"Ah—!"
As Robin turned sharply around the corner of the corridor, he suddenly collided with something soft. The impact wasn't painful, but it was unexpected enough to throw both of them off balance.
A startled cry rang out almost immediately.
Robin steadied himself and looked down, only to see Vicki Vale sitting on the floor, one hand pressed against her head, her expression dazed and confused.
"You… you're Robin?"
Her surprise quickly turned into excitement. Instead of standing up right away, Vicki pointed urgently behind her.
"Kaito Kid just ran past me!" she said quickly. "I was about to chase him and stop him, but then you came out of nowhere and knocked me down."
Robin followed the direction she pointed. At the far end of the corridor, a familiar white figure could still be seen, already putting a great distance between himself and anyone chasing him.
Vicki then raised her other hand.
"He threw this at me while running," she added. "It looks like a voice recorder. I don't know what it means."
In her palm was a small, slender black device, no bigger than a lighter.
Robin glanced between the recorder, Vicki, and the retreating figure of Kaito Kid.
"I'm sorry, Miss Vale."
Without hesitation, Robin reached out and pinched Vicki's cheek, applying just enough pressure to confirm something.
"Ouch! What are you doing?!" Vicki yelped, slapping his hand away.
It was real. Warm. Definitely human.
She wasn't Kaito Kid in disguise.
That answer, however, only created more questions.
Why was Vicki Vale here at this exact moment?
Why did Kaito Kid give her the recorder instead of destroying it or keeping it?
And why had she been looking for Grayle Tartard Ethan earlier—the same man who turned out to be Kaito Kid's disguise?
The pieces didn't fit neatly, and Robin didn't have time to solve the puzzle.
"Kaito Kid can't escape."
Robin pushed his doubts aside and took off down the corridor.
Behind him, Vicki watched both figures disappear. Her expression slowly changed—no longer surprised, no longer confused.
It became serious.
She stood up calmly, dusted herself off, and then did something unexpected.
Instead of following them, she turned around and headed in the opposite direction—toward the main entrance of the auction hall.
---
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Kaito Kid heard the footsteps gaining on him and glanced back.
"Again?" he said with clear frustration. "Why are you so persistent? Are you really that desperate to catch me?"
"If you want the truth," Robin replied without slowing down, "then yes."
Kaito Kid stopped running.
"Really?"
He looked ahead. A staircase was just fifteen meters to the right. In that instant, a plan formed in his mind.
"It seems I won't get rid of you unless I deal with you here."
He turned around sharply.
A silver-white handgun appeared in his hand, its shape strange and unfamiliar.
Robin froze—not in fear, but in disbelief.
"A gun?"
This was the first time he had ever seen Kaito Kid pull out a firearm.
For a split second, a dangerous thought crossed his mind.
Was Kaito Kid willing to kill?
Had Robin misunderstood him all along?
Robin focused completely. Unlike Batman's armor-heavy suit, Robin's uniform prioritized speed and flexibility. It offered protection, but nowhere near the level needed to stop a real bullet at close range.
Bang!
The gun fired.
Robin dodged instinctively—
—and a playing card flew past his face.
"…What?"
The card clattered harmlessly against the wall.
Robin blinked, then realized the truth.
"A playing card gun?"
Relief and irritation hit him at the same time.
Who in their right mind designed a gun that shot playing cards?
Before Robin could say anything—
Rumble. Rumble.
A small cylindrical object rolled across the floor and stopped at his feet. A sharp hiss followed as gray mist began pouring out, spreading rapidly through the corridor.
Robin raised an eyebrow.
"Did he forget I'm wearing a gas mask?"
He pressed forward without hesitation.
That's when he saw it.
Kaito Kid smiled.
Not nervous.
Not rushed.
Confident.
Suddenly, his free hand moved.
Whoosh!
The playing card that had already flown past Robin snapped back through the air, moving unnaturally fast.
Robin felt a sharp tug near his cheek—
—and pain.
The card had slipped perfectly into the gap between his gas mask and his face, slicing through the strap with surgical precision.
Robin's eyes widened.
A nearly invisible thread was wrapped around the card.
Before he could react, Kaito Kid pulled hard.
Snap!
The gas mask was ripped clean off Robin's face.
Gray mist rushed in.
"Cough—cough!"
Robin dropped to one knee, covering his mouth and nose, trying desperately to hold his breath.
"Tear gas…!"
He reached for the fallen mask—
Whack!
Another card knocked it even farther away.
Then—
Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.
Three more tear gas canisters rolled in.
The corridor disappeared into choking gray fog.
Kaito Kid's voice echoed calmly.
"Goodbye, Boy Wonder."
"If you hurry back to the auction hall," he added lightly, "you might still catch another interesting show."
He flicked his cape upward.
For a moment, the white fabric filled Robin's vision.
Then it fell—
and Kaito Kid was gone.
-------------------------------------
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