Just then, Professor Agasa did as Conan had said and clicked the light switch.
The room lit up at once. At the same time, Vodka's suspicious voice came through the receiver. "Is someone beside you?"
Professor Agasa: "!!!"
Conan's heart skipped a beat as well. He abruptly looked out the window. Had he misjudged things? Were Black Organization members really hiding nearby?!
...No, that wasn't right. Where Professor Agasa was standing was a blind spot from outside the villa. And if Vodka had really seen the lights come on, his first question should have been, "Did the power come back?" instead.
So Vodka's question probably wasn't because he had seen anything—it was because the sound of Professor Agasa pressing the light switch had put him on alert.
The thought flashed through Conan's mind as he spoke in Itakura Suguru's voice. "How could there be anyone in the middle of nowhere like this? A ghost would be more likely. Don't scare me."
Vodka: "..." Nobody? That wasn't necessarily true. The brat had stood people up for this today and that tomorrow; who knew when he might have delayed something important for someone, prompting them to come kill him for revenge. That click just now might have been some kind of death switch activating.
Die if you want, but hand over the software.
A sense of urgency welled up in Vodka, as though he were competing with the Grim Reaper for the data. He said seriously, "Enough nonsense. Get over here and make the trade. I'll only say the time and place once, so listen carefully—
"There's a Xianqiao Station under construction in Tokyo. At midnight tomorrow, go to the lowest level of that station and find Locker 0032 among the coin-operated lockers. Wait for me there, and remember to bring that