"A mojito, please."
The day after the Kyoto incident, everything had returned to calm.
That night, Hayashi Yoshiki walked into the bar.
As he sat down and placed his order with the bartender, Gin noticed something was off.
"What's wrong with your face?"
"It's just a knife cut, nothing serious."
Gin didn't dwell on it.
There were few patrons in the bar. Besides Gin, the only one present was Vodka, who was glancing at the time while working on his laptop, seemingly communicating with someone.
"So, what's the reason you called me here?"
"Ah, this is for you, Cointreau," Vodka replied immediately, setting aside his computer. He took out a letter from inside his coat and handed it to Hayashi Yoshiki.
Yoshiki reached out and accepted it.
"Mission?"
"It's just the whim of a bored woman. Whether you pay attention to it or not, it doesn't really matter," Gin said with a tone of disdain.
Guessing that the "bored woman" in question was likely Vermouth, Hayashi Yoshiki opened the envelope.
Inside was an invitation:
"I'm going to have an unseasonable Halloween party under the full moon."
"Mr. Detective,"
"On the night of next month's full moon, please allow me to invite you to this terrifying banquet."
"It's going to be a bloody party on the boat."
"Of course, whether your Excellency is present or not, the poor dying lamb will curse his fate, and the drunkard will get drunk before death."
Full Moon Chapter...?
Staring at the invitation, Hayashi Yoshiki immediately recognized the setup.
To put it plainly, Vermouth was setting a trap to kill Haibara Ai. She would lure Conan and the others onto a ship, while she slipped away to Dr. Agasa's address to abduct Haibara Ai.
This incident also unveiled several deeper elements.
But the most important revelation was undoubtedly the debut of the FBI's ace—Shuichi Akai.
Why... specifically ask Gin to deliver this invitation to me, instead of sending it through the agency?
Hayashi Yoshiki pondered this.
Does she think I won't refuse Gin's arrangements?
If he followed that logic, it was true—he rarely refused Gin.
"Please enjoy your mojito," the bartender said as a refreshing cocktail filled with crushed ice and garnished with mint was placed before him.
"Thanks."
After taking a sip, Hayashi Yoshiki looked back at the envelope and said, "So is there anything else besides this?"
"Oh, just thinking you might deepen your understanding of the Organization's affairs," Gin said coolly.
"Business?"
"The ultimate goal the Organization seeks to achieve," Gin murmured as he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. His sharp, green eyes narrowed slightly with a trace of mockery. "We will become gods and devils... for we shall reverse the flow of time and revive the dead."
"Are you trying to pitch me a science fiction story?"
"...Maybe you'll understand soon. But before that, there's an important mission tonight. You should come along."
Just as Gin said this, Vodka suddenly straightened up beside him.
Looking at something on his computer, Vodka turned and said, "Aniki, that guy went to his villa, but he didn't open the email we sent. It's already been destroyed."
Gin frowned slightly.
Emails from the Organization usually carried a monitoring function—if someone opened it and didn't input the correct password, it would self-destruct in ten seconds. And that whole process would be tracked.
Before Gin could speak, Vodka had already made a call.
No one answered, even after several rings.
Vodka clicked his tongue, and when the recording message started, he spoke impatiently:
"You're there, aren't you?"
"Pick up already. We know you're at the villa. Pick up the phone, Mr. Itakura."
Mr. Itakura. That is, Itakura Taku.
Of course, Hayashi Yoshiki recognized the name.
He was a software engineer, approached by Tequila and Vermouth, and forced to create a mysterious program supposedly capable of influencing the fate of all mankind.
Originally, Itakura Taku was coerced into compliance by the Organization's pressure.
But halfway through the development, plagued by deteriorating eyesight and disturbed by the software's implications, he planned to back out—and flee.
Instead, he got involved in a murder case and ended up dead.
Through solving that case, Conan uncovered his link to the Organization and devised a plan to recover Itakura's diary—learning about the deal set to take place tonight.
"Sounds like this is tonight's mission, huh?" Hayashi Yoshiki asked coolly.
Gin didn't answer.
After Vodka repeated the call a few more times, Conan, who was inside the villa, finally made the risky decision to pick up.
Unaware of Itakura's death, and with Conan's voice disguised using a voice changer, Vodka grew suspicious of nothing. Through cautious negotiation, the two parties moved the originally scheduled 12 a.m. transaction up to 4 a.m..
"Aniki, he said he finally got an appointment with a famous cardiologist and needs to be hospitalized tomorrow. So he wants to meet at four in the morning instead."
"…"
Gin remained silent for a moment, then murmured, "Four in the morning."
It was clear something didn't sit right with him. But the software developed by Itakura Taku was critical, so he had to go.
Gin looked again at Hayashi Yoshiki.
"Four in the morning, just for a deal?"
Yoshiki glanced at the time—just past ten o'clock. He hesitated, then replied, "Even if I don't really want to go, it's an important mission after all..."
"We'll come back to get you at three."
"Alright."
Slowly sipping the rest of his mojito, Hayashi Yoshiki got up and left with the invitation in hand.
Vodka watched his back cautiously.
This mission doesn't require Cointreau at all...
Aniki inexplicably wants him to come along—does he want to raise his standing in the Organization?
Earlier — Dr. Agasa's residence
Conan had rushed over from Mouri Kogoro's agency. The first thing he asked was whether Haibara Ai was home.
"You mean Ai-chan? She just went out, and said she was going to Mr. Hayashi's place."
"At this hour?"
"Yeah, she said she was going to deliver some medicine... Shinichi, what did you want to talk to her about?"
"...Nothing. Actually, it's better if Haibara isn't here."
Conan gave a stiff smile, pulling out a floppy disk. "I need to borrow your computer to see what's on this disk."
The Itakura Taku incident had happened just days before the Kyoto case.
When Conan got the floppy disk, he planned to crack it and examine the contents. But with the sudden commission from Kyoto, he had to travel there with Mouri Kogoro and Ran immediately.