"Are you absolutely sure?"

There came an exasperated sigh from the other end of the line followed shortly with "yes Kudo, I'm sure."

"Haibara I mean it, if…"

"Kudo" the girl snapped irritation evident in her tone. "I have seen nothing I would consider abnormal, not at the professors, and not at your place, the school, the station…nothing."

Conan bit his lip as he sat knees tucked up against his chest in the hallway of the Mouri abode. Hours had past since Mouri had left, and having force himself back to his senses Conan began running though the what information he had with what mental faculties he could muster only to find…nothing. No matter which way he looked at it, no matter how he went over the information in his own mind… nothing about the case seemed to add up.

How…how could they have possibly known…?

How could they have found out?

It couldn't have been from the last time he used the antidote, they would have acted long before now. The same could be said of Hattori's impersonation of him during that case on the haunted ship. Months had passed and still nothing. Then there was the matter of the phone conversation itself. If they knew, if they had truly known…why did they wish to speak with Mouri? True the black organization was known for its subtlety, but still…And the files…the ones Mouri had mentioned as he rushed out. What had that been about? Where they trying to set him up, to force him into the first move? Why? They were already holding the upper hand. What more could they want…

"…Kudo!"

Haibara's stern voice brought the boy back to reality with a sharp snap.

"I'm here" the boy answered in a hollow tone.

"Are you…"

"Yes Kudo" the cold voice bit back in the same irritated tone. Conan sighed into the cell phone and leaned back against the wall closing his eyes as if to clear his mind of the so many inconsistencies that flooded in. "Look I'm sorry, it's just…" he trailed off running the fingers of his free hand through his hair. It was a rear moment indeed when the great directive felt so bewildered and at the moment bewildered was among the more passive adjectives one might use to describe him.

Again there was silence. Below in the office Conan could barely make out the sound of Mouri, Inspector Megure, Takagi and Satou as they exchanged the occasional word. All four had said very little, each sitting or standing about, filling the air of the office with an unmistakable tension. It was clear by the look he had caught on Mouri's face when he had returned that it had not been his idea that they come. It was also clear by the briefcase handcuffed to Takagi's wrist that whatever information it contained could not leave the department headquarters without official police escort of some kind. Conan had, of coarse been shooed away quickly when the inspectors had arrived, Satou mumbling something to him in a confused tone masked with a hollow sweetness that everything was going to be fine, and he should leave it to the police to help Uncle this time. Conan was less then thrilled, but could do little more then comply.

Haibara was the first to break the silence, her voice losing its irritable edge in favor of one more cold and calm.

"Kudo, what's going on"

This was not the first time that evening she had asked, though now was the first time he felt obligated to answer her with anything apart from a quick and bland 'nothing'. Conan took a long slow breath, surprised by how hard it seemed to make the words come. "It's Ran" he said softly. "She's gone…the organization has her."

Again there was a long pause but this time the boy could almost feel her uneasiness and dread as his words continued to sink in. "That's…not possible" she began, her voice it bit strained.

"I know what I heard!" Conan snapped back "Gin was the one to answer her cell phone; Gin was the one who made the demands."

"But…"

"It was him Haibara!"

"…how"

"I don't know!" Conan bit his lip once more, trying to keep his evident frustration in check.

"I don't know…but…but I'm beginning to think it might not be connected with us." He went on to explain everything he had seen and heard to her, from the making of his initial deduction to the phone conversation and the strange words Mouri had spat at him as he ran from the room.

"That can't be all…" Haibara mused in a voice almost completely divorced from her previous surprise…almost.

"If they desired the information they would have simply made the threat of abduction. A letter of demands followed by pictures of the target taken by surveillance… something to show they know what there doing. For the organization to execute an actual abduction, it puts too many of there members at risk. There going to want something more from Mouri then a handful of documents."

Conan nodded as he thought this over. "We just need to find out what…" he mused quietly.

"That I can not tell you…"

There was silence once more as both contemplated the facts, the implications, and what horrors the night still had to bring. "It's almost seven" Conan cut in finally, checking his watch, "they will be calling any minuet"

"Keep me posted"

"Fine"

"And Kudo…" Haibara paused for a moment and he could almost sense the hesitancy in her manner. "Kudo, the organization does not take hostages. A hostage sees too much, they become a liability." She paused "A hostage can become a witness, a corpse can not. Be careful"

Conan did not answer. There was nothing he could say. The soft click from his phone marked the end of the conversation as the girl on the other end closed her own cell phone with a flick of her wrist. He sat there for a long minuet, her words running through his mind. A liability…he knew all too well how the organization handled liabilities. Putting his phone down he pushed himself up to his feet, moving almost somberly to the master bedroom to check on a thing or two before he went down to join the party in Mouri's office. His time alone had given him more then a chance to simply deduce, but as always to plan. Climbing up on Mouri's bed Conan checked out the side window to see out into the ally behind the building. The ladder was still in place as was his skateboard far below. As soon as this phone conference was at an end he was off to the professors. He would have much better luck piecing together the mystery without this childish façade hanging over him. Reassured that everything was in its proper place Conan dashed out of the room and down the stares to the office. He may not be allowed in, but then again little rules such as that had never stopped him before.