Chapter 167: The Billion Yen Heist
Outside Teito Bank
Because Ran was with them, the location definitely wouldn't be a hostess bar or anything like that—otherwise, Ran would probably give him a stern talking-to about proper father-daughter relationships.
It was almost noon, about lunchtime, and they'd probably eat somewhere nearby. The only place nearby where Uncle Mouri could drink was probably Arakawa's private kitchen. The widowed proprietress there was very popular with middle-aged men.
He'd been there twice with Uncle Mouri—the food was pretty good, just a bit pricey.
Thinking about food, Conan's stomach rumbled twice. He was getting hungry.
"Is it still not ready? So slow!"
Conan stood up, preparing to go back into the bank lobby to check on the progress.
Suddenly—
"Crash!"
A strange sound came from Conan's left, followed by something heavy hitting the ground with a muffled thud—like boxes or crates.
"What happened?"
Curiosity prompted Conan to take a step forward.
He remembered that this was Teito Bank's parking lot. Could it be a car accident?
Filled with questions, Conan walked several steps to the corner, about to turn into the parking lot, when he suddenly stopped.
Ten meters ahead of him, the back door of a silver armored truck was wide open, and two men in security guard uniforms lay motionless on the ground, blood spreading beneath them.
Behind the armored truck, a yellow van blocked most of the view.
However, from Conan's angle, he could still see half of the scene.
Two hooded men in black stood on either side of the truck's open rear, while a long-haired man in the same uniform as the fallen guards was loading boxes into the van.
The long-haired man is likely also a security guard, now held at gunpoint and too afraid to make a sound.
"A robbery!"
Conan's eyes lit up, his mind instantly racing, his rumbling stomach completely forgotten.
Solving cases is far more appealing than eating.
"Those two armored car guards... could they be...?" Conan's expression turned grave. He glanced at the two guards lying motionless on the ground for a few seconds, then turned his gaze to the two automatic submachine guns held by the hooded men in black.
There's blood on the ground. They can't be dead!
He began calculating the possibility of taking down the two robbers single-handedly.
The area in front of Teito Bank was sparsely populated.
Due to its less-than-ideal location, few people walked around here.
Conan crouched at the edge of the corner, his heart pounding, as he pulled out Professor Agasa's newly invented portable phone.
A robbery—I definitely have to notify Inspector Megure.
Moreover, with the suspected deaths of two armored car guards at the scene—a bank robbery plus murder—this was a rare major incident even in Beika City.
Conan had just entered the number and taken out his voice-changing bow tie to impersonate his seventeen-year-old self and report the crime when the door of Teito Bank suddenly opened. Kogoro and Ran slowly walked out.
"Conan-kun, what are you doing over there?"
Ran waved curiously, her voice not particularly loud, but the distance between the entrance and the parking lot wasn't far. Her call startled Conan, who turned around, and also alerted the two robbers in the middle of their heist.
The two robbers turned around in a panic, looking toward the source of the voice, and spotted Conan's small figure.
They exchanged a glance and ordered the long-haired guard to speed up the cash transfer.
"Shh!"
Conan, sweating nervously, put his index finger to his lips to signal silence.
Kogoro and Ran exchanged confused glances, both frowning.
"Let's go. I have a reservation with Arakawa-san. She won't save our table if we're too late."
Kogoro was slightly annoyed, stepping forward to pick Conan up. As for his earlier actions, Conan is probably playing some kind of game—kids are like that. They can entertain themselves with anything.
His voice was quite loud, and the robbers in the parking lot clearly confirmed that people were at the entrance. One of the robbers slung his gun over his neck and joined in transferring the cash, noticeably speeding up the process.
Another robber pointed his gun at the exit, ready to fire at anyone who appeared!
"What are you looking at?" Kogoro, noticing Conan's furtive glances, became intrigued. Ignoring Conan's anxious expression, he peeked halfway around the corner toward the parking lot.
The moment he did, Kogoro's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open.
Just then—
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"
A silenced submachine gun unleashed its firepower. Several bullets instantly pierced the wall of Teito Bank. Kogoro quickly ducked back, but debris still splattered across his face.
He instantly snapped to attention, grabbed Conan and tossed him behind cover, frowning as he shouted to Ran, "Ran! Call the police! Someone's robbing an armored truck!"
As he spoke, several more bullets struck near his feet.
Ran was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. She ran back into the bank, shouting, "I know, Dad! Take Conan-kun and stay back!"
Ran wasn't afraid of much—except ghosts and supernatural things.
Besides, she was an expert at calling the police.
After waiting about a dozen seconds, Kogoro noticed the robber hadn't fired at him again. He mustered his courage and peeked out halfway.
Conan, who had been thrown to the ground, also got up at this moment. The two of them, one big and one small, each peeked out halfway to check the situation.
"Where did they go?"
The robbers in the parking lot had disappeared, leaving only an armored car worker lying on the ground, clutching his head, too afraid to move.
Kogoro was about to approach to check when the van in front of the armored truck started moving. The passenger window rolled down, and a robber leaned out halfway, gun in hand, and fired a shot at the kneeling guard.
Bang!
The guard was shot in the chest and fell backward, but he didn't die immediately. Instead, he struggled to his feet and looked in surprise at the van that had already driven several meters away.
Conan, with his sharp eyes, clearly saw doubt and disbelief in the man's expression.
Then the guard's lips moved, as if saying something.
After speaking, the guard seemed to have run out of strength. His body slumped to the side, and he remained motionless.
Recalling the man's lip movements and relying on the lip-reading skills he'd learned in his past life, Conan's heart raced, his eyes gleaming with recognition. If the robbers' van hadn't been heading straight for the exit, he would have immediately run to the long-haired guard.
"Trying to keep it all for yourself? Tequila won't let you get away with it."
Conan wasn't entirely sure, but he felt that's roughly what the lip reading indicated.
Tequila!
That name... that's a codename from that Organization!
If he could follow the van and find those people, maybe he could even track down the person who poisoned him—Gin!
The roar of the engine grew louder as the van hurtled toward the exit. Kogoro wanted to do something, but unfortunately, he wasn't a police officer and didn't have any firearms to stop them.
He glanced around and, finding no suitable weapons, could only helplessly pull Conan behind a stone pillar in front of Teito Bank.
The van sped away, leaving trails of exhaust fumes that made Conan frown.
"That guard!" Conan's heart skipped a beat. He broke free from Kogoro's grasp and ran toward the parking lot.
There, three guards lay motionless in pools of blood.
Conan glanced at two guards huddled together and, upon closer inspection, realized both had been shot in the forehead. They had no chance of survival.
Finally, he rushed toward the long-haired guard who had been shot last, hoping to get more information about Tequila from him.
The long-haired guard lay on the concrete pavement, shot in the chest, blood spreading outward.
Just as Conan worried that he too was dead, the guard's fingers twitched. He seemed to have heard Conan's footsteps and shakily opened his eyes.
"Are you alright?" Conan rushed forward and sat down beside him, examining the wound.
The chest wound was near the heart. The bullet should have hit vital organs. The fact that this man survived is incredibly lucky.
"Call... the police! Those three... want to keep it all!" The long-haired guard's mouth opened and closed weakly, seemingly wanting to reveal information about the robbers.
Conan sat up straight, his expression serious. "My uncle is the famous detective Kogoro Mouri! Tell us everything, and Uncle Mouri will bring them to justice!"
"Really?" The guard looked up behind Conan and saw a distinguished-looking middle-aged man with a small mustache checking on the other two guards.
Come to think of it, this appearance does match the Sleeping Kogoro.
Kogoro had become quite famous in Tokyo recently, so it was natural for the guard to recognize him.
He coughed excitedly twice, causing his wound to bleed even more.
The man glanced at his wound and smiled bitterly. "I shouldn't have agreed to the Organization's demands. It's all my fault for being too greedy. In the end, I got nothing and can barely keep my life. I didn't expect those three to be so greedy, wanting to pocket all the money..."
Kogoro, who had confirmed the survivors, glanced at the guard's serious chest wound. "Don't speak yet. I've already called Beika General Hospital. They should be here in ten minutes at most."
Conan opened his mouth to say something but, seeing the man's condition, swallowed his words.
Although he desperately wanted to know if the Organization this man mentioned was related to the Tequila from the lip reading, saving the man's life was most important right now.
The long-haired guard was probably an accomplice of the two robbers. The reason he was shot was likely due to an unequal distribution of the money.
Such cases of accomplices being killed over profit disputes were commonplace, and Conan wasn't surprised.
What bothered him more was that this man said "three people," meaning there were three robbers.
But he'd clearly only seen two. Where was the third one?
"No need..." The man glanced at his wound with a bitter smile. "I can feel my body losing strength, my head is spinning. Is this what death feels like?"
Conan looked down. Blood had soaked the ground. With that much blood loss, dizziness and weakness were to be expected.
"Those three... will change cars... near Beika Bridge. Their names... their names..."
Conan pressed his ear close to the guard's mouth, trying to catch the names.
However, due to excessive blood loss and having said too much already, the guard no longer had the strength to continue. His mouth opened and closed erratically, and even his breathing was fading. Conan could no longer make out anything from his lip movements.
Kogoro sighed and looked toward the side of the bank.
The roller shutter door had begun to slowly rise, and Ran was walking quickly with several people in tow.
Conan glanced back at the rising door, a jolt of realization washing over him. He quickly asked, "Oniisan, is there an inside person at Teito Bank? Is there an accomplice among the bank employees?"
The third robber they hadn't seen might be lurking inside Teito Bank.
His deduction wasn't unfounded—the roller shutter door had given him the clue.
Most banks typically have two main entrances.
One is the main entrance for customers, and the other is a side entrance connecting to the parking lot. Larger banks don't use the main entrance for armored trucks, as it would obstruct customer access and be too conspicuous.
Therefore, armored trucks usually use the less crowded side entrance.
Logically, the side entrance shouldn't be closed during business hours.
This is a big problem.
It's very likely that an infiltrator is behind it.
"Y-yes!" The long-haired man grabbed Conan's shoulder and shook him violently, his eyes clearly conveying: Correct! Now guess the name of the inside person!
Conan: ...
This dying man's explosive strength is too much!
He couldn't even speak a moment ago, but now he can shake me like a ragdoll for this long.
This proves my guess was correct—there's an inside person at Teito Bank.
Among the people who ran out, a middle-aged man was the most anxious. He hurriedly half-ran, half-stumbled to where the armored truck was parked.
Ignoring Conan and Kogoro, this man treated the bodies on the ground as nothing, practically leaping over Conan's head to check the situation in the back of the truck.
"It's over! Everything's over!" Looking at the empty truck, the middle-aged man collapsed onto the ground.
"Ran, have you called the police?" Kogoro ignored the middle-aged man and asked his daughter. "There's still someone alive—call an ambulance too."
Ran nodded. "Yes! Besides contacting Inspector Megure, I also called Beika General Hospital."
She's truly a master of emergency calls—she can apply what she's learned to any situation now.
Ran turned and pointed to the middle-aged man on the ground. "This is Otsuka-san, the manager of the Beika branch of Teito Bank."
Even without Ran's explanation, Kogoro could roughly guess the man's identity.
"Otsuka-kachou, please don't panic. Gather all the bank employees—that will speed up the investigation."
Manager Otsuka glanced back at Kogoro, and within seconds, his expression shifted from despair to ecstatic hope.
"Are you...? The most famous detective in Beika, and indeed all of Tokyo—the Sleeping Kogoro Mouri!" Manager Otsuka seemed to have found a savior, rushing to Kogoro and bowing deeply.
"Mouri-san, you must help us with this! With you here, we can definitely find the culprits quickly!"
"Ahaha, Otsuka-kachou, you're too kind. Since we've encountered this case, I certainly won't ignore it. Don't worry—I will definitely help you catch those three despicable robbers!"
"What? You already know there are three robbers?"
Manager Otsuka was shocked. The case just occurred, yet Kogoro Mouri has already figured out the number of perpetrators? Amazing!
"Haha, fortunately, yes. I managed to get this information from the injured guard. Come to think of it, he seems to have been one of the accomplices but was abandoned by his partners."
"I see..." Manager Otsuka said, only then noticing the three guards on the ground. Two of them were collapsed together, their foreheads riddled with horrific gunshot wounds.
The only one still breathing was the long-haired guard next to the little boy.
Although still alive, Manager Otsuka could tell his condition was critical.
He probably won't last much longer.
(End of Chapter)
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