Sorry it's been so long! I uploaded 2 chapters this time after some deliberation and a few revisions. Chapter 30 is also pretty much ready.

* Miki *

Slipping in through an office window is always a good way to land oneself into irreversible trouble, Miki reminded herself thrice over as she did exactly that. This would be quite the exercise in avoiding all members of the public eye, she mused, as no one except the FBI and chosen parties would know that the FBI were looking for her. On the other hand, the PSB would be more than happy to take her in for questioning as well. There was no way she was interested in being detained by either, but without her phone, her movements were more limited than ever before.

Bright side: her phone was wiped and all of those lovely contacts were all in her head.

Not so bright side: she had to get her hairpin back and meet Gin in an undisclosed location by tonight or get him under her control without getting anyone killed. Considering how Gin was now, that might actually be impossible.

Miki sighed as she flopped into the easy chair in front of the unguarded laptop. One Kisaki Eri was likely on break for another ten minutes. This might take a little longer. Hopefully she could vacate and wipe all traces in less time than that, she mused as she began typing away. Two minutes later, she had found her other hairpin.

Ayumi had both, then, she sighed with a smile. Perfect. A door. Footsteps. Miki dared her fingers to break records at her agonizingly slow pace. Gin had scolded her for it several times, she internally groaned, but her key strokes had been perfect nonetheless.

By the time the door opened, Miki had completed her task, wiped the computer and the chair clean of her presence before slipping back out the window and into an alley. Stupid paranoia, Miki mused. There was no need to fear an old friend.

Next destination: her work. She had software to learn, after all, FBI or no FBI.

- Later -

Work was successfully reached and her day was rather uneventful, thankfully. Even Kir pretended nothing was out of the ordinary. They really did want to keep everything quiet, which Miki also wanted...for now.

* Conan *

Shuuichi turned and glanced at him. They both knew without words, but he voiced it anyway:

"She escaped, of course," Shuuichi reported. "No surprise there. Should arrive any moment. Along with-" A knock came at the door. "-your party, I can only assume. Your mother should be next. That should be all and we can hopefully talk."

Ran, Masumi and Sonoko sauntered in, normal greetings all around. Shuuichi was extra careful as usual, making sure his sister did not recognize him. All three clearly wanted to ask him about something, so he allowed them to inquire. It was about Miki, of course. Jodie had checked to make sure she had not interacted with Ran.

"Of course I'll make sure the number reaches her. Actually, Conan will ensure it, won't you?"

Conan nodded in response.

"Sure!" He added for emphasis, feigning he was a small child around Sonoko and Ran. Always keep up the act no matter what, he reminded himself yet again. They need to keep believing you are a small child. Their lives depend on it.

"Where is she, anyway? Amarante, I mean," Sonoko pressed. Shuuichi shrugged.

"I was expecting her around now, actually," he admitted, "but now I am uncertain."

"Did she run into trouble, maybe?" Ran asked.

"Actually, she has work right now," Shuuichi corrected, "so her not showing up is actually a good sign. If she had, it would make me conclude she definitely ran into trouble of some sort and could not make it to work. Likely that she would need a lift or something. I have her car, after all."

Masumi snickered.

"What, she might miss the train?" Shuuichi smiled.

"Well, she is human."

The door opened, startling everyone.

"Saguru-san!?" Conan exclaimed.

* Yukiko *

Yukiko finally arrived at her own house after taking public transit and walking from Sharon's appartment. Her mind was still whirling from her earlier conversation over breakfast. An angry Miki? That was a terrifying thought on its own. Then add to that someone targetting her if they find out she is still alive and that is even more unsettling. Now adding that everyone around Miki is in danger just by association and you have a recipe for disaster.

Miki likely would try to avoid going in for questioning and Yukiko would need to talk her down, which was why she had rushed over so quickly. The conversation with Sharon was necessary, but Yukiko had a sneaking suspicion that every second she wasted was another second things got exponentially worse.

Her hands grasped the door handle and threw open the door, startling the house occupants.

There was a silence that flowed over everyone and Yukiko had to put on an award-winning smile of ease, innocence and contentment just to make everyone feel some sense of normal. The tension in the room was suffocating, she found.

Ran, Sonoko, Masumi, Shuuichi, Shinichi and one Hakuba Saguru she had not been expecting.

"Hello!" Yukiko cheered, encouraging a light-hearted mood.

"Ah, Yukiko-san," Shuuichi offered. "You've arrived. We need to talk."

"Of course, Subaru-kun!" She exclaimed and followed him upstairs.

"Things have not gone as planned, of course," he began, "and she did run off." Bad news first, Yukiko gathered. She could roll with this. "She did not return here, however as I had anticipated. Clearly, she has a goal in mind other than dodging specific parties. Not only this, but she was on the phone with someone briefly before she was taken in. Since she requested two days, I can only assume she made arrangements to meet with someone. Unfortunately, we have not been able to deduce who exactly that is or where they were to meet, so we need a plan."

Yukiko paused.

"That is worse than I had imagined," she offered. "Since Sharon mentioned nothing of the sort either, I have to assume it is not her." Shuuichi frowned.

"That is unfortunate," he admitted. "Conan has been working with me to narrow down the possibilities and he has been calling everyone he can to shorten the list even further. We have not reached Daichi or anyone we do not have the number of. Unfortunately, that appears to mostly be dangerous people." Yukiko nodded in understanding.

"All right, so what has he planned?"

"Since Kaito Kid has a heist planned, according to one Hakuba, we're planning to use that as a distraction. Even if whoever this is raises a fuss, no one not directly involved should get hurt."

Again, Yukiko could only nod. It made sense.

"What has James said about all this?"

"James wants to a few of us to approach Miki after her work and find out who she is meeting and why. I have no idea whether or not she will cooperate and she is liable to run away again."

"Her cellphone history?" Yukiko checked. Shuuichi shook his head.

"James said she wiped her phone clean. We have no contacts and no phone calls."

That...explains that, Yukiko internally sighed.

"When is she off work?"

"In an hour," Shuuichi reported.

The door closed and Shuuichi withdrew a Detective Badge from his pocket, then picked it up, holding it to his ear, then nodded.

"All right," he offered, then turned to Yukiko. "She may have been my friend all those years ago, but I also need your input in finding and seeking an audience with her peacefully."

Yukiko could only nod in response. She had not spoken with Miki in over ten years, however, so she could not tell him what Miki would still see as peacefully seeking an audience with her. In fact, right now, she highly doubted there was any way to do so...especially after the most recent interaction Miki had with Shuuichi.

* Miki *

Work was nice and relaxing, she mused as she waved goodbye to her coworker. Then she stopped, hand on the door. Am I being ambushed? She suddenly realized.

Gritting her teeth, Miki forced herself to look outside...and glared.

At least three familiar faces were within a block of her, and she had to go that way.

Shuuichi had no choice, so she always forgave him, but the rest? They had options and more important things to do right now...but they had her phone...with her number...just do not call the boss and you will not lose me before the week is out, she internally sighed, hoping against hope.

I really need a plan if someone pulls that, she mused. Am I missing anything else? Other than Gin blowing all my new friends sky high if he figures out what is going on? Miki shuddered at the thought. Killing him would be necessary then...and painful...

Against every fibre of her being, Miki pushed the door open, willing back the tears.

Something in her mind went out of control for a second and it was game over. She held her head in her hands for two minutes, continuing her walk towards Shuuichi, her preferred captor, but her vision blurred suddenly.

I have not thought...she remembered, and my mind keeps trying to do that...

* Shuuichi *

Watching Miki fall suddenly surprised him. He moved, successfully caught her and checked her vitals. Her pulse spiked, but only for two seconds, then it petered off back to normal as he had expected. With a small sigh of relief, he picked her up and headed for the car. Another person lowered the dart gun that had been loaded with a tranquilizer. It was never needed.

Miki had passed out of her own accord...from what, though? Stress? He frowned.

"What happened?" Camel demanded over the phone.

"I am uncertain," Shuuichi admitted. "She fell asleep suddenly. Maybe she was awake too long." He forced those words out as a police officer stopped by his window. "Late night," he offered. The officer frowned, but nodded.

"I can make sure you get there soon," she offered. Shuuichi nodded.

"That would be optimal," he agreed.

He played the part of an innocent civilian for the time being, but he knew deep down that unless a full MRI was done, they might never discover what went wrong. Actually, that might be a good idea, just to see if there was a tumor...but he would not push for it. New medical discoveries of genius were not how they protected Miki and the general populace right now. Maybe another day if they all survived, it could be fun to find out. Right now, however, it could be a death sentence.

Camel reported the situation to James and they all held in there, the kids found them at the hospital after school and stayed, concerned for her well-being. Conan asked specifics, some questions that were dictated by Haibara, but for the most part, all Subaru could do was repeat what he saw over and over again. Here, Conan agreed with him on everything and Haibara did for the most part as well, but she had some more ideas about what could have caused it.

Buried memories, forced actions, she suggested. If she kept thinking at bay for ten years, she probably had blackouts at the beginning. Now she is just trying to be herself again and it is causing incredible stress. A blackout would be normal here. It made sense, honestly, but how to explain this to a doctor without them running immediate extensive tests...she passed out from fatigue, there was a lot of sudden activity and not a lot of sleep. Any doctor would buy it, especially if she never visited the hospital...

Strain, the doctor excused.

* Ran *

Ran showed up with the kids. Masumi and Sonoko were occupied for the evening, as much as they wanted to come, they had not met her yet. Since Ran did not seem extremely worried, they were not either, not really, and would await her description of the events that followed tomorrow morning. She bit her lip. Something felt off. Ayumi was missing...she had to stay home and watch the house, Mitsuhiko had explained and no one was antsy. No one except Conan and Subaru, that is...which was more than enough to make her antsy as well.

I want to check on Ayumi as soon as we leave, Ran decided. She may be in danger...

To her surprise, Subaru handed her a detective badge.

"Ayumi's," he voiced. Then handed her another. "For safety." Ran shuddered when he turned away. Danger was thick in the air now. If Subaru was worried, someone who could take a solid kick from her, then there was real reason for concern. Someone dangerous was on the move tonight, and she doubted it was Kaito Kid...

After Amarante woke up, her and Subaru discussed something silently. There was a sigh, then she met Ran's eyes and she held out her hand. Subaru shook his head. Amarante bit her lip and nodded, getting to her feet, clearly struggling.

"Sorry guys, I'm still kind of tired," she excused to the kids. It was a lie, but the kids believed it completely. No, she was hurt and panicking a little. Something was scaring her. Likely whatever was scaring Subaru. Ran felt like she was silently watching something horrifying unfold for some reason. A hollow bad luck feeling churned her stomach. She wanted to hand Amarante the detective badge that Subaru had handed her, but he would probably hand her one himself, right?

Amarante leaned on Subaru's arm and allowed him to escort her from the building.

"All right, let's go eat dinner and then check on Ayumi," Conan ordered. Mitsuhiko and Genta cheered. Haibara nodded. Ayumi was probably alone and scared.

* Ayumi *

I need to watch the house tonight. Those were her thoughts as she grabbed the phone. For some reason, the lights seemed dimmer than usual as she paused in her room, hands shaking as she gripped the phone tightly.

She turned the television on just to feel more comfortable.

If I watch Kaito Kid with the hairpin in my hair and someone is with me, I should be okay, she decided.

After pondering for a moment, Ayumi called Conan. He answered on the first ring.

"What is it?" He inquired.

"Can Amarante or Ran come over?" She asked. "I'm house watching and I want one of them with me." There was a pause. Conan asked someone something. Ran answered, but she could not make out the words.

"Ran is on her way over," Conan reassured her. "Are you watching Kaito Kid?"

"Yep!" Ayumi cheered. He let out a short breath. Relief.

"All right, that should be fine." There was a smile in his voice. The smile she sometimes heard from her mom. That was all right. It comforted her a little. She wished he could stay on the line, but they were just finishing dinner, and Ran was heading over, anyway.

* Ran *

Ayumi's apartment was just two blocks over, extremely close. However, there was a shadow behind her and she knew she was being followed. Letting out a breath, preparing herself for combat, she turned and called out:

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

A hand beckoned her to the side. She reluctantly obeyed. Two steps.

A gun.

She leapt.

No shot, just a hard smack to the head.

Ran collapsed.

She awoke back near the agency.

Running full speed there, she quickly discovered she had some bruises and scratches, but nothing serious. She could ignore them, but why? Why would this person bother? Did they want to scare people away for some reason?

Her foot stopped just outside the door. Voices came from inside. Friendly voices. This was a safe place.

Ayumi was still in danger. She needed help. Now.

The door slammed open. Static came over the radio. Amarante was unconscious, roped to a chair, but she twitched ever so slightly and Ran swore she saw her frown. Then Ran leapt toward her.

"I need help reaching Ayumi!" She declared. Another twitch. Amarante wanted her to release her bonds so she could help. The sooner, the better, Ran was beginning to gather from her movements. Slowly, cautiously, Ran approached the group.

Subaru, Jodie and James were around Amarante. Her father was near his desk, but ready in case she moved all the same. Is she really this dangerous? What about her passing out earlier? Is there something wrong with her?

Conan came over the radio.

Amarante moved and it was then that Ran had a moment of deja vu. The way she dodged, letting herself loose, the way she swiped the detective badge and leapt right out the window, narrowly dodging her father...it was carefully calculated and swiftly executed. Her father initially followed her out, but he came back in, pausing with an odd expression on his face.