both the volume knob back up and the fast-forward button on. She gasped as the effects hit her full force.

...

Haibara slammed the door to Shinichi's hospital room shut behind her and rested her back against it while gasping for breath.

Jodie jumped out the chair—hand on the grip of the Glock 22 concealed at her hip under her blazer. She exhaled in relief when she saw it was only the little strawberry-blonde girl. The sight of the girl with the hood of her red windbreaker up reminded her of a time long ago when they first crossed paths. She approached the girl slowly. "What's the matter, Little Red?"

Haibara brought her gaze up to take in the sight of the room's new occupant for the first time. She mumbled something in response, but Jodie couldn't make it out. With increasing worry, Jodie stepped closer and crouched down, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. Haibara flinched at the contact. Jodie attempted to look at her face, but the girl had lowered her gaze again, seemingly staring at nothing in particular.

"What was that?" Jodie coaxed, growing ever more concerned.

"T-They're here," Haibara replied in barely a whisper.

Hearing that, Jodie immediately went to stand and look out the door, but Haibara stopped her by grasping the woman's wrists before they left her shoulders. Now in full FBI agent mode Jodie quickly changed her mind. She gently peeled the girl's hands away and led her over to the other side of the room. Then she went back to the chair and grabbed her handbag. Pulling out her cell phone, she began to make a call. Switching the phone to her left hand, she removed her pistol from its holster with her right. Just in case.

Shinichi glanced between the two women, swiftly deducing the situation. His gaze lingered on Haibara as he proceeded to address her. "It's impossible. There's no way one of Them could be here. The hospital staff has been checked three times over—before and after the Operation. There are all sorts of security set up and we have plainclothes patrolling each facility. Ever since the disaster at the Police Hospital…"

Haibara had slid down the wall by the window to sit on the floor. The bed hid her from being visible from the doorway. "Don't be foolish! You know as well as I do that if one of Them is this good, the precautions our side has taken still wouldn't be enough!" she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

She raised her eyes to watch Jodie pacing the room on the other side of the bed speaking quietly, yet harshly, to someone on her phone. The woman's anxious movements weren't helping the situation. She nodded to indicate the agent. "And that's why the FBI is still here, isn't it? You knew about this, didn't you?" She tossed an accusing glare at Shinichi.

The detective held her gaze for a moment trying to consider the best way to explain without getting his head bit off. Half of him was trying to keep up with Jodie's conversation at the same time. Eventually he nodded. "You're right. There are still some stubborn weeds left to kill, but we're handling it—"

Haibara forced a grim laugh. "You're going to handle it," she mocked giving him a highly doubtful look. "Aren't you a little out of commission?"

Shinichi frowned. "Fine. They're handling it and I'm giving moral support from the sidelines. Is that what you want to hear?"

"I want to be kept informed," Haibara replied. Shinichi opened his mouth to retort but the girl went on so softly he could barely hear. "—Before stuff like this happens. I thought we were passed keeping information from each other by now. In the past, I might have run away to keep you safe at my own risk. But by now I've learned not to run away. Or don't you remember?"

The detective again went to say something back but he didn't know what. Should he defend his decisions? Should he apologize? Should he tell her that it'd be all right? Should he call her out on her paranoia because… There was no way there could be one of Them in the hospital, right? Haibara's sense had been wrong before, right? Right?

Jodie stepped in for the detective overhearing the end of their conversation after finishing her calls. "I told Kudou-kun this just a while ago. I wanted to inform you as well, but you seemed a bit preoccupied when I arrived. As I was saying, the Operation has been moved on to Phase Five—"

"Phase Five?! What's that supposed to mean?" Haibara quickly covered her mouth and gave a nervous glance toward the door. When a firm knock came from the other side after a few seconds, her eyes widen in terror. This feeling!

Haibara breathed roughly and curled in on herself. She didn't notice Jodie look down to her phone for a moment but she did see the agent head to open the door. "No! Don't!"

End Chapter 5

A/N:

Hey there readers! I know it has been forever since the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who can continued to follow MotM. More thanks to anyone new who has reviewed/faved/followed since chapter 4. (Thanks to NaNoWriMo for getting me to actually get this chapter done.)

Extra special thanks for everyone who has joined the Poirot Café forum since it started in June/July. The forum would be nothing without everyone there. It's so exciting that we have more than 50 members so far! If anyone hasn't heard of Poirot Café, please check out my profile for a link and a brief summary.

Extra, extra special thanks to It-Ended-at-3/Kitsoa for beta reading for me and helping me start up Poirot Café. I know you've been really busy with school and everything, so it means a lot to me that you could take the time to give me some really thoughtful feedback on this story and give me some second opinions when I need it.

So I have to say, this is probably my favorite chapter so far. I feel like this is just the beginning of the Rising Action, crazy huh? I hope you all stick around for more. No matter how long it takes. Thanks so much!