Chapter Eighteen: Grapple with Vengeance

Ran's POV

I felt my head was pulsing as my eyes slowly opening. I saw a blinding light so I turned my eyes into slits. Once I adjusted, my eyes widened in shocked as I saw the unfamiliar place before me.

It was not the restaurant I'm in with Ms. Yoshima-- Wait. Where's Ms. Yoshima?

"Oh, you're awake." I looked on my side as I heard the familiar voice. It was Hayley, smirking all the way to her ears as she stood up from her seat and walked towards me.

"Where's Yoshima-san?" I asked her as I tried to escape from the tied rope on my hands, upper body and feet.

"Yoshima-san? Hmm... I think you're mistaken, Rachel," Hayley said and took a wig out of her back and a ruined... face mask? "I am Yoshima-san, Rachel. Don't you notice? I'd fool you with just this simple trick."

I glared at her. "You look just like you're mother when you're fooling around!"

"Oh. You mean Vermouth? Thank you but no thank you. I'm more than better than my mother," she said and flipped her hair.

She is wearing a black widow suit. I notice a holster on her right hip with a gun on it but I remained quiet and looked at her again.

"I know you're part of the Black Organization," I said as I looked at her emotionlessly. "

"Oh, so you have some informations about me then?" she said and walked around me. "Care to tell me what you know?"

"I won't tell you anything," I said.

"You're stubborn but let me tell you this..." She go back to the front and force me to look at her in the eye by gripping my chin with her two fingers. "I'll take back Jimmy at any cost. I won't let you take my happiness away."

I rolled my eyes. "He's mine first, idiot," I said.

"I'm his first girlfriend so which means he's mine first!" Hayley exclaimed.

"But it doesn't mean you're his first love. First lover, yes, because he became your boyfriend but first love? No."

"Now, you're talking," Hayley said and smirked. "I'll make your life suffer."

"How?"

"Don't test me, Rachel," Hayley said in a deep voice. "I can take your friend's life. Suzuki Sonoko, Hattori Heiji, Nakamori Aoko, Toyama Kazuha, Tsubaraya Mitsuhiko, Kaito Kid, Kojima Genta, Ai Haibara and Yoshida Ayumi, right?"

My eyes widened as I heard their names all at once. I suddenly felt fear and at the same time, anger.

"Don't pull them in this battle between us, Hayley!" I shouted at her.

"Oh, I will do it," she said as her smirked is still not fading on her lips. She leaned in to me and our face was an inch away to each other. "I will not do it if you do what I will say."

I gulped. So, that's her only reason to not continue her plan?

The fact she is blackmailing me is just because Shinichi a.k.a. Jimmy, as what she called him. She keeps on saying I steal him from her even though I really did not steal him.

"What should I do?" I asked her. If this is the only way whp could save everyone's lives, I'll do it.

"Hmm... You're going to do it?"

"Just tell it already to me!" I shouted at her.

"Okay, okay," she said while laughing. "I'll tell you if you're that desperate." She looked at me and I saw her eyes glistening in excitement. Her smirked was still there and it irritates me. "I want you to stay away from Jimmy. Don't talk to him. Don't touch him. Don't give any signs that you love him. Just don't do anything. Leave him and let me do my own procedure."

"You want me to leave Shinichi? But we just have been living in a day!"

"You said you'll do it, right? So don't complain and just do it! Or I'll really slaughter all of your friends."

There's her blackmail again. I sighed and replied. "Sure. I'll do it."

I don't want her to kill my friends, especially those who has a huge part in my life. Even I don't want Shinichi to be harmed by this girl and the Black Organization.

She untied the ropes on my wrist, upper body and feet as I just sat there quietly, waiting for her to finish what she is doing.

When I am free, I stood up and massage both of my wrist that are now red because of the pressure the rope cost.

"Now that we're clear, I want you to inform me every single thing you're doing to avoid my Jimmy as possible. Here," she said and put something on my shirt. "That's like a walkie-talkie. I could hear you through there. Make sure to keep that always when you're around Jimmy. I'll keep an eye on you."

"No need. I'm always keeping my promises," I said and turned back on her.

"Then, let me bring you somewhere then," Hayley said while smirking.

"I thought we're done?"

"Yes, we're done," she replied. "I'll bring you somewhere where your friends would see you."

Haibara's POV

"Oriental? Where could we find such place?" Tsubaraya-kun asked Kudo-kun as Kudo-kun announced to us what the message holds.

"The caller said it is the correct answer and all we need is to get there," Kudo-kun said.

"How do you decode it, Shinichi nii-san?" Yoshida-san asked curiously.

"Ah, it's easy," Kudo-kun said and took out his phone. He clicked the audio message and the beeping sounds was being heard. "The beeps are the clues to the place we must go."

Yoshida-san frowned, confused by what he said. "Huh? I only heard beeping sounds, Shinichi nii-san."

"Hear it clearly. You can hear short beeps and long beeps," Shinichi instructed and we did as he told.

"You're right," I said as the beeping sounds stopped.

"The short beeps are dots and the long beeps are lines," Shinichi said and put the phone back to his jean's pocket, "which means the obvious code in here is Morse Code. Change the short beeps to dots and long beeps to lines and we could easily determine the message."

"But I just hear continuous beeping sounds on it," Genta-kun exclaimed.

"As you heard it, yes, it did not stop but there's some short pauses between each long and short beeps and that's what I focused onto until I came into a conclusion that we all need is to decode it by using Morse Code," Kudo-kun explained.

"Ah, so that the answer is Oriental by just the beeps," Tsubaraya-kun said and his eyes glistened in amazement.

I rolled my eyes and continue our topic. "So, any ideas where the 'Oriental' is?"

"Ah! I know somewhere with an 'Oriental' in it!" Yoshida-san exclaimed while raising her hand. "There's a store I know that has a name 'Oriental' in it. Do you all want to check if it is the one?"

"Wait," I paused her and looked at Kudo-kun. "Do you check her phone's GPS yet?"

Kudo-kun nodded. "It won't work. I can't seem to track her down."

"Then, let's go to where Yoshida-san suggested."

~~~

We got to the place where Yoshida-san suggested for all of us to go.

In the first attempt, we got really lucky when we saw a standing Mouri Ran in front of that store.

But when we go near her, an unexpected thing happened between her and Kudo-kun.

She hugged me, Yoshida-san, Genta-kun and Tsubaraya-kun but when her eyes averted to Kudo-kun, she immediately looked at another direction.

I could feel something was fishy.

Even when we left the store, she didn't bother to talk any single word to Kudo-kun. He tried to talk to her and we tried to push her to speak even just a few words to Kudo-kun but we failed.

That time, our trip got cancelled and all of our friends I called came into the house.

Hattori-san, Suzuki-san, and Toyama-san seem to read the awkward atmosphere around us so after the early dinner, we pulled Mouri-san to the garden (without Tsubaraya-kun, Yoshida-san, Genta-kun, and Kudo-kun).

"What is your problem, Ran-chan?" Toyama-san asked her as she crossed her arms. Mouri-san is just looking down. "Do you know what Kudo-kun is feeling right now, hmm?"

"What did Hayley told you to do?" Hattori-san asked her as he looked seriously at Mouri-san. "Geez. Don't hurt Kudo if you don't want me to threaten you."

"Ran," Suzuki-san called her and hold both of her hands. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she replied to all of their questions. She pulled her hand to Suzuki-san and hugged herself. She looked away. "I just want... to feel alone I guess."

"By not talking to Kudo?" Hattori-san said. "That's a lie. I knew it by the tone of your voice."

"Care to tell us what that ex-girlfriend of Kudo-kun told you, Ran-chan?" Toyama-san said and put her hands Mouri-ran's shoulder and shake her a little. "We're so worried about you. Did you know that?"

"I'll be leaving this house this night after we end this conversation," she replied that made all of our eyes widened.

"Is this one of what she said to you?" I asked her. Her eyes widened as she looked at me. I saw fear in her eyes. I sighed. "Okay. I will not tell Kudo-kun."

I heard the three sighed.

"Ran, make sure to leave Shinichi a letter. I'll really punch you good if you hurt him without telling him any reasons," Suzuki-san said while putting her fist in the sight of Mouri-san.

"Call me if you need anything. I'm just here for you, Ran-chan," Toyama-san said.

"Tch. I don't want to see Kudo-kun hurt but... I guess I can't stop you from leaving him," Hattoro-san said. "Just don't leave him without saying anything, idiot!"

Ran smiled sadly and nodded to her friends.

In midnight, I watched her closed the Kudo Family's house's door with a gym bag in hand and walked away to the house with that gloomy face.