33 Chapter 32: Saving Tequila and making sacrifices

Two weeks have gone by and Conan is deeply frustrated. Nothing is going as stated in the manga. -Did I change too much?-

Aside from reaching into his ability, nothing he himself did was worth anything, be it the blacklist, the drug/kidnapping case or seducing Ai.

In case of Ai, it seems even that his own inability had infected her, as she too ran into a dead end in her research regarding the stability of APTX 5001. Aside from his own and Ais research problems, Erin in cooperation with Sato and her team is also unable to locate the production place of the drugs currently flooding the streets.

Pushing all this away, because today is the day of the 'Mintendo Convention' and Conan has his very own plans for it. Knowing what happened in the manga, Conan wants to not only save Tequila from dying but also turn him into his very own sleeper agent.

Now, just like in the manga Conan is standing in line, only now with his classmates and teacher Miss Wakasa instead of Ran and Kogoro. Contrary to his expectations Ai had fallen sick just yesterday evening, so he was on his own.

''Wow, so many people are here...'' He hears his classmate Genta Kojima exclaim.

Hearing his classmate exclaim, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya tells him. ''Sure thing. Most people from the professional gaming world are here!''

Hearing that exchange Conan thinks to himself. -Maybe I changed nothing in the bigger picture...- Somehow nearly the exact same exchange like in the manga happened, only now Genta and Mitsuhiko instead of Ran and Kogoro.

Reaching the reception counter Conan hands over and receives a token. -96 am I Kogoro?- He thinks to find it funny having gotten the one that was originally meant to be Kogoros.

Suddenly two men can be heard shouting behind him. Turning around Conan finds Hironobu Takeshita from the Mantendo Corp. Game developer section shout. ''Damm! Look at the time!''

''What?'' Exclaims Koji Odo, also part of Mantendos Game developer section.

Skipping the line the two-man simultaneously slam their suitcases onto the counter says.

''Could you please let us through, please?'' ''Me too, please.''

Seeing his college's behavior Hideaki Nakajima a coworker of the two queue skippers shouts. ''Hey wait your turn!''

-Wow. Nothing major has changed! The murderer Mr. Takeshita (97*), as well as the supposed victim/ insider Mr. Nakajima (98), are still all here.-

Keeping the ticking bomb in mind, Conan hears the cute Ayumi Yoshida exclaim. ''Oh, how lucky! I have got number 100! It's a sign that maybe I'll be lucky today!''

Being forced to stay until all students have gotten their tokens, Conan excuses himself and walks in the direction of the toilet. Looking out for Tequila, Conan is able to easily spot him, as the man is very tall with pale skin, black eyes and brown hair with a big mustache. Furthermore, Tequila is also wearing a black fedora, black clothes, and a red shirt.

-There you are!...- Conan thinks seeing Tequila and Nakajima fake bump into each other, covertly exchanging their tokens. Seeing Tequila move straight away to the reception

Looking after him Conan is able to see Takeshita nervously coming out from behind the reception. -He must have just exchanged his suitcase containing the bomb with Nakajima. What a coincidence that Nakajima just so happens to have exchanged his token with tequila... Ok, first things first...- Conan thinks, knowing that his first priority is to stop the bomb from exploding.

Following right behind Tequila go to the public stationery phone, he is suddenly stopped by his Teacher miss Wakasa.

''I thought you wanted to go to the toilet?'' Wakasa asks him holding him in place.

Thinking quickly Conan tells her while playing the innocent child, an act he had gotten very good as of late. ''I was never here before, so I had to ask for direction from one of the uncles.''

Seeing his child as innocence Wakasas heart melts, so she says. ''Okay, but make it quick we are about to go in.''

Being free from his teachers grasp, Conan finds Tequila to have already ended his call and is moving into the male restroom. Speeding after the man, Conan rushes into the restroom after him. Arriving just in time to stop the man from closing the bathroom stall, Conan touches Tequilas exposed hand, instantly triggering his powers.

With a thud the magic cube falls to the ground as Conan reviews most of the man's memories, while simultaneously reprogramming him, turning Tequila from enemy to ally. Skimming through all these memories, Conan learns some very interesting details, like Tequila being Gins uncle or the extended use of APTX Series drugs on agents. Most interestingly are the information related to the organizations end goal of 'Raising the dead', that they plan on achieving via an artifact, that the manga failed to mention. Still, the most critical information Conan extracts from Tequila at this point can only be the location of the organization's secret laboratory officially property of Ishimura Pharmaceutics. Located in the 'Black Building', scouting that place is now vital for Conan's plans.

Letting go of Tequilas hand Conan commands him to hand over the suitcase. Carefully checking it, he finds is just like in the manga already opened. -Fuck! This is to easy!-

Taking the suitcase Conan commands Tequila to meet up with him in front of the 'Black Building'.

''... I will meet Sir in front of the 'Black Building'!'' Tequila still in a daze and totally brainwashed repeats after Conan.

''Good...'' Conan says, leaving the restroom saying, suitcase in hand. ''... See you later.''

Shortly after leaving the restroom Conan finds Nakajima couching his suitcase containing the money he received from Tequila in exchange for money. Activating his Stun-Gun Wristwatch, he changes the fast acting stun needle with a slow acting one from his glasses frame. -Why the Conan in the manga never insisted on a second needle eludes me.-

Shooting the slow acting needle at Nakajima's neck, the man begins to stagger and stumble. Closing the distance between himself and his new target Conan guides the insider selling of company secrets to sid down in an armchair near the entrance.

Taking that suitcase, too, he returns to the reception seemingly to deposits them with his jacket. Luckily this time, Conan is able to avoid his teacher and Takeshita, who is once again lining up. Using his ability to move objects, he is able to exchange the suitcase containing the bomb with the one numbered 97.

Joining the line just behind Takeshita, Conan is happy to see the man eagerly retrieve his own doom. Just, when he wants to retrieve his jacket as well as the two suitcases, one containing the money and one containing the information Nakajima wanted to sell, Conan is discovered by Rumi Wakasa.

''There you are! Now get in line! Everybody is waiting just for you!'' His teacher tells him as she is dragging him to his classmates.

As Conan is dragged back to his classmates, he sees Takeshita trying to open the suitcase containing the bomb. Unable to brainwash the man into not doing it, Conan does the second best thing and uses his telepathic ability to keep the case shut.

To his own dismay, his grasp on the case significantly weakens as he is dragged to his classmates and Takeshita near the entrance. -Shit! Why is this guy so eager to open his victim's suitcase!-

Losing control over the suitcase, Conan also loses a clear view on the man. Knowing that this bomb going off in public would be on him, he fears the by now inevitable explosion.

If not for his teacher Wakasa interrupting him, he would have been able to brainwash and direct Takeshita into the restroom where Tequila was supposed to die in according to the manga. There the man would have committed suicide by opening the suitcase and triggering his own creation.

As the minutes tick by, Conan tells himself that giving the man that tried to kill another a taste of his own medicine was the right thing to do, he deeply regrets the now inevitable casualties his actions would spawn.

''BOOOOM!'' Before long, just as expected the explosives were triggered near the entrance.