Outlaw in Conan's World, Tokisaki Kurumi

96 A Successful Plan

My father's heart hadn't been doing well lately, so I took annual leave and went home.

Updates might be unstable these next few days because the computer at home was too broken to use.

After a checkup at the hospital, there wasn't any serious problem. He could only take some medicine and make sure not to overwork himself in the future.

I should be back Wednesday night or Thursday.

Main text below

Kurumi, who had been shot in the abdomen, clutched her continuously bleeding wound. After tossing out a smoke bomb shaped very much like a grenade, she quickly rushed out of the room.

Everything was proceeding normally according to plan.

Meanwhile, a team led by Rum's trusted subordinate, Curacao, had arrived below the apartment building with guns in hand.

This operation would inevitably draw unnecessary attention from the surrounding residents, but in order to help her boss eliminate two major threats in one stroke, Curacao decided it did not matter even if it caused a major news story.

She led her team swiftly upstairs. Just as they were about to turn onto the floor where Miyano Akemi was located, Curacao, who was at the front, abruptly stopped at the bend in the stairwell when she saw the person leaning against the wall on the ground.

"Stop!"

After making a hand signal, Curacao ordered, "You four, go up and kill Akai Shuichi!"

After ordering the four fully armed members to continue onward, Curacao shone her flashlight at the black figure.

Long black hair hung messily over her front, while blood continuously flowing from her abdomen stained the floor red.

"Bloody Mary?"

Looking at Kurumi, who seemed to have gone completely silent, Curacao felt both worried and excited.

The name Bloody Mary carried deep meaning within the Organization. In particular, the feat she had accomplished alone back then had shocked every single member of the Organization.

And now, the famed Bloody Mary seemed to have died from gunfire. Such a death, like that of a stray dog, made Curacao feel a trace of sorrow.

"Ma'am, should we confirm it?" The man standing behind Curacao raised his gun at Kurumi's "corpse," apparently intending to put another bullet through Kurumi's head.

Just as Curacao was considering whether to let him shoot Kurumi, a transmission suddenly came through the radio from the team members who had rushed upstairs earlier.

"Ma'am, Akai Shuichi and Miyano Akemi are gone!" Enduring the suffocating smoke from the smoke bomb, the four men who had gone upstairs withdrew after conducting a brief search.

"Damn it!" Upon hearing this news, Curacao silently analyzed the situation.

"They can't have gone far. Check the balconies and see whether they escaped from somewhere!"

With that, Curacao decided she could not delay any longer.

Raising her handgun, Curacao decided to shoot Kurumi first, regardless of whether she was truly dead or merely unconscious from blood loss, eliminating any future trouble.

But just as Curacao slowly prepared to pull the trigger, the head of one of the team members beside her burst like a smashed watermelon without making a sound.

Feeling warm liquid and fragments of human tissue splatter across her face, Curacao looked around in disbelief.

In her sight, the members beside her wore almost the same expression she did, staring blankly as the headless corpse slowly fell to the floor.

"What happened? An enemy attack?" Curacao swiftly found a favorable position to hide and asked in shock.

"No... I didn't feel anything..." One of the members closest to Kurumi's "corpse" warily watched the stairs above. At that moment, his head split open without warning, just like the previous man's.

Strangely enough, this time, the man's blood did not splash onto Kurumi. Instead, it sprayed as if it had struck some invisible wall.

However, in the pitch-black stairwell, the Organization members, whose nerves were stretched to the limit, failed to notice this.

"Ret... retreat!"

Seeing the second team member suddenly die as well, Curacao came to her senses and hurriedly gave the order.

But... would things really go so smoothly?

What kind of attack is this? Why didn't I hear a single sound? Curacao, who was hurriedly running downstairs, had completely panicked.

Just seconds after she had issued the retreat order, the remaining two members had also died miserably before her eyes.

One had his chest pierced through.

The other had been cut cleanly in half at the waist by some invisible weapon.

The screams of her teammates had nearly robbed Curacao of her ability to think.

At that moment, she only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible and return to base to report everything here to Rum in full.

However, just as Curacao was about to reach the first floor, she suddenly felt as if a massive hand had grabbed her throat.

The suffocating sensation, coupled with her point of view constantly rising higher, made Curacao struggle wildly on instinct, even though she did not understand what was happening.

She swung both fists through the air in front of her. The sensation transmitted through her fists instantly made Curacao widen her eyes in terror.

Invisible?

She could feel that her fists and wildly kicking legs had indeed struck some solid entity.

And it was extremely hard.

This discovery immediately made Curacao think of that possibility.

Suffocation made Curacao's thoughts slower and slower. Just as her vision gradually darkened, she noticed Kurumi emerge from around the corner with the corner of her eye.

"Sleep well, Miss Curacao."

As Kurumi's words fell, Curacao completely lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, in the apartment directly beneath Miyano Akemi's room.

In the dark, silent room, the violent pounding of two hearts could almost be heard clearly.

"Is it over?" Miyano Akemi asked weakly, soothing her racing heart as she looked at "Akai Shuichi" before her.

"Probably... cough, cough!" Akai Shuichi coughed twice, then touched his throat.

When he spoke again, however, a woman's voice came out.

"Kurumi just informed me. The team that came to silence us has been completely dealt with by her, and the person leading them has been captured."

As she spoke, "Akai Shuichi" removed her hat and the false face used for her disguise, revealing Aso Narumi's delicate and beautiful features.

"Wow~ Kurumi really is amazing! She actually calculated everything!" Aso Narumi, who had volunteered to help, was so excited that Kurumi's crazy yet simple plan had actually succeeded.

"But won't this cause him trouble?" The "him" Miyano Akemi referred to was naturally Akai Shuichi, who had been assigned to take the blame in Kurumi's plan.

Hearing that Miyano Akemi was still worried about the man who had abandoned her and fled back to America alone, Aso Narumi replied irritably, "Trouble? When he left you behind, did he ever consider that the Organization might kill you?"

"But..." Miyano Akemi, who still retained a trace of affection for that man, revealed a sorrowful expression.

How could she not know that?

97 Curacao as Compensation

"But as an outsider, it's not really my place to comment too much on your affairs." Aso Narumi spread her hands, indicating that she did not wish to continue the subject.

Love? Men?

Hmph!

Talking about feelings with those men could never be as comfortable as cuddling with Kurumi.

Aso Narumi simply watched Miyano Akemi in silence.

After a while, Aso Narumi, who had waited until she was nearly dozing off, finally received Kurumi's call.

"Sister Narumi, it's done." In the hallway, Kurumi glanced at the unconscious Curacao being held by King Crimson beside her while speaking on the phone. With King Crimson's keen perception, she had already heard the sirens of police cars and fire trucks approaching from afar, and knew they should leave.

Bringing Curacao to her car parked in a nearby alley, Kurumi took out rope, a blindfold, and a gag from the trunk. She efficiently tied Curacao up tightly, then stuffed her into the trunk in one swift motion.

After getting into the driver's seat and starting the car, Kurumi sent Rum a text message while driving.

Naturally, King Crimson, sitting in the passenger seat, was responsible for typing.

Dear Mr. Rum, the Organization's second-in-command,

Given that your treacherous attempt to kick me while I was down has made me extremely upset, I will temporarily accept your most capable subordinate, Curacao, as compensation.

Of course, I have generously forgiven the others. After all, you know I have no interest in men. I believe you should soon receive information from within the Metropolitan Police Department. That is all.

After sending the text, Kurumi drove home.

Meanwhile, Rum, who had been waiting for news from Curacao, sat uneasily in his office.

For some reason, Rum had a bad feeling.

He knew very well that although Kurumi appeared quiet and elegant on the surface, once she was pushed too far, her methods would become exceptionally insane and utterly disregard order.

Rum did not wish to force Kurumi into becoming completely opposed to him, but as a calculating old schemer, he was also unwilling to give up this best opportunity to eliminate both Kurumi and Akai Shuichi in one stroke.

Thus, ever since he had dispatched Curacao's team, Rum had been waiting in his office for news from Curacao.

And that wait had lasted nearly half an hour...

When the phone on the desk chimed with a message notification, Rum's feeling of unease intensified.

Seeing that the sender was Bloody Mary, Rum knew he had lost this time, and suffered heavy losses at that.

Sure enough, after reading Kurumi's mocking and taunting message, Rum slammed his fist viciously onto the desk.

"Damn it, Bloody Mary, you bitch!"

Having scarcely ever gained the upper hand against Kurumi, Rum felt as though his heart were being gripped in waves of pain.

Rum did not care about the deaths of the strike team, since the Organization had no shortage of combat personnel.

But!

Curacao, his trusted confidante and strongest subordinate, had been captured by Kurumi. That was something Rum could not accept.

Especially after seeing the photograph Kurumi had sent, showing Curacao unconscious and tightly bound, Rum felt even more stifled.

Just as Rum was planning how to get Curacao back, his phone rang again.

This time, the caller was not Kurumi, but someone even Rum feared.

BOSS

After quickly adjusting his mindset, Rum pressed the answer button.

"Rum, you have gone too far."

The words spoken by the electronic synthesized voice on the other end of the call instantly froze Rum's expression.

He did not understand why his actions had drawn the boss's attention.

Or rather... why did the boss care about Bloody Mary?

"Boss, this time..." Without considering those questions, Rum was about to explain his actions when his words were interrupted.

"Bloody Mary is not something you need to concern yourself with. Not now, and not ever."

Though it was a cold synthesized voice, Rum felt that the Organization's most mysterious boss on the other end of the call was displaying rare anger.

Perhaps it was a reminder, perhaps a warning.

The boss's call made Rum realize that the plan he had thought flawless had actually long been under the boss's observation.

After remaining silent for a while, Rum closed his eyes and replied, "I understand, Boss."

As soon as he spoke, Rum's call was disconnected from the other side.

Setting his phone aside, Rum leaned back in his chair without saying a word...

······

Elsewhere, Kurumi returned home carrying the unconscious Curacao. Under the curious and puzzled gazes of Aso Narumi and Miyano Akemi, she gently placed her on the sofa.

Looking at the silver-haired woman tied up on the sofa in a distinctly artistic fashion, Aso Narumi asked, "Kurumi, who is she?"

"Her name is Curacao. She's Rum's confidante." Satisfied with her work, Kurumi said with a grin, "She was the one who led the team here to kill us."

Upon hearing that this woman had such a background, Miyano Akemi revealed a frightened expression.

Aso Narumi, on the other hand, was not afraid. Instead, she glared furiously at the unconscious Curacao.

"Then why did you bring her back, Kurumi?" Knowing that Kurumi had already dealt with the others, Aso Narumi did not understand why Kurumi had specifically kept this one survivor.

Aso Narumi admitted that Curacao was indeed beautiful and had a good figure, but she felt that keeping such a dangerous person in the house was simply too unsafe!