voidtreckerexpress | Getting Things Done

Entry tags:

Getting Things Done

Who: Conan, Vermouth, Tony, Glorfindel, possibly others
What: The Black Organization has arrived on the train. This is a Problem
When: Horseshoe 1, Afternoon
Where: Various

For allies who Conan promised to inform if an Organization member arrived on the train.:

As soon as Conan finishes plotting with Haibara, he exits Eva's room and goes in search of certain people. A long time ago, he'd promised to warn certain allies if one of them arrived on the train. He might have considered conveniently forgetting that promise, except for one thing. If the plan he'd roughly worked out was going to work, he needed more eyes around the train.

For Vermouth:
After finishing the talks with everyone on the list, Conan goes in search of the last person on his list. Her.

It was time to put his plans into motion.

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Glorfindel was in the Library, shelving books and making sure they were in the new Library system the Train was using when Conan came to find him. He smiled at first, but then could see how tense his friend was.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Do you have time to talk in private right now?"

Everything about Conan was stressed right now.

"Of course," Glorfindel said. He indicated Conan should lead the way.

Conan quickly leads the way to one of the quiet rooms, which he checks over for listening devices after closing the door.

He will find her in the upper floor of the library carriage. While she had already done a sweep of the train by now, Vermouth found the oddly empty bookcases intriguing enough for a more thorough look. Why was this room devoid of books outside one children's book series? Was there a clue here into the nature of this strange experience.

The carriage had been more bustling on her first visit, but she had carefully waited for the other passengers to leave before stopping by again. Then climbed to the second floor to give herself some distance from the entrance in case the others came back. That should give her a little time to stop what she's doing before they notice.

She brushes the wood with the back of her hand, careful not to touch with her fingertips. No dust at all. Interesting. She slowly walks down the length of the shelving, looking for any potential oddities where someone might hide something, like a note.

"This car only appeared this morning. It is unlikely anyone would have gone to the trouble of hiding anything here yet."

Conan appears from the other end of the car.

There is only a brief glimpse of shock on Vermouth's face at his sudden appearance before it quickly disappears under her usual cool demeanor. Go figure her Silver Bullet continues to surprise her.

"So it is new after all," she muses offhandedly. Vermouth smiles at Conan, what might look friendly to an outsider but has just a hint of cold smugness to it. "You say it 'appeared,' boy?"

Yes, she's pretending they are strangers. If the Black Organization is indeed watching her, Vermouth can't let them find out how well she knows Shinichi Kudo.

So this was how they were playing it.

She was obviously worried about the possibility of them being watched, but he couldn't figure out yet whether that was a product of the train or what had been happening before.

"Mmm!" he says brightly. "Sometimes extra cars are added here. Usually something that is needed or something that will make the people here happy."

Two hints here. That he'd been here for some time, and that there was a someone in charge.

Glorfindel's eyebrows raise. "What's going on, Conan-kun?" he asked carefully.

Vermouth's from the Organization. Of course she's worried about being watched, both from within and without.

She notices those hints, and her mind immediately suspects as to who is in charge. It's not a good thought.

"I see! How often are these cars added?"

Or in other words: how long has he been here?

Conan checks over the room one more time before answering.

"One of them is here. She's on the platform right now. I think I can negotiate a truce for now, but if you're still willing to serve as a second set of eyes it would be helpful."

"Usually when we stop at a platform to let on new passengers," he says brightly.

And obviously avoiding the implied question.

Well, she supposes it would be odd if Cool Guy outright gave her every answer. Vermouth can respect that. Just gives her a little challenge.

"A new car every platform? I suppose we don't stop very often then." Because she has already counted all the carriages, and even including the sleeper cars the number is less than days in a month.

"So what are you doing here, boy?" she asks sweetly.

The question has layers besides being something a concerned adult might say. What is he doing in an empty library carriage? Why is he in this Organization simulation?

"Not at every platform. Usually they're added as they're needed." A pause as he thinks. It was giving some information away, but he could accept giving information that she could find out for herself easily.

"There's a fairly predictable schedule to the stops. We make a stop at the platform every two weeks, and once a month we stop at planets." And since this was him making this ridiculous claim, he knew that she would take the hint.

A tilt of his head.

"I don't really know. It's strange that whoever is in charge would pick up kids to do their work, isn't it?

Her eyebrows narrow slightly. Vermouth already had others tell her about the visiting other worlds business, and naturally took it as part of the window dressing for this virtual reality. Having Shinichi tell her about it without a hint of irony, however, is another thing entirely. Though it was possible here, like with Akai's little sister, that he suspected the Organization and was just holding onto the ruse for safety.

"Really? Tell me, boy: have you seen these planets?" She says it curiously and good-natured enough, but with the kind of tone one might has a child about their imaginary friend. Her hidden question is clear: do you actually believe that, Cool Guy?

"It is! Surely they must have made your family very worried."

Here was the problem. To negotiate a truce with Vermouth, he had to convince her first of what the truth was here. Which means sharing more details than he'd hoped for.

"Mmm, several of them. I've been here more than six months after all."

And he knew that she would know that it would be difficult to trick him with one planet, let alone six of them.

She frowns. Multiple planets would be complex, especially if they had to move around in them. But some of their existing VR practice rooms had the capability of simulating many realistically rendered environments.

More notable was the admission that Shinichi at least thought he had spent months here.

"What a long time to be away from home," she says sympathetically. Then suddenly looks down. "Ah, your shoe is untied."

Whether Conan checks his shoes or not (though if he does, he will see that she was lying), Vermouth promptly strides towards him, quickly closing the distance. With their drastic height difference, she seems to look down on him menacingly.

That is until she kneels down to his height which... is still probably intimidating, given who she is. She smiles again, this time breaking her cheerful facade with a hint of sly confidence. "Let me help."

He knew better than to look down, especially at a comment that came so suddenly.

Not that it mattered. Even if he'd intended to run, there was nowhere he could go on the train to get away.

Instead he just keeps his gaze fixed on her face as she kneels beside him. She had probably already noticing that his watch was missing from his wrist, but if he had to he still had his belt and his shoes.

"I don't think I need any help with that," he says blandly.

She does notice the lack of wristwatch, which Vermouth mentally notes to check if he's wearing it later, just in case he has it being repaired. While it does boost her confidence, she isn't about to go hurting Cool Guy. Not right now.

And not just because of his high powered shoes or soccer ball either.

"Perhaps, but then why leave them untied? Here, you don't want to trip and fall." Vermouth reaches forward to grab his shoe laces. Not only is this a good ploy, but also now he can't run off.

It's only then that she whispers, under her breath.

"Fancy seeing you here, Cool Guy."

He can't stop himself from stiffening as her hands close on his shoes. There was a difference between knowing that running wouldn't do any good, and not even having that as an option.

"Vermouth," he acknowledges, also under his breath. "I see you've decided to end playing around."

"I wouldn't go that far." Even though quiet, her voice still carries a mischievous tone. Why stop playing with her favorite detective? That would be no fun at all.

Still, being too close is a risk. Not just from a soccer ball to the face perspective, but also potentially the Organization. So best not to stretch this out.

She fiddles with his shoe laces. "Last I saw you, you had just finished another deduction show." And they learned that the ACASA lead was in fact irrelevant, but Vermouth wasn't about to share that tidbit. "That was, oh, maybe five minutes before arriving. How fast those six months must have been."

A.k.a. the math isn't adding up here, Cool Guy.

He refuses to show any hint of intimidation as she holds onto his shoes.

"Timelines here don't always match up," he says firmly. "We're in a place outside of the universe we know."

And yes, he was aware that being him saying that was odd. But he'd done his reading on multiverse theory.

Vermouth is quiet for a moment. The idea of multiple universes isn't as strange as other things she's heard on the train. In fact, it sounds like something the Organization might have looked into, if they weren't busy with other things. But still...

"You seem awfully confident... Given how dangerous the alternative would be."

Conan can probably guess what possibility she's had on her mind.

He could easily guess what alternative she had in mind. It had come to his mind as well when he had first arrived here.

He is silent for a moment as he decides on the best way to put this.

"If it was that, I doubt I would still be here. There is a roster of passengers here. With full birth names."

It was the best evidence he had. If it had been the Organization, then they knew his identity and there was no reason he should still be alive.

Now that is some compelling evidence. While some members would no doubt want Shinichi alive once they found out his part in their long-standing project, it would admittedly be difficult to keep Gin away for that long. Either way, the Organization would waste no time making themselves known to him.

There is still a little part of Vermouth nagging that she can't let her guard down. That she would never be truly away from the Organization's influence. But Vermouth had been willing to risk a bullet for Shinichi before. Surely she can trust him again.

She meets his gaze as she thinks, staring intently. Her expression almost looks concerned, but the tense is still palpable. Then she closes her eyes and smiles, letting his shoes go. "How lovely." Is it sarcasm about the names being public knowledge? Is it a triumphant comment in getting valuable information out of him? Who can say, but it's probably not good news.

Vermouth stands up, giving him some space again. She leans against the wall, her arms lightly crossed. "So what are you going by, Cool Guy?"

He does not his relief at finally being released show, even though he's quite certain that she knows.

"The same as usual." And he was actually quote curious to see which of Vermouth's many names the train had selected.

"Oh? Not letting the roster slow you down, I see."

Good. Vermouth wouldn't expect anything less of her favored Silver Bullet. She'll have to look into how he's managed it.

That said, she's not jumping to give him the name she's listed under. Surely he can work it out on his own.

"So what business do you have in an empty library?" She can guess, but Vermouth would rather him tell her. Then she adds, in a more playful tone, "Have you've stopped by to welcome me?"

"I could hardly ignore your presence here." A deep frown. "What are your plans?"

He had to make the attempt, even though he wasn't really expecting a straight answer.

She laughs, a cheerful sound though one can't help but wonder if she is taunting him.

"Why would I have plans for a place I've only just arrived?"

Which is... definitely a cop-out, no doubt about it. Even if she hadn't heard of or believed in the Voidtrecker before, surely Vermouth must have plotted something out by now.

Yeah, he didn't believe a word of it.

"How unexpected of you."

"Surely by now you've come to expect the unexpected from me?"

Leaving him alive after their showdown in the car, giving him information on Irish, she had certainly pulled some unusual maneuvers as far an Organization member goes, not all of them so pleasant. It kept her mystery going.

"Expect that long enough, and the unexpected becomes expected."

And boring. Was it safe to needle her like this? No. But he was doing it anyway in hopes of getting her to drop something.

"Oh? Then what have you come to expect from me, detective?"

She doesn't seem to bothered by his jabs. It's almost a game, seeing who drops more information.

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Getting Things Done

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