Chapter 180: Vermouth
This gem, called Pandora, is considered a gem of destiny. When held up to moonlight at night, smaller gems embedded within can be seen, allowing one to distinguish the real from the fake.
Legend has it that among the many Pandora gems containing these "nesting dolls," only one is genuine.
The real Pandora, during a certain astronomical phenomenon, produces drops of an elixir of immortality.
From this setting, Gosho Aoyama seems somewhat obsessed with immortality.
However, this concept is reasonable—whether in the world of Detective Conan or the real world, immortality is an obsession of the wealthy and powerful.
"Have you already made contact with the Zoo? It seems you've begun investigating the circumstances surrounding your father's disappearance."
"What Zoo? And what do you mean my father, Kuroba Toichi, is missing?"
Kaito was somewhat disappointed to find no smaller gems embedded in this one, but upon hearing Natsukawa say his father was missing rather than dead, his expression changed drastically.
"Keep your poker face, Kaito. That's the first rule of magicians—the one your father always taught you. Have you forgotten? We can discuss the Zoo and your father another day."
Natsukawa chuckled, offering no further explanation, and continued, "Right now, hand everything over to me. This situation involves another organization. You've already antagonized the Zoo—don't make enemies with this one too."
Kaito was internally panicking, desperate to know more, but Natsukawa had said they only had ten minutes, and time was running out.
It seemed the organization that had tried to steal the dog from the Suzuki estate today had some unknown connection to Natsukawa.
On the surface, Natsukawa was a special investigator for the National Tax Agency, but secretly, he appeared to have other identities.
"Are you currently infiltrating the organization that interfered with my heist today?"
Kaito, true to his genius-level intellect as one of the smartest characters in Detective Conan, instantly deduced Natsukawa's current situation.
Natsukawa nodded, not bothering to hide it.
He stepped forward, took Lupin from Kaito, and casually reattached the disassembled gems to the collar.
"As you can see, that's exactly the case. You should leave quickly—the people from the Organization are about to catch up."
"The Zoo, the Organization... I understand." Kaito nodded and jumped into the speedboat that had just docked.
"I'll come find you another day when I have time."
Natsukawa nodded and waved.
The speedboat executed a graceful arc and departed from the shore. Natsukawa wiped away the seawater that had splashed all over him, internally criticizing Konosuke Jii's poor boating skills.
But thankfully, the dog and collar were secured, and he had something to report to Gin.
This whole situation was surreal—he hadn't expected the Organization's plan to be disrupted by Kid.
But it wasn't a major problem. He'd already obtained both items, and he was confident Gin wouldn't investigate Kaito's situation further.
"Young master, who was that gentleman just now?"
Konosuke Jii turned to look at Natsukawa on the shore. It was a face he'd never seen before.
Such an imposing figure—if he'd encountered him before, he would definitely remember.
When had Young Master Kaito met such a person and even handed over both the jewel and the dog to him?
"A mysterious guy."
Ten minutes later, a taxi performed a stylish drift right in front of Natsukawa, leaving two skid marks and showering him with dust and exhaust fumes.
"Damn it!"
Natsukawa muttered, his guilt over deceiving Bourbon instantly vanishing.
Blasting him with exhaust on their first meeting—who else would he mess with if not him?
The taxi stopped, the passenger door flew open, and a woman emerged. Without even bothering to close the door, she rushed up to Natsukawa and demanded, "Tequila, where's Phantom Thief Kid?"
This person still wore Suzuki Ayako's face—except for the voice, everything else was identical.
To an ordinary person, they would be indistinguishable.
No need to guess—this was the elusive Vermouth.
The disguise was quite convincing, but still somewhat different from Natsukawa's technique. There was a reason Kaito had recognized her at a glance.
"Two bottles of whiskey and you still let Phantom Thief Kid escape? I don't even know what to say to you guys."
Natsukawa joked, handing Lupin over to her.
After confirming the dog and collar were intact, Vermouth looked up at Tequila again, waiting for his explanation.
"Phantom Thief Kid got away—only Lupin and the collar were recovered. He has too many tricks up his sleeve. No wonder he's the phantom thief no police force in the world can catch. I was lucky to get Lupin back at all."
Natsukawa explained, feigning relief.
The taxi's driver-side door opened, and Amuro Tooru, with his slightly tanned skin and flowing blond hair, stepped out. He looked Tequila up and down, then at the unconscious dog in Vermouth's hands, which looked practically dead.
He'd thought this was just a minor matter, but they'd happened to run into Phantom Thief Kid. What terrible luck.
"How did you stop him? Phantom Thief Kid on his hang glider couldn't even be hit by Korn's sniper rifle at high altitude, yet you managed to recover both Lupin and the collar?"
Amuro Tooru examined Tequila again, this time scrutinizing him with serious attention.
Tequila had been keeping such a low profile that he'd assumed the codename was merely inherited from his father. He'd never expected the guy to actually steal back what Phantom Thief Kid had obtained.
It seemed the Organization's codename members were all quite capable.
This was also his first time meeting Vermouth, whom he'd just worked alongside. He hadn't expected the Organization, besides the legendary Vermouth, to have trained such a master of disguise.
He'd heard she was Vermouth's apprentice—it seemed the Witch of the Organization wasn't exactly quiet in America, even training a disciple.
"What, aren't you happy I recovered Lupin and the collar?" Natsukawa's words were sharp, still irritated by Amuro's exhaust fume attack.
"Just pleasantly surprised."
Amuro knew about Phantom Thief Kid to some extent. Not only was he a master magician, but he also possessed many incredible gadgets, yet he'd been outmaneuvered by Tequila.
He hadn't seen Tequila in over a year, and the man seemed like a completely different person.
Not only had he single-handedly resolved a one billion yen case and eliminated Miyano Akemi, but he'd also helped them reclaim what they'd been extorting.
I underestimated this guy before.
"Kid's original destination should have been here. I discovered a speedboat hidden in the harbor beforehand and deduced it was the transportation Kid would use to escape.
After all, this is a warehouse district—a speedboat shouldn't be here.
Sure enough, Kid landed at this pier, and I intercepted him before he could board. Because I had my pistol drawn, and the gems on the collar didn't seem to be what he was searching for, he readily handed over the dog and collar to avoid me shooting him.
Then, while I was catching the dog and collar he tossed to me, he jumped into the speedboat, and his accomplice immediately started the engine and escaped."
He even has an accomplice?
Amuro silently noted this detail, preparing to inform Public Security of this information at their next meeting.
Natsukawa's explanation was reasonable enough—at least Amuro couldn't find any obvious flaws.
Whether it was the phantom thief from eight years ago or the current one, there were examples of them returning stolen jewels.
This inevitably made one wonder whether Kid had a compulsion or genuinely wanted to keep the gems.
To this day, neither the Metropolitan Police nor Public Security knew the true purpose behind Phantom Thief Kid's jewel heists.
It was strange—some jewels were returned while others remained missing and hadn't appeared in the black market for trade.
However, it was precisely because some jewels hadn't been returned to their owners that the Metropolitan Police consistently kept him among their top three most wanted.
After learning the details, Vermouth called Gin to inform him the items had been secured.
Next, Gin would demand a ransom from the Suzuki Foundation.
As for Phantom Thief Kid, Gin ultimately decided to let it go.
Although Kid's appearance had disrupted their plans, it was now an established fact that everyone had witnessed Kid taking Lupin and the collar. Therefore, they'd conveniently pin the blame on Kid, intending to use his name to extort the ransom.
It was relatively easy to frame Phantom Thief Kid.
Just follow his usual style and send a notice to Suzuki Jirokichi—not difficult at all.
This way, the Black Organization's involvement wouldn't be exposed.
After finishing her call, Vermouth removed her mask right in front of Natsukawa and Amuro.
Behind the mask was an elegant Western face with flowing silver-blonde hair.
However, her features were more refined and captivating than Suzuki Ayako's, with a sophisticated face and alluring crimson lips that stirred the imagination.
Her seductive eyes would definitely make wealthy benefactors open both their hearts and wallets.
Natsukawa was somewhat stunned, though not because of her beauty. What made him stare was her unexpectedly familiar face.
After a few seconds, Natsukawa finally remembered who she reminded him of—though this wasn't quite right. Vermouth was famous for her disguises. This face might not even be her real one.
Still, there was something vaguely familiar about her features that he couldn't quite place.
Vermouth noticed his stare and smirked slightly. "Something wrong, Tequila?"
"Nothing. Just surprised to finally meet the legendary Vermouth in person."
After removing her disguise, Vermouth shook her head, ran her fingers through her silver-blonde hair, and stretched her back, revealing curves in her previously flat chest and hips—clearly, she'd been wearing compression gear under Ayako's disguise.
[End of Chapter]
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